The early autumn rain fell, knocking the yellow leaves.
On July 16, in the house in Xicheng County, Dai Mengwei, who had returned to worship his ancestors the day before, was playing chess with his students. He looked at the sky to the south, a little lost.
"...Teacher." Disciple Pu Huiliang called out in a low voice.
After a while, Dai Mengwei came back to his senses: "…Huh?"
"Teacher, it's your turn."
"Oh." Dai Meng dropped his chess piece slightly, and Pu Huiliang responded immediately.
"Stealing for half a day, the teacher still has all kinds of things in his heart."
"I was too lazy in the early years, but when I get old, I realize that I can't be lazy... Huiliang thinks, what's on my mind?"
"What about Chengdu?"
"… Oh?"
Dai Meng picked up the pieces slightly and narrowed his eyes. Pu Huiliang smiled.
"There was news yesterday that the Huaxia Army will enter Chengdu at the end of the month. Yesterday was Zhongyuan. Something should happen, and I think it's coming soon."
The two have been mentoring and apprentice for many years, and Pu Huiliang's answer is not restrictive. Of course, he also knows that his teacher admires people who are quick-witted, so he has the intention to show off deliberately. Sure enough, Dai Meng narrowed his eyes and nodded.
"These days make you care about the autumn harvest arrangement, but you haven't mentioned the southwest. It seems that you haven't put down your homework. Tell me, what will happen?"
Pu Huiliang said with a smile: "Southwest will defeat Nianhan, the general trend will be achieved, what will happen in the future, this time the Southwest meeting is the key. Everyone is watching the situation over there, and while preparing to deal with it, of course there is also a possibility , there is no way to ignore it... If Ning Yi suddenly died now, the Huaxia army would become a fragrant bun that all parties in the world could win over. Although the possibility of this matter is small, it cannot be ignored."
Dai Mengwei also dropped the chess piece: "What does this have to do with being a teacher?"
"Two months ago, the teacher's name was resounding all over the world, and there was an endless stream of people who came to the door to ask for a glimpse, and offered suggestions. Today we are on the same page as the Huaxia army, but these people are different. Among them, there are those with righteousness in mind, but also Maybe there are spies of the Huaxia Army... The students thought at the beginning, how to use these people requires a lot of screening, but now I'm not sure that there are more useful methods for many people. Teacher... Persuade them, go southwest?"
Dai Meng slightly stroked his beard, his brows were bitter, and he usually seemed serious, but at this time he just looked calmly in the southwest direction.
"Dozens or hundreds of people say that they have great intentions. If one or two accomplish things, it is a good thing. As for who can be used and who can't, it doesn't have to be so absolute, Huaxia Army let go. It is Ning Yi's self-confidence in his own ideas that he receives people from the outside world. As for our side, the people's livelihoods are getting better and their lives are going well, and there will be more and more people who agree with them. Many problems are self-evident. This will benefit you. The purpose of putting it there, the people, is the most important thing."
"Teacher's painstaking efforts, Huiliang saved." Pu Huiliang nodded, "It's just that after the Jurchen, people's livelihoods were desolate and the land was desolate, and there are many people suffering in this world, and the autumn harvest... I'm afraid it will be difficult to plug all the holes."
"There are two great enemies in the world today, one is the Jurchen and the other is the southwest. After the Jurchen, the people will see the scene of the desolate countryside. As long as the words are clear, the difficulties of the community can be understood. It's just your brothers and sisters outside. Officials, big and small, must also have the mentality to help each other in the same boat. Don’t cheat. On the surface, they are officials for the people, and they move to their homes in private. There will be accidents. Now, if they encounter such a situation, they have to be killed.”
Dai Mengwei calmly said the word "kill" without any hint of fireworks, but Pu Huiliang knew that this teacher was cruel. It can even be said that in the past six months, he has only realized how resolute and ruthless this teacher, who has followed for many years, really started. In the past few decades, he lived in Xicheng County to do his studies, and he didn't have to show his ability to act. It was only in the past two years that the old man came forward to do the game, and the entire world, including the Jurchen and the Huaxia Army, was counted.
