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

The Jin soldier leader ordered his men to distribute a water bag to the male prisoners who were bound by ropes, while he himself took the water bag and walked toward the women.

Although the higher-ups had instructed that these women were off-limits, it didn't stop the Jurchen leader from indulging in his pleasure.

Jin soldier leader: "Hehehe... Little ladies, do you want some water? Come and massage my feet and I'll give you some water."

Several palace maids, their throats already parched, immediately scrambled toward the Jin soldier leader upon hearing this. They may have forgotten that everyone was tied together with ropes, and this movement directly pulled Zhao Yingluo, who was sitting down, over.

A palace maid glanced at Zhao Yingluo, who had been pulled down, then turned and crawled forward again. Now that everyone was a prisoner of the Jurchens, who cared whether you were a princess or not?

Just as the Jurchen leader was enjoying himself with his eyes closed, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. When he opened his eyes, he saw a white tube he had never seen before piercing through his chest. Before he could even cry out, a watermelon knife slashed at his neck, and blood gushed out instantly. The sight terrified the palace maids, who screamed in terror.

The remaining Jin soldiers, disregarding any need for rest, rose to their feet, grabbed their weapons, and engaged Li Zhen's troops in battle. Li Zhen's group of twenty-odd men launched a surprise attack, quickly felling nearly half of the enemy, rendering even those who survived incapable of fighting.

Li Zhen thought he could easily handle the remaining five or six Jin soldiers with his twenty-odd men. Unfortunately, reality was far from his expectations; within just a few breaths, three members of Li Zhen's team were killed by the Jin soldiers.

After seeing their own men killed by the Jin soldiers, the remaining dozen or so men dared not rush forward and all turned their gazes toward Li Zhen.

At this moment, Li Zhen's scalp tingled. This was the first time he, a modern person, had ever seen such a scene. Although he wanted to run away, he knew he couldn't. If he ran, the rest of the people would definitely follow him. He couldn't let the team he had worked so hard to build fall apart like that.

Li Zhen gritted his teeth and shouted to Wang Changdao, "Squad Leader Wang, lead the charge! I refuse to believe that a dozen of us can't take down those six. Whoever kills a Jin soldier this time will be rewarded with a bag of rice and two bags of flour."

With such a generous reward, brave men would surely emerge. Immediately, several strong young men grabbed steel pipes and stabbed at the Jin soldiers. Wang Changdao swung the steel pipe and smashed it hard against the head of a Jin soldier.

Li Zhen gripped the steel pipe tightly, his strength causing his previous wound to reopen, blood dripping onto the ground. At that moment, Li Zhen thought that once he returned to the modern world, he would have to find a way to get some crossbows; otherwise, relying solely on the steel pipe and the watermelon knife wouldn't be enough.

Ultimately, at the cost of four dead and five wounded, the six Jin soldiers were successfully killed. Wang Changdao had been stabbed in the arm, the wound so deep that the bone was visible. Upon seeing this, Li Zhen immediately stepped forward and bandaged his arm with a clean bandage, planning to find a better treatment method once they returned to the village.

After a search, Li Zhen found a bag of gold and silver jewelry on the Jin soldier leader. He also found some silver and copper coins on the other Jin soldiers. It seems that they were not the first group of Jin soldiers to enter Bianjing, otherwise they would have such little treasure.

As for the fifty or sixty prisoners, Li Zhen ordered his men to untie their ropes.

Li Zhen: "No need for thanks. Everyone, quickly dig a pit and bury these Jin soldiers' bodies. Then, hide in our village first. I estimate there will definitely be a large group of Jin soldiers later."

After dealing with the Jin soldiers' corpses, everyone returned to the mountain village. There, Widow Zhang and a group of women carried the wounded able-bodied men into the house. Li Zhen took out anti-inflammatory medicine and wound-healing medication from his storage space and gave them to Widow Zhang to treat the wounded.

After everything was settled, Li Zhen went to the prisoners and saw them wolfing down their food. He knew they had suffered a lot at the hands of the Jurchens.

Li Zhenqing cleared his throat: "I am the leader of this village. You can call me Leader Li or Brother Li. After we finish eating, you can discuss it. Those who want to stay can come and report to me. Those who don't can leave the village on their own. But I have a word of advice for you all: there are Jin soldiers outside the mountains right now. If you go out and get captured by them, you must not tell them about us."

As soon as Li Zhen finished speaking, Zhao Yingluo stood up and said, "Hero, I am willing to stay and join you. Please take me in."

An old woman nearby, upon hearing this, also stood up and said to Zhao Yingluo, "Princess, you can't stay!"

Upon hearing that she was a princess, Li Zhen couldn't help but take a few more glances. Although her face was covered in dust, she should still be quite beautiful.

At this moment, several older craftsmen also stood up and said, "We are craftsmen from Bianjing City. Now we have lost our homes and are willing to join Chief Li's village. Please accept us, Chief Li."

Several young people were hesitating about joining when Li Zhen spoke up again: "If you join our team, I will guarantee that everyone will have enough to eat and wear every day. Everyone will be treated equally, and no one will enslave or beat you. However, once you join our team, you must learn to obey my management. I will assign different tasks according to each person's situation. Only after you complete your work can you enjoy the supplies you deserve. If I find anyone shirking their duties, I will definitely punish them and kick them out. I don't support idlers here."

The old eunuch straightened his tattered clothes and said to Li Zhen, "The lady before you is Princess Shunfu of our Song Kingdom. As a citizen of Song, you should kneel and pay your respects."

Li Zhen sneered, "Song Kingdom? Do you know where this place is? This is Tangyin, which now belongs to the Jin Kingdom. We are mountain people from the Song Kingdom who were not driven away by the Jin Kingdom. You are talking to me about the Song Kingdom now. The Song Kingdom has been destroyed by the Jin army. Who cares if you are a princess or not? Here, everyone is treated equally. There is no distinction between princesses and ministers. If you can adapt, you can stay. If you can't adapt, please leave on your own."

Zhao Yingluo bit her lip and said in a trembling voice, "From now on, there will be no more Princess Shunfu, only an ordinary Zhao Yingluo. I am willing to stay and obey Chief Li's arrangements."

Hearing this, Li Zhen nodded in satisfaction. He knew these people would definitely stay, because they wouldn't be so easy to deal with if they fell into the hands of the Jin soldiers. Now that Bianjing City had been captured by the Jin, and the entire Zhao imperial family had been wiped out, who would still recognize the court?

Li Zhen reassigned everyone according to their needs and distributed some work clothes he had purchased from within the space to them. Although these clothes looked a bit strange to them, they were still much better than the tattered clothes they were wearing.

When it was time to eat, everyone was surprised to find that they were eating rice, and it was even the finest rice that was rare to find in Bianjing. Each person's rice bowl also contained pickled vegetables that Li Zhen had bought. For the group who had just escaped from the Jin army, this was the most delicious food imaginable.

Li Zhen was somewhat ashamed of this. "It's just a bowl of rice and pickled vegetables. When I have money in the future, I'll buy all kinds of delicious food to broaden your horizons."