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Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 084 Trouble Arises Within the Walls

Within two days, the people in the capital suddenly became restless, and the atmosphere became tense again after the news of reinforcements arriving in the first few days.

When the Jin army first besieged Shangjing, they sent people into the city to persuade the Liao emperor Yelü Yanxi to surrender. They listed all of Yelü Yanxi's past tyrannical and cruel acts. Wanyan Aguda tried his best to encourage the Liao soldiers and people, attempting to get them to open the city gates and join the Jin army to resist Yelü Yanxi's rule.

It must be said that Wanyan Aguda's words were not appealing. The momentary unrest in people's hearts almost caused the defense of Shangjing to collapse from within. Fortunately, Tabuye, the garrison commander of Shangjing, received the good news of General Chenglie's return to the court, which calmed the restless people's hearts. They were willing to believe in the god of war in their hearts. Perhaps his return could lead everyone out of the predicament!

The people's hearts, which had finally been calmed down, began to waver again. Why? Because rumors were circulating in the closed-off city of Nakakyō that General Seiretsu had massacred the people of Tokyo!

Fear and unease gripped the hearts of the soldiers and civilians. They hoped that General Chenglie would come to their rescue, but they also heard that the general was no longer the one who loved the people like his own children. What should they do?

Yelü Chun was completely unaware of the turmoil within the city and continued to lead his army closer and closer to Shangjing, carefully planning his confrontation with the Jin army.

When he saw Qin Zhen, dressed in silver-threaded armor and wearing a bright red cloak, leading the supply convoy and joining the main army, he was filled with joy and pride. He picked Qin Zhen up and shouted to the army, "Princess Dingguo has personally delivered supplies to boost morale. All soldiers must fight to the death to restore our Great Liao territory. Our army will surely win!"

Yelü Chun's sudden action and the earth-shaking shout that followed almost made Qin Zhen lose her composure. She clung to Yelü Chun's shoulder and hurriedly said, "Father, please put me down!"

Yelü Chun chuckled, assuming Qin Zhen was frightened by the soldiers' roars. He then put her down. But Qin Zhen only felt that another problem had arisen, and she was extremely annoyed.

“Father, it would be best not to let word out that I’ve been sending grain to the front lines. This grain was smuggled from the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty has already noticed and is investigating. If the Prince of Song Yun, who is in the military camp, finds out, I’m afraid it will cause a lot of trouble.”

Yelü Chun was startled. Although he was surprised that Qin Zhen was able to find a source of grain and deliver it, he never expected that she had obtained the grain from the Song Dynasty. However, he then thought that his granddaughter had grown up in the Song Dynasty with his son Yelü Huan since she was a child, and it was not impossible that she had met some people and experienced some things there.

So he issued an order forbidding his soldiers from revealing that Princess Dingguo had arrived at the front lines. The soldiers believed this order was to protect the princess's safety, and even the spies in the army thought so.

Standing on the watchtower of the main camp, Qin Zhen could see the city on the horizon and the Jin army camp in the distance. The two armies were facing each other, and a great battle was imminent.

On the night Qin Zhen arrived at the front lines, Yelü Chun said to her, "Mingzhen, your father will send General Axibao to take you back tomorrow morning. It's too dangerous here. This is not a place for you to stay for long."

Qin Zhen had already done what he needed to do, and staying here would only distract Yelü Chun and prevent him from focusing on the enemy. So he obediently nodded and said, "I will follow Father's arrangements and go back tomorrow."

Yelü Chun looked at Qin Zhen with some reluctance. He felt grateful that heaven had been kind to him. Although he had no grandson, he had such a well-behaved and clever granddaughter; he had no regrets!

The next day, before dawn, a troop of lightly armored cavalry escorted Qin Zhen away from the military camp. However, less than half an hour after she left, at the moment the sun broke through the sky, the Jin army launched a surprise attack on the Liao camp, resulting in widespread bloodshed!

