Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 97 Song Jing Steps Down, Officials Impeach Him

"Your Majesty, Zhang Wen of Beiliang, along with the powerful clans of Shuofeng, has impeached Song Shi'an."

"Tomorrow, the court meeting."

.........

The passageway leading to the Taiyuan Hall.

The King of Jin and the King of Zhongping received the greetings and salutations of the passing officials.

The two men walked slowly, their expressions quite serious.

"Second Brother, today's court assembly is all about bringing out Song Shi'an," Wei Yiyuan said in a low voice.

Although the Dali Temple had a high level of secrecy, Sanming's arrival was too conspicuous, especially considering that there were hundreds of officials in the Dali Temple, some of whom were members of the Prince of Jin's faction.

Similarly, there was also the Wu King's faction.

Therefore, the princes quickly obtained the secret of the 'joint impeachment petition from powerful clans'.

"Of course," the Prince of Jin said expressionlessly as he walked.

"Then what should we do?" Wei Yiyuan asked.

“Let’s see how the ministers act,” said the Prince of Jin. “Let Hua Zheng follow suit.”

Hua Zheng was Empress Hua's nephew, and thus Prince Jin's cousin.

Although he was also the cousin of the King of Wu, the King of Jin and he grew up together, were of similar age, and had a deep bond. Therefore, Hua Zheng was labeled as a member of the King of Jin's faction very early on.

“But Song Shi’an wants to be the Emperor’s weapon… If he follows the officials’ lead, will he offend His Majesty?” Although Wei Yiyuan was always shrewd, he was less extreme at this moment and was able to discuss things amicably with the Prince of Jin.

“Disobeying the emperor is what angers Father.”

The Prince of Jin said solemnly.

"Too……"

Wei Yiyuan is now finally able to understand some of the ideas of the Prince of Jin.

Doing less means making fewer mistakes.

Otherwise, should we act like Wusheng, making reckless and outrageous mistakes?

"But what if Song Shi'an really wins?" Wei Yiyuan asked again.

"If all the officials impeach him, what can we do if we join them? Does he dare to hold a grudge against us?" The Prince of Jin spoke with great confidence.

If someone insults Song Shi'an, he will definitely hold a grudge.

He will distance himself from a group of people who are criticizing him.

But if everyone is criticizing him, isn't that his own problem?

Even if he returned victorious, facing enemies from all over the world, he could only put aside his grudges and take the initiative to make friends.

Otherwise, he would find it difficult to maintain his position in the imperial court.

Even if the Prince of Jin's men join in the criticism at this point, he will still have to accept the olive branch extended by the Prince of Jin later.

"Yes." Wei Yiyuan nodded to the Prince of Jin.

The two continued walking forward.

Behind them were King Wu, Zhao Yi, and Ye Changqing.

"Your Highness, let's not say a word today," Zhao Yi said.

"Hmm." King Wu nodded, his expression serious, and he frowned slightly. "I didn't expect that our previous assistance to Wusheng would become a burden to us."

Right now, Song Shi'an is the most sensitive topic.

No one expected that he would instigate Wei Wusheng to seize power.

The King of Wu, who then devoted his entire fortune to comforting the army, was, to some extent, aiding the enemy and providing energy to the rebels.

Therefore, the public support he had previously accumulated has become his most troublesome dark history.

At this point, the only way to avoid giving others cause for criticism is to remain silent.

As the second heir, he won't be greatly affected by this.

That's normal; no one can open their third eye.

The King of Wu was very clear-headed.

Therefore, he would not utter a single word of blame for these two people.

"What if they ask?" the King of Wu asked.

Ye Changqing remained silent.

At this moment, after thinking for a while, Zhao Yi said, "Then let's go along with what the officials say, or rather, whatever His Highness Prince Jin says, Your Highness should say as well."

"Alright." King Wu nodded, then looked at Ye Changqing beside him. Seeing that he remained silent, as if still blaming himself for what had happened earlier, he gently patted him on the back. "Let's go."

The King of Wu and his followers also moved forward.

Behind the procession of officials, Song Jing's steps grew heavier with each step.

His former close colleagues also distanced themselves from him.

He alone carved out a blank space.

It was as if everyone was his opposite, repelled and unable to get close.

Cui Ting stopped, turned around, looked at him, waved anxiously, and called out in a low voice, "Aji, come here!"

Song Jing shook his head, his face ashen, and stood still.

Left with no other option, Cui Ting had to leave.

As the last person in this long alley, Song Jing, abandoned by everyone else, raised his head and looked at the road he had spent twenty years walking, for a long, long time.

After that, he walked alone with an open heart.

.........

Seated on the throne was the old emperor.

Although he was only in his early sixties, ten years younger than Sun Situ, his energy and spirit were not as good as that of the seventy-year-old man due to years of warfare, and he did not have that ruddy 'dragon-horse spirit' at all.

The officials below the steps are now clearly divided into different groups.

They either had to side with the powerful nobles or with the gentry of Jiangnan.

There are also those that are neither here nor there.

Ouyang Ke, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, was the de facto head of the civil service and was favored by the emperor, thus qualifying him to remain neutral.

