August, sunlight often paints magnificent colors, autumn is approaching, and the temperature has dropped slightly. Li Pin leaned on a stick, walking through the crowd, his health was poor, his face sallow, and he was panting. All around were refugees, their faces etched with bewilderment, caution, and fear as they trudged onward, mingled with the cries of children, hunger, and exhaustion.

Having traveled with these refugees for two months, Li Pin appeared no different from them.

They were passing through the countryside near Ze Prefecture, close to Gao Ping County. This area had not yet experienced large-scale warfare, but it must have been traversed by many fleeing refugees. The fields were barren, and there was no food nearby. After walking for a while, a commotion arose at the front of the line. Officials had sent people to distribute porridge ahead.

People surged forward, and Li Pin squeezed into the crowd, receiving some thin porridge in his small pot. He was desperately hungry, squatting by the roadside and eating without decorum. The road was crowded with people, and someone shouted loudly near the porridge stall, "The Righteous Army of Nine Bulls Mountain is recruiting! If you're willing to risk your life, you'll have food to eat! There are steamed buns! Joining the army immediately gets you two! Receive resettlement silver! Fellow villagers, the Jin dogs are arrogant, Yingtian City has fallen, General Chen is dead, General Ma is defeated, you are leaving your homes, where can you escape to? We are soldiers under Zong Ze's grandfather, determined to resist the Jin, as long as you are willing to risk your life, you'll have food, defeat the Jin, and you'll have money and grain..."

People coveted the steamed buns, and many squeezed forward. Some were held back by their wives, who cried bitterly on the road. There were many places where righteous armies recruited soldiers along the way, all enticing with money and grain. Although it was hard to say whether you could eat your fill after joining, fighting was not necessarily fatal. People were desperate, selling themselves into the army. When the time came to go to the battlefield, they would find an opportunity to run away, which was not uncommon.

But most people watched woodenly and cautiously. Generally speaking, refugees could cause mutinies and instability, but this was not always the case. Most of these people were farmers and villagers who had lived peaceful lives, never having left their village or county. After being driven out, they were mostly afraid and fearful. People were afraid of unfamiliar places and the unfamiliar future—though few knew what the future held.

A few older people who had seen a little of the world would only say, "When we get to the South, the court will arrange for us."

Some people also hoped to hide in the South for a few years, and then return to farming when the war was over.

Mothers held their children, watching everything around them warily and anxiously. Families gathered in twos and threes. Li Pin had nothing left. More than a month ago, he had saved a child who was starving to death while fleeing. That night, the child stole his bag and ran away. The three books that Ning Yi had given him, left behind by Qin Si Yuan, were also inside.

He had already finished reading the books. Losing them was just losing a memento. But it was just as well, every time he saw them, he felt as if those books were a demon in his heart. Recently, following these refugees, sometimes troubled and tormented by hunger, he could slightly alleviate the burden on his mind.

Here, grand principles could be discarded. All that existed were the next two or three *li* and the next two or three days, hunger, fear, and death. An old man lying by the roadside had stopped breathing, and the child kneeling beside the corpse looked desperate. Soldiers defeated at the front were fleeing in droves, holding steel knives and spears, confronting the fleeing civilians.

One night, there was looting and slaughter. Li Pin survived by hiding in a dark corner. However, the defeated Wu Dynasty soldiers killed hundreds of civilians. They looted property, killed anyone who saw them, and raped women among the refugees, before fleeing in panic...

From North to South, the Jurchen armies shattered the people's hearts.

After drinking the porridge, Li Pin still felt hungry, but hunger made him feel relieved. That night, he was so hungry that he went to the recruiting booth, wanting to simply join the army and earn two steamed buns, but his physique was too poor, and they refused. There were also other people at this booth, men who had wanted to join the army during the day but had been stopped. The next morning, Li Pin heard the crying of one family in the crowd.

The refugee columns heading south were endless, sometimes more people, sometimes fewer, most people did not even have a clear purpose. After another ten days or so, Li Pin saw fleeing soldiers in the procession. Ze Prefecture, Nine Bulls Mountain and other righteous armies had been defeated on the battlefield with the Jurchens.

The chaotic columns stretched endlessly, without beginning or end, never reaching the edge. Compared with the Wu Dynasty lands of the previous years, they were like two different worlds. Sometimes Li Pin raised his head in the procession, thinking about the days of the past few years, everything he had seen. Sometimes, looking at these fleeing people, he seemed to feel that it was the same world, the same people.

