Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 167 The Longzhong Plan: King Wu's Brilliance

"Congratulations, Lord Song."

The King of Wu, accompanied by Wei Wusheng, presented the Song family with generous gifts and offered his congratulations with a smile of great respect.

Upon hearing the words "Lord Song," Song Jing hurriedly said in a flustered manner, "Your Highness is too kind to me."

When a king addresses someone as "Lord Marquis," it's like an emperor addressing someone as "Your Highness, the Prince of Wu." If it were a family member, it would be a playful jest.

But who can bear the responsibility of dealing with foreign ministers?
"Haha." King Wu was also a man who enjoyed jokes, so he simply laughed it off.

"Without Your Highness, I wouldn't even know where my head would end up," Song Jing said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“The innocent will remain innocent, and the guilty will remain guilty. Lord Song has acted uprightly and honestly. Even without me, His Majesty will make a wise judgment.” King Wu said righteously, “The one who truly deserves to be beheaded is the traitor of Qi. He is a treacherous minister who colluded with the traitor of Qi and betrayed the country, a criminal.”

"But Your Highness's kindness will never be forgotten by this humble official."

Song Jing didn't offer any grand pronouncements, but continued to flatter.

"This time, the reason we repelled the Qi invaders in the north was because of the concerted efforts of Wusheng and Shi'an. They are the true heroes." King Wu did not hesitate to praise his younger brother.

Song Jing looked at the Sixth Prince beside him with great respect and said, "Your Highness is a prince, so noble, yet you risked your life to fight the Qi bandits. It is truly admirable."

“Lord Song, it is your son who has made me who I am,” Wei Wusheng said modestly. “Without him, I would only have courage.”

"Your Highness is too kind." Song Jing smiled sheepishly, then extended his hand and invited, "My son is still reading in his room. Please come in, Your Highnesses."

Just then, another powerful figure arrived outside the mansion.

Seeing this, the King of Wu said, "Lord Song, please rest assured and entertain our guests. We have only come to offer our congratulations. If we have said our piece, then our trip will not have been in vain."

Just as the two were about to leave, Song Shi'an hurriedly came over: "Shi'an greets Your Highnesses!"

This voice captivated the King of Wu.

So before he could even bend down, she stepped forward to help him up, her eyes shining, and said with a smile, "Shi An, get up quickly, no need for such formalities."

Wei Wusheng, standing to the side, smiled as he looked at the two of them.

The three met at Song Shi'an's home.

Upon first meeting this true mastermind behind the Shuofeng incident—a top scholar who ranked first in both the provincial and metropolitan examinations—King Wu was immediately captivated by his handsome, dashing, and incredibly confident gentlemanly demeanor.

This is the most influential person in the world; I must use him.

The King of Wu could not take his eyes off this young man.

Song Jing seemed to see the boundless glory of the Song family.

"Your Highnesses, would you mind moving to my humble tea room for a gathering?" Song Shi'an asked.

"Okay."

The King of Wu readily agreed.

Then the three of them traveled together.

They completely disregarded the so-called "forming cliques for personal gain".

Song Jing, who was standing to the side, was also not taken seriously.

However, he didn't care at all.

It's the era of young people.

Just then, Cui Ting alighted from his carriage outside the mansion, bringing gifts.

Upon seeing this, Song Jing hurriedly went outside the gate and helped the other person up, saying, "Father-in-law."

"Was that His Highness the King of Wu just now?" Cui Ting asked curiously, leaning on his cane.

"Yes, His Highness Prince Wu and the Sixth Prince have both arrived," Song Jing said with a smile.

The next moment, Cui Ting placed his hand on his shoulder with a serious expression and patted it three times, each time harder than the last: "Steady, steady, steady."

.........

A tea room in the Song residence was used by Song Jing to receive guests.

Song Shi'an dismissed all the maids and servants and personally poured tea for the two princes sitting opposite each other at the table.

“I never expected to meet His Highness Prince Wu in a place like this.” Song Shi’an sat cross-legged to the side, feeling quite incredulous about the current situation. He said with a smile, “Back when I was in prison, I heard Lord Wang Chen say that His Highness had been busy helping me and the Sixth Prince. Now that I was able to get out of prison and take the imperial examination smoothly, it’s all thanks to His Highness as my backer.”

Xiao Wei was initially a little reserved and uneasy, but Song Shi'an's words brought the two of them together and made him feel completely at ease.

It's like they're the bros, while His Highness the King of Wu is just the leader.

Regarding the issue of closeness or distance in relationships.

“It’s not just me, but also Zhao Yi and Chang Qing. They’ve always said that we can’t let the heroes who defend the country be disheartened, and we must rectify the atmosphere in officialdom,” King Wu said. “It’s just that they’re still on duty, so they asked me to deliver the gifts, and they can’t come in person. Of course, I’ll definitely see them next time.”

