Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 263 Chaos in Sheng'an
The raging fire in the new city destroyed dozens of houses, causing incalculable damage and triggering a major purge among the county's military and officials.

More than a dozen officials and military officers in charge of the curfew were all arrested.

After all, this involves a major incident concerning the safety of proton lives of friendly nations.

However, it's not all bad.

"Brother Ziliang, after we return to Sheng'an, Dongliang will probably still be unsafe."

Separately, Song Shi'an and Zuo Ziliang discussed the matter of the hostage.

"If it weren't for the magistrate's composure in the face of danger yesterday... there would probably have been a real mess."

Zuo Ziliang was also well aware of how complex the situation was in a border prefecture, especially after the departure of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Song Shi'an, when it became purely a local political situation.

"What are your thoughts?" Song Shi'an asked.

"How about we petition His Majesty to recall Kang Yi's family to Sheng'an..."

Zuo Ziliang, being a firsthand witness, was acutely aware of the depth of Yan's infiltration into Xincheng. Kang Xun himself, however, would not so easily let go of this thorn in his side.

“No.” Song Shi’an said seriously, “The foundation of our political relations is our promise to return Kangyi in three years. Only on the border, where Kangxun can see it, can the alliance be maintained.”

Previously, Kang Xun had also asked his elder brother many times to return the Great Yu.

But they all made excuses.

Now is a time of dramatic changes in the international situation, and we must maintain good relations with the Yan state, otherwise this money will have been wasted.

This is why, even knowing that the people were hired by the Prince of Yan, they had to pretend to be ignorant and not undermine Kang Xun.

America: As Chinese is an international language, it is reasonable for Pakistan's nuclear weapons manuals to include Chinese.

"Indeed." Zuo Ziliang also knew that this was the goal of this mission.

We must not put the cart before the horse for the sake of Kangyi's safety.

So what should we do?
“Brother Ziliang, I have a plan,” Song Shi’an said. “Separate Kang Qing and Kang Yi, father and son. Control them separately in two different places.”

"..." Zuo Ziliang had actually thought of this method long ago; any normal person would think this way. However, the emperor hadn't said that it was permissible to do so.

Moreover, where to place Kang Qing is also crucial.

"Then, Your Excellency, where do you think it would be appropriate to place Kangqing?"

“It must be Liangzhou. It can’t be too far away, and it also has to be far from the control of Yan.” Song Shi’an looked into his eyes and said seriously, “I think only the north wind is the most suitable.”

Say this.

Zuo Ziliang also realized what Song Shi'an was thinking.

In the past, he was indeed an impeccable person.

But now, he can find fault with it.

“My lord,” Zuo Ziliang said, gazing at him, “this matter is too significant for me to decide. Nor can I offer any advice. When the time comes, you will have to explain it to His Majesty yourself.”

“I will take full responsibility,” Song Shi’an said.

Upon hearing this, Zuo Ziliang, who had just finished wearing armor, calmly replied, "You have the authority to make all the decisions regarding this mission."

.........

News of the events in Yan had not yet reached Sheng'an.

After all, the journey is too long.

However, the public opinion crisis that erupted in Sheng'an has already fully fermented.

In the streets and alleys, everyone was talking about that 'twenty thousand taels of gold'.

Even a man selling pies can talk about the general trend of the world.

"Everyone knows that Song Shi'an wants to establish military farms and doesn't want war in the north. But why send a hostage to Yan and give money to that fickle Kang Xun just to keep Yan from causing trouble?"

"It's normal to spend some money to bribe the Yan state to drive out Ji Yuan's son, but we can't spend that much money. Twenty thousand gold... even if we squeezed the entire Yan state dry, we still wouldn't be able to get twenty thousand gold!"

"I don't believe it," someone said quite rationally. "Song Shi'an is someone who dared to go to war in Shuofeng at that time. Could he be a coward? Sending money to Yan is definitely a despicable rumor! Also, where did the rumor of 20,000 gold come from? Whoever said such a thing definitely has ulterior motives! They took money from Qi and are traitors!"

"Don't you believe me? I actually saw Song Shi'an on his mission. He had many caravans carrying a lot of things wrapped in leather canopies. It must be gold, otherwise why would they be wrapped so tightly?"

"That's right. If it really isn't gold, why wouldn't they dare to send an envoy openly and honestly?"

"And another thing, his father, Song Jing, is now the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and the former Minister of the Imperial Secretariat is on sick leave, so the national treasury is now under his control."

"That's His Majesty's gold, would he dare to embezzle it?"

"Whether he was greedy or not is another matter, but if he really took that much gold, it means that Song Shi'an has also fallen into depravity." Someone said disdainfully, "Before, he dared to risk his life because he was an illegitimate son and had no status. Now, at the age of twenty, he has become a fourth-rank official, so he must cherish his life."

"If you gave me those 20,000 gold coins, I could also successfully complete my mission and obtain a treaty of alliance."

