After leaving the small village, the sound of the gurgling stream seemed to still be ringing in the ears. Ning Yi held a small lantern and walked along the post road with Yunzhu, followed by the carriage.
Looking back, the lights in the small village became thinner and merged with the night sky and earth, and no difference could be seen. Holding her husband's hand, Yunzhu could still feel the depression in his emotions.
This was caused by the battle reports coming from the North, but the remarks he heard from above in the room did not become the cause of his troubles.
Following her husband's ups and downs over the years, Yunzhu has been able to understand what Ning Yi, Xigua and others are doing even though he has not participated in their discussions for several years. At this time, Yunzhu has come a long way.
He talked about it softly.
"That is...Master Zhong from Zhonghe City. I have seen him in the school. I have never heard him talk about these thoughts..."
The lanterns emitting orange light moved forward. At the other end of the road, two people carrying baskets came over. They were farmers who didn't know where they were going. When they walked to the front, they stopped at the side of the post road with a somewhat restrained body.
Let Ning Yi and the carriages and horses behind him pass by. Ning Yi held up a lantern and signaled to them.
The two farmers passed by here, and Ning Yi watched their backs walking in the distant starlight before saying.
"If this Zhong Hecheng intends to meet you in the school, you should be more careful, but it is unlikely. He has a more important mission and does not want me to see him."
"Huh?" Yunzhu frowned slightly, "He is... here to cause trouble? I thought he was influenced by Agua."
Ning Yi smiled: "It's not wrong to say it's Agua's influence."
"But you said that Agua is extreme."
"The beginning of thinking is all extreme." Ning Yi smiled at his wife, "What's wrong with everyone being equal? This is the direction that human beings should go in for thousands of years. If there is a way, it will be realized today.
Good. I'm glad they picked up this idea."
"Li Heng is not afraid of getting angry and getting burned." Seeing Ning Yi's calm attitude, Yunzhu somewhat let go of his worries. He also smiled and relaxed his steps. The two of them walked forward in the night wind. Ning Yi turned slightly away.
Head tilt.
"When talking about equality with people, the biggest question is whether smart people can be equal to fools, whether capable people can be equal to incompetent people, whether lazy people can be equal to hard-working people. In fact, of course it is not possible.
This does not lie in the inability to reason, but in the fundamental inability to do so. But what is the difference between capable people and incompetent people? What is the difference between lazy and diligent people? Yunzhu, you teach in school.
There is no distinction, but smart children may not be able to learn well, and fools may work harder. If you meet a rotten wood, will you think that it is you who cannot teach him well or that everyone in the world cannot teach him well?"
"Sometimes I feel that no one in the world can teach children well." Yunzhu smiled and then added, "But of course, some teachers always have a way to teach children after putting in some effort."
"In this world, anyone can become good, anyone can become useful. Smart children have different teaching methods, stupid children have different teaching methods, and everyone has the possibility to become successful. Those great people who make people look up to them.
Heroes and great sages were all stupid children in one way or another at the beginning. Is there any difference between Confucius and the farmers who just passed by? In fact, no, they took different paths and became different people. Do you have Confucius and Yunzhu?
What's the difference..."
"Yes." Yunzhu said quickly.
Ning Yi had already held her hand and laughed: "No. This is that everyone is equal."
"...Everyone has an equal possibility. Are all smart people who can become adults? I don't think so. Some smart people have unstable temperaments and cannot study hard, but suffer losses. Foolish people know their own clumsiness.
People who are poor and late at work can achieve achievements earlier. So, is it possible for a smart person who cannot study to develop a character of studying? Of course there are ways. If he encounters something and encounters a painful lesson,
Once you know the harm that cannot be determined, you can make up for your own shortcomings."
"... Sima Gong said: Ge Xibo was restrained and performed "The Book of Changes"; Zhongnieu wrote "Spring and Autumn"; Qu Yuan was exiled and wrote "Li Sao"... Generally speaking, people who have had a career often do not have smooth sailing in life.
