The prince is more stable

Chapter 663 Heroes of the Jianghu
Zhao Xiaoqian didn't harbor any hatred towards the Khitans, after all, he had always been the victor in their fight.

The victors do not harbor hatred towards the losers; they only show mercy after weighing the pros and cons, as well as condescension and pity.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian had some nationalist tendencies and a deep-seated xenophobia.

Hejian Prefecture was once a city of the Liao Dynasty, where the Khitans lorded it over the people, and Zhao Xiaoqian had no say in the matter.

But times have changed, and now Hejian Prefecture is a city of the Song Dynasty.

The Song army did not massacre the Khitans in the city because of their mercy; they did not want to commit further atrocities for the sake of the local people.

But the Khitans in the city not only showed no gratitude, but continued to oppress the Han people, which was intolerable.

The Song army cannot come for nothing.

On the street, a group of Khitans dressed in silk and satin pointed at the fallen Han Chinese and laughed loudly. Their laughter was contemptuous and arrogant, and their mocking and disdainful eyes were like those of humans looking at their livestock, ready to slaughter and eat them at any time.

Zhao Xiaoqian's face darkened.

"Do these Khitans really think of my Song army as a benevolent force?" Zhao Xiaoqian muttered to himself, deeply reflecting on himself: "Do I really look that kind and benevolent?"

As the Khitans slowly approached, hurling insults and mockery while raising their feet to continue their assault on the fallen Han Chinese, Zhao Xiaoqian's face grew increasingly grim.

"Chen Shou, kill all these Khitans," Zhao Xiaoqian ordered coldly.

Chen Shouzhen was so angry that he was itching to act. Upon hearing this, he immediately accepted the order, drew his sword, and took a step forward when he heard a rough, hoarse voice like a broken gong coming from inside the restaurant.

"Those Khitan dogs have gone too far! His Highness Prince Zhao led the royal army to conquer this city. This is now a city of our Great Song Dynasty. How dare these dogs bully our Han people? Is there no law anymore?"

After he finished speaking, several more burly figures emerged from the restaurant. They were all dressed as Han Chinese, and their accents were Mandarin, clearly indicating that these people were genuine Song Dynasty people.

Several men strode out of the restaurant and stood in front of the group of Khitans. The burly man looked the Khitans up and down, then revealed a contemptuous smile.

"Bah! You've lost your city and territory, you're like a stray dog, yet you dare to act arrogantly and bark wildly in the cities of my Great Song Dynasty? Do you think the swords of my Great Song army are useless?"

The Khitans could clearly understand Mandarin, and upon hearing this, they were furious. The two groups immediately rolled up their sleeves and started fighting in the street.

Chen Shou and the Imperial Guards paused, instinctively glancing at Zhao Xiaoqian, unsure whether they should step forward and kill the Khitans.

Zhao Xiaoqian, however, watched the few righteous Song men who had stepped forward with great interest. A smile appeared on his lips as he shook his head at Chen Shou, signaling him and the Imperial Guards to stop.

The street was already crowded with onlookers, including commoners and merchants. Zhao Xiaoqian mingled among them, quietly watching the two groups fight.

Gradually, Zhao Xiaoqian began to understand something.

These Song men were truly skilled, especially the one who led the righteous attack. His strikes were both accurate and ruthless; his punches carried a faint whooshing sound as they struck the Khitans, who immediately let out screams of agony.

Chen Shou, who was watching from the sidelines, became increasingly serious. He leaned close to Zhao Xiaoqian's ear and said, "Your Highness, these Song people are quite skilled; they are trained fighters."

Zhao Xiaoqian asked curiously, "If you were to fight that man, who would win?"

After thinking for a while, Chen Shou hesitated and said, "The outcome should be fifty-fifty."

"Who five?"

Chen Shou rolled his eyes and said, "If Brother Jia Shi were here, dealing with these men would be a piece of cake. Your Highness, these people are quite skilled, and we don't know where they came from. We should be careful. What if they are assassins from the Liao Kingdom?"

As he spoke, Chen Shou subconsciously stepped forward, placing half of his shoulder in front of Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xiaoqian agreed wholeheartedly, pulled Chen Shou in front of him to shield him, and said, "You must protect me. My life is very precious. You can't afford to compensate me if I get hurt or die."

Zhao Xiaoqian possessed none of the fearless spirit and indomitable courage that great men were supposed to have, which they described as being unafraid of danger and ready to die for their cause.

The main idea is that caution is the best policy.

Showing off might feel good for a moment, but it can lead to being stabbed to death and ending up in the crematorium.

Two groups of people were fighting fiercely on the street. The martial arts skills of the Song people, who were skilled in martial arts, were obviously superior to those of the Khitan people. Before long, all the Khitan people were knocked down and lay on the ground groaning and crying out in pain.

The burly Song man at the head laughed and spat on the ground, saying, "Do you really think my Great Song is still the Great Song of the past? The elite royal army under the command of Prince Zhao has won every battle against you Liao dogs, so that you will know the power of my Great Song and see if you still dare to bully the Han people."

After saying that, the man walked up to the Han Chinese man who had been beaten first, spat at him, and said, "You spineless coward! The spirit that His Highness the Prince fought for the people of our Great Song Dynasty has been completely ruined by you. You didn't even dare to fight back when you were beaten. You should just cut off your balls and become a woman."

Then the man looked around at the onlookers, clasped his hands and said loudly, "We brothers are merchants from out of town, legitimate citizens of the Great Song Dynasty. Today, we saw injustice in our city and took action. If any of the Khitan scoundrels in the city are not satisfied, come to the inn in the city and seek revenge!"

The man laughed heartily, his expression radiating the pride and confidence of a citizen of a great nation.

