Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 85 A Complete Sweep, Immense Wealth
Its daybreak.

But the north wind blew, and the sky darkened.

The servants of those powerful families had no idea why they had moved the grain and money out of the treasury the night before.

Even some of the servants who helped with the transport were somewhat bewildered.

But early in the morning, all the heads, mistresses, young masters, and young ladies of the powerful families in the city were nowhere to be found. Only then did the abandoned servants realize that the masters had run away!
Soon, the people of Shuofeng City also became restless.

"Have you heard? Last night, all those gentlemen ran away!"

"And money was being transported to the south gate, truckload after truckload."

"Wasn't it said that the city gates would never be opened, and that everyone must fight together against Qi, without exception?"

"Even Zhao Xiang wouldn't let those people go."

"The Sixth Prince has arrived, how could you let him go..."

"Does this Shuofeng City belong only to us commoners?!"

"What happened to our promise to jointly resist the Qi traitors?!"

The people have a lot of grievances, but only a few stubborn individuals have actually voiced their protests.

The logic is simple: if you dare to scream, we'll kill you.

It is the responsibility of the people to defend the city.

What is the crux of the problem?

The tone was set too high.

After the Sixth Prince arrived, everything he said and did seemed to demonstrate that the military and the people were of one mind.

But actually?
Those who eat refined rice are not on the same page as them at all.

As a result, feelings of burnout and negativity gradually spread among the population.

A considerable number of people had gathered in front of the county government office. They were simply waiting there, doing nothing.

A group of single men, led by a few, gathered here.

Normally, doing such things would result in being arrested by county officials and dispersed and beaten by soldiers.

But people gradually gathered, and more and more people came together.

Because the soldiers and officials were also bewildered.

They couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

"Your Highness has already mobilized the Langya army and done this much, so why let those powerful clans escape?"

"Moreover, it's not just the Zhang family, but all the powerful clans."

"Why not just close the city gates and force them to resist Qi?"

"Or is it that even the Sixth Prince is no match for these powerful clans...?"

A sense of uncertainty about the future arose and quickly spread.

In fact, after a period of time, the matter will eventually pass after the forceful suppression.

When the enemy attacks, under the threat of the military supervisor, everyone will still have to fight hard to defend the city.

But sometimes, 'human nature' is a very subtle thing.

Subtle, yet capable of affecting many things.

If you have that moment of hesitation, you can't be 100% loyal.

Those who were actually more angry about this matter were the higher-ranking generals and officials.

They're all masters, so why do they get to enjoy life while we have to be loyal to them?
Sensing these dangerous emotions, Zheng Tong quickly squeezed through the crowd and entered the yamen.

At Wei Wusheng's door, the guard, seeing his hurried demeanor, said, "Your Highness has only slept for less than two hours..."

"Go and report this immediately, it's urgent!" Zheng Tong said urgently.

"Yes!"

The soldier immediately went to the room to report.

After a while, he came out and said, "Sir, please come in."

Stepping over the threshold, Zheng Tong anxiously went inside. Then, he saw Wei Wusheng sitting on the bed, his expression calm.

He had already put on his armor.

Calm and composed, as if he didn't care about any urgent matter.

No, he was calm, as if he knew everything.

"Let's go out."

Wei Wusheng stood up.

"?" Zheng Tong looked confused and could only follow behind him.

After leaving the room, the Sixth Prince's female guard seemed to have been prepared in advance, and immediately joined Wei Wusheng's side, the three of them traveling together.

He walked out of the county government office without saying a word the entire time.

The area outside the government office stretched all the way to the street and even the entrances of some houses; everywhere you looked, there were people.

There are more than a thousand people.

Behind them, tens of thousands of people, who dared not cause trouble but were also very angry about the matter and eager to know the reason and what would happen next, were also involved.

Everyone is watching to see what the Sixth Prince will do.

But everyone knew in their hearts that even if they did it, there was nothing they could do.

What, you are not convinced?
Of course, even if it doesn't help, they still have the right to hate.

Since all crows under the sky are equally black, why are you making such a big fuss?

"What happened?" Wei Wusheng asked the officials around him.

Since no one was called on, everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.

They didn't know if the Sixth Prince had instructed them to do this.

If you don't know your leader's true thoughts, then you shouldn't step forward recklessly.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

Zheng Tong was also a little confused, wondering whether His Highness knew or not.

If you didn't know, you went in just now to report this matter, so why won't you let me say it?
Seeing that none of the officials and generals spoke, Wei Wusheng stepped down the stairs and walked toward the crowd.

As soon as he left, all the people shrank back in unison.

Some of those hotheads quickly retreated and scurried back into the crowd.

Only the first few people remained.

"What happened?" Wei Wusheng asked.

It is the Sixth Prince.

Your Highness is the emperor's son.

The emperor is the true dragon, and His Highness is the young dragon.

The dragon spoke… and it was speaking to me… Immediately, the leader of the commoners knelt on the ground, cold sweat pouring down his face, frantically kowtowing: “Your Highness, spare my life… Your Highness, spare my life!”

Wei Wusheng walked up to another man, who was also stunned and immediately knelt down.

Next, the third man.

“Tell me what happened, and I will reward you with money,” Wei Wusheng said.

The man's voice trembled with nervousness as he said, "Your Highness... last night, a group of powerful clans left Shuofeng City through the south gate."

Upon hearing this, Wei Wusheng's eyes widened immediately.

Then he raised his head and looked at the people behind him. Incredulously, he exclaimed, "Such a thing is true?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Shi'an suddenly stepped out from the crowd and reported to Wei Wusheng: "Your Highness! Last night, Zhang Gong and his group of powerful clans spent all their wealth to bribe the soldiers guarding the south gate, opened the south gate, and escaped from the city."

