Frost for a Thousand Years

"Father, if we don't send troops now, when will we ever do so!"

Clad in golden scale armor, with a sword at his waist, the imposing yet furious King Wei Yixing of Jiangling rushed into his barracks and asked excitedly.

The Duke of Zhangping remained calmly seated at the table, holding a cup of tea and extending his hand: "Yixing, sit down and talk."

"I have been waiting for a long time, and I can't wait to tear that traitor Song Shi'an apart... I can't hold back any longer." Wei Yixing said with some emotion and great dissatisfaction.

"You are also a commander of troops. Shouldn't you know that before going to war, you must ensure sufficient provisions, prioritize righteousness, mobilize both civil and military officials, and gain the support of the people?" the Duke of Zhangping retorted.

After saying this, he sat down indignantly, but still acted like a little princess, complaining, "We have already gained the moral high ground by forcing Father Emperor to resign and killing my brother. As long as Song Shi'an is not eliminated, the world of Da Yu will never be at peace."

"What do you think of Wei Wusheng?" asked the Duke of Zhangping.

"Him?" Wei Yixing said with utter disdain, "He was born of a lowly concubine. My father has never thought much of him. It is already merciful that he has usurped the throne. Yet he dares to act as regent. When I enter the Central Plains, I will surely kill him!"

Among the late emperor's many sons, Wei Wusheng had the lowest social status.

Even those who weren't considered legitimate sons still had some prestige and influence in the Great Yu Dynasty through their maternal families.

For example, Wei Yixing's mother was the eldest daughter of the Zhou family, a prominent family in Yangzhou.

Wei Wusheng's mother's only redeeming quality was her beauty.

Her beauty was so striking that even though she was a lowly concubine and pregnant with the emperor's child, she was able to remain safe and sound in the harem.

It's purely because Emperor Thrann was infatuated with this beauty and treated her like a Fiji cup.

"Then what do you think of your second brother, the former Prince of Jin?" the Duke of Zhangping asked again.

Wei Yixing was clearly somewhat defiant, and lowered his head. Although he was not entirely satisfied, he still said, "His throne was given to him by His Majesty, and I acknowledge it."

"That's enough," said the Duke of Zhangping. "What we should be are loyal ministers who purge the court of corrupt officials, not traitors who storm Sheng'an for the throne. Since we're not traitors, why are you in such a hurry?"

The Duke of Zhangping actually knew what he was anxious about.

This teenager's emotions were written all over his face.

He wanted to be emperor.

He wanted to take advantage of the chaos in the capital to become emperor for a while.

But this kid lacks some wisdom.

In order to create momentum, the Duke of Zhangping spread rumors on one side of the propaganda outlet that the political situation in Sheng'an was unstable and that the people of Song Shi'an were turning their backs on him, making the people of Nanyang think that Sheng'an was doomed and that Dayu was about to collapse.

Wei Yixing really thinks that since his father and brother are dead, Song Shi'an is now being verbally attacked.

He had no idea that Sheng An was as steady as an old dog.

Song Shi'an's rule was also "popularly expected".

"Then what should we do?" Wei Yixing said very seriously. "Song Shi'an burned a lot of grain this time with his military farming. But if the military farming is completed next year, with well-trained soldiers and sufficient food, it will be even more difficult for us to invade Sheng'an."

“Ji Yuan isn’t stupid. He’s already taken his men to Beiliang and they’re also setting up military farms there,” the Duke of Zhangping reminded him. “The late emperor ordered me to guard the south, so we can only focus our efforts there.”

“That Sun Tuo?” Wei Yixing said, “He’s nothing but a bunch of meat-eating, blood-drinking beasts, no different from mountain bandits and thieves. What kind of waves can such people stir up?”

"What kind of waves he can make is up to us."

The Duke of Zhangping gave a soft snort, then raised his hand and said, "Our resistance against the court is to make them realize that we are not someone they can easily manipulate. But our greatest threat is not that we have rebelled, nor that we haven't rebelled, but that we seem to be about to rebel, yet we haven't."

Simply put, if someone wants to fight you, you're not afraid.

If someone doesn't fight you, you don't take them seriously.

The most troublesome situation is when someone harbors resentment towards you and is right behind you, ready to fight at any moment.

"Father-in-law, I don't understand what you're saying," Wei Yixing asked, frowning slightly.

"Put on your armor, for a battle is imminent," the Duke of Zhangping said confidently. "In this battle, you will be the commander-in-chief, leading the charge and becoming renowned throughout the Baiyue region."

Upon hearing this, Wei Yixing's eyes lit up with anticipation.

