武朝靖平二年 = Wu Dynasty, Jingping Year 2

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In the Wu Dynasty, the second year of Jingping, in the early morning of June 13th, a brief period of chaos occurred in the Xiaocang River valley. Search: \(¨Complete¨Book¨God¨Station¨) to read high-quality literature for free.

At this time, the sun had not yet risen, the night was slightly cool, and shortly after the warm yellow lights were lit one by one, the sound of discussion, buzzing, rose from one camp to another in the valley. This was the time for the Xiaocang River soldiers to receive their daily tasks. Not long after the buzzing subsided, teams of soldiers gathered in the surrounding open spaces and began their daily running training along the roads of the valley. Only after that would the crowing of the rooster herald the dawn.

Zuo Duanyou was already up. The old man was old and accustomed to getting up early every day, and he would not change even if he came to a new place. After putting on his clothes and practicing a set of punches outside, he was still thinking about his conversation with Ning Yi last night, and the mountain breeze was quite cool. On the mountain road not far downwind, running soldiers chanted slogans, forming a long dragon that passed by, crossed the mountains, and disappeared from sight.

These were good soldiers, with both killing intent and discipline, as Zuo Duanyou had seen in the past two days.

Afterwards, Qin Shaoqian, dressed in military uniform, came to greet him and serve breakfast. After breakfast, the old man thought about things in his room. Xiaocang River was located in a remote area, and the slopes on both sides were not full of vibrant green, but under the sunlight, they were just a mixture of yellow and green, but they appeared calm. The training slogans that occasionally sounded outside the house could calm people down.

With the rise of the Jin Dynasty and the decline of the Wu Dynasty, the area north of the Yellow River had become virtually defunct since Bianliang was captured by the Jurchens. This world was a cage for Xiaocang River, with the Jin to the north, the Western Xia to the west, and the Wu Dynasty to the south, with depleted food reserves and no way out. But what about the Zuo family? This was a change of dynasty. The Zuo family's business was larger, and the Jurchens were stabilizing the domestic situation and had not yet truly taken over the north of the Yellow River. The time they could hold on might be slightly longer, but what was bound to happen would eventually happen one day.

As Ning Liheng said, one day the Jin would move south, and the Zuo family would face a choice. This was not alarmist talk, but an inevitable situation. And Zuo Duanyou, he did not like the imperial court, and he had long been somewhat disheartened with this world, but there was one thing that did not need to be considered – he would absolutely not consider surrendering to the Jin.

Wang Qisong's entire family of men died to resist the southward Liao, and Qin Siyuan ultimately died in disgrace at the hands of villains in order to revitalize the Wu Dynasty. The three old friends had different beliefs and had long since broken up, but that was only a difference in tactics. In terms of the gentleman's way and the Confucian way, some things would not change, and on this path, the three had never disagreed.

The old house in Jinzhou was also quiet, but since last year, the old man's life had lost its tranquility. He could certainly go to his death generously, but the Zuo family's children could not be left without a path, and he did not want to see the Jurchens come and these children surrender to the Jin and become obsequious. Living in the courtyard of that old house, day after day, he felt anxious. And facing such a thing, he really... was a little too old.

Coming to Xiaocang River, he certainly had the intention of casually laying down a line, but now that the talks had broken down, looking at the strange things in this strange place and listening to the strange slogans, it made him feel more at peace. In his leisure time, he would even vaguely recall Qin Siyuan's choice back then. When facing many things, the one surnamed Qin was the most sober and rational.

White clouds drifted by outside the window, a very good morning had just begun, and he wanted to put Ning Liheng's matter out of his mind. A Zuo family steward who had come with him walked quickly outside the house.

"Master, there seems to be something happening."

"Hmm? What?"

"Come out and take a look. The army in the valley is moving."

Zuo Duanyou picked up his cane and walked out of the house.

In order to show respect for the old man, the house arranged for him was also located on the upper section of the mountain, allowing him to overlook the entire valley from the side. At this time, the sun had just risen not long ago, the temperature was pleasant, white clouds floated across the sky, and the scenery in the valley seemed full of vitality and life, but upon closer inspection, everything seemed a little different.

