New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Inside the dark and gloomy Youzhou prison, apart from Li Ye who was transferred to Dading Prefecture after surrendering with his confidants, the remaining seven members are still imprisoned here.

As the setting sun slowly sank behind the skylight, his secretary, Lang Hanzheng, picked up a twig from the ground and added a vertical stroke to a broken "正" character on the earthen wall near the window.

Han Zheng counted them again from beginning to end and sighed softly. Since he was imprisoned by the Jurchens before the New Year, more than three months have passed without him realizing it.

Li Shu, who shared a cell with Han Zheng, was an official with no rank or position. Like Tang Qian, he was a member of the delegation who had been forced into the ranks by his family through bribery. Who would have thought that he was doing well when he first arrived, but now he could never go back?

Lying listlessly on the straw mat in the prison, Li Shu had a stalk of straw between his teeth and spoke in a somewhat unclear voice: "Brother Han, why bother? No one cares about us in this prison. What difference does it make whether we live one day or a year?"

Han Zheng threw away the tree branch in his hand, slumped down listlessly, leaned against the earthen wall, and looked up at the skylight opposite him. His frustration was mixed with extreme grief and indignation: "I never thought that I, Han Zheng, would pass the imperial examination at the age of fifteen and become an official in the court at the age of eighteen. I thought I could rise to the top and have a smooth career, but in the end I will die here and no one will care."

Li Shu swung his right foot, which was propped up on his left knee, looking completely nonchalant: "Brother Han, there's no need to be so pessimistic. I think our luck is about to change for the better."

Han Zheng remained motionless, but a glint of light flashed in his previously empty eyes.

Although he had long since given up hope, Li Shu's words still made his heart skip a beat: "What do you mean by that, Brother Li?"

Li Shu smiled faintly, his expression quite confident: "We've been locked up in this dungeon for over three months, but during this time, has anyone interrogated us?"

Han Zheng shook his head without hesitation. Just as Li Shu said, among their group, only Li Ye took away more than ten confidants after surrendering to the Jin. The others, let alone being interrogated, had barely seen the jailer. The only people they saw every day were two half-deaf and half-mute old men who delivered their meals.

"But what does this have to do with our fortunes?"

“Three months ago, the Jin state invaded the south, and now no one has come to pay attention to us. There is only one possibility: the Jin army is engaged in a fierce battle in the Song Dynasty, which has resulted in the Jin army originally stationed in Youzhou still not returning. That Wanyan Xun is too busy to take care of himself, and he may have already been killed on the battlefield.”

Upon hearing this, Han Zheng's eyes gleamed even brighter: "The Jin army has penetrated deep into our territory alone and is being held back by various reinforcements, resulting in a bitter battle. If the Song army takes advantage of the victory and pursues them, perhaps they can recover Youzhou."

"Is this colleague overestimating the strength of the Song Dynasty's border troops?"

As the two were lost in thought, another voice from outside the cell startled them. Han Zheng immediately shut up, while Li Shu jumped up from the bed and looked outside anxiously. Sure enough, he saw a somewhat familiar figure emerge from the dark corridor.

"Brother Han, Brother Li, how have you been since we last met, three months apart?"

When the newcomer appeared, Han Zheng and Li Shu exchanged a glance and exclaimed the same name in unison: "Tang Qian?"

Seeing Tang Qian sit down at the square table outside the prison, Han Zheng's face was full of shock and lingering fear. He knew that Tang Qian and Li Shu, those playboys who had bribed their superiors to be placed in the delegation, were the people he despised the most, and the ones who spoke ill of him the most behind his back.

At this moment, Tang Qian was able to appear openly in the Youzhou prison and look down on me. He must have surrendered to the Jin Kingdom like Li Ye. Now is the time to frame me with some inexplicable crimes.

Li Shu, on the other hand, was overjoyed: "Brother Tang, have you come to our rescue? I knew my life wasn't meant to end here."

"As colleagues, I certainly hope to rescue you from this cage, but whether you are ultimately rescued depends on your own choices."

Tang Qian's tone was neither happy nor sad, but to Han Zheng and Li Shu it was like a thunderclap. The two exchanged a glance again, and simultaneously thought of the same possibility: "What exactly does Brother Tang mean by this? Could it be that the situation outside is completely opposite to what Brother Li predicted, and that the Song Dynasty has been defeated?"

"That's not quite right." Tang Qian briefly recounted the humiliating treaty between the Song and Jin dynasties. "So, the fact is that the Song and Jin sides made peace, the Jin army withdrew north, but the Song army did not pursue them. Now, all sixteen prefectures of Youyun have fallen into the hands of the Jin people. The new emperor Zhao Huan is only thinking about protecting his throne and will never send troops to counterattack the Jin. Don't expect the Song Dynasty to send down divine troops to recover Youzhou."

After a long silence, Han Zheng let out a bitter laugh: "So we have been completely forgotten by the court, and no one will come to our rescue. The so-called turn of fortune is just wishful thinking on your part, Brother Li."

“That’s not quite right.” Tang Qian stroked his chin. “If the Jurchens had come today, you would have been dead for sure. But since I’m here, you still have a chance to live. As I just said, if you are willing to cooperate with me, I can guarantee your safety.”

"Cooperation?" Han Zheng and Li Shu exchanged glances for the third time. "How can we cooperate?"

Tang Qian seemed unwilling to offer further explanation. Instead, he instructed the jailer to open the cell door and gather all the members of the Song Dynasty delegation imprisoned there. His gaze swept over the Song officials, who had become noticeably thinner, and Tang Qian cleared his throat: "When you were imprisoned by the Jin, you did not surrender to the Jin along with Li Ye, which can be considered as fulfilling your loyalty to the Song Dynasty. Now that you have chosen to become my right-hand men, it is not a breach of your honor."

The officials present smiled bitterly to themselves. Was it that they didn't want to pay gold? It was that Wanyan Xun hadn't given them a choice at all. From beginning to end, no one had ever interrogated them.

How many heroes in this world would rather die than surrender?

"My identity is that of a staff member in the Seventh Princess's mansion of the Great Jin Dynasty, assisting the Seventh Princess in governing Youzhou City. You were originally officials of various ranks sent by the Great Song Dynasty to take over Youzhou. Now you are following me to govern Youzhou. It can be said that we are all heading towards the same goal. As long as we are serving the people, what difference is there between being an official in the Great Song Dynasty and being an official in the Great Jin Dynasty?"

If Tang Qian had said such things in Tokyo, he would have been executed for treason. But this was the Great Jin Dynasty, and he was clearly trying to persuade Tang Qian to surrender. If Tang Qian wanted to live, he had to obey Tang Qian's every word.

"What does Brother Tang want us to do?"