It was just dawn.
Dew wet the streets in the early morning.
In the Tongwenxuan Inn in the northeast of Ankang, the scholar's reading after getting up in the morning sounded. The showgirl named Wang Xiuniang was stretching her body in the courtyard, waiting for Lu Wenke to show up and greet him. After washing up, Ning Ji skipped across the courtyard and trotted out of the inn.
"Hey, Brother Long."
"Wang Xiuxiu."
Ning Ji waved his hand to say good morning. He had already passed through the eaves of the courtyard and went to the front hall.
He trotted out of the inn, stretching his neck and limbs. His body began to heat up in his long breaths. He ran along the early morning street to the west of the city.
Due to his current identity as a doctor, it was not suitable for him to practice his martial arts in front of others to train his body. Fortunately, after experiencing the battlefield, his progress and perception of martial arts had far surpassed his peers. He did not need to do many mechanical training routines, and he could disassemble complex moves at will. Keeping his body active and sharp every day was enough to maintain his combat strength. Therefore, running in the morning could be regarded as a useful activity.
It was said that when his father was in Jiangning, he would run back and forth along the Qinhuai River every morning. The residence of Grandpa Qin was also on the road where his father ran. That was how they got to know each other. Later, they went to Jing City and made a big career. Later, Grandpa Qin was killed, and his father killed the emperor of the Wu dynasty.
Thinking of this, running was also a thing that made people's blood boil.
Ning Ji's running seemed easy and casual, but in fact, his speed was extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, he passed by the few vendors and pedestrians who came out in the morning. He passed through the doors of the shops that had just lit their stoves, and passed through the morning market … Even though there were some places where pedestrians gathered and debris piled up, no one or object collided with this seemingly casual running teenager.
After a night, the fishy smell on the streets of Ankang was much less in the early morning. However, when he ran to the west of the city, he could already see some yawning soldiers gathered on some streets. The traces of last night's chaos had not completely disappeared here.
There were also pedestrians on the streets who occasionally gathered to ask about last night's progress. Some were born afraid of the army and hurried by with their heads down. However, the troops on the road did not have much interaction with the residents. As Ning Ji ran, he could occasionally see the traces of last night's fighting. According to his observations last night, the bandits had set fire to several buildings during the fighting, and there were also signs of gunpowder explosions. At this time, looking from afar, the burned ruins of the rooms were still there, but the state of the gunpowder explosions could not be clearly seen.
In fact, last night, Ning Ji sneaked out of Tong Wen Xuan to join in the fun. However, at that time, he was mainly chasing after a group of assassins. The distance between the east and west of the city was too far. By the time he sneaked here in his night suit, the surviving assassins had already escaped from the first round of capture.
At that time, a group of arrogant Jianghu people set up a trap and searched everywhere for any suspicious traces, which caused Ning Ji to be unable to find anything that slipped through the net. After observing the place where the first fight took place and confirming that the assassins were clumsy and disorganized, he decided to leave with safety as his top priority.
The Huaxia Army's espionage principle did not encourage assassinations — it was not completely non-existent, but the assassination of important targets must have a reliable plan, and as much as possible, use personnel who had received special combat training. Even if there were hotheads in the Jianghu who wanted to do such things in the name of righteousness, as long as there were members of the Huaxia Army, they would definitely dissuade them.
According to his father, unplanned hot-bloodedness would never be better than planned tyranny. For the youthful Ning Ji, although he did not like this kind of words deep down, similar examples had already been demonstrated countless times inside and outside the Huaxia Army.
Therefore, after dawn, Ning Ji ran over again and openly eavesdropped on some information from people's conversations.
"… Last night, bandits entered the city to assassinate …"
"… A group of heartless, unrighteous bandits …"
"… They secretly colluded with the southwest and sold people there. After they were eliminated by us, they took the risk and actually entered the city to assassinate Duke Dai …"
On the street, there were depressed soldiers and arrogant Jianghu people. From time to time, they would speak some information. Ning Ji was in the crowd. When he heard the two words "Duke Dai", he could not help but stare with a pair of pure and kind eyes.
"Duke Dai …" His face was full of curiosity. "Grandpa … Grandpa Dai … the old man … is actually in the city …"
The Jianghu people narrowed their eyes. If someone else had asked about this, he would have been vigilant, but when he saw that it was a cute young man who spoke with reverence for Duke Dai, he could only wave his hand to remedy the situation.
