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Lou Shuwan did not dwell on her soft emotions for too long. Search: \(?End?of?Book?God?Station) to read high-quality literature for free.
Reminiscing about the past can purify one's heart, but looking back, those who have experienced the heavy pressure of life and death must still move forward on the road ahead. Perhaps due to the dullness of thinking caused by Lou Shuheng's indulgence in wine and women over the years, he failed to seize this rare opportunity to mock his sister. This was the last time he saw Lou Shuwan's vulnerability.
In the next two days, news of the impending war spread within the Jin King's territory. The army began to mobilize, and Lou Shuwan once again plunged into her busy daily work. On the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month of the ninth year of Wujian Shuo, Jin King Tian Shi's envoy left Weisheng and rushed towards the Jurchen Western Route Army, which had crossed the Yanmen Pass and was about to engage in battle with Wang Juyun's army. At the same time, Jin King declared war on the Jurchens and issued a proclamation to the entire world, calling on all the people of the Central Plains to resist the Jin Kingdom's invasion.
Moths flew towards the flame.
After more than ten years of Jurchen invasion of the Central Plains, which resulted in widespread suffering and the loss of territory, the always timid Jin King's forces finally demonstrated their Han Chinese blood at this unavoidable moment through action.
The proclamation of resisting the Jin was inspiring and simultaneously ignited a massive wave of resistance in the Central Plains. The Jin King's territory was originally barren, but in the ten years of the Jin Kingdom's southward invasion, the fertile and wealthy lands were all lost, and the people lived in misery. On the contrary, this piece of land had relatively independent administrative power, and later had some semblance of peace. Now, there are more than eight million people living under the Jin King's rule. Upon learning of this decision from above, some people felt their hearts surge with enthusiasm, while others were filled with sadness and fear. Facing such a powerful enemy as the Jurchens, no matter what considerations the superiors had, the lives and fates of more than eight million people would be gambled away.
Some enlisted in the army, some migrated, and some waited for the Jurchens to arrive to seize wealth and fame. During the court discussions in Weisheng, the first decision made, in addition to issuing the proclamation, was for Jin King Tian Shi to lead the troops in person. Facing the powerful Jurchens, Tian Shi's decision was unexpected. The ministers in the court tried to dissuade him without success. Yu Yulin, Lou Shuwan, and others also went to advise him. On this night, Tian Shi held a private banquet and invited Yu and Lou. When he first met Yu and Lou, he was still a纨绔子弟(wan ku zi di, playboy) in his twenties, and with the care of his uncle Tian Hu, he had always been arrogant. Later, when he went to Lüliang Mountain with Yu Yulin and Lou Shuwan, he developed some friendship.
Later, when the world was in chaos, Tian Hu's regime was confined to the mountains, and Tian's relatives and nephews ran rampant. Tian Shi's temperament became quiet and steady. Occasionally, when Lou Shuwan wanted to do something, Tian Shi was willing to be kind and lend a hand. In this way, when Lou Shuwan, Yu Yulin, and the Huaxia Army subsequently erupted and destroyed Tian Hu's regime, Tian Shi had already stood on Lou Shuwan's side. Then, he was elected as the new Jin King.
Lou Shuwan, Yu Yulin, and others have always had a good relationship with Tian Shi, but to truly assess his ability, they naturally wouldn't rate him too highly. Tian Hu established the Jin King regime. The three brothers were just hunters. Tian Shi had a solid body and strength since he was a child, but he couldn't be called a first-class master. He had seen amazing talents when he was young, and since then, he had kept a low profile. Although he was keen on choosing sides, he couldn't be called a passionate or decisive person. Having taken over Tian Hu's position for more than a year, he surprisingly decided to personally lead the army to resist the Jurchens, which was truly strange.
But Tian Shi didn't shy away from this matter in front of the two.
"...Regarding the proposal of personally leading the army, the court is in an uproar. Facing the aggressive Jurchens, retreating is the right thing to do, and charging forward is foolish. I don't look like a fool, but the truth can only be said to you two in private."
