In the mud, there were black, charred houses, and corpses one after another.
The rain had stopped not long ago. This was a village that had been massacred by the Calamity of War. The rain had washed away the original flames and blood, but it had converged into an even more indescribable stench that was nauseating. There were three riders on horseback standing in the forest on a small hillside, looking in their direction.
The rider in the lead had a beard and wore scholar's robes. He looked calm and collected. He held a book in one hand and a fine brush in the other. He dipped the brush into the ink pouch at his waist and began to doodle the scene of the massacre. After drawing for a while, he would lick the tip of the brush against his tongue and spit out a mouthful of black saliva.
The two people in the back were probably soldiers of the Wu dynasty. They looked at the sky and one of them said in a low voice, "Official Cheng, we've already stayed here for a long time. If we don't leave, we might run into Jurchen scouts …"
The official surnamed Cheng added a few strokes, then shook the book and gently blew on it. After a while, when the ink was slightly dry, he put it away. He spoke slowly.
"Ni Han's main force massacred Xinzhou. Wanyan Loushi broke through Daizhou. I reckon we'll reach Taiyuan soon. "His voice was low and carried a bit of indifference." Where are you going? "
Official Cheng's words caused the two soldiers to look distressed. Fortunately, he had only casually sighed. After a while, he pulled on the reins. "Let's go back quickly. Don't let the Jurchen scouts catch up to us."
The three riders circled around the forest and quickly left.
*****
Dragon City, Taiyuan. Qin Shaohe stood on a small slope outside the city gate and watched as large groups of commoners poured into the city. In the plains further away, large tracts of harvested rice were also being transported into the city.
Not long after, a group of riders parted the crowd and came from the distance. They were travel-worn. The man in scholar's robes dismounted and bowed to Qin Shaohe. "Milord."
"Zhouhai, how is it?"
"Daizhou has been broken through, Xinzhou has been slaughtered, and the area around the city has also been affected … it's been incomparably tragic." Cheng Zhouhai looked at him coldly and then sighed. He turned around and said, "If I didn't see it with my own eyes, it would be hard to imagine."
"It's not hard to imagine that Taiyuan is also close." Qin Shaohe turned around to look at the towering city walls of Taiyuan. He was transferred to the Taiyuan prefectural magistrate this year. When Tong Guan was still alive, he was under Tong Guan's command. Now that Tong Guan had fled to the south, only he and the military commander Wang Ling were left to guard this place.
As Qin Siyuan's eldest son, Qin Shaohe had always adhered to the way of a gentleman, his conduct was modest and amiable. Only this time Tong Guan abandoned Taiyuan, Qin Shaohe almost turned hostile and quarreled with Tong Guan. Of course, Duke Chu didn't change his mind and went south, so Qin Shaohe had no choice but to shoulder the burden together with Wang Ling.
This time, the speed at which the Daoist Woman attacked cities and seized territory made the defense of the Wu dynasty look like a piece of paper. Whether it was Qin Shaohe or Cheng Zhouhai, they no longer had any basis to estimate the usefulness of the military. Whether it was Shuozhou, Xinzhou, or Daizhou, one moment it was said that the Jin were invading, the next it seemed that they had already begun massacring the city. It was true that the defenses of Taiyuan were stronger than those cities, but no one knew how long they could hold out.
In the distant plains, the wind blew and the clouds flew. On the walls of Taiyuan, a large number of fortifications were also being built as the soldiers and civilians entered the city. Countless messages came from the west and north. Among them, there were warriors who had tried to assassinate Wanyan Zonghan. Although they heard that some generals had been killed, because Wanyan Zonghan had only been injured, the estimate of Taiyuan's situation could not be optimistic.
From the looks of it, perhaps in a few days, everyone would be dead.
Looking at the crowds of people fleeing for their lives, Qin Shaohe, Cheng Zhouhai, and the others could not help but have this thought. But since they were here, they could only fight with all their strength. A moment later, Cheng Zhouhai went into the city and summoned the person in charge of Takeshi in Taiyuan. He began to do what everyone else was good at, inciting the soldiers and civilians to participate in the defense of the city. After a moment of relaxation, Qin Shaohe also walked up the walls and began to give out more commands.
Not long after, Li Pin, who had already secured her position as the deputy transport envoy of Hedong, also entered the city along with a large number of military and civilian supplies.