If the Jin army was initially wary of the garrison in Shangjing City, fearing a pincer attack on the Liao army outside the city, then the sudden act of Shangjing City sending people to surrender in the middle of the night last night relieved Wanyan Aguda of all his worries. He immediately dispatched Zonghan to lead the right army to launch a surprise attack on the Liao camp, while he himself led the central army to garrison Shangjing.

When the guards on the Liao army's watchtower struck the gong and sounded the horn, everything was already over.

The right wing led by Han moved with incredible speed. The iron cavalry that rushed in like a dark cloud and the rumbling sound made the Liao army fearful and scattered.

Even though Yelü Chun has been working hard to train his soldiers in recent months, and even though he encourages his troops whenever he can, the Liao army, which has not fought a fierce battle in a long time, seems to have a predetermined outcome when facing the ferocious Jin army.

As Qin Zhen walked home, he suddenly felt uneasy and kept looking back.

Seeing her like this, Axibao said, "Princess, don't worry. The city of Shangjing is well-fortified, and the army outside the city has supplies. His Majesty will surely defeat the Jin invaders."

Qin Zhen remained silent, neither confirming nor denying, when Yue Fei suddenly dismounted, prostrated himself on the ground, and listened intently. Then he said seriously, "More troops are chasing after us from behind. What's going on?"

Qin Zhen and Axibao were both surprised. It shouldn't be the Liao army. Could it be the Jin army?

General Axibao immediately dispatched several men back to investigate, while he continued on his way with Qin Zhen. After a long while, the scouts still hadn't returned, and Axibao and Yue Fei realized the situation was dire; something drastic must have happened!

For Qin Zhen's sake, they decided not to wait for news any longer and to move forward at full speed!

The Liao camp was ambushed by the Jin army. Yelü Chun was no match for Zong Han and could only lead his remaining troops to retreat to the hills in the west to hold out temporarily. Meanwhile, Zong Han heard from his spies that Princess Dingguo of Liao had recently been sent away. His competitive spirit was ignited, and he made Qin Zhen his first target, chasing after him relentlessly.

Zong Han's military tactics were incredibly swift, and his pursuit was remarkably fast. Gradually, he could already see Qin Zhen and his men.

"Haha, soldiers! The Liao princess is just ahead! Charge! Capture her and you'll be richly rewarded!"

The whistling of arrows came from the wind. Yue Fei frowned and said loudly, "This won't do. They'll catch up with us sooner or later. Our horses are too slow!"

Yelü Abaoxi immediately made a decision and said to Yue Fei, "You take the princess and leave quickly, I will take men back to stop them!"

"No!"

Qin Zhen immediately rejected the idea: "The pursuers are numerous, and our hundred-odd men are not enough to resist them. General, do not make unnecessary sacrifices!"

The three were in a great hurry and were thinking of ideas. Fortunately, as they ran, they saw undulating woodland ahead.

"Hurry up and get to the hills!"

Upon Yue Fei's suggestion, Abaoxi immediately ordered everyone to turn towards the woodland diagonally in front of them.

Urgent reports kept arriving in Zhongjing, and the most tense atmosphere was not in the imperial palace, but in the post station of the Song envoys.

Zhao Gou clutched his head and pounded the table in anguish. The Liao army's strength was simply too weak. He never imagined that after surrendering to the capital, the Liao army would be defeated by the Jin army in one fell swoop, and even Qin Zhen was implicated.

He had thought the Liao army could hold out for a while, and he had thought Qin Zhen could retreat before the crisis, but... these were all just assumptions, and this was completely different from what he had envisioned! The current situation was that Qin Zhen's whereabouts were unknown!

Liu Qi was guarding Zhao Gou in the room. He had just managed to persuade Zhao Gou not to go north to find Qin Zhen immediately, but the situation was just like when Qin Zhen fell into the Yellow River, making Zhao Gou feel lost and uneasy!

