Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 304 The Value of the Princess (1)

It's a bit cold.

Song Yan tightened his cotton-padded coat.

In those days, textile technology was still quite crude. When a gust of wind blew, a chill would seep into the fabric and cotton wadding, making one feel cold.

Song Yan smiled, and the seriousness on her face gradually eased.

According to Nahetuya, Wanyan Guangzhi must be a powerful and ruthless man. Now that the Jurchens are in chaos, it is probably the time for such a powerful and ruthless man to show his talents. Perhaps Wanyan Guangzhi will take advantage of the situation to rise up and become a major threat to Ningguo in the northeast... However, such thoughts only flashed through his mind and he quickly calmed down.

Song Yan admitted that Wanyan Guangzhi was a ruthless person, but he was not really a major threat.

This time, he left Wanyan Guangzhi with an extremely bad situation. Putting aside everything else, the royal court was breached, and his reputation was severely damaged. Those who had previously wanted to pledge allegiance to Wanyan Guangzhi would naturally have to consider whether he was still worth their time.

Humans are inherently self-interested.

If they have no value, what's the point of seeking refuge with them?
Secondly, the loss of barbarians by the Wuji tribe was a minor matter. The real problem was all the tents, large quantities of food, warm clothing, and firewood that had been burned. This winter was still long; Song Yan estimated it wouldn't warm up until at least the end of January, or even mid-February. What would the Wuji tribe's barbarians do to survive those few dozen days? How many would freeze to death?

By then, the entire Wuji tribe will be littered with corpses.

This disaster was entirely caused by Wanyan Guangzhi leading the elite Wuji tribe to besiege Anchegu. Given this, would the people of the tribe still support Wanyan Guangzhi to continue as the Jilie Khan?
Even if Wanyan Guangzhi continues to sit in that position, how can he help his people get through this winter?
Continue looting Pingyang?

Obviously it is unrealistic.

The heavy infantry armor and the thunderous roar were enough to make Wanyan Guangzhi realize that attacking Pingyang Prefecture at this time was not a wise move.

Then they could only plunder other Jurchen tribes.

The Wuji tribe has a population of over 100,000. How many tribes would they need to plunder to feed so many people? A large-scale military campaign would plunge the entire Jurchen tribe into utter chaos. And that's not all. Song Yan took away a large number of the Wuji tribe's warhorses, killed the rest, and then burned them all. With their warhorses depleted and them fighting on empty stomachs, how much fighting power could the Wuji tribe possibly exert, even with their fierce nature?

If they really encounter those large tribes, it's hard to say who will win and who will lose.

Most importantly, many in the Wuji tribe had lost their parents, children, wives, and all the resources they needed to survive. These people probably didn't dare seek revenge against Song Yan, so they could only direct their hatred at Wanyan Guangzhi. And what about the elite troops who followed Wanyan Guangzhi on his campaigns? Once they learned that Wanyan Guangzhi's orders had led to the slaughter of their tribesmen, could they still maintain their loyalty to him? They might even want to kill Wanyan Guangzhi.

It was truly a mess, and even Song Yan, the one who started it all, was having a headache.

If Wanyan Guangzhi were smart, he should have found a way to escape after learning about the changes in the royal court. If he had returned to his tribe, he probably wouldn't have survived.

Thinking about it this way, I no longer felt there was anything to worry about.

Song Yan stretched and yawned. After a long journey and battles, he was finally feeling a bit tired.

He casually scooped up a handful of snow from the ground, placed it in his palm, and slowly kneaded it firmly, trying to make it into some shape. Unfortunately, he really didn't have any artistic talent, and after kneading for a while, he could only make a strange, unrecognizable shape.

Nakhtoya could also see that Song Yan had no intention of killing or violating her, and the fear in her heart gradually dissipated. Since Song Yan did not ask any questions for the time being, she did not speak again.

After quite a while, Song Yan shrugged, casually tossed the somewhat strange-looking snowman on the ground, and smiled: "You said before that Wanyan Guangzhi arranged for thirty-two people to protect you, are they all here?"

“No, there are only thirty-one here, one escaped,” Nakhtoya answered honestly.

Wanyan Zongmin, lying on the ground, twitched again. He could barely speak anymore, but he could still hear. He hadn't expected that Nahetuya would betray the Jurchens so thoroughly.

"That person must be good at hiding. Perhaps he is hiding in a tree or in a snowdrift. Now that a quarter of an hour has passed, it is too late to find him."