"Hmph, if it were me! I would expand my army by tens of thousands of elite troops and wipe out the tiny Yan Kingdom directly! Why would I need to curry favor with them? Back then, my Great Yu Iron Cavalry had already reached Cangliao Pass. If we hadn't looked down on that bitter, cold land, where would the Yan Kingdom be now?"

"Each generation is worse than the last." "I think Song Shi'an is no better than him..."

Sun Jinhua, sitting in the carriage, looked very grave when she heard what the people of Sheng'an were saying.

Biting her lip, she muttered in complaint, "They all said he was a hero who fought for the country and the people, a hero who resisted Qi, and even went to the Dali Temple to denounce him... But not long after, he's become utterly useless, a bunch of scoundrels."

A little while later, the maid Awu got into the carriage, holding a small box, and said to her, "Miss, all your jewelry has been sold. Here is fifty taels of gold..."

“Here’s another fifty taels of gold, which makes a total of one hundred taels.” Sun Jinhua took out all her remaining savings and handed them to her. “Aren’t you related to the female steward of the Jia family? Go and give him all of it. I’ve heard my brothers talk about Jia Guihao. He’s a greedy man and a member of the Wu King’s faction. If you give him the money, he’ll know you’re from the Sun family and will help you out.”

"So much money, Miss, you're really willing to spend it all for Song Shi'an..."

"Alright, stop teasing me," Sun Jinhua said seriously. "He's the Western Commandant, which is in charge of arresting people. Just say that there are spies from Qi in Sheng'an, spreading rumors and slandering national policies..."

Will this work?

“Whether it works or not, as long as a few people are arrested publicly, at least the rumors can be suppressed,” Sun Jinhua said. “If they continue to say this, the officials will impeach us again.”

"But what if Song Shi'an really took 20,000 taels of gold on his mission?"

"What does that prove?" Sun Jinhua said angrily. "Is he a bad person?"

"Miss, please don't be angry... I'll take care of it right away."

Awu didn't dare to utter a word and quickly did as instructed.

Sun Jinhua, however, remained deeply sorrowful.

She increasingly felt that the woman named Xinyue was right.

As the daughter of Sun Situ, whatever she does is insignificant.

A single sentence from his father was enough to plunge Song Shi'an into a deep predicament.

If I really want to protect him, I should fight with my father...

.........

The horse-drawn carriage carrying a load of pork arrived at the backyard of a tavern in Sheng'an.

"Brother, have some water." The waiter handed him a ceramic bowl.

The plain-clothed waiter picked up the bowl, drank several large gulps of water, and then asked, "Is the boss here?"

"Yes, I'll take you there now."

The waiter then led him to the shopkeeper.

Generally, the person in charge of the work pays the wages.

But the owner of this shop is extremely stingy; he insists on handling everything personally, especially matters involving money.

So whenever someone brought meat or wine, he would bring his employees to collect the money from him.

And so, he entered the shopkeeper's room.

Upon seeing him arrive, the shopkeeper greeted him, "I'm here to collect the money, please wait a moment."

"Okay, boss."

The waiter who delivered the meat nodded, and then the waiter who brought him up left.

After closing the door, the shop assistant quickly went over and whispered to his boss, covering his mouth, "The 20,000 taels of gold has been confirmed; it's real."

"This Song Shi'an is nothing special, taking half the national treasury's money for his mission," the landlord laughed.

"Also, the emperor sent the Imperial Guards to follow him. And didn't that Imperial Guard return before? Then he went north again," the shopkeeper said. "He should be guarding that gold and supervising Song Shi'an."

“If they really take 20,000 gold coins, His Majesty’s plans will be completely disrupted,” the landlord said. “They might use that money for some bad things.”

"Yes, we were only paid 10,000 gold coins to kill Song Shi'an using 'human words'. And this 20,000 gold coins is probably for the same thing."

"The emperor also wants to protect him, so this money is kept very secret." The landlord nodded with amusement. "It must have been leaked by some big shot, all for the purpose of getting rid of the Yu emperor and Song Shi'an."

“The money we’ve spent has already been very effective,” the shopkeeper said. “Now everyone’s saying that Song Shi’an has fallen from grace, is terrified, and is going to use the money from Dayu to curry favor with Yan.”

“Continue,” the landlord said. “We also need to give money to some officials.”

"Should we ask them to impeach Song Shi'an?"

"That's too obvious," the landlord said mysteriously. "Let them make a fuss about the salary issue, and then make up some story about how some honest official hasn't received his salary for several years, is destitute, and is almost selling his daughter."

"Incredible!" The shopkeeper raised his finger and said in approval, "The entire Great Yu is in arrears with salaries, and many people can't even afford to live. Yet Song Shi'an is using the country's money to give away people. This allows the officials of the tiny Yan Kingdom to live a life of luxury."

"Even if he returns with the treaty and even sends His Majesty's princes back to their country, the officials and common people will still be relentless in their demands once they learn that the national treasury is short 20,000 taels of gold..."

The boss, a master of espionage, revealed a victorious smile: "Forget about a promotion, just a few words from him could kill him!"

(End of this chapter)