Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 214 Leading Troops on a Mission!

Lu Chao took the royal edict and went to the Qin region.

To be precise, this is Liaonan Commandery, but the vast majority of it is controlled by the Duke of Qin.

Duke Qin was also the governor of this prefecture.

Of course, we shouldn't compare Duke Qin to an ordinary prefect.

Being the governor of a prefecture only means that you can govern that area.

The reason why Duke Qin was appointed as the governor of this place was because it was his private property. At the same time, he was also able to manage it directly.

More accurately, he could be considered a prince.

Nanshuo County was also under the control of Song Shi'an and Wei Wusheng, but their rule over that area was still not as effective as that of the Duke of Qin.

They only had soldiers and cities; at best, they had won the hearts of the people.

But no matter what, it's not as good as winning over the 'people'.

Therefore, Lu Chao needs to demonstrate his superior political skills, rather than trying to intimidate the other party with a royal edict.

If someone truly believes that with the king's permission, they can act with impunity, they wouldn't last more than a few days in the ancient officialdom; they would be stabbed in the back more than twenty times and commit suicide.

After waiting for a while, Lu Chao finally met Duke Qin in a garrison fort more than ten miles from Cangliao Pass.

"This humble official greets Lord Qin."

"Lord Lu is too polite." Duke Qin nodded with a smile, then extended his hand, "Please sit down, sir."

Lu Chao smiled and sat down to the side.

Then, quite proactively, he said, "Lord Qin, there are some things I have to tell you."

"You all go down."

Duke Qin understood and immediately dismissed the rest of the people.

There were only two people left in the lobby.

"Lord Lu, please speak," said Duke Qin.

"Do you have a subordinate named 'Huang Tong'?" Lu Chao asked seriously.

Upon hearing this question, Duke Qin frowned. Then, he asked with a puzzled expression, "What's wrong with him?"

"He accepted bribes from Chen Xing and led his army to kill the envoy from the Yu Kingdom outside the pass." Lu Chao continued speaking earnestly, as if he were genuinely worried that there was a traitor among the other party's men and was reminding him to be careful.

This is the charm of language.

On the surface, it was Kang Xun who wanted to put Qin Gong in a bad light.

But when said aloud, it came out as Kang Xun showing concern for Duke Qin, telling him to pay attention to team management and not to be harmed by villains.

"He's really got some nerve." Duke Qin clenched his fist and slammed it against the armrest, looking extremely angry.

Whether it was Huang Tong who was bold enough to keep things from him, or Kang Xun who was truly meddlesome and audacious, remains unknown.

It's also possible that they were using veiled criticism to criticize something else.

Of course, you can complain all you want, but things still need to be done.

"If it really was this scoundrel who killed the Yu envoy, then I will certainly arrest him, escort him to Xiangcheng, and hand him over to the King for punishment." After Qin Gong finished speaking righteously, he added slightly, "However, we cannot conclude that it was really us Yan people who did it based solely on some rumors, can we?"

"What Duke Qin says is true, but now these rumors have reached Your Majesty's ears..."

"What I heard was that the bandits killed the Yu envoy..." Duke Qin said. "If the Yu Kingdom asks, I will find those bandits and hand them over. If they still insist on it, then that's another story."

“Yes, that’s for sure.” Lu Chao nodded, agreeing with him on this point.

If we can deny it, we won't.

But if you really admit it, you, Lord Qin, will have to hand over the person.

As for the bribe money, you can keep it yourself.

It can be considered as money to buy his men's lives.

"Lord Lu has come..." Duke Qin didn't beat around the bush. He had already heard the other's complaints, so now he was going to become the complainer. "What brings you here?"

"Lord Qin," Lu Chao said with great difficulty, "you should know that the Yu Kingdom is now mobilizing all its troops. The armies in Huaizhou, Liangzhou, and parts of Qinzhou have already begun preparing provisions and supplies."

“I know,” said Duke Qin.

“The State of Qi does indeed want to form an alliance with us,” Lu Chao said. “But at this critical juncture, if we agree to everything with Qi, the State of Yu will inevitably spread its influence to our Yan territory. How much support can Ji Yuan really offer?”

"Of course, we can't entrust our lives to others," Qin Gong said with considerable confidence. "But even if it comes to fighting, we are not afraid."

"With Duke Qin guarding the south, it's truly reassuring," Lu Chao said, first flattering him, then adding, "However, we should try to avoid fighting."

"Then I have a plan." Suddenly, Duke Qin smiled and took the initiative to say, "Isn't Song Shi'an going on a mission? Then we can use the excuse that His Majesty is currently facing a heavy burden of national affairs and also has an important annual sacrifice to hold, and temporarily block the passes to delay him."

“But Song Shi’an is already here, he can’t possibly go back…” Lu Chao said with some difficulty.

"So what about Song Shi'an? He just fought hard and won a battle, and rose to prominence. His bravery is commendable, but that doesn't mean he's wise and cautious. In fact, he's quite adept at handling this diplomatic mission," said Duke Qin. "Furthermore, it's not that we're preventing him from entering Yan, but rather that he'll proceed slowly and deliberately, on a composed mission."

This guy actually wants to lock the gate.

If he were to do as he says, he would be forcing the Prince of Yan to implement the Qi-Yan treaty as soon as possible...

