Frost for a Thousand Years

"My lord, please."

One of Song Shi'an's henchmen, now serving as a centurion in the Imperial Guard, led him to visit the rebuilt granary.

Cleanup efforts have been ongoing since the grain silo was burned down.

Five of the large granaries, which were burned to ashes, disappeared as if they had vanished from the world after the charcoal was removed, leaving only a charred ring around the bottom.

After the Duke of Li was dealt with, Song Shi'an arranged for manpower to build a fairly high single-sided wall around the granary.

There was a watchtower approximately every fifty paces along the wall.

In a short period of time, it was as if a city had sprung up from the ground.

Of course, it cannot be compared to a real city.

There were no city walls or towers. Moreover, the walls were so thin that they could be blasted apart by a catapult that could accurately target and fire continuously.

In terms of workload, it is at least 95% simpler.

It can be described as the outer wall of a super-large mansion.

Song Shi'an led Gao Yunyi up the watchtower, overlooking the remaining seven granaries, and said with a smile, "Brother Yunyi, my lifeline lies here."

The land reclamation ceremony will be held to rebuild the city and actually construct it as a city.

It will take about a year.

Its purpose is to be the granary of the world.

Therefore, the administrative level of this city is not simply that of a county, prefecture, or state capital.

Its name is Ōkura Castle.

A new official was appointed as the Director of the Granary Department, a fifth-rank official.

They were directly under the jurisdiction of the governor of Sizhou, and neither the prefectural assistant nor the commandant could overstep their authority to issue orders.

"Then the burden on my shoulders is no light one," Gao Yunyi said, feeling immense pressure.

During that battle, chaos reigned almost everywhere. However, the Huaiyang General Camp warehouse, managed by Gao Yunyi, remained orderly, with clear accounts and no violations or overstepping of regulations in the allocation of grain.

In fact, at that time, Huai County suffered a significant loss of grain.

Many officials took advantage of the war to embezzle some of the grain and line their own pockets.

Only Gao Yunyi's bills matched perfectly. Even though Huaiyang Camp was briefly ruled by the Duke of Li, he was still able to withstand the pressure and was not extorted by the pro-Wu princeling officials.

It can be said that during times of chaos, national property was protected.

What Song Shi'an valued was his ability in this area.

"This year's great battle caused heavy casualties in Huai County, and the loss of grain was also considerable. But starting next year, there will be more grain," Song Shi'an said. "Those five burned-down granaries must be rebuilt. Those cellars I built earlier must also be sealed off to prevent them from being used by others."

"My lord," Gao Yunyi said, looking at him somewhat uneasily, "I used to be a member of the Crown Prince's faction."

When Song Shi'an built the Great Granary City and reopened twelve granaries, he intended to seize the fruits of the military-agricultural colonies for himself, rather than transporting the grain back to Sheng'an and strengthening the central government's power.

Of course, it's impossible for them to completely fail to give back to the central government.

The silk and cloth he produced here over the past year have all been sold in these days, generating a huge cash flow that can temporarily fill the gap in Sheng'an's operations.

However, Sheng'an remained perpetually hungry from then on.

As a major base camp like Huaijun, the amount of food and the number of troops will increase.

In fact, the new army and the elite full-time soldiers that will be trained will all be produced here.

To put it bluntly, Sizhou was under the jurisdiction of Song Shi'an. And Huaijun practically became his 'fiefdom'.

He also intends to use the resources of Sili Prefecture and the surrounding counties to fully develop this fiefdom.

The top official of Dacang City was undoubtedly Song Chen.

“Not all princelings are enemies. And the so-called Song faction cannot be promoted arbitrarily without any thought.”

Faced with his reminder, Song Shi'an calmly replied, "Moreover, I have never believed that the friendship between us, who were fellow graduates of the imperial examinations, is inferior to the so-called relationship between ruler and subject."

The so-called "ruler and subject" is practically treasonous.

Such utter contempt for the very foundations of feudal society.

But Song Shi'an spoke with utmost sincerity.

What about loyal ministers and filial sons? What about lackeys and lackeys?

Tell me, isn't the bond between us classmates more genuine?

Moreover, when we actually met, you didn't make things difficult for me, and I didn't persecute you.

The competition in the past was simply a matter of 'each serving their own master' without any other choice.

"Lord Song," Gao Yunyi said with admiration, jokingly adding, "I never expected that those old ties would become my get-out-of-jail-free card."

