The carp in the pond swam across the quiet rocks. The silent atmosphere continued for a while in the courtyard full of garden scenery.
Looking into the room through the open window, the two white-haired bigwigs were silent for a long time after receiving the news.
The world had fallen into a fierce battle for a long time. Even near Xi City, a battle against the Black Flag Army was still going on. The battle in Hanzhong was fierce, but it would come to an end sooner or later. There was no doubt about it. With Dai Mengwei's eloquence, in the past few days when he was teaching and discussing the world's general situation, he had said things like "even if the Black Flag Army wins …" to show his foresight and avoid any loopholes in his words after the battle had ended.
But it was one thing to think of such an outcome in his heart, but it was another thing to see how and when it would appear. At present, everyone regarded the Seventh Army of Huaxia as a ferocious beast full of hatred and not afraid of death. Although it was hard to imagine, many people had the psychological foreshadowing that the Seventh Army of Huaxia would not be at a disadvantage even when facing Aguda's troops.
But even so, in the face of Ni Han's 100,000 men and Wanyan Xi Yin's reinforcements, they had defeated the entire Jurchen West Army in one day. This result of defeating Ni Han and Xi Yin at the same time was hard to accept, even if it was metaphysics.
Ni Han was not a mediocre fighter on the battlefield. He was the best general in the world. Although Xi Yin had been in the position of deputy for a long time, the name of the Goddess of Grains was more difficult to deal with than Ni Han to the scholars of the Wu dynasty who worshipped strategists like Zhuge Liang. He had sat in the rear and made several plans. Although he had never directly faced the inner demon in the southwest, he had made several moves from a distance, and each time, he had shown great courage. He had rushed to the battlefield full of energy, but he still could not turn the tide? He could not overwhelm the tired Black Flag Army that had persisted for four or five days? And even let Qin Shaoqian defeat the main force of Ni Han?
The heavy reality could bring an unimaginable shock to people. At that moment, perhaps Liu Guangshi and Dai Mengwei had the thought of simply kneeling down. However, both of them were people who had experienced countless major events after all. Dai Mengwei had even bet the lives of her loved ones on this game. After pondering for a long time, as their expressions changed, they first chose to suppress the incomprehensible reality and consider ways to face it.
"Lord Dai …"
Liu Guangshi was the first to speak. His voice was a little hoarse. He paused for a moment before saying, "Duke Dai … once this news arrives, the world will change."
Dai Mengwei nodded. "Yeah …"
"… The battle of Hanzhong is chaotic and indescribable. As for the results of the Black Flag Army's victory, I have some speculations before. But at this moment, I have to be honest. The outcome was decided yesterday, this situation is a little shocking … the day before yesterday, Xi Yin arrived at the Hanzhong battlefield. Yesterday morning, the battle began. Ni Han's side must have thought that they had the upper hand, so they set up a dignified front to face the enemy head-on. But this also shows that the Black Flag Seventh Army, which had fought for several days and was still small in number, was defeated on the battlefield when the Mountain Slaying Guards' fighting spirit was at its strongest … Then they chased after Ni Han and even killed Shiye Ma, not to mention …"
Liu Guangshi sorted out the situation in his mind and tried to choose his words carefully. "This kind of news can scare you and me, and it can also scare others. At the moment, there are still three thousand Black Flag soldiers fighting near Chuanlinpu. From Xi City to the east, there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers gathered … Duke Dai, the Black Flag Army is unjust. Although his combat power is strong, he will wreak havoc in the world sooner or later. But I have already disregarded life and death by coming here. I wonder if Duke Dai's thoughts are still the same. "
Dai Mengshi closed his eyes slightly and opened them again. His tone was calm. "Duke Liu, what I said earlier was not false. In terms of the general trend, within a few years, my Wu dynasty will not be a match for the Black Flag Army. Since I dared to offend the Black Flag Army here, I have already disregarded life and death. In terms of the general trend, the millions of people in the south have just escaped from confinement. If I am killed by the Black Flag Army in Xi City, it will be a greater wake-up call to the scholars in the world. If the Black Flag Army wants to kill me, I am already prepared … "
His expression had completely recovered. At this moment, he looked at Liu Guangshi. "Of course, this matter is just empty words. I am afraid it will be difficult to win people's trust. But from now on, Duke Liu will just watch and see."
