Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 251 Priceless
After leaving the palace, Xinyue was no longer allowed to enter.

After all, the Prince of Yan had already proven to her that Song Shi'an was safe, and it was impossible for Song Shi'an to openly control the delegation any longer.

However, Xinyue did do something.

The activities of mobilizing comrades behind enemy lines to conduct propaganda campaigns are still ongoing.

She even risked her life to ensure that the Imperial Guards misappropriated 500 taels of gold and gave it to their spies in Xiangcheng to continue spreading anti-Qi sentiments.

The war of public opinion is a war without gunfire between nations. In modern times, this is even more evident, with ideological clashes never ceasing. In ancient times, however, public opinion was even sharper than a sword.

Many people die because of word-of-mouth.

However, Xin Yue was also very clear in her heart that in the end, it was the emperor who could decide everything.

If he agrees to the King of Yan's demands, everything he has done will be meaningless.

Yan Yuheping meant nothing to her.

She only wants Song Shi'an.

Standing at the window on the second floor of the inn, she looked at the road leading to the palace every day.

Anxiously waiting for a reply.

Finally, she met the envoy sent by the King of Yan, and they rode swiftly along the central avenue.

"A reply has been received!"

Clenching her fists, her heart leaped into her throat.

The express courier service between the two countries takes about four days.

One trip and one return, that's eight days.

Thirteen days have passed since the day the letter was sent.

In other words, the timeframe for consideration is four or five days.

That's been a while.

If you want to refuse something, it doesn't take long to think about it.

Or, if the emperor didn't want the Prince of Yan to succeed, he wouldn't have let anyone else know about it and would have refused in private.

Do I need to think about it for four days?
There is only one possibility: he released this news so that the officials in the court could discuss it.

We still need to think about the outcome.

Besides himself and Wei Wusheng, who really wanted him to go back?
Song Shi'an was right; this old man was going to discard the donkey after it had served its purpose.

"hateful."

With her fist clenched, Xin Yue slammed it against the windowsill, her anger overflowing.

hatred.

She has another person she wants to kill.

If Song Shi'an really can't go back, then he'll be left alone in Yan...

Biting her lip, tears welled up in her eyes.

.........

A banquet was held in the royal palace.

Once again, on that same pavilion, only the Prince of Yan and Song Shi'an remained.

"No news for so long," the Prince of Yan said to Song Shi'an in front of him, "It seems His Majesty is indecisive."

"Your Majesty, please speak plainly."

Song Shi'an hates people who are sarcastic and sarcastic.

"Hahaha." Kang Xun laughed, raising a finger. "You are all alone, and so am I."

“No one likes Song Shi’an, that’s true. Your Majesty, why are you all alone again?” Song Shi’an looked at the maid beside him. “Isn’t there a beauty right next to you?”

"Then you also have women by your side, are you lonely?" the King of Yan asked in return.

"Indeed, it's lonely."

"That's right."

After raising his wine cup to toast Song Shi'an, Kang Xun suddenly spoke up, saying, "Everyone says that I, Kang Xun, am incompetent and foolish. Is that what people in your Great Yu say as well?"

"Oh, Your Majesty, please don't say such things..."

"I don't mind this."

Interrupting Song Shi'an, the Prince of Yan's eyes suddenly sharpened. He asked, "You said that I am the second son, and even my ascension to the throne was aided by those old ministers. If I were too virtuous and wise, could I have achieved what I have today?"

Could they have survived until now?
Song Shi'an didn't speak, but smiled faintly with his head down.

"Wei Ye is so ruthless, he even managed to cripple the knife in his hand. Can you really forgive someone like that?" Leaning forward and looking into Song Shi'an's eyes, Kang Xun asked earnestly.

"The faults are all committed by the subjects; what wrong have the ruler and father done?"

Song Shi'an held a wine cup in his hand, gently swirling it, his eyes calm.

“Wei Ye is ruthless, but I am compassionate,” Kang Xun promised. “You know I can’t cripple you. To counter the Gongsun and Qin families, I will always need you.”

“What if I were to relinquish all power to Your Majesty?” Song Shi’an said with a hint of amusement. “Wouldn’t I then become Gongsun Xing, Your Majesty?”

“You are all alone, while the Gongsun family is a large and powerful clan. Why should I be afraid of you?” Kang Xun argued.

"That's the same principle."

Song Shi'an raised his head and replied, "My emperor is not cold-hearted; he cares about the world. Even if I were born from a stone and had no parents, he would trust me without reservation."

"..."

It was only at this point that Kangxun realized he had lost the argument again.

The reason he trusted Song Shi'an was because his family was in the Southern Kingdom. No matter how powerful he was, he had no clan support.

He wanted to say,
You are different from others.

I'm different from others.

Even if you are not a single person from Dayu, I will still treat you sincerely.

But how can such an assumption be made?
"Are all kings lonely?" Kangxun sighed.

“I am not a king, am I not lonely?” Song Shi’an comforted him.

The two men smiled at each other again and continued drinking.

Much of it is fake, and it's all mixed with complex politics.

But there is one thing that is absolutely true. That is that for the past ten days or so, Kang Xun has shared every meal with Song Shi'an.

You could say I spent every single day with him.

