Yingtian.
The coronation ceremony of the new Emperor had just ended. In this ancient city, which was originally the capital of the Wu dynasty, everything seemed to be bustling with activity. Carriages and merchants came and went from south to north. Because of the new Emperor's ascension, this autumn, there would be a new imperial examination in Yingtian Prefecture. The gathering of scholars and warriors made the ancient city overcrowded for a while.
In the past decades, the Wu dynasty had appeared vigorous because of the development of commerce. After the civil strife in Liao, they sensed that there might be an opportunity in the world. The speculators of the Wu dynasty also became excited, thinking that it might be a critical moment for the revival. However, with the rise of the Jin Kingdom and the bloodshed on the battlefield, people discovered that the Wu dynasty army, which had lost its spirit, could no longer keep up with the pace of the times. Now, after the Jin Kingdom invaded the south twice, although the new "Jianshuo" court was once again established in Yingtian, the road ahead of the Wu dynasty was indeed difficult to take.
When the country was about to fall, evildoers appeared, and heroes appeared. After Prince Kang ascended to the throne and changed the era of Jianshuo, the scene of people rushing to seek fame and glory in high spirits was no longer seen. The children of some of the big families who used to dominate the court had greatly decreased this time. Of course, those who would come to Yingtian at this time were naturally people with confidence. However, before coming here, most people had thought about the purpose of this trip, which was to turn the tide. As for the difficulties, although they could not say that they empathized with it, at least they had thought about it.
In addition to these people, some of the hermits and great scholars who had lived in seclusion in the mountains because their careers were not smooth or for various reasons had also been invited to come out of seclusion. In order to deal with the great enemy that had not been seen for hundreds of years, they had come to give advice.
The more dangerous the country was, the more patriotic their feelings were. After experiencing the first two blows, the court this time, at least it seemed, finally had some of the steadiness and foundation that belonged to a great country.
In a newly built villa in the east of the city, the atmosphere was slightly quiet. The warm autumn wind blew through the courtyard, causing the yellow leaves to fall. In a room in the courtyard, a secret meeting was coming to an end.
At this moment, sitting at the lower end of the room was a young man dressed in green clothes. He looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He had a dignified appearance and a well-proportioned figure. Although he did not appear to be burly, his gaze and figure seemed to be full of strength. He closed his legs, pressed his hands on his knees, and sat upright. His motionless figure showed that he was slightly nervous. This young man's name was Yue Fei, and his courtesy name was Peng Ju. Obviously, he had not expected that they would meet like this today.
The person sitting at the head of the table was a younger man. He had delicate features and looked a little weak, but his words were clear and his tone was gentle. "The young Prince Jun Wu is now the crown prince of the new dynasty." At this time, with the help of Lu Agui and the others, they were carrying out some political activities under the table.
"… The Golden Men are powerful. Since they've tasted the sweetness, they'll definitely do it again and again. I don't know how much time we have left to catch our breath. Speaking of which, there's no need to hide it from you, Lord Yue. My father and I used to stay in the south, so we don't know how to fight, but there are some things that we can understand. Most of the time, it's not the responsibility of the military officials that we can't fight. Now that I've asked Lord Yue to help me train the troops, I can only promise you two things … "
"… First, the Crown Prince's Residence will do its best to help you with the money and food you need to train the troops. Second, everything you've done has been instructed by the Crown Prince's Residence. If there's any blame, I'll take it for you. If you go against anyone, you can use my name. The country is in danger, and I can't care about the bigger picture. It doesn't matter who I get into conflict with. Lord Yue, I want good troops. Even if they can't defeat the Female Zhenren, they must be able to fight them to a draw … "
As he listened to these words, Yue Fei's eyes flickered. After a moment, his eyes actually turned red. All along, he had hoped that he could lead troops to serve the country and achieve great things, to comfort himself and to comfort his teacher Zhou Dong. After meeting Ning Yi, he once felt that he had encountered an opportunity. However, before Ning Yi raised the flag of rebellion, he talked to him a few times and then transferred him out to perform other tasks.
After Ning Yi killed the emperor, the two actually met once. Ning Yi invited him to go with him, but Yue Fei refused in the end. After the chaos in the capital, he hid north of the Yellow River and led several teams of villagers to train every day, hoping to fight against the Female Zhenren in the future. In fact, he was also deceiving himself. Because of Ning Yi's crime of killing the emperor, he could only hide with his tail between his legs. If it weren't for the fact that the Female Zhenren quickly went south to besiege Bianliang for the second time and the higher-ups didn't investigate thoroughly enough, he would probably have been found out long ago.
