The prince is more stable

Chapter 234: Poisoning the Queen Mother
Xiazhou City, inn.

The two thousand soldiers and horses that Queen Mother Liang brought into the city were basically wiped out. With their deliberate planning, home field advantage, and the magical firearms of the Song army, this battle was a foregone conclusion.

Inside the inn, Empress Dowager Liang stared palely at Xiao Guangjing and Zhao Xiaoqian who was standing outside the door without saying a word.

The house was surrounded by the Song army, and not even a fly could fly out.

When her eyes fell on Zhao Xiaoqian, Empress Dowager Liang's look was particularly resentful.

From the beginning of the war between the two countries until this moment, the variable Zhao Xiaoqian has been influencing the situation.

He invented the musket, he led the Xixia army by the nose to burn, kill and loot throughout the country, he attacked the capital at night, and now, he led his troops to attack the empress dowager of a country...

This war, which was originally expected, gradually turned from victory to defeat and became irreversible because of this person. What's more outrageous is that he dared to attack her during the peace talks between the two countries.

She was the queen mother of a country, and she was the one who was negotiating peace and killing the envoy. How dare he do that?

This person's thinking is just like a madman, completely incomprehensible to normal people.

Looking at Xiao Guangjing again, Empress Dowager Liang felt completely chilled in her heart.

When Xiao Guangjing and Zhao Xiaoqian appeared outside her door at the same time, she understood everything.

For some unknown reason, it is certain that the Liao Kingdom has joined forces with the Song Kingdom.

What made her even more desperate was that these two people appeared in front of her at the same time, which meant that they no longer cared about her discovering their relationship, and it also meant that... they had no intention of letting her live tonight.

Slumped in the chair, Empress Dowager Liang looked as if she had lost all hope. She stared at Xiao Guangjing and murmured, "Why?"

Xiao Guangjing raised his eyebrows and said, "Queen Dowager, you are already in the way."

"Whose business is this? The Liao Lord, or the Song Emperor?"

"Both. Your actions have become increasingly rampant in recent years. Both His Majesty the Liao and the Emperor of Song are extremely dissatisfied with you."

"So, Lord Liao wants to kill me?"

Xiao Guangjing smiled: "No, no, His Majesty the Great Liao is not that cruel. He only said that he would teach you a severe lesson... The truly cruel person is him."

Zhao Xiaoqian walked in slowly from outside and said with a smile, "It's me who wants to kill you. Please don't make a false accusation and let Brother Xiao bear the sin for nothing."

Empress Dowager Liang stared at Zhao Xiaoqian with a murderous look in her eyes: "I came here in person to negotiate a truce between our two countries. Why do you still want to kill me?"

Zhao Xiaoqian sneered, "You say fight, then fight. You say stop, then stop. Don't adults have to bear the consequences of their actions? You launched a war with a single word, and countless soldiers from both countries died because of you. The people living on the border of both countries have been torn apart and their families destroyed because of you."

"Now that you've said you don't want to fight anymore and call for a ceasefire, all of us must stop and obediently discuss the terms of the ceasefire with you. Haha, Empress Dowager Liang, everyone in the world is your daddy, right? Everyone in the world revolves around you, right?"

Since Empress Dowager Liang entered the Summer Palace, she had never been scolded like this in person by anyone, from the empress to the empress dowager. Upon hearing this, her face turned pale and red, and her thick hair almost smoked.

But at this moment, she was the fish on the chopping board and was clearly about to explode with anger, but she gritted her teeth and dared not refute.

In the face of life and death, everything is trivial, as long as you can survive.

Taking a few deep breaths, Empress Dowager Liang tried to remain calm. "I can cede all the land and cities east of Hengshan to the Song State and swear an oath to heaven that from now on, the two countries will cease fighting forever. Western Xia will once again become a vassal of the Song State and send envoys to pay tribute annually."

Zhao Xiaoqian's smile was a little cold: "The conditions are very generous, just to save your life?"

Queen Mother Liang nodded. "Yes, it's for the sake of saving my life. There's no shame in that. You won't gain anything by killing the Queen Mother of Xixia. The people of the world will accuse the Song Dynasty of being dishonest and immoral. Regardless of whether it was the Emperor of Song's intention to kill me or not, he will push you out to take the blame and appease the world's criticism."

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head: "You keep talking about the people of the world. You didn't consider the people of the world when you started the war. The armistice and peace talks will continue tomorrow, but the Great Song Dynasty is not negotiating with you..."

Empress Dowager Liang's heart sank: "Who are you talking to?"

"Of course, we should talk to the Emperor of Western Xia. As everyone knows, the monarch of a country is the one who truly makes the final decision. Those who use the excuse of listening to and assisting in government affairs to control the government will ultimately not have a good end."

Empress Dowager Liang's face grew paler and paler, and at this moment she became increasingly aware that death was getting closer and closer to her.

"Why on earth do you have to kill me?" Under the shadow of death, Queen Mother Liang finally collapsed and screamed hysterically.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at her coldly as she went mad, and said, "Leaving aside the small countries around us, the world is now divided into three parts, each belonging to its own country. Your Xixia is only one-third, and you are far from being so arrogant."

"Your reckless actions have disrupted the balance between the three kingdoms. The situation among the three kingdoms will become even more uncontrollable in the future. Therefore, you must die. This is why I am killing you."

"Empress Dowager Liang, go with peace of mind. Young Lord Li Qianshun has taken over power in the camp outside the city. Our Great Song soldiers have helped Li Qianshun govern the country."

Empress Dowager Liang was struck by lightning, her body trembled, and she collapsed on the ground in despair.

Power, life, wealth, all were lost tonight, and her life was reset to zero.

Having said what he needed to say, Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and turned to look at Xiao Guangjing.

