The night wind rustled, and the galloping war horses carrying torches crossed the road in the wilderness.
After the Chinese Army entered the Chengdu Plain, the first thing the Engineering Department did was to try to repair the roads connecting various places. Even so, the dirt roads at this time were not suitable for galloping horses at night. Even though the stars were shining brightly, such high-speed
Traveling still carries huge risks.
But firstly, the travelers were impatient, and secondly, they were skilled and daring. The torch-wielding charioteers walked all the way through the official road between rice fields and hills, occasionally passing through villages, and passing by very few night pedestrians. Wait.
When they passed through a forest on the way, the woman on the horse seemed to suddenly realize that something was wrong. She tightened the reins with her hands, and the horse neighed, ran a few feet away and stopped.
The war horse was lying in the middle of the road, and the woman on the horse looked back. The next moment, the torch came out and streaked across the night sky. The woman's figure roared, got off the horse, and ran into the forest.
The torches were still flying down, and there was only the lone war horse lying in the middle of the road between the two dense forests. In the dark night, someone called out in confusion: "Liu, Liu Shuai..."
Another person called: "Sixth Madam..."
The figure passing through the forest had its long sword out, and at this moment it was turned back on its back. Xigua was nominally the Marshal of the 29th Army in the Miao Territory in the Chinese Army. Among some close people, she was also known as the Sixth Lady.
. Her figure passed a distance of more than ten feet and saw several people hiding in the woods beside the road. Although they were all dressed in casual clothes, she knew two of them.
"Lin Qiu, Xu Shaoyuan, what are you doing here?"
"Liu Shuai, this is..."
Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan are also relatively respected young officers around Ning Yi. One is in the General Staff and the other works in the secretary's office. The two sides greeted each other at first, but the next moment, they showed more or less vigilance. Xigua
After an afternoon of traveling in a dusty environment, she came lightly packed with only a single sword on her back. After a moment of reflection, she understood the reason for the vigilance in the other person's eyes.
"Where is Li Heng? Are you staying here under his orders, or are you following someone else?"
She spoke sternly and struck straight forward with her sword. Although there were five people lurking in the forest in front of her, she was highly skilled in martial arts and could dominate the world with her sword alone. Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan looked at each other: "Mr. Ning didn't tell us that you would come..."
"I heard there was a problem here, so I came here. Is Li Heng still in Lao Niutou?"
Lin Qiu shook his head: "There are people guarding the front. Mr. Ning doesn't want people from outside to come and alert others, so he arranged for us here... Mr. Ning and his party have already come out..."
"Take me to him."
Lin Qiu hesitated slightly, Xigua frowned, and his eyes became stern: "I know what you are worried about, but if I am married to him, even if I betray, I can still say what I said! He asked you to stop people here,
Can you stop me? Stop talking nonsense, I still have people behind me, you two will take me to see Li Heng, and the others will hold my token and stop the people behind me!"
She took out a sign and threw it to the others in the forest. Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded: "Come with us."
The three of them walked through the woods, then rode three horses tied to the edge of the forest, climbed over the hill in front, and entered a small forest. None of them spoke during the journey.
Xigua's eyes were watery, and he naturally understood where the tension between the two of them came from. Over the years, she has promoted the idea of equality in the Chinese military the most. This time someone secretly revealed the information to her in the hope that she could come forward. After Mr. Ning and everyone
In the case of opposition, they can still step forward to support the situation. On the other hand, it also reveals these people's fear of Ning Yi. Perhaps they hope that if something fails, they can step forward to protect others.
If it were Su Tan'er or anyone else, Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan would not be so vigilant. They were afraid that they had become enemies.
In the struggle for power and the struggle between lines, no matter how close people are, they may turn against each other. Back in Hangzhou, when Xigua supported the Ba Dao Camp and killed Qi Yuankang, she had experienced such a feeling. At this time, this complicated situation made her never
The feeling of being willing to experience it came up in his heart again. Ning Yi might have been prepared for this incident, but he didn't reveal it to himself. Was he also wary of himself?
Such questions were swirling in her mind. On the other hand, she was also wary of the two people in front of her. There was a problem within the Chinese Army. If the two people in front of her had secretly surrendered to the enemy, what she would face next might be a trap that had already been prepared.
