Chapter 1: The Awakening of Shin Wang...

  After leaving the mountain stream trail, Zhao Qing'er rode her horse to the front of the team, while Princess Xinfeng pulled Zhao Chen into her own carriage, pouting and making a bitter face at him.

  "Your Highness, are you thinking of taking in Zhao Qing'er?" asked Princess Xin with a jealous tone. Zhao Chen smiled and pinched Princess Xin's face, saying: "My good princess, what are you thinking? I was just teasing that little girl. Now my mind is on how to drive out the Golden Army and rescue my Zhao family relatives, to clear the shame of my Zhao family. As for that little girl, I must win her over. If I can win her over, the Five Horse Mountain Righteous Army will consider me one of their own."

  The princess of Xīn heard this and seemed to be somewhat relieved. Originally, she was a very loyal and virtuous little princess who was devoted to Prince Xīn. She was also very magnanimous about the prince's philandering ways.

  "Your Highness, from now on, you must conduct yourself in a manner befitting your status. After going through this period of hardship, the current you is really not as majestic as the former Your Highness. I'm afraid that those below will not obey you. And... it's been a long time since you've called Fei'er by her nickname..." said Xing Wangfei with a hint of shyness.

  Zhao Xun hastily hugged Princess Xin and said: "My good double, I will remember your words. Now the country is broken and the family is destroyed, but I still don't give up. Because I know that only you support me from behind, love me, my treasure double..."

  A few days later, the team entered the mountains and turned for two more days in the mountains before finally entering a valley. As the team entered the mouth of the valley, there was gradually a crowd, with pitfalls and abatis all around, as well as some sentry posts. At this time, Zhao Xun saw a group of people coming out from the valley far away. The person in front was a thin middle-aged man with a slender figure, fair skin, and a rather handsome face, very similar to Zhao Qing'er. Zhao Xun immediately realized that this person was probably Zhao Bangjie, the great doctor of Wu Ye.

  Behind Zhao Bangjie was a tall and powerful man, who was relatively young, in his twenties, with a strong physique, over 1.95 meters tall. The tall and powerful man had bulging muscles all over his body, dark skin, and a thick beard on his face, half of which was red and the other half black. Upon closer inspection, this guy even had acne all over his face. Although the man's appearance wasn't bad, these two flaws made him look rather unattractive.

  "Believe me, I'm telling you, the middle-aged hero is my dad, and he's currently the deputy commander of our Five Horse Mountain Righteous Army. He's also Uncle Ma Kuo's best brother." Zhao Qing'er saw that Zhao Zhen was still looking around at the defensive forces, so she pointed at him with her hand, indicating for him to pay attention to what she was saying and introducing.

  Zhao Qing'er patted Zhao Zong's back, and his attention immediately focused on her words. Zhao Qing'er said: "The tall and powerful one behind is my brother, Zhao Songyong. He is the most skilled warrior in the Wuma Mountain Righteous Army, with unparalleled strength and martial arts skills, a super master, undefeated in battle."

  Zhao Zhu did not have much reaction to Zhao Qing'er's boasting about her brother, but he was surprised by one thing. He widened his eyes and stared at Zhao Qing'er, sizing him up from head to toe.

  "What are you doing? Haven't you had enough of this for the past few days?" Zhao Qing'er scolded in a spoiled tone: "Stinky Xing Wang, haven't you seen a beauty before?" "Is he your brother?" Zhao Chen pointed at Zhao Songyong and then at Zhao Qing'er, saying: "You two look quite different, don't you? Is he really your own brother?"

  "Of course it's my own brother!" Zhao Qing'er was extremely dissatisfied with Zhao Chen's questioning, and she fiercely glared at him, saying: "We were born to the same father and mother. What's wrong? Doesn't he look good?" Zhao Qing'er turned her head to look at her own brother, muttering to herself, "I think he looks very handsome, tall and powerful with high martial arts skills." Then she suddenly turned her head back, staring at Zhao Chen and shouting, "You say! Am I right or not?"

  Zhao Zhuang hastily accompanied a smile, narrowed his eyes, and nodded hurriedly, saying: "Very handsome, very handsome, simply a rare beauty."

  At this time, Ma Kuo and Wu Yi Da Fu Zhao Bangjie chatted for two sentences, then looked at Zhao Songyong and asked: "You went south a few days ago, what did you gain?"

