August, the autumn wind stirred up fast-moving dust on the yellow earth. The northwest was in turmoil, and strange things were quietly brewing.

Since ancient times, the Northwest has been known as a land of four battles. In the previous decades, even centuries, there had been frequent wars, which fostered a fierce folk custom. However, since the establishment of the Wu Dynasty, with several generations of Western Army guarding it, this area had finally achieved relative peace. The Zhong, Zhe, and Yang families fought against the Western Xia, the Tubo, and the Liao, establishing great military achievements while also forming an ecological pattern of parochialism in this frontier region far from the mainstream.

The unrest in the Northwest was relative to the heartland of the Wu Dynasty. However, since Zhong Shidao of the Zhong family pushed the Western Army's front line across the Hengshan Mountains with all its strength, and the Western Xia were at a disadvantage, the people of the Northwest had actually enjoyed many years of relative peace.

This pattern was broken by the rise of the Jin Kingdom and its southward advance. Subsequently, the Zhong family declined, and the Zhe family became cautious. As the flames of war rekindled in the Northwest, the Black Flag Army, a foreign force that suddenly inserted itself, still gave the people of the Northwest a strange and unfamiliar impression.

Before July of this year, perhaps not many people in the Northwest knew of the existence of such an army. Those who had vaguely heard of it understood that it was a bandit force entrenched in the mountains. Those with greater connections knew that this army had committed shocking rebellious acts in the heartland of the Wu Dynasty and was now being pursued by various parties, seeking refuge here.

As for whether this army might pose a threat to the Northwest, various forces naturally had some guesses. However, before these guesses became serious, the real trouble had already arrived. The Western Xia army swept in, pushing across half of the Northwest, and people no longer cared about the bandits in the mountains. It was not until June of this year that the long-silent Black Flag Army leaped out of the eastern mountains and crushed the Western Xia army with astonishingly overwhelming combat power that people suddenly remembered that such a team existed. At the same time, they felt unbelievable and unfamiliar with this team.

After returning to Yanzhou City, the Black Flag Army still seemed quite different from other armies. Neither the external forces nor the people of Yanzhou City had any sense of familiarity with this army and its leadership. This familiarity was perhaps not affection, but rather the expectation that they would do the same things as everyone else: Now that there was peace, they would summon celebrities, appease the local gentry, understand the surrounding ecology, and discuss how to distribute the benefits. As rulers, what arrangements and expectations did they have for future interactions?

These things did not happen.

"We Chinese people should help each other."

"Since we are all Chinese, we have the obligation to protect our homes and country!"

"This is what we should do; there's no need to be polite."

In the span of a month or two, the Chinese Army actually did many things. They went door-to-door to register the households in and around Yanzhou City and then made arrangements for the grain issue that everyone cared about: Anyone who came and wrote the two characters "华夏" (Huaxia) would receive grain per capita. At the same time, this army did some emergency assistance in the city, such as arranging to take in orphans, beggars, and the elderly after the Western Xia massacre. The medical team treated those who had been injured by weapons during these days. They also mobilized some people to repair the city defenses and roads and paid them wages.

If they wanted to win the hearts of the people, these things were already very good.

However, for some of the original forces and clans in the city, it was somewhat difficult to understand what the other party wanted to do. If everyone was truly treated equally in the other party's eyes, those with family backgrounds and influence would feel very uncomfortable. The Chinese Army was too powerful. Were they really so "independent," and were they really unwilling to pay attention to anyone? If this was the case, no one knew what would happen next.

If this foreign army relied on its own strength and disregarded all the local snakes, even planning to wipe them out all at once, for some people, that would be a hellish situation even more terrifying than the Western Xia. Of course, they had not been back in Yanzhou for very long, or perhaps they wanted to see the reactions of these forces first, planning to deliberately eliminate some troublemakers to serve as a warning for future rule. That would not be too strange.

While the major clans of Yanzhou were uneasy, the various forces outside the city, such as the Zhong family and the Zhe family, were also secretly speculating about all of this. After the situation in the vicinity became relatively stable, envoys from the two families had also come to Yanzhou to express their greetings and gratitude to the Black Flag Army. Privately, they also had some contact with the major clans and gentry in the city. The Zhong family was the original owner of Yanzhou, but the Zhong family army had been decimated. Although the Zhe family had never ruled Yanzhou, they were now the leader of the Western Army, and people were willing to have some contact with them in case the Black Flag Army really went against the grain and wanted to wipe out all the strongmen.

"...The temperament of the people in the Northwest is fierce. The Western Xia could not subdue them with tens of thousands of troops. Even if a few thousand people are invincible on the battlefield, how can they really break everyone? Did they take Yanzhou City just to massacre it again?"

