Wearing a yellow military uniform, carrying a medicine box and guns, Ning Ji saw the quaint city wall of Zizhou Mansion in front of the army.
In September of the eleventh year of Wu Jianshuo, the year when Zhou Yong died, Ning Ji went from thirteen to fourteen, and gradually turned into a teenager.
In the past two years, Ning Ji, who was traveling with the army, saw more things than in the past eleven years.
He was born in the autumn of Jinghan's thirteenth year when the Jurchen first went south. In the fourteenth year of Jinghan, Ning Yi rebelled against the monarch, and when the family went to Xiaocanghe, he was only one year old. Father only had time to name him at that time. Killing the monarch and rebelling against the world seems a bit cold, but it is actually a name full of pride.
When he was young, he grew up in such environments as Xiaocanghe and Qingmu Village. When he began to remember things gradually, the army began to turn to the southwestern mountainous area. Therefore, what Ning Ji saw since he was a child was mostly a barren environment, but also a relatively simple environment. , parents, brothers, enemies, friends, all kinds of people are quite clear.
As the Huaxia Army broke out of Liangshan and entered the Chengdu Plain, after Ning Ji joined the military medical team, the surrounding gradually began to become complicated. He began to see big fields, big cities, lofty city walls, row upon row of gardens, people with extreme luxury, people with numb eyes, people living in small villages and dying of starvation... These things, and What we saw within the scope of the Huaxia Army was very different.
With the days of military medical team activities, sometimes I feel different gratitude and goodwill, but at the same time, there are also various malicious attacks.
In the more than ten years since Ning Yi killed Zhou Zhe, the world's malice towards the Huaxia Army and Ning Yi's family has never ceased. The Huaxia Army is very effective in internal rectification and management. Some conspiracies and assassinations are difficult to reach Ning Yi's family. It may have shrunk to the original small circle. Among them, although the news of Ning Ji's joining the military medical team was blocked within a certain range, it was soon spread through various channels.
In the year when Ning Ji was thirteen years old, he encountered a total of nine conspiracy assassinations, two of which happened in front of him. In February of the eleventh year, he shot for the first time. Today, young people under the age of fourteen already have three lives in their hands.
For Ning Ji, killing the enemy in person did not have a big impact on his psychology, but in the past two years, many things he felt in this complicated world still made him become Some were reticent.
Since childhood, the materials inside the Huaxia Army are not very full. Mutual assistance and thrift have always been advocated in the Huaxia Army. Ning Ji has seen since childhood that people support each other in a difficult environment. The knowledge and insights of the Chinese army are shared with others in the army. Facing the enemy, the soldiers in the Huaxia army are always tenacious and unyielding.
After entering the Chengdu Plain, he found that this world is not like this. The rich and prosperous people live a rotten life. It seems that the learned Confucian scholars oppose the Huaxia Army, and the arguments of the people who are arrogant are infuriating. Under them, the farmers live a muddy life. Yes, but they all thought it was a matter of course. Some people who lived a hard life even held a hostile attitude towards the members of the Huaxia Army who went to the countryside to donate medicine and medicine.
Why do these people live like this? Ning Ji couldn't think clearly. For a year or two, he has taken it for granted that the enemy is deliberately trying to kill him, and occasionally pretending to be a pitiful person to shoot at him.
The education in the Huaxia Army to "be as ruthless and ruthless to the enemy as in the harsh winter" is extremely in place. Ning Ji felt that the enemy must be cunning and violent since he was a child. Just like a little girl, she went to Ning Ji's side to see a doctor among the crowd in the countryside. Her other companion in the team was seen through, and the dwarf suddenly attacked. and escape.
The assassin underestimated the young people who were jointly trained by Lu Hongti, Liu Xigua, Chen Fan, Du Sha and others. When the dagger stabbed, Ning Ji grabbed the knife and slashed the opponent's throat with a backhand. Blood sprayed onto his clothes. He also stepped back two steps and was ready to kill the opponent's comrades in the crowd at any time.
He was not confused by these encounters, and the consolation that his parents and brothers rushed over afterwards only made him feel warm, but he did not think it was necessary. The complicated world outside made him a little confused, but fortunately, something simpler and more straightforward was coming.
In the second half of the eleventh year of Jianshuo, the situation on the Chengdu Plain has become extremely tense, the Wu Dynasty is falling apart, and the battle between the Jurchen and the Huaxia Army is about to become a reality. Against this background, the Huaxia Army began to devour and digest the entire Chengdu Plain in an orderly manner.