"Ahem … don't ask about these things. The bandits were brutal, but most of them have been killed by us. The specific situation … should be announced. Don't worry, don't worry … Let's disperse …"
Ning Ji dispersed with the crowd and slowly ran nearby. He observed from the corner of his eyes for a moment before leaving the street.
After the end of the southwest war, many outside forces were actually learning from the Huaxia Army's methods of training soldiers. They also paid attention to the effect of gathering the heroes of the Underworld. However, it was often one or two leaders who led a group of third-rate experts in an attempt to enforce discipline and build an elite scout unit. Ning Ji had naturally heard of this kind of thing in the army. Last night, he casually looked around and knew that these people of the Underworld were Dai Mengwei's "special forces".
"Previously, this person was strong and had a powerful punch, but his lower body was unstable. If he was in the army, he would be like a dead fish. It would take less than three strikes to kill him …" Ning Ji thought. After learning that Dai Mengwei was in Ankang City, he suddenly felt a little tempted.
After that, he slowly ran through a few more streets and observed several people. There were some who appeared on the streets that he could not see through, which made him a little more restrained.
In a place where houses had been burned down, the affected residents knelt on the street and cried hoarsely, accusing the bandits of arson last night.
When he ran to the largest market in Ankang City, the sun had already risen. Ning Ji saw the crowd gather there, and then a cart was pushed over, on which were the corpses of the bandits who had been killed. Ning Ji sneaked into the crowd and watched for a while. Along the way, a pickpocket tried to steal something from him, but he was hit by him and fell into the muddy water of the market.
He ran all the way back to Tongwen Pavilion. The scholars and merchants who were eating breakfast were already sitting in the hall. Lu Wenke and others had saved a seat for him. He ran over and began to grab buns while holding his breath. Wang Xiuniang came over and sat next to him. "Doctor Xiaolong runs out every morning. Is it for exercise? Don't you doctors have something called Five Elements Boxing … Five Elements Play? Don't you practice it in the yard? "
"It's Five Animals Play." Lu Wenke said with a smile, "Xiaolong, have you learned it?"
"Yes." Ning Ji nodded. He held a bun in one hand and made some simple movements with the other. "There are cat boxing, horse boxing, panda boxing, monkey boxing, and chicken boxing …"
"Ah? Really? " Lu Wenke was slightly confused and asked the people next to him. Fan Heng and others nodded casually and added, "Yes, it was passed down by Hua Tuo."
The atmosphere at the table was harmonious. The rest of the people were talking about the riot last night. Except for Wang Xiuniang who was using her fingers to memorize the knowledge of "Five Animals Boxing", everyone was talking about politics.
This Tongwen Pavilion was a high-class inn in the city. Most of the people who stayed here were scholars and business travelers. Most of them did not leave on the same day, so they talked and talked for a long time during breakfast. After a while, a scholar who went out in the morning came back with more detailed internal information.
The main body involved in the assassination this time was clear. The leader was a great bandit who had done all kinds of evil in the past few years in the Han River area. He was nicknamed Lao Ba, and people in the Lulin Forest called him "Lord Ba". Before the Female Immortal went south, he was a famous "debt collector" in the Lulin Forest. As long as he was paid, he would do anything, including murder and arson.
After the Female Immortal left, it was difficult to survive in the area under the jurisdiction of Duke Dai. This money-minded Lao Ba united with the outlaws in the southwest and secretly opened up routes to sell human beings for profit. And under the instruction of the "powerful people" in the southwest, he had always wanted to kill Duke Dai and go to the southwest to receive the reward.
Last night, Duke Dai entered the city in an emergency and did not bring many guards with him. This Lao Ba saw the opportunity and entered the city to assassinate him. Unexpectedly, this action was discovered by the righteous men under Duke Dai's command. They bravely stopped him, and several righteous men were sacrificed in the fight. When this Lao Ba saw that the matter was exposed, he immediately abandoned his companions and fled. On the way, he also set fire at will in the city, burning countless people. He was really crazy and inhumane.
After the assassination failed, the bandit leader Lao Ba, Jin Chenghu, and several others were still on the run. Now, a large number of official documents with drawings and pictures had been sent out in the city, offering a reward for the culprit's capture …
When this matter was described, there was a lot of discussion in the inn. Some people loudly condemned the brutality of the bandits, some began to talk about the ecology of the Lulin Forest, and some began to care about Dai Mengwei entering the city. They thought about how to meet him and sell him what they had learned. As for the war ahead, some people began to discuss it. After all, if they could come up with a big plan that hit the nail on the head, it would be beneficial to the situation ahead, and they would be appreciated by Duke Dai …
At this time, Ding Songnan, who had already discussed the preliminary plan with Dai Mengwei, was still skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He left Dai Mengwei's mansion, went to the north of the city with a few trusted subordinates, boarded a boat, and left Ankang quickly.
