son-in-law

Chapter 670 Fireworks

Chapter 670 Fireworks

In the early morning, people swept away the snow in the courtyard behind Zhuji Restaurant.In the not-so-bright scene, people had already started to gather, greeting each other in low voices.

The courtyard was quite large, and there were about sixty or seventy people. Most of them wore robes, and some of them carried musical instruments such as erhu. They found benches and sat up in twos and threes in the cold weather.

They are all storytellers, and Lu Si is one of them. He is hugging the erhu, holding a few pages of paper in his hand, and his eyes are a little red from staying up late.After sitting down, I saw the shopkeepers and owners in front of me coming in.

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry to have gathered everyone together in a hurry. There is a shortage of supplies in the city, and there is no fire. Let me make a long story short. After I finish speaking, I invite everyone to eat noodles. You should have read some of these short stories sent to you. gone."

"I've seen it." Lu Si replied in the crowd, and most of the surrounding answers were also neat.They are usually storytellers, and they pay attention to being eloquent, but at this time there is no one who makes jokes.On the one hand, the prestige of the people in front is quite high. On the other hand, during the period of the Jurchen siege, everyone has experienced too many things. Cut off limbs and still alive at this time.After all, it was because most of these people were literate and numeracy, and they were assigned to logistics. Now they survived. Only after reading the stories of some people inside and outside the city last night, did they know that so many things happened during this period.

Lu Si finished reading the two stories sent to him overnight last night, and his mood was agitated.They are storytellers, sometimes they talk about novels with superficial fantasies, and sometimes they can’t help but tell anecdotes and anecdotes, which are different from the things at hand, especially if they have participated in it themselves.

The aroma of noodle soup was already coming from the adjacent yard, and the host in front continued to talk.

"The book printing has just started to resume work, and there are not enough manpower, so I can't send them all to you for the time being. You can pass them on to each other after reading it. The battle with the Jurchen was not good. Many people died, but in the In this battle, there were many people, both inside and outside the city, who rushed up and sacrificed their lives. They rushed up to sacrifice, not while fleeing, but for them, we need to keep these stories... ..."

"There is no need for impassioned exaggeration, and there is no need for everyone to talk about Li Guang and Huo Qubing, saying that those who offend me will be punished even if they are far away, and talk about the great cause of sealing wolves and living in Xuxu. This time we only talk about individuals, which have been sorted out. What came out, what was not sorted out, there are many such things, everyone can help sort out after hearing it. We tell stories, and we may make people laugh on weekdays, but now everyone in this city is very sad, you have to give it to them. They raise their spirits, nothing else, we will remember the sacrificed people... We talk about tragic, not generous. Do you understand? If you don’t understand, you can bring it up and discuss it with each other.”

Immediately after someone started talking, someone asked, "Master, has the peace talks outside the city been settled?"

"Negotiations have not yet been decided." Now the storyteller is often a well-informed person in the society. Sometimes after talking about something, he can't help discussing the evidence with others. Naturally, someone might ask about the negotiation. The host replied, "It is There are signs that both sides may have a tendency to negotiate peace, but everyone, don’t forget the wolf nature of the Jurchens. If we really take it as a sure thing and take it lightly, the Jurchens will definitely rush over. The old hunters in the mountains know that when you meet When you meet a beast, the most important thing is to stare at his eyes, if you don’t stare at him, he will definitely bite you. You can emphasize this point when you go out.”

"...If we are prepared to fight, we are qualified to make peace. If we don't have the intention to fight, we will definitely be beaten."

The noisy discourse continued for a while, and the noodles were cooked and brought out piping hot.

This morning, Bianliang was still covered with white snow. After breakfast, storytellers went out one after another.They, together with Zhuji's buddies, were mostly in groups of two. Lu Si found a small market by the river and sat down, pulling up his erhu.

The city has been besieged for a long time, the weather is cold, and there is nothing to buy in the market. The two white sheds erected not far away may be the most eye-catching things. Under such circumstances, it is possible to hold a funeral for the family. Most of them have surplus money.He played the erhu for a while, and after he started talking, some people came from nearby.

