Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 99 The Emperor's Support for Song Shi'an

Song Jing left Dali Temple.

However, he never admitted to Song Shi'an's treasonous act.

Without substantial evidence, it's impossible to convict a high-ranking official of the third rank so easily.

Therefore, everyone in the Song family was simply under control.

During this time, people from the Dali Temple came to question him several times, but all of Song Jing's relatives insisted that they knew nothing, not even the steward of the mansion.

Because Sun Heng was the Left Supervisor of the Court of Judicial Review, he repeatedly sent people to coerce and entice the Song family, but he never managed to get them to talk.

The progress of the case has come to a standstill.

It wasn't Zhang Wen and those powerful families themselves; the authenticity of Sanming's impeachment letter couldn't even be verified.

Meanwhile, another piece of military intelligence from Shuofeng was relayed back to Sheng'an...

……

"Your Highness, good news!"

After entering the Wu King's residence, Zhao Yi ran into the courtyard.

At this moment, Ye Changqing and the King of Wu were discussing political affairs over a wine party.

Seeing his ecstatic expression, the two were somewhat puzzled, but at the same time filled with anticipation.

After all, Song Jing's situation was still giving them a headache.

"What good news?" King Wu asked.

Zhao Yi went to the table, took out the map, and then saw the wine cups and wine clocks on it, as well as Ye Changqing sipping a little wine beside him. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "Take it away, take it away."

After clicking his tongue, Ye Changqing moved the wine cup to the side.

The King of Wu also personally moved the wine-filled bell and put it down.

"Your Highness need not..." Zhao Yi had intended to instruct Ye Changqing, but unexpectedly, the Prince of Wu took matters into his own hands, so he said somewhat nervously.

"It's alright," King Wu waved his hand, not minding at all.

Zhao Yi then spread the map out on the table.

This is a border map, including the northern Liang, the southern part of the Qi state, and the border of the northern Yan state.

At the very center are Wuwei and Shuofeng.

"This is military intelligence from the north wind. The important figures should know about it before us, and they are currently in urgent discussions with His Majesty," Zhao Yi said solemnly.

The important figures here refer to nobles and high-ranking officials.

Zhao Yi's father, Marquis Huai, was also among them.

"Did your father tell you that?" Ye Changqing asked.

"Was it said by the Marquis of Huai?"

This was something that the King of Wu was quite concerned about.

Zhao Yi and Zhao Xiang were both from the Zhao clan of Qinzhou, but their relationship was not as close as that of Xun Yu and Xun You; they simply shared the same surname.

Of course, the relationship between people of the same surname naturally fostered goodwill in ancient times, especially since they were all nobles who had served the emperor.

They are basically on the same side.

However, there was no particularly strong consensus in the choices.

To be precise, none of the bigwigs personally took sides.

Zhao Yi and the King of Wu were childhood friends who grew up together. After the Crown Prince and the King of Ning died due to their political disputes, and the King of Wu suddenly had a legitimate successor, Zhao Yi, who had already entered officialdom, naturally became a member of the King of Wu's faction.

Because of this, he was warned by his father many times not to openly participate in supporting the crown prince.

Now that Marquis Huai has taken the initiative to reveal this information, does it mean he wants to side with himself?

The King of Wu was somewhat agitated.

“Your Highness,” Zhao Yi said somewhat awkwardly, “my father said… he won’t get involved.”

Seeing his reaction, the King of Wu's high spirits subsided. He then apologized, saying, "Shi Lun, I was just asking casually, don't take it too seriously."

In fact, the fact that the younger generation was socializing with the princes was already a very risky tactic.

For a nobleman to personally take sides with a prince is perhaps a bit too greedy.

Wei Yiyun didn't know what was wrong with her.

Perhaps, they really are in a hurry.

"Let me tell you the good news," Ye Changqing said, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

"Ah."

Zhao Yi pointed to some small marked Wulei on the map and said, "Song Shi'an removed all the Wulei except for the one in Shuofeng, and then burned them all to ruins with fire."

Upon hearing this, the King of Wu didn't quite understand and said, "I don't know much about military strategy. Aren't these cities within his jurisdiction? Why did he burn them himself?"

“It is so, Your Highness,” Zhao Yi explained. “These fortified cities were built by the traitor Zong. Normally, they could be considered part of our Great Yu. Even when Zhao Xiang went on his expedition, they helped transport provisions and supplies, allowing the army to rest briefly. But after Zhao Xiang’s great defeat, he was left with less than ten thousand remnants. The lords of these fortified cities then closed their gates and even destroyed the roads to prevent our army from approaching.”

“This is a matter of assessing the situation.” King Wu gradually understood. “Then Song Shi’an’s troops can’t be mobilized either.”