Song Yan nodded, not in a hurry: "Why did you take this route? Is there some shortcut that can get you to Anchegu quickly?"

Nakhtoya looked at Song Yan with some surprise: "How is this possible?"

"Even if there really is a small path, we still have to cross so many mountains, and we still have to travel those two hundred kilometers. No matter how fast we go, we can't go much faster."

Song Yan's expression froze slightly: "Then why..."

"It's all because of this idiot."

Nakhtoya frowned and glanced at Wanyan Guangzhi, the human pig lying on the ground: "Always boasting of his intelligence, he gave a long analysis, saying that you traveled hundreds of miles through the snow to reach the royal court. It's impossible that you only killed a few thousand or ten thousand people and left. You must be planning to achieve greater results. If you were to pursue us, you would definitely chase us to the southeast. We can go around behind you and be absolutely safe."

crunch.

Song Yan's lips twitched slightly, and her body trembled slightly as well.

For some reason, her face looked a little red, probably because it was too cold and the wind was blowing on it.

Damn it, this is incredibly embarrassing.

Who would have thought that it would actually be such an unreliable reason?
No, under the attack of four thousand cavalry, they actually detoured behind the cavalry and fled in the direction the cavalry had come from.

Is there really nothing wrong with Wanyan Zongmin's head?
“Wanyan Guangzhi said he had the talent to govern the world. He only praised him a little, but he took it seriously. He didn’t even think that if he really had the talent, why would Wanyan Guangzhi make him a personal guard instead of a staff officer?” Nahetuya curled her lips: “You Central Plains have an old saying, ‘self-righteous,’ which is probably what this kind of person is like.”

That statement is rather harsh.

It was as if Wanyan Zongmin's proudest achievement had been trampled into the mud and crushed into powder.

Squeak.

As Wanyan Zongmin lay on the ground, his chest suddenly swelled and then contracted, and a small jet of blood spurted out as he faced upwards.

It sprayed out and landed on my face, making my face look even more disgusting.

Song Yan didn't pay much attention to Yan Zongmin; to him, he was just a minor character, not worth mentioning. "I'm curious, why did you betray your race..." He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering that the Jurchens were different from the Central Plains. Although the Central Plains were now divided into four kingdoms, they had once been unified. In the era of Confucianism, the concept of ruler-subject and subject-people was highly valued, and ethnic consciousness wasn't particularly strong, but it still existed. The Jurchens, on the other hand, had never been unified, so they shouldn't have had any concept of ethnicity. "Why did you betray the Blackwater Tribe?"

"You should know that because of the Jurchens' raids, the relationship between Ningguo and the Jurchens will be very bad, and war is inevitable. Even the Blackwater Tribe cannot escape it."

Nakhtoya fell into a brief silence: "I am the daughter of the Jilie Khan of the Blackwater Tribe, and I enjoy better conditions than other Jurchens. So when my father, knowing that Wanyan Guangzhi would force his wife to go into the deep mountains and forests to wait for death, still sent me to the royal court like a commodity, I did not refuse."

"This is my responsibility as the princess of the Blackwater Tribe."

“I went to the royal court, agreed to the marriage alliance with Wanyan Guangzhi, and did what I was supposed to do. So I no longer owe the Blackwater Tribe, nor do I owe my father.” Perhaps because he came from the Jilie Khan family, Song Yan could sense that Nakhtoya was extremely indifferent to things like father-daughter affection: “Falling into your hands is probably the same as dying once.”

"From now on, my life belongs to myself."

"I want to live."

Nahetuya looked up at Song Yan again, her slightly sharp face showing little fear: "As long as you don't kill me, I am very familiar with the Haixi Grassland, and I am willing to draw a map of the Haixi Grassland for you."

"I know how to breed warhorses."

"I also know about the Haixi Grassland."

"They can also tame horses... and even tame wild animals."

As if to demonstrate her worth in surviving, Nakhtoya turned her body towards Song Yan, revealing the ropes binding her hands behind her back: "Can you untie my ropes?"

Song Yan smiled and walked over to cut the ropes binding Nakhtoya.

Although this woman is not the weak and delicate type, and three or five men might not be a match for her, she is ultimately no match for Song Yan, a martial artist, so there is nothing to worry about.

Regaining her freedom, Nakhtoya's face lit up with joy. She flexed her wrists and then bent a finger and put it to her lips.

For some reason, Song Yan found the action somewhat alluring.

The next moment, a loud whistle was heard.

