In the Wu dynasty, at the beginning of the fifth month of the ninth year of Jianshuo, the summer was beginning to turn hot. The Ministry of War's urgent messages rushed through every major road in the Jiangnan lands.
In the capital, Lin 'an, merchants came and went, and ships passed by in an endless stream. The comings and goings of scholars and the gathering of chivalrous men were all polishing and polishing the prosperous scene of the Wu dynasty.
Ten years of time, placed in a person's lifetime, was a realistic and long distance. It was enough for a youth to grow into an adult, for a young person to change and mature, for a mature middle-aged person to enter old age, for the elderly to put down their thoughts and walk towards the end of their lives.
Happiness would become more beautiful in the memory of this time, and fear would become illusory with the passage of time. In these ten years, NMAU's transformation from a newborn to a prosperous one was in front of everyone's eyes. This prosperity was visible and tangible, enough to prove the new dynasty's hard work and prosperity.
Because of the past and the pressure of reality, scholars were able to express their anger and write even more impassioned words. Chivalrous men received double the attention of people. Their actions and thoughts were no longer simple fights in the woods and shameful evil-doings. Even the girls in brothels could more easily find attractive and even intoxicating men in this relatively peaceful "chaotic world."
For everyone, this was the best era.
The court was still busy, and the officials could at least more easily realize their ambitions on the new political map. Recently, they had become even busier.
The unusual news about Zong Fu and Zong Bi "possibly" heading south had already set off a storm in the court of the Wu dynasty. The news brought by this storm was still blocked from top to bottom, but those who were well-informed could already vaguely sense some clues. The actions of many large and influential families could always stir up some ripples from the inside out. These ripples were not necessarily negative. After fermenting for a few days, in the well-informed upper-class social circles of Lin 'an, the news of a possible war had already taken shape.
Those who heard were all impassioned.
As a long period of time passed, because of the nourishment of the prosperous scene, people's minds had long changed about the scenery of the Jinghan dynasty more than ten years ago, as well as the recent search of mountains and seas. NMAU's hard work gave people a lot of confidence. On one hand, they believed that if the sky fell, there would be tall people to hold it up. On the other hand, even the young masters of Lin 'an mostly believed that even if the golden men attacked again, the painful experience of the Wu dynasty already had the power to fight back — this was also the result of the Wu dynasty's external propaganda in recent years.
Since they could fight back, they needed to consider the opportunities that the change in power would bring to the people in this war. Opportunities in terms of power and economic opportunities. Even if there were people who were worried that the Wu Dynasty would once again suffer a setback, most of them were discussing how they could do their part to turn the tide and save the building from collapse.
Of course, it. of the Wu dynasty of the Wu of Wu dynasty. However, the upper echelons of the Wu Dynasty naturally could not deal with the news so willfully. After a great deal of discussion and analysis, they found that it was even more difficult to deal with the situation.
As the Privy Emissary, Qin Hui was at the center of this storm.
Ever since the Wu dynasty became NMAU and the Jurchens had searched the mountains and seas, Qin Hui had gone through several twists and turns in the Wu dynasty officialdom. Now, he was one of the few high-ranking officials who stood at the top of the hierarchy. Compared to the Left Prime Minister Lü Yihao and the Right Prime Minister Zhang Jun, Qin Hui was more of a rational leader in the court. He had been in charge of the Censorate during the Jinghan Dynasty. He was known for his uprightness and his ability to stabilize the overall situation. After the Jianshuo Dynasty was stabilized, Qin Hui did several things to stabilize the conflict between the North and the South. He had offended many people, but he was really thinking about the overall situation.
At this time, the rational party was usually in favor of peace. Ever since the Jurchen scoured the mountains and searched the seas, Qin Hui had realized the difference in military strength between the Jin people and the Jin people. Therefore, he had been very restrained in dealing with the conflicts between the two sides. In the past two years, he had even said that the southerners should return to the south and the northerners should return to the north. There was no human emotion in his proposals, but they were very practical. Because Crown Prince Jun Wu was a hot-blooded warmonger, Qin Hui had never been able to get the position of Prime Minister. But because of this, his status had become aloof.
At this time, Emperor Zhou Yong doted on his son, but on the other hand, on a rational level, he subconsciously relied on Qin Hui. Most likely, he believed that if things got out of hand, a person like Qin Hui could clean up the mess. When the news that the Jin people might be moving south came, the high-level meetings of the Wu dynasty included high-ranking officials like Qin Hui. But this time, he did not need to pour cold water on it. The atmosphere in the court was uniformly solemn.
In the past few years, the Wu dynasty had trained new soldiers and forged military equipment. If it was against Liu Yu, they still had some confidence. However, if it was against the Jurchens, most people in the court hoped that the news was fake. In fact, there had been such rumors every year in the past. However, the situation in this year was different.
