Chapter 863 Chapter 804 Winter (6)
"...and Uncle Song Mao, I wonder how he is doing, is he okay?"
The sky has darkened, There was a bonfire burning at the river bend in the distance, and occasionally the laughter of children and the voice of a woman could be heard. Song Yongping walked forward slowly under the leadership of Ning Yi. Hearing him ask about his father's condition, Song Yongping glanced at him.
"My father's body is still strong. After he resigned from the official position, he lost a lot of secular affairs, and he has become even richer in the past two years."
"Uncle Song Mao came after I killed Zhou Zhe. Are you going to be an official?”
"...Hmm."
The two people talked about this thrilling thing for others, but their words seemed indifferent. Ning Yi said: "When things were rushed, the Song family didn't care. I thought it would be hard to invite you to go with me. Later, when Zhou Yong became emperor, with Zhou Pei and his brother and sister in charge, they wouldn’t make things difficult for you, so I felt relieved in the past few years, Tan’er. , Wen Fang and others occasionally talk about you. Among the in-laws, your knowledge is the best. I'm afraid it will delay your official career. But I think that when people are young, it is the age when they should make detours. Experience before the age of thirty The more you know, the better the road ahead will be.”
He smiled at this and said, “Of course, it’s me who made you and Uncle Song Mao lose their official positions. This is a bit different for me to say. you want There is no way to refute the idea that I got it cheap and acted like a good boy."
Hearing Ning Yi talk about this topic, Song Yongping also laughed, his eyes looking calm: "Actually, that's true. Everything went smoothly when I was young. I am a great talent in the world, but I later realized my limitations. During those days when I lost my official position, people in my family came and went, and I realized that the world was full of different things, and my vision at that time also changed. It's really too young..."
He smiled and shook his head: "When I was young, I read Huang Lao and Confucius and Mencius with my elders in the family. I memorized ancient books and scriptures backwards and forwards. I could also write a long moral article eloquently. In the past two years, When I think about it, the two sentences in the opening of the Book of Changes are what touch me the most... It takes thirty years for a gentleman to constantly strive for self-improvement."
When we first met more than ten years ago, Song Xiaosi, who was in his early twenties, looked full of energy, but now he is already thirty years old. He has become an official, grown a beard, and has experienced ups and downs. If he was calm before, In several of the previous conversations, he had maintained calmness with self-restraint, but the current one was from the bottom of his heart.
Ning Yi nodded, and Song Yongping paused for a moment: "It would be false to say that I don't complain about these things to my cousin and cousin-in-law, but even if I complain, it doesn't make sense. The world-famous Ning Sir, are you going to stop doing things because of someone’s complaints?”
Ning Yi laughed “haha” and patted Song Yongping. "There are many truths in the world, but I only have one. When the Jurchens went south, they saw hundreds of thousands of people being killed and completely defeated. Prime Minister Qin and his men turned the tide, and finally their families were ruined. If you don't kill the emperor, these people will die." It is worthless, and of course I have thought about the consequences after killing him, but in this world, there is no room for a good couple, and we can only choose the lesser of two evils. Of course I knew your situation before killing, but I had already weighed it up and had to do it. The same is true for county magistrates. You sympathize with some people, but you can only give them thirty dollars. Why, this is a little better. "
"But my brother-in-law has really... not been confused in these years?"
"There are always, and there are many, but... ...In comparison, this road is a little better." Ning Yi said, "I know what you want to do here. You may be able to convince me by finding a flaw, and it doesn't matter if you withdraw your troops or surrender, and give the Wu Dynasty a good step. The situation is very clear. You are a smart person. You will understand it if you take a closer look. But I will not hide it from you. However, I will take you to meet the child first."
While talking, the bonfire was already approaching. Ning Yi led Song Yongping over and introduced the distant uncle to Ning Xi and others. After a while, Tan'er also came over to meet Song Yongping. The two sides talked about Song Mao and about Song Yongping. Su Yu, who has passed away, is also a very ordinary family reunion scene.
