In the interval between the start of the battle, Ning Yi, who had lived two lives, lamented with his wife about how unlovable his children were when they grew up. This was a new experience for him, after all.
What was truly worth rejoicing over was that many of the children still had the possibility and space to grow up.
In order to fight for this space, the entire southwest had been mobilized. The first wave of fighting at the Huangming County Pass lasted for four days. Ba Li Su's probing attacks turned into rounds of focused attacks.
In the three days after the 25th, Ba Li Su subconsciously controlled his attacks to reduce casualties. Pang Liu 'an's side also stopped firing when they weren't facing the main force of the Jurchen army. But even under these circumstances, the Jurchen army had suffered over ten thousand casualties, and their losses amounted to close to fifteen thousand.
Most of these casualties came from the Han elites who had rushed to the frontlines to surrender. Although they were mixed in with a large number of civilians who had been repeatedly driven to the frontlines, although the cannons on the city walls no longer fired at them, and although the city walls in front of them were no more than three meters high … even if they were just fighting with bare blades, these soldiers who couldn't get into formation to climb the city walls could only charge forward and experience a massacre when faced with the Black Flag elites on top of the city walls.
Sieging a city was not a battle of equals, and the defending side always had the upper hand in terms of formation. Even if they didn't count the cannons that could fire at any time, they would still have to use their weapons like rolling stones, bows, arrows, and spears to determine the outcome of the battle. Facing two to three Huaxia soldiers who cooperated well with each other, the soldiers who climbed up the three-feet-high city wall by relying on ladders would often fall to the ground before they could even make a single slash.
Even the Jurchen elites, who were known for their fearlessness and high morale, and had killed all over the world, had the same ending when they climbed the city walls under these circumstances.
Wulitan, who was a vanguard vanguard, relied on the defense of his armor to persevere and return a few blows, while the rest of the Jurchen soldiers could only see ferocious metal shields crashing into them. The coordination of the metal shields was despairing, and the soldiers behind the metal shields were not inferior to the Jurchen soldiers in terms of determination and fanaticism. After removing the shields, their blades were equally bloodthirsty.
The warm-ups for the battle with the Female Enlightened Master had already begun ten years ago. Ever since the Little Cang River incident, all kinds of propaganda and encouragement had become more solid, heavy, and had a greater sense of mission. It could be said that the moment the Perfected Woman arrived in the southwest, the Huaxia Army, which had been stifled and waiting for several years, was even more expectant and thirsty.
However, the first people to go up the 1500-meter-tall city wall were the elites of the Huaxia army who had won prizes in various military competitions. At the beginning of the war, when they were full of spirit and energy, the ferocity of the Female Zhenren would only make their blood boil — the ferocity and death of the enemy could bring them the greatest sense of pride.
The soldiers methodically killed the invaders, who were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers and formation, and threw their corpses off the wall. The leading generals were also cherishing the pleasure of fighting with low casualties. They all knew that with the successive attacks of the Female Daoists, even the smallest casualties would gradually accumulate into wounds that could not be ignored. However, the more blood they saw at this time, the higher their morale would be, and the more likely it was that they would be able to kill their way out of the enemy's sea of people.
On the afternoon of the third day of the war, the Han soldiers who had rushed to the edge of the city wall didn't dare to go up. They weren't fools. The first round of attacks might not be able to break through the seemingly low city wall in front of them, and the casualties of those who rushed to the bottom of the city wall weren't low. But if they went up the ladder, the top would be like the huge mouth of a Taotie in two or three days, swallowing as many as they could. Except for some people who jumped down the moment they reached the top of the city wall, the rest could only come down as corpses.
On the 28th, Ba Licu killed several Han generals in front of the formation.
On this day, there were still fires burning in the rugged forest nearby. Black pillars of smoke raged in the sky, and a burning atmosphere pervaded the battlefield near and far.
On the 29th, it gradually began to drizzle. Ba Licu stopped the attack in front of the mountain pass in Huangming County and began the first round of statistics and rest — it was necessary to start. The transport capacity of the rear roads was limited, and even if most of the casualties were cannon fodder, it would take some time to replenish them.
