While the autumn sun was still shining on the land of the southwest, winter had already arrived in the Jin Kingdom thousands of miles away.
The ninth day of the eighth month, Yunzhong.
Dark clouds shrouded the sky, and the northern wind had already begun to blow. As one of the few large cities in the Jin Kingdom, Yunzhong seemed to have fallen helplessly into a gray swamp. As far as the eye could see, the entire city seemed to be tainted with a gloomy aura.
The carriages that entered and exited the city seemed to be less lively than usual, and the hawkers in the market also sounded more lazy. The conversations of the customers in the restaurants and teahouses were more solemn, and they seemed to be whispering to each other about something confidential and important.
In the muddy streets of the city, the Han slaves wrapped themselves tightly in their clothes and hunched their bodies. They lowered their heads as if they were afraid of being discovered, but they were not cockroaches after all, and could not shrink themselves into inconspicuous dwarfs. Some people stuck to the corners of the walls in fear to avoid the pedestrians in front of them, but they were still knocked to the ground. Afterward, they might suffer a kick or even more vicious beating.
In such an atmosphere, the nobles in the city still maintained their high spirits. Their high spirits were dyed with violence, and from time to time, they would explode in the city, causing the oppressive atmosphere to occasionally be filled with bloody revelry.
In a small courtyard on the south side of the city, Xu Xiaolin met Tang Minjie for the first time.
Xu Xiaolin was a messenger from the southwest.
The southwest was thousands of miles away from the Jin Kingdom, and in these days, the exchange of information was extremely inconvenient. Because of this, the various operations in the north were all handled by the person in charge here. Only when there were certain important junctures would the two sides communicate, so that the southwest could make adjustments to the overall operations.
The results of the southwest war reached Yunzhong in the middle of May. Lu Mingfang left for the south to report on the progress of the entire work and provide more information to Ning Yi for the next step of development. He died in late May.
Almost at the same time, the Southwest had further speculated on the development of the Jin Kingdom's situation. Ning Yi and the others did not know of Lu Mingfang's departure at this time. Considering that even if he did not go south, the Jin Kingdom's actions needed to be changed and understood. Soon after, they sent Xu Xiaolin, who had some experience living in the Jin Kingdom, north.
By the time Xu Xiaolin arrived at the Jin Kingdom, it was already close to the end of July. The process of contacting the Jin Kingdom was cautious and complicated. Later, he learned that the person in charge of the Jin Kingdom's operation had been sacrificed because the Female Immortal had publicized this matter as a merit.
Although the Huaxia Army had previously considered the action plan after the main person in charge was sacrificed, it would still take a lot of time to execute this plan in enemy territory. The main reason was that, under the premise of caution, more steps were required to verify each link, connect with each other, and re-establish trust.
It was also because of this that even though Xu Xiaolin had sent a rough message of his arrival at the end of July, the first contact was still a few days later. He himself also maintained his vigilance and conducted two probes. In this way, on the ninth day of August, he was led to this place and officially met the person in charge who took over after Lu Mingfang.
The person in charge, codenamed "Clown", was skinny and his cheeks seemed to be slightly sunken. He was a comrade that the higher-ups had secretly reminded him before he left. He was a comrade that could be trusted in a critical moment. After two probes, Xu Xiaolin finally built up trust in him. The person probably had also been monitoring him for several days. After meeting him, he moved a few piles of dry firewood in the yard and took out a small package and handed it to him. The package contained Gold Wound Medicine.
Before joining the Huaxia Army, Xu Xiaolin had traveled with a caravan in the north for a period of time. He was quite tall and knew the language of Liaodong, so he was a good candidate to carry out the communication work. However, when he came to Yunzhong this time, he did not expect that the situation here had become so tense. He spoke a few words with a Han slave on the street and used Chinese. As a result, he was beaten up by a Female Immortal gangster and several Han slaves who happened to pick a fight with him on the road. He was hit on the head and was still wrapped in bandages.
