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In the ninth year of Jinghan in the Wu Dynasty, the various uprisings in Jiangnan, and even the Yongle calamity that subsequently captured Hangzhou and threatened Jiaxing, shook the entire Tiannan land. To say that this uprising shook the national foundation of the entire Wu Dynasty might be an exaggeration, but because of this uprising, it did indeed play a series of thought-provoking chain reactions in certain key areas. The domino effect of this series led to the final destruction of the entire Wu Dynasty. Whether it was the main cause or the secondary cause, whether it was accidental or inevitable, whether it was a sufficient but unnecessary condition or a necessary but insufficient condition, became a topic often studied by later historians.

These things, in fact, were also considered at the time, but no one in the game considered them so far ahead. Fang Qifo's strategy of delaying Tong Guan's army from heading north, and finally seeking to overwhelm the Wu Dynasty's tolerance limit to gain a chance of survival, was to see clearly the embarrassing situation of the Wu Dynasty's north and south at this time, but in the end, to what extent it could be achieved, Fang Qifo at that time, I am afraid, could not see clearly either.

At least at the beginning of the uprising, it seemed to sweep across the world, especially after a large city like Hangzhou was captured, it really gave people a feeling of coming by heavenly mandate, and the Wu Dynasty was already weak and precarious. However, when the Wu Dynasty really took this rebellion seriously and wanted to completely wipe it out before the war to pacify Liao, what was felt at that time was the real pressure of facing the Wu Dynasty head-on. Whether a country accumulated for two hundred years could withstand a real counterattack, whether it was Fang La or Fang Qifo, they were only fighting with a fluke mentality.

And in Bianjing, the political center where dignitaries gathered, the disaster of Fang La was not really regarded as a major crisis that could overturn the country. Even in the eyes of Qin Si Yuan, Li Gang, and even Emperor Jinghan Zhou Zhe, they did not truly regard Fang La's rebellion as a doomsday crisis. It was just that his occupation of Hangzhou had already interfered with the most prosperous area of the country, and the interests of many wealthy gentry were damaged, so Tong Guan had to be ordered to quell this disaster first. Of course, the time it took later was actually a bit long.

The biggest trouble and opportunity, of course, were still in the Liao Kingdom. In the eyes of many people, the opportunity was actually greater than the trouble. Just about to head north and advance, Tong Guan went south instead. The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were like a piece of fat placed in front of them, but they couldn't eat it because of a small obstacle in their throat. This was such an anxious matter. At this time, people could not yet see the bad things that might be caused by not being able to eat this piece of fat. At most, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun could not be recovered, and their own country would not suffer too much loss. Many people inevitably thought this way in the face of the obstacles they encountered at this time.

Only a small number of people faintly felt a scalp tingling from this. Li Gang was naturally one of them, but even Qin Si Yuan, although he had thought about the hidden dangers that might be brought about by this unsuccessful campaign, he did not regard it as a completely formal crisis. After all, the future was too far away, invisible and intangible.

This Northern Expedition was unable to unfold because it was constrained. Li Gang's anxiety, Qin Si Yuan's anxiety, the emperor's anxiety, and the anxiety of hundreds of officials were all mixed together. In such a situation, being able to break a bloody path through the web of interests and promote the progress of the Northern Expedition, Qin Si Yuan and others were truly extremely powerful. Unfortunately, they did not expect that in this complex situation, the country itself would be so weak.

More than 100,000 people fought against more than 10,000 troops of the Liao Kingdom and were defeated. Wang Bing and Yang Keshi had also realized that something was wrong. They regrouped the defeated soldiers and reorganized their ranks. However, after that, they suffered repeated defeats. The soldiers had lost their courage and feared the Liao people like tigers. With a little intense fighting, more people fled than stayed, but only some small-scale battles with less than a hundred people occasionally achieved victory and were reported back to Bianjing as good news. However, Qin Si Yuan and others had their own set of intelligence systems. The collapse in the overall situation and the quality of the military's morale stunned Qin Si Yuan and others.