Especially in the last half year, Tu Qiong Dagger saw that he even sacrificed his own flesh and blood to kill the troops who were also Han Chinese. After taking over the locality, the method of dealing with corrupt officials in various places is also very cold and abnormal. Confucian laws are embodied to the extreme. But also because of this method, in various places where there is a lot of waste, it has been cheered by a lot of people.
"Brother Jinwen is in Zhuxi, eating, living and sleeping with the common people. This performance is very good. Although all the holes can't be closed this autumn, at least some of them can be closed. I also talked to Uncle Liu Ping. I made an agreement to buy a batch of food from him first. After this winter and next spring, the situation should be stabilized. He wants to plot the Central Plains, so let's stabilize it first..."
The master and the apprentice talked while talking, talking about Liu Guangshi, Pu Huiliang smiled slightly: "Uncle Liu Ping has a wide range of contacts, and he is used to double-edged swords. This time in the southwest, I heard that he was the first to stand up and deal with the Huaxia Army, and he got it in advance. There are a lot of benefits, if someone wants to move the Huaxia Army this time, what kind of attitude will he have?"
"Uncle Liu Ping has a complicated mind, but he is not without foresight. The Huaxia Army is still standing. Of course he can take advantage of it, but at the same time he will not mind that the most difficult Ning Liheng in the Huaxia Army is missing. Divide up the southwest, he is still the big head and will not change." Dai Mengwei said here, looking at the rain curtain outside, paused slightly: "Actually, after the Jurchen left, all places were desolate and homeless, what was really unaffected. After all, it’s still the Southwest…”
The old man sighed: "Shu is blessed with natural resources and has been a land of abundance since ancient times. In this Southwest War, Jurchen's troops were not even able to reach Zizhou. Although the Huaxia army suffered losses, the food on the Great Plains remained intact. In today's Southwest, it's really difficult for Ning Yi to have an accident, but... If this is the case, then the accumulation of the Southwest will flow to all parties, not only will my Han family's military equipment and knowledge of objects be prosperous, but this winter, it will also be able to reduce deaths. Many hungry people."
Qiu Yu slammed down outside the window, the room fell silent, Pu Huiliang stretched out his hand and dropped the chess piece: "In the past, it was the rabble in the green forest who fought against him with their blood, this time, the disciple thinks that he will be able to different."
He paused: "Judging from the time, it should be soon..."
…
The afternoon sun shines on the ground of the Chengdu Plain.
On the official road to the south from Chengdu, crowds of cars and trains keep coming and going.
After getting down from a Taoist temple, You Hongzhuo walked along the flowing river with a knife and a burden on his back.
The vast plain stretches endlessly toward the front, with rivers and official roads interspersed forward, and the villages and farmlands that occasionally emerge look like a picture under the golden sunlight. people smile a little more.
The official road is also much stronger. It is obvious that it took a lot of thought and effort to go south from Jindi. Most of the roads he walked on were full of potholes. This was the first time in his life that he had seen such a smooth road, even in childhood memories. Among them, the prosperous Wu Dynasty in the past probably would not have spent so much effort to rest the road. Of course, he wasn't sure about that either, that's all.
Nowadays, he will habitually look and think more about things that he does not understand and think clearly.
During his time in Jindi in the past, he had done a lot of chivalrous and righteous things. Of course, the most important thing was to defend the safety of the female prime minister as a civilian chivalrous person in the face of various threats. During this period, he even had contacts with the hero Shi Jin several times, and even received a personal interview with the female minister.
The female prime minister originally wanted to persuade some trusted chivalrous men to join the guards around her, and many people agreed. However, due to past events, You Hongzhuo still had doubts about these "official affairs", and refused to lose his free identity. There was no reluctance on the other side, and they even gave him a lot of money as a reward for his past help.
