In the capital of Qingzhou.
The smoke and chaos continued. On the towering city wall, the flag of Xixia had been replaced.
On the southeast side of the city, the smoke was still filling the sky. On the third day after the city was breached, the southeast side of the city was not closed. At this time, the meritorious soldiers of Xixia were carrying out their final madness. Out of consideration for the future rule, the King of Xixia, Li Qianshun, did not let the madness of the army continue indefinitely. But of course, even if he had ordered it, the other sides of the city were not peaceful at this time.
For this kind of city that had resisted, the accumulated anger of the army was also enormous. The meritorious troops wantonly slaughtered, looted, and tortured the people in the southeast side of the city. Other troops who did not get any benefits often looted and tortured the local people in other places. The people of the northwest were tough. Often, those who stood up to resist were killed. In such a war, it was already a great gift to the slaughterers to spare people's lives.
The courtyard of Yang Ju, a former tyrant of Qingzhou, had now become the temporary palace of the King of Xixia. Lin Houxuan, a civil official, and Qu Nuze, a Xixia civil official, were waiting for Li Qianshun in a room in the courtyard. From time to time, he looked at the group of people across the room, guessing their origins.
There were six people in the group, and the leader was very strange. It was a woman dressed in a court lady's dress. The woman was beautiful, and her dress was blue and white. It was bright but not bright. When Lin Houxuan came in, she stood up politely and smiled at him. After that, she had been sitting in a chair with her head lowered, thinking about something. Her eyes were calm, and she did not talk to the few people around her.
This woman's temperament was very much like that of a well-educated girl from a respectable Han family. But on the other hand, the way she lowered her head and pondered made her look like a person in charge of many things. The five men beside her occasionally whispered to each other, but they did not dare to ignore her, which also proved this point.
This was the room for waiting for an audience with the Emperor. The group led by a Han woman looked really thought-provoking.
His official career was based on the way of talking and governing, so he was used to observing people's temperament and expressions. As he was thinking about the origin of the woman and her group, an official came in and waved his hand to call him aside. This official was his father, Qu Li Gai. He was also a leader of the Dang Xiang aristocrats, and was appointed as an Admonishing Minister of the Xixia Imperial Court. The old man was not happy that his son's return had failed to persuade the Wu dynasty army to surrender to Little Canghe. Of course, this was not his fault, but on the other hand, there was no merit to speak of.
"His Majesty will see you immediately."
"Yes."
"You failed in your mission this time. When you see His Majesty, don't try to hide it, and don't try to shirk responsibility. What happens in the mountains is what happens. His Majesty will decide what to do. "
"Yes."
After giving a few instructions, the old official nodded and left. After a while, someone came over to invite him in officially. Then, he met the Emperor of the Dangxiang Clan of the Western Xia, Li Qianshun.
Compared to the Wu dynasty, which had taken a sharp turn for the worse in recent years, Li Qianshun, the current Emperor of the Western Xia Dynasty, was forty-four years old. He was in the prime of his life and in the prime of his life.
The Western Xia Dynasty was truly founded on military force. Among the countries to the west of the Wu dynasty, Dali was located in the south, with a rugged terrain and many mountains. But this country was an out-and-out pacifist. Because of its geographical advantage, although it was weak against outsiders, the neighboring Wu dynasty and Tubo did not bully it. At present, the Tubo had many vassal lords, and its forces were numerous. The people there were not good people, but there was not much possibility for them to expand. In the early years, the Tubo relied on the Wu dynasty and occasionally helped them resist the Western Xia Dynasty. But in recent years, as the Wu dynasty weakened, the Tubo no longer helped the Wu dynasty.
Only the Western Xia Country had been fighting with the Wu Dynasty, the Tubo Empire, and the Liao Kingdom for many years. Since its founding, the Western Xia Country had been engaged in many battles, big and small. If it had not met the talented Zhong Shidao, who had the powerful economic support of the Wu dynasty, it would not have been driven out of the Hengshan area.
The barrier to the south had disappeared. Seeing that the crisis was imminent, the middle and upper-class people of the Western Xia Dynasty more or less felt a sense of urgency. Under such an atmosphere, Li Qianshun, as the ruler of a country, seized the opportunity of the Jurchen invading the south and formed an alliance with them. Then he pushed the army across the Hengshan area and conquered several big cities in half a year. In Qingjian City, even the ancestral graves of the Western Xia Army were dug up. At the beginning of the year, the remaining Zhong Army was dispersed. In the future, this was already a great achievement for the ruler of a country. As the ruler of a country, his power was at an unprecedented peak.