Tian Shi's private banquet was held in the garden high in the Tianji Palace. From the terrace of this courtyard, one could see the bustling Weisheng and the picturesque night scene. Tian Shi stood with his hands behind his back, sighing with a smile.
"When the Jurchens attack, there are only two choices: either fight or negotiate. The Tian family has always been hunters. When I was a child, I didn't read many books. To be honest, if we could really negotiate, I would want to negotiate. The storyteller said that the trend of the world changes every five hundred years. The luck of the Wu Dynasty is gone, and the world belongs to the Jurchens. If we surrender to the Jurchens and hide in Weisheng, and be a peaceful king for generations, it would be quite enjoyable... But we can't do it."
He shook his head: "The first time I worked with Miss Lou, I went to Lüliang Mountain, participated in a martial arts tournament to recruit a husband, entered the household of that Blood Bodhisattva. I saw many heroic figures at that time, but I wasn't very aware of it. Later, Ning Liheng assassinated the emperor and fought in the Northwest. I was shocked at that time. What is the Jin King? If I had annoyed him at that time, my head would have been gone long ago. From that time on, I looked at the thoughts of these big figures, and then went to... read books and listen to storytellers. Throughout history, so-called kindness is all fake. When the Jurchens first took control of the Central Plains, they didn't have enough power, so they had Liu Yu, the Jin King, and so on. Once the world is settled, with the Jurchens' brutality, the Tian family will probably be wiped out. How can there be vassal kings for you and me to be?"
His face still had a bit of the arrogance of his youth, but there was also some helplessness in his sarcastic tone. After saying this, he walked to the railing at the edge of the terrace and stood directly on it. Lou Shuwan and Yu Yulin both leaned forward nervously. Tian Shi waved his hand behind him: "Uncle was brutal and never trusted anyone, but he was able to get to this point from a mountain bandit because he had vision. General Yu, Miss Lou, you all know that when the Jurchens came south, although this territory has always been submissive, Uncle has always been planning to fight the Jurchens. Is it because he is loyal and righteous? Actually, he just understood this point. The world is in chaos, so there is a place for the Jin King. Once the world is settled, there is no way for feudal lords and heroes to survive."
"But even so, Your Majesty can sit in the center and command..." Lou Shuwan stepped forward and said.
"Sitting in the center, what is the difference between the Jin King and Liu Yu, or the Wu Dynasty emperor? Miss Lou, General Yu, you all know what the result of this war will be." He said, sitting on the dangerous railing, "...The lights of the Central Plains will go out."
The mountain wind blew past, and in front of them were the brilliant lights of this era. Tian Shi's words dissolved in the wind, like an ominous prophecy, but for the three people present, everyone knew that this was the reality about to happen.
"There are not many places like this in the Central Plains anymore, but after this battle, there will be no more Weisheng City. Before the declaration of war, you also saw the personal letter Wang Juyun sent privately. The Central Plains will not win. The Central Plains cannot stop the Jurchens. Wang Shanyue is defending Daming, wanting to slow down the Jurchens' pace with a do-or-die spirit. Wang Juyun... is just a bunch of beggars who can't even afford food. They can't stop Wanyan Zonghan either. If we add to it, it will be one defeat after another. But hopefully, after these defeats, the people of Jiangnan, the Southern Wu, and even the Black Flag, will eventually fight the Jurchens to the death, so that in the future, there will be a piece of land for the Han people."
"Since we know it's going to be a big defeat, the thing we can think about is how to transfer and reorganize our forces. If we can't beat them, we'll run away. If we can beat them, we'll fight. If we're defeated, we'll go to the mountains. After the Jurchens pass, we'll cut off their rear. I can put all of the Jin King's assets into it, but if in eight or ten years, the Jurchens are really defeated... there will be a name for me in this world, and maybe I will really get a position."
"One way is to surrender to the Jurchens, and enjoy a few more years, a dozen more years, and be killed like a pig, or even be infamous for ten thousand years. Other than that, we can only kill a path out of ten deaths and one life. How to choose? I'm actually terrified to choose the latter."
