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Yingtian.

The enthronement ceremony of the new emperor had not been over for long, and everything in this ancient city, which was originally the secondary capital of the Wu Dynasty, seemed extraordinarily lively, with vehicles and merchants coming and going from the north and south gathering here. Because of the new emperor's ascension to the throne, a new imperial examination will be held in Yingtian Prefecture this autumn, and the gathering of scholars and martial artists has temporarily made this ancient city overcrowded.

In the past few decades, the Wu Dynasty once seemed vibrant due to the development of commerce. After the civil strife in the Liao Kingdom, the speculators of the Wu Dynasty, realizing that there might be an opportunity in the world, once became excited, thinking that the critical moment of revitalization had arrived. However, with the subsequent rise of the Jin Kingdom and the bloody battles on the battlefield, people realized that the Wu Dynasty's army, which had lost its vigor, could no longer keep up with the pace of this era. Now, after the Jin Kingdom invaded the south twice, although the new dynasty "Jianshuo" was re-established in Yingtian, the road ahead for the Wu Dynasty is already fraught with difficulties.

When a country is about to perish, monsters appear; when the sea is turbulent, heroes emerge. After King Kang ascended the throne and changed the reign to Jianshuo, the scene where all kinds of people eagerly rushed to seek fame and fortune at the time of the change of dynasty was no longer seen. The disciples from some large families who had once dominated the court were greatly reduced this time - of course, those who came to Yingtian at this time were mostly confident people. However, before coming here, most people had thought about the purpose of this trip, which was to save the desperate situation. They may not have fully experienced the difficulties, but at least they had thought about them.

In addition to these people, some hermits and great Confucians who had previously lived in seclusion in the mountains and fields due to unsuccessful careers or various other reasons have also been invited out of the mountains to offer advice and suggestions in order to cope with this unprecedented enemy.

The more precarious a country is, the stronger the patriotic sentiment becomes. And after experiencing the previous two blows, this time, the court at least seemed to have some of the calmness and heritage that truly belonged to a great power.

In a newly built villa in the east of the city, the atmosphere was slightly quiet, and the warm autumn breeze blew through the courtyard, carrying the fallen yellow leaves. In a room in the courtyard, a secret meeting was coming to an end.

At this time, sitting at the lower position in the room was a young man in green clothes. He looked twenty-five or six years old, with a dignified appearance and a well-proportioned figure. Although he did not appear burly, his eyes and figure showed strength. He sat upright with his legs together and his hands on his knees, and his motionless figure revealed his slight nervousness. This young man is called Yue Fei, with the courtesy name Pengju. Obviously, he did not expect such a meeting to take place.

The host of the meeting, sitting in the main seat at the head, was an even younger man, with a delicate appearance and a somewhat weak demeanor, but his words were not only clear and logical, but also quite gentle in tone: The former Little Prince Junwu is now the crown prince of the new dynasty. At this time, with the help of Lu Agui and others, he is carrying out some behind-the-scenes political activities.

"...The Jin people are powerful. Since they have tasted the sweetness, they will inevitably do it again and again. I don't know how much time we have to breathe. Speaking of which, there is no need to hide it from Yue Qingjia. My father and I used to stay in the south, and we don't know how to fight, but we can always understand some things. The army cannot fight, and many times, it is not the responsibility of the military officers alone. Now, for the sake of expediency, I would like to ask Yue Qingjia to train troops for me. I can only try my best to guarantee two things..."

"...First, the money and food needed for training troops, and the official procedures, the Crown Prince's Palace will do its best to solve for you. Second, everything you do is authorized by the Crown Prince's Palace. I will take the blame for you. You can use my banner to fight against anyone. The country is in danger, and some overall situations cannot be taken care of. It doesn't matter who you have friction with. Yue Qingjia, I want good soldiers. Even if they can't defeat the Jurchens, they must be able to fight them to a draw..."

Hearing these straightforward words, Yue Fei's eyes moved slightly, and after a moment, his eyes were a little red. All along, he had hoped that he could lead troops to serve the country and achieve great things, to comfort his life and to comfort his teacher Zhou Tong. After meeting Ning Yi, he once felt that he had encountered an opportunity. However, before Ning Yi raised the flag of rebellion, he had chatted with him a few times, obliquely, and then transferred him out to perform other tasks.

After Ning Yi assassinated the emperor, the two had actually met once. Ning Yi invited him to join him, but Yue Fei ultimately refused. After the chaos in the capital, he hid north of the Yellow River, leading several teams of local braves to train every day in the hope of fighting the Jurchens in the future - but this was actually deceiving himself - because of Ning Yi's crime of regicide, he could only hide his tail and change his name. If the Jurchens had not quickly invaded the south for the second time and besieged Bianliang, and the investigation from above had not been thorough enough, he would probably have been found out long ago.

