The night after arriving in Zizhou, I dreamed of my dead sister.
That was more than ten years ago.
The Jurchens went south for the second time, causing countless families to lose their lives. The Tang family was a small landowner near Daming Mansion, and their family was originally well off. When the Jurchens went south for the first time, because Zhuji cooperated with the measures to clear the country implemented by the Prime Minister, they evacuated in time.
Therefore, we did not suffer too many casualties, but this time we did not have the same good luck as the first time.
His parents soon died in the rebellion, and all their belongings were looted. Driven by the war, a large number of people ran south. Tang Minjie, who had read some books and was active in thinking at the time, took the
My younger sister, Tang Baoer, went all the way to Xiaocang River in the northwest.
Right and wrong in the human world are actually difficult to define when faced with many complex situations. Even many years later, Tang Minjie, who has a more mature mind, has a hard time explaining whether his thoughts at that time were clear and whether he chose another path.
You can survive. But in short, when people make decisions, they will face the consequences.
From Daming Mansion to Xiaocang River, a total of more than a thousand miles, the brother and sister, who had never experienced complicated things in the world, encountered many things: war disasters, bandits, refugees, beggars... They had a lot of money.
It is almost gone. I have been beaten, witnessed the plague, and almost died on the road, but I have also benefited from the kindness of others, and finally encountered hunger...
My sister starved to death. Before she died, she wanted to eat meat pancakes...
For countless years to come, he would always recall that journey. At that time, he still left a knife. Although the war spread and people died everywhere, he could have killed people. However, at the age of seventeen, he
He didn't have the courage. He could have cut off his own flesh - for example, cutting off the flesh on his butt. He had considered this several times, but in the end he still didn't have the courage...
His sister starved to death on the road. He met several other refugees and walked together to the Xiaocang River. Since he had read books, he was assigned to do some paperwork, and then also attended some courses, and finally understood a truth:
When things get tough, you need to be bold.
If I had been able to do it right back then, whether it was against others or myself... my sister might not have to die...
When he woke up from his sleep, it was still early in the morning, and Lu Mingfang spoke to him:
"Is there anything else you want to entrust to me? For example, your sister who is about to be married, do you want me to go back and visit for you?"
"You are not suitable. For someone who runs around with her head in her arms all day long, I'm afraid she will become a widow."
"Do you really have a sister?"
At that time, Lu Mingfang's eyes lit up, looking interested.
Finally? I’m back...
…
Accompanied by the early morning bells, the sky to the east revealed the morning glow. The escort team went to the south road of Zizhou City and met with a convoy returning to Chengdu. They took a hitchhike.
The convoy belonging to China's No. 1 Military Industry followed the spacious road filled with people and cars, passed through the fields after the autumn harvest, and passed through the lush Longquan Mountains. The large white clouds in the sky were moving with the wind. Sitting on the cart
The prisoners occasionally heard people talking about various things: the restructuring of Zhuji, the war that was brewing in the Central Plains, the deal with Liu Guangshi, He Wen's abomination, the workers in Chengdu... everything?
Many concepts were unfamiliar to him.
What is most familiar to him in his memory is the ice and snow in the north? Even in a world without ice and snow, the world seems cold and solemn.
But the road in front of him is wide. Many years ago, when he left the border of Liangshan, passed through Chengdu, and passed through Jianmenguan all the way north? This area didn't belong to the Chinese Army yet? There was no such a spacious road.
On the eighth day of the seventh month in the second year of the Chinese Yuanli calendar, Tang Minjie returned to Chengdu from the North. The person who came out to greet him was his former junior brother Peng Yueyun.
Afterwards, there was an interrogation.
******************
Zhangcun.
The light of the stars and moon gently enveloped this place.
In the auditorium at the north end of the village, a wedding banquet is going on? On one side of the wedding party is Du Pengpeng, the fourth son of Du Sha, and on the other side is Su Xiaoxian, the daughter of Su Wending. Both of these families are considered big families in Zhangcun? So although they follow
The standard of frugality, but the banquet scene is still very lively? Su Tan'er brought people over to help organize, and Ning Yi also made a brief appearance.
