Northwest, the dog days of summer, vast fields of wheat, and a tree in the distance.

Ragged people gathered beneath the tree. Zheng Huixin was among them. She was eight years old, dressed in tattered clothes, her face smeared with sweat and dirt. Her hair was cut short and messy, making it impossible to tell she was a girl. Her father, Zheng Laocheng, sat beside her, as weak and weary as all the other refugees.

The Zheng family in Yanzhou City had originally been a well-off scholarly family. Zheng Laocheng ran a private school, highly respected by the locals. When Yanzhou City fell, the Western Xia people looted the city, taking most of the Zheng family's possessions. However, because the Zheng family had a few hidden cellars that were not discovered, they were not driven to destitution after the Western Xia people stabilized the city's situation.

But precisely because of the existence of these cellars, the Zheng family was reluctant to leave, not knowing where to go. Western Xia soldiers occasionally came to their door, and the family members were often bullied. Perhaps sensing that the Zheng family had surplus grain, the Western Xia people increased the frequency of their visits. Half a month ago, Zheng Huixin's mother died.

Zheng Laocheng didn't tell her how her mother had died, but soon after, the father, like a walking corpse, picked up his baggage and took her out of the city, heading to a place she didn't know. There were many other similarly ragged migrants on the road. The Western Xia people had occupied this area, and in some places, one could still see the remains of houses or villages burned down in the war. Where there were signs of human habitation, there were also large fields of wheat. Sometimes, Zheng Huixin would see people like her father standing on the road, staring at those wheat fields, with an emptiness that reminded her of the sand on the ground.

When the Western Xia people invaded, they plundered and massacred, but soon after, things calmed down. The survivors resumed their former lives – after all, no matter what kind of rule it was, there had to be subjects. Unable to submit to the Wu Dynasty, they would submit to Western Xia, and ultimately, it was the same life.

But Zheng Laocheng was a scholar, and he understood clearly that even more difficult days, hellish scenes, were yet to come. The wheat that people planted this year, all the harvest, would no longer be theirs. No matter how well the wheat was grown this autumn, most people would find it difficult to obtain grain. Once the former stores were exhausted, the Northwest would experience an even more difficult famine winter, and most people would be starved to death. Only the true Western Xia collaborators would be fortunate enough to survive. But being such a collaborator was not easy.

As the harvest season approached, more and more people were able to see this scene. In the eyes of those who looked at the large wheat fields along the road, there was a truly desperate pallor. They had planted things, and now these things were before their eyes, growing so well, but were already destined not to belong to them. Waiting for them might be starvation. Nothing was more despairing than this.

Along the way, they occasionally encountered Western Xia soldiers, intimidating them with bows, arrows, and knives, strictly forbidding them from approaching the wheat fields. Sometimes, they could see corpses hanging beside the wheat fields. It was noon, and the group rested in the shade of a tree by the road. Zheng Laocheng was too tired, leaning against the roadside, and soon fell into a light sleep. Zheng Huixin sat beside him, hugging her knees, feeling thirsty and wanting to find a place to relieve herself. The little girl stood up and looked around, then walked towards a hollow in the ground not far away.

She took off her pants in the hollow and squatted for a moment. Suddenly, her father's voice faintly came, with a hint of anxiety. Zheng Huixin couldn't see the situation over there. She broke off two branches from the ground. Then, another sound came, a loud shout from the Western Xia people. Her father was also shouting anxiously: "Huixin – daughter – where are you?"

The Western Xia people's voices were still echoing, and her father's voice stopped abruptly. The little girl pulled up her pants and ran out. She saw two Western Xia soldiers, one drawing a bow and the other holding a knife, shouting loudly by the roadside. The people under the tree were in chaos. Her father's body lay on the edge of the wheat field in the distance, an arrow stuck in his chest, a patch of blood.

"Ah…ah…"

The world was becoming chaotic and pale. She walked towards him, but someone was holding her back…

The memories after that were chaotic.

Someone fed her things, someone dragged her along, sometimes carrying or holding her. It was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, dressed in worn clothes, carrying a baggage, with strong arms. Sometimes he would talk to her, but her mind was dazed. It rained on the road. At some point, all the people traveling with her had disappeared. They passed through desolate mountains. The little girl didn't know where it was, only that there were tall and short trees around, rugged mountain roads, and loose rocks.