Then he stood up, clenched his fists, raised his head and said with a smile, "Father-in-law, Yixing is waiting for your good news!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

Outside, they ran into Chen Wang, the eldest son of the Duke of Zhangping.

Chen Wang bowed with a forced smile, while Wei Yixing nodded quite nonchalantly.

"Father, what is His Highness so happy about?" Chen Wang asked, puzzled, after entering the camp.

"He laughs when he's happy and makes a fuss when he's unhappy. Isn't His Highness always this adorable?" After his initial complaint, the Duke of Zhangping stopped dwelling on the matter and asked, "What did Sun Tuo say?"

“Sun Tuo agreed, and even gave us the marching route.” Chen Wang walked up to him and presented the secret letter with both hands.

After opening the letter, the Duke of Zhangping began to read it carefully, saying, "Among the various tribes of Nanyue, the Qiuju clan is the most disrespectful and the most powerful towards Sun Tuo. Sun Tuo has long been dissatisfied with them. This time, we will eliminate this person for him, and he will thank us."

"But after all, they are foreigners, and Sun Tuo is a mixed-race person of Yi and Han descent. Can we really trust him?" Chen Wang asked with some concern.

“A bastard is just lowly, but not stupid.” The Duke of Zhangping slowly got up, walked to a hanging map, and said, “Sun Tuo is old, and many tribes in Nanyue are eager to make a move. This time, Song Shi’an is in power, and he personally led troops to invade and plunder the north. If he can seize a few cities and take tens of thousands of people back to Shiting, it will be a testament to his vigor in his old age.”

"It's just that the people of Dayu are being trampled on by Sun Tuo, which makes me uncomfortable."

“It wasn’t our city that was attacked, but the people of Song Shi’an.” The Duke of Zhangping said with a smirk, “He seized the city and land and gained prestige. Our great victory over the Qiuju clan can show that we are not rebelling, and we can also take the credit for Wei Yixing and then petition the emperor to appoint him as the King of Yue.”

A two-character "王" (king) is definitely more prestigious than a three-character one.

The Prince of Jiangling is indeed young and of good status, but without the title of Noble Prince, the people of the world would not regard him as one of the successors.

If Wei Wusheng can do it, why can't I, Wei Yixing?
“If that’s really the case…” Chen Wang smiled and nodded, “Song Shi’an will not only not make things difficult for us, but will also respect us and be afraid of us.”

“I want him to send his brother over,” said the Duke of Zhangping, “but I don’t want to send you to Sheng’an.”

“I will listen to my father.” Chen Wang replied obediently.

"However, don't underestimate Song Shi'an."

Although he had still planned everything meticulously, the Duke of Zhangping said rather solemnly, "It was no accident that Wu Qing was able to die at the hands of this brat."

.........

In the main tent of the Southern Yue army, Sun Tuo sat on a tiger-skin chair, flanked by eight kings.

Six of them were barbarian kings, and two were kings of the Chen clan.

However, including Sun Tuo, almost everyone else was not of pure Han Chinese descent.

After all, the current Queen of Nanyue, Shamogi, is a woman of a different ethnicity.

You could say they're all skewers.

Of course, these kings were just called kings, not the vassal kings in the Great Yu Dynasty.

These kings were tribal lords, with subjects ranging from 30,000 to over 100,000. In the context of the Great Yu, this was equivalent to about one or two counties.

However, unlike county magistrates, a county had to bear county taxes, prefecture taxes, state taxes, and national taxes. They also had to recruit soldiers for the imperial court and provide corvée labor for the country. The number of soldiers a county magistrate could mobilize was less than one-twentieth of the total population.

But these kings, with 30,000 men under their command, could muster 10,000 combat troops.

This is also what makes foreigners troublesome.

Without a system and without a foundation, the entire population can become soldiers.

"Your Majesty, Yangzhou is rich while Yizhou is poor. Why must we attack Yizhou?" Qiu Juzhu raised his voice and spoke up.

"Why do you think that is, King Qiu?" Sun Tuo stared at him and questioned him.

Qiu Juzhu sensed Sun Tuo's hostility, so he calmly said, "I do not know, which is why I am asking Your Majesty."

“Then let me tell you,” Sun Tuo said. “I will attack Yizhou, and I will attack Yangzhou as well. No matter who is on the other side, I will attack. Even if Song Shi’an comes in person, I will cut off his head and soak his eyes in wine. But now, I want to attack Yizhou.”

Qiu Juzhu was simply trying to say, "Your Majesty, are you getting old and scared, so you dare not challenge the people of Yuzhou anymore?"

