The prince is more stable

Chapter 233 Raising a Volunteer Army
The incident happened suddenly. How sudden was it? Even Zhao Xiaoqian, the initiator of the incident, felt it was sudden.

Even after he sat in the office and issued a series of orders to the soldiers of the Dragon Guard Battalion, he still felt confused.

Who am I? What am I doing?
But you can't blame him for this. Sometimes when inspiration comes, it can't be stopped.

All I can say is that Queen Mother Liang got it just right.

Everyone has a different understanding of themselves, which leads to different final destinies and outcomes.

Queen Dowager Liang felt that she was the queen dowager and the ruler of a country. No matter how unruly the State of Song was, it would never put her to death when she came to negotiate. The State of Song, which was based on etiquette and Confucianism, would never do such a thing.

What she didn't expect was that the State of Song advocated etiquette and Confucianism, but Zhao Xiaoqian did not.

He is an anomaly and a variable.

Also, if Empress Dowager Liang had been obedient and well-behaved, Zhao Xiaoqian would not have dared to attack her, after all, she was protected by the Liao Kingdom.

Unfortunately, after controlling the government for a long time, Empress Dowager Liang became arrogant. Not only did she dare to declare war on the Song Dynasty, she also began to disrespect the Liao Dynasty.

People call this behavior "seeking death."

When both Song and Liao discovered that Queen Mother Liang had become an uncontrollable factor on the chessboard of the Three Kingdoms, her only fate was to be wiped out.

No one wants the leader of their neighboring country to be a time bomb.

Queen Dowager Liang never imagined that the State of Song would take advantage of the opportunity of peace talks to attack her.

Is it true that a country of etiquette has no integrity at all?

Outside the inn, the noise of troop movements became increasingly chaotic. The two thousand guards brought into the city by Empress Dowager Liang screamed in agony and were no match for the Song army.

Empress Dowager Liang sat in the house with a grim face. She knew she could not escape, and her accompanying army was camped five miles outside the city, and it was too late to rescue her.

Now her only hope is the Liao envoy.

Western Xia was a vassal state of the Liao Dynasty, and the Liao envoy would not stand by and watch her die. As long as the Liao envoy intervened and stopped it, she would still have a chance of survival.

"Where does the Liao envoy live? Has he arrived?" A hint of panic finally appeared on Empress Dowager Liang's usually calm face.

The shouting and screaming were getting closer and closer, and she couldn't help but panic.

The maid beside him was already trembling with fear and said in a trembling voice, "The Liao envoy is also staying at the inn. Someone has been sent to urge him to come."

"Send more people to invite them. This is an urgent matter. The Liao envoys must come out to stop the Song army's misbehavior!" Queen Mother Liang said sternly.

The maid responded tremblingly and was about to go out when she heard a light laugh coming from outside the house.

"No need, I'm here." Xiao Guangjing pushed the door open with a smile.

…………

Five miles outside Xiazhou City, the Queen Mother of Western Xia was camped with the army.

In this peace talk, Empress Dowager Liang only brought 10,000 soldiers and horses with her to show her sincerity. Before entering the city today, she sacrificed 1,000 soldiers and horses in vain in order to establish her authority. There were 2,000 soldiers and horses following Empress Dowager Liang into the city.

At this time, there were only 7,000 people left in the camp.

For the Song army stationed in Xiazhou, this number of people was not even enough to fill the gaps in their teeth.

Five thousand musketeers are enough to reunite them with their ancestors in the underworld.

Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, when it was pitch dark, 20,000 soldiers from the Dragon Guard Camp marched out of the city and quietly surrounded the main camp.

In the darkness, the fire of faith shot up into the sky.

The camp was surrounded by enemies on all sides. The Xixia soldiers were awakened from their sleep, their clothes and armor in disarray, and they hurriedly picked up their weapons to fight back.

Empress Dowager Liang and the accompanying Western Xia army did not expect that the Song army would be so unethical and take advantage of the opportunity of peace talks to attack them.

The battle lasted unbelievably short from start to finish.

After several rounds of volleys from the musketeers, the Western Xia army was basically defeated, the generals were either dead or fled, and they were unable to organize any effective resistance.

Less than half an hour later, most of the 7,000 soldiers in the camp were killed or wounded. The rest laid down their weapons and surrendered, kneeling obediently in front of the Song army.

Zhong Jianzhong put on armor and strode into the camp.

With his fierce eyes, he swept the crowd of surrenderers and said in a deep voice, "Is Li Qianshun, the ruler of Western Xia, here?"

The crowd was silent and no one answered.

Zhong Jianzhong's tone gradually turned colder: "Li Qianshun, stand up! Don't force me to use violence!"

The crowd stirred for a moment, and then a thin young man timidly stepped forward. He looked about eleven or twelve, and was dressed in the uniform of an ordinary Xixia soldier. He had clearly tried to escape during the chaos, but failed. Zhong Jianzhong stared at him and asked, "Are you Li Qianshun?"