This day at noon, the sun was bright again. They stopped in a small forest. Zheng Huixin was already able to eat mechanically, holding a small broken bowl and eating the fried rice inside. Suddenly, a voice rang out abruptly, a strange cry like a ghost.

"Yi—ya—"

Zheng Huixin only felt her body being pushed. A "ping" sound rang out around her. She heard the Western Xia people speaking quickly and fiercely. In the tilting view, figures were intertwined. The man who had been taking her along waved his knife, and waved it again. A crimson light flashed in her vision. The little girl seemed to see him suddenly stab a Western Xia soldier to death on a tree trunk with a knife, and then the other's face suddenly enlarged. He rushed over, scooped her up in one arm, and ran swiftly through the forest.

The trees were all falling backwards in her vision. The terrifying screams were in her ears. The Western Xia people were also running through. The man held a knife in one hand and fought with the other side all the way. At one moment, the little girl felt his body tremble. He had been cut in the back by someone who had been chasing after him, and the smell of blood filled her nostrils.

In the blink of an eye, the light in front of them expanded. The two had rushed out of the forest. The Western Xia villain chased after them. This was a steep slope. One side of the mountain was terribly inclined, with loose rocks. The two ran and fought, and then, the wind roared, and the view spun rapidly.

The sound of rushing already rang out. The man hugged the little girl, forcing the Western Xia person to run down the steep slope. The two's footsteps accompanied the speed of the rapid descent, the earth and rocks were rapidly flowing in their vision, raising huge dust. Zheng Huixin only felt the sky shrink rapidly, and then, bang!

After a long time, Zheng Huixin felt her body move slightly. It was the man holding her who was trying to stand up from the ground. They had already reached the bottom of the slope. Zheng Huixin tried to turn her head and saw that the man was supporting himself with one hand on a bloody, brain-splattered head. Looking at the person's hat and braid, she could recognize that it was the Western Xia person. The two of them had rushed down the steep slope together. The Western Xia person was at the bottom, with a broken head and ruptured internal organs. Zheng Huixin was protected in the man's arms, and the injuries she received were the smallest. The man was injured, stained with the Western Xia enemy's blood. At this time, half of his body was dyed red.

"Are you okay?"

She heard the man ask weakly.

"It's good that you're okay."

The man put her down, untied the Western Xia person's clothes in front of her, searched for a while, and took away the Western Xia person's waist tag and dry food. The sun still seemed fiery. The half-blood-stained man held a knife in one hand and led the child's hand with the other, staggering towards the other side of the mountain.

That evening, they came to a place. A few days later, Zheng Huixin learned the man's name from others. His name was Qu Qing. The valley they had come to was called Xiao Cang River.

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

In June, in the river valley, construction and military training continued from beginning to end.

Everything operated smoothly as usual. When the daily work was completed, the soldiers would either listen to storytellers and operas, or listen to news from the outside world, and then discuss the current situation with their friends. However, at this time, the Western Xia and Jin people's blockade of the outside world had begun to show its power, and the news from outside the mountains had become relatively scarce. However, from this atmosphere of blockade, perceptive people were often able to feel more personal information, such as the impending crisis and the pressure for urgent action.

The interaction between Xiao Cang River and the outside world was not limited to the informants they sent out. Sometimes, lost refugees would accidentally enter the range of this mountain area. Although it was not known whether they were spies from outside, the surrounding defenders usually did not make things difficult for them. Sometimes, they would kindly offer the scarce dry food in the valley and send them away.

And in this kind of interaction with the outside world, there was one thing that was the most strange and thought-provoking. The first time occurred at the end of last year, when a caravan that may have been transporting grain, with dozens of porters carrying burdens, came to this mountain area. They seemed to be lost. When the people of Xiao Cang River appeared, the others were startled and hastily dropped all the grain burdens and ran away. Thus, Xiao Cang River harvested dozens of burdens of grain that seemed to be sent to them. This kind of thing happened again when spring was about to pass.

Not many people in the valley knew about the whole thing. Ning Yi directly took charge and sealed nearly a hundred burdens of grain in the warehouse. And the third time it happened was at noon on June 11th. Dozens of burdens of grain were carried by porters and also accompanied by some guards, entering the range of Xiao Cang River. But this time, they put down their burdens and did not leave.

An old man with white hair, but dressed in fine clothes and with sharp eyes, stood in this team. When the outposts defending the periphery of Xiao Cang River came over, he had someone hand over a name card.

There were only three words on the name card: Zuo Duanyou.

