Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 224 Am I worth that much gold?!

Lu Chao is a man of great principle.

But at this moment, his principles wavered.

The heavy gold was so dazzling that people almost dared not look directly at it...

How much gold would that be?

Don't think that just because people in ancient times often rewarded others with tens of thousands of taels of gold, this thousand taels of gold is worthless.

The 200,000 catties of gold that Emperor Wu of Han rewarded Wei Qing with was actually 200,000 catties of copper coins.

In other dynasties, the "ten thousand taels of gold" that ministers received also included gold, silver, copper coins, and grain.

Just like the granting of titles to marquises with ten thousand households, apart from Liu Bang in the early Han Dynasty who was so generous, later dynasties mostly granted such titles on a nominal basis, and very few actually granted real 'fiefs'. They were generally called 'foolish fiefs,' representing that the tax revenue of a certain area belonged to you. The so-called ten thousand households was roughly equivalent to two thousand households.

Therefore, this real sum of money is far better than so-called ten thousand taels of gold.

This was enough to change the status of the Lu clan in the Yan state.

Song Shi'an was certain that this person was enough to make him feel like a brother.

"What is it, sir? What are you being wary of?" Song Shi'an joked.

"Not a warning..."

Lu Chao tried his best to avoid looking at the gold on the table, and instead looked at Song Shi'an, explaining, "I just don't understand, is Your Excellency trying to bribe me?"

“What bribery?” Song Shi’an said with a smile. “Throughout history, there have been countless wonderful things like offering gifts to make friends. How can you sum it up with such an unpleasant word as ‘bribery’?”

"But this goes far beyond the standards of making friends, doesn't it?"

Lu Chao also accepted money from Chen Xing; as a confidant of the king, he received a mere hundred taels of gold.

No, you can't say it's just a small matter.

For an ordinary minister like him, who was neither a powerful figure nor a warlord, being given a hundred taels of gold upon their first meeting was already a sign of great respect.

Because of this hundred gold pieces, Lu Chao spoke well of the king when discussing whether or not to form an alliance with the State of Qi.

And this should be worth a fortune!

"Of course not."

After refuting Song Shi'an, he then said in a rather conciliatory tone, "When Chen Xing came to Yan, he must have also made good relations with the ministers of Yan. The sincerity he bestowed upon them varied in amount. Could it be that Prime Minister Gongsun is not worth a fortune in his favor?"

What a precious heiress!
"Lord Gongsun certainly deserves it..." Lu Chao smiled, then said self-deprecatingly, "But how could I possibly compare to Lord Gongsun?"

"Do not."

Song Shi'an denied it again, but his argument was anything but offensive: "In my eyes, the magistrate is more important than Prime Minister Gongsun."

“…” Lu Chao was stunned.

Besides Song Shi'an, who else would spend a fortune to befriend me, Lu Chao?

"Furthermore, there's only one reason why the Great Yu is more generous than the Qi Kingdom," Song Shi'an said solemnly, "that is, the Great Yu is stronger."

"Da Yu is indeed prosperous..."

Indeed, the Great Yu Dynasty had the financial strength to spend lavishly on its envoys.

“My lord,” Song Shi’an suddenly called out.

"W-what's wrong?" he asked, somewhat dazed, as he came to his senses.

"Is your concern that after accepting this money, I will make you do something difficult?" Song Shi'an asked.

"That was not what I meant……"

"Please rest assured, I only wish to befriend you," Song Shi'an said. "There's no need to make things difficult for you, much less violate your principles. And you don't need to speak on my behalf to the Prince of Yan."

“My lord, I am very grateful and touched that you consider me a friend, and such a close friend at that,” Lu Chao assured him. “There’s no need to say anything more; I understand.”

How can someone take the money and not do the job?
If you're going to take money, you have to help people solve their problems.

This will surely lead to being reported.

"By the way, besides Lord Lu, I would also like to get to know Lord He," Song Shi'an said.

“Lord He has long admired the Prefect.” Upon hearing this, Lu Chao said directly, “When we pass through Changcheng, I can take the Prefect to see him… However, we must keep a low profile and not be too ostentatious.”

The most alarming thing about accepting bribes is when you're the only one accepting them.

If everyone accepts it, it's the same as not accepting it at all.

I'll feel more at ease.

Song Shi'an wanted to see Prefect He, most likely to discuss that important matter...

"Then thank you very much, Lord Lu."

Song Shi'an bowed, and after their eyes met, he suddenly realized what was happening and lowered his voice, saying, "Then you should go back and rest first. I'll send someone to deliver these tokens of my appreciation to you later."

"You're too kind, my lord," Lu Chao said with a smile. "Then you should get some rest. We'll set off tomorrow and try to get to Changcheng as soon as possible."

The two exchanged greetings, and as he was about to leave, Song Shi'an stepped forward, took his hand, and said sincerely, "My lord, we each serve our own masters, but in the end, we are both subjects. The future of the world is uncertain. But you and I are friends, and that is enough."

“I completely agree with what you have said, Your Excellency.”

The two gazed into each other's eyes, their love stronger than gold.

