The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 866: grasshopper after autumn
Chapter 866: Grasshoppers in Autumn
“Originally, I advised you to give you a way to save the entire Li family, but… you and the left prime minister Li Mao not only want to save your entire Li family in this chaos, but you each stand on one side, no matter who wins or loses, in the end, if one of you dies, the entire Li family will not only be saved because of the other person’s achievements, but also because of the one person’s success.” Bai Jinxiu looked at Li Mingrui with clear eyes, “Is that right?”
Li Mingrui didn’t expect Bai Jinxiu to be able to guess his thoughts, but since she guessed it, he frankly admitted: “I’m just trying to find a way out for the entire Li family, a good way out! Just like when the male members of the Bai family died on the battlefield, His Majesty and Prince Xin wanted the entire Bai family to die, and the Zhenguo Princess tried to find a way out for the entire Bai family. It’s the same, both of them have no choice.”
Bai Jinxiu, with her hands behind her back, looked at Li Mingrui calmly: “It’s different…”
They are both trying to survive, but how can Li Mingrui be compared with her elder sister?
People like Li Mingrui don’t understand the Bai family at all, let alone his eldest sister.
Li Mingrui looked up at Bai Jinxiu, not quite understanding what Bai Jinxiu meant by “different”. But seeing that Bai Jinxiu had no intention of continuing, Li Mingrui just looked at Bai Jinxiu without asking any more questions.
Bai Jinxiu smiled and said, “Lord Li is more suitable to be a civil official and a counselor, not to lead troops in battle.”
“Yes…” Li Mingrui admitted frankly, “So, when King Zhenguo was still alive, he ordered the descendants of the Bai family to learn military tactics from a young age, to be tempered in the army at the age of ten, and to fight on the battlefield. This made sense.”
Bai Jinxiu followed Li Mingrui’s suggestion and managed to quietly send the news of sending people to contact the Pingyang army to the palace. King Liang did not disappoint Bai Jinxiu and Li Mingrui and soon took action.
On May 11, the eighteenth year of Xuanjia, the Emperor of Jin issued an edict to appoint Prince Liang as the crown prince. The former crown prince was demoted to a commoner and convicted of treason, and was beheaded on a chosen day.
On May 14th of the eighteenth year of Xuanjia, the deposed crown prince of Jin attempted to assassinate the Jin emperor when he was summoned by the Jin emperor. The imperial physician was unable to save him and the Jin emperor died.
On the same day, Li Mao and others knelt and asked King Liang to ascend the throne and preside over the situation. Due to this urgent moment, the coronation ceremony was kept simple and was scheduled for May 16.
Prince Liang, who had not yet ascended the throne, issued an edict as the emperor after setting the date of his ascension, saying that he had conducted a detailed investigation into the matter of Concubine Tong, and that both witnesses and evidence could prove that Concubine Tong and her mother’s family were wrongly accused, that the censor Jian Congwen was guilty of a death sentence, and that the accusation that the Second Prince was plotting treason was nonsense, as it was a frame-up by the late King Zhenguo Bai Weiting. Therefore, Concubine Tong was posthumously named Empress Dowager Ren De, and the Second Prince was posthumously named Prince Ba De Xian.
Prime Minister Lu and other old ministers were escorted to the main hall to listen to the emperor’s order, but the officials refused to acknowledge Prince Liang as the Emperor of Jin, let alone Concubine Tong as the Empress Dowager. Prime Minister Lu was furious and enumerated the eight evils of the Second Prince… How dare he call him the Eight Virtues? He even shouted that Prince Liang was a shameless person who plotted treason, murdered his king and his father, and framed his brother.
Li Mao and others also advised King Liang that when he ascended the throne, he should first decide on a posthumous title for the late emperor, and on no account should he posthumously confer a title on Concubine Tong and the Second Prince.
A group of old ministers opposed it, but the King of Liang said that whoever opposed it would be sent to accompany his father. Li Mao and his companions dared not say anything more. Officials such as Lu Xiang, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, Dali Temple Minister Lu Jin, and Honglu Temple Minister Dong Qingping would rather die than obey.