Lin Jingmei tied her hair into a long ponytail and was busy cooking in the kitchen with her sisters.
Since the beginning of the Chinese army's regicide rebellion? The shortage of supplies has continued for more than ten years? Until now, although Chengdu's rapid development has become extravagant, Zhangcun has been under the control of Ning Yi
Relatively simple customs are still maintained. Although the wedding banquet was lively, no prominent cooks were invited from other places, and there were no overly extravagant dishes. Because he grew up next to Ning Yi for more than ten years, he was adopted by Ning Yi as his righteous man.
The girl Lin Jingmei is very good at cooking. This time when the younger sister in the sister group got married, she volunteered to cook two dishes.
The kitchen was smoky and exhausting, but there were annoying flies nearby that were not helping.
"Hey, hey, now, you are the only one left, Meizi, you are the only one left..."
Today, she was not the first person to talk about this topic. Lin Jingmei waved the spoon in her hand into a big knife, making a big splash.
"Go away, go away, help serve the food..."
One fly is driven away, and other flies follow the trend and surround it.
"Yes, you should think about something, Meizi..."
"Okay, okay, tell me something useful."
"My cousin came back yesterday, go and meet him..."
In the large kitchen, several male cooks were shouting loudly while cooking. Lin Jingmei would have people come over from time to time, helping her and chatting with her about blind dates and marriage. Of course, she was Ning Yi's adopted daughter.
On the other hand, it is also because of her appearance and temperament that are truly outstanding.
The Huaxia Army lived a tight life in the early years. Some outstanding young people delayed for several years without getting married. After the Battle of Southwest, large-scale blind dates and marriages began to appear, but now it seems that it is coming to an end.
.
Lin Jingmei was dumbfounded and blocked the marriage proposal team one by one. Of course, there were more people coming, and occasionally someone would bring up more complicated topics.
"Hey, Meizi, if you don't want to get married, why don't you still miss that person named He? That person is nothing..."
When this matter was brought up, all the male chefs nearby joined in: "Nonsense, how could Meizi be so ignorant..."
"I'm telling you, Meizi, no one can marry that piece of shit!"
"Yes, if I had known earlier, I should have killed him!"
"Cook crotons for him to eat."
"Sooner or later there will be retribution."
This is one of the most discussed matters in Zhang Village recently - or within the Chinese Army. As for the relationship between the Chinese Army and the Fair Party, the definition has been ambiguous in the past. The attitude of the Chinese Army is actually open-minded.
: We defeated the Jurchens here, and you can use this reputation as much as you want.
But the news of the Jiangning Heroes Conference came, and it was chosen at a similar time point to the Chinese Army's World's Best Martial Arts Competition, which immediately made the people here very angry. Especially for these people in the core of Zhang Village, they knew what happened in the first place
Regarding Wen's matter, I also know how generous they were in dealing with it later. You just ran back and used Mr. Ning's theory to cause trouble. You took advantage of it without thanking you. Now you are taking advantage of it and causing trouble. You have been beaten to death several times.
Not a pity bitch.
Everyone cursed for a while, and then a few male chefs changed the topic and speculated whether we had taken any countermeasures against this hero conference, such as sending a team out to disturb the other party's affairs. Some people also thought that there were no countermeasures.
After all, it was too far away, and there was no need to go there now. After such a discussion, it returned to the discussion of using He Wen's head as a toilet. I will use it after you use it, and I will lend it out to everyone after I use it. The voice was noisy and enthusiastic.
Lin Jingmei's place was also bustling. After a while, she finished cooking the two meals she was responsible for and went out to have a banquet. There were still endless people coming over to talk about marriage. She dealt with these things tactfully or directly.
Everyone was clamoring to have a wedding ceremony, so she took a chance and walked out from the side of the auditorium, walked along the street, and then went to hang out by the river near Zhang Village.
In the misty night of early autumn, the lively auditorium in the distance was like an island floating in the night, and the surrounding courtyards were illuminated by light. The river was gurgling under the stars. She took a deep breath of the air by the river, and could not help but think of He Wen in her mind.
things come.