“Lord Qin,” Lu Chao couldn’t help but say, “but I was ordered to receive Song Shi’an upon his arrival in Yan.”

“That’s good. When Song Shi’an arrives in Yan, Lord Lu can go and receive him…” But Duke Qin still tried to smooth things over, saying, “This doesn’t conflict with anything.”

.........

After Song Shi'an entered the garrison, General Xiang Ping, the one who guarded the east, came to meet him in person. He was a rather burly man with a large stomach and large muscles covered in fat.

He was the only high-ranking border general who was not a nobleman.

His task was to guard the Northern Yan.

Even during the fierce battle against Northern Liang, his army was not mobilized to support Song Shi'an.

Those from Dongliang and Huaizhou were all incompetent state soldiers.

However, there is no need for any criticism.

Take Huang Quan, for example. During Liu Bei's campaign against Wu, he remained inactive, wary of Cao Wei in the north. In the end, Jingzhou was lost, and his retreat was cut off by the Wu army, forcing him to surrender to the north.

Therefore, we shouldn't take too seriously those 'historical records' about ancient wars involving hundreds of thousands of troops.

That includes all those who are called soldiers, auxiliary soldiers, and civilian laborers.

In reality, a battle between 10,000 pure troops is a very large-scale operation.

There are simply too many troops that cannot be moved during wartime.

The Yan state nominally submitted to the Yan state, and anyone could mock Kang Xun, this incompetent ruler.

However, when Ji Yuan was tricked into sending Kang Xun's troops, he still got nervous and sent someone back to confirm.

Even though Wei Ye fought so miserably, not a single soldier was mobilized from the army defending against Northern Yan.

This is why they fear their alliance.

If these two countries were to reduce their troops by 80 percent on each other's borders, the consequences would be unimaginable!

After exchanging pleasantries, Song Shi'an entered General Xiang Ping's barracks.

He sat on top, Song Shi'an sat to the side, and Xin Yue stood beside him.

"General, may I ask you some questions?" Song Shi'an asked.

"Ask Shi An," Xiang Ping said with a smile.

Others address him as "Young Master" or "Lord Song," but those are generally terms of respect for subordinates. This, however, is a first-rank general, and an elder at that, so addressing him directly as "you" is perfectly acceptable.

General Xiang was particularly fond of this young man.

In fact, as a military general, and holding a high position, it was impossible for him not to like this kind of tough and ruthless man.

Let's not talk about the north wind; that's an old story.

However, he was the one who took the initiative to propose this dangerous mission to the State of Yan.

What a spirited and good child!

Those good-for-nothing playboys should all learn from this!
"General," Song Shi'an smiled, and asked, "Are we ready to attack Yan?"

Upon hearing this question, General Xiang nodded. After all, an envoy must have a comprehensive understanding of the national situation. So, he said directly, "Army troops are being assembled everywhere. If a war were to break out, they could be at the gates of Cangliao Pass in half a month."

"Who is likely to lead the attack?" Song Shi'an asked.

"You may all leave." After Xiang Ping dismissed everyone and they had completely left the area, he said to Song Shi'an, "General Xiao Qun is always on guard against the Qi Kingdom and must guard the north. If we were to fight, it should be General Zuo, His Highness Prince Zhongshan."

"Isn't it Hua Taipu?" Song Shi'an asked curiously.

This involves a factional struggle between the two kings of Wu and Jin.

Xiang Ping was hesitant to speak directly, so he could only vaguely say, "Since both of you are coming, it involves some military arrangements."

"Oh, I understand now."

The troops divided into two groups.

Xiao Wei and Hua Zheng each led a troop.

Actually, when the emperor asked how to fight that day, Xiao Wei didn't say, because it was suspected of being a power struggle for military command.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Zhongshan, is he worried about Shi An?" Xiang Ping pointed out.

"It's all for the sake of Dayu." Song Shi'an was a little shy.

“Then you must be careful when you go on your mission,” Xiang Ping said.

"I'm here to discuss my mission," Song Shi'an said, his tone suddenly becoming serious. "This trip will be extremely dangerous."

"Would he dare kill another Yu Envoy?" Xiang Ping asked.

“Very likely,” Song Shi’an analyzed. “The Qin family has already offended us. If they want to protect their subordinates, they will only continue to offend us and force Kang Xun to speed up the process of uniting with Qi. Therefore, either they will lock the gates and prevent me from entering, or they will kill me halfway.”

“Then I will give you more troops to escort you to safety,” Xiang Ping said.

“General, I only need this number.” Song Shi’an raised his finger and made a '1'.

“One hundred isn’t enough, I’ll give you three hundred,” Xiang Ping said readily.

"It's ten thousand."

"..." Xiang Ping's eyes widened in astonishment as he questioned, "Do you know that leading 10,000 men to Cangliao Pass is tantamount to declaring war?"

"General, there will be no war, absolutely no war," Song Shi'an said.

"What exactly do you want to do?" Xiang Ping first set aside the procedures and then asked about the meaning.

"The Yan region will absolutely not let me in. I'm bringing ten thousand men to escort you."

Song Shi'an stood up and said solemnly, "If I lead troops to attack Kang Xun, he will definitely be furious and may even want to fight us. But if I just say that I want to go on a diplomatic mission, he will open the city gate on the spot and let me into Yan."

(End of this chapter)