This rest only lasted for two or three days. On the first day of November, the weather turned sunny, and on the third day, the battle of Yu Yu Creek began. On the fourth day, the Jurchen craftsmen who had followed the Great Construction Institute all the way here assembled four huge wide-wheeled siege vehicles — the front covered with sandbags and iron plates — that were strong enough to withstand artillery fire and could overcome the undulating terrain to a certain extent. Pushed by soldiers, they began the official attack on Huangming County.
Until the eleventh year of Jianshuo, the war in the southwest never stopped.
*****
The flames of war in the world also never stopped.
In the middle of November, on the surface of the East China Sea, two huge fleets encountered each other in the hazy sea. Hu Sunming, the general who had led the Taihu Fleet to defect to the Jurchen side, saw the scene of the dragon ships rushing over.
"Defeat that group of old master soldiers! Capture the former dynasty's Princess Zhou Pei alive. They are all greedy for life and afraid of death! Seeing the Great Jin charge over, they abandoned their country and fled without losing a single soldier! The destiny of the Wu dynasty no longer belongs to them — "
At the mobilization meeting, Hu Sunming hysterically said these words. He actually believed that the huge dragon ships, which seemed enormous but were actually clumsy, was the biggest weakness of the entire enemy fleet — once this ship was defeated, the morale of the rest of the fleet would plummet and they would surrender without a fight.
But at this time, the dragon ships did not use the palace-like ship as their main ship. Princess Zhou Pei, dressed in pure white mourning clothes, ascended to the highest point of the central battleship so that everyone could see her. Then, she waved the drumsticks and began to fight.
Hu Sunming once thought that she was a substitute or a bait. Before this, the Wu dynasty's army was used to using all kinds of military tactics, and the idea that what was fake was real and what was real was already deeply rooted in people's hearts. But in fact, at this moment, what appeared was not an illusion. For this moment of battle, Zhou Pei practiced swinging the drumsticks every day for two months. Every day, the faint sound of the drums could be heard from the surrounding ships. After two months, Zhou Pei's arms seemed to have grown thicker.
When they learned that she was going to fight, some officials came to persuade Zhou Pei that her appearance might boost morale, but it would inevitably become the fleet's biggest weakness. Zhou Pei rejected these views one by one.
No matter how big the world was, there was no retreat. At this moment when her father passed away and her brother's life was uncertain, she actually did not think too much.
The drumming continued on the surface of the sea for more than two hours. All the battleships surrounded and attacked Zhou Pei. Afterwards, the Taihu fleet mutinied and collapsed. Hu Sunming was forced into the sea by the mutinous soldiers and later fished out. What awaited him was a slow death by a thousand cuts.
While Zhou Pei was carving out a bloody path on the southeastern sea, Jun Wu, with the help of Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and the others, fought their way out of Jiangning and began their escape to the southeast.
Along the way, Zong Fu and Zong Bi chased after him, while Han Shizhong and Yue Fei fought several battles one after the other. At the end of November, they recaptured Suzhou. After a short rest, they dealt with a group of officials who had defected to the enemy and released a group of people who had been persecuted.
Walking out of the prison, the snow was already falling. He Wen hugged his body. His clothes were ragged and he was as thin as a beggar's. In front of him was the dispirited and chaotic scene of the city. No one paid attention to him.
He used to be a scholarly hero who was well-versed in both the pen and the sword. When the Wu dynasty was in danger, he had also been hot-blooded for the country. He Wen had once gone to the southwest to assassinate Mr. Ning, but who knew that he would later join the Huaxia Army by chance and even have a relationship with Lin Jingmei, whom Ning Yi regarded as his daughter.
He watched the development of the Huaxia Army but did not trust its ideals. In the end, his contact with the outside world was discovered. Ning Yi tried to persuade him to stay, but to no avail. In the end, he could only be released home.
After He Wen returned home in Suzhou, the Suzhou officials found out that he had connections with the Huaxia Army and imprisoned him again. He Wen tried to explain himself, but when the local officials found out that his family was quite wealthy, they came up with a plan. They tortured He Wen and then extorted money and land from the He family. This happened in the ninth year of Wu Jianshuo.
