Chapter 721: Worldly Inheritance: The Black Wind and the Twin Evils
In June of the eighth year of Jian Shuo of the Wu Dynasty, an exciting piece of news was coming south of the Yangtze River.
Things started in the first half of the seventh year of Jianshuo. Several battles broke out between Wu and Qi in the Central Plains north of Xiangyang and at the junction of Jiangnan. At this time, a year had passed since the Black Flag Army disappeared in the northwest. Although Liu Yu moved the capital
However, the so-called "Daqi" in Bianliang was just a running dog of the Jurchen sect. The people in the country were in dire straits and the army had no intention to fight. A group of generals led by Li Heng, the governor of Xiangyang in the Wu Dynasty, seized the opportunity and launched an army to expedition to the north.
He captured more than ten prefectures and towns, and once pushed the battle line back to the old capital Bianliang. Li Heng sent a message to all the armies, and attacked Bianliang together. For a time, he was in the limelight.
Under such circumstances, Liu Yu asked for help from the north several times, and finally ordered the Jin Kingdom to send troops. In the autumn of this year, Wanyan Zonghan ordered the fourth prince Wushu to lead his army to the south. With the cooperation of Liu Yu's general Li Cheng, he swept across Bianliang
Li Heng's army nearby, after defeating the armies of all parties, pushed all the way south and successively captured Xiangyang, Dengzhou, Suizhou, Yingzhou and other strategic places in Jianghan that originally belonged to the Wu Dynasty before leaving.
This kind of disgraceful war was not the first time for the Wu Dynasty. However, after several years of recuperation, it was still vulnerable to the Jurchen army. The battle between the Wu Dynasty and the Puppet Qi Dynasty, even if hundreds of thousands of troops were raised.
, the current situation of still being like a child playing house in front of the Jurchen army is ultimately frustrating.
Compared with the ferocity of the Jin Kingdom, the tenacity of the Black Flag who once fought against the Jin Kingdom in the northwest, and the resistance of the mighty Wu Dynasty, before these forces, they seemed as weak as a child. But strength is like child's play, and the price you have to bear is
But there will never be any discount because of this. The soldiers who died in the battle will not feel any better, the suffering of the people in the fallen areas will not be alleviated in the slightest, and the pressure of the Jurchens going south will not be weakened in the slightest. The Yangtze River
To the north, people dispersed with pain. The tragedy and death caused by the war, as well as the accompanying famine, oppression, and even the darkness and hardship of fighting and fighting on the way to escape, or even exchanging children for food, have continued.
In a few years, it seems that the consequences of the loss of this order will continue...
In the spring of the eighth year of Jianshuo, Yue Fei and Yue Pengju led 30,000 troops back to Wei and sent troops to the north again. They attacked Yingzhou, which was heavily defended by Da Qi troops. They frightened off Li Cheng's army and captured Xiangyang without any blood. After that, they raided Dengzhou with surprise troops and defeated them.
The counterattack of the Qi and Jin coalition forces of more than 100,000 men successfully recaptured the six counties of Xiangyang and sent news of the victory back to the capital.
Lin'an in June was unbearably hot. In the study room of the Prince's Mansion, a round of discussions had just ended, and the staff left the room one after another. Wenren Fuji was left behind, watching Prince Junwu walking around the room, and pushed away
Front and rear windows.
But there was no wind.
The other staff members had already left one after another, and the servants took away the bowls and dishes containing the iced sugar water. This young man who we first met was only eleven years old, but at this time he had grown a beard and had grown a dignified young man.
With a depressed look, he looked tired as he looked at the sunshine outside the window.
"In the past few days, I have always thought of the food shortage in Jinghan's eleventh year... I was in Jiangning at that time, and saw the imperial sister and a group of Jiangning businessmen transporting food for disaster relief, and they were so impassioned. Later, when I learned the truth, I realized how terrible it was.
Let’s take a look at the different tastes. Mr. Wenren has experienced it firsthand, what do you think?”
"...There are indeed similarities in the difficult times."
"Things are tough..."
Jun Wu tapped his fingers on the window sill and repeated this sentence.
In the eleventh year of Jinghan, the Wu Dynasty suffered from food shortages in many places. Qin Siyuan, the Right Prime Minister, was responsible for disaster relief. At that time, Ning Yi used external forces from all parties to attack local merchants and gentry who monopolized food prices. After numerous enemies, the food shortage was difficult to survive.
