New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Escorted by nearly a thousand people, Tang Huan and Qin Hui arrived in Chuzhou City without any major incident.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Tang Huan rested in the city for one night and ordered the troops to depart the next morning.

The escort team quickly assembled, but Qin Hui was nowhere to be seen. Tang Huan smiled coldly, thinking that the cowardly man was probably too frightened to continue south now.

"No more waiting, let's set off immediately."

Tang Huan insisted on leaving the city. Even though the Jin generals responsible for escorting him were unwilling, they had to obey orders at this time, since the man in front of them was the emperor's appointed ambassador to persuade Tang Huan to surrender.

As the group cautiously left Chuzhou City and headed south, a pale-faced, beardless middle-aged man on the city wall let out a soft laugh. It was Qin Hui, who had deserted the group on the grounds that he was terrified.

He took out a secret letter personally written by the Jin Emperor Wanyan Wugumai and waved it in front of the Jin army general stationed in Chuzhou City. Qin Hui's voice was low and cold: "His Majesty ordered me to infiltrate the Song court. Now I need to go to Lin'an City immediately and prepare horses and provisions."

The escort team carrying Tang Huan left Chuzhou and headed south. As night fell, they successfully arrived at the post station where they would stay. Throughout the journey, everyone was on edge, fearing that they would encounter the enemy attack that had occurred outside Chuzhou City the day before.

The Jin soldiers, who thought they were lucky, breathed a sigh of relief when they entered the post station, secretly rejoicing that they had survived. They had no idea that Yue Fei's two thousand troops were all north of Chuzhou City, and there was not a single Song soldier resisting them here.

If Song troops were indeed operating in this area, how could this post station possibly withstand the attack of the thunderbolts?

After a night's rest, Tang Huan finally entered Gaoyou City at noon on the second day. He was unwilling to stay any longer and continued towards Guangling. After another day of long march, the Jin army camp stationed on Shugang finally came into Tang Huan's view.

“Minister Tang has come from Liaoyang and must be tired. It’s not too late to rest for a couple of days before trying to persuade your son to surrender.”

Wanyan Xie, who had already received the news, was also aware of Tang Huan's intentions. However, he did not think that the brat Tang Qian would necessarily listen to his father, so they still needed to prepare for both possibilities. They needed to come up with a final plan: attack or besiege the city.

"If Vice Minister Tang's persuasion fails, I still intend to confront that brat Tang Qian head-on. Otherwise, even if we capture Lin'an and force Tang Qian to surrender, he will still think that our victory was not honorable."

In the end, Wanyan Zonghan just wanted to get back at the place he lost in Youzhou. Since he wanted to show off, there was no need for me to try to persuade him anymore.

This time, Wanyan Xie agreed to Wanyan Zonghan's suggestion to attack without hesitation.

"If we truly cannot conquer it, I, the commander, would not mind burning the entire city of Guangling to the ground."

Let the inextinguishable divine fire bestowed upon the Great Jin by Heaven completely engulf Guangling City, which can be considered as avenging the soldiers who died in battle beneath the city.

After the discussion, the two marshals immediately left their tents to assemble the three armies. The 80,000-strong army sprang into action, instantly plunging the entire camp into a sandstorm.

The sounds of footsteps, drums, and horses neighing mingled together, conveying a sense of solemnity and power. It took nearly half an hour for the various military formations to assemble and stand in formation on the open ground in front of the camp, filling the small battlefield with figures.

"If we throw them far enough, these Jin soldiers will surely suffer heavy casualties."

These groups of people, all huddled together, were perfect targets for a bomb, but unfortunately, the range wasn't long enough, so Ye Zhao could only shake his head and sigh.

Seven days had passed since the Jin army's western route crossed the Yangtze River. It was unknown where Wanyan Zongbi's 70,000 men had gone. If they were to besiege Lin'an, the resistance in Guangling would be meaningless.

Although it was delayed for a few days, everything was just as Tang Qian had predicted. Wanyan Zonghan really couldn't wait any longer and was preparing to launch a major attack on Guangling City.

Today's battle will again result in a defeat for the Jin army. Ye Zhao only hopes that the news will spread quickly so that the crisis in Lin'an can be resolved.

Before the two armies went to war, it was customary for the commanders of both sides to exchange insults. Sure enough, Ye Zhao saw two warhorses emerge from the enemy camp below the city wall.

Of the two men straddling the horse, one was dressed in Jin Dynasty armor, with a robust and dashing physique; he was undoubtedly Wanyan Zonghan, the marshal of the central army.

The other man had a three-inch-long beard, a refined appearance, and dressed like a Song Dynasty person, but his identity was unknown.

As Ye Zhao was wondering, he heard a shout from below the city: "Tang Qian, your father Tang Huan is here! Why don't you come out of the city to greet him?"

The newcomer was actually Tang Huan, the Vice Minister of Revenue of the Song Dynasty? Ye Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately turned her gaze to Qiu Yan standing beside her: "Is that person really your uncle?"

Qiu Yan rolled his eyes at Ye Zhao: "When Tang Qian's father came to the capital, I was only ten years old. So many years have passed, how could I possibly remember what his father looked like?"

Guangling City wasn't large, and in just a short while, Tang Qian had already received the news.

A slight smile appeared on Tang Qian's lips, his face full of "I see." "I was wondering why Wanyan Zonghan wasn't in a hurry to attack the city, as if he was waiting for the right opportunity. It turns out that Liaoyang sent my father back."

Just as Tang Qian was about to go out to meet Wanyan Xieye, who wanted to use his father as a pretext, he suddenly changed his mind and turned around to instruct the attendant behind him: "Call out the three young mistresses, and the eldest young lady should also go and see them."

"What about the old lady..."

Tang Qian waved his hand: "No need to go over yet, let me check the situation first."

No matter what tricks the other party wants to play, Old Man Tang Huan will definitely not give in. It is likely that he came back this time with the determination to die. Sending his wives over is to put Tang Huan at ease, and sending Tang Jing along is also to allow the father and daughter to see each other one more time.

If his mother, Qiu Linghua, also went up to the city wall, Tang Qian felt that something unnecessary might happen.

Upon hearing that her father was outside the city gate, Tang Jing immediately ran out of her room. It had been almost two years since she last saw her father after their separation in Tokyo.

"When you see your father, don't act rashly. He is still in the hands of the Jin army. It is very likely that they will use your father's life to threaten me into surrendering. If you are not rational, you will fall into the Jin army's trap."

Tang Jing glanced back at Tang Qian, her eyes filled with worry: "So what do you plan to do? Aren't you going to save Dad?"

Tang Qian pondered for a moment and stroked his chin: "We can't act rashly. We need to figure out their tactics first."