In fact, it is these hardships that allow them to understand their own insignificance and powerlessness, and to explore some things in this world that cannot be changed. The richer they understand the world, the easier they can control the things in this world and make some brilliant achievements.
The deeds of the eyes come..."
"...Everyone is equal in terms of possibility. Everyone can gain wisdom through learning, self-discipline, and continuous induction and thinking, and ultimately achieve equality and become excellent people. However, everything is different.
If you don’t do it, you want equality since you were born, and you sit at home holding your head and expect to be equal to those who work hard and fight hard. That’s a joke. Of course... it would be great if it could be done, but it definitely can’t be done.
arrive."
Ning Yi looked back: "The two farmers who just walked past, when we first came, they would kneel down on the roadside. They didn't have the idea of equality in their hearts. It's not their fault, it's their fault.
In other words, inequality is natural, because they have lived in inequality all their lives. Even if someone wants to be excellent, no matter how smart they are, they have no money, no books, and no teachers. This is unfair to them.
But if there are people who are excellent, work hard, work hard, and use up everything to become more powerful, and there are people who are lazy and careless about big things, and forget their loyalty when they see small gains, the equality of these two people is the greatest irony of equality."
"It takes thousands of years to plant a sense of equality in the hearts of a generation. As for finding how to be equal, that is a matter of thousands of years. Some people are lazy, why is he lazy? What kind of environment did he experience since he was a child to develop such a character?
It’s not because life is going well, so for children who are living well, is there any way for teachers to teach them a sense of urgency so that they can empathize with it?”
"Why can a person who can work hard do so because his family was too poor before, or because he enjoys a sense of achievement? In fact, as for what a good person should do, if a person is willing to read, he will already have it at the age of thirty.
I understand, the only difference is how to do it. Diligence, restraint, hard work, seriousness... Millions of children are born in the world, how can we have a powerful system that allows them to learn and inspire their excellent things?
When everyone in the world starts to become excellent, then everyone is equal."
Maybe he thought a lot about these things on weekdays. As he walked, Ning Yi said it softly. Yunzhu remained silent, but he could understand the sadness behind it. If Zhu Biao and others really sacrificed this
This is the value of their sacrifice, or in other words, this is something that the husband "has to do" in his heart.
The dirt road turned a corner, and under the canopy in the distance, the fire of the Chinese military camp was spreading, and the stars reflected the Milky Way in the sky. The couple stopped for a moment, holding the small lantern, and stood under the tree on the roadside to watch.
With.
"In this life, I'm afraid we won't see equality among all people." Yunzhu smiled and whispered.
"That happened for thousands of years." Ning Yi looked over there and responded softly, "When everyone can read and write, it is only the first step. It is very easy for people to talk about truth.
It is difficult and difficult to integrate into people's hearts. Cultural systems, philosophical systems, educational systems... After a thousand years of exploration, we may be able to see true equality among people."
"So, even the most extreme equality, as long as they sincerely study and discuss it... is a good thing."
When Ning Yi said this, his words became softer. He smiled slightly in the darkness, and then Yunzhu seemed to hear a sentence: "I have to thank Li Pin..."
This sentence sounded suspiciously like the wind. Yunzhu looked over and said, "...huh?"
"What?" Ning Yi looked over with a smile. Before Yunzhu could speak, he suddenly said, "By the way, one day, men and women will become equal."
"ah?"
"When men and women are equal, and everyone does similar work and bears similar responsibilities, no one will be able to marry as many wives as me... Well, by then, when everyone comes out with old accounts, I will probably let others
Punish with words and words."
He said this and put Yunzhu's hand to his lips. Yunzhu smiled so much that his eyes narrowed: "That's pretty interesting if you think about it..."
"...But let me take advantage of you in this life."
After he said this, he looked towards the military camp in the distance. The couple stopped talking, and soon after, sat down on the grassy slope of the roadside.
The warm yellow light was like gathering fireflies. Yunzhu sat there and turned to look at Ning Yi beside him. More than ten years had passed since they met and fell in love.