The settlement area in the valley was centered on a small square, extending in all directions. At this time, buildings were still being built, and a large number of wheelbarrows and soldiers carrying supplies passed through the streets every day, filling the settlement area with activity. And in the more distant river beaches, open spaces, and hillsides, the figures of soldiers training were active, with no less vitality.

However, looking down at this time, the entire settlement area was as if it had been diluted. Apart from a few teams maintaining order, the rest were just ordinary residents active in the valley, and some children playing. And extending outwards from the settlement area, all the river beaches, open spaces, and even the river beach on the other side of the river were filled with the figures of soldiers training at this time.

Zuo Duanyou compared it with his impression of the previous two days: "Are they all participating in training today?"

"I've already inquired. The army in the valley trains every three days, and the rest take turns working, which has been going on for more than half a year." The steward reported in a low voice, "But today... this practice has stopped."

The mountain breeze blew pleasantly, and the old man frowned and tightened his grip on his cane...

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

Time gradually reached noon, and there was an unusually quiet atmosphere in the Xiaocang River canteen.

The soldiers coming and going seemed a little silent, but this silence did not have the slightest feeling of depression. At the tables, people whispered to those around them, eating and swallowing in large mouthfuls, some deliberately grinding their teeth, looking around with strange expressions on their faces. Many others also had the same strange expressions.

Occasionally, a loud voice suddenly spoke up: "It must be to fight—" seeing the gazes of the people around him, he "hummed" twice, looking proud. The squad leader at a table not far away shouted in a low voice: "Don't talk nonsense!"

Some people picked up their chopsticks and picked up a piece of meat: "The meat is bigger than usual." The person across the table then smiled "hehe" and ate in large mouthfuls.

There was not too much loud discussion, because the question that made everyone feel confused and interested at this time was the subject of a gag order in the morning - the sudden change in the daily work schedule seemed to startle everyone, so that in the moment of assembly of each squad and platoon, there was a brief period of whispering and endless discussion, which caused almost all the senior officers to lose their tempers in unison, and they also made them run a lot more. In the absence of large-scale discussion, the whole scene became what it is now.

Hou Wu came over with his food and sat down in the seat next to Mao Yishan, and Mao Yishan leaned over with interest: "Fifth Brother, did you go to see Brother Qu?"

Hou Wu nodded.

"What did Brother Qu say?"

A smile appeared on the corner of Hou Wu's mouth: "He wants to come out."

"Ah, Brother Qu is still injured..."

"Hey." Hou Wu lowered his voice, "He just said that the time has come, and he can't miss such a big event."

"Did Brother Qu really say that? What else did he say?"

"He didn't say it clearly, but he mentioned..." Hou Wu lowered his voice even more, but at this time, everyone at the table was secretly listening with their heads lowered, "He said... the northwest should have started harvesting wheat..."

A soldier across the table leaned over to remind him: "The wheat isn't fully ripe yet. In two more days..."

"The Western Xia people are occupying the place, so of course they have to harvest early..."

Before the other person could finish speaking, Xu Lingming, the battalion commander of their battalion, came over: "What are you whispering about! Didn't you run enough in the morning!"

Xu Lingming was usually a nice person, so the others were not too afraid of him. A young soldier stood up: "Report to the battalion commander! We can still run ten more li!"

Another person stood up: "Report to the boss, we're done eating, and we're planning to go to training!"

"We're done eating too." A few people around him, including Mao Yishan, stood up. They were indeed done eating.

"What training! You just finished eating, wash your bowls and go back to rest!"

The guy who said he was going to train was stunned: "Uh... yes! We're going to rest."

The group of people at the table quickly left. They couldn't talk here, but they could always talk in the dormitory. Hou Wu, who had delayed his time because he had brought food to Qu Qing, watched the table suddenly empty and twitched the corner of his mouth: "Wait for me, you bunch of bastards!" Then he quickly buried his head and ate his food.

