From the continued prosperity and splendor of the Wu Dynasty for two hundred years, about four years have passed. In this short yet long period, people have gradually become accustomed to war, displacement, death, and the reality of falling from grace. (Search: \\(?Complete?Book?God?Station) to read high-quality literature for free) It is early spring in the third year of the Jianshu era of the Wu Dynasty, and Jiangnan is shrouded in a pale, grey desolation. The Jurchen's "Search the Mountains and Dredge the Seas" campaign continues.

Jiangning, still covered in snow, is brewing a massive chaos within its walls.

Many wealthy gentry and merchants are fleeing the city one after another. The estates of Princess Chengguo's mansion are being relocated. The Puyang family, once known as the wealthiest merchants in Jiangning, are loading vast amounts of gold and silver onto carriages. The families in each residence are also preparing to leave. The head of the family, Puyang Yi, is unwilling to flee first. He travels between the government and the army, expressing his willingness to donate large amounts of gold, silver, and property for resistance and resettlement purposes. However, more and more people are already on their way out of the city.

If everyone remembers, this is the first city that Ning Yi encountered in this era. Over hundreds of years, it has become calm and graceful. The city walls are majestic and solemn, and the courtyards are mottled and ancient. The Su family's mansion still stands, sealed off by the government. The courtyards are overgrown with trees and weeds. The valuable items in the rooms have long been removed, the window frames are dilapidated, and the pillars have faded paint.

In the courtyard where Ning Yi and Tan'er once lived, spider webs have formed in the rooms, and cats and stray dogs have made it their home, searching for food and quietly passing the snow-covered courtyard walls. Perhaps we remember that nearly ten years ago, Ning Yi and a woman named Su Tan'er spoke and lived in the rooms of this courtyard, gradually becoming familiar with each other in the spring rain and autumn frost, and gradually becoming a simple couple. There were once two small buildings here, one of which was burned down by Tan'er, and they lived together.

At that time, the old people and children were still here. The纨绔 young men spent their days doing limited things like sitting around watching cockfights and dogfights. The adults in each house schemed against each other for small benefits. Once, there was a thunderstorm, and fierce bandits broke into the courtyard. Some fell in pools of blood, and others put up hysterical resistance. Soon after, the events here led to the destruction of the Liangshan Marsh bandit camp.

Outside the courtyard, the city roads stretch straight ahead. The Qinhuai River, known for its romantic scenery, runs through the city. For two hundred years, brothels and courtesan houses have opened on both sides of it. One by one, famous courtesans and talented women have risen to fame here, only to be washed away by the rain and wind. The Jinfeng House, which ranked among the top in Jiangning City more than ten years ago, collapsed a few years ago. The person in charge of the Jinfeng House was named Yang Xiuhong, and her temperament was similar to that of Mama Li Yun of the Fanlou in Bianliang.

Unlike Li Yun, when the Jin soldiers broke through Bianliang, under the immense pressure of the court searching for beautiful women to satisfy the Jin soldiers, Mama Li Yun and several Fanlou courtesans committed suicide by taking poison to preserve their chastity. Yang Xiuhong, on the other hand, scattered her family fortune under the coercion of various officials a few years ago. Since then, her life has become peaceful. Now, this woman, whose youthful beauty has gradually faded, has embarked on the road to leave the city. In this cold snowy weather, she occasionally thinks of the former Jinfeng House, the girl who jumped into the Qinhuai River in the heavy rain, and Nie Yunzhu, who maintained her chastity and eventually redeemed herself to leave.

Up the Qinhuai River, in a secluded place by the river, the former treacherous minister Qin Si Yuan used to set up a chess stall under a tree by the road. Occasionally, people would come to see him and play a game of chess with him. Now the road is long, the tree is still there, but the person is gone.

