It was still early in the morning when I woke up. I walked out of the door to the yard. There were sparse stars in the night sky before dawn. The air was cold and quiet, and the guard room outside the yard was lit with orange light.
After buttoning his clothes, Ning Yi walked to the quiet living room, poured himself a cup of hot water, yawned a few times while drinking, and then rubbed his face to wake him up.
I had a few dreams at night, and I couldn't remember them in a daze after waking up. There was still a little time before the morning exercise. Yi's heart was calm, and he dressed lightly and got up.
Without lighting the oil lamp, Ning Yi sat in the dark living room for a while, the window lattice reflected the starlight outside, reflecting the white crescent moon. After a while, a figure came in: "Can't sleep?"
It's red.
"It's okay, did you wake up?"
Hongti just smiled, walked over to him and stroked his forehead, but was hugged by Ning Yi and sat down on his lap: "I had a few dreams, woke up thinking about things, and saw that Jin'er and Xiaoke were sleeping comfortably and didn't want to quarrel. Wake them up. You sleep late, you can actually go back to sleep."
"Yeah." Hong Ti replied, but he didn't walk away, he wrapped his arms around Ning Yi's neck and closed his eyes. In her early years, she walked in the rivers and lakes and was hit by wind and rain, and her temperament was somewhat similar to the simplicity of a village girl. In recent years, her heart has settled down, just following Ning Yi's side, she has a soft and charming feeling.
The couple sat hugging and sitting for a while before Ning Yi got up. Hongti was naturally not sleepy. He went to the kitchen to wash his face. During this time, Ning Yi walked to the courtyard outside the door and shoveled the snow that had been in a corner of the courtyard two days ago. pile up. After a few days, the unmelted snow has become hard. After Hongti brought the face wash, Ning Yi took a small shovel to make a snowman. Yi wiped his face, then washed himself, poured out the hot water, and came to help.
Two snowballs, one large and one small, were piled up to form the main body of the snowman. Ning Yi used stones to make eyes and branches to make hands. Then he used two snowballs to shape a gourd and placed it on the snowman's head. After seeing a dead leaf, he stepped back and looked at it with his arms on his hips, imagining what the child would look like when he came out for a while, and Ning Yi clapped his hands with satisfaction, and then gave a high five to the helpless Hongti.
The two walked towards the outside of the courtyard. Under the black sky, there were still sparse lights in Zhang Village. The outline of the street, the outline of the house, the outline of the riverside workshop and waterwheel, and the outline of the military camp in the distance were sparsely illuminated. The embellishment of the courtyard is vaguely visible, the patrolling soldiers walk past from a distance, and there are slogans written in white lime on the walls of the courtyard. Ning Yi avoided the river, went around the small hillside on the side of Zhang Village, crossed this village, and the ground of the Chengdu Plain stretched into the distance.
Ning Yi looked into the distance, and Hongti stood beside him, not disturbing him.
The light spots gradually increased in the night, and the movement of human figures gradually appeared in the field of vision. The dog barked occasionally, and after a while, the chickens began to croak, and white smoke came from the house below the field of vision. The stars. Falling down, the sky seems to be shaking, revealing the white of the fish belly.
The time is December 28th in the tenth year of Wu Jianshuo, and the old year is about to pass. It has been more than ten years since I came here. At first, the quaintness of the deep house compound seemed to be close to my eyes, but at this moment, every bit of Zhang Village is more like a farm village in another world in my memory. It is relatively neat and tidy. The dirt road, the courtyard wall, the limestone writing on the courtyard wall, the crowing of cocks and dogs in the morning, vaguely, this world seems to be connected to something.
But this is of course an illusion.
Leaving this area, the Wu Dynasty is still outside, and the tenth year of Jianshuo is followed by the eleventh year of Jianshuo. If a small village falls into war, it will only take a blink of an eye to return to the ruins. Before the flood of history, everything is as fragile as a sandcastle on the beach.
After staying for a while, Ning Yi jogged forward around the hillside, and the vision in the distance gradually became clear. There were war horses galloping all the way from the road in the distance, and turned into a yard in the village below.
"It should be news from the east." Hong mentioned.
Ning Yi nodded: "No hurry."