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

Leaving this mountainous area, the northwest had indeed begun to harvest wheat.

The Western Xia army forced the people in the occupied territories to begin the harvest from a few days ago. The folk customs in the northwest were rugged, and when these wheat fields were really harvested and taken away in large areas, and all that was received was only limited rations, some resistance began to appear one after another.

Near Yanzhou, an entire village was massacred for resisting. Outside Qingjian City, various rumors of Grandpa Zhong's manifestation gradually spread. In the villages outside the city, some people took advantage of the night to start burning the wheat fields that originally belonged to them, resulting in the Western Xia soldiers' retaliatory massacres. Outlaws began to appear more actively. Mountain bandits tried to rob grain from the Western Xia people, but the Western Xia people's counterattack was also fierce. Within a few days, many mountain strongholds were found out by the Western Xia bubazhi, attacked, and massacred.

In the Huanzhou area, Zhong Lie led the last few thousand of the Zhong family army in an attempt to attack, and also wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to gather more followers. However, he encountered the main force of the Western Xia Iron Hawks on the banks of the Huan River and was once again defeated and retreated.

Specks of blood, large swaths of gold, were blooming on this land with the Western Xia people's harvest.

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

The army's training continued until the night once again swallowed the gorgeous sunset. Fires were lit in Xiaocang River, and the news that the Western Xia people had begun collecting grain had spread in the small square in the center of the settlement.

With the arrival of night, various discussions were spreading throughout the barracks of this settlement. The faces of the soldiers who had trained for a day still had uncontrollable excitement. Some people ran to ask Luo Ye if they were going to kill their way out, but at this moment, the upper echelons of the army were still adopting a policy of silence on the whole matter, and everyone's speculations were just private wishful thinking.

The entire Xiaocang River camp, at this time, was rarely as if it were being boiled in a gentle fire.

As the night deepened, the feeling of tension and excitement had not yet subsided. On the hillside, Ning Yi walked out of the small courtyard, as he did every day, overlooking the lights in the distance.

On one side of the foothills, a figure slowly moved. He slowly and silently slipped away in the darkness, and soon after, he crossed the summit.

The figure walked along the rugged mountain road, and then cautiously descended the slope. The moonlight was like water, and suddenly, he stopped in such light.

Footsteps carrying the sound of wind swept past from a distance. In front of him, a figure was also walking slowly, and the edge of a long spear was showing.

"Li Laoliu, where are you going?"

The young man's face appeared in the moonlight. The figure named Li Laoliu slowly straightened up and drew the two knives from his side: "Zhu Biao... and Yuwen Feidu."

After saying this, he lunged forward with his knives! In front of him, the shadow of the spear roared, like a prairie fire, devouring him——

In the darkness further away, a young man named Yuwen Feidu appeared, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow...

"Today, you're not going anywhere..."

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

On June 14th, a heavy rain fell, and the black rain clouds seemed to cover the sky. The rain arbitrarily washed everything, and there was lightning and thunder. This caused the training in Xiaocang River to be unable to continue, and all the soldiers were suffocating in their rooms all day. By the evening, the torrential rain finally stopped, and the sun had not yet set. The sky was clear and bright, as if it were new. On June 15th, the training continued again.

On the evening of this day, in the small courtyard on the hillside, Su Tan'er returned and ate an extra bowl of rice, which was rare - her work was coming to an end. Little Ning Xi, with a bandage wrapped around her head, was complaining about not being able to attend classes these days, and didn't know if Min Chuyi had been studying hard.

After eating dinner in the gradually fading summer heat, Ning Yi went out to cool off. After a while, Jin'er also came over and told him about the little girl named Min Chuyi coming to class today - perhaps because accompanying Ning Xi to play had caused Ning Xi's injury, the Min family girl's parents had beaten her, and she might have even been slapped in the face.

She babbled about琐事 like this, and also talked about the training in the valley these two days and some rumors. Jin'er recalled Ning Yi's question a month ago and mentioned a few words. Ning Yi looked at the valley below and slowly smiled and opened his mouth.

