Night wind rustled through the fields as galloping warhorses, carrying torches, sped along the roads. Since the Huaxia Army had taken control of the Chengdu Plain, the engineering department's first priority was to repair and connect roads throughout the region. Nevertheless, the dirt roads were still unsuitable for galloping horses at night. Despite the starry sky, such high-speed travel was still fraught with danger.

But the riders were anxious, and perhaps also overconfident. The torch-bearing driver raced along the official road between rice paddies and hills. Occasionally, they passed through villages, brushing past the extremely rare night travelers. As they passed through a forest, the woman on horseback seemed to suddenly realize something was wrong. She pulled the reins, and the warhorse whinnied, galloping several yards before stopping.

The warhorse stood sideways in the middle of the road. The woman on horseback looked back. The next moment, the torch was thrown into the night sky. The woman leapt off the horse and darted into the forest.

The torch was still falling. Between the two dense woods, only the lone warhorse stood in the middle of the road. A voice called out in confusion from the darkness, "Commander Liu..."

Another voice said, "Sixth Madam..."

The figure darting through the forest had already drawn a long saber, but now she swiftly returned it to her back. Xigua was nominally the marshal of the 29th Army stationed in Miao territory within the Huaxia Army, and among some close acquaintances, she was also known as Sixth Madam. She covered a distance of over ten yards and saw several people hidden in the roadside forest. Although they were all dressed in plain clothes, she recognized two of them.

"Lin Qiu, Xu Shaoyuan, what are you doing here?"

"Commander Liu, this is..."

Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan were also relatively important young officers around Ning Yi, one working in the General Staff Department and the other in the Secretary's Office. They greeted each other, but the next moment, they both showed a hint of wariness. Xigua had been traveling all afternoon, covered in dust. She had traveled lightly, carrying only her saber. After a moment's thought, she understood the origin of the wariness in their eyes.

"Where is Liheng? Are you stationed here on his orders, or have you followed someone else?"

Her tone was stern and direct. Although there were five people lurking in the forest, her martial arts were so high that she could roam the world alone with her saber. Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan exchanged a look. "Mr. Ning didn't tell us you were coming..."

"I heard there was a problem here, so I rushed over. Is Liheng still at Old Niu Tou?"

Lin Qiu shook his head. "There are people guarding the front. Mr. Ning doesn't want anyone from the outside to stir things up, so he arranged for us to be here... Mr. and his party have already come out of it..."

"Take me to see him."

Lin Qiu hesitated slightly. Xigua's eyebrows furrowed, and her gaze became stern. "I know what you're worried about, but I'm married to him! Even if I defected, I could still talk! He told you to stop people here, can you stop me? Stop talking nonsense, I have people behind me! You two take me to see Liheng, and the rest of you use my token to stop the people behind!"

She took out a token and threw it to the others in the forest. Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. "Follow us."

The three of them passed through the woods, then rode three horses tied to the edge of the forest, crossed the hill in front, and entered another small forest. They did not speak to each other along the way.

Xigua's eyes were like water. She naturally understood the source of the other two's tension. Over the years, she had been the most vocal advocate of equality within the Huaxia Army. This time, someone had secretly informed her, hoping that she could come forward and support the situation if Mr. Ning turned against everyone else, and also revealing their fear of Ning Yi, perhaps hoping that she could protect them if things didn't go as planned.

If it were Su Tan'er or someone else who had come, Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan would not be so wary. They were afraid that she had already become an enemy.

Power struggles, ideological struggles, even the closest people can become enemies. Back in Hangzhou, when Xigua supported the Badao Camp and killed Qi Yuankang, she had already tasted this feeling. Now, this complicated feeling that she absolutely didn't want to experience was rising in her heart again. Ning Yi might have been prepared for this, but he hadn't revealed it to her. Was he also wary of her?

Such questions swirled in her mind. On the other hand, she was also wary of the two people in front of her. If something went wrong within the Huaxia Army and the two people in front of her had already secretly defected, then what awaited her might be a pre-arranged trap, which would mean that Liheng might already be in grave danger. But she was not afraid of such a possibility. She was familiar with the Huaxia Army's special operations methods. No matter how complex the situation, she had some confidence in breaking out of the encirclement.

