Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 235 Inviting You to the Prime Ministership!

Song Shi'an was giving orders to a king.

But the Prince of Yan dared not breathe on him at all.

The other party seemed to be demonstrating their supernatural abilities, making the leak of the alliance document seem so insignificant.

But when the King of Yan saw this piece of gold and silk again, he still couldn't help feeling fear.

In times of political instability, this one thing can leave his throne vacant.

At the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was a story of several Zhou kings being killed and the royal power changing hands within a year.

The so-called Xuanwu Gate is just famous; in terms of cruelty and scale, it is far from being ranked among the most famous in history.

This spot isn't so comfortable to sit in.

If you search through all the historical records, Chinese history can be easily summarized in four words: striving to become emperor.

This item absolutely cannot be fake.

There will absolutely be no second serving of this item.

Apart from this, there will absolutely be no other 'claims' that could disrupt the government.

Looking slowly down at Song Shi'an on the steps, Kang Xun finally understood what he wanted to do.

"Please." Song Shi'an raised his hand and continued.

After a moment's hesitation, the Prince of Yan walked to the candlelight and personally burned this "evidence" of his subversion of the state into greasy ashes under the flickering candlelight...

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After destroying the creature, Conson slowly turned around and bowed deeply to the south.

Song Shi'an smiled.

If given to certain people, this thing could indeed disrupt the major policies of the Yan Kingdom, turning it into a divided country. The Royal Decree is extremely versatile.

The only benefit of gifting it to the King of Yan was to curry favor with him.

But this is exactly what Song Shi'an wants.

He stood up and returned to the main topic: "Your Highness, you should be able to sense the sincerity of my visit, shouldn't you?"

"I noticed." The Prince of Yan looked at him, his tone gentle, even with a hint of teasing amusement. "Then you should also know that the reason I acted that way in court was to have you persuade those stubborn members of the Qi faction, right?"

"Thank you very much, Your Highness, for giving Shi An this opportunity."

After showing off his skills, Song Shi'an stopped taking it seriously, returned to his polite manners, and spoke with a hint of hypocrisy.

"My lord, when will that traitor Kang Yi be sent back to Yan?" This was what Kang Xun cared about most.

Even if the Great Yu became powerful and the Yan state perished, it would still take at least a decade or more.

However, the regime was shaken by this Kang Yi, and in the blink of an eye...

“Three years,” Song Shi’an said.

“That’s too long.” Conson frowned, looking quite troubled. “Why can’t it be a year?”

“Your Highness, if I were to use this expedient measure to trick you into driving away the Qi envoy and signing an alliance with Yu, I would have said it had been a year,” Song Shi’an reminded him.

"..." Conson was speechless.

It really is.

If it were a lie, they would even say things like, "I'll return the messenger after you send him back."

If it's been three years, then it's a serious commitment.

"Then why must it be three years?" The King of Yan was very puzzled.

“It will take three years for Dayu’s large-scale land reclamation plan to be fully implemented,” Song Shi’an said.

Conson was astonished.

This guy is practically saying that once I've had three years of rest, I'll come and wipe you all out, isn't he?

Can I wait?
Conson had no choice but to wait.

However, he wasn't so easily fooled: "What you just said was that I would lose. Then how could I possibly win?"

“Cancel the alliance between Yan and Qi, and stop sending more troops to the south. At this time, I will block the passes into Yan and prevent the people of Dayu from entering Cangliao Pass. Your Highness, you will also blockade Liaonan County from the north, cutting off its trade.” Song Shi’an said calmly, “The Duke of Qin has the strength of only one county, yet he commands tens of thousands of troops, which is largely due to his control over trade in Yan. Without this money, he will find it difficult to support such a huge military expenditure.”

International sanctions.

This was also what Conson was thinking.

Because Duke Qin did indeed cross the line.

With the cooperation of the Dayu side, it is indeed possible to achieve this.

Furthermore, even when Duke Qin was sealed off, he dared not breathe out.

To the west lies the State of Qi, to the south the State of Dayu, to the east the State of Bai (Kangguan District), and to the north the army of the State of Yan.

“Your Highness knows that the reason why Duke Qin wants to shift the center of gravity and confront our Great Yu in a full-scale confrontation is because he wants to seize power,” Song Shi’an said.

If such a formidable enemy were not created, and the entire nation's strength were used to suppress the south, the Duke of Qin would have remained merely a powerful general and minister in a land of constant warfare.

But once he took control of this front, he was able to stand on equal footing with the King of Yan.

To put it another way, they made him a puppet.

Otherwise, why would you take such a big risk?
"Of course I know, but..." the Prince of Yan said with difficulty, "trade is an important source of our country's revenue. If the Cangliao Pass is closed, it will also be detrimental to me."

“We can trade in White County.”

"But outside Bai County, it is a desolate wasteland."

"That……"

Upon hearing this, Song Shi'an also looked troubled.

"Could the Great Yu Kingdom build a road leading to Baitou Pass, and do so as quickly as possible, within three months?" the Prince of Yan suggested.

In ancient times, building bridges and roads were major undertakings.

A massive project.

It would be even more expensive and laborious to fix this within three months.

