In the eleventh year of Wu Jianshuo, Lin'an has been under martial law since the first day of the new year.
People inside can't get out, and people outside can't get in either. For several days, all kinds of rumors have been flying in the city: some say that Wushu has killed an unknown number of people now; some say that millions of people outside Lin'an City The people wanted to enter the city, but they were blocked outside the city gate; some people said that the forbidden army shot arrows and killed the people outside the city a few days ago; some people talked about the shameful situation of Jingping back then, but now everyone is blocked In the city, I am afraid that the future will be more fortunate and less fortunate... There are all kinds of things, and so on.
People discuss and connect in restaurants, teahouses, and courtyards in the city. In a big city where nearly 1.5 million people live, even if martial law occasionally occurs, it cannot last forever. People need to eat, and supplies need to be transported. The bustling business activities in the past have temporarily stopped, but the operation of the minimum demand must still be maintained. The large and small temples and Taoist temples in Lin'an City are booming in business these days, just like the scene before and after every war in the past.
Although the propaganda forces of Li Pin and the Princess Mansion once hyped the harm of the "Tianshi Guojing" in those days, it is difficult for people to deal with the powerlessness in the face of such a major disaster. For a while, there were many rumors about the defeat of "Guo Tianshi" in the market. Similar to Guo Jing, Guo Tianshi has great supernatural powers, but the Jurchen rises rapidly, but also has the protection of evil spirits, such as the "gu god" Wanyan Xiyin, if not Immortals and demons, how can they be called "Grain Gods"? There is also a small market book describing the story of Guo Jing, the celestial master, who was seduced by a seductive female demon and defiled the great supernatural powers of the six armoured soldiers, so that the city of Bianliang was completely defeated. During these days of martial law in Lin'an City, supply was in short supply for a while, and paper in Luoyang was expensive.
There is nothing new in this world. Fools and fools spend the money they have accumulated to ask for the protection of gods and symbols of peace, and then bring them to the family members who care about them the most. They look forward to this catastrophe, and they will be able to survive safely. Pass. This kind of humility is sighing, but it is also pitiful.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Zhou Pei stood on the wall of the imperial city, directing a huge hot air balloon to slowly rise over the city. She pursed her lips and frowned, raised her head and stared at the huge object rising into the sky without saying a word, worried that it would fall down.
When Ning Yi killed the monarch, he used a hot air balloon to carry a few people over the palace city. For such things that could cross the emperor's residence, the imperial court of the Wu Dynasty was quite taboo. Therefore, since the Wu Dynasty moved the capital and Jun Wu made a hot air balloon, this is the first time it has risen in the sky of Lin'an.
At this time, a total of eight hot air balloons were swaying in the cold wind of winter, and there was an uproar in the city. People walked out of the courtyard and gathered in various places, looking up at the miracle-like novelty, pointing and pointing. There was a lot of discussion, and for a while, the crowd seemed to fill every open space in Lin'an.
Zhou Pei's eyes kept all this in his eyes.
In order to advance this matter, Zhou Pei spent a lot of effort in it. The Jurchen is approaching, people in the city are panicked, morale is low, and among the officials, all kinds of thoughts are even more complicated and strange. Wushu 50,000 people lightly ride south, wanting to attack their hearts and minds. In theory, if everyone in the court is united and sticks to Lin'an, there should be no problem. However, the situation in the Wu Dynasty is complicated, and Zhou Yongzuo is dead. The situation is piled up, whether anyone will sway or not, but no one is sure.
To a certain extent, the Wu Dynasty at this time was also like Liangshan who had been tricked by Ning Yi. Before the test came, no one knew if they could stand it.
Zhou Pei lobbied all the members for a few days, and everyone seemed hesitant to raise the hot air balloon to boost morale. , of course, if Your Highness finds it useful, the minister thinks that it might be worth a try." Most of the rest had the same attitude.
Under such circumstances, Zhou Pei made a suggestion in the courtroom, and forced Chen Xiangji, who took over the Ministry of Rites after Hou Shao's death remonstrance, to endorse it. He only proposed that the hot air balloon would rise in the air, and the superintendent was not allowed to look in the direction of the palace, so as to avoid death. Spy on the conditions of Gong Wei's suspicion, and finalize the matter in the silence of everyone. However, when he was discussing in the court, Qin Hui came out to reconsider. The Dao enemy should do something extraordinary and support Zhou Pei's proposal with all his strength, which made Zhou Pei feel a little more favorable towards him.
