Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 231 I have never seen such a shameless person!
"When will the Prince of Yan see me!"

Upon hearing that Song Shi'an had also attended the morning court session, Ji Hui immediately left the post station and headed to the palace.

After all, he was a prince of a great nation, so the eunuchs dared not stop him. They could only follow him all the way to the palace gates, and no matter how much they tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen.

It wasn't until a pair of guards at the door crossed their halberds, forming a fork, and glared at him angrily, refusing him entry and displaying a "kill the trespasser" look, that he realized not everyone could breathe on him.

Therefore, he reasoned with the eunuch.

"Your Highness..." The eunuch had no choice but to continue persuading, "If it can be seen, I guarantee it will be seen today."

"The morning court is in session right now, why can't I see the Prince of Yan at this time?" Ji Hui questioned.

"Your Highness, how can we allow you to enter the main hall now without the King's order?" The eunuch also felt that this young man was going too far. Just because he was a prince of a great nation, did he think he could make such a rude request?

I really forgot, he's just a medium.

The King of Yan respects you and addresses you as the King of the North.

If the Prince of Yan gets annoyed, he can lock you up, and your father won't say anything.

“It was clearly agreed that Qi and Yan would form an alliance, and the treaty was to be signed soon. How can we receive the envoy from Yu at this time? Is this an attempt to renege on our agreement?” Ji Hui said.

"This servant is just a eunuch, how could I possibly know what Your Majesty is thinking? Your Highness, please spare this servant."

"Then go and announce that the Prince of Beidi requests to attend court and confront Song Shi'an face to face!"

Ji Hui was well aware that his mission was to facilitate the alliance.

My father has already said that the Yan Kingdom will not do anything to me, after all, it is just a small country in Liaodong.

Therefore, he wanted to make a scene as much as possible to thwart Song Shi'an and Kang Xun's insidious schemes.

In this way, the alliance can be signed securely.

Ji Yuan had promised him that as long as he fulfilled his mission in the Yan Kingdom and lived a carefree life as a prince in that small country for a few years, he would pass the crown prince position to him...

"Your Highness, this servant cannot do it." The eunuch gradually lost patience and simply gave up.

Otherwise, why don't you force your way into the main hall?

Let's see if it gets chopped into minced meat.

Ji Hui showed his disgust, took out a gold ingot from his sleeve, pressed it into the man's hand, and said impatiently, "I'm sorry to trouble you, sir. Is that alright?"

"..." Upon seeing the gold ingot, his eyes lit up, and he quickly put it away. Then he bowed and scraped to Ji Hui, saying, "Your Highness, you must wait here and not move. This old servant will go and inform the king now, but whether the king will be able to summon me... I cannot guarantee that."

"Got it, let's go."

Ji Hui sighed.

This little devil is difficult to deal with.

.........

What truly great nation would send its own princes as hostages?
That statement was extremely arrogant.

And yet it is indeed the truth.

They basically did everything they were supposed to do, arranging marriages for princesses.

And there is very little period during which they do not perform their duties.

Sending princes to enemy states as hostages is something that no major power would willingly do.

This is, to some extent, a betrayal of sovereignty. It's not just about losing a son; it also gives the other side the possibility of political chaos.

Although the Qin state, one of the Seven Warring States, also did it, and its national strength at that time surpassed that of the other six states, the Qin state was far from having the strength to fight against all six.

Sending hostages to Zhao was to prevent the formation of alliances between the two states.

So essentially, it's still not strong enough.

The truth is indeed the truth, but the truth can hurt.

"Then why does your Yu state, which is so powerful, still send envoys, fearing the alliance between my Yan and Qi states?" At this moment, a military general shouted sternly, "If you are so capable, why not fight two against one!"

This statement was echoed by everyone.

They all rallied to support him.

After all, he said that sending hostages meant the country was weak.

The State of Yan gave it away, and the State of Qi gave it away; they were both weak states.

Only you, Yu, are a powerful nation.

Then let's take on two opponents at once!
"Yes, since we are a powerful nation, why waste words?"

"If you are not afraid, then please go back!"

They were besieged once again.

But Song Shi'an dared not say that it was not just a passing fancy.

“I have come here to negotiate peace, to bring peace,” Song Shi’an said. “I bring peace that is rightfully yours. But that doesn’t mean that if you don’t want it, I will force it on you.”

"What do you mean?" the King of Yan asked solemnly.

"Consider this, everyone: from the time when Yan submitted to Dayu until now, in these twenty years, have Yan and Yu ever fought a single battle?" Song Shi'an asked.

“No,” a civil official replied.

"How many battles have there been between Yu and Qi?" Song Shi'an asked again.

“Countless,” the man said again.

The others were also thinking about this, wondering what Song Shi'an was going to say.

"Therefore, the people of Yu are not afraid of war!"

Suddenly, Song Shi'an said firmly, "The people of Yu and Qi will have countless battles to come. If you insist on bringing this war to Yan, what does it have to do with my Great Yu? Do as you please!"

Song Shi'an's powerful and resounding speech immediately created a tense atmosphere in the room.

Everyone knows that Song Shi'an doesn't want to start a war, but no one dares to take responsibility for fighting this war in Yan.

"As expected of Song Shi'an."

Just as the atmosphere on the field became somewhat tense, and even the King of Yan was extremely nervous, the venerable King Ding stepped forward and responded with a smile.

Song Shi'an looked at him: "And you are, sir?" "Wang Ding."

"I have long admired my name."

"I have long admired your name," Wang Ding said, turning to him. "I remember, Your Excellency was born to a commoner woman's concubine?"

These words immediately eased the anxiety of those who were uneasy, and brought smiles to their faces.

