Frost for a Thousand Years

A baby's cry echoed throughout the Song residence.

Then, everyone in the mansion was overjoyed.

Song Jing, who was waiting outside the dormitory, smiled with relief.

Jiang, standing to the side, had tears welling up in her eyes.

However, they very considerately made way for Song Shi'an to enter alone.

With a heart full of trepidation, he nervously entered the house.

Then, he quickly went behind the screen on the side.

"Young master, congratulations, it's a young master!"

The midwife, holding her son, presented him to Song Shi'an, overwhelmed with emotion.

Seeing the child crying loudly, Song Shi'an was also moved and at a loss for words.

He took the child with both hands, held him in his arms, and walked to Xinyue, who was lying on the bed with her forehead covered in sweat.

Xin Yue was a little weak at the moment, her face was pale, but she was still in good spirits and said with a smile, "I've seen it... it looks like you."

"Is that so?" Song Shi'an looked at the child a few more times and found that there was indeed his own spirit between his brows, but the shape of his eyes was more like his wife's. "Xin Yue, I saw you in her eyes."

“I see myself in your eyes too.”

When Song Shi'an came in, the first thing he looked at was her, with anxious concern, before his attention was drawn to the midwife. This made the weak Xin Yue feel that in his heart, she was more important than the child.

"You've worked hard, you need to take good care of yourself."

Song Shi'an sat beside her, holding the child in his arms, and said to her soothingly, "Once you're better, we can go anywhere together."

“I used to really enjoy wandering around and didn’t want to be confined to any particular place.” Xin Yue gently placed her fingers on the child’s palm, and after the child held her hand, she smiled faintly. “But now, I seem to really enjoy the quiet time we spend together with you and him.”

Not having a war seems pretty good.

“Yes, Ji Yuan refuses to surrender,” Song Shi’an complained. “If he had just surrendered the whole country to me, the world would be at peace, and everyone could live peacefully with their wives and children.”

Thinking about this, Song Shi'an felt that Ji Yuan was truly selfish.

Ji Yuan-chan, all you ever think about is yourself.

I have never felt happy about unifying the world.

“Yes, he’s really selfish,” Xin Yue agreed with a smile.

It seems that everyone thinks this way.

"Child, what name do you want?" Song Shi'an asked.

"Shouldn't the name be chosen by Weng Weng?" Although Xin Yue was an extraordinary woman, now that she was married, her excellent character of being sensible and understanding had immediately emerged, which was quite different from her assassin nature.

“In our family, I make all the decisions. If I make the decisions, then you make the decisions too, right?” Song Shi’an said.

Song family, whoever earns more, speak up.

At home, even my dad has to call me Little Grand Secretary.

"How about calling him Xiao Nian?" Xin Yue said, looking into the child's eyes.

“Sure, but why did you choose this name?” Song Shi’an asked.

It wasn't born during the Lunar New Year.

“After we got together, we spent every year together, except for last year when you led your troops to Jiangnan.” Xin Yue thought of herself back then, and then of the people of the world. “Only you can end this chaotic world. My vision is to let the people of the world share a peaceful year in the cold winter.”

"Little New Year, Little New Year..."

After muttering to himself for a while, Song Shi'an had an idea and said, "In that case, how about calling him Song Jinnian?"

"Shi'an means temporary peace. Jin Nian means a splendid and prosperous life." Xin Yue was quite satisfied with the name. "It seems to be getting better and better."

"Okay, then let's call him Jin Nian."

Holding this chosen one, Song Shi'an increasingly envisioned what the world would look like.

Because of the birth of this child, the Song family began a very grand celebration.

The Song family has done so many good things in the past two years.

Song Jing was promoted to Marquis, Song Ce got married, Song Ce had a son, Song Shi'an got married, and Song Shi'an had a son.

Moreover, as Song Jing's official rank rose higher and higher, these good things were no longer just good things for the Song family.

That very afternoon, a palace eunuch came to visit.

Song Jing personally greeted them at the door.

"Duke, has this young master been named yet?"

Zhang Fu asked politely with a smile.

"Yes, the name has been chosen," Song Jing said. "It's Song Jinnian, with the courtesy name Guanghua."

"Guanghua, Jinnian." After careful consideration, the eunuch said with great joy, "What a wonderful name! The birth of a young Grand Secretary will bring glory and prosperity to the Great Yu Dynasty and bestow blessings upon all the people under heaven."

Song Jing did not deny it, but just smiled ingratiatingly.

He's gotten a bit arrogant now.

He wasn't as humble as before.

People say your grandson is the hope of the whole world, and he accepts it gladly.

Of course, that's true.

As Song Shi'an's eldest son, he will inherit the position of Duke.

