At the end of the sixth month of the tenth year of Wu Jinghan's reign, the battle of Liangshan in Shandong did not cause too much of a stir in the great drama of the Wu dynasty's conquest of the south and the north. Although those with a keen sense of touch could more or less sense something from it, compared with the boiling situation of the overall situation, even if someone could pay serious attention to the situation on this side, the information they obtained would always seem insignificant. The saying that Inner Demon Ning Liheng conquered Liangshan in three days was extremely popular in later generations. At this moment, it was still pressing down on Tong Guan's eternal achievement of recovering Yan Yun. Like a small tributary in the great tide of history, it was ignored and disappeared into the woods in the blink of an eye.
During the period when Tong Guan, Liu Yanqing, Guo Yaoshi, Xin Xingzong, Fang La … these people were active, and even when Wanyan Aguda led the Jins to rise in the north and Liao and Xiao Gan supported the last afterglow of a great empire, Ning Liheng's name appeared, it only added a small piece of evidence to the saying that heroes were coming. At least in the Wu dynasty in the near future, as the great achievement of recovering Yan Yun continued to be publicized, the feeling that a great era had arrived filled everyone's hearts. The saying that heroes were coming had already filled the streets and alleys, giving people an extremely intense and surging mood.
Not many people knew that a few years later, all of this would become the afterglow of an empire and the silhouette of an even vaster great era. And in this era, the most powerful and decisive torrent originated from here. When historians of the later generations traced back to the past, they had tried countless times to remove all the fog and the noisy curtain of the era. They had tried to push aside Yan Yun in the north and Fang La in the south. They had tried to cast their eyes on the land of Shandong, to see clearly where the small stream that darted into the forest had started to become a vast river …
At the end of June, in the Wu Rui camp, more than a thousand captives from Liangshan were kept in the camp. In the battle of Liangshan, these captives had taken the heads of more than three of their companions. Regardless of the way they came, they were all kept after their identities were filed.
Being locked up as a prisoner in the barracks, the first few days were not easy. Most of these people who wanted to exchange their heads for wealth understood that they had been set up, and the soldiers of the Wu Rui Camp would not treat them kindly. During the month-long imprisonment, they basically spent every day under the threat of death and hunger. The news from the outside world only came bit by bit, including the execution of Song Jiang, the purge of the entire area near the lake, and the killing of their companions outside …
The collapse of the overall situation had worn away much of their will to resist. Although Wu Ruiying was somewhat unbearable when facing Shangliangshan head-on, at this time, when facing the captives, he was absolutely ruthless. It was basically useless to protest. As for them, both the local officials and the generals of the Wu Rui Battalion held the attitude that they could not be released. After suffering from hunger for a month, most of these more than a thousand people were scattered and incorporated into the army of the Wu dynasty. Like drops of water falling into a river, not many of them could survive more than a decade later.
Among them, a total of 507 people signed ten-year contracts and joined a merchant named Takeshi. About a few months later, more than a hundred people were sent to the army one after another. After the initial batch of screening, a total of 382 people were accepted by Takeshi.
At this time, these people were not yet aware that they would participate in any major events or be remembered in great colors in later generations. Of course, for later generations, these 382 people were only a symbolic number. They did not necessarily support anything, but they represented a beginning.
And this beginning was not necessarily bright and magnificent.
In late July, when Ning Yi came to the Wu Rui Battalion for the first time, he decided whether these more than a thousand people would stay or go. He confessed to these people the opinions of the surrounding officials on whether they should stay or go. They could either be banished to the army and gain freedom after achieving meritorious service, or join Takeshi and sell themselves for 10 years. After that, all of these people's affairs and livelihood would be borne by themselves.
At that time, Ning Yi's face was not healthy, and his statement was flat and indifferent. On this side, the more than a thousand people who had been starving for more than a month did not dare to protest too much. The whole selection process was completed within two days, and then Ning Yi gave out the full bonus of each head, especially to those who joined the army. While giving out silver, he warned them that money was not a worldly possession, and that when they went to the army, they could bribe up and down, so that they could live a better life. Later, some people benefited from this, and a small number of people suffered because of the silver.
Regarding these things in Liangshan, in addition to Qin Siyuan's Residence of the Right Minister, there was also the power of the Great Commandant's Residence involved. At first, they might have only paid attention to it, but when they learned about the means Ning Yi showed in breaking Liangshan, Gao Ke sent an order to Zhou Dong, who happened to pass by, in the chaos of others denouncing him as an "inner demon". For him, this was a convenient move after learning about the friction between Ning Yi and his family. After the failure, the Great Commandant's Residence, which was unwilling to confront the Right Minister's Residence directly, fell silent, and both sides put this matter in their memories.