At this moment, I remembered that Jun Wu’s emotion had its origin.
At this time, Yue Fei had recaptured Xiangyang, defeated the Jin Dynasty, and the news of the Qi Allied Forces had reached Lin'an. Although the public opinion was generous, there were many different opinions in the court, and the noise could not stop these days.
Since the Wu Dynasty lost the Central Plains and moved south, most of the speeches in the court were for peace. The war between Jin and Wu has developed to this point, and many current situations have been laid out clearly. There is no doubt that for the Jurchens who are in the ascendant, Wu Zhen will
The North Korea was unable to make an enemy of it. The wars over the past few years have already proved this. Some people thought that after a few years of painful experience, they would always regain the lost territory and expedition to the Central Plains. However, in the seventh year of Jian Shuo, Xiangyang Governor Li Heng and others attacked
The facts in Bianliang only prove that such a time has not yet come.
Even if they can compete with the Puppet Qi army, even if they can defeat all the way to Bianliang City, when the main force of the Jin army comes, they will not only push back hundreds of thousands of troops, but even lose Xiangyang and other places. So what?
At this time, how can Yue Fei's army's victory over the puppet Qi prove that it will not be a prelude to greater revenge from the Jin Kingdom? When they attacked Bianliang, they lost Xiangyang and other Jianghan important places. Now that Xiangyang has been recovered, what will happen next?
Want to be beaten across the Yangtze River again?
Such doubts and worries are not unreasonable, and also make the victory of Yue Fei's army boring in the court, and may even receive a certain reprimand. Jun Wu is naturally on Yue Fei's side. For this battle, the main battle
Pai also has several reasons.
First, regardless of whether we can defeat the Jurchens now or not, if we want to have the possibility of defeating the Jurchens in the future, military training is a must.
Secondly, the Jin people have already taken the six counties of Xiangyang. This is the springboard for the Jin Kingdom and the pseudo-Qin Dynasty to invade the south. If they are allowed to consolidate their defense lines, the Wu Dynasty will only lose more territory the next time they come south. At this time, they can take back Xiangyang.
Even if the Jin people move south with their main force, they can always delay their attack.
Third, the Jin people's southward attack has a long logistics line, which is always more laborious than the Wu Dynasty. If they wait until they are fully trained and take the initiative to attack, the Wu Dynasty will definitely be difficult to stop, so it is best to disrupt the opponent's pace, take the initiative to attack, and consume gold in the back and forth tug of war.
The best way to protect yourself is to strengthen the people and the country.
With these reasons, the two warring and peaceful sides faced each other in the court. As the general of one side, if it were just these things, Jun Wu might not have expressed such emotion. However, besides this, there are more troublesome things.
In fact, they are all piled on the shoulders of this young prince.
It has been several years since the Wu Dynasty moved south. After the initial prosperity and unity, many troubles are beginning to emerge. One of them is the opposition between the civil and military parties. In the peaceful years, the Wu Dynasty originally valued culture over military affairs. After the Jin people invaded the south,
, the country was destroyed and the family was destroyed. Although the system was difficult to change for a while, expedient measures were finally found in many aspects, and the status of military commanders was improved.
When Junwu became the crown prince, the young man had a fiery personality. After understanding the intricate connections within the court, he used rough and overarching methods to protect promising generals such as Han Shizhong and Yue Fei under his wings.
, allowing them to manage their power in the north of the Yangtze River, consolidate their strength, and wait for opportunities for the Northern Expedition. At the beginning, no one dared to speak out about this situation. But now, the conflict between the two sides has finally begun to show signs. In the past year, the court has
The Central Committee constantly impeached the generals of several armies in the north. Most of them said that they recruited private soldiers and did not listen to the orders of civilian officials. If things go on like this, great disaster will happen.
This suppression of Yue Fei's military achievements is a continuation of the quarrel between the two sides in the past year.
On the other hand, when northerners came to the south on a large scale, after the initial economic dividends passed, conflicts and conflicts between southerners and northerners also began to brew and break out.
At this time, the Central Plains had been completely occupied. Refugees from the north fled to the south without much money. On the one hand, their cheap work promoted economic development. On the other hand, they also took away a large number of job opportunities for southerners. At that time,
After the situation in Jiangnan stabilized, discrimination between the two regions took shape.