When Lin Houxuan was called in, the main hall was in the middle of a meeting. Several leaders of the Dang Xiang family, such as Ye Li Chong, Li Nu, Jiu Yan, and several generals of the army, such as Mei Lei and Na Duhan, were all present. It was still a war. General Na Duhan, who was famous for his ferocity and fighting skills, was covered with a bloody smell. No one knew where he had killed. Li Qianshun, who had a short beard and a dignified look, asked Lin Houxuan to explain in detail about the Little Cang River. Li Qianshun asked, "What is that place?"
"East of Yanzhou, a small valley." Li Qianshun pointed at the map behind him.
Leader Ye Li Chong said, "There is a rebel army of the Wu dynasty entrenched there. There are about ten thousand of them and they can be used. I brought Qu Nu to recruit them but they refused. Therefore, His Majesty wants to hear what happened."
Na Duhan nodded slightly. Lin Houxuan bowed to the crowd and then started to talk about his journey to the Little Cang River. At this moment, he could also see that in the grand strategy that these people had in mind, the Little Cang River was just an insignificant mosquito. He did not dare to add fuel to the fire, and could only tell the whole story of this trip to the Little Cang River in full detail. Everyone only listened, and when they knew that the other party refused to see anyone for a few days, they lost interest. Great General Mei Lei coldly snorted. Lin Houxuan continued. When he talked about the conversation between the two parties, no one was surprised.
When he finished, Li Qianshun frowned and waved his hand. He was not angry, but his voice became lower. "Since that is the case, let them go to such a small place." His army of more than ten thousand had swept through the northwest. Being willing to recruit them was giving them face. Since they refused, then he could just wipe them out.
Ye Li Chong said, "Qu Nu is right. I want to write a letter to General Zong Han of the Jin Kingdom and ask him to seal the northern line of Luliang. In addition, send an order to Lasele to seal the direction of Luliang. Anyone who comes or goes from the mountain must be killed. There is no food in the mountain. Our priority is to stabilize the situation in the southwest. We can trap them in the mountain and ignore them. "
At this time, there were whispers in the hall. Some people told the people around them about the origin of the Little Cang River army. Everyone knew that the emperor of the Wu dynasty had been killed last year. However, they did not know that it was the army in front of them that killed the emperor. He looked at the map carefully and shook his head with a smile.
"Rebelling and killing the emperor of the Wu dynasty … a bunch of lunatics. Look at these people. At first, they had the ability to fight, but they did not even dare to occupy a state or a county. They only dared to hide in the mountains and defend. They are really stupid. Since they do not want to surrender, let them starve and die in the mountains. When the situation in the south is stabilized, I can send them off. "
"You do not need to worry, but do not be careless." Li Qianshun waved his hand and looked at Ye Li Chong. "This matter will be decided by Leader Ye Li. We also need to remind Ji Lasele to guard the northeast frontline. We need to treat the Zhe family army and these mountain bandits with caution. However, the mountain bandits have killed the emperor of the Wu dynasty. There is no possibility of them forming an alliance with the Zhe family. After we pacify the southwest, we can wipe them out when we go to the northeast. "
Mei Lei said, "On the other hand, the people who were separated from the Zhong family army are now wandering around. We need to prevent them from forming an alliance with the mountain bandits."
"Getting rid of the remnants of the Zhong family army is the most important task at hand. However, if they escape into the mountains, I think there is no need to worry. There is no food in the mountains. The more outsiders they accept, the harder it will be to feed them. "
"Zhong Lie has escaped to Huanzhou and Yuan Prefecture. Since we have already taken Qing Prefecture, we can consider attacking Yuan Prefecture. If he retreats to Huanzhou, our army can cut off his retreat …"
For the Western Xia army at this time, the real threat was still the Western Army. If they went to the northeast, the Zhe family army had been biding their time and guarding the prefectures in the northeast. Zhe Keqiu, the head of the Zhe family, had not sent troops to rescue the Zhong family. However, they were still a threat to the Western Xia army. The main task of General Lasele, who was guarding the vicinity of Yanzhou with thirty thousand soldiers, was to prevent the Zhe family from suddenly attacking the south.
