Frost for a Thousand Years

The news of Miss Sun's disappearance quickly spread throughout the city.

The Song family, an institution that controlled the entire country, would naturally be aware of this.

Xin Yue, who was pregnant and resting at home, was very curious about this matter.

"What exactly is going on? Why don't you send someone to ask?" she urged Song Shi'an from her seat.

"Are you setting a trap for me?" Song Shi'an asked warily.

"What? Would I be the kind of person who gets jealous like that?" Xin Yue said calmly. "If anyone doesn't know what's good for them, I'll just kill them."

"..." Song Shi'an looked at her with a somewhat subtle expression, "Then why do you care?"

"Don't you care?" Xin Yue asked.

"Let me put it this way," Song Shi'an said, "My concern for her stems purely from the fact that someone I knew suddenly disappeared, and I feel a sense of humanitarian concern. It's the kind nature of my personality."

"You're so long-winded," Xin Yue said in a deep voice. "I mean, could something really have happened to this girl?"

Xin Yue didn't actually have any rivalry with Sun Jin Hua.

When the other party brought food and was about to visit Song Shi'an in prison, I did think that this girl was unusually naive and took the idea of ​​"offering help in times of need" too seriously.

But ultimately, she was not wrong.

Moreover, as a woman, she was somewhat pitiful. The husband-selection banquet was supposed to be a major event in her life, but it was ruined by her father's political calculations. Later on, her father neither found a suitable match for her nor went to Song Shi'an to propose marriage, and just kept dragging it out.

It could be said that from beginning to end, she seemed to be a pawn in her father's pursuit of political gain.

This is very sad.

"Sigh," Song Shi'an sighed, "This Minister Sun is ultimately a politician. Even his daughter is only loved to a limited extent."

“Yes, it’s quite heartbreaking, isn’t it?” Xin Yue said, staring into Song Shi’an’s eyes.

"Look at you."

Song Shi'an looked up at him, somewhat speechless.

"Just kidding, don't rush me." Xin Yue smiled brightly, her eyes narrowing into crescents, and then said, "However, I still hope she's alright, and that nothing serious happens to her."

“Her brother is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice, and her father has connections that reach the highest levels. As long as she wasn’t kidnapped by some villains and just ran away, there shouldn’t be any major problems,” Song Shi’an said.

"Could it be that he ran back to Yangzhou?" Xinyue asked.

“It’s quite possible.” Song Shi’an nodded and sighed, “I’m still too sinful.”

Xin Yue ignored his boasting and said, "You happen to be setting out with troops tomorrow, and you'll be passing through Jinling on your way. Quyang isn't far away, so why not help Minister Sun investigate?"

"it is good."

Song Shi'an felt that he could lend a hand while he was at it.

"Then I'll pack my things too, this trip will probably take a long time..."

Seeing Xinyue naturally get up to tidy up, Song Shi'an grabbed her hand and said, "Stop right there! Who said you could go?"

Trying to get away with being cute, huh?
“I’ve been with you so many times. How can I feel at ease if I’m not by your side?” Xinyue said quite seriously.

"Don't worry, there's absolutely nothing between me and that young lady from the Sun family..."

"I'm worried about your safety."

Xin Yue gazed at him, her eyes deep and unwavering as she spoke.

Song Shi'an was taken aback by what he said, then slowly stood up, put his arm around her, and said, "Stay with our son and wait for me to come back. It won't be long."

.........

In Ouyang Ke's residence, he and Gu Yixin were enjoying tea together.

Given their rather composed personalities, they generally wouldn't form cliques in private.

But now, two of the four cabinet elders are from the Song family. This father and son control half of the votes. If the remaining two don't work together, it will basically become Song Shi'an's one-man show.

However, they cannot be considered political enemies with Song Shi'an.

All four were of one mind regarding their goal.

However, unlike the radicals like Song Shi'an, these two elders were more inclined towards the conservatives.

It can be said that on the main road, both left and right are left.

But they are the right of the left.

What they have always adhered to is to restrain Song Shi'an's extreme left-wing faction and prevent them from becoming too radical, so as not to shake the foundation of Dayu.

"The young Grand Secretary is too powerful. He has almost decided on 50% of the list for the military examination this time," Gu Yixin said.

"Isn't there still 50% left?" Ouyang Ke asked.

“The remaining 50% is determined strictly according to the results,” Gu Yixin said.

Ouyang Ke smiled and said, "Given the young Grand Secretary's personality, if he were to come, he would probably determine the outcome based on performance. Even if he could grant a 50% favor, it would already be quite difficult."