Ning Yi's words rang out like a curse: survival of the fittest. Heaven and earth had begun to become cruel, and the warm world was being stripped away and shattered piece by piece. What could people do, what should people do? When he was not so hungry, his head began to ache again. On this day, they arrived at the Yellow River, and a large number of refugees gathered. Wu Dynasty armies and righteous armies constantly recruited brave warriors, and more information came over.

It was said that the Northwest was now also in a state of war. The Western Army, once considered the Wu Dynasty's strongest, had declined since the death of Zhong Shidao. Not long ago, Wanyan Loushi roamed the Northwest, achieving near-invincible victories. Countless Wu Dynasty troops threw away their armor and fled. Now, the Zhe family had surrendered to the Jin, and Zhong Lie stubbornly defended Yan Prefecture, but it seemed that it was also in imminent danger.

It was said that after capturing Yingtian, the Jin army, unable to capture the Jian Shuo Emperor who had already moved south, began to wreak havoc in all directions, and several Wu Dynasty armies coming from the south had been defeated.

It was said that Elder Zong Ze was seriously ill...

On the banks of the Yellow River, where countless people gathered, autumn rain fell incessantly, causing chaos and making it difficult to speak. This was the panic that enveloped the entire world...

**************

Bianliang City, the autumn rain was as soft as butter, knocking down the yellow leaves from the trees. Yue Fei braved the rain and entered the courtyard.

Since capturing Yingtian, the Jurchens had temporarily slowed their advance south, instead expanding and consolidating their occupied areas. Several Jurchen armies had begun to sweep through Shandong and the areas north of the Yellow River that had not yet surrendered, while Zong Han's troops had begun to approach Bianliang again.

Outside Bianliang, where Elder Zong Ze had consolidated the city's defenses, Yue Fei led his troops in several skirmishes with small groups of Jurchens. Seeing Yue Fei's well-organized forces, the Jurchen cavalry retreated again—Bianliang, no longer the capital, had lost its value for the Jurchens to attack forcefully. In terms of restoring defensive works, Zong Ze was a powerful force. In more than half a year, he had basically restored 70-80% of the defensive forces near Bianliang, and due to the large number of righteous armies under his control, this area was still a hard bone for the Jurchens to chew on.

Only Yue Fei and others understood how difficult this was. Zong Ze spent his days running around and mediating between the leaders of the righteous armies, using every method to enable them to achieve results in resisting the Jurchens, but in fact, the resources he could use were very few, especially after the Emperor fled south. All these efforts seemed to be waiting for the day of failure to arrive – but the old man was still struggling to support it here, and Yue Fei never heard him complain.

Especially when the Jurchens sent envoys to persuade them to surrender, perhaps only this Elder Zong directly pushed several envoys out and beheaded them to offer as sacrifices to the flag. For Zong Ze, he had never thought about the need for negotiations. Bianliang was a desperate army that had burned its boats, but now there was no hope of victory.

Having persevered until now, the old man had finally fallen...

...

Yan Prefecture City.

Huge stones cut through the sky, slamming heavily into the ancient city walls, sending stone chips flying. Arrows rained down like raindrops, and the sounds of blood and fighting continuously resounded above and below the city.

Siege towers crashed into the city walls, then were ignited by fired arrows and poured oil, one soldier after another screamed and fell from the city tower.

Zhong Lie wielded his long saber, repelling a group of attacking soldiers who had climbed up the city walls on ladders. His hair was disheveled, his clothes soaked with sweat, he shouted, leading his Zhong family army sons in battle. The city walls were densely packed with people, but the attackers were not Jurchens, but more than 90,000 Han Chinese troops who had surrendered to Wanyan Loushi and were now responsible for attacking Yan Prefecture.

The commander of the army below the city was Yan Zhenguo, the former Pacification Commissioner of Qin Feng Road, who was also a Wu Dynasty general. When Wanyan Loushi came to attack, he surrendered to the Jin after a great defeat. Now, he had been attacking the city for seven days.

The Zhe family had surrendered to the Jin five days ago. Zhe Keqiu did not agree to attack Yan Prefecture, but he personally wrote a letter of persuasion, emphasizing that the situation was stronger than people, and he had no choice but to surrender. He also pointed out the situation that Xiaocang River was unwilling to participate in the war. Zhong Lie tore the letter to pieces and led his army to fight to this point.