Song Jing, the magistrate of Sheng'an, was a low-ranking but very important official position, and he could not choose sides.

It was precisely because of Song Jing's neutral status as a wild monster that both nobles and gentry breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, such a big trouble was not one of ours.

"Read the impeachment document," the emperor said calmly.

Then, Eunuch Xi read aloud this heart-wrenching letter, which could be considered a work of lament from a prominent family in Liangzhou, word for word.

Most of the aristocratic officials were furious, as if their money had been stolen.

Because their troops had indeed been seized, many nobles were enraged.

Throughout the entire process, Song Jing was the only one who stood calmly at the end.

"Song Shi'an, this is a mutiny!" Sun Situ immediately accused him. "Does he consider the troops of my Great Yu as his own? He's arbitrarily mobilizing them without orders!"

Only he dared to speak like that.

After he finished speaking, the courtiers erupted in uproar.

"Yes, yes, even if it's for the sake of defending the city, such actions will only disrupt General Xiao Qun's plans. If Shuofeng loses, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"He single-handedly dragged the entire Liangzhou into a perilous situation, all for his own wealth and status."

"Not only that, he is trying to cultivate his own faction and build up his own power base."

"Although robbing the wealthy clans is a trivial matter, as long as there is enough food to defend the city, wartime money is meaningless. He is enriching himself in the national crisis. He is a parasite on the nation!"

"Such heinous crimes must be severely punished."

"We must send troops into the city immediately before the Qi bandits besiege it, execute Song Shi'an, and take back control of the army."

Everyone who spoke had essentially the same attitude.

At this moment, Hua Zheng, one of the Nine Ministers and the Grand Master of the Palace (not the Grand Diviner) in charge of the nation's horses, slowly stepped forward at the prompting of the Prince of Zhongping and said: "Although the situation is still uncertain, what Minister Sun said about mobilizing the army without orders is indeed true."

After saying this, Sun Yan glanced at him. Although there was no smile, his expression was clearly different from his previous rage. (He gave a high five.)

Hua Zheng suddenly spoke up, and even specifically mentioned Sun Situ's behavior, which caused the Emperor and the Prince of Wu to simultaneously lower their lips.

"Since it was Song Shi'an who instigated Your Highness to allocate military power," General Chen Kefu slowly turned his head to look at Song Jing, "then, Lord Song, are you aware of this?"

The courtiers all turned around in unison.

Except for Cui Ting, whose eyes were closed and whose expression was solemn.

Song Jing didn't say anything, but slowly walked to the center.

He removed the black gauze hat from his head and held it in his hands.

After kneeling on one knee, he knelt down on the other knee as well.

He placed his official hat steadily in front of him, then prostrated himself in the center of the Taiyuan Hall and kowtowed to the emperor.

After standing up, he turned around and walked out of the hall.

As he left, two Imperial Guards followed him, one on each side.

The Song family has fallen.

Sun Situ smiled inwardly.

"We should take Song Jing as a hostage and force Song Shi'an to come out of the city to surrender," someone suggested soon after.

"Yes, this is a battle we can't afford to lose so easily."

"We must deliver Shuofeng to General Xiao Qun as soon as possible."

Everyone said one after another.

Just then, Ye Changqing, the Imperial Physician, suddenly spoke up, somewhat hesitantly: "Is it true that this impeachment letter from the powerful clan was delivered to Sheng'an by a servant?"

His words caused King Wu and Zhao Yi to widen their eyes in surprise and look at him with shock.

The King of Jin was also taken aback, not expecting the King of Wu's men to say something like that.

The Prince of Zhongping couldn't help but chuckle with delight.

I knew long ago that Ye Changqing was unrestrained and dissolute, and sure enough, he was capable of causing great trouble for the King of Wu.

"Is it true or not?" Upon seeing this, someone immediately criticized, "Today is a court assembly. How can such unfounded rumors be discussed in front of the palace!"

This sentence made the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review nervous.

He wasn't sure if it was just hearsay, but Sun Heng and Ji Ming both said they would present it to the Emperor, so he had no choice.

This Song Shi'an must be a traitor.

"That was not what I meant."

Ye Changqing's rank was not high, only a fourth-rank official, and his position was not important, barely enough to enter the imperial court. Therefore, when facing those of the first and second ranks, he naturally lacked confidence in his speech: "I was just saying, do we need to verify this again..."

"Langya City has been emptied out, what else is there to prove? If this wasn't instigated by Song Shi'an, did His Highness do it himself?"

After this sharp question was uttered, Ye Changqing fell silent.

do not talk!
Zhao Yi glared at him, trying to make him shut up.

"While this matter may have been instigated by someone, the Sixth Prince is also at fault," the Emperor said. "What do you, my ministers, think should be done to punish my son?"

Upon hearing this, everyone knelt down, including the princes.

The elderly Duke of Li also slowly knelt down.

“Speaking out is no crime; it is all for the sake of the Great Yu’s empire.” The emperor sighed and said, “Rise, my beloved ministers, and tell me what we should do now.”

Then, all the officials stood up.