Soon, Qin Shaoqian, in full military attire, came out from the valley to greet him. He was now a rebel against the whole world, but he did not dare to neglect this person.

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

When the Wu Dynasty was still prosperous, Emperor Jinghan Zhou Zhe had just ascended the throne. There were three famous Confucian scholars in the court, holding high positions and also considered like-minded. They jointly planned many things. The Secret Intelligence Division was one of them, and provoking internal strife among the Liao people, leading to the rise of the Jin people, was one of them. These three people were Qin Siyuan, Zuo Duanyou, and Wang Qisong.

These great events that overturned the world encountered many problems in the process of implementation. Among the three, Wang Qisong's theories and methods were the most upright, Qin Siyuan's attainments in Confucianism were extremely deep, but his methods were relatively utilitarian, and Zuo Duanyou's temperament was extreme, but his family had deep roots. After many collaborations, they finally parted ways due to various problems. Zuo Duanyou retired, and Wang Qisong left in disgrace during a political struggle to protect Qin Siyuan's position. After that, there was the Black Water Alliance in which the Liao people invaded south.

This time, Wang Qisong led his family to resist the Liao soldiers, and almost all the men in his family died, leaving only Wang Shanyue as the sole survivor.

After the Black Water Alliance, because of the Wang family's tragedy, the Qin and Zuo families further broke apart, and there was almost no contact since then. Later, during the disaster relief event in the north, Zuo Houwen and Zuo Jilan of the Zuo family were involved, and Qin Siyuan wrote a letter to Zuo Duanyou. This was the first contact between the two in many years, and in fact, it was also the last contact.

After Qin Siyuan died, of the three who had initially manipulated the world situation, only this last old man remained.

Many years ago, the Qin and Zuo families had a good relationship. It was not the first time Qin Shaoqian had seen him. After so many years, the once serious old man now had a head of white hair, and the once high-spirited young man was now weathered and without an eye. When the two met, there was not much small talk. The old man looked at the black eyepatch on Qin Shaoqian's face, frowned slightly, and Qin Shaoqian led him into the valley. That afternoon, they worshiped Qin Siyuan's cenotaph set up in the valley, but did not talk too much about the situation inside the valley. As for the grain he brought, it was placed in the warehouse separately, just like the previous two batches.

That evening, Ning Yi, Su Tan'er, and Ning Xi participated in the family banquet to welcome the old man.

The next morning, Ning Yi came forward and accompanied the old man on a tour of the valley. Ning Yi had great respect for this old man. Although the old man had a serious face, he was also constantly sizing up Ning Yi, who was acting as the brain in the rebel army. In the afternoon, when Ning Yi went to see him again, he sent over several bound new books.

"This is what Qin Lao was doing before his death. These are the books with his annotations. I'm afraid no one in the world will dare to read them in a short time. I think, Zuo Gong can take them back and take a look."

*"Collected Annotations on the Four Books"*, signed Qin Siyuan. Zuo Duanyou had just woken up from his afternoon nap. He reached out and stroked the cover of the book, and his eyes were quite moved. His serious face relaxed slightly, and he slowly caressed it twice before speaking.

"I came here today and I've seen the situation in your valley. The Zuo family can help with the shortage of food."

The two sides had contact, and it was expected that the conversation would turn in this direction. Sunlight poured in from the window, and the sound of cicadas chirped in the river valley. In the room, the old man sat, waiting for the other party to nod, to solve the whole problem for this small river valley. Ning Yi stood, quietly for a long time, before slowly cupping his hands and saying, "The Xiao Cang River has a solution to the food shortage, so there is no need to trouble Zuo Gong."

Zuo Duanyou looked at him, his eyes like lightning: "I always mean what I say, and I don't like beating around the bush or haggling. I heard outside that the *Xinmo* (Heart Devil) Ning Yi is cunning, but he is not someone who procrastinates or is indecisive. If you want to use this little trick on me, don't you think you're being too ungrateful!?"

Ning Yi cupped his hands and bowed his head: "Old man, what I'm saying is true."

"Are you joking with everyone's lives?"

"If the Zuo family only gave food and said nothing, of course I would want to take it. But I think it's not that simple, right?"

The old man frowned, and after a moment, snorted coldly: "The situation is stronger than people, you and I will lay out what we seek and need one by one. Do you think the Zuo family is seeking shelter from you? Ning family kid, if it weren't for the sake of you being the last line of the Qin lineage, I wouldn't have come. I think you know that too. The Zuo family will help you, and there will be something we want, but it won't restrain you too much. You even killed the emperor, what are you afraid of?"

