Frost for a Thousand Years

Samogi's expression was extremely serious. The usually smiling Queen Cleopatra had not shown a trace of her charm at this moment, which made people feel a rare sense of terror.

Just then, Samoyed walked in from outside the palace. Seeing her sister's eyes and the letter in her hand, she guessed that this was Song Shi'an's response. So she stepped forward and asked, "Empress Dowager, is this Song Shi'an?"

Samogi didn't speak, but simply picked up the letter with his fingers. The maid beside him quickly took it and presented it to Samogi.

Although Samoy was a barbarian who played the role of a simpleton in order to lull Sun Tuo into a false sense of security, he actually paid special attention to the culture of the Central Plains. For example, unlike other barbarian kings who needed to rely on translators, he was already proficient in Chinese characters.

It can be said that the Sama family's ambition and its current achievements are mutually reinforcing.

There was no coincidence.

Upon receiving the letter, Shamoi flew into a rage, clutching it tightly in his hand and glaring at him, saying, "Destroy my Baiyue? With his power!"

"Hahaha……"

He had initially thought his sister's serious demeanor meant she was about to lose her temper, but when Samoyed looked up, he saw a woman emitting a delighted "hehehe" laugh.

“Song Shi’an is indeed a good man,” said Samogi. “It’s somewhat unexpected, but this is what I imagined the most powerful man in the world should be like.”

Whip me, punish me.

“Sister, it’s true that Song Shi’an is the most powerful person in Yu, but the power in Yu is too fragmented,” Sha Moyi said very seriously. “He can’t compare to Ji Yuan, and Ji Yuan is in the north, eyeing us covetously. I don’t believe that this Song Shi’an, with the ambition to reclaim the world, would actually launch a southern expedition.”

“Don’t underestimate him,” Shamoji cautioned. “You and I both know this southern expedition is pointless. Does Song Shi’an not know that?”

Samoyed did not speak.

Although he felt that excessively mythologizing Song Shi'an was to boost the morale of others and diminish one's own prestige.

However, he took the initiative to march south against them, even though it was a war that should never have been fought. There must be some insidious scheme of his own.

Thinking things through more deeply is never a bad idea.

"Although we have the advantage of terrain and are able to wait in comfort," Shamoji said, "you should know what kind of trustworthiness we barbarians have, right?"

How could I not know?

She killed her husband.

As the leader of the alliance, he killed his ally and then falsely accused him of using strong alkali.

Those barbarians are utterly shameless.

"Sister, do you mean we need to keep an eye on Qiu Juzhu's men to prevent him from colluding with Song Shi'an?" Shamoji said.

“It’s not to prevent him from colluding with outsiders,” Shamoji said. “Before Song Shi’an came to power, he couldn’t control the foreign affairs of Yu State, so everything was as we see it. The so-called secrets were just the collusion between the Duke of Zhangping and the late emperor, and now they have been revealed with secret letters and made public. However, Song Shi’an’s wolfish ambitions were already written in his writings.”

"..." This left Samoi speechless.

“Teaching you things from the Central Plains isn’t just about knowing the characters and reading some of their classics,” said Shamoji. “The Wealth of Nations already revealed this. The Song Dynasty’s policy of pacifying the south was to raise and control bandits, preventing the Sun family from becoming too powerful. They used as little money as possible to do big things and disrupt the internal affairs of the Baiyue people.”

"Then the person he had already chosen is Qiu Juzhu!"

"Now, it should be Qiu Juzhu's younger brother, Qiu Juhuan."

Samogi said in a cold, icy tone.

Shamoji was plotting something, deliberately exaggerating the conflict between him and the Duke of Zhangping, bringing it to the forefront until it became irreconcilable, so that at least the powerful families in the south would hold Song Shi'an accountable.

But even such a seemingly open scheme had a 'design' involved.

But Song Shi'an's approach was even more direct and brutal.

How I plan to deal with you was already written on my exam paper.

Moreover, at that time, I, who was concerned with the affairs of the world, was already able to rule the world.

That exam paper is not my testimony, but my determination to proclaim to the world.

“If that’s the case, let’s tell Qiu Juhuan about Song Shi’an’s intentions,” Sha Moyi said. “Song Shi’an does want to support him, but his goal is to make our two families fight each other so he can reap the benefits. As long as we draw a clear line and keep to ourselves, and don’t fall for his tricks, Song Shi’an won’t be able to do anything to us.”

“Well said,” Shamoji sneered. “But we can coexist peacefully. We are the rulers of Baiyue, and what is he?”

Samoy was only wishfully thinking.

