Lin'an Mansion, that is, the original Hangzhou City, Jinghan nine years, the flames of the Fangla Uprising once burned here, breaking through the city defense of Hangzhou. In the days that followed, a man named Ning Yi was once trapped here, facing the precarious status quo, and later witnessed and participated in many things, once faced with the leader of the rebels, and also walked on the night shift with the woman in charge of the party, and in the end, he assisted Wen Ren, and made efforts to reopen the gate of Hangzhou City and accelerate the rout of Fang La.

This name is like a taboo in today's Lin'an, although from the mouth of the people, some people can hear this story, but occasionally recalled, talked, it only brings private sighs or silent feelings.

A man who was once able to move forward unyieldingly in such a situation surrounded by strong enemies and having nothing, is so reassuring when he is a companion. However, when he becomes an enemy one day, it is enough to make those who have seen his methods feel deeply powerless.

The wind and snow fell and stopped, looking back at the city behind me, there was not much snow accumulated on the pedestrian-lined streets, merchants came and went, and children were jumping and chasing each other. On the old city wall, the woman in the snow-white robe tightened the hat on her head, as if frowning and staring at the traces of the past, the figure that had wandered in this street market more than ten years ago, so as to see clearly his forbearance and ferocity in such adversity.

Not far behind him, the message of the report also kept ringing in the wind.

“…… The incident was urgent, Zhao Xiangye's arrest was on October 16, Li Lei's photovoltaic law, ironclad evidence, from his side to intercept the southwest military resources of greedy ink is about more than 37,000 taels, and then confessed Wang Yuanshu and Wang Yuanshu's housekeeper Shu Da...... Wang Yuanshu was being impeached by Hanlin Changgui and others at this time, and the book mentioned that he relied on his brother-in-law's power to occupy the acres of land as a disaster, and there were also some words in it, which were quite insinuating Lord Qin...... In addition, with Li Leiguang as a medicine guide, Zhao Xiang has already begun to meddle in the problems of military logistics in the southwest......"

So Qin Hui resigned again...... He didn't defend it. ”

The eldest princess said calmly, looked at the city, and did not move.

These days, when she gave up the illusion of that figure, she could better understand the ruthlessness of the other party's attack on the enemy. I can also better understand the cruelty and fierceness of this heaven and earth world.

"Lord Qin has never defended, but his hands are also very intense, and there may have been a few murders in private in the past few days, but the incident happened suddenly, and it was not easy for the army to reach out, and we couldn't intercept it."

"If you don't intercept it, it's not a thing, even if it's true, it can only prove that Lord Qin has good means and is a person who does things......" She said so, and it was not easy to answer for convenience, and after a long time, I saw her turn around, "Wenren, you said, more than ten years ago, Ning Yi asked the secret investigation department to investigate this Lord Qin, did you think he was a good person?" Or the bad guys? ”

At this time, the time of the early dynasty has passed, the officials have returned to their homes, and the city seems to be prosperous, and it is a lively and ordinary day, and only those who know the inside story can feel the undercurrent of the court in these days.

The beginning of major political disputes is often like this, making moves and testing each other, as long as one move is met, and then an avalanche-like outbreak is ensued. It's just that the current situation is special, the emperor pretended to be deaf and dumb, and the important forces of his own side did not make a clear statement, the projectile was only loaded, and the gunpowder was not yet ignited.

The irony is that no matter what people think at first, once they reach the point where tens of millions of people are involved, fairness and justice are often disqualified. Qin Hui's wife and brother are called Wang Yuanshu, Wang Yuanshu's housekeeper is called Shu Da, Shu Da has a minion named Li Leiguang, Li Leiguang is a small general in charge of military logistics in the southwest, and he was greedy for 37,000 taels of ink last year.

Combined with the previous failure in the southwest, as well as the several excerpts in the court before the arrest of Li Leiguang, if the above nodded and responded, a purge of the Qin system would begin. Zhao Ding and Qin Hui have old enmities, and God knows how many backers are already ready there. But it is never the greed for ink that needs to be considered for purging or not.

