"Yu Mingzhou … I've known him since we were kids."
The afternoon sun shone through the window and the February air was still a bit cold. While Wanyan Qingjue was wondering, the young man in front of her looked at his fingers on the table and recalled calmly.
"The first time I met him was in the ninth year of Jinghan, in the winter when I was five years old … The Zuo family was a big family that passed down literature from generation to generation. The Yu family rose up by leading troops and only flourished for two generations. They were related by marriage to a branch of the Zuo family. Yu Mingzhou was also five years old that year. He was smart and Uncle Yu brought him to the Zuo family to study literature …"
"In fact, the Wu dynasty was still prosperous. The Jin Kingdom was about to succeed in conquering the Liao Kingdom and the Wu dynasty was calling for a northern expedition. Granduncle saw that Yu Mingzhou was indeed a little clever, so he advised him to study both literature and martial arts at the Zuo family's private school. Later, he invited a few famous generals to teach him martial arts and strategy. A few children from the Zuo family followed him, and I was one of them. Over time, I became good friends with Yu Mingzhou … "
"Yu Mingzhou was born in a family of generals. He was healthy and gentle. Although I wasn't from the main branch of the Zuo family, I thought highly of myself when I was young … "
In the room, Wanyan Qingjue gradually pieced together the whole story as Zuo Wenhuai spoke slowly. Of course, many things were different from what he had seen before. For example, Yu Mingzhou was a young General with a bad temper. Ever since he lost to Chen Fan the first time, he had been shouting about killing everyone in the Huaxia Army. He wasn't calm at all.
The young man in front of her, Zuo Wenhuai, had greasy hair and a calm look in his eyes. Other than the punch when they first met, there were no signs of "arrogance" like when he was young.
This was a story from the south that Wanyan Qingjue had never heard before.
In the ninth year of Jinghan, the two five-year-old boys met in the Zuo family and became good friends because of their complementary personalities. Zuo Wenhuai was arrogant and was often the dominant person in the pair. On the other hand, Yu Mingzhou was born in a general's family and had a relatively gentle temperament. He was always accommodating to Zuo Wenhuai in many things.
There wasn't much new in their childhood. One skipped classes in the private school, one was punished and one fought with other children of the same age. At that time, Zuo Duanyou had probably realized a certain crisis was coming and asked this group of children to practice martial arts, be familiar with military strategies and be familiar with formations.
There was an atmosphere of being a disciple of a general. Apart from the fact that there were more fights, by the age of seven or eight, this group of proud and arrogant geniuses had already begun to understand the meaning of being a general. In the time between each fight and recovery, the group of children also made up their minds to revive the Wu Dynasty, reclaim Youyan, and become the Wei Qing and Huo Qubing who could sweep through the world for the Wu Dynasty.
Jing Han looked back. When the Shame of Jingping came, the two children were still in their early teens, unable to share the country's worries. At that time, the outside world was in an uproar and people were in a state of panic. The Zuo family was also busy moving and avoiding the disaster. As a large family in Hedong, even after the Central Plains had fallen, Zuo Duanyou still held the fort there. On one hand, he feigned civility with the forces that had surrendered to the Jurchen, on the other hand, he supported the many volunteer armies and rebel forces in the Central Plains to fight back. But for the women and children in the family, the old man moved them to Jiangnan first to preserve the seeds of the future.
It was under such circumstances that Zuo Wenhuai and Yu Mingzhou moved to Jiangnan. They did not feel the threat of war, but they felt everything that had always made them anxious: the teachers changed again and again, the adults in their families disappeared, the world was in chaos, and countless refugees moved to the south.
The once arrogant children were suppressed by the shadow of chaos, but the pressure of reality was nothing to the children for the time being. Then in the second year of Jianshuo, when Zuo Wenhuai and Yu Mingzhou were thirteen years old, they had their first real separation in eight years.
They were now thirteen years old, and were not far from adulthood for children of this era. The youths already had a basic framework of logic, and agreed to fight hand in hand to slaughter the golden dogs and revive the Great Wu Empire one day when they met again.
At that time, Yu Mingzhou did not know Zuo Wenhuai's whereabouts, and Zuo Wenhuai himself was not clear about the arrangements of the family. Under Zuo Duanyou's instructions, a group of young Zuo children were quickly sent north to Little Canghe to be taught by Ning Yi. This learning process lasted for more than two years.
In the third year of Jianshuo, the Jurchen began to attack Little Canghe, opening the prelude to the three-year war. Ning Yi wanted to return these children to the Zuo family to prevent them from being injured in the war and disappoint the Zuo family's trust. But Zuo Duanyou wrote back and expressed his rejection. The old man wanted his children to undergo the same training as the children of the Huaxia army. If they did not become useful, even if they came back, they would be useless.