On the west side, after Zhong Lie's defeat, he led thousands of the Zhong family's troops to deal with the nearby areas. He was trying to recruit new soldiers or preserve the flame. For the Western Xia people, there was no suspense in attacking the cities. However, if they wanted to wipe out the northwest of the Wu dynasty, they would have to destroy the western army first.
As for Little Canghe, the people of the northwest were all tough and intrepid. Currently, there were bandits everywhere in the northwest. This was just one of the areas with slightly more people. It was like a snake trapped in a jar. If you stretched your hand out to grab it, you might have to be bitten to pull it out and kill it. However, if you sealed the jar, it would naturally die after a period of time.
Who would take a group of bandits seriously when it came to ruling a country?
As they spoke, the topic had already changed to a larger strategic level. Ye Li waved his hand at Lin Houxuan. Li Qianshun said, "Qinu Zeqing, you have done a good job in this diplomatic mission. Go and rest. There will be a place for you to visit in the future. "Lin Houxuan thanked him and left."
Qing Prefecture was still in chaos. The people in the hall only said a few words about Little Cang River. However, Lin Houxuan understood that the fate of the valley had been decided. Once the situation here was stabilized, even if the valley was not completely trapped, it would be swept away by his own army. He was still doubtful about the attitude of the leader surnamed Ning in the valley, but now he really threw it to the back of his mind.
He had more things to do, so he did not need to worry about the dead.
On the way out of the courtyard, he saw a group of six people, led by the woman, who had been in the same room with him, being summoned by the Emperor.
...
Lou Shuwan walked through the courtyard of the temporary imperial residence of Western Xia. Her cold expression turned into a gentle and confident smile. Then she walked into the hall where the Emperor of Western Xia discussed official business.
She came with Tian Hu's official seal and a list of the merchants who had submitted to the Emperor along the way.
Not long after, she inadvertently saw something on the map in front of the meeting hall. It was the position of the inner demon, Ning Yi, and the others. A new cross was drawn on it.
...
It was the second time that the Emperor of Western Xia, Li Qianshun, and the other leaders and ministers heard about the rebellion of the Wu dynasty and Little Cang River.
He looked solemnly at the beautiful woman in the hall and frowned. "Are you acquainted with the people here?"
To the Wu dynasty, Tiger King was also a bandit who had mobilized the army. Li Qianshun did not reject him if he wanted to cooperate with him from thousands of miles away. He did not value the wandering bandits of Little Cang River, but he had just sentenced this place to death. In the heart of the Emperor, it was a taboo to have someone change his mind.
The woman lowered her head. "Inner demon, Ning Yi, is the most rebellious person. He had killed Shuwan's father and elder brother with his own hands. The Lou family and him … are absolutely irreconcilable enemies!"
"Oh." Li Qianshun waved his hand and smiled. "Father's death … Don't worry too much. That is a dead place. "
When Lou Shuwan walked out of the courtyard, the document to go to the Jin Kingdom had already been sent. The summer sun was shining brightly, and she suddenly felt dizzy.
When she came over from Tiger King's side, she had already analyzed the intention of Little Cang River and understood the other party's efforts to open up the trade route. She took advantage of the opportunity to run around and persuade a group of merchants to submit to Western Xia for safety. She wanted to disrupt Little Cang River's plan as much as possible.
She did not know whether her efforts would succeed. She hoped that because of her efforts, the other party would fall into a huge quagmire and difficulties. She also hoped that Little Cang River would die in difficulties and that the man named Ning Yi would die a painful death. But today, when Li Qianshun casually said that "that is a dead place," she suddenly felt that it was a little unreal.
This matter was too simple. But Li Qianshun would not lie. He did not need to. 100,000 Western Xia troops were sweeping through the northwest, and there were more troops coming from Western Xia to consolidate this place. More than 10,000 people hiding in that barren land were now being treated as an enemy by Western Xia and sealed off by the Jin Kingdom. In addition, they had committed treason against the Wu dynasty. They were really the enemy of the whole world, and there was no chance for them to survive. However, it was still too simple. It was so light that it felt as if everything was fake.
