Frost for a Thousand Years

The fate of the world rests on this one county, Huai County.

The most important event in Huai County was the Grand Ceremony for Settling Farms.

Centered on the high platform where the sacrifices were held, twelve huge granaries were built around it.

Each warehouse was separated by several hundred steps, with flat, open dirt ground in between.

To the south of the altar were nearly a hundred newly built temporary post stations for officials and nobles, all of which were spacious but simple wooden houses with blue tiles.

The only relatively grand building, with multiple courtyards and surrounded by high walls, is located in the very center of the post station complex. Originally, the emperor resided in the old Song family residence, which served as a temporary palace, while the crown prince lived here.

But now it belongs to the emperor's 'main hall'.

All these buildings cover an area of ​​over 3,000 mu (approximately 200 hectares), equivalent to a city of about two square kilometers. Of course, the most expensive parts of a city are its walls and ramparts, and Song Shi'an certainly wouldn't build a city out of thin air just for this one festival.

Therefore, on the outermost perimeter, there were wooden towers every fifty steps, completely guarding the area. Each watchtower had three soldiers, two of whom were archers.

Because of the assassination attempt, security was tightened even more, and the Imperial Guards were stationed even in the fifty-step gap.

These soldiers lived in thousands of marching tents outside the 'city'.

In other words, no information could be leaked without the emperor's order.

Why did the Prince of Jin dare to have that eunuch deliver the imperial edict?

That's because eunuchs are palace people, and soldiers dare not stop them at will.

Even so, he was still caught by the emperor, and after a severe beating, his information was exposed.

"Have Jia Guihao's soldiers all been ordered to withdraw to a place five miles away?" the emperor asked.

“Your Majesty,” Xishan said, “all of General Jia’s soldiers are at least five miles away from here. Furthermore, they have occupied all the crossroads and all the watchtowers. Other troops are not allowed to approach General Jia’s troops without an imperial decree.”

"it is good."

The emperor nodded, still deep in thought.

"Your Majesty," Xishan asked, somewhat puzzled, "Do you suspect that the leak of information was due to an inside agent among General Jia's men?"

"The county troops already existed before he became the county commandant," the emperor said calmly. "That's ten thousand men, and their food, clothing, and daily necessities all depend on their prefect. What difficulty would there be in sending out a message?"

"Your Majesty is holy."

Xishan thought so too.

Even if Jia Guihao had an inside man, the Imperial Guards couldn't guarantee absolute loyalty either.

Even among three people, information could leak out; let alone thousands of people who are a united front.

However, using the Imperial Guards to keep Jia Guihao's troops away would indeed minimize the risk.

"Are there no underground passages or secret tunnels in any of the buildings at this grand ceremony venue?" the emperor asked again.

"Your Majesty, we've already checked everything, and it shouldn't be there," Xishan said with some difficulty. "It's too big, so we need to examine it more thoroughly, which will take some time."

"No need," the emperor waved his hand and said calmly, "If the tunnels really were built here, running in all directions, what a massive project that would be, how many people would it require? Could he possibly keep it a secret?"

"Your Majesty," Xishan said seriously upon hearing this, "Could there be a tunnel connecting to somewhere in the residence where Song Shi'an lives?"

The emperor smiled and looked at him: "Tell me."

“He has always lived in that house. And in the corner of the entire ceremony, if a tunnel were to be dug to lead somewhere, it would be less than a mile and a half at most.” Xi Shan said quite solemnly, “I asked Lord Si Ping, and the soil here is soft. If a tunnel about two miles long, which a single person can pass through, were to be dug, it would take thirty people less than a month to complete.”

"Xishan, you are truly thoughtful," the emperor praised.

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. This servant only wants to catch these rats for Your Majesty," Xishan said loyally.

"Then you probably won't be able to catch him," the emperor said.

The emperor drew a huge circle with the place where he lived during the Song Dynasty as the center.

Within this area, it's possible that the tunnel exit could be anywhere.

It's worth noting that the area of ​​this grand ceremony alone is the size of the ancient city of Pingyao.

Not to mention outside the city.

The emperor's army consisted of only a few thousand men.

Moreover, they cannot afford to waste their time on such things.

"Your Majesty," Xishan said after hesitating for a moment, "could we summon Song Shi'an, and then I will send people to find the 'mechanisms' and tunnels he has hidden?"

"If there is a tunnel, why has he endured it until now without running away?" the emperor asked rhetorically.

"..." This question stumped Xishan, who suddenly realized, "In other words, there is no tunnel."