On the way, he talked to a companion about the result of this conversation. Halfway through, he fell silent for a moment, then said, "Dai Mengwei … is indeed not simple."
"Why do you say so?"
"… When we go back, choose a group of people. I want you to take them to Jiangning."
"… That Hero Conference?" His companion was slightly puzzled. "To join in the excitement of the Party of Fairness?"
"Dai Mengwei is right …" Ding Songnan said, "In the future, some major events will appear in Jiangning …"
"Then we … don't have to go and support He Wen …"
The Han River flowed slowly, and his companion's doubts sounded in the cabin. Then, Ding Songnan explained to him the reason for this matter …
*****
"… Next, some things that will determine the future of the world will happen in Jiangning …"
In the afternoon, in the courtyard of Ankang's mansion, Dai Mengwei slowly walked forward with the help of a walking stick. Beside him was one of his most trusted disciples, Lv Zhongming. He was a middle-aged scholar who was almost forty years old, and had previously been in charge of the details of the grain gathering.
"… I have chosen you to lead the team to Jiangning. Wei He, Chen Bian, and Qiu Zhangying are all under your command … I thought about it, and only you can lead them … "Dai Mengwei said.
"… Jiangning … Hero Conference?" Lv Zhongming frowned and thought for a moment. "This matter was not caused by He Wen …"
He was a little hesitant and puzzled. Dai Mengwei shook his head.
"This matter has only been spread for a few days. At first glance, it may seem absurd, but if you think about it deeply, it is not difficult to imagine …"
The news of the Jiangning Hero Conference had recently spread here. Some people's blood was boiling, while others laughed in private. Because in the final analysis, there was already the Number One Martial Arts Competition in the southwest last year. This year, He Wen was clearly playing a petty person.
Moreover, although the so-called heroes of Jianghu were heroic in the stories of storytellers, as long as one was in a position to do things, they already knew that the future of the world would not be decided by these ordinary people. The Number One Martial Arts Competition in the southwest was to borrow the prestige of defeating the Jurchen Western Army to recruit people and expand the army. Moreover, Ning Yi had specially organized a ceremony for the establishment of the Huaxia People's Government. Before the real things were to be done, the so-called Martial Arts Competition was only a side gimmick. And He Wen was also organizing one this year. It was nothing more than getting some people who chased after fame and profit to join in the fun. Perhaps it would gain some popularity and recruit a few ruffians, but could it be that he could also take the opportunity to establish a "fair people's political power"?
Lv Zhongming lowered his head in thought. Walking in front, Dai Mengwei's walking stick slowly and rhythmically tapped the ground.
"… The Jurchen marched south four times, the Jianshuo Emperor fled to the sea, and the Wu dynasty fell apart. In today's world, it looks like the feudal vassals are rising together, and those who have the slightest bit of ability are holding up a banner. But in reality, this is just a period of panic after a sudden great upheaval. Everyone doesn't understand the state of the world, and they can't grasp their own position. Some people raise the banner, but hesitate. Some people seem loyal on the surface, but in private, they are constantly probing. After all, the Wu dynasty has been stable for two hundred years. Next, it will encounter a chaotic world, or after a few years, it will inexplicably merge back into one. No one can say for sure. "
Dai Meng smiled. "In this way, many people seem powerful, but in reality, they are just short-lived fake feudal vassals … the affairs of the world are like great waves washing away sand. In the next year or two, these fakes, those who can't stand firm, will eventually be washed away. To the south of the Yellow River, me, Duke Liu, and Zou Xu's area can be considered a place to wash away real gold. And the Fairness Party, Wu Qimei, and even the small Fuzhou court will sooner or later decide a winner and a loser. These things can already be seen clearly at first glance. "
Lv Zhongming nodded.
"But have you ever thought that in the future, in this world, there might also be a situation where … all the feudal vassals will go after the Black Flag?"
Dai Mengwei paused. "The people of the world see me, Duke Liu, and Zou Xu as one group, and the Fairness Party, Wu Qimei, and the others as another. Moreover, the Fairness Party's development seems chaotic. It is even more radical than the Black Flag, not giving face to anyone. Thus, when we suddenly heard that this Heroes' Assembly was so absurd, we scholars just dismissed it with a laugh. But in reality, even though it was such an absurd assembly, the Fairness Party still opened its doors … "
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