Zhao Xiaoqian's smile deepened, his gaze towards the man filled with admiration. This was the true nature of the Han people; through thousands of years of rise and fall, their spirit remained unchanged, just as it had during the Han and Tang dynasties.

"Chen Shou, go and finish them off. Kill all these Khitans," Zhao Xiaoqian ordered calmly.

Chen Shou and the Imperial Guards responded with a roar, drew their swords and rushed forward. Before the men and the surrounding civilians could react, they immediately slit the throats of the fallen Khitans. All the fallen Khitans were killed by the Imperial Guards.

The actions of Chen Shou and his group startled the surrounding crowd, who screamed in alarm. Some of the more fearful people immediately turned and ran away. The once dense crowd of onlookers vanished in an instant.

The Song men at the head of the group were also stunned. Seeing that the Khitans were dead and the ground was covered in blood, the men looked at Chen Shou and the others in surprise, and finally their eyes fell on Zhao Xiaoqian.

There was no way around it; the protagonist's aura was too dazzling, and the man recognized him at a glance as the master of Chen Shou and the other imperial guards.

The man frowned, clasped his hands in a fist and said, “Friend, killing Khitans is a good thing, but you have violated the laws of the Song Dynasty by recklessly killing people in the street. Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”

Zhao Xiaoqian stepped forward slowly and smiled, "It's alright. A few Khitan traitors are oppressing the Han people. Let them be killed. It's not illegal for me to order the killing."

As he spoke, Zhao Xiaoqian sized up the man and said, "May I ask who you are, sir..."

"My name is Wang Chong, a native of Luoyang. Over the years, I have gathered a few brothers to travel between the Song Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty, and the Western Xia Dynasty to trade horses and make a living.

Zhao Xiaoqian immediately clasped his hands in greeting: "So it's Brother Wang, I've heard so much about you."

Wang Chong forced a smile, glanced at the Khitan corpses on the ground, and said, "I can see that you are a good man and hate the Khitan traitors to the bone. However, Hejian Prefecture is now a city of the Great Song Dynasty. You have broken the laws of the Great Song Dynasty. Before the government officials arrive, you should hurry up and escape from the city."

Zhao Xiaoqian admired Wang Chong more and more, and shook his head and smiled, "I've said it before, killing people isn't a crime for me."

Wang Chong frowned and sized him up. He saw that Zhao Xiaoqian was dressed in plain clothes, but his clothes and accessories were very luxurious. He looked like a dashing and wealthy young master. The imperial guards behind him, including Chen Shou, were also fierce and cold, with a powerful aura. Wang Chong suddenly seemed to understand something.

"May I ask who you are, sir?" Wang Chong asked hesitantly, clasping his hands in greeting.

Zhao Xiaoqian thought about it and felt that there was no need to hide his name and identity from people. He really couldn't play the game of hiding his identity and pretending to be a poor loser, and then revealing his identity at a crucial moment to amaze the world.

So Zhao Xiaoqian said frankly, "My name is Zhao Xiaoqian."

Wang Chong was taken aback and murmured, "He actually shares the same name as His Highness the Prince..."

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked: "Is it possible that I am that Prince?"

Wang Chong and the men behind him were taken aback. Wang Chong exclaimed, "Are you His Highness the Prince?"

Zhao Xiaoqian spread his hands, looked at his opulent attire and the fierce-looking Chen Shou and Imperial Guards behind him, and said, "Isn't it obvious?"

Wang Chong then roughly understood, and suddenly slapped his thigh, excitedly saying, "Oh my! It really is His Highness the Prince! What virtue or ability do I have to be able to see His Highness's true face in this life? My ancestors must have accumulated a lot of good karma!"

After saying this, Wang Chong and several men bowed their heads and knelt down in a devout manner.

"His Highness is the number one hero of our Great Song Dynasty, and a great hero and meritorious official who has made our people proud and transformed us from weak to strong. I, Wang, have struck it lucky today and actually saw His Highness alive with my own eyes. My ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke!"

Zhao Xiaoqian: “…………”

Is this the ancient version of fans meeting their idols? They're rambling incoherently.

Zhao Xiaoqian stepped forward and helped Wang Chong up, then smiled and said, "There's no need for that. I was merely acting on the orders of the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty to lead the royal army to quell the Liao and suppress the bandits. It is the Emperor who has made contributions to the country, not me."

Wang Chong's admiration grew even stronger. The seven-foot-tall man's eyes sparkled with excitement. The scene was both incongruous and eerie, making it unbearable to look at.

"He is not arrogant despite his merits, and remains so humble despite his contributions to the country. He truly deserves to be called the number one hero of our Great Song Dynasty... I love you even more!"

Zhao Xiaoqian: “…………”

Something's not right with this thing.

Zhao Xiaoqian subconsciously took a step away from him and looked him over again.

Seeing that Wang Chong and the men behind him were dressed in coarse cloth shirts, without hats or ornaments, covered in dust, yet with a bold and unrestrained personality, and upright and righteous, it was clear that these men were not only horse traders, but also the legendary江湖人 (jianghu people).

The heroes in martial arts novels are always running around doing things in the martial arts world, fighting and brawling everywhere. They don't have a proper job, and they don't know where they get the money to stay in hotels and eat when they're out and about. They often shout "Waiter, bring me ten catties of wine and five catties of beef," as if they can sign bills and issue IOUs everywhere.

In reality, the people in the martial arts world should resemble Wang Chong and his group.

They have legitimate businesses to make a living and need to support their families. Their martial arts skills are also a necessity for self-protection in their business dealings. The so-called Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world) is not far away; it is the hardships and dust on the road, as well as the human relationships and customs of the marketplace.

(End of this chapter)