Summer had gradually arrived. Jiangnan, which was originally in the midst of war, was ablaze with flames. But in May, it was as if a sudden cold winter had descended. The situation in the world was like a magical illusion. In a short period of time, everyone felt surprise, doubt, shock … and then gradually a bone-chilling despair.
On the first day of May in Danyang, Jun Wu felt similar emotions when he woke up from his coma. That day, the sun was blazing. When he woke up, he was still injured, but only felt his blood boiling. His wife came to help him wash up and drink porridge. He then prepared to summon Yue Fei and the other generals. But the first to arrive was the inner palace envoy who had been waiting for a day from Lin 'an.
At this time, Emperor Zhou Yong, his sister Zhou Pei, and the others had already boarded the dragon boats on the Qiantang River. Everything in the capital was managed by a group of ministers. What was happening now was the peace negotiations with the Jurchens.
The order to inform the frontline troops to stop the confrontation was also being sent to the frontline. The 100,000 troops led by Great General Chen Shao that were sent from Changzhou to Zhenjiang stopped their advance towards Xi Yin's troops. The Mountain Slaughtering Guards led by Xi Yin and the troops led by Shu Liesu stopped their massacre in Zhenjiang and slowly turned towards the south.
Jun Wu, who still had pain in his abdomen, was dumbfounded. It took a lot of effort for him to gradually understand everything in front of him.
In Lin 'an, the first round of negotiations was in progress. Wu Shu's cavalry had wanted to attack the city, but Emperor Zhou Yong had already reached the Qiantang River. The court officials suggested that the Jurchens stop advancing so that the two sides could continue the peace talks. The Jurchens and the envoy Wanyan Qingjue demanded that the Wu dynasty armies stop fighting and provide the Jurchens with provisions and other conditions in exchange.
On the basis of such negotiations, the imperial court sent out various envoys to issue a truce order to the various armies in Jiangnan. On the Jurchen side, Wu Shu stationed his cavalry outside the city and passed the message to Zong Fu who was on the battlefield in Jiangning. However, it seemed that Xi Yin was unwilling to comply with such conditions.
The peace talks were still going on. After explaining the situation to Jun Wu, the palace envoys began to persuade him to return to the capital. Jun Wu sat on the edge of the bed for a long time. He clutched his stomach and struggled to stand up. His wife came over to him, but he waved her away.
With trembling hands, he pulled out the sword that was hanging beside the bed and walked towards the internal official. The shining tip of the sword was pressed against the internal official's chest.
"If you continue, I'll kill you." The internal official's persuasion stopped.
It was a bright and beautiful May day. Apart from the sunlight, there was also a quiet buzzing sound. Jun Wu put down his sword and sat down. After a long silence, he finally said softly, "Invite Mr. Wenren in."
His wife went out to summon Wenren Bu 'er. Jun Wu sat there with his hand on his forehead. After a long time, he finally spoke. His voice was weak and hoarse, "Senior Brother Wenren, do you know what happened?"
"… Yes."
"My mind is in a mess. It's like I woke up and everything feels wrong …" Jun Wu said. "What should I do?"
"The only thing we can do now is to persuade His Majesty to take back his order. Your Highness's words may be useful."
"Father is … scared out of his wits. He has already gone to the dragon boat on the Qiantang River. How can we persuade him? If we can persuade my sister, she … "
At this point, Wenren Bu 'er came up to him and whispered something in his ear. Jun Wu understood.
"Since Royal Sister has already … I don't know how to convince Father Emperor. Senior Martial Brother Wenren, I'll have to trouble you to write a letter for me to tell Father Emperor the pros and cons, and then hand it over to this inner official. Senior Brother Wenren … "He felt a pain in his stomach. He put his hand on it for a while and said," If we make peace in Lin 'an, will Jiangnan be finished? "
Wenren Bu 'er's lips moved slightly. He thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid … the world will be finished."
Jun Wu stood up with his hand on his stomach. He walked towards the door in a daze. His wife came over to support him.
What flashed in front of his eyes seemed to be the moment before he passed out. He felt the arrow wound in his abdomen and saw the soldiers and commoners rushing towards the Female Zhenren. That surging moment was the moment he had longed for the most in the past ten years. But when he woke up, his father turned and fled behind him.
He went out in a trance and saw the city wall of Danyang in the distance. On this side was a huge military camp built with a few huts. Further away was a densely packed refugee camp. His wife said a few words next to him. This was the Zhenjiang Army, and that was the Beiwei Army, and so on. Jun Wu recalled what happened in Bianliang more than ten years ago. After the first defense of the city, he saw Qin Siyuan being imprisoned. That was how his teacher and even Wenren Buer felt. Maybe that was how they felt.
