Three months, eleventh, dawn, Fuzhou. Search:\(¨Complete¨Book¨God¨Station¨) Free to read fine literature

Lights were on in the courtyard that served as a temporary palace. Zhou Junwu woke up with a start from his desk, realizing that he had fallen asleep.

A tall stack of account books was piled on the desk. His large movements as he got up caused the papers that had been under his head to rustle. The maidservant who was keeping him company also woke up and hurried over.

"Your Majesty."

"What time is it? Why didn't you wake me?"

"It's almost three quarters past Yin time." The maid knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty... you haven't been resting well lately..."

"When did I fall asleep?"

"About... after Zi time. Your Majesty is too tired."

"It's alright." Junwu rubbed his forehead and cheeks. "It's alright, bring a basin of water. Also, pour me a cup of ginseng tea, I need to keep reading."

The maidservant left, and Junwu continued to rub his forehead. He had been staying up late for the past few days and had been sleeping very little. He finally couldn't hold on last night after Zi time. Now, he had probably slept for two hours, but as a young man, he still had energy.

What was on the desk at this moment were the records of the entry and exit of various materials after taking over Fuzhou, as well as the income and expenditure of various military resources in the army and the imperial court. These things originally did not need the Emperor to personally intervene - for example, when he was engaged in the research and development of Ge Wu in Jiangning, all the income and expenditure were managed by Wen Ren'er and Lu Agui. But as the army was now stationed in Fuzhou, Junwu, who had been able to breathe a sigh of relief, did not stop, but began to understand the entry and exit of various materials and the consumption of his subordinates.

One doesn't know the value of firewood and rice until one is in charge of a household. He had now become the head of the household, and it was conceivable that he would soon be surrounded by a large mansion, making it difficult for him to know the specific sufferings of the people. Therefore, he had to quickly understand the details of various affairs. Going through the account books was the easiest way. He needed to know how much salary a soldier needed each month, how much he needed to eat and wear, what the price of knives and guns was, and how much compensation was given when a soldier sacrificed... and even what the market price was. After understanding the account books in this regard, he would have a clear framework of these things in his mind.

It was actually very troublesome to thoroughly understand a set of account books. Junwu asked Cheng Zhouhai to find him a reliable accounting teacher, not only to teach him the apparent bookkeeping, but also to teach him the various means and tricks of doing accounts in the inside. During this period, Junwu dealt with government affairs during the day, met with people from all sides, and studied and researched account books at night, recording his understanding and opinions. After summarizing, he would find time to discuss and compare with the accounting teacher.

In the third month of the spring, the situation in Fuzhou seemed to be initially stable, but in reality, it was only a corner of peace. After Junwu became emperor, he fled all the way. In February, he arrived in Fuzhou to meet with his sister Zhou Pei. After having a preliminary base, Junwu had to try to restore the Wu Dynasty in the name of orthodoxy. At this time, the Jurchen East Route Army had already withdrawn and went north, leaving only more than 10,000 troops in Lin'an to support the small court. But even so, it was not easy to make everyone stand back on the position of the Wu Dynasty orthodoxy without hesitation.

In the past year, the Jurchens' destruction had touched all aspects of the Wu Dynasty. With the cooperation and promotion of the small court, the system between the civil and military officials had become chaotic. From Lin'an to various parts of the Wu Dynasty, a separatist situation supported by various large families and gentry, promoting military generals, and pulling troops had gradually formed.

This was the inevitable means of self-preservation of the gentry in various places after the Jurchens collapsed the Lin'an court like a destructive force. After Zhou Yong's death, Junwu ran all the way in a dangerous situation. The inheritance of political power did not clearly transition to him. After this half-year of power decoupling, the large families in various places had basically begun to tighten their grip on the power in their hands. Although many claimed to be loyal to the Wu Dynasty, in essence, the control that Junwu could exert on the Wu Dynasty was less than half of what it was a year ago.

These large families, gentry, and generals who claimed to be loyal to the Wu Dynasty divided the various places, and their loyalty still needed to be distinguished. Many people still had their own demands, and there was even the possibility of a breakdown in the future. From the current point of view, Junwu's strength had not even recovered Fujian, and it was not very realistic to seek the assistance or allegiance of these people.

Consolidating oneself, defining rules, and gaining a firm foothold had become the first step that Junwu's regime needed to solve. Now, the most stable thing in his hands was the nearly 100,000 troops led by Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. These troops had broken away from the interference and control of the large families in the past. But if he wanted to move forward, how to give those large families and gentry benefits, seal officials, and make promises was also a necessary process, including how to maintain the combat power of the army, which was also a necessary balance.

These new rules needed to be established step by step. And if he wanted to establish them, Junwu, the newly enthroned emperor, had to clearly understand everyone under his command, what kind of people they were, and what kind of demands they had.