While Su Tan'er and Song Yongping were talking, Ning Yi led a group of children to the fire to grill fish. Ning Ji, Du Sha, Fang Shuchang and other children had dinner and rested for a while. They took turns competing in the small arena. After they were all famous players, the competition was quite fierce. Little girls such as Wenwen and Ning Ke were either cheering for their brothers at the edge of the ring, or they came here to pester Ning Yi. After a while, Ning Yi, who was embarrassed by the burnt fish, walked to the ring and wrote a couplet to reward the winner. The first couplet was "Punching Guangzhou Eggs" and the second couplet was "Kicking Pineapple Bread". After writing, Later, Song Yongping was asked to come over to comment and make corrections, and then asked Song Yongping to write a word to add to it.
The fight by the river made Song Yongping somewhat emotional, but he was here to be a lobbyist after all - in the legendary novel, a certain counselor could persuade the princes to change their minds with just a few words The story, in these years, is actually not an exaggeration. In the feudal world, the popularity of knowledge is not high, and even the princes may not have a broad vision. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was not surprising that the politicians would laugh exaggeratedly and throw out a certain point of view, and the princes would bow to them. . Li Xiannong was able to persuade the Barbarian King in the Liangshan Mountains, and he may have followed this path. But in this brother-in-law's case, no matter whether it is alarmist talk or impassioned speeches, it is impossible to reverse the other party's decision. Without the most rigorous analysis, the rest can only be chatting and joking.
After meeting Ning Yi, he understood this more and more. Recalling Cheng Zhouhai's attitude when he set off - I'm afraid the other party also understood this matter very well. After thinking about this for a long time, when Ning Yi walked aside to rest, Song Yongping followed him and decided to put the problem back first.
“Brother-in-law, isn’t there a good solution to the southwest issue?”
"It should be difficult for the Wu Dynasty."
Ning Yi took a branch, sat on a stone by the river beach to rest, and answered casually.
"The Jurchens are coming, and the world will fall. What good will it do?"
"The Wu Dynasty is the world, the Jurchens are the world, and the Chinese army is also the world. Whose world will fall?" He looked He glanced at Song Yongping and knocked the tree branch against the stone beside him, "Sit down."
"The humidity is heavy and not suitable for health." Song Yongping said and sat down.
"How many children do you have?"
"Three, two daughters and one son."
"As a very knowledgeable uncle, what do you think of Ning Xi and the others?"< br>
"Okay. Xi'er taught you very well." Song Yongping said, "Ning Ji's martial arts skills seem to be much better than those of ordinary people."
"I've watched it since I was born. Next, I'll go to Chengdu and walk around, but it's hard to be like ordinary children, crowding in the crowd and joining in all kinds of fun. I don't know when I will encounter an accident. The world - we call it saving the world - this is one of the costs. If you encounter an accident, it is better to die, but it is also possible to live worse than death."
Ahead was a flowing river. Ning Yi's expression was hidden in the darkness. Although his words were calm, his meaning was anything but calm. Song Yongping didn't quite understand why he said this.
"Fighting has begun north of the Yellow River. Near Taiyuan, millions of people have blocked Yan Zonghan's hundreds of thousands of troops. Now there is heavy snow there. People are dead on the battlefield and more are freezing to death on the snow. Daming Mansion Wang Shanyue led less than 50,000 people to defend the city. It had been fighting for almost two months now. Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Zongbi led the main force to fight for nearly a month, and then crossed the Yellow River. River, I don’t know how many more defenders there are in the city..."
Ning Yi said in the darkness: "...Now Wan Yanchang is leading 30,000 Jurchen elites and more than 200,000 Han troops to besiege the city. , in front of the Han army were still the common people who were being driven forward. They threw corpses into the city with slings every day. Fortunately, it was winter, and the plague was not yet available... Zhu Biao took one There are more than ten thousand Chinese troops trying to open Wanyanchang's defense line, but they can't."