The erhu's voice was sad, and what he said was actually not an exciting story.When the Jurchens attacked the city, he had also seen many people die. He stayed in the rear most of the time and was lucky enough to survive. Seeing people go to death, or the bleak scene before death, was not much touched.Only when these original recorded and sorted stories are combined together, the people who died at the beginning seem to suddenly have meaning and destination.People who came around, including those who listened from a distance at the door of the nearby house, have more or less such experiences. After being pulled out of reality by the story, most of them couldn't help but feel sad and sympathetic.

After he finished telling a story, some people gathered nearby, including children in sackcloth and filial piety, and there was a small episode afterwards.A woman in sackcloth from a nearby family came to beg for something. She opened a mourning hall for her husband, but there were too many dead people in the city at this time. He came over with money and begged Lu Si to help.

After Lu Si refused, the woman was so sad that she sat on the ground and cried, muttering about her family affairs.Her husband was a small landlord nearby, he was still young, and he liked to dance with swords on weekdays. When the Jurchens came, the man left his wife and two young children at home and went to Xin Suanzaomen, where he died. .Now the two children are two years old and the other is four years old. Although the family has a small fortune, she is a woman in her early twenties. How can she keep the house? If not, the woman can only send the young husband away in such a difficult winter.

This is a small family, and it is difficult for a young woman with two children to support this matter. In the past few days, the pressure on her has been unspeakable. tears.An eight or nine-year-old child in sackcloth and filial piety next to him cried and said, "My daddy is dead too. My daddy is also dead..." There was a lot of crying.

Most of the storytellers in the city on this day encountered such a situation.Whether inside or outside the city, a person's death is often not too impassioned. For the survivors in the city, the death of a loved one makes people see more of the reality that is pressing in front of them. There is only so much. People with different identities and the same death can add a little meaning to these deaths.Even if a lot of propaganda in this sense is artificial, at least it won't make people sink directly into the dark abyss.

While there was a little commotion in the city under the operation of people with good intentions, outside Bianliang City, the military camps facing the Jurchens were not calm.

At the beginning, the Zhongshi led the Western Army to fight the Jurchen, and everyone in the Wurui Camp came a step late, and then there was news of the peace talks. The Wu Ruiying and the 10,000+ people who came from behind one after another formed a formation and confronted the Jurchens in front of them.Wu Ruiying chose a not-so-steep snow slope to set up camp, and then built fortifications, rectified equipment, and began to make large-scale preparations for combat. Seeing Wu Ruiying's movements, the rest of the people also began to build fortifications.

As the peace talks progressed step by step, the Jurchens were unwilling to fight any more, and public opinion began to emerge that the peace talks had been decided. The remaining [-] troops were not here to fight the Jurchens head-on.It's just the attitude of Wu Ruiying. On the one hand, the war is coming to an end, and they have to follow this way. On the other hand, they rushed here to carve up a piece of the pie before others intervene. Originally, the morale was not high. It was done hastily and sloppily, and then it became more perfunctory.

Only Wuruiying took building fortifications and doing offensive drills as a daily routine, and at first glance, it was obvious who was superior or inferior.After a day or two, someone said, "During the peace talks, don't provoke again. You stand in front of the Jurchens all day long, just like a provocative. If the other party becomes fierce and continues to fight, who can withstand the destruction?" Responsibility for peace talks.

During this period, private communication and lobbying between various armies became more common. Although Wu Ruiying could refuse some, there were also some people who could not refuse.A few days later, at the suggestion of Zhuji's staff, lobbyists were also sent here to instigate against those capable of fighting in the army.

In this way, although it can be regarded as taking the opponent's army, in private, it is floating.There was another burst of discussion, self-criticism, and introspection in the army here.Naturally, they should not target the opponent's actions, but discuss together, why they lost in the battle with the Jurchens, what is the difference between the two sides, and what needs to be done to defeat these people.Regardless of whether there are talents or lack of talents in the army, gather together to talk about your own ideas, and then summarize, unify, and so on.