That also meant that Li Heng might have fallen into a deep crisis, but she was not afraid of such a possibility. She was familiar with the special operations methods of the Chinese Army. No matter how complicated the situation was, she was more or less sure of breaking out of the encirclement.
But then, such a situation did not happen. After walking through the woods, there were lights ahead. This was a small settlement beside the woods. It might just be part of a nearby village. There were three military buildings between the houses, and there were fights in front of them.
There was a small fish pond in Guping. Su Wending came from the front. After listening to Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan's reports, he sent them away.
"Liu Shuai knows the situation?" Su Wending was not close to Xigua on weekdays, but he also understood each other's likes and dislikes, so he called him Liu Shuai. When Xigua saw him, he felt relieved a little, but his face was still expressionless: "
Is Li Heng okay?"
"Brother-in-law is fine."
Along the way, when we arrived near the threshing flat, we saw Ning Yi appearing on the road at the other end. He was slightly stunned when he saw her, and then walked towards this side. Xigua was standing there, and she
The fighting mood that was prepared for the road finally subsided at this time. Hongti smiled at her from a distance, and Ning Yi walked closer: "Have you heard the news?"
"Well." Ning Yi stretched out his hand, Xigua also stretched out his hand, held Ning Yi's palm, and asked calmly: "What's going on? You already knew they were going to do something?"
"The situation is a bit complicated, and there are still some things to deal with. Come with me. Let's talk slowly."
Neither of them spoke loudly. When they said this, Ning Yi took Xigua's hand and gestured to the back. Xigua nodded, and walked all the way across the threshing floor to the house in front. Xigua glanced at Xigua along the way.
After passing the first small house, I saw Chen Shanjun, the county magistrate of Lao Niutou.
"Chen Shanjun is quite interested in the idea of equality." Xigua said, "Did he participate?"
"Well, he is one of the initiators and will lead them forward in the future."
"later?"
"You'll know later. Let's go to the front first to deal with one person's problem."
After turning around a few small houses here, and walking around for a while, there was another house, located in a corner that could not be seen here, with light seeping out of it. Ning Yi led Xigua in and waved to signal that the person who was originally in the room
Several people came out, leaving only a scholar who was pinned down by the table. This man was thin, with half-white beard and hair, but he had a righteous air between his eyebrows. His hands were tied, but he didn't struggle. He just saw
After Ning Yi and Xigua, his eyes looked slightly sad.
"I thought that at least Liu Shuai would support our ideas, but I didn't expect that she is still just a short-sighted woman. Mr. Ning, you have no idea. I have learned from you. Since the victory has been decided, you can just kill us. There is no need to say any more humiliation.
words."
"Li Ximing." Xigua nodded.
Ning Yi pulled out the knife, cut off the rope on the opponent's hand, then walked back to the table and sat down. He looked at the scholar with half-white hair in front of him, and then took out something: "I won't beat around the bush, Li Ximing,
You and I both know that you, a native of Changsha, achieved fame in the Wu Dynasty. What everyone doesn’t know is that four years ago you accepted Li Pin’s persuasion and went undercover in the Chinese Army. Later, you became interested in the idea of egalitarian democracy. Two years ago, you became interested in the idea of egalitarian democracy.
, you have become the best executor of Li Pin's plan. You are knowledgeable, correct in thinking, and very persuasive. Although you did not participate too much in the execution of this incident, at least half of it was yours.
Credit."
The Confucian scholar named Li Ximing in front of him was originally quite aloof from death. Halfway through Ning Yi's words, his face suddenly turned pale. Ning Yi had no expression on his face. He just licked his lips slightly and turned.
Pass a page.
"There's no need to talk nonsense. I'm very interested in some of the things Li Pin did in Lin'an, so Zhuji focused on keeping an eye on him. Mr. Li, I have no problem with you. You risk your life and fight against others for the ideals in your heart.
, it’s just a confrontation. This time, half of the promoters are you and Li Pin, and the other half are me. Chen Shanjun is in the front. I don’t know you are here yet. I will isolate you alone. I just want to
Let me ask you a question."
Ning Yi spoke at a slow pace, like a rapid-fire barrage of words: "You have been in the Chinese Army for four years and have become accustomed to the ideals of equality and democracy. You have written so many theoretical things, but you are not always thinking about generals.