The Zhong family army was the strongest force in the Western Army. Initially, there were only a few thousand elites left. In the past year or so, they had successively gathered old troops and recruited new soldiers. Now, the number of combatants gathered in Yan Prefecture was about 18,000 – this core army was different from the 30,000 sent to Fengxiang – at this time, defending the city could still be sustained, but the collapse of the Northwest was only a matter of time.

Wanyan Loushi, leading the strongest Jurchen army, had been holding back and had not yet moved, only supervising the battle from the rear. Zhong Lie knew the other party's strength. Once the other party saw the situation clearly and launched a thunderous blow, Yan Prefecture would probably fall. By then, there would be no Northwest anymore.

However, the Zhong family had guarded the Northwest for more than a hundred years, frightening the Xia people, so how could they surrender to foreign tribes!

He wielded his long saber, splitting an enemy who rushed up in half, and shouted loudly: "Yan thief! You traitors who sell your country for glory, dare to fight me—"

His voice was like thunder, and his awe-inspiring power boosted the morale of the warriors on the city walls.

Amidst the countless collisions of attack and defense, Zhong Lie raised his head, his hair already white.

The most regrettable thing is that he can't go back to Qingjian...

...

Miao Territory, Tie Tianying walked in the mountains, where the yellow leaves were dazzling. He looked back, and all around him were densely forested mountains.

A few small houses appeared at the end of the road, most of them in ruins. He walked over and knocked on the door of one of them, and then a questioning voice came from inside.

Tie Tianying spoke the secret code of the *jianghu*, and the other party opened the door, letting him in.

The person in the room was an old, lame Miao man, wearing a waist knife, looking unkind. After they exchanged names, the other party became respectful and addressed him as "Sir." Tie Tianying asked about some things, and the other party's eyes flickered, often answering only after thinking it over. Tie Tianying smiled and took out a small bag of silver from his arms.

"I am an official, but I have always known the rules of the *Greenwood*. You are in this place, life is not easy, this silver should be used to buy information from you, and also to supplement your household. However, Crippled Min, giving you silver is me following the rules, and also respecting you as a figure in this area, but Tie is not walking in the *jianghu* for the first time, and I don't tolerate sand in my eyes. I'm just inquiring about these things, it won't harm you. If you think you can say it, then say it, if you don't think you can, it doesn't matter if you say it directly, and I'll go find someone else. These are good words to say upfront."

After he said these words, the other party nodded repeatedly. This time, after accepting the silver, he spoke more readily, but after saying a few words, he hesitated again.

Tie Tianying snorted coldly, and the other party's body shook, and he raised his head.

"Sir Tie, this matter, I'm afraid it's not far away, I'll take you to see..."

After he finished speaking, the two went out immediately. Although the Miao man had a lame leg, he was still fast in the mountains, but Tie Tianying was a top-notch expert in the *jianghu*, so he naturally had no way of not keeping up. The two of them passed through a mountain pass in front of them and went to the top of the mountain. When they got to the top of the mountain, Tie Tianying frowned: "Crippled Min, are you going to amuse Tie, or have you arranged for someone to ambush Tie? Why not be more direct."

"Sir, you misunderstood, it should... it should be in front..." Crippled Min pointed forward. Tie Tianying frowned and continued to move forward. This mountain had an excellent view. At a certain moment, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and then he ran forward. Crippled Min looked at it and followed up suddenly, pointing to the front: "That's right, it should be them..."

In the distance, there was dust stirred up by a crowd moving in the mountains.

As they ran on the mountain, the scene gradually came into view. It was the tail end of an army that was moving, winding forward along the rugged mountains.

After leaving the Northwest, Tie Tianying spent some time in the *jianghu*. When the Jurchens invaded the South, he also came to the South to hide, and at this time he remembered some things from a few years ago. Back then in Hangzhou, Ning Yi had a relationship with Tyrant Saber. Later, in the conflict when escorting Fang Qifo to Beijing, Ning Yi cut off Fang Qifo's head in front of Liu Xigua, and the two had a feud that would never end, but later, when he understood Ning Yi's character more clearly, he noticed a trace of something wrong, and from Li Pin, he also unintentionally heard that there was still an unclear relationship between Ning Yi and Tyrant Saber.