The implication is: Even if the Yan state falls in the future, you are still my friend, so why are you afraid of not being able to get an official position in the new dynasty?
Your stance determines your attitude.

But one's stance has a price.

As long as you offer something incredibly valuable, no one can refuse you.

Not long after Lu Chao left, Xin Yue came in.

"Is it worth it for Lu Chao to give so much money just for helping to introduce someone?" Xin Yue asked.

“Of course he’s not worth it.” Song Shi’an looked at Xin Yue. “This matter can be accomplished for about a hundred gold coins.”

"Then why did you offer ten times the price?"

Xin Yue was even more puzzled.

He knew he wasn't worth a fortune.

Song Shi'an slowly smiled and explained, "Therefore, he will try his best to show me his wealth."

.........

Changcheng was the capital of Bai County.

As part of the Kangguan region, royal decrees could generally be issued here. The prefect, He Ji, came from a prominent family in Yan. However, Bai County was indeed far inferior to the other three counties and one prefecture.

Its land area is larger than that of Liaonan Commandery, but its population is less than 60% of that of Liaonan Commandery. Its grain production is less than 40% of that of Liaonan Commandery.

It is not only barren, but also of little strategic significance.

The counties in Dayu that border Bai County are also extremely poor.

In addition, the terrain was not good, so not even a proper road was built.

Envoys and traders entering Yan had to go through Qin territory.

So how can we make this place prosperous?
Someone needs to draw a circle here.

The advantage is that Heji's area is relatively stable, with the biggest threat being some bandits in the mountains.

Inside the prefectural governor's residence, He Ji was repeatedly reading an article.

The Wealth of Nations.

This article is quite popular in the Yan Kingdom now. It's like a foreigner writing a book and the people very keenly picking up on what they perceive as the "Great Yan Threat Theory".

They are all pooling their wisdom and efforts on how to counter the commercial warfare waged by the State of Yu.

As one of the four regional governors in this area, He Ji naturally had to see what the enemy was planning to do.

"This Song Shi'an is truly a prodigy..."

He Ji once again expressed this sentiment.

I've become even more fascinated by this person.

As for the so-called business battles involved, he naturally has ways to counter them.

Those who can govern are all mature.

There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

The State of Dayu and the State of Yan were enemies.

This does not mean that Yu Chen and Yan Chen were enemies.

"Why is Duke Qin so resolute?"

He Ji found it very difficult to understand.

If Yu and Yan were to trade, they would definitely have to pass through Cangliao Pass, so he would certainly make money, or at least become rich.

But why did they stand firmly on the Yan-Qi alliance?

Yes, he wanted both sides to deploy troops on the border, maintain constant tension, and shift the entire national strategic focus to Liaonan Commandery, thereby seizing control of the military and political affairs of the Great Yan.

But how can he be sure that the state of equilibrium will continue?

If a war really breaks out, the risk of him losing is quite high.

It's even, extremely large.

"Yeah, how can he be so sure there won't be a war?"

Whenever He Ji thought about this, his thoughts seemed to get stuck at a bottleneck, unable to break through any further.

Just as he was pondering this, someone suddenly came in from outside: "Your Excellency, Lord Lu wishes to see you."

"Which Lord Lu?" He Ji asked, puzzled.

“The envoy is Lu Chao,” the official said.

"Huh? Didn't he go to meet Song Shi'an?" He was only confused for a moment before he immediately stood up. "Quickly, let Lord Lu come over."

"Yes."

The subordinate immediately went to relay the message.

He paced back and forth, somewhat pleased.

It's because Song Shi'an wants to see me.

For a moment, he felt a mix of nervousness and anticipation about meeting his idol.

But since he was a prominent figure in the State of Yan, he naturally had to remain composed.

I quickly calmed down.

A little while later, Lu Chao arrived and excitedly stepped forward: "Lord, are you well?"

"Lord Lu has arrived. Has he brought any good news?" He Ji stepped forward and shook his hand. Then, he led him to a seat.

"Good news?" Lu Chao smiled. "I've brought you a good person."

"Song Shi'an?" he asked tentatively.

"The person is already in the carriage outside the city and will come to see you soon," Lu Chao said.

"Why is that?" He Ji asked, both excited and puzzled.

“He wants to befriend you,” Lu Chao hinted.

“I see. I was just about to make his acquaintance…” He Ji nodded, then said to the official at the door, “I have some business with Lord Lu.”

"Yes." The official withdrew, and also dismissed the guards at the door.

Then, his expression immediately turned serious: "What happened?"

"Your message probably hasn't come through yet, so you certainly don't know that Song Shi'an led 10,000 men on a diplomatic mission, right?"

"Taking ten thousand men on a mission?!" He Ji was stunned, then murmured, "That's really bold."

"So you didn't know he was assassinated on Qin Gong's territory, did you?"

"?!"

He Ji was dumbfounded.

These are all so explosive!

"Is something big about to happen to Great Yan?"

Sitting absentmindedly in his seat, He Ji felt a pang of fear.

At this point in the conversation, Lu Chao's eyes suddenly sharpened as he asked, "If something truly serious were to happen, which side would you, Lord Prefect, be willing to join?"

(End of this chapter)