In other words, he doesn't want to run.

"?" Xi Shan was dumbfounded.

Given all this, is it possible that Song Shi'an would just surrender here?

Finally, the emperor explained, "His connections, his loyal followers, his cronies—so far, none of them have been of any use. Since he could foresee the 'hunting rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked,' how could he have been completely unprepared these past few months?"

exactly.

Is Song Shi'an just waiting to be killed, or leaving no trace of his abilities beyond politics?
“As soon as he leaves his lair, those assassins will be mobilized,” the emperor astutely observed.

This is why we didn't force Song Shi'an.

If you push him too far, he'll fight you to the death.

Therefore, the only option was to surround him with layers of soldiers.

"Your Majesty is wise; it was this servant who was shortsighted."

Xi Shan lowered her head, feeling even more awe towards this monstrous emperor.

He originally thought that this situation was caused by his excessive trust in the crown prince.

But now it seems that the emperor was teaching his son step by step to make all the mistakes, and then using the old father's last bit of wisdom and face to solve everything for him.

Fatherly love is truly as solid as a mountain.

"Your Majesty, there are dozens of officials outside the hall requesting an audience."

At this moment, a member of the Imperial Guard entered and spoke.

"It's finally time." The emperor was not surprised at all.

This was all within his expectations.

This world is not something that the Wei family can control.

At the time, the emperor was furious because he had almost been killed, and those people naturally dared not speak out of turn so as not to get involved. But now that so much time has passed, they should be given some answers and some announcements should be made.

Otherwise, if the world falls into chaos, it will be these commoners and nobles who suffer.

"Who are they, and what did they say?" the emperor asked.

"They are mainly civil officials, the highest-ranking of whom is the Minister of the Imperial Household," the Imperial Guard said. "You gentlemen wish to ask whether the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on His Majesty has been found. Are the other officials in Huai County involved? Is the army safe?"

These adults asked many questions, and they were mostly about matters directly related to their own interests.

Those who assassinate the emperor must be rebels.

The rebels not only have assassins, but they must also have teams.

If we are in cahoots with certain officials and military officers in Huai County, and they have an army, what if they are forced into a rebellion?
You've locked us up here; we can't even run away!

"Alright, since they care about this so much."

The emperor leaned back in his chair, his expression unchanged, and slowly said, "Then let's settle this matter."

.........

Outside the main hall, the officials waited anxiously.

At that moment, Xishan came out.

Everyone stared at him, utterly bewildered.

"Your Majesty orally."

Xi Shan's expression was stern, and his tone was solemn.

Everyone immediately knelt on the ground to receive the imperial decree.

"His Majesty said."

Xi Shan glanced around and said, "The Prince of Zhongping is already a prince. What kind of backer could the person who tried to assassinate me have? Was it the Prince of Jin, the Crown Prince, or the Empress?"

These words terrified everyone. Many of them began to tremble.

The leader of the old and young officials could only stammer, "Your Majesty, that's not what we meant."

"Your Majesty said, 'Of course I know, that's not what you meant.'"

Xishan spoke again.

The emperor's foresight of their words made these people even more fearful.

"His Majesty also said..."

Representing the imperial edict, Xishan continued, "The officials and generals of Huai County are all without fault. They are all meritorious contributors to this land reclamation project. The army is united from top to bottom and will absolutely ensure the good health of all of you."

These words conveyed a great deal of information.

First, Prince Zhongping was the mastermind behind the assassination.

Second, it is impossible to forcibly involve the officials and people of Huai County in the assassination attempt.

These people are not fools.

On the contrary, they are smarter than anyone else.

The emperor's "personal expedition" this time is to seize power.

The fact that he didn't completely shift the blame onto Song Shi'an and Wei Wusheng when he had such a great opportunity suggests that he had other accusations in mind.

This is also to avoid escalation.

Previously, the crown prince rebelled, and afterwards a major purge was carried out, resulting in the execution of tens of thousands of people.

"Finally," His Majesty said, "you will soon be able to return to Sheng'an and be with my rebellious son."

confirmed.

The Prince of Zhongping brought him back to Sheng'an to be killed.

This matter has now been settled.

"Your Majesty, we obey."

The crowd bowed once, then slowly rose.

"My lords," Xi Shan said, "this matter is of great importance and not a child's play. You should continue to rest in your official residences for the next two days. Your meals and drinks will be delivered to your door by the eunuch. Please refrain from gathering like this, whether during the day or at night."

