Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 137 Wei Wusheng, who knows everything

The morning assembly began once again.

Today, however, the morale of the court officials is clearly different.

When Sun Situ re-entered the court, he was surrounded by people offering their congratulations.

"As expected of Young Master Sun Qian, he has brought peace, prosperity, and stability to Zhang County in less than a year. Tax revenue has increased several times over." Others praised him eagerly. "With such achievements, he is sure to rise to great heights in the future."

“He is upright and straightforward, but lacks social skills.” Sun Situ smiled, then bowed slightly towards the Taiyuan Hall in the distance. “He only knows that the court is in trouble now and that we should work together to overcome the difficulties so as to serve the emperor.”

"Yes, such a deep patriotism truly sets an example for young scholars today," someone else nodded in agreement.

"Yes, this is true dedication to serving the country."

"Truly worthy of being the leader of the Kyoto scholars."

One flattery after another came.

It was as if Sun Qian had become the hope of their entire village.

“How can a scholar who has passed the imperial examination be considered a leader among scholars?” Sun Yan waved his hand with a smile. “He is far from being qualified.”

"With Young Master Sun Qian's talent, obtaining the mere title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) will surely be a piece of cake."

"Ha ha……"

We had a very pleasant conversation.

The expressions of King Wu, Zhao Yi, Ye Changqing, and others, who were not far away, were not so pleasant.

Each of them was somewhat gloomy.

Of course, there was no fear whatsoever.

It's simply because I feel that at this critical juncture, for the officials to act so openly is a bit too audacious.

"Could we use this doubling of salt and iron taxes to investigate corruption in other counties?" Zhao Yi asked in a low voice.

"We can't take things for granted."

Ye Changqing immediately denied it, saying, "These are all things that are out in the open. If they could be resolved, they would have been resolved long ago."

Don't take imperial power too seriously.

Let alone those dynasties that were divided into separate regimes.

Even in a unified dynasty, government orders could not reach the county level.

Since this corruption problem is so obvious, why didn't other emperors investigate it?
Some founding emperors did indeed investigate harshly and killed many people, but how many founding emperors were there?

In ancient dynasties, by the second generation, a large privileged class would inevitably emerge, and this class would be unshakeable.

If the emperor was so powerful, why would he need to sell official positions to raise money?
Why don't I just collect taxes properly?
Taxes are impossible to collect.

Sun Situ's actions were, in fact, selling official positions and titles.

It's just that it's done in a cleaner, more presentable, and more impeccable way.

“He could say that the taxes were saved because the county government tightened its spending and avoided expenses. He could also say that the taxes were extra donations from patriotic gentry who knew about the country’s difficulties. He could also say that because Zhang County was well-governed, it had a bumper harvest and all industries were thriving, so the salt and iron expenditures were even greater, which was an achievement of the officials.”

Ye Changqing's explanation made it clear to King Wu and Zhao Yi.

Attacking this point will definitely not be well received.

On the contrary, it carries a sense of suppression and exclusion, making it seem more like a party and government operation.

Sun Qian and Song Shi'an are different.

Song Shi'an had both merits and demerits.

Sun Qian's skill is pure skill.

If we don't commend them, it's a suppression of their enthusiasm. If, in the future, there are good years, production develops, and the economy booms, and the officials in charge of a region simply pay taxes as in previous years, getting away with nothing, that would be setting a bad precedent.

“Then His Highness Prince Jin…” Zhao Yi had a bad feeling.

The King of Wu also looked at Ye Changqing.

"I will definitely join the game," Ye Changqing replied confidently.

The logic is simple: now it's the King of Jin's turn.

If he doesn't fight now, there's no hope left.

The King of Wu's face darkened, and he remained silent.

Not far away, the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Zhongping walked over.

"You go first."

The King of Wu spoke in a serious tone.

When Ye Changqing saw that it was Prince Jin, he pressed down on Prince Wu's arm and reminded him, "Your Highness, please calm down."

"I see."

After King Wu said this, Zhao Yi and Ye Changqing left first.

The King of Jin and the King of Zhongping gradually moved closer to the King of Wu, who was looking back at them with a blank expression.

She looks a bit fierce.

Finally, the three kings met.

"Zishang, you go first."

The King of Jin also sent his younger brother away, and faced the King of Wu alone.

King versus king.

The two remained silent, gazing at each other for a long time.

Compared to the other officials, they were already late to the party. During the period of silence, even the dawdling officials eventually made their way to the main hall.

At this point, only two people remained.

"Prince of Jin," King Wu said with a hint of accusation after a long pause, "the court can only collect 800,000 in taxes from Sili Province. Yet Minister Sun can collect over 2 million. Do you think this is right?"

"Perhaps Sun Qian has some other tricks up his sleeve," the Prince of Jin said casually.

"Now that he has such methods, will you be able to control the Sun family if they take on heavy responsibilities in the future?" King Wu questioned again.

Not a single word he said was superfluous.

The Prince of Jin, without further ado, said, "Zhao Xiang couldn't defeat Ji Yuan, Han Yuan couldn't defeat Ji Yuan, but Song Shi'an went and repelled him. In the future, when he takes on heavy responsibilities, can you suppress him?"

The two were completely at odds.

As fellow princes of the same rank, none of them were cowards.