Further up, the small building by the river where Ning Yi used to run past collapsed two years ago due to snow and disrepair. A girl named Nie Yunzhu would wait here every morning, giving him a smile. After Yuan Jin'er moved in, she would make a fuss and cause trouble. Sometimes, they would sit on the riverside terrace, chatting, singing, watching the sunset, the falling autumn leaves, and the winter snow. Now, the ruined and decayed foundation is covered with snow and overgrown with weeds.

As the head of the Wu family, one of the three major cloth merchant families in Jiangning, Wu Qilong has inherited the position of head of the family. In the competition for the imperial merchant license, he was severely outmaneuvered by Ning Yi and the Su family. Since then, Wu Qilong has learned from his pain and become more calm and mature over the years. His relationship with the government has also become closer, and he has finally pushed the Wu family's business back to its former scale, even surpassing it. In the early years, he thought of finding a way to get back at the Su family after he rose to power, but soon after, he lost the opportunity.

Over the years, Xue Jin, the纨绔 son of the Xue family, has reached the age of thirty. He still hasn't made any great achievements, but he is still flirting with women everywhere and has many wives and children. At this time, he may still remember the brick he threw in his youth. The Son-in-Law who took a brick from him later killed the emperor and is still doing earth-shattering things like rebellion somewhere. He occasionally wants to use this as a talking point with others, but in fact, this matter is pressed in his heart and has never been spoken.

The Jurchens are coming.

In their process of searching the mountains and dredging the seas, burning and killing along the way, the Jurchen vanguard is now approaching Jiangning. The Wulie Camp stationed here has put up a defensive posture, but not many people are optimistic about the results of their resistance. In this burning and killing that has lasted for several months, the Jurchens have only encountered slight setbacks when catching people at sea. Their attacks on cities and territories on land have been completely destructive. People have realized the fact that their court's army has no combat power, and due to the failure to pursue Zhou Yong at sea, their offensive on land has become even more fierce.

A few months ago, Prince Zhou Junwu returned to Jiangning to organize resistance. Later, in order not to implicate Jiangning, Junwu took some soldiers and craftsmen to flee to the southwest, but one of the Jurchen troops still followed this route and killed over.

Princess Chengguo's carriage also left the city in this chaos. The elderly Princess Chengguo, Zhou Xuan, was unwilling to leave, and the駙馬, Kang Xian, was also unwilling to go, saying, "How can a woman be allowed to die for her country?" The couple finally compromised for each other, but on this night after leaving the city, Princess Chengguo, Zhou Xuan, fell ill in the villa outside Jiangning City.

They stayed in the villa for two days, and Zhou Xuan's condition became more and more serious. Kang Xian didn't plan to leave anymore. On this night, someone returned from a long journey, accompanied by Lu Agui, Prince Junwu rushed back, and in the villa, he went to see Zhou Xuan, who was already critically ill. When he asked Kang Xian about the condition in the courtyard, Kang Xian shook his head.

The old man's hair was also white, and after a few days of accompaniment and worry, his eyes were bloodshot, but there was already a trace of understanding in his expression. He said, "She has lived in Jiangning all her life. When we discussed whether or not to leave a few days ago, I thought about it. Perhaps we shouldn't leave, but... when the time comes, there is always a trace of luck in my heart."

Then he said, "You shouldn't come back, leave quickly at dawn."

There were tears in Junwu's eyes: "I thought that if I left, the Jurchens would at least spare Jiangning..."

"The Jurchens will not spare the place where your father has lived for half his life. Also, don't say discouraging words, the Wulie Camp has tens of thousands of people, they may not be able to resist."

After he said this, Junwu looked at him, shook his head, and didn't say what he wanted to say. Kang Xian smiled: "Okay, I'm deceiving myself, the Wulie Camp... it should not be able to resist, so, you can only leave."

"Then you..."

"The things of Princess Chengguo's mansion have been handed over to you and your sister, what else can we not let go of? The country is weak, it is the fruit planted for two hundred years, you young people have to move forward, it can only come slowly. Junwu, this is no need for you to die heroically, you have to hide, you have to endure, don't care about other people. It doesn't make sense for anyone to risk their lives here, only if you live, you may be able to win in the future."