It was easy to imagine how sullen he had been these days. Who knew that not long ago, someone finally found him and brought him to Ying Tian. Today, when he saw the new Crown Prince, he actually said such words. Yue Fei was about to kneel down and agree, but Jun Wu hurried over to support him.
"You can't do this." Jun Wu said, "You are the last disciple of Grand Master Zhou Dong. I trust you. You people who practice martial arts and lead the army should be courageous. You shouldn't just kneel down. Those scholars in the court are busy with scheming all day long. They should kneel down. Anyway, they can't count even if they kneel. They should kneel more. The more they kneel, the more they know how to be sweet and mean. "
The young Crown Prince joked. Yue Fei cupped his hands and stood solemnly.
"Does Minister Yue's family know about the recent events in the northwest?"
"Your Highness, you mean …"
"Oh, Minister Yue, you don't have to be afraid. I don't care about this. Right now, the most lively thing in the capital, apart from father's ascension to the throne, is the battle in the northwest that everyone is secretly talking about. The Black Flag Army defeated the Western Xia army of more than a hundred thousand with only ten thousand. How powerful and domineering. It's a pity that our millions of troops can't fight. The Black Flag Army also came from millions of troops. How come they can fight when they come to the other side … This is also a good thing. It shows that the people of our Wu dynasty aren't bad by nature. If we find the right way, it's not like we can't beat the Female Zhenrens. "
The two of them walked out one after the other. The falling yellow leaves fell on Jun Wu's head. He grabbed them and played with them in his hand.
"Everything in the world is inseparable from the Way of Understanding Things. Even the reason why this leaf fell and why the veins on the leaf grew like this, there is a reason in it. Understand the reason clearly and see if we can do it. If we can't, then see if there is a possibility of compromise. Minister Yue, do you know the Way of Understanding Things? "
"… I've heard a little about it."
"I'm still tidying up my estate outside the city. It'll probably be another month before it officially starts. To tell you the truth, the big sky lantern I made is about to fly. Once it's done, it can be used in the army. I'll give it to you first. When you return to the capital next time, I'll take you to see it. As for the elm cannons, I'll be able to allocate some to you soon … Those people in the Ministry of Works are all idiots. They want people to work but don't give them any benefits. They can't compare to my craftsmen. Unfortunately, they also need time to settle down … "
"Your matter is a matter of status. The crown prince's residence will take care of it for you. Of course, in the next two days in the capital, you need to be more cautious. Recently, there have been many old scholars in Yingtian's residence. When they see me, they'll tell the crown prince not to do this or that. Go to the Yellow River to recruit soldiers. If necessary, you can bring my personal letter to ask Elder Zong Ze for help. Right now, the matters on the Yellow River are handled by Elder Zong Ze … "
Amidst the flat and long-winded voice, the autumn sun engraved the figures of the two young people in the golden air. Passing through this villa, people and carriages were passing through this ancient city. The trees were lush and lush, and the brothels were open as usual. The faces of the people entering and exiting were brimming with joy. In the restaurants and tea shops, storytellers were playing the erhu and hitting the wooden stick. A new official had taken office. He bought a courtyard in this ancient city and put up a plaque. There were also people who came to congratulate him with a smile.
It was another city with hundreds of thousands of people. At this moment, the precious peace was enveloping them and warming them.
Eldest Princess Zhou Pei sat by the window in the attic, looking at the trees with yellow leaves and the birds flying over them. The original Jun Ma Qu Zonghui was now the Emperor's son-in-law. He also came to Yingtian. In the first few days, Qu Zonghui tried to repair the relationship with his wife. However, Zhou Pei, who was entangled with many things, had no time to pay attention to him. The couple maintained a lukewarm distance.
She lived in this attic, but she still managed many things in secret. Sometimes, she would be in a daze in the attic, and no one knew what she was thinking. Now, Cheng Zhouhai, who had been taken under her command, came one day and suddenly felt that the layout of this courtyard was similar to when he was in Bianliang. However, he was also a person with many things to do, so he soon put this boring thought to the back of his mind …
In the far northwest, with the arrival of autumn, a peaceful atmosphere also briefly enveloped this piece of yellow land. More than a month ago, in the battles from Yanzhou to Dong Zhiyuan, the Huaxia army lost nearly half of its soldiers. On Dong Zhiyuan, the number of lightly and seriously injured people added up was still less than 4,000. After combining with the more than 1,000 injured people from before, the number of people who could fight in this army was about 4,400. The remaining four to five hundred people had lost their fighting ability forever, or could no longer charge at the front line.
