On February 27th, the weather has begun to warm up, and the fields near Zhending are full of flowers of various colors.
The earth seemed quiet, and the crows flew down, pecking at the corpses among the wildflowers. The blood that has spread has begun to congeal. In Zhendingfu, it has been a day since the end of a war. The iron cavalry spreads, stepped over this land, and within a radius of dozens of miles to the south, more than 100,000 troops are being defeated. escape.
In mid-February of the second year of Wu Jianshuo's second year, the Jurchen swore to send troops, which opened the prelude to the third campaign against martial arts. On February 23, the Jurchen Middle Road Army, led by Nianhan and shortly after crossing Yanmen Pass, was intercepted by a 150,000-strong army led by Hou Xin, a general of the Wu Dynasty.
Since the Jurchen army broke Bianliang and returned to the north last year, the number of troops nominally affiliated to the Wu Dynasty has been expanding in the areas north of the Yellow River and south of Yanmen Pass. On the one hand, several armies previously stationed here have been expanding their armies in an expedient manner in order to cope with future wars and stabilize their own territory.
After King Kang ascended the throne and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Jianshuo, Zong Ze, who was in charge of the northern garrison, worked tirelessly to run back and forth, and successively incorporated several tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of civilian forces north of the Yellow River into the regular army system of the Wu Dynasty. At this time, On the land north of the Yellow River, the mountain bandits and the army formed the first line of defense to unite the outside world and resist the Jurchens.
Hou Xin and Hou Wen Jing were the commanders of Wu Sheng’s army. This time the Jurchen went south, he did not choose to retreat. He said to his subordinates: “The family and the country are in danger, and the husband has to face the difficulties.” Seeing that the morale of this army was high, they did not fight against it. The two sides tried back and forth for two days. In the early morning of February 26, they launched an attack on the Houxin army with iron cavalry.
At this time, Wu Shengjun had been defeated by Jurchen during the first two southern expeditions. At this time, the army hastily expanded to 150,000 troops. Zonghan attacked at night. Hou Xin was still somewhat prepared, but after the attack, more than 100,000 people still mutinied. The Jurchen cavalry ran through the defense line of Wu Sheng's army like a torrent that night. The corpses of the soldiers killed by the Jurchen piled up like mountains and rivers of blood. On the twenty-sixth day, Yinshu could take advantage of the trend to capture Zhendingfu.
On the morning of the twenty-seventh, the scattered soldiers filled the roads and mountains south of Zhending. These soldiers of mixed quality and bad fled wildly south, and some of them were originally bandits and gangsters. After being recruited and absorbed by the regular army, it was controlled by the military law, which also aroused the first wave of bloody fighting against the Jurchens. However, during the escape process, these things finally disappeared.
Yuanchang County, 60 miles away from Zhending, was crowded with the first wave of soldiers who had fled. The order had begun to become chaotic. A group of hundreds of people drove the people in the county town, telling them that the Jurchen would be killed. news to come. Urging everyone to get out of here. During such expulsion, they also began to loot the limited wealth, grain and rice in the county town, and raped women. The county magistrate Liu Dongxiu tried to stop the chaos. This afternoon, he was killed in the conflict. , The corpse was placed in the hall of the county government office, and the soldiers who plundered were scattered as birds and beasts soon after.
Yuanchang County is not the only place where this phenomenon occurs. Zhending, Taiyuan and other places have suffered from war in previous wars. In a sense, it is almost an abandoned place. On the way to dispersal, the soldiers knew that the situation in the vicinity was over. There are still warm-blooded and caring people who run to the south to join other armies and rebels, and more than half of them start to think about themselves. Or escape into the mountains, or scattered in the distance. During this period, there were not a few people who found the nearby villagers and villagers to loot and enjoy it.
At the time of the pacification, the bandits who recruited security became soldiers. After the defeat, the soldiers once again turned into bandits.
In the rout and escape of the 100,000 people, more people fled, and the scouts and spies from various places escaped in different directions at a faster speed. Jurchen's menacing message is pushed to the whole world like a tide in this way.
More troops gathered north of the Yellow River, but after seeing the strength of the Jurchen War God Wanyan Zonghan again, everyone began to take a cautious attitude and dared not take any more rash moves.
