On March 11th, the first year of Wu Zhenxing's reign, the area around Taihu Lake was still marked by the raging war, and it never recovered.
In the past six months, battles and massacres have ravaged this place over and over again. From Wuxi to Suzhou, to Jiaxing, the gates of the rich and gorgeous cities have been knocked open several times. The Jurchens ravaged this place, and the Wu Dynasty army recovered it, and then
It changed hands again. One massacre after another, and one robbery after another. From the end of Jian Shuo to the beginning of Zhenxing, it seemed that they never stopped.
More than a million Han people died last winter, and an equal number of Jiangnan craftsmen, strong men, and some pretty beauties were captured by the Jin army and dragged north as trophies.
Large-scale wars and raids only ended in February of this year, but even after the Jurchens had enough to eat and drink and decided to return to the court, the situation in the south of the Yangtze River still did not ease. A large number of refugees formed bandits, and the rich families mobilized.
The army and people delineated the territory and plundered everything that was left as much as possible for their own livelihood. Small but frequent fighting and conflicts still appeared in every place in this once-rich paradise.
Forgive us for not staying in one place for too long. During the long night of war, many people suffered more every day than in a lifetime in peacetime.
Following the fleeing people for more than two months, He Wen felt the seemingly endless nights. The unbearable hunger, the raging pain that could not be relieved, and people eating their own or other people's food in desperation.
My child, many people have been driven crazy, and there are still enemies chasing us from behind.
In the constant escape and transfer, the organizational skills of the new emperor, who claimed to protect the people, were not ideal. He never saw the hope of solving the problem. Many times, the price of a strong man's breaking of his wrist was also the death of the people like ants. He
Being in it is impossible to imagine.
After leaving prison, one of his hands was disabled and he could no longer use any strength. His body was also broken, and his original martial arts skills were completely gone. A few years ago, he was a Confucian knight with both civil and military skills. He could not boast that
He has seen a lot of people, but he has a strong will. The corrupt officials of the Wu Dynasty ruined his family, but he actually didn't have much hatred in his heart. He went to kill Ning Yi but failed. When he returned home, could anyone prove it to him?
What? The admiration in his heart is clear, but in reality, his wife and children are separated. This is his fault and failure.
But on the way to escape, the torment of hunger and powerlessness often made him wail unspeakably. This pain was not temporary or intense, but a continuous feeling of powerlessness and anger, angry but powerless.
Tear. If he were asked to stand from an objective perspective and analyze everything calmly, he would also admit that the new emperor had indeed made great efforts, and the army he led at least tried hard to stay in front.
, the situation is stronger than the people, no one can resist it.
But he was trapped in the fleeing crowd. What he saw every moment was blood and wailing. People seemed to have a blank soul after eating human flesh, suffering in despair. Seeing that his wife could no longer run, the husband shouted
Screaming like an animal, the mother who witnessed the death of her child walking like a zombie, fell to the ground and curled up in a ball after being touched by others, the sound from her mouth will continue to echo in people's sleep, grabbing hold of anyone who is still alive.
The heart of a conscientious person cannot sink into any place of peace of mind.
Is this enough?
Have you really tried your best?
He will think of everything he saw in the southwest.
The life there is also difficult, people will scrimp on food and clothing, and practice frugality on an empty stomach, but people's faces will have a different look after that. When the army named after China faces the war, they will go up to it, and they will face it.
Sacrifice, accept the sacrifice, and then the survivors will enjoy the joy of peace.
He thought of the righteous speeches made by countless people in the southwest, including him. They asked Ning Yi: "What are the people doing? How can you expect everyone to be sensible and make the right choice?" He would
Thinking of Ning Yi's much-criticized cold-blooded answer: "Then they must die!" He Wen once felt that he had asked the right question.
He Wen could not come up with the correct way to refute many of the questions Ning Yi answered. But this question alone reflected Ning Yi's cold-bloodedness. He Wen did not appreciate Ning Yi like this. He had always believed that in
From this perspective, people can at least despise Ning Yi and not stand with him.
But at this moment when many people were being hunted and died weightlessly for various desolate reasons, he would think of this issue.
They must die.
Jiangnan has always been rich. Even though it has been ravaged by war and tortured over and over again for more than half a year, there are not many people fleeing all the way. Some of them are even wealthy families. They used to have a good life.
They even had beautiful hearts. They fled, cried, and died, but no one gave them any preferential treatment because of their beauty.
Even the troops of the Wu Dynasty, the one in front of me, have fought very hard. However, is it enough?
If the enemy attacks and cannot be stopped, he will die. There is no point in talking about the difficulties and reasons.
If Ning Yi were around, he might have said such extremely cruel words. But due to the fear of death, Southwest has been strengthening itself for so many years, using every strength of everyone, hoping to be able to
Survived the war. And the people born in the Wu Dynasty, no matter how well-founded their weakness was, no matter how powerless they were, it made people feel pity.
They are dead.
Ning Yi looked at him: "They have to die."
One day in January, the Jurchens came and people fled aimlessly. He Wen, who was weak, saw the right direction and shouted around with a hoarse voice, but no one listened to him until he
Shout out: "I am a soldier of the Chinese Army! I am a soldier of the Black Flag Army! Follow me!"
