On the 27th of February, the weather had begun to warm up. The fields near Zhending were filled with flowers of various colors.
The earth was quiet. Crows flew down and pecked at the corpses among the wildflowers. The spreading blood had already started to coagulate. In the Zhen Ding Manor, a day had passed since the end of the great battle. The Iron Cavalry had spread across the land and extended tens of miles to the south. More than a hundred thousand soldiers were fleeing in defeat.
In the middle of February of the second year of Wujianshuo, the Jurchen Zhenren vowed to send out troops, opening the curtains of the third Wu conquest. On the 23rd of February, the Jurchen central army led by Ni Han crossed the Yanmen Pass and was intercepted by the general of the Wu dynasty, Hou Xin, who led a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers.
Since the Jurchen army conquered Bianliang and returned to the north, the number of troops north of the Yellow River and south of the Yanmen Pass, nominally belonging to the Wu dynasty, had been increasing. On one hand, the number of bandits had increased rapidly. On the other hand, in order to deal with future battles and stabilize their own territory, the several troops stationed there had been constantly expanding their forces.
When Prince Kang ascended the throne and the reign of Wujianshuo was changed, Zong Ze, who was in charge of the northern garrison, worked tirelessly to incorporate several tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of civilian forces north of the Yellow River into the regular army of the Wu dynasty. At this time, the land north of the Yellow River was divided by bandits and troops, forming a unified first line of defense against the Jurchen.
Hou Xin, Marquis Wenjing, was the commander-in-chief of the Wusheng army. This time, he did not choose to retreat and said to his subordinates, "Our country is in danger, a real man has to face the difficulties." During the battle, Zong Han saw that the morale of the troops was high and did not engage them. The two sides probed each other for two days. On the morning of the 26th of February, the cavalry attacked Hou Xin's troops.
The Wusheng army had been defeated by the Jurchen in the previous two southern expeditions. Now that they had hastily expanded their army to a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, they were mixed in good and bad. Hou Xin was somewhat prepared for Zong Han's attack, but after meeting the enemy, the hundred thousand soldiers still rebelled. The Jurchen cavalry penetrated the line of defense of the Wusheng army like a flood. That night, the bodies of the soldiers killed by the Jurchen piled up like a mountain and blood flowed like a river. On the 26th day, Yin Shu could seize Zhending Prefecture.
On the morning of the 27th, the scattered soldiers filled the roads and mountains to the south of Zhen Ding. These soldiers, who were of mixed quality, frantically fled to the south. Some of them were originally bandits, and after being recruited by the regular army, they were controlled by military law. This also aroused the first wave of bloodlust to fight against the Female Daoist. However, in the process of fleeing, these things finally disappeared.
Yuanchang County, 60 miles away from Zhen Ding, was crowded with the first wave of soldiers who had fled here. The order had already begun to fall into chaos. A group of hundreds of people were driving the people in the county away, telling them the news of the Lady Zhenren's attack and urging everyone to flee. In such a drive, they also began to loot the little wealth and grain in the county, and there were even cases of raping women. The county magistrate, Liu Dongxiu, tried to stop the chaos. One afternoon, he was killed in the conflict, and his body was displayed in the county government's lobby. Soon after, the looting soldiers scattered like birds and beasts.
Yuanchang County was not the only place where this phenomenon occurred. Zhending, Taiyuan, and other places had already suffered from the flames of war. In a sense, they were almost abandoned. On the way, the soldiers had already understood that the general situation in the vicinity was over. There were still hot-blooded and concerned people who ran south, seeking refuge with other armies and volunteer armies. More than half of them began to think for themselves, either fleeing into the mountains or dispersing into the distance. During this period, there were many people who looted the nearby villagers and muddled along to enjoy themselves.
When things were calm, the recruited bandits became soldiers, and after the defeat, the soldiers became mountain bandits again.
In the midst of the 100,000 people's defeat, more people fled, and the scouts and spies in various places fled at an even faster speed in different directions. In this way, the news of the Lady Zhenren's menacing arrival was pushed to the whole world like a tide.
More troops gathered north of the Yellow River, but after seeing the power of the Goddess of War, Wanyan Zonghan, everyone began to adopt a more cautious attitude and did not dare to make any more rash moves.
