New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

The main camp of the Youzhou Army Commander.

Tang Qian lifted the tent flap and walked in, sitting down opposite Wanyan Xun. The two looked at each other without exchanging a word. On the contrary, Wanyan Xun's personal guard looked distressed: "Young Master Tang has the Prince's token; this subordinate cannot stop him."

Wanyan Xun waved to his personal guard, signaling him to leave first. Once there were no outsiders in the military tent, he shifted his gaze from Tang Qian to the military book in his hand: "Brother Tang, what brings you here so late at night?"

"We are all intelligent people, and Your Highness should be able to guess why I am here."

Wanyan Xun sighed: "I heard that your wife went to Ming'an Temple outside the city today? Since there's no way to rescue our people, going to visit her will only cause you more trouble. What's the point?"

Tang Qian also sighed: "They are all real relatives. My wife, who is a princess, knelt down and begged me. If it were you, Your Highness, you would probably feel sorry for her."

"But these people are not only your wife's relatives, but also spoils of war that the powerful and wealthy of the Jin Kingdom have specifically demanded. Do you think I would offend the entire Jin court for the sake of these insignificant prisoners of war?"

"With thousands of prisoners of war, the loss of these few women is no big deal."

Wanyan Xun raised his head and glanced at Tang Qian: "So, you've come to beg me just to save Zhao Yingluo's sisters?"

Tang Qian responded with a smile: "Does Your Highness think I intend to save Zhao Huan? Or perhaps a certain court official?"

The new emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Huan, lacked the decisiveness to kill and the ability to govern the country and bring peace to the people. He was simply not cut out to be an emperor. Even if he were rescued, the best outcome would be for him to live a life of idleness and waiting for death. Given the nature of Prince Kang, Zhao Gou, one might just give him a pair of mandarin duck wine pots to send him on his way.

Even if Tang Qian really wanted to save them, Wanyan Xun would have to be willing to help first.

Regardless, Zhao Huan and Zhao Ji were both emperors of the Song Dynasty. Now that they had become prisoners, the Jin emperor Wanyan Wugumai would absolutely not let them return to the mountains.

“If it’s just a few women, I can think of a way to deal with it.” Wanyan Xun looked at Tang Qian, then smiled faintly, his eyes full of calculation. “I believe you have come here to discuss this matter with me because you are well-prepared.”

Tang Qian also had unknown secrets and various amazing methods, which Wanyan Xun firmly believed.

The ability to easily develop woodworking lathes and boats that sail against the current, along with some previously unheard-of technologies, was absolutely no problem for Tang Qian.

Unfortunately, Tang Qian was also a clever man. To get him to hand over these things, he had to exchange them for something of equal value. Wanyan Xun wanted to seize them by trickery and force, but while he could take Tang Qian's life, he couldn't crack open Tang Qian's head to see what he wanted.

Once Tang Qian dies, those coveted items will disappear completely, and those who cannot threaten Tang Qian will also be unable to obtain them.

All Wanyan Xun could do was wait for Tang Qian to ask him for help. He waited for more than half a year and finally got the chance to squeeze a lot of money out of him.

Tang Qian closed his eyes, seemingly adjusting his breathing. Wanyan Xun was not in a hurry, but simply watched as the other person struggled with his inner thoughts, without urging him on.

After a long silence, Tang Qian finally made a decision.

"Your Highness's willingness to help me with this favor means you are prepared to offend various powerful figures in the Great Jin. Our alliance should be more solid now. So, let me be frank: if Your Highness's ambition is merely to become the overlord of the Great Jin, it seems a bit too small."

Tang Qian's words struck Wanyan Xun like a hammer blow, leaving him deeply moved: "Brother Tang, do you mean our goal is to unify the Central Plains?"

"Not just the Central Plains, but also Dali and Tubo in the south, Western Xia in the west, and Goryeo in the east. Any land that can be trampled underfoot belongs to the territory ruled by the prince."

Wanyan Xun's eyes suddenly lit up. Of course, he wanted his achievements to be comparable to those of Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han. Unfortunately, with only 10,000 Youzhou soldiers under his command, it was just a pipe dream to try to conquer the world.

Even with an unlimited supply of arrows, he wouldn't dare to make enemies of the world.

Wanyan Xun's plan was to first seize the Jin dynasty through Tang Qian's strategy, and then gradually consolidate his power. Unifying the world was not a matter of quick victory; he intended to spend the rest of his life fulfilling this grand ambition.

Tang Qian's words made him feel that this timeframe could be moved forward by several decades.

"Brother Tang, you are so confident, you must have already made up your mind. Tell me, what makes you so bold as to utter such arrogant words?"

"Our original plan was the first step in the whole scheme: to seize power from the Jin Dynasty, which would be the cornerstone for Your Highness to achieve your hegemony. Taking over the Song Dynasty would be the second step."

"The Song Dynasty has already fallen, so how can there be any talk of seizing it?"

"The Song Dynasty has not perished. Bianjing (Kaifeng) is merely the capital of the Song Dynasty, not its Achilles' heel. Only by controlling the prosperous Jiangnan and Sichuan regions can one truly rule the Song Dynasty."

Wanyan Xun nodded. Tang Qian's words were not without reason. Although Tokyo was the capital of the Song Dynasty, it was not the economic lifeline of the Song Dynasty. Losing Tokyo did not really damage the Song Dynasty. As long as the remaining Zhao family branch elected a member of the clan to sit on the throne, the Song Dynasty could be revived.

Only by conquering Jiangnan and Sichuan could the fate of the Song Dynasty be considered sealed.

"Jiangnan has many rivers, and Sichuan has many mountains. Our Jin soldiers are not good at naval warfare. Both of these regions are easy to defend and difficult to attack. To conquer them is as difficult as climbing to heaven."

Tang Qian smiled and shook his head: "To conquer the Song Dynasty, there is actually no need to send troops."

"To conquer Jiangnan and Sichuan without losing a single soldier?" Wanyan Xun was stunned for a moment, his face gradually turning cold. "Brother Tang, are you making fun of me?"

Wanyan Xun's expression suddenly changed, but Tang Qian didn't care at all: "Has Your Highness ever heard of our clan's national treasure, the Imperial Seal?"

"I've heard a little about it. I heard that it was a square seal made by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, using the He Shi Bi jade from the Zhao state as its material at the end of the Warring States period. It passed through the hands of dozens of emperors afterward, and was finally given to the Liao emperor by Shi Jingtang. Its whereabouts have been unknown ever since."

"I never expected Your Highness to be so knowledgeable about the history of China. I admire you." Tang Qian changed the subject. "Whoever possesses this seal will be considered to have inherited the legitimate Chinese lineage, be able to call themselves the Son of Heaven, and be worshipped by all the people of China. If we obtain it, could we unify the Song Dynasty?"

Wanyan Xun frowned: "But this seal is nowhere to be found, isn't it?" When the Jin army destroyed the Liao, they searched the entire Liao palace more than ten times, but they did not find the Imperial Seal of the State that Tang Qian mentioned.

"If there's no real one, can't we just make a copy?"