"Minister Sun, speak," the emperor said, calling on him.

Sun Yan feigned some difficulty before speaking, "The Sixth Prince's intention to defend the territory for His Majesty is good, but he listened to slander and thus did such a thing."

"What if his good intentions backfire?" the emperor asked again.

This time, she looked at the others.

General Chen Kefu said, "At this time, resisting Qi is the most important thing. After dealing with Song Shi'an, we should give the Sixth Prince a chance to make a contribution."

These words did not elicit any change in the emperor's expression: "Is this what all my ministers think?"

In response, most of the civil officials, and a small number of nobles, bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Among the few civil officials who didn't react but instead echoed the sentiments, Ye Changqing was one of them.

He seemed to see the emperor's eyes, and he glanced at him as well.

In the end, the emperor decided, "Then issue three gold tablets to the sixth prince, ordering him to hand over military power to General Xiao Qun."

.........

Once outside the Taiyuan Hall, everyone was talking about it.

Only the three members of the Wu King's faction walked quickly without saying a word.

Once outside the alley and somewhere outside the palace, Zhao Yi immediately grabbed Ye Changqing by the collar and angrily demanded, "What did you mean by that one extra remark you made in the hall!"

The King of Wu was also very angry, but he did not curse. Instead, he held the jade belt with both hands, paced back and forth, and looked at Ye Changqing from time to time.

"..." Ye Changqing remained silent, his face still showing lingering fear.

"So you're scared now?" Zhao Yi wanted to punch this guy. "Then what you said earlier, going against everyone else, will make you disappear. Who will be on our side then?"

Even if someone who is independent and unaffiliated says such things, they will be ostracized.

Moreover, he represents the position of the King of Wu.

Looking at the two of them, Ye Changqing whispered, "Song Shi'an has mobilized the Langya troops, affecting the entire Liangzhou. Even if His Majesty is forced to send reinforcements, as long as we can hold out until winter, the Sixth Prince still has a chance to win..."

“What good is winning? Everyone hates Song Shi’an now except you!” Zhao Yi said through gritted teeth. “If your father hadn’t gone to Yizhou to help farmers, he would have beaten you to death if he saw you like this. You’ve already become the second-highest scorer in the imperial examination, yet you can’t see the trend of the times.”

"No, that's not right."

Finally, Ye Changqing couldn't bear it any longer. He pushed Zhao Yi's hand away, then looked at the Prince of Wu and said with some excitement, "The golden token can't recall His Highness, nor can it kill Song Shi'an. There's no other major factor at play; it all depends on whether Song Shi'an wins or loses."

"What are you saying? If that's really the case, why is His Majesty labeling Song Shi'an a traitor now and kicking Song Jing out?" Zhao Yi questioned.

King Wu looked at Ye Changqing, waiting to see how he would respond.

"That was kicked by the officials, not His Majesty!" Ye Changqing exclaimed excitedly.

Zhao Yi shouted, "Keep your voice down!"

"You mean, if Song Shi'an defends the city and returns, His Majesty will still give him an important position?" King Wu asked.

"At first I wasn't sure, I was just guessing what His Majesty was thinking, but after reading further, I completely understood."

Grabbing the King of Wu's arm and staring at him, Ye Changqing lowered his voice but said with great force, "Not to mention the officials, seventy percent of them were bullying His Majesty just now."

This one sentence completely baffled the two people.

The King of Wu seemed to sense the emperor's slight displeasure.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Zhao Yi retorted. "How is this bullying? Who dares to bully His Majesty?"

"When His Majesty said that the Sixth Prince was wrong and how to deal with him, how did the officials react?" Ye Changqing said, "Not a single one of them was willing to exonerate the Sixth Prince."

"This is not what His Majesty himself said about 'the freedom of speech'..."

Before Zhao Yi could finish speaking, the King of Wu pressed down his hand to interrupt, saying, "Indeed, no one is making excuses."

"Does His Majesty's statement that those who speak out are not guilty mean they can really say whatever they want? If His Majesty says the Sixth Prince is wrong, he can say so. But what about the others? How can they possibly admit it? And even propose how to deal with them?" Ye Changqing retorted.

The first lesson in the workplace: when your boss says you have free speech and can offer your opinions, you'd better not actually offer any.

"His Majesty wanted to hone Zhao Xiang's skills, but he didn't expect Zhao Xiang to suffer such a crushing defeat. His Majesty sent the Sixth Prince to defend the city, but he didn't expect things to turn out this way." Ye Changqing said this much, and then stopped there.

But what follows is obvious to everyone.

Even emperors make mistakes, and although no one can punish them, there will always be some resentment in the court and among the people.

"So what are your thoughts?" King Wu asked Ye Changqing.

“No matter what, His Majesty will devote all his efforts to this battle. Song Shi’an only needs to defend the city,” Ye Changqing said.

"Can defending the city really atone for all sins?" Zhao Yi was not sure.

"Fool! What sin is there left? If he couldn't be protected, he'd just be a corpse!"

He raised his finger and slammed it down on the ground: "If we hold on, he will surely rise to the top!"

(End of this chapter)