The Huaxia Army began to smash out of Liangshan in the ninth year of Jianshuo. It was originally planned to annex the entire Sichuan Fourth Road, but after reaching it, the Jurchen went south. In order to show its attitude, the Huaxia Army broke through Chengdu and moved within the territory of Zizhou. stopped.
Zizhou is located 100 kilometers northeast of Chengdu. It was originally the second largest city and an important commercial town on the Chengdu Plain. After crossing Zizhou for another 100 kilometers, it is the most important pass to control Sichuan and Shu: Jianmen Pass . With the approach of the Jurchen, these places have also become the most critical places in the future wars.
Two years ago, the Huaxia Army's entry into Sichuan scared off a group of local aborigines. Later, the war stopped in Zizhou. Many local gentry and Confucians who were pro-Wu Dynasty settled in Zizhou. After the situation eased a little, some people began to fight with the Huaxia Army. In business, Zizhou has become a transit point between the two forces, and it has developed thriving in just one year.
In the second half of this year, the Huaxia Fifth Army began to advance to Zizhou, and negotiations with the various forces also began. During this period, many people naturally came out to resist, criticize, and accuse the Huaxia Army of the truce years ago. It was a show, but on the premise that the Jurchens came, everyone understood that these things could not be solved by simple verbal protests.
Because of this, although the nobles and gentry near Zizhou seemed to be making a lot of trouble in July and August, at the end of August, the Huaxia Army successfully negotiated the unconditional merger of Zizhou and the Huaxia Army, and then the army entered the city and took Zizhou without a fight. .
On September 11, Ning Ji entered the city with the third batch of troops with his luggage on his back. At this time, there were three regiments of the Huaxia Fifth Army, about 5,000 people, and they had already begun to push toward the direction of Jiange. The engineering regiment entered Zizhou on a large scale to strengthen the defense around it. Some of the gentry, officials and ordinary people who originally lived in Zizhou began to evacuate to the rear of the Chengdu Plain.
In such a situation, inside and outside the ancient city of Zizhou, the atmosphere was chilling and tense. People were looking forward to moving to the south. The streets were crowded and in a hurry. Since some of the garrison patrols had been taken over by the Huaxia Army soldiers, the whole order did not get out of control.
Instead, Ning Ji felt kind to such an atmosphere. He followed the army through the city and temporarily settled in a hospital near the military camp in the east of the city with the army medical team. The owner of this hospital was originally a wealthy family and had already left. The front and back yard of the hospital was not small, but it seemed quiet now. Ning Ji put the package in the room and polished the three long or short knives on his body as usual. , before the evening, a young lady in an ink blue military uniform came to him.
The girl's figure is a head taller than Ning Ji, and her short hair only reaches her shoulders. She has a youth and beauty that is rarely seen in this era, even deviant. Her smile was warm, and she looked at the knife sharpening boy squatting in the corner of the yard, and came straight over: "Ningji, you're here, are you tired on the road?"
"Sister-in-law." Ning Ji laughed and rinsed the short blade in his palm that was not as long as a finger with well water. When he stood up, the short blade had disappeared between his sleeves and said, "Not tired at all."
"Your eldest brother asked me to take you to dinner. He is in the household registration office in the north of the city. There are too many things."
The girl here is Min Chuyi, Ning Xi's fiancee, who is seventeen years old this year.
As the eldest son of Ning Yi, Ning Xi has begun to gradually participate in the overall operational research work in the past two years. Once he has a lot of business work, it is difficult for him to focus on martial arts and self-defense. Relatively speaking, Min Chuyi and Ning Ji are the real disciples who have obtained the true inheritance of Lu Hongti. Ning Xi is four years older than Ning Ji. However, in terms of martial arts, his skills have been faintly tied by Ning Ji, who is under 14, but Min Chuyi seems to be gentle, but his martial arts are stable above Ning Ji. The two practice martial arts together, and their relationship is like a brother and sister. Many times, Ning Ji and Min Chuyi meet more often than with his brother.
The two put their things away and head north through the city. The temporary household registration set up by the Huaxia Army is located near the original Zizhou Fuya. Since the delivery between the two parties has just been completed, the review and comparison of household registration has been done in a hurry. For the stability of the rear, the Huaxia Army stipulates that those who want to leave the city and go south must first register Review, this makes the whole street in front of Defu Ya look noisy, and hundreds of Chinese soldiers are nearby to maintain order.
