The sky was gloomy, late January, with snow everywhere, and the wind blowing through the cities was turning bitterly cold.

Chunping Granary in Gaizhou, its towering outer walls covered with icicles, resembled a grim fortress. Outside the granary, white banners of mourning were hung, and soldiers patrolling with red-tasseled spears walked along the top of the walls.

On a side road outside the granary, a team of soldiers was returning on horseback. Leading them was Wei Cheng, the general guarding Chunping Granary, riding his horse, his mind uneasy. As they approached the granary gate, a rumbling sound came, and icicles fell from nearby houses, shattering on the road. Spring had arrived, and this was the most common sight recently.

Reaching the gate, just as he was about to order the soldiers inside to lower the gate, the soldiers above suddenly became alert, pointing ahead. At the end of the avenue, figures were approaching, first a cavalry, then infantry, crowding the wide road until it was impassable.

The leading general had a gentle expression and first produced his token: "Are you General Wei Cheng? Guan Song of the Changning Army, under the name of Lord An, is here to assist in the defense of Chunping Granary."

"Changning Army." Wei Cheng's face darkened. "How can the Changning Army manage the affairs of Chunping Granary? I only listen to Lord Fang's orders."

"These are wartime decrees. The army is in charge. Chunping Granary is a vital military storage location. Now there are Jurchen spies who want to sabotage it in secret. This general is here under orders. Lord An has discussed this matter with Lord Fang Qiong, and Lord Fang has also nodded in agreement. You can ask if you don't believe me."

"If there are no decrees..."

"The situation is critical! This general doesn't have time to haggle and delay with you here. Open the gate quickly!"

A cold light flashed, and the general on horseback had already drawn his steel saber, followed by rows of cavalry unsheathing their long sabers. Behind them, a spear formation like a forest pointed at Wei Cheng's small team. The soldiers in Chunping Granary had begun to move. The cold wind howled, blowing across the sky of Gaizhou.

Wei Cheng looked at the blade. The soldiers on the wall behind him raised their bows and arrows, but they still seemed weak in the face of the approaching military formation. His expression changed uncertainly before the blade. After a while, he reached out, drew his saber, and pointed it forward.

"Gaizhou is the rear, and Chunping Granary is in the city... Prince Jin just left. Do you want to rebel?"

Cold steel confronted each other, and a murderous aura permeated the long street...

...

On the twenty-first day of the first month, the alliance was held. On the twenty-second, Prince Jin, Tian Shi, died, and the news spread throughout Jin afterward. In the following days, the atmosphere north of the Yellow River was grim, and the situation was chaotic. The undercurrents beneath the surface were so intense that they could no longer be suppressed. Officials and forces, large and small, were uneasy, making their own choices.

Jiaocheng, it looked like it was going to rain.

Lin Zongwu stood under the eaves with his hands behind his back, his huge figure like a deity, giving the old man drinking tea not far away a great sense of oppression.

"After Tian Shi's departure, people's hearts are unsettled. Recently, people coming and going to this seat have various intentions. Some want to win over this seat, some want to rely on this seat, and some advise this seat to surrender to the Jurchens. Elder Chang, what is your intention in asking this seat to go to Weisheng?"

"No bad intentions, no bad intentions at all, Leader!" The old man surnamed Chang in the room waved his hands, trying to clarify his intentions. "Think about it, Leader, on the twenty-first, the families of Jin held an alliance. On the twenty-second, Prince Jin died at the hands of the Jurchens. Lou Shuwan, a woman, sits in Weisheng. She is ruthless and short-sighted. Although Yu Yulin has troops in his hands, he can't suppress the forces of all sides. Jin is going to be in chaos..."

The old man cupped his hands. "The Chang family has been operating in Jin for many years and also wants to protect itself, Leader. Once Jin is in chaos, the people will be plunged into misery. How can my family be an exception? Therefore, even if Prince Jin has passed away, someone will have to take over the situation. Not to mention that Prince Jin's lineage is now headed by a woman, unable to convince the public, Wang Juyun's rebel army claimed to have a million troops, but they were outsiders, and those million beggars were scattered and defeated. The Black Flag Army has some reputation, but how can a mere ten thousand people stabilize the situation in Jin? Ji Qingli and other bandits have blood on their hands. The alliance is just an addition. Now that resistance against the Jin is hopeless, I'm afraid they will just want to make a quick buck and leave. After thinking it over, only the Leader has millions of followers of the Great Brightness Sect, and both his martial arts and reputation can convince the public. If the Leader doesn't go to Weisheng, I'm afraid Weisheng will be in chaos..."

"Humph." Lin Zongwu snorted coldly. "If Weisheng is in chaos, I will intervene and make it even more chaotic! Old Chang, the Jurchens are coming. You are seeking self-preservation, I'm afraid you've become a traitor!"

