Frost for a Thousand Years

Huai County was in chaos. In Sheng'an, it was just a series of memorials, but in Huai County itself, it was a war without gunpowder.

The five agricultural settlements were all affected by the same thing, and the chain reaction caused all the "machines" to operate slowly.

The main camp, which was personally overseen by Eunuch Lian, has even ceased operations.

"My lord, Eunuch Lian hasn't shown up at all, and now the entire agricultural settlement is in chaos. Moreover, the locust plague has begun to spread. You have to think of a solution!"

After finding Ji Zhi, the subordinate official made an extremely excited request.

He paced back and forth like a cat on a hot tin roof, at a loss: "But how can we act without Eunuch Lian's orders?"

He knew something bad would happen, so on the day he was promoted, he started to worry and was constantly on edge trying to shift the blame, afraid that this huge mistake would fall on his head.

Fortunately, after reviewing his actions, he realized that he had no choice but to obediently carry out the orders and fulfill the court's requirements.

If anyone has to take the blame, it definitely won't be them.

"Your Excellency, I know you don't want to take responsibility, but the responsibility can't possibly escape you!" The subordinate saw through his cowardice and immediately exploded.

"What do you mean I don't want to take responsibility?" Ji Zhi retorted angrily, his face serious.

How dare this subordinate speak to me like that? He's too arrogant.

"My lord, let's not mince words," the official said, dropping the pretense. "You know that changing the leadership of the military farms will lead to failure, which is why you've always obeyed Eunuch Lian. But can Eunuch Lian really take the blame for all of our mistakes?"

He didn't use "you," he used "we."

It means that not only you, but everyone else, including him, must also take responsibility.

“Eunuch Lian does indeed wield great power, but he was only in charge of supervising the construction of the imperial palace. At most, he made the mistake of failing to build the palace. But what about the land reclamation?” he asked again.

These words truly moved Ji Zhi.

However, he already knew this.

“I know we all bear responsibility,” Ji Zhi said frankly. “But it was destined from the beginning, so no one objected, do you understand?”

Upon hearing this, the subordinate official was immediately stunned.

I didn't quite understand, but I did understand.

"Go and understand!"

Ji Zhi tugged at his sleeve forcefully and then left.

However, the subordinate still didn't quite understand. He only knew that the man was leaving, so he said, "Where are you going, sir? We can't do without you at this time."

"Don't worry, I'm not running away!"

After uttering those words harshly and impatiently, Ji Zhi left the room, mounted his horse, and, carrying the prefect's seal, rode towards the military camp where the commander-in-chief of the agricultural settlement was stationed.

After dismounting, he took the seal and proceeded unimpeded all the way to Wei Wusheng's camp.

"Your humble servant Ji Zhi requests an audience with His Highness the Prince of Zhongshan," Ji Zhi said.

The guard went in to report, and after a while, the other party came out and extended his hand: "Lord Ji, please come in."

Ji Zhi nodded slightly and went inside.

Wei Wusheng was sitting at his desk, reading a military book, unlike the others who were anxious.

And this was entirely within Ji Zhi's expectations.

"Ji Zhi greets Your Highness." Ji Zhi bowed first.

Wei Wusheng heard this, but did not look up. He simply said calmly, "What are you doing here?"

"Your Highness, Eunuch Lian is nowhere to be found, and the military agricultural settlement is in complete chaos. I have come to ask Your Highness for help," Ji Zhi said humbly.

"Isn't it your business as the prefect to manage the land? You can decide for yourself," Wei Wusheng said casually.

“Your Highness,” Ji Zhi said very seriously, “there is only one Prefect in Huai County, and that is Prefect Song.”

Wei Wusheng paused for a moment, then slowly raised his head, looked at the man, put down the book, smiled and said, "He has taken his leave. Now you are the Prefect of Huai County."

“The Prefect will return,” Ji Zhi said sincerely. “This humble official will await the Prefect’s return, even though I am a convict.”

"Are you being too clever for your own good?" Wei Wusheng stood up, stared at him, and asked disdainfully.

"This humble official dares not," Ji Zhi said, bowing his head. "But this humble official knows that one must be grateful for the favors received. If it weren't for the old prefect, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to assist the new prefect."

Wei Wusheng's expression gradually turned serious, without a trace of amusement.

Song Jing brought four people with him. Each of them had been bribed by Jia Guihao and was inclined to align themselves with the Crown Prince. This was understandable, since they were nominally part of the Crown Prince's faction. However, some of them were not quite the same.

