novel bin Chapter 10 The Invasion of the Jin Army
Chapter 10 The Invasion of the Jin Army
After a long and arduous journey, Zhao Yu and Lin Chaoying had left the Jin territory and entered the Song territory in just a few days.
"Sister Lin, we're almost at Xiangyang. Once we're in the city, let's have a proper rest."
Sitting on his horse, Zhao Yu smiled and said to Lin Chaoying beside him.
"Xiangyang...?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Chaoying was momentarily lost in thought, recalling the scene of her first meeting with Zhao Yu as if it were just yesterday.
At that moment, Zhao Yu, disheveled and coughing up blood, suddenly appeared in the inn, which startled her.
It was because of Ouyang Feng's pursuit that Zhao Yu entered her life and changed many things.
"I didn't expect to arrive in Xiangyang so quickly." Lin Chaoying said with some regret.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu paused for a moment, then slowed his horse down: "The reason I'm in such a hurry to return to Lin'an is because of the grand court assembly during the New Year. If I don't show up then, I'm afraid I won't be able to hide it anymore. I've been traveling at breakneck speed these past few days, thank you for your hard work, Sister Lin."
Lin Chaoying snapped out of her daze, a hint of embarrassment creeping into her expression: "That's not what I meant, it's just..."
"It's alright." Zhao Yu immediately reached out his hand. "I understand. My sister is just reluctant to part with me, and so am I. But it won't be long before we succeed in our great undertaking, and then we won't have to be apart anymore."
No matter how passionate Lin Chaoying's feelings were, she was still an ancient person, and when it came to sweet talk, she couldn't compare to Zhao Yu, a time traveler.
Seeing Zhao Yu being so intimate in broad daylight, she found it somewhat difficult to resist.
"There are still pedestrians on the road."
With a gentle sway, she couldn't break free from Zhao Yu's large hand.
Of course, she didn't use her internal energy, otherwise Zhao Yu wouldn't have been able to grab her hand so easily.
Zhao Yu chuckled, looked ahead, and said, "There's a tea stall up ahead. Let's stop and rest for a bit, then head straight to Xiangyang, shall we?"
"It's up to you."
With a flick of the reins, Zhao Yu spurred his horse to the tea stall and helped Lin Chaoying down from the horse.
"Waiter, feed our horses and make us a pot of tea. The rest is your tip!"
Zhao Yu and his companion casually tossed over a few loose silver coins and walked into the teahouse.
Feeling the weight in his hand, the waiter's smile grew even warmer: "Alright, please come in, sir!"
Before long, the tea was served. After taking a sip of the hot tea, Lin Chaoying spoke somewhat nervously, "If you go back to Lin'an, you'll be an enemy of the whole world. Are you really sure it's alright? And what if…"
She didn't dare say what came next.
Since it concerned Zhao Yu, Lin Chaoying, who was not superstitious, couldn't help but feel worried, fearing that she might bring bad luck.
Zhao Yu knew exactly what she wanted to say; she was worried about what would happen if he failed.
After all, in history, usurping the throne either leads to success like Li Shimin, who became a great emperor for all time, or it leads to failure, death, and eternal infamy.
How could she not worry about Zhao Yu?
Zhao Yu patted her hand and smiled easily: "Don't you know my martial arts skills, Sister Lin? Even a thousand troops can't stop me. If things fail, escaping with my life won't be difficult. At worst, we can become a pair of martial arts heroes and roam the world together. That wouldn't be a bad thing."
"Pah!" Lin Chaoying blushed slightly. "Don't say such unlucky things. Who would want to roam the martial world with you?"
Zhao Yu looked at her mischievously: "Yes, yes, Sister Lin is a lady of noble birth. It would be such a waste for her to wander the world with me. However, I do have a luxurious house that is still lacking an owner. I wonder if Sister Lin would be willing to take it?"
Lin Chaoying was not from an ordinary background in the martial arts world; she had been well-versed in history since childhood, so how could she not know that Zhao Yu was referring to the story of "keeping a beauty in a golden house"?
When Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, was a child, he loved Chen Ajiao and said he would build a golden house for her to live in.
When Liu Che ascended the throne, Chen Ajiao was made empress.
The deeper meaning behind Zhao Yu's words was self-evident, and Lin Chaoying naturally understood it.
Upon hearing this, she suddenly felt a pang of fear: "Could I be...?"
After all, she was the empress, and Lin Chaoying couldn't help but feel insecure.
However, before Lin Chaoying could express her concerns, the noise from the road interrupted their conversation.
It sounds like a large group of people are passing by outside.
Following the sound, they saw dust rising from the official road, and many people hurriedly making their way towards Xiangyang.
What is this doing?
Before the two could understand what was happening, the waiter rushed up to them, shouting, "Gentlemen, hurry up and leave! Take advantage of the fact that the Jurchens haven't arrived yet, and ride your horses into the city quickly. I'm running away too!"
After saying that, the waiter turned around as if to leave, but a hand grabbed his wrist.
"Wait a minute." Zhao Yu stopped him. "Why are you kicking people out of business? And what's this about the golden statue you mentioned?"
The waiter struggled a few times without success, and immediately realized that he had met a master.
"My lords, please don't make things difficult for me. It's not just me; even our manager is on the run. Every winter, the Jurchens come south to raid for supplies. They were defeated in the north last year, and now they're back again!"
The waiter looked worried: "It's almost the New Year, and they've come again. I advise you two to leave quickly. No matter how clever your methods are, can they withstand the Jurchens' tall horses? If you don't leave soon, your horses might be ridden away."
"This is outrageous!"
Lin Chaoying slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her eyebrows furrowed: "These mere barbarians dare to harass my people? Where are the soldiers and officials around Xiangyang? Aren't they going to do anything about it?"
The waiter looked distressed: "Those gentlemen have managed to protect themselves, how can they protect us? Please, gentlemen, let me run away quickly."
Seeing that he was about to cry, Zhao Yu let go of his hand, and the waiter disappeared in a flash.
Standing up, Zhao Yu looked at the furious Lin Chaoying and suddenly smiled.
At this moment, Lin Chaoying's face no longer showed the shyness she had shown before; instead, it was filled with murderous intent. This heroic and spirited appearance was her true nature.
Lin Chaoying looked at the fleeing civilians outside the tea stall, her anger still simmering: "Who is this Xiangyang garrison commander? You must not let him off the hook later. He stood by and watched the enemy invade and attack the civilians, doing absolutely nothing."
"Sister Lin, please calm down," Zhao Yu explained. "Actually, you can't blame the general entirely. The defense of the entire area around Xiangyang is under the jurisdiction of the Jing'e Military Command, which has more than 70,000 elite troops under its command, and there are 20,000 troops in Xiangyang city alone."
"But in the current court, if anyone dares to fight and injure a Jurchen, let alone gain merit, the court will probably punish them for a serious crime of disrupting the peace agreement. Even if they are willing to kill the enemy, I'm afraid no one would dare to gamble with their own head."
Lin Chaoying looked at Zhao Yu in disbelief: "Is that really true?"
"Otherwise, why do you think I'd do anything big?" Zhao Yu chuckled coldly. "Those scheming, despicable people in the court only bring ruin to the people; they should have died long ago!"
Gripping her longsword tightly, Lin Chaoying asked instinctively, "What do we do then?"
Zhao Yu's eyes turned cold: "Sister Lin, would you be willing to come with me to kill someone? No, to kill beasts!"
Lin Chaoying smiled broadly: "That's exactly what I've been waiting to hear!"