"I will always remember the kindness of General Zhao and Lord Ye," Song Shi'an said gratefully.

"Don't be so polite."

Seeing that he remained aloof, the King of Wu chuckled and joked, "I thought you were all 'King Wu's faction'."

This statement is very sensitive.

The King of Wu was quite direct and domineering, without any probing.

It seemed to carry an unspoken pressure, as if saying, "I've paid you and done my work, why aren't you being a little more affectionate with me?"

So, quite seriously, Song Shi'an sat up straight. Seeing this, Wei Wusheng also sat up straight.

The two of them clenched their fists in a salute.

Then Wei Wusheng spoke up: "Your Highness, we are the Wu King's faction."

With these powerful words, the King of Wu's sense of security was satisfied.

I just want to hear someone say it themselves: I am a member of the Wu King's faction.

“From now on, call me Fourth Brother,” King Wu said quite seriously. “There are no outsiders here.”

“Yes,” Wei Wusheng said. “Fourth Brother, Shi An and I will always be loyal to you.”

"Hmm, Wusheng." King Wu smiled humbly, then said to Song Shi'an, "Shi'an, you too. As our own people, there's no need for so much respect and politeness. Ye Changqing, who is also a talented scholar in the imperial examinations, dares to be improperly dressed and indulge in drinking and merrymaking in my palace. And I've heard that Shi'an is also dashing, unrestrained and free-spirited."

They respect me too much.

He's supposedly so arrogant.

Is this because I don't know her well?

"Haha, it's Shi'an who's being too reserved," Song Shi'an said with a smile. "In that case, I'll take the liberty of slightly offending Your Highness."

"Please." The King of Wu extended his hand, completely unconcerned.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Song Shi'an suddenly asked, "Your Highness, do you have any ambitions?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Wusheng was terrified.

Being a little closer is fine, but isn't this going a bit too far?

How dare you say such a thing to a half-step emperor?
King Wu was also stunned, because Song Shi'an's words were more serious than all the 'offenses' Ye Changqing had committed over the years.

What kind of person would dare to ask the king about his ambitions?
But he wasn't angry.

"Yes." Looking at the other party, King Wu said seriously, "I want the Great Yu to be strong, the people to be at peace, and foreign invaders to dare not invade my China."

Upon hearing this, Song Shi'an got up from the mat, walked to a shelf, and hung up a map.

“This is a map of the entire world.” Wei Wusheng recognized it at a glance.

“Your Highness, if this is all you aspire to,” Song Shi’an said, turning to him, “I’m afraid I cannot be a member of the Wu King’s faction.”

"Peace be with you!"

Wei Wusheng was frightened and quickly said...

“Disobedience”.

The King of Wu pressed his hand down, then stood up and bowed to Song Shi'an, solemnly asking, "Shi'an, please tell me, what should my ambition be?" "Your Highness, you are at the best time of your life," Song Shi'an replied.

"But the general consensus is that the Great Yu is in its worst moment?" the King of Wu asked.

“It’s not just the Great Yu that’s in a bad state. It’s the whole world that’s in a bad state right now.” Song Shi’an told him, “At the beginning of the division of the world, the founding emperors of the various separatist dynasties were all wise and powerful. But after several generations, or even several hundred years, their individual wisdom and power have become less useful.”

"But isn't Ji Yuan a powerful ruler?"

Wei Wusheng asked curiously.

“He was a powerful ruler, but he was the only one who was truly great,” Song Shi’an said. “Moreover, his ambition and achievements were not entirely due to his abilities.”

After saying this, Wei Wusheng also stood up, looked at the map, and nodded: "Because of his advantageous location."

“That’s right,” Song Shi’an said. “To the south, we are constantly harassed by the Baiyue. To the northeast, the Yan state is half-hearted. And to the north, the Qi state is even more ambitious. If we take the initiative to send troops, we will have far more worries about our rear than Ji Yuan does.”

“Yes, Xiangcheng in Northern Yan is closer to Ji Yuan and farther from us. Kang Xun is worried about the destruction of his country and will never easily send troops to Qi. As for the Xiongnu further north, they don’t pose much pressure,” Wei Wusheng said.

The two men's words made the King of Wu take the matter seriously: "That means that the systems of all the states are now rotten. Qi can fight us only because it has spare strength."

"Yes, they're all terrible."

Song Shi'an confirmed.

"Then how can we become stronger than all the other states?" the King of Wu asked.

"Do three things well."

Song Shi'an raised his finger and said seriously, "Firstly, the complete success of the land reclamation project has enabled us to raise a strong army that can fight in the north and south."