After the situation of the Southwest War was initially determined, the Huaxia Army invited visitors from all over the world in Chengdu. You Hongzhuo was quite moved, but because of the imminent threat of Zong Hanxi and Yin Beigui, he did not know whether to leave. During this period, he had a conversation with the hero Shi Jin, and they played against each other in private. Shi Jin believed that the danger of Jindi was not great, and You Hongzhuo's skills were quite good, and he needed more tests and insights to make a hundred The breakthrough of the pole head still persuaded him to go to the southwest.
Read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles, and the same is true for the effort at hand. When You Hongzhuo first arrived in the southwest, he naturally came for the competition, but from the time he entered the sword gate, he was amazed by all kinds of new things and scenes. After staying in Chengdu for a few days, I felt all kinds of signs of conflict: there were the impassioned Confucian scholars, the criticism and abuse of the Huaxia Army, the confusion caused by its various deviant ways, and even in the private green forest, there were many The chivalrous man seems to have prepared to sacrifice his life to come here, ready to assassinate the demon Ning Yi...
You Hongzhuo first came into contact with the Black Flag Army in Zezhou. At that time, the Black Flag Army led the huge coup against Tian Hu, and the female prime minister came to power. You Hongzhuo saw the power of the Black Flag Army to turn its hands into clouds and rain, and also saw the various tragedies in the chaos. At that time, his perception of the Black Flag Army was not bad, but it was not bad either. Just like a giant beast rolling around at will, it will always crush the lives of many people.
Later, after hearing about Heiqi's deeds in the southwest, and after successfully defeating the Jurchen for the first time, he had good feelings and awe in his heart, and this time he came here with such thoughts. Who knew that after arriving here, so many people expressed their dissatisfaction with the Huaxia Army and made terrible prophecies. Many of them were even learned people who had read poetry and books.
At the time of Jindi, because of Lou Shuwan's female body, many people fabricated her various evil deeds out of thin air, but You Hongzhuo could clearly distinguish the greatness and importance of female appearances there. When he got to the southwest, it would be difficult for him to judge the good and evil of the other party from all kinds of rumors. Some people say that he uses military force, some people say that he is vigorous and resolute, some people say that he breaks the old and establishes the new, some people say that he is arrogant and incompetent...
Fortunately, he was not in a hurry to stand in line, and quietly watched the various situations in the southwest. After staying in Chengdu for a few days, I applied for a customs clearance document. It was really strange to leave the city and go further south to the Huaxia Army. When I asked him what he was doing out of the city, You Hongzhuo frankly said that he looked around, and the other party looked at him for a while. I stamped the seal at will, but only warned twice not to do illegal and evil deeds, otherwise they would be strictly dealt with.
嘁, I want to mess up, what can you do to me!
The number of times he has fought with people in recent years is incalculable, and he has improved rapidly between life and death, and he has also gained a more accurate grasp of his martial arts. Of course, since Mr. Zhao taught him to respect the rules back then, he would not easily destroy any public order and good customs with his blood. Just thinking about it in my mind, I took the paperwork and went on the road.
Play slowly this way. This afternoon, I walked to the edge of a small wood, and went in at will to solve the three urgent problems of people. When I went out to the other side, I passed a small road and saw a little movement ahead.
It was six warriors with weapons on their backs, standing beside the road over there, looking at the distant field scenery, and some people were taking a piss on the side of the road. When encountering such a green forest person, You Hongzhuo is reluctant to approach him at will. If he were an ordinary person, he would be fine, and he was carrying a knife on his back, which would cause the other party to think too much. He was about to leave quietly, but the other party's words followed the autumn wind. blowing into his ears.
"... When I came out of the house, I only had five days' worth of food left. Although I got... the help of adults, I'm afraid it won't be easy this winter... "
"...it's all the Jurchen's fault, nothing can be planted in spring..."
"...The rice here, look how good it is, if you can drag it back..."
"...The Huaxia Army is a businessman, how many kilograms can you buy..."
"... not to mention that the faces are torn on both sides now..."