It was like a boxer who insisted on his dream, worked hard, overcame all difficulties, and stepped onto the ring. He confidently threw his first punch, only to find that the power of his punch was not even as strong as that of a five-year-old child. How could he compete for anything in this way? It all became empty talk.

Of course, everyone knew that there was not much difference between people. The victories in small-scale battles with less than a hundred people could show this point. There were still people with courage. However, when the scope expanded to the entire Northern Expedition army, once a problem occurred in one place, fear would snowball and become larger and larger. Everyone was thinking, "Anyway, we can't win. Even if I try my best, everyone else won't, so it's a death anyway." The entire army was swept away and collapsed.

What kind of atmosphere produces what kind of people. While Qin Si Yuan was almost in vain trying to quell the various intrigues in the Northern Expedition army, he actually chose another path. At this moment, the envoys going north and some of the people who had been arranged were constantly contacting Guo Yaoshi, the commander of the "resentment army" within the Liao Kingdom, trying to recruit him. Guo Yaoshi was originally a Han Chinese. Originally, seeing the changes in the Liao Kingdom's situation, he had the idea of returning to his homeland, but Wang Bing and Yang Keshi's defeats temporarily prolonged his consideration time.

Although it was later proved that every move Qin Si Yuan made was a ruthless chess move, it was a pity that the surrounding resistance was really too great. Although theoretically speaking, a good chess player can consider everything around him, this kind of resistance is already very difficult to calculate. Whether it was Li Gang, Qin Si Yuan, or the famous ministers and veteran officials in the court, after studying Confucianism for decades, they could only be trapped in this huge spider web formed by the foundation of Confucianism. Sometimes, their efforts only became mutual resistance. Each of these chess pieces was placed at the appropriate time with a forward-looking vision, but when they arrived, they were completely lagging behind…

In addition to expecting Wang Bing and Yang Keshi's great victory and expecting people like Guo Yaoshi to surrender, the only thing they could expect was the breaking of the ice in the southern battle situation. It was also in this delay that something began to ferment in the north without anyone noticing.

At the beginning of the war, the Jurchens actually quite admired the Han Chinese.

Although they had been raising troops all the way and had already beaten the Great Liao Kingdom like a dog, after all, the Jurchen tribe was still a bumpkin who had just come out of the Changbai Mountains and the Heilong River. Before that, they didn't even have their own writing. Under the consistent oppression of the Khitans, they occasionally heard some news from the south and saw various treasures and objects from the south. They really had an imagination of the Han Chinese country in the south as a ****-like country.

Literati like Wanyan Xiyin, who were in important positions, were all influenced by Han Chinese culture. After all, at this time, in terms of civilization and enlightenment, the Wu Dynasty was still the strongest. Two years earlier, Wanyan Xiyin had created the Jurchen script based on Han Chinese and Khitan characters. At the beginning of the war, they did not have enough troops. To make the move of using 20,000 against 800,000, they actually quite respected their ally in the south. However, they raised troops in the first half of the year, but there was no movement in the south at all. By winter, the Wu Dynasty's Northern Expedition army finally had its first battle. More than 100,000 people lost to 10,000 people. Then, everything really took a sharp turn for the worse.

The Jin Kingdom had fought for nearly a year and captured nearly half of the Liao Kingdom's territory. There were more people, and their horizons were also broadened, but seeing the movements of the Wu Dynasty, people were still dumbfounded. Of course, the Jurchen people had limited personnel. It was impossible for them to think at this time that they could take down the Wu Dynasty as well. Their enemy at the moment was still the Liao Kingdom. It might be good enough to finish fighting the Liao Kingdom, but some feelings finally began to sprout and brew at this time…

The Wu Dynasty in the south probably cannot be considered a ****-like country…

Just a bunch of trash.

Tong Guan captured Hangzhou in February of the following year.

At this time, it was already the spring of the tenth year of Jinghan in the Wu Dynasty. The army officially began to attack the city on the eighth day of the second month. On the sixteenth day of the second month, Leng Gong, one of the guarding generals of the north gate, died from a stray arrow and was replaced by a deputy general named Dong Fangyue. What the Fang La army did not know was that Dong Fangyue had been arranged in this position for nearly half a year by a traitor organization led by Wen Renbuer and others within the city. When Bao Daoyi was surrounded in November, Fang La and others were extremely concerned about the transfer of internal power. Dong Fangyue was only pushed to this "potentially superior" position, and it had already taken Wen Renbuer a great deal of effort. Ning Yi's few consultations were also involved in the middle. At this time, this chess piece finally played its role.