“That’s no small matter…” Song Shi’an said, feeling quite troubled. “Also, three months is too rushed.”

Lu Chao told him that he should put on a show, but not too much, so he tried to keep it within limits. "It must be three months," Kang Xun said. "Summer and autumn are the peak seasons for trade. If it's delayed too long, it will be a significant loss for Yan."

"..."

Song Shi'an slowly raised his head, looked at him, and said through gritted teeth, "Alright, I can decide this matter."

In fact, trade did not bring much benefit to Dayu.

They are basically all in trade deficit.

After all, the purchasing power of the Yan Kingdom was too weak; it was only the royal family and nobles who supported the sales of luxury goods.

They were able to make a lot of money in Dayu by relying on their main product, animal hides.

The grain exported to them was even cheaper than the market price, ensuring that the Yan people had enough to eat, so that they could feel at ease abandoning commerce and turning to hunting.

There's no other way; if you don't improve their lives, how can you control their lifeline?
"Okay, with this path, we can all win."

The Prince of Yan was quite satisfied with his bargaining skills. He pointed at us, implying that we were in cahoots.

“And those who are destined to lose will lose,” Song Shi’an said.

"My lord, there is one more thing," Kang Xun suddenly said. "As you just said, there are still quite a few people in Yan who can hinder me..."

"Please forgive me, Your Highness, that was not what I meant."

"To be honest, I really can't make a decision." When it comes to making a show of power, he has to be assertive. But when it comes to negotiating prices, he naturally has to play the victim. Kang Xun said with great flexibility, "The Gongsun family occupies Gao County, bordering the Xiongnu, and a lot of their tax revenue comes from trade in the south."

The meaning is clear: before things got really ugly, this road to the south was shared by all three parties.

The King of Yan also needed to win over the hearts of the people and gain the respect of the entire nation.

Besides the three main families, there are many other powerful families in this country.

Your insistence on severing the alliance between Qi and Yu is solely for the sake of making a fortune for one person. How could anyone else possibly agree to that?

"Your Highness," Song Shi'an said with a knowing smile, "I have something else to give you."

.........

As night fell, Song Shi'an's delegation delivered two boxes, weighing a total of four hundred catties, to the Yan King's palace in two separate carriages, escorted by Yan cavalry.

We continued until we entered the main hall.

After Zuo Ziliang put it down, he prepared to leave. However, before leaving, he and Song Shi'an exchanged a glance.

Then, they exchanged affirming glances.

He left.

At the same time, a member of the Imperial Guard whispered beside him, "Isn't Song Shi'an giving this Prince of Yan too much respect?"

This useless king and his cronies took almost half of the gold.

The money just disappeared like water?

He didn't feel sorry for her at all.

"Shut up, it's not your place to question us."

After uttering a curse, Zuo Ziliang's eyes also turned serious.

Actually, he also had some reservations.

But Song Shi'an said to him: "The gift from the God of Fate, the frost has already carved its mark on the cold ruins."

This gift of fate had quietly sown the seeds of future disaster for Conson...

……

"My lord, what is this?"

Looking at the two boxes in front of Song Shi'an, Kang Xun showed some confusion.

This is the king.

Counting money in front of someone is so undignified!

So Song Shi'an smiled calmly and introduced, "This is a gift of five thousand gold pieces from my Emperor."

Five thousand gold coins?!

Upon hearing this number, Conson was stunned for a moment.

Because he hadn't expected there to be so much gold.

To put it simply, the Yan state's treasury currently holds less than three thousand gold pieces.

Even if two thousand gold coins are used to quell public opinion, there will still be a full three thousand gold coins left.

Enough to easily equip an elite army!
"Your Majesty's favor is so great..." Kang Xun's smile was almost impossible to hide. "What should I do?"

“Dismiss Ji Hui from the country, maintain the existing garrison, sign an alliance with Dayu, open the Baijun port, and jointly block the Qin Duke,” Song Shi’an said. “This is what my Emperor intends.”

"That goes without saying."

On the spot, Conson agreed.

But suddenly, something occurred to him.

He appointed Song Shi'an as prime minister.

"Then, Your Highness, let's begin with the alliance..."

Just as Song Shi'an was about to say something, the Prince of Yan suddenly said, "My lord, I have another request."

“Your Highness speaks,” Song Shi’an said with a smile.

The next moment, the King of Yan slowly bowed to him, making him somewhat nervous. He then said, "Please appoint me as prime minister of Yan, so that Yu and Yan can form a lasting alliance."

Where is your mother?
What am I doing in the Yan Kingdom?

Song Shi'an was taken aback, but he tried his best to appear flattered. Then he jokingly said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. But I have already said that a loyal minister does not serve two masters and a virtuous woman does not marry two husbands. How can I contradict myself?"

"Serving two ministers is not an option, is it?" He gave a mysterious smile.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?" Song Shi'an thought he was going to force him, and he panicked for a moment.

"This gold belongs to His Majesty, doesn't it?"

At this moment, the Prince of Yan, though inwardly pained, maintained a magnanimous expression and waved his sleeve gracefully, saying, "I don't want the five thousand gold pieces; I want you to become the prime minister. Please report this matter to Sheng'an and let His Majesty decide."

(End of this chapter)