One can imagine his frustration during these days. Who knew that not long ago, someone finally found him and brought him to Yingtian. Today, when he met the Crown Prince of the new dynasty, the other party could actually say such a thing. Yue Fei was about to kneel down to agree, but Junwu quickly came over and helped him up vigorously.

"You must not do this." Junwu said, "You are the closed disciple of Grandmaster Zhou Tong, and I trust you. People who practice martial arts and lead troops must have blood and should not kneel down to people casually. Those literati in the court are busy with intrigue all day long. They should kneel, anyway, their kneeling doesn't count, they should kneel more, and the more they kneel, the more they will understand the way of honeyed words and a sword in the belly."

The young crown prince joked, and Yue Fei cupped his hands and stood solemnly.

"Recently, Yue Qingjia knows about the affairs in the Northwest, right?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is referring to..."

"Haha, Yue Qing need not be taboo, I don't care about this. In this month, the most lively thing in the capital, besides my father's enthronement, is the Battle of the Northwest that everyone is talking about in secret. The Black Flag Army defeated more than 100,000 troops of Western Xia with only 10,000 soldiers, how amazing, how domineering. It's a pity that our dynasty has millions of troops, and everyone says why they can't fight, can't fight. The Black Flag Army also came from millions of troops before, but how can they fight when they get there... This is also a good thing, which shows that we people of the Wu Dynasty are not inherently inferior. If we find the right way, we can beat the Jurchens."

The two walked out one after the other, and a falling yellow leaf fell on Junwu's head. He picked it off and played with it in his hand.

"Everything cannot be separated from the investigation of things, even this leaf, why it falls, and why the veins on the leaf grow like this, there is a reason in it. See clearly the reason, see if we can do this ourselves, and if we can't, is there a possibility of compromise and change. Yue Qingjia, do you know the investigation of things?"

"...I've heard a little about it."

"My villa outside the city is still being renovated, and it will probably take another month to officially start work. To tell you the truth, the large Kongming lantern I made is almost ready to fly. Once it is made, it can be used in military formations, and I will give it to you first. When you return to the capital next time, I will take you to see it. As for the elm wood cannon, I will allocate some to you soon... Those people in the Ministry of Works are all fools. They want people to do things without giving them any benefits. They can't compare to the craftsmen under my command. It's a pity, they still need time to settle down..."

"Your matter, the issue of identity. The Crown Prince's Palace will handle it for you. Of course, you still have to be cautious in the capital these two days. Recently, there are many old scholars in this Yingtian Prefecture, and they will tell me that the Crown Prince should not do this or that. You go to the Yellow River to recruit soldiers, and if necessary, you can take my handwriting to ask the old man Zong Ze for help. Now, the affairs on the Yellow River are being handled by the old man Zong..."

In the plain and rambling voice, the autumn sun engraved the figures of the two young men in this golden air. Beyond this villa, passing pedestrians and vehicles are traveling through this ancient city, with lush trees dotted among them. Brothels and taverns are open as usual, and people entering and leaving have happy faces. In wine shops and teahouses, storytellers are pulling erhus and tapping on awakening blocks. New officials have taken office, bought courtyards in this ancient city, and put up plaques, and there are also people congratulating them, with smiles on their faces.

Another city of hundreds of thousands of people, at this moment, precious peace is enveloping them, warming them.

Princess Zhou Pei sat by the window in the attic, watching the trees with yellow leaves and the birds flying on the trees. The former Duke Qu Zonghui is now a consort, and he has also come to Yingtian. In the first few days after arriving, Qu Zonghui tried to repair his relationship with his wife, but Zhou Pei, who was entangled in many things, had no time to pay attention to him, and the couple maintained a lukewarm distance again.

She lives in this attic, but is still managing many things in secret. Sometimes she stares blankly in the attic, and no one knows what she is thinking at this time. Cheng Zhouhai, who has now been brought under her command, came over one day and suddenly felt that the layout of this courtyard seemed familiar in Bianliang, but he was also a person with many things to do, and soon put this boring idea behind him...

Far away in the Northwest, a peaceful atmosphere, with the arrival of autumn, also briefly enveloped this yellow land. More than a month ago, in the several battles from Yanzhou to Dongzhiyuan, the Huaxia Army lost nearly half of its soldiers. On Dongzhiyuan, the number of lightly and seriously wounded soldiers was still less than 4,000. After merging with the previous 1,000 or so wounded soldiers, the number of combat-capable personnel in this army is now about 4,400, and the remaining four or five hundred people have permanently lost their combat ability or can no longer charge at the forefront.