In the autumn of the fourth year of Jianshuo, Zuo Wenhuai and the others followed the first batch of women and children to the south. At that time, they had already experienced the difficulties of the blockade of Little Canghe and witnessed the heroism of the Huaxia army in battle.
At this age, there were some things that would be engraved in the soul after witnessing it once.
After going to the southwest and participating in the construction for a period of time, Zuo Wenhuai returned to the Zuo family. He was already a sixteen-year-old "adult". When he met Yu Mingzhou again, the thing in his soul was more like steel. At that time, the three-year war in Little Canghe had just ended, and the news of Mr. Ning's death had spread. Zuo Wenhuai was greatly shocked. On one hand, he could not believe it, but on the other hand, he could not help but start thinking about the future of the world.
Yu Mingzhou had spent a few years in the false celebration of peace. Although his thoughts were still bright and upright, he did not understand the cruelty of the Jurchen. He was only a little wary of the weakness after the celebration of peace in NMAU, but his mind was filled with optimism.
At the age of sixteen, the two could already decide their own future. Due to the strict confidentiality education they had learned in Little Canghe, Zuo Wenhuai did not reveal to Yu Mingzhou where he had been for the past three years. He led Yu Mingzhou, who had completed his studies, away from Jiangnan, across the Yangtze River, and traveled all over the Central Plains. They even reached the border of the Jin Kingdom.
One or two years after the end of the Little Canghe war, the Central Plains' situation was the most chaotic. Due to the spies that the Huaxia army had planted in the various warlords in the Central Plains, the "Da Qi" forces led by Liu Yu acted almost crazily. Famines, wars, the brutality of all levels of government, and countless inhumane scenes were presented in front of the two young people. Even Zuo Wenhuai, who had experienced the Little Canghe war, could not bear it, let alone Yu Mingzhou, who had always lived in the celebration of peace.
After traveling like this for a year, Zuo Wenhuai gradually told Yu Mingzhou about the deeds of the Huaxia army and everything he had witnessed in the past few years in Little Canghe.
However, Zuo Wenhuai, who was only seventeen years old at the moment, was only a fantasy when he thought that he would be able to gain understanding after explaining things clearly. In his most crucial three years, he had witnessed the Little Cang River and the Hua Xia Army. However, in Yu Mingzhou's most crucial three years, he had lived under the guidance of the upright and outspoken generals who were loyal to the Wu Dynasty. When they heard Zuo Wenhuai confess his thoughts, the two good friends started a fierce argument.
"Everything in the Central Plains was caused by the Huaxia army," "Ning Liheng is nothing but a reckless butcher," "The Black Flag Army is the one who should bear the blood debt of the whole world." When Zuo Wenhuai told them about the deeds of the Huaxia army, Yu Mingzhou also began to accuse him in another direction. The two, who were like brothers, quarreled for half a month, escalating from quarreling to fighting. When the seemingly weak Zuo Wenhuai knocked Yu Mingzhou to the ground again and again, Yu Mingzhou chose to cut ties with Zuo Wenhuai.
"The Wu dynasty must have a way out other than the Black Flag Army!"
With this belief in his heart, after he parted ways with Zuo Wenhuai, Yu Mingzhou traveled through the chaotic lands of the Central Plains for nearly a year. No one knew just how many horrifying scenes he saw during that time. Zuo Wenhuai returned to Jiangnan and entered the work he was supposed to do. A year later, he knew that Yu Mingzhou had returned to continue learning military strategy. As for the fact that Zuo Wenhuai might have already become a member of the Huaxia army, he never revealed it to anyone else.
In the ninth year of Jianshuo, the Jurchen prepared for the fourth southern expedition. In the tenth year, the whole world was engulfed in the flames of war. Yu Mingzhou, who was only in his early twenties, did some things, but they were certainly of no use. No one knew how anxious this young man, who had no foundation and no ability, was as he watched the whole world fall into enemy hands.
It was not until the autumn of the eleventh year that an unexpected situation occurred. At this time, Yu Gusheng sought refuge with the Jurchen in order to protect himself. He was ordered by Xiyin to attack Changsha, and Yu Mingzhou contacted Zuo Wenhuai through a secret agent.
When the two of them met again, Zuo Wenhuai saw Yu Mingzhou, who had already made up his mind. His eyes were bloodshot, and there was a hint of madness in them. "I have a plan that might help you defeat Yinshu, but to defend Changsha … Can you cooperate?"
Zuo Wenhuai naturally nodded repeatedly in agreement to win over reinforcements. However, when Yu Mingzhou roughly explained the beginning, Zuo Wenhuai shook his head greatly at such a plan. Giving up his own fifty thousand troops to win over the trust of the Jurchen upper echelons in hopes of playing a decisive role at a critical moment was too much of a test of luck. If he really planned to do this, he might as well try to persuade Yu Gusheng to lead the army anyway.
