Many years later, Li Shishi would often recall Bianliang in the thirteenth year of the Jinghan era of the Wu Dynasty.

That was the eve of the Jurchen southward migration. In her memory, Bianliang was warm and prosperous. The buildings and eaves exuded an air of peace and prosperity. Fanlou was located on the eastern side of Imperial Street, and the large setting sun spilled in from the end of the street. The season was always autumn, a warm golden color, with the pedestrians on the streets and the sounds of poetry and music from the buildings intermingling.

Such prosperity always seemed more profound in memory after the rain and wind had swept it away.

Regarding such memories, Ning Yi had his own set of twisted theories.

"It's all thanks to the paint."

The man, who didn't seem to have much sentiment, always asserted with certainty, "From ancient times to the present, the colors we've been able to utilize are actually few. For example, when building houses, bright red and purple paints are very expensive and difficult to preserve in rural villages. Bianliang seemed prosperous back then because the houses at least had some color and were maintained, unlike the countryside where everything was just mud bricks and cow dung... Once industry develops, you'll find that the prosperity of Bianliang is actually insignificant."

Ning Yi, who said such things, was himself somewhat insignificant in terms of aesthetics. Later, he often demanded that people paint the walls entirely white, making it seem as if one had arrived at another place that was out of sync with the mountains and rivers. He was skilled in poetry, but obviously, he didn't know how to paint.

Bianliang in her memory was always autumn, and always dusk, with the large setting sun warm and beautiful. It was the sunset of the Wu Dynasty's two hundred years of prosperity. From another perspective, perhaps it was because Li Shishi's life at that time was also coming to an end. The days when she leaned against the window of Fanlou as the courtesan were about to pass, and she was hesitating in her heart about her future choices.

She failed to make a decision.

All elegance is swept away by the rain and wind. A huge, turbulent era was suddenly pushed before her eyes, and before the people of the Wu Dynasty who had enjoyed two hundred years of peace.

She thought of herself back then, and of the people who came and went in Fanlou, and of He Leier. People were tossed about in the darkness, and the hand of fate grabbed the strings of everyone's lives, tearing them roughly. From then on, some people's strings went to completely unpredictable places, and some people's strings were broken in mid-air.

When the gaze could stop for a moment, the world had already become another way.

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

If viewed from another perspective, she would occasionally think of the moment when she met Ning Yi again in Jiangning.

Whether in relation to this world or to her personal life, that name was a presence that could not be ignored for decades. She was once infatuated with him, but later felt confused, even angry and puzzled... In the flow of time and the changes of the world, people's personal feelings sometimes seem small. Beside that man, she could always see the outlines of some larger things.

Looking back at the time in Fanlou, she was facing the most important choice of her life, as were many others. Women choose a husband, marry him, and then live together for decades, helping each other and raising children... If all goes well, women will have a happy life.

A courtesan like Li Shishi always had more autonomy than others. The daughters of respectable families did not choose who they would marry, Li Shishi was able to have some autonomy in this regard, but in return, she could not become someone's first wife. She might be able to find a gentle and talented man to entrust her life to. This man might also have a certain status, and she could have children before her beauty faded, to maintain her position and enjoy a decent life for a period of time or for life.

There were too many uncertainties in such a choice, but everyone lived their lives this way. In those warm, sunset-like days, Li Shishi was once envious of the atmosphere around Ning Yi. She approached it, and was then carried away by that huge thing, beyond her control.

It's hard to say whether it was lucky or unlucky. In the following ten years, she saw some deeper things in this world. If there was a choice, it certainly existed at some points, such as during her time in Dali, or every time someone expressed their admiration for her in the past ten years. If she wanted to turn back and leave things to the men around her, she always had that opportunity.

At Xiaocang River, she once argued with Ning Yi about the Jingping affair. She couldn't be persuaded by what Ning Yi said, and she went to Dali in anger. During the three years of the Xiaocang River war, he faced the attack of a million-strong army from the Central Plains and fiercely resisted the Jurchens. Li Shishi felt that he was that kind of person, but when the news of his death came, she couldn't help but go out to find out "why".

Ning Yi didn't answer her. During the time she thought Ning Yi had died, members of the Huaxia Army accompanied her from south to north, and then from north to south. For nearly two years, she saw human tragedies that were completely different from those in times of peace. People cried miserably, practiced cannibalism, and were pitiful.

However, in this unbenevolent world, if people really didn't have the will to resist or the bloodthirsty beastliness in their hearts, they wouldn't be able to survive by being pitiful alone. The songs and dances of Fanlou were merely embellishments in times of peace, and pitiful little girls would eventually turn into withered bones who died of cold and starvation.

