All kinds of news crossed the mountains and spread northward.
Yunzhongfu, also known as Datong at this time, is the best season of the sky in May. The wind passing through the city is refreshing and pleasant. As the core of the "Western Court" of the Jin Kingdom governed by Zonghan, Heroes and nobles gathered in Yunzhongfu. Although with the departure of the Southern Expedition Army, the internal purging of the bottom of the Jin Kingdom has become more and more strict, but at the top of the society, it is now the season of communication and banquets.
In the many mansions and other gardens around the city, large and small banquets are held every day, and you will sing and I will appear. This year, most of the aspiring nobles of the Jin Kingdom have already set off with the army, and the various outbreaks and playboys who have stayed in the territory have also encountered the best season, entertaining guests and friends and spending a lot of money. means of strength.
In the south of Yunzhongfu City, a lavish and quaint old house has recently become a newcomer in the upper-class social circle. This is a family that has just arrived in Yunzhong Mansion, but it has deep connotations and savings like the sea. Although it is an outsider, it has attracted the attention of many people in Yunzhong Mansion in a short period of time.
This family is from the Central Plains.
The Qi family headed by the great Confucian Qi Yan, who used to be a real prominent family in Hedong of the Wu Dynasty, moved to Yunzhong from Zhending last year. For aristocratic clans, there is a saying that three generations see food, four generations see through five generations, and articles are read. The average family is only rich for three generations, but the Qi family is a big clan with six or seven generations.
Although for the nobles of the Jin Kingdom who have accumulated military achievements, some people subconsciously do not take the noble families of the Wu Dynasty seriously, but the senior officials of the Jin Kingdom still have the will to give the Qi family enough courtesy. For the former senior officials of the Jin Kingdom, it was easy to get the world right away, but now, it has become a problem to rule the world right away. Even though there are many people who fight the world on horseback and are reckless, those who are truly knowledgeable have already begun to see these things.
As a result, Qi Yan received a huge courtesy, and some of the elders in the cloud often called him to ask for advice, chatting and laughing. For the young people of the second generation of Jin Guo, who are hot and competitive, although they are somewhat disgusted with the Qi family being raised up, the young people of the Qi family's research on enjoyment is far more than the stupid sons of these upstarts.
After coming and going, although everyone said no, but these days, the high-quality banquets held by scholars from the Qi family quickly conquered and led the trend of pleasure in the city, and became the focus of everyone's eyes for a while. By May, many children of the Jin Dynasty nobles and the young people of the Qi family began to call themselves brothers.
Since the beginning of this month, with the news of some good news from the south, the visits and banquets of the Qi family and the senior officials of the Jin Kingdom have become more and more grand, and even several grand ceremonies and celebrations have been held. The reason is because of the assassination that happened in Zhending Mansion last year that forced the Qi family to go north.
In the assassination instigated by the Huaxia Army, Qi Yan's two sons, a grandson, and some relatives died. Due to the fierce anti-gold momentum, the aged Qi Yan could only move his family north. However, when Liangshan slaughtered the Su family and the Ning people slaughtered the entire Liangshan, at this time, the black flag slaughtered the Qi family, and Qi Yan, who had accumulated a lot of power for many years, was willing to give up.
On the one hand, they went north, and on the other hand, they used their influence to cooperate with the Jin Kingdom and oppose the Huaxia Army. By the end of March and the beginning of April, the Daming Mansion was finally destroyed, and the Huaxia Army was involved. In the end, the entire army was annihilated. Wanyanchang captured more than 4,000 bandits and began beheading them one by one. When Qi Yan heard the news, he was overjoyed and burst into tears. His two biological sons and a grandson were killed by assassins of the Black Banner Army. The old man could not wait to slaughter the entire Huaxia Army, and even killed Ning Yi and all the women in his family. It's better to invest in a prostitute.
At this point, the revenge is a bit of a revenge, but it's always worth celebrating. On the one hand, he congratulated him, and on the other hand, Qi Yan sent someone 100,000 taels of silver to Wanyan Chang's house in Liaoyang to express his gratitude. Sending back to Yun*** he killed the spirit of the heavenly descendants in order to comfort the family. In May, the letter that Wanyan Chang gladly promised had arrived, and the Qi family had already thought a lot about how to kill these enemies.
In such an atmosphere, the old man did not know that a shadow more vicious than Yan Qing, who led the assassination of Zhending Mansion, or even Ning Yi, the demon who killed Liangshan, had already shrouded the Qi family at this time.
