It was still raining. When the carriage left the nearby streets, they lifted the curtains and looked back at the Su family's mansion in the rainy night. All they could see were the two lanterns that were still lit under the eaves of the side door. The rest of the place was mostly just the dark silhouette of the courtyard walls. Occasionally, a glimmer of light would rise from the silhouette. Xi Junyu sighed.
"I knew you wouldn't listen, but …" He murmured, a smile appearing on his face. "Then don't think that I didn't warn you …"
When it came to the matter of the imperial merchants, after Ning Yi appeared, he still mentioned a few words. Of course, because he didn't know if Ning Yi knew the whole thing, his last words felt a bit indirect. In any case, the meaning should have been conveyed. In front of Su Tan'er, that was all he could and should do.
The carriage left. In the courtyard on the other side, Ning Yi, Su Tan'er, and Juan'er had already gone to the small courtyard where they waited for their meal. Ning Yi had already been aware of the palace receptacle, but he wasn't very clear about the details. At this time, he didn't hear the first half of the conversation between the two. It was nothing more than listening to Su Tan'er talk about the country's situation, so he teased her. At this time, Su Tan'er smiled and said angrily, "What I said just now, most of it was obviously what Husband said casually last time. Now you're saying that I'm not patriotic … and Husband isn't a good person."
"The context is different. You can't generalize." Ning Yi laughed in the heavy rain as he made up nonsense. Juan'er followed behind him.
After going out for a few days, when they came back, they didn't feel much different from before. Although the feeling between them and Xiaochan was a bit different, they still ate and chatted together at night, talking about the things that happened in Nanting Village these past few days. After Guard Geng and Dong Zhu left, Ning Yi, Su Tan'er, and the others also returned to their small courtyard with umbrellas. Chan'er and Juan'er were busy boiling hot water for rinsing and washing. Xing'er was cleaning inside and out. Su Tan'er returned to her room and continued to deal with the accounts that Xi Junyu had been working on before he came.
The torrential rain in the courtyard had almost merged into a surging stream. Ning Yi stood under the eaves and watched for a while. When he raised his head to look across, he saw that the window of Su Tan 'er's room was open. The lady's silhouette was writing and calculating at the table in front of the window. It was indeed a scene no different from any other day. When he was about to return to his room, he saw Juan' er standing behind him, holding a small basin of hot water.
Usually, Juan 'er gave people the impression that she was more gentle and quiet, but she had a good relationship with Ning Yi. At this moment, she smiled and said, "Young master, you should sleep early tonight."
Juan'er thought for a while and said, "Yes?"
"Young Miss always sleeps very late when Young Master hasn't returned. In fact, she was just clearing the accounts, but Sister Xing'er and I couldn't persuade her. "
After saying that, she lowered her head slightly and walked to the side with the basin of water.
"Tsk." Ning Yi turned his head to look at the figure in the window and shrugged. "I couldn't persuade her either."
At night, he read for a while in the room. He roughly calculated the time and estimated that the light in the opposite room was still on at midnight. Ning Yi thought for a while, put down the scroll, blew out the light, and went to bed. In the other room, Su Tan'er looked up. She was still flipping through the account book in her hand. She frowned slightly.
She held her chin and looked at it again. She couldn't help but look into the dark room. After a while, she turned another page and reached out to close the entire account book.
It's almost time to turn off the light and sleep. She thought so.
In the maid's room on the side, Juan'er, wearing a thin dress, leaned out of the window and looked at Ning Yi's window. Then she turned her head to look at Su Tan'er's window. She leaned on the windowsill and sighed, "Young master is really amazing …"
After the last rustling sound, the courtyard had already quieted down. Only the sound of the heavy rain continued …
It was also that night that there was not a single cloud in Tokyo, the capital of the Wu dynasty, thousands of miles away. The night was bright and beautiful. It was as if the first quarter moon with hope was emitting a cold jade-like light. The twinkling stars gathered to form a vast jade belt like the Milky Way. The city was still bustling under the night sky. The market, the brothel, and the big and small houses were still brightly lit. The busiest street in the city led to the Xuande Gate, the main gate of the imperial palace. Looking from here, the wide street was full of lights. The towering imperial city was also shrouded in lights.