Lu Chao was also worried about Song Shi'an.

This old man's specialty is attacking people based on their character and background.

"Sir, you've misremembered."

Song Shi'an answered calmly.

"Oh, not a civilian?"

"She is a maid."

Song Shi'an's unexpected turn of events made everyone laugh.

Only Gongsun Xing remained very serious.

This kid is extraordinary.

"Alright, alright, she's a maid."

After Wang Ding corrected him, he said, "You were born to a maid and are a son of a concubine in the family. In your youth, you enjoyed going to brothels and listening to music, and you frequented places of pleasure, which displeased your father. But after passing the imperial examination, you voluntarily went to Shuofeng to serve as the county magistrate. Is this true?"

"Yes," Song Shi'an admitted.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ding immediately launched into a tirade: "Because of your own poor character, which made you disliked by your father, and because of your lowly birth, which prevented you from inheriting the family business, you instigated the princes to seize military power, supplies, and provisions, and held the army hostage. You then indiscriminately slaughtered innocent people in the north wind and sent your entire family to prison! Your family was originally wealthy, but because you were jealous of the eldest son, you risked your family's lives for your own selfish gain. How dare you, such an unfilial and disloyal son, talk about righteousness here?"

Hearing these words made Wang feel incredibly relieved.

The others also felt confident and followed suit with additional attacks.

"Yes, they'd trade their entire family's lives for their own future—they'd actually do something like that!"

"You were unruly when you were young, so it's only natural that your father disliked you."

"And now, isn't it all for wealth and power that you dare to utter such absurd and outrageous words in my Great Yan? Humph!"

Everyone was criticizing him so harshly, but he didn't directly refute them.

It seems this kid has a weakness too.

He's not honest either!
"He truly deserves to be called a veteran of two dynasties."

Song Shi'an nodded, and after Wang Ding finished speaking in agreement, he asked curiously, "Oh, by the way, how long did you serve the Prince of Yan?"

“Fourteen years,” Wang Ding blurted out, his tone quite proud.

"How long did you serve the late King of Yan?"

"Twenty-five years," he replied immediately.

"That adds up to almost forty years."

“Next month will mark forty years.” Wang Ding’s seniority is incredibly high, which is why no one dares to contradict him here.

Even if it's to teach the Prince of Yan a lesson, the other party has to hold back.

"Oh……"

Song Shi'an suddenly realized what was going on, and then asked, "What were you doing forty years ago?"

This question caught him off guard. Just as he was about to speak, Song Shi'an seized the opportunity and said directly, "I don't accept criticism from others who say I disregard my family and only seek wealth. But I fully accept what you, Your Highness, have to say, and I feel quite ashamed."

As soon as Song Shi'an opened his mouth, they knew something was wrong.

"Young man, what exactly are you trying to say?" the prince asked displeasedly.

"If I remember correctly, the prince was once a staff member under Shi Lin."

"So what? As an elder from Yan, who hasn't had similar experiences?" the prince retorted without hesitation. "Back then, I hadn't even met the late king yet."

"I was praising the prince."

Song Shi'an pressed his hand down to shut him up, and then said, "So when the late Prince Yan defeated Shilin and led his army to attack your city, you surrendered the entire city to protect your family. You were truly filial."

“You scoundrel! Was I fighting to preserve my family?” Wang Ding said. “Shi Lin was already dead then, and there was no point in fighting again. I was fighting to protect the people of the city from bloodshed.”

"After the entire city's people were saved, why didn't they hang themselves with a white silk ribbon and follow their lord? Instead, they turned around and became officials of the Prince of Yan. Is this what you call loyalty and righteousness?" Song Shi'an also shouted.

"How can that be the same!" Wang Ding exclaimed, his face flushing red. "The late king was a wise ruler!"

After saying this, Wang Ding then rallied the rest of the court officials, saying, "How many of you followed the late king not because of his righteousness and magnanimity?"

"A wise ruler?" Song Shi'an laughed. "Then when Ji Yuan enters Yan and conquers the border, will you also, to avoid the suffering of the people, not fire a single arrow and instead open the gates to surrender?"

His heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to remain calm and cursed, "You bastard! This can't be a one-time thing..."

“When Ji Yuan enters the city, he will ask you, why did this old minister of two dynasties surrender without a fight?” Song Shi’an pointed at the old man and deliberately imitated his tone of voice, saying, “Oh, because you are a wise ruler.”

Wang Ding gritted his teeth: "You—"

"shut up!"

Song Shi'an's expression instantly changed, and he cursed with disgust: "I risked my life to support the Northern Frontier, to prevent the loss of vast territories and the enslavement of hundreds of thousands of people. I defended our small, isolated city against an army of 100,000! Such a heroic act has been turned into a scheme by a vile scoundrel like you to enrich yourself. A loyal minister does not serve two masters, and a virtuous woman does not marry two husbands. You, a traitor seeking personal gain, dare to speak so eloquently here!"

"you!"

"What do you mean, 'you'!" Song Shi'an shouted, chasing after him. "You accepted Chen Xing's bribe and don't even know your own name anymore?"

"I didn't take his bribe!"

"That's even more despicable. At least others say nice things after receiving money. You have no connection with the State of Qi, yet you dragged the flames of war into the State of Yan just to curry favor with Ji Yuan. You old scoundrel, are you even human?!"

"you--"

Wang Ding's eyes instantly turned bloodshot as he pointed at Song Shi'an, his body trembling.

"Shut up! You old scoundrel with a white beard! You white-haired wretch!"

Song Shi'an pointed at him and roared angrily, his voice rising and falling in cadence, "I have never seen such a shameless person!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Ding coughed up a mouthful of blood, which splattered throughout the hall!
(End of this chapter)