Ning Wang Song Cheng should be regarded as an outlier in the entire Song clan, and he has been different since he was a child.

Most of the children of the Song family do not love the country but love beauty... Oh, no, they love freedom. They don't want to be tied down by the throne and they don't want to be held back by those red tapes and rules and regulations, so they don't want to be held back by the throne.

I thought of various excuses and ways to stay away from Xijing and the palace.

But King Ning is particularly different. From the day he was enlightened, he has shown his extraordinary intelligence and his side that is completely different from that of his brothers and clan members. Those who are responsible for teaching the princes and clan members the knowledge

Great Confucians may be a little dissatisfied with other princes and clan members, but they have always been full of praise for Prince Ning.

The only regret is that King Ning was born with a weak body and was not that good in martial arts. However, he was familiar with the art of war and was willing to talk to the generals who led the troops. He would even set up a sand table in his dormitory to review each battle.

A battle. If he loses this battle, he will analyze why he lost, where he lost, and how to handle this situation better next time. If he wins this battle, he will also figure out how to defeat the enemy.

Where is the strength of the military, what are the shortcomings, and what needs to be improved.

Although this approach was basically the same as talking on paper, it also won Prince Ning a good reputation for being down-to-earth, willing to learn, and not ashamed to ask questions from his subordinates.

As soon as King Ning's sixteenth birthday passed, he left the palace and established a government office. The late emperor loved his younger brother very much and directly made him a prince and arranged for him to study in the Ministry of Rites.

At that time, the late emperor had only been on the throne for a few years. The situation in the country was relatively stable, there were no particularly big natural or man-made disasters, and the people were living and working in peace and contentment. However, the situation at the border was not very optimistic. Foreign invaders were repeatedly invaded, and the people at the border were in panic.

All day long.

Prince Ning originally wanted to go to the Ministry of War to do his part. Although he couldn't really go to the border to fight like many brothers, he could still help make some plans. But unexpectedly, he was directly arranged by the emperor's brother to go there.

It is absolutely impossible for the leisurely Ministry of Rites to say that he is not disappointed.

But Jun Wuxi said that since the imperial edict had been issued, there was no possibility of changing it. No matter how unhappy Prince Ning was, he could only report it to the Ministry of Rites.

However, the time when he went to study at the Ministry of Etiquette was the time when the Queen Mother was Qianqiu, and everyone in the Ministry of Rites was busy with the Qianqiu Ceremony.

As the youngest son of the Empress Dowager, Prince Ning was happy to offer his filial piety to his mother, so his slight dissatisfaction with the late emperor's arrangements was completely eliminated with the holding of the ceremony.

As Shen Cha listened to Song Jue's story, the confusion in her heart deepened. She had only known Prince Ning by his name before, had never met him in person, and had never heard his stories, because people around her, such as her

Her father, mother, Uncle Xue, her master, and Uncle Yan never mentioned this prince. The only thing she knew was that this wise and glorious king ended up guarding the imperial mausoleum.

"This prince's behavior has always been based on being a good king. Why did he want to be the emperor again?" While Song Jue drank water to moisten his throat, Shen Cha asked the biggest question in his heart,

"Or are these all his disguises? From the beginning, his goal was the throne?"

"The human heart is weak and a snake swallows an elephant." Shen Haolin sneered, "Ambition is also cultivated step by step, slowly."

"The Duke is right. Maybe he really wanted to be a wise king at first, but as the power in his hands grows, his ambition will grow bigger and bigger." Bai Meng sighed, "My grandpa I once said that if he behaves himself, he will definitely leave his name in history. It's a pity..."

"In my impression, this little uncle is very kind to others and has a very good temper. Even if others oppose him and point their noses at him and scold him in front of him, he will not be angry. The smile on his face is like a natural gift. It will always be on his face and will never disappear." Song Jue put down the cup in his hand, "It is precisely because of this that people will unconsciously get close to him and will not be wary of him."

"But no one imagined how much ambition he hid behind his smile."

"That's what happened. Many people were deceived by his appearance." Song Jue smiled bitterly, "I remember crying hard when he was arrested. Uncle Huang has always been very good to me. Father Every time the emperor and the empress wanted to beat me, he was the one who protected them."