Although the gate of the imperial city was closed, the scene there was the same every night. Few people knew that an extremely secretive and important matter was quietly happening in the imperial city this night.
Under the Hall of Governmental Affairs, some of the most powerful officials in the court were gathered here at this time. Li Gang, Tong Guan, Wu Min, Tang Ke, Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang, Qin Hui, Gao Qiu, Zhou Zhi … Of course, these people's official positions varied, and they also had their own small groups. At this time, it was the break time for a secret and important meeting. Two or three people gathered to the side, drinking tea and resting, and discussing some things. Although their voices were low, in fact, they could not suppress the excitement in their hearts.
"The Liao people sent a letter of credence not long ago, asking to discuss the matter of the New Year's coins again. They are even willing to give up the New Year's coins and ask our Wu dynasty to send troops to fight against the Jin. They must have gone through this on your side, right? "
"It's true. The Liao envoy asked me to put in a good word for them when I went to the court and sent many gifts. One of the censers is really expensive, and the rest … ah, they are just a few …"
"The Liao people are anxious. It's really not easy to wait until they are anxious …"
"Without the lips, the teeth will be cold. I still think we shouldn't send troops this time. The Zhenren now has the upper hand. Once the Liao is destroyed, who knows if our Wu dynasty will be next?"
"This is too alarmist. There are too few Zhenren. Once the Liao is destroyed, I'm afraid the whole country can only use 100,000 soldiers, and they have to maintain the situation. How can they send troops from thousands of miles to attack our Wu dynasty?"
"This is also Zhong Shidao's opinion. He said that we should not join the Jin to fight against the Liao, but this time we should join the Liao to fight against the Jin. It's because the Liao and our Wu dynasty have been brothers for a hundred years. Now the Jin is the country of tigers and wolves, and there is also Deng Xunwu …"
"Nonsense, befriending the distant and attacking the nearby. It has been like this since ancient times. How can there be the logic of attacking the distant and befriending the nearby? This time, the recapture of Yan Yun is within reach. It has been hundreds of years. If we can succeed, we … will all go down in history … "
"Zhong Shidao is really muddle-headed …"
"The Liao's fate has come to an end. We should act according to the will of heaven … The Wu dynasty will rise."
"It's a pity that Lord Tong is preparing to leave the capital to deal with Fang La …"
"A eunuch …"
"Shut up! Lower your voice! "
Buzzing sounds could be heard as everyone discussed. But no matter what, the proposal to join the Jin to fight the Liao had been pushed by Tong Guan on the surface. At this time, it had passed the initial stage and entered the stage of detailed discussion.
The real foreshadowing had perhaps been set in the Blackwater Alliance seven years ago. In particular, four years ago, the Liao Emperor Tianzuo personally led 700,000 troops to attack the Jin. In the end, Wanyan Agu defeated 20,000 of his soldiers at Budagang. Since then, the call to join the Jin to fight the Liao had been growing in the country. Although there were some people who thought that the Wu dynasty should not participate in this war, or should join the Liao to fight the Jin, such as the famous northwest general Zhong Shidao.
Deng Xunwu, who was in charge of the Privy Council, had also suggested this. The gist of it was, "What 'join the weak to attack the strong'? I think we should support the weak and suppress the strong. Now, the country's military strength is weak, financial resources are scarce, and the people are weak. Everyone knows this, but no one dares to speak up. I don't understand. Is it better to be neighbors with the strong Jin than with the weak Liao? " The King of Goryeo secretly sent a message, "The Liao is a country of brothers. If we keep it, we can stabilize the border. The Jin is a country of tigers and wolves. We can't make friends with them!"
