Frost for a Thousand Years

The massive granary, over six zhang tall, suddenly burst into flames, tongues of fire licking through the dark night like ten thousand golden snakes emerging from the cracks. The rice grains ignited instantly upon contact with the flames, and in a flash, the entire granary resembled a giant steamer. At first, there was the aroma of hot rice, but as the grains charred, the smell of burning grew stronger and stronger. The hundred soldiers who had initially planned to fight the fire were completely unable to approach. Moreover, the suffocating smoke had disrupted their formation, leaving them scattered like a pile of loose sand.

"Don't panic! Don't run!"

Upon seeing this, General Bai immediately drew his sword and shouted a rebuke.

"Boss, His Majesty has ordered us to swear an oath to guard the granary and not let anyone near it. If the granary falls, we will all lose our heads, but..." his deputy asked anxiously, "What should we do now?"

"What should we do?" General Bai's mouth trembled as he looked fearfully at the hell before him, shook his head, and muttered, "What can we do? This raging fire, burning like this, is it possible for time to turn back?"

It's over.

At least here.

However, there was still a way to salvage the situation. He yelled at his deputy, "Go tell Zhao Tou that the enemy is inside the granary!"

The fire started from the inside, and it must have been prepared with oil beforehand, so the entire warehouse was set ablaze in an instant.

But they've been guarding it for days, and there's been routine patrol and surveillance. How could there be anyone inside?

"It's a cellar! There's already a cellar inside the warehouse!" Manager Bai blurted out whatever came to mind, completely flustered.

"Yes!" The deputy was just about to leave.

But the next moment, Bai Zong grabbed him again and said, "Before burning, was there a long horn sound?"

"Yes, not long after the horn sounded, it caught fire in the blink of an eye."

This is something everyone has heard.

I thought it was a bit strange before, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

After all, there were rebels present at this grand ceremony. If they wanted to cause trouble, it would be quite normal for them to use horns as a prelude to an attack.

"The bugle sounded, and the fire started." After thinking for a moment, General Bai suddenly realized and said in fear, "But now, the bugle has not sounded again."

"In other words, the rebels' goal is not to burn all the granaries at once," the deputy understood. "They're going to burn them one by one."

"Those people must be caught after the next bugle call!"

"Yes!"

Their response was timely, and there was no chaos or panic as soldiers fled in all directions.

But the night was too dark.

Even if a dozen trusted men were sent in to search the other granaries at night, they would be like headless flies, like blind men, unable to find any clues.

"It smells like kerosene!"

One of the soldiers in the warehouse smelled this scent.

The others followed the sound and found that at the bottom layer of the piled-up grain were countless bags of rice emitting this unsettling oily odor.

"What can we do... Are we supposed to drag all this grain out of the mountain of grain? That's impossible!"

"If it catches fire now, then we will also..."

"It will definitely burn to ashes!"

They had no way to do anything.

At this moment, deep in the cellar, a suicide soldier sat on the ground, waiting for the bugle call.

Although the air in the cellar is thin, there are many small ventilation holes that were left in advance, so it will not suffocate.

Even more, candlelight flickered softly in this dark room…

This battle is the chance to repay our benefactor!
.........

Wei Wusheng, kneeling outside, noticed soldiers constantly entering and leaving the main hall. He was in a state of panic, completely losing the relaxed demeanor he had shown before, where even a raging flood seemed irrelevant.

They're in a panic!

Song Shi'an clearly saw that the emperor was getting anxious.

The previous composure, disdain, and domineering arrogance were completely shattered at this moment.

Looking at himself, an incredulous look of astonishment appeared in his eyes.

"His Majesty."

Song Shi'an's hair was being pulled hard, and the sword on his neck was pressing down heavily. So when he spoke, the vibration of his Adam's apple made the sword embed itself deeper into the blade, and blood spilled out faster. Even so, he still smiled and said to the emperor, "If you are not a threat, why are you so flustered?"

"presumptuous!"

Out of anger, Wei Le gripped the hilt of the sword and was about to pull it off forcefully, but his fearless attitude only made the swordsman more flustered.

Just then, a member of the Imperial Guard held a knife to Xin Yue's neck and roared at Song Shi'an, "If you don't want your woman to die, quickly bring out those people who burned the granary and surrender, or I will kill her!"

"Kill him."

Xin Yue, just as composed as Song Shi'an, jokingly said without a care in the world.