"No, it's him who runs out to cover us every time." Bai Meng also sighed with emotion, "How wonderful it would be if we weren't obsessed with ghosts!"

"That's too far away!" Song Jue waved his hand and stopped mentioning the past events that made him sad. He continued with the previous story, "The Imperial Grandmother's Qianqiu Ceremony was a success, and he completed his first mission beautifully. It was bright. Especially when the Accounts Department later reported on the table that it was the one that cost the least but had the best results."

Shen Cha touched her belly. She didn't know why, but suddenly she didn't feel hungry anymore. She pushed the porridge bowl in front of her to Shen Haolin, and turned to look at Song Jue, who didn't look very good.

"That is, there is no extravagance and waste, but the most perfect effect is achieved."

"That's right." Song Jue nodded gently, "With a good start, his subsequent errands became better and better, and his prestige in people's hearts became higher and higher. The ministers had great expectations for him. The people have high expectations for this wise king. Compared with other clan members, including me, he is really a perfect and excellent candidate for the crown prince. There are even ministers who are vaguely looking forward to it. The day he succeeded his father's throne. Although I was still young at the time, I had seen the bustling scene of Prince Ning's palace. There were many people who wanted to join his family, and many ministers in the court strongly supported him becoming the emperor. My brother, they even wrote a letter to my father, requesting that Prince Ning be made the crown prince."

"I also remember this. The late emperor also specifically went to the nobles and clan members to ask for their opinions, but..." Bai Meng shook his head gently, "They all expressed their disapproval. It's not like the late emperor had no heirs, so why did he establish himself? What about making his younger brother the crown prince? The most important point is that the Empress Dowager did not agree, and even before her death, she forced the late emperor to promise that she would not make Prince Ning the crown prince."

"The wish of the Imperial Grandmother is that the little Emperor's uncle will become a wise king and leave a name in history, instead of stepping on his nephew to ascend the throne and be criticized by future generations." Song Jue sighed, "The Imperial Grandmother is a person who understands. , but the little uncle didn’t listen to him.”

"Was the late Emperor wary of Prince Ning from the beginning?" Shen Cha glanced at Song Jinyu, Song Qiyun and Ying Shisan who came over and sat down silently to listen to the story. Shen Cha continued to ask, "Has he never trusted Prince Ning?"

"Of course not. My father still believed in the little uncle at first. He really started to guard against him. According to my father, it should be when he was twenty years old." Taking the beef tongue cake handed to him by Song Qiyun, Song Jue He took a bite and said, "At that time, the little emperor was in charge of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household Affairs, and occasionally he would do some errands for the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry."

"Hubu?" Shen Cha frowned, "Control Daxia's treasury? If he wants to do something, wouldn't he be able to do it easily?"

"It's because of this that something went wrong. All the good things he did behind his father's back were revealed one by one." Song Jue glanced at the beef tongue cake in his hand with disgust and threw it on the plate. , "I don't know what the specific situation is. I just know that the little emperor's uncle regarded the national treasury as the palace's private treasury. This alone is enough to make my father thunderous and furious."

"Not long after the case of Prince Ning's corruption broke out, someone immediately accused him of raising private soldiers. In fact, it is normal for the prince's palace to have private soldiers, but the number and regulations of Prince Ning's soldiers have exceeded too much, and even The weapons used by these imperial soldiers are much better than those of the imperial army and patrol camps. At that time, some people questioned what King Ning planned to do with so many elite soldiers." Bai Meng lowered his head and looked at the tea cup in his hand. , "The late emperor ordered Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment to investigate the case of Prince Ning, and the result was that the Ministry of Works remade weapons for Prince Ning's palace. It seems that there is something involving the Ministry of War, but I don't know exactly what happened. Yes, I heard these things from the late emperor and grandpa."

"After the Dongchuang incident happened, Prince Ning was demoted to a commoner and was punished to guard the imperial mausoleum?"

"No!" Song Jue shook his head gently, "Father still cares very much and feels sorry for this brother who is twenty years younger than him. Even if he made a big mistake, he has made a lot of great contributions before. In addition, The relationship between their brothers is indeed very good, so it was just that the prince was demoted to the county prince and imprisoned in Prince Ning's Mansion. But..."
Chapter completed!