In the winter transitioning from the tenth to the eleventh year of Jian Shuo in the Wu Dynasty, it wasn't particularly cold. Jiangnan only experienced a few light snowfalls. Entering the second month of the eleventh year, a rare cold wave seemed to be compensating for winter's absence, suddenly descending upon the Central Plains and most of the Wu Dynasty. It was a matter of days, starting in mid-February; overnight, by the time dawn broke, thick frost had formed under the eaves and on the trees.

Many flower buds and tree sprouts were frozen to death overnight.

This rare late-spring cold spell lasted for several days. In Jiangnan, however, the pace of war did not slow down. On February 18th, near Danyang, southeast of Zhenjiang, Wu Dynasty General Lu Haifeng gathered over two hundred thousand troops to attack the five thousand elite Jurchen soldiers led by Xiyin and Yinshuke, only to suffer a crushing defeat and rout.

In the years since the popularization of artillery, the pattern of warfare had begun to change. In the past, infantry formed squares so that soldiers could not run away during the charge. When artillery could fire in volleys, this tactic was suppressed, and the importance of small-scale elite soldiers began to be highlighted. In the Wu Dynasty army, apart from Han Shizhong's Zhenhai Army and Yue Fei's Beiwei Army, there were few soldiers who could charge forward under fire in a proper field battle. Most troops could only muster some combat power when defending from advantageous terrain.

However, Lu Haifeng's army was not so unbearable. His direct troops were also among the new armies trained under Jun Wu's care after the southward migration. Lu Haifeng was strict in his military governance, and liked to train soldiers in various harsh weather conditions and terrains, such as heavy snow and rain, making them advance and fight in the muddy lands of Jiangnan. The soldiers under his command had a completely different appearance compared to the old pampered soldiers of the Wu Dynasty.

Since Xiyin and Yinshuke led the elite Jurchen troops to arrive, the situation on the Jiangnan battlefield became more intense and tense. Rumors were spreading in the capital – and throughout the world – that the armies of the east and west routes had abandoned their previous grudges and were determined to destroy Wu in one fell swoop. This manifestation of firm will, coupled with Xiyin's and various spies' activities in the capital, made the situation in the Wu Dynasty particularly tense.

Before this, perhaps some people had hoped to exploit the contradictions between the Jurchen east and west courts and make something of it. But by this time, countless people in the capital were lobbying various parties or looking for a way out for themselves. Under such circumstances, and out of confidence in his own military governance, Lu Haifeng launched an attack on Xiyin's and Yinshuke's troops.

This large-scale offensive was also carried out with the approval of the leadership headed by Jun Wu. Compared to the inevitably lengthy task of directly defeating Zong Fu's army, if they could defeat this elite force of the original west route army that had traveled a long distance, had some problems with logistics, and was likely to have conflicts with Zong Fu and Zong Bi, the crisis in the capital would surely be resolved.

Of course, it would not be easy to defeat the elite troops led by the world-renowned Xiyin and Yinshuke. But if they didn't even dare to attack, the so-called ten years of training would be a joke at this point. On the other hand, even if they could not repel Xiyin and Yinshuke in one fell swoop, they would surely be able to grind the enemy to death like a water mill with two, three... three hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, or even a million troops attacking time and time again. And before that, the entire Jiangnan army must have the determination to fight.

The attack was chosen to be carried out on a rainy day. The late-spring cold snap was still going on, and two hundred thousand troops challenged the enemy in the bone-chilling rain. This weather leveled out the power of all firearms. Lu Haifeng led his own six thousand troops as the vanguard, facing the three thousand Tushan Guards who accepted the challenge with great spirit.

In the torrential rain, even arrows lost their power. The two armies were pulled back to the simplest rules of engagement. The square formations of spears and shields spread like a tide under the dark sky. The two hundred thousand troops of the Wu Dynasty seemed to cover the entire earth, and their shouts even drowned out the thunder. The Tushan Guards led by Xiyin faced them fearlessly, and the two sides clashed in the mud.

In a sense, if the Wu Dynasty army ten years ago had Lu Haifeng's determination and quality of military governance, the Battle of Bianliang that year would have been different. But even so, it did not mean that the current Wu Dynasty army had the quality of the world's top-notch soldiers. The Tushan Guards, who had followed Zong Han for many years, still possessed the generous spirit of the Jurchens' "invincible with ten thousand men" morale.

After an hour of head-on confrontation and fighting, Lu Haifeng's army collapsed. Half a day later, the entire battlefield took on a cascading waterfall pattern. The Tushan Guards and Yinshuke's troops pursued the Wu Dynasty's routed soldiers for more than ten miles, causing countless casualties. Lu Haifeng refused to retreat during the battle and finally led the team to charge, losing one hand in the process. He was only able to survive with the desperate protection of his personal guards.

If it can be said that what Xiyin's side showed in this fierce battle was still the bravery of the past, the Wu Dynasty people's desperate fight still brought a lot.