The old man had already understood in his heart, and when he said these words, he was calm and relaxed. Junwu felt grief in his heart and didn't know where to start.

Late that night, Zhou Xuan's consciousness cleared up, Kang Xian entered the room and talked to his wife, Junwu waited at the door. He thought that the old man would call him in at the end, but after waiting for a long time, there was no more movement inside. Dawn was breaking, the night was darkest, and the lights in the room had naturally gone out. Junwu carefully pushed the door open, lit the lamp, Kang Xian was holding his wife's hand by the bed, and had been sitting quietly. The tears on his face had dried, but his eyes were clear. Junwu walked over, Zhou Xuan hugged one of Kang Xian's hands, closed her eyes and had already fallen into a permanent, peaceful sleep.

Junwu couldn't help but kneel on the ground and cry. It wasn't until he finished crying that Kang Xian spoke softly: "She talked about you at the end, not many things to say. You are the last of the royal descendants, she hopes that you can protect the blood of the Zhou family. If you are here, the Zhou family is still here." He gently stroked the hand of his dead wife, turned his head to look at that familiar face, "So, escape quickly."

At this time, Zhou Pei was drifting on the sea with her fleeing father. Junwu knelt on the ground and kowtowed in front of the bed on behalf of his sister. After a long time, he wiped away his tears and choked up a little: "Grandpa Kang, come with me..."

Kang Xian just looked at his wife and shook his head: "I'm not going, she and I have lived in Jiangning all our lives, and will die in Jiangning, this is our home, now, others are going to break into our home, we shouldn't have left in the first place, I cherish my life when she is alive, and I should do what I should do when she is dead."

"But we can't do without you next, Grandpa Kang..."

"Of course we can do without me. When the old people leave, the children can see the cruelty of the world, and can grow up to be independent, although sometimes it's a bit fast, but that's how things are in the world, and there's nothing to complain about. Junwu, the future is the road you have to take..."

In this life of Junwu, the people who treated him the best among his relatives were this grandparents, now that Zhou Xuan has passed away, and Kang Xian's will is obviously extremely firm, unwilling to leave, he was overwhelmed with grief for a while, unable to restrain himself, choked for a long time, Kang Xian spoke again.

"Alas, when I was young, I also had my own path, me, your Grandpa Qin, Zuo Duanyou, Wang Qisong... these people, one by one, wanted to find a good path for this world. Junwu, we have failed, it looks like we have some experience, but it is just the experience of losers, what should be taught to you has already been taught to you, don't be superstitious about these, the views of the old people, the views of the losers, only for reference, not to be relied upon." He was silent for a moment, and then said, "The only one who is unwilling to admit defeat killed the emperor..."

He mentioned Ning Yi, but regarded him as a peer.

In this room, Kang Xian didn't speak any more. He held his wife's hand, as if feeling the last warmth on her hand, but Zhou Xuan's body had become uncontrollably cold. Long after dawn, he finally released that hand, calmly went out, and asked someone to come in to handle the aftermath.

At noon, Kang Xian urged Junwu to leave. Junwu persuaded Kang Xian to go with him for the last time. Kang Xian looked back at the courtyard and house filled with white flowers, shook his head slowly and firmly, and smiled again: "I know what you're thinking, but your Grandpa Kang is already old, if I leave with you, I will definitely die on the road... Can you bear to see your grandma stay in Jiangning, but I die in a foreign land, and can't reunite with her ever again? Alright, you leave quickly."

Only then did Junwu and others prepare horses to leave. At the time of parting, Kang Xian looked in the direction of Jiangning City and finally said: "In recent years, only your teacher's battle in the Northwest has been the most inspiring. I really hope that we can also fight such a battle... I probably can't see him again, if you can see him in the future, tell him for me..." He probably had a lot to say, but after a long silence and deliberation, he finally just said: "...He fought well, it was very difficult. But he is too拘泥 to common affairs, if he plays chess, I'm afraid he won't be my opponent anymore."