He wanted to take this army back to Lin 'an and make his father stay.
Thinking of this, he calmed down. Outside Lin 'an, Wu Shu's army had set up camp. In fact, no one could pass through the middle section.
"Send people back to persuade all sides to rescue my sister, leave the dragon boat, and do our best …" All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. He walked slowly to the slope on the side of the house and sat down under a sickly tree. The tree had been chopped in half and cast uneven shadows in the afternoon sun. Jun Wu sat on a stone and watched the summer sun sprinkle on the land in front of him.
Soon after, his wife said, "General Yue is here."
Jun Wu straightened up and let him come over. Yue Fei came over in armor and saluted. Jun Wu smiled and said, "General Yue, what should we do next? The world … can't hold on any longer. "
"That's why I came."
"Do you have an idea?"
"For now, the first task is to stabilize the situation in Lin 'an. Send a small number of people to contact the people in the Princess Royal's Mansion and try to make His Majesty stay. Or, if it doesn't work, try to make Her Royal Highness stay. The first thing to do is to write a letter to persuade His Majesty to change his mind …"
When Yue Fei said this, he cupped his hands and paused, "However, since Her Royal Highness can't stabilize the situation in Lin 'an, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Your Highness to make a move. Your Highness has to consider the aftermath … In the current situation of our dynasty, if Your Majesty escapes, I'm afraid the morale of the army and the people will be lost. The gentry and high-ranking officials everywhere will not have the power to fight against the Female Immortals. The world will fall soon, but the only hope is still with Your Highness. "
"General Yue is hoping …"
"If Your Majesty leaves, half of the feudal lords in the world will kneel in front of the Female Immortals, but there will be half or even more loyal people who are unwilling to switch to the Female Immortals for the sake of our old friendship. But even so, our dynasty has lost its righteousness, and it will be difficult to fight against the Female Immortals. Like when Your Highness guarded Zhenjiang, I'm afraid there will be endless people. The most important thing now is to clean up the internal affairs so that Your Highness can still hold a fighting force in your hands. As long as we still have the power to fight, even if Lin 'an kneels and the world falls, we are like the south of the Yangtze River, there is still the will of the people. There is still room to maneuver whether to fight or to stay. "
Yue Fei's words were sonorous and resolute, "In the past eight years, Your Highness has cleaned up the military discipline of the world, but in fact, you still have to make compromises between the high-ranking officials, powerful ministers, and generals. Millions of troops, military discipline can't be unified, and law enforcement can't be strict. That's why Xi Yin from Jiangnan took the opportunity to enter. Therefore, Your Highness, as the Crown Prince, summon all the high-ranking officials who can be summoned at present, withdraw the military power, strictly supervise, and enforce military discipline! "
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures." Jun Wu's eyes flashed, and he had already stood up, "But if I do so, I'm afraid I will break with Lin 'an and most of the aristocratic families in the world."
"Reporting to Your Highness, if Your Majesty escapes, I'm afraid the people in the world will no longer be completely reliable. The only thing Your Highness can rely on is the things that you can hold in your hands. "
At this point, Yue Fei's words had been extremely frank, and Jun Wu naturally understood. In the past eight years, the frontline troops had been painstakingly built, and in fact, Yue Fei's Beiwei Army's military law was the strictest. Many times, it was so strict that it was criticized. But when the war started, the Beiwei Army was the most capable of fighting.
The others, such as Han Shizhong's Subduing Sea Branch, also used the Crown Prince's prestige and Han Shizhong's name to isolate a lot of external influence. This time, he led more than a hundred thousand troops to guard Zhenjiang. Although he was still an elite in the Wu dynasty army, there were only one or two spies. Later on, they destroyed more than a hundred thousand people's battlefront, and even destroyed the entire foundation of the Wu dynasty. It was heartbreaking to think about it.
In the past, he was the Crown Prince of the Wu dynasty. Even if he could bear the huge burden to protect the morale of one or two troops, in the face of a country with tens of millions of people, all the forces had to weigh the pros and cons and make concessions. In order to increase the odds of victory, he killed his brother-in-law, and almost caused his wife to die of depression. But in the end, there was nothing he could do.
At this time, if his father fled Lin 'an, the whole world would collapse. The whole mess, the demands of all kinds of vested interests, if he couldn't accept it, it would be nothing more than death. He didn't have to compromise anymore.