He then turned back and smiled at the two, his eyes cold but resolute: "But in the future, my path will be different. Wealth and honor are sought in danger. Ning Liheng taught me that you have to risk your life to get some things... Miss Lou, although you are a woman, I admire you more and more over the years. After General Yu and I leave, I will have to trouble you to sit in the center and command. Although you have always done many things better than me, and maybe you have already thought it through, but as this what-king, let's have a heart-to-heart talk in private between good friends."
"Please give instructions, Your Majesty." Lou Shuwan cupped her hands and saluted.
"Fighting the Jurchens, it sounds like a good reputation, but there are too many people who don't want a reputation. Weisheng... I don't dare to stay, I'm afraid I'll be dragged out and killed in the middle of the night. I feel more secure with the army. General Yu, don't worry, I won't give blind commands, but I'll follow the army. If we lose, we can escape together, haha..."
Yu Yulin laughed, and Tian Shi stopped laughing after a while: "But in the future, my path will be different. Wealth and honor are sought in danger. Ning Liheng told me that you have to risk your life to get some things... Miss Lou, although you are a woman, I admire you more and more over the years. After General Yu and I leave, I will have to trouble you to sit in the center and command. Although you have always done many things better than me, and maybe you have already thought it through, but as this what-king, let's have a heart-to-heart talk in private between good friends."
"Please give instructions, Your Majesty." Lou Shuwan cupped her hands and saluted.
"Fighting the Jurchens, it sounds like a good reputation, but there are too many people who don't want a reputation. Weisheng... I don't dare to stay, I'm afraid I'll be dragged out and killed in the middle of the night. I feel more secure with the army. Miss Lou, since you are here, don't be polite to those who should be killed." A murderous aura appeared in his eyes, "Anyway, we are going to smash the pots and sell the iron. You can deal with the Jin King's territory as you see fit. There are a few old guys who can't be trusted. If they dare to mess around,诛他们九族! (zhū tāmen jiǔ zú, exterminate their nine generations!) Proclaim to the world and give them eight generations of infamy! Even if the rear affairs involve my father... you can let go and do it!"
During the previous political change in the Jin King's forces, Tian's three brothers, Tian Hu and Tian Bao, were all killed. Tian Biao, Tian Shi's father, was placed under house arrest. In the battle with the Jurchens, the front lines fought with strength, and the rear fought with people's hearts and fear. The shadow of the Jurchens had enveloped the world for more than ten years, and there must be people who were unwilling to be sacrificed in this chaos, even many. Therefore, in this Central Plains that had evolved for ten years, the situation of rising up against the Jurchens might be much more complicated than it was ten years ago.
Lou Shuwan simply nodded.
"I know Miss Lou has people under her command, and General Yu will also leave some people behind. You can also allocate the people in the palace as you see fit. But most importantly, Miss Lou... pay attention to your own safety. Having reached this point, there will be more than one or two people who want to kill you. The road is long and difficult. The three of us... take care."
He waved his hand on the high terrace.
People can only follow the general trend.
Leaving the Tianji Palace, Lou Shuwan looked at the prosperous Weisheng and thought of this sentence. Tian Shi had only been the Jin King for more than a year, and he hadn't lost the spirit in his heart. What he said were all words from the bottom of his heart that couldn't be told to outsiders. She had participated in almost everything that had been done and seen in the Jin King's territory in the past ten years. However, when the Jurchens came north and they wanted to go against the general trend and make a desperate move, everything in front of them could turn against them at any time.
The things that people in this city and people in the court are willing to do in order to survive are unimaginable. She thought of Ning Yi. Back then in the capital, when Prime Minister Qin was imprisoned, the public opinion of the world was turbulent. He was a person who went against the tide. She really hoped that she had such abilities...
A few days later, the messenger of war went to the Jurchen Western Route Army camp. Facing this letter of challenge, Wanyan Zonghan was delighted and wrote two words in a heroic manner: "Come to war!"
On the same day, the Jurchen Western Route Army defeated Wang Juyun's vanguard army of 160,000, killing countless people.
Soon after, the army of Weisheng swore an oath. Tian Shi, Yu Yulin, and others led the army to attack the north. Lou Shuwan sat in Weisheng, waving goodbye to the vast army from the high city wall. The Confucian scholar named Zeng Yuhuai also joined the army and went with the army.