The so-called "Enke" refers to those who are specially recruited.

It's usually because the imperial court has some major happy event.

Now that His Majesty has just ascended the throne, he has established such a special imperial examination.

The list of these military candidates, even if not predetermined, had already been filled with recommendation letters from countless powerful families, filling the Ministry of Rites with them.

Many of them had contributed to the success of the dynasty.

For example, when he was in Huai County, he supported the establishment of a new emperor.

But choosing whom is crucial.

Gu Yixin had his own selfish motives, as did Ouyang Ke, but Song Shi'an particularly forcefully appointed these people with connections, making it difficult for them to sell their favors.

"Minister Ke, what do you think we should do?" Gu Yixin asked.

Ouyang Ke closed his eyes, and after a moment, he pondered and said, "He is the Minister of War, and these people he appointed are the people he wants to use."

Avoid conflict with it.

“But the list has already been finalized,” Gu Yixin said. “If my influence is of no use at all, I’m afraid no one will trust me as the Minister of Rites.”

"My pride is no different, is it?" Ouyang Ke smiled bitterly.

"Then," Gu Yixin leaned slightly forward and said, "how about adding our people to the list, granting them some extra spots?"

Because Song Shi'an held sole command of the Ministry of War, he was particularly protective of the army's food supplies.

He would be unhappy if even one person from his handpicked group was missed.

What can we do then?
Those two bigwigs also had relatives and cronies they had to cultivate.

The only solution is to increase enrollment.

In this way, the dilemma is resolved.

“Okay.” Ouyang Ke agreed with this compromise.

"When the young Grand Secretary led the troops, it was also the time for the evaluation of the Jinshi candidates in the civil service examinations," Gu Yixin added. "Prime Minister Ke's writings, especially those of the top scholar, are of particular importance to the leadership of the nation."

Song Shi'an happened to be absent from grading the liberal arts papers.

Of course, his father is still in the capital.

We cannot ignore him.

However, the Minister of Rites certainly wielded real power, and Song Jing could not overstep his bounds.

Therefore, this is actually an opportunity.

These two conservatives guide public opinion in the country.

“There are two major trends this year,” Ouyang Ke said. “First, land reclamation. Second, the Northern Expedition.”

“Every scholar in the land knows who holds the most power now. Their writings inevitably revolve around flattering and echoing the young Grand Secretary,” Gu Yixin said. “There are only thirty spots for the imperial examinations, and I’m afraid eighty percent of them are in this position.” “If we were to forcibly select one essay from the remaining twenty percent to be chosen as the top scholar, it would be too obvious,” Ouyang Ke said. “After all, the late emperor left a will that clearly outlined the Northern Expedition.”

The selfish motives of these two individuals are undoubtedly those who have already benefited from the status quo and are trying to protect their own interests.

But now, the country's general direction has already been announced.

If they were to award the top scholar's work to those who wrote articles outside of the land reclamation and new policies, they would not only be going against Song Shi'an, but also against the will of the late emperor.

No matter what, it's too obvious.

"Prime Minister Ke, to put it bluntly," Gu Yixin solemnly reminded him, "the selection of the top scholar will take place after the Junior Grand Secretary goes on his expedition, but before the results of that expedition."

Everyone knows that when you're facing adversity, you simply can't deal any damage.

If Song Shi'an wins, then there will be no problem for them to choose a top scholar who promotes Song's policies.

However, if they had chosen a conservative, aristocratic scholar as the top scholar, Song Shi'an would have had a handle against them, and their influence in the court would have been damaged.

What if Song Shi'an loses?
That's even more unacceptable.

Losing a war is detrimental to the nation's foundation.

Neither of these two ministers wanted to lose.

The best-case scenario is that there's no win or loss, but the problem remains unresolved. And at this crucial moment, the top candidate they choose happens to be a stability advocate.

In terms of political prestige, these two cabinet ministers could gain a lot.

At the same time, it can also cool down Song Shi'an's unprecedentedly enthusiastic new policies.

Take it easy.

"The key question is, how did our young Grand Secretary fare in this southern campaign?" Ouyang Ke sighed.

“The problems in the South are completely different from those in the North,” Gu Yixin said. “And ultimately, the way our Great Yu controls the South is fundamentally different.”

You can't compare Sizhou to Yizhou.

The capital region is their core base; their loyalty is unmatched.

You can't compare Liangzhou to Yangzhou.

Although both were border states with the function of defending against enemies, the entire Liangzhou state was centered there, and the strength of the enemies was far greater than those barbarians, making their dominance completely different.