Even though they were mentally prepared to sacrifice themselves, they still had no idea what kind of difficult and long battle awaited them … …
*****
The drizzling rain had stopped in the capital.
The weather was gloomy. Shishi woke up from her sleep. It was still afternoon, but Fan Lou was already bustling with activity.
Because of the war in the north, Fan Lou's business had been exceptionally good these days. Large merchants going to and from the capital, officials going in and out of the court, aristocrats coming to the capital from the countryside, and energetic scholars all gathered here.
The shadow of war loomed over the city. Merchants with business in the north had to shift their interests and needed to enter the capital to clear up their connections. Aristocrats worried about the damage to their family's property had to ask familiar officials about the changes in the war situation. In the court, officials with various interests needed to contact each other privately. Impassioned scholars came here to discuss state affairs and express their thoughts. All of these things made the city bustle and bustle.
There were also scholars who had decided to throw away their brush and join the army and go north to fight the enemy. They were invited to Fan Lou and given wine and poems. They also promised to meet in the north soon.
Every time she thought of this, Shishi couldn't help but think of Ning Yi, who had already gone north several days ago. He didn't say much, and no one offered wine and poems. He just settled his wife and children down at home and left. Shishi still didn't know the specific purpose of his trip north. She guessed it was something important, but he also told his family to go south.
"Things can be big or small. If possible, it's good to go south."
This was what Ning Yi said to her on the afternoon he left. At that time, Ning Yi had only called her to his home and told her that he was going north for the time being, but he still said this to her later. With Shishi's intelligence, she had more or less guessed that Ning Yi was going north in order to prevent the Jurchens from attacking the south. Thus, the deeper meaning behind these words became even more frightening.
At that time, she looked at Ning Yi with a stunned expression for a long time. Then she asked in a low voice, "Is it that bad?" Ning Yi only nodded solemnly, "It's possible. It's better to be prepared."
At that time, he was at home directing the packing of things for the trip north. His expression was too indifferent and his words too calm. Shishi was so shocked that she didn't even tell him to be careful when he went north.
Later on, she thought about this matter. She had known him for so long. He dealt with the Liangshan bandits, opened a shop in Bianjing, did business, took in orphans, recruited a large number of workers, asked Takeshi to tell stories of scholars defending the Dao and martial artists serving the country, racked his brains for disaster relief, and offended many people with powerful backgrounds, causing him to be assassinated every now and then. All along, he had been calm. But now he showed the indifferent and casual expression that day. Perhaps it also meant that he was going to start doing things seriously again.
This time, it was to fight against the Jurchen. Even if she didn't understand what he was going to do, she could guess the danger.
After he left, Shishi was still brooding over the fact that she didn't tell him to be careful. Sometimes she also thought that he asked his family to go south and also warned her. Could it be that his feelings for her were the same as for his family? Thinking like this, did she have feelings for Ning Yi?
Later on, she thought that no matter who he was, she had to tell him to be careful, not to mention that he was her childhood friend. In this way, she felt relieved and no longer worried about the feelings between a man and a woman.
After that, the news in Fan Lou was complicated and varied. She listened attentively. Sometimes she heard that Guo Yaoshi's surrender was because he had been persecuted by someone. Sometimes she heard that Wanyan Zonghan's troops were approaching Taiyuan. Sometimes she heard that Zonghan had suffered a great defeat in Hebei. She also heard that the Wucheng and Wufeng armies were going to attack Zonghan from both sides.
In the court, there were all kinds of news. Some people wanted to talk, some wanted to attack, and some wanted to defend. It was said that General Zhong Shidao's Western Army would come soon. There were also pessimists who said that the Jin army would push to the city of Bianliang. This news came from Duke Tong Guan. Shishi noticed that it was somewhat similar to Ning Yi's idea. Then, near Bianliang, it seemed that preparations had begun. Millions or even millions of people were moving, which was cursed as tyranny …
With Shishi's information ability, she could clearly sort out the clues from the chaotic news in the past, but it was not so easy this time. And in this, she could not see what Ning Yi, who was going north, was doing. The nearby Wu dynasty army seemed to be going north, preparing to fight the Female Zhenren. Under such circumstances, why did Ning Yi still feel that Bianliang would be in danger?
In such a mood, she did not want to think about Ning Yi's suggestion to let her go south. This was a familiar city. She could not go north like him, but she could still wait for the result and stay here.
