New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Lin'an City.

Wanyan Zongbi's 80,000-strong Jin army camped in the western suburbs outside the city, and the vanguard launched continuous attacks for two days, causing Emperor Zhao Gou, who was restless in the palace, to curse Tang Qian.

They said that Lin'an City had the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to block the Jin army, and it was also the place where the dragon veins converged. They believed that after arriving in Lin'an City, one would surely turn misfortune into good fortune and secure the Song Dynasty.

Who could have predicted that he had just finished repairing the palace and hadn't even warmed the dragon throne beneath his backside when 80,000 Jin troops had already crossed the river from Ezhou and were pursuing him eastward?

With the Jin army besieging the city again, and Li Gang stationed there, Zhao Gou felt that his current situation was a replica of what his father and brother had experienced in Tokyo.

Outsiders may not know how tragic the fates of his father and brother were, but how could he, the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, not know?

No, we absolutely cannot wait in the city for the Jin army to break through. If that happens, he'll be trapped like a turtle in a jar, and he won't have a chance to escape.

"Prepare a ship for me immediately; I must head south to Lingnan."

Lingnan is plagued by miasma, and apart from Suizhou City, it is almost entirely an uncivilized and wild region. Zhao Gou did not believe that the Jin army would go to such lengths to capture him, the emperor, and bring him back to reunite with his father and brothers.

"Your Majesty, you must not do this. The Jin army has invaded the south with a force of 200,000, and 120,000 of them are currently being held back in Guangling City by Tang Qian. With only 80,000 men under Wanyan Zongbi, it is impossible for them to capture Lin'an City. If Your Majesty goes to sea at this time, the morale of our army will surely be dampened. Even if I wanted to defend the capital to the death, I am afraid that I would be powerless to do so."

Li Gang's remonstrance only enraged Zhao Gou further: "If you hadn't mentioned that scoundrel Tang Qian to me, I wouldn't be so angry. I issued an edict ordering him to assist in the defense of Lin'an, and he actually disobeyed the order. Does Tang Qian even respect me? Once this matter is over, I will definitely take his head as a warning to others!"

"While it is indeed wrong for the Imperial Son-in-Law to disobey the imperial decree, his analysis of the battle situation is quite reasonable. If Tang Qian had directly abandoned Guangling City, Lin'an would now be besieged by 200,000 Jin troops. This would be far more dangerous than when Wanyan Xie besieged Dongjing City in the seventh year of Xuanhe. Even I, your humble servant, would not have had any chance of winning. Now, facing only 80,000 men, I am absolutely confident that I can hold Lin'an. As long as Your Majesty remains in the city and informs the entire city that the court will not retreat even a single step, our army's morale will surely soar under the influence of the desperate army..."

"You don't need to say these high-sounding words to please me. I only know that if I am also captured by the Jurchens, the Great Song Dynasty will truly be finished. For the sake of the country, I must live. Even if I lose Lin'an, I will not hesitate. As long as I am alive, the Great Song Dynasty will still exist!"

Regardless of what his ministers said, Zhao Gou held onto one belief: as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood. As long as his life was spared, the banner of the court would not fall.

Compared to the entire Song Dynasty, he really didn't care about the mere city of Lin'an.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider. If we lose Lin'an, you will be forced to wander the seas and never return to the capital."

With the fall of Lin'an, all of the Song Dynasty's territory fell to the Jin Dynasty, rendering all of Zhao Gou's and Tang Qian's efforts utterly meaningless. Zhao Gou was destined to go into exile overseas and never return.

"How dare you, Li Gang, slander me! Believe me, I will dismiss you again!"

Sensing that Zhao Gou was determined to leave, Li Gang, kneeling in the main hall, suddenly felt utterly exhausted, filled with helplessness and indignation, making this famous minister of the Song Dynasty age more than ten years in an instant.

Thinking back to when Emperor Taizu donned the yellow robe, swept across the land, ended the Ten Kingdoms period, and established the Song Dynasty, what heroic spirit he possessed! It's unbelievable that his descendants are all cowards who fear death. He poured his heart and soul into everything he had, but for whom was he truly working?

Is such a corrupt court truly worth my utmost dedication, even unto death?

Just as Li Gang was feeling disheartened and preparing to stand up and leave, a eunuch came running from outside the hall with a joyful expression: "Your Majesty, great news! The Jin army outside the city is breaking camp and seems to be retreating north."

"Is Wanyan Zongbi really going to withdraw?"

Zhao Gou and Li Gang, who were inside the hall, both had their eyes light up at the same time, and then exclaimed in surprise.

"Hahaha, this is indeed a great joy." After confirming the news three times, Zhao Gou laughed loudly three times, "It seems that the fate of my Great Song Dynasty is not yet over, and Heaven is helping me."

"Something's not right." Li Gang frowned, looking puzzled.

Wanyan Zongbi had the upper hand, yet he chose to withdraw his troops at this point. This didn't make sense. Li Gang couldn't understand why the enemy would choose to retreat when victory was in sight.

"Could something have gone wrong up north?"

In a flash, he realized this: the Jin army outside the city was determined to take Lin'an. If there hadn't been a problem in the rear, how could they have chosen not to eat the meat that was almost in their mouths?

"Regardless of the reason, we have escaped a calamity this time. The Song and Jin dynasties will not have to fight each other again, which is a good thing for the people of both sides."

Li Gang really wanted to give Zhao Gou a big eye roll. He said he was doing it for the sake of the people, but everyone knew what he was really happy about.

Ignoring the emperor's delight, Li Gang stood up and walked to the geomantic map displayed in the main hall. After a moment's thought, his furrowed brows relaxed.

Pointing to the location of Yunzhou in the north, Li Gang's voice revealed a hint of excitement: "If I am not mistaken, it should be Zong Ze, the garrison commander of Tokyo, who took advantage of the Jin army's southward advance to capture Yunzhou. This thorn in the side of the Jin Kingdom is indeed making Wanyan Wuqimai unable to sleep at night."

"I see." Zhao Gou looked enlightened. "Zong Ze's actions have saved me from a great predicament."

"Even if Yunzhou is lost, Wanyan Wuqimai should not have ordered the 200,000 troops that invaded the south to withdraw completely. At most, he should have recalled Wanyan Zonghan's troops, which should have been enough to deal with the situation."

Keep in mind that Zong Ze only had 30,000 troops under his command. He might be able to launch a surprise attack on Yunzhou and transfer all the Jin army's elite troops back to deal with the old, weak, and disabled. Wouldn't that be a waste of his talents?

"It seems that the problem in the north is not limited to Yunzhou."

Muttering something to himself, Li Gang shifted his gaze to Youzhou City in the east.

Could it be that something has gone wrong here? But Youzhou is now part of the Jin Kingdom's territory. If there's unrest here, it means that a Jin general is planning a rebellion.

Only if there was a rebellion within the Jin state would Wanyan Wugumai be so panicked as to order a full retreat.