People who heard it clearly followed him, and then spread the news from ten to ten. On this day, he led many people to escape to the nearby mountains. When the sky was about to end, people were shrouded in hunger again. He Wen cheered up and
On the one hand, they arranged for people to search for food that was better than nothing in the mountains in early spring. On the other hand, they collected more than a dozen weapons to grab food from the nearby surrendering Han army team following the Jurchens.
Fleeing all the way, even the strong ones in the team had little strength at this time. In addition to the rout along the way, it has become a habit to not dare to go forward, but there is no other way, He Wen
He told everyone about the achievements of the Black Flag Army, and then promised: "Just believe in me!"
With more than a dozen anxious people, he approached a surrendering Han army of nearly a hundred people and wanted to report the transfer information of Han Shizhong's brigade.
At that moment, He Wen was in ragged clothes, weak, and thin, and his severed hand seemed increasingly weak. Unexpectedly, the leader lowered his guard in He Wen's weak voice.
Soon after, He Wen took out his knife and slashed open the general's neck in front of the surrendering Han army. Blood spurted out in the light of the bonfire. He took out the black flag he had prepared and raised it high.
, in the darkness in the surrounding mountains, torches were lit one after another, and shouts came and went.
More than a hundred people put down their swords and guns.
This was the beginning of his raising the flag. If we look at his pure thoughts, He Wen was actually unwilling to raise the black flag. He did not inherit the mantle of the black flag. It was just a cry in despair.
But after everyone gathered together, this name could never be changed.
The war is raging everywhere. As long as someone is willing to put up an umbrella, a large number of refugees will soon come to surrender. The rebels are rubbing against each other, and some will even take the initiative to attack those Han troops who have sufficient supplies. They are among the rebels.
The most ferocious group, He Wen pulled up such an army. He recalled the training content and organizational methods of the Southwest Army, and deployed the gathered refugees. Those who could hold a knife must hold a knife and form a formation.
He never retreated, cultivated mutual trust among his comrades, held meetings from time to time, recalled the bittersweet, and accused the Jurchens. Even if they were women and children, he would definitely arrange collective work for others.
The hastily organized team was extremely dull, but it was enough to deal with the nearby Jin Han army. It was this style that made people believe that He Wen was really a member of the legendary army. In just over a month,
The number of people gathered continued to expand. People were still hungry, but with the growth of all things in spring, and the principle of fair distribution set by He Wen among this ragtag group of people, the hungry people no longer needed to change their eggs to eat.
Cheng Zhouhai, an important member of the new emperor's command, once approached He Wen and told him about Zhou Junwu's forced departure and his determination to revitalize the Wu Dynasty. He also talked to He Wen about many things about the southwest. He Wen did not appreciate it. In fact, Cheng Zhouhai did not appreciate it.
Zhou Hai didn't understand that He Wen didn't hate the new emperor of the Wu Dynasty in his heart. He also tried his best many times. His heroic posture outside Jiangning City finally defeated Zongfu's siege army. However, he tried his best.
, is not enough.
On the other hand, he was actually unwilling to mention too much about the situation in the Southwest, especially in front of another person who knew the situation in the Southwest. He knew in his heart that he was not a real soldier of the Chinese Army.
In March, this army of refugees with black flags became famous throughout the south of the Yangtze River, and many people in the mountains even had contact with him. Wen Renbuer came over to deliver something once to show his goodwill.
In addition, he also chatted with He Wen about Ning Yi. He, like Cheng Zhouhai, did not understand He Wen's inner feelings, and the final result was of course in vain.
On the eighth and ninth day of March, the victory in the southwest had essentially spread to the south of the Yangtze River. The rebel army under the name of Black Flag made a great announcement, and then Wu Qimei's article in the Lin'an court was spread to the hands of wealthy people everywhere.
In the book, there were remarks about tyranny and equality, which later spread to the ears of many people.
He Wen received the news from Lin'an on the way north. He traveled all the way through the stars and nights. He and several companions crossed the road near Taihu Lake and rushed towards Zhenjiang. They arrived near Suzhou and received the news from the refugees here.
Information, among the companions, a swordsman named Huangfu Qing also read poetry and books. After reading Wu Qimei's article, he became excited: "Mr. He, is Southwest... really such an equal place?"
"...He did say that everyone is equal."
After reading Wu Qimei's article, He Wen understood the sinister intentions of this old dog. The description of the situation in the southwest in the article was all conjecture and not worth mentioning. But when it came to the word equality, He Wen hesitated slightly and did not do anything.
Too much discussion.
His identity in Hedeng was discovered after Ning Yi returned to the southwest. Regarding the "hungry ghosts" in the Central Plains, at his original level, he had also heard some discussions from the staff. Ning Yi gave
Wang Shitong suggested, but Wang Shitong refused to listen. Eventually, the group of hungry ghosts who lived by robbery continued to expand, and millions of people were affected.
How similar is Jiangnan's situation and my own situation to those of hungry ghosts?