Because he was standing from the perspective of the Southern Yue Kingdom, he naturally felt that such a good thing would benefit both countries.

However, the only advantage lies with his southern Vietnam.

King Qiu, who was already restless, did not cherish peace as much as he cherished flesh and blood.

“Furthermore, his brother died here,” Shamoji added. “Although he doesn’t dare to act rashly right now because all the kings are on our side, it’s not impossible that he might stab us in the back if he has such a powerful backer.”

“In that case, why don’t we take advantage of Song Shi’an’s arrival, unite with the other kings, slaughter Qiu Juhuan, seize his territory, and divide it up?” Shamo said.

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” Samogi said, “but we can only clean up our own house while Song Shi’an is stuck in the mud.”

Samogi is a very organized woman.

Everything she does is for her own benefit.

It's not simply about wanting to be in this position.

He became the queen of Nanyue and issued a declaration to "de-Han" in order to consolidate his position in the alliance. However, unifying thought was not enough; he also had to eliminate dissidents.

As long as the Duke of Zhangping and Song Shi'an fight, she will take the opportunity to strip Qiu Juhuan naked.

Even if Song Shi'an wins the fight, when he faces her again, he will be a Baiyue who is temporarily on the same side.

Fighting is a waste of time.

Song Shi'an absolutely could not launch two consecutive wars in the south; he could not afford to waste time or national strength.

Ultimately, Samogi's goal is to develop amidst chaos.

The so-called resistance to the threat does not mean not resisting, but rather resisting in a gradual, planned, and rhythmic manner.

Take Sun Tuo, for example. Even though he had such an ambiguous relationship with the Central Plains, once there was some unsolvable conflict, he and Qiu Juzhu had reached the point of wanting to kill each other. But in order to prove that he was still vigorous in his old age, he still had to critically violate the territory of the Great Yu and drag others into it.

"So what do we do now?" Samoyed asked. "This Qiujuhuan situation can't be resolved in a short time."

"Both hands work together," said Samogi. "Send someone to talk to Qiu Juhuan. Don't send small fry; send someone of importance. At the same time, find out what the old folks in his tribe are thinking."

"And the other hand." Samoyed understood, looked into her eyes, and said, "Continue to stir up trouble between Song Shi'an and the Duke of Zhangping."

…………

Yizhou, Changsha.

The five clan leaders were in a pavilion in the middle of a lake.

They are Xiong, Liu, Huang, Sun, and Cai from the south.

These five prominent families are like the five giant trees of Yizhou.

The leader, Xiong Ji, an old man leaning on a cane, said, "This Chen Huo (Duke of Zhangping) is now a traitor to the country."

"He was almost single-handedly responsible for the chaos in Yizhou earlier, which killed hundreds of thousands... even nearly a million people in the riots," Liu Sheng said excitedly. "I suppose Lord Xiong knew about it back then."

The others also looked at him.

Their faces all carried a hint of reproach.

"You know? How much do I know?" Xiong Ji asked with displeasure. "I only know that the locust plague previously caused widespread famine and refugees. I suggested to you all that we each contribute some grain to at least stabilize the situation and prevent an uprising from breaking out and the city from falling. But what about you all?"

"This..." Liu Sheng was stumped by the question, and lowered his head to explain, "Who would have thought that these unruly people would actually dare to rebel? They haven't rebelled for so many years, but this time they actually did."

"Moreover, the imperial court really didn't offer any help, which was unexpected," Cai Gong said with a sigh.

"Now it seems that the late emperor also knew how the great chaos in Yizhou would turn out." Huang Gong also gradually realized this as things unfolded. "He let the refugees riot, and then used the imperial examination to introduce the military farm system. Then, at the first opportunity, he sent out troops to gather the refugees and settle them on the spot."

"The late emperor's move was truly brilliant." Cai Gong also sincerely admired the emperor's strategic vision. "He even dared to condone rebellion."

Yizhou was hit by a locust plague. The imperial court failed to provide timely relief, and local powerful clans were unwilling to take responsibility. The Duke of Zhangping interfered and instigated a rebellion. In the end, the powerful families were stripped of their power, and refugees were everywhere. He then seriously included the country's food shortage in the examination questions and took the opportunity to carry out everything.

The most subtle part of this was that most emperors were terrified of rebellion because the slightest mistake could lead to the downfall of their country, yet he dared to manipulate such matters.

"The late emperor loved playing with eagles," Liu Sheng scoffed. "But didn't he also get his eyes pecked out by an eagle?"

Because it was a pavilion in the middle of the lake, and there were only five people there, and no divers below the pavilion, the conversation gradually became more unrestrained.

