Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 216 Where did this army of ten thousand come from?!

Inside the barracks of Cangliao Pass, Huang Tong was drinking alone, his eyes bloodshot. He hadn't slept for three days straight.

The moment he closed his eyes, he dreamt that his head was resting on the execution rack, and then a large blade fell, snapping before he could beg for mercy or admit his mistakes...

The world in my dream was a sea of ​​crimson, as if I were in the eighteenth level of purgatory.

When he was doing it, Duke Qin told himself that no one would dare to touch his men.

Even if the people of the Yu Kingdom were to launch a military campaign in retaliation, they would not be able to hand him over.

Moreover, the Qi-Yan alliance is bound to succeed, and then the Yu state will become an enemy state. Who would give their own general to an enemy state?

In that case, when a real war breaks out, who will be willing to risk their lives for the Great Yan?

Everything you said sounds good and makes perfect sense.

However, he has become increasingly uneasy lately.

Ji Yuan's son has been sent back, so why haven't they formed an alliance yet?

What are you waiting for?
Moreover, the envoy from the other side is none other than the renowned Song Shi'an. Would they send a top scholar to take such a risk if they weren't confident of success in negotiations?
If he comes, the alliance with Qi will be terminated, and things will stop. How can I possibly survive?
Clutching the wine bottle, Huang Tong stared at it through gritted teeth for a while before suddenly slamming it to the ground and cursing, "They're all bastards!"

Three hundred gold.

This became the money he and his brothers earned by risking their lives.

Chen Xing gave the Duke of Qin at least a thousand gold pieces. He sat in the castle and pocketed the lion's share, while he and those poor souls risked their lives to kill people in the State of Yu, and now, having done the work for him, he's being blamed for everything…

Just then, a clerk walked in, saw the wine vessel on the ground and the gloomy-looking Huang Tong, and joked, "General Huang, why are you drinking alone in silence?"

"Hmph." He chuckled lightly, then picked up the wine jug again, ready to pour some wine, when he paused, "What did you call me?"

The clerk smiled and then handed him a cowhide document as a commission.

"The Duke of Qin remembers your many years of loyalty and dedication, your great merits and hard work, and therefore appoints you as a lieutenant general. The entire Cangliao Pass is now under your command," the chief clerk said with a smile. "General, congratulations!"

Holding the appointment certificate, he became even more frustrated. Fueled by alcohol, he grumbled, "Giving Yu Jun a mere captain wasn't enough, so they promoted me to lieutenant general right before the battle... It seems I'm really going to die."

Upon hearing this, the registrar's face darkened. He turned around, slammed the door shut, and returned, immediately shouting, "You believe all the rumors people spread? You've served Duke Qin for so many years, why didn't you believe what he told you that day?!"

This scolding woke Huang Tong up.

He put down the wine pot in surprise, stood up and walked to the chief clerk, helping him to his seat. He said with great insecurity, "Lord Yuan... my loyalty to the Duke of Qin is genuine, but now that the King has not allied with Qi, I'm afraid!"

It was said that once the hostage entered Yan, an alliance would be formed.

However, after he has been in Yan for so many days, there is still no indication of a joint defense.

Wasn't the plan to send 15,000 more troops to the south?
Where are the troops? Where are the supplies? Where is the money?!
“An alliance is inevitable, it’s certain.” Seeing his unease, the chief clerk explained, “Ji Yuan’s son has come, there’s no way he can go back. Does His Majesty dare to offend Ji Yuan? Impossible. It would be much easier for Ji Yuan to attack us than for Wei Ye.”

"If that's the case, why still consider Song Shi'an's feelings and let him enter Yan?" Huang Tong pressed. "Your Majesty, isn't this hesitation?"

“It’s not hesitation, His Majesty just doesn’t want to offend anyone,” the chief clerk said with great certainty. “Do you think His Majesty wants to see Song Shi’an? He doesn’t want to see Song Shi’an more than any of us. That kid used a cunning scheme against our country in 'The Wealth of Nations'.”

"Then why send Lu Chao to pick them up..."

"So, to protect you, Duke Qin promoted you to the position of commander of this city," the chief clerk interrupted, speaking very seriously. "You control this pass; you lock the gates, and no matter what the other side says, you refuse to open them, using some legitimate excuse to delay. If Song Shi'an can't enter the city and can't meet the King, and Ji Yuan is urging us, and our important figures continue to advise the King... then wouldn't the alliance be formed?"

"This……"

"It's not just the Duke of Qin who accepted gold from Qi. Many important figures have taken money; how come you're alone?" the chief clerk said very seriously. "What are you afraid of here?"

"I'm not afraid anymore." Huang Tong quickly sat up straight, grabbed his arm with both hands, and said very seriously, "Lord Huang, if you stay here and refuse the envoy from Yu Kingdom for me, I won't be afraid anymore."

“I still need to go back to report to Duke Qin, and I also need to go to Xiangcheng.” Knowing that he was afraid, the clerk took out a piece of paper and handed it to him. “Write down your reasons for refusing them on this paper. Just find someone eloquent to negotiate with them.”

“Will they believe it?”

“We’re not refusing to open the door, we’re opening it slowly, gradually,” the clerk laughed. “It’s like casting a carrot in front of a donkey. Tell him that you’ll open the door in two days, three days, five days. If you just drag it out for seven or eight days, everything will be settled.”

“This…” Huang Tong frowned, “If Lu Chao comes, how can I possibly win an argument with him?”

"Don't worry, Lord Qin has already spoken to him." The clerk looked at him and promised, "As long as you don't let Song Shi'an into Yan, everything will be fine."

"I definitely won't open the door..."