"Secondly, military merit reform and expansion of the imperial examination system. In today's world, powerful families hold sway. Both the military and politics are monopolized by these families. For soldiers, there is no room for advancement, so there is no fighting spirit. For upright and virtuous officials, if they are in a corrupt officialdom and are powerless to change it, they would rather live in seclusion."

"Thirdly, diplomatic mediation destroys the internal affairs of various countries."

"What about the third point?" Wei Wusheng felt somewhat confused.

The King of Wu also wanted to know how to destroy the internal affairs of other countries.

Now, even protecting oneself is difficult.

"Know yourself and your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger."

Without a second thought, Song Shi'an said, "The Northern Yan Kingdom is a warlord alliance led by Kang Xun. They stick together and have no ambition. Their only fear is destruction and the loss of their wealth. We can bribe powerful ministers to deal with them."

“Excellent.” Wei Wusheng agreed wholeheartedly. “If a country only has the desire to divide itself, then internal division and sabotage of major policies will suffice.”

Yang Guokai.

“In the Nanyue Kingdom, Sun Tuo appears to be emperor, but in reality, he has little control over his subjects. However, they share a common hobby,” Song Shi’an said, “which is to plunder us.”

“The Duke of Zhangping guards the south to prevent Sun Tuo from attacking,” Wei Wusheng said with a worry.

“Instead of stockpiling large numbers of troops and wasting food every year, we should use these forces to deliver a heavy blow to Nan Yue,” Song Shi’an said.

Upon hearing this, the King of Wu hurriedly reminded him, "However, attacking Nanyue will result in the loss of troops. Even if we capture a city, we will not be able to hold it and will still not be able to destroy Sun Tuo."

“No need to destroy them,” Song Shi’an said coldly. “After conquering them, we can simply establish a new king.”

"?!" King Wu exclaimed.

“A certain tribe that was his sworn enemy.”

After hearing this, the King of Wu was completely convinced.

This Song Shi'an is truly a genius!
These three points alone have arranged the overall situation of the world.

"The rest of our work involves reforming policies and conserving our strength. Ultimately, it's all for one thing."

Song Shi'an turned to the map, pointed to the vast Qi region, and said in a resounding voice, "Northern Expedition, Northern Expedition, Northern Expedition."

"The Northern Expedition..."

The King of Wu seemed to see thousands of troops galloping across the map.

He also saw a vast world, filled with the royal banners of the Great Yu Kingdom.

“Your Highness, I am certainly not the only one who can come up with these three strategies,” Song Shi’an said.

“But no one is willing to do it,” King Wu said sharply. “The nobles have long been corrupt, and the aristocratic families are thieves who cling to their own power. This Wei family is not their Wei family. Change is not what they want. Only Minister Song is different.”

Everyone knows the truth.

But the only considerations of aristocratic families are profit.

If one focuses on gains and losses, a thorough reform will never be possible.

"Song Qing."

The King of Wu seemed to understand what Song Shi'an was desperately trying to achieve: "What you want to fight for is a name that will last for ten thousand generations."

"Your Highness."

Song Shi'an looked at him, his eyes blazing, and said, "What you are to do is become an emperor for all ages."

"..."

King Wu Chao.

All he ever wanted to do was become emperor.

He did indeed have the idea of ​​a powerful Great Yu, but beyond that, he dared not even think about it.

Because of Song Shi'an's words, he seemed to have really seen an opportunity.

That is, now is the worst of times.

The previous dynasty was also quite bad.

The country has been divided for at least four or five hundred years.

If he could end the chaos, this achievement would definitely make him a great emperor for all time!
Song Shi'an also knew how much the other party would like the pie he had painted.

The general trend of the world is that if it is divided for a long time, it will be reunited and if it is combined for a long time, it will be divided.

This is something everyone knows.

But why, after being separated for so long, does no one want to reunite?

Because doing so is too risky, and most people don't think they'll be the ones to end it all.

I don't even dare to think about it.

China has a recorded history of over three thousand years.

Strictly speaking, there were exactly three dynasties that unified the country after ending a long period of division.

Qin, Western Jin, Sui.

Of course, luck plays a major role.

But most importantly, you have to have that mindset.

"Shi An, Wu Sheng."

The King of Wu was completely ignited and declared passionately, "I promise you that you will aspire to unify the world."

Wei Wusheng and Song Shi'an bowed to the King of Wu and said in unison, "We are willing to die for Your Highness."

What the King of Wu was most worried about was that he was unaware of Song Shi'an's ambitions.

But now he understands that he doesn't want to be a powerful minister.

His ambitions are far greater than that.

He wants to be recorded in history.

"Wait until I become the crown prince."

The King of Wu looked at Song Shi'an and promised, "You will be the Prime Minister."

(End of this chapter)