"… Since the news of the Jin army's defeat came in May, most of the Jin Kingdom has become like this. It's not a big deal to pick a fight on the road and beat people up. Some big families started to kill Han people. The Jin Emperor, Wu Qimai, had decreed that killing Han people without reason would result in a fine. These big families publicly killed Han people in their families. Some descendants of officials competed with each other. Whoever paid the most fine would be the hero. Last month, there were two marquises who fought. If you killed one, I killed two, and the other family killed two more. In the end, each family killed eighteen people. The government came out to mediate, and only then did it stop. "
After letting Xu Xiaolin sit on a stool, Tang Minjie untied the bandage on his forehead and applied medicine again. During the process of applying medicine, Xu Xiaolin could hear the deep and calm look in the man's eyes. "Your injury is considered good. Those gangsters didn't kill people because they were afraid of paying. However, some people were seriously injured on the spot and couldn't live for more than a few days, but they didn't pay the fine. "
Xu Xiaolin was a soldier who had experienced the southwest war. At this time, he clenched his fists and looked at Tang Minjie. "Sooner or later, we will get it back."
"Mm." A faint smile appeared in the other party's calm eyes. He poured a cup of tea and handed it over. He continued, "That's not all. Winter came early in the Jin Kingdom, and it's starting to cool down now. In the past, a batch of Han people would die every year. This year, it's even more troublesome. The refugee slums outside the city are filled with Han slaves who were captured in the past. In previous years, they would start to cut down trees and collect firewood at this time. However, the wilderness outside the city belongs to the nobles in the city. Now …"
He paused and drank a mouthful of water. "Now, it's become the custom to have people guard the wilderness and prevent Han slaves from cutting firewood and weeds. In the past few days, there have been daily reports of people being beaten to death for stealing firewood. This winter, there will definitely be more people frozen to death. In addition, a few private arenas have been opened in the city. In the past, they used to fight cocks and dogs, but now they're using it to kill people. "
"Don't the Jin dogs catch people for labor …" Xu Xiaolin said.
"When the mood is high, who cares so much?" Tang Minjie smiled. "Speaking of this, it's not for anything else. It's impossible to stop it, but someone has to know what it's like here. Yunzhong is too chaotic now. I'm going to try to send you out of the city in the next few days. I'll report what needs to be reported later … What are the instructions from the South? "
"In fact, the South also has some speculations about the situation here." As Xu Xiaolin spoke, he took out a crumpled piece of paper from his sleeve. There were not many words on the paper. Tang Minjie took it. It was a seemingly simple list of goods. Xu Xiaolin said, "I've memorized the information. That's all."
"Wait for me."
Tang Minjie got up and walked to the small room on the other side. Xu Xiaolin nodded and sat there drinking hot water.
Not long after, Tang Minjie came out of the room. After deciphering the information on the list, the number of words would be even fewer. In fact, because the entire order was not complicated and did not need to be overly secretive, Xu Xiaolin basically knew about it. He gave this list to Tang Minjie just to prove its credibility.
"The South has some speculations about the current situation of the Jin Kingdom. So to ensure everyone's safety, it is recommended that all the espionage work here go to sleep. Do not actively investigate the news of the Female Zhenren, and do not carry out any sabotage work. I hope that you will prioritize your own safety, "Xu Xiaolin said as he looked at Tang Minjie.
Tang Minjie's expression and eyes did not reveal much emotion. He only nodded slowly. "But … it's too far away. After all, the Southwest does not know the specific situation here …"
Xu Xiaolin also nodded. "Overall, the principle of acting independently here will not be broken. As for how to adjust it, it's up to you to decide. But in general, I hope that the majority of people's lives can be saved. You are heroes. In the future, you should live to return to the South and enjoy a happy life. All heroes who fight in such a place should have this qualification — this is what Mr. Ning said. "
Tang Minjie was silent for a moment, then looked at Xu Xiaolin.