This was the ostensible reason for Junwu's round-the-clock work, day and night, for the past half-month. He stated his thoughts to Zhou Pei, to his ministers, and others in this way. But only a few people around him understood that in addition to the ostensible thoughts, Junwu's overloaded work these days had a deeper, darker reason.

The weight of being a monarch had truly fallen on Junwu's back.

And the process of it pressing down was definitely not easy.

Last year, Junwu fought a great victory like a waterfall outside Jiangning City with a do-or-die momentum and then became emperor. But then, the new emperor, unable to be trapped in Jiangning, still had to lead the army to break through. Some of the people of Jiangning successfully escaped under the protection of the army, but a large number of people died in the subsequent massacre. This was the first round of heavy pressure in Junwu's heart.

After Jiangning was killed and turned into a blank space, the army was chased all the way by Zongfu and Zongbi, and in January, they arrived near Haiyan County, south of Jiaxing. At that time, Zhou Pei had already captured Fuzhou, and her fleet had come north to support, requesting Junwu to transfer first. But Junwu, who had shadows in his heart, refused to do so - at that time, the army had built a defense line around Haiyan, and the defense line still protected a large number of people.

He hoped to escort the people to transfer first. But such a choice was naturally naive. Not to mention that the civil servants would refuse, even Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and others successively advised Junwu to leave first. The biggest reason for this was that the Jin Kingdom had almost defeated the Wu Dynasty, and the reason why they were chasing after their group was the new emperor. Once Junwu entered the sea, Zongfu and Zongbi, who could not be chased, were actually in no mood to stay in Jiangnan for a long time.

But although such a reason was reasonable, how much difference was there between the entire course of action and Zhou Yong's choice at the beginning? Would others think it was the same thing? Junwu was tormented in his heart, hesitated for a day, and finally got on the ship under Wen Ren'er's persuasion. He led the Dragon Boat fleet straight back to the Qiantang River, straight to Lin'an. The situation in Lin'an City suddenly became tense, and the people of the small court were uneasy. Zongfu led the army back, but Zongbi, who had a fiery temper with Han Shizhong in Haiyan County, refused to give up and attacked frantically for several days, finally causing a large number of people to be scattered and die again.

After this great battle, the Jurchens withdrew and returned north, and the pressure on Haiyan County was greatly reduced. But the fact that Junwu abandoned the people and fled into the sea was still heavily publicized by the Jin Kingdom and the people of Lin'an. Many people in Jiaxing and other places even went up the mountains to become bandits after escaping the massacre in order to protect themselves.

Several righteous armies and refugee forces also rose and expanded at this time. Among them, the people who were scattered when Zongbi massacred north of Haiyan County gathered into a righteous army with the name of the Black Flag, gathering a scale of tens of thousands of people, but no longer surrendered to the Wu Dynasty. The duty that these scattered and massacred people placed on Junwu was also a scar and a round of heavy pressure in the heart of this new emperor.

Unlike his father Zhou Yong, once an emperor wanted to take responsibility, such pressure would appear ten times a hundred times.

He was squeezing his life in busy work, but those around him did not give excessive comfort and persuasion on this matter. In a sense, it was not necessarily a bad thing for a young man in his twenties to want to shoulder a country, and the darkness and torment in his heart was precisely the fastest way for a person to grow up.

It was only after the situation in Fuzhou had stabilized slightly that Zhou Pei took stock of the materials in the city, took out part of the stored grain and loaded it on two ships, and had Wen Ren'er escort it to the north and hand it over to the refugees in Haiyan County who were still struggling in famine. Previously, Cheng Zhouhai had gone to persuade these refugees and righteous armies, stating the pros and cons. Some teams had put down their views on Junwu, but the righteous army with the name of the Black Flag was unwilling to accept the orders of the Wu Dynasty again. This time, Zhou Pei had Wen Ren'er escort the materials over, and even if they did not respect the orders, he would provide some free food. Although Junwu did not say anything on the surface after hearing about this, the anxiety in his heart was slightly reduced.

Of course, there were other relaxing messages that had come in these days: for example, the result of the Battle of Changsha had now spread to Fuzhou. Junwu was very happy after hearing this.

This day, he looked through the account books until dawn, and after doing a round of boxing in the courtyard, he washed up and had breakfast. After breakfast, he heard someone report that Wen Ren'er had already returned, and he quickly summoned him inside.

This time, although sending materials over was to save people, the reason for having Wen Ren'er accompany him was more to negotiate with the leader of that righteous army named He Wen, stating Junwu's difficulty in leaving in January. In fact, if Junwu did not have a lot of things to deal with and coordinate now, he might have been more willing to go over in person, meet this "former Huaxia Army member" who had saved a large number of people in the massacre, and talk to him about things in the Southwest.