"Your Highness, Qin Zhen will definitely be alright. We just haven't heard from her yet. Let's wait patiently."

"Send Wu Shaofen to find her immediately. She's the closest person there. Send a message quickly, telling her she must find Qin Zhen!"

Volume Two: Soaring Eagle 085 True Friendship in Adversity

In the dense forest, Qin Zhen lay panting on her back on the ground covered with decaying leaves, with the branches overhead blocking out the sky. Beside her lay the bodies of dozens of Jin soldiers.

She raised her hand and looked at the empty iron box in her palm. She had already used up all the hundreds of wind blades inside. What should she do next?

Before entering the hills, Axibao led his guards to flee along the edge of the hills to distract the pursuers, while Yue Fei forcibly dragged Qin Zhen into the dense forest.

In the height of summer, the forest was lush with foliage. Although the pursuers were numerous, they were cavalry and could not easily penetrate the forest. Zonghan saw signs that someone had entered the forest, so he sent a small team of less than a hundred people into the forest to search, while he led the main force to chase after Axibao.

Qin Zhen propped herself up, exhausted, and looked around at the silent surroundings. She bit her lip and stood up, leaning against a tree trunk. She was going to find Yue Fei. To cover her, Yue Fei had torn off Qin Zhen's red cloak and led most of the pursuers in one direction.

Thinking of this, Qin Zhen's eyes filled with tears. She was already struggling so much against more than ten enemies, how could Yue Fei be alright? No, she had to find him as soon as possible!

Qin Zhen picked up a large sword from beside the dead Jin soldier and ran back in the direction they had just fled.

It was midday in summer, and the woods were hot and stuffy. Large beads of sweat slid down her face. She realized with despair that she had lost her way!

The direct sunlight made it impossible for Qin Zhen to determine her direction. She swung her knife and cut off a branch about the thickness of her wrist. By observing the density of the tree rings, she managed to roughly determine north and south. Just as she was about to head south, the world spun around her, and Qin Zhen found herself falling into a deep pit!

Damn it!

Qin Zhen cursed under her breath. The excruciating pain in her leg almost caused her body to spasm. There were even vertical, sharp wooden stakes in the pit; could it be a pit dug by hunters? She carefully turned around, tightly gripping her calf, while surveying her surroundings.

The pit was at least ten feet deep. Luckily, the dead leaves inside were thick enough, otherwise she might have been half-dead from the fall! She was relatively small and lucky, but her calf was cut by a sharp wooden stake. If she had landed on the stake, the consequences would have been unimaginable!

After treating her wounds briefly, Qin Zhen leaned against the pit wall and closed her eyes to rest. Given her current condition, escaping would be extremely difficult.

When the wounded Yue Fei finally found Qin Zhen following the trail, two days had passed. He saw Qin Zhen lying at the bottom of the pit with his eyes closed, and there were traces of blood beside him. At that moment, he almost thought Qin Zhen was dead!

"Qin Zhen, sister! Wake up!"

Yue Fei's booming voice echoed from the bottom of the pit, finally waking Qin Zhen after a long while. Due to his injuries and dehydration, Qin Zhen could only slightly open his eyes and move his arm, but even this slight movement greatly excited Yue Fei; at least Qin Zhen was still alive.

"Wait a minute. I'll figure out a way to get you up right away!"

Qin Zhen didn't know how much time had passed. She only opened her eyes again when something landed on her face. Yue Fei placed a rope woven from vines into the pit and tied a movable loop at the bottom.

"You crawl into the circle. I'll pull you up."

Qin Zhen did as he was told, putting the rope all the way under his armpits. The next moment, Yue Fei suddenly pulled hard, and Qin Zhen was easily lifted up and slammed heavily onto Yue Fei.

"Brother...I thought I was going to die..."

