New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Tang Qian's question caused Wanyan Xun's pupils to shrink sharply.

One battle report after another arrived from the front, and he was well aware of just how fierce the peripheral battles of this Song-Jin war were.

As Tang Qian said, Zong Ze's troops stationed in Cizhou City of the Song Dynasty swiftly recaptured Daming Prefecture while Wanyan Xieye led his army to continue south. Although the losses of the eastern army were not heavy, the fact that the garrison of Daming Prefecture was completely annihilated in just three days was still shocking.

It should be noted that Daming Prefecture was one of the important northern towns of the Song Dynasty, and a key strategic point guarding the route directly to the capital. The fact that the 5,000 troops left by Wanyan Xie to defend the city walls could be so easily breached by this Song army outside the city is quite remarkable.

Even if the people in the city cooperated from within and without, it would not be easy to attack the city. Therefore, when the Jin army commander received the battle report, he did not believe it to be true. It was only after sending scouts back to investigate that he had no choice but to believe that the battle report was true.

“Brother Tang, you are overthinking it. If we can capture Tokyo this time, Wanyan Xi and Wanyan Zongwang will join forces. Zong Ze’s mere 25,000 troops in Cizhou will not be able to stop the Jin army’s iron hooves. Why would we need Youzhou to come to our aid?”

Tang Qian shrugged, seemingly unwilling to say more, but Wanyan Xun noticed a hint of amusement hidden on the other's face.

Could it be that this kid used his so-called ability to foresee a corner of the future again?

"You mean Zong Ze's Cizhou army will cause a lot of trouble for our Great Jin?"

"It might be a bit tricky, but as I said before, it's inevitable that Wanyan Xie will capture Tokyo. No one can change that outcome. As for Daming Prefecture, it's something we hope will cause trouble for the Jin army. The Jin court's strength will be weakened, which will be more advantageous for the prince when he raises an army to seize power."

After a long, secret conversation lasting an hour, the two finally agreed that the Youzhou army would remain inactive, Wanyan Xun would feign illness and stay in bed, and the inner city of Youzhou would be sealed off to conserve strength and build up resources.

Compared to the old guys in the court today, Wanyan Xun's only advantage is his youth. He can outlive them all, not to mention that he has Tang Qian by his side as a cheat code. Perhaps in another three to five years, the Great Jin Kingdom will be in Wanyan Xun's hands.

"Taking over the Great Jin is only the first step. My ultimate goal is to wipe out all the other kingdoms and unify the Central Plains."

After leaving the command post and returning to his own residence, Tang Qian was surprised to see four girls sitting and standing in the side hall with all the heating on. They weren't playing board games together. He couldn't help but smile and said, "What's going on today? I'm not used to seeing you all red-faced as you roll the dice."

As the only married young woman here, Zhao Yingluo's face flushed red. The thought of how Tang Qian had caught her and her companions in their boisterous, unruly manner, made her want to disappear into the ground and never come out again.

Who could blame her? Tang Qian's moves were just too fun to play. It's only natural to lose control when you get carried away. Luckily, it was her husband she saw, so it wasn't embarrassing.

“What time is it? My husband is still joking with us.”

Zhao Yingluo stood up, brushed the snow off his shoulders, and took the cotton coat Tang Qian handed her, hanging it on the hanger. "Didn't you see that our Seventh Princess doesn't look well?"

Tang Qian rubbed his hands together, then leaned against the fireplace to warm himself before sitting down next to Wan Yanxi: "Have you heard anything?"

"I can see all the military reports that pass through Youzhou, okay?" Wanyan Xi glanced at Tang Qian. His side was in dire straits, but Tang Qian was acting like nothing was wrong. It was hard to tell whether he really had a complete plan or was just pretending to be calm. "The Western Route Army hasn't encountered much sniping along the way. Wanyan Zongwang even protected Zhuo Luwang in the central army, clearly letting him accumulate military merits. Sending him to the Jin-Song battlefield is probably a bad move for us."

Tang Qian reached out and scratched his scalp, which wasn't itchy, with a somewhat helpless expression on his face: "I never expected Wanyan Zongwang to protect Zhuo Luwang so much. Could it be that this kid is Wanyan Zongwang's illegitimate son raised in the Zhuo Lu tribe? Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths to help him?"

"The current focus is not on discussing the relationship between Wanyan Zongwang and Zhuo Luwang, but rather on whether he accumulates enough military merits during this southward campaign against the Song Dynasty and returns safely to Youzhou, in which case the Seventh Princess will truly marry into the Zhuo Lu tribe,"

"Don't worry, Zhuo Luwang won't have such an opportunity." Even when the time came, Tang Qian remained calm and composed. "From the moment he got the imperial decree to marry Zhuo Luwang, to now going to the Jin-Song battlefield to gain merit, he has only relied on Wanyan Zongwang. If he doesn't have the Grand Marshal of the Western Route Army as his backer, Zhuo Luwang is just a nobody who can be crushed by anyone."

Previously, Wanyan Zongwang had already used a lot of connections to help him obtain an imperial edict. This time, he was so openly protecting him that even Wanyan Xi and Zhao Yingluo could see that there was something wrong. How could the other marshals not notice anything suspicious?

"To make someone as powerful and influential as Wanyan Zongwang protect him like a calf, Zhuo Luwang must have used two methods: threats or bribes. The first one is definitely not true. If Zhuo Luwang really had some leverage over the other party, he would probably be dead by now. How could he be living such a carefree and comfortable life?"

"You mean bribery? How is that possible? What could the Zhuolu tribe possibly offer that would make Wanyan Zongwang take notice? I don't believe it even if you beat me to death."

Wealth? Beauty? Fame? Status? These things are easily within Wanyan Zongwang's grasp if he desires them, and Zhuo Luwang has no such means to tempt him.

"So I'm also very curious about how Zhuo Luwang managed to get Wanyan Zongwang to help him so wholeheartedly."

Wanyan Xi and Zhao Yingluo exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of worry and anxiety in each other's eyes. After talking for a while, Tang Qian brought the topic back to itself.

However, since Tang Qian seemed so confident, they didn't dare to ask too many questions. If someone overheard them and it ruined everything, that would be disastrous.

"Please rest assured, both of you. Zhuo Luwang is not going to achieve anything. He has only used some unorthodox methods he learned from who-knows-where. Right now, he seems to be enjoying the shade of a big tree and is quite glamorous. But if the big tree he is relying on suddenly collapses, he will inevitably suffer a backlash from various forces and tribes."

If you want to show your talent, you must have the ability to bear the consequences, which Zhuo Luwang clearly lacked.