The confluence of the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Zhenjiang.

Flying waterfowl bypassed the white sails on the river, the busy harbor was reflected in the scorching sun, and people came and went, and the city was still moving rapidly near noon.

"Zhenjiang is a prosperous town for a hundred years, and the teacher in the house said that it is a hub between east and west, and north and south, and I am not convinced, and I ask if it is more powerful than Jiangning? The teacher said that it not only has the Yangtze River, but also the Grand Canal, and the Wu Dynasty is prosperous in commerce and trade, which is the top priority here. I came here when I was eight years old, and I didn't even have that big circle outside. ”

The scorching sun shines on the cool shade of the beech trees on the hills west of the city, and the leaves rustle as the wind blows across the hills. Outside the beech forest, there is a hillside of various weeds, and from this hillside, you can see the busy scene of Zhenjiang, surrounded by majestic city walls, and there are residential areas that stretch for miles outside the city walls, and low houses connect to the fishing village by the canal, and the road passes between the houses, radiating along the river bank into the distance.

On the top of the mountain higher in the mountain forest, and on the bank of the river farther away, there are military camps and high platforms for lookouts. At this time, at the edge of this beech forest, the leader of the man sat casually on the stone under the tree, surrounded by young men who followed, and guards who followed, and in the distance there was a carriage in which the group of people came up.

"In the two hundred years of the Wu Dynasty, Zhenjiang only seemed to be the most prosperous now, although it was broken by the Jurchens a few years ago...... In the second year of Jianshuo, I searched the mountains and inspected the sea, such as birch, remember. Shulie led his troops straight to Yangzhou, I escaped from the other side of the river, and I met your sister here. ”

The man sitting on the stone still looked delicate and square, but he had a beard under his chin, and was dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, and although his eyes looked gentle, he still had his majesty. This is Zhou Junwu, the crown prince of the Wu Dynasty, the young man sitting on the grass on one side was pale, and when he heard him say this, he trembled slightly and nodded.

The pale young man is named Shen Ruhua, who is now the brother-in-law of the crown prince and the younger brother of Shen Ruxin, the third concubine married by Jun Wu. Compared with her sister Zhou Pei's entanglement in marriage, Jun Wu, who has been ambitious since childhood, has seen the marriage very plain, and now there is one wife and five concubines in the house, but except for Shen Ruxin, the families of the other five wives and concubines are all wealthy families. Shen Ruxin, the fourth lady of the Prince's Mansion, is a friend of Junwu who met during the escape from the mountains and seas, not to mention the most favored on weekdays, but it is not an exaggeration to say that she is the most special lady in the Prince's Mansion.

But today's Shen Ruhua is obviously not easy, and even looks like the whole person is trembling slightly, and he is already on the verge of collapse.

Jun Wu looked at Zhenjiang in front of him and was silent for a moment.

"In the second year of Jianshuo, it was eight years ago, I fled to Zhenjiang, and soon after, the Jurchens crossed the river and began to attack the city, and I fled first. After the Jurchens broke the city, they did not seal the sword for ten days, and nearly 50,000 people died. Ruhua, your family, the prefect of Zhenjiang sent someone outside first, and survived, do you remember? 50,000 ......"

Jun Wu recalled the catastrophe in the past, his fingers raised slightly, his face complicated for a long time, and finally smiled strangely: "So...... It's weird. 50,000 people died, half of the city burned down, and in eight years, you see Zhenjiang, prosperous like this. The walls couldn't be encircled, and everyone went outside. This year, the prefect of Zhenjiang roughly ruled, and the population of this place is about 750,000...... It's weird, 750,000 people. Before the Jurchens called, there were only a million people in Bianliang. Some people happily reported that it was difficult to prosper the country. Ruhua, do you know why? ”

Shen Ruhua had a sad face, and she almost cried when she looked at it. Jun Wu looked at him for a moment and stood up.

"Let me tell you, because the people who came down from the north were the first to arrive in this part of the south of the Yangtze River, and Zhenjiang is the hub of the north and south, and everyone gathered here...... Of course, it is impossible to go all to Zhenjiang, at the beginning you can still go further south, but later there are too many people who go south, and those big clans in the south are not allowed, saying that they want the south to return to the north and the north and the north to return to the north, and there are several problems and bandits, and many people have died. The 750,000 and 600,000 people in Zhenjiang are refugees who have fled from the north and their families have been ruined or dragged their families with them. ”

He pointed ahead: "In the past eight years, I don't know how many people have died, and the remaining 600,000 people live here like beggars, and the dense houses outside are all built over the years, they have no land, no belongings, six or seven years ago, let alone hiring them to give money, even if it is just to give some gruel to fill their stomachs, and then use them as cattle, they are all great good people." Those who have survived until now have a house in and out of the city, no land, a hard job to do, or to serve as a soldier...... A lot of people do. ”

“…… A little better than livestock. Jun Wu smiled at Shen Ruhua, "I have secretly seen a lot of people, better than livestock, they can get by, said, I hope that there will be a few more peaceful days, from Jiangning to Zhenjiang, from Zhenjiang to Lin'an, millions of people live such a life, give them a little way to live, what about the rich, let them work, the family has acres of land, hire them to farm......"

