Back to a few days ago.
The Seventh Army of Huaxia killed Wanyan Sheyema on the afternoon of the 24th of April, officially defeating Wanyan Zonghan's army. But due to the complexity of the battle formation, Xi Yin rallied the troops to guard the inner roads of Hanzhong City. It was only on the morning of the 25th when she announced her withdrawal.
The news of the end of the Battle of Hanzhong was then spread everywhere. Dai Mengwei, Liu Guangshi, and the others in Xicheng City received the news in the afternoon. They then began to take action, linking up with various places to stabilize the situation. At this time, the various military departments near Xicheng City also learned of the direction of the situation.
The 100,000 troops of Zonghan and Xi Yin had united to pounce on the Seventh Army of Huaxia, and then they were defeated by the 20,000 troops of the Seventh Army. The news that Zonghan's son had been killed brought a huge and strange psychological shock to the people on the south bank of the Han River. To some extent, it was like the arrival of a magical world.
The leaders of most forces reacted quietly when they received the news, and then ordered their subordinates to confirm the accuracy of the news.
For Dai Mengwei's forces, which had not yet been integrated, the factors of chaos were already brewing. But Dai Mengwei acted quickly, especially with the endorsement of the more prestigious Liu Guangshi. They quickly contacted the leaders of most of the nearby forces, stabilized the situation, and reached a preliminary consensus.
Although the performance of the Seventh Army of Huaxia on the battlefield in Hanzhong was strong, the future of the entire army was not necessarily bright. Liu Guangshi, Dai Mengwei, and the others threw out the follow-up plan that they had previously discussed. For those who could control the situation, they naturally hoped that they could join the alliance and advance and retreat together. But even if they had doubts, they also hoped that the other side would consider their past friendship and not directly fall out with them. After all, no one in the army could be said to be superior in strength. Even if they had different plans, it was better to leave a way out so that they could meet again in the future.
This kind of lobbying temporarily suppressed the possible chaos, but on two key points, the situation could no longer be controlled from then on.
First, the siege of Qi Xinhan and Wang Zainan in Chuanlinpu had been unable to continue since the 26th. Most of the people who participated in the siege had already begun to work, and some had even sent messengers in to quietly discuss matters with Qi Xinhan and the others. Due to the rapid change, Qi Xinhan, Wang Zainan, and the others, who were trapped in the mountain city and were unable to confirm the news for a while, were initially bewildered. They were afraid that they would easily believe the rumors and fall into Wanyan Xiyin's trap.
The second key point was the captives to the east of West City. Initially, these Han soldiers had been moved by Dai Mengwei and the others' call to arms and had begun to resist the Jin. Later on, they were betrayed to Wanyan Xiyin and were captured outside Xicheng County, numbering about fifty thousand. Dai Mengwei had promised Xi Yin that she would kill one out of three. However, due to the rapid changes in the situation, and also because Dai Mengwei was still in the process of digesting the forces under her command, the promised massacre was delayed. When the news from Hanzhong came, even some of the leaders who agreed with Dai and Liu's philosophy began to stop the massacre. Of course, since Zong Han and Xi Yin had been defeated, Dai Mengwei's side also took advantage of the situation to push the boat along with the current and felt fortunate.
On the 27th day, Qi Xinhan and Wang Zainan, who had confirmed the news, took a short break and pushed their troops towards West City. That night, more than ten thousand troops arrived in the suburbs outside the county and were blocked outside the city by a large number of people.
On the night of the 27th and early morning of the 28th, a large number of people openly or secretly entered and left the Huaxia army's camp.
Among them, the ones who made the announcement were the elderly and virtuous villagers who had gathered nearby. They had come for Dai Mengwei. They believed that although the two sides had different ideologies, Dai Mengwei had saved millions of people in this area. These elderly people either threatened her with their lives or proclaimed righteousness in order to dissuade Qi, Wang, and the others from starting a war against West City.