"...I don't know how many millions of hungry ghosts are dead in the south. I sent eight thousand people. Go to Xuzhou and block Wanyan Zongfu's way south. The main force of these hungry ghosts is also surrounding Xuzhou. If Zongfu's army encounters the hungry ghosts, I don't know what it will be like further south. It's the direction set by the prince, and the millions of troops will win or lose in this battle. And then here... tens of thousands of people have died. Yongping, you came for the Wu Dynasty, this is nothing. Bad thing, but if you were me, would you like to give them a way to survive, or not?"
"Maybe there is a better way..." Song Yongping said.
"Maybe, maybe... there is always such a person in the world. He can not only let the Wu Dynasty go and let the people of the Wu Dynasty live well, but also strengthen himself and save the whole world. Yongping, I'm not kidding, if If you have this idea, it’s worth trying.”
"..."
"But I can't do it. It has been more than ten years since the first Jurchen went south, and the Wu Dynasty has made a little progress, probably... so much "Okay." He raised his hand and gestured about meters. "We know that the Wu Dynasty has a lot of troubles and complex problems. It is not easy to make a little progress. It is not easy to see them. We want them to get better rewards, such as living longer." , we can even write a This article regards this kind of enterprise as a rare ray of humanity. However, is this enough? You like Wu Chao, so he should survive. If he doesn't survive, do you hope... I can show my favor?"
< br>Ning Yi shook his head.
"...If I can't stop it, there will be nothing. In that statement, I will force the Wu Dynasty to negotiate with me. After the negotiation, our Chinese Army and the Wu Dynasty will be equal forces. If the Wu Dynasty wants to It's okay to join forces with me to resist the Jurchens, so the Wu Dynasty can have more time to breathe. It's okay to play tricks in the middle and not work hard. This is how everyone plays chess... But, impassioned is own, win The fate is determined by heaven and earth. In such a world, everyone is strengthening their minions, and no one on the battlefield has any luck. The problems of the Wu Dynasty and Confucianism cannot be improved once or twice, and one or two heroes can do it. Help me up, if the Jurchens corrupted quickly, it is somewhat possible, but because of the existence of the Chinese army, their rate of corruption is actually not that fast, and they can still fight..."
Ning Yi tapped the branch on the ground three times: "Jurchens, Huaxia, Wu Dynasty, not to mention the immediate situation, in the end, two of them will be eliminated. Yongping, today I will tell you something to make Wu Dynasty 'easy' , which is also paving the way for the elimination of the Wu Dynasty. The way to stop the Chinese army is very simple. As long as the people of the Wu Dynasty are united, the forces of the various big families in the court and above will put aside their choices. Come and attack my Chinese army, I will stop and apologize immediately... But the Wu Dynasty can't do it. Now the Wu Dynasty feels it is very difficult. In fact, even if they lose Southwest, they probably won't negotiate with me. Everyone will suffer the consequences of the negotiation. If no one dares to carry it, let me eat Southwest. Without strength, Wu Chao will feel humiliated by losing face? In fact, more than that, they will have to kneel down. Without strength, they will be forced to eat shit in the future. "God, there must be something."
"After the battle in the southwest, they sent you here - of course, it was not a stupid move. In such a big situation, there is no way to use it. Qin Siyuan back then, The same is true for people who tinker with paper, form cliques, treat guests and give gifts privately, and when it's time to kneel down, the elderly are also willing to kneel down - maybe some people will be moved by family affection and relax, but Yongping, this I don't dare to let go. After the battle is won, the next step is to increase the strength. Every extra point is an extra point. There is no such thing as being arrogant because of selfishness. Even if I am arrogant, it is because I have to do it. I don't dare to have any luck..."
The calm voice was mixed with the sound of gurgling water in the darkness. Ning Yi lifted the branch and pointed at the fire on the other side of the river beach, where the children were playing. place.