However, Yu Mingzhou only laughed mockingly. "Half of my family has already fallen under their surveillance after seeking refuge with the Golden Dogs. Let's not talk about whether that coward father has the guts to do so. Even if he fought alongside you, those fifty thousand old soldiers might not be able to withstand a single charge from Yinshu. What use do you have for it? "
In hindsight, Yu Mingzhou, who had decided to betray his own army and even his own father, must have experienced a series of things that made him feel hopeless: the tragedy in the Central Plains, the defeat in Jiangnan, the collapse of the Han Army, the collapse and surrender of millions of people …
After passing the information of the army to Chen Fan through Zuo Wenhuai, Yu Mingzhou, who had experienced his first major defeat, met the Young Prince Wanyan Qingjue in the Jurchen army camp.
…
"I passed the information about you to Yu Mingzhou at that time. Many of the details you saw were completed one by one in the following days. The irascible and powerless Yu Mingzhou you saw was, in fact, an imitation of you … "
As Zuo Wenhuai spoke, Wanyan Qingjue slammed his hands on the table. He was extremely angry because of the humiliation contained in these words …
…
The arrival of Wanyan Qingjue increased the possibility of Yu Mingzhou's plan succeeding.
As the disciple of Xi Yin and the Young Prince of the Jin Kingdom, Wanyan Qingjue had an extraordinary status in the battle of Changsha. Of course, he didn't know that during the time he was held captive by the Huaxia Army, the Huaxia Army's General Staff Department had done a lot of observation and analysis on him, including getting people to imitate his behavior, speech, and appearance. Among the three armies that Chen Fan had defeated, the one led by Li Touhe was deceived by the Huaxia army disguised as the Young Prince. After receiving false information, they were attacked and defeated.
Zuo Wenhuai had vouched for Yu Mingzhou in the Huaxia army. After that, Wanyan Qingjue's information was handed over to Yu Mingzhou.
In the first defeat, although Yu Gusheng's army was defeated by Chen Fan, Yu Mingzhou showed some leadership skills during the defeat. He gathered the remnants of the army and retreated while fighting, appearing to be quite organized. However, the Jurchen Cultivators who were wary of the Han Army would not appreciate him because of his talent. Yu Mingzhou had to choose another direction.
Chen Fan did not lead many troops. He could only choose to defeat an army of more than a hundred thousand, but he could not carry out a large-scale annihilation. After the defeat, the Yu family's army was gathered again. The second defeat happened when Wanyan Qingjue was attacked. The information was spread by Yu Mingzhou. He also led the army to approach Wanyan Qingjue. In the huge chaos, Yu Gusheng was attacked and "died". Yu Mingzhou commanded the remnants of the army to fight tenaciously and protect Wanyan Qingjue as he moved.
In this battle, Yu Mingzhou not only "lost" his father, but also three fingers on his left hand.
…
"His fingers were personally chopped off by himself … Later, I told him that one finger was enough. He said that it would be too stingy if he only chopped off one finger. If he chopped off four, his hand would be crippled. He couldn't bear to do that."
In the room, Zuo Wenhuai's calm voice was accompanied by a soul-stirring shudder. Wanyan Qingjue took a deep breath. He naturally remembered the bloody hand and the look of the young general who almost went crazy with hatred.
…
Yu Mingzhou killed one of his uncles and kidnapped his father. After chopping off three of his fingers, he started to play the role of a crazy general who wanted to take revenge on the Huaxia army.
Wanyan Qingjue could empathize with his hatred and the ugly way he vented his anger later.
Being easily captured by the Huaxia army was the biggest pain in Wanyan Qingjue's heart. However, he could not show his desire to take revenge on the Huaxia army. As the decision-maker, especially the disciple of the Goddess of Grains, he had to show the calmness of a strategist. In private, he was even more afraid of being laughed at by others because of this.
Yu Mingzhou's even more unbearable and ugly behavior made him find a mirror. That's right, he also wanted the Huaxia army to pay a heavy price. He also wanted to slaughter the enemy's family and watch them cry and beg for mercy. These vulgar thoughts made him feel ashamed. It was also because of this that Yu Mingzhou's pain made him feel happy.
Coincidentally, Yu Mingzhou was not an incompetent general. He had decent leadership and planning abilities. He knew many things about the officialdom of the Wu Dynasty and the army like the back of his hand. In private, Yu Mingzhou especially understood the Wu Dynasty's way of enjoying life. He would seemingly inadvertently provide some channels for Wanyan Qingjue to enjoy life. He would seize some of Wanyan Qingjue's treasures that she liked, and then pass them to Wanyan Qingjue in a manner that did not make it public. Meanwhile, he would also exchange them for some military resources to be used for "revenge" before swaggering off.
