New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

In the pitch-black night, by the light of the fire in the camp, Wanyan Xie suddenly saw a young general on a white horse with a silver spear flashing a cold light in his hand at him.

Seeing the spear tip piercing straight towards him with a whooshing sound, Wanyan Xie momentarily forgot to dodge.

At the critical moment, it was his personal guard who stepped forward and used his own body to block Yue Fei's deadly spear.

A jet of blood spurted out with his spear. Just then, Wanyan Xie, belatedly realizing what was happening, finally came to his senses and, escorted by several guards, left the battlefield.

When Yue Fei returned to pursue them, he found that the enemy commander had disappeared into the chaotic crowd and could no longer be found.

After taking down two more Jin soldiers who were charging at him, Yue Fei pulled on the reins, turned his horse around, and galloped towards the rear camp where provisions were stored.

Meanwhile, the Song soldiers responsible for seizing the warhorses had also succeeded. Hundreds of them rushed towards the rear camp, raising their torches high. All the Jin army tents along the way were set ablaze, and in an instant, the entire Jin army camp became a sea of ​​fire.

Yue Fei, who was at the forefront, took the lead and found his target with ease. He circled the grain pile once, then used his spear to knock over the burning brazier. The embers fell into the granary and began to devour the grain inside.

Seeing that all the grain piles had been set ablaze, Yue Fei shouted behind him, "Don't linger in battle, retreat!" He then spurred his horse and charged toward the back gate of the camp.

Hundreds of people rushed to the back door, only to find it wide open. A middle-aged man dressed in Jin soldier's uniform was waving his hands at Yue Fei. Yue Fei immediately rode forward and found that the man was protecting a ragged little girl behind him.

At this moment, the Jin army in the camp had already caught up. Yue Fei did not have time to ask questions. He asked the deputy general following behind him to take the middle-aged man with him, while he turned his body to the side of the horse's back, reached out and grabbed the little girl who was still in a state of fright. He then put her on the horse's back.

After a series of rapid hoofbeats, the hundreds of Song soldiers who had raided the Jin army camp disappeared outside the camp under the cover of the approaching dawn.

This raid on the camp was swift and decisive, taking less than half a quarter of an hour. In addition, the Jin army had been harassed all night and had not yet had time to organize their defenses. The entire camp had been breached by the Song army.

The guards helped Wanyan Xieye into the military tent and immediately ordered his subordinates to comfort the soldiers and tally the losses. Wanyan Xieye raised his hand to stop them, his voice filled with an unprecedented weariness: "There's no need to tally. The enemy's purpose in this night attack was to burn our army's supplies. As for the soldiers, anyone who had the will to desert has probably already taken advantage of the chaos to escape. Those who remain are all good sons of our Great Jin."

"The Grand Marshal was a brilliant strategist, ordering us to move the supplies at the critical moment; otherwise, the enemy would have succeeded."

Wanyan Xie smiled dejectedly. He could foresee the Song army's plans, but he really couldn't withstand their harassment. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known that the Song army would launch an attack, yet he didn't organize a defense and only moved the grain and fodder.

In the recent battle, even though it was just a brief encounter, he had already recognized the opposing commander.

Isn't that the kid who defeated the Jin army thirteen times in a row after capturing Tokyo, causing me so much suffering?

"I was wondering why this kid had disappeared; it turns out he came to Guangling."

It seems I was too careless. Yangzhou now has new firearms that strike fear into the hearts of the people, as well as a young general who has won one battle after another. With the remaining strength and morale of the army, it is simply impossible to take Guangling.

Not only could they not capture the city, but they could not even complete their plan to besiege Guangling City. If the Jin army continued to hold their ground, that young general would bring men to launch a surprise attack. I'm afraid that in less than two nights, all of my more than 10,000 men would be devoured by the enemy.

"Immediately inventory the supplies, break camp at dawn, and retreat to Gaoyou City. Send news of my defeat to Luzhou and order Wanyan Zonghan to return to reinforce immediately. I am determined to take Guangling City and avenge this humiliation."

Since staying in the wilderness was tantamount to suicide, in order to preserve their strength, Wanyan Xie also ordered a retreat to the north. With a city as a base, Tang Qian's weapons would be useless. When Wanyan Zonghan's 70,000-strong army joined them, it would be time to fight Tang Qian again.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yue Fei led two thousand cavalrymen back to their garrison, and then led several personal guards into Guangling City through the south gate.

Inside the council hall of the Qiu family mansion, Tang Qian and Yue Fei smiled at each other. The two young men and women who had just been rescued from the Jin army camp by Yue Fei were also brought over. The little girl was pale and thin, and even now, there was still a trace of fear in her eyes. The man, on the other hand, looked radiant and knelt on one knee before Tang Qian: "This humble subject, Xin Zan, pays his respects to the city lord."

Upon first hearing the name, Tang Qian did not immediately recognize it. Yue Fei said that this was an inside agent he had placed in the Jin army. It was because of this person's assistance that he was able to lead hundreds of soldiers into the Jin army camp as if it were empty, killing a whole group of people, while his side suffered only a dozen casualties.

"I am from Jinan Prefecture. My hometown has now fallen. It is a pity that my family is still alive, otherwise I would have gone south long ago."

Forced to be conscripted by the Jin army, Xin Zan had no choice but to go south with them. He made contact with Yue Fei through the same method that Zong Ze, the garrison commander of Tokyo, had used in the past, and at a crucial moment, he sent out detailed maps of the Jin army camp.

"Unfortunately, Wanyan Xie also seemed to have guessed our plan. He moved all the grain last night, and we only burned the empty bags."

"This man is indeed cunning and treacherous." Yue Fei looked somewhat dejected as his plan failed. "If I had known, I would have just taken his life."

Seeing that Tang Qian was staring at Xin Zan, Yue Fei thought he was doubting the man's identity, so he immediately stood up and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Tang Qian: "I, Yue Fei, would give my life as a guarantee that Brother Xin is absolutely trustworthy."

"No, I never suspected Brother Xin of being a spy." Tang Qian's gaze remained fixed on Xin Zan, his tone tinged with surprise. "Brother Xin, are you from Jinan? Do you have any children?"

"Reporting to the city lord, my son Wenyu was just born this year."

If the name Xin Zan alone was not enough for Tang Qian to make a judgment, then Xin Wenyu would be able to confirm the origin of the young man in front of him.

He may not be famous enough in history books, but his grandson is a figure who will be remembered in history.

It was because his son died young from illness that he gave his grandson such a famous name, Xin Qiji.