Weisheng was subsequently placed under martial law. From this time on, the strict suppression and control to ensure the operation of the rear, including the bloody purges, never stopped, because Lou Shuwan understood that everything in the Jin King's territory, including Weisheng, both inside and outside the city, up and down the court, had become a mountain of knives and a sea of swords. And in order to survive, she, who faced all of this alone, could only be even more unscrupulous and ruthless.
In the barren land between Yanmen Pass to the south and the ruins of Taiyuan, Wang Juyun was defeated again and again, and he gathered the defeated soldiers again and again, having made preparations long ago. This place originally had not many ways to survive. The army lacked clothing and food, and the equipment was not sophisticated. The people gathered by Wang Juyun in religious form advanced with the last hope and encouragement. Vaguely, one could see some shadows of the Yongle Dynasty in the past.
The fierce battle in Daming Prefecture was like a blood pool hell, continuing day after day. Zhu Biao led more than ten thousand Huaxia Army soldiers to constantly harass and set fires around the area. However, more and more insurgents began to gather. Between September and October, on the Central Plains land north of the Yellow River, the awakened people were like the last white blood cells in the body of a weakened person, burning themselves and rushing towards the powerful enemy that had invaded.
This was the last fight of the Central Plains.
In the Northwest, the flames of war on the plains pushed towards the ancient city of Chengdu day by day. For the residents of the city, they had not experienced war for a long time. News from outside the city came every day. Zhifu Liu Shaojing gathered "hundreds of thousands" of righteous soldiers to resist the Black Flag rebels. There were reports of victories and defeats, and occasionally rumors that Jiading and other places had been completely destroyed by the Black Flag rebels.
Some people had fled before the war began, but there were always some who found it difficult to leave their homeland, or who hesitated and lost the opportunity to leave. Liu Laoshan was one of those who had not left. His family had lived in Chengdu for generations, and he had a small shop near the South Gate. Business had always been good. When the first batch of people left, he was still a little hesitant. Not long after, Chengdu was placed under martial law on all sides, and there was no way to leave. Then, all kinds of rumors fermented in the city.
Black Flag – this was an army that the people of the Wu Dynasty did not understand. The biggest act of rebellion was undoubtedly the assassination of the emperor more than ten years ago. Many people even believed that it was the魔头(mó tóu, devil)'s assassination of the emperor that led to the Wu Dynasty's national fortune being taken away, and it declined from then on. In the years that the Black Flag had moved to the Southwest, there was not much outside knowledge of it. Even the forces that had business dealings with it usually did not mention it. Only after such inquiries did people know that this gang of bandits had fought the Jurchens fiercely in the Northwest in their early years.
How brutal must a group of people be to fight back and forth with those Jurchen barbarians? Under this premise, rumors that the Black Flag had slaughtered half of the Chengdu Plain, that Jiading had been burned to the ground, and that the Black Flag army not only ate people but also preferred to eat women and children, continued to spread. At the same time, amidst the news of victories and defeats, the Black Flag's artillery fire continued to extend towards Chengdu.
By late September, wounded soldiers retreating from the front line could often be seen in Chengdu. September 27th came too quickly for the residents of Chengdu. In reality, the Huaxia Army, which had already slowed down its offensive, arrived at the south side of the city and began to besiege it.
Liu Laoshan picked up the fire fork at home, bid farewell to his wife and children, and prepared to help defend the city at the critical moment.
Half an hour after the Huaxia Army's charge sounded on October 1st, Liu Laoshan had not yet had time to leave the house. The South Gate of Chengdu was breached due to the defection of the defending soldiers.
The gate was pushed open amidst the artillery fire, and the black flag spread...
Wu Dynasty, Lin'an.
Not to mention the battles in the Southwest, by October, the weather had already cooled down. The atmosphere in Lin'an was boiling with ambition and joy.
The vigorous war that had broken out north of the Yellow River was now known to the vast majority of the Wu Dynasty. The Jin King's tactic of issuing a proclamation to the world and his generous northward advance seemed to indicate that the Wu Dynasty was still the rightful dynasty destined by heaven. The most encouraging thing was Wang Shanyue's defense of Daming Prefecture.