He directed a few carts of vegetables and fruits into the backyard of Qi's house, and the merchant who was escorting the cart came down to negotiate with the steward of Qi's house and settle the money. Not long after, the convoy went out from the backyard again, and the merchant was sitting in the car with a little coldness on his grinning face.
The motorcade drove to the market, the merchants came down, crossed the streets, and reached a quiet courtyard, before taking off the hat on his head and tearing off the beard at the corner of his mouth. By this time, his face also turned gloomy. This is Tang Minjie, and his gloomy face is also his usual color a few days after he heard the battle report of the Daming Mansion in the south.
Walking into the room, the gloom on his face faded a little, and Lu Mingfang was already waiting in the room: "How is it? Your face is not very good recently."
"The incident in Daming Mansion is too tragic." Tang Minjie said frankly.
Lu Mingfang was silent for a moment: "There are some things that you and I are not able to turn the tide, or that sentence, you are too anxious in your heart, pay attention to your body, and pay attention to hiding, I know that your previous actions were a bit intense, some People have noticed you."
Since Jurchen was preparing for the Southern Expedition, Tang Minjie has done several major things with radical means. At first, he instigated a Han slave uprising and asked Shi Jin to send a list of traitors to the south. Later, he secretly linked and threatened Jinren officials, and he was black and prepared to go south. The military rations of the army, and then connected with the gangsters within the Jin Kingdom who relied on their power to sell military resources...
The big and small things he did alone could not shake the entire southern war situation, but because of the radical methods, the code name "Joker" was revealed several times. If Shi Jin went north, the "Joker" was just a cloud Zhongfu is an unremarkable code name. Now, this code name has really been listed in the top of the high-level wanted list. Fortunately, in the past few months, Tang Minjie has calmed down again, so that the wind outside has been closed down a little. receive.
"Well, I know it's better to hide." The persuasion of a friend and a comrade-in-arms still made Tang Minjie smile slightly, "Is there anything today?"
"Great event."
"Huh?" It is rare for Lu Mingfang to say this. Tang Minjie's brows moved slightly. He saw that Lu Mingfang's eyes were complicated, but he had already laughed sincerely. He said two words: "Zhanmei."
"Found it!?" Tang Minjie raised his head suddenly, and Lu Mingfang nodded with a smile.
"I found it, I found it... She is not dead yet, she still has a child, she is not dead yet, she is in Liaoyang now, I am going to go... "
Lu Mingfang's tone was already restrained, but his excitement was still evident in his smile. Tang Minjie laughed and slammed his fist on the table: "This news is great, is it true?"
"Mostly true. Once confirmed, I will immediately arrange for them to go south..."
The two of them were talking about this, laughing like children in the room. Zhanmei, whose full name is Wang Zhanmei, was the name of the concubine who last guarded Qin Shaohe when the city of Taiyuan was broken. Over the years, it has always been at the top of the Huaxia Army's search list.
Speaking of this matter, the two were overjoyed for a while. As for how the mother and son survived for more than ten years, Lu Mingfang did not speak, nor did Tang Minjie mention it.
After a while, Lu Mingfang said: "This matter is a major event that cannot be missed. I went to Liaoyang, and the affairs here will be fully handed over to you. By the way, as you said last time, the Qi family The matter of pressing several Huaxia army brothers here..."
"I will make arrangements, don't worry." Tang Minjie replied, and then said, "I will go up and down with the Qi family, and we will celebrate well."
"..." Hearing the ominous aura in Tang Minjie's words, and looking at his smiling face, Lu Mingfang was stunned for a moment, but then he didn't say anything. Tang Minjie acted aggressively, and many of his methods were passed down by Ning Yi. When it comes to manipulating people's hearts, Lu Mingfang is not his opponent, and he can only see the overall situation for such subordinates, and he doesn't have much to say about the rest. .
"Let's not talk about the rest." After a short pause, Lu Mingfang patted him on the shoulder, "You know what to do, but it's still the same sentence, be cautious and take care. The world's major events, the world's people will increase It can only be done together, you... don't be too anxious."
"I understand." Tang Minjie smiled. "It's a big deal on your side. You can save the bones and blood of the eldest son of the Qin family. It's definitely not easy for them all these years. You give me a salute to that lady."
"Will do."
After saying this, Tang Minjie said goodbye to Lu Mingfang. When he walked out of the yard, he raised his head with a smile and took a deep breath. The sun was warm and there was such good news. Today is really a good day. .
