Frost for a Thousand Years

When this military order came out, Qin Kuo and Zhu Qing were almost dumbfounded.

My first reaction was: fake news.

Therefore, Qin Kuo directly questioned, "General Huang, is this really a brocade pouch given to you by Lord Song?"

Huang Tong was also stunned on the spot. He had been very certain at first, but after learning about this order, he was also incredulous, muttering, "This brocade pouch was delivered by a messenger named Zhao He at the beginning of the month..."

“No problem.” Zhu Qing looked at Qin Kuo and made a confident judgment. “He came at the beginning of the month to deliver the letters from Lord Song and His Highness to us.”

"And he was the one who delivered the letter earlier."

Qin Kuo understood that Song Shi'an had sent a messenger with more than one instruction.

The order given to him and Zhu Qing was: everything as usual.

The instructions given to Huang Tong were: when Ji Yuan sends out his troops, make the following arrangements.

It was because he knew that if the order was given too early, they would be very shaken and fearful, and might even reveal their weaknesses.

But when the Qi rebels are about to send troops, and they are surrounded by enemies on all sides, with no time to think, they have no choice but to blindly obey even the most outrageous military orders.

"Lord, General."

Huang Tong's true performance proved that he hadn't seen the secret plan beforehand at all: "According to Lord Song's plan, we will push all our troops to the south bank of the river. With the existing defense line and the natural Chishui River as a barrier, we can indeed confront Ji Yuan's army. However, the Chishui River is hundreds of miles long. Even if there aren't many crossings, if the enemy suddenly raises several thousand elite troops to attack a section of the river, not to mention outflanking our army and directly occupying Shuofeng, our army risks being completely annihilated!"

How could someone as skilled as Song Shi'an make such a poor decision? He's acting like a traitor.

“You haven’t considered Liangzhou behind us, and General Xiao Qun’s army,” Zhu Qing said calmly.

“Xiao Qun has always been thinking of taking advantage of the situation to take over our Beiliang, while we simply withdraw our troops, leaving empty cities behind. Aren’t we just handing Beiliang over to others?” Huang Tong retorted.

"Song Shi'an, this is absurd!" Qin Kuo immediately became furious and angrily criticized this irresponsible order.

Before Huang Tong could recover and was showing some confusion, Zhu Qing, based on his understanding of Song Shi'an, explained to him: "Beiliang has tens of thousands of troops by land and water, and the grain produced by the military farms is enough for our army to hold out for more than a year. Now, we are pressing all our troops, grain, and weapons to the south bank of the Chishui River, leaving only an empty city. What will General Xiao Qun think?"

"..." After a brief moment of thought, Huang Tong's eyes widened instantly. "We want to defect to the enemy!"

What the hell? You want me to surrender? I killed Ji Yuan's son!

"We lost, or rather, we lost cities and territories, and our entire army was wiped out. But for Xiao Qun, it's really not a big deal. After all, even if Ji Yuan is a brilliant strategist, he would still suffer considerable losses if the battle had to reach this point." Qin Kuo shook his head and muttered to himself, "But if tens of thousands of troops, nearly a hundred thousand laborers, and a large amount of grain and supplies were swallowed up by Ji Yuan, then the danger would not just be limited to Beiliang."

Ji Yuan did not take down Beiliang without suffering any damage.

While taking down Beiliang without sustaining any damage, his strength instantly increased by an extremely rapid pace.

This is even more terrifying than the fall of Northern Liang.

This part of Northern Liang was developed and expanded with the full strength of the entire prefecture.

"But did he even consider that our families are in Sheng'an? If we do something like this, both of us will be implicated and our entire families will be executed!" Qin Kuo angrily pointed out this point. "And doesn't he know why General Huang came to Dayu in the first place?"

He would gladly risk his life for Song Shi'an.

But what about my nine generations of relatives?

We have many weaknesses and vulnerabilities!

Zhu Qing also thought of his wife and children, and became very conflicted.

This is the result of the struggle between Song Shi'an and the imperial court—a fight to the death?

Huang Tong stood awkwardly to the side, not knowing what to say.

"No, that's not right." Zhu Qing suddenly realized something and looked at Qin Kuo. "This is no different from treason. Why would Lord Song bring it up like this, and why was it the Sixth Prince who wrote the brocade pouch? This means that both of them agreed to this plan, doesn't it?"

Song Shi'an is one thing, but the real problem is that this is the Sixth Prince's handwritten letter...

"My lords," Huang Tong said nervously, somewhat frightened, "I know of Lord Song's position and power in the court, but can he be found guilty of such behavior in Da Yu?"