In the tenth year of Jianshuo, He Wen was in prison. His family was gradually exploited clean. His parents died of depression in the first half of the year. One day, his wife and son never came to see him again. He didn't know if they had died of illness or starvation outside the prison. He Wen had also thought about escaping from prison, but one of his hands had been broken and he had several serious illnesses in prison. In the end, he no longer had any martial arts skills — in fact, he was not the only one in prison who had been wrongly imprisoned.
In prison, he gradually learned of the demise of the Wu dynasty, but none of this seemed to have anything to do with him. On this day, when he was released and looked at everything dispirited, it seemed that the world no longer needed him.
He followed his past memories and returned to his family's old residence. Not long ago, the residence had probably been burned to ruins by someone — perhaps it was the work of a rebel army. He Wen went around to inquire about the situation of the rest of the family, but found nothing. Pure white snow fell, about to cover up the black ruins bit by bit.
He Wen knelt in the snow, making mournful and unpleasant sounds — his throat was hoarse, and he couldn't even cry normally at this time.
In the past year, the Female Zhenren had wreaked havoc in Jiangnan. His wife and children had been bullied by that evil official, and whether they survived or not, it was likely that they would not be able to escape this even greater disaster. He Wen searched Suzhou for half a month. Jun Wu's army began to withdraw from Suzhou. He Wen followed the crowd of civilians heading south and began a bloody journey in a daze …
*****
In the north, the snow was getting heavier day by day, and the world was gradually covered with ice and snow.
There was still some life in Yunzhong Manor.
Tang Minjie carried the chopped firewood and shakily entered the small house that looked like it had not been lived in for a long time. He began to crouch by the stove to light a fire. He had been here for several years and was already used to life here. At this time, every move he made was like the most unsophisticated old farmer. After the fire was lit in the stove, he pulled up his sleeves and lightly jumped like a toad by the stove, shivering.
The weather was too cold after all.
People who could survive in this world of ice and snow were indeed somewhat frightening.
"Heh heh heh … I'm not afraid of the cold …"
He simulated this unrealistic and perverted thought in his mind, and then there was a rhythmic knock on the door.
Tang Minjie exhaled a breath of white air and stood up. His sleeves were still pulled up, and his back was hunched. When he went to open the door, the cold wind howled!
"Ugh …"
The wind and snow were raging, and Tang Minjie couldn't help but step back. The person who rushed in had already grabbed his clothes. Tang Minjie's hand moved up to block it, but the person's hand pulled back and moved forward again, pressing Tang Minjie's throat and pressing him against the wall behind him.
The cold wind was still blowing in from outside the door. Tang Minjie was pressed there, and he slapped the person's arm a few times. His face gradually turned red.
At this time, the person who had appeared in the room was a woman with a knife at her waist. She gripped Tang Minjie's neck, gritted her teeth, and had a fierce look in her eyes. Tang Minjie couldn't breathe. He waved his hands, pointing at the door, the stove, and then everywhere. The woman said, "Remember this, I …"
"Blergh, blergh …"
Tang Minjie's tongue gradually stretched out, and the wet saliva was about to drip from the tip of his tongue onto the woman's hand. Only then did the woman's hand let go. "… Remember, I'm going to kill you …" Tang Minjie's throat had just been let go, and his body was already bent down, coughing desperately. The fingers of his right hand casually stretched forward, about to touch the woman's chest.
"You —"
"Cough — cough cough cough cough! Cough — cough cough cough cough — "In the room, the steel knife in the woman's hand had already been pulled out, but Tang Minjie didn't seem to feel it. He bent down, clutched his throat, and spun a few times. He ran straight to the door, and then ran to the stove to look at the flame that had just been lit up and then extinguished. He sat on the ground, and his eyes were accusing, "You're crazy!"
"You really want to die —" The woman raised the knife at him, and her eyes were still trembling with anger.