On the seventeenth day of the second month, Dong Fangyue opened the north gate of Hangzhou, and Tong Guan's imperial army poured in like a tide. Although there had been several previous situations where the city wall was breached and foreign troops entered, this time there was no room for luck. Fang Qifo's direct elite launched street battles with them in the city, while Fang La and others led their troops out of the city in a chaotic manner. But at this time, Tong Guan's 150,000 imperial troops had formed an encirclement. After a desperate bloody battle, the remnants of the Yongle Dynasty collapsed from the west and south.

Although Fang La claimed the title of emperor and established the country because of Hangzhou, the scope of this uprising was originally very large. After Hangzhou was besieged, the territory outside would be somewhat compressed, but on the one hand, Shi Sheng, Lu Xinger, and Lu Shirang were still participating in the resistance in these places. On the other hand, Tong Guan did not have time to pay attention to those trivial matters. After rushing out of the city, Fang La still had a certain amount of room to maneuver. But Tong Guan would naturally not let him go. He wanted to head north immediately, so the first thing he had to do was to completely defeat Fang La. After Hangzhou fell, he immediately led his troops to pursue him closely, biting him all the way.

Fang La's foundation was still in the Qingxi County area. It was about two hundred miles from Hangzhou to Qingxi. More than 10,000 corpses were laid along the way, and then the imperial soldiers who came from all directions confronted the remnants of Fang La again.

Under such circumstances, on February 24th, Qingming Festival, a defeated team led by the Badao Camp was crossing the mountains ahead in a place hundreds of miles northwest of Qingxi.

When the city was breached, the Badao Camp, which left the city from the south, was originally a rearguard team. They did complete their mission, delaying a large number of pursuers, allowing many remnants of the Yongle Dynasty to escape. However, when the war slightly subsided and they wanted to catch up with Fang La's main force to the west, that direction was already the most severely pursued by Tong Guan. If the Badao Camp chased after them, they would directly face the tail of the imperial army's formation.

At this time, there were many troops chasing and killing the Yongle remnants everywhere. When the Badao Camp rushed out of the city, they were even in a state of dragging their families and carrying their children. At this time, going to Qingxi was tantamount to seeking death. They detoured a bit, turning northwest near Hangzhou, roughly forming an "8" shape with Fang La's escape route. It would be best if they could circle back to Qingxi from the rear. If not, they could only consider other options. Of course, at present, most people are still considering the former.

"They're doomed if they go back to Qingxi…"

Riding on the horse, Ning Yi looked at the distant sunset and sighed. He was speaking to Lu Hongti on a horse next to him.

It drizzles during the Qingming Festival. The spring rain that had been falling since yesterday stopped this afternoon. Spring rain is like this. Although it is not heavy, it is cold and sticky. If you get rained on for a long time, the coldness seems to seep into your bones. Although the sun is out at this time, the ground is still muddy, and the team next to them is walking forward with one foot deep and the other shallow.

It's another escape.

Su Tan'er and others did not follow this fleeing team. She was already eight months pregnant. During the period when the city was breached, at least in the eyes of the people in the Badao Camp, Ning Yi spent a lot of effort to find relationships, make arrangements, and send away his wife and family, so that they could stay in the city. In that chaotic situation, Ning Yi might not have been able to escape, but in the end, he still came along with the Badao Camp. In a sense, this should be a move that made Liu Xigua, Chen Fan, and others feel quite warm.

Only Lu Hongti still dressed like a thirty-year-old woman and followed.

"Then what can they do?" For Lu Hongti, the long escape and trek did not pose any problems. She glanced at Ning Yi and said.

"Besides continuing to become bandits, what else can they do…" Ning Yi smiled, "Fang La is finished."