"Don't kill her! Drag her out and let the brothers have their way with her, make her wish she were dead!" Wei Le roared, turning around. "No, in front of Song Shi'an!"

Despite the commotion being so loud, almost hysterical, Song Shi'an's gaze remained unmoved, continuing to look at the silent emperor.

"Woo——"

Just then, a deep and long horn sounded from outside.

Actually, there had been a similar sound before, but nobody took it seriously.

Now, the sound became especially jarring.

Everyone, including Hee-sun, had their hearts pounding.

The Imperial Guard with the knife to Xin Yue's neck looked around anxiously.

A short while later, a cavalryman rode in at full speed, dismounted, knelt on one knee, and cried out, "Your Majesty, another granary has caught fire!"

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat once again.

"Cut this woman into a thousand pieces, right in front of him!" Xi Shan pointed at Xin Yue and warned.

However, deterrence is always something that only the dominant party can possess.

The news arrived less than three minutes after the goods were moved from the first warehouse to the second.

Of course, it takes time to start burning and time to report, but the interval is at most five minutes.

In ancient times, a water clock was used to tell time.

Each word takes five minutes.

Before they even started negotiating with the emperor, two of the granaries had already been burned down.

As for punishing Xin Yue?
For every tear she sheds, I'll burn down a warehouse.

Song Shi'an even offered himself up to the emperor, disregarding his own death. How could he possibly threaten the emperor?

Xin Yue, however, was not a weak woman who could be easily intimidated.

"The blood and sweat of 500,000 soldiers and civilians, burned to ashes like this, don't you feel heartache?"

After such a long silence, the emperor, gazing at the madman, finally spoke, puzzled.

"Your Majesty, are you now showing compassion for the people?"

Song Shi'an looked at him, feigning confusion, and asked in return.

Song Shi'an's question wasn't out of ignorance.

The emperor's question was not one that he did not understand.

Even more so, the fact that he uttered such a clownish statement, as if without thinking, made Song Shi'an's 'reversal technique' seem so powerful.

"Your Majesty, proceed with the punishment! I refuse to believe he can withstand such a long torture!" Xi Shan urged, seeing the emperor being so manipulated.

"Fool." The emperor glared at him, disgusted. "Do you think they'll stop until they see him?"

"..." Xi Shan was stunned. That's right, Song Shi'an had made arrangements in advance, and no matter what, the fire couldn't be stopped.

Unless he personally intervenes.

Furthermore, they seized the initiative.

The emperor looked at Song Shi'an and waved his hand.

Wei Le was furious, but he could only reluctantly release the sword.

Xinyue was also released.

Then, he immediately pulled out a strip of white cloth and used it to stop the bleeding from Song Shi'an's neck.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard, the commander of the Imperial Guard, and the eunuchs could only watch helplessly as they did anything.

"Do you think I'd care so much about what happens after I'm about to die?" the emperor asked Song Shi'an with a slight smile.

Song Shi'an slightly raised his hand, and Xin Yue walked away from behind him.

Looking at the emperor, who seemed truly as cold-blooded and ruthless as he had claimed, Song Shi'an asked, "Since Your Majesty doesn't care, Shi'an is destined to die anyway. Why don't you order those people to stop and save the people of Huai County?"

The emperor's bluster only earned him Song Shi'an's merciless mockery.

What? Just because I love my country and its people, and I can't bear to see the common people suffer, and because farming is so hard work, and millions of bushels of grain are hard-won, even if the fruits of our labor are about to be plundered by others, do I still want to maintain my noble character and compassionate heart, and give up this lose-lose situation?
Your Majesty, you are being a bit too naive.

"You can't win," the emperor said, glaring at him. "Even if I let you go now, you still won't win."

"Let me go?" Song Shi'an asked back.

"I can grant your request; I will let you go to Beiliang. And I will allow your Song family to go with you," the emperor said. "But do you believe me?"

“Emperor,” Song Shi’an shook his head and sighed, “you are really getting old.”

"Where did you go wrong?" the emperor asked.

“You just told me not to let others control my destiny,” Song Shi’an said. “Now, do you still want me to give you the power to make that decision?”

"Yes, so how do you plan to win?" The emperor shook his head and laughed. "You wouldn't expect me to hand over military power to you and the throne to Wei Wusheng, would you?"