"That's for sure. I reckon these people definitely want to defect to Ji Yuan. The reason I thought we couldn't fight them earlier was because I felt Song Shi'an had too little power to control. Plus, with these hidden traitors aiding Qi, our chances of winning were truly pitiful."

Zhao Yi couldn't help but smile and said, "It's still uncertain how Song Shi'an managed to trick all these people out, but the military intelligence is certain: all the cities were burned down. All the fertile fields were reduced to ashes. In the area outside Shuofeng, for hundreds of miles around, not a single acre of land or a single house was left for Ji Yuan."

"The entire Beiliang Valley south of the Chishui River is ablaze with raging flames!" Ye Changqing was also thrilled.

Scorched earth resists Qi.

"Also, the tens of thousands of laborers from Wulei were all taken to Shuofeng City," Zhao Yi added.

The King of Wu was astonished: "They voluntarily left the city, burned it down, took the grain, and even made those people defend the city together. Are people's hearts so easily fooled? Is Song Shi'an some kind of sorcerer?"

“It does seem a bit sinister, but it’s all true.” Zhao Yi couldn’t trace the source anymore; he only knew one thing: “This means that after Ji Yuan crosses the river, the difficulty of logistical replenishment will increase again. Moreover, Song Shi’an currently has 50,000 men in Shuofeng City. Even if only a little over 10,000 are capable of fighting, and the city has no natural defenses, Ji Yuan will need to concentrate all his forces to fight.”

“In that case, he would have to mobilize at least tens of thousands more troops from the rear,” Ye Changqing analyzed. “But this would put even greater invisible pressure on him from the Northern Yan Kingdom.”

Unlike the Southern Yue and Qi, the Northern Yan state did not need to use the term "false" because it had submitted to the Great Yu.

What are the chances of winning?

The King of Wu needed a concrete concept.

“Originally it was zero percent, but after the Langya Mutiny, it should have been ten percent,” Zhao Yi said seriously. “Now, it’s at least twenty percent.”

"That's only 20%?"

The King of Wu frowned.

At this moment, Ye Changqing made a cupping motion with both hands, as if holding a watermelon, and slowly pressed down on the entire Northern Liang: "That's more than that."

“Yes!” Zhao Yi’s excitement truly stemmed from this. “We had only guessed that His Majesty would have no choice but to reinforce his troops. But now, Song Shi’an has shown His Majesty the odds of victory. His Majesty will definitely reinforce Langya in the west, Jiamen Pass in the middle, and Qiya Valley in the east. Even if he doesn’t launch a proactive attack, just by gathering troops there, Ji Yuan won’t dare to put himself in a predicament!” “I see!” King Wu suddenly realized. “What Song Shi’an was thinking from the beginning was to show His Majesty the possibility of winning this battle.”

“Fifty percent, the chance of retreating is fifty percent!” Zhao Yi held up a five and added, “Logically speaking, at this point, once we’ve taken Wuwei and pacified the northern half of the prefecture, we should be able to call a truce. But that person is Ji Yuan, and his ambition is terrifying. He would never give up without even trying.”

"Fifty percent is enough. We must fight hard for fifty percent." Ye Changqing stared intently at King Wu.

"How should we strive?" the King of Wu asked rhetorically.

“We can’t control the war, nor can we control the rest of the people in the city. So, they will definitely target the Song family. And Sun Heng, the son of Minister Sun, is still serving in the Dali Temple,” Ye Changqing reminded him.

King Wu understood the meaning and nodded, saying, "We must protect Song Jing."

“Wang Chen, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was only acting and was afraid of making a mistake. Now that all the officials have sided with him, he might be coerced by Sun Heng.”

"Go and give him a warning, tell him not to touch Song Jing." King Wu looked at the two men, "Which of you can go?"

Both of them shook their heads.

That's true, they don't have energy.

"Your Highness, we must take the gamble!"

Ye Changqing grabbed Wu Wang's hand and held it tightly.

"Very well." King Wu nodded, his expression solemn. "I will personally take part."

.........

"This Song Shi'an is really going to stir up trouble in Beiliang." At the Prince of Jin's residence, the Prince of Zhongping panicked upon learning that the emperor was about to take action. "How can we let him come back alive? Second brother, we have to kill Song Jing's whole family."

"Absolutely not!" The Prince of Jin raised his finger at him and said angrily, "This battle is about to begin. If we kill Song Jing's family now, we don't know if the news will reach Shuofeng, but Ji Yuan will definitely know. If we use this to induce Song Shi'an to rebel and surrender to Qi, then Northern Liang and even the entire Liangzhou will be finished."

"That's better than him becoming a supporter of the King of Wu..."

"To rule the world, one must first have a world to rule!" King Jin immediately retorted. "I don't want to hear any more of your schemes and plots to undermine the power of my Great Yu Kingdom!"