Is this just a tool to fight against me? In your heart, do you agree with these ideas even a little bit?"
Ning Yi looked at him with cold eyes. Li Ximing raised his head with doubts on his face: "You...could it be possible that you really want to take the path that Chen Shanjun and the others thought of?" His eyes were not only confused, but also filled with doubts.
Feeling slightly excited, Ning Yi shook his head.
"I won't take this road, but I will give you a chance to take this road by yourself. You can think about the questions I ask yourself. You don't need to answer me. I will give you a place and a breathing space.
, Over the years, there are probably thousands of people who have gradually agreed with you and can really participate in this incident, please pull them over..."
Ning Yi looked at his fist on the table: "Mr. Li, you have made this start, and then you can only follow them. You have lost today, I don't ask for anything else, I only want to talk about one thing
, you came to Southwest at Li Pin's request, in order to agree with his ideas, not to be his subordinate. If you agree with the idea of equality that you have had in the past two years, from now on, you will continue like this.
Bar."
"After coming to the southwest, your family moved to your hometown in Lingling. You have a wife, two concubines, two sons, a daughter, and grandchildren. Originally, there were five boys and four girls. Recently, the eldest son added a child. In total,
, there is a family of nineteen in Lingling, I won’t be polite..."
Ning Yi swallowed a mouthful of saliva and paused slightly.
"This is... a very difficult road. If you can come out with a result, you will be famous throughout the ages. Even if you fail, you will leave a thought for future generations and save you a few detours. Many people will follow it throughout their lives.
You are hanging together, so please do your best. As long as you try your best, whether you succeed or fail, I will be grateful to you. Why you are here, no one will ever know. If you still deliberately do it for Li Pin or Wu Chao
If you hurt these people, your wife, nineteen children, nineteen children, plus the five dogs raised in your backyard... I will kill them all."
"Such a threat is a bit stingy and doesn't sound good, but compared to the people this incident will affect, I can only do this. Please understand... You should think about it first, and someone will come over later.
, tell you the cooperation we need to do these days..."
After Ning Yi said these words, he fell silent and seemed to be leaving. Li Ximing on the other side of the table showed confusion, then confusion and surprise, and then spoke in disbelief.
"You, you, you...you actually want to...split the Chinese Army? Mr. Ning...are you crazy? The Jurchen attack is imminent, and the Wu Dynasty is suffering from internal and external troubles. You...you want to split the Chinese Army? What are the benefits? You...
What else are you going to do to fight the Jurchens, you..."
"Since you know I'm crazy, you'd better believe...I can do anything. Nineteen people...five dogs..."
After he said this, he stood up, turned around and walked out of the house. Li Ximing still felt unbelievable about these things, and Xigua was also confused and confused. She followed him out of the door, and the two walked forward for a while, Ning Yi
Holding her hand: "What's wrong? Why don't you tell me?"
"...What Li Ximing said is not unreasonable. The current situation..."
Ning Yi walked forward, looked at the road ahead, sighed slightly, and waited for a long time before speaking.
"...This matter has my indulgence, but I can't really control everything. It's not their own thing. Regarding the transfer of these people in Niutou County, I did have a deliberate decision in the past.
I hope they can get together and discuss some of the arrangements. The triggering of this incident was due to Li Ximing's reasons as well as external reasons. At the beginning of the year, an anti-rape order was issued, and a large number of key personnel were sent out to kill them. Only then did these people come up with ideas.
In January and February, there were all kinds of suggestions, but I didn’t adopt them, so they really couldn’t help it anymore, and I just followed the trend..."
"But you said that things will not come true. Not to mention the current situation in the world..."
"In order for...some things to be realized in the future, there is always a way to go. Agua, you have longed for this before, hoping that everyone can be self-reliant. I also hope that sometimes this road has to go straight, and sometimes it has to go straight.
Detours always require trial and error step by step, just like those naughty kids at home. They always have to go out and get into trouble before they can become adults. We can only try our best to take it." In the darkness, Ning Yi smiled slightly tiredly.
He smiled, but it seemed to be an illusion, "Old Niu Tou is sitting in the corner. To the north are some Wu Dynasty softies who can't fight. It will be enough for them to toss for a while."