The refugees from the north were once wealthy subjects of the Wu Dynasty. When they arrived here, they were suddenly inferior. After the initial patriotic sentiment faded, the southerners gradually began to feel that these poor relatives from the north were disgusting and had no wealth.
Most of them are law-abiding, but there are also many who take desperate risks and become bandits, or there are also beggars, swindlers, people who have no food to eat, and they can do anything. These people complain all day long and disturb the public order.
At the same time, the Northern Expedition they have been talking about all day may also break the deadlock between Jin and Wu again, causing the Jurchens to march south again. The combination of the above has caused friction and conflict in all aspects of society.
At the civilian level, mutual discrimination between the north and the south has become a vague trend. In the officialdom, a certain amount of opposition has also formed between southern officials who were originally far away from the political core and northern officials. Starting from the year before last, several large-scale refugee gatherings broke out in the south of the Yangtze River.
In several states and counties, northern refugees joined forces with knives and sticks, and surrounded and killed local local gangsters, bullies, and even officials. The conflicts between local green forest gangs and the competition for territory intensified. Southerners were originally local gangsters.
The village is powerful and has many ethnic groups, but the refugees who fled from the north have nothing to live with. They have experienced wars and are not afraid of death. Several large-scale incidents are among countless small-scale frictions, and the court has to increasingly deal with these.
The problem is faced squarely.
As of last year, some people in the court had begun to propose the idea of "returning southerners to the south and northerners returning to the north" and no longer accepting northern refugees. As soon as this idea was raised, it received massive refutation. Junwu was also young and energetic, and now
The country was destroyed, the Central Plains had fallen, and the refugees had no life left. They came to the south, and we had to push them away? Then what was the meaning of the existence of this country? He was filled with righteous indignation and refuted it in court. How would he accept the north in the future?
The problem of refugees fell on his shoulders.
By this year, the consequence of this incident was that the gentry and wealthy businessmen who were originally closely related to the eldest princess's palace began to put pressure on this side. Although no one dared to disobey the various orders issued by the prince's palace, there were friction problems during the implementation of the orders.
Continuously, the treasury was the Prince's Mansion, and the money profits collected by the Eldest Princess' Mansion dropped by 30%.
The gentry and wealthy families in the south also have to protect their own interests. If you accept the money and speak for me, or even exploit the refugees from the north for me, then of course you are good to me and everyone is good to you. If you don't help, who will be willing to do it?
When I serve you, I can always do it if no one goes against you, doesn't play with you, or is absent-minded when playing with you.
However, on Junwu's side, the refugees from the north have lost everything. If he tilts his influence further to the south, then these people may really not be human anymore.
Originally, since Zhou Yong became emperor, Jun Wu was the only crown prince, and his position was stable. If he only spent money to run some workshops, no matter how he played, the money on hand would probably be inexhaustible.
However, after experiencing the war and seeing the tragedy of a large number of civilians being killed and thrown into the river on the bank of the Yangtze River, the young man could no longer be alone. Of course, he could follow his father's example and be an idle prince, just guarding a Gwu workshop in Jiangning.
, but his father, Zhou Yong, was an emperor who couldn't handle things well. There were always problems in the court, except for generals such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. If they couldn't stand up, bear the blame, and take the blame, they would probably become those who couldn't be beaten.
The generals of the Wu Dynasty were the same.
And once you stand up, you can't back down.
Trivial matters and intense pressure came from all aspects. In the past two years, Junwu lived in Lin'an and could not find time to visit Jiangning's workshops more than once, so even though the hot air balloon
It has been able to go to heaven, but there has been no major breakthrough in carrying people and cargo. It is difficult to form a strategic advantage like the Northwest War. Even so, he cannot solve many problems smoothly. Above the court, the Lord Peace Faction
He couldn't stand the cowardice of the Chinese, but could a war really be achieved? He couldn't find the best balance point in reforming the country. Of course, he had to accept the refugees who fled from the north, but the contradictions caused by accepting them were difficult for him.
Are you capable of solving it? Still not.