Except for the calmness of the first few years, for more than ten years after that, they were like riding a small boat ups and downs in the stormy waves. Even after coming out of the official family, Yunzhu never thought that he would experience such a change in life later. At that time,
She lived in a small building by the river and watched the scholar running past the door every day. They occasionally greeted each other calmly. She imagined that she could be her concubine or aunt in this life.
Pass quietly.
Jiang Ning is finally a thing of the past, and what follows is an experience that has never been experienced even in the most bizarre imagination. The calm and composed young scholar turned the world upside down, and as he gradually entered middle age, he no longer remained the same as before.
Calmly, the small ship sailed into the sea and sailed into the wind and waves. It was more like he was fighting the huge waves meticulously with a life-threatening attitude. Even the inner demons who were feared by the world, in fact, he always held on tight.
Clench your teeth and tense up your spirit.
Over the years, Yunzhu has taught in the school, and occasionally heard Ning Yi and Xigua talking about their thoughts on equality. She could understand it, and she felt her heart heat up. But at this moment, she looked at the people sitting there.
The man around her only recalled Jiang Ning back then. She thought: No matter what happens to me, I just hope that he can be well, and that will be fine.
She stretched out her hand, trying to smooth his slightly frowned brows. Ning Yi glanced at her, but without hearing her thoughts, he just hugged her over, and the couple stood next to each other under the tree.
I sat in the yellow light for a while. Under the grass slope, the sound of the stream was really gurgling. It was like Jiangning many years ago. They were chatting under the trees, and the Qinhuai River flowed in front of them...
Soon after, Ning Yi returned to the yard and gathered people to continue the meeting without stopping. That night, it started to rain outside.
******************
Time never stops.
On both sides of the Yellow River, it is raining heavily. There are many things, just like every raindrop in this heavy rain. It is minding its own business, moving across the sky and the earth non-stop, and gathering in the direction of streams, rivers, and the sea.
.
When they gather into pieces, we can see where it is going and its huge destructive power. However, when it falls, no one can take into account the whereabouts of every drop of rain.
In the Central Plains, the world's heavy rain has been falling for a year.
This is one of the ordinary raindrops...
dark night.
The sound of rumbling was roaring, and the water flow swept through the village and destroyed the houses. In the heavy rain, some people shouted, some ran, and some were scurrying around in the dark mountains.
Lightning flashed across the night sky, and the white light illuminated the scene ahead. Down the hillside, the vast water flooded the place where people usually lived. Countless debris rolled in the water, including roofs, trees, corpses, and kings.
Xing stood in the rain, trembling all over.
On the hillside, a few people who had escaped were still shouting in the rain, and some were crying loudly and calling the names of their families. People walked up the mountain, and the muddy water flowed down the mountain. Some people fell into the water and rolled down, and there was darkness.
Hysterical crying.
The heavy rain continued to fall, and in the daytime, people who climbed to the top of the mountain could see the surrounding scene clearly. The river burst its banks in the dark night, rushing downwards from the upper reaches. Although there were reports, there were only a few survivors who escaped from the village.
Twenty-three of ten. Wang Xing dragged out a small bag of dried fish to eat, but all his belongings were gone.
The rain didn't stop. He hid under a tree and built a small shed with branches. He was shaking all over. More people were crying in the distance or not far away.
Many family members died in the flood. Not only did the survivors have to face such sadness, but what was even more terrifying was that all their belongings and even their food were washed away by the flood. Wang Xing shivered in the small shed for a long time.
A while.
At dawn, the rain gradually subsided, and the surviving villagers gathered together. Then, a strange thing happened.
They saw Wang Xing coming over with the bag of dried fish, and half a pot that he found somewhere in his hand: "These are the only things at home. If they get caught in the rain, they will get moldy in the future. Let's cook them and eat them."
Wang Xing is usually the most stingy and slippery person in the village. He has a pointed mouth, a monkey's cheeks, is lazy and timid, and does not dare to stand out when big things happen. He behaves ugly when he gets small profits. He is the only one in the family and has not married at the age of thirty.
to his daughter-in-law. But at this time, the look on his face was very different. He actually took out the last food and distributed it to others, which shocked everyone.