  "I heard that the Hebei Pacification Commissioner, General Wang Yan, joined forces with the leaders of the two rivers' loyal and righteous civilian army, Fu Xuan, Meng De, Liu Ze, and Jiao Wentai, among others, with a total of 19 strongholds and over 1 million people. They fought against the Jin dog and made them very embarrassed. However, the imperial court's heavenly envoy repeatedly issued edicts forbidding proactive attacks, ordering them to hold their ground and wait for negotiations with the Jin dog to sign an agreement." At this point, Zhao Songyong glanced at his father and Ma Kuo, who had a gloomy expression, and said in a low voice, "I also heard some news about other local righteous armies, but I couldn't verify whether the information is accurate or not."

  "As long as there is news, it means that we have not been wiped out by the Jin army." Ma Kuo replied calmly to Zhao Songyong's words.

  "What news do you have?" Zhao Bangjie asked Ma Kuo. Ma Kuo nodded and said, "It has been confirmed that the Tianjia imperial family was captured by the Golden Dog and taken north. Emperor Zhao Gou is not thinking of going on a northern expedition, it's said he wants to move the capital to Lin'an, Lin'an! Obviously, he wants to stay in Lin'an permanently." After he finished speaking, several people looked at each other, their expressions very solemn.

  "Dad... brother..." Zhao Qing'er ran over, jumping and skipping. "Ah, it's our family's precious daughter Qing'er, come give Dad a look, have you lost weight?..." Zhao Bangjie opened his arms wide and hugged Zhao Qing'er into his embrace, beaming with joy. "Ah, you've lost weight, your chin is pointed now, did you suffer on the mountain? Was someone bullying you? If so, Dad will take care of it for you!"

  "Haha……" Zhao Songyong, looking very silly, burst out laughing and said in his loud voice: "This little devil, if she didn't bully people, our family would be worshiping Buddha and burning incense." Upon hearing Zhao Songyong's words, everyone suddenly erupted into a big laugh and happily walked into the mountain valley.

  As they walked, Zhao Xun saw that the sentry posts and warning signs around them were becoming more and more frequent. Perhaps ordinary people couldn't tell, but as a special forces soldier, he could see at a glance what was different from nature - there were hidden stakes. After walking for hundreds of steps, the group turned a corner in the valley, and then the gatehouse of the stronghold appeared. The gatehouse of the stronghold wasn't very high, about four or five meters. And the wall wasn't very high either, about three meters left behind. At this time, several hundred soldiers and strong men were busy repairing and perfecting it under the scorching sun.

  As soon as Zhao Xun entered the gate, he felt a sudden sense of openness in front of him. This was a huge natural valley, with flowers blooming, lush green grass, trees, and streams. Birds flew overhead, singing and chirping, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of flowers and grass. The entire valley was breathtakingly beautiful. To the northwest, near the mountain wall, tents stood in rows, stretching as far as the eye could see. In the depths of the valley, the sound of drums beating, horses galloping, and loud shouting echoed faintly, as if an army was practicing its battle formations.

  Zhao Kui and Wang Jin thought that Ma Chuo's and Zhao Bangjie's troops were not many, probably only around a thousand or eight hundred. But now it seems that there are far more than that, just from the number of tents in the valley, it can be seen that there are extremely many people here, possibly exceeding tens of thousands.

  Seeing the dense tents, Wang Jin and Zhao Chen were both surprised at Ma Kuo's and Zhao Bangjie's strength. And after seeing the number of Ma Kuo's troops, Zhao Chen was even more hopeful for the future.

  Ma Kuo was talking with Zhao Bangjie and Zhao Songyong, leading Zhao Chen and Wang Jin into the main tent of the Wuma Mountain Righteous Army. At this moment, dozens of generals of the Wuma Mountain Righteous Army, including Zhao Bangjie and Zhao Songyong, had gathered inside the big tent, they were all surprised to see Zhao Chen and Wang Jin, not knowing who these gods were.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to introduce this noble person, who is the younger brother of His Majesty, King Xian. This is Wang Jin, a fourth-rank bodyguard with sword, under the command of King Xian. Everyone, please come and pay your respects to King Xian." Ma Kuang solemnly introduced, scanning the crowd with his eyes.

  Ma Kuo's words had just been spoken, and the originally noisy big account was suddenly quiet. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Zhao Chen's body. For a moment, no one reacted. A few months ago, the Jingkang disaster occurred, and the Song Dynasty royal family was captured by the Golden Dog. A few months later, Xinfeng Wang came, and everyone still had some doubts.

  Everyone looked at Zhao Xun's thin and weak body, as well as his young age. Some were deep in thought, some whispered to each other, some pointed fingers, and others shouted loudly, questioning the authenticity of it all.