On the Yellow River defense line, Zong Ze quickly gathered the limited forces on hand to reinforce the defenses along Bianliang and the Yellow River. While writing a letter to stabilize the hearts of several rebels north of the Yellow River, he also sent a note to Yingtian, hoping this His Majesty can resolutely resist to improve the morale of the army.
In Yingtian, more information and arguments filled the Golden Palace, and Emperor Zhou Yong was completely stunned. He had only been on the throne for half a year, and the invincible Jurchen army had already moved south. This time, Wanyan Zonghan led the Central Route Army and rushed towards Taiyuan. There was no danger in Taiyuan, while the East Route Army led by Jurchen Prince Wanyan Zongfu, Wanyan Zongbi and others rushed towards Shandong, with the slogans of destroying the Wu Dynasty and capturing them alive. Zhou Yong, although the number of troops in the northern area was at its peak at this time, it was too large to be worth it. As for whether they could stop the Jurchen, no one really had a clue whether they could stop the Jurchen.
During this period, the left minister Li Gang still advocated strict adherence to the Jurchen line in the Yellow River, waiting for the division of the King of Qin to break the Jurchen army. In Yingtiancheng, in order to resist the Jurchen, the crowd was furious, and the students Chen Dong, Ouyang Che and others ran every day, calling for resistance.
But there were two failures in resisting the Jurchen before. At this time, the voice of the Lord and the faction in the court had also risen, which was different from the situation when Tang Ke and others were reprimanded for fear of war. At this time, the voices of the right minister Huang Qianshan, the privy envoy Wang Boyan and others in favor of fleeing to the south already have a market. Many people think that if the Jurchen is really difficult to control, maybe they have to go south first and exchange space for space. Time, with the vertical and horizontal terrain of the southern waterway, restrains the Jurchen's horse-fighting benefits.
After all, it has only been a year since Emperor Jingping was taken captive to the north, and it is still the greatest humiliation of the entire Wu Dynasty. If the newly ascended Emperor Jianshuo is also taken away, the Wu Dynasty may really be over.
Rationally, in the next few years, this Jurchen army, which has risen rapidly and has not yet declined at this time, seems to be invincible and uncontrollable. At this time, the princes of the court were not able to think about it. After all, the leader of the army once said to them in the golden hall: "A bunch of trash."
If that person just killed Tong Guan and Zhou Zhe, or that's all. However, such a sentence actually shows that in the eyes of the other party, other people are no different from the corrupt officials and traitors they call them. This is something that Li Gang and others cannot bear.
Today, the situation in the northwest where that person is located is completely unpredictable.
Xiao Canghe also suddenly became nervous.
for the training of soldiers. It's going on every day. A large number of materials that can be scavenged from the outside world are also constantly going in and out of the mountains, including exchanges with Qingmu Village.
By the beach, a training session had just ended, and Luo Ye left the soldiers who were almost paralyzed. He washed his face hastily in the river, then walked quickly to the barracks, took out a small notebook and charcoal pen, and walked towards the group of houses halfway up the mountain, when he encountered two people rushing. Serious-looking soldier. Both of them are members of the Secret Investigation Department of the Zhuji System. Luo Ye also knew them and grabbed one of them: "What's the matter?"
When the news of the Jurchen invasion came, the atmosphere in the entire Xiaocang River Valley also became tense and chilling. I am afraid that these intelligence managers will be asked many times every day, and I hope to inquire about the specific information outside. That person is also very familiar with Luo Ye, and is a member of the Huayan Association. Looking around, he is a little embarrassed: "It's not an external matter, this time may be punished."
"What's the matter?" Luo Ye frowned. "Have you committed a crime?"
"In the north, you know about the shopkeeper Lu. Someone told his family. Today, Mingfang's mother went to Mr. Ning to cry, hoping for a letter."
He spoke very quickly, Luo Ye nodded when talking about this, he also knew the news. Originally in the Wu Dynasty, there were Secret Investigation Divisions under the name of the Right Prime Minister, some of them. It has been integrated into Zhuji. After Ning Yi rebelled, the intelligence system in Zhuji was still named as secret investigation, and one of the three people in charge. There is Lu Yannian, the shopkeeper Lu. Last year, the shopkeeper Lu was the first to walk through the trade line of the Jin Kingdom in the north, and redeemed some craftsmen who were captured by Jurchen. His son Lu Mingfang loved to talk and laugh, and he also had some friendship with Luo Ye. , is not yet twenty years old. He has always worked with Lu Yannian.