Of course, when a disaster suddenly occurred at this time, the doubts in their hearts turned into doubts. Then everyone lit a fire, divided the dried fish, and ate it to satisfy their hunger. When they were dividing the dried fish, the survivors in the village did not find the king.
Soon after arriving, a child turned around the big rock behind the mountain and saw something strange again.
Wang Xing squatted behind the stone, digging for something with a piece of stone, and then dug out an object wrapped in a long oilcloth. He opened the oilcloth and found a knife inside.
At this time, there was still rain falling from the sky. Wang Xing was soaked by the heavy rain all night. His hair stuck to his face, like a lost dog in the water. In addition, he was not good-looking to begin with. This scene looked shocking.
Feeling cold all over.
The child was so frightened that he soon told the adults in the village about the matter. The adults were also shocked. Some people said that there was nothing left and this guy was planning to kill people and grab things. Others said that Wang Xing was a coward.
His character, if he dares to take a knife, the child must have seen it wrong. Everyone searched for it, but since then, they have never seen the shabby house in this village.
While they were looking around, Wang Xing was already walking on the mountain road far away from here.
The heavy rain in the Central Plains has actually been falling for more than ten years.
From the time when the Jurchens first went south, to the establishment of the Puppet Qi, and now, life has never been easy. The Yellow River has been the mother river since ancient times, but the residents living on both sides of the Yellow River both love it and fear it. Even in Wu
During the prosperous period of the rule of the dynasty, the cost of controlling Huang Dynasty every year was sky-high. When Liu Yu ruled the Central Plains and plundered property on a large scale, the work of controlling Huang Huang had stopped every year.
In the past ten years, the Yellow River has become increasingly dike-breaking. In addition to floods, annual plagues, refugees, conscription, and exorbitant taxes have already pushed people to the brink of life and death. As for this spring in the tenth year of Jian Shuo, it is eye-catching.
What happened was the resistance of the Jin region and the fierce fighting in Daming Mansion, but long before that, the floods above people's heads had already surged.
Since the Jurchens' expedition in the second half of last year, the Central Plains' military conscription and exorbitant taxes have reached the point of breaking their bones. After Wanyanchang took over Li Xizhi's territory, in order to support the Eastern Route Army's southern expedition, the Central Plains' money and grain taxes were increased several times. He ordered the Han people to
The officials dealt with the matter, and anyone who was not in a position to collect food would be killed without mercy.
In the first few months, almost half of the affairs officials in Li Xizhi's territory were replaced. As for those who were "replaced", their heads were hung on the city wall for public display. The grain reserves of Han people in the Central Plains had been completely emptied.
In the end, as long as the officials are brutal enough, there is basically a way to survive.
As for another way to survive, it was to serve as a soldier to feed the army. When Li Xizhi died, nearly 200,000 troops were dispersed. After Wan Yanchang took over the military affairs, he quickly mobilized the remaining troops and launched a conscription at the same time. During the days of siege of Daming Mansion
, the Han troops on the front line were eaten like beggars, some died in the battle, and some were dispersed. By the time Damingfu City was broken, the number of Han troops nearby, together with the garrison "troops" from various places, had reached as many as
A huge amount of four hundred thousand.
The combat effectiveness of these "troops" may not be high, but they only need to be able to steal money and food from the people. This part of the money and food belongs to themselves, and part of it is sent to the south. As for March, when the city of Damingfu was broken, the Yellow River flowed to
"Bei" is no longer just a saying that people are in dire straits. In fact, cannibalism has already occurred in many places.
Wang Xing is a coward.
Several people once knew that he was forcibly recruited to serve as a soldier. When the soldiers went to attack Xiaocanghe, he was afraid and ran away. After the incident in Xiaocanghe came to an end, he sneaked back and was caught.