In the past two years, my sister Zhou Pei has controlled the power of the eldest princess's palace, which has become more and more terrifying. She has built a huge network of relationships in the political and economic circles, accumulated invisible influence, and secretly also has various
Conspiracies and intrigues continued. The Prince's Palace was in the open, but the Eldest Princess's Palace was doing things secretly. Although Jun Wu had never said hello to many things, he knew in his heart that the Princess's Palace had been transfusing blood for his side, and even
There were several disturbances in the court, and officials who opposed Jun Wu were impeached, smeared and even slandered. These were all extreme methods secretly used by Zhou Pei, his aide Cheng Zhouhai and others.
On the surface, the eldest princess Zhou Pei has become sociable, gentle and polite. However, in the few private encounters, her sister is serious and cold. Her eyes are full of selfless support and
A sense of urgency, this sense of urgency, they both have it, and they both understand each other vaguely in their hearts, but there is no intimacy flowing through them.
They all know what it is.
Two years ago, Ning Yi died.
The fierce three-year war in the northwest, they in the south covered their eyes and pretended not to have seen it. However, when it finally ended, the shocking things still turned their hearts upside down. Faced with this dangerous situation where the color of the world changed and the seas were changing.
, even such a powerful person eventually died after resisting for three years. Before that, neither brother nor sister seemed to have thought about the possibility of this matter.
However, when it finally appeared, the siblings seemed to suddenly understand that there was no one else they could rely on in this world.
A few years later, what should we do if the Kingdom of Jin comes again?
They could no longer retreat and had to stand up. However, once they stood up, the world became more complicated and desperate.
They were knots one after another, too complex to be untangled. Everyone wanted to do good for the Wu Dynasty, but why did it become the cause of weakness in the end? Everyone was so impassioned, but why did they become vulnerable in the end?
It is necessary to accept the people of the Wu Dynasty who have lost their homeland. Why, when things come to an end, everyone can only take care of their immediate interests. We all know that we must have an army that can fight, so how can we ensure that these armies do not become
Warlords? It is necessary to defeat the Jurchens, but are those peace advocates really traitors and unreasonable?
The adult eagle has left, and the young eagle can only learn to fly on its own. Qin Siyuan may have taken over the burden of responsibility from a taller figure. After Qin Siyuan left, the younger generations took over the burden of the world in a new way.
Fourteen years have passed, and the young people who first appeared in front of us as children can only use their still immature shoulders to try to carry the weight.
Their shoulders will naturally break, and people can only hope that when those shoulders are broken, they will become stronger and stronger.
"In the past few years, I have finally realized that I am not a smart person..." Standing by the window of the study room, Jun Wu tapped his fingers lightly. The sun was shining outside, and the situation in the world was like this windless summer day.
The afternoon is generally hot and makes people feel tired. "Mr. Wenren, what do you think the master would do if he were still here?"
With such a sigh, the prince paid homage to a certain figure that he once admired. He did not stop because of this. The people in the room cupped their hands and just spoke a few words of comfort. After a while, Feng Cong
Passing by in the yard, it brought a bit of coolness and blew these scattered words into the wind.
Young people inevitably step onto the stage, and in some places in this world, there may be old people coming out again. One early morning north of the Yellow River, You Hongzhuo, who had escaped from the pursuers of the Great Guangming Sect, was walking towards the mountains.
The man was practicing his Youjia sword skills. The steel sword whistled in the morning light, and on the slope not far away, one of his saviors was slowly performing a strange set of boxing skills. The boxing skills were slow and slow.
, beautiful, but a bit confusing: You Hongzhuo can't figure out how to hit someone with such a boxing technique.
Just as he was wondering in his heart, the female benefactor standing not far away frowned and already cursed: "What kind of sword skill is this!?" Before he finished speaking, You Hongzhuo felt the murderous aura around him, and the hair on the back of his head was cold.
They all stood up, and the female benefactor waved her hand and slashed with a knife.
The wind of the sword seemed to be fast but was actually slow. You Hongzhuo subconsciously swung the sword to resist, but then it flew out with a bang, causing pain in his shoulders and chest. He got up from the ground and realized that what the female benefactor was wielding was a piece of wood.
Great. Although she was wearing a veil, the benefactor's eyes were wide open, and she was obviously very angry. Although You Hongzhuo was arrogant, he didn't dare to make a mistake in front of these two people for some reason, so he stood up and apologized rather embarrassedly.
"I, I saw my benefactor boxing, and I was confused. Yes, I'm sorry..."