He took a breath, clenched his right fist at his side and shook it unconsciously, and paused: "The Jurchens went south three times, and took millions of Han people from the Central Plains, and those people became slaves in the Jin country, and the people of the Jin country really used them as cattle to feed the meat eaters of the Jin country. And the Wu Dynasty, lost the Central Plains for ten years, millions of people died, there was nothing, we used them as livestock, gave them some food, did things, cultivated the land, and the business affairs in various places prospered all of a sudden, and Lin'an was prosperous, and there was no difference for a while. Some people say that my Wu Dynasty lost the Central Plains and learned from the pain, so it is difficult to prosper the country, which is the reason why it is difficult to prosper the country, such as birch. We have more cattle from all over the Central Plains. ”

Jun Wu's eyes stared at Shen Ruhua: "For so many years, these people have been very good, they have their own homes, their own wives and children, and parents, after the Central Plains was beaten by the Jurchens, the lucky ones who moved south lost their family property, a little more bumps, the old parents are gone, and what is even more tragic is that the parents, wives and children are dead...... There is also one person left who has his parents died, his wife and children who have been arrested and taken to the Kingdom of Jin. Ruhua, do you know what it's like for these people to survive? Just one person survived, and the others died, or they knew that they were suffering in the north, and they were not as good as pigs and dogs...... Zhenjiang also has such people whose families are ruined, such as Hua, do you know how they feel? ”

"Life is better than death...... Jun Wu leaned his fist on his chest, and there were faint tears in his eyes, "The prosperity of the Wu Dynasty depends on the ......destruction of these people's families."

"Brother-in-law......" Shen Ruhua also cried.

But they are not yet satisfied, they are afraid that these beggars, who are not well fed and clothed, will disturb the good life in the south, so the southerners will return to the north and the north. In fact, this is nothing, such as birch, it sounds very annoying, but in fact it is very ordinary, these people are beggars and livestock, don't disturb the good life of others, they also hope that their wives can live peacefully for a few years, more than ten years, and they can live in a place like Zhenjiang...... But it's too peaceful. ”

At this point, he paused, and after a moment.

"In Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, hundreds of thousands of troops are prepared for war. Zongfu and Zongbi are coming, and they are about to hit here. Like a birch, fighting a war is never a child's play, and it can't be fought by luck. The Jurchens' southward movement this time is bound to win against the Wu Dynasty, and they can't beat it, and what happened before will have to happen again, but Zhenjiang, how many of these 600,000 people can survive to be peaceful in the world next time......"

"In order for the army to fight this battle, I have offended many people in recent years...... Don't think that the prince must not offend people, no one dares to offend. The army is going to come up, and those who are pointing fingers in the court are going to go down, and the civil officials are missing things, and the big families behind them are not happy, and the big families are not happy, and the officials are not happy. When things start, they will slow down, everyone will slow down, everything will slow down...... The army is not worry-free, the children of the big clan enter the army, and they want to give the family some benefits, take care of the power of the family, I don't allow it, they will disobey the yang and the yin. The world will not do anything that is not good......"

Jun Wu smiled at Shen Ruhua, sat down in the shade of the tree, and counted the difficult things at hand, so after a while, a bird flew over the top of the tree.

"All these years...... Military law has dealt with a lot of people, those who should be flowed, those who should be killed, and my subordinates are all a bunch of lonely ministers and rebels. It is said that the royal family likes lonely ministers and rebels, but in fact, I don't like it, I like it with a little human touch...... It's a pity that the Jurchens are impersonal......" he paused, "not for us." ”

Jun Wu clasped his hands and sat there, bowing his head. Shen Ruhua's body trembled, and she had been crying for a long time: "Sister, brother-in-law...... I'm willing to go to the army......"

"Pretend to be sent to the army, and after a while, you will still be alive."

"I—I'm not going to ......"

Jun Wu looked at him and interrupted him: "They think they will, they will say so." ”

"I—I only took seven hundred taels, and nothing more, they ...... They all ......."

"Seven hundred taels is also a capital offense!" Jun Wu pointed in the direction of Zhenjiang, "Seven hundred taels can make people live a good life for a lifetime, seven hundred taels can give tens of thousands of people a life, and seven hundred taels can give seventy soldiers a year's salary...... Yes, seven hundred taels is not much, if it was more than ten years ago, let alone seven hundred taels, your sister married the prince, and someone else gave you 70,000 taels, you can also take it, but today, the seven hundred taels in your hand are either worth your life or seven million taels...... The evidence is conclusive, someone wants to get you, and the reason for getting you is because they want to deal with me, over the years, the prince's mansion has killed too many people, and there are still people who are locked in prison and are about to kill, if you don't kill you, others won't be able to kill them. ”