The fact that no one interrupted the wise emperor's mockery shows that they were also delighted.

Killing that scoundrel Wei Ye, Song Shi'an, you really did a great job!

"I did have some suspicions about the Duke of Zhangping's affair, but I didn't know it beforehand," Xiong Ji solemnly confessed. "My home is in Yizhou. How could I allow him to trample on the foundations of my ancestors? I did find out later, but what could I do then? Report to the court that the Duke of Zhangping was colluding with the enemy and rebelling? That would be a capital offense."

What he said actually makes sense.

What's done is done.

And it's beyond control.

The magistrate of Cangxia County, his mother, has several people dying every month.

Many prefects and generals were also slaughtered by the people.

As a local of Yizhou, how could Xiong Ji possibly be colluding with the Duke of Zhangping? Sir, this way, come and rob my house.

He was helpless and could only watch as the tall building collapsed.

"Lord Xiong has it tough too," Lord Cai said, offering a kind word. "When the imperial army comes to Yizhou, they have to cross a large river and a great river. But the soldiers of the Duke of Zhangping, their swords are aimed at their heads."

“There’s no point in dwelling on the past now,” Huang Gongdao said. “What we need to do is figure out how to face the current situation!”

When faced with a problem, people instinctively want to share the blame, so old grievances are brought up again.

But when they discovered that Xiong Ji didn't accept the blame they were being given and even turned around and accused them of "being unwilling to pay wages," these people started saying, "Stop arguing, stop arguing, let's solve the problem."

"Problems, of course, need to be solved."

Xiong Ji tapped the ground with his cane to draw everyone's attention, and then said, "But that depends on how the imperial court intends to resolve this."

"So, what does Song Shi'an want to do?" Liu Sheng said bluntly.

“Song Shi’an has already led his troops south, and he’s divided them into two groups, but he hasn’t said who they’re going to attack,” Cai Gongdao said. “It seems that Ran Jin is leading the troops that’s coming to our Yizhou. But he has to listen to Song Shi’an, so it must have been decided long ago. Can we control that?”

“If Song Shi’an had already discussed this with Ran Jin and given him the order, then he should have considered the sentiments of the people in Yizhou,” Huang Gong said. “Originally, all the families, officials, and even ordinary people were still afraid of what happened in Yizhou. Now that they know it was the Duke of Zhangping who was behind it, they are furious and wish they could kill that traitor as soon as possible. If Song Shi’an comes here and doesn’t attack the Duke of Zhangping, how can he gain the support of the people?”

“But,” Xiong Ji also reminded, “the Nanyue Kingdom is, after all, a foreign tribe and an enemy state. Shamoji is shouting against Yu in the Baiyue region, and the court cannot sit idly by.”

"Isn't that something for that young Grand Secretary to worry about?" Liu Sheng teased.

“He’s worrying about his cabinet ministers’ affairs, shouldn’t we be worried too?” Xiong Ji retorted.

What, is learning just for others to learn?
As a homeroom teacher, Song Shi'an has a KPI for college entrance examination pass rate.

It's all about performance, rewards, and promotions.

Even if he doesn't do a good job, he can still be a homeroom teacher; at most, he'll just get criticized.

But we didn't do well, and as a result, we didn't even get to go to university.

“What Lord Xiong said is absolutely right,” said Lord Cai. “After all, Yizhou is our Yizhou. If another major disturbance occurs, it will ultimately be detrimental to us.”

"Yes, before this, Yizhou was home to eight great families."

Sun Qin, who hadn't said much until now and was the youngest person there, around forty years old, completely shut down the conversation.

The eight major families were reduced to five, and three of them had their household registrations cancelled.

Everyone fell silent.

They now face two problems.

Even if they didn't want to avenge the betrayal by the Duke of Zhangping, they still harbored resentment towards their subordinates and those whose families had died in the peasant uprising. If their leader hadn't gone to fight the Duke of Zhangping, but instead focused on some kind of united front against a common enemy, the people's hearts wouldn't have been appeased.

But if we actually attack the Duke of Zhangping, we'll fall into Shamoji's trap. The Dayu people will suffer heavy losses on both sides, and the Nanyue Kingdom will take the opportunity to unite as one. At that time, the border troubles will be difficult to resolve. Moreover, there's the saying, "Those who are not of our race will surely have different hearts."

The five major families of Yizhou are now at a turning point in history.

Until Sun Qin spoke again, saying, "The deputy general on this southward route, Ye Changqing, has a father, Ye Sinong, who is an old friend of my father." (End of this chapter)