The two walked in the same direction as they were going back and forth on the dark path. When they passed the small fish pond, Ning Yi sat down on a wooden stake beside the pond: "Future generations will say that we killed many people."
Xigua sat down on the ground next to him and held his hand: "Mr., do you think it was you who killed them?"
Ning Yi nodded: "Well, I will kill them, whether it is these people or those who will die more because of the bumpy experience of the Chinese army."
"...Maybe...it won't be too much of a fuss. They are all people with good intentions."
Xigua thought for a while, she was hesitant about certain things after all. Ning Yi sat in the darkness and smiled. Not many people in the world understood his choice, and not many people in the world understood what he saw.
Things I have been to. The world is huge. The efforts of several generations and hundreds of millions of people may bring about slight changes in this world. But the world is too small for each person. One person's life cannot withstand the slightest bumps.
.This difference between the extremely large and the extremely small will also trouble him, especially when he has another life experience, this kind of trouble will become more and more intense.
He shook Xigua's hand: "Agua, they asked you to come over, what do you think?"
Xigua rested her head on his lap: "You don't believe me either?"
"I lied to you in Hangzhou more than ten years ago. After all, this is your lifelong pursuit. I sometimes think that you might also want to see its future..."
"You also said that you lied to me more than ten years ago. Perhaps as Li Ximing said, I became a short-sighted woman after all." She stood up from the ground, patted her clothes and smiled.
She still looked a bit childish that night, but now she was holding a single sword on her back, but she was already looking down on the world's heroic spirit, "Let these people go out separately, it will have an impact on the Chinese army and you, I will not leave you.
Ning Liheng, you hurt my heart by talking like this."
She dragged Ning Yi's hand and pressed it on her chest. Ning Yi laughed: "I'm sad that more people will die because of this. As for the slight impact, I'm not afraid of anyone in this world. It's just time."
It’s just a matter of length.”
Xigua looked at him and frowned slightly: "Bragging... even the Holy Duke did not dare to say such a thing back then."
"He doesn't dare to brag, so his achievements are limited."
Ning Yi just rested for a moment, and already stood up, and said: "In the next two days, we will disappear for a while. Tomorrow at dawn, the nearby Chinese army will gather here, and the negotiation will begin. Regarding Li Ximing's matter, you
Understand, be sure to keep it a secret... In the Chinese military, you are the one who has contributed the most to democratic thinking. I think they will try to contact you in the future. I think... we can keep in touch to facilitate the most extreme situations.
…save some people.”
"Li Ximing was entrusted by Li Pin. Is he really going to put him back?"
"I have evil thoughts in my heart." Ning Yi said, "I hope they can move forward completely uncontrollably, but I also hope that when they can't turn back in the future, there will be a possibility of turning back. I hope you will,
We place our hope in Li Ximing and have the same idea."
Xigua laughed and said: "You even say how powerful you are, but you are also an indecisive person."
"I hope to see the light of people constantly struggling in the tide of the world. It makes me feel that talents are like people. At the same time, I hope that such people can have good results. Unfortunately, the two are often opposite.
"Ning Yi said, "They still have things to do. I'm going to bed first. Do you want to come?"
"Let Sister Hongti accompany you. Didn't you just say that you were counting on me? I want to know your next arrangements."
"Ask Wen Ding, he has all the plans."
The couple held hands and were quiet for a moment in the darkness, and finally walked in different directions. On the way, they looked back and waved their hands. In the faint light, the smile on Ning Yi's face did have a rare tiredness.
look.
He went to rest.
I don’t know how many dreams I experienced this night. When I woke up the next morning, I was still a little tired. There was a light mist in the early morning on the Chengdu Plain. Ning Yi got up and washed up. Then during breakfast, there was news from outside.
, this is the most urgent message, and the previous message corresponding to it was sent yesterday afternoon.
Ning Yi read the message, put it aside, and did not make any move for a long time.
Thousands of miles away to the east, Wanyan Xiyin was also completing his attack on the generals of the Wu Dynasty at his fastest speed.
April 25th, early morning.
The fall of Zhenjiang.
When he walked into the door, Ning Yi was picking up the spoon and putting the rice porridge into his mouth. Xigua heard him muttering to himself without knowing what he was referring to, and his words were slightly vulgar.