“Then Your Majesty should think about it yourself. Your Majesty should make the decision.” Song Shi’an stretched out his hand.

The emperor, his eyes icy, replied, "Don't even think about it. I'd rather die..."

The emperor paused for a moment before speaking.

Song Shi'an couldn't hold back any longer. He raised his finger, pointed it at the emperor, and laughed arrogantly, "Tell me! What will you do then?"

The emperor dared not utter the word "the fall of a nation."

He was really cornered.

He was afraid that if Song Shi'an knew about the terrible consequences of his burning warehouses.

But this just shows that he's completely lost his mind.

He didn't need to say that the country was doomed; how could the Song dynasty not know?

"We have exhausted the government's coffers and mobilized the entire nation's resources for land reclamation. If all our previous efforts are wasted, how can the Great Yu bear the responsibility?"

Song Shi'an's first question made everyone a little scared.

"The wealth and fortunes of merchants from the Central Plains are all here. If they are reduced to ashes, how can the prefectures and counties be at peace?"

Song Shi'an's second question began to worry them.

"Your Majesty, please."

Song Shi'an leaned forward slightly and asked, "In the capital region, there are 500,000 refugees, with no food in their granaries but guns in their hands. Where will they go?"

This final question made them fully realize just how turbulent and terrifying the vast ocean of the people truly is.

At that moment, a bugle sounded, like a death knell, causing the emperor, who had been domineering all his life, to look up, close his eyes, and feel a tightness in his chest, so painful that he could not breathe.

These few points alone could have led to the decline of the nation and the downfall of the Great Yu Dynasty.

But you should know that Ji Yuan still has troops stationed in the north, ready to march south at any time.

If the Northern Liang army surrenders unconditionally.

"Your Majesty, Shi'an doesn't care whose subject he serves," Song Shi'an quipped. "If I die here, my family will die in Sheng'an. But you can't wipe out my Song clan. When Ji Yuan arrives, will any member of your Wei clan survive?"

That's the charm of mutual destruction.

Why is it that some players can win by exploding together?

If you let Jack Ma come over and play a game of Texas Hold'em with me, and he loses, he gives me all his wealth, and if I lose, I give him all my wealth, do you think he'd be willing to do it?

Of course, one can be an emperor.

But such a deal, which would harm the enemy by a thousand while injuring himself by twenty thousand, would make him a laughingstock for all time.

"Your Majesty, the third grain depot—"

"Get out!"

The emperor shouted loudly, then his body trembled and he fell onto the chair with a thud.

Once again, she met Song Shi'an's gaze.

At this moment, he stood up.

The Imperial Guards and Wei Le nervously drew their swords, but without His Majesty's permission, even though Song Shi'an had walked right up to the Emperor, they still dared not move.

"Your Majesty, do you regret having that dream?"

Song Shi'an looked down at her from his high vantage point and said.

Blood kept rushing and congesting towards my heart.

The emperor's eyes were bloodshot.

Looking at this person, his anger had completely subsided.

My body is gradually returning to its youthful state.

Strength and vitality, all gone.

However, the emperor's majesty was gone.

Song Shi'an asked, "Do you regret having this dream?"

Rather, do you regret taking this dream seriously?
Yes, he didn't even allow the emperor to exercise his divine right of kings based on divine intervention.

“Even if you take control of this place, you cannot win,” the emperor said. “The Crown Prince and Wu Qing (Duke of Li) control the vast majority of the army. Furthermore, they can mobilize the imperial guards! You can only die here with me.”

“Your Majesty, wasn’t this your original plan?” Song Shi’an said, “You used this old and senile body to exchange for my vibrant flesh.”

"Therefore, I allow you to take me as a hostage and your family to Beiliang!" the emperor roared. "Qin Kuo, Zhu Qing, and all their families are also permitted."

“I haven’t lost, so why should I run away?” Song Shi’an asked.

“But if you don’t escape now, everyone will die!” the emperor said. “And if you stay here, you won’t win!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a trombone suddenly sounded.

The emperor's heart pounded even faster: "Song Shi'an, do you want to see the world suffer and its people die?!"

"His Majesty."

Song Shi'an smiled and then extended his hand, saying, "I only need you. Please invite Prince Jin over."

These words made the emperor's heart almost stop beating.

A long ringing sound came from my mind.

Then, with veins bulging, he responded, "No!!" (End of Chapter)