Lin 'an Prefecture was where Hangzhou was originally located. In the ninth year of Jinghan's reign, the fire of Fang La's uprising once spread here and broke through Hangzhou's city defense. In the following days, the man named Ning Yi had been trapped here. Facing the precarious situation, he had witnessed and participated in many things. He had confronted the leader of the rebellious bandits and walked on the street with a woman who was in charge of a region. In the end, he had helped Wenren Buer to reopen the gate of Hangzhou City and accelerate the defeat of Fang La.
This name was like a taboo in Lin 'an today. Although some people could hear this story from Wenren Bu' er's mouth, they would only sigh or sigh silently when they occasionally recalled and talked about it.
The man who could unyieldingly move forward when he was surrounded by strong enemies and had nothing, was so reassuring when he was a companion. However, when he became an enemy one day, it was enough to make those who had seen his means feel deeply powerless.
The wind and snow fell and then stopped. Looking back at the city behind, there was not much snow accumulated on the crowded streets. Merchants came and went, and children were jumping and playing. On the old city wall, the woman in a snow-white fur coat tightened the hat on her head, as if she was staring at the traces of the past with a frown. The figure that had once wandered the streets more than ten years ago, so that she could clearly see his forbearance and ferocity in breaking through such an adverse situation.
Not far behind her, the news of the report was also ringing in the wind.
Li Leiguang was brought to justice on the sixteenth of the tenth month, and the irrefutable evidence is as solid as a mountain. The amount of embezzled military resources in the southwest from his side is approximately thirty-seven thousand taels of silver. He then confessed to Wang Yuanshu and Wang Yuanshu's housekeeper, Shu Da … Wang Yuanshu is currently being impeached by Chang Gui of the Hanlin Academy. The report accuses him of relying on his brother-in-law's power to forcibly occupy the land and wreak havoc. There are also some words that seem to insinuate Lord Qin's intentions … Apart from this, using Li Leiguang as a catalyst, Minister Zhao has already begun to interfere in the logistics of the southwest … "
"So Qin Hui resigned again … and he didn't defend himself."
The Eldest Princess said calmly. She looked down at the city and did not look away.
Over the past few days, when she had given up her fantasies of that figure, she could better understand his ruthlessness. He could also better understand the cruelty and intensity of the world.
"Mr. Qin didn't explain himself, but his subordinates are also very fierce. There might have been a few murders in private in the past few days. However, it happened too suddenly, and it wasn't easy for the army to get involved, so we couldn't stop them."
"If he wasn't intercepted, then he wasn't. Even if he was, it only proves that Lord Qin is a man of great means and is a man of action …" After she said that, the other party didn't know how to respond. After a long time, she finally turned around. "Wenren, do you think Ning Yi ordered the Office of Secret Investigations to investigate Lord Qin over ten years ago because he thought he was a good person? Or a bad guy? "
At this time, the two people speaking on the old city wall were naturally Zhou Pei and Wenren Buer. At this time, the morning court session had ended, and all the officials had returned to their mansions. The city looked as bustling as ever, as if it was another normal day. Only those who knew the inside story could feel the undercurrents of the court these days.
The beginning of a political battle was often like this. Both sides would make moves, test each other, and as long as one move was met, an avalanche would erupt. However, the current situation was special. The Emperor pretended to be deaf and mute, and the influential forces on his side had not clearly expressed their stance. The bullets were loaded, but the gunpowder had not been ignited.
It was quite ironic. No matter what people thought at first, when it came to matters that involved tens of thousands of people, fairness and justice often lost the qualifications to measure things. Qin Hui's brother-in-law was called Wang Yuanshu, and Wang Yuanshu's housekeeper was called Shu Da. Shu Da had a lackey under him called Li Leiguang. Li Leiguang was a minor general in charge of military logistics in the Southwest. Last year, he had embezzled 37,000 taels of silver. Zhao Ding had acted, and with irrefutable evidence, he had been implicated in this matter all the way to Wang Yuanshu.
