New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

"Is Your Highness satisfied with this? If you only intend to take Youzhou for yourself, it is a disgrace to the word 'lofty ambition'."

Just as Wanyan Xun was about to get up and leave, Tang Qian's next words were even more shocking, causing him to sit down again. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Tang Qian, and Wanyan Xun's tone turned cold: "Brother Tang, I don't quite understand what you mean."

"Let's not beat around the bush. Now that I have chosen to follow Your Highness, I will naturally do my best to assist you. How can Youzhou alone be worthy of Your Highness's grand ambitions?"

Sensing the murderous aura emanating from Wanyan Xun, Tang Qian did not back down in the slightest: "It is said that kings and generals are not born with their titles, and that the capable should rule the beautiful land. Looking at the Central Plains, there are five thousand... uh, no, four thousand years of history, dozens of dynasties. Which founding emperor did not seize the land from others? Now is the perfect time to establish immortal achievements in this chaotic world."

"Are you trying to provoke me into rebellion?"

“If Your Highness does not have such ambition, then I will pretend that I never said these words.”

As the two finished speaking, the study became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. In the long silence, Wanyan Xun's expression changed repeatedly, as if he were making an extremely difficult decision.

"Conquer the land? Become the founding emperor? Brother Tang, do you think such things can be achieved simply by spouting empty words?" Wanyan Xun sneered. "Let's not even talk about the Song Dynasty, just consider the Jin Dynasty. The Wanyan clan alone commands tens of thousands of soldiers. In addition, there are the Wendihan, Shuhu, Wule, Tuoman, and dozens of other large tribes forming an alliance. Their fighting power is terrifying, beyond your imagination. My Youzhou army only has a mere ten thousand men. If I had even the slightest thought of rebellion, I would be immediately surrounded by tens of thousands of Jin soldiers. Or is Brother Tang planning to have me killed as a rebel?"

"Your Highness has truly misunderstood me." Seeing that Wanyan Xunzhen had murderous intent, Tang Qian's expression remained calm. He poured himself a glass of water, took a small sip, and said, "Sun Tzu's Art of War says, 'To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.' If I were to say that I could control the Great Jin without losing a single soldier, what would Your Highness think?"

Wanyan Xun crossed his arms and remained silent, only looking at Tang Qian with expectant eyes, appearing fully attentive.

"As everyone knows, the throne of your Great Jin is not inherited, but rather a new emperor is chosen through the recommendation of senior officials. The person qualified to succeed to the throne is none other than the currently powerful Anban Bojilie."

Tang Qian twirled the water glass in his hand, a smile playing on his lips: "If Your Highness can succeed Wanyan Xieye and sit in this position, does that mean you will be able to ascend the throne in the future?"

"How easy is it? Let alone me, a mere commander, even the tribal chiefs who command large armies would not dare to say they have absolute confidence."

“We are certainly weaker in terms of strength alone, but if Your Highness can gain the approval of the Great Jin Ancestral Court, it should not be difficult for you to enter the central government. Your Highness is in the prime of your life. Just wait a few years, and all those old guys in high positions will be dead. Wouldn’t the position of Anban Bojilie be within your grasp?”

The ancestral temple of the Great Jin Dynasty, which is the birthplace of the Great Jin royal family, was also the main base for the Jurchen people to rise up against the Liao Dynasty. Whenever a new emperor ascended the throne, he had to return to the ancestral temple to worship the Jurchen ancestors and obtain the approval of the ancestral temple's priests before he could be the rightful ruler of the country.

"The ancestral court of the Great Jin is far away in Goryeo, and the route is heavily guarded by various tribes. It is extremely difficult to set foot there. Tang Qian, are you playing a trick on me?"

“Traveling by land is naturally fraught with difficulties, but what if we take the sea route? We can set sail from the bay southeast of Youzhou, heading straight to the west coast of Goryeo. Once we land there, reaching the ancestral temple of the Great Jin Dynasty would be much easier, wouldn’t it?”

Having said that, even if Wanyan Xun was stupid, he could figure out Tang Qian's plan: he wanted him to lead his personal guards to board a ship and cross the sea to reach the ancestral temple by waterway and receive baptism from the priests.

Unfortunately, the Jin Dynasty was located in the north, and the Jin people were not good at naval warfare. The tribes trained cavalry, and none of them knew how to build ships.

Thinking of this, Wanyan Xun blurted out the question: "Can you build ships?"

Tang Qian shook his head: "No."

For a moment, Wanyan Xun really wanted to draw his long sword and kill this guy to end it all. He offered such a great temptation, only to tell himself that it was a dead end. Wasn't this just making a fool of him?

"I only said that I don't know how to build ships, but there are naturally people in this world who can build ships. As long as a ship that can cross the ocean is built, Your Highness can lead your personal guards to drive straight in, and then devise a plan to gain the approval of the ancestral court priests, sit on the position of Anban Bojilie, and the throne of the Great Jin will be within your grasp."

As for gaining recognition through design, it was an extremely simple matter for Tang Qian. Using a miracle that was incomprehensible at the time to make Wanyan Xun the chosen one who could rule the Great Jin Dynasty was a piece of cake. For example, there were too many ways to make those ignorant people believe that Wanyan Xun was the chosen one.

"Once Your Highness has power, you can win over the people's hearts, reduce taxes and distribute land. In short, as long as you implement measures that can improve people's livelihoods, the people of the Great Jin will naturally be willing for Your Highness to be the emperor."

Wanyan Xun sneered: "Is it really that easy to sit on the throne? Brother Tang, are you dreaming? Those old guys are definitely in cahoots. No matter how high my prestige is, they won't recommend me as emperor. In that case, my 10,000 Youzhou soldiers will have to face the siege of hundreds of thousands of troops."

"Your Highness is mistaken. As long as you follow my instructions step by step, I guarantee that in addition to your 10,000 personal guards, you will also have hundreds of thousands of Jin people. Tell them that if Your Highness dies, there will be no one in the entire Jin Dynasty who can give them a good life. They will return to the misery of being enslaved and will have to crawl on the ground for the rest of their lives. Do you think the people will help us?"

In an encounter battle outside the city, unarmed civilians would naturally be no match for the government troops. However, if they defended the city, just like the people of the Song Dynasty defended the capital, Tokyo, victory would not be impossible.

"Moreover, with the assistance of various lathes and machinery, the combat strength of my Youzhou army will naturally be improved. After several years of biding our time, do we really not have the strength to fight against the Jin army?"

Wanyan Xun clenched his fists, his expression hesitant. After all, the pie in the sky that Tang Qian had painted was too big for him to digest in a short time.

When he finally left, he simply said, "Let me think about it some more."