Many major events in the world are sometimes tied to the tireless efforts and negotiations of countless people, and many times, they are tied to decisions made in a few words. There is no doubt that there is a friendship between Zuo Duanyou and Qin Siyuan. He came to Xiao Cang River, worshiped Qin Siyuan, and took over the emotions after Qin Siyuan's writings, which were also not fake. But this kind of friendship is a gentleman's agreement and will not involve the overall situation. Qin Shaoqian also understood this, so he let Ning Yi accompany Zuo Duanyou, because Ning Yi was the decision-maker in this regard.

Zuo Duanyou, with his status, was already giving Qin Siyuan face by taking the initiative to speak on the issue of food. However, he did not expect that the other party would make a rejecting answer. This rejection was only one sentence, but translated into a real problem, it was the life and death of tens of thousands of people that were imminent.

Ning Yi looked at him and said calmly: "I understand Zuo Gong's kindness, but Xiao Cang River does not accept the constraints of those who are not like-minded. Therefore, we appreciate Zuo Gong's kindness, but we don't want the food. The food that Zuo Gong sent the first two times is still sealed in the warehouse. Zuo Gong can take it away when he returns."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zuo Duanyou's eyes narrowed, and he was already truly angry. Just as he was about to speak, someone suddenly ran in from outside: "Something happened!"

The person who came in was Chen Fan. He glanced at Zuo Duanyou: "Ning Xi has had an accident..."

A small accident interrupted the confrontation between the two.

For some time, when they had nothing to do, picking wild vegetables, fishing, and finding food had become the norm in the lives of the children of Xiao Cang River.

It was already the dog days of summer. The people in the valley, under Ning Yi's management, had not shown signs of great disarray due to the lack of food in the valley, but the pressure could sometimes be suppressed in their hearts, and sometimes it would be reflected in all aspects that people saw. The children's actions were a direct manifestation of this pressure.

Things in the mountains can be eaten, things in the water can be eaten, wild vegetables can be eaten, tree bark can be eaten, and even according to Min Chuyi, there is a kind of soil that can be eaten. This made the small Ning Xi feel very optimistic. But optimism is optimism. With the children and some women picking wild vegetables, after all, there were not many edible wild vegetables and plant roots near Xiao Cang River. Adults could organize to hunt and dig a little farther away, but children were strictly forbidden to leave the valley. Therefore, every day staying in this valley, the harvest in Ning Xi's small basket was always small.

He only thought that he was too bad, not as able to endure hardship as Min Chuyi and the other children. Many times, after searching for a day, he would look at his small basket and feel quite frustrated. Min Chuyi's small basket didn't actually have much harvest either, but he would occasionally share some with him. Out of the vanity of wanting to show off to his parents, he finally accepted it.

So every morning, he would share half a wild vegetable cake with Min Chuyi – he couldn't finish it anyway.

He never thought that he would find a rabbit in the valley this day. When the furry little animal with its two ears sticking up ran out of the grass, Ning Xi was a little scared. He stood there, pointing his finger at the rabbit, and stammered to Min Chuyi: "This, this..."

The seven-year-old girl had already pounced over quickly. The rabbit turned around and ran.

"Catch it! Catch it! Ning Xi, catch it!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

The shouts of the two children echoed wildly on the small hillside. The two people and one rabbit ran desperately. Ning Xi bravely rushed through the small mountain path, jumped down the high earth hollow, blocking the rabbit's escape route. Min Chuyi ran from below to encircle it, leaping and grabbing the rabbit's ears. Ning Xi rolled a few times on the ground, got up from there, blinked, and then pointed at Min Chuyi: "Hahaha, hahaha...uh..." He saw the rabbit being caught in the little girl's hand, and then, it fell down again.

"Uh, you catch it, catch it, it ran away, it ran away..." Ning Xi said, wanting to chase after it again, but stopped after running two steps, because Min Chuyi was looking at him strangely, with some panic in her eyes, and then tears also fell.

Ning Xi wiped the corner of his forehead that she was looking at, and found blood on his hand. He hadn't figured out what this was, and was regretting that the rabbit in the corner of his vision was running further and further away. The little girl wailed and cried, and not far away, the female soldier in charge of taking care of them was also running over quickly…