"Shen Ruhua, it's not that simple to fight, it's almost not good......" Jun Wu looked his eyes to the other side, "If I let you go today, my subordinates will suspect me." I can let go of my brother-in-law, Yue Fei can also let go of his brother-in-law, Han Shizhong has to let go of his children to some extent, and the people around me also have people who are close to me like this. Those who oppose me in the army, they will tell these things, there will be more people who believe, on the battlefield, there will be more people who want to escape, more people who will waver, there will be more people who want to be greedy for ink, and there will be more people who will do things more slowly. Little by little, there are a lot of people, so I can't let you go. ”

There seemed to be tears falling from his eyes, but when he turned around, there was no trace of it: "I have a wife and five concubines, and I get along with your sister the most pure, your sister is not in good health, this incident has passed, I don't know how to see her again." Your sister once told me that you have been simple-minded since you were a child, and you are a good child, let me take care of you more, and I am sorry for her. Your family is single, but fortunately, the girl you are good with is pregnant, and when the child is born, I will take him over...... Take good care of yourself and you can ...... Go with confidence. ”

Jun Wu talked about the other party's sister at first, and he still seemed hesitant in his words, but after he finished speaking, his eyes no longer looked at Shen Ruhua, and he stood up with his hands on his knees.

Over the years, although what he has done seems to be iron-blooded, in fact, Jun Wu is only twenty-seven years old this year. He is not an arbitrary and iron-blooded and stern character, but more because of the current situation, he has to be in charge like this, Shen Ruxin asked him to help take care of his younger brother, in fact, Junwu is also a younger brother, and he has no experience in how to teach his brother-in-law. At this time, I really feel sad when I think about it.

As for Shen Ruhua, he is only eighteen years old this year, his original family education was fine, and after becoming a relative of the emperor, he did not act publicly, and after several contacts, Junwu had a good impression of him. However, when he was young, Shen Ruhua fell in love with a woman in the Qin Tower, and the money and goods at home were not much, and the surrounding people opened a gap here, and they came and went several times, instigating Shen Ruhua to accept the money worth seven hundred taels of silver, and prepare to redeem the woman. Although the matter did not spread among the lower classes for a while, it had already spread among the upper echelons of the military and government.

No one expressed an opinion on this, and no one even wanted to spread unfavorable remarks against the crown prince among the people, but Junwu's scalp was numb. In order to ensure the operation of the entire system, the Judge Advocate General's Office has made great efforts to clean up the black sheep, and the corrupt people in the rear transfer system, the shoddy profiteers, and the generals in the front barracks who deduct military salaries and resell military funds have all cleaned up a large number of people at this time.

If Shen Ruhua is let go, and even others help cover it up, then everyone will be tied up more or less in the future. There have been more than one similar thing over the years, but this incident alone made him feel the most embarrassed.

Raise your hand, and many things in this world will still look like they will work as before. However, the eyes of the dead were looking at him, and he knew that when all the soldiers faced the enemy on the battlefield, some things would be different.

He got up and prepared to leave, even if Shen Ruhua begged for mercy again, he ignored it. However, after taking a few steps, the young man in the back did not open his mouth to beg for mercy, there was a cry behind him, and then the sound of Shen Ruhua kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, Jun Wu closed his eyes.

"The world is falling......" he said with difficulty, "this is ...... It was originally the fault of my Zhou family...... The Zhou family is incompetent in governing the country and makes the world suffer...... I am incompetent in governing the army, so I blame you...... Of course, in this world, there are people who corrupt hundreds of thousands of taels and do not die, some people take 700 taels and kill them without forgiveness, and there are always people who have never seen 700 taels in their lives, and the reason is difficult to explain. I ...... today I only promise you ...... today."

He paused for a long time: "I only promise you, when the Jurchens are killed, I will go to the battlefield...... I will shed the last drop of blood with the Jurchens, no matter what my identity is, and I will never steal my life. ”

Jun Wu did not accentuate his tone, and simply finished his words. Shen Ruhua howled and cried, Jun Wu got into the carriage, didn't look out again, and ordered the car to drive to the barracks.

This day is the seventh day of the sixth month of the tenth year of Jianshuo, the Jurchen East Route Army has completed the repair in Xuzhou, in addition to the original main force of nearly 300,000, and mobilized nearly 350,000 puppet Qi and Han troops from all over the Central Plains, on the one hand, to pursue the westward encirclement and suppression of Liu Chengzong's westward team, on the other hand, began to gather in the direction of Yangzhou.

At this time, in Zhenjiang, Yangzhou and even the surrounding areas, Han Shizhong's main force had been preparing for several years by helping the water network in the south of the Yangtze River. Although the Han army in the Central Plains was uneven and slow to act, the official start of the war between the Jin and the military was already a matter of imminence, and the two sides were bound to start a large-scale confrontation in as little as three or five days or as much as a month.

In the nights before the start of the war, Zhenjiang was still brightly lit, and Junwu would sometimes stand by the dark river and look at the lonely city, and sometimes he couldn't sleep all night.

There are many things in the daytime, most of them are official affairs, and naturally there are also private matters such as Shen Ruhua. The date for the beheading of Shen Ruhua was set for the tenth day of June. On the night of the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Pei, who was supposed to be in Lin'an, rushed over from the capital.