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Empress Dowager Zheng was never a soft-hearted person, and her last sentence was filled with murderous intent.

Jiang Shaohua looked at the Empress Dowager Zheng: "Grandmother, I have promised them that I will spare their lives. They will all write a memorial to demote themselves to commoners, and they will also donate their family property to enrich the national treasury."

Can't you still get it even if you kill it?
Empress Dowager Zheng snorted in her heart.

Jiang Shaohua emphasized, "Killing is a double-edged sword. It can kill people but also hurt yourself. Daliang must rely on laws to govern the country. We cannot kill people at will based on our own likes and dislikes or hidden dangers that have not yet occurred. Once this becomes a trend, the atmosphere in the court and the palace will also be in chaos in the future."

"Grandmother, please listen to me. As long as the Prince of Huaiyang and the Prince of Wu'an behave themselves, let them live!"

After a pause, he added: "It can be considered as accumulating merit for King Ping."

Empress Dowager Zheng: “…”

This last sentence once again hit the weak spot of Empress Dowager Zheng.

If Jiang Shaohua is really a cold-blooded and murderous person who kills anyone who poses a hidden danger, then why should he take care of Prince Ping until he grows up? Only by secretly killing Prince Ping can he solve the problem once and for all!
From this perspective, she should have hoped that Jiang Shaohua would be merciful. She was indeed untenable forcing Jiang Shaohua to kill the Prince of Huaiyang and the Prince of Wu'an.

Empress Dowager Zheng exhaled a breath of turbid air: "Forget it, I will listen to you."

Jiang Shaohua smiled slightly and comforted Empress Dowager Zheng with kind words: "Grandmother, don't worry too much. If the princes want to cause chaos, they must have soldiers, money and food. The Prince of Huaiyang and the Prince of Wu'an will be demoted to commoners, and their family property will be offered to them. In the future, they will no longer be able to raise troops and will not be able to cause any trouble."

"Besides, all the ministers in the court have supported me as the emperor. How many of them are truly loyal to them?"

"After I ascend the throne tomorrow, I will focus all my energy on government affairs. The sooner I can take control of government affairs, the sooner I can sit firmly on the throne. No one can shake the Liang Dynasty."

Empress Dowager Zheng was speechless again.

These words were obviously about the vassal king, but in fact they were meant for her. Without Duke Anguo and Zheng Chen, her influence on the court had been greatly weakened. With Jiang Shaohua's shrewdness and ability, it was only a matter of time before she could control the government.

As one grows, the other declines. Every increase in Jiang Shaohua's prestige and strength means that her power as the Empress Dowager is weakened.

Just like her age and physical condition, she will only age a little bit, which is in sharp contrast with the young Jiang Shaohua who is in his prime.

In this struggle, she seemed to be in high spirits, but in fact she was at a disadvantage.

Empress Dowager Zheng sighed again: "I am old, my mind is dull, and I don't think things through and carefully. You make the decision on these matters."

Jiang Shaohua patiently chatted with Empress Dowager Zheng and did not leave until she had completely calmed down.

Eunuch Zhao watched it all from beginning to end and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Empress Dowager Zheng was old and ruthless, but in her wrestling match with Jiang Shaohua, she was clearly no match for the princess.

……

On August 16, the new emperor's enthronement ceremony was held in the Golden Palace.

The newly appointed Minister of Rites, Mr. Dong, has a solemn face, dignified manners, a steady and powerful voice, and the bearing of a famous official.

Prime Minister Wang is still recovering from his injuries and cannot attend court, and the six ministers are now of equal rank. Today, Minister Dong will preside over the coronation ceremony, and naturally he will be the head of the ministers.

No one cared whether Minister Zhang felt aggrieved or not.

Dai Shangshu and Zhou Shangshu had no objection to this. Even Prime Minister Wang had acquiesced and supported the princess, and they, the Prime Minister's party, were not in danger of being deposed. What else was there to be dissatisfied about?
Minister Dong is also a capable minister, so what's wrong with letting him stand first? Even the real "internal prime minister" Chen Changshi doesn't mind!
As for the original party of the Empress Dowager, they did not feel uncomfortable. The princesses have always been the backbone of the Empress Dowager, and now that the princess has ascended the throne, she will still use them. The loss of the Duke of Anguo is nothing. There is never a shortage of ministers in the court, and the Ministry of War now has the acting Minister Ding, and it is still running smoothly.

In the row of military generals, the first one standing is General Bao.

General Bao was seriously injured that day and after nearly two months of recuperation, he was barely able to stand. Today, he did not want to miss the coronation ceremony of the new emperor, so he asked his personal soldiers to carry him into the palace.

Standing behind General Bao was General Zuo. Next in line were General Liu and General Sima. General Song was behind them.

On that day of the palace coup, the generals were all impressed by the princess's heroic act of killing the traitors. They were all convinced that the princess would ascend the throne.

General Song felt most regretful and uncomfortable.

The Song family is a relative of the Nanyang Palace, but they don't have the "merit of following the dragon". It's all because he is too short-sighted. In recent years, he has been very indifferent to his nephew Song Yuan, and their contacts are sparse. Three years ago, Song Yuan wanted to persuade him to surrender to the princess, but he sneered and rejected him. Thinking about it now, General Song wanted to slap himself in the face.

Hey, what's the point of thinking about these things now?

Fortunately, the Song family had never done anything to let the princess down. Song Yuan was the princess's staunchest confidant, and even for Song Yuan, the princess would not treat the Song family badly. From now on, he, the head of the Song family, must not be confused again and must work hard.

In the officialdom, one's position is the most important thing. Minister Dong's position also heralds the advent of a new era.

Princess Nanyang ascended the throne as a woman and became the first female emperor of Daliang. All the officials in the court bowed and saluted, shouting "Long live the emperor".

Jiang Shaohua wore a dragon robe, sat on the dragon throne, and accepted the worship of his ministers.

At this moment, all the ministers in the hall bowed their heads, except her who was sitting on the dragon throne.

This is the feeling of ruling the world!

Everything is at her feet.

However, this crown is also extremely heavy. From now on, she will have to shoulder the responsibility of thousands of miles of land and millions of people!
Jiang Shaohua exhaled slowly, and his clear voice was clearly heard by all the ministers: "My dear ministers, please do not bow. Stand up."

"I thank the emperor for his grace."

The ministers bowed again.

Next, one must go into the Taimiao to offer sacrifices to the ancestors.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple, which no woman had ever entered before, was completely opened to the Empress of Daliang today.

The ministers surrounded the new emperor and brought him into the Imperial Ancestral Temple. They all waited outside, but the new emperor entered the hall alone.

There are many tablets in the hall, and the lowest and closest one is that of Emperor Taihe.

Jiang Shaohua knelt down in front of the tablets of all the successive emperors of Daliang, burned incense to the ancestors, and said silently in his heart.

From today on, I, Jiang Shaohua, will inherit the country of Daliang and become the new emperor of Daliang. The first year of Zhaoping, from this day on.

I, Emperor Zhaoping, swear in front of the tablets of my ancestors that I will eliminate the powerful enemies outside the Great Wall, govern the country clean and honestly, eliminate the greed in the officialdom, curb the powerful families, reduce taxes, and lighten corvée labor so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment.

...(End of chapter)