Among the people around Junwu and Zhou Pei, the most capable was probably Cheng Zhouhai, who was resolute and ruthless. He had not persuaded He Wen before, but this time Wen Ren'er went over, more to release goodwill. When Wen Ren'er came in, after making a few statements, Junwu knew that He Wen's heart was firm and he had a lot of hatred for the Wu Dynasty and had not changed. He was not angry, and was about to ask in detail when someone hurriedly reported that Princess Royal had come over with urgent business.

After only a moment, Zhou Pei appeared at the door. She was wearing a plain-colored long dress, which was dignified yet light. She was holding a letter in her hand and walked quickly. After entering, she first greeted Wen Ren'er, told him to dispense with formalities, and then handed over the letter that looked a bit heavy: "The spies from Lin'an have sent a message, with things that Your Majesty cares about. I have summoned General Yue to enter the palace immediately. Master Wen Ren is here by chance, so he can see it earlier."

"Oh? Is there a follow-up to the Battle of Tanzhou?" The news of the initial settlement of the Battle of Changsha a few days ago was the happiest moment for Junwu recently. He took the letter and guessed, then took the letter paper out of the envelope. There was a lot of news in the envelope, with several articles scattered. Junwu didn't hold it steady for a moment, and the paper fell on the ground. When he picked it up, he saw that the top one was written "On the Demise of Qin Ershi": "What is this?"

Zhou Pei glanced at it, as if smiling but not smiling: "Mei Gong's new heroic article written in Lin'an, I heard that it has been widely circulated in Lin'an in recent days. Your Majesty may wish to take a look."

"Oh?" Junwu calmed down and read it word by word. After only a moment of reading, he frowned. "There are still shortcomings in borrowing from the "Over Qin Lun"... But why did Wu Qimei write this kind of thing? He's full and has nothing to do... Is he satirizing my military expansion?"

"Naturally, there is a reason. He wrote this article for the Jiangnan families to see. If you are impatient, turn it over and read it."

Junwu turned a page.

He looked at it for a moment, took out the page that was originally on top, took a step back and sat down on the chair, looking at it solemnly, back and forth, twice. The morning sun shone into the courtyard outside the room, and the sound of birdsong came from the air. Junwu looked at Zhou Pei, and then at the information: "Is it..."

His voice was a little hoarse. After a pause, he said, "Is it true?"

Zhou Pei also fell silent for a moment at this moment: "The news first reached Lin'an. Our manpower is insufficient, and we cannot be sure. Like Wu Qimei, we waited for a few days. When Lin'an released these articles, we could confirm the truth of the matter. So we sent the news and the articles together... After I read it, I came over immediately."

The letter sent contained the situation of the battle report in the Southwest. Junwu nodded and stood up involuntarily: "February 28th... I don't know what the situation is in the Southwest now..."

He paused and casually flipped through some of the information behind, then handed it over to Wen Ren'er who was curious. He walked back and forth in the hall and said, "This is what you call fighting a war! This is what you call fighting a war! Teacher actually beheaded Xie Bao! He beheaded Xie Bao in front of Zong Han! Haha, if I could fight alongside Teacher..."

"Your Majesty." Zhou Pei smiled weakly. "You are the emperor of the Wu Dynasty, Your Majesty."

"What emperor or not, what's the use of the name! Doing something is the right way!" Junwu waved his hands in the room. At this moment, he was wearing a dragon robe, with a thin face and a beard under his jaw. At first glance, he was already a dignified superior, but at this moment, he rarely showed his childlike side that he had not seen for a long time. He pointed to the intelligence in Wen Ren'er's hand, pointed twice, his eyes were red, and he couldn't speak.

"...He...defeated...the Jurchens. Sister, have you thought about it...more than ten years...more than thirty years, all I've heard are defeats. The Jurchens attacked, and the emperor of the Wu Dynasty was so scared that he ran everywhere...The Southwest withstood it, he actually withstood Wan Yan Zong Han, and killed his son...I don't dare to think about it, even if I heard the news of Tanzhou a few days ago, and killed Yin Shuke, I don't dare to think about the Southwest. Royal Sister...he, tens of thousands of people against hundreds of thousands, withstood it head-on...Um, this news is not fake, right?"

Junwu spoke with difficulty, his eyes were red, and he laughed nervously from time to time. In the end, he felt a little illusory again. Zhou Pei did not argue with him this time: "...I'm not sure either."

Wen Ren'er looked at the intelligence and remained silent for a long time, without speaking. They had previously broken out of Jiangning and wandered all the way, and had been in danger several times under the pursuit of the Jurchens. Although a man's heart is as iron until death, in reality, the shadow of the Jurchens was indeed like an endless sky, like a long night where the dawn could not be seen at all. The entire Wu Dynasty was disintegrating in such a nightmare, and such suffering seemed to be going to last for a long time. But at this moment, someone said that thousands of miles away, Ning Yi had bravely overturned Zong Han's army formation.

