New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Over the next day, Tang Qian witnessed firsthand what it meant for everyone to flee when disaster strikes.

The actions of the wealthy are a barometer for ordinary people. With the simultaneous withdrawal of the Jiang and Bai families, two of the four major families, the entire city of Guangling immediately became a pot of boiling water.

Anyone with a modest fortune wouldn't care about losing most of their assets at this point. The moment of life and death had arrived, and no amount of money could buy back a lost life.

The already crowded prefectural government office descended into complete chaos. To facilitate the purchase of travel permits by the people, several other government offices also opened green channels. At the city gates, there was an endless stream of convoys rushing out of the city to escape the disaster.

As evening approached, the bustling city of Guangling, which had been lively all day, gradually returned to tranquility. What was usually the most bustling time in the city, with its summer breeze blowing, had now become a desolate scene of wind rustling leaves and deserted houses.

Residents who remained in the city dared not go out casually, and for the first time in a century, Guangling City, where doors had never been locked at night, imposed a curfew.

As dusk settles, the area around the Little Qinhuai River, known as the "street that never sleeps," is dark, but several government offices are brightly lit. Dozens of clerks and shopkeepers who stayed in the city are frantically typing away on their abacuses, the "crackling" sounds like the incessant firecrackers of New Year's Day.

It wasn't until late at night that all the data was finally compiled.

Prefect Shen Yun only glanced at it before feeling a cramp in his calf.

The sight of a full 63 million taels of silver piled up in the square outside the yamen made him gasp in shock.

This is just what his prefectural office gained. If we add the gains from other prefectural offices, the city lord's mansion must have extorted at least 100 million taels of silver from this shady operation.

With so much money piled up, won't it create a mountain of silver? Tang Qian, this kid, has suddenly acquired so much money. Is he really planning to defend the city, or is he planning to run away with the silver and his whole family?

Thinking of this, Shen Yun frowned slightly. He felt that Tang Qian's plan was very likely the latter.

Defend the city? What kind of defense can he offer? With the five thousand imperial guards left by the emperor? Or will he just throw silver at the Jin army to drive them back?

No matter how he thought about it, Shen Yun felt that Guangling City was simply indefensible.

Since he can't hold out, why doesn't Tang Qian take this opportunity to make a killing before running away?

As for the Qiu and Ye families, they were clearly colluding with Tang Qian. With the three families splitting the profits, they had tens of millions of taels of silver in hand. They could live a life of unimaginable wealth anywhere else, so why would they stay in Guangling and wait to die?

Having guessed the truth of the whole matter, Shen Yun felt his body tremble slightly.

As the lord of Guangling City, Tang Qian now has complete control over the city. With his five thousand imperial guards, he is practically the local emperor of Guangling. For him to go and cause a ruckus at the city lord's mansion at this time is undoubtedly courting death.

Silently waiting for Tang Qian's next move? That's no different from waiting to die.

You must know that Tang Qian is the city lord, but if he runs away, I will still be the prefect of Yangzhou, and I will have to take the blame for this huge mess.

After much deliberation, Shen Yun decided that he had to run away first. Even if he lost his official position, he had to get out of this hellhole.

Shen Yun was not the only one who had served in the same court for many years and considered himself a clever man. Officials from various government offices who witnessed the scene of so much silver piled up together had the same thoughts as Shen Yun.

As the saying goes, "It's better to die than to die." The city lord's mansion has amassed so much money, but not a single penny will end up in their own pockets. Why should they stay in the city and wait to die?

The integrity and moral character of scholars? They don't exist. In the face of life and death, everything else is meaningless.

After an unknown amount of time, a sliver of dawn appeared in the eastern sky. As the sun rose, a restless night quietly passed.

Shen Yun, who had gotten up early, was instructing his wife to pack up the valuables in the mansion. Upon hearing that the whole family was also going to flee south, the prefect's wife, Madam Li, turned pale with fright.

However, since the master has said so, it seems that they really can't stay in Guangling any longer. In accordance with Shen Yun's request, they traveled light and simply. Li was packing her luggage in the backyard when a yamen runner rushed in and brought a password that chilled the couple to the bone.

"The city lord has ordered Prefect Shen to assemble at the South Gate tower."

Although extremely reluctant, Shen Yun returned to his room, put on his court robes, and prepared to go out.

Tang Qian is a powerful figure in the city. If we don't go to the South Gate now, we might be in danger of being killed.

"So, are we still going to pack our luggage?"

"Get ready and wait for my message. I'm going to see what this kid is planning to do."

Arriving hurriedly at the South Gate, Tang Qian found dozens of officials from Guangling City already gathered on the city tower, while the ordinary people below were even more numerous. It was clear that Tang Qian had summoned everyone who remained in the city.

Could it be that he's planning to give everyone money to escape? After all, those who chose to stay, regardless of their motives, can be considered Tang Qian's loyal followers. If Tang Qian distributes some silver to them to win over the people, he can use this as an excuse to defend himself if the officials blame him in the future.

Seeing that the crowd below the city gate was growing larger and larger, exceeding ten thousand people, Tang Qian finally smiled.

"With this population, defending Guangling is not a problem at all."

The men standing behind him frowned deeply. These ordinary people were untrained and unarmored; they were civilians with no fighting ability whatsoever. Could they possibly defend Guangling? Where did Tang Qian get his confidence from?

“Brothers, there’s no need to worry. As I said before, I have a sure-fire trump card, which is why the Qiu and Ye families have been so supportive of me. Today is the day I will reveal the secret weapon I have prepared.”

As the eldest brother, Shen Xin had to act as a pillar of strength to stabilize morale. He reached out and patted Tang Qian on the shoulder: "We swore to defend Guangling to the death, and we will never retreat a single step. What does it matter if we die? We'll be heroes again in eighteen years. It's just that the women in our families are still in the city. If the city falls, what will become of them..."

Tang Qian reassured his brothers, "My mother and wife are also in the city. Even if I had the greatest courage, I wouldn't dare to joke about their safety."

He then took a few steps forward to the city wall and looked down at the crowd of people below with an air of superiority: "Fellow villagers, please calm down and listen to what I have to say."

Tang Qian's appearance immediately silenced the whispers below the city gate. Everyone looked up at the city lord, who was unusually young, and awaited his instructions.