How many people need to awaken and resist to support this world? Ning Yi's answer once seemed very naive: "It's best if it's everyone."

Li Shishi back then understood, "That's impossible." Ning Yi said, "If it's not like that, then what's the point of this world?" Does a pointless world mean everyone should die? Should people without meaning die? Ning Yi's somewhat frivolous answer back then once angered Li Shishi. But later, she gradually realized how deep the anger and helplessness were in those words.

When one person puts down their burden, that burden has to be picked up by those who have already awakened. The people who resisted died in the front, and after they died, the people who didn't resist knelt and died in the back. For two years, everything she saw with Lu Junyi, Yan Qing, and others was like this.

She still didn't fully understand Ning Yi. After the Battle of Daming Prefecture, she returned to the Southwest with Qin Shaohe's widow. The two hadn't seen each other for many years, and they were actually a little estranged when they first met, but fortunately, they were both open-minded people, and soon the estrangement was resolved. Ning Yi arranged some things for her and also told her in detail about some larger things.

"Fanlou is nothing great." Ning Yi, who was sometimes clever and sometimes particularly inept at speaking, was complacent at the time, "There aren't many women in this world who are literate, and they haven't seen much of the world, so overall, they're actually uninteresting. Men created brothels for their own enjoyment, allowing some literate and eloquent women to sell... the feeling of love. But I think, between two independent people, these things can be done by themselves."

Ning Yi wasn't just bragging when he said this. At least from Li Shishi's point of view, Ning Yi's interactions with Su Tan'er, Nie Yunzhu, and other family members were extremely enviable, so she didn't refute him.

"In the future, whether it's boys or girls, they can all read and write. When girls see more things, know the world outside, and can communicate and exchange ideas, they can naturally no longer need Fanlou. So-called equality for all means that men and women can of course be equal."

"Of course, don't be happy too soon. The basis of equality between people actually lies in taking responsibility. People who can't take responsibility can't actually get any power. If women want to be equal to men, the prerequisite is that they have their own abilities. After the conditions are met, there will actually be a process of proving their abilities and fighting for power."

"This process is already underway. There are already some female officials in the army. I think you can also consciously prepare to fight for women's rights. Look, you are knowledgeable, have seen the world, have done many things, and are now responsible for diplomatic affairs and the like. You are a very good example that women are no worse than men, and even more excellent."

This was what Ning Yi said to Shishi when she asked Ning Yi for some external liaison affairs and he spoke to her in detail.

Shishi took on many things related to negotiating with the gentry and prominent families in the Sichuan region.

People in this world sometimes get closer and closer, and sometimes they drift farther and farther apart. Of course, the standard of far and near isn't as clear as people imagine.

To persuade the gentry and prominent families in various places to stand with the Huaxia Army as much as possible, in many cases it relied on a combination of vested interests, coercion, and enticement. In many cases, it required arguing with people and explaining the great principles of this world. After that, Shishi had many conversations with Ning Yi about the Huaxia Army's policies and its future direction.

In the face of these specific questions, Ning Yi spoke to her in more detail. Shishi finally understood everything about the Huaxia Army more clearly - this was a communication she hadn't had when she left Xiaocang River a few years ago.

"...People are born equal, or rather, we believe that people should ultimately be equal. But idealized equality needs the support of practical conditions. Are a smart person and a stupid person equal? Are a hardworking person and a lazy person equal? Are a literate person and an illiterate person equal? We want to narrow the preconditions as much as possible..."

"...The technology of object investigation is already giving us the possibility of popularizing books. People gain wisdom from books, popularize books, popularize basic literacy education, and everyone has the possibility to improve themselves. We also need to improve the way of education, not just let people read the classics, but as much as possible research educational and enlightenment methods suitable for the public, and make the great principles understood by more people in a more popular way..."

"...The way of object investigation may have a limit, but for the time being it's still far away. The guy who proposed increasing grain production is very smart and said it very well. If too many people are drawn into the workshops, there won't be enough people to farm... Regarding this point, we calculated it a few years ago, and those who study agriculture have already made some progress, such as the chicken farms in Heden, and the seed selection and breeding that we talked about before..."

"...But the most important thing is that the laboratory where Mr. Gongsun is researching explosives has recently had some very interesting results. We have made some fertilizers that may increase rice production several times... Currently, we haven't found the possibility of mass production, but at least the agricultural side has a certain direction... Actually, it takes time and a peaceful environment to do these things with peace of mind. We are currently short of manpower..."