"I'm looking for your mother! Cough cough cough — "Tang Minjie coughed a few times. Although he was sitting on the ground, his words were a bit more fierce," Damn broken shoes! Pretending to be pure! After being sold here to be a servant girl for a few years, you've forgotten who you are, haven't you?! "
Tang Minjie's words were vicious. When the woman heard this, her eyes immediately became bloodshot. She raised the knife, but she heard the man sitting on the ground continuously curse. "You're killing people! You wishy-washy slut! Even your saliva feels dirty! Just touching your chest can make you back up! What are you doing?! You've never been gang-raped by a man before! You've all forgotten, haven't you?! Cough cough cough cough … "
He rubbed his neck and coughed a few more times. He stood up from the ground, and while facing the other party's knife, he directly walked over. He placed his neck there, and then stared straight into the woman's eyes. "Come, broken shoes! It looks a bit more like it now. Stab me here. "
Tang Minjie continued to walk forward. That woman's hand trembled a few times, and then she finally withdrew the knife. "Black Flag Army's lunatic …"
Tang Minjie rubbed his neck and twisted his head. Then, he snapped his fingers. "I won!"
He turned around and walked back to the side of the stove, continuing to light a fire. He said, "Whether or not I'm crazy is none of your business. In this kind of place, there are people who won't have a tomorrow. Every time you see me, you have to threaten me a bit, I don't even know what you want to do. What, are you a dog? You have to bark a bit at your master's side every time, or else you'll feel uncomfortable, right? What do you want to threaten me with? Hack me into a thousand pieces? Did I bully your master again? "
That woman's arm trembled, but she instead calmed down. She clenched her teeth and said, "... after madam saw you last time, something was wrong, to the extent where she became seriously ill and only recovered recently. You … madam has given me, my entire family a new lease of life. What exactly did you say …"
She no longer threatened him. Tang Minjie turned around and stood up. "None of your business! What did your madam call me out for? It's fine as long as you do it. Don't be so wishy-washy, can you afford to delay things? "
The woman nodded. At this time, she was no longer angry. She took out a few pieces of paper from the interlayer of her sleeves. Tang Minjie took them and sat on the ground next to the stove to read. "En, what are you dissatisfied with? Threats? You can say it now … Aiya, your madam is really ruthless. Does she want me to kill my entire family? They are all female officials … "
The woman stood in the middle of the room and looked down at him. At this time, she had nothing to say. After a while, Tang Minjie finished reading the information. After confirming it, he threw it into the fire and raised his head. "What does your madam think? Didn't she tell you? "
"Madam asked me to tell you that she can't make a decision on what you said to her. This is the only thing she can give you. You can use it however you want … She has tried her best."
"…"
Tang Minjie was silent for a moment.
"… Understandable." He said.
Then he said, "Thank her, I admire her very much."
The woman seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she still turned around and left. When she was about to pull open the door, a voice sounded from behind.
"In the past ten years, there have been over a million people living lives worse than pigs and dogs. There have been over a million women who have become prostitutes and dogs here. You have also been one. If you have the chance to leave, then leave. No one will blame you. However, if you want to stay and learn how to fight, then don't forget, you have been a dog. "
The woman's hand that was holding the door latch paused. "I know you all are heroes … but don't forget, there are still more ordinary people in this world."
"… That's right, but … that is a bit harder to bear."
These words were like a sigh, coming from behind. The woman pushed open the door and left. When she turned around and closed the door, she saw that the man from the Black Flag Army with the code name 'Clown' was currently curled up by the stove. At this time, the viciousness and viciousness from before couldn't be seen anymore.
It was snowing heavily outside. In the past period of time, due to the 500 Han captives that were sent from the south, the situation in the Yun Zhong Mansion had not been peaceful. These 500 captives were the family members of the southern officials who fought against the Jin Dynasty. They had been tortured badly on the road. Because of them, there had already been several cases of prisoner rescues and assassinations in the Cloud Manor. In the past ten days or so, it was rumored that Black Flag's people had thrown animal corpses and even poison into the Cloud Manor's wells on a large scale.
The woman didn't know how many incidents were related to the man in the room, but she was sure that he was definitely involved.
In the events of the past year, some of the things that the man in the room had done had caused fear to both the enemy and the people. After the 500 captives arrived in the Yun Zhong Mansion, the madam saved 200 people. However, for some reason, because of the man's words, the madam fell ill for a period of time. When she woke up, she asked her to send the information. It was the information of some officials who were in charge of the subsequent treatment of the Han slaves, including their family members, weaknesses, and weaknesses. All the information that had been collected over the years had been sent.
She stepped on the snow-white long street and went all the way back to the Goddess of Grains' residence. In her heart, she knew that there would be a reign of terror in the Yun Zhong Mansion.
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