Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 255 Duke Qin has fallen (crying voice)
The next day, before Duke Qin had even woken up, soldiers from Cangliao Pass came to report.

He sat up from the bed, half annoyed: "Come in."

The soldier entered the room, knelt on one knee, clenched his fists, and said in a trembling voice, "Lord Qin... General Huang is missing."

These words instantly snapped the old man to his senses, his eyes widening in shock: "What did you say?!"

“Lord Qin,” the man continued fearfully, “last night, General Huang led a cavalry unit out of the city and into the pass, saying that you had a mission. Then, before dawn this morning, several bodies were found outside the city’s stables. General Huang and dozens of officers and soldiers have disappeared without a trace, and the captains and centurions know nothing about it.”

"You bastard!" Duke Qin pounded the bed with his fist, his anger barely contained.

This is the drawback of not placing someone under complete house arrest.

As a result, Huang Tong was only monitored by a few trusted spies, and even when he left the city, the rest of the people thought it was a normal military activity.

After all, he was the military commander of the entire Cangliao region.

How dare anyone question what a senior leader in a unit does?

It wasn't until someone died that they realized something serious had happened.

"Where is the military advisor? Have they sent men to arrest him?" Duke Qin asked anxiously.

"My lords have sealed off the city. I request your instructions, Lord Qin," he said.

"..." At this moment, Duke Qin blushed slightly.

The backlash came.

Don't those people know Huang Tong's situation?

Anyone with a bit of power can see this situation clearly.
However, since the Duke of Qin was willing to sacrifice even those who worked for him, even if one didn't feel a sense of shared fate, one would still be wary.

Without a personal order from the Duke of Qin, a written document, or verbal instructions in the presence of others, they dared not act on their own initiative.

This is why, even at this point, Duke Qin was unwilling to hand over Huang Tong directly.

This is because it greatly damages his prestige in Liaonan Commandery and causes his subordinates to have a crisis of trust in him.

But now, even after committing the bad deed, that guy still managed to get away...

I should have just thrown the mask on and arrested him directly!

"Summon Chief Clerk Yuan over here."

With a dark expression, Qin Gong spoke in a terrifying tone.

"Yes!" The nervous soldier quickly retreated to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Meanwhile, Qin Gong, whose blood pressure had spiked, was lying on the bed, clutching his forehead, suffering from a terrible headache.

We've completely lost our way.

If this were a game of chess, the rook would have already been captured by checkmate.

Looking back, even if Song Shi'an had been killed when he entered Cangliao Pass, the situation would have been better than it is now.

At worst, the two countries would become completely hostile, and Yu would launch a military campaign against Yan. After failing to apologize and pay compensation, Yan would quickly seek refuge with Qi, and the two countries would unite against Yu.

And now,
If he does not step down, the Qin family will have to relinquish some of its interests, effectively emasculate itself, and may even face annihilation!
He could wield immense power here, but when placed on a grander scale, he understood better than anyone just how insignificant Liaonan Prefecture truly was.

A while later, Yuan, the clerk, rushed over and, upon seeing Qin Gong on the bed, asked in alarm, "What happened to Qin Gong?"

"Huang Tong has escaped," Qin Gongdao said.

"Such a thing has happened!" Yuan, the registrar, was dumbfounded. "Where did they run off to?"

What about the scapegoat?
“From within the pass,” Duke Qin said, “he should have brought the people who were with him that day.”

“If it’s not outside the Great Wall, that’s good…” Yuan Zhubu said, “At least they can’t have gone far.”

"But even if we try to catch them, it's impossible."

Don't assume that just because this place is completely under Qin Gong's control, finding someone is as easy as a police raid.

Ancient maps should not be considered as surfaces, but rather as points.

The entire Yan Kingdom covered approximately 500,000 square kilometers.

The population is around two million.

Even including those hidden accounts, it's at most 2.5 million.

That is to say, there are five people per square kilometer.

If it's still not intuitive, let's convert it again.

There are only two hundred people in the entire Dongcheng District of Beijing.

At this population density, arresting people is like finding a needle in a haystack.

"But he can't run away forever."

Although we don't know where he is, we can guess where he's going.

"What does Duke Qin mean?"

"Issue a warrant for Huang Tong in Liaonan Prefecture, with a reward of five hundred gold pieces," said Duke Qin. "The warrant should state that he coerced soldiers, disguised himself as a bandit, and attacked and robbed civilians and merchants, committing heinous crimes. Considering that the others were coerced, they will be spared, and only the ringleader will be executed."

"Yes." Yuan, the clerk, accepted the order.

But he felt that Duke Qin's method...

It is virtually impossible for the power to disintegrate from within.

Duke Qin was well aware of this as well.

Those people can't possibly believe in themselves.

They will only feel that they have discarded their usefulness and turned their backs on their family.

"Send another urgent message to the border, and blockade them as much as possible. Don't let them leave Liaonan County too easily," Qin Gong said.

"But this move can only seal off the border, allowing entry into Yu and Qi. As for going north... since it belongs to the Yan state, there aren't many outposts and passes," the chief clerk reminded him.

The Qin region was considered an autonomous region with considerable autonomy, but for the sake of appearances, it did not achieve complete military separatism with the Yan state.

"Then let him head north," Qin Gong said.

"You mean..." Yuan Zhubu realized, "He went to see Kang Xun?"