"...The problem that imperial power does not reach the counties must be changed, but for the time being, I don't want to be like Old Niu Tou, grabbing all the big households and killing them... I don't care whether they are happy or not. In the future, the highest thing I want is the law. They can have fields and houses in the local area, but as long as there is any behavior of oppressing others, let the law teach them how to behave and let education draw away their roots. Of course, there will be a transition in the middle, perhaps a long transition or even repeated, but since there is a declaration of equality, I hope that the people themselves can seize this opportunity. The important thing is that what everyone seizes themselves can take root and sprout..."

Some of Ning Yi's words she could understand, and some she couldn't.

The changes of the times were vast and flowing past people. In the ten years after the sunset in Bianliang, it once seemed extremely chaotic - even desperate - the enemy's strength was so powerful and unstoppable, it was like a giant wheel carrying out the will of heaven, crushing all the beneficiaries of the past.

The teachings of the Great Brightness Sect said that people lived too comfortably in peaceful days, indulging in extravagance and pleasure, so heaven would send down thirty-three great disasters to regain the light - such words seemed so reasonable. Even if some rebels fought with despair, it ultimately seemed渺茫 and powerless.

In Li Shishi's memory, those two periods of mood could not be combined into one until the first spring after the complete passing of the Wujian Shuo Dynasty.

For Li Shishi, the Southwest War was also a busy and chaotic time. In the past year, she had always been running around for the Huaxia Army. Sometimes she would face ridicule and mockery, and sometimes people would express disdain for her past identity as a prostitute, but with the support of the Huaxia Army's strength, she naturally summed up a set of methods for dealing with people and negotiating.

Ning Yi's wife named Liu Xigua gave her a lot of help. Some of the military operations and bandit suppression in the Sichuan region were mostly presided over by Ning Yi's wife, who was also the most powerful advocate of "equality" thinking in the Huaxia Army. Of course, sometimes she would feel distressed because she was Ning Yi's wife, because everyone would give her some face, so her making the other party retreat in various matters seemed more like a烽火戏诸侯 from Ning Yi, and not like her own ability.

Because of this reason, Xigua was very envious of Li Shishi, partly because Li Shishi had a very cultured temperament, and partly because she didn't have the identity problem. During this year, the two got along harmoniously, and Xigua once treated Shishi as her own "military advisor".

After the end of autumn, the opportunities for the two to cooperate became more frequent. Due to the Jurchens' attack, some gentry forces on the Chengdu Plain, who had been shrinking their heads and waiting for changes, began to express their positions. Xigua led troops to pursue and suppress them everywhere, and occasionally asked Shishi to come forward to threaten and persuade some gentry and Confucian scholars who were wavering or had the possibility of being persuaded, based on Huaxia righteousness, to abandon darkness and turn to the light, or at least, not to make trouble.

Xigua's work was more focused on force, and she ran around outside more often. Shishi had even seen the round-faced madam's cold eyes when she was covered in blood more than once.

Shishi's work required a lot of intelligence and written cooperation. She would sometimes go to Zizhou to liaise with Ning Yi. Most of the time, Ning Yi was also busy. If he had time, the two would sit down and have a cup of tea, and they would mostly talk about work.

The battles on the front line were extremely tragic. Many times Shishi could detect the things he was hiding in Ning Yi's words - she used to do this - the tragedy on the front line actually caused huge pressure on Ning Yi. Ning Yi seemed calm.

During this time, Shishi wanted to play a piece of pipa or guzheng for him, but in fact, she never found such an opportunity. Men who focused on work and shouldered huge responsibilities were always fascinating. Sometimes this would make Shishi think about emotional issues again. Her brain would think of the stories she had heard in the past in such gaps, the dedication of women when generals went on expeditions, or the expression of good feelings... things like that.

But she didn't say it, not because she no longer looked forward to these things. In the very small gaps of time that were about herself, she still looked forward to stories about emotions. But at this moment of contact with Ning Yi, she suddenly realized that the dedication of women when generals went on expeditions was because it was the greatest encouragement and help to the other party for women.

Now she had more practical things to do.

The Huaxia Army's troop numbers were always very tight. By the end of December, the largest wave of rebellions occurred - this was not just spontaneous rebellion, but more of it was actually premeditated by the Jurchens, with Wanyan Xiyin's manipulation and instigation - Xigua led troops to pursue and suppress them. Part of the troops in Zizhou were also divided out. Shishi then cooperated with the intelligence department to analyze several forces that might be persuaded to return and prepared to come forward to persuade them to give up resistance.