When this message reached Qingjian, Zhe Keqiu, who had just stabilized the situation in Qingjian City, said such cool words on the one hand, while on the other hand, his heart was full of doubts. He dared not reach out to Yanzhou for the time being, but if the other party really went against the grain, and the local snakes in Yanzhou who had the power to speak contacted him, he could certainly take over. At the same time, Zhong Lie, far away in Yuanzhou, probably had the same emotions. Whether they were gentry or commoners, they actually preferred to deal with locals because they were familiar.

Such doubts arose for a while, but on the whole, the forces of the Western Xia had not withdrawn, and the situation in the Northwest had not yet stabilized. How to fight Qinzhou, how to divide the benefits, whether the Black Flag Army would send troops, whether the Zhong family would send troops, and how the Zhe family would move – these undercurrents never ceased. In the minds of Zhe Keqiu, Zhong Lie, and others, the Black Flag was certainly powerful, but in the full battle with the Western Xia, they had also suffered many losses. They were entrenched in Yanzhou to recuperate, and perhaps they would not send troops again. But even so, it was worth trying to see how they acted and whether they were just putting on a show after a major battle...

At the end of August, Zhe Keqiu was preparing to send an invitation to the Black Flag Army to discuss the matter of sending troops to pacify Qinzhou. Before the envoy had been sent, several messages that were so shocking that they were unbelievable had already arrived.

A branch of the Black Flag Army emerged from the Xiaocang River Mountains again, escorting Western Xia prisoners away from Yanzhou and heading towards Qinzhou. A few days later, King Li Qianshun of Western Xia returned Qinzhou and other places to the Black Flag Army. The Western Xia army retreated north of the Hengshan Mountains.

The Black Flag Army, which had been holding back, had quietly settled the situation in the Northwest. This incredible situation left Zhong Lie, Zhe Keqiu, and others stunned and feeling somewhat powerless. Not long after, even stranger things followed.

Envoys from the Black Flag Army came to Qingjian and Yuanzhou respectively, inviting Zhe and Zhong to go to Qinzhou for negotiations to resolve all issues, including the ownership of Qinzhou.

After receiving this invitation, Zhe Keqiu stared blankly in the reception room of his temporary residence in Qingjian City for a long time, and then looked at the envoy in front of him with the eyes of someone examining something indescribable. He was the head of the Zhe family, known for his shrewdness and composure. All the way the Black Flag Army's envoy had come in, he had greeted him with great enthusiasm, but only at this time did he seem a little flustered.

"Discuss... the ownership of Qinzhou?"

Perhaps the world was really about to be turned upside down, and he could no longer understand it – he thought.

Soon after, Zhe Keqiu and Zhong Lie arrived in Qinzhou and met the puzzling leader of the Black Flag Army, Ning Liheng, the scholar who had assassinated the Wu Dynasty emperor in the Golden Palace.

At this time, Qinzhou City, which had been in the hands of the Western Xia for two months, was scarred and devastated. The surviving population was less than a third of what it had been before, and a large number of people were on the verge of starvation. There were also signs of an epidemic emerging. When the Western Xia people left, they had transported away most of the wheat that had been harvested nearby. The Black Flag Army had exchanged some grain with the Western Xia prisoners and was now distributing porridge and relief on a large scale in the city. This was the scene that Zhong Lie and Zhe Keqiu saw when they arrived.

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

This rebel named Ning Yi was not friendly.

This was the first impression of Zhong Lie and Zhe Keqiu after meeting him.

A relatively orderly military camp, a chaotic and busy scene, soldiers were distributing porridge and medicine to the people, and collecting corpses for burning. Zhong and Zhe met the other party in such a situation. In the midst of the hectic busyness, this junior, who was not yet thirty, wore a stern face, said hello, and did not give them a smile. Zhe Keqiu's first impression was that the other party was acting, but he could not be sure, because the other party's military camp and soldiers also had the same rigid image in the midst of the busyness.

"During this time, too many people have died in Qinzhou and Yanzhou. I hate to see these people and corpses!" Leading the two through the ruined city, looking at the people who had suffered so much, the scholar named Ning Liheng showed a look of disgust. "I have been thinking hard about such things, and these days, I have some immature views. Would the two generals like to hear them?"

"Mr. Ning is concerned about the suffering of the people. Please speak freely."

"I think it's all your fault."

Ning Yi's gaze swept over them: "Living in a place, protecting the territory and ensuring the safety of the people, this is your responsibility. If you don't do things well and mess things up, no matter what reasons you give, it's useless. If you find reasons, they will die without a burial place. I think the two generals should reflect on this matter!"

Before coming here, they really did not expect that the leader of this invincible army would be such an upright and righteous person. The corners of Zhe Keqiu's mouth twitched to the point where his cheeks hurt. But honestly, such a character was not annoying in the current situation. Zhong Lie quickly admitted his mistake, and Zhe Keqiu also reflected on it as well. The group climbed the city wall of Qinzhou.