"Northern Tianhu mobilized a million troops to fight against Zong Han. If he loses, he will die. Wang Shanyue will keep his name. I hope Zhu Biao can save as many people as possible, but it is also possible , Zhu Biao himself will be in it. There are millions of hungry ghosts, and they will die in one winter. Yongping, Ning Xi, Ning Ji, Wenwen Xiaoke, are my children. If someone accuses them. Tell me, there will be luck in this world. I can pray to God and worship Buddha and kowtow a thousand times every day, hoping that they will live a happier life than me... But there is no luck in this world, not even a trace, so I won’t kowtow. If the strength of the Chinese army can be increased by one point, I will never let him lose one point."
The voice was silent for a long time.
...
"...I have been reading books in the past two years, and there are also sentences that have deeply touched me. There is a sentence in 19 ancient poems that says: 'Life is like a journey between heaven and earth.' This world is not ours. , we just came here by chance and lived for a few decades, so I am always wary when dealing with things in this world and dare not be arrogant... The most useful principle in the world, Yongping, you have said it before, it is called 'Heaven moves vigorously, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement', only self-improvement is useful, there is actually no need to plead for the Wu Dynasty. "
… …
Laughter came from the small river bend. In the next few days, Ning Yi and his family went to Chengdu to see the bustling ancient city. A group of children - except Ning Xi - saw such a prosperous city for the first time. It was completely different from the situation in the mountains, and they were all very happy. Ning Yi, Tan'er, Yunzhu and others were walking in this ancient city On the streets, I would occasionally talk about the scenery and stories of those years in Jiangning and Bianliang. That story has been more than ten years.
Song Yongping followed him, and like Zuo Duanyou back then, he understood Ning Yi's thoughts, and then started discussing them every day. The two sides sometimes quarreled and sometimes broke up unhappy, which lasted for a long time.
Shortly thereafter, Ning Ji followed doctors from the military medical team on a medical tour to nearby counties and rural areas. Some household registration officials also visited various places and penetrated into every part of the newly occupied territory. Ning Xi followed Chen Tuozi to sit in the center, responsible for arranging security, coordination and other things, and learning more skills.
Winter is already deep. On the south bank of the Yellow River, a biting wind and snow suddenly came this day. The Jurchen army heading south was already quite far away from the Yellow River ferry. The further south they went, the more miserable and desolate the road became. Every small town had been attacked and burned, like ghosts. Starved corpses could be seen everywhere on the road. This time's "Strengthening the Wall and Clearing the Fields" is more thorough than that of more than ten years ago.
In the heavy snow, the small Jurchen grain transport team was trapped on the road. The wind and snow roared for more than an hour. The centurion who led the team asked the team to stop to avoid the wind and snow. At a certain moment, there was Something gradually came from the front.
Thrusting and swaying, the thing that passed through the heavy snow gradually came into view, and it turned out to be a human figure. The figure is rickety, skinny and skeleton-like, making people's scalp numb just by looking at it. She seems to be holding a motionless swaddle in her hand. This is a woman - starved to the point of skin and bones. Woman - no one knows how she got here.
The "skeleton" stood there in a daze, casting a gaze at the carts and goods here. Then she shook a moment, opened her mouth, and made an unidentified sound in her mouth. There seemed to be something in her eyes. The water light falls.
She was running towards this side.
The centurion dragged his long knife over and slashed the woman to the ground. The swaddling clothes rolled out. There was no "baby" inside, so there was no need to make up for it with another blow.
“If you see these things, kill them without mercy.”
This centurion also knows that there are still hungry ghosts wandering in this area. Just as he was about to go back after killing the woman, another figure came towards him in the wind and snow.
The hungry ghosts, and then the hungry ghosts again, saw the team transporting military supplies. The almost inhuman figures were startled, and then they just hesitated for a moment before running over with shouts. They had no strength left, many of them had fallen in the wind and snow, and their shouts were almost hoarse. The centurion chopped down the two men, slapped the armor with his long sword, and called to his subordinates to build a defense line.
Those figures are running one after another...
In the world of life, one is suddenly like a traveler from afar.
With coldness all over their bodies, dry tears flowing out, and hoarse voices...
That was their last running figure in this cold world.
In the wind and snow, endless hungry ghosts came over——(End of this chapter)