"... A few days ago, the scholar surnamed Ren said that the Huaxia Army is like this, it only talks about business, not morality, and not propriety, righteousness, and shame... If the world is conquered, all the people will suffer..."
"... With the death of Ning, many things can be settled. Now the black flag in the southwest is at odds with the outside world, because of the debt of killing the monarch back then, this debt is cleared, everyone is Han, all Chinese, what's the matter? We can all sit down and talk…”
"...Ning is not easy to kill..."
"... The person with the surname Ren said that Ning is not easy to kill because the people in the past have no rules and have not formed a common force..."
"... It's impossible to form. People surnamed Ning are called inner demons. They really have to work together. I don't know how many people are inside ghosts. If there is one inside ghost, everyone will die..."
"...Then there is no need to gather together, you and I are six brothers, just do your own business... Ren said, this time in the southwest, there are countless people who want the life of the devil, and now the plan is , even if we don't communicate in private, as long as one person shouts, we can get a hundred responses, but in such a situation, we can't all kill the devil..."
"...How to do it then?"
"... The surnamed Ren gave advice. He said that the devil has a large number of soldiers, but after the war, his strength has been stretched. Now that many righteous people have come to the southwest, it only needs three or five masters to assassinate the devil. As for the others , you can think about how to make the devil divide his troops and distract him. The surnamed Ren said that the devil cares about his family the most, and his family is all in Zhangcun... We don't know how the others are, but as long as we start , or lead a group of soldiers away, so that they can’t catch anyone, they are nervous, there will always be someone who will find an opportunity…”
"... The devil is dead, will the Huaxia Army really negotiate with the outside world?"
"... These many years of things, isn't this the devil who did it. In the past, the people from the Green Forest came to kill him, gathered here and there, and then they were taken away. This time, it's not just those of us who practice martial arts. , there are so many famous scholars and scholars in the city, who do not want to let him die... At the end of the month, the army entered the city, Chengdu city is like an iron barrel, there is no chance for assassination, and it can only be fought before the end of the month …”
"...Brothers, we have been friends for many years, and I can only trust you. Our document this time is going to Jiading, but we only need to go to Zhangcun halfway along the way, and no one can stop us... We can catch this demon. It's good for the head's family to threaten, but even if it doesn't work, if we make trouble, there will be other people who will do it..."
…
On the streets east of Chengdu, a group of scholars could be heard scolding each other on the road. The scene was noisy and a little chaotic.
On the second floor of the restaurant by the street by the window, a grey-robed scholar named Ren Jingzhu was drinking tea, while Chen Wei, an ordinary-looking killer with an ordinary name, was talking about the concept and layout of the whole **.
"If you do this, the Huaxia Army must also receive rumors." Chen Wei, who raised his teacup and looked at the scolding scene downstairs, said so.
"It doesn't matter if you hear the wind. Now I don't know who will go where, or even whether they will go, and it's hard to say. But when the Huaxia Army receives the wind, it must be prepared. Some people go here and some people there. , the ones that can really be used in Chengdu will become less. What’s more, it’s not just you and me who came to Chengdu to make layouts this time. I only know that when the chaos is mixed, someone must echo.”
Ren Jingzhu put a broad bean in his mouth: "The situation will be in chaos by then. Maybe the people downstairs will also take the opportunity to make trouble. You, Qin Gang, Xiaolong... just need to seize a chance, although I don't know, this Where are the opportunities…”
"I guess it's just two days?"
"After all, there is no chance." Ren Jingzhu also tilted her head to see the scholar's beating and scolding, "It really doesn't work, I can also start the game."
Chen Wei nodded and was silent for a moment: "Do you know who I met in the city?"
"Um?"
"Wang Xiangfo, I don't know who invited him out of the mountain... Not many people know him in Chengdu."
"It's not surprising, it's probably Tie Yan who invited Wang Xiangfo." Ren Jingzhu thought for a while, "It's estimated that there will be other experts who we know and don't know come here, and those who can resist not participating in the tournament have many plans."