"...I took root in Xiaocang River, originally intending to do business in the Northwest. At that time, the old Prime Minister Zhong had not yet passed away, and I had a fluke mentality. But soon after, the Western Xia people came, and the old Prime Minister Zhong also passed away. We in the Black Flag Army don't want to fight, but there is no way. We came out of the mountains just to earn a life. Now that the Northwest can be settled, it is a good thing. I am a person who follows the rules, so the brothers under my command are willing to follow me. They are choosing their own path. I believe that in this world, everyone has the right to choose their own path!"

When Ning Yi said the first half of his words, Zhong and Zhe both nodded in agreement and were willing to say a few flattering words. However, when he reached the second half, the scholar seriously spread out his hands towards the scarred city, and the two of them became more or less suspicious, frowning at each other and exchanging glances.

Such a person... no wonder he would kill the emperor...

Such a person... how can there be such a person...

Ning Yi's words did not stop: "The people of this Qinzhou City have suffered a lot. When they are slightly settled down, I will let them choose their own path. The two generals, you are the backbone of the Northwest, and they are also your responsibility to protect the territory and ensure the safety of the people. I have now counted the number of people and households in Qinzhou. When the grain on hand is properly distributed, I will launch a vote to see if they are willing to follow me, or willing to follow the Zhong family army or the Zhe family army – if they choose not to follow me, then I will hand over Qinzhou to the person they choose."

The top of the city was already silent. Zhong Lie and Zhe Keqiu were shocked and speechless. They watched the cold-faced scholar raise his hand: "To let everyone in the world be able to choose their own path is my lifelong wish."

"The two of you, the situation ahead is not easy." The scholar turned his head to look at them. "First of all, there is the grain for the winter. This city is a mess. If you don't want it, I won't just leave the mess to you. As long as they are in my hands, I will do my best to take responsibility for them. If it comes into your hands, you will also rack your brains. So I invited the two generals here to meet face to face. If you are unwilling to take over Qinzhou from me in this way, thinking it is too difficult to manage, I understand. But if you are willing, there are many things we need to talk about."

He turned around and walked forward: "I have carefully considered that if there is really going to be such a vote, many things need to be supervised. How to conduct each process of their voting, how to count the votes, which local elders and respected people need to be invited to supervise. The choices of tens of thousands of people, everything must be fair and just in order to convince the public. I plan to discuss these things with you and write them down in detail..."

Ning Yi rambled on as he walked, and Zhong and Zhe seemed to be listening to a fairy tale.

"...To be honest, I am from a merchant background and am good at business but not at governing people, so I am willing to give them a chance. If things go smoothly here, even Yanzhou, I am willing to conduct a vote, or co-govern with the two of you. However, no matter what the voting result is, at least I must ensure that the trade routes can pass through and not hinder the people of our Xiaocang River and Qingmu Village from passing through the Northwest – when I am financially well-off, I am willing to give them a choice. If there is no way to go in the future, our Chinese Army will not hesitate to fight to the death with anyone."

Ning Yi frowned, mentioned the matter of trade routes, and casually brought it up. After that, the two sides talked about many things. Ning Yi occasionally said: "...Of course, the two generals should not be too happy too early. People are not plants or trees; how can they be without feelings? Our Black Flag Army has done so many things, they see it in their eyes and remember it in their hearts, and they may not necessarily choose you."

The two laughed heartily and nodded repeatedly.

That night, Zhong Lie and Zhe Keqiu, along with their entourage and staff, gathered in the guest house as if they were dreaming. They did not care about the details the other party said today, but rather whether the other party was lying in the overall concept.

Let the people vote to choose who governs this place? Does he really intend to do this?

In the dark pavilion in the distance, Ning Yi looked at the lights there from afar, and then withdrew his gaze. Beside him, a scout who had returned from the north was softly narrating what he had seen there. Ning Yi tilted his head and occasionally asked questions. After the scout left, he sat quietly in the darkness for a long time. Not long after, he lit the oil lamp and buried his head in recording some of his thoughts.

The guards responsible for the security work occasionally turned their heads to look at the figure in the window. Since the departure of the Jurchen envoy, Ning Yi had become increasingly busy, promoting everything he wanted in an orderly and meticulous manner...

In the next two days, the three parties met and mainly discussed some unimportant matters. These matters mainly included the things that needed to be guaranteed after the Qinzhou vote, that is, no matter what the voting result was, both families needed to guarantee the convenience and preferential treatment for the Xiaocang River caravan when doing business and passing through the Northwest region. In order to protect the interests of the caravan, the Xiaocang River could use methods such as priority rights, supervision rights, and mutual checks and balances between the parties to prevent one party from suddenly turning against the Xiaocang River caravan.

Ning Yi also emphasized to them the taxes that the Zhong and Zhe parties could get from these businesses – but honestly, they were not very concerned about it.

In this way, it seemed that everyone was happy and doing their own thing. Not long after, an activity that made everyone feel unbelievable happened on the land of the Northwest.