"Leader, absolutely impossible, absolutely impossible. The Chang family also has a reputation. If you spread this word, my Chang family will be scolded in Jin..." The old man said, anxiously kneeling on the ground to persuade, "Leader, it's normal for you to suspect me, but... in any case, the situation in Weisheng has to be cleaned up. That way, if you have no intention of taking that position, at least going to Weisheng, as long as you show your face, everyone will have a backbone..."

Lin Zongwu looked back at him, and after a moment, said, "I don't care what idea you have in mind, coming here with sweet words. I don't want to investigate today. But Elder Chang, your whole family is here. If one day, I know that you came here today for the Jurchens... then no matter when, I will leave none of your family alive."

He said these words one by one, and the old man kneeling on the ground shuddered, and then did not argue anymore. Lin Zongwu said, "Go, Elder Chang, I don't mean anything else, you don't have to take it too seriously."

The old man got up and took his leave, still hesitant at the end: "Leader, then when will you..."

"Get out!" Lin Zongwu's voice was like thunder, gnashing his teeth and saying, "Can my decision be interrupted by you!?"

After this sentence, the old man fled in a panic. Lin Zongwu stood there with his hands behind his back. After a while, Wang Nantuo came in, seeing Lin Zongwu's expression unprecedentedly complex.

"It's going to rain."

He said this sentence in a low voice.

Soon after, it started to rain. Cold and bone-chilling.

...

The huge ship was slowly sinking.

Heshun.

As night gradually fell, a chaotic atmosphere was spreading in the small city.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The heavy sound echoed rhythmically with the hammering of iron. In the yard burning with raging flames, hundreds of refined steel sabers were taking shape. Shi Jin, shirtless, watched the sparks constantly flying from the steel billet in front of him. He and several other blacksmiths were immersed in the process of forming the steel sabers in front of them.

Small groups of righteous rebels, centered on his call, temporarily gathered here.

One of the righteous rebels who followed Shi Jin was named Li Honggu, a companion who followed Shi Jin from Mount Chifeng. At this time, she was gathering the more than one hundred people of this rebel army outside. Entering the yard where ironware was being made, Shi Jin sat aside, wiping the sweat from his body with a towel, taking a short rest. He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with countless scars on his body. The cold gaze he cast upon the flames revealed an aura of iron and blood.

"Dragon King, the men have gathered."

"Oh." The light in Shi Jin's eyes softened a little, and he looked up. "Does anyone want to leave?"

"Everyone only asks where the Dragon King wants to go."

"I've thought about it..." Shi Jin said, paused, and then said, "We're going to Weisheng."

The woman nodded, then frowned a little, finally unable to help but say, "Didn't the Dragon King say he didn't want to get close to that kind of place anymore..."

After Mount Chifeng, especially after Lin Chong's death, Shi Jin was no longer willing to participate in large and complex power struggles. He also had many reservations about Weisheng, the power core of Prince Jin - of course, he didn't mind others using his fame to do good deeds. At the Fenyang Alliance, although he only had more than one hundred men, he was famous. Tian Shi's side also specifically invited him. Although he didn't go, he sent a representative to fully support this matter.

Now that Tian Shi was dead and the Jin forces were leaderless, the situation in Weisheng was the most sensitive. Li Honggu didn't understand why Shi Jin suddenly changed his mind, so she asked. Shi Jin stood up, nodded slightly, and said, "To save people."

"Save people?"

"Yes... Prince Jin died for resisting the Jin, and now the situation is in ruins. Those who followed him will probably be purged next. General Yu, and that female minister Lou Shuwan, they followed Tian Shi, and now the situation is probably quite critical."

In the firelight, Shi Jin put on his clothes and picked up the iron rod. "Prince Jin died for resisting the Jin, and we have nothing to repay. These loyal officials should not suffer this misfortune again. Although I am not good at military affairs and interpersonal relations, I always have one life. If the situation in Weisheng is unbearable and falls into chaos, I will risk my life to at least protect them."

"...I think, if Old Hero Zhou was still alive today, he would do the same thing."

The Dragon King's figure left the blacksmithing yard, flickering in the light. He explained his ideas to the hundred or so men gathered outside and gave them the opportunity to choose again.

No one chose to leave.

That night, a group of people left Heshun and embarked on the road to Weisheng. The light of torches flickered on the ground in the night. In the following days, more people gathered towards Weisheng because of the name Eight-Armed Dragon King. Like the embers of a fire, they emitted their own light in the darkness...

...

Weisheng, black clouds bearing down, threatening to crush the city.

The Tianji Palace occupied a vast area, but after Tian Shi personally led the expedition last year, Lou Shuwan drastically cut all unnecessary expenses in the palace. At this time, the huge palace seemed empty and cold.

