Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 66 The Urgent Plan

Holy crap, your mom... she really gave birth to a great son.

The anger that had just surged up in Song Shi'an subsided immediately.

I'm sorry, mine.

I was getting a little anxious, thinking that at this crucial moment when I had no choice but to act decisively, you were going to make me indecisive.

This is a survival instinct; you need to understand it.

“Your Highness, it’s not that I don’t want to resist, but that I can’t bear it,” Song Shi’an explained.

"No need to say anything more, I understand perfectly well. And this is something only I can do."

Wei Wusheng knew exactly what was going on.

If any general could mobilize troops and supplies, the Great Yu Kingdom would have been plagued by small rebellions every three days and large rebellions every five days.

This matter can only be handled by the prince himself.

"Moreover, once you start, you must be determined and never turn back," Wei Wusheng said with utmost seriousness. "Even if this matter succeeds, once the court finds out, it will definitely send envoys to strip him of his power and transfer the supplies and troops back to Langya."

The reasoning is simple: the emperor wouldn't believe that using all the resources would be enough to hold off the north wind, especially with Wei Wusheng in charge.

The recalls of 'gold medals' will continue one after another.

"When a general is in the field, he may disobey orders from others." Song Shi'an said directly, "The envoys sent by the court are all detained and imprisoned."

“But this is how it is…” Wei Wusheng frowned, struggling with the decision. “We don’t have enough control over the army. If we let the imperial edict reach the city and allow it to be issued, and then refuse to accept it, that would be considered treason. If we prevent it from being issued and simply detain it, that would already be an act of treason. If our subordinates are worried about being implicated, they might mutini.”

Once a mutiny occurs and Wei Wusheng is taken into custody, everything will be over.

Even in death, they are branded with the infamy of treason.

His words touched upon the execution aspect of seizing power.

Although that happened much later, it was indeed the crux of the problem and absolutely cannot be ignored.

The two then fell into deep thought.

"How about we intercept and kill the envoy halfway..."

Suddenly, Xinyue spoke up.

"How can you be so scary? We're all from Dayu."

Song Shi'an's heart tightened at her words. After complaining, he also agreed with some of Xin Yue's suggestions: "How about this, we disguise ourselves as bandits along the way and temporarily detain the imperial envoys. Although we may not be able to catch them all, we can still stop most of them."

“Good idea.” Wei Wusheng nodded.

Because of Xin Yue's rather hypothetical suggestion of 'ambush', Song Shi'an looked at her standing to the side and said, "Let's discuss the matter of seizing power together."

Then, Xinyue also came over.

The three people sat around a map on a small table and began an emergency meeting.

"Deploy a thousand Imperial Guards upstream of Langya... no, ten miles downstream." Song Shi'an pointed to a location on the map along the Yan River.

"Why?" Wei Wusheng asked.

"To lower the guard's guard's vigilance during the subsequent power seizure," Song Shi'an said. "Upstream to Langya is downhill, making the march smooth and quick. Downstream, however, is uphill, requiring a more strenuous turnback. Moreover, downstream is closer to the north wind, so no one should expect us to make a detour in the opposite direction."

Although no one would associate this arrangement with the possibility that a large army might be involved in a power grab.

However, such a detailed and urgent act as seizing power must be carried out with lightning speed, so as not to give people any sense of potential crisis that might arouse suspicion.

“Okay.” Wei Wusheng nodded, thinking there was no problem.

Then, Song Shi'an added, "We're supposed to be personal guards, but the number of people absolutely cannot be too large. How about just the three of us?"

“Then when the incident happens, it will be very easy to pinpoint your location,” Wei Wusheng said.

Upon hearing this, Song Shi'an laughed: "Your Highness, do you think that if this kind of thing comes to light, I can still remain pure and innocent and not be suspected?"

He's absolutely right.

His intention to come to Shuofeng was basically clear – he wanted to be a tool for Wei Wusheng.

Can Song Shi'an cover it up?

It is impossible.