"What does Xiaocang River look like? The old man from the Zuo family said it looks like a precarious egg on a cliff. You said it looks like a bag, like this and like that, of course, there's nothing wrong with that. That question just suddenly came to mind, it was just a whim. As for me, I think... hmm?"

As he was talking, Tan'er also walked over from the side. At this time, Ning Yi was sitting on a tree stump, and there was grass next to him. Su Tan'er smiled and asked, "What are you talking about?" and sat down on the grass next to him.

Ning Yi repeated the question he had asked Jin'er earlier, and Tan'er looked at the valley below, hugged her knees with both hands, put her chin on her knees, and softly replied: "Like a knife."

Yes, it's like a knife...

Ning Yi nodded.

……

In the river valley, Battalion Commander Pang Liuan walked on the street, frowning and telling the young people around him to leave. He was almost annoyed to death. He had been asked indirectly so many times in the past few days, and now someone came to ask if he was going out to attack some wealthy family.

"Attack, attack, attack, even if we're going to attack, it's not as useless as you said! Think bigger——"

He slightly revealed a hint of the mystery. What he thought of in his heart was the meeting on the evening of three days ago.

……

"...Since last autumn, we came to this place in Xiaocang River. The original plan was to rely on Qingmu Fort, use the surrounding geographical advantages, and open up a commercial road or even a commercial network connecting all parties to solve the current difficulties. At that time, the Western Xia had not yet taken any major actions, and the Western Army's Zhong Shidao had not died. We believed that this goal was very difficult, but it was still possible..."

"...But since the news of Zhong Shidao's death came in December, we completely rejected this plan..."

"...After the Western Xia came, the northwest was in chaos. In the foreseeable future, the Jin will gradually swallow the north of the Yellow River, and we will definitely be isolated. In this situation, to open up a commercial route, it has been confirmed that it is impossible. So we can only choose another path. If this path is said directly and people are given one or two days to consider it, it will only lead to the disintegration of the morale of the entire Xiaocang River, and the existing foundation will completely collapse. For this reason, after making the decision, we carried out... all the work up to now..."

"...For nearly a year, the core of all the work in Xiaocang River has been to raise the subjective initiative of the soldiers in the valley, to make them feel the pressure, and at the same time, to make them think that they don't necessarily need to solve this pressure. A large amount of division of labor and cooperation, to improve their mutual sense of identity, to transmit external information, to make them understand what reality is, to make them personally feel everything that needs to be felt. On this day, they have a sense of identity with themselves, they can recognize the companions around them, they can recognize this collective, and they will no longer be afraid of this pressure, because they all know that this is what they will face next,

something that must be overcome..."

"And, they can overcome it..."

……

After nearly a year of polishing, Xiaocang River is now a knife.

It is extremely hard and rough. Due to the huge problems that exist inside, it may break into pieces if it encounters any chaos. Any society is a complex whole, but this society, because it is too single, has problems and defects that are too single, and has gone to extremes.

What supports this valley is the belief that has been forged in this year, but it is only this belief. This makes it surprisingly fragile and breaks with a single snap, but this belief is also stubbornly fearless and has almost reached what can be reached.

It is like a high-carbon steel knife filled with flaws inside. If you swing it with all your might, it may break into pieces.

But the question is, who will be able to catch this full-force knife next...

On June 16th of the second year of Jingping, chaos was continuing on the northwestern land outside. In the mountains, there was a group of people who were eyeing the small valley as a hypothetical enemy. To the north, Qingmu Fort, the atmosphere was equally肃杀, guarding against the threat of Ci Bushi's Jin soldiers. In this river valley, the sound of assembly was ringing——

Lightning roamed and cut through the thunderclouds. Under the northwestern sky, a rainstorm was gathering. No one knew what kind of storm this would be.

On this day, black banners stretched out, leaping out of Xiaocang River. An army of more than nine thousand men turned west and advanced, rushing out of the mountains without the slightest hesitation, and directly attacking the Western Xia defense line!

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