After removing the resistance on the court, there are still weather factors that prevent the hot air balloon from rising. At this time, the weather in Lin'an City is still cold, and the wind in the air is not small. On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Wushu's cavalry had bypassed the line of defense and approached Lin'an. The technicians of the Gewu Academy finally decided to take the risk of taking off at a moment when the wind was a little less windy. The balloon rose.
It has been more than ten years since the first hot air balloon took off in Lin'an, but there are still not many people who have actually seen it. There is an uproar in the streets and alleys of Lin'an, and some old people knelt down and kowtowed, shouting "Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals". Zhou Pei watched all this and prayed in his heart that nothing would go wrong.
This time, Destiny finally stood on the side of the Wu Dynasty. Eight hot air balloons hung in the sky for a quarter of an hour before they slowly descended again, and there was no possible malfunction in the middle. The propaganda forces of the Princess Mansion and Li Pin have also begun to act at this time. A famous preacher went to the streets and alleys to appease the hearts of the people. Tomorrow, more newspapers will follow.
On the other hand, with the first hot air balloon launch in Lin'an, the influence of the grid will always expand even more in the future. Zhou Pei's mentality in this regard is not as persistent as her younger brother's, but she can imagine how happy Jun Wu would have been if he had done this before the war started.
After arranging the next various things, and encouraging and rewarding the hot air balloon technician who took off today, Zhou Pei returned to the Princess Mansion and began to write a letter to Jun Wu.
At this time, Jiangning was being attacked by Zongfu's army, and Zhenjiang had sent troops to rescue. Jun Wu and Han Shizhong went there in person to boost the morale of Jiangning's army. In the letter, she told her younger brother to take care of his body, take care of himself, and do not have to fight for the capital. If you are too anxious, you and Cheng Zhouhai and others will take care of it all. He mentioned today's hot air balloons to him, and wrote that the fools and fools in the city thought that hot air balloons were the soldiers of heaven. They could not help but make a few jokes. Although the impact of this matter will take a long-term perspective, Jun Wu, who wants to come to a dangerous place, can also be relieved.
The letter was sent out that night, and in the early morning of the next day, Chengzhouhai came over and put a bigger message in front of her. The Huaxia Army passed a resolution on New Year's Eve, the first day of the first year passed a peaceful Spring Festival, and on the second day of the first day, the murderous declaration of war was sent out through the open face: Now the Jurchen is fighting an unjust war, the Central Plains people are not living, and the Jiangnan war is raging Lianlian, all the Chinese people in the world should unite and unite to the outside world. However, there are people who are greedy for life and fear death. They are afraid of Jurchen's obscenity and raise their swords to their compatriots. All the Han Chinese strike together...
In this letter, the Huaxia Army listed a number of "war criminals", most of them were the separatist generals who used to serve the puppet Qi regime, and now lead a team to go to the south of the Jin Kingdom, and among them there are also several military forces of the Jin Kingdom. ... In response to these people, the Huaxia Army has sent an elite team of tens of thousands of people out of Sichuan to behead them. While calling on the righteous people in the world to join in the grand event, it also called on all the people of the Wu Dynasty to be vigilant and guard against all shameless traitors who tried to surrender to the enemy in the war.
Zhou Pei read the text quietly in the light of the morning. She looked at Chengzhouhai, but she couldn't see the expression on her face: "...Really...or fake?"
"There is indeed a change in the Huaxia Army. When the news was released, it was confirmed that several elite teams had assembled out of Sichuan from different directions. The team ranged from dozens to one or two hundred people. It was a 'special operations' lineup specially cultivated by Ning Yi over the years. Based on Zhou Dong's formation coordination back then, it is specially designed for the confrontation of the green forest with a scale of 100 people..."
Zhou Pei blinked: "When he was in Bianliang, he was often stabbed by people..."
"Well, he was concerned about the Green Forest, and offended many people. The teacher said that he was not doing his right job... The people around him initially trained for this matter, and later formed the Black Flag Army. This kind of exercise is called Special operations, the beheading of the enemy chief during the war is very powerful. As early as two years near Xiangyang, a team of more than 100 masters from the Jurchen side robbed a pair of children of General Yue, but happened to meet Ning Yi, who had returned from Jin. , These Jurchen masters have been killed, and there is a murderer, Lu Tuo, who is called a great master in the rivers and lakes, and was killed by him in the palm of his hand when he met Ning Yi."