After the rain stopped, water dripped from the eaves. The wind blew from the courtyard, fluttering her thin dress, bringing bursts of coldness. The hustle and bustle in the building passed through the walls and into the courtyard. The maidservant also came, bringing news that two groups of people wanted to see her. She pulled the collar of her dress and looked out at the gloomy sky, which was still shrouded in dark clouds.
Alas, it was such a cool autumn …
*****
A huge campaign to strengthen the walls and clear the fields was unfolding on the land in the north. Countless pieces of news gathered south like snowflakes. In the center of this area of news, on the moving carriage, Ning Yi was sorting out a large amount of news and information. Occasionally, he would give some useful suggestions that could make Takeshi respond.
Many pieces of information related to the campaign to strengthen the walls and clear the fields were also gathered. Because of the distance, he knew about it earlier than the capital.
In the east, Wanyan Zongwang led Guo Yaoshi's ever-victorious army south. Peng Zuhui led sixty thousand soldiers to meet Wanyan Zongwang north of Dizhou and was defeated by Guo Yaoshi. Peng Zuhui fled south with eight thousand routed soldiers. After Dizhou was conquered, the city was massacred. The Jurchen Eastern Army galloped in the direction of Jinan and so on …
The Jurchen Zhenren's advance was swift and fierce. It was autumn harvest time, so it was almost impossible to strengthen the walls and clear the fields on a large scale smoothly. There was a lot of questioning and criticism in the court. People thought that strengthening the walls and clearing the fields in the north was meaningless to stop the Jurchen Zhenren. All kinds of questions were raised to the peak as soon as they were received. Ning Yi's hands were very tight, especially at the beginning. He constantly summarized the information and issued all kinds of concise and clear instructions. Therefore, when Zhu Biao brought the information in, he simply glanced at it, put it down, and then picked it up again to look at it. He quickly made some changes on it.
"Give it to Dong Fangxian. Add him to the propaganda plan. Special, push him to the altar."
Zhu Biao hesitated. In reality, he was not responsible for personally delivering the information to Ning Yi. He had probably come over because he felt that this information was too important. But he still took it, lifted the curtain, and left.
The carriage continued to move. From time to time, someone would come over to knock on the walls of the carriage. About an hour later, another document arrived. The person who entered the carriage was Dong Fangxian, who was in charge of propaganda in Takeshi. He handed a document to Ning Yi, and Ning Yi took it and looked over it.
"The backgrounds of the eight dead Jurchen generals might need to be investigated in detail, but this is all we can use. We'll gradually increase the number later on. What do you think about this?"
Ning Yi quickly looked over and made a few strokes with a brush. Then he quickly said, "Apart from the eight who have names, the rest are the elites by Nihan's side. We need to emphasize this. The numbers can't be vague. You're saying that over a hundred of them died is not shocking. Add it up. There are two hundred and sixty-eight dead and one hundred and twenty-seven dead and the rest injured. Write it like this.
"If someone asks us how we came up with the numbers …
"Just say that Nihan's army did the numbers themselves."
"Yes."
Dong Fangxian took the document and left. Ning Yi continued to deal with the matters. An hour later, the second draft was handed over. Ning Yi took a look and then impatiently waved his hand for someone to take it away.
The carriage continued to move forward, and the piling up of matters continued to be dealt with. When it came to a temporary end, the carriage stopped. Ning Yi was about to get out of the carriage to stretch his muscles when he thought of something. He flipped through the various pieces of information on the table and then quietly called for a follower, telling him to fetch something.
When he walked out of the carriage, there was a gloomy sunset in the distance. The follower ran back and brought back the slip of paper that he had asked Zhu Biao to give to Dong Fangxian. The original information was written on it. He sat on the shaft of the carriage and read the words on it.
"On the night of the ninth of the eighth month, Zhou Dong led the heroes of the Lulin Forest to assassinate Nihan in Xinzhou City. He killed the Jurchen generals Chixian, Shumutu, Han Erguo … and eight others. The Jurchen generals Nihan, Wanyan Xiyin, Yin Shuke, and Balisu all suffered heavy injuries … It is known that one of the participants in the assassination was … Zhou Dong …"
He had seen many pieces of news in one day, including crushing defeats, massacres, and so on. But perhaps it was because he recognized a certain name in this piece of news that caused his mood to drop …
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