Chapter 196 The Fiefdom of the King of Liang

Chapter 196 The Fiefdom of the King of Liang

"Didn't you say it wasn't enough?" Shen Nanzi thought to herself, she still needed to buy more, she needed to get the money back from other foreign countries.

"War is really expensive!" She used to have three thousand private soldiers, which her brother handled with ease.

Now Ye Shuyin is providing for her with the entire nation's resources, but only once a month. Ever since he incorporated the army of the Prince of Huaiyang, Zhao Zhendong has been saying that the military pay is insufficient.

She was already worried about insufficient military pay, so she used her own money to replenish supplies.

Fighting a war without the support of the entire nation is incredibly expensive; we need to reach Luoyang as soon as possible.

"Enough!" Zhao Zhendong was overjoyed. "Why didn't you say you had five months' worth of military pay earlier? This old minister thought you only had a few days' worth of pay left."

Zhao Zhendong wiped the sweat from his forehead. In all his years of fighting, he had never fought such a lucrative battle.

He used to be able to take the harvest once a month, but it was often delayed or postponed, and he had had enough of that.

"A few days? How can my Cheng'er's soldiers go hungry?" She earns so much money for him, she has to earn more quickly.

"Luckily it's winter. If it were summer, how would we store all that food?"

As Zhao Zhendong listened to Shen Nanzi's troubles, he felt a joy he had never experienced before in his life—it was because she had too much food.

He will definitely work hard for the rest of his life, and with this Princess Jing by his side, he will never have to worry about food or drink.

She kept blaming herself, which was utterly absurd; she figured he must have put too much pressure on her.

After calming himself down for a while, Zhao Zhendong brought up another matter: "The Grand Princess and the two grandsons have been imprisoned in the woodshed. We will be leaving here soon. What do you plan to do with them?"

Shen Nanzi had already planned it out: "Take her and the Prince of Huaiyang to the streets of Huaiyang Royal City and let the people of Huaiyang judge them."

The Prince of Huaiyang has been here for quite some time now. If he works for the benefit of the people, they will surely forgive him.

Zhao Zhendong understood. "The Princess Consort handled it very well. This old minister will send someone to do it immediately."

The following day, Feng Miaoyin and the Prince of Huaiyang were imprisoned in a prison cart and departed from the Prince of Huaiyang's residence.

Yang Zhendong has already sent out a message that their fate is in the hands of the people of Huaiyang.

Many people who had lost their homes and families came, carrying stones and sticks.

Wherever Feng Miaoyin and the Prince of Huaiyang went, the people cursed and condemned her actions after arriving in Huaiyang.

“Our family’s harvest over the years has been stolen before we even got our hands on it. You’re all well-fed while we’re starving.”

"You've plundered all the copper coins we earn in our shop! Are you even human? Don't you want any of us to live?!"

"Have you opened your eyes to see what kind of lives the people are living, how many people go hungry every winter?"

"You've finally met your match. Look at the state you've driven the people to!"

"The grain in your granary is all moldy, and the winter clothes are gnawed by rats. You don't even give the people a way to survive."

“Princess Jing opened the granary and distributed supplies, letting us know that our suffering is all because of you and your son.”

Feng Miaoyin held Xie Hongchen in her arms and begged loudly, "Please don't hit my child, I beg you!"

"I was wrong! The child is innocent!"

"Your child is innocent, but aren't our children innocent too?"

“You are wrong. Do you know that since you came to the fiefdom, our lives have become worse and worse? You are the culprit who has killed so many innocent people.”

Later, her pleas for mercy proved useless; the people simply didn't want to listen.

This reminded her of the time when people would kneel before her, begging her and complaining about their hardships.

She heard it so many times that she eventually chose to ignore it.

Because in her mind, she was a high-ranking princess with a noble status.

Looking at these despicable people would only taint her eyes.

When a rock hit her on the head, blood immediately streamed down her face, and the pain blinded her.

Yeah! They're all a bunch of scoundrels.

She cursed, "You lowly people, if you hit me again, when I get out, I will make you wish you were dead."

"You are all lowly people, born to support us. If you don't suffer, do you think you were born to enjoy happiness on earth?"

“You lowly people are like animals. You beasts, if you dare to harm me, I will slaughter your entire family.”

"You beasts, you are all beasts worse than pigs and dogs. I regret not killing you one by one and letting you live to be humiliated."

The accusations of the common people and her angry curses intertwined, forming a trial of the royal family by the poor.

After only an hour of parading, Feng Miaoyin was beaten to death by the people of Huaiyang.

Xie Hongchen was knocked unconscious by the impact.

As more and more people gathered, Zhao Zhendong, fearing a stampede, evacuated the crowd.

They brought Xie Hongchen back to the Prince of Huaiyang's residence.

When Shen Nanzi left the Prince of Huaiyang, she took the two princes with her on the road.

Since he is the emperor's grandson, he should be taken back to Luoyang and imprisoned in the imperial prison.

Let the people of Huaiyang be convicted before taking further action.

The army of over 60,000 marched in a mighty procession toward the fiefdom of the King of Liang.

Following behind were abundant provisions.

They set up camp in Ningchun, the last city they had ever been in.

It was seven days later that everything was completed.

Before we knew it, it was the end of winter, and snow began to fall heavily outside again.

Shen Nanzi spent half a day in the military tent circling the sand table before finally arriving at a conclusion.

"General Zhao, don't you think this Prince Liang is like a tiger waiting to pounce?"

Zhao Zhendong looked at the sand table: "The Prince of Liang is the late emperor's younger brother. This fief was granted to him by the late emperor. The late emperor favored the Prince of Liang. It is only a little over 150 li away from Luoyang, making it convenient for him to return."

“He is Prince Ding’s elder brother,” Xie Chengze reminded him from the side, “and also Prince Ding’s greatest reliance.”

“The King of Liang has 50,000 soldiers. Wouldn’t it be easy for him to storm the capital?” Shen Nanzi said.

Zhao Zhendong: "With so many princes and grandsons still around, even if he attacks Luoyang, it will only be to support the prince he wants to put on the throne."

"There are still more than twenty princes and grandsons of the emperor. Which prince does Prince Ding support?" Xie Chengze frowned.

Shen Nanzi: "I have already investigated, and the other young princes do not have much unusual contact with Prince Ding."

"Could it be that they want to push their children into positions of power, since some of their children are already adults?" Zhao Zhendong speculated.

“If even the imperial uncles are not qualified for imperial power, their children have even less of a chance.”

Shen Nanzi shook her head in denial: "If Prince Ding killed all the princes and grandsons of the emperor, and was then executed, who do you think would rule the world?"

Zhao Zhendong trembled, his eyes widened, and he showed an incredulous expression.

“The Prince of Liang, the elder brother of the Prince of Ding, is said by the Princess Consort of Jing to be the mastermind behind it all.”

"Why is he delaying his actions?" Zhao Zhendong asked. "With his military strength, he could easily take down the Xue family and the Sixth Prince if he wanted to."

Shen Nanzi: "Because the imperial seal is in Xue Yubai's hands, and they have been unable to obtain it for a long time."

"You mean the day the Imperial Seal is found will be the day all the princes and grandsons of the emperor die?" Zhao Zhendong was surprised by this guess.