"Everyone, it's time for the final battle."
On April 19th, on Dalong Mountain near Kang County, the bright moonlight shone through the window of the wooden hut.
There was a torch burning in the wooden hut. It was not big, but the light and starlight merged together. Qin Shaoqian mobilized the generals of the Seventh Army who had just gathered.
"It's been more than ten years." He said, "Over the past decade or so, the Central Plains has fallen in the flames of war. Our compatriots have been bullied and slaughtered, and so have we. We've lost our comrades, and most of you here have lost your family. Do you still remember … what your family looked like?"
Outside the hut, the soldiers of the Seventh Army had gathered around the bonfire.
"I still remember what my father looked like." He said, "The Wu dynasty was a good place. My father was the Prime Minister of the imperial court. In order to defend Bianliang, he offended the Emperor and died on the way to exile. My brother was a bookworm. He guarded Taiyuan for more than a year, but the imperial court refused to send troops to save him. In the end, he was chopped into pieces by the Jurchen and his head was hung on the city wall. Someone sent his head back … I didn't see it."
"It's just … more than ten years. I remember what they looked like clearly. I also remember what Bianliang looked like very clearly. My brother's posthumous son is still a little boy. He grew up in the Jin Kingdom and had one of his fingers chopped off by the Jin Men. It's only been more than ten years … Back then, I was a child who walked around the city and played with chickens and dogs all day long. But now, children can't even speak with their fingers chopped off. He grew up in the Jurchen's territory, and he doesn't even dare to speak … "
Carts pulled by horses and mules came down from the mountain, carrying iron cannons and other ordnance. From afar, some people came over and watched from the side of the mountain.
Qin Shaoqian looked at the group of generals with one eye.
"Some people say that if we fall behind, we will be beaten. We were beaten … I remember more than ten years ago, when the Jurchen went south for the first time, I was talking with Liheng by the roadside. It seemed to be in the evening — in the evening of the Wu dynasty. Liheng said that this country was in debt. I asked him how he would pay, and he said he would pay with his life. After so many years, who knows how many people have died. We've been paying our debts until now … "
The wind blew through the bonfire outside, illuminating the tall and straight figures. A biting cold aura was gathering in the air. Qin Shaoqian's gaze swept across everyone.
"From Xia Village … to Dong Zhiyuan … to the northwest … to Little Blue River … to Dayang … and then here … Our enemies, from Medicine Master Guo … to the old soldiers of the imperial court … from the people of Western Xia … to Lou Shi and Ci Buliu … to the three years at Little Blue River, to the Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Xiyin of today … How many people have stood by your side? They followed you to charge forward and fell on the road … "
"More than ten years ago, when we talked about Female Dao Masters, they were like myths. From Chuhedian to Hubu Dagang, they defeated the insufferably arrogant people of Liao, and every time they won, they outnumbered them. As for our Wu dynasty, when we heard that Liao's people had come, we felt a headache, not to mention the invincible Jurchens. Tong Guan led more than a hundred thousand people on a northern expedition, but he couldn't defeat seven thousand Liao soldiers. He spent tens of millions of taels of silver to buy four of the sixteen prefectures of Yan Yun … "
He recalled the past and smiled. "Lord Tong was a person who could cover the sky with one hand. All of us had to kneel in front of him, until Liheng killed Zhou Zhe. Tong Guan stood in front of him, but Liheng slapped him on the head. He flew up and hit his head on the steps of the throne room. Bang —"
"Back then, we knelt to look at Lord Tong, Lord Tong knelt to look at the emperor, the emperor knelt to look at the Liao people, and the Liao people knelt to look at the Jurchens … Why were Female Dao Masters so powerful? In Xia Village, we didn't know that the million troops of Bianliang City were defeated by Zong Wang's tens of thousands of troops. That was a huge gap. Many of us have practiced martial arts for our whole lives, but we never thought that the difference between people could be so big. But! Today! "
Qin Shaoqian's voice fell like thunder. "Is there still a gap? Between us and Wanyan Zonghan, who is afraid — "
Outside the windows, the fire swayed and the night wind was like the roar of a tiger.