“That’s true.” Song Shi’an put his hand on his shoulder. “Back then at Sun Situ’s residence, you spoke up for me. Just for those few words of justice, I will protect you for the rest of my life.”

"So, it applies to Brother Fan as well?" Gao Yunyi asked.

"Brother Fan was my rival in love back then, I won't let him off so easily," Song Shi'an joked.

This statement brought the two of them even closer.

Years later, when we talk about Sun Jinhua, the campus belle we once idolized, doesn't it bring a unique feeling?

"You can rest assured that everything in this Great Granary City is in my hands," Gao Yunyi said. "You don't need to transfer me away in the future. Before the land reclamation is completed, I am willing to farm here for you for ten years, until the world is unified."

There are many official positions in Dayu, and the higher the rank, the more impressive the title.

However, some official positions with real power are not of high rank.

For example, this warehouse manager is no different from a prefectural inspector.

Staying here for ten years is tantamount to being 'exiled'.

Who becomes an official without the desire for promotion and to stand out from the crowd?

“Yunyi.” Song Shi’an grasped his hand, his gaze sharp, and said, “These past years, I can only ask you to endure the loneliness.”

Land reclamation is the easiest way to have one's gains plundered.

Song Shi'an couldn't stay here and keep an eye on things forever.

With him around, every account and every bag of millet was indeed accounted for.

But he can't stay here forever, doing specific, detailed work.

"Don't worry," Gao Yunyi said. "The grain supply every year will not be less than the previous year. No matter if they are royalty or nobles, or the newly noble Song family of Huai County, it will be impossible for them to embezzle a single grain of rice from me."

"As long as Yunyi manages this household well for me," Song Shi'an promised, "no matter what prince, duke, or even my great-uncle from the Song family, if anyone dares to submit a memorial impeaching him, I will make sure he spends the rest of his life in the Dali Temple."

Song Shi'an did not forget the path he came from.

His class struggle will not stop.

We will not take the path of compromise simply because we have won and become beneficiaries.

From resisting the nobility, to defeating the nobility, to becoming a nobility, and finally producing nobility in large numbers.

He wanted to eliminate all nobles equally and become a centralized supreme ruler.

The two bowed to each other and performed a salute.

Just then, the Imperial Guards dispatched by Sheng'an arrived at the land reclamation ceremony.

"My lord, the Empress Dowager's people have arrived and wish to see you," General San Gou reported.

"Tsk." Song Shi'an clicked his tongue in annoyance, not really wanting to listen to this woman. "If she has something to say, she should go to the Emperor. Why is she coming to me?"

After another explosive statement, Gao Yunyi wisely and quietly withdrew.

San Gou leaned closer and whispered, "The Empress Dowager knows that the Prince of Wu is dead, and she's not letting it go."

"I knew about this." Song Shi'an rubbed his forehead, not wanting to face it.

“My lord,” San Gou said, “that woman may be very tough, but the emperor is in your hands, the army is in your hands, and even the officials are on your side. Even if she throws a tantrum, we can just ignore her, can’t we?”

The Empress Dowager gained absolute power for a short period of time, which made her unclear about her own position and she began to act somewhat arrogantly due to her age.

In San Gou's opinion, since they've already gone this far in bullying her, why bother caring about her?

The officials were originally only afraid of the old emperor, but if Song Shi'an ignored this woman, they would also join in bullying the Empress Dowager.

The officials of the Great Yu Dynasty took turns humiliating the fifty-year-old Empress Dowager.

“This doesn’t look good, do you understand?” Song Shi’an said, getting straight to the point.

If there are too many farces, then he really becomes a tyrannical minister.

Even when Cao Cao held the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords (serving the emperor to command the disobedient), he initially delivered chicken soup to the emperor when the emperor was down on his luck. His kindness and sincerity led Emperor Xian of Han to consider him a true loyal minister.

But now, the emperor was forced to abdicate and became the retired emperor.

The King of Wu died suddenly in this battle.

When Song Shi'an returned to the city, the Empress Dowager staged a scene of "Hmph, you won't be allowed into the city until you get justice for my son," which was really too ugly and made this new regime look less than honorable.

Even a makeshift troupe.

“But if we go back like this, and the Empress Dowager gets angry, she might demand your life, Marquis…” San Gou said in a low voice, “It’s very dangerous.”