"What are you sorry for? If you practice swordsmanship like this and die, you will be sorry for yourself and the parents who gave birth to you!" After the female benefactor finished speaking, she paused and said, "In addition, I am not scolding you for being distracted. I ask you, you
Is this how this sword technique was passed down from family to family?"
"I...I..."
"Hmph! You can make random changes, but you are no expert at all! Practice it ten times as it is!"
When You Hongzhuo nodded and started practicing in an orderly manner, the female benefactor walked not far away with a pile of firewood in her arms.
You Hongzhuo was practicing swordsmanship, but he was a little shocked in his heart. He had practiced Youjia swordsmanship routines since he was a child. After the realization of life and death, he understood that actual swordsmanship does not rely on rigid moves to determine victory or defeat, but must be flexible.
, when practicing swordsmanship in the next few months, he had doubts in his heart. He often felt that this move could be slightly modified, and that move could be faster. After he had sworn sworn friends with six brothers and sisters, he asked them for martial arts advice.
The six of them marveled at his understanding and said that he would definitely achieve great things in the future. Who knew that he didn't say anything when practicing sword practice this time. The other party just took a look and knew that he had modified the sword technique, but they asked him to practice as it was.
Well, I don’t know why.
However, since the female benefactor casually killed Tan Yan and other eight people from the Great Light Sect yesterday morning, after a day of walking together, You Hongzhuo understood that the two people in front of him were probably the kind of masters who were truly unparalleled in the world. Then
The male benefactor has an easy-going temperament, but he is very knowledgeable and has a vast amount of knowledge. The female benefactor is his wife. Although she doesn’t talk much at ordinary times, it was the female benefactor’s idea to save him because she felt that her knife
The method is "interesting". I was given some practice guidance last night and this morning.
You Hongzhuo learned a little bit about the identities of the two benefactors last night. When he asked about it, the male benefactor said this: "A certain surnamed Zhao, who traveled around the world with Zhuo Jing twenty years ago, can be regarded as a breakout."
In order to gain some fame, the gangsters gave him a gangster name, Black Wind Shuangsha, did your master tell you about this name?"
You Hongzhuo only practiced martial arts with his father since he was a child. He didn't hear many legends about Jianghu in Lulin, and he felt quite ashamed for a while. The other party didn't blame him, but just sighed: "Young people nowadays... that's all. You and I can both
We are acquainted, and we are destined to be together. If you encounter any difficult situations in the world in the future, you can give me your name as husband and wife, which may be of some use."
You Hongzhuo just nodded, but thought in his heart that although his martial arts skills were low, it was a great favor to be saved by his two benefactors, but he could not arbitrarily lose the reputation of these two benefactors. After that, even if he encountered a life-and-death situation in the green forest, he never said anything.
With the names of two people, they were finally able to overcome all obstacles and become a generation of heroes.
Of course, these things were just thoughts in his mind at this time. He practiced the sword rules ten times on the hillside. Zhao Engong had finished practicing the boxing skills and invited him over to drink porridge. You Hongzhuo heard him say casually: "
Tai Chi, born from the infinite, the machine of movement and stillness, the mother of yin and yang, what I do is called Tai Chi. You can’t understand it now, it’s a common thing, you don’t have to force it..." After a while while eating, she told him about her benefactor.
The reason for him to practice swordsmanship in a disciplined manner.
"In actual combat with swordsmanship, it is good to pay attention to flexibility and adaptability. However, the tempered swordsmanship frame has its own reasons. Why this move is performed like this takes into account the opponent's moves. The opponent's response is often poor.
Only by changing the timing can you master a move... Of course, the most important thing is that you are only a teenager. You have understood the principles from the sword technique, which will have an impact on your life and work in the future. The sword technique has been unrestrained for a long time.
You may not feel it at first, but over time, you will inevitably feel that life should be unrestricted. In fact, young people must first learn the rules and understand why they come, and then break the rules in the future. If you feel that there are no rules in the world from the beginning, people will become bad.
…”
In the mountains, the martial arts seniors who have returned to the martial arts world are talking nonchalantly. You Hongzhuo has been taught martial arts by his clumsy father since he was a child, but he has never felt that the truth of the world has been explained so clearly at that moment. He listens respectfully with a look of admiration.
. Not far away, Mrs. Zhao, surrounded by the dark wind, sat quietly on a stone drinking porridge, with an occasional smile in her eyes... (To be continued.)