Some of the injured were temporarily left in Yanzhou, and some were sent back to Little Canghe. Currently, there were about 3,000 troops left in Yanzhou, taking on the task of garrisoning the army during this period of time. As for the matter of expanding the army, it was only at this time that they began to cautiously and carefully carry it out. The Black Flag Army didn't openly recruit soldiers to the outside world. Instead, after inspecting some people who had lost their families and were living extremely hard lives, and under the other party's efforts, they would "make an exception" to absorb some people into the army. Currently, this number wasn't that many either.
When the setting sun gently sprinkled its radiance from the horizon, Mao Yishan was in a courtyard, preparing a jar of well water for an old woman who lived alone. When the trembling old woman wanted to ask him to stay for a meal, he left with a smile. Two months ago, when they had attacked Yanzhou City, such an incident had taken place. An old woman had been pushing a bucket of water. She had been waiting by the roadside with a few dates in her hand. She had been using these meager things to reward the Imperial Army who had fought their way into the city. Her only son had been killed in the previous massacre of the Xixia people. So, she was the only one left alive.
Mao Yishan drank a bowl of water from her. After returning to Yanzhou, he often came to help her with some small matters. However, in this short period of two months, the old woman who lived alone had rapidly weakened. After the death of her son, there was still hatred and expectation in her heart. After avenging her son, for the old woman, there was no longer anything in this world that she cared about.
In the drill ground near the city wall, the training of more than 2,000 soldiers had come to an end. After the dispersal horn sounded, the soldiers left this place in groups. On the way, they exchanged a few words with each other. There was a smile on their faces. That smile was a little tired, but it was more of a vitality and confidence that couldn't be seen on the faces of the soldiers of this era.
In an inn in the west of the city, a small quarrel was taking place.
"… You're right. I don't want to get involved in this matter anymore."
"You … I didn't tell you that you deliberately left when we attacked Little Canghe. Now that you're saying this, Tie Tianying, can you still be considered the chief of the Ministry of Justice!? "
"Yes, I am the chief of the Ministry of Justice. But what is a chief of the Ministry of Justice? I'm just an errand boy. Prince Tong was killed by him, and the late emperor was also killed by him. I, the chief of the police, heh … Lord Li, don't talk about the chief of the Ministry of Justice. My name, Tie Tianying, is also a hero in the underworld. But what can I do? Even the world's number one, Lin E Chan, was chased away in front of him. "
"…"
"Lord Li, it's for scholars like you to think about the world. We, who practice martial arts, really don't have the right to think about it. That Ning Yi, did he know that I even gave him a punch in front of him? He didn't fight back, and I felt so stupid looking at him. Instead, he directly killed the late emperor in the Throne Room. And now, the ten thousand soldiers of the Black Flag Army have defeated more than a hundred thousand people! Lord Li, I don't want to say this, but I can see it clearly. He is a man who wants to turn the world upside down. I didn't die, do you know why? "
"…"
"— It's because he didn't even look at me properly!"
"…"
"It's enough that I didn't die. When I return to the Wu dynasty, I will see the situation. I will hand over my position and ask for forgiveness. If the situation is not good, the world is going to be chaotic anyway. I will also find a place and hide."
"… I know, you can go."
"No, I won't go." The person who spoke shook his head.
"…"
"The northwest is not peaceful. I, Tie Tianying, am greedy for life and afraid of death, but I still have some martial arts skills. Lord Li, you are a big shot. You are amazing. If you want to fight with him, I will protect you here. When you go back, we will go our separate ways. It is also … a memory. "
Under the autumn sunshine in the northwest, some people were high-spirited, some were full of doubts, and some were discouraged. The messengers from the Zhong family and the Zhe family had also arrived. In the midst of the negotiations, there was also a surging undercurrent in Yanzhou City. In such a situation, a small episode was happening silently.
In August, the messengers from the Jin Kingdom quietly came to the Green Wood Village and then entered Yanzhou City through the Little Cang River. Not long after, the messengers returned to the Jin Kingdom along the original route and brought back words of rejection.
— — The people of Huaxia do not surrender to foreign countries.
Everything seemed serene and peaceful.
Just like before the arrival of night, the rosy clouds in the sky always appeared magnificent and auspicious. In the evening, Ning Yi and Qin Shaoqian ascended the city gate tower of Yanzhou City and exchanged information about the departure of the Nuzhen messengers. Then, they were slightly silent for a moment.
"In a few days, Zhong Lie and Zhe Keqiu will know about the return of Xixia to Qing Province."
Fingers tapping on the parapet a few times, Ning Yi calmly opened his mouth.
"Then … do something to surprise them first."
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