He was still young when he joined the army. Over the years, the situation has been chaotic. People in the village have been dying and running away. There are gradually fewer people who can confirm these things. He came back here and lived a timid and wretched life.
Of course, no one would know that he was once captured by the Chinese army and went to the southwest.
He was so afraid of death that he was captured and sent to the southwest. After a period of preaching, the life of the Chinese army was not easy. There were many military regulations. At first, he was hungry. Wang Xing couldn't stand it anymore. Later, he lied that he had an old mother.
At home, he was released by the Chinese army.
The back and forth, thousands of miles of journey, further eroded Wang Xing's burden. This world was too terrible. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to rush to the front and die suddenly.
Over the years, life has been extremely difficult. In this year, soldiers who were collecting food rushed into his home and beat him half to death. He almost thought he was really going to die, but he slowly got over it. Jin Di
They are still fighting, Daming Mansion is still fighting, and those heroes and heroes who have courage in their hearts are still resisting.
He can't become such a person, and many people can't. This is human nature. Wang Xing told himself this in his heart, and in this world, as long as there are such people, and there are people like the Huaxia Army who are constantly resisting, after all, they will not be able to become such a person.
destroyed.
During his time in the Chinese Army, he at least remembered something: sooner or later, people will drive away the Jurchens.
When that day comes, good times will eventually come.
But I'm not a hero... I'm just afraid of death and don't want to die first.
He thought so in his mind.
Until that day in April, when the river was flooded, he was lucky enough to catch some fish and took it to the city to exchange for some things. Suddenly he heard Jurchen propaganda.
The Daming Mansion was destroyed and the Black Flag Army was defeated.
His heart suddenly collapsed.
He waited in the city for two days and saw a convoy escorting Black Flag Army and Guangwu Army prisoners entering the city. Some of these prisoners had broken limbs, some were seriously injured and were on the verge of death, but Wang Xing could clearly identify them.
They are Chinese soldiers.
Soon after, they were all beheaded on the execution ground, their heads rolling down.
According to Jurchen propaganda, the Guangwu Army and the Huaxia Army were completely wiped out.
No matter how hard life is, some people will always survive.
Some people want to live ambitiously, some people want to live decently, some people just bend over without kneeling down... there will eventually be someone who rushes ahead.
It doesn't matter to me, I'm just afraid of death. Even if I kneel down, it doesn't matter to me. After all, I'm different from them. They're not as afraid of death as I am... I'm so afraid, but there's nothing I can do about it. Wang Xing thought like this in his heart
of.
The Wu Dynasty was defeated. Before, there were various rebel armies, but the rebel armies gradually disappeared. Later, there was the Guangwu Army and the King of Jin. Even if the Guangwu Army and the Jin Dynasty were defeated, at least there was Black Flag. However, these are gone...
But we haven't defeated the Jurchens yet.
The cover of the Central Plains was pressed down, and no one would resist. Returning to the village, Wang Xing's heart gradually died. Two days later, floods came from the night. Wang Xing's whole body was cold and he was shaking constantly.
In fact, from the moment he saw the beheading scene in the city, he already knew in his heart that there was no way to survive.
He kept a small amount of dried fish, divided the rest among the villagers, and then dug out the rusty knife. Two days later, a Han soldier who was robbing food was killed on a mountain road dozens of miles away from the village.
.
Wang Xing found a small sampan with some of the food he had snatched after the murder. He chose a day when the sky was slightly clearer and started to cross the river against the wind and waves. He heard that there were still Chinese troops fighting in Xuzhou.
Growing up on the bank of the Yellow River, he understood from an early age that half of the people crossing the river in this situation would die, but it didn't matter, those who resisted were already dead.
Even the most timid person has no way out.
The rain in the Central Plains is still falling.
Many things gradually fermented in the heavy rain...
At the same time, under the command of Wan Yanchang, an army of more than 200,000 people began to besiege the water in the direction of Liangshan. After the destruction of the Guangwu Army and the Huaxia Army, there were still tens of thousands of family members surviving in the water.
On the island in the center, there are only more than two thousand troops guarding them...