Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 294 Joining the Isshinkai Group
Both Zhu Qing and Qin Kuo accepted bribes from Huang Tong.

Seven hundred and fifty gold coins per person.

The figure made both of them realize quickly, and they accepted it, so they immediately took the gold to settle their accounts.

The total is 1,500 gold coins, which is equivalent to 15 million coins in the Great Yu Dynasty.

If two people were to earn a fixed salary, it might take them two lifetimes to earn that much.

Selfish motives are certainly present, but having both loyalty and rationality, one knows that this money is not easy to obtain.

First of all, Huang Tong might not be able to keep his money. When the emperor wants to take it back, they will have to hand it over.

Although the essence of investigating corruption is that if you make up the money, we'll let it go and pretend nothing happened, it will still leave a bad impression on His Majesty in the end.

Furthermore, they are not the only ones in Nanshuo County.

It's definitely not an option to take it all for myself.

If this money is distributed, who should the people below remember as the best?
Of course it's the two of them.

But they didn't do it at all. Song Shi'an risked his life to hire a thug. They just picked up a person and helped keep an eye on things.

Therefore, this is Lord Song's money, and you cannot take it yourself.

"It should be deposited into the county treasury, then signed off on and recorded. No one may misappropriate it without my permission," Qin Kuo suggested.

“Yes, that’s the right thing to do.” Zhu Qing nodded and said, “Now that we’ve put it in the treasury and the treasury clerk has signed it, if we really can’t protect Huang Tong and he wants to take back this gold, we can talk to him.”

Specialist, you see, we did receive the money, but we didn't actually receive it.

"And one more thing," Qin Kuo said quite seriously, "continue to treat the officials sent by General Xiao Qun well, give each of them a little money, and don't let them cause any trouble. Under no circumstances should they see Huang Tong."

"Don't worry about that, we've made up all sorts of excuses. And basically all the people from Yan are guarded by our most trusted people." As he spoke, Zhu Qing showed the scar on his hand.

Those are all our brothers from the Yixin Society.

“Huang Tong is a frightened bird right now, and their hearts are not united. If they are frightened or turned against us, it could easily ruin Shi An’s important plans.” This was what Qin Kuo was concerned about.

"Do you think Shi An can persuade His Majesty?" Zhu Qing asked.

“For an ordinary person, I think it’s impossible; this is a daughter of three generations. But since it’s him, then let’s not ask this question.”

Looking at Zhu Qing, Qin Kuo solemnly said, "Just trust him."

.........

"Your Highness, they have already attacked. My soldiers on the western front are fighting desperately against the Qi rebels. When will you send troops?"

In the new city of Ji County, in the prefectural mansion temporarily used as a general's residence, Lu Chao urgently found Wei Wusheng, who was discussing military affairs with several generals while looking at a map.

Upon seeing him arrive, Wei Wusheng smiled, and then said to the rest of the people, "You may all leave now."

"Yes."

So, all the generals except Zhao Yi clenched their fists in salute and then stepped back.

After all, Zhao Yi held the position of deputy general, which was equivalent to a deputy, making him different from the others.

“Lord Lu, don’t be so hasty,” Wei Wusheng said.

"How can I not be anxious?" Lu Chao said anxiously. "When I arrived, the Qi rebels had already reached the border. Now, the two armies are clashing. I went to the border to find General Xiang first, and he said he could not act without His Highness's order. Now I'm coming to you, and you want to wait for His Majesty's order. Isn't that just making excuses?"

"My lord, you have been the envoy of Yan for many years," Wei Wusheng reminded him. "Although we are allies, if we are to send troops to assist each other in battle, one side's ruler must send a letter to the other requesting aid, and then the other side will make a decision. This procedure is correct, isn't it?"

Not only is it correct, it is quite accurate.

For example, when besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, the State of Zhao sent an envoy to the capital to ask the King of Qi for help, rather than seeking help from a general of Qi who was closer to Zhao.

Even a general couldn't make that decision.

“That’s true, but how did this happen…” Lu Chao was completely dumbfounded. He slapped his thigh and said, “It was all done by Your Highness, that Shi An.”

What a terrible thing he did!

"Hahaha." Wei Wusheng laughed, walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder, and said comfortingly, "You can't say that. There were a lot of misunderstandings between our two countries, and we were about to go to war. But it was Shi An who turned the tide and made us brothers again."

He truly turned the tide and saved the day.

But don't ask where the storm came from.

“Since they are a friendly nation, and Your Highness was sent by His Majesty, it must mean they intend to send troops to assist us. Since His Majesty will definitely agree, why not set off sooner rather than later, so as not to miss the opportunity?” Lu Chao asked.

“That’s how it is.” Wei Wusheng nodded, and just as the other man’s eyes lit up, thinking he had persuaded him, Wei Wusheng suddenly said, “The saying that a general in the field may disobey the emperor’s orders is true for others. But how can a son in the field disobey his father?”

you fart!
If you're such an obedient son, how did the Langya Mutiny happen?
But since he had already said that, Lu Chao had no choice.

Each has their own helplessness.

"The military intelligence has already been sent back to Sheng'an. In half a day at most, His Majesty will be able to draft a letter and send it back via express courier, in less than four days," Wei Wusheng said. "Once His Majesty's order arrives, our army will set off."