Liu Guangshi waved his hand.
"Duke Dai's words are enough! Since Duke Dai is so frank, Liu will also speak frankly. " He raised his head to look at the still serene sky outside the courtyard. "Since the Black Flag Army has obtained such a great victory, from now on, I am afraid there will be chaos in the vicinity of Xi City. Duke Dai has taken over a dozen troops from the hands of the Female Zhenren, but it is not too late. There will be many people with ulterior motives. In the past, these people have lowered the gold flag. In the future, perhaps they will naturally lower the Black Flag Army. At the very least, it will be difficult to continue the slaughter at Chuan Lin Pu … Many preparations must be made now … "
He said, "Among these dozen troops, Duke Dai can control a few and is familiar with a few. In the past, perhaps there have been communications and promises. At this moment, I am afraid all of this will have to be calculated anew. Fortunately, Duke Dai has deep moral conduct. I am also friends with some of the leaders of these troops. If you and I join hands and lobby all sides as soon as possible, perhaps we can ensure that the situation is not chaotic and the overall situation is not lost … Among these, there are a few people who colluded with me and planned with me a month ago. Although they are afraid of the Black Flag Army, as long as they can see you and I join hands, they will certainly not lose their righteousness. For example, Yuan Jinwen, Hou Xiao … "
At this point, Liu Guangshi's speech sped up. Although he cherished his life and had lost many battles, to be able to reach this step, his thinking ability naturally far surpassed that of ordinary people. The accomplishments of the Black Flag Seventh Army were admittedly enough to frighten many people, but in such a desperate battle, the Black Flag Army itself had suffered great losses and would inevitably need to recover for several years. One Dai Mengwei and one Liu Guangshi were admittedly unable to contend against the Black Flag Army, but with a large group of people colluding together and scheming for the Central Plains after the Female Zhenren left, there were indeed many benefits and tempting prospects. Compared to relying on the Black Flag Army, this prospect was even more attractive.
After all, even though the Black Flag Army was powerful, the possibility of it being easily broken still existed, and it was a very large one. Moreover, if they were to rely on the Black Flag Army after defeating the Female Zhenren Western Army, not to mention whether the other side would like them or not, just the strict military rules of the Black Flag Army and their mercilessness on the battlefield far surpassed the endurance of those who came from large clans and lived like princes.
If they surrendered to the Black Flag Army, the other side would take advantage of their great victory, and the surrendered soldiers would be nothing more than insignificant people under their control. On the contrary, if they followed Dai and Liu to take the Central Plains and manage it for several years, their days would be even better. Moreover, even if the Black Flag Army did not fall after several years, they could still surrender after a fierce battle. This way, they would be valued even more by the Black Flag Army. Murder and arson would be conscripted, but the Black Flag Army was overbearing. If they did not have the ability to cause trouble, they would not be able to stand being conscripted.
Liu Guangshi and Dai Mengwei understood these thoughts very well. It was just that there were some things that naturally could not be said out loud. Right now, as long as they could convince everyone with righteousness, once they took the Central Plains and reformed, they might be able to get rid of the group of weaklings under their command and pull themselves together.
Right now the sun was shining peacefully outside the courtyard, a light breeze blowing. Both of them knew that they had reached the most critical juncture, so they tried their best to reveal their trump cards. On one hand, they were discussing intensely, on the other hand, they had already summoned their attendants to pass on the news to the various armies. Putting aside the news of the Hanzhong battle, they only needed to spread the news that Liu and Dai had decided to join hands to everyone as soon as possible. In this way, when the news of the Hanzhong battle spread, when someone wanted to double-cross them, they could slow down and make them think twice before acting.
Under the sun, the messenger passed through the bustling streets of the county town. The atmosphere of anxiety was fermenting in the peaceful atmosphere. At half past five in the afternoon, a scout came in from outside the city, reporting that there seemed to be some movement in a military camp in the east.
Liu Guangshi rode the carriage out of the city, passing through the kneeling and chatting crowd. He wanted to lobby all parties as quickly as possible to stabilize the situation for Dai Mengwei. But from a general point of view, he had taken advantage of this trip this time. Because Black Flag had won the battle, West City was the first to bear the brunt, and Dai Mengwei was the person who most urgently needed to be rescued. Under such circumstances, he could not hide his trump cards in the army and which troops he truly controlled. In other words, Dai Mengwei had truly told him everything, but he could not hide his connection and control of the various forces.