Combined with the previous failure in the Southwest, as well as the few memorials in the court before the arrest of Li Leiguang, if the higher-ups agreed, a purge of the Qin faction would begin. Zhao Ding and Qin Hui had an old grudge, and heaven knew how many more tricks he had prepared. But whether to purge or not was never about embezzlement.
After moving south, Zhao Ding represented the radical faction that advocated war. On one hand, he cooperated with the Crown Prince in calling for a northern expedition, and on the other hand, he was promoting the integration of the north and south. On the other hand, Qin Hui represented the interest group led by the southerners. They united the current upper echelons of Nanwu's political and economic system. They appeared to be relatively conservative. On one hand, they hoped to maintain the stability of the Wu dynasty through peace. On the other hand, at least in their own territory, they were more inclined toward the basic interests of the southerners. They had even begun to promote the slogan "southerners return to the south, northerners return to the north."
Every direction was the embodiment of benefits. Of course, killing Zhao Ding would also lead to a second pro-war faction, and deposing Qin Hui would also lead to Zhang Hui and Han Hui filling in. But other than this, there were naturally many more factors that could be weighed.
The most unique of these was the question Zhou Pei had asked just now.
More than ten years ago, when Ning Yi was still working in the Office of Secret Investigations, he had investigated Qin Hui, who was then the Deputy Imperial Censor.
At that time, Qin Hui and Qin Siyuan had the same surname, and their political ideals in the court were similar. Although Qin Hui's style of doing things was radical on the outside but slick on the inside, he basically called for the idea of cutting off all means of retreat and sinking all boats for war. Later, after experiencing ten years of defeat and chaos, Qin Hui was more inclined toward advocating peace. At the very least, he wanted to first conquer the Southwest and then conquer the Jurchens. There was nothing wrong with this. After all, the kind of naive children who felt their blood boil when they saw people advocating war and cursed traitors when they saw people advocating peace were true children.
Ning Yi's investigation in the Office of Secret Investigations lasted for a period of time. Later, because of the Jurchens' invasion of the South, the investigation was abandoned. Later, when Wenren Bu 'er, Cheng Zhouhai, and the others brought it out to examine it, they felt that it was worth pondering. With Ning Yi's character, after planning for two months, he would have killed the Emperor without any hesitation. After the Emperor, the civil official who could cover the sky with one hand was Cai Jing, and the military general who could dominate the world was Tong Guan. Ning Yi had never paid special attention to these two people. Instead, he had slapped the latter until he was crippled in the throne room and died a miserable death. How special could Qin Hui be compared to all these other influential figures?
As it turned out, Ning Yi did not do anything to Qin Hui because of any personal grudges.
"… There are so many people in the world. If there is no personal grudge, why would Ning Yi pay special attention to Qin Shumi? Did he recognize Lord Qin's ability and means and wanted to make friends with him? Or did he have some reason to be wary of him and even guessed that he might become his enemy one day? Anyway, there must be a reason for him to pay attention to someone … "
"This Lord Qin does have some tricks up his sleeve. In my opinion, his methods are even somewhat similar to Old Lord Qin Siyuan's. However, it is a bit far-fetched to say that Ning Yi was thinking about this ten years ago. After the first war in Bianliang, Ning Yi was so disheartened that he wanted to leave the capital and live in seclusion. After Old Lord fell, he stayed for a long time to arrange a way out for the people. Unfortunately, the First Madam fell into the water and completely infuriated him. That's why he pretended to be polite and courteous, and on the 9th of June … "
Wenren Bu 'er paused and continued, "Moreover, although Lord Qin is smart, he is too slick in some aspects. He knows when to retreat. When Emperor Jinghan saw the Jurchens coming to the south, Old Lord led all the officials in the city to stop them. I'm afraid Lord Qin didn't dare to do it. Moreover, Lord Qin's change of view is quite clever … "
He said, "Not long ago, Zhou Hai told me about Lord Qin. He was in favor of war, and Emperor Jinghan was high-spirited and never admitted defeat. He was on the throne for fourteen years. Although he had his flaws, he was still concerned about taking back the sixteen prefectures of Yan Yun and destroying Liao. At that time, Lord Qin was the Deputy Minister of the Imperial Censor and reported on many people. However, he always considered the big picture and made Emperor Jinghan his confidant. As for now … His Majesty supports His Highness the Crown Prince's bid for the throne of the north, but he is more concerned about the stability of the world. Lord Qin has also experienced ten years of ups and downs, and he is beginning to lean towards making peace with the Nüzhen, which is exactly what His Majesty wants … If Ning Yi saw Lord Qin soaring to the top ten years ago, well, it's not impossible, but it still seems a little strange. "
"Yes." Zhou Pei thought for a long time and then nodded. "No matter how much father appreciates him, he can't be compared to Cai Jing … What do you think about the Crown Prince's opinion?"