After running around this hillside for a while, the trumpet of the barracks was also sounding, and the soldiers began to exercise. Several figures came from the front, but they were Chen Fan and Qin Shaoqian who also got up early. Although the weather was cold, Chen Fan was wearing a single shirt, and he couldn't see the coldness at all. Qin Shaoqian was wearing a neat military uniform. He might have been training with the soldiers around him and met Chen Fan here. The two were talking to themselves when they saw Ning Yi coming up and greeted him with a smile.
"Liheng is here." Qin Shaoqian nodded.
Chen Fan smiled and said, "Why did you go at night when you got up so late?"
"When you're an adult, you're a bit shrewd, and you ask what you're doing at night, seeing how hungry you are..." Ning Yi smiled and hurt Chen Fan, "What are you talking about?"
"Say your black-hearted boss, the twelfth lunar month is twenty-eighth, and you still don't give your subordinates a holiday."
"You don't have a holiday for your family, and the pig teammates are dying again. I'll give you a holiday, can you sleep?"
The two disagreed with each other, Qin Shaoqian smiled over there: "I was telling Chen Fan just now that Zhou Yong has done so many things, how should we deal with it... At first, I didn't expect this emperor to be so messed up, and I wanted to laugh. , but today, no one can guess that the consequences are so serious. The Wushu sword pointed at Lin'an, the people of the Wu Dynasty were divided, and Zhou Yong had no responsibility. If it really collapsed, the consequences would be disastrous."
There was a smile on Ning Yi's mouth, and then he became serious: "I told him at the beginning, and I asked him to talk about these matters with his son and daughter. Who would have known that Zhou Yong's madness would go straight to the court, and his brain would be broken..." He said here , laughed again, "It's funny to say it. Back then, I thought the emperor was in the way and stabbed him to rebel. Now he's a rebel, and he's still blocked by this emperor. He really has the ability..."
When he said this, several people couldn't help laughing out loud, Chen Fan laughed for a while: "I can see now that Zhou Yong proposed to reconcile with us. On the other end, it's our turn to make a choice. We were chatting with Lao Qin just now. If we come out to pick up a fight at this time, we may be able to help stabilize the situation a little bit. In the past two days, the General Staff has also been discussing, what do you think? think?"
He looked at Ning Yi, and Ning Yi shook his head with a serious look: "No answer."
Hearing him say these words, Chen Fan's eyes relaxed obviously, and Qin Shaoqian on the other side also smiled slightly: "How did Liheng think about it?"
"You also come to test me on this kind of thing." Ning Yi laughed, "The majesty of the royal family is the foundation of rule. If I kill Zhou Zhe, Zhou Yong can admit it. Who else would be afraid of him as an emperor? Helping people can understand, even if I were placed in the same position, I would not let the emperor do such a stupid thing, unfortunately Zhou Yong is too naive..."
He sighed: "When he did this kind of thing, the ministers blocked it, and Hou Shao's death remonstrance was a trivial matter. The biggest problem is that when the prince decided to resist the gold, the people of the Wu Dynasty were basically the same, even if there were two hearts. , I don't dare to move on the face of it. Zhou Yong has taken this step, and those who want to surrender, rebel in private, or at least leave a way out for themselves will move. In the past ten years, Jin Guo Those guys who are secretly contacting, can't hold their claws anymore, and the people on Xi Yin's side have also started their activities..."
When Ning Yi said this, he paused for a while: "The intelligence personnel of the Wu Dynasty have been notified to move, but these years, the focus of espionage work has been in the Central Plains and the north, and the Wu Dynasty has mostly taken the commercial route. It may not be easy for the people on Yin's line in a short period of time... In addition, although Wushu may have used Xi Yin's calculations and premeditated, but 50,000 riders crossed the Yangtze River three times before and after they were caught by their tails. The military does not have Xi Yin's secret son, and no one believes it. On the cusp of such a storm, Zhou Yong still killed himself like this. I guess Xi Yin in Xiangyang will be shocked by Zhou Yong's stupidity after hearing the news. …”
"Zhou Yong wants to reconcile with us, and scholars who have a little common sense in the Wu Dynasty will stop him. At this time, we stand up and say that it is to inspire people's hearts. In fact, the resistance will be bigger, and Zhou Yong's position will only become more unstable. , our team is thousands of miles away... Chen Fan, your more than 10,000 people, dare to intersperse more than a thousand miles to Lin'an?"