This time, before the Jurchen went south, the north suddenly began to purge the spies of the southerners. After a few days of silence, the members of Zhuji who fled back from the north brought back the message. The intelligence team led by Lu Yannian bore the brunt. I am afraid that he is dead, and the rest of the people are also more fortunate. This time, the Jurchen high-level actions were very sharp. In order to cooperate with the army's southward movement, a terrible bloody storm was set off in the sixteen states of Yanyun, and any suspected Han people were massacred.
Although everyone in Zhuji had a plan for this kind of thing, in this slaughter atmosphere where the Han people were not regarded as human beings, they also suffered heavy losses. After that, the news of the Jurchen army going south on a large scale came.
Luo Ye thought for a while: "Aunt Huo is actually a sensible person, so she shouldn't cause too much trouble to Mr. Ning."
"It's not for this..." The man sighed, and saw another companion beckoning and urging him from a distance, and waved his hand, "Oh, you'll find out after a while. Don't spread this matter any more, and tell others about it. Don't mention it again."
He walked away, and Luo Ye responded, "I see."
In the courtyard halfway up the mountain, Su Taner accompanied the weeping wife of the Lu family, comforting her in detail. In fact, for any woman, when her husband and son may have died, the comfort is probably all. powerless.
In another room where the affairs were discussed, the middle and high-level officials of the Zhuji Intelligence Department had already gathered, and Ning Yi looked at them coldly: "...You think that the people in the valley are all right. You think that the friends around you are all Loyal and reliable. What you think is a big thing and a small thing, so you can take it lightly. Do you know that you are engaged in intelligence!"
"You may not yet see your own importance, even if I have told you repeatedly! You are the most important part of the life and death of the war! Predict the enemy's opportunities! Predict the enemy's opportunities! What is the concept! What an enemy!"
"Jurchen, they have already started going south, and no one can stop them! Neither can we! The Xiaocanghe Cyanwood Village is less than 50,000 people, and it's not even worthy to plug their teeth. You think the people around you are reliable. , maybe someone who is greedy for life and fear of death will turn to them at some time! Your trust is meaningless, your assumptions are meaningless, and discipline is meaningful! One less negligence and one more achievement, your companions, it is possible Hundreds and thousands of people survived, since you think they can be trusted and dependable, you should have the strictest discipline to be responsible to them."
"Aunt Huo is a reasonable woman, but whether she is reasonable or not, Shopkeeper Lu may not be able to come back. If you are more powerful, before the Jurchen makes a move. You may be aware of their actions. Is there any room for improvement? I think we can start from our own weaknesses. This time, anyone who has discussed unpublished information with the people around us will be punished! Do you think there is a problem?"
After he finished saying these words, there was a sound in the room: "No."
Ning Yi knocked on the table a few times: "Jurchen is coming, will we be affected? It's hard to say, but it's very possible. How much preparation may not be enough. Defeating Xixia is not a good thing, we have already passed Into the sight of others early, this is actually the worst case, you..."
Before he finished speaking, someone outside the door reported it, but it was Xiao Hei who was in charge of communicating for him. He walked over and said a few words, and Ning Yi paused. Then looked at the people in the room:
The worst is yet to come.
On this day, not many people in the room heard the content of the sentence, and even if they did, it was never rumored. However, that night, most of the people in the valley still understood what happened. The messenger sent by the Jurchen army has arrived in the valley to deliver an ultimatum to Xiao Canghe.
Hearing this news, there are some indignant people in the river valley. There are those who are excited, and there are those who are apprehensive. Without going through the above organization, Luo Ye and others spontaneously summoned soldiers and held a meeting to cheer. Firm fighting spirit, but of course, the real decision is still made by Ning Yi.
Few people knew what Ning Yi talked about with the messenger that night. The next day, Luo Ye and others went to class according to the scheduled arrangement after the training and gathered together. Discuss the situation of the Jurchen army going south this time.
At this time, the message valley of the mobilization of the Jurchen army was already clear. Zonghan of the Middle Route Army, Zongfu and Zong Bi of the East Route Army all rushed towards Yingtian, so there was no need to think about it. The real threat to the northwest is the Jurchen West Road Army. In this army, there are only 10,000 Jin people, but the leader must not be ignored. He is one of the most outstanding generals in the Jurchen army. The Wanyan Lou Room.