Zhou Pei listened quietly. Over the years, the princess and the prince have been well-known among the people. Zhou Pei's subordinates naturally have a large number of masters and heroes who have learned civil and military skills and sold them to the emperor's family. Soldiers are often among these people, but relatively speaking, the "professionals" on Ning Yi's side are more like legends in this industry. In fact, Zhou Yong's fear of the Huaxia Army came because of this.
After Cheng Zhouhai said what he said earlier, he paused for a while: "It seems that Ning Yi has really made a lot of money this time."
"How?" Zhou Pei said.
Cheng Zhouhai smiled slightly: "Such a bloody hard-line, clearly stating that he wants to kill people, is not in line with the current situation of the Huaxia Army. No matter how much we fight here, the Huaxia Army will always prefer the southwest. Ning Yi issued this article. After arguing with the text and sending people to carry out the assassination, although it will make some swaying people dare not act rashly, it will also make those who have already fallen to the Jurchen side more resolute, and the first thing these people worry about is no longer the Wu Dynasty. Yes... this Ning Rentu, who speaks a lot of weight in the world. He is pulling the burden towards him... "
Zhou Pei smiled slightly. At this time, Ning Rentu has a bad reputation among the people. This is the result of the joint suppression by Jin Guo and Wu Dynasty for many years. However, in the eyes of the high-level forces of various forces, what is the meaning of Ning Yi's name? Just "some" weight? He first killed Zhou Zhe; later, he directly overthrew the Tian Hu regime in Jin, causing the tiger king, who was a hero of the first generation, to die in a black prison; and then he drove Liu Yu, who was nominally the "king of a country", mad and sent him from It was taken away from the palace of Bianliang, and his whereabouts are still unknown. The black pot was also placed on Wu Chao's head...
Is this some weight? In fact, if this Ning Rentu was really looking at him and said the words "I will never die", there would be a few people in the whole world who would really be able to sleep peacefully.
The smile on Zhou Pei's face was fleeting: "He's afraid that we won't be able to hold on early, and it's just hurting him who is hiding in the southwest."
Cheng Zhouhai nodded: "It's strange... Uh, it's also His Majesty's previous practice, which made him have no choice. The letter said to send 10,000 people, this must be a bluff, but even thousands of people are now Huaxia Army. The elite power that was cultivated with extreme difficulty, since it is killed, will definitely suffer losses, which is also a good thing... In any case, the situation on His Royal Highness's side, and the situation on our side, may be alleviated a little because of this."
Zhou Pei nodded, his eyes twitched on the big map in front of the house, and his mind calculated: "He sent so many people to make trouble for the Jurchen, and the Jurchen will certainly not sit back and watch, and those who have already defected, must also regard him as A thorn in the eyes... well, this time, the whole world will start fighting, and no one will fall... Well, Mr. Cheng, I'm thinking, we should arrange a group of people... "
Cheng Zhouhai laughed: "I think so too..."
Zhou Pei walked to the front of the map: "In recent years, many people in Sichuan and Shu have had business dealings with the Huaxia Army. I guess the Huaxia Army dared to go out of Sichuan, and they must first use these forces to gradually kill them out. Under the current situation, ordinary people should turn a blind eye and not deliberately embarrass him, but there will be no less fights. Do not hinder the actions of the Huaxia Army. When necessary, you can cooperate with these people in the Huaxia Army and help you. First, try to clean up those scum who have illicit affairs with Jurchen, including those who we have counted before. If it is inconvenient to act, then Just throw it on Ning Motou's head."
When she said this, she was already laughing, and Cheng Zhouhai nodded and said, "Ren Shangfei...Old Ren is very thoughtful. He can be in charge of this matter and cooperate with the Huaxia Army at the same time..."
"Find them out and write them down." Zhou Pei took over with a smile, and she looked at the big map, "In this way, even if one day in the future, the two sides will fight..."
Her words lowered: "We also have a bottom line in our hearts..."
"..." Cheng Zhouhai stood at the back and looked at her for a while with complicated eyes, then smiled slightly, "I'll arrange someone."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cheng..."
