The autumn rain poured down, patting the yellow leaves and withered grass between the mountains and the rivers, forming the last torrent before the arrival of winter.
Looking down from the mountainside, Little Cang River seemed very calm in the autumn rain. The houses looked a little monotonous, the straight and tidy streets, the passersby walking on the streets, and the empty training ground. The mountains and rivers flowed into the river, and the heavy rain created ripples on the water surface of the reservoir. Fan Hongji looked at all of this and thought of the thunderous sound of releasing water from the dam at the entrance of the mountain. It was lively and monotonous.
This mission would not have a good ending.
When he entered the mountain, he already knew that the Goddess spies who were originally arranged near the Little Cang River had all been cleaned up by the people of the Little Cang River. Although these spies might not have expected this, the fact that they were able to clean up all the spies was enough to prove that the Little Cang River had made a lot of preparations for this mission.
Fan Hongji washed up in the room arranged by the soldiers of the Little Cang River, tidied up his clothes, and then, under the guidance of the soldiers, opened an umbrella and went up the mountain. The sky was dark, and there was wind in the heavy rain. As he neared the mountainside, he could already see the warm yellow light in the small courtyard. The scholar named Ning Yi was talking to his wife and son under the eaves. When he saw Fan Hongji, he stood up. His wife smiled and said something to him before pulling the child back to their room. Ning Yi looked at him and spread his hands. "Envoy Fan, please come in."
The meeting this time was different from the previous ones.
Although Ning Yi still had a smile on his face, Fan Hongji could still clearly feel the change in the atmosphere in the rainy air. The smile on the other side seemed to have lost a lot of things, and became more profound and complicated. In the previous few meetings and negotiations, Fan Hongji could feel the intentions and the vague urgency in the seemingly calm attitude of the other side, but at this moment, they had completely disappeared.
Fan Hongji was not a novice at negotiations. It was precisely because of the vague implication in the other party's attitude that he felt that there was still a breakthrough in this negotiation. He also believed that he would be able to find this breakthrough. But it was only at this moment that his heart suddenly sank with the realization that "as expected".
He stood in the rain and no longer went in. Instead, he cupped his fists and saluted, "If possible, I hope that Mister Ning can return the Jurchen brothers who were originally arranged outside the valley. In this way, there might be a chance to turn the situation around."
Ning Yi stood under the eaves and looked at him with his hands behind his back. Then he shook his head and said, "You think too much, Envoy Fan. This time, we didn't leave any heads behind."
Looking into the distance, Ning Yi directly turned around and walked into the room. Fan Hongji was slightly stunned, but after a moment, he could only follow. It was still the same study. Fan Hongji looked around. "In the past, every time I came here, Mister Ning was very busy, but now it seems that he's a bit more free. It's just that I don't think you'll be free for long. "
"Please sit down. Life is meant to be busy, so there's no need to care so much. " Ning Yi took a brush and wrote on the Xuan paper. "Since Envoy Fan is here, I'll take advantage of my free time to write you a piece of calligraphy."
"After Mister Ning defeated Xixia, it is said that you wrote a piece of calligraphy for the King of Xixia. It is called, 'After all the tribulations, the brothers are still together, and when we meet again, a smile dissolves all enmity.' The King of Xixia is deeply ashamed of it, and it is said that he hangs it in his study every day as a form of encouragement. Is Mister Ning also going to write a piece of calligraphy for me to bring back? To anger the officials of the imperial court of the Jin Kingdom? "
"Absolutely not. Envoy Fan, you think too much."
