Chapter 822 The Benevolence of a Monarch
For three consecutive days, the prince, under the guidance of the strategists of the Great Yu Kingdom, met with court officials.
With advisors providing hands-on guidance, the prince made rapid progress, and within just three days, two civil officials agreed to remain neutral.
Neutrality means not participating in royal disputes, which is already a very good result.
On the fourth day, half an hour after the strategist returned home, he hurriedly rode to the palace and went directly into the palace where the king was.
Although King Asab is the ruler of a country, he is not usually busy with affairs. At this moment, he is having a snack in the garden with the Queen, the prince and princess.
The family of four sat together eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing, seemingly oblivious to what was happening outside.
The strategist walked to the garden gate and greeted the family of four with a cupped hand.
"What brings Military Advisor Milia to the palace?" The king gestured for him to rise. "Is there something going on in the army?"
Miria bowed her head and said, "In the summer, Your Majesty asked me if I could arrange an army specifically to protect the prince, but I refused on the grounds that I was too busy with military affairs. Now that the affairs of the army have been dealt with, I wonder if Your Majesty still needs an army of a hundred men?"
The king's face showed surprise: "A hundred men is not a large army, nor is it a small one. Aren't you afraid that Prince Alex will cause you trouble by assigning them to the prince?"
“Therefore, I have a presumptuous request…” Miria knelt directly on the cobblestone garden ground, her head hitting the ground, “I beg Your Majesty to grant my request.”
Wang could no longer sit still.
This strategist was the most trusted person of the prince, second only to the king, and never took the prince seriously.
I came here today to deliver troops to him, and he actually knelt on the ground and kowtowed?
Is the sun rising in the west?
The prince hurriedly stepped forward: "The strategist has something to say, there's no need for such a grand ceremony."
Miria refused to get up and remained prostrate on the ground: "My mother has been ill for more than ten years and has suffered for more than ten years. Now she has finally seen the light of a cure, but she is missing one ingredient. I beg, I beg Your Majesty to grant her wish!"
The king was very satisfied with his attitude: "The royal treasury has countless rare medicinal herbs. As long as you can name them, I will have them sent to you right away."
“Yes, yes…” Miria gritted her teeth and looked up, “The royal physician of the Great Yu Kingdom said that the medicinal ingredient is the heart's blood of the true dragon emperor…”
"Outrageous!" the Queen shouted angrily. "How dare the strategist covet the King's heart's blood! How is this any different from plotting to kill the King?"
Wang's face was full of disbelief: "A hundred-man army thinks you can exchange my lifeblood for this? Who gave you the guts? Is your mother's life worth more than mine? Fine, very well! Miria, you've successfully enraged me. Guards, hold him down and give him thirty lashes first!"
Miria knew this would happen.
But he had no choice; he had to make this trip.
He'd be willing to have his head ripped off if it could cure his mother's incurable illness.
He knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, I have consulted the state physicians of Assab. They said that taking heart blood does not necessarily lead to death. As long as the method is correct, it is just like being bitten by a mosquito..."
"So, you think you don't feel pain if a mosquito bites you but it doesn't bite you?" Wang roared. "Guards, give him a hundred lashes!"
"Wait a minute."
The prince stepped forward and knelt down with Miriam.
He cupped his hands and said, "Father, I have something to say, please hear me out."
The Queen pressed down on the King's restless hand and said softly, "Please speak."
“If the Queen is the mother of the nation, then the King is the father of the nation. Every subject of Asab is the father’s people.” The prince said calmly, “The King’s duty and mission is to protect every citizen. The strategist’s mother is just an ordinary citizen, and also the King’s people. If a father would risk his life to save his child, then the King should not hesitate to risk his life to save his people.”
Wang looked at his own son in disbelief: "You mean, you want me to give you my heart's blood?"
Miria was equally incredulous.
He turned to look at the young prince kneeling beside him.
Although a prince is born a prince, his presence is quite low. After all, even the king is just a puppet, let alone a young prince.
The prince never took the prince seriously, nor did he ever consider the prince to be important.
But now, the prince is actually begging the king to save his mother. Just how magnanimous and broad-minded must one be to do such a thing?
"For the past few months, I've been reading the books of the Great Yu Kingdom. They say that a ruler who is benevolent is invincible, and this must be the reason why the Great Yu Dynasty is so powerful," the prince continued. "The books also say that the people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important. This means that a ruler should place himself in the lowest position and practice benevolent governance so that the country can last. Father is benevolent and tolerant towards the palace servants; why can't he extend that benevolence to Old Lady Miria?"
Wang fell silent.
It wasn't because he thought his son's words made sense, but because he couldn't understand them.
Since establishing diplomatic relations with the Great Yu Kingdom, the envoys would bring back some books from the Great Yu Kingdom every time. The royal library has many books, but he has never even opened them. However, he never expected that his son had already read them thoroughly and could quote the sentences in the books with ease. His son is so smart that he will definitely be a good king. On the other hand, he has become more and more incompetent over the years.
If benevolent governance can earn even a sliver of praise for the royal family, it might be worthwhile.
The Queen grasped the King's hand: "Victor's words make some sense. Why don't we give it a try?"
The king nodded and looked at Miria: "You are Prince Alex's confidant, not my subject. I saved your mother entirely because of the prince."
Miria's eyes widened in shock.
He entered the palace to request an audience with the king, first with courtesy and then with force. If the king resolutely refused to give him his heart's blood, then he would directly send his army in to forcibly take the blood.
To him, the life of his elderly mother who gave him birth and raised him was a hundred times more important than the life of the king.
Even if it meant being branded a regicide, he was willing to take the risk.
But now, before he's even used his trump card, the king has already agreed to take his blood...
While Miria was still in a daze, the Queen had already ordered the royal physician to be brought into the hall.
"Please wait outside for a moment, strategist," the Queen said softly. "If anything happens to the King, I hope you can protect him... If the King pulls through, you need not thank me; it is what a monarch should do."
After she finished speaking, she turned and walked into the inner room.
The strategist knelt on the ground and heard the king's painful howls coming from inside the main hall.
A moment later, the prince came out carrying a small bowl: "Strategist, take your heart's blood back and decoct the medicine quickly. Also, this is another medicinal ingredient given by the royal physician of the Great Yu Kingdom. Swallow it along with the decoction to reduce the old lady's coughing up blood."
Miria bent down to take the things, then looked up at him and said, "Your Majesty saved my mother's life, so I swear here that one day I will protect the prince's life."
“I asked my father to save the old lady, not for the sake of the strategist’s reward,” the prince said gently. “Strategist, please go back quickly, lest you delay the old lady’s treatment.”
The strategist left, turning back every few steps.
Just as they reached the palace gate, they encountered Prince Ali, who had returned with the King of Qin.
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