Frost for a Thousand Years

"Your Excellency, these are the funds that need to be allocated from the household. Please take a look."

Just as Ye Changqing was recuperating at home and refusing to see anyone, his subordinate came to his door in person, gave him a note, and asked him to sign and stamp it.

Ye Changqing sat up on the bed, looking at the note with a puzzled expression. He then looked up at the other person and asked, "What does it mean that all the officials in the yamen who were on duty today will be rewarded with two hundred coins each?"

He had no idea why he was suddenly receiving money.

After Song Shi'an returned to Sheng'an, Ye Changqing not only did not visit him, go to the palace, or attend court, but also handed over all the authority in the mansion, using his poor health as an excuse to stay at home.

There was no way around it; his position was far too delicate. The former crown prince was his lord, and he also held the very special post of Sheng'an Ling. If he didn't take the initiative to step down and get away from the vortex, it would bring disaster upon his family.

Staying indoors, refusing to see anyone, and not receiving any messages are forms of self-protection.

Of course, he was already prepared to be assigned to a nominal position and just coast along.

As a strategist who chose the wrong side, this outcome is already quite good.

Zhao Yi and the former crown prince are both dead.

"Lord Song had some business to attend to today, so he mobilized all the officials in the city. The officials from the capital who participated were all rewarded according to their merits, and were allocated two hundred coins," the assistant explained.

"Alright." Ye Changqing raised his hand, not wanting him to continue, and said, "Since it was Lord Song who personally issued the order and made a promise in front of everyone, then I will approve the money."

Two hundred thousand coins is not a small sum, but it's certainly not a large sum either. The national treasury doesn't handle such trivial matters, so it should rightfully come from the Sheng'an Prefecture's own finances. Even though he's no longer in charge, he's still the one responsible, and only he dares to sign off on it.

When it comes to taking responsibility, Ye Changqing has always been impeccable.

The officer brought him the official seal and a writing brush.

Lying on the bed, Ye Changqing signed and stamped the document, transferring the money out.

After receiving the approval document, the official hesitated for a moment. But ultimately, out of concern, he couldn't help but say, "Your Excellency, I really have to tell you about this."

"No, there's no need to say anything." Ye Changqing waved his hand, saying with great resistance, "I'm just waiting for His Majesty to return, and then I'll go to see him in person and hand over this hot potato of an imperial seal. After that, everything will be none of my business."

Ye Changqing was an extremely intelligent man. After the Imperial Guards announced the decree in the market, he had already foreseen the current outcome.

The weakness of the nobles.

The defeat of the Duke of Li.

The unnatural deaths of the Crown Prince and Zhao Yi.

He had thought about everything.

Because if I were Song Shi'an, I would have done the same.

Even so, he still did everything in his power to protect the Crown Prince and Zhao Yi's family.

All I can say is that we did our best.

I've done all I can; the rest is up to fate.

“My lord, I know you are in a difficult position,” the official said, leaning closer with considerable unease. “But you must also think of us.”

“Song Shi’an will never make things difficult for you,” Ye Changqing said. “Today’s reward is your contribution to him. Although it’s not as good as the soldiers in Liangzhou, as long as you do your best in the capital, you will definitely be treated well by him.”

People who come to power through coups generally treat their subordinates very well.

Moreover, the police in Sheng'an are not ordinary police; their importance is self-evident.

"But do you know what he led us to do?" the subordinate asked helplessly.

Ye Changqing was still reluctant, avoiding the other person's gaze.

But after more than a year in this position, I've developed feelings for these subordinates. How could I possibly completely ignore them?

So he fell silent.

So the official took the opportunity to tell him, "My lord, today he went to the residence of Prince Qi and entered alone while the five princes were meeting. At the same time, he mobilized all the people to seal off the area around Prince Qi's residence."

"..." Ye Changqing was indeed somewhat surprised, but that was all.

Song Shi'an's actions can only be described as consistent with his public persona.

Ye Changqing understood his intentions perfectly.

Reducing the preferential treatment given to princes by members of the royal family will severely cut spending on financial subsidies to the royal family.

He definitely wouldn't have been able to do that before.

Because it's simply impossible to do.

But now the advantage lies with him; he has the right timing, the right place, and the right people. He has taken advantage of the situation to get rid of this burden, which can be considered the courage of a capable minister.