Ning Yi smiled. Fan Hongji sat in a chair and looked at Ning Yi, who was writing. "In the whole world, it is difficult to find someone who can force Marshal Lou Shi to retreat with an equal number of troops. In the battle of Yanzhou, you fought well. "
"The Hua Xia army's formation coordination and the morale of the soldiers are not bad." Ning Yi adjusted his brush. "Grand Marshal Wanyan's ability to command troops is superb and admirable. Next, let's see who will die on this ancient plain. "
"Must the Hua Xia army go to such an extent?" Fan Hongji frowned and stared at Ning Yi. "I have always thought that Mister Ning and the people of Little Canghe have treated them well. After running around for Little Canghe several times, the Goddess of Grains, Dean Shi, and the rest have changed their minds. It's not that we can't share the world with the people of Little Canghe. Mister Ning should know that this is a dead end. "
"Yes, that's most likely the case," Ning Yi nodded.
"Then why?" Fan Hongji looked at him. "Since Mister Ning doesn't want to beat around the bush and pretend to be confused, then no matter if Mister Ning wants to kill me or not, before that, why don't you make it clear to me? Even if I die, I want to die knowing."
Ning Yi was silent for a moment. "Because, you don't want to do business."
"Aren't we always negotiating?"
"The people of Hua Xia don't surrender to foreigners. If we can't come to an agreement, how can we negotiate?"
Fan Hongji laughed and stood up. "This is the general trend of the world. Mister Ning, you can send someone out to take a look! North of the Yellow River, the Jin Kingdom has already gained the upper hand. This time, the Jin Kingdom is going to invade the South. From what I know, Mister Ning once said that within three years, the Jin Kingdom will occupy the North of the Yangtze River! Mister Ning is not an unwise person. Are you going to go against the general trend? "
He paused. "However, Mister Ning should also know that this occupation is not the only occupation. Naturally, the Jin Kingdom will not be able to take over the world. Coincidentally, in troubled times, it is natural for ambitious and ruthless people to rise up. We already have the upper hand in the world. What we want is status. If people like Tian Hu and the Zhe family submit to us, as long as they are willing to submit verbally, we will not make things difficult for them! Mister Ning, if I may be so bold, please think about it. If the North of the Yangtze River — no, even the North of the Yellow River — all submit to the Jin Kingdom, you will be our superior. No matter how powerful the Little Cang River is, if you don't submit, do you really think the Jin Kingdom will let you stay? "
"A real man knows when to yield and when to stand tall. If you really want to achieve great things, sometimes you have to admit that the situation is stronger than the person. Mister Ning, when I first came here, there were many things I did not understand about the Little Cang River. But this time, I sincerely want to make this happen. This is the North. Now, Prince Zong Fu has answered to the heavens and is attacking Xu Zhou. Marshal Zong Han has broken Bianliang. North of the Yellow River, no one can stop them! As long as you nod and express your willingness to submit, the rest can be discussed. Within a few years, the Jin Kingdom will not control you. After a few years, we may become friends. Give yourself a path, and give the people in this valley and the heroes outside a path. "
Fan Hongji's tone was sincere. He paused and continued, "Mister Ning, you may not know this, but Marshal Lou Shi respects heroes the most. The Huaxia army was able to force him to retreat outside of Yanzhou and fight to a draw. He must value the Huaxia army and not hate them. After this battle, you will be the strongest except for the Jin Kingdom. North of the Yellow River, you have the highest chance of rising. Mister Ning, please give me a way out. Give the Goddess of Grains, Dean Shi, and Marshal Zong Han a way out. If he continued forward, there would really be no way out. These are all the words from the bottom of my heart. "
He stretched out a hand and tilted his head to look at Ning Yi. He was really sincere. Ning Yi looked at him and put down his pen.
"… There was a person called Liu Chen, the son of Liu Chan during the Three Kingdoms." Under Fan Hongji's sincere gaze, Ning Yi said slowly, "He did not leave behind many things. In the sixth year of Jing Yao, Deng Ai led his troops to Chengdu. Liu Chan decided to surrender, but Liu Chen tried to stop him. After Liu Chan surrendered, Liu Chen came to the Zhao Lie Temple and cried bitterly before committing suicide. "
His tone was flat, and there was not much cadence. After he finished speaking with a smile, the room fell silent. After a while, Fan Hongji squinted his eyes, "Mister Ning, do you really want to …"
"Can't I?"