The King of Liang decided to behead a group of ministers, including the Crown Prince, Lu Xiang, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, Supreme Court Minister Lu Jin and Honglu Temple Minister Dong Qingping, on the day of his ascension to the throne on May 16th. Their heads would be hung outside the Wude Gate to deter the rebels in Yuanping and Shuoyang led by Bai Jinxiu.
When Bai Jinxiu received the news that the emperor had passed away… and that Prince Liang would succeed to the throne, she was discussing siege strategies with her generals. She was not surprised, but felt that she could not delay any longer and that the imperial city must be attacked by May 16 at the latest, otherwise Prime Minister Lu and other important officials in the court would be in danger, especially the Minister of the Ministry of Rites Dong Qingping, who was her eldest sister’s uncle.
But how to ensure that King Liang takes the prince’s life without harming the lives of Lu Xiang, Dong Qingping and other court officials is very difficult to control.
On the contrary, several generals of the Yuanping Army cried bitterly and made up their minds to avenge the emperor and capture King Liang alive.
Upon hearing the news, the eldest princess, who was sitting under the shade of a tree in Changshou Courtyard and teaching Bai Jinse how to play chess, dropped the chess piece in her hand. Her face was calm, showing no joy or sadness. After a long time, the eldest princess let out a long sigh, took the chess piece picked up by Nanny Jiang, and placed it on the chessboard.
Lu Ninghua was standing aside. She knew that the Grand Princess originally wanted to keep the Emperor alive for at least three to five years, but she had not expected that Prince Liang would become a variable.
But now, even Lu Ninghua could see that the dynasty was declining, let alone a figure like the Grand Princess.
At this time, King Liang was like a grasshopper in autumn, trying his best to make as much noise as possible to prove to the entire State of Jin that he had the ability to make things happen and to prove to the world that he was the master of Jin.
“Grandma…” Bai Jinse hesitated to make a move, and looked up at the eldest princess with a worried look, “Do you want to take a break?”
The eldest princess shook her head, took out a chess piece from the chess box, raised her eyes and looked at Bai Jinse with a smile: “We have to stop now. If Prince Liang makes a bigger fuss in the future, I’m afraid that grandma will be so angry that she will fall ill…”
Although Prince Liang is good at hiding his vicious intentions and disguising himself, the Grand Princess does not think that he is a wise man. Li Mingrui, the think tank around Prince Liang, has been arrested, and he either acts according to the opinions of the extremely selfish Left Prime Minister Li Mao, or follows his own temperament. Who knows what kind of trouble will happen in the future.
On May 16th of the first year of Yuanhe, the rebellious King Liang of Jin ascended the throne in the imperial palace and named the reign Yuanhe.
On the same day, Bai Jinxiu led his troops to attack Wude Gate from four gates at the same time.
The King of Liang, who had already ascended the throne, was wearing the imperial robe, a crown on his head, and an imperial sword on his waist. He stood at the entrance of the main hall, looking down at the deposed crown prince and ministers including Lu Xiang, Xie Yuchang, Fu Ruoxi, the Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, the Minister of the Supreme Court Lu Jin, and the Minister of the Honglu Temple Dong Qingping, who had been tied up by the imperial guards and taken to the main hall.
The ministers were stripped of their official uniforms, shackled, and became prisoners in white.
When the deposed crown prince saw the King of Liang coming out in his imperial robes, he trembled all over and cried out, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty… Please spare me! You have already obtained the throne, so please spare my brother’s life!”
The deposed prince was dirty and disheveled, with straw in his hair and a bad smell. He was pushed off the city wall that day and was so scared that he wet his pants. He has not been able to change his clothes until now.
Facing King Liang, the deposed prince had the courage to face death for a while, but ever since he sent Bai Jinxiu away that night, the longer time passed, the more the prince regretted it. He regretted what had happened to him at that time that he let Bai Jinxiu escape with the imperial edict.
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