In this rebellion following Fang La, the Badao Camp paid a huge price. At the time of the uprising, there were probably more than 3,000 or even 4,000 usable elite soldiers in the Badao Camp, many of whom were lone individuals such as disciples and retainers. With their families, there were more than 10,000 people. After the Battle of Jiaxing, only 1,500 people were left who could serve as soldiers. By the time of the city's breach and acting as the rearguard, only 800 people were left who could fight, while there were more than 2,000 relatives who needed protection, plus the relatives and remnants of the rest of the Yongle Dynasty. This fleeing team was probably around 5,000 people.

Of course, compared to other uprising forces that were completely wiped out, this was already a very good state. When the country was established in Hangzhou, not all of the family members who were really on the Badao Manor's side had come over. Now that Hangzhou City was breached, that side should have already begun to transfer according to the previous plan. Fortunately, in a short period of time, many surrounding areas were still controlled by the remnants of Fang La. With most of the firepower being attracted by Fang La, the Badao Camp still had the last capital and opportunity to maneuver.

Chen Fan rode over from behind, along with Qian Luoning of the Feather Blade: "Liheng." The two greeted Ning Yi, and Ning Yi smiled: "How is it behind?"

"There's no movement. It looks like they don't dare to fight either. They're just following like that. Let's go tell your wife, the manor lord."

Even in a state of defeat, Chen Fan still maintained a fairly optimistic and cheerful state. In the team not far ahead, Liu Xigua was checking on an injured person on a stretcher. She was wearing a veil, and her tight-fitting clothes were already covered in dust, but her big eyes were very bright. Sometimes she would laugh, but mostly she maintained a cold and arrogant powerful aura. As the manor lord of the Badao Manor, this girl, who would overthink and become obsessed during fake weddings, was constantly encouraging the people around her in a mature manner, making people feel that "I am here". Although Ning Yi also knew that she had been injured and was very tired along the way.

Ning Yi and Chen Fan and others rode over.

After Hangzhou City was breached, although the main force of Tong Guan's army rushed to Qingxi County, many other troops were scattered around, chasing and killing the remnants of Fang La. However, due to the Badao Camp's bravery and ferocity, apart from the initial battle under the city, not many troops dared to really fight the Badao Camp on the way of escape. An army had quietly followed for the past two days, but it seemed that they did not dare to attack, but only followed timidly. Chen Fan and Qian Luoning, the youngest of the "Killing for Life," had just gone to inquire about the situation.

"There are about 1,200 people, not the imperial army from Tokyo. They should know our reputation and may not dare to attack, but we're afraid of being surrounded. Should we attack first, drive them away, and then leave quickly?"

"There's no need to attack. Don't get bloodshot eyes. There aren't many imperial troops in this area. This time, everyone is trying to get credit. They certainly don't want to be left behind, but they can't risk their lives either. They'll probably follow for a while and then leave. If the fighting is too fierce and attracts the imperial troops around to chase, we'll really be in trouble."

The speaker was a strategist named Lü Jiang. He was originally one of Fang La's orthodox strategists, but he was swept into the Badao Camp when the city was breached. He still had some ability. After hearing him speak, Xigua also nodded, flipped over and mounted her horse, and stood side by side with Ning Yi: "Military Advisor Lü is right. Don't attack for the time being. After passing two more mountains, it will be Lin Kunwu's territory. Although Lin Kunwu only has a few hundred people, he is still with us now, and the troops behind us should not dare to follow."

Since there was no need to fight, everyone joked a few words, and also expressed their aura that their own eight hundred people were completely slaughtering the thousand two hundred people behind them, and that they would let them all die if they dared to come. Qian Luoning said: "Actually, our Badao Camp is quite famous. What we're afraid of is that the imperial court really orders us to be chased and killed by name. Manor Lord, I think we should try to move faster these days."

"With so many people following, we can't move fast."

"Let them come…" Chen Fan also laughed, "Or we could change our name to… the Dabiao Alliance, hang up a new banner, and they won't recognize us, haha." He was obviously teasing, and then leaned over and whispered to Ning Yi: "Xigua Alliance is also good…"

Liu Xigua's eyes had already begun to flash with dangerous light. Ning Yi smiled and quickly smoothed things over: "Actually, I think Eight Hundred Tigers is a good name."