Shishi had participated in the analysis of these forces from beginning to end. Because the possibility of danger was high, the intelligence department originally didn't intend to let Shishi come forward in person, but Shishi chose two forces with Confucian scholars in charge, and herpersuasion was likely to be effective, and put them on her shoulders.

On the third day of the first lunar month, she persuaded a clan of large households who had rebelled and entered the mountains to temporarily lay down their weapons and no longer oppose the Huaxia Army. In order to make this a success, she even made a promise to the other party on behalf of Ning Yi that once the Jurchen troops retreated, Ning Yi would have a fair debate with the Confucian scholars of this family in public.

After the matter was settled, Shishi went to Zizhou to report the news to Ning Yi. It was already evening when she arrived in Zizhou. The command post was full of people coming and going, and messenger horses were constantly reporting news, which was a sign that the battle situation on the front line was urgent. Shishi saw Ning Yi who was busy from afar. She left a statement and turned around and left here.

She wanted to save time and resolve the second family as quickly as possible. The carriage left the city at night. Half an hour after leaving Zizhou, the accident happened.

The attack on the carriage was sudden. Someone outside seemed to be shouting: "Tie up Ning Yi's mistress!" The guards who followed Shishi engaged in a fight with the other party, but one of the opponents' experts climbed into the carriage and drove the carriage forward. The carriage was bumpy. Shishi lifted the curtain on the carriage window and glanced at it. After a moment, she made a decision. She pounced forward towards the front of the carriage.

This was a collision with all her strength. Shishi and the vicious person who hijacked the carriage flew and rolled into the snow beside the road. The vicious person rolled over and got up, and Shishi also struggled to get up and jumped into the stream beside the road where the water flowed rapidly due to the narrowness of the river.

The river water in winter was icy and bone-chilling. The moment she entered the water, Shishi felt her heart suddenly contract and her head spun. The river water flowed rapidly downstream. When it reached a bend, Shishi's body hit a stone. She woke up for a moment and struggled desperately. She struggled to get ashore on a pebble beach. Her body didn't feel like her own anymore, and her mind wanted to stop there.

But she didn't stop. During that unknown period of time, it was as if something that wasn't her own was controlling her - she had seen wounded soldiers in the Huaxia Army's military camp, and she had seen extremely bloody scenes in the wounded soldiers' camp. Sometimes Liu Xigua would walk up to her carrying a broadsword, and poor children would starve to death on the roadside, emitting a putrid smell... These things flashed mechanically in her mind, and her body was also mechanically searching for firewood and kindling on the riverbed.

A recessed stone wall on the riverbed saved her life. She found some withered branches and broke off some firewood. She took out a flint and struggled to make a fire with trembling hands... She took off her clothes and put them on the fire to dry. The mountain wind howled in the night. It wasn't until near dawn that the Huaxia Army soldiers who had been searching back and forth found her in this blind spot.

She was carried to the wounded soldiers' camp for examination and rest - the wind and cold had already found her and she had to rest. Xigua sent her a letter, telling her to take good care of herself. From others' accounts, she also knew that Ning Yi had heard the news of her being attacked and sent a small team of soldiers to find her in a very urgent situation.

This should have been the closest she had ever been to death and the most worth telling experience in her life, but after recovering from her injuries and illnesses, she didn't feel anything about it. The running around in the past year and several years, and her dealings with Xigua and others, had made Shishi's physique very good. In mid-January, she recovered from her injuries and illnesses, and went to Zizhou again. Ning Yi met her and asked about what happened that night, but Shishi just shook her head and said: "It's nothing."

She contacted Xigua and the intelligence department again and returned to the work she could be responsible for.

Participating in the entire huge and complex work of the Huaxia Army, sometimes Shishi could feel an indistinct plan that seemed to be advancing invisibly. Every problem on the Chengdu Plain that was reduced meant that more fresh troops could be invested in the front line of Zizhou.

Entering late February, the work in the rear no longer seemed as棘手 as before. Shishi came to Zizhou with a team of soldiers. She arrived in Zizhou on the morning of February 23. Zizhou City was under curfew and肃杀 as usual. Since Ning Yi was not available for a while, she went to visit a medical officer in the wounded soldiers' camp who she had known earlier. The other party suddenly realized: "You're here too. I heard there was a big move..."

"What?"

"...You don't know?" The other party was stunned. "Then forget it, you can watch it slowly yourself."