Last winter, the Jurchens went south like a whirlwind, and no one could withstand their combined force. Only when the war reports from the Northwest came, that the Black Flag Army had defeated the Jurchen Western Route Army head-on, and killed the Jurchen God of War Wanyan Lou Shi in battle, for some informed high-ranking officials, was it truly shocking and the only inspiring news. However, in this moment of chaos in the world, not many people could get this news, and Ning Yi, who killed Zhou Zhe, could not be promoted in the Central Plains and Jiangnan as an example to inspire morale. For Kang Xian, the only thing he could express was probably this young man who also had a trace of goodwill towards Ning Yi in front of him.

This was both his pride and his regret. In those days, Zhou Zhe and the Wu Dynasty were too corrupt. A hero like Ning Yi could not be used by the Zhou family. Now, he could only watch the world fall, and the army in the Northwest would eventually fall into a situation of isolation and helplessness after killing Lou Shi...

After that, Junwu and others turned their heads several times and headed southwest. And in the evening of this day, Kang Xian and Princess Chengguo's coffin returned to Jiangning together. He was already old, so old that he had no worries in his heart, so he was no longer afraid of the enemies invading his home.

Soon after, the Jurchen army approached Jiangning, and Yin Tu, the commander of the Wulie Camp, led his troops to surrender, opening the city gate to welcome the Jurchens into the city. Due to the "good" performance of the defenders, the Jurchens did not carry out a large-scale massacre in Jiangning, but only plundered a large number of wealthy households and searched for gold, silver, and treasures in the city, but of course, various small-scale rapes and massacres occurred during this period.

Kang Xian dismissed his family, leaving only twenty or so relatives and loyal servants to defend the house and make a final resistance. Before the arrival of the Jurchens, a storyteller came to visit, and Kang Xian received him with some surprise. He asked the storyteller in detail about the situation in the Northwest face-to-face, and finally sent him away. This was the first and last indirect exchange between Ning Yi and Kang Xian in the years since the弑君. Ning Yi advised him to leave, and Kang Xian refused.

Junwu, who was far away in the southwest, had no way of knowing this little episode. His reunion with Ning Yi would be in a desperate situation years later. Soon after, the old man named Kang Xian left the world forever in Jiangning.

************

In the north, the cold weather continued, and the prosperity and tragedy of the human world were happening simultaneously, without interruption.

Emperor Jingping, Zhou Ji, who liked to seek divination all his life, and who启用ed the Heavenly Master Guo Jing to resist the Jin shortly after ascending the throne, and then was captured to the north, the Wu Dynasty emperor, was now living a miserable life here. Since being captured to the north, Zhou Ji, who was "封"ed as the Duke of Hund by Wugumai, was now a special slave used by the Jurchen nobles for entertainment. He was locked in a small courtyard near the imperial city, and provided with some inedible food every day. Every time there was a Jurchen gathering, he would be arrested and insulted to show off the martial arts of the Great Jin.

In the beginning, Zhou Ji, who was used to living in luxury, was naturally unable to adapt, but things were simple, as long as he was hungry for a few days, the food that looked like pig food could also be swallowed. The Jurchens封ed him as a "Duke", but in fact regarded him as pigs and dogs. The guards who watched him could beat and scold him at will. Every time food was delivered, he had to kneel on the ground and thank the small soldiers who were watching him.

These were not the most unbearable things. Among the royal women who were captured to the northern country, some were his sisters-in-law and nieces - the wives and daughters of Emperor Jinghan Zhou Zhe - some were his own daughters, and even his wives and concubines. These women would be arrested and raped in front of him. Of course, what could he do if he couldn't tolerate it? If he didn't dare to die, he could only endure it.