But then, this did not happen. After passing through this forest, there were lights ahead. This was a small settlement on the edge of the forest, probably part of a nearby village, with houses scattered here and there, a threshing ground in front, and a small fish pond. Su Wending came from the front. After listening to Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan's report, he dismissed them.

"Commander Liu knows the situation?" Su Wending was not particularly close to Xigua on normal days, but he understood her likes and dislikes, so he used the title of Commander Liu. Xigua was slightly relieved to see him, but her face remained expressionless. "Is Liheng alright?"

"Brother-in-law is fine."

They walked all the way to the vicinity of the threshing ground, where Ning Yi appeared on the road ahead. He paused slightly when he saw her, then walked towards her. Xigua stood there, and the emotions of killing that she had prepared along the way finally subsided. Hong Ti smiled at her from afar. Ning Yi walked closer and said, "Heard the news?"

"Mm." Ning Yi reached out his hand, and Xigua also reached out her hand, and grasped Ning Yi's palm, and asked calmly: "What's going on? You knew they were going to do something?"

"The situation is a bit complicated, and there are still some things to be dealt with. Come with me. We'll talk slowly."

Both of them spoke softly. Here, Ning Yi pulled Xigua's hand and gestured toward the rear. Xigua also nodded and walked across the threshing ground toward the houses ahead. On the way, Xigua's gaze swept over the first small house and saw Chen Shanjun, the county magistrate of Old Niu Tou.

"Chen Shanjun is quite interested in the idea of equality," Xigua said. "Did he participate?"

"Yes, he is one of the initiators and will lead them forward in the future."

"In the future?"

"You'll know in a moment. Let's go to the front and deal with someone first."

Turning around these small houses, after walking for a while, there was another house, located in a corner that could not be seen from here. Light was seeping out from inside. Ning Yi led Xigua in, waved his hand, and the few people who were originally in the room came out, leaving a scholar pressed against the table. The man was thin, with half-white hair, but with a righteous air between his eyebrows. His hands were tied, but he did not struggle. He only showed a look of sorrow when he saw Ning Yi and Xigua.

"I thought that at least Commander Liu would support our ideas, but I didn't expect you to still be a shortsighted woman. Mr. Ning, you are all-knowing and all-powerful. I have learned my lesson. Now that the victory and defeat have been decided, just kill us. There is no need to say any humiliating words."

"Li Ximing." Xigua nodded.

Ning Yi pulled out a knife and cut the ropes on the other party's hands. Then, he walked back to the side of the table and sat down. He looked at the scholar with half-white hair in front of him and took out a document. "I won't beat around the bush. Li Ximing, a native of Changsha, obtained fame in the Wu Dynasty. You and I both know that. What everyone doesn't know is that four years ago, you accepted Li Pin's persuasion and went to the Huaxia Army as an undercover agent. Later, you became interested in the idea of equality and democracy. Two years ago, you became the best executor of Li Pin's plan. You are knowledgeable, and your thinking is upright and persuasive. Although you didn't participate too much in the execution of this incident, at least half of it is your credit for going with the flow."

The Confucian scholar named Li Ximing originally had a rather courageous aura, but his face suddenly turned pale halfway through Ning Yi's words. Ning Yi's face was expressionless, and he just licked his lips slightly and turned over a page.

"There's no need to talk nonsense. I'm very interested in some of the things that Li Pin did in Lin'an, so Zhuji has been focusing on him. Old Li, I have no problem with you. It's just opposition to risk your life for your ideals and stand against people. Half of the push for this incident was you and Li Pin, and the other half was me. Chen Shanjun is in front and doesn't know you're here yet. I've isolated you separately, just to ask you a question."

Ning Yi's speed of speech was not slow, like a string of beads. He said here, "You have been in the Huaxia Army for four years, and you are used to the ideals of equality and democracy. You have written so many theoretical things, and not all of them are just used as tools to oppose me, right? In your heart, is there a little bit... do you agree with these ideas?"