"… Our Fifth Army has just defeated them in the southwest. Mr. Ning killed Zong Han's son, Du Lili, Dalai, and Yu Yu in front of them. Chen Fan killed Yin Shuke in Tan Province. Yin Shuke's brother, Ba Lisu, will never be able to walk out of Sword Garret! These people have the blood of the Han people on their hands, and we are getting it back from them bit by bit — "
"The Fifth Army has already fought against Zong Han in the most difficult situation and turned defeat into victory. Everyone in the Huaxia army, their military strength is already very tight. Ba Lisu is defending Sword Garret with his life, not wanting our two armies to join forces. Zong Han thinks that as long as they can separate Sword Garret, they will have the advantage of facing us here. Their main force is close to a hundred thousand, and we only have twenty thousand, so he wants to defeat us before Sword Garret is broken, and give us an explanation for this battle …"
A murderous glint flashed in his eyes. "The Perfected Lady is already a defeated army in the southwest. They have lost their drive, but Zong Han and Xi Yin don't want to admit this. Therefore, there is good news and bad news for us. The good news is that we are facing a group of defeated generals; the bad news is that the invincible army that came out of nowhere and conquered the country for the Female Daoist is no longer there … "
"Our Seventh Army has gone through so many trials to reach this day. Why is there such a huge difference between people? We put people in this big furnace to burn, to run on the edge of a knife, to flip in a sea of blood, to suffer the most pain, to go through the most difficult grind. You've gone hungry, you've endured the pressure, you've swallowed charcoal, you've run through sandstorms, you've come here … If it was back then, if it was at Hubu Dagang, we would have beaten Wanyan Agui to death, beaten him to death in front of the army … "
"But today, we can only eat some cold food."
When he reached this point, his tone was not high. Between each word, there was an oppressive smell of blood in his mouth. The officers in the room all sat upright and still. Some of them clenched their fists. Some of them gently twisted their necks, making a slight sound in the cold night. Qin Shaoqian paused for a moment.
"Think of the people who have died along the way! Think of the murderers who have done these evil things! There are a hundred thousand of them, and they are coming towards us! They want to take advantage of our lack of manpower! Then let them take advantage of this! We want to break their last delusion. We want to smash the dog head of Wanyan Zonghan, the Grand Marshal of all the armies and horses, into the mud! "
"— All of them!"
The generals in the room stood up.
Qin Shaoqian's gaze swept over them.
The cold moonlight outside the window was also sweeping over the mountains and mountains of this world. Some influences were being pushed away like waves. The generals walked towards the soldiers, mobilizing them one by one. Then the scouts began to move first, followed by the main force and the supply. The Seventh Army was different from the other armies. They did not have the fanaticism on the surface, and their blood only burned in their bodies. The moment of the decisive battle had arrived.
"We — go to battle."
The vanguard of the army surged forward like a river bursting its banks!
…
Zonghan rarely thought of the sea of forests and the snowy plains.
There were no four seasons in Hushui (today's Acheng District of Bing City). The snowy plains there often made people feel that the four seasons described in books were an illusion. The Jurchen who grew up there did not even know where in this world there were four seasons that were different from those in her hometown.
It was a kind of pain to know too much.
Zonghan was the eldest son of Prime Minister Sakai. Although the Jurchen was a poor small tribe, as the son of the Prime Minister, he always had this and that privilege. There were knowledgeable shamans who would tell him the truth of heaven and earth. He was lucky enough to go to the south to see and enjoy the taste of summer in Liao.
It was the taste of pain.
For a time, he even felt that the Jurchen was cursed by God for being born in such a world of ice and snow. At that time, he was still young. He was afraid of the snow. People often walked into the world of ice and snow and did not come back at night. People said that he would never come back.
In the world of ice and snow, there were wolves and bears. People had taught him how to fight, but he was not afraid of the wolves and bears. What he was afraid of was the unbeatable ice and snow, the giant creature that filled the sky with evil intentions. His steel saber and spear could not damage the giant creature at all. Since he was young, the people in the tribe taught him to be a warrior. But a warrior could not hurt this world, and people could not win against something that was not hurt.
Even if he became the strongest warrior, he was still a helpless ant in front of the enemy.
When he was 12 years old, he followed the adults to participate in the second winter hunt. In the snow, he was separated from them. The malevolent monster squeezed his body everywhere. His hands were frozen in the ice and snow. His knife and spear could not give him any protection. He moved forward in the wind and snow. The huge monster was about to swallow him little by little.