When he said this, Qian Luoning next to him thought for a moment and said, "This name is not bad."

Liu Xigua glared at Ning Yi unhappily: "No change."

Although her tone towards Ning Yi sounded cold, her attitude was obviously different.

Since the three months since the wedding, there has been a lot of progress in the relationship between the two people. Of course, to say that it is the kind of progress between lovers is not right. Apart from the embarrassing incident of becoming obsessed on the first night of the wedding, Liu Xigua was quite measured in other aspects. During the time when Su Tan'er was in the Badao Camp, she would often go over to see her and talk to her, but not as a family member.

In many things, Liu Xigua was a very open-minded woman. Occasionally, she would make some embarrassing mistakes in small matters, but usually she would discuss with Ning Yi various issues of managing the Badao Camp, and sometimes even let Su Tan'er get involved. They would argue endlessly in the room of the small courtyard where Ning Yi lived at night, and Ning Yi could be considered to have relived the process of corporate structure or restructuring. By the time the city was breached, Ning Yi was interfering in half of the internal operations of the Badao Camp, and the relationship between the two people became more and more like comrades fighting for a common ideal. Of course, whether there was any extra ambiguity during this period, only the two of them knew in their hearts.

When the city was breached and Su Tan'er had to be arranged first, Su Tan'er mentioned to Ning Yi: "That Miss Liu is actually a very lonely girl. You… try not to hurt her…"

On the other hand, looking at the state of Ning Yi and Liu Xigua at this time, Lü Jiang's gaze seemed a little displeased. He was actually in his early thirties, handsome, and often offered advice to Liu Xigua after traveling with the Badao Camp. Liu Xigua also agreed with some of his words. After everyone joked for a while, he put on a smile and said, "I heard that Young Master Ning used to be a famous talent. I wonder if you have any new works recently?"

"Now?" Ning Yi frowned. The others also frowned slightly. At the moment, they were escaping in a winding and embarrassing manner. Everyone's happiness was just bittersweet. Where did they have the time to talk about these romantic things? In fact, Lü Jiang's understanding of Ning Yi was also insufficient, probably to make everyone feel that Ning Yi was actually a useless scholar. Ning Yi sighed: "If it's the situation now, I actually have a sentence."

Liu Xigua turned her head to look at him, her eyes curious: "What is it? Say it."

"雄关漫道真如铁，而今迈步从头越。从头越，苍山如海……残阳如血。"
(Xióng guān màn dào zhēn rú tiě, ér jīn mài bù cóng tóu yuè. Cóng tóu yuè, cāng shān rú hǎi… cán yáng rú xuè.)
"The majestic pass is like iron, but now we step forward again. Step forward again, the green mountains are like the sea… the setting sun is like blood."

Ning Yi just happened to think of this sentence, and he didn't add any extra emotion when he recited it, but the momentum of this sentence, in front of people who could understand it, was almost impossible to suppress. Perhaps it was Lü Jiang who couldn't help but mutter "The majestic pass is like iron" twice. A staff officer from the Badao Camp went over and said: "The majestic pass is like iron, but now we step forward again. Master Ning's words are really, really…"

A crowd of people spread through the mountains, and the sunset shone over from that side. This staff officer said "really" a few times, but couldn't find an adjective. Clearly, it was a group of people fleeing, but at this time, it seemed to be dyed with a magnificent blood red.

Chen Fan and others were already clamoring to write down the words. Lü Jiang said, "There's only one paragraph, is there more?" Ning Yi just shook his head and ignored him.

Everyone was unmoved by Lü Jiang's little thoughts. After a while, everyone parted ways, and when Ning Yi ran to the top of the mountain, Chen Fan was sitting on the grass here, looking at the crowd below. The wind was strong and cold, but only the sunset was directly in front, projecting a magnificent and warm illusion. Ning Yi got off his horse, the grass was full of water stains, Chen Fan plucked a blade of grass and stood up, looking ahead.