Although he was in the South, his news was still well-informed. While the armies of Zong Han and Zong Fu were invading the South, the war god Wanyan Loushi was also wreaking havoc in the Northwest. When these three armies were beating the whole world down, Tie Tianying was curious about the movements of Xiaocang River – but in fact, Xiaocang River had no movements at all at present, and he did not dare to risk the world's great disapproval and go to war with the Jurchens – but Tie Tianying always felt that with that person's character, things would not be so simple.

He came to Miao Territory all the way, inquiring about the situation of Tyrant Saber, and the movements after Tyrant Saber occupied Lanhuan Dong - many people knew about these things, but it was useless to report them to the government. Miao Territory had dangerous terrain, and the Miao people had always been autonomous, and the government was no longer able to send troops for a small remnant of Fang La's rebels. Tie Tianying asked all the way...

On August 20th, Tie Tianying saw a shocking scene in the mountains.

After so many years, the last remnant of the Fang La Yongle Dynasty uprising, which had been entrenched and silent in a corner of Miao Territory, had sent troops from Lanhuan Dong.

The stretching army, just like a long dragon, was pushing through the mountains of Miao Territory in Tie Tianying's view.

***************

August 20th evening, heavy rain.

Yue Fei and other officials and generals were in the courtyard, listening to Zong Ze on the sickbed say many things.

These words were still about fighting the Jin, and then he also said some things about officialdom, how to ask for help, how to make things work, and so on. The old man's official career was not smooth either. He was upright and honest all his life, and although he could do things, he began to run into obstacles when he reached a certain level. In his early years, he saw that many things could not be done, so he resigned and left. This time, the court needed him, so he stood up again. The old man was upright and honest, and even if many of the supports above had never existed, he tried his best to restore the defenses and order of Bianliang, maintain the righteous army, and promote their resistance to the Jin. Even after the Emperor fled south, many ideas had become bubbles, the old man was still making his vague efforts without saying a word of complaint.

Now, the war in the North is still continuing. On the land north of the Yellow River, several righteous armies and government troops are still competing with the Jin for territory, which is an indelible contribution of the old man. Even if they are constantly being defeated, they are all consuming the Jurchens' energy to invade the South at this time – although the old man has always hoped that the court's army can be inspired by His Majesty and resolutely push north. Now they can only defend.

So he can only explain some ideas for the next defense.

In the afternoon, the old man fell asleep for a period of time. This sleep lasted until night. After night fell, the rain was still falling *shuashuashua*, making the courtyard look dilapidated and desolate. Around *xushi* (7-9 pm), someone said that the old man had woken up, but he was looking around with his eyes open, not knowing what he was thinking, and had not reacted. Yue Fei and others went in to see him. At a quarter past *xushi*, the old man on the bed suddenly moved. His son Zong Ying leaned over, and the old man grabbed him, opened his mouth, and said something, which seemed to be: "Cross the river."

"What?" Zong Ying did not hear clearly.

"Cross the river." The old man looked at him, and then said for the third time: "Cross the river!"

He stared, stopped breathing.

Yue Fei felt his nose tingle, and tears fell down. Countless cries rang out.

At this moment before leaving, the old man confused hope with reality.

——The opportunity to cross the river had long been lost. It no longer existed from the moment the Jian Shuo Emperor left Yingtian.

Autumn rain pattered, yellow leaves fluttered. In every era, there are always lives that can be called great. Their departure will change the appearance of an era, and a part of their souls will be attached to other people, passing on. After Qin Si Yuan, Zong Ze also failed to change the fate of the world, but after Zong Ze left, the righteous armies north of the Yellow River soon began to disintegrate and go their separate ways.

Bianliang fell, Yue Fei ran to the South, welcoming a new transformation. Only the words "cross the river" were never forgotten in this life. Of course, that's another story.

...

A very small corner of the world, Xiaocang River.

A peaceful autumn.

When the yellow leaves fell, the valley was eerily quiet.

Different from the commotion before the troops were sent to attack Western Xia a year ago, this time, some kind of understanding has already dawned on the hearts of many people.

In the evening, Luo Ye tidied his military uniform and walked towards the small auditorium on the hillside. Soon, he met Hou Wu, and then other officers. People came in and sat down one after another. After the crowd was almost full, they waited for a while, and Ning Yi came in.

Everyone sat upright, and their hands, placed on their knees, clenched into fists.

Outside the window, it was a pleasant autumn night...