With this matter, even if Bianliang was recovered and the imperial court was rebuilt in the future, he would have to rely on this old man. His status and control of the imperial court would also be higher than that of the other party.
The carriage sped up. In his mind, he kept calculating the gains and losses this time, plotting the next plan, and then threw himself into the "battlefield" that he was good at.
At this moment, flames and turmoil seemed to be igniting from the underground of West City. Most people still did not know the signs of its spread.
*****
When he received the results of the Battle of Hanzhong, Ning Yi stood on the hilltop and was silent for a long time.
It was already the morning of the 26th of April. Because of the poor transmission of information during the march, the first wave of scouts heading south had missed the northbound Huaxia Army last night and should have already reached the Sword Garret. The second wave of soldiers had found the troops led by Ning Yi, and the information they sent was already relatively detailed.
At this time, the wind was sweeping away the floating clouds. In the distance, it looked like it could rain at any time. On the hillside, the Huaxia Army was running. After leaving Zhaohua, this elite troop of more than two thousand people marched at a speed of more than sixty li a day. In fact, they still had enough physical strength to fight along the way. After all, both Yan, Han, and Xi Yin were not to be underestimated. It was hard to be sure that they would not stake everything on one throw and intercept Ning Yi along the way to turn the situation around.
The straight-line distance between Zhaohua and Hanzhong was more than two hundred and sixty li, and the distance by road was more than four hundred li. Ning Yi and Qu Zhengyan left Zhaohua on the 23rd of April. In theory, they would probably arrive at the fastest speed after the 29th. If they had to risk their lives, of course they could go faster. For example, it was not impossible for these two thousand people to forcefully march more than sixty li a day. But before firearms became common, it was pointless and meaningless to rush to the battlefield with this kind of speed.
Qin Shaoqian led the Seventh Army into battle on the 19th of April. The first round of battle was intense to the point where it was white-hot. Ning Yi and Qu Zhengyan's northward journey was more like doing their best and leaving it to fate. Many psychological preparations had already been made.
No matter who won or lost, it was all possible.
But the confirmation of the news could still give people a huge shock as usual. Ning Yi stood in the mountains, shrouded by that huge emotion. He had been practicing martial arts for many years, so running and marching was not a problem for him. But at this moment, he seemed to have lost his strength. He let his mood be dominated by that emotion and stood in a daze for a long time.
As the victor, it was his right to enjoy and even indulge in this moment. It had been more than ten years since the first moment the Jurchen people went south. At that time, Ning Ji had just been born. He wanted to go north, but his family, including Tan'Er, stopped him. Even though he had come into contact with many things in his life, he was still unable to grasp military affairs and wars. The world was full of ups and downs, but he had to bite the bullet and face it.
After more than ten years, he finally defeated Ni Han and Xi Yin.
After killing Sheye Ma outside Hanzhong City, a group of Jurchen generals protected Ni Han and fled to Hanzhong. Xi Yin, the only one who still had combat power, built a defense line inside and outside Hanzhong, mobilized the fleet, and prepared to escape. The pursuing army killed all the way into Hanzhong. That night, the resistance of the Jurchen people almost lit up half of the city, but a large number of Jurchen troops were also desperately fleeing. Xi Yin and the others gave up resisting stubbornly and escorted Ni Han and part of the main force to the ship to the east, leaving only a small number of troops to gather as many defeated soldiers as possible to escape.
On the battlefield of Hanzhong, there were tens of thousands of defeated Jin Kingdom troops. Some of the Huaxia army were forced to surrender, but most of them eventually gave up on chasing and annihilating. In fact, in this tragic battle, the Seventh Army of Huaxia had already lost more than one-third of its members, and many of them were separated in the chaos. The specific number was still being calculated, and it was impossible to count the number of casualties on the 25th.
After Ni Han left, the Seventh Army had no strength to chase after them.
The tragic situation of the battle could not be described in detail on the small piece of paper.
Qu Zhengyan walked over from the side, and Ning Yi handed him the information. After reading it, Qu Zhengyan almost subconsciously waved his fist, and then stood there in a daze for a moment, before looking at Ning Yi, "That's also … something that was previously expected, after this battle …"
"Too many people have died …" Ning Yi said.