"I thought Mister Ning was a smart man … You can think of other reasons, at least not for this …"
"Smart man …" Ning Yi smiled and muttered, "So what if I'm smart? When the Jurchen went south, the north of the Yellow River did fall. However, have you really not seen people who are unafraid of death? One or two, there are people like that every day. In this world, there are many things that can be discussed, but there is always a bottom line. On the first day you came, I have already said that the people of Huaxia do not surrender to foreign countries. The Jin Kingdom is indeed powerful. No one can stop you if you keep killing. However, a bottom line is a bottom line. Even if you have taken over the north of the Yangtze River, and everyone has surrendered, even if Little Cang River does not surrender, it is still a bottom line. Mister Fan, I also want to be friends with you, but you see, it is impossible. I can only give your Goddess of Grains a piece of calligraphy. I heard that he likes Sinology very much. Unfortunately, the ink is not dry yet. "
Fan Hongji did not look at the calligraphy. He only looked at him. After a while, he tilted his head. He looked at the rain outside the window and pondered for a long time. Finally, he nodded with great difficulty.
"I understand …" He dryly said, "I have heard of Mister Ning's name from the outside. On the side of the Wu Dynasty, they call you a heart demon. I originally thought that you were a quick-witted and quick-witted individual, but looking at the style of the Chinese army on the battlefield, that is not the case at all. I had my doubts, but now I know that it was just a rumor. Mister Ning, you are such a person … It should be so. Otherwise, you would not have killed the king of the Wu dynasty and ended up in this state. "
Ning Yi smiled, "Mister Fan, you have misunderstood me again. It is a battlefield. If you can win in a direct battle, then there is room for tricks. If there is no chance of winning in a direct battle, then using tricks will only make people laugh. There are too many people in the Wu dynasty army who use tricks. I am afraid that this disease has not been cured yet, so I do not dare to use it. "
The room became silent again. Fan Hongji's eyes swept across the calligraphy on the table. When he saw a certain spot, his eyes suddenly froze. After a while, he raised his head, closed his eyes and exhaled, "Mister Ning, there will be no one left alive in Little Cang River."
He said word by word, "You and your family here will not be able to survive. Whether it is Marshal Lou Shi or someone else, everyone here will die. Your small place will become a pit of ten thousand people. I … have nothing more to say."
When Fan Hongji strode out of the courtyard, the autumn rain in the valley did not stop, falling continuously into the sky. He walked back to his temporary guest room, spread out the words Ning Yi had written, and read them again. He slammed his fist on the table, and the last words of Ning Yi rang in his mind.
"No, Mister Fan, we can bet that this place will not become a pit of ten thousand people. This place will be a pit of ten thousand people, a pit of a million people. "
Take the poem, let the people come.
The ink on the paper was still wet.
…
The monarch and his subjects are willing to bend their knees, a son is sad alone.
…
The matter of Xichuan is gone, the mighty king of the north!
…
Sacrifice one's body to repay the martyrs, scratch one's head and weep for the firmament.
…
The people are still here, who is the Yunhan dead?
In the small valley, Fan Hongji only felt the aura of war and life and death soar into the sky. At this time, he did not know whether this surnamed Ning was a smart person or a fool. He only knew that this place had become a place of endless fighting. He no longer had any room for negotiation, and only wanted to leave as soon as possible.
*****
History often did not change because of the participation of ordinary people, but the changes in history often appeared because of the participation of ordinary people.
When Zhuo Yongqing climbed the road on the hillside with muddy steps, his chest was still hurting. Around him, his companions in the company were still climbing up. Mao Yishan, the squad leader, stood in the rain and wiped his muddy cheeks, then spat out a mouthful of saliva, "This damn weather …"
Not far away, the company commander of the first company, Luo Ye, nicknamed Lunatic Luo, accidentally fell down. At this time, his whole body was like a mud man, and he was even more embarrassed. Someone shouted in the rain, "Where do we go now?"