Sometimes, the operation of the overall situation was like this. Many things would happen without any sense of reality. In her imagination, Ning Yi would die. At that time, he should be begging for mercy in front of her. No, he might not beg for mercy, but at least, he would die a painful death in front of her.
But now, it seemed that one day, she would suddenly receive a message telling her that Ning Yi was dead, and there would no longer be such a person in the world. Now that she thought about it, it was so fake that it was suffocating.
"What will you do …" She whispered as she walked through the chaotic city.
*****
"Wah, wah..."
"Bang bang bang, bang bang bang... Sister, don't cry, look here, look here..."
"Did I wake her up? Sister, sister... "
Mixed with the cries of children, the small courtyard was a chaotic and noisy scene at noon.
After lunch, Luo Ye, who was asked to stay for lunch, left as well. In Yun Zhu's room, the one-month-old baby cried without warning after drinking milk. Ning Xi, who was already five years old, held a rattle-drum at the side, wanting to coax her. Ning Ji stood there biting his fingers, thinking that he had woken up his sister. With a panicked expression, he went to coax her. Yun Zhu, who was dressed in white, sat by the bed, hugging the child and rocking him gently.
"What's wrong, what's wrong?"
Ning Yi came in from outside, followed by Jin'er. Ning Xi shook her head. "My brother and I were reading a comic book, we didn't wake her up." He spun the rattle in one hand and held a comic book that Ning Yi and Yunzhu had drawn in the other. Ning Yi smiled and touched his head. He went to look at the crying baby in Yunzhu's arms. "Let me see." He took her and held her in his arms.
After entering Ning Yi's arms, the baby's cries became softer.
As Ning Yi's third child, this girl had a difficult life after she was born. Her body was weak and she had difficulty breathing. In the month she was born, she had already caught two colds. As the mother, Yunzhu almost died in childbirth. She lay in bed for half a month before she finally stabilized. Previously, Ning Yi found a wet nurse in the valley to feed the child. He made the wet nurse drink medicine and melt it into the milk to treat the child. Yunzhu was slightly better and insisted on feeding the child and taking medicine herself. As a result, her confinement was only so-so. If not for Ning Yi controlling her actions and comforting her, Yunzhu's recovery would have been slower due to her heart aching for the child.
During these days, the situation inside and outside of the valley was not optimistic. Ning Yi personally took care of almost every daily affairs in the valley, but what was unshakable was that he would come here every night to take care of his children and wife. The weak and sickly baby would cry loudly every night. Yunzhu was weak and would be even more anxious if she couldn't coax the child. Ning Yi came over to carry the child and coax her to sleep. At this time, he was actually better at coaxing this little girl than Yunzhu.
"Let me see … she didn't pee her pants. She just drank milk. Ning Xi, don't make the rattle. You will disturb your sister. And Ning Ji, don't be anxious. You didn't wake her up … It's probably a little stuffy in the room. Let's go outside and sit. Yes, there is indeed no wind today. "
He carried the child outside. Yunzhu came out with embroidered shoes and took a scarf to cover the child's face slightly. In the afternoon, there was a faint chirping of cicadas in the yard. The sun shone down and scattered warm light between the gaps of the trees. There was only a slight breeze and the swing under the tree swayed slightly.
As expected, after a few times, the child in her arms stopped crying. Jin'er sat on the swing and swayed. Ning Yi and Yunzhu also sat by the side. Ning Xi and Ning Ji saw that their sister had calmed down and ran to the side to read. This time, they ran far away. After Yunzhu took the child, she looked at the child's sleeping face under the scarf. "I didn't even do a good job as a mother."
"You lost half your life when you gave birth to her. I will hit whoever says that. "Ning Yi laughed softly.
Yunzhu lowered her head and smiled. She had a calm personality and her looks didn't change much. Her beautiful and clean face didn't change much. It was just that she had lost a lot of weight. Ning Yi reached out to touch her cheek. He recalled the thrill of giving birth a month ago. He still couldn't calm down.
He had experienced many things these years. Previously, it wasn't difficult for Tan'er and Xiaochan to give birth to two children. But this time, Yunzhu had a difficult birth. His emotions fluctuated even more violently than when he killed Zhou Zhe in the throne room. That night, when he heard Yunzhu's pain for half the night, he, who had been quiet, even got up and rushed into the delivery room. He wanted to force the doctor to kill the child to save the mother if it didn't work.
