New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

What audacity! To dare to turn away a messenger eunuch who had revealed his identity as the one delivering the imperial decree. Doesn't this mean that Tang Qian, the lord of Guangling City, doesn't even intend to give the emperor any face?

As the emperor's eunuch, Li Su was always fawned over by officials wherever he went. Even high-ranking officials had to give him some face. Despite his physical disability, Li Su had a high opinion of himself.

Who would have thought that Li Su would be treated like this after being sent to Guangling to deliver a message? Li Su could not tolerate it.

You see, he came with the great news that all the officials in Guangling City, big and small, had been promoted one rank. He was originally hoping to collect some congratulatory fees, but now he can't even be allowed to enter the city gate. What does this mean?

"Tang Qian, don't think that just because you won a battle in Yangzhou you can act recklessly and do whatever you want. Guangling City is still a city of the Song Dynasty. As a Song official, you are disregarding imperial authority. This is disobeying the imperial decree and treason. Be careful, or your entire family will be executed."

Li Su cursed vehemently outside the city, almost digging up Tang Qian's ancestral graves and dragging out each of Tang's ancestors to hurl insults. But despite his earnest performance, none of the guards on the city wall cared.

Although Guangling City is now within the territory of the Song Dynasty, it is no exaggeration to say that it is Tang Qian's private property.

When the army was pressing in, the emperor only stayed in Guangling City for one day. Did he really care about the lives of the people in the city?

When he fled, the wealthy merchants followed suit, and in the end only the city lord Tang Qian and the Qiu and Ye families chose to stay.

Without Tang Qian, could they have moved into the city and lived in mansions they never dared to dream of before? Without Tang Qian, could they have routed the 50,000-strong Jin army? Without Tang Qian, could they have become the new masters of Guangling City?

As for that emperor who was living in a corner of the country? Although the court issued a gag order, there are no secrets in this world. Two emperors of the Song Dynasty were captured by the Jurchens. Now, does everyone know whether the new emperor's throne came legitimately or not?

The city was sealed off by Tang Qian's order. Even if the emperor were standing outside the city, he would still need the city lord's approval to enter. How could a mere eunuch's powerless rage outside make them open the city gates? Not a chance.

Li Su was spewing profanities outside, using a variety of vulgarities, but the city tower was completely silent, with no one paying any attention. It wasn't until Tang Qian, who had been informed, finally arrived late that Li Su sneered, "Lord Tang, you truly have quite the airs of an official. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you second only to the emperor. You even dare to disobey the imperial edict?"

Faced with Li Su's mockery, Tang Qian smiled calmly: "In urgent situations, we must act expediently. Please forgive me, Your Excellency. The Jin army has temporarily retreated from Gaoyou City, but the crisis in Guangling has not been resolved. My order to seal off the city is also for the safety of all the people in the city."

Li Su rolled her eyes at Tang Qian. Did this kid think she was a spy for the Jin army?

He held up the yellow silk in his hand, though extremely unwilling, he still had to complete the task assigned by the official: "Fine, I won't go into the city, I'll just read the imperial edict here outside the city. But shouldn't Lord Tang also come out of the city to kneel and receive the imperial edict, so as to show the relationship between the lord and the official?"

How can someone receive an imperial edict from such a high position? Isn't this tantamount to riding on the emperor's head?

"There's no need for such trouble. Just tell me what you need to say, Father-in-law. As long as it's within the power of Guangling City, we will do our utmost."

"You! Fine, fine, fine." Li Su said "fine" several times in a row, but his clenched teeth showed that he was extremely angry with Tang Qian. "You're all right, just wait for the Emperor's wrath."

Since Tang Qian was unwilling to leave the city and Li Su was unwilling to dismount, they sat on horseback and read out Zhao Gou's first imperial edict in public. The two listened to the edict from above and below the moat, completely forgetting about etiquette.

It is said that all the officials in the city have been promoted. The local officials, led by Shen Yun, were all overjoyed and wept. Guangling is still the front line of the Song-Jin battlefield. Although Tang Qian repelled Wanyan Xieye with powerful explosives, it is hard to guarantee that the enemy will not make a comeback.

A promotion meant that one could return to the capital to report on one's duties and then be assigned to other prefectures and counties. This meant that they could leave Guangling City, a place of trouble, and their lives would certainly be saved.

Even if they couldn't get immediate arrangements, at least they were staying in Lin'an, the capital city under the emperor's nose, and with the emperor by their side, their lives were no longer in danger.

When they heard the emperor order Guangling to hand over the gunpowder formula to the court, all the generals on the city wall felt it was a matter of course. Tang Qian, however, smiled coldly and showed no intention of thanking the emperor for his grace.

"Go back and tell His Majesty that it is not that I am unwilling to present the gunpowder formula, but that I have no idea how to prepare such a powerful new type of gunpowder. This stuff cannot tolerate the slightest mistake, and I dare not speak recklessly."

Li Su blinked incredulously, then pointed to the city wall: "Tang Qian, how dare you! You refuse to give the things the Emperor demands, and instead offer such a perfunctory excuse. This is tantamount to deceiving the Emperor and is an unforgivable crime."

"Please don't be angry, Your Majesty. I am indeed telling the truth." Tang Qian spread his hands and shrugged helplessly. "I have never participated in the preparation of this new type of gunpowder, nor have I seen the process. The firearms used in the city were all sent by the generals after the parts were produced, and then assembled by specialists and brought back to the city. The hermit who prepared the gunpowder left quietly before the Jin army attacked the city, and he did not leave behind a single word about the preparation of the gunpowder."

Li Su naturally did not believe such nonsense. Tang Qian looked at his colleagues standing on the left and right and said, "Whether I am talking nonsense or not, they can all testify."

The gunpowder was prepared by Tang Xiaoqi according to the formula provided by Tang Qian. In order to keep it a secret, Tang Xiaoqi weighed and tested the individual raw materials according to their proportions in several different places, and then mixed them together in one place. It can be said that the secrecy was taken to the extreme.

Therefore, even those involved in the allocation had no idea what they were doing, and the various merchants in the city who provided the various parts were even less aware of the secrets involved.

Even the Qiu brothers and Ye Zhao didn't know the secret, so Shen Yun knew even less. After exchanging glances, everyone chose to keep quiet.

"Fine." Li Su was completely exasperated, but he still compromised and made the emperor's last request, "Then transport all the firearms in the city to Lin'an to assist the imperial guards in securing the capital, so as to avoid repeating the mistake of losing Bianjing."