Everyone has brains, even if he was an illiterate farmer before joining the army, everyone can discuss what is reasonable and what is not, and they can always distinguish some things.Why did we lose the battle with the Jurchen, because we are afraid of death, why each of us is not afraid of death, but when we get together, we become afraid of death... These things, as long as we go deeper, we can filter out some problems .The discussions over the past few days have caused some sharp things to float among the middle and lower ranks of soldiers, which solved the crisis of being divided to a certain extent. At the same time, some vigorous things began to sprout inside the barracks.

Stepping on the snow that wasn't too thick, Chen Dongye brought his men back after training. When he got close to his tent, he saw an officer standing outside. At the same time, he heard the discussion in the tent.

The person outside the tent was familiar with him, he seemed to be standing casually, but in fact he seemed to be letting the air go. Seeing him, he winked and waved his hand to let him in.After he opened the curtain and went in, he saw that there were already six or seven small officers of the rank of lieutenant in the tent. Seeing him coming in, everyone stopped talking, and then started talking again.

What everyone is talking about is that the superiors of the other troops are doing things behind their backs and pulling people.

"...My brother came to me and said that as long as he is willing to go back, he will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver and immediately promoted to the third rank. These people are afraid that the world will not be chaotic, and they spend more and more money every day..."

"Do you dare to say that you are not tempted?"

"Hey, I'm short of money! Let me tell you, I drew my knife straight away and told him plainly, and I said it again, brother was wrong, so I slashed him with a knife!"

"Brother He is domineering!"

"There is nothing domineering or not, how did we fight these days!"

"I've figured it out these days, how we lost, how those brothers died..."

The few people in the tent were all low-level military officers, and most of them were young. They had defeats at first, but they came out of the battle in Xia Village when they were at their peak.Luo Ye's family, who was in the same camp with Chen Dongye, had a background in a family in the capital, and they always dared to speak, dare to fight, and it was probably because of this that everyone gathered here.After talking for a while, the voice became louder, and someone patted the wood next to him, Chen Dongye said: "Keep your voice down."

"What's there to keep quiet!" said a man with a scar on his face, "I dared to say that at the discussion meeting tonight! Before the Jurchens left, they were going to fight among themselves! Now the army Who among them can’t understand! Only when we hold each other can we have hope, but if we break up, everyone will be like before, and we’ll all be together! A hundred taels of silver, so what if you’re promoted to three ranks! You’ve turned people into bears!”

"What I'm saying is: let's not make trouble for the higher-ups, I'm afraid General Qin and the others will have a hard time..."

After this period of time, everyone has quite agreed with the chief officer above, especially at this time, during the daily discussions, they probably also know some of the difficulties above, and they feel more united and united in their hearts.Changed the subject.

"Mr. Ning is really powerful, and he gave them a blow."

"However, I heard from Zhuji's brother that this is also a measure of rights and interests."

"Whether it's to be dismantled or not, after all, the top has the final say..."

"If we are really demolished, we will become the same as before? To be honest, if we are really demolished, give me a hundred taels of silver, and be promoted to three ranks. Next time the Jurchens come, I have no confidence that I can beat them. After saving money, Before the Jurchens come, I have to run to a place where no one is there..."

"Hey, what more do you need to go somewhere where no one is..."

"Put things first!" the man yelled, "I didn't know before, I fought with the Jurchens and lost like that, now I run back and follow those sons of bitches, the Jurchens come again, do I still dare to fight? Once, after I rushed, I saw the Jurchens killing me, and I ran away after being injured. The next time the Jurchens rushed over, I guess I would turn around and run away first, and followed those officials, stealing chickens and eating money for nothing, why? Fighting, is it reliable! It’s hard to get the foundation out, and so many brothers died. To be honest, if we are together, General Qin and Mr. Ning will fight wherever they point. of!"

As the man spoke, his eyes turned slightly red, but no one could say anything to him. This man was a little sentimental, but he was always the fiercest in killing enemies on the battlefield.

Someone on the side said: "I don't know so much, but if it really needs to be demolished, what do you think should be done?"

"Yeah, how can we, the soldiers, talk about the matter of the superiors..."

"It's not that you can't talk." The officer named Luo Ye said, "The people at the top have ways of fighting with others at the top, and those below us can't help much, but first of all, it's the same sentence, we have to stick together! "

"We have been fighting until now, when did we not hold together!"

