Frost for a Thousand Years

Who is Song Shi'an in Chapter 19?

The emperor was very angry.

Rarely has he been so angry with his son.

The reason given was a trivial matter that didn't really concern any principle.

Yes, Prince Jin, as the current eldest son, has done nothing wrong. After the death of the Crown Prince, he lived in fear and trembling for more than ten years, and he was also very diligent in his work at the court.

Why am I so furious?
Because the emperor sensed that he was truly getting old.

"Father..."

Startled by the shout, Prince Jin looked at the emperor, then quickly stood up, knelt before him, and said with tears streaming down his face, "Your subject is foolish and ignorant, please teach me, Father!"

Seeing him like this, the emperor's anger gradually turned into helplessness.

"Keep your head up."

The emperor calmly addressed the Prince of Jin.

The Prince of Jin raised his head, his eyes filled with fear.

He felt a slight sense of smug satisfaction when he forced the emperor onto the throne.

Only a father who sees himself as the true successor would do such a thing.

This is not something to joke about.

However, the moment the emperor uttered the phrase "Call me Emperor!", Prince Jin sensed the anger and displeasure in his tone.

It's as if he's saying: He's desperate to have someone like this as his successor.

He didn't want the emperor to completely abandon him.

After gazing at the Prince of Jin for a long time, the emperor said, "Do you know why this imperial examination is based on this topic?"

"The national treasury is in deficit, and the Qi bandits in the north are constantly harassing us... Father Emperor wants to implement land reforms to force those powerful families to concede profits."

The Prince of Jin forced himself to adjust his breathing so as not to appear too weak.

"you're right."

The emperor, seated on a round stool, looked down at the kneeling Prince of Jin, his gaze piercing: "When I ascended the throne, I was only eleven years old. The maternal relatives held power, and powerful ministers assisted the state. Power was passed down through generations of aristocratic families. Although I was emperor, I was constantly hampered and bullied. Therefore, I established the imperial examinations and special examinations to promote those from humble backgrounds to serve me. Moreover, I personally led military campaigns, fighting in the south and north, and personally suppressed any rebellions. Why?"

“Father, Father Emperor taught me,” Prince Jin continued sincerely.

"Firstly, waging war will allow us to control the military," the emperor said, emphasizing each word. "Secondly, whenever there is domestic turmoil or intense factional strife in the court, only war can mask these contradictions."

"My son, I understand."

"Now, I am old and have no chance to unify the world."

"Father, may you never grow old... Father, may you live as long as Heaven," the Prince of Jin said, his voice trembling with tears.

The emperor smiled bitterly, then said with a hint of earnestness, "Ziyu, if the Great Yu falls, what impact will it have on those powerful families? It's just a matter of a new emperor. But if our Wei family falls, will even one of us survive?"

The King of Jin never imagined that the Great Yu would perish...

Unexpectedly, the topic turned out to be so heavy.

"Therefore, we must take action against the powerful families."

"Father, I understand."

The Prince of Jin wasn't stupid; he was just afraid of making a mistake. Now, he understood everything: "This imperial examination is meant to elicit this 'Strategy of Military Colonization.' Then, the candidate who passed this exam will be selected as the top scholar. The top scholar's essay will be studied by scholars throughout the land. The national policy of military colonization will also be discussed among the people. Finally, we will have people jointly submit a memorial to the throne to implement the military colonization policy."

If you want to do something, you have to let the world see that someone wants to do it!

The Prince of Jin suddenly realized the meaning of his father's words.

A national policy cannot be directly promulgated.

Discussions must be initiated first.

This scientific expedition led to the publication of the "Strategy of Military Colonization".

It's not that whoever writes the best article is the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Rather, whoever guesses the emperor's thoughts will be the top scholar.

Of all the candidates in the world, there must be some who can talk about land reclamation.

When the Emperor saw the memorial in March entitled "Five Policies on Military Farming for Disaster Relief," the national policy of military farms had already been decided to be implemented! "Do you understand?" the Emperor asked again.

"This essay, 'The Strategy of Military Farming,' is not only the best policy essay in Sili Province, but also a model essay for the national civil service examinations," the Prince of Jin said with certainty.

The emperor closed his eyes and then nodded: "Ziyu, go and do it."

"Father, I shall take my leave."

Wiping away his tears, the Prince of Jin knelt and left the inner chamber.

Raise your hand and slowly turn around.

Looking at the back of his hand, which resembled withered tree bark, the emperor felt a pang of fear about aging.

"I just ran into Ziyu in front of the palace gate. He was trembling...did he curse at him?"

Empress Hua walked up to the emperor and asked, somewhat puzzled.

Raising his head to look at Empress Hua, the emperor asked, "From now on, who can shoulder this great responsibility?"

"..."

The empress and empress were forbidden from interfering in politics, and Empress Hua had rarely discussed this matter with the emperor, so she was taken aback by this question. At the same time, a hint of 'authority' arose within her: "Second Prince, Ziyu is now the legitimate son, the eldest son. Moreover, he has committed no wrongdoing."

"Where is Zisheng?" the emperor asked.

Zisheng was also the Empress's biological son, one of the legitimate sons.

When asked this question, the Empress became even more sensitive: "With Ziyu succeeding to the throne and Zisheng assisting him, the two brothers are of one mind. How can they not protect the Great Yu Kingdom? Furthermore, there are many candidates for the imperial examinations. Second Prince, why don't you choose one of them, train him well, and leave him a loyal minister to assist the country? Is that not enough?"

A loyal minister who assists the state...

These four words reminded the emperor of that cursed dream.

“Ziyu is kind and benevolent. If I were to unify the country, he would be perfectly capable of maintaining the status quo. In fact, he could do it very well.”

The emperor didn't think his son was entirely useless, but what troubled him most was the situation in the north. He sighed deeply, "But in these chaotic times, how could he possibly be a match for Ji Yuan?"

.........

"The 'Tuntian Strategy' is first, the 'Yellow River Ode' is second, and the 'Tier Tax Law' is third."

Back at the Imperial Academy, having wiped away his tears and fully regained his princely dignity, Prince Jin made a decision to the Grand Secretaries, including Gu Yixin.

No one disagreed with this.

In fact, all seven of them were perfectly clear-headed.

The first article is "The Strategy of Military Colonization".

What puzzled them was that the Prince of Jin hadn't noticed.

The son doesn't understand his father well enough.

"Then let's proceed with the unsealing of the anonymous accounts based on this ranking," Gu Yixin said.

“Since the rankings have already been set and there are no further changes, why don’t we unseal the ‘Tuntian Strategy’?” Zhang Zhao suggested.

"Indeed, it is possible. The 'Strategy of Land Reclamation' and 'Exhortation to Learning' were written by the same person, and the candidate for the top scholar has already been selected."

And so, with no problems in the procedure, a young scholar from the Imperial Academy slowly revealed his name with a cutting knife.

Sheng'an Prefecture, Song Shi'an.

Place of origin and name are thus made public to the 'public'.

It's no surprise that he's a candidate from Sheng'an.

The students in Sheng'an are of a higher caliber than those in other counties of Sizhou.

but,

Looking at the crowd, Gu Yixin slowly asked, "Who is Song Shi'an?"

The scholars all shook their heads.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Zhao said, "I only know Song Ce, not Song Shi'an."

(End of this chapter)