"As for what happened in the capital, I have already sent news to Xiangyang. As for His Highness's opinion, I dare not speak carelessly."
"After Old Lord and Grandpa Kang passed away, you, Zhou Hai, and the others are our good friends and also our teachers. There's no need to speak carelessly." Zhou Pei smiled, but it was a plain smile. "The Crown Prince is training his troops at the frontline. He is upright and straightforward, and he probably does things according to the law. In fact, father secretly likes Lord Qin. He thinks that Qin Huizhi and Qin Siyuan are similar, and he said that he won't repeat Emperor Jinghan's mistakes … "
As she said this, Zhou Pei shook her head. First impressions are the strongest. But her father was forced to do something beyond his abilities. On one hand, he was timid, but on the other hand, he valued relationships. Jun Wu was bold and radical, and even shouted that he wanted to fight Lady Zhenren to the death. Deep down, he didn't agree with it, but he could only let his son do what he wanted. He hid in the throne room, afraid that the war at the frontline would collapse.
Whether it was Zhao Ding or Qin Hui, they both belonged to the 'rational' side of the Emperor. His ambitious son couldn't compete with these carefully selected officials, but he was still a son. Once Jun Wu messed up, the Emperor believed that the officials in the court were the ones who could clean up the mess. Even his daughter, the Emperor, probably didn't think of her as a 'capable' person. At most, she was sincere to the Zhou family.
In this royal court, it was too difficult to compete with the cold and resolute Inner Demon. If she were an official in the court, she would also want to take away the power of her brother and sister. Thinking about it, many of the views of these officials were reasonable.
As she thought this, she changed the topic from the matters of the Imperial Court. "Sir Wenren, after this great storm, if our Wu Dynasty is lucky enough to hold on … the future Imperial Court will still be governed by a virtuous ruler."
Wenren Bu 'er smiled and didn't say anything.
Today was the first snow in Lin 'an. It was just Zhou Pei's interest to meet on the top of the old city wall. More than ten years ago, this side of the city wall was broken by Fang La, and now it was just a stage for viewing. Looking south from the city wall, the Imperial Street extended all the way to the towering Imperial City at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. The Imperial City had been under construction since the day the capital was moved. There was a major construction last year, but then the military situation became urgent. The Emperor stopped the construction of the Imperial City to prepare the horses and soldiers to resist the threat from the north. The stopped palace became the symbol of the Emperor's progress. Every time the scholars in the city talked about it, they would be very generous.
The cold first snow set off the heavy traffic of the city, and the turbulent undercurrent under the city connected to every place in the world. The killing on the battlefield was coming, and the killing in the court had never stopped and would never stop.
As the snow began to fall in Lin 'an and other southern cities, the temperature in the CD plain in the southwest began to drop. Although there was no snow in this place, the wet and cold weather was still a little difficult to bear. Since the Huaxia army left Xiaoliang Mountain and began the expedition, the original commercial activities in the CD plain were gone. After conquering the CD plain, the Huaxia army once approached Zizhou, and then stopped because of Zizhou's strong 'defense'. In this winter, the whole CD plain seemed more desolate and desolate than before.
Fifteen miles to the south of CD plain, the sky had just brightened. In the temporary military medical station of the First Division of the Huaxia Fifth Army, an 11-year-old boy had already gotten up and started to exercise. He practiced breathing and expelling on a small dirt field on the side of the military medical station, and then began to practice boxing, and then a set of sword techniques and a set of spear techniques. When he finished practicing martial arts, he patrolled the surrounding barracks for the wounded soldiers, and then went to the canteen with the military doctors for breakfast.