Being in the army for a long time, you would encounter some secrets, but there were also some things that you could sense if you looked carefully. After leaving the wounded soldiers' camp, Shishi noticed signs of the army gathering in the city, and then she learned some other things.

In the afternoon, she had completed her liaisons with the intelligence department and the general staff. She saw Ning Yi who came over wearing a military uniform. The leading troops were passing by the streets outside.

"They said you were here, so I came to take a look. Have you encountered any danger recently?"

"...Are you going to the battlefield?"

"Zonghan is very close. It's time to meet him."

"A...decisive battle outside? They said...it's not good. We have fewer people."

Shishi racked her brains, recalling the military news she had heard during this time. Before this, no one had actually thought that this great battle would all be fought in front of Zizhou City. Ning Yi was going to put all his troops in...

"When fighting a war, the unexpected plan is the best one. Don't worry, I stayed on the front line for a long time at Xiaocang River." Ning Yi smiled, "I personally killed Cibu Shi."

"I always thought you were the best at writing poetry..." She said this, feeling that the words were not expressive enough, and tears were about to come out. At this moment, she felt the feelings of a lover dedicating herself before a general went on an expedition again - it was much better than talking.

"Haha, poetry..." Ning Yi smiled. Shishi couldn't understand the meaning in this smile. The silence between the two lasted for a moment. Ning Yi nodded: "Well... I'll go first. It's time to teach them a lesson."

"Ning Liheng... Liheng." Shishi stopped him. She always had a somewhat large forehead, but she had an extremely elegant appearance. At this time, she opened her eyes wide, and many thoughts seemed to be about to materialize in her eyes, fear, anxiety, complexity, and the anxiety she felt for her inadequacy... Her lips trembled a few times.

"That... I... If you... If you die on the battlefield, do you... Don't you have anything to say to me? You... I know you all have to write... Write a will when you go to the battlefield. You've written it for your family, right... I'm not saying... That... What I mean is... Your wills are all for your family. We've known each other for so many years. If you die... Don't you have anything to say to me? I, we've known each other for so many years..."

She couldn't find a better way to express herself. When she said this, tears flowed down. She could only turn her head away, grab the skirt on her thigh with one hand, and support herself on the table next to her with the other hand, so that she would only bend her knees slightly and not squat down. Tears fell down.

Ning Yi looked at her with a complex expression. His fingers were also tapping on his leg unconsciously. After a long time, he said: "If I can come back... we'll discuss this matter again, okay?"

After a moment, wanting to turn around, he felt that these words were a bit unlucky, and tapped on the table with his hand: "Don't worry... It's no big deal... I will definitely be able to come back."

Like this, he turned around and left.

This was February 23 in Li Shishi's memory. At least at that moment, the future was uncertain. The storm of fate had rolled here, stirring up a tragic atmosphere like the wind roaring and the Yi River running cold.

At this moment, the Southwest, the world, including the Jurchens' thirty years of dominance, and all the resistance they had faced, were about to come to an end. If they failed, it would be the end of the world.

When Shishi came out of the room, soldiers, not many in number for the entire battlefield, were passing through the city gate in the thin sunlight.

Due to the paint, the momentum in the picture was not full. This was early spring when everything seemed pale.

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

The spring of the first year of Wuzhen Xing and the fifteenth year of Jintianhui, February 23.

In the mountains of the Southwest, several armies belonging to Boli Su, Wanyan Saba, Dalai, and Wanyan Xiebao, who participated in the southern expedition, suddenly launched a large-scale insertion and advance in mutual agreement, trying to break the war situation that had become chaotic due to the terrain in the Huaxia Army's desperate resistance.

At the same time as the insertion unfolded, the Huaxia Army command in front of Zizhou made a response, concentrating its forces to carry out a large-scale division and interception of the Jurchens' weak line that had moved forward, trying to swallow a certain amount of results before the Jurchens' strong line could react. The two sides fought for a day.

On the night of February 23, to the morning of February 24, a message was sent from Zizhou. After passing through various routes, it was successively transmitted to the main camp of the main generals of the Jurchen armies on the front line. This message even interfered to a certain extent with the attitude taken by the Jurchen armies in response. Dalai and Saba's troops chose a conservative defense, Boli Su inserted unhurriedly, and Wanyan Xiebao's revenge army suddenly accelerated and pushed forward madly, trying to break through the Leigang and Zongxi lines in the shortest time.

On February 23, Ning Yi personally led more than six thousand elite troops and stepped out of the gate of Zizhou City.

——Pressing forward to the front line.