New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

On the afternoon of the day the emperor entered the city, two new notices were posted at every city gate of Guangling City.

"In order to resist the Jin army that was about to invade, the prefectural and vice-prefectural offices of Guangling City were abolished and a temporary city lord's office was established to manage all affairs in the city."

The contents of the first announcement terrified the scholars who were reading it, turning them pale with fright.

What do you mean by "the Jin army is invading"? Does that mean those Jin dogs aren't satisfied after capturing Tokyo and are actually going to march south and threaten Jiangnan?

“Jiangnan is a prosperous land, which the Jurchens have long coveted. It’s not impossible that they could use the pretext of pursuing the emperor to plunder our area.”

This person's analysis was very logical. Although his voice was not loud, everyone around him who heard it agreed with him. Some people were worried and said they would pack their valuables and go south to avoid disaster. Others were fearless. After all, their house had nothing but four walls. What did they have to fear about the Jin army coming to rob them?

"That's not how it works. The Jin army is inhuman. If they can't plunder any money, they'll take us back to the Jin Kingdom as slaves. The men will be slaves and the women will be prostitutes. What will we do then?"

"Brother, you're overthinking it. When the capital city of Bianjing fell, all those taken away were members of the royal family and nobles. Didn't you see that both of our Song emperors were taken away, while the common people in the city were safe and sound? This shows that the Jin army doesn't care about us poor folks at all. So, the Jin army entering the city is something for wealthy families to worry about, not us."

Seeing that the topic was being steered astray, and that if the conversation continued like this, the Jin army would soon become righteous bandits who robbed the rich to help the poor, the Qiu family members mixed in immediately began to read the contents of the second notice.

"In the first year of Jianyan, the Guangling City Lord's Office issued a notice to all citizens of the city, stating that from this day forward, all city gates of Guangling City will be under martial law. All personnel entering or leaving the city must be subject to unconditional inspection. All personnel leaving the city must go to the City Lord's Office to register and apply for a pass. Only after the City Lord's Office has approved the application can they leave the city."

City gates restricted? How long has it been since the city gates of Guangling City were closed? The people in the city can't even remember.

It seems that the Jin army's invasion is not just a rumor, but is truly imminent.

In an instant, the entire city of Yangzhou was in an uproar. Some people immediately packed their bags and prepared to leave the city to escape, but they were stopped by the soldiers guarding the city gate: "Without the city lord's pass, no one is allowed to leave the city."

"Insolence!" The middle-aged man jumped out of his carriage and immediately cursed, "My brother is the prefect of Suzhou. How dare you block my way? Get out of my way!"

He originally thought that revealing his powerful backer would be enough to intimidate these city guards who usually bullied the weak and feared the strong. However, the other party just smiled coldly and said, "I don't care if you are the prefect's brother or the vice prefect's uncle. Even if you are the transport commissioner, you have to show your pass if you want to leave the city."

"You!" The middle-aged man's voice trembled almost with anger. "Fine, you just wait and see."

The middle-aged man ordered the coachman to turn the horse around and jumped onto the carriage: "To the city lord's mansion... wait, where exactly is the Guangling city lord's mansion?"

The soldiers guarding the city sneered again: "Mingyue Ward, the Qiu family mansion."

"When did the Qiu family become the city lord's mansion?" The middle-aged man was full of doubt, but he still ordered the coachman to drive straight to Mingyue Lane.

The carriage only made two turns before it could go no further. The middle-aged man impatiently lifted the curtain and gasped in shock. The street ahead was completely blocked, and it was impossible to move forward even half a step.

Meanwhile, outside the Qiu family mansion, the gate was surrounded by layers upon layers of people. All those gathered here were people who planned to leave the city to avoid disaster. If they didn't need to apply for that damn pass, they would never have appeared here.

However, the Qiu family's gate was tightly shut. The first group to arrive had been knocking on the door for a long time, but no one answered. Seeing that the crowd at the gate was growing larger and larger, a servant of the Qiu family peeked at the street corner, immediately slipped into the alley, entered the house through the side gate, and hurriedly came to the hall: "Master, the gate is blocked. If we don't open the gate soon, those people will break it down."

Waving for the servant to leave, Qiu Lingshan, the head of the Qiu family, shook his head and sighed softly: "I didn't expect that just revealing a little information would cause such a commotion, with so many people wanting to leave the city. I wonder if Guangling City can really hold out."

Qiu Jiajia was pessimistic, but Tang Qian didn't care: "Most wealthy people value their lives, so it's understandable that they want to flee. Even if we force them to stay, they won't be of any help. On the contrary, they might ruin our plans. I'd rather they all leave."

However, if they wanted to leave the city, they had to pay a price. This money was the military pay that Tang Qian used to recruit the militia guarding the city.

With Tang Qian's order, the second decree issued by the Guangling City Lord's Mansion was posted. The crowd gathered in front of the Qiu family mansion had barely glanced at it when a surge of anger suddenly rose from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads, spreading throughout their entire bodies in an instant.

"Making us hand over 60% of our wealth in exchange for a pass is simply taking advantage of our misfortune!"

"Who exactly is the Lord of Guangling City? Come out and tell us clearly, so that everyone can see your shameless face."

As soon as someone started the disturbance, others responded enthusiastically. Just as the gate of the Qiu family mansion was about to be broken down, dozens of guards wielding long knives suddenly rushed out from the alleys on both sides of the street corner. Wang Jian, who was in charge, shouted angrily: "Anyone who trespasses on the city lord's mansion will be killed without mercy."

We were all merchants, powerless and had never seen such a scene before. If we were to be slashed, we would probably lose our lives. As the saying goes, the common people cannot fight against the officials. Who would dare to speak disrespectfully in front of the government troops?

"We just want an explanation: why should we have to pay so much silver to leave the city?"

"It's understandable that you want to save your lives as the Jin army marches south. However, you are wealthy in Guangling City, so it's only right that you give back to Guangling in times of crisis. Sixty percent of your assets should be used as a life-saving fund. It's not much, is it?"

Amid the chaos, a slightly immature voice rang out. The gate of the Qiu family mansion opened, and a handsome young man with a slightly thin figure walked out. It was Tang Qian, who was appointed to take over Guangling City.

"Who is this person? I've never seen him before."

"That's right, he's not one of the five young masters of the Qiu family at all. What gives him the right to act so arrogantly here?"

Facing the suspicious gazes of the crowd outside the door, Tang Qian raised the imperial edict in his hand, revealing the emperor's seal on it: "I am the Lord of Guangling City appointed by His Majesty."