Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 136 The Crown Prince is More Important Than the World
Song Shi'an did not suffer any setbacks while in prison.

If he were a death row inmate whose execution date was set, anyone could kick him while he was down, even a lowly jailer could talk back to him.

Don't assume that heroes returning from the north wind will be respected by those low-level officials.

Not everyone possesses simple values.

This is why they were called 'cruel officials'.

But after that court assembly, when it was confirmed that he would definitely be protected, the so-called 'official procedures' were not so strict anymore.

Even the food that was delivered was heated up.

Today, Zhu Amang brought the meal as usual, and while handing it to Song Shi'an, he knelt down and said, "Lord Song, I heard outside that you have succeeded and have registered for the imperial examination."

"I see." Song Shi'an was not surprised.

Xinyue, you are such a good woman.

Of course, Grandpa Cui also put in his effort.

Making such a scene in the imperial court would come at a great cost.

What is the price?

This means he can no longer pretend to be angry and then suddenly tap the other person's cane.

One should not step into the same river twice, nor should one be hit on the head by the same cane twice.

The cooldown of this skill is even longer than that of Kotoamatsukami.

Next time, the only option will be to use the "bending blow" on those newly arrived officials who are unaware of Cui Lao's famous anecdotes.

“But…” Zhu Amang said with some worry, “For a major case like this, even if a conclusion has been reached, it can’t be released immediately. It will take at least another ten days or so, because the Dali Temple has too many procedures to follow. And this time, too many people are involved.”

"so what?"

Song Shi'an didn't care much.

“You can’t read books or write articles here, which puts you at a disadvantage compared to others,” Zhu Amang said.

Do you think I read any books during the six months I spent in Shuofeng?

"That's really..."

"It's alright, passing the imperial examination isn't at the point where I need to open a book," Song Shi'an said calmly.

That one sentence really made Zhu Amang look incredibly cool.

Limited by his status as an ancient person, he found it difficult to express this behavior precisely in words, or what it was exactly.

That's called showing off, bro.

"And another thing," Zhu Amang added, "today, Sun Situ's son, Sun Qian, returned."

"What's wrong with him?" Song Shi'an asked.

“When he came back, he brought back more than a dozen cartloads of tax money,” Zhu Amang said in a low voice. “The entire Zhang County only has 50,000 people, but he brought back more tax money than some large counties with nearly 100,000 people.”

Upon hearing this, Song Shi'an's expression, though calm, took on a deeper meaning.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lord Song! I have to go now."

The jailer delivering meals was not allowed to speak with the prisoners privately, and each meal delivery could not be too long. Therefore, he left quickly after putting down the food.

Song Shi'an did not pursue the matter further.

Leaning against the wall, he fell into thought.

To be honest, he had considered that Sun Situ might want to show off his muscles.

Unexpectedly, it was so powerful.

Of course, I was forced into this situation by myself.

Without a doubt, the alliance between the Prince of Jin and Minister Sun is about to be formally formed.

The Prince of Jin had no choice but to bite the bullet and confront the Emperor.

He could not possibly follow the same path as the King of Wu in order to relieve his father's worries.

The logic is simple: King Wu went all in on the battle of Shuofeng, even personally participating in the fight. Therefore, all the profits from the victory in Shuofeng belonged to him, including those of himself and the Sixth Prince.

The person in charge of the large-scale land reclamation project could only be a member of the Wu King's faction.

If the King of Jin wants to become the crown prince, he cannot guard the kingdom of Dayu together with the King of Wu.

He betrayed the powerful families and officials, and then entered the land reclamation area, which was equivalent to being willing to be a concubine of the King of Wu.

For the emperor, what he most wanted to see was for the Prince of Jin to truly curb his ambitions, assist his younger brother, and for the brothers to work together to expand imperial power.

But he couldn't decide the fate of the Prince of Jin.

You can't stop your son from running for a better throne, can you?
and also.

The entire Sizhou was teeming with powerful and influential people.

No matter how influential a Sun Situ from Yangzhou may be, he cannot command the wind and rain outside his own power base.

That's because the powerful families agreed to cede some of their profits and jointly respect such a family leader, which is why they collected so much money.

Essentially, it was about forcing the emperor to make a choice.

When you get old, you should undertake a risky land reclamation project on your deathbed.

Or perhaps the powerful families of the land are giving face to the Prince of Jin, willing to weather the storm together, and have contributed a large sum of money—enough to stabilize Liangzhou and overcome this crisis.

If you were the emperor, what would you choose?
Song Shi'an acknowledged that Wei Ye was a very capable emperor.

However, the Dayu Dynasty had already reached its middle stage.

Decline was inevitable.

Didn't he want to establish military farms and strengthen imperial power sooner?
He thought about it, but it couldn't be too early.

He had already done everything in his power by initiating the imperial examination system, gradually perfecting it, and cultivating a considerable faction within the emperor's party.

If a generation does one thing well, that is a merit.

Wei Ye's idea is very good.

He established the imperial examination system, his son established military farms, and his grandson devised a plan to unify the country.

Even if they couldn't unify the country, at least the Wei family's rule was still relatively stable.

But fate is unkind.

Did the Prince of Jin not know that by doing this, he would only make the powerful clans stronger, and that even if he succeeded to the throne, his power would be constrained?
Of course he knew.

But if he doesn't do this, even if the Great Yu becomes rich and powerful, he won't be the emperor.

He'd rather not win the Finals MVP title than not win it at all.

Therefore, for someone who wants to become emperor, the Prince of Jin has not made a single wrong move so far.

If we were to analyze this, the most fatal mistake was only one—not choosing himself after Sun Situ's birthday.

If he had met with Song Shi'an back then, he would be the crown prince now.

But time cannot be turned back, and green beans cannot be cooked.