May gradually began to become cold. The sun shone through the crooked trees. Jun Wu pressed the wound on his waist. His eyes gradually focused and became determined.
"Good." A murderous aura emanated from his body. "It's time to kill!"
He strode down the dirt slope.
"General Yue, even if the mountains and rivers fall into chaos … we will not surrender until we die."
Yue Fei cupped his hands. "General Yue."
As the summer gradually deepened, the atmosphere of the world gradually began to change.
On the second day of May, Jun Wu summoned all the generals of the Zhenjiang garrison in Danyang. With the thirty thousand elites of the Beiwei Army as the core, he began to consolidate the military power and enforce military discipline. At the same time, he wrote a letter to persuade the armies in Jiangnan, analyzing the current situation and stating the pros and cons. He hoped that even in the face of this dangerous situation, all the forces would still put the interests of the Wu dynasty first, strictly adhere to the bottom line, and fight against the Jurchens together.
The rectification and reorganization of Danyang began in the most severe form. At the same time, the troops of Xi Yin and Yin Shuke ignored the preconditions of the peace talks and quickly went south. In the court of Lin 'an, Wanyan Qingjue promised to send messengers to delay or stop the southward movement of the Goddess of Grains as much as possible with the excuse that the negotiators were Marshal Zong Fu and Marshal Zong Bi.
Zhou Yong had already boarded the dragon boat at this time. He didn't care about the Jurchens coming south. The order to stop the war was sent in all directions. Over the next few days, with the Princess's residence, the Crown Prince's residence, the Huaxia army, and the various pro-war factions in the city as the core, the various factions continued to try to intercept and rescue Zhou Yong and Zhou Pei. For a time, the situation in the capital was chaotic and murderous.
On the fifth day of the fifth month, it was the Dragon Boat Festival when Qu Yuan jumped into the river. After confirming that Xi Yin's troops were gradually approaching the range of Lin 'an, Zhou Yong ordered the dragon boat fleet to set sail and went out to sea. At this time, Qin Hui was summoned to the dragon boat by Zhou Yong and became a part of the escape from the capital city. As for the peace talks in the capital, they were handed over to a group of ministers led by Li Nanzhou, who advocated for peace. Zhou Yong hoped that they would be able to resist the Female Zhenren's coercion and obtain satisfactory conditions for the Wu Dynasty to surrender.
On the eighth day, Xi Yin's troops arrived in Lin 'an and quietly began to set up the siege equipment. The negotiations were in chaos. Wanyan Qingjue forced Li Nanzhou, who was holding the seal of the Emperor, to draft a decree and sent an envoy to summon Han Shizhong to leave Jiangning.
On the eleventh day of the fifth month, the envoy to Jiangning was intercepted by the people sent by Crown Prince Jun Wu. At the same time, the army that had completed the preliminary reorganization of Danyang began to move in the direction of Jiangning. After ten years of operation, Jiangning could be regarded as the real headquarters of Jun Wu. Zong Fu's hundreds of thousands of troops were on the way and the two sides confronted each other in the south of Jiangning.
At the same time, the imperial court began to issue continuous orders, ordering Crown Prince Jun Wu not to lead the army recklessly and not to lightly start a war with the Jurchens. Jun Wu left the decree and did not reply.
In the middle of the long fifth month, at this time, on the land of the Wu dynasty spanning thousands of miles, countless people and countless wills privately linked up. When the news of the armistice reached Xiangfan, Liu Guangshi looked up to the sky and sighed, tears streaming down his old face, but he was ready to fight to the death. At this time, the news of the internal strife of the Huaxia army from the southwest more or less increased the bargaining chips in the hands of the Jurchens.
By the end of the fifth month, the nerves of all parties had been stretched to the extreme. On the evening of the 26th day of the fifth month, in Lin 'an, Wanyan Xiyin was completely ready to attack the city. The deputy general of the imperial guards, Niu Xingguo, and others in the most desperate situation, launched a rebellion.
At this time, all kinds of humiliating betrayal regulations had been drawn up in the imperial court, and the city gate of Lin 'an was about to be opened. Outside the city, the hundred thousand Jurchens were ready to move. The first batch of women who had been collected under the urging of the Jurchens were ready to be sent out of Lin' an. Once again, the most tragic shame of Jingping was about to begin.
If the rebels left the city and faced the hundred thousand Jurchens, they would die. If they stayed in the city and waited for the Jurchens to enter the city, everyone would also die. The "rebels" in Lin 'an finally chose to launch a desperate attack.