  The starting point of the righteous army is mainly the righteous army in Hedong and Hebei. The wave of righteous army in Hedong and Hebei began to grow and develop from the first large-scale invasion of the Jin army. Everyone fought to the death with the Jin army, just for the Zhao family's court, for their own home, and for the Han people not to be occupied by foreign barbarians. As long as there is a true direct imperial clan relative, it is a banner of anti-Jin righteousness. At this moment, King Xīn suddenly appeared out of thin air, and its impact can be imagined.

  Wu Wing's husband, Zhao Bangjie, waved his hand to signal everyone to calm down, then turned to Ma Kuo and said: "General Ma, this is no laughing matter. Is this really the true King of a Thousand Years?"

  When Zhao Bangjie asked, the big account was silent again. At this time, Zhao Bangjie also had a suspicious expression on his face. He really didn't understand why Ma Kuo didn't consult with him first and took charge of the matter that affected the royal bloodline and the future of the righteous army.

  "I have a jade pendant bestowed by the former emperor, I am indeed Xin Wang Zhao Chen." Zhao Chen smiled and took out the Xin Wang jade pendant from his body.

  In comparison to the endless fake methods of later generations a thousand years later, this era still had very few fakes. Moreover, it was almost impossible to fake something related to the royal family. After seeing the exquisitely carved dragon and tiger jade pendant, everyone believed that Zhao Xun was indeed the son of Huizong, Prince Xian. As for whether General Wu Yi's subordinate, Zhao Bangjie, believed it or not, it was no longer important, because for the sake of the development of the Five Horse Mountain Righteous Army, they would say he was even if they knew he wasn't.

  The leaders of the righteous army all bowed their heads and said, "We are willing to follow King Xīn to fight against the Jīn bandits!" Mǎ Kuò also loudly told the leaders of the righteous army: "Tell each camp officer, King Xīn is in our camp, we raise the great flag of King Xīn, to punish the Jīn dogs."

  At this time, Ma Kuo patted his hand, and the generals immediately quieted down. The military meeting on the future of the Righteous Army and the arrival of Xinfeng Palace officially began.

  At this time, the atmosphere in the big account was solemn. At this time, Ma Kuo began to talk endlessly. Since the Jingkang disaster, the Zhao family's clan was captured by the Jin army and taken north, the situation on the northern land changed dramatically, heroes and heroes held high the anti-Jin flag, one after another, vowing to fight to the death.

  At this moment, among the various righteous armies, the largest is the Taihang Mountain Wang Yan's Eight Character Army, which claims to have hundreds of thousands of people. The remaining ones are relatively strong, including the Wuma Mountain Righteous Army and the Zhongyi Society Righteous Army. As for other righteous armies, they are all very small in scale, weak in strength, and have little influence.

  Zong Ze, who is currently guarding Bianliang, is actively contacting the northern righteous armies. Yang Jin, Li Gui, Wang Shan and Ding Jin's troops are also actively resisting the Jin army, and the resistance against the Jin is going very well.

  "This time I originally planned to head north, trying to contact and rescue the Tianchao imperial family being escorted by the Golden Dog Army. However, due to a large number of Golden Armies marching south from the north to suppress the Righteous Army, and the numerous Golden Dog troops escorting the imperial family, plus the lack of information, I was unable to succeed. Nevertheless, on my way, I encountered many refugees and defeated soldiers, who told me that when the Golden Army marched south to attack Bianliang, they were defeated by our Great Song Dynasty's General Zongze and temporarily retreated."

  Ma Kuo's expression was solemn at this time, he looked around at the various generals. Then he pointed to Zhao Songyong and continued: "He went south for a lap, heard that the Hebei Zhaoyin Du Tongzhi Wang Yan led the Taihang Mountain area militia is fighting with the Jin army, and also tried to recover Taiyuan."

  "But the Golden Army has also taken us seriously, and it is said that they have assembled a large army to surround and annihilate us. If the Song Army does not come to our aid, not only will the Eight Trigrams Army be in great danger now, but we ourselves will also be unable to protect ourselves." Ma Kuo sighed and continued: "Last year, I, Ma Kuo, was captured by the Golden Army at Xishan Temple. Wanyan Zongwang tried to persuade me to surrender, allowing me to open a hotel to make a living. I pretended to open the store, but in reality, I was always in contact with the Righteous Army. Later, during the Cold Food Festival, I found an excuse to come to Wumashan to resist the Golden Army. This time, the Golden Army clearly has a deep hatred for me and is preparing to launch a new campaign against us."