Simply put, the enemy in the south was weak, even weaker than the Northern Yan, but the politics in the south were chaotic, and local support was quite poor.

"Master Gu, has that young Grand Secretary ever lost?"

While Gu Yixin was struggling with this matter, Ouyang Ke's words sealed the victory.

Gu Yixin smiled bitterly and said, "I do hope that this young Grand Secretary will keep winning, but in the present Great Yu Dynasty, if he loses even once, something terrible will happen."

Why is it so difficult for the Great Yu Dynasty to produce exceptionally strong men?

It's because of the politics of this country that there is no room for error.

Fu Jian, Chai Rong, Liu Yu, Li Cunxu, and Wanyan Liang.

None of these emperors, who could be considered great rulers in the long history of the world, completed the great task of unification.

In a divided dynasty, the monarch who completes the unification must possess the right timing, the right place, and the right people.

For example, Ying Zheng, and Yang Jian.

However, they also have one thing in common: they were all extremely short-lived dynasties.

In other words, unifying the country through powerful military force would inevitably leave behind huge hidden dangers.

It has been unified, but not completely unified.

It's not that someone is constantly contradicting Song Shi'an and trying to embarrass him by acting like a clown.

Rather, these great figures, having witnessed and understood history, were acutely aware of how arduous it would be to accomplish such a vast and magnificent undertaking.

This isn't just a powerful man falling from the sky; this is a god-king descending from heaven.

He was even greater than Liu Yu, Chai Rong, and Li Cunxu.

"Ancient Master".

Ouyang Ke leaned slightly towards him and said with a smile, "The cabinet has just been formed, so let's keep things harmonious."

.........

Winter of the first year of Anshun.

Before it snowed in Sheng'an.

Song Shi'an personally led an army of 30,000 out of the city to suppress the rebellion in Nanyue.

The Imperial Guards split into two routes. One route, led by Ran Jin and Ye Changqing, consisted of 10,000 troops and passed through Yizhou.

They joined forces with 20,000 troops from Yizhou to assist in the attack.

One route was personally led by Song Shi'an, with his generals Song Sangou, Wei Le and others joining forces with 20,000 troops from Yangzhou to form the main attacking force.

Just as Song Shi'an's army was being personally seen off by the emperor as he left the city, Sun Heng rode up on horseback to catch up with them.

When Song Shi'an got off the carriage, he saw the son of his former rival, who bowed deeply to him.

"Lord Sun, what is the meaning of this?" Song Shi'an asked, puzzled.

"Young Grand Secretary, I've come to ask you for a favor." Sun Heng leaned closer and said with great difficulty, "My younger sister has always admired you, Young Grand Secretary. After you got married, my sister locked herself in her room and didn't come out all day. My father then decided to betroth her to the Wang family in Huai'an. My sister agreed at the time, but then ran away under the pretext of going out for a spring outing."

"Where did they go?" Song Shi'an hadn't expected this reason.

The girl wants to marry me, why are you forcing her?

I didn't say that you can't have a concubine.

The daughter of the Third Prince is barely qualified.

“She took several maids and ran away to Yangzhou,” Sun Heng said. “It was one of the maids who got scared and turned back halfway to tell my father.”

"Now that we know where we're going, that's good," Song Shi'an said.

“Her life is safe, but my father is furious and insists on punishing her according to family law. He has already sent people to Yangzhou to arrest her,” Sun Heng said with great concern. “Now, I’m afraid that my father will push that girl too far, and she might do something foolish and something really bad might happen to her…”

Given Sun Jinhua's personality, she would be very difficult to catch once she escaped.

If they catch her, she'll probably be killed immediately and won't obey her father.

“That is indeed worrying.” Song Shi’an nodded, then asked blankly, “But what about the matter that Lord Sun asked me about?”

“The court is engaged in military affairs, and I shouldn’t trouble you with such trivial matters and delay important national matters,” Sun Heng said. “But as you know, the only man my sister admires is… the Grand Secretary.”

"What do I need to do?" Song Shi'an asked.

Sun Heng bowed deeply and said, "Please ask the young Grand Secretary to take care of my younger sister when he passes through Yangzhou."

.........

The Southern Yue Kingdom, Shiting.

"Your Majesty, Song Shi'an has replied!"

"Give it to me."

In the main hall, on the throne, Samogi, sitting with his legs crossed, stretched out his hand with great interest.

The maid opened it, presented the letter, and handed it to her.

However, her expression changed drastically after she saw it.

The letter contained only a few words in total.

"Empress Dowager, wait for my arrival, and I will annihilate your Baiyue tribes!" (End of Chapter)