After moving south, Zhao Ding represented the radical faction that was already the main battle, on the one hand, he cooperated with the prince to call for the Northern Expedition to forge ahead, and on the other hand, he was also promoting the integration of the north and the south. On the one hand, they hope to maintain the stability of the Wu Dynasty with peace, and on the other hand, at least in the homeland, they are more inclined to the basic interests of the southerners, and even began to sell the slogan of "southerners return to the south, and northerners return to the north".

Every direction is the embodiment of a share of interests. It is true that killing Zhao Ding will also have a second main battle faction, and the removal of Qin Hui will also be supplemented by Zhang Hui and Han Hui, but in addition to this, there are naturally more factors that can be measured.

One of the most special ones is the question that Zhou Peifang just raised.

More than ten years ago, when Ning Yi was still working in the Secret Investigation Division, he once investigated Qin Hui, who was already in the imperial history at that time.

At that time, Qin Hui and Qin Siyuan belonged to the same surname, and the political concept in the court was also similar - although Qin Hui's style of doing things was radical on the outside and sleek on the inside, but basically what he called for was the main battle idea of breaking the cauldron and sinking the boat. There's nothing wrong with this, after all, the simple idea of scolding traitors when you see the main battle is the real child.

Ning Yi's investigation in the Secret Investigation Division was launched for a period of time, but later due to the Jurchen's southward movement, it was not completed. After that, when it was taken out by Wen Ren, Cheng Zhouhai and others, it was intriguing, with Ning Yi's character, planning for two months, the emperor said that he would kill it, since the emperor down, the civil official who covered the sky with one hand was Cai Jing, and the military commander of the first generation was Tong Guan, and he did not cast special attention on these two people, but the latter was slapped by him on the Jinluan Palace, and died a miserable death. Qin Hui has how many special places can there be among these many influential figures?

Facts have proved that Ning Yi did not attack Qin Hui later because of any personal vendetta.

“…… There are so many people in the world, since there is no personal vendetta, why would Ning Yi pay attention to Qin Shumi alone? Did he recognize this Lord Qin's abilities and means and wanted to befriend him, or did he have been wary of this person for a long time because of something, and even guessed the possibility of becoming an enemy of him one day in the future? In short, there should always be some reason for him to pay attention to it......"

"This Lord Qin does have some means, and from the next point of view, his methods are even somewhat similar to those of Lord Qin Siyuan. However, it would be a bit far-fetched to say that Ning Yi was thinking about these ten years ago. At the end of the first war in Bianliang, Ning Yi was disheartened and wanted to leave Beijing to live in seclusion, after the fall of the boss, he stayed for a long time, and only arranged a way back for everyone, but unfortunately the matter of the eldest lady falling into the water completely angered him, and this is the later hypocrisy and the snake and the ninth ...... of the first month of June"

Wen Ren paused: "Moreover, although this Lord Qin also has a skill in doing things, he is too tactful in some aspects, and he retreats from the difficulty." Back then, Emperor Xianjinghan saw that the Jurchens were menacing and wanted to leave Jingnan to hunt, but the old man led the officials of the whole city to stop him, and this Lord Qin was afraid that he would not dare to do it. Moreover, the change of opinion of this Lord Qin is also quite ingenious......"

He said: "Not long ago, Zhouhai told me about this Lord Qin, he was the main battle, and Emperor Xianjing Han was high-spirited as the king, never admit defeat, and reigned for 14 years, although there are also flaws, but what is concerned about the heart and mind is to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun and destroy the Liao State. At that time, Lord Qin was the middle of the imperial history, and there were countless people, but he always took the overall situation into account, and Emperor Jinghan took him as a confidant. As for today...... His Majesty supports His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but what he is more concerned about is the stability of the world, and Lord Qin has also experienced ten years of turbulence, and he began to tend to make peace with the Jurchens, which is exactly what His Majesty wants...... If Ning Yi saw that this Lord Qin would soar into the sky more than ten years ago, well, it's not impossible, but it still looks a little strange. ”

"yes." Zhou Pei thought for a long time before nodding, "No matter how much he is appreciated by his father, he can't compare to Cai Jing back then...... What do you mean by the prince's side? ”

"Regarding the matter of the capital, there has been a quick news to Xiangyang, as for His Highness's thoughts, I dare not say anything about it."