Only the 500 people who were left behind became the most realistic problem in front of Ning Yi at that time. Whether it was Wang Shanyue, Zhu Biao, Lu Hongti, or the others, they all objected at first. If these people were taken into Takeshi, would they feel at ease and would they be safe? In these days, the rich could hire masters in Jianghu, recruit servants, and buy the poor who couldn't afford to eat. At least these people didn't have hatred in their hearts, and in terms of loyalty, they were much more reliable than the 500 people in Liangshan.
Later historians would occasionally raise similar questions, but the process of how these people were trained and even brainwashed by Ning Yi seemed to have been deliberately buried by Ning Yi, and not much information was left behind. The participants at that time also didn't talk much about this matter later. If someone really wanted to investigate this matter, perhaps they would find some fragmented information.
After dealing with the problem of these people selling themselves, Ning Yi and the others built a closed camp near Dulonggang. Ning Yi stayed here for about a month, and when everything was on the right track, he ordered Su Wenyu to take charge of the whole thing. In the memories of the residents of Lone Dragon Mound, the training in the camp basically consisted of standing, sitting, and walking. At night, a group of people would often sit together and talk. Sometimes, the voices inside the camp would be very loud.
In addition, there were a few disturbances, but they were all suppressed.
After this went on for about three months, the camp became semi-closed, and the remaining 400 people would come out to do some work for Dulonggang. In winter, they would cut dry firewood and put it outside Dulonggang, or in front of some people's houses. Some people would put down their savings.
At this time, the residents of Dulonggang still hated the remnants of Liangshan. Every time this happened, Zhu Biao and the others had to stop the villagers from doing anything extreme. But not many people understood why these people became like this in a few months.
This matter became an unsolved mystery for a long time after that. Three months later, the second batch of people entered the semi-closed camp. They were more than 300 young people bought from various places when winter came. After that, this batch of young people trained in a one-on-one way for half a year, and became a part of Takeshi. After the third batch of young people came out, the 382 people who belonged to Liangshan were finally dispersed to various places in Takeshi … But this was a story for later.
At the beginning of August, on a hillside where the sun was setting, Hongti sat there, watching the camp that was gradually built at the foot of the hill. Ning Yi came from behind, looked at the sunset, and sat down beside her.
In the distance, more than 500 people at the foot of the hill were practicing in a neat formation — under Ning Yi's strict requirements and the threat of death, the formation was too neat.
"I'm still a little worried that you will keep these people by your side," Hongti said. "If you continue to practice like this, of course, ordinary people can obey your orders, but in their hearts, they have a grudge against you. If you let those monks come over and preach to them every night, they may not understand. "
"They will understand." Ning Yi smiled.
Hongti shook her head. "I'm still worried about your safety. I'm not smart, you … tell me seriously, will it really work to let them talk about their mistakes these few nights? "
Ning Yi was silent for a moment. "What I'm afraid of … is it not only useful. Don't think too much, it's not a good thing. I will only use this method once … "
"You're so mysterious."
Hongti glanced at him and hugged her knees. In the past few days, when in front of others, Hongti always maintained her temperament as Ning Yi's master. She wore a gauze bamboo hat and a dress that Ning Yi had chosen for her, which made her look like a heroine and a grandmaster. When she was beside Ning Yi, not many people dared to ignore her. Especially at this moment, when her achievement of hunting down the Liangshan people had been publicized, the name 'River and Mountain Iron Sword' Lu Hongti had already spread throughout the Land of Qi and River. Together with 'Inner Demon', she had become a killing star devil that no one dared to provoke.
Zhu Chaofeng and the others in Lone Dragon Gang had to bow to her respectfully, sit at the head of the table when sitting in the living room, and eat at the head of the table. Hongti was originally indifferent and didn't care about such things, but Ning Yi was passionate about it. He often raised her seniority, so Hongti had to act like a master. Zhu Biao had challenged her several times, but his spear had been taken away empty-handed within a few moves. Only Luan Tingyu could exchange a few moves with her, but he couldn't beat her. The people in Lone Dragon Gang now had great reverence for this female grandmaster.
Only when no one was around would the two of them be more casual. Now that she mentioned it, her tone didn't sound displeased. She only felt that Ning Yi was very mysterious, and she even felt a little proud of him.