"It's a mess, but everyone's goals are the same. It hasn't happened in this world for many years." Chen Wei smiled, "You're full of bad water, you've never seen the light in the past. Whoever has the most powerful means will finally have a result."
"Just do my best to cause him some trouble. Now he wears shoes and I'm barefoot. If I win, I won't be able to win." Ren Jingzhu analyzed this, but in the depths of his eyes, there was also an unspeakable arrogance lurking. in. He is thirty-two years old this year. He has been planning to kill people in the Jiangnan area all the year round. Although Ren is young, he has already won the reputation of ghost conspiracy in the Tao, but compared with the world-famous heart demon, the pattern always seems a little smaller. When I came to Chengdu at the invitation of Wu Qimei, I was naturally humble on the face, but had a certain confidence in my heart.
In such a chaotic market, it is impossible to unite everyone in an open and honest way. Everyone else has to communicate with each other. Only he chose to make the whole situation even more chaotic. Feeling a headache.
He raised his teacup: "I have done everything I can, I wish you the best."
Chen Wei raised his glass and touched him: "This time, for the world."
…
As the sun went down, the Huaxia Army barracks south of Chengdu, Mao Yishan led the team into the camp and signed the documents for entering the camp.
The secretary who saw his signature had known him for a long time, and when he saw the team he was bringing, he said, "Captain Mao, this time you are here to show off at the competition, right? The people you bring are all of them. …”
"Elite!" Mao Yishan raised his thumb towards the back, "However, it's for the mission. It's not like you don't know about my kung fu, it's not good for singles, it's not suitable for fighting, if you really want to be in the ring, Wang Dai is one of the best. Wait a minute, and the gang of the seventh army Niu Chengshu, Liu Muxia who said that he didn't want to be a squad leader in his life and just wanted to rush to the front line... Tsk tsk, I still remember, that was really cruel. And those around Mr. Ning, Boss Du and the others , With them here, what are the arenas for me to enter."
He signed his name and knocked on the table.
"Your kung fu is indeed... You can't fight when you smile, but when you're fierce, you kill people with your hands. It's only suitable for the battlefield." The clerk over there smiled, then leaned over and said in a low voice, "... It's all here."
"what?"
"Wang Dai arrived yesterday. He's in the camp. Niu Chengshu and the others, I heard that you entered the city from the north the day before yesterday. You should enter the city early. Look around the guest house and you should be able to see it."
"Hey, then I'll have dinner with them at night! Niu Chengshu beat me up last time, but this time he wants a treat. Are you coming tonight..."
"I won't be here today, I have to do things here."
"Then I'll go to Wang Dai's livestock first..."
People giggled. In the city of Chengdu, the clamor of scholars continued. Mao Yishan, who had changed into casual clothes, entered the city with a group of companions in the light of the setting sun.
Chen Wei and Ren Jingzhu walked downstairs and left separately; not far away, a strong man with a body like a cow was squatting on the roadside eating candied haws. With a white tooth, not many people can know the expression on the strong man's face when he said "Killing is a joy" on the battlefield.
Wang Xiangfo read people's profiles and stories on the signs outside the competition venue. In the noodle shop with the best reputation in the city, after eating egg noodles, Liu Muxia paid with a smile to the pretty girl in the shop.
An old Confucian scholar named Guan Shanhai was pouting with his arms around the girl. In a store two streets apart, Wen Shoubin welcomed the friends he was about to make in the new day, and was ready to start a new conversation. Qu Longjun sat in the pavilion and watched the sunset, Ning Ji awkwardly sewed up the trousers that were accidentally torn in the yard.
The six knights set foot on the road to Zhangcun. Out of some kind of memory and nostalgia, You Hongzhuo followed behind...
There are more and more ordinary people. Ordinary people have ordinary aspirations, have different purposes, and live one way or another. They staggered among the surging crowd. Even if they brush each other's shoulders, at this still warm moment, they haven't crossed each other yet...