After four months of getting along, Wanyan Qingjue finally trusted Yu Mingzhou completely. The troops under Yu Mingzhou's command also became one of the Han troops that were most relied on by the Jin during the battle of Changsha. On the 21st of February, a large scale battle had already begun. Yu Mingzhou chose to take action after repeated calculations.
The plan was revealed.
…
The last time Zuo Wenhuai saw Yu Mingzhou was when his eyes were bloodshot and he finally decided to take action.
They had been good friends for more than ten years. Although they had been separated for a few years, they were able to speak freely in these few months of meeting. Zuo Wenhuai actually had a lot to say and wanted to persuade him to go through the entire plan again. But Yu Mingzhou was still obstinate and self-opinionated on this matter.
"That's my business. Let's see who's stronger after killing Yin Shuke, "Yu Mingzhou said with a proud expression." … The Wu dynasty also has a way to win. If you give me another twenty years, I won't need you. "
After saying this, he hesitated a little, but in the end … he didn't say anything more.
In the entire process of the battle, Yu Mingzhou only had one chance. He grabbed Wanyan Qingjue, then messed up the communication system and issued a fake order that he had drafted earlier. He used Wanyan Qingjue's name to lure Yin Shuke's troops into the mountains and use the terrain to divide the troops. Then, he mobilized a large number of Han troops to block the road.
He had set up a large scale mine array for Yin Shuke as an ambush, but his plan still couldn't keep up with the changes. As a veteran of the Jurchen Army, Yin Shuke was one step ahead of the others. The mine array didn't cause much damage to him. The situation in the mountains was chaotic. Yin Shuke led the elite troops out and wanted to meet up with the main force.
Chen Fan's troops were still running in the mountains and hadn't arrived yet. Yu Mingzhou led his troops to intercept them. Yin Shuke, who had realized the problem, went straight to Yu Mingzhou's troops. Yu Mingzhou used all his skills to entangle Yin Shuke in the mountains or escape.
On the morning of the 24th of February, Yu Mingzhou, who had been fighting for the entire night, led a small number of his personal guards and was blocked by the Yin Warlocks in the mountains. He had surrendered for too long, and there were many things that needed to be kept secret. There were not many troops with real combat ability around him, and most of them could not withstand a single blow from the Yin Warlocks. In the end, they could only flee in all directions. When he was blocked, half of Yu Mingzhou's body was stained with blood, and his armor was broken. He wielded a single blade and laughed loudly at the Yin Warlocks in front of him, issuing a challenge.
"Hahaha, Yin Shuke! My grandfather is Yu Mingzhou from the Wu dynasty! I'm the one who made you come this far! If you want revenge, do you dare to fight me one-on-one — "
His hands were trembling, and he could no longer hold onto the bloodstained blade. But as he shouted, he continued to walk forward. His eyes were filled with an unforgettable, bloodthirsty hatred. Yin Shu Ke accepted his challenge and charged forward alone.
When the sun rose, Yu Mingzhou charged at the enemies of the Jin Kingdom and fought with all his might.
…
"Yu Mingzhou couldn't come to see you. He died fighting with Yin Shuke on the morning of the twenty-fourth." Zuo Wenhuai said. "Unlike the Chinese army, he had too few companions. In the end, not many could fight with him. That was the reason why the Wu dynasty was destroyed. But as a human being, he didn't lose to anyone in this world. "
"He …"
Zuo Wenhuai thought for a moment and a deep sadness flashed in his eyes, but he didn't say anything else.
The problem he faced was too big, the world he faced was too tragic, and the responsibility he had to bear was too heavy. Therefore, he could only fight in such a decisive way. He betrayed his father, killed his family, mutilated himself, put down his dignity … Was it because he was cruel in nature? Because the world was too corrupt, a hero could only fight like this.
He killed all the way and finally advanced with his blade. Who could be more ruthless than him?
Zuo Wenhuai slowly stood up and left the room.
…
The confusion of intelligence and the departure of the commander caused a huge loss on the battlefield, and it was also a decisive loss.
Yin Shuke died two hours after Yu Mingzhou's death. Chen Fan led the troops to catch up with him.
Someone told Chen Fan about Yu Mingzhou's death. Not long after, Chen Fan dismounted from his horse and walked toward the Jurchen commander.
"Translate for him, Yin Shuke! I'll give you a chance! You and I will decide the outcome of this war! "
Yin Shuke's horse had already died under Yu Mingzhou's blade. He waved the guards away, threw away their helmets, and walked forward with his spear. Not long after, the Jurchen commander was killed by Chen Fan on a slope near Liuyang County.
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