New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Tang Qian and his two beautiful wives enjoyed a relaxed and happy New Year's Eve dinner, filled with laughter. However, Qiu Linghua, far away in Guangling, had mixed feelings of joy and worry.

After being separated from her son for more than a year, Qiu Linghua was overjoyed to finally hear that Tang Qian was safe and sound. What's more, Tang Qian had quietly arranged for her to have a Song Dynasty princess as her daughter-in-law. Qiu Linghua had woken up laughing several times in her dreams at the thought of being able to drink Zhao Yingluo's daughter-in-law's tea in the future.

What worries her is that more than two months have passed since the news of her husband's demotion reached Guangling. Even if Tang Huan walked back to Guangling, he should have arrived by now.

Unfortunately, Tang Huan is still missing, and we have no idea whether he is dead or alive.

The news of the Jin army's renewed southward advance made Qiu Linghua even more uneasy, fearing that something might happen to her son and daughter-in-law who were far away in Youzhou. Although her elder brother from her maternal family had taken good care of her and her daughter, Qiu Linghua's anxiety about not having her husband and son by her side still made her feel listless.

Guangling is too far from the capital, and Bianliang is currently besieged by the Jin army. Qiu Linghua is naturally unaware that Tang Huan, who was dismissed from his post for shouting in court and cursing the emperor as a tyrant, has long been reinstated and is currently worrying about the country and its people in his own mansion.

With the nation in peril, how could he possibly be in the mood for celebrating the New Year? He was focused on how to effectively strengthen the city's defenses so that the Song Dynasty could hold out for a little longer.

More than two months have passed since the imperial edict ordering transport commissioners from all surrounding areas to rush to the aid of Tokyo, but there has still been no news of any reinforcements arriving. The only force still working to relieve the siege of the capital is the Cizhou army led by Zong Ze.

But as everyone knows, how could Zong Ze's 20,000 troops possibly be a match for the tens of thousands of Jin army main force? All Zong Shaoqing could do was harass the perimeter; he could not possibly confront the Jin army head-on.

However, merely scratching the surface cannot fundamentally solve the problem. The crisis in Bianjing (Kaifeng) cannot be resolved, and the Song Dynasty is doomed.

With the fall of Tokyo, he, as a high-ranking official, was sure to meet a bad end. Fortunately, his wife and daughter were in Guangling and were currently safe. Tang Qian seemed to be doing well in Youzhou, so he had no worries. At worst, he could die for his country and end it all.

The family members are scattered across the country, each with their own unique feelings. The only thing they have in common is that they all curse this damned world.

No matter how unwilling you are to face it, what's coming will eventually come.

In the early spring of the second year of the Jingkang era, after several fierce attacks, the Jin army finally broke through the outer city walls of Tokyo.

Having lost the outer city, the inner city was completely indefensible. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the new Song emperor Zhao Huan, in order to avoid the bloodshed and devastation caused by the Jin army entering the city, finally decided to open the city gates and surrender.

With Wanyan Xieye leading the Jin army into the inner city of Tokyo, the Song Dynasty, which had unified the Central Plains for a century after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, came to an end.

Youzhou City.

Even though he was mentally prepared and knew what kind of humiliation and suffering the entire city of Tokyo would suffer after Zhao Huan ordered the surrender to the Jin Dynasty, Tang Qian still looked somewhat dejected when he saw the military report sent back from the front.

Wanyan Xie also captured Emperors Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan of the Song Dynasty, as well as the women in the palace and the civil and military officials in the court. He also looted all the gold and silver in the city and is leading his army back north. He will arrive in Youzhou soon.

The Jingkang Incident, one of the most humiliating and tragic chapters in Han Chinese history, ultimately occurred without warning.

After reviewing the battle report, Wanyan Xun threw it into the fire and looked at Tang Qian, who was sitting opposite him with a gloomy face, with a half-smile: "Brother Tang, you should be thinking about how to save your life in the upcoming catastrophe, instead of being saddened by the loss of the Song Dynasty, right?"

With the fall of the Song Dynasty, Tang Qian, as a Song citizen, had no more illusions. Wanyan Xie and Wanyan Zongwang, who destroyed the Song Dynasty, naturally became Tang Qian's enemies. If he wanted to take revenge, he had to rely on him, the commander of the Youzhou army with lofty ambitions.

After this battle, Tang Qian should no longer have any intention of fleeing south.

This is why Wanyan Xun was in a good mood after receiving the battle report.

The two problems that Tang Qian is about to face are Wanyan Zonghan's covetousness of Zhao Yingluo and Zhuo Luwang's marriage to Wanyan Xi.

Back in the camp outside Youzhou City, Wanyan Zonghan had already decided to kill Tang Qian. If Wanyan Xi hadn't intervened, he might have already been beheaded. And since Zhuo Luwang wanted Wanyan Xi, Tang Qian would also have been doomed.

Faced with two figures who now wield absolute power in the Jin army, Wanyan Xun could not imagine any way for Tang Qian to escape except by completely surrendering to him.

Everyone knew Wanyan Xun's thoughts, and Tang Qian was no exception. However, he wasn't worried that Wanyan Xun wouldn't lend a hand, since he hadn't revealed his trump card yet. Tang Qian was hoping to use that thing to coerce Wanyan Xun into sending them out of Youzhou.

Wanyan Xun was always worried that Tang Qian would escape, so he never relaxed his vigilance against him and was always worried that the other party would plot against him. Tang Qian, of course, really wanted to escape. On the surface, the two had a cooperative relationship, but in secret they were suspicious of each other. At this moment, facing Wanyan Xun's olive branch again, Tang Qian was still unwilling to accept it. The two discussed some trivial issues, and the meeting came to an end.

Watching Tang Qian's departing figure, Wanyan Xun's eyes were full of sharpness: "Just wait, there will be a time when you will come begging to me."

Wanyan Xun always thought that since the army had already withdrawn, it would be able to reach Youzhou in a few days. At that time, it would be Tang Qian's last chance to make a choice. If he still could not clearly pledge his loyalty, Wanyan Xun would not mind standing by and watching, letting Wanyan Zonghan and Zhuo Luwang make trouble for him.

But no matter how long they waited, the defenders on the city wall, gazing into the distance, still couldn't see the Jin army arrive in Youzhou. The news brought by the scouts was even more surprising to Wanyan Xun.

When the Song Dynasty's imperial relatives were being escorted back to the Jin Dynasty, the Jin army was ambushed thirteen times by Zong Ze's troops. Each time, the Jin army was routed and suffered heavy losses. If it weren't for their superior numbers, the escort team of ten thousand men would have been annihilated long ago.

"Thirteen consecutive defeats?" Wanyan Xun stared at this shocking number for a long time and pondered, "It seems that the Song army is not entirely composed of incompetent soldiers; there are still capable and valiant generals among them."

Unfortunately, no matter how skilled the enemy was, they ultimately couldn't reverse the tide of battle, and rescuing Zhao Huan was simply impossible. All the Song general could do was delay the Jin army's march.