The most arrogant man in the entire Northern Yan, Duke Qin, was his former boss, but even he wasn't that arrogant. When the tide had turned against him, he gracefully chose to relinquish power and withdraw from politics. Is the political struggle in this great nation truly so destructive?

Huang Tong also had to dissuade them from obeying this absurd order.

“Never in any generation of the Great Yu Dynasty has such a situation occurred. It has never happened before in history.” Qin Kuo said anxiously, “If this is done, not only will our nine clans lose their heads, but even that Lord Song will not escape the death penalty.”

It can be said that they have truly surrendered, and Ji Yuan's disadvantage against Dayu will be evened out in an instant.

It is not impossible that the entire Liangzhou region could be occupied.

"Could it be..." Qin Kuo suddenly realized, and said solemnly, "Lord Song and the Sixth Prince have encountered an accident?!"

Upon hearing this, all three people were stunned.

And everyone agreed on this statement.

“It’s possible, no, it’s definitely possible.” Zhu Qing nodded. “Only when one is in dire straits would they do something so extreme. And Lord Song is far away in Sizhou, so his purpose must be to protect himself.”

"I understand, I understand everything."

As the prefect, Qin Kuo's political acumen was far superior to that of the two military officers. He immediately hit the nail on the head, saying, "The military settlements have been completed, and there has even been an episode where it was said that 'the military settlements could not be completed without the Song Dynasty.' At this time, the prestige of that young Song official will surely reach its peak. Moreover, to expand the military settlements, he must work together with the Sixth Prince. After several years, these two will have complete control over the military settlements."

"So the real purpose of the emperor's eastern tour to hold the land reclamation ceremony is..." Zhu Qing broke out in a cold sweat instantly, "...to discard the donkey after it has served its purpose."

"When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked." Qin Kuo used Song Shi'an's famous saying.

It accurately summarizes their situation.

"Lord Song is our biggest backer in Sheng'an," Huang Tong said in a panic. "If he is stripped of his military command in Huai County, then..."

"Our turn is next."

Zhu and Qin spoke in unison, showing great tacit understanding.

"But if that's the case, why doesn't Lord Song just say it directly?" Huang Tong still wanted them not to act rashly, as surrendering to Qi would not be good for them.

“According to the timeline, before the Emperor’s eastern tour, nothing should have happened, so he couldn’t make any wild guesses lest he provide incorrect information.” Zhu Qing continued, then seemed a little confused. “So, his impending ‘killing the hunting dog after the cunning rabbit is caught’ is also just speculation?”

“But there are clues.” Qin Kuo raised his finger and said seriously, “At this point, with the Qi army about to march south, Xiao Qun is still pressuring us so much. It must be because the Crown Prince has given his tacit approval.”

As the saying goes, "ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring." They are on the front lines of the battle; how could they not sense that they are already fish on the chopping block?

This is clearly an attempt to wash them out of the country.

"If that's really the case, then our family members are either already murdered, or already in prison." Clenching his fists tightly, Qin Kuo's eyes were already brimming with tears.

Zhu Qing was also terrified, but she still forced back her grief and said, "No, think about it. What kind of insignificant people are you and me? What kind of small family are we? What would be the point of the emperor killing our whole family?"

"..." Upon hearing this, Qin Kuo immediately realized, "Yes, yes. Families like ours can only threaten us while they are alive."

If we kill them all, wouldn't that force them to surrender to the north?
"But if we really do that, wouldn't we be playing right into the hands of those who oppose Lord Song?" Huang Tong pleaded fearfully, trying to salvage the situation. "If we surrender, Lord Song will inevitably fall. Wouldn't those officials who impeached us be secretly delighted?"

"No, others might do that," Qin Kuo denied directly. "If we surrender directly with our food and troops, it means that Beiliang will inevitably fall, and Liangzhou will also be vulnerable. Chen Ling might be secretly pleased to have overthrown the Song family, but Xiao Qun will never watch Liangzhou fall."

"Besides, with Liangzhou lost, Ji Yuan's next target is Qinzhou!" Zhu Qing said firmly. "General Huang, we are not truly surrendering. We will never surrender. This is forcing Xiao Qun!" This was Lord Song's counterattack.

It tied everyone to the gambling table.

Right now, they are the ones suffering.

But after doing this, Xiao Qun will also be tormented.

General Xiao Qun, are you sure you dare to face Ji Yuan at his peak with half the strength of a province?
We insignificant people can simply accept defeat.

Can someone as important as you accept utter defeat?

exploded!

"..." Huang Tong was stunned, unable to refute.

"Alright then." Qin Kuo immediately gave the order, "Generals, please have the troops and provisions transported to the camps, Wulei, and beacon towers on the south bank of the Chishui River with all your might. Within three days, clear out all the cities. And do this in the name of resisting Ji Yuan."

