Spring is still far away, and the cold wind is like a knife.
More than a hundred Yunqin soldiers walked on the official road outside a small town in Heluo Province. These Yunqin soldiers were all wearing the standard black armor of the regular army. However, the marching formation was a bit scattered, and many of them had injuries on their bodies.
Xu Zhenyan, Leng Zhennan, and the Rong family were originally the most powerful people in the court after the Wen Xuanshu Rebellion. They were entangled in Zhongzhou City and had many of their own people planted there. However, even so, Xu Zhenyan and
The cabinet formed by Leng Zhennan only occupied the Imperial City of Zhongzhou and was not able to truly pacify Zhongzhou City and Wailing Acropolis. Military rebellions occurred from time to time.
After Xu Zhenyan's decree in the name of the Imperial City of Zhongzhou was conveyed to various provinces of Yunqin, it was naturally impossible for all the fallen officials in each province and some local heroes to obey the orders of the cabinet formed on the verge of death.
.
The military has always been the focus of contention for all nobles. When there is a violent conflict between one's own wishes and the control of the superiors, war will inevitably break out.
The local Yunqin army is experiencing unprecedented divisions, and this division may even threaten to turn the entire Yunqin into a situation where countless princes came together before the founding of the Yunqin Kingdom.
This Yunqin army walking on the muddy official road outside the town had just won a battle and was about to rush to another town to join up with like-minded troops.
However, there was no joy of victory on the faces of all these Yunqin soldiers, only dignity and exhaustion.
Because they never thought that one day they would have to fight Yunqin's own people.
…
Whether it is the secret meeting of the major merchants in Shanyin Province or the Yunqin army fighting against their former self, it is a microcosm of the countless changes in Yunqin at this moment.
There are still several horse-drawn carriages parked at the corner of the street in this small town.
The worried townspeople in the town had no intention of guessing whether the merchants in these carriages were businessmen or officials in civilian clothes who were on patrol and executing orders. At this moment, no one associated these ordinary carriages with Qingluan College.
A few rays of dim light spilled in from the cracks in the car door. Gao Yanan was silent in the dim light, with deep worry between his brows.
Bian Linghan and Leng Qiuyu looked at Gao Yanan's side face, looking at her worried but still resolute eyebrows, Leng Qiuyu couldn't help but whispered: "Really keep hiding it like this?"
"It must be concealed like this."
Gao Yanan turned his head, looked at Bian Linghan and Leng Qiuyu, and said in a clear voice: "From what I have seen in these days, so many contact points in our Qingluan College no longer exist, which is enough to show that Zhang Ping has no regard for us.
The contact method of Qingluan College has more understanding than we imagined. He knows our Qingluan College too well, and he also knows Lin Xi too well. If he knows that we are still alive, and if our whereabouts are exposed, he will definitely use all his resources
Use our power to deal with us, so as to force Lin Xi and the others to appear in his sight again. We cannot become a burden to Lin Xi. We must make everyone think that we died in Thunder Academy, so that Zhang Ping can’t think of our hidden power.
."
Bian Linghan was silent for a moment, and said in a slightly cold voice: "The longer time passes, the stronger Zhang Ping will become."
"We must gather the strongest strength to attack him. With our current strength, we are not enough to enter Zhongzhou City to find him and kill him." Gao Yanan looked at Bian Linghan and said, "So we can only wait, wait for Lin Xi
news, waiting for the opportunity to counterattack."
…
There are many shallow lakes and lotus ponds in Huangshuitangling in Qiantang Province.
When the lake water gradually dries up in winter, the owners of the lotus ponds will hire many workers to dig lotus roots in these ponds.
If the lotus pond is too dry, it will be difficult to dig. If the lotus root joints are dug out and enter the muddy water, they will not be sold at a high price. Therefore, the lotus root diggers are stuck in the cold mud all day long, using their hands and some simple tools to dig out the lotus roots. It is unusual.
Hard.
Fortunately, the price of lotus roots is good in winter, and the price paid by lotus pond owners to these hard-working workers digging lotus roots is not low. After several months of work, these workers can get enough money to support their families for a year, and this became these
The greatest comfort in the hearts of workers.
In the mud of the shallow lake that stretches for who knows how many miles, there are countless lotus root diggers covered in black mud, working hard among the withered lotuses and fallen leaves.
The owner of one of the lotus ponds is Fang Zhongru.
Fang Zhongru is one of the most famous Confucian scholars in Qiantang Province. He is famous for his knowledge, but he does not enter the court. He just runs some local schools, builds bridges and paves roads, publishes some reading notes, and practices as a country squire.
Things that lead people to do good.
He owns an ancestral property of nearly 100 acres of lotus pond, but he is not arrogant and extravagant. His family still lives in a two-room bungalow by the lake facing the lotus pond.
When a Purgatory Mountain priest wearing a strange red robe walked up to him, the scholar in a yellow cotton robe was boiling a pot of tea, a pot of brown sugar ginger water and a pot of water in a pavilion by the lake.
Hot porridge in a pot.
He drank the hot tea himself, while the brown sugar ginger water and hot porridge were given to the laborers who were digging lotus roots in the mudflat in front of him.