He showed everything.

But Sun Tuo did not fall into his trap.

Instead, they responded with an even more assertive stance to solidify their position.

"Your Majesty is wise." Qiu Juzhu clenched his fists and casually responded, then remained silent.

"In this campaign, I will lead the way and personally command the army northward," Sun Tuo ordered. "The King of Ba will protect the left flank, and the King of Qiu will protect the right flank. Wherever we go, we must clean up the mess. The women, cooks, carpenters, and blacksmiths of the State of Yu will all be detained in the army."

The Barbarian Alliance's operations are more like a gang of thugs sweeping the streets.

Their goal is to make money, so they need to worship a leader.

After winning the battle, the spoils will be divided.

The leader of the alliance takes the lion's share, while the remaining tribes divide the spoils according to their strength and the number of troops they contribute.

In fact, Sun Tuo took half of the benefits.

But that's what makes someone in charge. If you're not happy about it, then become someone in charge yourself, or go independent and work on your own.

But if you go it alone, remember this: Sun Tuo will bring the entire gang to beat you up.

Qiu Juzhu is showing this tendency now, because although he has become the second strongest person in the gang, he can only share his share like the other kings, and he can't even pick the best prey.

Therefore, he had grievances.

Even though Sun Tuo was old and in poor health, he still had to show the demeanor of an old wolf king at this time to intimidate these bandit kings with wolfish ambitions.

"Yes."

The kings accepted the order in this way.

Sun Tuo, escorted by Shamoyi, returned to his royal tent.

Upon recalling Qiu Juzhu's question, he immediately became furious and said, "That beast, does he really think he can become emperor?"

“Your Majesty, he cannot do it,” said Samoyed. “He has only tens of thousands of soldiers under his command, less than 30% of yours. He only dares to be so arrogant because he has some rabble of support. But Your Majesty, in this Southern Yue, you are still the king of kings.”

“Of course I am.” Sun Tuo was very confident, but he was still gritting his teeth. “But it would be even better if this guy were gone.”

Sun Tuo's problem now is that he has been trying to modernize the Central Plains into a dynasty, including the construction of the capital, but the cost of doing so is that the pie has spread too far.

Everywhere needs to be guarded and occupied.

The number of truly usable soldiers is actually not much more than that of Qiu Juzhu.

After all, they have no city, no land. Even if they tactically exchange homes with you, they will only lose some thatched huts, livestock, and foreign women.

“Your Majesty, he won’t live much longer,” Samoyed said.

"Humph."

Sun Tuo snorted dismissively.

At this moment, a royal physician who had been captured and had been in Nanyue for more than ten years came over with hot medicine: "Your Majesty."

Sun Tuo took it and drank it.

After watching him finish drinking, Samoyed quietly withdrew.

And so, with the help of his maids, Sun Tuo lay down on the couch.

After a while, he suddenly felt extremely hot and was drenched in sweat, so he quickly said to the maid beside him, "Go and call the imperial physician."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The maidservant dared not delay and immediately withdrew to fetch the imperial physician.

Just as he left, Samoyed, hidden outside the tent and under the royal banner, took the opportunity to sneak in and approach the royal bed step by step.

Furthermore, the cloth strip wrapped around his hands was gradually untied and stretched.

"Samoi, you!"

Before Sun Tuo could finish speaking, Shamoyi immediately grabbed his neck, wrapping it around him tightly, and then strangled him until he suffocated, his legs struggling and his eyes rolling back.

A short while later, he breathed his last with his eyes crooked.

"His Majesty……"

The imperial physician rushed in, and upon seeing this scene, his heart tightened. He quickly lowered his head and said tremblingly, "General, you said you would let me return to the Central Plains..."

"Of course I will agree to what I said I would do."

Sitting on the bed, Samoyed spoke with a rather contemptuous tone.

The next moment, a guard rushed in and slashed the imperial physician from behind.

With a thud, the imperial physician collapsed to the ground.

“This Han Chinese doctor has long harbored hatred for Nanyue and attempted to assassinate His Majesty with poison and a cloth strip.”

Shamoke threw the cloth strip directly in front of the imperial physician and said, "This matter must be kept secret. Only tell our generals. And announce that we are withdrawing our troops back to Shiting."

"Yes, General!" the guard replied.

"Then, report to the Empress... no, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."

Thinking of this scene, Shamoyi trembled with excitement, but she forced herself to suppress her laughter and said, "Tell Father to go to Shiting immediately; we are going to assist the state." (End of Chapter)