Therefore, Wei Wusheng needed to take all the blame upon himself—even if others didn't believe him, so what?
If I kill him, I, Sun Wukong, will eat all 100,000 golden pills by myself!

“Yes, the fewer people the better,” Wei Wusheng agreed.

"I will do my best to complete my mission." Xin Yue nodded.

She's the only one here who has ever killed anyone.

In a real crisis, the other two people cannot be completely relied upon.

It's not that they're incapable, but killing truly requires resolve. Making that resolve the first time is incredibly difficult.

“The three of us will go to see the garrison commander. Then His Highness will press him step by step until he draws his sword,” Song Shi’an continued. “Once he draws his sword, we will use the charge of threatening to kill a prince to force him to disarm. Then, we will completely control him.”

Both of them felt there were no problems with the plan.

"But there is one more crucial thing."

Wei Wusheng raised his head and looked at Song Shi'an, saying, "If it's a hostage situation, then the garrison commander must be completely under control. In that case, a private meeting would be best. So, what reason should we use to achieve this?"

The matter was accomplished in secret.

But who would meet with a prince alone late at night?

A meeting was certainly necessary; given the prince's noble status, even at a time like this, he required his officers and soldiers to personally lead the troops out of the city to greet him.

But in that case, seizing power would be impossible.

The two men looked at Song Shi'an with piercing gazes.

If a plan had not been formulated with absolute feasibility, why would Song Shi'an have suddenly proposed it?
Very calmly, he said, "Your Highness. The greatest truths are the simplest."

.........

Langya, the Prefect's residence.

In front of the sand table, General Luo Ting, the Prefect of Cangwu, was discussing military matters with his burly and sturdy deputy general, Wang Dalong.

At this moment, a soldier came in and reported: "General, the Sixth Prince has arrived outside the city gate with two attendants and a letter."

"Sixth Prince?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Ting looked surprised and puzzled.

Then, he quickly stepped forward and took the letter.

"Why did the Sixth Prince come in person?" Wang Dalong was very puzzled.

"Your Highness has stationed the army at the ferry crossing ten miles downstream from Langya City. Tomorrow, they will depart by boat down the river towards the north wind. Is this why you want to see me alone at this time?"

Luo Ting was also quite confused.

Because there is no such logic.

If the intention was to call upon naval vessels, there would be even less justification.

When the Sixth Prince's cavalry relayed a request to use ships, he quickly replied and agreed.

After all, it was just transporting the army a short distance using empty ships; once the troops were delivered, the ships would turn back.

Generally speaking, this is perfectly normal.

After all, local troops need to fully cooperate during a march.

He came almost alone this night; could it be that he had something urgent to attend to?

Shaking his head, Luo Ting, completely baffled, opened the letter.

After reading it, he fell into deep thought.

"General, what does His Highness mean?" Wang Dalong asked.

Luo Ting waved his hand, dismissing the soldiers and guards, and said, "His Highness said he wants to meet with me alone to borrow some military equipment to take to Shuofeng."

“I’m afraid that won’t work,” Wang Dalong said. “General Xiao Qun hasn’t arrived yet, and the current governor and prefect have not given any orders. We can’t divert any supplies.”

"If I could decide, I would really like to give some to Your Highness."

Luo Ting sighed and remarked with emotion.

“Guarding the north wind is a matter of life and death.” Wang Dalong said helplessly, “Sixth Prince, it’s really a pity.”

Wei Wusheng possessed a great character.

The fact that a prince of such high status volunteered to rescue Shuofeng was a deeply moving act for those in the military.

The noble families only hoped that the northern border would be peaceful; as long as the deaths did not affect their wealth, that was enough.

But one person said, "I will go with you all."

At this point, his personal abilities can be completely disregarded.

“We have to meet him,” Wang Dalong said, a man of principle. “Even if we can’t borrow anything.”

"Yes."

Luo Ting nodded, looking at the letter with a hint of pity: "Sixth Prince, you've suffered."

(End of this chapter)