Wu Qimai fell ill, and Zong Fu and Zong Bi wanted to take Jiangnan as a deterrent to Zong Han. For the martial Jurchens, this was indeed a very likely situation. Under the premise that the news was true, most of the people seemed to be afraid of what to do next. On one hand, the two-pronged approach of negotiation and provocation was highly recommended by everyone. On the other hand, they were more or less afraid and confused about the choice of war.
The situation was not complicated. Since the Wu dynasty lost the entire Central Plains in the confrontation with the Jurchens several years ago and the Jianshuo Dynasty was pacified, the status of the Wu dynasty's army had greatly increased. This increase was not what the civil officials wanted, but a fact that had appeared in the dynamic game. On the one hand, the chaotic situation in various places had given more power to the people who led the army. On the other hand, whether it was the people or the officialdom, the voices of support for the army had gradually grown. During this period, even Crown Prince Jun Wu had been waving flags and shouting for the army in private, which had curbed the power of the court to a certain extent.
The confrontation between the civil and military officials was not just for personal gain. In the territories of Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and the other high officials favored by the crown prince, the power of the army reached the heavens. Recruiting soldiers, collecting taxes, and even the dismissal of some officials were decided with a single word. The generals used this kind of excessive method to ensure fighting strength, but the power of the civil officials was difficult to pass. A law of the country had to be carried out, but under their hands there was an army that was completely disobedient and even opposed. In the previous Wu dynasty, this kind of situation was unimaginable, and in the current Wu dynasty, it was not necessarily a good thing.
In the officialdom, there was no such thing as just right. Redress of wrongs had to be excessively right, often to be the truth. Just like the general situation of resisting the Black Flag Army, the civil officials of the imperial court were all trying to seal off the Huaxia army in the southwest, but the armies of the Wu dynasty were secretly buying the firearms of the Huaxia army. In these past two years, because of the activities of scholars like Long Qifei and Li Xiannong in the southwest, the Huaxia army's trade activities that had come out of the swamp would often be reported to the imperial court, but it would always come to nothing. These things always made people depressed.
If they wanted to defeat the enemy, they had to let the army have autonomy and not let the civil officials dictate what to do. If they let the army have autonomy, the other side would often cross the line. If they wanted to reach a balance in the middle of this game, it would be a long process. But generally speaking, how to accurately control the army and not let its fighting strength suffer was a large lesson for the current Wu dynasty court. Once the great battle began, the restraining and hard work of many officials in the past few years would all become bubbles.
The chaotic and oppressive discussion and quarreling in the imperial court lasted several days. At the beginning, they held the thought that this information might be wrong and tried to seal off this information. Under the constant pressure of the Eldest Princess's residence, Zhang Jun, and the others, they finally sent out emissaries to have the leaders and commanders of the various armies make preparations. They also sent people to the capital to discuss the current situation and countermeasures. These messengers had only arrived halfway when a horrifying piece of news spread from the north to the south. The gales and waves that were stirred up were like a series of massive explosions, rumbling and extending for a thousand li, pouncing on them!
… …
Turning back time to several days ago, the former capital of the Wu dynasty was now the capital of the Great Qi, Bianliang. The weather was dark and oppressive.
That great chaos had come out of nowhere.
When the chaos occurred, Liu Yu had been meeting with several officials in the imperial study. When the clashing of weapons rang out, his heart had already begun to sink.
In the nightmares of the past few years, he had perhaps seen some similar scenes. Liu Yu sat stiffly behind his desk, trembling slightly. When the commander of the Imperial Guard, Xue Guangcheng, strode in with large strides, saber in hand, the courtyard outside was already a scene of slaughter.
"You, you, you …"
"Your Majesty, someone has made an appointment with you." The door to the imperial study slammed shut with a bang. The figure grinned and strode over. "I've come to pick you up."
Just like the black figure he had seen that night three years ago, Xue Guangcheng was tall. Liu Yu pulled out his longsword, but the other had already walked over, waving a large hand and slapping over.
Ever since Liu Yu had been threatened by the Black Flag spies in the palace, anywhere he went, there were 500 to 1000 Jurchen elites stationed, alternating with the Han army. However, at this time, the entire imperial city was in a state of slaughter.
Tie Tianying, who had already stayed in Bianliang for several days, experienced this great chaos. Smoke rose in Bianliang, which was no longer as prosperous as it used to be. News from all sides was extremely chaotic. Some said that a part of the Imperial Guard had participated in the rebellion, while others said that many officials had already tried to settle things and escape the shadow of the Jurchen.
Having been under the jurisdiction of the Jurchen for several years, although they had experienced terrifying suppression, there were still many arrogant people in the Central Plains. This great chaos caused a chain reaction. Some opened the city gates and incited the residents of Bianliang to escape to NMAU, while others joined in the slaughter. Not long after, the Jurchen general Ali Shao, who was guarding Bianliang, broke camp and entered the city. At this time, several Great Qi officials had already taken their families and fled out of the city.