"Chengdu has only just stabilized, and while the more than 15,000 people in the New Year's Games have not yet started training, far water can't save near fire. With Zhou Yong's voice, the Wu Dynasty collapsed faster, but we can do it. Meet Zonghan earlier." Ning Yi smiled, "In addition, we came out to rebel, relying on unity, now that the place has just expanded, people's hearts are still not stable, and suddenly he said that he wants to help the emperor fight the war. My heart is cold, the new joiners will have the wrong idea, and I will stab myself by the way..."
When he said this, the words gradually stopped, and Chen Fan laughed: "I think so clearly, there is nothing to say, sigh, I was still thinking, if we come out to pick up a word, the gang of scholars in the Wu Dynasty will face It doesn't have to be colorful, haha... Uh, what do you think?"
He saw Ning Yi's eyes flickering, fell into deep thought, and asked a question, Ning Yi's eyes turned to him, and he was silent for a while.
"...I was thinking just now that if I were Wanyan Xiyin, I could pretend to be the Huaxia Army now..."
"Uh..." Chen Fan blinked and froze there.
****************
In Lin'an, just before dawn, there are lights swimming in the quaint courtyard.
In Lin'an City, which is nearing the end of the new year, the atmosphere of the New Year is accompanied by tension and chills. With the news of Wushu going south every day, the guarding army has begun to mobilize on a large scale, and some people choose to abandon it. The city was far away, but most of the people still stayed in the city. The atmosphere of the New Year and the tension of military disasters blended strangely. Every day, people felt the heartbeat and anxiety of various flavors.
The same is true of the scene in the palace of the eldest princess.
The stewards who are responsible for life and the servants are decorated with lanterns to create a New Year's flavor, but as another set of executive teams in the princess' mansion, whether they are involved in espionage or involved in politics, logistics, and the military, they have been in high tension these days. In response to various situations, as Ning Yi said, the opponent has not yet rested, and the pig teammates are racing against time to kill again, so the people who are doing things naturally cannot stop because of the New Year.
The two teams are intertwined in a strange way, both including and non-interfering with each other, forming a mysterious and special scene.
As for the personnel of the Princess Mansion, the so-called pig teammates also include the current ruler of a country in the court: the father of the eldest princess, Zhou Yong, the emperor of the court.
If only Jin Wushu suddenly crossed the Yellow River and headed south, the situation facing the eldest princess' mansion would certainly not be as frustrating and anxious as the one before him. And now, especially after Hou Shao's death after touching the pillar, every day is a huge torment. The court of the Wu Dynasty seemed to have suddenly changed. Each of the families and forces that formed the entire Nanwu system seemed to become the resistance of the Zhou family, and problems might arise at any time or even turn against each other.
Advice from all sides kept pouring in. The students of the Taixue took to the streets to sit in the street, asking the emperor to issue an edict, to rectify the name of the dead Hou Shao, pursue the title, and bestow the title. After lobbying and persuading to surrender, Jiangning has already suffered two defeats in the past ten days.
After more than 200 years of operation in the Wu Dynasty, it is true that there are not many people who will make it clear at this time. However, under the erosion of this wave of morale, the anti-gold situation, which was already difficult for the Wu Dynasty, has become even more precarious. . After that, it's not surprising that something might happen.
Above the court hall, the huge twists and turns have subsided. After Hou Shao was killed in the Golden Palace, Zhou Yong's whole person had already begun to become stagnant, and he hid in the harem and did not go to court. Zhou Pei originally thought that her father still didn't see the situation clearly, and wanted to enter the palace to continue to make a statement. Who knew that when she entered the palace, Zhou Yong's attitude towards her became stiff, and she knew that her father had already conceded defeat.
Zhou Pei, Zhao Ding, Qin Hui and the others met urgently, and they confirmed to each other that the most important thing at the moment was the influence of Ping, and to fight against the Jurchen, but at this time, the Jurchen spies were already working in secret. Talking about Zhou Yong's affairs, there is no Confucian scholar who would silently shut up about Hou Shao's feat of touching a pillar to his death.
For Zhao Ding, Qin Hui, and Lv Yihao, the top officials of the court, it was no problem to shut up and not talk about the whole situation caused by Zhou Yong this time. But wait and see, for the middle and lower-level officials and even the Confucian scholars who are about to enter office, the emperor's right and wrong, and the solution after doing such a thing this time, and even the praise and characterization of Hou Shao's feat, they have to say. clearly.
And even if it is only talking about Hou Shao, it must be talking about Zhou Yong.