These were the first words Qin Zhen spoke after being rescued from the hunting pit, having gone two days without a drop of water, before she fainted. Yue Fei looked at her chapped lips and pale face, then carried her on his back and walked deeper into the woods.

When Qin Zhen woke up again, she was surprised to find herself in a cave. To her delight, the cave was filled with the aroma of meat!

When Yue Fei saw that she had woken up, he handed Qin Zhen a piece of bamboo from the rock, which contained a cool mountain spring!

"I gave you some water, but it's definitely not enough. You should drink some more."

Without saying a word, Qin Zhen picked up the bamboo section and drank all the water in it before remembering to ask, "Where are we?"

As Yue Fei roasted the rabbit meat in his hand, he said, "After we parted that day, we were surrounded by Jin soldiers. We barely managed to break through the encirclement, but I slipped and fell down a high slope. This is the cave at the bottom of that slope. It's very well hidden here."

I hid there for a whole day, but the Jin soldiers didn't come looking for me. Alas, I should have gone out to find you sooner; otherwise, you would be dead.

"You finally found me! Thank you so much, brother, you saved my life again!"

"Don't bother thanking me. Since you call me 'Big Brother,' I will do my best to protect you."

As they were talking, the rabbit meat was already roasted. Qin Zhen took a fat leg from Yue Fei's hand, but he was heartbroken to find that Yue Fei was covered in wounds and his palms were covered with red blisters. It seemed that he had suffered a lot, but he did not mention it at all.

Qin Zhen recalled that the blisters on her palms must have been from weaving the ropes to save her. At that moment, the food stuffed into her mouth also tasted bitter.

She forced back her tears of emotion and forced a smile, saying, "This is really delicious! How did you catch that wild rabbit, brother?"

Yue Fei chuckled and said, "I'm not bragging, but this little beast will have a hard time escaping my grasp. Although I didn't bring a bow and arrow, I could knock it unconscious with a single stone."

"Is it really that accurate?"

“My master, ‘Golden Bow Queen,’ isn’t known for nothing. I’ll show you a thing or two another day.”

Yue Fei was honest and kind-hearted, which was not a lie. Zhou Bai's archery skills were already superb, but Yue Fei surpassed him. He could even shoot arrows with both hands and upside down!

They tried to talk about pleasant topics, but after they had eaten and drunk their fill, Qin Zhen had to think about the problem at hand: where should they go next?

Yue Fei analyzed the current situation and said, "Shangjing and Zhongjing are only about 400 li apart. Although we do not know the exact situation in Shangjing, the fact that the Jurchens have appeared here and launched a surprise attack on us means that Zhongjing is not safe at the moment. If we go south directly back to Zhongjing now, we are very likely to encounter the Jurchens. It would be better to go east. General Chenglie is leading a large army there, which is safer than Zhongjing. Moreover, I think that the general will definitely lead his army to rescue Shangjing when he hears about the siege. We might run into him on the way."

Seeing the Jin army's unstoppable advance, Qin Zhen guessed that Shangjing had fallen and that the Jin army was now heading straight for Zhongjing. He then agreed to Yue Fei's suggestion.

Just as they were discussing, a rustling sound came from the cave entrance. Yue Fei and Qin Zhen alertly picked up their weapons and looked towards the cave entrance, only to unexpectedly see Wu Shaofen's figure!

"Thank God, you're all still alive!"

When Wu Shaofen saw the two of them, her eyes reddened. Yue Fei was quite surprised and stepped forward to ask, "Miss Wu, what are you doing here?"

Shaofen explained, "When the Prince learned that you had an accident on the road, he immediately sent me to find you. I searched for several days and finally found you!"

Qin Zhen felt a warmth in her heart as she listened to Wu Shaofen's words. It turned out that Zhao Gou not only didn't blame her, but was still so concerned about her.

Yue Fei, concerned about the situation outside the woods, asked, "Have you encountered any Jin soldiers on your way here? What is the current situation?"