The Light Wu Army's initial provocation in seizing Daming Prefecture and defeating Li Xizhi when the Jurchens came south was initially criticized as reckless. However, when this army miraculously defended the city against the attacks of Zongfu and Zongbi's 300,000-strong army, people's thoughts became more and more enthusiastic with each passing day. If more than 40,000 people could resist the Jurchens' 300,000-strong army, perhaps it proved that after ten years of training, the Wu Dynasty was not without a chance of winning against the Jurchens.
At the same time as the battle of Daming Prefecture spread, there was also the rehabilitation of the defense of Taiyuan in the past. When the Jurchens first came south, Qin Siyuan's eldest son, Qin Shaohe, defended Taiyuan for a whole year, and eventually died because he had no help from the surrounding areas and the city was breached. This matter was originally a taboo topic after Ning Yi's rebellion, but now, it was finally brought up again. No matter what Ning Yi did, Qin Siyuan was not without merit, especially his eldest son, who was truly loyal and righteous.
At least Emperor Jinghan Zhou Zhe's handling of this matter was inappropriate.
This change in public opinion came from the Princess Manor, which now controlled the grassroots propaganda power in Lin'an, but behind it, there were deeper reasons: one was that over the years, Zhou Pei had always harbored hatred for Ning Yi. The reason why she hated him was because she still regarded Ning Yi as a teacher to some extent rather than an enemy. However, as time passed, and reality pushed her, especially as Ning Yi's methods of dealing with the Wu Dynasty became increasingly sharp, it shattered the fantasies in her heart that she couldn't tell to others. When she truly regarded Ning Yi as an enemy, she realized that complaining was meaningless. Since she had stopped complaining, she could only soberly weigh the pros and cons.
The second reason was the awkward situation in the Southwest. It was Qin Hui and the other ministers who chose to start the war against the Southwest, and it was the emperor who was afraid and unable to do his best. By the time the situation in the Southwest was out of control, the war in the north was already imminent, and it was impossible for the army to make large-scale deployments to the Southwest again. Faced with the Black Flag Army's such strong combat power, asking the court to send some remnants and defeated soldiers to engage in piecemeal tactics would only be handing their faces over to be slapped.
Crown Prince Junwu was very rogue in how to alleviate the situation in the Southwest: You guys created the problem, you guys clean it up. The Black Flag Army clearly stated in the proclamation that we want to protect the trade routes and temporarily occupy the city. If you want to take it back, send someone to negotiate.
But in reality, how could they possibly negotiate? The Wu Dynasty and the Huaxia Army had an irreconcilable feud of assassinating the emperor, and the Black Flag Army had always been defined as a gang of bandits. Once the court sent someone to negotiate, no matter what the result was, it would be an official admission of weakness, confirming that the Huaxia Army was a major force equal to the Wu Dynasty. This definition, not to mention that negotiating couldn't guarantee the return of Chuan Si, even if the Black Flag really handed over the Chengdu Plain, it was an exchange that the Wu Dynasty could not accept.
However, when the other party's strength was truly displayed, no matter how unwilling they were, in politics, people had to accept this reality.
The rehabilitation of Qin Shaohe was the first step in changing attitudes.
The world was too big, and a huge change or disaster was imminent. In Lin'an in October, everything was noisy. People publicized the Wang family's deeds, pushed out the Wang family's widows again, and praised them endlessly. Scholars threw down their pens and joined the army, singing generously. At this time, Long Qifei and others were also constantly running around in the capital, promoting the generosity and tragedy of the sages in the Southwest in the face of the Black Flag bandits, and praying for the "heavenly soldiers" of the court to attack. In this commotion, there were also some things that were happening quietly in the corners of the city.
The Mingtang where Li Pin was located was a relatively quiet place these days.
In these years in Lin'an, he had been engaged in journalism, education, and so-called New Confucianism. Most of those who went to the Southwest to be enemies with Ning Yi had had some exchanges with him, but relatively speaking, the Mingtang had gradually moved away from the core of politics. In the recent period of turbulent world affairs, Li Pin closed his doors to guests and maintained a relatively quiet state. Although his newspaper was cooperating with the Princess Manor's steps in terms of propaganda, he had not participated in more major national events.