When there was only the last ray of light left in the sky, he found a small hut made of firewood under a tree. It was a temporary shelter built by some Jurchen hunters. Zong Han climbed in and hid in the small space. He drank the last mouthful of wine he carried with him.
Outside the pile of firewood, the wind was howling. He curled up into a ball in that space.
He stayed with the wind and snow for a night. He did not know when the wind and snow outside stopped. Everything was quiet. He climbed out of the room. Pushing away the snow, it was probably early in the morning. Stars filled the sky above the forest, and the night sky was as clear as if it had been washed. At that moment, it was as if he was the only person in the entire world, and beside him was a small pile of firewood piled up as a refuge. He seemed to understand that heaven and earth were just heaven and earth. They were not giant monsters.
At daybreak the next day, he set out from this pile of firewood. He took his sword and spear and hunted a wolf in the snowy plain. He drank its blood and ate its meat. Before the sky turned dark, he found another hunter's hut and found the direction.
Everything was clearly laid out in front of him. The world was full of dangers, but the world had no malevolence. People only needed to move from one pile of firewood to another to overcome everything. From then on, he became the most outstanding warrior of the Jurchen race. He was keenly aware, prudent, and courageously killed. He moved from one pile of firewood to another.
For a long time, the Jurchen lived like this in this harsh world. Outstanding warriors were always good at calculating, calculating life and death.
Several years later, Aguda wanted to raise an army against Liao. Liao was a giant who controlled millions of troops. However, Aguda could only lead a little more than 2,000 soldiers. Everyone was afraid of Liao's power, so their attitude was relatively conservative. Only Zong Han chose the same direction as Aguda.
If the world was the enemy, then all the warriors could only sit and wait for death. But the world had no malevolence. No matter how powerful a dragon or an elephant was, as long as it could be hurt, then there must be a way to defeat it.
Not long after, Aguda defeated the 10,000 Bohai Army with 2,500 soldiers. He killed Yelu Xieshi and seized Ningjiang Province. Then, he began his glorious journey for the next several decades …
Looking back at the past, it was already forty years ago.
During this period, he rarely thought about the snowstorm that night. He had seen the giant monster running past him. The starlight behind him was like water. Everything in the world had gently accepted him.
Sitting on the hillside, Zong Han opened his eyes. In front of him was a sprawling camp. The sky was like interweaving stars. The warm earth and the mountain range seemed to have no malevolence at all. Here, people didn't need to move from one pile of firewood to another. They didn't need to find the next hut before dark. But in the early morning when he came out for a walk, he finally saw the whistling cold north wind again.
If the distance to the next hut was not calculated properly, people would die in the wind and snow.
Forty years ago, the young man clenched his spear. In this world, he had seen countless magnificent scenes, killed countless dragons and elephants. The wind and snow dyed his hair white. He would also think of his companions who had come with him through the piercingly cold wind and snow. Cui Libo, Ying Ge, Wu Yashu, Aguda, Wulugu, Zong Wang, Lou Shi, Ci Buxie … Up until now, all of these figures had already been left behind in a certain place where the wind and snow were wreaking havoc.
But the Nüzhen would continue to move forward, looking for the next hut to hide from the wind and snow. And he would kill the giant monsters along the way, drinking their blood and eating their flesh. This was the truth of the world.
On the morning of the 19th of April, the scouts at the front of the army noticed that the Seventh Army of Huaxia had changed direction and was trying to escape to the south. But in the afternoon, it was proven that their judgment was wrong. Two large-scale scouts from the two armies were involved in a battle near Yangba. The nearby armies were immediately attracted and came to help.
But not long after, the vanguard of the Jin army, Pu Cha, met the enemy near Lueyang County a hundred miles away. The main force of the first division of the Seventh Army of Huaxia traveled along the Qinling Mountains to meet the Jin army. Both sides quickly entered the battle zone and attacked almost at the same time.
Zong Han's troops split up and quickly surrounded the Seventh Army of Huaxia. He hoped to gain an advantage by outnumbering the enemy before Swords Gate was breached by Ning Yi. He was the main attacker. Theoretically, the Seventh Army of Huaxia should retreat and defend as much as possible in the face of a force four times their own. But unexpectedly, the Seventh Army of Huaxia pounced on them.
That afternoon, the sound of the Huaxia army's charge rang through the mountains near Lueyang County. Two giant monsters tore at each other.
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