Everything seemed a little unrealistic.

The three people in the room were silent for a long time, and then Junwu opened his mouth. He said with some longing: "...The Southwest must be a continuous war."

In his words, his heart yearned for it.

At this time, someone outside came to report that General Yue had arrived.

……

In the morning, the sunshine was clearly and warmly shining outside the courtyard. After Yue Fei arrived, everyone brought in the map and conducted round after round of deduction and review of the battle thousands of miles away based on the intelligence that came. During this period, Cheng Zhouhai, Han Shizhong, and a group of civil servants also arrived one after another. Everyone showed complex expressions on the news that came.

People were chattering and talking. In fact, those who had old acquaintances with Ning Yi seemed a little silent. Junwu only showed a little gaffe in front of a few familiar people. When the civil servants came in, he stopped saying those inappropriate words. Zhou Pei walked to the side, looking at the waterside pavilion and scenery outside the window on one side, and she also remembered Ning Yi.

In fact, for a long time, the figure she had been thinking about had become very blurred in her impression. At the beginning, Ning Yi was just a relatively refined scholar. Since the separation in the capital, the two had never met again. The things he had done since then, whether it was slaughtering Liangshan or fighting against the Green Forest, always seemed a little illusory.

When it came to killing the king and rebelling, Ning Yi had become more of a dark outline. This outline sometimes did extreme things, but it was undeniable that he was a truly powerful incarnation. This was a power that her position could not define. Even after taking over the Chengguo Princess Mansion and seeing all kinds of things more than ten years later, she could not completely define the extent of the other party's power when she thought of the man who had once been her teacher.

Defeating the Jin army, a battle achievement that seemed like a dream to the people of the Wu Dynasty, had not appeared on the other party for the first time. More than ten years ago in Bianliang, he gathered a rabble and defeated Guo Yaoshi, who could wrestle with the Jurchens, in Xiacun, and finally cooperated with Grandpa Qin to relieve the siege of Bianliang. After that, in Xiaocang River, he successively killed Lou Shi and Ci Bushi, causing the Jin Kingdom to suffer huge setbacks in the Northwest.

All of this could only be regarded as a partial war with the Jin Kingdom, but when it came to the Southwest War, the Huaxia Army was truly fighting against half of the Jin Kingdom. Everyone was surprised by the victory of Tanzhou, but it was not incomprehensible. This was at most a surprise. But for the war in the Southwest, even the most optimistic and confident people about Ning Yi probably could not guess the results of today.

People mostly thought that the Huaxia Army would use the geographical advantage to drag the Jurchen West Route Army in the Southwest, and through time-consuming maneuvering, eventually obtain a glimmer of life under the Jurchen's overwhelming offensive. No one thought that the Huaxia Army would fight the Jin Kingdom's most elite nearly 200,000 troops to a draw with only tens of thousands of troops. Then Ning Yi led 7,000 people to attack, and in just the first attack, he defeated the 30,000 Yan Shan Guards led by Xie Bao, and beheaded Wan Yan Xie Bao in front of Nianhan.

In his life, he had almost never been at a real disadvantage against anyone. Even the Jurchens, demons who came out of the white mountains and black waters and killed the entire world, after ten years of honing, he actually gave the other party such a heavy blow?

How did Wan Yan Zong Han view him?

The Southwest... is really in a continuous war...

She was thinking these things in her mind. This was the first time in several years that she had thought of Ning Yi so seriously and forcefully. Although the figure had become unclear, he had gone too far, too far to meet the nightmare of the Jurchens going south... She was still somewhat fruitlessly recalling these things, and also thinking: If the gang of beasts in the court, including Zhou Zhe, had not been so stupid after the Battle of Xiacun that year, everything today should have had a very different trajectory...

On the trees outside the window, the peach blossoms had fallen. She closed her eyes and sighed softly, very softly.

All of this will never be realized again...

……

Not far away, Junwu, who had been silent for a long time, also summoned Wen Ren'er to the side and asked about the things that had been interrupted before:

"...Master Wen Ren, this time you went over, that leader of the righteous army named He Wen, is he really... someone who has stayed in the Southwest?"

……

Outside the window, there was sunshine falling. In Fuzhou, which was cornered in peace, people felt happy because of the news that came. But under this bright sky, all the way north, the dark clouds had not dissipated from the field of vision. Hundreds of thousands of troops and millions of Han slaves were forming a bloated group and crossing the Yangtze River.

Victory and defeat gathered here, and triumph and desolation were intertwined. The victors high above were driving millions of livestock-like compatriots to the north. One side was the way home, and the other side had no way home. Every day, corpses were rolled up by the waters of the Yangtze River, floating and sinking to the distant hell.

The information that came then interrupted this pure joy and sadness.

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