This was also the question of everyone. Luo Ye held his leg and panted for a moment, then pointed to the front, "Go forward! Catch up with the main group! "
"Where do we go forward, Lunatic Luo?"
"… Anyway, go forward first!"
The gloomy and cold rain filled the sky, making people feel cold all over. This was already the territory of Qing Province, and the battle between the Huaxia army and the Jurchen Western Army was still going on.
The first two days of this battle could be considered a complete chase and escape standoff. The Huaxia army relied on tenacious formations and high fighting spirit to try to drag the Jurchen army, who were burdened with infantry, into the swamp of a frontal battle. Wanyan Loushi used his cavalry to harass them, fighting and retreating. On the third day of this situation, all kinds of intense friction and small-scale battles appeared.
Wanyan Loushi used the smallest scale of cavalry to harass the Huaxia army in every direction for almost the entire day. The Huaxia army, while escorting the cavalry, stubbornly bit the enemy's infantry. In the middle of the night, they also took turns pushing the artillery toward the enemy's camp. This kind of tactic couldn't kill the enemy cavalry, but it could keep the Jurchen infantry in a high state of tension.
Deterrence wasn't just deterrence. There were many times when the intense confrontation almost turned into a large-scale charge, but in the end, Wanyan Loushi used a feint to escape. On the third day of this kind of battle, willpower began to be tormented. The Huaxia army took turns to rest every day to conserve their strength. The Jurchen's harassment was also extremely difficult. It wasn't that the enemy didn't have cavalry, and their formation was like a turtle shell. Once they began to charge and shoot with crossbows, it would be hard to guarantee that their own cavalry wouldn't be harmed. On the fourth and fifth day of this kind of battle, the situation in the entire northwest began to quietly change.
The Zhong army had caught up with heavy provisions. Yanzhou and other places began to incite the people to fight against the Jin on a large scale. Every day that the Huaxia army intimidated the Jurchen army, it made this fire burn even more fiercely. Wanyan Loushi also began to send people to gather the defectors from various places, including the Zhe Clan, who had been watching from the sidelines. They had already sent out emissaries and were just waiting for the enemy to arrive.
While people were moving, the friction between twenty thousand people on each side of the central battlefield was the most intense. Wanyan Loushi had already begun to dispatch troops to attack the rear of the Black Flag Army, the supply and fodder troops that were about to arrive from Yanzhou City. Meanwhile, the Hua Xia Army had already dispatched manpower, using around a thousand men to intercept and kill the Nü Zhen cavalry in various areas, attempting to cut off and scatter the Nü Zhen's tentacles on the mountainous region.
In the past few days, every battle, no matter how big or small, was so tense that it left people speechless. It had started to rain yesterday, and the battles that suddenly occurred at night were especially intense. Luo Ye, Qu Qing, and the others led troops to chase after the Jurchen cavalry. In the end, it became a prolonged chaotic battle. Many people had separated from the troops. Zhuo Yongqing had been knocked down a hill by the Jurchen's warhorse during the battle, and only found his companions after a long time. It was still morning at this time, and they would occasionally encounter Jurchen casualties scattered nearby. They would charge over and kill them.
A group of people slowly gathered together and spent a great deal of effort to search the surroundings. In the end, there were forty to fifty Huaxia soldiers gathered together. It could be seen just how chaotic the situation had been last night. Only after climbing up this hill did they discover that they had lost their way.
The Huaxia army's advance was mainly aimed at the Jurchen troops. The longer they followed them, the stronger the anti-Jurchen momentum in the northwest would become. However, Wanyan Loushi's tactics were erratic. In the great battle last night, they had fallen to the edge of the battlefield. They couldn't say which direction the Jurchen would turn and which direction the Hua Xia army would pursue.
After pausing for a moment, everyone decided to follow the general direction they had been heading and advance first. In short, they had to get out of this muddy area and dry themselves first.
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