Before long, the cries of eagles filled the air. Looking up, three small black dots appeared on the distant horizon, hovering and calling in the air. A few breaths later, one of them suddenly swooped down on Song Yan and Nakhtoya with lightning speed, faster than an arrow released from a bow. Even Song Yan's expression changed upon seeing that speed.

Just as it was about to pounce on Nakhtoya, it suddenly flapped its wings, its speed decreased sharply, and a large snowflake swirled up on the ground. Amidst the white snow, it landed steadily on Nakhtoya's shoulder.

Song Yan blinked and looked at the thing on Nakhtoya's shoulder. It was about 60 centimeters long, with a wingspan of more than one meter. It had gray and white feathers, pure white jade claws, a hooked beak, and sharp claws like knives. It looked quite handsome at first glance.

Combined with Nakhtoya's fairly pretty face and sexy figure, she suddenly presented a unique kind of allure.

And those eyes were extremely bright and intelligent; Song Yan could even faintly sense their presence.

"Even an eagle soaring three thousand miles in the sky cannot compare to a single flap of a hawk's wings."

"Is this a gyrfalcon?"

Nakhtoya nodded with some pride. Gyrfalcons are extremely difficult to tame. In the Jurchen tribes, taming a gyrfalcon is a great honor. She had tamed three, making her the most outstanding among all the Jurchen tribes.

Song Yan breathed a sigh of relief. The so-called gyrfalcon, scientifically known as the gyrfalcon, is a falcon distributed in the Arctic, East Asia, and even North America. It is known for its fast flight speed, ferocity, and agility. It is a top predator in nature, with a dive speed that can even exceed 300 kilometers per hour. Swans, hares, and even some medium and large animals are its prey.

Judging from its speed and those sharp claws, Song Yan even suspected that this thing could easily blow his head off.

“A tamed gyrfalcon is a natural sentinel; where it circles, the enemy is likely hiding below,” Nakhtoya said slowly. “Such a sentinel would be of some value to you, wouldn’t it?”

Song Yan frowned: "Wanyan Guangzhi values ​​you highly. Perhaps I can exchange you for him. I think he should be willing to part with a batch of warhorses."

Nakhtoya has shown some value, but it's not enough.

Nakhtoya immediately shook her head: "No, that's absolutely impossible. Perhaps Wanyan Guangzhi likes me, but he's an extremely cold-blooded animal. In his heart, power is the most important thing. He would never exchange a warhorse for me."

"Perhaps in a few years you will be attacking the Haixi Grassland, and I can be your guide."

"Perhaps you also need an inside agent among the Jurchen people. I can contact my father."

"I also know that there is a mineral vein in the Jurchen territory, which should be a gold mine, but the Jurchens do not know how to mine and smelt it."

Song Yan, whose expression had been calm, instantly smiled gently and extended his right hand to Nakhtoya: "Pleasure doing business with you!"

His eyes were smiling, and for some reason, the woman in front of him, who was originally far inferior to his wife and sister-in-law, suddenly seemed much more attractive.

Nakhtoya stared blankly at Song Yan. At this moment, she finally understood what it meant to change one's expression.

Silently shaking hands with Song Yan, the deal was considered done.

"So, Your Highness, how do you intend to cooperate? Do you want me to release you now? No problem, I always keep my promises in business."

“Someone from the royal court is cooperating with me. He traded information about the Jurchens for my life. I agreed to his request, so I didn’t kill him. My credibility is guaranteed.”

"So, do you want to draw a map now? It would be best to mark the location of the gold mine."

Song Yan blinked and said something that made no sense to her.

It seems the Jurchens must be destroyed.

It wasn't for the gold; it was simply to prevent the people of Ningguo's border region from suffering the calamity of the Jurchen slaughter.

Nakhtoya pursed her lips, her bright, star-like eyes flashing: "You..."

"Take me with you to the Central Plains."

Song Yan was somewhat surprised, but not entirely unable to understand. Nahetuya's current situation was rather special. If she continued to stay in the Haixi Grassland, she would either return to Wanyan Guangzhi's hands or to her father in the Heishui Tribe. Her fate would likely not be good either; she would either be driven to the mountains or treated as a commodity and traded again.

He nodded, then looked at the human pig not far away.

Wanyan Zongmin's vitality was truly remarkable; despite such severe injuries, he had not yet died, though his breath appeared extremely weak.

"What about him?"

"Kill him."

(End of this chapter)