Ning Xi's work place is in the courtyard of a nearby tea house. He has followed Chen Tuozi to contact the spy and espionage work within the Huaxia Army for more than a year. He has blocked the several assassinations of Ning Ji by people from Green Forest and even Jurchen. . Ning Ji, who is now much shorter than his elder brother, is a little dissatisfied with this, and thinks that he should be involved in such a thing, but after seeing his elder brother, the young man who has just transformed from a child is still quite happy, and shouted: "Big brother ." He smiled brightly.
The brothers then went in to greet Chen Tuozi, Ning Xi reported leave, changed into civilian clothes and led her brother to the most famous Red House in Zizhou for dim sum. The two brothers sat down in the corner of the hall. Ning Xi may have inherited her father's habit and was quite curious about the famous food. Although Ning Ji was young, he had no appetite. He killed three people this year. Assassins, although sometimes they feel scared, but more like a father, he faintly feels that he is invincible in the world. He is eager to fight the next battle. After sitting down for a while, he begins to ask: "Brother, when will the Jurchen arrive?"
"The situation in Lizhou is very complicated. After Luo Wen's surrender, Zong Han's army has already been pushed to the periphery. We can't say for sure now." Ning Xi said in a low voice, reaching out to order from the menu, "The crystal cake in this restaurant is the best. Famous, would you like two bowls?"
"Brother, you have the final say." Ning Ji pulled the stool and sat closer, folded his hands on the table, like a serious student, "Brother, when are we going to Jiange?"
"The barbecue slices can be a little better. I heard that the cut is very thin and delicious. I have heard it several times." Ning Xi licked her lips.
"Brother, when are we going to Jiange?" Ning Ji repeated.
Ning Xi put down the menu: "When you are a doctor, don't always think about running to the front line."
"I can help, I'm already very good at healing."
"First of all, even if you win the Jiange, Dad doesn't plan to let you go." Ning Xi frowned, then turned her gaze back to the menu, "Second, things in the Jiange are not that simple."
"Si Zhongxian refuses to cooperate with us? That's really a man..." Ning Ji said, imitating an adult's tone.
The war is imminent, and there are often meetings and discussions within the Huaxia Army. Although Ning Ji is in the military medical team, as Ning Yi's son, after all, he still has access to various sources and even reliable internal analysis.
Jianmen Pass is the most important pass in Shu, and it is a must for military strategists. Although it is under the jurisdiction of Lizhou, the garrison of Jianmen Pass is composed of the main force of 20,000 forbidden troops. that power. It was originally an important checkpoint to prevent the Huaxia army from leaving Sichuan.
However, until now, the Huaxia Army has no intention of forcibly leaving Sichuan, and there has never been a major conflict with Jiange. At the beginning of this year, Wanyan Xiyin and others released their intention to persuade the capital to only attack the southwest. On the one hand, the Huaxia Army released goodwill, and on the other hand, sent representatives to negotiate with the Jiange defender Si Zhongxian and the gentry leader Chen's family. Defense of Jurchen matters.
In the past information of the Huaxia Army, Si Zhongxian was highly regarded, and believed that he was loyal to the Wu Dynasty, worried about the national disaster, and cared for the people. At critical moments, especially when the Jurchen was rampant, he was worthy of winning. , and people who can think clearly.
In the first half of this year, such communication is said to be quite smooth, and Ning Ji also got the news that Jiange may face the Jurchen head-on in Jiange. For the army, it may be the biggest benefit, but looking at the attitude of the elder brother, this matter has been repeated.
Ning Ji's first reaction was that Si Zhongxian had a stubborn temperament and would rather face Wanyan Zonghan alone than join forces with the Huaxia Army. But after saying this, the elder brother frowned, still looking at the menu: "I'll make up for you with a small portion of pig's feet."
"Si Zhongxian wants to surrender?" Ning Ji raised his brows, "Didn't you say he is a reasonable person?"
"The situation is very complicated, not so simple. Si Zhongxian's attitude is a bit strange now." Ning Xi closed the menu, "I was going to tell you this, so don't be so anxious."
Ning Ji nodded, his eyes were a little gloomy, but he became quiet. He was not supposed to be very lively at first, but he has become more and more quiet in the past year. At this time, he is obviously thinking about his own thoughts. Ning Xi sighed, "Okay, okay, let me tell you about this first."
Ning Ji nodded, Ning Xi poured some tea and continued: "In the past two months, the Wu Dynasty has failed, you know it. Jurchen is so arrogant, more people are coming to our side. Including Zizhou, I thought it would be fine to fight one or two battles, but in the end, they came in without a fight, do you understand the reasoning in the middle?"