"After the boss and Grandpa Kang left one after another, you, Zhou Hai and a few others are not only friends of my sister and brother, but also the teacher, so there is nothing to say or not to say." Zhou Pei smiled, the smile was plain, "The prince is training on the front line, he has a straight temperament, and for the rear, he probably acts according to the law." In fact, his father likes Lord Qin privately, he feels that Qin Huizhi is similar to Qin Siyuan, and said that he will not repeat the mistakes of Emperor Jinghan......"

Saying this, Zhou Pei shook his head. Preconceived ideas are a taboo to measure things, but his father is to catch ducks on the shelves, on the one hand, he is timid in temperament, on the other hand, he is emotional, Junwu is generous and radical, shouting to fight to the death with the Jurchens, he does not agree with it in his heart, but he can only go by his son, and he is hiding in the Jinluan Palace for fear of the collapse of the front-line war.

Whether it is Zhao Ding or Qin Hui, they all belong to the "rational" side of their father, and the motivated son can't compare to these elected ministers after all, but he is also a son. Once Junwu is smashed, in the heart of his father, he still has to rely on the ministers of the court who can clean up the stall. Including his own daughter, I am afraid that in the heart of his father, he may not be a "capable" person, at most he is sincere to the Zhou family.

It's too difficult to beat that cold and resolute demon in the court. If he is a minister in the court, I am afraid that he will also think about emptying the power of his sister and brother, think about it, many of the opinions of these adults are also reasonable.

She thought so, and then changed the topic away from the affairs of the court: "Mr. Wenren, after this big storm, my Wu Dynasty can still hold on if I am lucky...... In the future, the court should still be ruled by a hypocritical monarch. ”

Wen Ren smiled and didn't speak.

Today is the first snow in Lin'an, about to meet at the head of this old city, it is only Zhou Pei's interest, more than ten years ago the city wall on this side was broken by Fang La, and now it is just an ornamental platform. Looking south from the city wall, the royal street extends to the majestic imperial city at the foot of Phoenix Mountain, which has been under construction since the day the capital was moved, and there was a major construction last year, but then the military was urgent, and the emperor stopped the construction of the palace city, and the army was strong to defend against the threat from the north. The palace city that stopped here has become a symbol of the emperor's progress, and the soldiers in the city are generous every time they talk about it.

The cold first snow reflects the traffic of the city, and the turbulent undercurrent under the city connects to every part of the world. The battle on the battlefield is coming, and the fight in the court has never stopped, and it will never stop.

As snow began to fall in southern cities such as Lin'an, the temperature in the Chengdu Plain in the southwest also began to cool down. Although there is no snow in this area, the cold and humid climate can still be a bit difficult. Since the Huaxia Army left Xiaoliangshan and started the expedition, the original commercial and trade activities on the Chengdu Plain have been wiped out. After the capture of Chengdu, the Huaxia army once forced Zizhou, and then suspended its action because of Zizhou's strong "defense", and in this winter, the entire Chengdu Plain was more depressed and slaughtered than before.

Fifteen miles south of Chengdu, as soon as the sky was dawning, an 11-year-old boy had already gotten up and started exercising at the improvised military medical station where the First Division of the Fifth Army of China was temporarily stationed. On the small earthen flat on the side of the military doctor's station, he practiced breathing and breathing, and then began to box, and then practiced a set of swordsmanship and a set of marksmanship. After the martial arts practice, he made a tour of the surrounding wounded barracks room, and then went to the cafeteria with the military doctors to have breakfast.

The fierce fighting has stopped for a long time, the cruelty of being surrounded by stumps and broken bodies in the military medical station is no longer there, the wounded in the barracks have been recovering one after another, the lightly wounded have left, and the seriously wounded have begun to get acquainted with the special eleven-year-old children in this military medical station, and occasionally talk about the experience of being wounded on the battlefield, so that Xiao Ning often gains something.