As for those who came secretly, they were the various forces nearby who were trying to find out what was going on. It was hard to survive in troubled times. After the Jurchen crossed the Han River and wreaked havoc, the number of 'armies' in this land had actually increased on a large scale. Firstly, various forces had begun to grab strong men at all costs. Secondly, with the fall of the country, it was better to be a soldier and bully others than to not be a soldier and be bullied. Xi Yin had handed over hundreds of thousands of troops to Dai Mengwei. The soldiers were already tired but the generals had more or less developed the habits of bandits or opportunists in the process of plundering the small ones. They had their own demands and hoped to be 'recruited'. Naturally, Qi Xinhan could not give any response to such thoughts.
On the 28th day, Dai Mengwei left the city and met with Qi Xinhan and Wang Zainan. Behind him were the common people everywhere. He gave an impassioned speech in front of the two armies and lamented the theory that the Huaxia army was bound to bring disaster to the world. He knew that West City would not be able to withstand the power of the Huaxia army but even so, he would never give up resisting. He even declared that the people with a conscience would never give up resisting and let the Huaxia army 'kill as they please'.
Several generals stood together with Dai Mengwei. At the same time, the common people in the mountains and plains outside West City also shouted together under the instigation of the Dai family, telling the Huaxia army to 'kill as they please'.
At this time, several Han troops of different sizes had made an unconditional stand and submitted to the Huaxia army, but most of the forces still maintained a wait-and-see attitude. Wang Zainan had a fiery temper and wanted to directly lead his troops into West City to kill Dai Mengwei and his family. But Qi Xinhan could not make such a decision and could only order someone to send this message to the enemy headquarters in Hanzhong.
On the evening of the 28th, the Jurchen Western Army, which was retreating east along the Han River, passed West City.
From the mighty southward march of more than 200,000 invincible soldiers to the panic retreat of a mere tens of thousands of people to the east, at this moment, the evacuation fleet of the Female Dao Masters and the 3,000 Huaxia army on this side were almost across the river, but the Female Dao Masters no longer had the courage to attack.
What not many people knew was that on the same evening, Wanyan Xiyin, who had understood the situation in Xicheng City, had secretly approached the south bank of the Han River with a small fleet and quietly met with Dai Mengwei outside Xicheng City.
The last time Xi Yin and Dai Mengwei met was just over ten days ago. At that time, Xi Yin was surprised by Dai Mengwei's viciousness, but she probably didn't agree with or understand Dai Mengwei's actions. But now, they had no choice but to meet again because of the same interests and the changed situation.
This time, they met in the woods by the river. The bleak setting sun shone through the gaps between the trees. Xi Yin got off the boat and did not walk far. Dai Mengwei, who had just confronted Qi Xinhan and the others in the morning and made a passionate speech, cupped her hands together in front of her chest. She still looked sad and old. After greeting each other, he confessed to Xi Yin that his previous promise to kill three of the captives could no longer be carried out.
Xi Yin waved his hand, not minding. He asked Dai Mengwei to kill just to confirm his stand and wanted a pledge of allegiance. Now that it was confirmed that Dai Mengwei and the Hua Xia army were against each other, the pledge of allegiance did not matter. From a macro perspective, with the Jin Kingdom's most powerful armed forces being defeated by the Huaxia army, the Han army in the south was practically useless in front of the Huaxia army. On the other hand, Dai Mengwei, who did not seem to be very strong, was the one who held high the banner of righteousness and did not fear death, and could cause the most trouble for the Huaxia army.
"Since Mister Dai is in the name of righteousness, you should avoid killing as much as possible. This is also my suggestion to Mister Dai today. There are 50,000 people in West City, even if Mister Dai returns to the Hua Xia army, I can understand. Mister Dai, just do what you want. "
Dai Mengwei cupped his hands, "Thank you for your understanding, Goddess of Grains."
Xi Yin walked forward slowly, "Mister Dai is a smart man. The result of the battle of Hanzhong has been decided and the west army is going back. Mister Dai, I think you know why I took the risk to come here today. Today's confrontation made me see Mister Dai's determination to fight against the Black Flag Army. Just that … I don't know if the Black Flag Army disregards everything and wants to flatten West City, how can Mister Dai have a way to deal with it. "
Dai Mengwei's hands were hidden in his sleeves, "The Black Flag Army is powerful. From the Central Plains to Jiangnan, no one can match them. Today, I ordered people to incite the people and shout in front of the battle. But if Ning Liheng really shows his determination and wants to kill his way over, they will not really stand in front of him. Then, I will be the meat on the chopping block. Other than death, there is no other outcome. "
"Then Mister Dai can only hope for Ning Yi's mercy."
