Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

Although Wanyan Gan deeply resisted the arrival of dawn, the sky eventually began to lighten with the first hint of white. He hadn't slept a wink all night, and now his eyes were bloodshot, his face pale with an ominous dark red tinged with color, making him look particularly frightening.

"Your Majesty, this is a thin porridge that was specially prepared for you this morning. The temperature is just right. Please be sure to have some."

The captain of the guards spoke softly, carefully offering a steaming bowl of porridge to Wanyan Gan. He himself had also stayed up all night, guarding Wanyan Gan closely without ever letting his guard down.

Wanyan Gan glanced at the bowl of porridge, sighed, and said, "I know the army doesn't have much food left. You can share this porridge with the other guards. I'm not hungry."

After a moment of stunned silence, Wanyan Gan continued, "Well then, you've been following me for over a decade. Today might be our last battle against the Han army. We might both die. Do you regret it?"

"Pfft!"

The head guard knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, you saved my life. No matter what dangers I face, I will protect you."

As the roar of helicopters suddenly erupted from the foothills, echoing like the lingering sounds of ancient war drums in the tranquil valley, the warriors of the Han Marine Corps, like cheetahs, silently launched their encirclement of the Jin soldiers lurking in the mountains. As the encirclement tightened, the more than ten thousand Jin soldiers, as if swept to the brink of despair by the tides of history, huddled in that small, confined space.

The helicopter's rotors sliced ​​through the air, carrying the repeated surrender appeals from its loudspeakers. The sound pierced every leaf in the dense forest, striking the hearts of the Jin soldiers: "Jin warriors, listen well! Your battle flags have nowhere to fly anymore. The encirclement is as solid as an iron wall. The glory of the Jin Dynasty is now a thing of the past. Why let pointless sacrifices become a tragic footnote in future history? Think of your loved ones far away, think of your precious lives. Isn't living more valuable than anything else?"

Wanyan Gan knew that there was no time to hesitate; every second of delay could lead to unforeseen consequences. He drew his gleaming longsword from his waist, his voice booming like thunder through the valley: "Warriors of the Jin Kingdom, the time has come to show your fearlessness and bravery! Charge with me, slay generals and capture flags, and let the enemy witness our might!"

At the foot of the mountain, Li Zhen gripped the walkie-talkie tightly, his brow furrowed. The message coming from the mountain sent a chill down his spine.

"Your Majesty and Commander, the enemy has not only shown no intention of surrendering, but has also launched a fierce offensive. We request immediate suppression with firepower!"

Li Zhen pondered for a moment, his gaze resolute, picked up the walkie-talkie on the table, and said in a calm and decisive tone: "I order all troops to open fire immediately, without giving the enemy the slightest chance to breathe!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

A barrage of rockets, heavy with death, rained down on the densely packed Jin army. In an instant, the fierce artillery fire swept across the land like a storm, igniting a raging inferno. Despite the harsh winter and biting winds, the raging flames seemed to possess boundless heat, causing the surrounding forests to tremble in fear. The Jin soldiers hidden among the trees were too terrified to even consider approaching.

"Da da da……"

A column of Han army machine gunners, with firm steps and light machine guns slung over their shoulders, advanced slowly like ruthless reapers. The dense forest behind them trembled under the incessant flames, bark flying and leaves scattering, as if nature itself trembled for this battle. Bullets rained down, precise and merciless, piercing through the gaps in the forest and abruptly extinguishing the life force of Jin soldiers one by one.

On this hilltop shrouded in the shadow of death, some Jin soldiers had lost their will to live, their eyes filled with a mixture of desperate longing for survival and utter despair. They wanted to escape, to break free from the shackles of death, but all around them was the impenetrable iron wall of the Han army, turning this small hill into a hopeless predicament with nowhere to run. Their steps were heavy, their eyes vacant, and they could only helplessly await their fate's final judgment, silently awaiting their inevitable end.

In that moment of life and death, the air seemed to freeze, leaving only the roar of machine guns and the silence of life's passing, weaving together a tragic and cruel war scene.

"Snapped!"

A Han sniper shot Wanyan Gan in the chest while he was commanding the Jin troops. Although he was wearing armor, the bullet easily pierced through Wanyan Gan's body, and blood quickly flowed from his chest.

"Regent! You can't fall down!"

The captain of the guards noticed Wanyan Gan's unusual behavior and rushed over to hug him tightly.

At this moment, Wanyan Gan's face was ashen. With his last remaining strength, he said, "Surrender. They are right. The Jin Kingdom is gone. What's the point of fighting anymore?"

After speaking, Wanyan Gan's breath seemed to be suddenly frozen by the winter wind. He could not catch his breath, his head tilted slightly, and the flame of his life was extinguished, leaving only silence and reluctance.

The captain of the guards gently placed Wanyan Gan's body on the cold ground, then slowly unfastened his cloak, as if covering the glory of a sleeping hero, and gently draped it over his shoulders, preserving the last dignity and warmth for this departed king.

With bloodshot eyes and a mixture of grief and indignation, the captain of the guard resolutely drew his steel sword from his waist. The sound was crisp and clear, echoing through the sky. He shouted, "Warriors of the guard! Hear my command! Assemble and charge into battle with me! We swear to seek justice for the Regent!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

After a series of deafening cannon shots, the once-soldiers guard, who had been on high alert, were almost completely annihilated, vanishing into nothingness amidst the smoke and flames. The remaining Jin soldiers, witnessing the horrific sight of their officers falling one after another, instantly lost all will to fight. Their hands trembled as they discarded their heavy weapons, their legs buckling involuntarily until their knees slammed heavily to the ground. With their hands raised above their heads, their eyes filled with despair and pleading, they chose to bow to fate, surrendering and begging for mercy.

As the sounds of artillery fire on the mountain gradually faded, the battle, which had lasted for two hours, came to an end.

After hearing that Wanyan Gan had been killed by a bullet, Li Zhen sighed and said, "This Jin regent was quite a fierce general. If he hadn't met me, he would probably have been an invincible general of the Jin. Pass on my order to cremate his body on the spot and bring it to Wanyan Qin when we return to Anyang."

With the Jin army under Wanyan Gan annihilated, the entire Northeast region was almost completely wiped out, and it was difficult to find any large-scale resistance forces. Those scattered bandits and mountain brigands were like grasshoppers after autumn, unable to hop around for long and posing no threat.

Seeing that the situation in Northeast China was now stable, Li Zhen felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders and immediately began his journey home, heading straight for Anyang. Only Yue Peng remained, tasked with maintaining order and eradicating every potential threat to the region. Only after all the officials from Northeast China had arrived could he relinquish his responsibilities and return to Anyang.