For her now, thinking of He Wen is no longer just about her original relationship. After she became an adult, she participated in the rear work of the Chinese Army and was exposed to a lot of paperwork and the intelligence system. Compared with these
Matters related to the rise and fall of the entire world, matters related to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of human lives, personal emotions are actually insignificant.
Just like those acquaintances in the kitchen, if you just shout a few words according to your heart, of course you can kill He Wen. But if you think about it on a real political level, various solutions will come up.
Some of the topics that arose in the middle were the reasons why she was troubled today.
With a bang, someone threw a stone into the river, waking up the woman who was thinking and walking by the river.
There are many secret sentries patrolling around Zhang Village, and there are not many security problems. Lin Jingmei turned around in surprise, and saw a man in military uniform appearing under the starlight behind him. After doing the prank, he showed a familiar face
Smiley face.
"Peng...Xiao Peng, you are back..."
"Sending an urgent document, I came back privately under the guise of official charity, but unfortunately I was a little late and didn't get to attend the banquet..."
"Have you not eaten yet? There must be food in the kitchen."
"I had something to eat on the way, so I came out secretly to find you."
At this time, Peng Yueyun appeared. The two of them were talking and walking side by side on the embankment by the river.
"The banquet was not over when I went there. Sister Jia arranged a seat for me. I saw you weren't there, so I made some inquiries. One or two of them wanted to introduce someone to you for a blind date, so I guessed that you ran away."
Lin Jingmei smiled: "Anyway, they were just those words. They were not malicious, so I got used to them. I was just cooking in the kitchen, and after I was full, I wanted to go out for a walk."
Peng Yueyun took her hand, and the two of them walked forward slowly, swinging their arms.
"Sister Xiaomei, marry me and let's get married." Peng Yueyun said.
The two were familiar with each other in the past. Lin Jingmei was half a year older than Peng Yueyun, and they had always referred to each other as sister and brother. They established their relationship in the first half of this year, revealed their feelings for each other, and held hands for the first time. But then Peng Yueyun left.
After moving to Chengdu to work, Lin Jingmei has been staying in Zhangcun. They have not met many times and the marriage has not been completely finalized.
Of course, as far as the relationship between men and women at this time is concerned, after holding hands, getting married is usually a certainty. When Peng Yueyun said it at this time, it seemed natural.
Lin Jingmei naturally smiled, but then, she thought of something and lowered her head: "Xiao Peng, of course I am willing, but... now there are other things..."
Her hands relaxed slightly.
Peng Yueyun tightened his palms: "It's about He Wen."
The woman with a ponytail turned to look at him, not knowing where to start.
Peng Yueyun smiled, and then his eyes calmed down. As he walked forward, he whispered: "He Wen wants to hold a hero conference in Jiangning. It is one thing to borrow our reputation, but on a larger level, a force
Organizing such a large-scale event is a way to purge its internal forces and centralize power. Competitions are secondary. The most important thing is that He Wen also knows that the Fair Party has expanded too fast, and the initial structure is no longer so easy to use.
.”
"Jiangnan drove the refugees into an army, killed the landlords, and massacred the tyrants. Now the scale is tens of millions, and the troops are in the millions. But in the middle, He Wen, Gao Chang, Xu Zhaonan, Shi Baofeng, Zhou and Shang each have their own power.
He is about to become a five-way prince. He Wen did this because he wanted to imitate our martial arts tournament last year, to rectify his reputation to the outside world, arrange his seats, and strengthen his dominance in the Fair Party. The political meaning here is
Very strong.”
"So, Xiao Peng..." Lin Jingmei frowned and looked at him.
Peng Yueyun squeezed her hand: "I know some people below the staff are talking. From this point of view, we can also send people to intervene, and if we want to send people, let those who were familiar with He Wen
Of course it is the most ideal way to go there. Sister Mei, on your side... I know you must have heard this statement too."
"Xiao Peng, there was nothing going on between He Wen and I back then. I was a bit naive back then, and He Wen himself didn't like me... But if my father needs me to go on a mission to negotiate, I think I should go.
, because I do know some things about his past..."
"But what if you go there this time and He Wen says that he suddenly likes you? He even uses his relationship with the Huaxia Army to threaten you, what should you do?"