"The enemy is strong and I am weak. We are neighbors. The world situation has already come to this. How much choice do I have? But regardless of whether I live or die, the problem of the Black Flag Army cannot be solved. If he does not kill me today, I will naturally continue to be his enemy. If he kills his way in today, those shouting people will not stand in front of me. But after the massacre, they will naturally spread the tyranny of the Black Flag Army. Besides, the various families in Jiangnan will definitely not give up on the spread of such deeds. From Liu Guangshi to Wu Qimei, from Xiao Zheng to Qiu Wenlu, which one of them is easy to deal with? "
Xi Yin tilted her head and looked over, "But in front of the Black Flag Army, what is the use of these shouts?"
Dai Mengwei did not hesitate, "The war between the Wu dynasty and the Jins is a war between countries. Most of the time, it is a matter of life and death. But the war between the Black Flag Army and the Wu dynasty is a battle of ideas. Today, if Ning Yi disregards everything and wants to flatten the Central Plains and Jiangnan, it is not impossible. But after flattening them, the ones to govern them are still the Han people. And they have to be the educated Han people. These empty positions cannot be empty for a single day. And the first batch of people to go up will determine how the people who come after will be like. If Ning Yi does not want the people's hearts, no one can defeat it from the outside. But internally, it will quickly collapse and die. If he kills the Wu Dynasty today, what will fall into his hands tomorrow will only be an empty shell that can't even leave the capital with a single order. Then, in a few years, my Wu Dynasty will be able to return. "
Dai Mengwei's calm words always seemed to carry an ominous aura. But the logic in it was often hard to refute. Xi Yin frowned and muttered, "Reincarnation in a corpse …"
"The Goddess of Grains' description is actually not wrong." Dai Mengwei cupped her hands and calmly agreed with these four words, "And because of this, the chances of this old man surviving this time may not be small. And as long as the Black Flag does not kill this old man this time, this old man and the people of the Wu dynasty will have a righteous name in their hands, a weapon that is enough to fight against the Black Flag Army. In the future, there will be many disputes of words, this old man may not necessarily be the loser. "
Dai Mengwei paused, "Since the Goddess of Grains is here today, naturally you understand these things, this old man need not be noisy."
Xi Yin looked towards the river in the north, "This time when the Marshal and I return to the north, the Jin Kingdom will experience a great turmoil. Within ten years, the Jin Kingdom will not be able to take care of it. To all of you, I don't know if this is good news or bad news … The matter of the Wu dynasty will be decided between all of you in the future."
Dai Mengwei nodded, "In terms of military force, it is difficult to see a glimmer of hope against the Black Flag Army. But in terms of foundation, the chaos in the world in the future is still unpredictable."
"There is no need to hide in front of a smart person like Master Dai. In today's situation, whoever can become the Black Flag Army's trouble, the Jin Kingdom will be happy to see it happen. When we retreated to the north, I said that everything in Jiangnan can be controlled by Master Dai, but now it seems that these things are of limited use to Master Dai. Today, the Black Flag Army is strong and the idea of investigating things is the first in the world, but in terms of resources, the Jin Kingdom is still strong. Moreover, in the study of investigating things, the only one who can catch up with the Black Flag Army is the Jin Kingdom's Great Building Institute … If Master Dai has nothing to do this time and wants to fight against the Black Flag Army, we have many things that can be put to use. "
"Goddess of Grains is very calculative …" As the two of them walked slowly, Dai Mengwei was silent for a while, "It's just that we fight against the Black Flag Army in the name of righteousness, but we have secretly made a deal with the Jin Kingdom with the support of the Goddess of Grains. Even if there is a day in the future when we can really defeat the Black Flag Army, the last lifeline will only depend on the thoughts of the Jin Kingdom's Goddess of Grains and the others. If we do this round of deal, we will lose too much. "
Xi Yin smiled and said, "Duke Dai is indeed perceptive … That's alright, there are some deals that need to be left behind and some deals can be avoided. Since I'm here today, you can tell me what you want and how you want it. Whether you can do it or not, we can discuss it in detail …"
Dai Mengwei nodded, "Since the Goddess of Grains is so generous, then … I would like to talk to the Goddess of Grains about Bianliang first …"
After a while, Xi Yin's laughter came from the river bank under the setting sun. This laughter was heroic, praising, cynical, and complicated … After that, the two of them talked about many things by the river bank.