That evening, the two city gates to the west and south of Lin 'an were opened. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians began to surge out of the city, pursued by the Jurchens. The sky gradually darkened, and a raging fire burned in Lin' an. Niu Xingguo and other generals led the imperial guards in an attempt to block the pursuit of the Jurchens on the front line outside Lin 'an, but they were soon scattered by Wu Shu's cavalry. Some soldiers and civilians carried bombs and gunpowder and launched a suicidal attack on the Jurchens.
People fled in all directions under the cover of the night, and a small number of soldiers and civilians survived. On the bank of the Qiantang River in the south of Lin 'an, large numbers of civilians were chased into the water. Some well-prepared fugitives carried wooden boxes, cabinets, wooden beams, and bamboo rafts and floated on the water, saving their lives. Tens of thousands of lives were swallowed by the waves.
More people died in the massacre. Xiyin and Wu Shu's troops knocked on the city gates and entered, officially taking over the Wu dynasty after Zhou Yong's departure. A humiliation and massacre even more tragic than the Shameful Jingping Incident broke out in Lin 'an.
The huge bell of the collapse of Jianshuo was rung.
*****
In the summer of that year, an indescribable tragedy took place in the entire city of Lin 'an.
The rebels were slaughtered on the streets, and the ministers led by Li Nanzhou collected the treasures, women, and craftsmen in the city and handed them over to the Jurchens to make up for the "debts" of the war. This was a scene similar to the Shameful Jingping Incident, except that there were not many members of the imperial family left in the capital for the Jurchens to humiliate and toy with.
The people in the capital lost their husbands, wives, mothers, and children in this war. After ten years of peace, this indescribable and tragic scene was only the beginning of the tragedy that the whole world was about to experience.
Wanyan Xiyin walked into the messy Throne Room. Wu Shu was sitting on the Emperor's throne, playing with a group of Han officials kneeling on the ground. When he saw Wanyan Xiyin, he waved his hand and dismissed the Han officials.
"The matter of the Wu dynasty is over. It's time to do what we have discussed earlier."
In front of Wanyan Xiyin, Wu Shu did not dare to face him from his chair, so he came down from above and said, "The Wu dynasty Emperor is not dead, the Crown Prince is not dead, and my brother is still fighting in Jiangning. This place is three thousand miles away from the southwest, what should we do? "
Wanyan Xiyin's gaze froze, and his eyes became cold.
"Xiao Si, what do you think … say it again?"
Wu Shu spread out his hands and stepped back slightly, "Jiangning is still fighting, and my brother's troops can't possibly retreat just like that. The Wu dynasty Emperor has gone to the sea, and their navy is still recruiting people to surrender. Once they chase after him, I will have to intercept him on land. Goddess of Grains, my brother and I have said before that we will do our best to help you destroy the southwest, and we will give you anything you want. The world is now ours, and the people of the Wu dynasty are submitting to us. How about this — everything will belong to you, as long as you can bring it, be it troops, equipment, or logistics. You can bring it all — it will be enough for you to conquer the southwest. "
Xi Yin stared at him, and Wu Shu's hair stood on end. "My brother and I will destroy the Wu dynasty, and you and Zhe Han will destroy the southwest. All the troops in the world will be yours, what else do you want? Are you afraid that I will cause trouble behind your back? I, Wu Shu, swear in the name of my ancestors that I will not do anything behind your back this time! "
"… The Mountain Slaying Guards suffered losses in Zhenjiang. Give me thirty thousand of your cavalry."
Xi Yin then turned around and left, leaving Wu Shu behind for a moment.
"… Very well. I wish the Goddess of Grains a victory, and a draw with the bastards in the southwest! "
…
The world was falling.
The summer continued, and countless people chose their own sides in the chaos. In June, with the betrayal of the traitor, Zong Han broke through the defense line of Xiangfan, and Liu Guangshi led a large number of defeated soldiers to the south to build a small resistance force. In the same month, Chen Fan broke through the city of Changsha and planted the black flag on top of the city.
After more than ten days of confrontation in Jiangning, Jun Wu finally broke through the flank of Zong Fu's defensive line under the combined attacks of the Beiwei Army and the Subduing Sea Army. He then returned to Jiangning and began another strict purge. By then, the imperial court had issued many edicts to take away Jun Wu's official power, but the world was in chaos, and such edicts were meaningless.
The Perfected Cultivator's edict swept across the world.
…
In the southwest.
