Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 270 The Dream of a Ruthless Minister!

When the withered fingers brushed across Song Shi'an's forehead, he felt as if he were with a kind grandfather. He truly felt the emperor's benevolence, completely devoid of the chilling, murderous aura that could cause thousands of corpses to float in the wind when an emperor is angry.

Although he had never met the emperor, they had already 'clashed' several times in an unseen manner.

I always thought he would be very intimidating.

But this guy...

Have you ever dreamed about me?

You said that?

"After all, he is the top scholar of my Great Yu. I have never met him before, so it is natural that I think about him during the day and dream about him at night." When the emperor saw Song Shi'an in a daze, he joked, "You are very much like your father. I think Song Jing in his youth was probably just like this."

"...Your Majesty's consideration for this humble subject is deeply moving."

Song Shi'an lowered his head and quickly responded politely.

But deep down, I was already feeling a little uncomfortable.

To be precise, it's abnormal.

It's perfectly normal to dream about what you think about during the day. Who hasn't dreamt about their crush during high school?

If not in high school, then definitely in vocational school.

The key question is, what did Old Deng do in his dream?

And what kind of person am I?

Don't underestimate this matter. The ancients were very superstitious about this kind of thing, because it wasn't uncommon for people to dream of someone wronging them and then kill that person.

There was also someone named Gao from Dangtu who replaced the Han dynasty.

Three horses feed in the trough.

What are peaches and plums? They can win the world.

Of course, some of these are far-fetched, or even fabricated 'pseudo-history', while others are indeed a reflection of public sentiment.

Just like the saying "Those who inherit the peach and plum trees will gain the world," it even triggered Yang Guang's massacre of the Li family. At that time, Li Mi's father, Li Kuan, was a high-ranking official in the Sui Dynasty and the Duke of Pushan. Li Yuan was a descendant of Li Hu, and was originally a hereditary nobleman, a prominent figure in the world. Even if he really gained the world, it could only be a reasonable prediction.

For example, who would have said "The pig will rule the world" at the end of the Yuan Dynasty?

In other words, the so-called omens themselves are not scary, but if the victim of the omens is an emperor who holds the power of life and death, and you are also involved in it...

This old man might even want to be buried with him when he dies!

Without saying much, the emperor walked up to Song Shi'an. With Chen Bao's help, he slowly sat on the dragon throne.

"Let's talk about the state of Yan," the emperor said.

Reporting back.

Then Song Shi'an said, "Because of Huang Tong's matter, Qin Che will step down soon. Even if Kang Xun cannot completely control Liaonan County, the Qin family's strength will be weakened considerably, which is a good thing for our Lin Yan defense line."

"What do you think, Huang Tong?" the emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, please bestow titles upon Huang Tong and all the cavalrymen," Song Shi'an pleaded.

"What about our dead prefect? ​​How are we going to explain this?"

“When I gave the gold to Huang Tong, I told him that if His Majesty asked, he should say that he was coerced by Duke Qin,” Song Shi’an said. “His Majesty can punish Kang Xun, and Duke Qin can step down in the process, which is also a way of explaining things.”

"Alright," the emperor agreed, but then added, "Kangxun will definitely ask me for Huang Tong. What should we do then?"

“Huang Tong killed our envoy and was still able to surrender to Yu. This can serve as an example for those Yan officials and some powerful families in Qi. I implore Your Majesty to protect him.”

Speaking of Kang Xun, who had a high opinion of him, Song Shi'an smiled and said, "Five thousand taels of gold is already compensation. Kang Xun is now in dire straits. He has the right to ask His Majesty for help, but he cannot expect that asking for help will necessarily be effective."

The emperor smiled and praised, "You have done a very good job."

Conson has reached a dead end.

In his anger, all he could do was vent his anger.

If he dares to really turn against them now, what if the State of Qi actually attacks him?
The only way for Kang Xun to get revenge now is to shout "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river" to the envoy of Dayu, and then become a Dou Zun powerhouse.

If it weren't for the world of cultivation, it could be said that the Yan Kingdom would have essentially no chance of recovery.

"How much gold is left?" the emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, the bribe to Lu Chao was one thousand..."

"No need for details, I just want to know how much gold is left," the emperor said casually.

"Your Majesty, there are still 6,900 taels of gold left," Song Shi'an said. "They came back with the delegation, and once confirmed, they can be returned directly to the treasury."

"The imperial treasury?" The emperor shook his head slightly, pointing at him. "I said, what's left is all yours. Take it all home."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you withdraw the funds from the national treasury," Song Shi'an insisted. "The military farms still require money, and these seven thousand taels of gold can accomplish many things. They can also speed up the process."

"My Great Yu is not so desperate that we need the money of our subjects to gather grain for the entire nation," the emperor said casually. "I've already said that if you lose, you die; if you win, all the remaining money is yours. What, are you trying to make me go back on my word?"

"Your subject dares not." Song Shi'an had never intended to return it, so he stopped refusing. However, he knew that what the emperor gave was his, and he couldn't do without sincerity, so he said, "The road in Ji County is estimated to cost three thousand taels of gold to repair. This was my idea, so it should be included in these twenty thousand taels of gold."

