New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

After the arrival of the new emperor Zhao Gou, the temporary palace in Hangzhou was transformed into the imperial palace and renamed Lin'an.

When news arrived that Wanyan Xie had led 50,000 troops to attack Guangling, resulting in over 26,000 casualties, 10,000 fleeing, and 14,000 retreating to Gaoyou, the entire city of Lin'an seemed to tremble slightly.

Zhao Gou slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly. His expression changed from disbelief to boundless joy. For the Song Dynasty, the news sent back by the spies from Guangling City was definitely a powerful boost to morale.

"Good, no wonder Tang Qian insisted on staying in Guangling City. It turns out he was confident of defeating Wanyan Xieye all along."

Prime Minister Li Gang also looked very pleased. Back in Yingtian Prefecture, he had almost killed Tang Qian with his sword, but Tang Qian advised the emperor to retreat south.

Who would have thought that this kid actually had the means and strategies to resist the Jin army?

Fifty thousand men came with murderous intent, but in the end only ten thousand or so returned defeated. This result was the greatest victory for the Song Dynasty since the start of the war with the Jin Dynasty.

The significance of protecting Guangling goes far beyond that. With Tang Qian blocking the Jin army's southward advance from the north bank of the Yangtze River, the safety of Lin'an City was further enhanced. As long as the imperial court existed, the Song Dynasty would not be destroyed.

Thinking back now, it's really frightening. If I had really stabbed Tang Qian to death with one sword back then, who else in the entire court could have done such a shocking thing?

"Speaking of which, the gunpowder he used was so powerful that it was definitely not the ordinary gunpowder used to make fireworks. If the imperial court could also mass-produce it, holding Hangzhou would not be a problem at all."

"What Minister Li says is absolutely right." Thinking of the battle scenes described in the battle report, Zhao Gou was even more terrified. Fortunately, Tang Qian was a Song person. If the Jin state had used the gunpowder he had prepared to attack the city, he would have surrendered long ago.

"I will issue an imperial decree immediately, ordering Tang Qian to present the new gunpowder formula." With this safeguard in place, Hangzhou will be impregnable.

The chief eunuch standing to the side immediately spread out a roll of golden silk, picked up a brush, licked it full of ink, and waited for the emperor to dictate the contents of the imperial edict.

Zhao thought for a moment, then suddenly stretched out his hand to the eunuch: "I will personally draft this imperial edict."

The chief eunuch handed over the imperial brush with both hands. Zhao Gou took it and, after a moment's thought, placed the brush tip on Huang Juan's hand. In just a short while, hundreds of words were written on the imperial edict.

Zhao Gou first gave Tang Qian a verbal commendation for his great achievements in Guangling, and said that if all the participants could be rewarded according to their merits, all officials at all levels in Yangzhou would be promoted one rank. Then he asked Tang Qian to present the gunpowder formula to assist Lin'an City in completing its defense deployment.

As the last stroke was completed, Zhao Gou straightened up and admired the ink with great self-satisfaction. After the ink dried, he picked up the jade seal from the table, dipped it in ink paste, and pressed it heavily onto the signature of the imperial edict.

After rolling up Huang Juan, Zhao Gou called over a eunuch and said, "Set off immediately to Guangling to deliver the imperial edict. Return as soon as possible."

The eunuch received the decree, held it in both hands, and stepped back out of the hall, immediately heading towards the palace gate at top speed.

In high spirits, Zhao Gou was about to discuss the formulation of the court's rules with his ministers when a messenger eunuch rushed in from outside the hall. Seemingly forgetting all proper etiquette, the eunuch knelt down in the hall and said, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened."

From the panicked and disorganized manner of the other party, Zhao Gou had already guessed that the person had brought no good news.

The emperor, his face still grim, asked in a low voice, "What's causing this panic?"

"According to reports from our spies, the 70,000-strong western army led by Jin general Wanyan Zongbi has captured Ezhou a few days ago. They have now crossed the Yangtze River and are marching eastward along the south bank, heading straight for Lin'an."

"What?" Zhao Gou slammed his fist on the table again, but this time, there was no excitement in his voice, only terror. He didn't even notice that his hands were red from slamming. "What was the garrison commander of Ezhou doing? He lost Ezhou in just five days? Didn't he say he had conscripted 100,000 local militia to defend the city? Is this what he meant by defending Ezhou to the death?"

Seeing that the emperor was at a loss, Li Gang immediately spoke up to comfort him: "Your Majesty, there is no need to panic. The fall of Ezhou is a foregone conclusion. What we need to do now is to immediately strengthen the city's defenses and stop the enemy from invading."

"**What you say is true, but Wanyan Zongbi's 70,000-strong army has already crossed the Yangtze River to the south. The plan to defend Lin'an by relying on natural defenses has been broken.** What other good strategies do you have to defend against the enemy? Tell us quickly."

"Immediately order Tang Qian to lead the Guangling army to reinforce Lin'an. Since he can hold Guangling, he can hold Lin'an as well."

"Yes, yes, yes, I will immediately issue an edict ordering Tang Qian to lead troops to defend the capital."

Seeing that the chief eunuch was still standing there, Zhao Gou shouted at him, "What are you all standing there for? Quickly prepare the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone!"

The chief eunuch was startled and immediately took out a new scroll of yellow silk and unfolded it. This imperial edict was still written by Zhao Gou himself, but compared to the previous imperial edict with its flowing and powerful strokes, the characters on this scroll of yellow silk seemed somewhat inferior.

Even the seal impression was crooked and uneven, showing that Zhao Gou was extremely nervous at this moment.

Having only been on the throne for less than half a year, Zhao Gou was unwilling to become a prisoner of the Jin Dynasty in such a muddled way.

Accompanied by the rapid sound of galloping hooves, the second imperial edict also quickly left the palace and sped towards the Qiantang River outside the city.

Unfortunately, his colleague had just received orders to rush to Guangling to deliver the imperial decree. Despite his haste, the eunuch still missed the official boat that was supposed to cross the river.

Left with no other choice, he could only summon a civilian boat to take him across the river, and then ride his horse at full speed towards Guangling City.

After two days of travel, the first imperial edict arrived in Guangling City.

Even though the eunuch delivering the imperial decree shouted loudly outside the city and showed his identification badge, the soldiers on the city wall still showed no intention of opening the city gate to let him in. Frustrated, the eunuch cursed outside the city: "A bunch of ignorant fools! When I get back to Lin'an, I'll definitely tell the Emperor all about this!"

The Guangling army had achieved great military exploits in defeating Wanyan Xie, and their morale was at its peak. The emperor was overjoyed. At this time, it would be pointless to speak ill of them, but the eunuch believed that it would be no problem to accuse them of disrespecting imperial authority and have the emperor punish them slightly.

"My apologies, sir. With a formidable enemy at hand, Guangling City is temporarily closed, and all outsiders are prohibited from entering. This is the city lord's order, and no one can change it, not even the Emperor himself. So please speak your mind outside."