The first wave of people to arrive were envoys from Zong Han's army, who had accepted Xi Yin's will. They arrived at Zhang Village with a document containing many demands, which might have been written by Xi Yin. The document listed a variety of demands, such as the Chinese army submitting to the Jurchens, handing over all kinds of technology and craftsmen, and ordering the Chinese army to emasculate themselves in all kinds of technology. In this era, such 'civilized' letters of persuasion were rare.
Ning Yi received the envoys and looked at each of them with interest. "Tsk, Xi Yin from your side has learned well from me. She's getting more and more imaginative."
"Among all the heroes in the world, only the Goddess of Grains and you can appreciate each other. The Goddess of Grains often mentioned Mister Ning from the southwest. If we were in the same country, we would be bosom friends. Now, the Jin Kingdom has destroyed the Wu dynasty and unified the world. Only the Southwest Black Flag is left, and we can't do anything alone. I heard that there's an internal strife. Today, the millions of troops of the Wu dynasty and Marshal Ni Han's West Army are ready to go. The Goddess of Grains cares about the people in the world, so she left some leeway. I hope you can make the right decision. "
"A few years ago at Little Canghe, your envoy, Fan Hongji, wasn't as good as you are." Ning Yi smiled and looked at the emissary in front of him. He then wrote a few words on the thick document and threw it back. "Do you know why?"
The messenger took the book, flipped through it, and said, "Mister Ning …" Speaking up to this point, he saw Ning Yi's words, and his words stopped.
There were nine random words at the back of the document.
— None of them agree. Take it back and change it.
Ning Yi walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "That's because the Huaxia army is no longer the Huaxia army at Little Canghe. Wanyan Xiyin sent you here just to see my will. You're not important at all. What can't be obtained on the battlefield, can't be negotiated at the table … I originally hoped that the Wu dynasty could hold on a little longer. Now, forget it, I'll do it myself. What millions of troops? Go back and ask Ni Han and Xiyin to come here. When your West Army enters the Chengdu Plain, I'll bury you."
He finished his words indifferently and left the room. The light of the end of summer shone in through the window.
…
On the sea, it was already the end of summer. Zhou Yong's heart softened, and Zhou Pei was able to come out and walk on the deck of the dragon boat to relax. At first, the surrounding guards were still watching her closely. Gradually, facing the silent Princess Royal, everyone gradually relaxed.
On the 24th of June, seagulls were flying in the sky. Zhou Pei looked up at the blue sky above the sea.
Zhou Yong walked over from not far away and came to Zhou Pei's side. He stretched out his hand to dismiss the guards beside him and sighed softly, as if he wanted to say something.
Zhou Pei stood up and suddenly ran to the side of the boat.
She jumped high. Seagulls flew past her eyes, and her body fell into the blue sea.
A drop of tear fell from the sky …
…
In the clouds, Tang Minjie finished reading all the information from the south and then closed his eyes. Light flashed across his resolute and indifferent face.
"The second Jingping …"
He clenched the paper in his hand, gritted his teeth, and paused after each word.
…
Xuzhou.
Due to the collapse of the Jiangnan defense line, Liu Chengzong's troops no longer needed to threaten the Jurchen's retreat. The troops that had been fighting for several months were turning toward Shandong, north of the Yangtze River.
Land of Jin.
Lou Shuwan and Yu Yulin's troops had fought back several times under extremely difficult circumstances. Under the situation where the fighting spirit of the various forces in Jin had diminished, they had expanded their territory a little and gotten some breathing space. But at this time, the accumulation of Tian Hu and Tian Shi's period had gradually been exhausted. A more difficult time was about to come.
…
At the end of June, in a small corner of the world that no one had noticed, something was happening.
In the northwest, after the battle of Little Canghe, the Jurchen had carried out an inhumane massacre. As a result, the plague had been rampant for several years, and the land was red for thousands of miles.
This situation was gradually being forgotten by people.
Fuzhou, under the rule of Zhe Keqiu, after the Huaxia army and the Jurchen left, was the largest settlement of the people in the northwest. In the background of the fierce war, the situation here had gradually become a relatively quiet paradise.
On this day, just as the rays of light that could devour the heavens were about to descend, a veteran guard emerged from his room at a relay station on the west side of Fuzhou. The warm evening wind was sweeping up the barren sand as he walked. Suddenly, he felt an ominous tremor.
The old soldier lay on the ground and listened. Gradually, he showed a puzzled look. After a while, he saw that on the other side of the earth, a surging cavalry was coming!
He was about to turn around and walk back. On the figure behind him, a figure that had arrived earlier leaped high into the air and waved his saber.
Blood surged and bloomed —
(End of Episode 9 * The Vast Land *)
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