He thought of the Qi family again.
so happy.
…
It's time to kill.
****************
When Lu Mingfang got Wang Zhanmei's message from the north, the water in the southwest was still roaring.
In Dujiangyan, the rain stopped and then stopped.
In the evening, Ning Yi and Cheng Zhouhai, who had been walking together for the past few days, waited for the rain to decrease in the grass hut by the Minjiang River. When they were bored, Ning Yi handed him a handful of fried broad beans.
Cheng Zhouhai didn't come to break the embankment, he came to discuss business. Although he might do it if he could, the main purpose was to talk about practical things with Ning Yi on behalf of Zhou Pei.
For many years, this was the first contact between the Princess Chang's residence and the Huaxia Army. The subordinates brought by Cheng Zhouhai and the staff of the General Staff of the Huaxia Army are responsible for the specific negotiation matters, but between Ning Yi and Cheng Zhouhai, the words are much easier to talk about. Of course, these days, the two have talked about Yes, it's mostly trivial.
On the southwest side, the situation at Ning Yi's home, the worries about the child's future, the defeat in the Daming Mansion in the north, the situation of Wang Shanyue and Zhu Biao. In Cheng Zhouhai's mouth, most of them talked about the situation of everyone in the prime minister's residence, the situation of the princess' residence, the situation between the princess and the concubine in the more than ten years after Ning Yi left...
"...Alas, the world is like this, children grow up, adults grow old, old people die, things are right and wrong..."
"Lin'an City is more prosperous than the former Bianliang City. It's a pity if you don't go and see it..."
"Lin'an, Lin'an, be safe temporarily, the name is not auspicious, and you will suffer next... I have been working on flood control for the past few days, otherwise I will take you to Jishan to have a look, so that you can feel what is called industrial prosperity... Outside the paper factory The water is no longer available."
"In the early years, I felt that you always had some new and messy names in your mouth, and I couldn't understand it. It was difficult for you to get along with people like this."
"A little extreme in character, I'm still sorry for you."
"After you killed Emperor Jinghan, I don't think it's strange. Like you said, it's not crazy, and I can't do such a bad thing."
The rain fell like a curtain from the edge of the grass hut. The two of them were knocking on broad beans, and there was a rattling noise. Speaking of this, Ning Yi couldn't help laughing, and his body was trembling: "That bastard, Lao Cheng, do you know what he was talking about when I went to court... I haven't told anyone, I'll learn it from you... "
He learned what Zhou Zhe said that day in the Golden Throne Hall, Cheng Zhouhai stopped to kowtow broad beans, raised his head and sighed. After all, it is not easy for him to answer this kind of no-king and no-father words, but he was silent for a moment and said, "Do you remember, I went to you a few days before you started."
"Well... Zong Feixiao discovered something. My people killed him. At that time, you thought I was going to do it." Ning Yi nodded, "It is indeed going to be done."
"I thought you were going to deal with Cai Jing or Tong Guan, or bring along Li Gang and whoever...I can stand it and want to work with you." Cheng Zhouhai smiled, "I didn't expect you to do that later. kind of thing."
"I told you then, I guess I won't live to this day."
"Well." Cheng Zhouhai nodded and put a broad bean into his mouth, "If I knew then, I must have tried to kill you."
"now what?"
"Now... what's the use of killing you?" Chengzhou Hai said, "As you said, there is a problem in this Confucian world. Li Pin wants to kill you, and he has his reasons, but I don't want to, since you have already started, After making such a big plate again, I want to see what you will look like at the end. If you win, as you said, it is also a good thing that everyone is awakened and everyone is equal. If you lose, we can also Some good experiences."
"Brother is open-minded."
"It's just a little disheartened." Cheng Zhouhai paused, "If the teacher is still there, the first person to kill you will be me, but the teacher is no longer there, and his words have encountered difficulties. If we try to push it up, I’m afraid it will be difficult to convince the public. Since I don’t teach, I’ve done practical things all these years, so I can naturally see that everyone in the courtroom… are helpless, and those who go ahead have learned from you. Jun Wu."
He put a broad bean in his mouth: "It's just that Jun Wu's way is too strong, and once the external trouble is eliminated, it will be difficult for a long time. Your side... I don't understand it very well, and I don't need to understand it too much... "
When Cheng Zhouhai said this, there was actually deep exhaustion between his drooping brows. Although Qin Siyuan was appraised in his early years as being vicious and unscrupulous, on Cheng Zhouhai's side, one of the biggest backbones was Qin Siyuan as a teacher. Qin Siyuan was imprisoned and eventually died in exile on the way. It is impossible to say that Cheng Zhouhai has no hatred in his heart.