“This woman is really not as rational as the former emperor, Kang Xun and others,” Song Shi’an murmured. “After all, she is a woman. If she gets excited, she could kill me.”

“Right, Lord Marquis?” San Gou said, “It’s not worth taking the risk just to make it look good.”

“Then here,” Song Shi’an said casually, looking at him, “If she dares to touch me, you kill her son too.”

"?" Three dogs.

.........

Song Shi'an's carriage, escorted by hundreds of cavalrymen, is heading towards Sheng'an City.

The coachman was his former bodyguard, and inside the carriage were him and Xinyue. "Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to be separated from the emperor?" Xinyue asked.

The emperor, this puppet, is their most important card.

"It's alright," Song Shi'an said. "When they left, the emperor and officials were personally escorted by San Gou, and they had already set off. They will arrive in Sheng'an at most three days later than us."

The emperor and his officials are all bargaining chips; they will all return to Sheng'an together.

Then, the core officials of Huai County, such as Prefect Ji Zhi, Prefectural Assistant and Inspector Wang Shuishan, and Granary Director Gao Yunyi, continued to manage Song Shi'an's base.

All the troops stationed in the agricultural settlements, including the seven or eight thousand Qinzhou soldiers who had just been captured, the emperor's three or four thousand imperial guards, and the more than thirty thousand agricultural settlement soldiers, plus more than eight thousand county soldiers, totaling fifty thousand troops, were personally reorganized by Wei Wusheng, who then reassigned his true confidants to serve as mid-level commanders.

The Yixin Society members who returned from Beiliang, along with the assassins that Song Shi'an had secretly kept, were brutally forced into their bodies by Wei Wusheng.

The main focus is on stability.

Seizing power is so difficult, so the cadre group must be absolutely pure and must not have any ulterior motives.

The Three Rules: Be absolutely loyal to Xiao Wei, be absolutely loyal to Song Shi'an, and show relative respect to the Emperor.

“But it’s unlikely that he can control everything in Sheng’an,” Xin Yue said. “In this coup, all the officials contributed. In Huai County, especially He Shaofu, he was so obsequious that he didn’t seem like an old man. As for Sheng’an, Ouyang Ke, needless to say, contributed almost half of the effort. Plus, he already held a high position and had a lot of power, so he couldn’t leave without getting a share.”

"Of course."

Song Shi'an wasn't that possessive of his food, nor was he that politically naive.

All the bros involved in the Xuanwu Gate Incident were admitted to the Lingyan Pavilion, and ranked extremely high.

Xinyue is absolutely right.

In reality, those officials didn't care at all; their efforts were simply a means to save themselves.

The real key lies with Ouyang Ke.

He was already the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the head of all officials.

It played a pivotal role in Sheng'an's coup attempt.

It's not about sharing power with him.

He now wields considerable power.

If he were to truly rely on his military power and the emperor's authority to commit evil deeds, then all the officials would side with Ouyang Ke, whom they had not treated well.

We need to be careful...

At least for now, Song Shi'an's power is not unlimited.

"But it's alright," Xin Yue said to Song Shi'an. "Ji Yuan has stockpiled his troops in Beishuo County. Besides us, who can stop him?"

That's a fair point.

Song Shi'an smiled, quite satisfied with the situation.

Without this external pressure, Song Shi'an would have had to navigate the court for several more years before securing his position as a powerful minister assisting the state.

But with Ji Yuan here, and stationing troops in Beiliang with such a menacing gaze, things won't be so difficult for him.

Anyone who obstructs the resistance against Qi is a traitor.

Anyone who opposes unification is a traitor of the Great Yu.

Anyone who advocates stability is a follower of the "Qi faction".

Of course, Ji Yuan's arrival and the start of land reclamation have indeed disrupted Song Shi'an's plans.

Our Emperor Ji is about to explode!

Song Shi'an's carriage traveled day and night, making only brief stops at various official post stations for supplies before arriving in Sheng'an.

Song Shi'an chose to do it late at night.

This is to minimize the impact.

"I am Song Shi'an."

Song Shi'an didn't even get off the carriage; he simply lifted the curtain and showed the fish tally to the gatekeeper on duty.

Because the other side had received prior notice and made prior arrangements before the army arrived, there was no need for confirmation. Everyone knelt on one knee and clenched their fists, saying, "This humble general greets Lord Song."

