New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Chapter 117 Taking advantage of the situation

The new emperor Zhao Gou only stayed in Guangling for one day before planning to cross the Yangtze River to Jinling.

The Jiangbei region is definitely not a place to linger. The Jin army is hot on their heels. They haven't arrived yet because they need to loot all the cities they've occupied before they can continue their advance.

Only by arriving in Hangzhou sooner could he feel a little safer.

"With the new dynasty newly established, there are too many things to handle."

This is why Zhao Gou was in a hurry to leave the city.

Tang Qian cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Zhao Gou, his face full of embarrassment: "Your Majesty's decree is my duty, but Guangling City is in complete chaos right now. If Your Majesty were to leave the city at this time, I fear..."

Zhao Gou glanced at Tang Qian, cursing the boy in his heart. "Isn't the current situation in Guangling City caused by you, the city lord?"

Or was he deliberately causing all this trouble just to keep me in Guangling?

Thinking of this, Zhao Gou's desire to leave the city immediately intensified.

"The five thousand imperial guards I left you are all loyal and patriotic soldiers. It will be no problem for them to handle the chaos in the city."

"That being said, Your Majesty is worried that once Your Majesty leaves Guangling, the Imperial Guards will be unrestrained. I have not yet achieved any merit in the army, and I am afraid it will be difficult to win the respect of the troops."

If Guangling falls out of control, the Jin army can easily capture this river crossing, putting Runzhou and Jinling on the other side in danger.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhao Gou narrowed his eyes at Tang Qian and said, "Brother-in-law, there's no need to hide anything. We're family, so why beat around the bush?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Tang Qian bowed again, a smug smile on his face. "The soldiers are all patriotic men, and it is their duty to sacrifice themselves for the country. However, the court has turned a blind eye to this, which has chilled the hearts of the soldiers. It is probably too much to ask of them to fight the Jin army to the end with all their might."

Zhao Gou nodded, but did not immediately express his opinion. Tang Qian continued, "There are also the poor people in the city. I only have five thousand soldiers at my disposal. Facing a hundred thousand Jin troops, what chance do I have of victory? They are the backbone of the defense of Guangling. If the court can give the people some benefits, my chances of defending Guangling will increase by at least thirty percent."

"What do you suggest I do?"

Zhao Gou realized that the young man was asking him for money. But with the wealthy households leaving, and the Guangling City Lord's Mansion taking 60% of the taxes, wouldn't all that silver be enough to solve these two problems?

It's hard to believe that Tang Qian, at such a young age, is so greedy. It's only because these are extraordinary times that he has saved his life several times; otherwise, Zhao Gou would have ordered him arrested long ago.

Seemingly oblivious to Zhao Gou's change in expression, Tang Qian scratched his nose and uttered his final request: "If Your Majesty were to order the exemption of taxes for Guangling City for the next few years..."

"Exempt Guangling from taxes?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gou nearly stumbled and fell to the ground.

It should be noted that Guangling City was a major tax-collecting city for the entire Song Dynasty. The tax revenue from this single city alone was equivalent to the total tax revenue from several remote areas. Tang Qian's outrageous demands finally pushed Zhao Gou's anger to the brink of exploding.

"Tell me then, how many years of tax reduction do you want? Three years? Five years?"

He had originally intended to give this shameless brat a good talking-to, but Tang Qian seemed completely oblivious to the sarcasm in his words. Before he could finish speaking, Tang Qian immediately knelt down and bowed deeply: "Your Majesty has promised to reduce the taxes of Guangling City for five years. On behalf of all the people of the city, I thank Your Majesty for your great kindness."

Upon seeing Tang Qian kneel down, the five Qiu brothers and Ye Zhao, the eldest son of the Ye family, who were standing to the side, also knelt down, shouting "Long live Your Majesty!" Their piety was evident in their words.

It must be said that Tang Qian's move was really clever. In front of all the civil and military officials of the new policy, he made Zhao Gou promise to reduce the taxes of Guangling City. The emperor's words are golden and have now become a fait accompli. How can they be changed?

The fact that Guangling City didn't have to hand over its taxes to the imperial court for five years—that's a huge sum of silver! Perhaps others don't have a clear idea of ​​what that means, but the Qiu and Ye families are both business tycoons. Faced with such a massive figure, who could remain calm and composed?

"You! When did I ever say I would reduce taxes for five years?"

Zhao Gou's body was already trembling, clearly angered by Tang Qian, but he seemed oblivious, looking up at the emperor with a hint of doubt: "If it's not five years, then how many years? Fifteen years?"

"Alright, alright, alright." Zhao Gou hurriedly waved his hand. "I'm afraid of you. Five years, no more."

Well, suddenly there are ten more years. Guangling City has not paid taxes for fifteen years. Are they planning to let him starve in Hangzhou City?

Watching Zhao Gou lead the long procession out of the city, Tang Qian's face was filled with barely suppressed joy: "Now that we've sent this plague away, we can proceed with our plan without any restraint."

The most urgent task at hand is to get rid of all the wealthy families in the city; their presence in the city will definitely not be a good thing.

The older brothers agreed wholeheartedly.

“Those people only care about their own interests and don’t care about the lives of others. If the situation changes, they might actually be able to cooperate with the Jin army from the inside and open the city gates to surrender.” Qiu Xin frowned. “But if we just let people leave the city like this, I’m afraid that in addition to the wealthy households, ordinary people will also have the idea of ​​leaving the city to seek refuge.”

Ordinary people are the main force in defending the city, there is no doubt about that. If even they run away, Guangling will become a ghost town.

"Brother is absolutely right. Ordinary people don't have much savings, so even if 60% of their wealth is taken away, it doesn't matter. If they plan to leave the city, we won't do anything about it."

"Whether they are ordinary people or high-ranking officials, there are those who are afraid of death and those who are loyal and righteous. If someone wants to leave, as long as they pay enough money, we will let them go. If it's going to rain, it's going to rain; if it's going to remarry, we can't stop them even if we want to."

Tang Xiaoqi has made ample preparations. As long as he doesn't leave the city and engages in a direct confrontation with the Jin army, defending Guangling will not be a problem at all. Even if all the people in the city flee, Tang Qian is confident that he can defeat the Jin army and make them tremble with fear.

Moreover, Guangling City has a population of 180,000, and there are five surrounding county towns and several villages. The city lord's mansion can recruit enough local militia and craftsmen to participate in the defense of the city.

"I heard that the Jiang and Bai families are packing up their belongings and preparing to leave the city. Let's go and see what's going on. The imperial taxes won't be available until next year, and the money for paying salaries and wages now all depends on these two families."