If it really comes down to a fight, neither side is afraid of the other.

“But Song Shi’an wants to establish military farms and compete with powerful families for population.” King Wu did not fall into the trap in his words and continued to refute, “If we give him power, he can solve the national treasury deficit, replenish the granaries, and enable our Great Yu to strengthen its army and launch a counterattack against the pseudo-Qi. In that case, won’t the country be the stronger one?”

“How could he possibly bring down a family that has stood for a thousand years?” the Prince of Jin retorted.

"Yes, it is difficult. Among all the states, my Great Yu has the deepest roots of powerful clans." King Wu did not shy away from this issue. On the contrary, he took the initiative to propose a solution. "Then why can't King Jin join me in promoting the military-agricultural colonies and strengthening my Wei clan?"

His olive branch has arrived.

This is the first time I've been willing to turn hostility into friendship.

He was willing to unite as brothers and protect the country together. His eyes even showed a sincerity rarely seen when he treated the Prince of Jin.

After a long while, the Prince of Jin revealed a smile.

"May I?"

The King of Wu seemed to sense the feasibility, and his tone suddenly became more positive.

"Zisheng".

Suddenly, the King of Jin spoke, addressing the King of Wu by his courtesy name. As the other was taken aback, he said slowly, "Since we met just now, you haven't even called me 'Second Brother' once."

You mentioned it three times, referring to the Prince of Jin.

The King of Wu's face darkened.

Instead, the Prince of Jin softened his tone: "Zisheng, will you treat me well from now on?"

One sentence, straight to the heart.

Even a powerful minister, no matter how powerful, would find it difficult to commit regicide.

However, if two brothers hold power, unless they are truly inseparable and respectful to each other, only two situations will arise.

He killed his brothers to consolidate his throne.

He was killed by his brother and lost his throne.

The King of Wu could, of course, lie and tell him that he would treat him well.

But since both are wholeheartedly concerned for their fathers and for the sake of the Great Yu kingdom, why doesn't the King of Wu, who is so great, relinquish the throne to the other and willingly assist the King of Jin?
They're all after the throne, so who's more noble than whom?
Neither of them spoke again.

The King of Jin abandoned his last bit of gentleness and passed directly past the King of Wu.

With his back to his fourth brother, he strode towards the Taiyuan Hall.

.........

The morning court session has already begun.

Inside Princess Changqing's palace, a maidservant was doing her hair and makeup when she said, "Your Highness, do you know that the returned Song Jieyuan is now able to take the imperial examination?"

Although the court assembly was several days prior, the inner palace was forbidden from interfering in politics, and the princess could not go out freely, so she received virtually no information. However, some of the maids, through their intelligence networks, were able to belatedly learn of some of the 'news'.

"Isn't he in jail?" Princess Changqing asked, puzzled.

So she told Princess Changqing all the important news from those days.

The most interesting example is that Song Ce's maternal grandfather, Cui Ting, smashed a minister's head with his cane.

But the only thing Princess Changqing cared about was...

Song Shi'an admitted to all the mistakes of that mutiny.

Is this something that can be acknowledged?
Isn't it dangerous?

She didn't have a clear idea of what was going on, but all she knew was that Wei Wusheng was currently imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court and knew nothing about the outside world.

.........

An old man, about thirty years old, carried a meal to the Imperial Clan Court.

He was one of Chen Bao's godsons and had considerable influence in the palace.

However, the Imperial Clan Court was too confidential, so it required an important eunuch like him to deliver it in person.

On the way, they encountered Princess Changqing, who was carrying a bronze bell for boiling soup.

"Your Highness," the eunuch said with an apologetic smile, "I'm carrying a meal, so I can't bow to you."

“No need for such formalities, Father-in-law,” Princess Changqing said politely. “I’ve prepared a red date and chicken soup for my brother. He caught a slight cold before entering the Imperial Clan Court. Could you please deliver it to him?”

"Your Highness, this is really..."

Before she could finish speaking, the princess placed a small gold coin on the plate and gave a pitiful look: "Please, Father-in-law."

He hesitated for a moment, but after looking around, he whispered, "Then you can put it down, I have to go quickly."

"Thank you."

Princess Changqing put down the chicken soup.

The father-in-law quickly left.

When he couldn't see the other person, he opened the clock lid, scooped some chicken soup with a spoon, and was relieved to find that there was no problem.

After delivering the tableware to the Imperial Clan Court, he stood guard at the entrance, waiting for the meal to end before taking the tableware back.

"There's chicken soup today too."

Although the Imperial Clan Court interrogated members of the imperial clan, it still carried a punitive element, and the meals were quite simple, with soup rarely served.

Wei Wusheng drank the soup while it was still hot.

He scooped up one of the dates with a spoon and ate it.

He chewed it a couple of times, then frowned.

He spat on his hand.

Then they discovered a small piece of silk hidden inside the red date.

When I opened it, there were words written inside?
It was still Princess Changqing's handwriting—

Song Shi'an took full responsibility

After reading it, he clutched the silk in his hand and looked up. The eunuchs outside the door were still standing guard with their backs to him.

How it was delivered is not the key issue now.

This sentence completely shocked him.

What does it mean that Song Shi'an took all the blame?

Didn't we already agree to take responsibility ourselves?