"Baotuan is not just talking about it! They literati have ideas and just talk. We soldiers have ideas. If we want to stand up, we must fight!" Although Luo Ye is a family member, he is the most daring Fighting, regardless of the consequences, he stared at this moment, "What is Baotuan? My family knows a lot of people in the capital. Whoever refuses to accept it is called Baotuan! General Qin and Mr. Ning, I accept it. They can only deal with things from the top. To put it bluntly, it depends on who has more people and has more influence. We are also considered human beings. Why do these people send lobbyists in private because they think we are easy to deal with? If we stab General Qin and the others in the back, then we have to tell them: I don’t want to do it, we are a monolith! In this way, General Qin and Mr. Ning will be able to handle things better.”

"Brother Luo, what do you think we should do?"

"Fight! Whoever refuses to accept it, hit him! It's the same as beating the Jurchen! Don't you guys understand? In a few years, the Jurchens will definitely come back! We've been demolished, and we're going to die if we follow those bastards. Since it’s a dead end, let’s fight! Just like Xiacun, we have more than 1 people gathered together, no one can fight! We will fight if you are a hindrance, and we will make friends if you are a hero. Now it’s not just about you and me , the country is in crisis, and the overthrow is imminent, so I don't have time to play around with them..."

Everyone nodded half-understanding. In the snowstorm, in the big camp in front of them, there are many similar things fermenting.Like a spark, although under the pressure of the outside world, it may go out at any time, but at least during this period of time, with the same mood, people who started to form a group under the pressure of the outside world and determined to do something finally appeared.

Like an undercurrent under the ice, these things appeared among countless things, and then sank down again. While these things were happening, outside the Jurchen military camp, a convoy was escorting in some herbs, food, etc. This is a move to appease the Jurchens during the negotiations.It was the Right Prime Minister's Mansion who was in charge of these matters, and was immediately criticized a lot.

Time passed by in the tranquility of the wind and snow. In Bianliang City, the propaganda led by Zhuji gradually cheered up the hearts of people who were in sorrow.There are more discussions about the people who died in the war and about the heroes.Negotiations are still going on. Amidst the clamor of these messages, Shishi is looking forward to Ning Yi and others putting the right effort into the negotiations - Ning Yi and others, and the people from the Right Prime Minister's Mansion are also in the capital at this time Running around this matter, within a few days, she was able to hear about it occasionally—but what she didn't know was that even though she worked hard on it, this time, the feedback on the operation of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion was not satisfactory.

On December 23, the evening of the fourth day when Ning Yi quietly returned to Bianliang, he was discussing things with a think tank beside him, and he came down from the Wenhui Building.

"...The current situation in the capital is a bit strange. Everyone is practicing Tai Chi. The one who really got feedback was Tang Ke, the gang leader and faction... Tang Qinsou's personal morals are very passable, but he is not important. Related Negotiations outside the city, the important point is that we sent troops to escort the Jurchens out of the customs. The inner point is the fate of the Wurui camp. These two points are implemented. Only by Wurui rescue Taiyuan can the north be preserved... Now watch Get up, everyone is a little vague, and now the delay is one day less..."

"...Could it be that the adults in the court have other methods to protect Taiyuan?"

"In this battle, Zongwang swept the Central Plains. Even if Zonghan didn't make any big moves, he had already cleared the side of Taiyuan. After the two armies converged, who can stop it? Wu Ruiying is the only unit with victories, together with 10,000+ people Going north and cooperating with Taiyuan's defense line will have a little deterrent effect. Otherwise, you will just watch people cut their flesh with knives. Qin Xiangyou talked to His Majesty, but the Holy Majesty...'s attitude is not very clear..."

In Bianliang City, what Ning Yi is really responsible for is public opinion propaganda, the connection between the middle and lower levels, and some things related to the military, but even though he is not personally responsible, the current attitude of the upper echelons of Wu Dynasty is weird enough.