"You're going to pay for the repairs of my roads?" the emperor retorted.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty dares not,” Song Shi’an immediately feigned fear.

This amused the emperor, who laughed and said, "If you want to spend three thousand gold coins to repair it, fine, then you'll get a share of this road too."

"..." Song Shi'an was dumbfounded, and then quickly refused tactfully, "Your Majesty, this is the path of Dayu, the path of the emperor, and I would never dare to have any improper thoughts."

"Is it that you dare not have any improper thoughts, or that you are unwilling to do business with me?" the emperor asked.

“Your Majesty can send someone from the palace to handle this business,” Song Shi’an said.

"Young man, I know you cherish your reputation," the emperor said, gazing at him. "But do you know that in officialdom, one must also blend in with the world?"

There are many people who do business with the emperor, so to have this opportunity is a blessing.

Song Shi'an wanted to be a renowned official and a man of integrity, so he couldn't do business with anyone.

"I am at peace and will obey Your Majesty's command."

But Song Shi'an had no choice.

"This road is not only for Huiyan, but also a source of military funding for our Great Yu," the emperor said. "You also recorded it in 'The Wealth of Nations.'" If an official is afraid of corruption and does not engage in economic development, isn't that tying his own hands and putting the cart before the horse?

“Your Majesty is wise,” Song Shi’an said. “This time, more money will indeed flow into the Yan Kingdom, but some of the money from those powerful families will also flow into the national treasury.”

In other words, a trade deficit exists.

Even without a trade deficit, the money from aristocratic families would never reach the emperor's hands.

It would be better to boost consumption and stimulate the economy by producing luxury goods made from animal hides, and then collect import and export tariffs from wealthy families and the middle class.

Ancient people had low desires because of material scarcity.

Money only becomes a 'mine' when it can't buy anything.

Therefore, large-scale trading would definitely be profitable.

Conson will win too.

But winning only in the present, not in the future.

To put it bluntly, Kang Xun was the largest comprador force in the Yan state.

"So, is that settled then?" the emperor asked again.

"Your Majesty, I will obey."

Song Shi'an swallowed the sweet treat with difficulty.

Song Shi'an also owns shares in this road.

Without a doubt, he will become a nobleman of the Great Yu era.

He held the same status as the Duke of Li, Minister Sun, and a group of people from Qinzhou.

But what's the problem?
He is not an original shareholder.

It will attract jealousy.

Moreover, if the Song family gets involved in this path, he and his father will be fine. But if some idiots from his hometown in Huai County act recklessly under his own name and then claim "my cousin is Song Shi'an" when something goes wrong, then he'll be in big trouble.

Very tricky.

Fortunately, there is still a way to deal with it—kill it.

Once he realized it wasn't that difficult, Song Shi'an became less resistant.

Be as light as dust, be as light as dust.

"Then you can take the remaining four thousand taels of gold home," the emperor decided.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Song Shi'an responded sincerely.

"And then..." The emperor rubbed his head, thought for a moment, and then suddenly remembered something, and said, "Your marriage should be settled as soon as possible."

"My lord, I obey."

Ancient emperors loved to meddle, so Song Shi'an had no choice but to agree.

"In that case, there's nothing to worry about," the emperor said. "Go home and rest for ten days. Then the edict of your promotion will be sent to the Song residence. Once Wusheng returns, you can take up your post, Lord Song."

"My lord, thank you Your Majesty."

Song Shi'an rose from the stool, bowed to the emperor, and accepted his kindness.

The path his father walked for over twenty years, he has also walked in the past year or so.

Dad, you can't do it either.

"Well, go back."

"Your subject takes his leave."

Song Shi'an slowly withdrew from the main hall.

Here, only the emperor and Chen Bao remained.

Suddenly, the emperor spoke with a solemn expression: "It really is him."

"..." Chen Bao swallowed nervously, trembling as he asked, "The person in Your Majesty's dream looks just like Song Shi'an?"

“Those eyes, there’s no doubt about them,” the emperor said. “Only in the first dream did he appear to be a treacherous minister. Later, he became a ruthless and cunning official.”

The emperor had only foreseen that someone would stage a coup, and had instigated one of his sons to kill the other.

But now he realizes that this is not an ordinary palace intrigue.

Song Shi'an was clearly supporting one prince to defeat the other.

Based on his current actions, achieving this would at least demonstrate that there are no internal or external troubles, and all major policies are under the control of the central government.

What's the cost?
It's just the death of one prince and then another grandson.

"But Your Majesty, this treacherous minister..."

"Even a ruthless minister is still a subject at heart; he has his pride."

To be remembered in history was Song Shi'an's burden.

This was also the constraint that prevented him from advancing further after becoming a powerful and ruthless minister.

"Your Majesty is holy."

Chen Bao felt that the emperor was really having a blast.

Song Shi'an's performance today certainly made him seem like someone capable of accomplishing such great things.

Sheng'an is now devoid of humans.

They are all perverts!
"Chen Bao".

Turning to the eunuch, the emperor said coldly, "Reveal the fact that I once summoned Sima Yu to the palace to interpret my dream."

(End of this chapter)