"...I will handle this matter well."
She was silent for a long time, and when she said these words, she did not swear too firmly, nor did she speak carelessly about her feelings. She just looked at Peng Yueyun with serious and complicated emotions deep in her eyes. Peng Yueyun could detect it.
What is the meaning of that look? It is the look of a soldier I have seen many times over the years.
He laughed slowly: "In Chengdu, someone mentioned your name to the teacher."
"ah……"
"The teacher scolded him, saying that he had learned conspiracy and had lost his conscience."
"ah……"
"And as far as I know, the team to Jiangning has probably been dispatched, but Sister Mei, you are still stupidly waiting for someone to deploy."
"Ah..." Lin Jingmei was slightly stunned, then took out her hand and punched him on the chest, "You didn't tell me earlier."
Peng Yueyun held her hand: "I just like you like this, Sister Xiaomei."
Lin Jingmei kicked him, but Peng Yueyun didn't let her go and skipped forward on the river embankment.
"So Sister Xiaomei, you can marry me."
"...Otherwise, who else could I marry?"
"I will find a good opportunity to propose marriage to the teacher."
"Dad has been very upset recently, please don't bother him."
"The teacher is worried every day, so what's wrong?"
"Ning He scolded the aunt who came to work at home. Dad thought that he had acquired bad habits and was putting on airs with others. He made Ning He kneel in the yard for a day and then sent him to Xiatou Township to endure hardship."
Lin Jingmei whispered about this matter - troubles have always happened in the Ning family recently. First, Ning Ji was framed and then ran away from home. Then Ning He, who had always seemed obedient, put on airs with the aunt who worked at home. This incident
The matter didn't seem to be a big deal, but Ning Yi lost his temper and sent Ning He away directly. It was said that he was from a very miserable family, but no one knew where he was, and no one asked about it.
Ning He was Hong Ti's son. This female grandmaster with the highest martial arts skills who was said to be able to defeat Lin Zongwu even shed tears over this incident.
Regarding the Ning family's family affairs, Peng Yueyun just nodded without making any comments. He just said: "You still think that the teacher will let you join the mission and get married. In fact, the teacher is quite soft-hearted when it comes to such things.
"
"It's not a marriage. I just thought it might make me...well, forget it, let's not talk about it."
Lin Jingmei said and kicked Peng Yueyun again.
The two of them were fighting like this, turning from the river embankment to a nearby road, and then turned to a backyard. Lin Jingmei wanted to take her hand out, but Peng Yueyun couldn't let go. Lin Jingmei laughed and said: "I was beaten by someone."
What should I do if I see it? You are acting like a hooligan..."
Peng Yueyun smiled and was about to speak, when someone saw him.
On the other side of the road, Ning Yi and Hong Ti seemed to be taking a walk, coming all the way here. Then she squinted her eyes slightly and looked at the two people holding hands here. Lin Jingmei struggled for a moment, but failed, and then struggled again, and then
Break away.
"Playing hooligan?"
"Ah?" Peng Yueyun opened his hands and blinked.
"Catch Peng Yueyun... for me!"
Ning Yi's face was gloomy, and soldiers ran over from the side in the darkness and headed towards Peng Yueyun. Hongti pulled Ning Yi's sleeves aside, but murderous intent overflowed in the night.
"Ah... no, no, no, no..." Peng Yueyun was a little panicked, and Lin Jingmei opened her mouth: "Dad, no, no, no... no..." She said this, hesitated, and then grabbed Peng Yue.
Yun succeeded and pulled him behind him, their arms intertwined: "No, we are..."
In the light coming from the courtyard, the murderous look in Ning Yi's eyes gradually changed. At some point, it turned into a smile, and his shoulders began to shake: "Fufufufu...hahahaha..." He looked at Lin Jingmei's face.
And the hands they held together, "This is really... the happiest thing for me recently."
"Peng Yueyun." He then said, "Come here!"
Peng Yueyun also looked at the hands intertwined between himself and Lin Jingmei. After reacting, he giggled and walked forward. He knew that there were many things that he had to explain to Ning Yi at the moment, not just about himself and Lin Jingmei.