But occasionally acquaintances would come over, sit with him and then leave. Cheng Zhouhai, who had been working for the Princess Manor, was one of them. On the seventh day of October, the carriage of the eldest princess, Zhou Pei, also came over. In the courtyard of the Mingtang, Li Pin, Zhou Pei, and Cheng Zhouhai sat down. Li Pin briefly talked about some things.
"...In these years, it has been almost impossible to defeat the Huaxia Army head-on. Their offensive in Chuan Si looks invincible, but in reality, they have slowed down their pace as they approached Chengdu. Ning Yi is very stingy in this regard. He would rather spend a lot of time turning enemies than want his soldiers to lose too many. The opening of Chengdu's gate was because of the defection of the army on the spot, but among these news, I only care about one..."
In the sunlight, Li Pin slowly poured tea: "The Huaxia Army swept across most of Chuan Si. At the beginning, there were some violations of rules and discipline. In Jiading, they were all found out and severely punished. After entering Chengdu, the soldiers of the Huaxia Army hardly violated the people at all. They didn't demolish houses or rob grain. Except for the necessary arrests, there were hardly any conflicts with the residents of the city. Your Highness, Mr. Cheng, how many Wu Dynasty armies can do this? Yue Fei's背嵬军(bèi wéi jūn, Yue Fei's elite troops) may barely be able to do it, but it's only barely. The other armies have to set such rules after breaking the city, and if they are to be implemented, the commander will have to complain that they can't lead the army like this at all..."
Li Pin paused: "Ning Yi... he's right. If you want to defeat him, you can only become someone like him. So over the years, I have been repeatedly studying what he said, what he did and what he thought... I have figured out some things, and there are also many things I can't figure out. In these words that I have figured out, I have found that there are many contradictions in what he does and thinks..."
"...At the beginning of his assassination of the emperor and rebellion, some things may not have been clear to him, and he spoke more passionately. When I was in the Northwest, the time when I broke with him, he said some things, saying that he wanted to destroy Confucianism, saying that the fittest survive, but in retrospect, his steps were not so radical. He said that he wanted equality and awakening, but from what I saw later, Ning Yi was very cautious in this regard. Even his wife – the one surnamed Liu – went further than him, and the two often had disputes... Before the deceased Zuo Duanyou left Xiaocang River, Ning Yi once made a joke with him, probably saying that if the situation became uncontrollable and everyone in the world was against him, he would equalize the land rights..."
Li Pin held the teacup and thought for a while: "Zuo later talked to me about this matter, saying that Ning Yi looked like he was joking, but he was very sure about this matter... I had a long talk with Zuo all night and discussed this matter back and forth, and the more I thought about it, the more terrified I became... The reason why Ning Yi said this must be because he knew the terror of these words. Equal land rights plus equality for all... but he said that he would use it when he was at his wit's end. Why not use it at the time? He has looked so heroic along the way, but in reality, it hasn't been easy. He wants to destroy Confucianism, make everyone equal, make everyone wake up, fight the Wu Dynasty, fight the Jurchens, and fight the entire world. Why doesn't he use this method when it is so difficult?"
"After repeated deliberations over the years, I feel that there is an even more extreme path behind Ning Yi's thoughts, a path that he is not sure about. He has always said to awaken first and then to equalize, but what if it is to equalize first and then to awaken? Since everyone is equal, why can those gentry and landlords, you and I sitting here, sit in this position? Why can you and I live better than others? Everyone is human..."
The winter sun was not warm, and he said these words, pausing for a moment: "...In the affairs of the world, the middle way is valued... The Huaxia Army is about to kill its way out, and there will be more people speaking. Ning Yi wants to take the middle way, and we can give him a push. In this way..."
He took a sip of tea: "...I don't know what will happen."
The city was restless, and the entire earth was restless. Li Pin's gaze was cold and desolate, as if the last silence in this world was all contained here.
The light of the Mass shone down from the gaps in the trees. This was a world of sleeplessness and people without dreams...
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