Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 229: Conflict with Confucians
Song Shi'an and his delegation were taken to the post station to stay temporarily, awaiting the summons of the Prince of Yan.

However, Lu Chao and Song Shi'an had agreed that the Prince of Yan would definitely see him before tomorrow night.

That's the allure of a thousand pieces of gold.

Such a significant matter was given to the monarch in less than a day to consider.

During this time, Song Shi'an also had things to do.

Although all members of the delegation were not allowed to come and go freely to prevent collusion with ministers, Song Shi'an was not worried.

He did exactly what Chen Xing did.

"Brother Ziliang."

In Song Shi'an's room, the two were together. And he had a very important task to entrust to Zuo Ziliang.

"My lord, what are your orders?" Zuo Ziliang asked.

“We do need Brother Ziliang’s assistance.” Song Shi’an was always very polite to this Jinyiwei leader, maintaining a good relationship between them. “We have people in Xiangcheng, and I need you to bring him a thousand taels of gold.”

As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper and handed it to the other person: "This is the address."

Before his departure, the emperor had Eunuch Chen personally give Song Shi'an a list containing information about internal agents throughout the Yan Kingdom.

If this information were leaked, the entire intelligence system of the Yu Kingdom in Yan would be instantly paralyzed.

Therefore, only Song Shi'an possessed it and was aware of it.

Each time he needed to execute a command, he would copy one of the required addresses and give it to Zuo Ziliang, and then destroy it after use.

"Okay." Zuo Ziliang accepted it and then deftly stuffed it into his shoe. "A thousand taels of gold, how should I use it?"

“After I meet Kang Xun tomorrow, I will spread rumors throughout the country that the Yan-Qi Alliance has been terminated,” Song Shi’an said.

By exploiting the time difference caused by the difficult transportation of ancient times.

“But isn’t it unrealistic to just talk about it?” Zuo Ziliang asked.

"Then how can a rumor be made to seem true?" Song Shi'an asked.

Zuo Ziliang immediately understood and smiled: "Then let's mix some truth into the lies."

"So, Song Shi'an said that he persuaded the King of Yan to send the hostage from Qi back to his country in exchange for sending Kang Yi back," Song Shi'an said. "Firstly, this makes sense. Secondly, I really did bring Kang Yi to the front line, and he has even met some of the Duke of Qin's soldiers."

"Makes sense."

"Let me add something else," Song Shi'an continued. "It has been confirmed that the assassination attempt on the Yu envoy was orchestrated by Qin Gong's men, and the Prince of Yan is preparing to hand him over. And that man has been apprehended."

"Can we just reveal Qin Gong directly?"

"Because those who know the inside story all know that it was Qin Gonggan who did it. This makes the rumors seem more believable."

"Then why not just say Huang Tong's name?"

“If he says it, he will really die.”

"understood."

Zuo Ziliang nodded and decided to carry it out, but based on his experience with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he reminded him, "Many of our spies in Yan are merchants, and some are low-ranking officials. If you want to spread them throughout the country, five hundred gold coins will be enough."

Five hundred gold coins have very strong purchasing power.

It wouldn't cost so much money to spread some rumors.

"This matter is crucial to the success of the mission," Song Shi'an said quite seriously. "I hope Brother Ziliang will tell our people that it is imperative to handle this well. If this thousand taels of gold is not used up, the rest will be a gift from His Majesty."

Reward mechanism.

Those who accomplish great things cannot spend small amounts of money.

“Alright.” Zuo Ziliang said no more, then added, “How about I bribe each of the guards at the gate with a gold ingot?”

One gold ingot costs twenty taels of gold.

There are a total of four guards in the entire post station area.

A single expenditure amounts to eighty gold coins.

“They risked their lives to open the door for us, and would secretly let us out for money without leaving a record. But they won’t do this forever.”

"Admittedly, perhaps his vigilance stemmed from his frequent visits..."

"So each person was given a gold coin for each trip they took."

"..." The Imperial Guards were truly heartbroken.

“That way, he won’t report us; in fact, he’ll be more than happy for us to go out and do our business,” Song Shi’an said.

"As expected of Magistrate Song, he has thought of everything so thoroughly."

Zuo Ziliang has finally met the real young master; the money is flowing like water!

Even such a lowly person is given twenty gold coins, twenty gold coins at a time. How much will this feed the Yan Kingdom?
But it is indeed useful.

If they could come and go freely, things would be much easier.

"Brother Ziliang, then we're counting on you."

Song Shi'an bowed slowly to him with a smile on his face.

"Please rest assured, my lord."

Zuo Ziliang clenched his fists and then left.

After a while, Xinyue came to his room and asked with great concern, "It's not that Lu Chao is untrustworthy, but he is, after all, a subject of Yan. Will he honestly tell the King of Yan what you think he should say?"

"will not."

Song Shi'an was able to be certain.

"What should we do then?" Xinyue asked worriedly.

“The Prince of Yan knows about our itinerary, and he probably also knows that Lu Chao may have reached some kind of deal with me,” Song Shi’an said. “Lu Chao can’t be too proactive. He won’t risk his reputation for me.”

"Then continue donating money?"

“No need, he’s not worth it.” Song Shi’an shook his head and said quite seriously, “I’m ready to debate with all the scholars.”

"Debate with a group of scholars?" Xin Yue didn't quite understand. "Didn't the Prince of Yan meet with you alone?"