"Eighty percent," Qin Gong said. "He was probably instructed by someone to complain to Kang Xun, saying that he was ordered by me to assassinate Yu Shi. After all, Kang Xun and Gongsun Xing are really trying to get rid of me now."

"Then shall I go to Xiangcheng again?" Yuan, the clerk, guessed what Duke Qin was going to do. (It was all about appearances.)

"Yes, he said that Huang Tong attacked the envoy without my permission in order to plunder money."

After a long silence, the Duke of Qin solemnly said, "This old minister has failed in his duty to discipline his subordinates and is willing to resign to take responsibility."

.........

Inside the National History Inn, two people were having a meal together.

"If Huang Tong succeeds in killing someone, they'll definitely suspect us," Xin Yue asked worriedly. "Why don't we leave Yan now?"

I'm off!

“That won’t do. I must hear the news of Xiao Ji’s death in person before I leave Yan,” Song Shi’an said earnestly.

"Aren't you afraid that Kang Xun will be so angry that he'll kill you?" Xin Yue said.

Then, Song Shi'an took her hand and said, "With you here, I'm not afraid of anything."

"I know, I know."

Xin Yue verbally agreed as if coaxing a child, and then said, "That's true. Ji Hui is dead. Kang Xun will at most be angry and have thoughts of killing you, but he will quickly calm down after regaining his senses."

What level is your Yan state at? First you offended Su Weiqi, then you offended Meiliyu?
Do you really think you're the third strongest military power in the world?
"Xinyue, I have a question," Song Shi'an asked. "Putting everything else aside, is the assassination attempt even possible?"

"What do you mean by 'not discussing other things'?"

"Mortal heart."

“If we don’t talk about this, then it is indeed quite difficult. But we should talk about this, or rather, we must talk about this,” Xin Yue said quite calmly. “A few dozen men, and they are border troops. Having received advance warning, they ambushed a thirty-man cavalry unit that was completely unprepared. Their chances of winning were already very high. What’s more, they had no way out. It can be said that as long as Ji Hui encountered them, it would be a dead end.”

Ji Hui will encounter a group of the most terrifying people—powerful border troops with full buffs.

“The only variable is that the secret might be leaked in advance,” Song Shi’an said. “But this would require Duke Qin to send cavalry to intercept Ji Hui’s cavalry and report the news as soon as he discovered that Ji Hui had left.”

"Since Duke Qin neither knew their purpose nor Ji Hui's itinerary, it was basically impossible."

"And when Duke Qin went to Xiangcheng to report the news, Xiangcheng went to chase after the caravan to report the news... After going through such an extreme circle, Ji Hui was infested with maggots."

Even in modern China, the tactic of large-scale ambushes persisted. Not to mention the communication limitations of ancient times, where leaks were virtually impossible.

The only uncertainty is that Huang Tong and his team used too crude methods, alerting Ji Hui and allowing him to escape.

Or perhaps they were killed by those thirty Imperial Guards.

If that's the case, then that's really bad.

"Shi An, you need to understand one thing: why was the task of assassinating Envoy Yu, which would lead to utter ruin if it failed, entrusted to Huang Tong?"

Just as Song Shi'an was still pondering the success rate, Xin Yue spoke up to remind him, "Huang Tong and his soldiers are already the most capable men under Qin Gong."

.........

Carrying five days' worth of rations for his men, Huang Tong rushed to the only road he could reach.

Since it would take at least two more days to arrive, only a portion of the people remained, hiding by the roadside.

The rest of the people and horses hid in the mountains.

Huang Tong sat on the ground, waiting for Xiao Ji to arrive.

Along the way, not a single person fell behind, and not a single person ran away.

Two people form a group, three people form a crowd.

The reason why clan bandits were so difficult to deal with in ancient times was because of their strong sense of unity.

The Duke of Qin had broken their hearts. He had been loyal and devoted to the cause, yet he had received little reward and was still expected to kill them. Naturally, he had to seek a way to save himself.

As for running away to file a complaint?

Why is it that if Duke Qin can sell even a high-ranking military officer like Huang Tong, he can't do the same to himself?
Don't say things like "the ringleader must be punished, but those who are coerced will be overlooked."

Only those with high Sesame Credit scores can participate in this system.

I don't believe a damn Qin Gong, who can't even get a deposit waived when scanning a shared bike!

I've been waiting these past few days.

Until, one evening when the sun was about to set, a bird's call rang out.

With bandages wrapped around their feet and wooden pieces in their mouths, the group dispersed and entered the two sides of the main road.

They disappeared into the woods on both sides in advance.

A cavalry caravan approached from a short distance away.

They were to arrive at the official post station at night, so they were traveling in a great hurry.

There was only one carriage, driven by a coachman.

Suddenly, more than a dozen arrows flew out from both sides of the road, instantly turning the coachman and the horses into pincushions.

The horse fell, and the carriage overturned.

"There are assassins!"

The Imperial Guards also discovered it quickly.

However, the assassins hidden on both sides were highly skilled with arrows, and in the next round of arrows, they easily felled a large number of them.

Upon seeing this, some imperial guards immediately turned their horses around, preparing to flee.

At this moment, a cavalryman on each side rode out on a sealed warhorse.

They rode and shot, and in no time, the entire army was wiped out.

"who are you?!"

Ji Hui shouted as he was caught.

At this moment, Huang Tong slowly walked out and stood in front of him, slowly drawing the sword from his waist: "You're quite handsome."

"slow--"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Hui's head fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)