Now, we can only make the best of a bad situation.

"Stir it, stir it."

A slight smile played on his lips; no matter how many demons and monsters lay ahead, Song Shi'an paid them no heed.

As Zhang Gong said, "You can't win forever; you'll regret how ruthless you were in the first place."

Okay, I just need to keep winning.

In the palace.

The head of the civil officials, Ouyang Ke, came in person.

After he bowed and knelt in worship, the emperor offered him a seat.

However, unlike the Duke of Li, they could not sit opposite each other on armchairs.

Instead, he sat on a round stool to the side.

"Two million two hundred thousand coins." The emperor laughed. "So Zhang County is this wealthy?"

“Your Majesty,” Ouyang Ke replied, “Zhang County should be considered one of the lowest-ranking counties in Sizhou.”

"How come Sun Qian collected so much tax? Is he really that capable?" the emperor asked.

He's playing the Yin and Yang game.

Ouyang Ke couldn't possibly respond foolishly.

As a member of the Emperor's faction, even if he couldn't fully confide in the other party, he couldn't utter nonsense. So, after some thought, he said, "The local gentry of Zhang County are probably doing this out of respect for Minister Sun."

"If Sun Qian were to sit in your position, wouldn't he be able to collect all the taxes in the entire country?" the emperor said.

"If that's the case, I'm willing to step down."

Ouyang Ke said simply.

"Hahaha, you sly fox." The emperor raised a finger, and after teasing her, he changed the subject and asked seriously, "Is the conflict between this and the officials really that acute?"

“There are certainly many people who harbor resentment, but that shouldn’t be the case for everyone,” Ouyang Ke said truthfully. “Compared to supporting Sun Qian, I think that at present, we should still implement the military-agricultural colonies.”

Upon hearing these two words, the emperor's expression froze for a moment.

After staring at the person with their head down for a long time, he asked, "Are you willing to support land reclamation?"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to support all decisions made by Your Majesty."

"Then are you willing to support the King of Wu?"

When the King of Wu was mentioned, Ouyang Ke immediately replied resolutely, "Whatever Your Majesty commands, I will do."

He was politely declining.

Ouyang Ke was unwilling to directly become a member of the Wu King's faction.

Of course, it's not that we can't talk about it at all.

The emperor needs to give him a sense of security.

That is, to appoint the King of Wu as the crown prince.

After all, it's not very meaningful for such a powerful minister to take the risk of choosing sides.

The emperor directly appointed him as the crown prince and entrusted him with the responsibility of governing the young emperor; of course, he was willing to do so.

But the conflict between Wu and Jin is not over yet.

The Prince of Jin still faces the risk of becoming the crown prince.

If he chooses the wrong side, he will definitely be purged.

That's the old fox.

“I cannot directly appoint the King of Wu as the crown prince. If the military-agricultural colonies fail and the King of Wu is then reinstated, the foundation of the state will surely be shaken.”

In order to secure the Wei dynasty's rule, they quickly installed the Prince of Jin as soon as the military-agricultural colonies failed.

Even if the powerful families become even stronger, at least the country is preserved.

"Your Majesty is holy."

Ouyang Ke's refusal to get involved in the selection of an heir was too dangerous, so whatever the emperor said went.

All he could do was, as the head of all officials, not to be an opposition figure.

However, it is impossible for someone in this position to simply not oppose it.

The position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat is extremely important.

The appointment, removal, and promotion of all important officials in the country must pass through here.

If the military-agricultural colony policy is to be implemented, a new batch of officials from the "military-agricultural colony faction" must be introduced.

Reform can only be carried out by people who are of one mind.

Otherwise, this reform cannot be changed.

Wei Ye has reached a crossroads in his life.

The future of the entire Dayu Kingdom rests in his hands.

Betting on the fate of the nation

"His Majesty."

Slowly, Ouyang Ke stepped forward, prostrated himself before him, and said with his head bowed, "Your subject is willing to relinquish the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat."

"Give it to whom?" the emperor demanded, annoyed. "To Minister Sun?"

It absolutely could not be Sun Situ's.

The Minister of the Imperial Secretariat has far greater authority than the Minister of Works.

But the Minister of Works is a high-ranking official, the head of the Three Dukes, so to become the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat would be a demotion.

That's against the rules.

But it's even less likely to be reasonable.

The emperor was just saying things out of anger.

“Your Majesty,” Ouyang Ke raised his head and said quite seriously, “Song Jing is suitable to be the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.”

Song Shi'an wanted to establish military farms, which required a new group of officials.

His father controlled the appointment and removal of officials, which made things much more convenient.

"How can someone be promoted directly from the third rank to the first rank?" the emperor retorted.

Ouyang Ke, however, remained remarkably calm and said, "The current Minister of the Imperial Secretariat can be promoted to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Then Song Jing can be promoted to Minister of the Imperial Secretariat."

This Lord Ouyang knows everything.

Furthermore, he gave the emperor what he considered to be the best solution.

The position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, as the de facto prime minister, has already been severely weakened.

However, the emperor was still worried that its power was too great, so he set up a Minister of the Imperial Secretariat to check it.

Although the Shangshu Pushe was only a second-rank official in the inflated Da Yu rank system, this second-rank official wielded more power than many first-rank officials with slightly lower authority.

"Will you be able to suppress Song Jing in the future?" the emperor asked.

Song Jing had to step forward, but he couldn't be allowed to stand alone in front of everyone and wield absolute power in Da Yu.

Quite calmly, Ouyang Ke replied, "Yes."

"That's it."

The emperor agreed to his decision and arranged, "After Song Jing ascends the throne, you will go and feign illness for six months."

Ouyang Ke bowed slowly and said, "Your subject has fallen ill by imperial decree."

(End of this chapter)