He is the most powerful third-generation official on earth.

"Your Majesty, we have a decree from His Majesty," Zhang Fu said.

"Shi An is still with his wife," Song Jing said apologetically.

"Please keep the lady company, young master," Zhang Fu said. "It's alright."

"Then, please forgive me."

Song Jing clasped his hands together and bowed to the eunuch.

He was a Duke and was granted the privilege of not kneeling before imperial edicts.

"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, the imperial edict said:

The eldest grandson of Duke Huaiguo, Song Jing, and the adopted son of Marquis Guanjun, Song Shi'an, comes from a distinguished family with a long and distinguished military lineage. Now, this special favor is bestowed upon him to demonstrate Heaven's favor:

He was granted the title of Marquis of Quxiang and bestowed the name "Qilin" upon him.

Awarded, iron coupon with chi pattern, the inscription on the coupon is "enjoy the position forever".

A reward of a thousand yi of pure gold:

Cast, Longevity Lock

Create the Nine Dragons Playing with a Pearl Chariot

Bestowed with a jade sword

So be it.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I accept the decree."

Song Jing accepted the imperial edict without hesitation.

And so many imperial favors.

Then, these good things were transported to the Song residence in cartloads.

At this moment, Zhang Fu walked to Song Jing's side, lowered his voice, and whispered, "Duke, His Majesty said that although the land reclamation project has been successfully completed, the expenses are still too high. Therefore, please make this grand celebration for the birth of your son."

“If we hold a big celebration like this…” Song Jing hesitated.

"Rest assured, Duke, His Majesty will issue a proclamation to the world. Not only officials in the court, but also officials in Sizhou, and even officials in other prefectures, must present gifts," Zhang Fu reminded Song Jing, as this was backed by the imperial court.

The opportunity to make money is right here!

“Very well, with Your Majesty’s support, I will…” Song Jing nodded, “…make it a little more grand.”

“And another thing,” Zhang Fu continued, “Generally speaking, taking a concubine shouldn’t be done too openly. But the Second Madam of the Young Grand Secretary is the legitimate daughter of Minister Sun, so this… can be a little different.”

"No, isn't this going too far?" Song Jing made a lot of money from all those banquets he hosted before.

However, they were all very formal reasons.

But now, even taking a concubine requires searching the entire world.

Isn't this a bit too harsh?
“Where would we live? Without the Junior Grand Secretary, would those aristocratic families be able to enjoy such a peaceful and comfortable life?” Zhang Fu said. “Besides, I’ve also heard that the Second Madam is perhaps pregnant…”

"Huh?" Song Jing was finally speechless.

Is the military budget of the Great Yu Dynasty entirely funded by corruption and bribery?!

.........

The two big shots, Gu Yixin and Ouyang Ke, entered the palace.

I walked slowly through the alley.

"This young Grand Secretary is getting married again. How much did Master Gu give as a wedding gift?" Ouyang Ke asked curiously.

"I am not as wealthy and powerful as Young Master Gu," Gu Yixin said with some reluctance, "but I still gave a hundred taels of silver."

A hundred gold coins is definitely a lot.

Of course, Gu Yixin is one of the four elders, so he is still someone worth mentioning.

"Then when the young Grand Secretary has another son, how many more sons will he give as a gift?" Ouyang Ke asked.

"..."

Faced with such a difficult question, Gu Yixin fell silent again.

"Hahaha."

Ouyang Ke laughed out loud, just like Old Qian.

“These few times alone have probably already raised enough for a year’s military expenses,” Gu Yixin complained. “The nobles all over the world have shed a lot of blood.”

“Only the young Grand Secretary possesses such power,” Ouyang Ke said.

“But doing so is also a legitimate reason,” Gu Yixin said seriously. “Otherwise, the court would have to use other methods to raise these military funds.”

These words struck a chord with Ouyang Ke.

As the Minister of Revenue, the deputy prime minister of the realm, he knew all too well how much money Song Shi'an was going to spend on his work.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Ouyang Ke sighed. "There's just nothing we can do about it."

"Do we really have to rush to complete this?" Gu Yixin was actually a little uneasy. "We are already the strongest in the world. After resting and recuperating for several years, wouldn't it be easier to succeed with sufficient preparation?"

“Master Gu,” Ouyang Ke looked at him and said, “If we hadn’t won this battle, it could have been like this, but we won so beautifully. Neither of us has any reason to refuse.”

The two looked at each other and said nothing more.

Thus, he entered the cabinet.

The cabinet meeting to discuss the campaign against Ji Yuan and his unification of the world was thus convened.

Song Jing, Song Shi'an, Gu Yixin, and Ouyang Ke sat in their respective seats.