After the Jurchens left camp, supplies in the south of the Yangtze River were about to be exhausted, and people could only fight with swords and devour each other. Refugees, bandits, rebels, and Han troops who surrendered to the Jin Dynasty all competed with each other. They waved black flags, and the number of people under their command continued to expand. After the expansion,
Attack the Han army and continue to expand after the attack.
This will eventually kill itself.
He did not comment too much on Wu Qimei's article, and thought silently along the way. By the afternoon of November 1, he had already entered a place about a hundred miles south of Zhenjiang.
The camps of the Jin army were stationed on both sides of the Yangtze River, including the millions of Han slaves they drove up. The procession across the river stretched into a long stretch. On the periphery of the procession, there were also troops of the Han army stationed and patrolling after the gold was surrendered. He Wen and
The companions quietly approached this most dangerous area.
In the evening, they took a rest in the mountains. The small team did not dare to live, and ate the little dry food in silence. He Wen sat on the grass and watched the sunset. His clothes were shabby, and his body was still weak, but silent
There was a power within him, and no one else dared to disturb him.
Until the moment when the setting sun turned red, he called Huangfu Qing and others over.
"... When Mr. Ning was in Southwest China, he indeed said many times that everyone is equal. He said that this is undoubtedly the ultimate and highest pursuit of human society. In other words, the world is changing and changing.
In the end, we must change in that direction.”
Some of the people sitting around did not understand, some understood part of it, and most of them looked solemn at this time. He Wen recalled: "When I was in the southwest, I once... saw such an article. Now that I think about it, I
I remember it very clearly, it is like this... From the basic concepts of geophysics and the observation of the world and society in which human beings live, we can know this basic rule: In the society where human beings live, all conscious and influenceable changes are caused by
It arises from the behavior of every human being who makes up this society. Under the guidance of this basic rule, in order to seek the fairness and justice that human society can realistically achieve and seek together, we believe that people are born with the following reasonable and legal rights
: One, the right to survive..." (The memory should not be so clear, but this paragraph will not be modified or disrupted).
He Wen sat in the sunset and said those words. Everyone was more or less confused, but they saw He Wen pause for a moment:
"You know why Wu Qimei of Lin'an wrote such an article? It's all because the foundation of his court lies in the various gentry families. What these gentry families are usually most afraid of is the equality mentioned here... If real people
People are equal, so why are they well-dressed and well-fed, while everyone suffers from hunger? Why is it that the landlord has thousands of hectares of fertile land, but you can only be a tenant farmer for the rest of your life? Wu Qimei, an old dog, he felt that it was difficult for these gentry and wealthy people to talk about the Chinese Army like this
Come, these big families will be afraid of the Chinese army and want to defeat the Chinese army."
He waved his hand and threw out the articles written by Wu Qimei and others. The pieces of paper were flying in the sunset. He Wen's words became sonorous and firm: "...and what they are afraid of, we should do it! They
If we are afraid of equality, we must be equal! After this success, we will stand up and tell everyone the idea of equality!"
"Everyone, this world has perished!" He Wendao said, "How many families have been broken up, their wives have been separated, and their families have been separated! As for those wealthy families, when the Wu Dynasty was around, they relied on the Wu Dynasty to survive and lived better than anyone else. They didn't do business, and their corpses were just a meal! Here is the place.
Take a little, take a little there, and bring down the Wu Dynasty. They continue to live a good life by selling the Wu Dynasty and selling us! This is because they occupy and take more things than us, and the lives of the common people are
They are worthless, they are like cattle and horses in peacetime, and they are like ants in war! We cannot continue like this. From now on, we will not let these people be superior to others!"
He Wen waved his fist. His brain was already very useful. For several years in the southwest, he had actually come into contact with a lot of information about the internal style of the Chinese Army, and even the many "isms". Regardless of whether they were mature or not, the Huaxia Army
Discussions and debates are encouraged within the army. At this time, he recalled and talked about it, and finally made a decision.
"... How many gentry families are there in this world? Nowadays, the majority are those whose families have been broken up and their families are dead! Everyone is exploited by the gentry family and driven away like pigs and sheep by the Jurchens, because the largest number of people in the world are just a mob. But from now on
From now on, it will no longer be like this. We must tell them the truth. Why! Why are we not worthy of being human beings? We must make them wake up and unite! From today on, we will be called ""
He paused, and finally tapped the ground calmly and firmly: "Fair! Fair! Party!"
Everyone looked excited. Some people wanted to stand up and shout, but were stopped by people around them. He Wen looked at these people. In the sunset, he saw himself and Ning Yi when they were in the southwest a few years ago. He remembered
What Ning Yi said reminds me of what he said, "Study first, then take exams." I also think of what Ning Yi said about the premise of equality. I also think of the complicated look on his face when he talked about "hunting local tyrants to divide their land" several times. In fact,
Many, many ways are already there.
Things in the world are always driven by wind and rain.
We don't have that margin anymore, do we?
Since they are so scared.
Since there is no way to go ahead.
Then attack the local tyrants and divide the land.
I originally wanted to write the entire plot in one chapter, but I only wrote this here today, and I have no choice.