  Ma Kui's words became increasingly agitated, and he stood up, continuing to say: "We are now in great difficulty, extremely difficult, and have reached a critical moment of life and death. Now, if we want to reverse the current passive situation, there is only one way, which is to gather the righteous armies from all over the country under one big flag. Otherwise, we will surely die." Ma Kui's tone was very solemn.

  Wang Jin sat opposite him, his face full of gloom. He had not expected the current situation of the Northern Resistance against the Golden Army to be so dire. At this rate, Ma Kuo's army would probably not last a few more months.

  At this time, the crowd in the camp looked at me, I looked at you, and our eyes involuntarily turned to Zhao Chen. Can this messenger who trusts King Qian come up with a miracle for everyone?

  "How confident are you?" Wang Jin asked. As for the idea that the righteous army could defeat the Golden Army, Wang Jin had completely lost confidence. With the Golden Army's slaughter, the entire Zhao royal family was shamed and suffered, and the myth of the Heavenly Dynasty had been shattered. Now, even if it were King Xian himself, how much weight he still held in the hearts of the righteous army officers was unknown. Moreover, with the various leaders of the righteous armies having different thoughts, relying on King Xian to gather all the righteous armies from around the country was no different from a fool's dream.

  "There's no guarantee." Ma Kuo spoke bluntly and truthfully: "I am a Han person, I only know that we absolutely cannot let the Jurchen people occupy our Han people's world. For this, even if I die, I will have no regrets. Now the situation is difficult, and we can only take it one step at a time, using a dead horse as if it were alive."

  Upon hearing the other's words, Wang Jin's heart suddenly cooled down by half, and he was speechless for a long time with a bitter face. From an overall perspective, without the support of the Southern Song army marching north at present, it is indeed a good idea to gather all the righteous armies under one big banner, but the problem is, who has this ability? Can the 16- or 17-year-old Prince Xiang Zhao Xun do it?

  At this time, Zhao Xun was quietly listening. In his previous life, he was a strong and fearless person, otherwise how could he enter the super special forces to fight with the enemy? The current difficulties are not an obstacle to his determination. What Zhao Xun is thinking now is how to kick away the stumbling blocks one by one.

  Zhao Song's distraction made Ma Kuo think that Zhao Song was worried about the current situation and was desperate. Ma Kuo hastily comforted him, saying: "Your Highness, don't worry, the great banner of the anti-Jin righteous army will not fall, and the Han people in the north will not be exterminated. As long as we still have a breath left, we must kill the barbarians and recover our rivers and mountains. One day, we will retake the entire north and conquer a vast territory for the great Song dynasty." After finishing speaking, he also patted Zhao Song's back to comfort him.

  In the grand tent, the leaders of the righteous army from Wuma Mountain began to discuss their strategy for future conquests. The sudden arrival of the king also excited the soldiers of the righteous army, but this excitement was short-lived and soon faded away in the face of harsh reality.

  The powerful Song army was defeated, and even Huizong and Qinzong, as well as the entire Zhao family, were captured. What could a mere prince do? A common young prince could create no miracles. People still looked up to him only because of nostalgia for the imperial family, out of respect. In comparison, Wang Jin, who bravely saved his lord, was more revered by the lower-ranking generals; he had a legendary story of saving his lord and could still fight against enemies. What people needed were real strength and heroes, not empty imperial myths.

  Innumerable soldiers of the righteous army, who had been longing to shake off the invasion and occupation of their homeland by the Golden Army, understood a truth after the Jingkang Incident: in order to live a good life, one cannot rely on others or the imperial family, but only on oneself. A peaceful and prosperous era requires countless heroes and chivalrous men to sacrifice their lives and shed blood, fighting with swords and knives. It is not something that can be achieved by one or two princes; apart from waging a bloody war against the Golden Army, there is no shortcut to take.

  This group of Da Song civilians with full passion, burst out infinite power, fearless and dauntless, fighting against heaven and earth, making a desperate counterattack, and rising from the dead. The Jin army was not repelled by the Song army, but was repelled by countless righteous armies that emerged one after another.

  However, although the people of Song Dynasty were fiercely fighting against the Jin army, they were still too scattered and could not gather into a united force. But after raising the flag of Xining Wang, everyone was able to gather together to eliminate the Jin army. After a fierce debate, Ma Kuo's strategy of forming an alliance received everyone's full support.