“Do whatever Lord Song wants,” Ye Changqing said. “And don’t overthink this matter. I don’t even need to guess; you don’t even need to enter the Prince’s residence to resolve this.”

The retired emperor is dead, and the throne has been decided by Song Shi'an. At this time, what do these vassal kings dare to clamor for?
They're just barking and howling for their own petty schemes.

If they really had guts, why didn't they speak up when Song Shi'an bullied their sister-in-law?

“My lord, you are absolutely right,” the official said excitedly. “But do you know that he led us to stop the Prince of Guangling’s carriage, dragged him out of the carriage, punched him three times, and almost killed him?”

"?!"

Ye Changqing's eyes widened suddenly, completely dumbfounded.

He felt like he was listening to fake news.

Was the reporter drunk when they wrote this? What the hell?
"He led us to besiege the mansion, and then led us to attack the vassal king." The subordinate official was not like those minor clerks who were just watching the show; he was genuinely afraid of being purged in the future. "He did something that would implicate nine generations of his family. Nothing seems to have happened now, but I'm afraid that after Lord Song does this... what about those people who were involved, even those who are officials at some point? Will they be able to get away with it?"

What we fear most are actually these middle-level officials.

Those at such a low level couldn't be part of the clique or enjoy the benefits, so they just received two hundred coins. But if the government really collapses and a purge occurs, their work experience would warrant being kicked out of the bureaucracy.

"What you're saying now is far more serious than the reckoning that will be done to you after Lord Song falls from power," Ye Changqing warned him, raising a finger.

He quickly covered his mouth, not daring to utter any curses.

What do you mean by 'I'm afraid of what will happen to Lord Song later'...?

The Song family, loyal!
"Then, Lord, what should we do?"

He asked with considerable concern.

"What should we do?" Ye Changqing could barely protect himself, how could he dare to teach others? However, since he had asked this question, he could teach him a method, "Who are the people who attacked the Prince of Guangling actually attacking?"

Upon hearing his question, the subordinate official immediately became frightened and dared not speak.

"They are attacking the imperial clan," Ye Changqing warned. "Don't let yourself be afraid or let fear creep in just because you hear certain things."

This is a fear of political topics unique to people in ancient times.

“You think this is targeting His Majesty, but if you insist on interpreting it that way, then this matter will become untenable.” Ye Changqing’s thinking was different from Ouyang Ke’s. He wasn’t overly fearful; on the contrary, he stated quite clearly, “What do you think would be the best way to save face?”

"After His Majesty returns to Sheng'an," the official said after a moment's thought, "will he appease the Prince of Guangling while also expressing his understanding to Lord Song?"

Without even thinking, Ye Changqing immediately denied it, saying, "Wrong."

.........

That evening, the three Songs spent time together again at the Song residence.

Looking at the box of gold in the hall.

Apart from Song Shi'an, the other two had rather complicated expressions. Finally, Song Jing spoke up: "If you want to vent, why do you have to hit people in front of them? Why don't you find a corner to beat them up?"

Old Song's idea was that fighting wasn't the problem, but being watched was.

“Father, my brother probably didn’t just do it to vent his anger,” Song Ce said. “He’s not that kind of reckless person.”

“Of course I know you want to use this opportunity to dampen the arrogance of the imperial family and cut off the lifeline of these princes and nobles,” Song Jing said, looking at the silent Song Shi’an. “But have you considered His Majesty’s reputation?”

“I really thought about it,” Song Shi’an said.

“Those are people of the Wei family. How can he avoid being disliked by both sides?” Song Jing said. “This is a family. It’s not just that we’re a few people together that make us family. Those uncles, nephews, and cousins ​​in Huai County are family too. Similarly, if he is cold-hearted and ruthless when His Majesty’s elders suffer, how can he stand on the Wei family’s side?”

"So, this is the crux of the problem for the Great Yu," Song Shi'an said sharply.

He didn't think his father was narrow-minded or couldn't understand his actions.

Rather, it is people like my father, no matter how famous or experienced, who cannot escape clan mentality and become indifferent to family feelings.

Therefore, he would feel that His Majesty is caught in the middle and is very sad.

If one is young and energetic, one will know that His Majesty is not meant to be caught in the middle.

He doesn't necessarily have to please both sides and be caught in the middle like a submissive wife.

He could have easily become a brave emperor.

"The crux of the problem for the Great Yu?" Song Jing asked curiously after hearing this interesting statement. "What is the crux of the problem?"