On the 19th, as the casualty figures came out, Yinshuke's face was not good. When he saw Xiyin, he said: "As Gu Shen said, this little prince's determination is not light. If the Wu Dynasty army is so determined every time, it won't be long before we should really go back."

Xiyin's eyes were serious and calm: "Even a dying rabbit will bite. In such a large Wu Dynasty, there will always be some people like this. This battle has already made it very convenient for others to make a fuss."

On the 20th, Jun Wu in the Zhenjiang camp affirmed and encouraged Lu Haifeng's desperate fight, and asked the court to reward Lu Haifeng with a peerage and a promotion.

"In front of us is the strongest and fiercest army in the entire world. It's not shameful to lose to them! I'm not afraid! They destroyed the Liao Kingdom, swallowed the Central Plains, and our Wu Dynasty's rivers and mountains have been lost, and our people have been enslaved by them! Now they dare to come to Jiangnan with only fifty thousand people! I am not afraid of losing, nor am I afraid of you losing battles! From today onwards, I want you to give everything to fight! If necessary, we will fight every day, I want to kill them, I want to make sure that none of these fifty thousand people can return to the Jin Kingdom. I will ask for credit for all of you who go into battle –"

Jun Wu's statement will soon spread throughout Jiangnan. At the same time, Yue Fei defeated the 130,000-strong Han army led by Li Yangzong near Taiping Prefecture, capturing more than 60,000 Han soldiers. In addition to executing some of the "chief culprits" who had committed numerous atrocities in the previous massacres, Yue Fei proposed to the court to recruit the Han army, only punish the chief culprits, and forgive the past.

At a time when the two sides were fighting fiercely, and some of the Central Plains Han army had previously committed numerous atrocities in Jiangnan through massacre and looting, proposing such a suggestion at this time immediately aroused complex discussions within the Wu Dynasty. In Lin'an City, Liu Yan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and others directly submitted memorials impeaching Yue Fei. However, although these Central Plains Han soldiers became extremely vicious after arriving in Jiangnan, their fighting spirit was not firm. In recent years, the Central Plains had suffered greatly, and even being a soldier was extremely difficult. If Jiangnan could forgive the past and even provide a full meal, it was conceivable that most of the Han army would surrender at the first sign.

Soon after, Jun Wu adopted and expressed his position on Yue Fei's proposal, recruiting Han soldiers on the battlefield who were willing to return south. As long as they had not committed the blood debt of massacre before, all past matters could be forgiven.

At the same time, in response to the "peace talks" request that Xiyin made to the Wu Dynasty, before the end of February, a corresponding message came from the southwest. Under deliberate manipulation, it joined the boiling voices in Jiangnan...

Jiangning, the sky in sight was layered with lead-blue clouds. Wu Qilong and Liu Jing, the secretary of the prefect, sat down in a noisy teahouse and soon heard the discussions next to them.

"...Speaking of the current situation outside, our Crown Prince is really fierce, everyone has to give him a thumbs up... Although General Lu was defeated, our people are not afraid. I heard that more than 100,000 people have been mobilized from Changzhou to encircle Xiyin with the Zhenjiang army... We are not afraid of defeat, we are afraid that those Jin dogs can go back alive..."

"...The Green Foresters are also killing fiercely. You don't know, the Jin people are muddying the waters and secretly killing many people. I heard that half a month ago, there were several firefights in Xuanzhou, and hundreds of people died. Song Dakun of the Song family, the local tyrant there, was slaughtered, and a letter of extermination was left behind. But in fact, this was done by the Jurchens' lackeys... Later, Father Fu Lu led people to intercept and kill the Jin dogs. This is absolutely true. Many people died in Xuanzhou in those few days..."

"...Actually, to talk about the people who really deserve to be killed, you have to look at the southwest. I heard that at the end of January, the southwest issued a list, clearly pointing out who was doing evil and who should be killed. The Huang family in Changsha, who used to have a Huang Shichu who served as the Minister of Personnel for two years, made a lot of money while in office. Although he was later dismissed, he formed countless factions during those years, and even passed information to the Jurchens, privately lobbying everyone to surrender. The whole family is full of bastards..."

"...He has countless fertile fields in Changsha, and his family has more than a thousand servants and retainers, making him a local tyrant. As soon as the southwest extermination order was issued, he knew something was wrong. I heard that he set up a tight defense at home and was worried day and night. But at the end of January, the Black Flag Army came, more than a hundred people... I'm telling you, the night the extermination order came out, everything was in chaos. They didn't even manage to hold out until the army came..."

The people in the teahouse gathered together, and the speaker lowered his voice, as if talking about a big secret, and everyone discussed in the same voice.

"...Speaking of which, although the one in the southwest is rebellious, he is really a good man in these matters. Everyone knows, right? That animal Xiyin previously tried to persuade us to surrender, asking us to cede all the territory west of Xiangyang to Chuan Si for Nianhan to go to Chengdu to fight the Black Flag Army. Hehe, the southwest knew about it not long after. I heard that a few days ago, Mr. Ning directly wrote a letter to Nianhan, which said: Waiting for you to come, you will be buried here in the future. Tsk tsk..."