"Furthermore, if he dies outside our Yan state," the chief clerk said with a sly smile, "then it has nothing to do with us."

Upon hearing this, Huang Tong's eyes gradually hardened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "If he wants to enter Yan, he must die!"

.........

Because the garrison and Cangliao Pass were very close, Lu Chao came over early in the morning and carefully kept his copy of the royal edict.

So far, he hasn't taken it out to use.

Because this thing works best the first time it's shown.

"Lord Lu, your presence is an honor. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly."

At the gate, Captain Huang Tong led a group of men to personally greet him.

"Lieutenant Huang, you're too kind." Although he knew this young man was the one who killed the messenger, Lu Chao acted quite naturally, without any hostility.

Upon hearing this, Huang Tong smiled.

At this moment, an officer beside him explained, "Lord Lu, Commandant Huang has been appointed by Duke Qin as a lieutenant general to guard Cangliao Pass."

"..." Upon hearing this, Lu Chao was taken aback for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Ah? So sudden?"

I've never heard of this.

It was Qin Che who made the decision on the spur of the moment!
Moreover, now that he has become the commander of Cangliao Pass, will he be able to allow Song Shi'an to enter the pass?

"Actually, it's not sudden," Huang Tong explained. "About half a year ago, Duke Qin had already made this plan and had also discussed and adjusted it with the original garrison commander. Therefore, you don't need to worry, sir, there won't be any problems with this defensive line."

"Of course, I have absolute respect for Lord Qin, I'm just a little surprised," Lu Chao offered his congratulations. "Here, I congratulate General Huang on his promotion." "Thank you, sir."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two entered the pass together.

The original commander was transferred away overnight.

This really put Lu Chao in a difficult position.

His original plan was to use the imperial edict to force the commander to open the city gates and let Song Shi'an in when things could no longer be held back.

After all, not everyone has done something like killing an envoy.

As far as he knew, it was Huang Tong who personally led dozens of elite cavalry to do it.

The original leader would have listened to Qin Gong, but he went mad and took responsibility for Huang Tong.

What's truly infuriating is that there's absolutely no way to hold anyone accountable. The Duke of Qin possessed the power of "acting as a proxy," meaning he could promote and dismiss generals below the rank of lieutenant general at his own discretion, only needing to report back to the king afterwards…

Completely within the rules.

“General,” Lu Chao said proactively as he accompanied them, “If Song Shi’an insists on entering the city, we must let him in. After all, the Yu army is too close to here, and if they provoke a conflict, the King will punish them.”

"Don't worry, sir," Huang Tong said. "Song Shi'an is just an envoy, accompanied only by some guards. He has no authority to mobilize troops."

"But what if he manages to persuade Xiang Ping..."

“That’s even more impossible.” Huang Tong interrupted Lu Chao, saying, “The mobilization of the army is entirely at the command of the monarch. For a general to obey a messenger is tantamount to courting death, isn’t it? Song Shi’an did indeed do things without prior approval, and he went to jail for it, didn’t he? He might want to do it, but others might not be willing to.”

He made a good point, but Lu Chao didn't like his attitude.

"You can rest assured," Huang Tong patted him on the shoulder. "We're in the right, what do we have to be afraid of?"

"Ah, so you're not afraid of being in the right." After giving the offending brute a displeased glance and sarcastically reminding him to watch his words, Lu Chao added, "But who can really say for sure whether someone is in the right or not?"

Huang Tong forced a smile.

This guy seems to be really determined to mess with me.

Just then, a scout came over and whispered something to him.

Then, Huang Tong said hello and went over.

"Commander," the scout said in a low voice, unaware of his elder brother's promotion, "our ambushes have been discovered, and they've mobilized troops over there."

"Have they been evacuated yet?"

"When we found them, we all evacuated. Not a single person was left behind; we all returned to Yan via the small path."

"Yes, don't leave any evidence against us."

"But……"

"But what?"

"After their search failed, the troops did not stop. Instead, they continued their advance in this direction."

"How many people?" Huang Tong asked in shock.

Lu Chao had no idea what they were whispering about, but when he tried to ask, he was refused on the grounds that military secrets could not be disclosed.

He was then arranged to rest in a fairly spacious and comfortable room located in the pass.

Ke Luchao had absolutely no intention of slacking off.

He noticed that everyone in the pass was in a hurry.

Moreover, many cavalrymen went out of and into the pass.

They went out one after another through the front and back doors.

Every time I tried to ask someone something, they consistently refused to answer.

"Where's Huang Tong? What's he doing?" Finally, Lu Chao couldn't take it anymore and impatiently questioned his subordinate who had come with him.

"Sir, he's having a meeting in the barracks..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Chao rushed over.

"The general is in a meeting; please halt, sir..."

"Go away!"

The guards were about to stop him when he roared and drove them away. Then, he charged straight into the barracks.

The officers, led by Huang Tong, all looked at the king's man in astonishment...

"What on earth happened?!" Lu Chao asked loudly.

No one spoke.

"How can military secrets be so confidential that you people can listen to them, but I, who am here on the orders of the King to oversee the army, cannot?!" Lu Chao exploded instantly.

Do you think you're a general?

You're practically halfway to the grave, and you're still laughing here!

Huang Tong lowered his head and remained silent. He casually gestured, letting someone else speak.

So the military commander explained to Lu Chao, "Lord Lu, an army of ten thousand is heading towards Cangliao Pass..."

"An army of ten thousand?!"

Hearing this, Lu Chao was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected such a big thing to happen. He immediately broke down, spreading his hands and shouting in a trembling voice, "Where did these 10,000 troops come from?!"

(End of this chapter)