Ning Yi smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. "I know what I'm doing. But you, when you return to Lu Liangshan, you must be careful. Don't always risk your life and wait for me to find you. "
Hongti nodded. "Liao was defeated, so Lu Liangshan should be peaceful for a period of time. If the Wu dynasty really recaptures the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun, there won't be any trouble in the future."
"If that's really the case, it'll be a good thing. But … don't let your guard down …"
"… Yes."
As one of the top martial arts masters in the world, she leaned on her lover's shoulder and looked at the setting sun with some longing in her eyes.
The news of Tong Guan's return to Yanjing had already spread to all parts of the Wu dynasty. Under the orange setting sun, the night wind blew the withered grass on the hillside into the air, fluttering their clothes and hair. With the longing of a woman and the caution of a man, they floated into the distance. Although things might not develop as they wished, the scene of the two of them sitting together and the warmth in their hearts could be remembered from time to time …
Even if she had to return to the harsh wilderness and fight against all evil intentions, her heart would no longer be at a loss. Because outside the wilderness, there was a person who was cutting her way in through brambles and thorns. Thinking of this, both her heart and her sword would calm down. This would also support her to become the sword of iron and blood that could truly protect the entire Lu Liangshan.
Not long after, in a small room in Lan Huandong in Miaojiang, a girl named Liu Watermelon sat there. She looked at the sunlight coming in through the window, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Because on this day, she received news that just a few days ago, the soldiers had broken through Qingxi. Outside Zitong Cave, Holy Duke Fang La had led the remnants of his troops to break out of the encirclement but failed. After fighting for three days, he died of exhaustion. Empress Shao Xianying had also committed suicide. Fang Qifo, Fang Baihua, and a few others had led a small number of troops to escape.
Liu Tiannan came in with tea. "Miss, don't be sad anymore … This matter …"
Liu Watermelon raised her face, and the sunlight shone on her tears. "I want it."
"Alas …" Liu Tiannan put down the tea and left in the end.
After all, the Tyrant's Blade Camp had followed Fang La's rise. After the battle of Hangzhou, there were only eight hundred young men left who could fight, and they had to protect the old and weak of one or two thousand families. At that time, it was Ning Yi who had made the plan to move and establish a foothold. Watermelon had also arbitrarily chosen to break away from Fang La, who had lost his power. At this point, she could only ensure the survival of the Tyrant's Blade Camp.
After that, Chen Fan led some people back to Qingxi to save people. When the situation there was critical, there were some hot-blooded men who wanted to help these comrades who had fought with them. Watermelon refused to give in to these things. But in fact, the relationship between her and Fang La and the others was far deeper than the relationship between the others and Fang La.
In a sense, since the death of Liu Dabiao, Holy Duke Fang La, Shao Xianying, and Fang Baihua were almost her closest family.
She had tried to persuade Fang La to escape to another place, but Fang La refused. At this time, for the survival of the Tyrant's Blade Camp, she had watched her family die. Liu Tiannan and some of the people who were close to her in the Tyrant's Blade Camp could understand how she felt.
After Liu Tiannan left, Watermelon sat there in a daze for a long time. Finally, she took out a few pieces of paper from her sleeves. The quality of the paper was not good. Perhaps it had been seen many times, but the pieces of paper were old and tattered. It was the news that "Inner Demons Subdued Liangshan" had come from the outside not long ago. Later, she had asked around and obtained these pieces of paper, but she could not piece together the full picture of the incident.
"Ning Liheng …" She sniffled and wiped away her tears. I can't let him look down on me!
She did not speak again. But as she looked at the light shining in through the window, she felt like crying again.
Where … are you …?
After Fang La's death, the uproar of the Plague of Perpetual Joy finally came to an end.
In the tenth year of Jinghan in the Wu dynasty, both the north and the south were stabilized. At the end of August, Ning Yi returned to Bianliang. It was a peaceful autumn. Not long after, a chain business system called Takeshi extended its tentacles on the land of the Wu dynasty and expanded like a monster …
The prelude to a great era had begun.
*****
PS: This is the end of the fourth episode. The whole fourth episode was intended to be a plot for the future. Many foreshadowing lines were laid down here. The lines for Bianliang, Guo Yaoshi, Lin Chong, Zhou Pei, and so on, as well as Ning Yi's reasons for doing things, finally took shape here. In terms of the concept of connecting the past and the future, everything that should be done had been done.
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