Perhaps it was because of this that he felt a little guilty for this child who didn't die. Moreover, she was a girl, so he gave more love and care in his heart. Of course, he refused to admit this on the surface.
Yunzhu knew what he was thinking and smiled. "Sister has also lost weight. You don't have to sit here with us if you have something to do. You and sister have a heavy burden on your shoulders. "
She was older than Tan'er, but when she talked about Tan'er, she mostly called her sister. Sometimes, she called Tan'er Younger Sister. Ning Yi nodded. He sat beside her and accompanied her to bask in the sun for a while. Then, he turned around and left.
He still had a lot of things to deal with. After leaving the courtyard, he went to the meeting hall with Chen Fan. That afternoon, he met many people and did a boring summary of the affairs. He didn't even make it for dinner. Jin'er and Chen Fan's wife, Ji Qian'er, came over with food boxes. After dealing with the affairs, they ate dinner on the hill while watching the setting sun. After that, they had some free time, so the group took a slow walk on the hill.
It was already dark. Jin'er softly talked about some of the interesting things that happened that day. Occasionally, she would express some trivial thoughts. When they stopped on the grassy slope, she crossed her legs and let Ning Yi rest his head on it. Then, she stretched out her hand and massaged him. As they talked, Jiner, who couldn't hide her thoughts, would occasionally ask about things that happened in the valley. Today, during dinner, she saw that Tan'er had also lost some weight. She was very busy, but the situation might not be good. The food in the valley was barely enough to last until June and July. By now, it was starting to run out. However, the people who went out didn't seem to have any good news.
"... I heard from Duan Shanhua that the Green Wood Stronghold is also a bit anxious. I told her that nothing would happen... Hmm, actually, I don't know much about these things, but I know that Liheng is very calm, so nothing will happen... But sometimes, I'm a bit worried. Liheng, is there really that much food outside the mountain that can be transported in? We have more than ten thousand people. Including the Green Wood Stronghold, there are almost forty thousand people. Then every day, we will eat... Uh, how much food do we eat... "
As she massaged Ning Yi's head, she murmured softly. When she came back to her senses, she saw that Ning Yi had opened his eyes and was looking at her from below with a faint smile.
"What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable?"
"You're talking so much that I almost fell asleep," Ning Yi said with a smile.
"That's not good. Then you should rest for a while."
As Jin'er spoke, Ning Yi had already sat up cross-legged. Night had fallen, and the mountain breeze was still warm. Jin'er moved closer to him and massaged his shoulders.
"... You have to deal with so many things every day. It's very tiring to handle all the big and small things in your hands... Didn't you say that it would be fine to just leave it to the subordinates to handle? I saw that the previous shopkeepers, as well as Zhuo Xiaofeng and the other children, are all very reliable... You work so late every day. My sister and the others are very worried. We told you to sleep, but you didn't..."
She continued to murmur until she heard Ning Yi say something in a low voice.
"It's very difficult, but it's not impossible..."
"Hmm?"
The hand in front of her grabbed the hand on her shoulder, and Jin'er was pulled over. She knelt behind Ning Yi and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. She saw Ning Yi looking at the valley below. After a while, he slowly and softly said, "Look, what does the current Little Cang River look like?"
"Ah?"
Jin'er's eyes widened, and then she blinked. She was actually an intelligent woman. She knew that what Ning Yi said was most likely the answer to the riddle. Although she didn't need to think about it, she was still interested in it.
Looking down from where she was, the riverside of the Little Cang River and the residential area were dotted with lights. Looking down from above, she could even see groups of people either gathered or scattered. This small valley was surrounded by the darkness of the distant mountains, and it seemed lively yet lonely.
What did it look like?
However, that night, Jin'er couldn't figure out the answer to the riddle...
It was also that night that a figure carefully avoided the sentries on the periphery of the Little Cang River and quietly fled toward the forest in the east. Due to the acceptance of some refugees in the winter, although there weren't many spies from other forces among the refugees, they still couldn't be eliminated. At the same time, the Western Xia document requesting the Jin Kingdom to block the smuggling routes in the north of Lüliang was flying on the road.
In the turmoil of the world, the vicious situation of ambushes on all sides around the Little Cang River and the Green Wood Village had gradually unfolded.
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