After Zhou Pei finished saying this, he looked at the map for a long time and was silent for a long time. When he turned around, Cheng Zhouhai had already left the room. Zhou Pei sat in the chair and looked at the letter and the information that came with it. The letter seemed to be well-behaved, but the content contained terrifying blood and ferocity.
For a long time, facing the complex world situation, Zhou Pei often felt powerless. She is naturally proud, but not strong at heart. In the face of the world situation where there is no room for any chance of slaughter, especially in the face of the fierce and decisive Jurchen and the Ning Liheng who she once called her teacher, Zhou Pei can only feel Even with her distance and insignificance, even with the strength of half the Wu Dynasty to support her, she never felt that she was qualified to compete with these people at the world level.
In this regard, his younger brother, who is desperately rushing forward, may have a stronger power.
When the Huaxia Army did not hesitate to put the black pot of the pseudo-Qi emperor Liu Yu on Wu Chao's head, Zhou Pei felt the coldness of the world. At the level of the game of the world, how could the teacher ever be emotional? Until last year, Zhou Pei's cowardice and fear made Zhou Pei realize the cold reality. She sent Cheng Zhouhai to the southwest to strengthen herself by any means in the form of compromise. At the moment when Lin'an was about to face Wushu, internal and external troubles, the actions of the Huaxia Army more or less made her feel warm.
Even if the devil in the southwest was based on cold reality, even though she knew in her heart that there would eventually be a battle between the two sides, at this moment, he finally "had to" lend a helping hand. The younger brother of this information, as well as the soldiers around him, will also be gratified and encouraged by it.
On the other hand, in the deepest part of her heart, she wanted to laugh badly. Although this is a bad thing, from the beginning to the end, she never thought that her father's wrong actions would make Ning Yi, who is far away in the southwest, "have to" make such a decision. She can almost imagine that It is possible to know what kind of mood the other party was in when he made the decision, and maybe he even scolded the father and emperor.
In any case, this must be regarded as a kind of bizarre slump for Ning Motou. What everyone in the world can't do, the father has done it in this way, and Zhou Pei feels happy when he thinks about it.
This happy mood lasted for a long time. The next day was the eighth day of the first lunar month. Wushu's cavalry arrived in Lin'an. They drove away some of the people who were too late to leave, and launched a small-scale harassment on Lin'an. Zhou Pei sat in the princess' mansion, and combined with the staff of various staff, while keeping an eye on the situation in Lin'an City and even in the court, he issued orders outside the city in an orderly manner, ordering the rescue teams of Xu Liejun, Shen Cheng and others not to worry, stabilize their positions, and slowly Complete the coercion and encirclement of Wushu.
Even if someone in the mansion was uneasy and showed it in front of Zhou Pei, Zhou Pei just told them calmly and confidently:
"It will be kept."
In her heart, the rational side is still complicated and uneasy, but after so many years, after she has experienced such a long period of depression and despair, this is the first time she has seen some hope.
After so many years, Zhou Pei never saw Ning Yi since that midnight many years ago, after the farewell in Bianliang City. She went back to become a relative and stayed in Jiangning, while he went to Liangshan, killed the bandits in Liangshan, followed Grandpa Qin, killed the emperor, defeated Xixia, fought against Jurchen and even against the whole world. The stranger, standing opposite the Wu Dynasty, made Zhou Pei feel terrified.
But at the same time, in the bottom of her heart, there was always an image of the girl and the teacher when she said goodbye.
At that time, Ning Yi turned to leave, she looked at the back, and she always knew in her heart: no matter how difficult it was, as long as he appeared, there would always be a glimmer of warm hope.
That night, she dreamed of what happened that night.
In the early morning of the next day, all kinds of new information were sent. Zhou Pei stopped for a while when he saw one. The information is very simple. That was yesterday afternoon, when the emperor called Qin Hui and Lord Qin into the palace to summon the right thing.
After falling out with the ministers, Zhou Yong hid in the palace and didn't bother to take care of others. Yesterday, Wushu launched a painless attack on Lin'an. Zhou Yong summoned Qin Hui. Of course, there is a lot of information in the middle, so the following information The personnel handed over the news, but in general, it is not a big deal, and it is easy to know.
Zhou Pei left an impression in his mind, and then put it aside...