At this moment, no one knew about the discussion and deal between Dai Mengwei and Wanyan Xi Yin. Only after a few days, Liu Guangshi in the alliance sighed, "This old man is really good".
On the night of the 28th, Dai Mengwei completed the discussion with Xi Yin. On the 29th, Ning Yi arrived in Hanzhong. On the night of the 29th, Ning Yi and Qin Shaoqian discussed many things. Qin Shaoqian then brought out the situation of West City and his request. This was originally an important matter that needed to be discussed at the first instance, but there were too many things at the moment, so it was slightly delayed.
"… Speaking of getting something for nothing, I really admire this Dai guy. Moreover, he was so impassioned, at least he showed that he was not afraid of death … I'm very curious, what kind of expression would this old man have when a knife was placed on his neck."
The two of them chatted in the canteen for the whole night. At this time, they went out and took a walk in the military camp under the starlight. Speaking of Dai Mengwei, Qin Shaoqian could not help but sigh and admire him.
Ning Yi had seen the matter that Qi Xinhan had requested for his request.
"For an army that wishes to surrender, killing and arson won't do. We can accept those who surrender unconditionally. In any case, as long as they surrender, whether it be reorganization, reorganization, or disbandment, we have the final say. But considering that most of these soldiers are able-bodied men who have been captured and are already sick of war, we can guarantee that we will let bygones be bygones and can go back to farming. Similarly, we can use the same policy to persuade and recruit all parties to surrender … Of course, those who are capable and willing to accept the reform can stay, but they have to accept the reform. There's no need to explain the reform too clearly, and there's no need to talk too much about it if they want to bargain. "
Qin Shaoqian nodded, "That's fine. In fact, there are hundreds of thousands, or even millions of soldiers, but to put it bluntly, they are able-bodied men, and this is also a problem caused by the Jurchens. As news of the battle of Hanzhong spreads, I think that more than half of this' army 'will be disbanded within a month. It's necessary for us to give an explanation … but what about Old Dai? It'll be a little embarrassing to let him take advantage of it. "
"Sometimes, I feel that we still have to acknowledge the existence of idealists."
"Hmm?"
"Let's just say that Old Dai really is driven by a sense of duty, a Confucian role model who doesn't fear death. I don't think there's anything wrong with that." Ning Yi laughed, "In the past, we were either in the northwest or the southwest, and the people of the Wu dynasty didn't take us seriously. Many people didn't wake up, but after this incident, those who should have reacted have already reacted. We'll have to face many enemies like this in the future, and we need to slowly accumulate experience. And today, Old Dai said that he's the Buddha of all and that he wants to save millions of people, and millions of people are very willing to let him save them. This is a good thing, and I feel that we should support him. "
Qin Shaoqian glanced at Ning Yi and couldn't help but laugh, "It's still the same thing as before. We don't have enough manpower, and you don't want this place …"
"That's one reason." Ning Yi laughed, "The other reason is that when someone from the other side, whether he hasn't been educated well, or deceived, or for any other reason, if he doesn't acknowledge you and you insist on holding him in your hands, you won't be able to serve him well. Today, we said that we're going to let the people of the world live good lives, so we killed Dai Mengwei and took over the territory. Even if they really do live a better life, they won't thank you. "
Qin Shaoqian nodded, "We'll wait until Old Dai screws things up before we make our move. In terms of time, and in terms of manpower that you mentioned, we should have enough."