In the military medical station, many people may no longer be able to live like normal people in this life, and the fighting experience summarized in their mouths is enough to become the most valuable reference for a martial artist. Xiao Ningji began to refine his martial arts direction for the first time in such a thrilling situation. In the morning of the day, after he had finished his apprentice's work, he went outside to practice marksmanship, when a strong wind suddenly hit behind the house: "Look at the stick! ”

Ning Ji brandished his spear and fought with the incoming figure. The man was taller than him, and his martial arts were stronger, Ning Ji blocked and retreated all the way, and circled around the small tuping several times, and the other party's offensive had not broken Ning Ji's defense, the man laughed, threw the stick in his hand, and pounced forward: "Second brother is so powerful!" Ning Ji also pounced: "Big brother, you're here!" ”

The person who came was naturally Ning Xi, the eldest son of the Ning family, who was three years older than Ning Ji and nearly four years old, although he was now learning more about Gewu and logic, but he was still able to suppress Ning Ji in martial arts. The two jumped together for a while, and Ning Xi told him: "Dad is here, Aunt Chan is also here, I am here to pick you up today, let's leave today, you can see Wenwen and them in the afternoon......"

Ning Xi only said the beginning, and Ning Ji ran towards the barracks with a roar. Ning Yi and Xiao Chan and others came quietly, without alarming too many people, in a ward at the other end of the camp, Ning Yi was visiting the seriously injured who were staying here one by one, some of these people were burned beyond recognition by the flames, and some of them were disabled, Ning Yi sat on the edge of the bed and asked them about the wartime situation, Xiao Ning Ji rushed into the room, and his mother Chan'er looked over from his father's side, and her eyes were already full of tears.

"Father, mother." Ning Ji ran a few steps quickly before he stopped and saluted the two of them. Ning Yi smiled and waved his hand, and Ning Ji ran quickly to his mother's side again, only to hear Ning Yi ask, "How Uncle He was injured, do you know?" "It's the seriously wounded man next to him.

"Yes." Ning Ji nodded, "When attacking Chengdu, Uncle He led a team into the city, and when he arrived at the Laojun Temple in the west of the city, he found that a team of Wu Dynasty routs were grabbing things, Uncle He and his brothers killed him, and the other party set a fire, Uncle He was pressed by the fallen beam in order to save people, and his body was burned, and the injury was not treated at the time, and his left leg was not saved. ”

Ning Yi nodded, holding the wounded soldier's hand and was silent for a moment, the wounded soldier already had tears in his eyes, and said at this time: "I, I...... I...... It's okay. ”

This wounded soldier surnamed He was originally from a very bitter peasant family, and Ning Yi asked him about his injuries and the reason for his injuries before, but he couldn't say anything when he was emotional, and only then did he squeeze out this sentence, Ning Yi patted his hands: "Take care of your body." "In the face of such a wounded, in fact, it seems superfluous to say anything, but what can be said besides such words?

He then pulled Ning Ji: "This kid is here, he hasn't done anything bad, right?" ”

The wounded man's face turned red: "Second son...... Good to us......"

Ning Yi nodded, comforted and admonished him a few more words, and pulled Ning Ji to the next bed. He inquired about the injuries of the people, who were in a variety of moods, some were silent, and some were talking about the battle when they were injured. If there are those who are not very good at talking, Ning Yi will let the child introduce them on his behalf, and after visiting a ward, Ning Yi pulled the child to the front and thanked all the wounded, thanking them for their dedication to the Huaxia Army, as well as their tolerance and care for the child in the recent period.

I had seen several wards in the camp in this way, and it was past noon. In the interval between his parents and brother's talk, Xiao Ningji learned that after the army captured Chengdu, it had entered a period of recuperation. After the expansion of the territory, considering the efficiency of the command, the core of the Huaxia Army, which was originally located in the Liangshan Mountains, is currently preparing to move to the Chengdu Plain.

Since the Huaxia Army, first went to the northwest, and then moved to the southwest, a group of children were born in the war, and most of the things they saw were mountains and dirt slopes, and the only thing they saw was Ning Xi, who had seen a big city, and that was also experienced before the age of four. In order not to alarm too many people, Ning Yi, Su Tan'er, Ning Xi and other people did not make a big fanfare, this time Ning Yi and Xiaochan took Ning Xi to pick up Ning Ji, Tan'er, Yunzhu, Hongti and Wenwen and other children are still camping by the mountains and rivers more than ten miles away.