At the Yellow River defense line, Zong Ze quickly gathered the limited troops at hand and fortified the defenses along Bianliang and the Yellow River. As he wrote letters to stabilize the morale of several volunteer armies north of the Yellow River, he also sent memorials to Yingtian, hoping that His Majesty would resist resolutely and raise the morale of the army.
In Yingtian, more news and debate filled the throne room. Emperor Zhou Yong was completely stunned. He had only ascended the throne for half a year, and the invincible Jurchen army was already attacking the south. This time, Wanyan Zonghan led the central army straight over, and there was no longer any danger in the direction of Taiyuan. Meanwhile, the Jurchen princes, Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Zongbi, led the eastern army to Shandong, using the slogan of destroying the Wu dynasty and capturing Zhou Yong alive. At this time, although the northern defense line was at its peak, it was too large to be stopped. No one in the court was sure if they could stop the Jurchen.
During this time, Left Minister Li Gang still advocated strict defense and firmly refused the Jurchen at the Yellow River, waiting for the army to destroy the Jurchen army. In Yingtian City, in order to resist the Jurchen, the people were angry. Imperial College students Chen Dong, Ouyang Che, and the others ran around every day, calling for resistance.
But after the previous two failures to resist the Jurchen, the voices of those in favor of peace in the court had already risen. It was different from the situation when Tang Ke and the others were reprimanded for fear of battle. At this time, led by Right Minister Huang Qianshan, Privy Envoy Wang Boyan, and the others who advocated fleeing south, there was already a market. Many people thought that if the Jurchen were too powerful to control, perhaps they could only go south first, exchange space for time, and use the terrain of the southern waterways to suppress the Jurchen's advantage in horse warfare.
After all, it had only been a year since the Jingping Emperor was abducted to the north, and it was still the greatest humiliation of the entire Wu dynasty. If the newly ascended Jianshuo Emperor was also abducted, the Wu dynasty might really be finished.
Logically speaking, in the next few years, this rapidly rising Jurchen army that had not even declined yet seemed to be invincible in the world, and no one could control it. Although there seemed to have been such an army in the past, for the officials in the court at this time, they couldn't really consider it. After all, the leader of that army had once said disdainfully in the throne room, "A bunch of trash."
If that person had only killed Tong Guan and Zhou Zhe, perhaps it would have been fine. But this sentence also showed that, in the eyes of that person, other people were no different from the corrupt and treacherous officials they spoke of. This was something that even Li Gang and the others couldn't bear.
Now, the situation in the northwest where that person was was already completely unpredictable.
Little Canghe also suddenly became nervous.
The training of the soldiers was carried out every day. Large amounts of resources that could be plundered from the outside world were also coming in and out of the mountains — this also included the trade with the Green Wood Stronghold.
By the riverside, a training session had just ended. Luo Ye abandoned the exhausted soldiers and hurriedly washed his face in the river water. Then he quickly walked to the barracks and took out a small notebook and charcoal pen. When he walked to the cluster of houses halfway up the mountain, he met two soldiers who were hurriedly running with serious expressions. These two were members of Takeshi's first secret investigation department. Luo Ye also knew them, so he pulled one of them aside and asked, "What's wrong?"
When the news of the Jurchen invading the south came, the atmosphere in the entire Little Canghe valley became tense and somber. These people in charge of intelligence were probably asked many times every day, hoping to find out more about the outside world. That person was also very familiar with Luo Ye and was also a member of the Huayan Association. He looked around and said with some difficulty, "It's not about the outside world. We might be punished this time."
"What happened?" Luo Ye frowned, "Did you guys do something wrong?"
"In the north, you know what happened to Shopkeeper Lu. Someone told his family. Today, Mingfang's mother went to find Mister Ning to complain, hoping for an accurate answer. "
He spoke quickly. Speaking of this, Luo Ye nodded. He also knew about this news. During the Wu dynasty, there was a secret investigation department under the Right Minister's Residence. A part of it had already been integrated into Takeshi. After Ning Yi's rebellion, Takeshi's intelligence system was still under the name of secret investigation. One of the three people in charge was Shopkeeper Lu Yannian. Last year, it was Shopkeeper Lu who first went to the north to trade with the Jin Kingdom and redeemed some craftsmen who had been captured by the Jurchen. His son, Lu Mingfang, liked to talk and laugh, and also had a good relationship with Luo Ye. He was not even twenty years old yet and usually worked with Lu Yannian.