Ning Yi's cold gaze looked at him. Li Ximing raised his head, with a look of doubt on his face. "You... could it be, you really want to take the path that Chen Shanjun and the others are thinking of?" His gaze was not only doubtful, but also slightly agitated. Ning Yi shook his head.

"I don't take this road, but I will give you a chance to walk this road yourself. The question I asked, you can think about it yourself, you don't need to answer me, I will give you a place, give you a breathing space. Over the years, there are probably thousands of people who have successively agreed with you, and can really participate in this incident, all of them go there..."

Ning Yi looked at his fist on the table: "Old Li, you started this, and you can only go down with them. You have lost today. I don't ask for anything else, just talk about one thing, you came to the southwest at Li Pin's request, for the sake of agreeing with his ideals, and not his subordinate. If you have a little bit of agreement in your heart for the equality ideals you have said in the past two years, from now on, just go on like this."

"After coming to the southwest, your family moved to your old home in Lingling. You have one wife and two concubines, two sons and one daughter, grandchildren and granddaughters, grandsons and granddaughters. There were originally five men and four women, and recently the eldest son added another child, for a total of nineteen people in Lingling. I won't be polite..."

Ning Yi swallowed a mouthful of saliva and paused slightly.

"This is a... very difficult road. If you can come up with a result, you will be famous in history. Even if you can't get through, you will leave an idea for future generations and take a few detours. Many people's lives will be linked to you, so, please do your best. As long as you do your best, I will be grateful to you for success or failure. No one will ever know why you came. If you still deliberately harm these people for Li Pin or the Wu Dynasty, your wife, children, old and young nineteen people, plus the five dogs raised in your backyard... I will kill them all cleanly."

"Such threats are a bit petty and unpleasant, but relative to the people who will be affected by this incident, I can only do these things, please understand... You can consider it first, and someone will come over later to tell you the cooperation we need to do in the past few days..."

Ning Yi finished speaking these words and fell silent, seemingly about to leave. Li Ximing on the table displayed chaos, followed by complexity and surprise. At this moment, he opened his mouth in disbelief.

"You, you, you... you actually want to... to split the Huaxia Army? Mr. Ning... you are a madman? The Jurchen are about to attack, the Wu Dynasty is facing internal and external troubles, you... you split the Huaxia Army? What are the benefits? You... what do you still use to fight the Jurchen, you..."

"Since you know I'm crazy, you better believe... I can do anything. Nineteen people... five dogs..."

He said here, stood up, and turned to walk out of the house. Li Ximing was still incredulous about these things, and Xigua was also in confusion and chaos. She followed out of the door, and the two walked forward for a while, and Ning Yi took her hand: "What's wrong? Do you blame me for not telling you?"

"...What Li Ximing said is not without reason. The current situation..."

Ning Yi walked forward, looking at the road ahead, and sighed softly, and opened his mouth after a long time.

"...This matter has my indulgence, but I can't control everything - if I really control it, it's not their own thing. For the area of ​​Niu Tou County, the mobilization of these people, I did have some deliberate arrangements earlier, I hope they will gather together and talk about it. The launch of this incident is due to Li Ximing and external reasons. At the beginning of the year, the elimination of traitors was issued, and a large number of backbones such as Du Sha were sent out, and these people had ideas. During January and February, there were various remonstrances, and I did not adopt them, and they really couldn't help it, and I just went with the flow..."

"But you said that things won't come true. What's more, there is still the situation in the world..."

"For... the realization of some things in the future, there are always some roads to take. Ah Gua, you used to yearn for these, hoping that everyone can be independent, and I also hope that this road sometimes goes straight, and sometimes it goes around. We always have to try and make mistakes step by step, just like those naughty children at home, they always have to go out and make trouble to become adults, and we can only try to cover them." In the darkness, Ning Yi smiled slightly tiredly, and it seemed to be an illusion, "Old Niu Tou is sitting in the corner, and to the north are some Wu Dynasty softies who can't fight, enough for them to toss for a while."

The two walked back in the dark path, passing by the small fish pond, Ning Yi sat down on the wooden stake by the pond: "People in later generations will say that we killed many people."