"Right, what happened in the Southwest? Can you tell me in detail? I only know that we defeated Zong Han and Xi Yin, and killed Zong Han's two sons. I don't know what happened after that. "
As he spoke of this, there was a relaxed smile in his voice. He walked to the table and sat down. Xu Xiaolin also smiled. "Of course, I left the Sword Pavilion at the beginning of June, so I only know about the whole matter at that time …"
He smiled as he spoke of the events that had taken place in the south from the end of the war of the southwest to the beginning of the sixth month, including Ning Yi's call to arms that had been sent to the entire world to invite guests and friends, the reactions of the entire world to the war of the southwest, and the military parade and congress that were already in the planning stages. Tang Minjie inquired about the outline and process of the congress with great interest.
The news of the conference in June had yet to be announced to the public, but there was already a specific work schedule within the Huaxia Army. Therefore, Xu Xiaolin, who was working within the army, was able to say a lot of things, but every time Tang Minjie asked some key questions, he would be stumped. Tang Minjie did not dwell on this. If Xu Xiaolin could not explain clearly, he would skip to another topic. For a few moments, Xu Xiaolin even felt that this person in charge of the Northern Territories had some of Mr. Ning's shadow.
He asked the most questions about the congress, but when it came to things that others might be more interested in, such as the military parade and the martial arts tournament, Tang Minjie did not ask too many questions. He only nodded from time to time and smiled as he expressed his opinion.
"… Mm, gather everyone and put on a big show. During the military parade, we'll kill a group of famous Jurchen captives. Afterward, when everyone disperses, the news should spread throughout the world …"
Xu Xiaolin thought for a moment. "They didn't say anything about killing the Jurchen captives … some people outside say that the captured Jurchen captives can be used to negotiate with the Jin Kingdom and will be a good bargaining chip. Just like when we fought the Western Xia and then fought at the Magma Bridge, we also exchanged captives. Moreover, with the captives in our hands, we might be able to make the Jurchen Zhenrens hesitate to take action. "
"Hesitate to take action?" Tang Minjie laughed. "You're saying that if we don't kill those captives and keep them, the Jurchen Zhenrens might be afraid and treat the Han people here better?"
Xu Xiaolin frowned and pondered. The other person shook his head and smiled. "The only way to make them hesitate to take action is to kill more, and more … and more …"
The room was silent for a moment. Tang Minjie poured himself a cup of water and took a sip. His tone became gentle. "Of course, putting this aside, what I'm thinking is that although we've opened the door to welcome guests from all over, many of those who come from outside will still not like us. They are good at writing beautiful essays. When they go back, they will still scold those who should be scolded and find all kinds of reasons … But there is only one thing they can't cover up."
He said, "The world has been at war for more than ten years. Countless people have died in the hands of the Jins. Today, perhaps tens of thousands of people have gone to Chengdu. They only saw our Huaxia army killing the Jins. We killed those who deserved to be killed in front of everyone. This matter can't be covered up by beautiful essays and all kinds of fallacies. No matter how much reason you write, the people who read the essay will think of their dead relatives … "
"Of course, this is just some of my thoughts. I can't say for sure what will happen." Tang Minjie smiled. "Go on, go on …"
Xu Xiaolin then talked about many things. There were tragedies that happened in the southwest, but of course, there were more rare comedies. Every time he talked about some people who survived and reunited with their families, he could see the corners of this skinny man's eyes revealing a smile.
After a while, he suddenly remembered that Zou Xu had colluded with the enemy near the Crouching Bull Mountain, occupied the mountain and killed his comrades … He suddenly remembered that after a while, he suddenly remembered that the Hua Xia Army had been enraged by the mutiny incident.
Outside the room, the north wind was howling, and the world was gray. In this small room, Tang Minjie sat there quietly, listening to the other person talk about many things. In his hand, the tea in his hand was a little warm. He knew that in the distant south, the efforts of countless people had made the earth bloom.
…
"… The Venerable Lady's Eastern and Western Armies have returned here. Even without our help, the Eastern and Western Prefectures will go to war soon. Let them fight. Please take the orders from the south seriously. Don't make any more unnecessary sacrifices. After all, we have sacrificed too much. "
At the end of the day, Xu Xiaolin reminded Tang Minjie again.
Tang Minjie nodded.
"I know," he said. "Thank you."
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