Some of the wounded soldiers were temporarily left in Yanzhou, and some were sent back to Xiaocanghe. Now, a team of about 3,000 people has stayed in Yanzhou to serve as a garrison during this period. And the matter of expanding the army is being done cautiously and carefully at this time. The Black Flag Army does not publicly recruit soldiers, but after investigating some people in the city who have lost their families and are living in extreme poverty, it will "exceptionally" absorb some people under their efforts. The number of people is not large now.

When the setting sun gently sprinkled its brilliance from the horizon, Mao Yishan filled a jar of well water for a widowed old woman in a courtyard. When the trembling old woman wanted to keep him for dinner, he smiled and left. Two months ago, when they attacked Yanzhou City, such a thing happened: an old woman pushed a bucket of water and waited by the roadside with a small amount of dates, using these meager things to reward the invading royal army. Her only son had been killed in the previous massacre of the city by the Western Xia people, and now she was left alone, living alone.

Mao Yishan drank a bowl of water from her, and after returning to Yanzhou, he often came to help her with some small things. But in these short two months, the widowed old woman had rapidly weakened. After her son died, she still had hatred and expectation in her heart. After her son's revenge was avenged, for the old woman, there was nothing in this world that she cared about.

In the training ground near the city wall, the training of more than two thousand soldiers came to an end. After the disbanding horn sounded, the soldiers left here in teams, talking to each other along the way, with smiles on their faces. The smile contained a little tiredness, but more of it was the vigor and confidence that could not be seen on the faces of soldiers belonging to this era.

In an inn west of the city, a small quarrel was taking place.

"...You're right, I'm no longer willing to get involved in this matter."

"You... I never said anything about you deliberately leaving when attacking Xiaocanghe. Now that you're saying such things, Tie Tianying, are you still the chief constable of the Ministry of Justice!?"

"Yes, I am the chief constable of the Ministry of Justice, but what is the chief constable? Isn't it just a errand boy. Prince Tong was killed by him, and the late emperor was also killed by him. I, this chief constable, hey... Lord Li, don't talk about the chief constable of the Ministry of Justice, my name, Tie Tianying, is also a hero in the Jianghu, but what can I do? Even Lin Echan, the number one person in the world, wasn't driven around by him."

"..."

"Lord Li, caring about the world is a matter for you scholars, we martial artists are not up to it. That Ning Yi, do you know that I punched him in the face, and he didn't fight back. I felt useless just watching him. He turned around and directly killed the late emperor in the Golden Luan Hall. And now, that Black Flag Army drove away more than 100,000 people with 10,000 soldiers! Lord Li, I don't want to say this, but I have indeed seen clearly: he is the kind of person who wants to turn the world upside down. I didn't die, do you know why?"

"..."

"—Because he didn't even look at me!"

"..."

"It's enough that I didn't die. I'll go back to the Wu Dynasty, see the situation, hand over my post if I need to, plead guilty if I need to. If the situation is not good, anyway, the world is going to be chaotic, I'll find a place to hide my name."

"...I understand, you go."

"No, I'm not leaving." The person who spoke shook his head.

"..."

"The Northwest is not peaceful. I, Tie Tianying, am greedy for life and afraid of death, but I still have some martial arts skills. Lord Li, you are a big man, amazing, you want to fight him. Here, I'll protect you for a while. When you go back, we'll part ways again, which can be considered... a memento."

Under the autumn sun in the Northwest, some people are high-spirited, some are full of doubts, and some are disheartened. The envoys of the Zhong and Zhe families have also arrived. In the negotiations of inquiry and concern, undercurrents are also surging in Yanzhou City. In such a situation, a small episode is happening silently.

In August, an envoy from the Jin Kingdom came to Qingmu Village quietly, and then entered Yanzhou City via Xiaocanghe. Soon after, the envoy returned to the Jin Kingdom along the original route, bringing back the words of refusal.

——People of Huaxia do not surrender to foreign countries.

Everything seemed peaceful and serene.

Just as before night comes, the clouds in the sky always appear magnificent and peaceful. In the evening, Ning Yi and Qin Shaoqian climbed the city tower of Yanzhou, exchanged information about the departure of the Jurchen envoy, and then, remained silent for a moment.

"In a few days, Zhong Lie and Zhe Keqiu will know that Western Xia has returned Qingzhou."

Ning Yi tapped the city wall a few times and spoke calmly.

"Then... let's do something that will surprise them first."

The evening wind blew, and the clothes and military flags rattled. On the city wall, the figures of the two men were as straight as arrows, welcoming the darkness from afar like a tide. Before this darkness, all the intrigues and petty tricks seemed so petty.

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