It has nothing to do with respect, nothing to do with flattery, nothing to do with winning people's hearts; it's purely because of being drunk... no, it's purely because he loves to play with himself.

The reason for this is quite simple.

How can a weak and incompetent ruler of a small country have any true friends?

I want to connect with people, but there are slides everywhere I go that I can't touch.

Only with this foreign envoy did they have no conflict of interest.

At this sorrowful moment, an urgent message arrived at the palace.

The cavalryman below the platform shouted, "Your Majesty, a secret letter from the Emperor of Yu!"

The two of them were startled at the same time, holding their breath and concentrating.

Immediately afterwards, the eunuch delivered the letter to the upper floor of the building.

The Prince of Yan waved his hand, and the two sexy maids with deep cleavage withdrew.

Now, only they remained.

The Prince of Yan opened the letter in front of Song Shi'an and looked at it calmly.

After a long while, he sighed.

Then he handed the letter to Song Shi'an.

Observing his expression, Song Shi'an slowly took it.

The letter said:

Wang Yayi, I accept. However, Song Shi'an's decision is also my decision. The top scholar of Dayu, Bian Yu's talent, is worth more than ten thousand pieces of gold.

A slight smile curved the corners of his mouth.

Xiao Wei, you really did it!
Damn it, I love you to death.

How did you do that?
Did he, like his buddy, engage in a heated debate with the Confucian scholars in the main hall, winning over the ministers and incidentally verbally killing Minister Sun?
Then Jinhua will have no father. You are so heartless.

Song Shi'an breathed a sigh of relief, completely at ease.

But the King of Yan was not a wise man; how could he have been looking at such a short conversation for so long?
After putting the letter down, Song Shi'an stood up, took a step back, and bowed to him.

Conson smiled with relief, then elegantly raised his glass towards him.

.........

Gongsun Xing sat in the Prime Minister's residence, waiting for the King of Yan to summon him.

A while later, his cousin Gongsun Yang arrived quickly with a letter: "Prime Minister, this is from the King."

Gongsun Xing quickly reached out and took the letter, but his face darkened immediately after opening it.

"What's wrong?" Gongsun Yang asked anxiously.

"Take a look," Gongsun Xing said casually, handing it to him.

After reading it, Gongsun Yang slapped his thigh hard and exclaimed, "This Song Shi'an is truly a treasure!"

“It doesn’t make sense, it makes no sense at all.” Gongsun Xing shook his head, still not believing that Wei Ye had done the right thing. “Could it be that the Great Yu is really determined to publish ‘The Wealth of Nations’?”

"Prime Minister, do you not believe they will implement reforms?" Gongsun Yang asked.

"Based on my understanding of Wei Ye, he is a particularly self-centered person. Once he has made up his mind about something, it is difficult to change it."

"Did the Prime Minister previously believe that Song Shi'an was incapable of successfully implementing reforms?"

“No,” Gongsun Xing corrected, “He believes his son cannot control Song Shi’an.”

"Can you control it?" Gongsun Yang asked curiously.

"I've never even seen it, how could I know?" Gongsun Xing was a little confused about what the old emperor was thinking. "However, with two princes vying for power, under such high pressure and authority, which son could forge a true emperor's heart?"

"We have no way of knowing what the people of Yu are thinking," Gongsun Yang said anxiously. "The key is what we should do now."

"What are you worried about?"

Gongsun Xing noticed his emotions.

“Brother,” Gongsun Yang said helplessly, “Song Shi’an came to Yan and bribed all of the Kang King’s men. And when he entered the palace, he brought a box full of gold.”

"so what?"

"He bypassed everyone else and bribed the king directly. That road also passes through the king's territory," Gongsun Yang said with extreme unease. "Now the Duke of Qin is bound to fall, and the tripartite balance of power is gone. What does the future hold for our Gongsun family?"

It's like the Mongol-Jin-Song dynasty.

Because of a deep-seated blood feud, the Song dynasty allied with the Mongols to destroy the Jin dynasty.

After the fall of the Jin dynasty, he had to bear the pressure of the Mongol cavalry sweeping across the earth all by himself.

After the Gongsun and Kang clans suppressed or even destroyed the Qin clan, what did the Gongsun clan gain?
Are we dividing up the territory?

That's an enclave.

Conson would indeed share his gold and even profits, but Gao County is in the far north, so how much would actually end up in his hands?
Gongsun Xing's idea of ​​a tripartite balance of power was correct.

It was right for the Duke of Qin to take the place of the Kang family.

But to destroy Qin and establish a tripartite balance of power would be a mistake.

How can a tripod stand upright on two legs?

"You think the king is the one who's strong?" Gongsun Xing retorted. "The ones in charge are still the aristocratic families and the newly rich."

However, the situation of the three rulers in Liaodong will be broken.

The power of the Gongsun clan will also be greatly reduced.

"What I'm worried about is..." Gongsun Yang said, "Our Gongsun family won't be safe in the future."

"I'm not well." Gongsun Xing chuckled lightly. "What are you holding in your hand?"

"It's a letter."

He looked up in surprise.

"After the King reads the letter from the State of Yan, I will read it."

Although the balance had been broken, Gongsun Xing remained calm and said, "As Your Majesty knows, the Yan Kingdom cannot function without me."

(End of this chapter)