This time, before the Jurchen army went south, the north suddenly began to purge the southern spies. After a few days of silence, members of Takeshi who escaped from the north brought back news that the intelligence team led by Lu Yannian was the first to be hit. They were ambushed in Yunzhong. Shopkeeper Lu Yannian was most likely dead, and the others were likely to be in danger. This time, the actions of the Jurchen higher-ups were very fierce. In order to cooperate with the army going south, they set off a terrible bloodbath in the sixteen provinces of Yan Yun. Any Han people who were slightly suspicious were slaughtered.
Although the Bamboo Shop's people were prepared for this kind of situation, under this atmosphere of not treating the Han people as humans, they suffered heavy losses. Later, the news of the Jurchen army going south arrived.
Luo Ye thought for a moment, "Aunt Huo is actually a sensible person. I don't think she will cause too much trouble for Mister Ning."
"It's not because of that …" The man sighed. He saw another companion waving at him from afar and waved his hand, "Ai, you'll know soon enough. Don't tell anyone about this matter. Don't even mention it to anyone. "
He turned to leave. Luo Ye reacted, "I understand."
In the courtyard halfway up the mountain, Su Tan 'er accompanied the crying Lu family's wife and comforted her. In fact, for any woman, when her husband and son might have died, comforting them would be useless.
In another meeting room, the middle and senior officials of Takeshi's intelligence department had gathered. Ning Yi looked at them coldly, "… You think that there are no problems with the people in the valley. You think that your friends are loyal and reliable. You think that whatever is a big deal is a small matter, so you can let your guard down when it's a small matter. Don't you know that you are in the intelligence department?
"You may not be able to see your importance now, even if I have repeatedly told you! You are the most important part of the life and death battle! Foresee the enemy's moves! Foresee the enemy's moves! What kind of concept is that! What kind of enemy are you facing! "
"Jurchen, they have already started to go south. No one can stop them! We can't either! There are less than 50,000 people in the Green Wood Stronghold in Little Canghe. They are not even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth. You think that the people around you are reliable. Who knows when there will be people who are afraid of death and rely on them! Your trust is meaningless. Your imagination is meaningless. Only discipline is meaningful! One less negligence and one more achievement, and your companions may survive. Since you think that they can be trusted and relied on, you should be responsible for them with the strictest discipline. "
"Auntie Huo is a reasonable woman, but regardless of whether she's reasonable or not, Shopkeeper Lu might not be able to come back. If you are more powerful, you may be able to detect their movements before Jurchen takes action. Do you have any room for improvement? I think we can start from our own weaknesses. This time, anyone who has discussed with the people around him that has not been made public will be punished! Do you think there is a problem? "
As soon as he said this, there was a round of silence in the room, "No."
Ning Yi knocked on the table a few times. "The Jurchen is coming. It is hard to say whether we will be affected or not. But it is very likely that no matter how much preparation we have, it will not be enough. Defeating the Western Xia is not a good thing. We have entered the enemy's line of sight too early. This is actually the worst-case scenario. You guys … "
Before he could finish, someone outside the door reported. It was Little Black, who was in charge of sending messages. He came over and said a few words. Ning Yi paused and looked at the people in the room.
The worst-case scenario had still come.
That day, only a few people in the room heard the content of that sentence. Even if they heard it, they did not spread it. But that night, most people in the valley still knew what had happened. The messenger sent by the Jurchen army had arrived in the valley to deliver the final ultimatum to Little Canghe.
Hearing this news, some people in the valley were angry, some were excited, and some were anxious. Without going through the organization of the higher-ups, Luo Ye and the others spontaneously gathered the soldiers for a meeting to cheer them up and strengthen their fighting spirit. But of course, the real decision still had to be made by Ning Yi.
That night, only a few people knew what Ning Yi and the messenger talked about. The next day, after Luo Ye and the others finished their training, they went to class as scheduled and gathered together to discuss the situation of the Jurchen army moving south.