One of them, Zhao Hetai, became too close to the Crown Prince.

So much so that in the previous spinning top incident, he did the same thing as other real princeling officials, pledging his loyalty to the prince, fearing that he would be labeled as one of the "beating Xishan" gang.

This is betrayal.

But Ji Zhi did not.

“You’re not just being clever, you’re really clever.” Wei Wusheng raised his finger at him and said, “You knew the military settlement would fail, yet as the new prefect, you were completely obedient to Eunuch Lian, watched the military settlement fail, and took the blame. Of course, that’s not the biggest blame.”

What is the purpose of doing this?
He just didn't want Wei Wusheng and Song Shi'an to see that after he became the new Prefect, he did not actively serve the Crown Prince, strive for merit in land reclamation, or pursue the third-rank official position after the matter was accomplished.

The more negative one is towards Eunuch Lian, the more loyal one is to Song Shi'an.

"I am guilty," Ji Zhi confessed without hesitation.

He knew it was wrong, but he did not try to persuade Eunuch Lian.

They did nothing to turn the tide.

“Of course you are guilty,” Wei Wusheng said sternly. “The reason why wise ministers throughout history are praised is because of their stubbornness in doing what they know is impossible. You knew you would be wrong, so why didn’t you fight back? This time, Huai County is in chaos. Even if it was already out of control, why didn’t you try to quell it yourself? You were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. If you had done it, even if you had failed, would the Crown Prince have blamed you?”

"..." Ji Zhi remained silent.

"How do you think you compare to Wang Shuishan in your loyalty to Song Shi'an?" Wei Wusheng asked. "Jingxian County was the one that mobilized the most laborers, yet the area under his jurisdiction maintained order, and he even led the yamen runners and militia to personally fight locusts in the fields. Doesn't he want to prove that Song Shi'an is right?"

There is a paradox here.

The Crown Prince and Song Shi'an are vying for power.

The more actively Song Shi'an works at this time, the higher the probability of the Crown Prince's successful land reclamation, and the less favorable it will be for Song Shi'an to prove himself.

The harder Song Shi'an tries, the more he will lose.

The more they slack off, the greater Song Shi'an's chances of winning become.

So, do you love the Crown Prince or Shi An?

No.

Wang Shuishan would say, "To love the people is to have peace."

"I am ashamed," Ji Zhi said, his face already flushed, not daring to offer any explanation.

I didn't exert too much effort in the land reclamation this time, firstly because I didn't want to take the blame for Eunuch Lian, and secondly because I wanted to make it clear that I have always been a retainer of the Song family.

"Of course, this isn't something that can be changed simply by your efforts and setting an example." Wei Wusheng said, "I've seen everything that happened in Huai County. I know perfectly well who was in the wrong. No one can cover up the truth."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Ji Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

That prefect has no chance of becoming an official one after being appointed as acting prefect.

Forget about promotion, it would be a great mercy if he could just keep his position as prefect.

But this 'Song minister' did indeed stand firm.

"Go back."

At this moment, Wei Wusheng also gave his order: "Find Eunuch Lian and go with him to clean up that mess."

"What if you insist on not seeing me, sir?" Ji Zhi asked.

Eunuch Lian is already starting to back down; if we don't keep an eye on him, he might run back to Sheng'an. "Then we should send troops to protect Eunuch Lian."

Wei Wusheng glanced at him and reminded him, "What are the soldiers in your hands good for?"

.........

"Is the Crown Prince feeling better?"

The emperor asked the eunuch Xi, who was standing below the steps.

"After hearing about the major events in Huai County, His Highness has been working tirelessly to deal with them, exhausting himself and overworking. He suffered a brief period of unconsciousness, but he has now awakened and is slowly recovering," Xi Shan said.

"Can he come over?" the emperor asked.

"Then let's go take a look now."

"Go."

The emperor watched as Xishan left, his calm expression replaced by worry.

The incident in Huai County was entirely within his expectations.

When Song Shi'an resigned from his official post, his eyes had already seen the present.

Merchants fled, laborers went on strike, officials neglected their duties, and there were even reports of locust plagues.

Basically, there is not a single error.

Thousands of years of politics can ultimately be summed up in two words—accounting.

Whether you are a eunuch, a corrupt official, a famous minister, or a powerful prime minister, if you can understand the accounts, you will inevitably hold a high position and great power.

Initially, the crown prince miscalculated the accounts.

Four thousand gold coins were used to fill the food shortage.

The mistake there was in calculating the human heart.