"..." Instantly, Wei Wusheng flew into a rage, "They've rebelled! How could they do such a thing? Execute all those people!"

His Highness's outburst of anger silenced all the people.

Judging from this reaction, His Highness seems completely unaware of this matter?

At this moment, Song Shi'an spoke up again, saying, "Your Highness, this is wartime. Killing them would weaken our fighting strength. We should let them atone for their crimes and earn merit."

"No, how can this uphold military discipline?" Wei Wusheng said indignantly. "Even the centurions on duty should receive thirty strokes of the cane each, and then have their salaries confiscated for three years!"

When this punishment was announced, all the people cheered.

That's thirty strokes of the cane! Anyone who's even slightly weaker could be beaten to death.

Moreover, this included not only ordinary soldiers but also centurions.

"His Highness was indeed unaware of this matter."

"Otherwise, why would the punishment be so severe?"

"Yes, if it was His Highness's order, the punishment wouldn't be so severe. Otherwise, who would dare to do anything in the future?"

"But are those powerful families just going to let them go like that?"

"Prepare the horses, I'm going to personally go and bring those people back!"

Suddenly, Wei Wusheng, unable to contain his anger, made a decision and reached out his hand.

Soon, someone handed him the riding whip.

A warhorse was also pulled out of the government office.

Wei Wusheng mounted his horse and lashed out with his whip at the horse's rump.

"Your Highness the Sixth Prince is wise!"

"Your Highness is mighty!"

"His Highness the Sixth Prince truly kept his word and treated everyone equally!"

The people spontaneously cleared a path, allowing his horse to gallop through the man-made 'road'.

Xinyue followed.

Qin Kuo, who had just arrived and witnessed the whole thing, glanced at Song Shi'an and, understanding everything, quickly led a group of men to follow.

Standing at the entrance of the county government office, with his hands clasped in front of him, Song Shi'an looked at Wei Wusheng, who was revered by the people, and smiled with satisfaction.

Zheng Tong slowly walked over, leaned close to him, sighed, and said, "The grain that Zhao Xiang and I couldn't get, you took it all without leaving a single grain. And in one fell swoop, you emptied them of all the wealth they had accumulated over hundreds of years."

Looking ahead without meeting his gaze, Song Shi'an said, "It was His Highness who did it."

"Yes, yes, yes." Zheng Tong smiled bitterly.

"Is there any oversight in this matter?" Song Shi'an asked.

"The evidence is conclusive, and there are soldiers responsible for the misconduct. The records of this matter in the military supervisor, the chief clerk, and the registrar are absolutely accurate and there will not be a single discrepancy."

The military supervisors were specially appointed officials by the imperial court, and they were a group of officials who directly confronted the emperor.

Unless they are all killed, once the matter is over and they return to the capital, they will definitely have to report to the court.

If the details of the cases match up, then that's solid evidence of the truth.

"Chief Clerk Zheng," Song Shi'an turned his head slightly and said to him, "Are there any brothers in the army who get whipped in a way that looks really harsh, but actually doesn't hurt at all?"

Zheng Tong half-covered his mouth and said in a low voice, "Then let me introduce you to a few."

.........

Qin Kuo led several dozen men out of the city along with the Sixth Prince's personal guard cavalry.

However, with his sharp eyes, he quickly noticed the markings left on the ground.

Following the markings should lead to the direction the powerful clans fled.

Moreover, it can basically catch them all in one fell swoop.

Without servants or weapons, they would be killed if they encountered even a small group of refugees when alone. They had no choice but to stick together and find a place to go as quickly as possible.

Also, it's only an hour or so before we leave the city.

They can't get very far at all.

"Your Highness," Qin Kuo asked after riding up, "This whole thing must have been Song Shi'an's idea again, right?"

Wei Wusheng laughed, then asked, "How does this compare to direct takeover or forced requisition?"

"It's much better. Although it was justified to wage war, it will definitely be impeached after the war."

When powerful families see other powerful families suffering from the ravages of war, they don't gloat, unless they have a grudge against them. Generally, they think about what they would do if they encountered such an unreasonable and unyielding force.
If the Sixth Prince and people like Song Shi'an were to seize power, would they have any chance of survival?

"Although it's obvious to anyone with eyes to see, the bribery is real, and leaving the city without His Highness's permission is real. The greater good lies with us."

Qin Kuo was very satisfied with this: "Furthermore, with such a large sum of money in Your Highness's hands, there is truly great potential."

Too profitable.

"That's good."

Although Wei Wusheng said he would hand over power when he returned, why did he really think that way?

He wanted to stride into the imperial court together with Song Shi'an.

The speed of the noble clans was completely incomparable to that of the light cavalry. Therefore, in less than half an hour, they had caught up with their ranks.

Upon seeing these people arrive, everyone froze in terror.

Zhang Gong's pupils dilated in shock.

"You all bribed the city's officers to leave the city, are you perhaps unwilling to weather the storm with me?"

Wei Wusheng, with his horse firmly on the reins, paced back and forth, a smile on his face, full of vigor.

"Your Highness!" Upon seeing this, one of them hurriedly complained, "It was Song Shi'an who extorted money from us and promised to let us leave the city..."

"Do you have any evidence?" Qin Kuo stretched out his hand. "Physical evidence and witness testimony are both acceptable."

"..."

"What is the punishment for slandering an official of the imperial court without any evidence?" Qin Kuo asked solemnly.

Zhang Gong, leaning on his cane, looked up, then closed his eyes, his heart filled with despair.

(End of this chapter)