“He wants to meet with me alone, but he doesn’t have the courage to stand up to the court officials alone. He’ll most likely make me argue with them in court.” Song Shi’an had already seen the future. “Not only will Lu Chao not stand with me, but the Prince of Yan won’t stand with me either.”

"If that's the case, then I'm relieved."

Xin Yue smiled faintly. "I'm going to be criticized by so many people, what are you worried about?" Song Shi'an asked, puzzled.

"You're so good with words, I really trust your ability to insult people."

“Nonsense,” Song Shi’an said seriously. “In diplomacy between major powers, one must be magnanimous. I certainly wouldn’t swear.”

.........

After entering the palace, Lu Chao went directly to the Prince of Yan.

"My dear minister, please have a seat."

The Prince of Yan stood up and extended his hand.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Chao bowed and, after the Prince of Yan sat down, also took a seat on the side below the steps.

"Your Majesty, you should already know about the assassination attempt on us in Liaonan County, right?" Lu Chao asked.

Conson nodded heavily with his eyes closed: "We've heard about what happened along the way."

"What about my plan to take Song Shi'an to Bai County to find Prefect He?" Lu Chao asked.

To appear open and honest, one should reveal seemingly serious secrets without any concealment.

This is to demonstrate pure loyalty.

But some bigger things cannot be said.

For example, the three daughters of two people combined.

For example, exchanging a road for diplomacy.

"You took him to see Prefect He?" the Prince of Yan asked in surprise.

Those who returned have already reported that they took a detour north to Bai County. When they passed through Changcheng, Song Shi'an, Lu Chao, and a few others briefly left for a while, but it is unknown what they did.

The Prince of Yan was still suspicious as to why Lu Chao had secretly brought Song Shi'an over.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Lu Chao said solemnly. “After Song Shi’an was assassinated, he harbored great hostility towards the Duke of Qin and said several times that he wanted to return to his country. I knew that war would inevitably break out after he returned, so I suggested that he go north from Bai County. He agreed, but there was one condition: that he must see Prefect He.”

"You did the right thing. We absolutely cannot let him return to his country." The Prince of Yan gasped, then asked curiously, "So, what did they talk about?"

“It wasn’t just the two of them talking alone; I was also present.”

"What did you say?"

“Song Shi’an does indeed hate Qin Gong,” Lu Chao said. “He believes that the premise for the South to be unimpeded is that Qin Gong must be punished and suppressed. Therefore, he wants to discuss with Prefect He the possibility of opening up trade through Baitou Pass.”

"Hiss..." The Prince of Yan became somewhat serious and asked with difficulty, "So what was the result of the discussion?"

“The situation in Bai County is complicated. Song Shi’an doesn’t know enough about it and we haven’t been able to come up with a solution,” Lu Chao said. “Your Majesty, you also know how difficult things are in Bai County.”

“Of course.” Conson knew how poor White County was, so he asked directly, “So, what are your thoughts?”

"Your Majesty," Lu Chao said after some hesitation, "I didn't even mention our plan to retreat to the Qi side and not reinforce the south, but Song Shi'an immediately saw through it."

"This person is incredibly talented!"

Conson felt like his underwear had been exposed, and he became nervous.

“Yes, he truly is as the legend says, with an uncanny ability to see through people’s hearts,” Lu Chao said. “And Your Majesty, it may indeed be difficult to do as he says.”

"Is he in the State of Qi?"

"The state of Qi is actually a minor problem..."

“I know, Lord Qin.”

After learning of Song Shi'an's assassination, Kang Xun understood everything completely: "He wanted to control the entire Yan Kingdom!"

If Song Shi'an is assassinated, the Great Yu will surely send troops.

The Yan-Qi alliance was formed instantly.

Half of the nation's military strength will be concentrated on the front line in Cangliao County.

Even if one personally sends the commander-in-chief, over time, there is still a risk of him seizing power...

"What about his sincerity and demands?" the King of Yan asked hastily.

“He is very sincere in listening to him,” Lu Chao said. “His demand is to return to the previous state.”

"If we can gain a lot of sincerity and just go back to the way things were before, that would be ideal. But going back to the way things were before would definitely offend the State of Qi." After deep thought, the King of Yan said, "Then what about his talk of sealing off the Duke of Qin, and the mention of Fubai County? Was that just something he mentioned casually?"

The King of Yan was greedy.

He also wanted to check and balance the Duke of Qin.

Therefore, after Duke Qin revealed such great ambition, he changed his mind.

But how could Bai County be so prosperous?

This is no joke.

“Your Majesty, I have a plan,” Lu Chao said.

"Oh? Please speak, my dear minister." The Prince of Yan's eyes lit up.

Then, Lu Chao said slyly, "Let's ask Song Shi'an to build us a road outside Baitou Pass."

"!" Upon hearing this, the Prince of Yan immediately clapped his hands, "Wonderful, my dear minister, you truly live up to your reputation!"

This is the art of language.

Sending the Prince of Yan to Song Shi'an to request the repair of this road would give him a sense of participation, as if he had negotiated a lower price.

At the same time, it also allows him and He Ji to be separated from each other somewhat.

It's not that we had any illicit dealings with Song Shi'an, or that we made this underhanded deal behind your back.

It was Your Majesty who secured this right from Song Shi'an, and we are simply implementing it.

"But this is a bit difficult..."

Conson soon realized that he was not the only one who could call the shots in this country.

At this moment, Lu Chao made another move: "Your Majesty, let's have Song Shi'an and the other ministers fight over it during the morning court session tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)