Xigua sat down on the ground next to him, holding his hand: "Xianggong, do you think you killed them?"

Ning Yi nodded: "Well, I killed them, whether it's these people, or those who will die because of the Huaxia Army's ups and downs."

"...Perhaps... it won't be too serious, they are all kind-hearted people."

Xigua thought for a while. She was still hesitant about some things. Ning Yi smiled in the darkness. Not many people in the world would understand his choice, and not many people in the world would understand what he had seen. The world is extremely large, and the efforts of generations and hundreds of millions of people may bring about slight changes in this world, and the world is extremely small for everyone, and a person's life cannot withstand slight bumps. The difference between this extremely large and extremely small will also trouble him, especially when he has another life experience, this trouble will become more and more intense.

He shook Xigua's hand: "Ah Gua, they asked you to go, what do you think?"

Xigua leaned his head on his leg: "You don't believe me either?"

"I cheated you in Hangzhou more than ten years ago. After all, this is your lifelong pursuit. Sometimes I think, you might also want to see its future..."

"You also said that you cheated me more than ten years ago. Perhaps, as Li Ximing said, I eventually became a woman with shortsightedness." She stood up from the ground, patted her clothes, and smiled slightly. She seemed a bit naive that night more than ten years ago, but at this time, with a single sword on her back, she was already a heroic spirit who looked down upon the world, "Letting these people separate out will have an impact on the Huaxia Army and on you, I will not leave you. Ning Liheng, you say things like this, it hurts my heart."

She dragged Ning Yi's hand and pressed it on her chest, and Ning Yi laughed: "What hurts my heart is that more people will die because of this, as for some influence, what is it, I am not afraid of anyone in this world situation, it's just a matter of time."

Xigua looked at him and frowned slightly: "Bragging... Even Saint Gong didn't dare to say such things back then."

"If you don't dare to brag, then his achievements are limited."

Ning Yi just rested for a moment, and had already stood up, and said: "In the next two days, we will disappear for a while. Tomorrow morning, the nearby Huaxia Army will gather here, the negotiations will begin, Li Ximing's matter, you understand, must be kept secret... In the Huaxia Army, you have helped the most with democratic thinking, and it is estimated that they will still try to contact you in the future, I think... you can keep in touch, so as to save some people in the most extreme circumstances..."

"Li Ximing was entrusted by Li Pin, really let him go back?"

"I have evil thoughts." Ning Yi said, "I hope they can go forward completely uncontrolled and to their heart's content, but I also hope that when they can't turn back in the future, there is a glimmer of possibility to turn back, hoping on you, hoping on Li Ximing, are all such ideas."

Xigua laughed: "Also said that he is so powerful, but he is also a hesitant person."

"I hope to see the light of people constantly fighting in the tide of the world, that makes me think that talents are like people, and at the same time, I hope that such people can really have good results, but unfortunately the two are often the opposite." Ning Yi said, "They still have something to do, I'll go to sleep first, do you want to come."

"Let Hong Ti sister accompany you, didn't you just say, hoping on me. I want to know your next arrangement."

"Go ask Wen Ding, he has all the plans there."

The couple held hands and were quiet in the darkness for a moment, and finally walked in different directions, and looked back on the way, waved their hands, in the slight light, the smile on Ning Yi's face did have a rare look of tiredness.

He went to rest.

I don't know how many dreams I had that night. When I woke up the next morning, I was still a little tired. A faint mist floated in the Chengdu Plain in the morning. Ning Yi got up to wash, and then, while eating breakfast, news came from outside. This was the most urgent message, and the previous message corresponding to it was received in the afternoon yesterday.

Ning Yi read the message, put it aside, and didn't move for a long time.

Thousands of miles away in the east, Wanyan Xiyin was also completing his generalship over the Wu Dynasty at his fastest speed.

April 25, early morning.

Zhenjiang fell.

Walking into the room, Ning Yi was picking up a spoon and putting the rice porridge into his mouth. Xigua heard his unintelligible murmur—the wording was slightly vulgar.

"Then come over here... dumbass..."

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