At this time, the mobilization of the Jurchen army was already clear in the valley. Zong Han of the central army and Zong Fu and Zong Bi of the eastern army were all heading straight for Ying Tian. The true threat to the northwest was the Western Army of the Female Zhenrens. In this army, there were only ten thousand Jin, but the leader could not be underestimated. He was one of the most outstanding generals of the Female Zhenren army, Wanyan Loushi.
This person had outstanding military exploits in the Jurchen army. Back then, he had captured Liao Tianzuo and Yelu Dashi alive. During the Jurchen's two wars against Wu, he had countless victories in Taiyuan, Guanshan, and other places. He was best at using the Jin soldiers as the core, supplemented by surrendered soldiers and fake soldiers. He often had more and more soldiers under his command, and was very skillful in politics, military affairs, and strategy. Even among the female Daoist masters who had just emerged, he was probably the strongest in terms of tactics.
As Ning Yi had said, when they defeated Western Xia, Little Canghe had already fallen into the Jurchen's eyes. If the arrival of the Jurchen messenger meant that the Jin higher-ups had intentions towards this side, then the army of Little Canghe would most likely have to face this invincible Jurchen general. Although the Black Flag Army had seven thousand people who broke the record of Western Xia's one hundred thousand soldiers, on the other side, they had probably defeated millions of enemies. Moreover, battles where the disparity in military strength was more than one to ten could be seen everywhere.
A group of people were discussing in the room when voices gradually came from outside the door. That voice included Ning Yi and a few strange Chinese words. Everyone stopped their discussion. At the door, Ning Yi and a figure in the Jin Kingdom's official uniform appeared.
"Whoosh!" Everyone looked at the door and stood up. The Jin messenger was obviously stunned. Ning Yi looked around and said, "This is the messenger from the Jin Kingdom, Fan Hongji. Mr. Fan, this is a disciple of my army." He spread out his hands and said, "Let's go."
Fan Hongji looked around and laughed, "You are indeed a hero, no wonder you could achieve such great results. Oh, right, I just remembered something."
"Oh?"
"Before we left Yunzhong, Lord Goddess of Grains and Dean Shi asked me to bring two things for Mr. Ning to see. Since there are so many people here, why don't you take a look?"
As Fan Hongji spoke, the two guards behind him had already arrived. They took out two big boxes that had been hanging beside them and walked into the room. Chen Fan came over with a smile. Ning Yi also spread out his hands and smiled, "Is it a gift? Let's go to the side. "
"Don't worry, don't worry."
The two guards were tall and strong. They must be the warriors of the Jurchen army. With a simple push, one of the boxes broke. Fan Hongji opened the box and some lime fell out. Fan Hongji took the thing in his hand. Ning Yi's eyes froze, but his smile didn't change. However, many people in the room had already seen it.
It was a human head.
The room was silent for a moment. Faintly, it seemed that someone's fist was clenched. Ning Yi said, "What do you mean by bringing this thing here?" He had already calmed down and didn't try to stop the messenger. The messenger named Fan Hongji smiled and carried the marinated human head into the room. He placed the head on the table. The other guard also brought the wooden box in, put it down, and opened it.
In the room, everyone looked over calmly. Fan Hongji's gaze met theirs, and he smiled as he swept his gaze over them.
"Nothing. Not long ago, some people caused trouble at the Yun Zhong Residence. These are two of them. They wanted to buy Han slaves from Yunzhong and send them back to the Central Plains. This kind of thing is forbidden by the Jin Kingdom, but these two were brave warriors. After they were captured, they refused to reveal their origins no matter how they were tortured. In the end, they committed suicide. The Goddess of Grains was impressed by their bravery and decisiveness. She said that they might be your people. She asked me to bring them to you so that you can let them rest in peace. "
Fan Hongji smiled and his eyes were calm. Ning Yi's eyes were also calm with a smile. The eyes of the group of people in the room were also calm. Some of them had a slight smile on their faces. It was an eerie silence. The murderous aura seemed to be brewing and spreading in all directions. However, Fan Hongji was not afraid of anyone. He was the messenger of the most powerful army in the world. He didn't have to fear anyone or anything.
On the table, Lu Yannian opened his eyes and stared ahead. His eyes were empty and dead.
Just as the Jurchen army was about to conquer the world, in this corner of the northwest, time stopped for a short while.
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