Li Qianshun was so frightened that his whole body was shaking and tears were flowing uncontrollably, but he tried hard not to cry out loud.

"I am Li Qianshun, the ruler of Western Xia. General, you may kill as you please, but please spare my warriors, they are innocent..."

The words sounded firm, but the most difficult thing in life is death. Facing the butcher knife of the Song army, Li Qianshun was ultimately unable to control his inner fear of death. After he finished speaking, he let out a wow and burst into tears.

Several men with long beards who looked like civil officials nearby also burst into tears. Some of them bravely stood up, blocked Li Qianshun's way, and glared at Zhong Jianzhong fearlessly.

Zhong Jianzhong smiled.

Even in a barbarian country, there are still a few loyal ministers. Well, the scene is very touching.

The two sides confronted each other for a long time, and Zhong Jianzhong suddenly clasped his fists and bowed to Li Qianshun.

"Foreign minister Zhong Jianzhong pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor of Western Xia."

Li Qianshun and several loyal officials of Western Xia were so scared that they took a step back and looked at Zhong Jianzhong in surprise and suspicion.

Zhong Jianzhong said in a deep voice, "I have heard that the Western Xia dynasty is in decline. The Queen Mother controls the government, and her clique is wielding immense power. The monarch is weak, while the ministers are powerful. Moral principles have been lost. Our Great Song was founded on benevolence, filial piety, loyalty, and integrity. How can we sit idly by and watch the monarch of a neighboring nation fall into such dire straits?"

"Tonight, I am under the order of Zhao Xiaoqian, Deputy Envoy of Huanqing Road, to raise an army to purge the Xixia Emperor's court, depose the Empress's party, and eliminate the treacherous officials. The Great Song Dynasty wishes to offer this as a gift, praying that the Song and Xia countries will cease fighting forever and enjoy lasting peace."

"From this moment on, I respectfully invite His Majesty the Emperor of Western Xia to return to the throne and personally rule the country."

After saying this, Zhong Jianzhong bowed to Li Qianshun and said, "On behalf of the emperor and ministers of the Great Song Dynasty, I, as your minister, congratulate His Majesty the Emperor of Xixia!"

Li Qianshun and several Xixia officials were stunned and looked at Zhong Jianzhong in confusion.

What's going on?
I didn't do anything, but I was purged by foreigners?
Judging from Zhong Jianzhong's attitude, he doesn't seem to be joking. You did such a big thing just to help me take power?

I must have saved the Milky Way in my previous life! The entire universe is filled with my blessings!

Li Qianshun was completely confused and still couldn't believe it, his body shaking constantly.

"I...I have fallen into your hands. What do you intend to do?"

Zhong Jianzhong smiled and said, "Wasn't what I just said clear enough? We, the Great Song Dynasty, have raised an army of righteous men to help His Majesty the Emperor purge his entourage and return the government to his own hands."

"You... won't kill me?"

"Your Majesty, you must be joking. The Great Song Dynasty is here to help you, not to kill you. After the emperor returns to the capital, you will simply take charge of the government. The Great Song Dynasty is willing to be your staunch backing."

Although he was only eleven years old, he was born into an imperial family after all. After thinking for a moment, Li Qianshun gradually came to his senses.

"The Queen Mother is in Xiazhou City. What have you done to her?"

Zhong Jianzhong still smiled and said, "'Clear the emperor's side' means, of course, helping His Majesty to clear it out."

Li Qianshun's pupils trembled.

The Song army actually killed the queen mother. This... is more than just lawlessness. Who is so bold as to do such a shocking thing?
There was only shock in Li Qianshun's eyes, but not a trace of sadness.

Just like Zhao Xu's relationship with the Grand Empress Dowager, Li Qianshun also wished that Empress Dowager Liang would die sooner. At this moment, when he heard that Empress Dowager Liang had been eliminated by the Song army, he felt only joy in his heart, not sadness.

So, with the Queen Mother dead, he could finally rule the country himself? Did the power of the Western Xia finally fall into his hands?
After being shocked, Li Qianshun's eyes suddenly turned red.

In the past few years since he ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Liang and her party controlled the government and treated him as a puppet. God knows how frustrated he must have been during these years.

The Queen Mother finally died tonight, and he finally became the real emperor!

Thank you for the gift of nature!

"I...what price do I have to pay to be able to leave Xiazhou smoothly and return to the court to rule the country?" Li Qianshun, who had calmed down, looked directly at Zhong Jianzhong and asked.

Zhong Jianzhong showed admiration in his eyes. As expected of an emperor, after calming down in the chaos, he asked a very wise question.

"Foreign ministers are merely military men, and do not understand the affairs of the court. Your Majesty, it would be better to leave this question for tomorrow's peace talks between the two countries and ask Deputy Envoy Zhao in person."

Li Qianshun's eyes flashed, and a key word suddenly emerged in his mind, "peace talks between the two countries."

He seemed to understand.

The price is expensive, but it's worth it!

It's only fair that he has to lose something in order to gain power.

(End of this chapter)