Just because those three can rebel doesn't mean everyone else can. Ninety-nine percent of people don't want to rebel.

Therefore, the only option is to lie.

Such events have occurred throughout history.

In order to move the capital, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, Tuoba Hong, pretended to launch a southern expedition, leading a large army across the Yellow River, and then took the opportunity to leave the nobles and officials in Luoyang to complete the relocation of the capital.

Similarly, Qin Kuo and Zhu Qing had no choice but to do this, leading more than 100,000 people to surrender.

"Okay, then let's do it this way." Zhu Qing thought the method was quite ingenious, so he agreed immediately.

"General," Qin Kuo asked Huang Tong again, "are you willing to trust us?"

"Lord Song is willing to entrust such an important matter to me to deliver, which shows that he thinks highly of this scoundrel, this surrendered general," Huang Tong murmured, trembling. "And since it is Lord Song's scheme, I believe it unconditionally."

“General, we cannot truly surrender. Our entire clan is not to be abandoned so easily,” Qin Kuo said. “Besides, your grudges with the State of Qi can make the surrender issue even more protracted…”

"..." Huang Tong gritted his teeth and said resolutely, "Then let's gamble with Xiao Qun's life!"

The three reached an agreement and decided to take action immediately.

Suddenly, Huang Tong said, "Gentlemen, the messenger also said something else."

The two of them looked at him solemnly.

Then, Huang Tong said very seriously, "We are not required to obey any orders sent by any messenger other than him."

.........

Sheng'an, at night.

Song Jing sat in the study with his eyes closed, his expression blank.

At this moment, a servant hurried over and whispered somewhat fearfully outside the study door, "My lord, people from the palace have arrived."

"coming."

Song Jing, already dressed in his official robes and black gauze, left the study without hesitation upon hearing these words.

As soon as they arrived outside the mansion, members of the Imperial Guards and eunuchs came to personally invite them.

"Greetings, Your Excellency."

The eunuchs and the Imperial Guards all bowed their heads in great awe, almost bending their waists halfway.

Song Jing did not speak, and went straight to the carriage.

The person in front of him proactively lifted the curtain and placed the ladder, giving him no time to pause.

They got into the car and headed towards the palace.

The carriage stopped outside the palace.

Whoever it is, should dismount at this time and walk through the alley to the palace.

Therefore, the Imperial Guard outside clenched his fist and reported, "Commander, we have arrived at the palace."

Song Jing remained silent, just as he had ignored everyone when he arrived, showing no respect whatsoever.

This put the eunuch and the Imperial Guard in a difficult position. After looking at each other for a long time, the eunuch finally made the decision: "Let them pass. Send the carriage to the palace."

The order was to invite Song Jing in with the utmost respect.

They had no choice.

And so, the carriages and horses arrived outside the Taiyuan Hall.

Song Jing got off the bus.

Both sides were lined with Imperial Guards holding torches.

He stepped onto the hall and entered the palace.

Above the main hall, there was only one eunuch below the steps. However, behind the dragon throne, there was a couch, with a beaded curtain hanging in front of it, partially concealing the elegant and noble woman behind it.

Song Jing did not kneel.

Empress Hua showed no displeasure whatsoever; on the contrary, she said, "Give the Chief a seat."

Soon, a chair was placed directly opposite the dragon throne at the foot of the steps.

Song Jing sat down.

Before the other party could speak, he said coldly, "Kill him."

"Lord Du, don't be angry," Empress Hua said. "His Majesty is not here, but he instructed me to make sure you are comforted."

"Qin Kuo's entire family has been arrested and imprisoned, and Zhu Qing's entire family, including children as young as a few years old, has also been thrown into prison," the magistrate said. "Next, it will be my Song family."

"Your Excellency, I assure you," the Empress said. "No, His Majesty assures you. Shi'an will be safe and sound, and will one day be ranked among the Three Dukes."

Song Jing smiled and said to the woman quite casually, "He once made a bet with me, betting that my whole family and the Song family would appear in public together."

"Your Excellency, please do not be angry." Because the other party referred to the emperor as "he," the empress immediately showed her displeasure and said, "The Wei family has indeed wronged the Song family, but this is His Majesty's decision. Even if the emperor has a thousand faults, I do not expect his subjects to be completely understanding, but at least they should maintain reverence."

“Of course, he is His Majesty, and there are no wrong emperors in the world,” Song Jing smiled. “There are only wrong ministers.”

"I will forget what the Du Tang said after today."

The Empress gazed at the minister below the steps and warned, "I hope you will remain in Sheng'an and await your son's return. Do nothing else." (End of Chapter)