Now, even though he has replaced the official in charge of land reclamation, he is still obsessed with building the imperial palace, and what he has miscalculated is an economic calculation.

The principle is really too simple.

Even if Song Shi'an were to do it himself, there would be no room for maneuver in the land reclamation. How could someone else possibly build another palace on his foundation?

This is the lesson the emperor wanted to teach the crown prince.

Of course, this is something that must be experienced.

This time, stopping the Crown Prince and teaching him how to do it might change the current situation and allow the land reclamation to end smoothly. However, there will still be an "what if" scenario in the Crown Prince's heart.

If I hadn't listened to my father's humble request to bring Song Shi'an back, and instead had personally taken charge of finishing up the military farm, would I have been able to complete the farm project while also resolving the problem of An Sheng's growing influence all at once?

That's definitely what he's thinking.

I did not do the right thing simply because I listened to my father.

I was just following my father's orders.

Perhaps my idea is more correct.

Now that he had encountered this ordeal, the Crown Prince, despite not being in good health, rushed to Xuanyu Palace the moment his father summoned him.

"My son, please see your father."

The crown prince bowed upon entering.

"Prepare a seat for the Crown Prince," the Emperor said.

"Thank you, Father."

After the crown prince sat down in the chair opposite the emperor, he glanced at the emperor, but the next moment he lowered his head, bit his lip, and said in great shame, "Father, your son has made a mistake."

"You made a mistake with those four thousand taels of gold," the emperor reminded him. "Back then, you also came with trepidation."

"Your son is foolish. Your Majesty has already warned me to this extent, yet I still err. Your son is unworthy to be the Crown Prince!"

The crown prince immediately stood up, knelt before the emperor, and his eyes were filled with tears.

Normally, the emperor should criticize such a major mistake, but seeing him like this, he smiled and said, "When I was young, I also made many mistakes. The time when I really stopped making mistakes was around this time, when I was about to retire."

"..." The Crown Prince slowly raised his head, looked at the Emperor, and asked anxiously, "Father, how did you make amends for your mistakes back then?"

“Every time I make a mistake, I feel like the sky is about to fall and I’m about to lose my throne,” the emperor said. “But as you can see, the sky didn’t fall and I didn’t lose my throne.”

These words greatly shocked the crown prince.

Admittedly, he really felt like the sky was falling.

After all, it was a farm he had invested everything in; now that it's turned out like this, won't something terrible happen?
"This time, where do you think you went wrong?" the emperor asked.

The crown prince was initially terrified and dared not face the memorials and the current state of the military farms, but after being with the emperor, his heart calmed down because someone was there to back him up. He even dared to review the battle: "There was a problem with the imperial palace, and the accounts didn't match up."

"Can it be built?"

"Yes," the Crown Prince said definitively, "but it must be built by Song Shi'an."

Although Song Shi'an's debts had reached their limit, and he had even started taking out loans to cultivate land, he could actually build a scaled-down imperial palace.

"Anything else?" the emperor asked.

“It is a mistake to let eunuchs govern,” the crown prince said.

"Then who should do it?"

"It should be..." As he finished speaking, memories flooded back into the Crown Prince's mind.

Ye Changqing is the son of the Minister of Agriculture.

If even he doesn't want to try, who can do it well?

“No.” The Crown Prince shook his head and muttered to himself, “Even without the imperial palace, no matter who comes, this land reclamation project will not work. Because from beginning to end, it has relied on Song Shi’an’s trust. Changing the person means rebuilding trust.”

The Crown Prince has finally seen the light.

The reason why the military-agricultural colonies were able to succeed was entirely because Song Shi'an was squandering his own credibility.

No one else could be like Song Shi'an, taking all the credit for winning or losing.

The remaining common people and wealthy merchants could not possibly continue to trust the Huai County government after the court replaced Song Shi'an.

"You now have two options," the emperor said, raising a finger. "Let the nobles help you resolve this."

The stalled project has been restarted.

Find someone to take over.

“However, the best time would have been the moment Song Shi’an resigned,” the Crown Prince replied solemnly. “The price to pay for helping someone in need is far greater than the price to pay for adding to someone’s success.”

The emperor was very pleased.

However, no statement was made.

"And the other way is..."

As the prince spoke, he lowered his head.

With his hands on the ground, he was in a dejected, forward-leaning, and unwilling state.

barley
Clenching his teeth, Song Shi'an's slap was too hard.

His arrogance was completely extinguished.

So, you're asking me to beg Song Shi'an at a time like this...

Damn! (End of Chapter)