Of course, in the present day, only a minority maintained this kind of thinking. It had been more than two hundred years since Shi Jingtang lost the sixteen provinces of Yan Yun. To be able to take back Yan Yun was a temptation that no emperor could resist.
Now that the Liao people had sensed the danger, they had begun to ask the Wu dynasty for help. They were even willing to cancel the New Year's Coins and beg the Wu dynasty to join forces to fight the Jin. But since a few years ago, the Wu dynasty had been sending people to communicate with the Jin by sea. This time, the envoys sent by the Jin finally had a relatively accurate answer. The next step was to discuss the terms of the negotiation and send people over. They had probably entered the formal stage of the negotiation.
This time, the envoys from the Jin Kingdom only nodded in agreement. They did not have the authority to discuss the terms one by one. After the negotiation, they still had to send someone to the Jin Kingdom to personally talk to Wanyan Shaigu. At this moment, everyone was still discussing in the imperial city. In a restaurant near the imperial street, two members of the Jin Kingdom's envoys were drinking. One of them looked like a middle-aged man in his early forties while the other looked like he was in his twenties. Both of them had the fierce aura of a Lady Zhenren. However, the middle-aged man looked at the busy street outside with a complicated gaze. The two of them looked like they were just followers of the envoys. They did not have any status and did not enter the palace with them. However, the meaning of their conversation was quite unusual.
"Since Milord Goddess of Grains is here, why didn't you just show yourself and sign the agreement earlier? In this way, when the Wu dynasty sends their army to the north, those Khitan dogs will definitely be in a difficult position. It will also reduce the burden on our side. "
If someone who really knew the situation of the Jin Kingdom heard this, he would probably be shocked by the two words "Milord Goddess". The son of Huandu, the Milord Goddess, also known as Wanyan Xiyin, was the most important strategist of Wanyan Aguda. Ever since Aguda rebelled against the Liao Kingdom, he had been involved in many major events. Not only was he very good at military strategy, he was also a famous scholar in the Jurchen Kingdom. A few years ago, when Aguda became the emperor, he thought that the Jurchen Kingdom did not have their own language and asked him to create a set of Jurchen language. He imitated the Han people's regular script and created this set of language last year. Now, he had started to implement it in the Jin Kingdom. At this moment, he looked at the lights outside and shook his head.
"Although we have considered the help of the Wu dynasty at the beginning of the war, this matter was first brought up by the Wu dynasty. Since the Wu dynasty has a favor to ask of us, we naturally can't be too eager. I came to the Central Plains to see the prosperity of the Wu dynasty and the scenery of Dongjing … What I have seen now is already worth the trip. Look at the scenery of Dongjing, compared to the five capitals of Liao, it is still a far cry. "
"Without it, I feel that it is too extravagant. It is soft and does not have the slightest valiance. Milord Goddess of Grains, in fact, some of the people who came with us said that the Wu dynasty has nothing good to recommend other than extravagance. They have been oppressed by the Liao people for a hundred years and have not made any achievements. Even if we form an alliance with them, I'm afraid that there will not be much benefit. Although it can attract some attention, it is really dispensable. Even without them, the Jurchen soldiers can still take down the Liao. At this time, they are just taking a share of the loot … "
"Don't be arrogant." Wanyan Xiyin frowned, "The Wu dynasty is located in the Central Plains, it is a vast land with abundant resources. Before the Jurchen people appeared, the Han people had already lived here for a thousand years. Although they seem to have been oppressed by the Liao people, if they were really that weak, wouldn't the Liao people have already taken them over? How could they have allowed them to develop to such an extent? "
He shook his head. In fact, there was some uncertainty in his eyes, "These few years, I have been creating characters and studying the culture of the Han people. The more I study, the more I admire their unfathomable heritage. Without it, even His Majesty and the two ministers are in awe when they talk about the Wu dynasty. The country in the Central Plains is not to be underestimated. Once we join forces to take down the Liao, we will be bordering each other and may become enemies. How can you look down on your enemies? "
After he finished speaking, he looked at the bustling night view outside again. The young man by the name of Wanyan lowered his head and pondered. If it was someone else, he would not be able to change his mind no matter what they said. However, the Milord Goddess of Grains was different. Not only was he outstanding in martial arts, but he was also outstanding in strategy and wisdom. Whatever he said must be reasonable.