After lunch, the group of people in the light car got on the carriage and headed south......

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

The carriage left the barracks and headed south, and in front of the field of vision, there was a lead-blue grassland and low mountains.

Although the Chengdu Plain is rich and prosperous, it will snow when the winter is cold and deep, the grass blanket at this time has already withdrawn the green, and some evergreen trees are also dyed with the gray of winter, and under the infiltration of water vapor, the whole field seems to be empty and infiltrating, and the cold means as if to immerse into the bone marrow of people.

Ning Ji's body is quite warm. First, he had always practiced martial arts, and his health was much healthier than ordinary people, secondly, his father called him to a car and talked to him a lot on the way, first, he was concerned about his martial arts and literacy progress, and secondly, his father spoke to him in a very gentle tone, which made the eleven-year-old young man feel warm in his heart.

Over the years, although Ning Yi's murderous reputation has spread all over the world, his attitude towards his family is not tough, he is always very gentle, and sometimes he will make a few jokes with his children. But even so, Ning Ji and the others didn't get along much with their father, and the disappearance of two years made the children in the family experience the grief of their father's death early, and after coming back, Ning Yi spent most of the time in his busy work. So the afternoon drive turned out to be the longest time Ning Ji and his father spent alone in a few years.

"Have you been to Chengdu?" After asking about martial arts and literacy, Ning Yi asked him with a smile, and Ning Ji nodded excitedly: "After breaking the city, I went there once...... But it didn't stay long. ”

"Big, right?"

"Mmmm, but the eldest brother said that he still remembers Bianliang, and Bianliang is bigger."

"He left when he was three years old, how can you remember what he lived, he lied to you." Ning Yi said with a smile, Bianliang, for him, it was also a memory of more than ten years ago, and now it is probably dilapidated, "We will stay in Chengdu for a while this time, and then we will take you to have a good time, your martial arts are not bad now, and when the time comes, I will help watch a few younger brothers and sisters." ”

"Uh-huh." Ning Ji nodded again and again: "...... Will we not live in Chengdu in the future? ”

"Chengdu is too big and prosperous, and it is temporarily leaning in front, which is not suitable for moving the command point over." Ning Yi replied, Ning Ji didn't understand much, but he also nodded, Ning Yi looked at him, thought for a while, and then smiled, "What do you think, we just fought down Chengdu, and there is still a battlefield in front of us, how can we bring our younger brothers and sisters to such a dangerous place, not to mention the enemies on the battlefield, there are also some bad people, who will hide among ordinary people and come to do sabotage, or want to rob you, your younger brothers and sisters, if you want to prevent it, is it difficult?" ”

Ning Ji is also a person who has seen the battlefield now, and when he heard his father say this, his face began to become serious, and he nodded heavily. Ning Yi patted him on the shoulder: "At your age, you let you go to the battlefield, do you blame me and your mother?" ”

Ning Ji pursed his lips and shook his head solemnly, he looked at his father, the emotion in his eyes was a little decisive, and there was also the complexity and pity after witnessing the many tragedies. Ning Yi reached out and touched the child's head, and hugged him with one hand, looking at the lead blue outside the window.

"There are some things, it doesn't make sense, Jurchen things, I told you, and I also told you about your Grandpa Qin. Our Huaxia Army doesn't want to be a bad breed and offend many people, and you and your younger brothers and sisters can't live a peaceful life. The assassins will kill you, and I can't hide you for the rest of my life, so I can only put you on the battlefield and let you train ......"

"The bad guys are here, I'll kill them......" Ning Ji said in a low voice.

"It's not that simple, the enemy on the battlefield is not necessarily terrible, dignified, and anyone in our Huaxia Army can fight it. But there are always some enemies, we can't see it at a glance, your Aunt Hong's martial arts are so high, and she can't protect everyone's thoroughness, so it's a good thing that you want to practice martial arts. ”

"My eldest brother and I can also protect our younger siblings......," Ning Ji said angrily.