With regards to Ning Yi's words, Qu Zhengyan was a little speechless. Naturally, there would be casualties in war. The Seventh Army, with less than 20,000 people, defeated Ni Han and Xi Yin's 100,000 troops, and killed countless people. Although it was cruel to pay such a price, it would be a little too naive not to pay such a price. As he thought of this, he heard Ning Yi say another sentence, "… Those who deserve to die." Only then did he understand that he was thinking of some other people, as for who it was, there was no need to guess at this time.
He immediately said, "Should we let the troops stop, take a break, and tell them this news?"
Ning Yi shook his head.
"Continue walking, just treat it as training."
After saying this, he also trotted forward. The flags fluttered, and the long troops passed through the mountains. In the distant sky, the clouds rolled, and it seemed like it would rain, but at this moment, it was a clear day, and the sun shone down from the sky.
Just like this, the troops moved forward in the dark clouds and wind for a few more days. On the 29th of April, Ning Yi arrived near Hanzhong, and as he crossed the hillside, Qin Shaoqian led people over from there. He still had one eye, and his body was covered in bandages. His injuries had not yet healed, and his hair was also messy, but under the smell of medicine, he smiled heroically, and extended his uninjured right hand to greet Ning Yi.
"We won. What do you think? "
"Other than being handsome, there is nothing to say."
There was a sigh in Ning Yi's words, and the two hugged each other. After a while, Qin Shaoqian reached out to wipe his eyes, then put his hand on his shoulder, and the group walked towards the military camp not far away.
The gongs and drums of victory had already sounded.
…
As soon as they arrived, Ning Yi went to see the wounded in the barracks, and then held a meeting to summarize and report the situation of the battle, as well as the situation of Hanzhong and the surrounding hundreds of miles. The situation of half the world was piled up together for several days, and this first round of reports was chaotic and tight.
Ning Yi held the meeting for most of the day, and his mind was a little tired from understanding the overall situation. Near evening, he sat down on the mountainside outside the military camp. The sunset had not yet turned red, and the military camp was nearby, while Hanzhong was not far away. The traces of the chaotic battle had actually faded in front of his eyes, and the wounded were lying in the camp, and the dead were forever gone. Only a few days had passed. This kind of understanding was sad. Ning Yi could only imagine that the place he was at had experienced an extremely fierce battle just a few days ago.
Qin Shaoqian came up from the side, waved his entourage away, and stood to the side. "After a great victory, we should celebrate."
"Too many people have died. Those who should have survived, even without this battle at Hanzhong …"
"Without this battle, they would have been miserable for the rest of their lives … The twenty thousand soldiers of the Seventh Army have been trained in an extreme manner, squeezing out all their blood and sweat to live for this battle, to live for revenge. After the war of the southwest, the might of the Huaxia army has been proven to the world, but without this battle, the twenty thousand soldiers of the Seventh Army would not have survived. They might have turned into demons and disturbed the order of the world. With this great victory, those who survived might be able to live well … "
Qin Shaoqian was silent for a while, and then he patted Ning Yi on the shoulder. "There's no need for me to say these things. You know very well in your heart. In addition, Ni Han and Xi Yin were willing to fight because you were temporarily unable to make it to Hanzhong. If you came, they would leave, and if you didn't, there would be a chance to fight. Thus, no matter what, this battle must be completed by the Seventh Army alone. This result is very good, and I am very gratified. My father and brother in heaven will also feel gratified. "
Ning Yi was silent, and then he smiled. "If Old Qin in heaven can see, he will probably fight with me."
"So what? You're already invincible, and he can't beat you."
"You're right."
Ning Yi replied. Qin Shaoqian sat down on the side. Just like on the fifteenth day of the eighth month many years ago, Zong Wang and Medicine Master Guo had charged over, and Qin Shaoqian had wanted to lead the troops to meet them. They had sat down on that grassy slope, gazing at the bright red setting sun in front of them. This day was the twenty-ninth day of the fourth month of the first year of Zhenxing.
In the nearby barracks, the singing of soldiers could be heard. The two listened for a while, and then Qin Shaoqian spoke.
"What's next … to become an emperor?"
Everything was within his reach.
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