Qin Yuyuan, Jueming, and Yao Zunian are all good people, and there is no problem with their abilities. However, after operating for so long, Qin Yuyuan has met with the saint many times, and he has not received a clear answer in all aspects, which makes people a little anxious Get angry.What is the emperor's attitude towards the army, what is everyone's attitude towards Taiyuan, and whether the key issues may be stuck in the negotiations ahead? Watching the missed opportunity.

The negotiations outside the city should be finalized in a few days. Ning Yi is also a little strange about the silence and hesitation of the upper echelons.Just as he was coming out of Wenhui Building, he suddenly heard a voice in front of him.

"Fuck - the weather is so cold, there aren't many dead people on the street, I'm so bored, when...me! ~ Fuck! ~ Ning Yi! Hahahaha, Ning Yi!"

The voice was extremely arrogant, and he knew who it was. Ning Yi looked up and saw that it was wrapped like a panda, describing the wretched Huahua Taisui Gao Muen.When he saw Ning Yi, his expression changed a few times, and then he put his hands on his hips.

"You fucking are back! Hahahaha! Ning Yi! You fucking dare to come back... Your good days are only a few days away! Fuck! I'm going to kill you when the time comes—"

He pointed at Ning Yi with one hand, and said something unclear in his mouth. Ning Yi tilted his head and frowned slightly.At this moment, there was a sudden bang.

"Kill the rape dog—"

On the street, someone yelled suddenly, and one person lifted the cover from a nearby car, and the snow fell all over the sky, the knife lighted up, and hidden weapons flew around.A peddler who was setting up a stall on the long street overturned the stall. Not far from Ning Yi, a woman wearing a headscarf and holding a basket suddenly raised her hand and slashed with two knives. Someone came from the building Jumping down, two assassins rushed past Gao Muen.At this moment, a killing formation composed of more than ten people suddenly spread out on the street, and rushed towards Ning Yi, who was dressed in a scholar's attire.

At the same moment, the figure around Ning Yi rushed out, the sky was full of sword light, and the gun shot out like a dragon chant from the side and rear, sweeping across the area.The shouts also exploded at the same time, like the smoke of spirit energy above the battle formation, shaking the entire street in an instant, with murderous aura rising to the sky.

There was snowflakes all over the sky, conflicts between figures, the sound of weapons, the sound of fighting, the sound of steel knives cutting into flesh, and then, the outline of blood splattered all over the sky.

This was a sudden assassination, Gao Muen stood there, originally just pointed at Ning Yi, and stared at Ning Yi, in the blink of an eye, dazzled, figures rushed out, and fierce men rushed towards Ning Yi, at the other end of the field of vision, Ning Yi's eyes also suddenly changed color. Gao Muen only saw this moment and then was covered by a figure. The big man rushed in front of Ning Yi, and the next moment his whole body curled up, and flew to the side of the long street with a bang. The goods on the wagon were scattered by him, and the boxes flew around.Some made Ditang Dao roll over, the blade was as bright as a lotus flower, and then it was pierced by a steel spear, rolling over with a bright red color.In front, there were staggered lights of knives, human heads flew up, and thick and warm blood splashed on Gao Muen's face. A hunchbacked swordsman swung a long knife and slashed all the way like flowing clouds and flowing water. Make a palpitating scream.

"Wow--"

In a blink of an eye, blood and chaos filled everything in front——

Gao Muen couldn't figure out what was going on in front of him at all. After a while, he came to his senses, and suddenly shouted: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! There's an assassin, protect me quickly, I'm going back and telling my father ——" He hugged his head and ran towards the group of guards. He ran all the way, slammed into a tree, and rolled on the ground holding his nose.

Due to the war, the assassination of Ning Yi by the green forest people has stopped for a while, but even so, after this period of training on the battlefield, the guards around Ning Yi are only stronger, and they will not be unfamiliar.Although they don't know how they got the news of Ning Yi's return to the city, these assassins immediately ran into a hard idea. On the long street, it was a sudden massacre. Several assassins rushed into the opposite In the restaurant, after that, I don't know who I met, someone was beheaded and pushed out.A few of the entourage around Ning Yi also rushed in, and after a while, someone was shouting.The words came out.

"My lord is here, who dares to startle me—"

Afterwards, guards rushed out from that building.

(End of this chapter)