New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

"Oh, the young prince arrived quite quickly."

Tang Qian waved to Wanyan Xun, who was walking slowly towards him, "Are you perhaps waiting outside for me to send a servant to find you?"

Tang Qian saw through his trick, but Wanyan Xun ignored him and smiled faintly at An Dahe: "Just now at the Youzhou army camp, the commander left in too much of a hurry and could not be called back no matter what I did, so I had no choice but to make this trip."

Wanyan Xun's appearance did not frighten An Dahe in the slightest. After a brief moment of stunned silence, a disdainful expression reappeared on his face: "As far as I know, the city defense of Youzhou City is indeed under your jurisdiction, Wanyan Xun, but the security of the city is under the jurisdiction of the Princess's Mansion. Brother Wanyan, are you trying to take advantage of me?"

"Commander, you are mistaken."

Wanyan Xun glanced at Wanyan Xi, who was standing silently to the side, and said, "The Seventh Princess is kind-hearted and loves the people like her own children. In recent times, she has only focused on improving people's livelihoods and ensuring that the people can fill their stomachs. There are not enough people in the manor, so the security work in the city can only be temporarily handed over to the Youzhou Army. If the Commander does anything that disturbs the people in the city, I will naturally have the right to deal with it."

"So what?" An Dahe raised an eyebrow. "This commander only heard that the Princess of the Great Song Dynasty was temporarily staying here, so I came to pay my respects. How is this considered disturbing the people?"

“Since it is a formal visit, you should present a visiting card according to the rules. If the princess does not wish to see you, then you are considered to have trespassed on her private residence, and I have every reason to detain you.”

"You dare!" An Dahe's eyes widened suddenly, looking like he wanted to devour someone. "I, the commander-in-chief, lead the Eastern Route Army. What can a mere princess of the Song Kingdom do to me?"

With a mocking expression, Wanyan Xun slowly approached Andahe and whispered a few words in his ear. No one knew what he said, but everyone saw Andahe's face stiffen. He didn't dare to say a single harsh word and turned around to wave to his subordinates before quickly leaving the front yard and making a clean getaway.

With the crisis of the princess's humiliation temporarily averted, Commander Wang Jian did not linger. He cupped his hands to the people present and led a group of guards back to the backyard. In an instant, only the two sisters, Wanyan Xun and Wanyan Xi, remained in the hall.

After exchanging a glance with Tang Qian, Wanyan Xi parted her red lips as if to say something, but then looked away and hesitated. The Fourth Princess, Wanyan Ling, glanced at Tang Qian and then bowed slightly to Wanyan Xun: "Since the trouble has been resolved, we will not stay any longer."

Wanyan Xun gestured to the two princesses to invite them to leave. After everyone had left, he turned to Tang Qian and asked, "Brother Tang, could we perhaps find another place to talk?"

Tang Qian gave a wry smile and strode ahead to lead the way. Wanyan Xun followed closely behind with a slight smile on his lips. The two entered Tang Qian's study one after the other and then closed the door.

"Your Highness, you've really got a knack for using Zhalu to set a trap for me."

Even though Tang Qian saw through his plan, Wanyan Xun was not angry.

To achieve his goal, he had to resort to any means necessary. He used the punishment of Zhalu's lust to lure his brother An Dahe to Youzhou, thereby forcing Tang Qian to be driven into a corner to protect his wife, and thus forcing him to ask for help. In the end, he would allow them to sit down and have a proper talk. This was Wanyan Xun's whole plan.

Judging from the outcome, he has achieved his goal; whether the process was despicable is irrelevant.

Now that things have come to this, Tang Qian is completely under their control. If Wanyan Xun lets out even the slightest hint, An Dahe, who suffered a setback in the mansion today, will surely come back with a vengeance. Not to mention whether City Lord Wanyan Xi can protect him from the other party's retaliation, even if the Princess's mansion has the current strength of its guards, she is probably powerless to protect Tang Qian.

"To get back to the point, after spending this time together, someone as clever as Brother Tang should be able to guess that my ambitions lie beyond the minor, idle position of Commander of Youzhou. Brother Tang is able to foresee a corner of the future and has even developed a marvelous tool like a woodworking lathe. If you are willing to assist me, how can I not achieve great things and leave my mark on history?"

This was Wanyan Xun's blatant attempt to recruit him, and Tang Qian knew the consequences of refusing. After a brief moment of thought, Tang Qian spread his hands towards Wanyan Xun, making a helpless gesture: "Does Your Highness think I have any other choice but to submit?"

Wanyan Xun laughed heartily: "As the saying goes, a wise man submits to circumstances. Since Brother Tang is willing to pledge allegiance to me, I guarantee that you and your wife will no longer be in danger of losing your lives in Youzhou City."

Tang Qian cupped his hands in thanks to Wanyan Xun: "My wife and I thank Your Highness for your protection." Then, he changed the subject, "However, I also know that there is a price to pay for every benefit. Does Your Highness intend for me to develop a device to accelerate the creation of arrows, thereby strengthening the combat power of the Youzhou army?"

"Really? There really is such a machine tool?" Tang Qian's words made Wanyan Xun's eyes light up. He knew this kid had a secret.

To Wanyan Xun's dismay, Tang Qian shook his head: "I'm truly sorry, but I really have no way to speed up the arrowhead production process, however..."

The sudden turn of events made Wanyan Xun want to curse. Couldn't this kid stop beating around the bush?

"I do have a method for processing arrowheads. The working principle of this machine tool is the same as that of a woodworking lathe used to produce arrow shafts. That is, first grind the whetstone into a hollow circle, and then use a wheel and belt to make the whetstone rotate. In this way, the speed of grinding the arrowhead can be increased, thereby improving the production efficiency of arrows."

"As for the production of arrowheads..." Tang Qian stroked his chin, "They can be made using molds. After the iron ore is melted into molten iron, it can be directly cast. The speed should be much faster than blacksmiths making them by hand."

Wanyan Xun frowned: "But won't the arrows made this way be much less powerful? If they can't penetrate armor, they won't be of much use."

Tang Qian chuckled and shook his head: "Your Highness is overthinking it. When two armies clash, if their strengths are evenly matched, victory depends on momentum. As the saying goes, 'One effort is enough, but a second will be weaker and a third will be exhausted.' To crush the enemy's morale, all it takes is three volleys. Even if they can't penetrate the armor, after being bombarded by arrows three times, even the bravest warrior would be terrified. As long as our army has enough arrows, we will have an early advantage in battle. This is the crucial point about ranged weapons."

Wanyan Xun slammed his fist on the table: "Good! I knew I hadn't misjudged Brother Tang. I'll have the quartermaster manufacture the polishing machinery. With a steady supply of arrows, let's see who dares to cause trouble in my Youzhou City."