Since these days, Zhou Pei often wakes up at night, sits in the small attic, and looks at the situation in the mansion in a daze. She often has to read every new message outside. On the twenty-eighth day, she had already woken up in the early morning. When it was almost dawn, she gradually felt a little sleepy, but a messenger from outside the mansion also came in, and new news about the Jurchen was delivered.
This is news about Wushu.
Beginning on the 14th of December, Wu Shu led 50,000 cavalry troops to the south in the form of giving up most of the baggage, burning, killing and looting along the way, and eating the people. The distance from the Yangtze River to Lin'an is originally a rich and prosperous place in the south of the Yangtze River. Although the waterways are vertical and horizontal, it is also densely populated. Although Jun Wu urgently mobilized a 170,000-strong army in the south to try to block Wushu, Wushu attacked all the way and not only defeated twice. The troops that came, and in half a month, they killed and looted countless villages. Wherever the cavalry went, the wealthy villages were turned into white fields, women were raped, and men were killed and driven away... After eight years , The tragedy in the world when the Jurchen searched the mountains and seas, vaguely came again.
Wushu's army was currently raging on the west side of Taihu Lake, two hundred kilometers away from Lin'an. The urgently sent information counted the names of the villages burned by him and the estimated population. It was useless to meticulously mark the location on the map, and the tears she had seen when she first saw this kind of information were no longer in her eyes, and she just kept these things in her heart.
The sound of cocks crowing came from a distance, and the sky outside was slightly brighter. Zhou Pei walked up to the terrace outside the attic and looked at the white fish maw in the east. The maids in the princess' mansion were cleaning the yard. She watched for a while, and inadvertently thought of the girl When the real person came, he clenched his arms unknowingly.
Suddenly, the alarm and martial law bells rang in the city, Zhou Pei was stunned for a moment, and quickly went downstairs. After a while, someone rushed from the outside yard.
"What's up!?"
"Report, there are traitors in the city, and General Yu has ordered martial law to arrest people..."
As for the garrison work in Lin'an City at this time, several forbidden troops have taken over in full, and there are also plans for various matters. This morning, more than a dozen bandits launched in the city at the same time. They chose the densely populated places in Lin'an City, picked high places, and threw leaflets with scrambled characters among the crowd on the street. , the soldiers patrolling the city found something wrong and immediately reported it, and the banned army issued a martial law alarm according to the order.
Zhou Pei left the Princess Mansion in a car. At this time, martial law had begun in Lin'an City. Soldiers took to the streets to hunt down the gangsters involved. However, due to the sudden incident, there were small-scale chaos along the way. Hai came over on a horse, his face was as gloomy as paper, with some blood on his body and a few flyers in his hand, Zhou Pei thought he was injured, Cheng Zhouhai explained a little, and she realized that the blood was not into the sea of boats.
"... The bandits in front could not escape and were killed by the city guards. The scene was bloody. Your Highness should not go there, but what is written on it is heartbreaking. Your Highness may wish to take a look." He handed the flyer to Zhou Pei. , lowered his voice again, "At Qiantangmen, Guozijian and Taixue have also been thrown into a lot of this kind of news. It's the Jurchen who did it. It's troublesome..."
Zhou Pei picked up the flyer and looked at it, suddenly closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and opened them again. Above the flyer is an oath written in imitation of the Black Banner Army.
In the text, it is said that the former Jinghan Emperor Zhou Zhe had no talent or virtue, condoned the six tigers, disrupted the Wu Dynasty, and did the opposite, killing Qin Siyuan, a loyal minister, but today's wise sage Zhou Yongda's great virtue is facing the collapse of the world and the peril of the nation. Regardless of the past, I am willing to reconcile with the Huaxia Army, and the Huaxia Army is also grateful and willing to return to the Wu Dynasty. Who knows that Zhao Ding, the eldest princess Zhou Pei, and others in the court disregard the righteousness of the world, in order to control the government In the act of the morning, the current saint was placed under house arrest in the palace.
The article then called for the righteousness of the world, the survival of the nation, and the loyal and righteous people of Lin'an and Wu Dynasty to rescue Zhou Yong, go to hoe the traitor, clean up the Chao Gang, so as to fight against the Jurchen together, and restore the world to a bright future.
Zhou Pei looked up after reading the flyer. Cheng Zhouhai saw that the eyes were full of blood red.