"...If these two fight, I really don't know what it will be like..."

Amidst the discussions, Liu Jing smiled at Wu Qilong: "Do you think there are people from the Black Flag here among them?"

"Hard to say." Wu Qilong held his teacup and shook his head with a smile.

Jiangning is the birthplace of that inner demon, Ning Yi, and also the former residence of Kang Wang Zhou Yong. Regarding the demon in the southwest today, the people of Jiangning used to be very secretive, but after Zong Fu crossed the river to attack Jiangning at the beginning of this year, and it has been nearly two months now, the city residents' perception of this rebellious person has changed, and they often hear people mention him. After all, in this world today, the only ones who can really stand up to the Jurchens are probably the fierce and evil rebels in the southwest. Ning Yi, who was born in Jiangning, along with other heroic figures worthy of praise, are often brought out to boost morale.

Also mentioned in the meantime were the Duke of Cheng and her husband, Kang Xian, who sacrificed in the previous fall of Jiangning.

"I heard that Brother Wu used to have a relationship with that Ning Yi? I wonder if he is different from what these people are saying?" Liu Jing, the secretary, came from outside and used to be a little taboo about mentioning Ning Yi, but now he asked. Wu Qilong was silent for a moment and looked at a set of tables and chairs by the window.

"If he gets targeted, you'll really lose a layer of skin."

"Oh? Brother Wu has been targeted?"

"He married into a cloth merchant family, and I am also a cloth merchant. We had some conflicts, but fortunately it didn't reach the point of life and death." Wu Qilong smiled, "I lost more than half of my wealth."

Hearing him say this, Liu Jing frowned and became interested. He kept asking, and Wu Qilong recalled the events of the royal merchant incident, the entanglements between the two families at that time. He cooperated with Xi Junyu, the ambitious shopkeeper of the Su family, and then the assassination of Su Boyong broke out. Looking back on the big and small things now, he couldn't help but sigh. But against the background of this world-shattering war, these things have become interesting.

"Actually, looking back now, Xi Junyu was too ambitious, and I couldn't have imagined some of the things he did. If my family had only sought wealth and had not fully participated in it, I'm afraid it would not have been something that could have been resolved by losing half of my wealth later..."

"Then... how did you lose half of your wealth?" Liu Jing asked with anticipation.

Wu Qilong continued to talk about the royal merchant incident, taking the recipe, taking the royal merchant, and making Ning Liheng write the poem "White-haired acquaintances still press their swords, first-reached officials in vermilion gates laugh and flick their hats":"...Then one day, the cloth faded."

Hearing this, Liu Jing was slightly stunned, and then looked enlightened: "...Ruthless, what happened then, how did they deal with you?"

"...Then one day, in this teahouse, no, that position over there, he was reading, I went to say hello and test his reaction. He was absent-minded, and then suddenly reacted, looked at me and said: 'Oh, the cloth faded...' At that time... well, Brother Liu can imagine... I wanted to kill him..."

The two looked at the window over there. The sky was gloomy, and it seemed that it was about to rain. Sitting there now were two thin men drinking tea. Wu Qilong, who already had scattered white hair and a refined demeanor, seemed to see that afternoon more than ten years ago. Outside the window was bright sunlight, Ning Yi was flipping through the pages of a book there, and after that was the Wu family being fleeced.

At that time, Wu Qilong was in his early thirties and encountered the biggest setback in his life. The Wu family was knocked off the position of the number one cloth merchant in Jiangning and almost collapsed. But soon after, Ning Yi, who had also gone north, joined forces with the merchants of Jiangning to start developing in the capital. Later, there was the disaster relief, and he came into contact with the power of the Qin faction. Later, he was appreciated by Princess Cheng and Kang Son-in-Law. After all, they were both from Jiangning, and Kang Xian took good care of the Wu family.

At the beginning of the third year of Jian Shuo, Wushu broke Jiangning, and the old man refused to abandon Jiangning, where he had lived almost all his life, and died when the army entered the city. The Cheng Princess Mansion was subsequently burned down. Soon after, Wu Qilong returned to Jiangning with his family, rebuilt the Wu family, and later he took over most of the court's military uniform business. When the Jurchens went south, he donated most of his wealth to support the army. Today, the Wu family's assets are still several times higher than they were in the past.

He naturally didn't need to tell Liu Jing about many of the things in between, but thinking about it now, time is vast, as if it is flowing bit by bit from before his eyes. Compared to now, it is still more peaceful back then.

Even if Ning Yi, who can fight against the world, is in the southwest now, he probably misses the time when he read books here.

Wu Qilong thought this way.

Not long after, there was a huge tremor from the city walls, followed by chaotic and violent sounds...

Support (Wanben God Station) and share this site with those little friends who need it! Leave a message if you can't find a book!