Ning Ji raised his chin: "We are the only ones in the world who can fight with Jurchen. It is better to rely on us than to rely on Jurchen."
"This is part of it. Many of us think so, but the second brother, the most fundamental reason is that Zizhou is close to us. If they don't surrender, they will be destroyed by us before the Jurchen comes. In the middle, it's really hard to say whether they are taking refuge in us or Jurchen."
"...So Si Zhongxian wants to take refuge in Jurchen? Isn't that just killing a useless dog emperor! They hate us so much!"
Ning Ji's eyes widened and angered, Ning Xi shook her head and smiled: "Not only these, but the main reason was mentioned in the letter my father gave me half a month ago. Second brother, Wu Chao is still there. At that time, people in the court of the Wu Dynasty said that they would drive away tigers and swallow wolves, saying that they would cede the land thousands of miles west of Xiangfan to the Jurchens so that the Jurchens could beat us. This statement sounds interesting, but no one dared to do so. Even if someone brought it up, the opposition from them was fierce because it was a very humiliating thing."
"...But today, his face is really lost." Ning Ji listened attentively, Ning Xi paused for a moment before saying this, he said, "Today, the Wu Chao is really over. They have no face anymore, and they are about to perish. At this time, many of them remembered that it would be really good for us to fight Jurchen and lose both.”
Ning Ji stared, opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. After all, he was still young, so his comprehension ability was a little slow. Ning Xi took a breath and flipped through the recipe. He looked around and lowered his voice:
"In the past two months, the assassination intentions against you and me, against father and mother, have begun to increase. This was organized by some former families of the Wu Dynasty. They knew that the Wu Dynasty was about to die, and they knew that the Southwest War was about to break out. They hope that we and the Jurchens will have more lasting feuds, such as kidnapping you and me, killing them and throwing them into the Jurchen camp. In this way, my father will lose his mind when facing the Jurchen. When we went to Zizhou for half a month, we found a group of guys who wanted to attack Aunt Jin, because Aunt Jin occasionally went out to direct performances, and they wanted to arrest Aunt Jin in the Jurchen camp... "
Ning Ji's fingers grabbed the edge of the table, only to hear a click, the texture of the wooden table cracked slightly, the boy suppressed his voice: "Aunt Jin has lost a child!"
The edges of Ning Xi's eye sockets also showed a little blood red, but her words remained calm: "These guys are very unhappy now. But second brother, I'm not telling you about this to make you get angry with the table and get angry. The most important thing that my father has warned us about since we were young, don't forget it."
"I know." Ning Ji took a breath and slowly released the table, "I've calmed down."
"Angry is the driving force, but the most important thing is to calmly see the reality clearly, face it objectively, and systematically exert everyone's strength. Only then can you exert the greatest ability, cause the greatest damage to the enemy, and make them the least happy. It's also the most uncomfortable... In the past few months, the danger outside has also been very big for us, and Zizhou has only joined here. It is more complicated than the south. You must cheer up... As for Si Zhongxian's repetition, it is probably because of this reason, but Not sure right now, I heard that we are still trying to figure out a way ahead.”
"Yeah." Ning Ji nodded, holding back his anger was extremely difficult for a boy who was not yet fourteen years old, but the experience of the military medical team in the past year or so gave him the strength to face the reality, he had to watch Severely injured companions had their legs sawed off, and they had to watch people die in pain with blood. There are many things in this world that surpass human power and take lives. Wrong choice.
"Twenty days ago, your first-year sister was also injured and bled for half the night. It's just recently... So we need to eat more. This is the way the family is, and the same is true for our companions. You should be stronger and calmer. People around you will be less hurt. Shall we order all these uneaten items?"
"...Brother, stop joking, just order what you like." Ning Ji smiled perfunctorily, clenching his fists slightly, and after a while, he finally said, "But why? They can't beat Jurchen. , their place was occupied by the Jurchen, and everyone is suffering! Only we can defeat the Jurchen, we are also good to the people around us, the army goes out to help people reclaim the land, we go out to help people to see a doctor, and we don't receive much money... They Why do you still hate us! Are we worse than the Jurchens? Brother, how can people like this live in the world!"
He slapped his small palm on the table: "I wish I could kill them all! They should all be damned!"
Ning Xi was silent for a moment, then handed the menu to her brother: "Forget it, let's order first..."