With that thought, Wanyan also looked outside and started to think about how powerful the Han people were.
Perhaps one day … he would be able to see them on the battlefield.
He thought to himself.
This night that belonged to Kaifeng might be remembered by people many years later and have a place in the history books. Of course, this was just a small interlude in the many things that would happen in the following years. At this time, people were doing what they thought was right.
The rebellion of Fang La and some of the rebels in the southeast of the Wu dynasty had spread far and wide. The famous general Tong Guan, while advocating the alliance of the Jin against the Liao dynasty, was thinking about how to deal with the peasants first and then lead the army to the north. The Emperor was waiting to recover Yan Yun and return the country to the Liao dynasty. Wanyan Xiyin, who was in Bianliang, and Wanyan Aguda, who was at the frontline against the Liao dynasty, were both thinking about the support that the Wu dynasty would bring to the north and the future situation. The Jurchen population and army were too small. If they conquered Liao, how could they maintain the balance with the Wu dynasty so that they would not be swallowed by the Wu dynasty …
Of course, Ning Yi did not know any of these things.
He was sleeping. When he woke up in the morning, he saw that the storm had stopped, so he ran as usual. While running, he practiced his internal strength according to the breathing method taught by Lu Hong. He went all the way to Nie Yunzhu's house to have a cup of tea and talk. After all, they had not seen each other for a few days. After a little greeting, they sat quietly for a while. Nie Yunzhu was thinking about how to tell him that she had met Elder Qin, who might become her adoptive father. When Ning Yi picked up the teapot to pour water for himself, a hand holding a teacup was handed to him from behind.
"Here, give me a cup, too."
The woman's hand was white and delicate. Ning Yi was slightly stunned. He poured the tea into the cup and then looked back. The woman wearing a dress that seemed to belong to Nie Yunzhu was sitting on the stairs two steps behind him. She raised the teacup and blew on it a few times, then slowly drank it.
The two should already know each other. Nie Yunzhu turned back and said in surprise, but for a moment, she did not know whether it was necessary to introduce them. After a while, Yuan Jin 'er put down the teacup and smacked her lips. She found that Ning Yi was still looking at her. She pouted and stared at him. She leaned back a little. "Why do you keep looking at me!"
"Oh." Ning Yi blinked and nodded. Then he turned his face away and drank the tea, no longer looking at her. After a while, he shrugged again. "Yesterday, I saw a woman climbing out of the river. It was raining heavily, and her whole body was wet. Ahem, very wet … It shouldn't be you."
His tone was indifferent as if nothing had happened. Yuan Jin 'er's eyes instantly widened. Nie Yunzhu was slightly surprised. "Huh?" She still remembered the scene when Yuan Jin 'er entered the room. After that, she dragged her to take a bath, but she had already fallen asleep. In order to prevent her from catching a cold, she even took off Jin' er's clothes and wiped her body.
At this moment, Yuan Jin 'er blinked her eyes and looked at Nie Yunzhu. "Of course it's not me!" After that, she pulled the hem of her dress and ran away. Nie Yunzhu was slightly taller than her, and the hem of her dress was also slightly longer. When she ran inside, she almost fell down.
Nie Yunzhu snickered and turned her head to look at Ning Yi. Ning Yi was still drinking his tea indifferently. He then glanced at her … and glanced at her again …
"Why are you looking at me like that? She already said it's not her! "
"… Lecher."
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