New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Two hours later, inside the Jin army camp.

Wanyan Zonghan, who had always been arrogant, finally behaved himself.

He truly hadn't expected Tang Qian's firearms to be so formidable; despite the entire army of 80,000 charging several times, not a single one of them managed to scale the city walls.

Unable to get close to the city walls in melee combat and unable to shorten the attack distance in ranged attacks, this was hardly a siege battle; it was simply a one-sided massacre by the defenders of Guangling.

"I made it very clear in the battle report that the defense of Guangling City is absolutely impenetrable. To insist on using the lives of my Jin soldiers to fill this hole is tantamount to sending the entire army to their deaths. But you just won't believe it."

Wanyan Zonghan's personal guards suffered heavy losses in this battle. After two hours of fighting, the Song army remained unscathed, while the Jin army's casualties once again exceeded ten thousand.

Wanyan Zonghan truly had no idea how to fight this battle.

"Although the explosive charges in the first round of attacks were the most powerful, they could still be dodged. The exploding arrows were not the biggest obstacle either. The last line of defense in Guangling City was really disgusting."

The purpose of the explosive charges and the cloud-piercing arrows was to suppress the Jin army's long-range attack weapons beyond their range. With this layer of protection, the Song army on the city wall could deal with the Jin army that charged down to the city wall and needed ladders to climb it.

"Since ladders cannot be erected, and there are also countless explosive iron lumps waiting for our warriors to gather. As long as the enemy has sufficient firepower, even with a million troops, Guangling City cannot be breached."

"Therefore, as I have said before, our army only needs to surround the city without attacking, and wait for the news of victory from Lin'an. Even the emperor Zhao Gou has become a prisoner. As a Song official, what reason does Tang Qian have to persist?"

Wanyan Zonghan snorted coldly: "Tang Qiansheng has a rebellious nature. Who can guarantee that he won't declare himself king in Guangling? What should we do then?"

"Guangling is ultimately just an isolated city. No matter how well Tang Qian is prepared, he probably can't hold out for more than half a year. With the troops he has, he doesn't dare to leave the city and confront our army head-on. Without outside assistance, how long can he hold out?"

Wanyan Zonghan shook his head: "Grand Marshal, don't forget that Tang Qian has a hidden force outside Chuzhou City that specializes in robbing our army's supplies. We don't know how much grain we have in Guangling, but we have more than 60,000 people in our camp. If we can't keep up with the grain supply, we will be forced to retreat."

Wanyan Xieye was not worried about this at all: "Don't forget, it is wheat harvest season now. The farmland outside Guangling City is full of grain. We can just organize people to harvest it. How could our army possibly lack food?"

Wanyan Zonghan's eyes suddenly lit up. If the problem of food supply could be solved, besieging Guangling City for more than half a year was not out of the question.

The two marshals were still discussing countermeasures when a guard rushed into the tent: "Song troops are challenging us outside the camp."

"Tang Qian has left the city?" Wanyan Xie and Wanyan Zonghan stood up from their seats at the same time upon hearing this. They really did not expect Tang Qian to be so bold as to take the initiative to leave the city to provoke them.

If he had just stayed in the city like a coward, there would have been nothing I could do about him. But now he's come to the gate of the camp and shouting. Isn't that just asking for death?

"How many troops have they sent? I will personally go and meet them."

Without saying a word, the two marshals immediately left the tent, mounted their horses, and then the gates of the Jin army camp were opened wide. Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Xieye, surrounded by thousands of personal guards, left the camp.

Upon arriving outside the camp and gazing into the distance, they indeed saw the north gate of Guangling open, but there were no Song troops in formation, and only one person and one horseman by the moat.

Upon discovering that the person sitting on the opposite horse was just a young boy without any armor, Wanyan Xie and Wanyan Zonghan exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.

The newcomer was at most sixteen or seventeen years old, with an unfamiliar appearance and a thin build. He was not carrying any weapons, and they had no idea what he wanted to do.

Something unusual must be going on. Faced with a boy who had no fighting ability, the two seasoned Jin generals were at a loss for how to deal with him.

"Wanyan Xieye, Wanyan Zonghan, you two shameless scoundrels are so forgetful that you don't even recognize who I am."

The boy swore, but Wanyan Xieye wasn't angry. He narrowed his eyes, trying to identify the newcomer, but unfortunately, he couldn't remember when or where he had seen this kid before.

"I am Yelü Yilie, son of Emperor Yelü Dashi of the Great Liao Dynasty. You killed my people and seized my kingdom in Youzhou back then, and today I will make you pay for your blood debt."

Remnants of the Yelü clan, the royal family of the Liao Dynasty?

Upon hearing the name the other party gave, the two marshals were first taken aback, then burst into a contemptuous laugh: "When the Liao Kingdom was destroyed, there was indeed a branch that escaped from Youzhou in the chaos and established a kingdom in the west. But instead of being a proper prince of the Liao Kingdom in the Western Regions, you little brat came to Guangling to seek death. What is the meaning of this? Could it be that the Song and Liao Kingdoms have formed an alliance again? Have you forgotten that if it weren't for the betrayal of the Song Kingdom, our Great Jin Kingdom would not have been able to conquer the five capitals of the Liao Kingdom so easily?"

They didn't really take this so-called Liao prince seriously, considering he was just a former defeated enemy who had come alone to die.

"An alliance with the Song Dynasty?" Yelü Yilie sneered. "This two-faced court is truly unworthy. Today, I, the prince, have come to take your lives. If you have the guts, come and fight me for three hundred rounds."

"This is utterly arrogant." This kid probably hasn't even grown his hair yet, and he's already planning to challenge the Great Jin warriors to a duel?

"Since you've come looking for death, I'll grant your wish. General Aru, you have ten rounds to capture this brat alive."

Among the guards, a burly man wielding a spiked club rode out of the ranks, his face full of disdain: "Grand Marshal, don't look down on me. In less than three rounds, I will surely take down this arrogant brat."

Immediately, Aru spurred his horse's flanks, and the warhorse galloped off at full speed, charging towards Yelü Yilie by the moat.

Aru's advance was like a tidal wave, but Yelü Yilie on the other side remained calm and composed, with a smile playing on his lips.

Seeing the young man's calm and composed demeanor, Wanyan Xie couldn't help but frown slightly: "Could there be a trap?"

If the Song army intended to use this kid as bait, waiting for their general to enter the range of their arrows before shooting him down...

"Aren't they afraid of being ridiculed by the world for so blatantly breaking the rules of one-on-one duels between generals?"