"Hmm." Song Shi'an simply nodded.

Looking at these people, the general said somewhat nervously, "The Empress Dowager said that Lord Song should go in first, and these troops can be stationed outside the city for a while and wait."

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Shi'an's expression turned solemn.

She gazed at him with deep eyes.

It's the same kind of look as Secretary Dakang's, just as frightening.

"..." The general was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he could only lower his head and remain silent.

Then, like an incompetent husband, he watched as these soldiers brazenly entered Sheng'an City.

After they entered one after another, the gatekeeper quickly said to the person next to him, "Go and report to the Empress Dowager that Song Shi'an has entered the city with several hundred cavalrymen!"

...

At this moment, the Empress Dowager inside the palace was waiting angrily for Song Shi'an to arrive.

She had many questions to ask.

It's impossible for me to accept all of this without getting a satisfactory answer from her.

She would not allow Song Shi'an's army, the new emperor, or the officials to enter Sheng'an City.

However, at that moment, a eunuch rushed over to report: "Your Majesty, Song Shi'an has entered the city!"

"I know, didn't we agree to enter the city tonight? Why are you in such a hurry?" the Empress Dowager scolded.

"Song Shi'an's entourage, consisting of several hundred cavalrymen, has also entered Sheng'an City," he said tremblingly.

"Didn't I order that only Song Shi'an could enter the city?!" the Empress Dowager exclaimed in shock and anger.

"No one dared to stop him. After Song Shi'an stepped in, all the soldiers and guards could only watch helplessly."

"Outrageous! Utterly outrageous!" The Empress Dowager immediately became agitated. "Is there no decorum between subjects?"

"Empress Dowager..."

"The Imperial City! The gates of the Imperial City cannot be allowed to let them in any longer!" the Empress Dowager ordered. "Tell the guards that only Song Shi'an can be allowed in!"

The eunuch clearly had something to say, but given the Empress Dowager's current situation, he could only convey it in this way.

But soon after, more bad news came.

"Your Majesty, Song Shi'an has entered the capital with his men!"

The Empress Dowager's initial anger quickly turned into astonishment.

The orders he issued were completely ignored, with no one carrying them out.

The eunuch finally couldn't bear it any longer, after all, his life was at stake. He trembled as he reminded her, "Empress Dowager, everyone knows that Song Shi'an has won. He's too powerful, and no one can stop him. Especially after the Duke of Li's head was sent to the Wu residence, no one dared to resist."

It's like someone going to prison, cutting off the prison bully's head on the first day, and throwing him into the cell.

Who would dare offend such a ruthless person?

At least in this prison, Song Shi'an is the new prison tyrant.

And Sheng'an is indeed like a prison.

Of all those at the gambling table, none who lose can escape unscathed.

"What...what is he going to do?"

"Your Highness, he's already in the capital. Even if he were to enter the palace again, if he wanted to, I doubt anyone would dare stop him!" the eunuch said, his voice trembling with tears.

The Empress Dowager's words carried weight because there was no leader.

But now, everything has been settled.

The emperor is coming back, the retired emperor is coming back.

Who would dare to protect this woman?
"What is Song Shi'an trying to do!" The Empress Dowager panicked. "Is he going to kill me? Is he really... so... so arrogant?"

"Empress Dowager, you shouldn't have made things difficult for him..."

The eunuch had no idea what this woman was doing, throwing a tantrum. Even in this situation, she was still spouting nonsense.

Why say such harsh words at this time?

What's the point of saying it now?
"My son is dead, so what if I lose my temper? Am I not even allowed to get angry...?"

The Empress Dowager was already feeling fear, and her body tensed up.

Her stubbornness was merely a cover for her unease.

After Song Shi'an entered Sheng'an, he led his troops through the area without any obstacles.

Just like those powerful ministers in history who treated the emperor's harem like a brothel!
Will he eventually try to force his way into the palace?
The Empress Dowager held her breath.

Until someone came to report:
"Your Majesty! Lord Song has entered the palace!"

"Have you brought troops?" the Empress asked instinctively.

"no!"

.........

The bright moon in the sky shines on the earth, casting a radiant glow upon it.

Song Shi'an looked back outside the palace gate.

I've walked this path for a long time, and finally I've made it here.

Turning around, he placed his hand on his sword and strode confidently through the alley, heading towards the pinnacle of power… (End of Chapter)