"Just screwing things up isn't enough. I feel that this is a very good opportunity to educate them." Ning Yi smiled and patted Qin Shaoqian's shoulder, "Today, they were incited by Dai Mengwei to stand in front of us. The rest of them are just watching. It doesn't matter who comes to solve the problem. Then, let Old Dai solve the problem of these millions of people. But in the future, if he can't solve it, we can't just say that we'll solve it. Instead, we have to lead their own people onto the streets, and let them voice out their own wishes. When there are enough people voicing voices that are contrary to today's, then we'll step in and solve the problem. Only then will there be value in solving the problem. "
"… So, next, we'll issue a declaration to refute Old Dai's words. We have to make it clear that we accept everyone's choice today, but in the future, if a warlord like Old Dai, a privileged class, messes up the people's livelihood in this area, it's none of our business — Hook can stay here now." Ning Yi said.
"In terms of execution, we can let Qi Xinhan and Wang Zainan work together to play the good cop and the bad cop respectively. Those who were captured by Old Dai have to be released, and some of the main culprits have to come over. In addition, you've occupied such a large area, so in the future, you can't block our trade route. The trade agreement must be discussed. Old Dai and the officials of the Wu dynasty are used to plotting slowly. I think they really hope for a few years of peace. In terms of the trade rules and protection of the caravans, they will agree and make concessions. "
Qin Shaoqian nodded, "Once we start doing business, it's hard not to be cut by you …"
"You can't say that. The Huaxia army has always been fair in doing business. Everyone gets rich together …"
At the end of April, the sky was filled with stars. The two smiled as they strolled. After a while, Ning Yi's expression turned serious, "Actually, the internal and external pressures and changes have all been overcome. The future will become more complicated. We've just won the first battle, it's really hard to say what the future holds …"
"Looking north today, the Jin Kingdom is divided into two imperial courts, the East and the West. It's very likely that they'll go to war soon. There are two forces here. A few days ago, Takeshi sent us intelligence that the Mongols who were originally in Western Xia are heading north from Jin, passing through Yanmen Pass and heading straight for Yunzhong. This is the third force … "
Qin Shaoqian frowned, "The group of people you investigated in Western Xia …"
Ning Yi nodded, "They're bellicose, and from the looks of it, they're very organized. Their potential can't be underestimated. But it doesn't matter, there are enough people on this stage. One more doesn't matter … Prince Jin and Miss Lou can be the fourth force. Next, Old Dai, Liu Guangshi, and Wu Qimei have taken advantage of the disintegration of the Wu dynasty. Although it's a little strange, this is … five, six, seven … "
"Including us and Junwu, there are nine forces. In Jiangnan, He Wen is carrying our flag and currently has a certain amount of influence. I saw the news from the end of March that he wants to form a 'Party of Justice'. The basic idea is to beat the landlords and divide the land … He heard me talk about this when he was in the southwest. Once he comes up with a plan, his influence will be great … "
Qin Shaoqian said, "Is it similar to Old Ox?"
"Old Ox has a similar idea, but I've restricted him to the northwest of the plains. There's not much territory he can expand. After the internal landlords are finished fighting and the land is divided, there's not much space for him to expand. I hope to use this method to force them to think about the internal circulation and balance. But He Wen is in Jiangnan, fighting the landlords and dividing the land. He can drive a group of people to sweep the world, and they'll keep repeating this process. If they don't know when to stop, it'll become a problem in the future. "
"In this way, including Old Ox, there are already eleven forces …" Qin Shaoqian laughed, "It's really big, five dynasties and ten kingdoms."
"That's not all." Ning Yi took out a piece of information from his sleeve, "Take a look."
"What's going on …" Qin Shaoqian glanced at it, "The group of people recruited in Xuzhou …"
"As I said before, we're still very weak internally. Once we relax our thinking, there will be big problems. When Liu Chengzong and the others went north, they couldn't bring these tens of thousands of people, so they could only rest and train north of the Yangtze River. A working group was left behind to be the leader. In the past year, the four sides have been fighting very hard, and no one could be sent over. They even made some progress, but I didn't expect … "
…
There was no moon in the sky, and the picture of stars was as vast as the sea. The two slowly walked forward, and Ning Yi let out a low sigh.
"… How could this happen …"
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