This time, the Prince of Jin was truly angry.

Wei Yiyuan could only lower his head: "Second brother, I was wrong."

"Since His Majesty intends to reinforce the troops, we cannot disrupt the stability in the rear. We cannot personally handle the impeachment of Song Jing. All our men must remain stationary," the Prince of Jin ordered.

“Yes.” Wei Yiyuan nodded, but then reminded him, “But Fourth Brother will definitely make a move. Once Song Shi’an has truly held his ground and returned to court, he will inevitably become a member of the Wu King’s faction. Then Second Brother, your advantage will be gone.”

Not to mention an advantage, there's not even a balance of power anymore.

The King of Jin was well aware of this.

"Of course I hope to hold on, but if I can't, there's nothing I can do," said the Prince of Jin.

He's really conflicted right now.

If we hold on, Northern Liang is safe, but we ourselves are in danger.

If he couldn't hold on, he would almost certainly secure the position of crown prince, because the King of Wu had made a grave mistake, but the state would be in danger again.

“Second Brother.” Suddenly, Wei Yiyuan had an idea. “We’re not the only ones who are afraid that Song Shi’an will turn from a rebel into a loyal minister. Almost half of the court is like that.”

"What are your thoughts?" the Prince of Jin asked.

"I don't know if it's feasible," Wei Yiyuan said solemnly, "but if it is, the dilemma will be resolved."

.........

After discussing important matters with several military officers in the military council room, it was already very late when he returned to his bedchamber.

No one attended to him in bed; the emperor sat alone on his dragon bed, being served by palace maids, and was soaking his feet.

As he got older, he preferred to spend his evenings alone.

Quietness allows his thinking to become calmer.

Just then, Chen Bao arrived.

The emperor casually asked, "What kind of activity has been taking place these past few days?"

“There’s been a lot of activity,” Chen Bao replied. “One of them is related to His Highness the Prince of Wu.”

Upon hearing this, his eyes narrowed. He slowly raised his head and asked, "What did the King of Wu do?"

"His Highness Prince Wu personally went to see Lord Wang Chen, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review," Chen Bao said.

"What is it?" the emperor asked.

"This servant does not know," Chen Bao replied truthfully. "These past few days, Lord Wang Chen has not visited home once. He has been receiving all visitors at the Dali Temple, and there are records of everyone, including His Highness Prince Jin."

"To meet openly and honestly." The emperor nodded and murmured, "Wang Chen is indeed clever, to open everything up. I'm afraid that if certain 'high-ranking officials' visit him at home, he won't be able to handle it and will be accused of secretly conspiring."

His Highness the King of Wu went there in person.

Song Jing was saved.

Unless someone of greater power comes to give Wang Chen instructions.

For example, the Prince of Jin, and myself.

"Anything else?" the emperor asked.

"These are memorials submitted by some officials." Chen Bao sent over some memorials through the eunuch.

"Too many, I don't want to see them," the emperor said casually, waving his hand.

It wasn't that he was lazy; rather, all these monotonous memorials had the same purpose: to request that Song Shi'an be severely punished.

Therefore, in all such cases, he would have Chen Bao mark it as read in red.

That's all.

What's so interesting about that?
"Your Majesty, among them, the military general Chen Kefu has submitted a memorial concerning military secrets, some of which are detailed here," Chen Bao said.

"He's certainly outgoing, always hanging out with those civil officials," the emperor remarked, then asked, "What did he say?"

"He said that this battle has evolved from a small skirmish into a major war, and Shuofeng has become the most critical point. If it really cannot be held, then Beiliang will be in danger. General Xiao Qun should be sent to lead his troops in person. With his prestige and the fact that he is a reinforcement, he will surely be able to take over Shuofeng. Then, an experienced general should be selected to guard the city," Chen Bao relayed.

Upon hearing this, the emperor smiled: "Indeed, it is a good method. If reinforcements arrive and Wusheng still refuses to open the gate, then the people below will not be happy."

Their righteous cause at the time was to defend the empire from the north wind, not to actually establish a separatist regime as a rebel army.

Now that reinforcements have come to help us defend the city, Your Highness, why don't you open the gate?
Once the door is opened, the principle can be followed—the ringleader must be punished, while those who are coerced will not be questioned.

"Chen Bao," the emperor asked, "what do you think they mean by this?"

Chen Bao lowered his head and said seriously, "Your Majesty, they are afraid that Song Shi'an has truly defended the city."

"In this world, who can win every bet? Seeing a possibility of losing, you want to kick the other bettor off the table? How can you, my dear ministers, do such a rogue and shameless thing?"

The emperor personally took a burlap sack, wiped one of his raised feet, and said, "Put them all on the gambling table. They are not allowed to run away until they have finished gambling."

(End of this chapter)