Ginger water can dispel cold and warm the body, but ginger water alone can easily hurt the stomach on an empty stomach, so he also prepared hot porridge.
When a Purgatory Mountain priest appeared in his sight, his gentle face was covered with frost that was difficult to break away.
"Please write a letter to denounce Lin Xi."
The young Priest of Purgatory Mountain with an ordinary face had some fanaticism flashing in his eyes, but his expression was extremely calm. After bowing respectfully, he made his request without saying any unnecessary words, asking Fang Zhongru to publish some books publicly.
Wen, reprimanded Lin Xi for what he had done.
This great scholar in his forties meditated for several breaths.
Then without making any sound, he just opened his teapot and inserted his hands into the red charcoal stove.
His face became extremely pale, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down his forehead.
Everyone could see that he was in great pain, but he just let out a dull grunt of pain, and then looked up at the Priest of Purgatory Mountain.
My hands are rotten, so I can no longer write.
Of course, the Priest of Purgatory Mountain understood what he meant and saw his determination.
However, the Priest of Purgatory Mountain did not get angry. He just looked at Fang Zhongru calmly and said, "I know that you attach great importance to filial piety. Your wife is taking your old mother to a tailor shop in the city to have her clothes altered.
A robe, but by doing so, the shop caught fire, and your wife and old mother died in the flames."
"If you don't think about your body, hair and skin, please also think about your family, because you still have a pair of children." The Purgatory Mountain priest said calmly, his eyes left Fang Zhongru's ulcerated hands and looked towards
In the distance behind Fang Zhongru.
Fang Zhongru turned around and saw a column of smoke rising into the sky from the city in the distance.
When he understood what was happening, he began to tremble all over and began to cry bitterly.
The priest of Purgatory Mountain looked at him calmly.
The great scholar also understood the meaning of the Purgatory Mountain priest's last words, and he slammed his head against the pavilion pillar next to him.
With a crisp sound, the great scholar's body fell down against the pavilion pillar, and blood and red and white blood spread on the pavilion pillar and the ground.
Countless exclamations and angry shouts echoed in the mud of the lake.
Many lotus root diggers waved their short iron shovels and tried to rush ashore. No matter where the red-robed priest came from, they had to fight hard. However, the lake was too muddy and their steps were too heavy and slow.
They could watch helplessly as the cold red figure disappeared from their sight.
A young man digging lotus roots also saw the whole process of Fang Zhongru's death.
This young man has a handsome face, and even though his face is covered with black mud, he doesn't look dirty or ugly.
All the lotus root diggers around him only thought that he was a lotus root digger from a poor family in the southern provinces, but no one knew that he was once one of the natural candidates of Qingluan Academy, the most outstanding and famous young man in the entire Yunqin.
One of the people, the son of Wen Shoufu, who once held great power.
He is Wen Xuanyu.
After the Autumn Festival, he disappeared from everyone's sight, but he has been practicing desperately and wanting revenge.
He doesn't care about the grudges between the Juliu family and the Changsun family, or what kind of existence his father is. To him, no matter whether Wen Xuanshu is a traitor or a great evil, he is still his father. He only knows that it was Emperor Yunqin who killed
His father died, so for a long time, his only purpose of survival was to kill Emperor Yun Qin and avenge his father.
However, Emperor Yunqin was already dead. He died due to Lin Xi's persecution and the turmoil of the people in Zhongzhou City.
This deep-seated hatred that supported him to live suddenly disappeared inexplicably one day, and he suddenly didn't know what the meaning of his life was.
The fight between Zhang Ping, Qingluan Academy, and Lin Xi had never made him feel that it had anything to do with him before.
However, standing in the cold muddy water today, looking at the scene in front of him, his blood began to burn unconsciously.
He still doesn't know what will happen to him in the future, and he doesn't know what the meaning of his life is.
However, at this moment, his mind was filled with only one thought.
He must kill this red-robed priest of Purgatory Mountain.
…
When Wen Xuanyu started walking quickly in the lotus pond, walking faster and faster, a battle at the neighboring college in the north of Qiantang Province had just ended.
More than a dozen practitioners from the neighboring college struggled to stand up in a pool of blood.
On the ground around them, in addition to the corpses of many people dressed as bandits and college practitioners, there were also the corpses of a red-robed priest from Purgatory Mountain and several grimace doves.
In this battle, these practitioners from the neighboring college to the north won the final victory. They ambushed and killed the red-robed priest of Purgatory Mountain and his minions, but they also paid a heavy price.
The most critical thing is that they don't know how long they can last after winning this battle.
No matter what else is right or wrong, they, like many Yunqin practitioners, are unwilling to surrender to Zhang Ping and the foot of Purgatory Mountain. At this moment, they should be on the side of Lin Xi and Qingluan Academy.
In their view, Lin Xi was naturally the leader of all the opposing forces at the moment.
"Lin Xi, where are you? Why hasn't Qingluan College launched some counterattack?" So at this moment, one of the cultivators from the neighboring college who stood up with difficulty couldn't help but let out such a painful groan.