The fierce war had stopped for a long time, and the military medical station was no longer surrounded by broken limbs and bodies every day. The wounded in the barracks were also recovering one after another. The lightly wounded had left, and the seriously wounded began to get familiar with the special 11-year-old boy in the military medical station. Occasionally, they would talk about their experiences of being wounded on the battlefield, which made Xiaoning often learn.
Many of those who could be called seriously wounded in the military medical station might not be able to live like normal people for the rest of their lives. The experience of fighting in their mouths was also enough to become the most valuable reference for a warrior. In such a thrilling situation, Xiaoning Ji began to practice his martial arts for the first time. In the morning, he finished the things that an apprentice should take care of and went outside to practice his spear techniques. Suddenly, a strong wind came from the back of the house. "Watch out!"
Ning Ji brandished his spear and clashed with the incoming figure. The man was taller than Ning Ji and had better martial arts skills. Ning Ji blocked and retreated at the same time. He circled around the small dirt field several times, but the man's attack did not break through Ning Ji's defense. The man laughed, threw away the stick in his hand, and rushed forward. "Second brother, you are so powerful!" Ning Ji also rushed forward. "Big brother, you are here!"
The person who came was naturally the eldest son of the Ning family, Ning Xi. He was almost four years older than Ning Ji. While he was learning more about things and logic, his martial arts skills were still better than Ning Ji's. The two jumped together for a while. Ning Xi told him, "Father is here, and so is Aunty Chan. They're here to pick you up today. We'll leave today, and you'll see Wenwen and the others in the afternoon …"
Ning Xi only said the beginning before Ning Ji ran towards the barracks. Ning Yi, Xiaochan, and the others came quietly and didn't alarm too many people. In a ward at the other end of the camp, Ning Yi was visiting the heavily injured people one by one. Some of these people were burned beyond recognition, some were crippled. Ning Yi sat by the bed and asked them about the situation during the war. Xiaoning Ji rushed into the room. Mother Chan 'er looked over from her father's side, her eyes filled with tears.
"Father, Mother." Ning Ji sprinted a few steps before he stopped and bowed to them. Ning Yi smiled and waved. Ning Ji then quickly ran to his mother's side. He heard Ning Yi ask, "Do you know how Uncle He got injured?" He was talking about the heavily injured person next to him.
"Yes." Ning Ji nodded. "When the attack was on cooldown, Uncle He led the team into the city. When he reached the Great Supreme Elderly Lord Temple in the west of the city, he found a group of defeated soldiers from the Wu dynasty robbing something. Uncle He and his brothers charged over, but they set a fire. In order to save people, Uncle He was crushed by a fallen beam and was burned. He couldn't treat his injuries immediately and lost his left leg."
Ning Yi nodded. He held the injured soldier's hand and was silent for a moment. There were already tears in the injured soldier's eyes. At this moment, he said, "I, I … I'm fine."
The injured soldier with the surname He came from a poor peasant family. When Ning Yi asked about his injuries and the cause of his injuries, he was too emotional to say anything. Now, he squeezed out this sentence. Ning Yi patted his hand. "Take care of yourself." In the face of such an injured person, anything he said was unnecessary. But other than this, what else could he say?
He then pulled Ning Ji over. "This child didn't do anything bad here, right?"
The injured soldier's face turned red. "Second Young Master … is very good to us …"
Ning Yi nodded and comforted him with a few words. Then, he pulled Ning Ji to the next bed. He asked about their injuries. These injured people had different emotions. Some were silent, and some talked incessantly about the battle when they were injured. If there were some who were not good at talking, Ning Yi asked the child to introduce them. After visiting a ward, Ning Yi took the child to the front and thanked all the injured people. He thanked them for their contribution to the Huaxia army and for their tolerance and care of the child recently.
After visiting a few wards in the camp, it was already past noon. While her parents and brother were talking, Xiaoning Ji learned that the army had entered a period of rest and reorganization after conquering the cooldown area. After the expansion of the territory, in consideration of the efficiency of command, the core of the Chinese army, which was originally located in the mountains of Liangshan, was now preparing to move to the CD plains. During this process, his father brought his family out to take a look.