However, supporting the Wu Dynasty is the most important thing in Qin Siyuan's thinking. As he said, if Ning Yi confessed to him before he rebelled, Cheng Zhouhai would kill Ning Yi immediately even if he had hatred in his heart. This is Qin Siyuan. However, due to his excessive lack of scruples, Cheng Zhouhai himself does not have his own orthodoxy in his heart.
After Qin Siyuan died, it was no longer clear to him how to go. After the death of Yao Zunian, Jue Ming, Kang Xian and others also went. Wen Ren Buer followed this Jun Wu and followed a relatively radical path. Cheng Zhouhai assisted Zhou Pei. Although his methods of action were brilliant, but in his heart. Their goal has gradually changed from protecting the Wu Dynasty to protecting this pair of siblings. Although in some senses, this is a two-in-one thing, it is still somewhat different.
At the beginning of the year, Zhou Yong's mess made Zhou Pei's mood chaotic, but after calming down, Zhou Pei had to admit the weakness of the Wu Dynasty in the situation of the Jurchen Southern Expedition, and finally sent Cheng Zhouhai and decided to secretly fight with the Huaxia Army. The forces have exchanged interests to a certain extent, which is also the greatest effort made by Zhou Pei to let go of his heart and mind under the premise of the attack of foreign enemies.
Cheng Zhouhai knew a little about Zhou Yonghu's background at the beginning of the year, but naturally he would not mention it in front of Ning Yi. He only briefly mentioned the grievances and grievances between Zhou Pei and his concubine Qu Zonghui over the years. When it came to Qu Zonghui's murder, when Zhou Pei dealt with it, Ning Yi nodded: "The little girl has grown up too."
Cheng Zhouhai looked at Ning Yi: "His Royal Highness is no longer a little girl... Speaking of which, I know about your last meeting with Her Royal Highness."
"Um?"
"That's what happened before you went to Liangshan. In Bianliang, His Highness was almost caught by that... Gao Muen was frivolous, but I actually did it. Later that night, she said goodbye to you and went back to marry... "
The broad beans rattled, and Ning Yi nodded: "Well, it's been so many years."
"His Royal Highness, she..." Cheng Zhouhai wanted to say something, but finally shook his head, "Forget it, don't say that..."
"Of course I know about her." Not aware of what Cheng Zhouhai wanted to say, Ning Yi just said casually, "Don't say hurtful words. After so many years, she is a widow alone, so she can't find a suitable one. Is it a man? You elders are wrong."
Cheng Zhouhai laughed out loud: "As Your Highness, how do you find it, who dares to come? Who dares to find your Highness? And you also said that you know everything about His Highness. When the two sides fight, you release the news. How to do."
Ning Yi laughed: "You look down on people, don't you? I promise that I won't do this kind of thing."
"Isn't there a Jurchen?"
"… That's true."
Speaking of Jurchen, both of them were silent for a moment, and then changed the topic again.
The sky was gloomy, and in the heavy rain, the river in front was roaring. In the seemingly casual chat, each other under the grass shed actually understood that it was extremely difficult for Chengzhouhai to come to the southwest, although all business was still It was done in secret, but this was the greatest sacrifice and effort Zhou Pei could make after letting go of his heart.
At the moment when they were chatting, Lou Shuwan of Jindi burned the entire Wasion City. She and Yu Yulin took the army into the mountains and looked back, the city was full of fireworks. Thousands of Huaxia troops in Xuzhou, together with tens of thousands of defending troops, also began to withdraw from the surrounding area after resisting the offensive of Wu Shu and others for several months. The battle of Liangshan in the north was just a small episode in such a situation.
Next, the defense lines of Xiangyang and Zhenjiang of the Wu Dynasty, led by Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and others, will be in close contact with the 300,000-strong army of Jurchen East Road.
There are nearly two million troops crowding this thousand-mile defense line. They are here to block the two-way army of Jurchen. However, at the moment when the test is about to come, for the combat effectiveness of the Wu Dynasty army, everyone's heart, But they were all sweating.
In May, the waters of the Minjiang River roared down. Even in the heavy rain in the mountains, squatting on broad beans and chatting leisurely, what they smelled every day between their noses was actually the smell of gunpowder smoke from the wind and rain. .
like the whole world,
All are burning.