In response, Song Shi'an asked with great insistence, "Is the world a family or is the family part of the world?"

These words left Song Ce somewhat confused, but he seemed to vaguely sense what Song Shi'an was trying to express.

“Then what you’re saying isn’t the crux of the Great Yu problem,” Song Jing said. “It has always been this way. Of course, you can say that the world belongs to the emperor, not to aristocratic families like ours. So the emperor should prioritize the world, but emperors all come from this ‘family’.”

This is also the underlying logic of ancient China.

If an emperor dies suddenly without an heir, a successor must be chosen from among the imperial family members.

If no one other than the Liu family becomes king, the whole world will attack him.

The emperor ruled Dayu, but it was also ruled by the Wei clan.

So how can this family and the world be separated?
“Song Shi’an,” Song Jing admonished again, “only a sage could put the world before his family.”

"so."

Song Shi'an didn't think he was wrong at all and firmly said, "Your Majesty, you must become this sage."

.........

The emperor's carriage, along with the officials, headed towards Sheng'an.

Furthermore, after the death of the retired emperor, the journey was accelerated.

The emperor, inside the carriage, remained heavy-hearted and suffered from insomnia all night.

Within a month, Wei Yiyuan died, the Crown Prince died, and the Emperor died.

The rate at which their family's population is decreasing is somewhat alarming.

However, my father must have truly died of natural causes.

Song Shi'an has already won this much; there is no need for him to bear the crime of regicide.

With such a father, there was no longer any threat.

The fact that he was sent from Wusheng's place to Sheng'an overnight further demonstrates that he did not want to die in a murky manner.

He understood the reasoning, but the emperor was genuinely feeling a bit down right now.

He was reminiscing about the past.

At that time, although I was in some competition with the King of Wu for the throne, at least I had my father at home, which made everyone feel at ease.

Regardless of the circumstances, this is a family conflict.

Now, my home is completely gone.

Is this the price of becoming emperor?
Because he didn't want to be a puppet of the nobility, he actively resisted his father, the emperor, and even lost the crown prince position that was almost a given. In return, he was still destined to be a puppet. Was it worth it?
The emperor sighed deeply inside the carriage.

Just then, the carriage suddenly stopped.

In the early morning, a scout from Sheng'an delivered a letter to the emperor, who was returning to the city: "Your Majesty, this is a letter from Lord Song."

The letter was delivered into the carriage in front of General San Gou.

Under the candlelight, the emperor opened the letter, but before he could even finish reading its contents, he was overcome with rage and became furious.

Song Shi'an surrounded the Prince's mansion and even beat up the Prince of Guangling.

When I'm not around, he's much more powerful than the emperor; he can beat up whoever he wants!
This guy, even nominally, doesn't take me seriously.

If I don't say a word after my uncle beats me up, what will the world think of me?

How will my people view me?

This Song Shi'an doesn't give me any face at all!
What's the point of being an emperor these days?
Clutching the letter, he didn't even want to read any further.

But there's nothing he can do; that's just his current situation.

He had to accept whatever Song Shi'an did.

Until the very last paragraph:
The various princes have been extravagant and wasteful of the national treasury, so I took the opportunity to diminish their power. Although their behavior was erratic, they still donated the thousand gold pieces they received from beating the Prince of Guangling, plus five hundred gold pieces from my own private savings, totaling fifteen hundred gold pieces, for the use of the imperial mausoleum. I humbly beg Your Majesty to consider my loyal devotion and to ensure the proper governance of the court…

Song Shi'an beat up the Prince of Guangling and extorted money from him.

But he kept all the money for himself.

Furthermore, he also took out his five hundred gold coins.

A total of 1,500 gold coins were given to him to fulfill his filial duty.

Insincere and pretentious.

There definitely is.

Yet, what they did was so noble.

It's like he's trying to justify himself: "I hit people because of His Majesty."

Even so hypocritical, the emperor couldn't help but feel a little pity for such words.

Song Shi'an's reasoning was convincing to him.

Even emperors have a way to save face.

There's no need to understand Song Shi'an, nor is there any need to appease the Prince of Guangling.

Instead, be yourself.

To become a renowned ruler for all time, something he had never even considered, or dared to even dream of.

"Inform Lord Song of the time of my return to Sheng'an, and have all officials meet me outside the city." (End of Chapter)