After the Huaxia Army rose up, they first went to the northwest and then moved to the southwest. A bunch of kids were born in the chaos of war and they mostly saw mountains and hills. The only one who saw a big city was Ning Xi, and that was when she was four. This was a big day for the family. In order not to alarm too many people, Ning Yi, Su Tan'er, Ning Xi and the others didn't make a big fuss. This time, Ning Yi and Xiaochan brought Ning Xi to pick up Ning Ji. Tan'er, Yunzhu, Hongti, Wenwen and the other children were still camping by the river over ten miles away.
After lunch, the group of people got on their horses and carriages and headed south …
*****
The carriage left the camp and headed south. In front of them was a green grassland and low ridges.
Although the CD plains were rich and prosperous, it would still snow during the winter. At this time, the grass carpet had already lost its greenery, and some of the evergreen trees were also dyed with the greyish white of winter. Under the infiltration of the moisture, the entire field seemed to be empty, and the cold seemed to seep into people's bones.
Ning Ji's body was rather warm. Firstly, he had been practicing martial arts and his body was much healthier than normal people. Secondly, his father called him to a carriage and spoke to him many times on the way. In these words, not only did his father care about his martial arts and literacy progress, but his father's tone was also quite gentle, making the eleven year old youth feel warm in his heart.
For a long time, although Ning Yi's fierce name had spread all over the world, he didn't have a tough attitude towards his family. Sometimes, he would even joke with the children. He wasn't a strict father that the children feared. But even so, Ning Ji and the others didn't spend much time with their father. Two years of disappearance caused the children to experience the sadness of their father's death. After returning, Ning Yi spent most of his time busy with work. Thus, this afternoon's journey became the longest time Ning Ji and his father had spent alone in the past few years.
"Have you been to the cooldown area?" After asking about his martial arts and literacy, Ning Yi smiled and asked him. Ning Ji nodded excitedly. "After the city was breached, I went there once … but I didn't stay long."
"It's huge, right?"
"Yes, but Big Brother said he still remembers Bianliang, it's even bigger."
"He left when he was three years old. How could he remember anything? He lied to you." Ning Yi said with a smile. Bianliang, for him, was a memory from more than ten years ago. Now it was probably dilapidated. "This time, we will stay in the cooldown area for a while. When the time comes, I will take you to have fun. Now that your martial arts skills are good, you can help to look after your brothers and sisters."
"Yes, yes." Ning Ji nodded again. "… Won't we live in the cooldown area in the future?"
"The cooldown area is too long and prosperous, and it's temporarily in the front. It's not suitable to move the command point there." Ning Yi answered. Ning Ji didn't quite understand, but he also nodded. Ning Yi looked at him, thought for a while, and then said with a smile, "Think about it. We have just finished the cooldown area, and there is still a battlefield in front of us. How can we take our brothers and sisters to such a dangerous place? Not to mention the enemies on the battlefield, there are also some bad guys who will hide among ordinary people and come to destroy or kidnap you and your brothers and sisters. Won't it be difficult to guard against them?"
Ning Ji was now a person who had seen the battlefield. Hearing his father's words, his face began to become serious, and he nodded heavily. Ning Yi patted him on the shoulder. "At your age, do you blame me and your mother for letting you go to the battlefield?"
Ning Ji pursed his lips and shook his head seriously. He looked at his father, and there was some determination in his eyes, as well as a complex and pity after witnessing so many tragedies. Ning Yi reached out and touched the child's head. He held him with one hand and looked out of the window at the lead blue sky.
"There are some things that can't be reasoned with. I've told you about the female protagonist, and I've also told you about your Grandpa Qin. Our Huaxia Army doesn't want to be cowards and offend many people. You and your brothers and sisters won't live a peaceful life. The assassins will come, and I can't hide you forever, so I can only let you go to the battlefield and let you practice … "
"If the bad guys come, I'll kill them …" Ning Ji said in a low voice.