After he offered his advice, everyone accepted it and left to return to their own residences.

After dismissing everyone, Xi Shan, under the emperor's instructions, went to Song Shi'an's place.

After he arrived, Xinyue and Sangou waited outside without saying a word, their expressions showing disdain and contempt.

They were practically cursing the neutered dog out loud.

So crazy.

Xi Shan walked in, looking displeased.

But immediately, he put on a smiling face again.

Song Shi'an sat in his seat, while he stood below and said solicitously, "Your Excellency, His Majesty sent me."

"What did Your Majesty say?" Song Shi'an asked with a slight smile.

“His Majesty said,” Xi Shan looked at him and said, “the assassination attempt on the royal carriage has been thoroughly investigated. It was orchestrated by Prince Zhongping and has nothing to do with any officials or generals in Huai County. Just now, His Majesty also told me to tell the officials who came to inquire that we will return to Sheng'an in a few days and take Prince Zhongping with us.”

"What will His Highness Prince Zhongping do?" Song Shi'an asked curiously.

“Assassinating His Majesty is a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one’s family. Even if His Highness Prince Zhongping is His Majesty’s closest relative, he cannot escape the death penalty,” Xi Shan said.

"Then please accept my condolences, Your Majesty," Song Shi'an said.

They're still going crazy!
"Now that this matter has been settled, can the Prefect accept it?" Xishan asked.

"Accept?" Song Shi'an asked, puzzled. "Do I need to accept this?"

"The soldiers at the gate of the Prefect's residence shall be withdrawn immediately," Xishan said. "In a few days, they shall return to Sheng'an with all the officials."

"What about the Northern Liang?"

Song Shi'an asked in an icy tone.

“The affairs of Beiliang have nothing to do with you, Prefect,” Xi Shan said. “Those people who disobeyed orders, became independent, or even defected to the enemy had nothing to do with you, Prefect, who was just a county magistrate at the time.”

At that time, he was only a county magistrate, while Qin Kuo and Zhu Qing were both higher-ranking officials than him.

He is currently only a prefect, while Qin Kuo and Zhu Qingguan are the same age as him.

How can it be considered a back-end system?

“But those people were all subordinates of the Sixth Prince back then.”

"His Majesty said that His Highness bears some responsibility for failing to properly discipline His Highness, but that's all."

This was the emperor making a promise to Song Shi'an through Xi Shan—at least not to kill Wei Wusheng.

“It seems His Majesty has forgiven us.” Song Shi’an chuckled and said, “But His Majesty is old and forgetful. We’re afraid that one day he might not want to forgive us anymore.”

"You!" Xi Shan's face turned red instantly after being scolded by her master.

“I, Song Shi’an, will wait right here for His Majesty to come and kill me.”

Song Shi'an's face darkened, and he didn't give the eunuch any face.

And just like that, he left in anger.

None of the soldiers at the gate were withdrawn.

At this moment, Xinyue returned to the mansion.

"Is this the final warning?" she asked.

“He probably doesn’t know what I’m hiding,” Song Shi’an said sharply. “But he’s absolutely confident he can suppress everything.”

Xin Yue looked at Song Shi'an and sensed that he was about to make a decision.

Finally, he decided:
"Then, it exploded."

…………

Night falls in the stables.

With a rustling sound, a button was pushed open from below.

More than ten soldiers dressed in Imperial Guard armor and wearing red tassels on their heads silently crawled out.

Headed towards the stable entrance.

Two of the soldiers, armed with short swords, crept up behind one of the guards at the door and slashed his neck with a single blow.

Then, it was dragged into the stable and seamlessly replaced.

After resolving the issue, the dozen or so soldiers left the area openly and honestly.

The leader, facing a soldier who had come out to relieve himself, immediately shouted solemnly, "Nighttime password."

The man was wearing armor of the rank of centurion, so the soldier quickly replied, "Bow and crossbow."

"Ah."

The centurion nodded.

Then, he led the remaining soldiers and walked around the camp.

They arrived at the outside of a stone house that was being used as a 'prison cell'.

They walked over together.

Upon seeing the man approach, the guard officer quickly stepped forward and asked, "Password?"

"Bow and crossbow," he replied.

Upon hearing this, he immediately lowered his guard.

Then, in the next moment, a spear pierced his chest.

With lightning speed, the dozen or so soldiers dressed in Imperial Guard armor killed all the guards outside the prison.

The leader kicked the door open with a loud bang.

"Your Highness, we have been sent by the Prince of Jin to rescue you!" (End of Chapter)