The winter in the northern country was cold. When winter came, the Jurchens did not give him enough charcoal and clothes to keep warm. Zhou Ji could only hug the empress who followed him to keep warm. Sometimes the guards were in a good mood, and the empress would offer her body, or he would kowtow to ask for some charcoal and clothes. As for the Jurchen banquets, Zhou Ji would be called out, and would often kneel on the ground and praise the Great Jin Kingdom, and even write a poem to praise the Jin Kingdom's literary and martial arts achievements and his own咎由自取. If the other party was happy, he might be able to get a normal meal, but if he didn't show enough sincerity, he might be beaten or starved for a few days.

We cannot judge whether this emperor, who has only been in power for a short time, should bear such great humiliation for the Wu Dynasty, and we cannot judge whether it would be more fair if Ning Yi did not kill Zhou Zhe and let him bear all this. Between countries, the loser can only bear misery, there is no justice to speak of, and in this northern country, it is not only this emperor who is living the most miserable life. Nearly half of the noble and royal women who were beaten into the laundry were frozen and starved to death in such a winter, and most of the captured slaves were living a life worse than death. In the first year, more than half of them died miserably.

The Jurchens didn't care about the death of the slaves, because more would be captured from the south one after another.

This past second winter was even more difficult for Zhou Ji. The Jurchens' search the mountains and dredge the seas in the south did not successfully capture the new emperor of the Wu Dynasty, and since the war situation in the Northwest came, the Jurchens' attitude towards Zhou Ji was even worse. This year, they summoned Zhou Ji to the banquet, and after Zhou Ji wrote several poems to praise the Jurchens, they asked him to write several edicts.

In one of the edicts, he, in the identity of the emperor of the Wu Dynasty, advised the people of the Southern Dynasty to submit to the Great Jin's rule, denounced the resisting armies as beasts and rebels, cursed them, and at the same time exhorted Zhou Yong to not hide any longer, but to come to the north and enjoy the grace of the Jin emperor together.

In the second edict, he once again denounced the rebellious and弑君 behavior of the former Wu Rui Camp in the Northwest, and called on the people of the Wu Dynasty to jointly attack the public enemy of the world who had fled after弑君.

The third edict was to pass the throne to Liu Yu, the 知府 who opened the city gate of Jinan and surrendered, a man of virtue, ordering him to establish the Great Qi regime south of Yanmen Pass, with the Jin Kingdom as his elder brother, to guard the territory, defend the borders, appease the people, and suppress the rebels.

Then, the Jin Kingdom ordered people to compile Zhou Ji's eulogies, poems, and edicts into a book, just like last year, and send them to the south for free...

*************

In the Northwest, a brief period of peace continued.

After the spring, Ning Yi came to Yanzhou City to visit Zhong Lie. At this time, the people in this area were in high spirits. Most of the forces close to the Jurchens, like the Zhe family, had shrunk back, and their days were quite difficult.

Many people chose to join the Huaxia Army or the Zhong Family Army. The two armies have now formed an alliance.

"The public is激昂ed." Ning Yi and Zhong Lie stood on the city wall, watching the scene of people signing up to join the army below.

This was the last bit of excitement.

The fall of the Central Plains has become a reality, and the Northwest has become an isolated and desperate place.

"There is no retreat." Zhong Lie pressed his hands on the city wall, his tall body with the unique boldness of a Northwest man, "Then we will kill a path!"

After the battle against the Jurchen Western Route Army, his entire life seemed to be burning. Ning Yi watched from the side, without speaking.

On January 29, Jiangning fell.

He thought of that city.

Many things have been broken and gone far away. The dark shadows are crushing and overwhelming everything, and are about to press down here. This is a darkness that is more difficult to resist than ever before, but it is still difficult to say what form it will take.

The third year of the Jianshu era of the Wu Dynasty, the eve of the Northwest's transformation into a desperate place.

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