"It's not that simple. The enemies on the battlefield are not necessarily scary. Our Huaxia Army can beat anyone in a fair fight. But there are always some enemies that we can't see at a glance. Your Aunt Hong is so good at martial arts, but she can't protect everyone. So it's also a good thing that you want to learn martial arts. "
"Big brother and I can also protect our brothers and sisters …" Ning Ji said in a low voice.
"Yes." Ning Yi paused and said after a moment, "Since you want to be a martial arts master, I'll give you a new task in a few days."
"Okay."
"There won't be any battles in the CD room in winter. Next, the military medical team will be sent to the surrounding villages to treat patients and apply medicine. After a war, many people's livelihood will be affected. If it snows, there will be more poor people who get sick and freeze to death than in previous years. You can go with the masters in the military medical team to see the sick and save people … "
Ning Yi paused and said, "Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. It's the same with martial arts. You can't practice anything on the arena. You can walk around and meet good people and bad people. You can see more and think more. In the future, you will know how the bad people hide in the crowd. One day, you and your big brother will have to take care of your brothers and sisters. "
Ning Ji nodded his head even harder. Ning Yi said with a smile, "Of course, this is a matter for a while. When we see our brothers and sisters later, let's go to the CD room and have a good time. I haven't seen you for a long time. Wenwen, Xiao Shuang, Xiao Ning, Xiao Ke and the others all miss you. Also, Ning He is building the foundation for his martial arts. Go and supervise him … "
The carriage sped and the father and son chatted along the way. Before dusk, the carriage arrived at a small camp west of Xinjin. This camp was near a mountain and a river. There weren't many people around. Tan'Er, Hong Ti and the others played by the river with Wenwen and the other children. In the middle, there were also a few children of Du Sha and Fang Shuchang. A bonfire was already burning. Seeing Ning Ji's arrival, the enthusiastic Xiaoning already shouted and rushed over. She fell on the way, got up and continued to rush over with a smile, her face covered in mud.
The adults around them were anxious and amused at the same time. Yunzhu had already run forward with her handkerchief. Ning Yi was also beaming when he saw the children running together by the river. It was the moment of family reunion and everything seemed soft and warm.
Not long after, Ning Xi, who had started to think and manage things, came over and asked her father in private about Ning Ji following the military doctor. Eleven-year-old Xiaoning Ji's understanding of the enemy was probably only that they were vicious. Ning Xi knew more. Over the years, there had always been assassinations against his father and his relatives. Even though the cooldown period was over, there was actually a considerable security risk when the family went out to play this time. If Ning Ji went out with the military doctor, once he encountered an intentional assassin, the consequences would be hard to predict.
Ning Yi looked at the children playing on the riverbank not far away, after a moment of silence, he patted Ning Xi's shoulder. "One doctor, one student, and two soldiers. Your Grandpa Chen will take care of Little Er's security. Since you have the heart, go help your Grandpa Chen … Your Grandpa Chen was famous in the Lulin World back then, learn some of his skills humbly, it will be useful in the future."
The "Grandpa Chen" Ning Yi spoke of was Hunchback Chen who had been in charge of security for a long time. Previously, he had followed Su Wenfang out of the mountain to do things. When Long Qifei and the others attacked, Hunchback Chen had escaped back to the mountain with injuries. Now that his injuries were recovering, Ning Yi planned to leave the safety of the children to him. Of course, on the other hand, he hoped the two children could learn more from him.
When Ning Xi got this arrangement, she happily nodded and left. Ning Yi sat down by the riverbank and sighed. If possible, he hoped that his children would live in an era where they did not have to worry about anything. Even if they did not achieve anything, or even risked becoming a spoiled brat, it was better than pushing an eleven-year-old child into the battlefield and letting him see the mutilated bodies up close.
Yet the opposite of this cruelty was not the gentle possibility that the children would achieve nothing. In the process of playing against the world, the family and children around them faced the real threat of death. Fifteen, eleven, and even the youngest Ning Shuang and Ning Ning, the possibility of suddenly being killed by the enemy was the same.
So he closed his eyes and sighed softly. Then he got up and went to the river bank in the light of the bonfire. That day, he fished and barbecued with the children. When night fell, Fang Shuchang came to inform him of something. A special guest had been brought here.
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