New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Having been trapped in Youzhou for over a year, and now freed from Wanyan Xun's control, the gloom that had been hanging over Tang Qian finally dissipated like thick fog under the morning sun, and his mood improved greatly.

With the help of propellers, the boats sailing downstream in the canal were like flying fish leaping out of the waves, giving Tang Qian a feeling of speed and agility.

It was at this time that Tang Qian finally understood Li Bai's state of mind when he set off from Baidi City in the morning. However, it was still a luxury for Brother Taibai to travel a thousand miles to Jiangling in a day, and it seemed that it was not a dream for this ship to be able to depart from Youzhou in the morning and arrive in Guangling in the evening.

However, Tang Qian did not intend to return to Yangzhou by boat, but instead planned to disembark in Tengzhou.

Wang Jian, the commander of the imperial guards, expressed his opposition to such a plan.

"The Song Dynasty is now plagued by bandits. With only twenty-odd guards, it would be extremely difficult to escort the princess safely to Jiangnan by land."

Tang Qian nodded: "On land, there are mountain bandits who rob people halfway, and on water, there are also river bandits who use iron chains to block the river. Commander Wang, do you think you can hold off several waves of river bandits?"

Wang Jian was speechless for a moment. He naturally knew that the world was not peaceful and that waterways were indeed not safe. However, the only means of transportation they had at present was the boat they were currently on.

Tang Qian's plan to abandon ship and go ashore—was he preparing to let these young women, who had never traveled far from home, walk to Guangling?

Perhaps they wouldn't have gone very far before they were all kidnapped by local bandits and made their wives.

"Commander Wang, rest assured, since I have made such arrangements, I am absolutely confident. By the way, what is today's date?"

"Huh?" Wang Jian was waiting for Tang Qian to reveal his plan so he could cooperate in making arrangements, but unexpectedly, the kid changed the subject and asked a completely unrelated question.

However, since the prince consort had asked, he couldn't refuse to answer. After rolling his eyes and thinking for a moment, Wang Jian gave Tang Qian a date that made him ponder: "May 16th."

"May... there should still be enough time."

Tang Qian uttered yet another seemingly inexplicable statement, instructing the princesses to be ready to disembark at any time. Although they didn't quite understand, Tang Qian's words were like an imperial edict to them. If they couldn't figure it out, they shouldn't think about it; they should just follow Tang Qian and run away.

Traveling south along the canal, the vast land was devoid of any living creatures, as the Jin army had just withdrawn. This stretch of the journey was free from the harassment of river bandits.

The Jin army packed up everything they could carry and transported it to the north. The people had no way to survive, so how could there be bandits here who survive by robbing the people?

As the sun set, the only boat on the river slowly docked at the nearly abandoned Tengzhou Wharf.

Seeing that Tang Qian, along with his entire family of more than ten women, escorted by a group of guards, walked up the gangplank to the dock, seemingly intending to abandon the waterway and take the land route, the boatmen on the ship and the craftsmen of the Li family in Jinling all became anxious.

They certainly knew that the land route was extremely difficult to travel nowadays, but without the imperial guards on board, reaching Jinling safely was not an easy task either. Although Tang Qian only had about twenty guards, it was better than nothing.

"We are willing to follow Brother Tang, and we hope that you will accept us."

Hearing Li Shu and Yang Sui shouting loudly from the ship's side, Tang Qian turned around and cupped his hands in greeting to the two of them: "Back in Youzhou City, I made a promise to you both. Now that everyone has safely escaped from the Great Jin, I have fulfilled my promise. I have other important matters to attend to in Yingtian Prefecture, so I will take my leave here. If fate allows, we will meet again someday."

"Brother Tang, wait a moment. We are brothers who have gone through thick and thin together. In Youzhou, we were even closer partners. Now that we have just escaped danger, why must we part ways?"

As the two were talking, they were about to jump off the ship's side and onto the gangplank, but Wang Jian's cold snort made them shrink back.

Seeing the gleaming longsword already drawn, Li Shu and Yang Sui exchanged a glance. Although they were furious, they dared not have any further thoughts of disembarking.

"It's not that I'm unkind, but I simply can't tell whether you are loyal subjects of the Song Dynasty or spies of the Jin Dynasty. To protect myself, I have no choice but to resort to this tactic. Besides, I've made arrangements in Tengzhou, but I've only prepared horses and carriages for my family. Do you two intend to come back to Jinling with my whole family?"

These few words made Li Shu and Yang Sui grit their teeth for a long time. Tang Qian was indeed no good person. He abandoned them without a second thought and showed no regard for their past relationship. As they watched the family board the convoy that had been waiting for them at the dock, the two couldn't help but curse loudly.

Tang Qian, on his saddle, didn't even turn his head before disappearing into the vast night. They could only suppress their dry mouths and call out to the people on the boat, "Disembark and rest. We'll continue south early tomorrow morning."

Like other places that had just experienced the ravages of war, Tengzhou City presented a desolate scene to Tang Qian. The people in the city who came and went had blank expressions, and their eyes revealed a layer of death as they looked at them.

Fortunately, Wang Jian and several guards, each with sharp eyes, surrounded Tang Qian and the women, preventing them from being robbed.

Tang Qian could only sigh at the numb expressions of the Song people. He was still on the run and had no time to care about their lives. Fortunately, his plan was quite sound. His guards carried enough food to get to Yingtian Prefecture. Tengzhou was only two days away from Yingtian. With their current strength, getting there safely should not be a problem.

It was already late when Ye Yilie, who had arrived in Tengzhou ahead of time, led the group into an empty courtyard in the city.

"When the Jin army marched south, all the wealthy families in the city abandoned their homes, but the other slightly better houses were occupied. This is the best place I could find."

Tang Qian patted Ye Yilie on the shoulder: "Brother Ye, you've worked hard." He then instructed everyone to start a fire and cook. "Make do for the next two days. It's best not to rest separately. Just make do in the main hall. Once we get to Yingtian, we can rest easy."

"Why must we rush to Yingtian Prefecture first, instead of heading south to Guangling immediately?"

Wang Jian's question made Tang Qian's smile seem very mysterious: "Going to Yingtian first is naturally to pay respects to the new emperor of the Great Song Dynasty."