As the Minister of War, Song Shi'an was the main speaker in charge of this PPT presentation. He walked to the center, facing a map of the country, and said: "Gentlemen, the accurate military intelligence reported back by our scouts in the north, and the news of our great victory in the south, spread in Leyang immediately. Moreover, there was no slander."

These words surprised Gu Yixin: "Is Ji Yuan going to be abandoned by everyone due to the inevitable trend of the times?"

“Logically speaking, this kind of news shouldn’t travel back so quickly,” Song Shi’an replied. “It is said that Ji Yuan released it intentionally.”

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ke immediately understood: "Ji Yuan wants the powerful families of Qi to bleed a little."

“Given the extent of his power,” Song Jing said, “those powerful families must have had no choice but to intervene.”

Ji Yuan is essentially being compared to Wei Ye here.

However, he is a younger version of Wei Ye.

Therefore, his policies are relatively easier to implement.

Making money is also much easier.

Of course, all of these are relative.

How difficult it is to get money out of a powerful family.

War mobilization is an extremely difficult task for anyone.

“Ji Yuan should also be prepared to fight this battle,” Song Shi’an analyzed. “We will control the scale of this battle. If we want to win the war of annihilation against Qi, he will need to match a similar number of troops. Therefore, it is very possible to achieve victory in one battle.”

Ji Yuan didn't want to go all in with Song Shi'an.

Because if his country were to go all-in on gambling, losing could lead to its downfall.

The depth on both sides is on a completely different level.

Even if Song Shi'an loses, at most he will only lose Liangzhou, and Qinzhou will be in danger.

However, Sizhou is defensible.

Beyond Sili Province, south of the Yangtze River, there are even more defensible provinces like Yangzhou and Yizhou, as well as a newly incorporated province called Jiaozhou.

Even if he was against all-in, as long as Song Shi'an raised the level of this battle to that intensity, he would have no choice but to join the group.

It's like the Battle of Hanzhong.

Liu Bei was essentially gambling with the fate of his country. If he lost, he was finished; if he won, he would have the confidence to contend with Cao Cao.

Although Liu Bei won this battle, Cao Cao had been in control of the war from the beginning.

Liu Bei could only match the strength of his opponent and desperately try to win the battle.

"Is it really necessary to achieve everything in one battle?" Gu Yixin asked.

“Grand Secretary Gu, this is somewhat difficult for us,” Song Shi’an replied, “but for Ji Yuan in the north, it is even more difficult.”

These words left Gu Yixin speechless.

Because that makes perfect sense.

"Moreover, it's uncertain how long Northern Yan can remain stable," Song Jing added. "The 20,000 taels of gold previously allocated by the court has created a sharp confrontation between the two countries. If this drags on, I'm afraid that this money will be wasted."

That makes even more sense.

At least for now, there is no sign of reconciliation between Northern Yan and Qi.

But as time went by, they joined forces to resist the Western Song Dynasty and formed an allied army.
“Since we’re going to send troops into battle,” Ouyang Ke said, “Ji Yuan’s army is mainly engaged in farming in Beiliang. So, the time we should choose should be after he has finished farming, but before the crops have grown properly, right?”

"Grand Secretary Ouyang is a man of great talent," Song Shi'an said approvingly. "We need to disrupt his production to compensate for the disadvantages of a long and arduous expedition."

What are Ji Yuan's advantages?

That was his personal involvement in land reclamation and troop training at the front lines.

Song Shi'an, however, was in Sheng'an.

He was someone who waited patiently for the enemy to tire themselves out.

But if I launch an attack before you harvest, wouldn't that waste your year's worth of farming efforts?

"Shi An, tell me your thoughts," Song Jing said to him.

"Yes."

Song Shi'an nodded, then faced the crowd and said, "A sudden, small-scale attack would inevitably catch everyone off guard. However, Ji Yuan couldn't possibly have been unaware of the military deployments prior to this, and he has quite a few spies within Dayu. Therefore, Shi'an believes that rather than doing this, it would be better to directly announce to the world when we will launch our general offensive!"

Everyone was shocked by these words.

Yes, everyone knew he was going to launch the attack before the crops ripened.

But I announced in advance when the attack would take place. So, were you going to stay in the Beiliang military camp for the previous year?

If you are prepared and do not go to the military settlement, then I will trick you and not fight. Wouldn't your military settlement foundation in Beiliang be wasted?

Holy crap, this is a conspiracy!
"While it might not leave Ji Yuan at a loss, it certainly serves as a great deterrent."

Ouyang Ke agreed with this method, and then asked Song Shi'an, "Shi'an, when do you think would be the best time to attack?"

"Time waits for no one; we must seize every moment."

Song Shi'an smiled faintly, then said, "Next summer." (End of Chapter)