Emperor Liu Yu was also taken out of the city.
Ali Shao's elite troops immediately followed.
Chase and escape, chaos and slaughter. Many people had yet to figure out what had happened. Was there a rebellion, or was the southern army known as Black Flag finally making a move against Liu Yu? However, Tie Tianying soon realized that the years of Black Flag's operation in the Great Qi court had been activated overnight.
The entire process of this incident was violent and fast, so much so that people couldn't even tell who was deceived, who was incited, and who was deceived. A large amount of false information also obscured the Venerable Lady's immediate reaction. The Black Flag elites grabbed Liu Yu and fled south of the city. Ali Shao was furious. He led the elites and chased them all the way. The entire process of the chase even lasted for several days, spreading for thousands of miles from Bianliang to the southwest.
Four days later, Alejo's pursuing army returned. They had rounded up and killed about twelve Black Flag members. These twelve people had died tragic deaths. It was said that they had all been dismembered. Since Alejo did not bring back any survivors, it was assumed that they had all been captured after their deaths. Liu Yu had disappeared.
The entire Bianliang was in chaos. Tie Tianying had already quietly left this dangerous area. Thinking of the entire Black Flag operation, he could not help but feel emotional. However, as the next piece of news about Liu Yu came two days later, his entire heart turned cold ….
…
In Lin 'an, the first news came in the early morning of the day before. Everyone knew about it at the court meeting.
Bianliang was in chaos. The fake Qi Emperor Liu Yu had been captured in the palace. The Jurchen General Ali Shao had sent an army to hunt him down, but Liu Yu had not been found yet.
This must be the work of Black Flag.
A few years ago, after the battle of Little Canghe, Liu Yu celebrated without restraint. In the end, one night, people from the Black Flag Army entered the palace and beat him up. From then on, Liu Yu was frightened to the point of going crazy. This matter was said to be true. It was spread by many forces as a laughing stock, but it also confirmed the rumor that Black Flag had infiltrated the forces of the Central Plains as spies.
At this moment when the relationship between the Jin and Wu was tense, the Black Flag Army suddenly came out to show their strength to the Jin. For the court of the Wu dynasty, it had to be said that it was a good thing. Everyone more or less breathed a sigh of relief.
On the morning of the second day, around nine o 'clock, everyone was still discussing the impact of the rebellion of the fake Qi when the good news came.
"… the fake Qi Emperor Liu Yu announced to the world in a letter of blood … At that time, the Jin dogs were powerful and the Liu family was forced into a corner. In order to protect the foundation of the Wu dynasty, they had no choice but to feign civility and submit themselves to the Jin, trembling with fear and trepidation … In the end, the Wu dynasty was not lost and the Central Plains was still in the hands of the Han people … Now that the time is ripe, together with the righteous people of all walks of life, we will rise up and return to our Great Wu … The Central Plains is in order. What great joy, Your Majesty …"
In the summer, the sun shone brightly from outside the hall. After the eunuch finished speaking, Zhou Yong was still somewhat perplexed.
"Ah … in any case …"
In the blink of an eye, the Central Plains was in order. The Wu dynasty had returned without losing a single inch of its territory?
In the court, the faces of Lv Yihao, Qin Hui, and the others had already turned deathly pale. Throughout the entire court, the sound of breathing began to become difficult. The sunlight outside suddenly seemed to have lost all color. Hundreds of swords and thousands of knives, like mountains and seas, surged in from outside the hall, as if stabbing at the bodies of everyone present.
"Black Flag … this is a vicious plan to destroy our Wu dynasty …"
…
In the princess's residence, upon hearing this news, Zhou Pei smashed the cup in her hand. Her hands trembled and were devoid of blood.
…
In the ten years since the regicide, the Black Flag Army had always maintained a restrained attitude toward the Wu dynasty.
Although they were often merciless in confrontations on the battlefield and did not shy away from being ruthless when protecting themselves, outside of this, the majority of the Black Flag Army's strategies did not reveal much malice toward the Wu dynasty. As if feeling apologetic for his evil act of regicide, the Black Flag Army's strategy would often avoid the Wu dynasty if it could. Even if it couldn't be avoided, it would more or less have a verbal inclination toward good intentions.
This time, at such a critical moment, the Black Flag Army's slap landed on the Adept's face. What no one expected was that he finally turned his hand around and ruthlessly stabbed the edge of the sword into the bottom of the Wu dynasty's heart.
This was a sword that showed off its edge, and it was also filled with a coldness and savagery that would fight to the death.
On the stage of the world, there had never been room for emotions to survive, nor was there room for the weak to breathe.
Not long after, the news spread throughout the world.
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