"The rest is up to you. If she refuses to behave herself, you help her behave herself."

Xiao Guangjing frowned: "I don't have to do it myself, right?"

"It doesn't matter. The blame will be placed on you anyway."

After saying that, Zhao Xiaoqian turned around and walked out of the room.

Xiao Guangjing clapped his hands, and an attendant came in with a glass of wine in his hand.

Poisonous wine.

Xiao Guangjing looked at Empress Dowager Liang with a smile and said, "Empress Dowager, promise me that you won't struggle, okay? Let's save some dignity for each other." Empress Dowager Liang looked at him coldly: "You and Zhao Xiaoqian..."

Xiao Guangjing leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Yes, he and I are in cahoots. Is the Queen Mother at peace?"

Empress Dowager Liang was silent for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Good! My death is well deserved! I never thought I would end up like this."

Empress Dowager Liang suddenly shouted towards the door, "Zhao Xiaoqian, I am willing to die to atone for my sins. It is not a pity! I hope that the Song and Liao countries will treat my Western Xia monarch well. All my sins are my fault. Please do not implicate innocent people!"

There was no response outside the door for a long time.

Empress Dowager Liang smiled sadly, reached out for the cup, and suddenly raised her head to drink the cup of fatal poison.

…………

Outside the door, Zhao Xiaoqian was standing under the dark corridor pillars.

His eyes shone in the night like dim stars.

He did another big thing, ending the life of a woman who had no grudge against him.

Personal grudges and emotions are irrelevant when it comes to national affairs.

Some people did nothing, just sitting in that position, and they were already doomed to death.

What's more, Empress Dowager Liang was not innocent. If she were allowed to live, who knows how many wars would break out on the border between Song and Xia in the future, killing countless innocent soldiers and civilians.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoqian felt no sympathy or guilt in his heart, but instead felt a sense of relief that the trouble had been solved.

The Queen Mother has passed away, and it will take a long time for the young ruler to select his ministers and take control of the Xixia court. It is basically impossible for him to provoke a war against the Song Dynasty in a short period of time. The border between Song and Xia can maintain peace for at least ten years.

The Song Dynasty could shift its energy from the northwest to the north, and from then on concentrate on dealing with the Liao Kingdom and the rising Jurchen tribe.

This is the contribution that Empress Dowager Liang made to the world with her life.

From this perspective, the impact of poisoning Queen Mother Liang was greater than that of conquering the capital of Western Xia. It could affect the future strategies of the three kingdoms of Song, Liao and Xia.

If Empress Dowager Liang knew that her death was so important, she would surely be very pleased in her netherworld and drink a few more bowls of Mengpo soup.

After a long time, Xiao Guangjing walked out of the room alone and walked behind Zhao Xiaoqian.

"Is it solved?" Zhao Xiaoqian turned around and asked.

"It's resolved. Empress Dowager Liang's body has been placed in the coffin. The story goes that she died of a brain stroke. Tomorrow, we'll have Li Qianshun come up with a coherent explanation."

Zhao Xiaoqian breathed a sigh of relief. The two looked at each other and smiled easily.

The death of Empress Dowager Liang was good news for the whole world.

War maniacs have never been tolerated by the world since ancient times. Sometimes killing someone is really a good deed, and it has saved countless lives.

It's a pity that the matter was done too secretly and could not be announced to the world. Otherwise, what Zhao Xiaoqian and Xiao Guangjing did tonight would definitely be worthy of being enshrined in the immortal tablets by the soldiers and people of the Song and Xia countries.

Xiao Guangjing sighed, "Empress Dowager Liang is dead. This cup of poisoned wine is really strong. It took only a few moments to poison me. What is this thing made of?"

"That's just nonsense, it's just nonsense... The poison wine is, of course, made from the poison of the zhen bird. Legend has it that the zhen bird's feathers, when soaked in water, are extremely poisonous, and incurable even with medicine."

Xiao Guangjing immediately became interested after hearing this. He rubbed his hands and said with a smile, "Sir, can you give me some poisoned wine so I can use it for self-defense?"

Zhao Xiaoqian said sternly, "Brother Xiao, whatever you ask, I will certainly grant it. Come on, I'll treat you to a drink, and I'll give it to you while we're drinking."

Xiao Guangjing's face changed. Talking about drinking at this time was a bit sensitive. Empress Dowager Liang had just had a glass of wine, and now it was completely cold...

Then, Xiao Guangjing's mind was opened up. He and Zhao Xiaoqian were the only two people who knew about the poisoning of Empress Dowager Liang. Now that Empress Dowager Liang was dead, he, Xiao Guangjing, seemed a little... redundant?

"No, no! Thanks!" Xiao Guangjing refused rationally.

"Don't drink alcohol anymore, or don't poison yourself with alcohol anymore?"

"No need for that! I can do it myself later, so I won't bother you, my lord."

Zhao Xiaoqian grabbed his arm and said, "Tsk! Why are you being so polite to me? We've done something big together, and tonight we should have a celebratory drink. Let's go!"

Xiao Guangjing's face changed drastically. He clung to the pillar tightly, refusing to let go, and cried out bitterly, "No! I won't go! Prince, please don't go too far. Do you really have to kill us all?"

Zhao Xiaoqian was completely confused: "What do you mean by annihilating them all?"

"Do you still want to attack me? Want to kill me and silence me? Prince, I don't think that's necessary!"

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "I wouldn't have thought of it if you hadn't reminded me. Yes, you seem a bit redundant..."

Xiao Guangjing: “…………”

I really want to slap myself hard. My mouth is looser than the belt of a whore in a half-open door. Isn't this cheap?

　It is a historical fact that the Liao envoy poisoned the Queen Mother of Liang.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)