This person was in the Jurchen army and had great military exploits. At the beginning, he was the one who captured Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao Kingdom and Yelu Dashi alive. During Jurchen's two campaigns against martial arts, he had numerous victories in Taiyuan, Guanshan and other places. He was best at focusing on Jinbing, supplemented by subduing soldiers and puppets, and expanding his own style of play. Often, his subordinates fought more and more. , strategic and tactical are extremely skillful. Even among the Jurchens who will be star-studded at this time, he is probably the one with the strongest tactical level.
As Ning Yi said, while defeating Xixia, Xiao Canghe has also fallen into the eyes of Jurchen ahead of time. If the arrival of the Jurchen messenger means that the high-level Jin State intends to do this, Xiao Canghe's army will be extremely powerful. May have to face the invincible Jurchen warrior. Although the Black Flag Army has 7,000 people to break the record of the 100,000-strong army of Xixia, on the other side, the number of enemies that have been defeated one after another is probably in the millions, and the disparity between the strength of the troops is more than one to ten, and there are many battles. .
A group of people were discussing in the room, and voices gradually came from outside the door. Among them were Ning Yi and a few strange Chinese words. Everyone stopped discussing, and at the door, Ning Yi and the figure in the official uniform of the Jin State appeared.
With a sound of "whoosh", everyone looked at the door and stood up together. The envoy of the Jin Kingdom was obviously stunned for a moment. Ning Yi looked around at the people inside: "This is the messenger from the Jin Kingdom, Fan Hongji, the envoy Fan, and Fan Hongji. Sir, this is a son of our army." He spread his hands, "Let's go."
Then Fan Hongji looked around and laughed: "As expected of a hero, it's no wonder that he can achieve such a record, oh, yes, Fan remembered something."
"Oh?"
"When leaving the cloud, Lord Gushen and the head of the court, Tuo Fan, brought two things to show to Mr. Ning. There are so many people at this time, so you might as well take a look together."
Then Fan Hongji said, the two guards who followed behind had come over, took out the two big boxes that had been hanging around him, and walked into the room, Chen Fan came over here with a smile, and Ning Yi also spread his hands , smiled: "Is it a gift? Let's go to the side to see."
"It's okay, it's okay."
The two were tall, and they were also warriors in the Jurchen army. They were immediately held down by Chen Fan. With a simple push, one of the boxes was crushed. Fan Hongji opened the box, and a little lime swayed. When he came out, Fan Hongji copied the contents in his hand, Ning Yi's eyes narrowed slightly, and his smile did not change, but many people inside had seen it.
It was a human head.
There was silence inside and outside the room for a moment. It seemed that someone's fist was squeezed slightly, and Ning Yi's voice sounded: "Bring this kind of thing, what do you mean?" Blocking the other party, the messenger named Fan Hongji smiled, took the pickled human head, walked into the door, and put the human head on the table. The other guard also went in with the wooden box, put it down, and opened the box.
In the room, everyone looked at this side calmly, Fan Hongji's eyes met with them and swept over with a smile.
"It's nothing, not long ago, some people made trouble in Yunzhongfu, these are two of them. They want to buy Han slaves in Yunzhong and send them back to the Central Plains. This kind of thing is not allowed in our Jin Kingdom, but these two They were warriors. After they were arrested, they refused to tell their origins no matter how they tortured them, and finally committed suicide. Lord Gushen was impressed by his courage and admiration. He said, this may be yours. I'll admit it to you, if it's true, so that they can be buried in peace."
Fan Hongji smiled, his eyes were calm, Ning Yi's eyes were also calm, with a smile, the eyes of a group of people in the room were also calm, and some people's mouths drew a smile slightly. It was an extremely eerie quiet, and murderous aura seemed to be brewing and scattered. However, Fan Hongji is not afraid of anyone. He is the messenger of the strongest army in the world. He doesn't have to fear anyone or anything.
On the table, Lu Yannian opened his eyes and stared silently ahead, empty and dead.
Just as the Jurchen army was rushing towards the whole world, in this corner of the northwest, time froze for a while.
A little interlude… (.)