"yes." Ning Yi paused, and said after a while: "Since you want to be a martial arts master, I will give you a new task in a few days." ”

"Hmm."

"Here in Chengdu, there will be no war in winter, and then we will send a military medical team to the surrounding villages to see a doctor and administer medicine. After a battle, many people's livelihoods will be affected, if it snows, there will be more poor people who are sick and frozen to death than in previous years, you follow the master in the military medical team, go and see together, cure the sick and save people......"

Ning Yi paused: "It's better to read 10,000 books than to travel 10,000 miles, the same is true for martial arts, you can't practice anything in the martial arts arena, you walk around, you will meet good people, you will meet bad people, you can see more, think more, you will know how the bad people will hide in the crowd in the future." One day, you and your eldest brother will take on the responsibility of taking care of your younger siblings. ”

Ning Ji's head nodded harder, and Ning Yi said with a smile: "Of course, this is a matter of a while, we will see my younger brothers and sisters later, let's go to Chengdu first to have a good time." I haven't seen you for a long time, Wenwen, Xiaoshuang Xiaoning Xiaoke, they all miss you so much, and Ninghe's martial arts are laying the foundation, you go and urge him......"

The carriage was galloping, the father and son chatted all the way, the day was not yet evening, the convoy arrived at a small camp west of Xinjin, this camp is close to the mountains and rivers, there are not many people around, Tan'er, Hongti and others took Wenwen and other children to play by the river, there are also a few children of Du Kill, Fang Shuchang and others in the middle, a bunch of bonfires have risen roaringly, seeing the arrival of Ning Ji, the enthusiastic little Ning Ke has already screamed and pounced, on the way he fell down, got up and smiled and continued to pounce, his face was full of mud.

The surrounding group of adults looked anxious and funny, Yun Zhu had already run up with a handkerchief, Ning Yi looked at the children running together by the river, and he was also full of smiles, this is the moment of family reunion, everything seems soft and warm.

Not long after, Ning Xi, who had already begun to think and take care of things, came over and asked his father privately about Ning Ji's movement with the military doctor. Eleven-year-old Xiao Ning Ji's understanding of the enemy is probably only in the extreme viciousness, but Ning Xi understands more. Over the years, there have been assassinations against his father and his relatives, even if Chengdu has been taken, this time the family used to play, in fact, there is a considerable security risk, rather than walking around with the military doctor, once you meet an assassin with a heart, the consequences are unspeakable.

Ning Yi looked at the children playing on the river beach not far away, was silent for a moment, and then patted Ning Xi on the shoulder: "A doctor takes an apprentice, and then takes two soldiers to escort him, and the security of Xiao Er's side will be handed over to your Grandpa Chen to take care of on your behalf...... Your Grandpa Chen was famous in the green forest back then, and if you learn some of his skills with an open mind, it will be very enough in the future. ”

The "Grandpa Chen" in Ning Yi's mouth is Chen Huozi, who has been in charge of security work for a long time by his side. Previously, he went out of the mountains with Su Wenfang to run errands, when Long Qifei and others suddenly attacked, Chen Huozi was injured and fled back to the mountains, and now that the injury has gradually healed, Ning Yi plans to hand over the safety of the child to him, of course, on the other hand, he also hopes that the two children can learn more skills with him.

Ning Xi got this arrangement and nodded happily. Ning Yi sat down on the edge of the river beach and sighed, if possible, he would want his children to live in an era where they would not have to be afraid, even if they would achieve nothing, or even risk becoming a child, it would be better than pushing an eleven-year-old child to the battlefield and letting him watch those corpses up close.

However, this cruelty is not matched by the gentle possibility that the child will achieve nothing. In the process of playing against the world, these relatives and children around them are facing a real threat of death. Fifteen years old, eleven years old, and even the youngest Ning Shuang and Ning Ning, the possibility of being suddenly killed by the enemy and dying is the same.

So he closed his eyes and sighed softly. Then he got up and went to the river beach in the light of the bonfire, and on this day he fished and barbecued with a group of children, and played for a while, until night fell, Fang Shu often came to inform him of something. There is a special guest who has been brought here.

That's Song Yongping.