"What if they don't arrive within four days?"

"Impossible, the 800-li express delivery is very fast."

"If they do not arrive in four days, Your Highness, please send out your troops first." Lu Chao bowed to him and said earnestly, "Qi is strong and Yan is weak. If reinforcements do not arrive quickly, I'm afraid it will be too late."

Lu Chao immediately warned: If you don't come soon, we'll order.

Qi Yan unites as one, let's see if you're scared!
"Please rest assured, my lord, the alliance between Yu and Yan is eternal, and Ji Yuan will not be able to enter Yan." Wei Wusheng also bowed.

And so, Lu Chao left. Zhao Yi, however, asked curiously, "If His Majesty's letter doesn't arrive in four days, will we send troops?"

"Without His Majesty's order, how can we send troops?" Wei Wusheng was no longer a makeshift team.

"What if he threatens to surrender?"

“If Yan surrenders, we lose by five. But Yan itself loses by ten.” Wei Wusheng didn’t believe it at all. “They’re just two-faced bastards. They deserve their current fate.”

"Your Highness is wise." Zhao Yi truly saw something called 'progress' in Wei Wusheng.

Just one year of experience has made him so steady and sharp.

It's amazing.

“The Qi army that marched east only numbered 30,000,” Wei Wusheng said, looking at the map. “Although troops were transferred to the south, it is said that the transport of provisions has not kept up.”

"In other words, there isn't much protection against us."

If they were truly prepared for a major battle, they would likely deploy troops and defenses in key towns bordering Dayu.

The fact that only the army was mobilized without a significant movement of supplies clearly indicates a lack of preparation for a protracted war.

“Qi launched a massive attack with 30,000 troops. Let alone crippling Yan, they probably wouldn’t even be able to get through the border,” Wei Wusheng analyzed. “But their border is long. At most, they can only send small groups to harass and massacre a few villages, then claim a great victory. Once our troops actually reach Qi territory, they will retreat.”

“Mm.” Zhao Yi nodded in agreement.

“I cannot say during the discussion that this battle will definitely not happen,” Wei Wusheng said. “But when the time comes, as we advance northward, we will only advance, not attack.”

"What if we have a good opportunity to expand our gains?" Zhao Yi asked.

"There won't be any good fighter jets, and even if there were, we'd release them."

"..." Zhao Yi held his breath, about to say something but then stopped himself. He then clenched his fists and bowed, "Yes, Your Highness."

.........

"Eight hundred miles is urgent, eight hundred miles is urgent!"

On the fourth day, Sheng An's letter indeed arrived.

Upon seeing the cavalry, Lu Chao ran after them, hurrying towards the prefectural governor's residence.

When they arrived, Wei Wusheng and Zhao Yi had already received the letter and were reading it.

Gasping for breath, Lu Chao hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty has said you're sending troops, right?"

In response, Wei Wusheng smiled and said, "Yes, my army is about to set off, and Lord Lu will be able to complete his mission and return with honor."

Lu Chao breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "What about Huang Tong and the others? I want to take them with me too."

“I’m afraid that won’t do,” Wei Wusheng refused. “Huang Tong intercepted and killed Ji Yuan’s son and defected to our Great Yu. He is a meritorious official and should not be abandoned.”

"No!" Lu Chao immediately broke down in his defenses. "He's a citizen of our Yan state!"

"It's Yu Yan's family."

“Yes, so can we handle this ourselves?” Lu Chao insisted. “This is also for the true implementation of the Yu Yan Alliance.”

"What do you mean, sir?" Wei Wusheng asked, puzzled.

"Relations between two nations should naturally be based on openness and mutual trust. Is it the behavior of a friendly nation to protect a person wanted by my Yan state?"

“We must be an allied nation, otherwise His Majesty would not have sent me to send troops to assist Yan,” Wei Wusheng said respectfully. “Since Lord Lu still has doubts about the alliance, why don’t you confirm it with the King of Yan again?”

If you acknowledge the alliance, I will send troops.

I won't leave if you don't acknowledge the alliance.

Completely helpless against the general, Lu Chao sighed and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, please send out the troops first!"

……

"General Huang, His Majesty's reply has arrived."

After Wei Wusheng delivered the message, Qin Kuo went directly to Huang Tong, who was still awaiting his death sentence.

Upon hearing this, he immediately stepped forward to greet Qin Kuo, grasping his hands in both: "What did Your Majesty say?"

"General Huang's interception and killing of Ji Yuan's son makes him a meritorious official of the Great Yu. The Great Yu will not hand you over to anyone."

Upon hearing this, Huang Tong immediately burst into tears.

Then, he knelt down on both knees and kowtowed facing south: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

We survived! We really survived!

Qin Kuo looked at him with a smile.

After kneeling before the emperor, Huang Tong kowtowed again, saying, "Thank you, Lord Song. Thank you, Sixth Prince."

This guy really knows what he's doing.

"General Huang," Qin Kuo said, "Lord Song promised you an official position later. Giving you one at this critical juncture is somewhat offensive to the Yan Kingdom. You understand, right?"

“I fully understand and completely believe.”

Huang Tong stood up, his eyes filled with determination: "I am Huang Tong, and I am willing to go through fire and water for Beiliang!"

(End of this chapter)