After returning to Weisheng, Lou Shuwan first killed Tian Shi's father, Tian Biao, and then chose a useless side hall in the Tianji Palace to work. Since the beginning of the anti-Jin campaign last year, too many people had been killed and too much blood had been shed in this palace. Sometimes looking out from the doorway, it would feel that the huge hall was like a ghost domain, with countless wandering ghosts wandering outside, seeking lives.

The whole situation was sliding into the abyss.

If it was Lou Shuwan in the later period of the Tian Hu era, her power was based on the common interests within a system. When Tian Hu was out of his mind and wanted to kill her, with the secret activities of the Chinese Army, the military strength of Yu Yulin, and the cooperation of the huge chain of interests within the entire system, Lou Shuwan completed the feat of killing Tian Hu, and incidentally pushed Tian Shi to the stage.

With the help of Tian Shi and Yu Yulin, Lou Shuwan promoted the anti-Jin campaign, but it was also the anti-Jin campaign that broke the chain of interests that was originally a community in the Jin Wang system. Tian Shi's vigor improved his control over the army, and then this control was lost with Tian Shi's death. Now Lou Shuwan no longer has a strong trump card of interests in her hands. What she can rely on is only some brave and righteous people who are determined to resist the Jin, and the Jin army controlled by Yu Yulin.

However, even among those who are determined to resist the Jin, many actually don't mind Lou Shuwan's downfall.

So, from the separation at Guisong Post, Yu Yulin began to mobilize his troops to seize resources from various places, lobbying and threatening various forces to ensure the basic disc he could grasp. Lou Shuwan returned to Weisheng and stormed into the Tianji Palace with a resolute attitude. She certainly cannot rule the Jin forces with such a posture for too long, but the decisiveness and madness of the past can still deter some people. At least, seeing the posture Lou Shuwan put on, rational people can understand: even if she can't kill everyone blocking in front of her, at least the first force blocking in front of her will be devoured alive by this crazy woman.

The forces of the Jurchens have also long been active within the Jin system.

Although the heavy snow has not yet melted and the Jurchen troops pressing from the north have not yet launched an offensive, attacks are only a matter of time. As long as this is understood, under the huge blow of Tian Shi's death, there are too many forces that have begun to choose to fall to the Jurchens. Some forces have not yet expressed their position, but they have begun to actively seize control of various passes, cities, or material storage. Some generals from large and small families in the army have begun to restate their positions, and division and conflict are unfolding silently and fiercely. In a few days, reports from all over the place were frightening.

This is the coercion of the general trend, like the melting of snow by the spring sun, it is impossible to resist. In recent days, Lou Shuwan has constantly re-divided the allegiance of forces in her heart, sending people to either lobby or threaten, hoping to preserve enough chips and a living force. But even the guards near Weisheng are already splitting and lining up.

Zhan Wu of the Chinese Army is also running around among them – in fact, the Chinese Army is also one of her backings. If it weren't for this flag standing here, and they could not possibly rely on the Jurchens, I am afraid that several large families near Weisheng had already begun to speak with swords.

February 2, the Dragon Raises Its Head. On this night, it rained in Weisheng City. All the snow on the trees and eaves had fallen. As the ice and snow began to melt, it was cold to the bone. It was also on this night that someone quietly entered the palace and delivered a message: "...Lord Liao sent a word, wanting to talk..."

When Lou Shuwan killed Tian Hu, the base of the Jin system was supported by three large families: the Yuan family, whose head was Yuan Zhanxia, the Tang family of Tang Shun, and the Liao family of Liao Yiren. Later, they began to resist the Jin, and the Yuan family obstructed them. Lou Shuwan led the army to slaughter the Yuan clan. Now, the Liao family and the Tang family have actions in both the military and political sides, but the faction that wants to surrender to the Jin is mainly the Liao family. Now that they are asking to talk, the scale of private collusion should also be quite considerable.

Lou Shuwan took a breath.

"Okay, let's talk then."

The cold rain fell on every part of this dark palace, and outside this palace, countless confrontations have already taken shape, and violent and fierce confrontations may begin at any time.

Blood flowing like a river...

The huge ship is sinking.

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

Jurchen, Shuliesu's Camp.

Wanyan Xiyin and General Shuliesu walked out of the central military tent and saw that the entire military camp was already preparing to move out. He cupped his hands towards Shuliesu.

"The ice and snow have not yet melted, and the attack is a bit hasty, but Jin is already in chaos. A heavy blow can force them to make a decision earlier." He paused slightly and added, "The Black Flag Army is a formidable force, but with the General's出手, victory is assured. The key to this battle, General, take care."

On Shuliesu's face, there was only a proud fighting spirit: "If I can't defeat him, Shuliesu will bring his head to see you."

The frozen land had not thawed, and in an instant, there was the light of heaven and thunder. The war in the tenth year of Jianshuo unfolded in every possible way.