"The majestic pass… step forward again… Liheng, when we raised troops, the sun was like this, I thought that was the beginning, but do we still have to step forward again…" He clenched his fists and stood there, looking up and then down, closing his eyes, "Liheng, why did we lose…"

The murmuring whispers disappeared into the wind in an instant.

Ning Yi didn't speak.

He remembered the day the city was breached. Chen Fan went out to kill the enemy, and when he saw him again, it was in the midst of a sea of fire. He was carrying a Guan Dao, riding his horse slowly like a demon god. Both the man and the horse were covered in blood, the Guan Dao was rolled up at the edge of the blade, and he had already killed until he was exhausted. When he came over, only the pair of eyes on his blood-red face still seemed agile and clear. Ning Yi didn't know if he had cried.

"Liheng, why did we lose…"

After he finished saying this, he fell off his warhorse and fainted.

In the past few days, through that cheerful illusion, all that Ning Yi could see was this powerful but weak figure like a demon god.

He didn't speak and reached out and patted Chen Fan on the shoulder.

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The sun set, and the moon gradually rose, and the fleeing team set up camp and lit fires, one tent after another.

At a certain moment, Lü Jiang stopped Liu Xigua, who was patrolling around, and said something. After a moment, the two entered the tent next to them, and Lü Jiang took out a small notebook and explained the stakes to the girl. Suddenly, the girl reached out and directly clamped the other party's neck. Lü Jiang struggled desperately, but it was useless at all. After a long time, until he was about to suffocate to death, the girl released her hand.

In the tent, Lü Jiang fell to the ground and gasped desperately: "What I said… is true… what I said is true…"

He said repeatedly, handing over the small notebook. Liu Xigua took it and looked at a few pages.

Lü Jiang's voice trembled, and he struggled to climb up: "The events of the day the city was breached… the process of Dong Fangyue's promotion. I've been investigating, I've been investigating… I asked the people in the team… some people knew… Before Bao Daoyi died, his position was transferred, and Ning Liheng participated in it once. That's because your Badao Camp's timber business had some relationship with Leng Gong, and it was operated very cleverly… Later, because of Bao Daoyi's death, Dong Fangyue was further promoted to a position where he could replace Leng Gong. I've checked everything. If it wasn't for Ning Liheng killing Bao Daoyi…"

With a bang, Liu Xigua slapped the table next to her, and the entire notebook turned into powder: "Randomly slandering, Liheng killing Bao Daoyi was all an accident. Aren't the spies in the city taking advantage of our power to do things? You have to blame people for a relationship that goes around eighteen corners. Do you know that Ning Liheng is my husband! A villain like you in my Badao Camp will be punished with three cuts and six holes, with no discussion!"

With a swish, she drew a steel knife from her backhand and had already grabbed the other party's collar. Lü Jiang shouted: "He sent away his wife, he sent away his wife, why did he send away his wife at this time…"

"Because his wife is eight months pregnant!"

After Liu Xigua finished speaking, she was about to chop down with the knife. Lü Jiang took out something from his arms: "I have evidence, I have conclusive evidence, I have conclusive evidence…"

The blade slowly stopped on his neck. Lü Jiang was probably didn't expect the woman in front of him to be so ruthless and straightforward, his teeth were chattering, and there was a burst of warmth in his crotch: "I have conclusive evidence… I dared to take it out because you believed it a little…"

On the silhouette in the tent, Lü Jiang staggered back and fell to the ground. The woman, who seemed somewhat thin, stood there, looking down at those things, quietly, quietly silent for a long time, and then slowly put down the knife…

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

Ning Yi's tent was set up a little west of the camp today. A girl named Xigua walked over with a somewhat wooden expression. When she reached out to lift the curtain of the tent, she paused slightly, but then still lifted the curtain and went in.

The tent was not very big, but not too small. Ning Yi had hastily set up a table inside with a few planks, and there were also a few benches that were probably taken down from other people's carts. During these few days of escape, Xigua would come over almost every night to discuss future plans with Ning Yi, and sometimes she would go out to patrol the camp while discussing, but today Ning Yi was writing something in a notebook, writing with his head down and quite focused. When Xigua came in, he just said: "Sit."

Xigua sat down there, watching him write. After about a quarter of an hour, Ning Yi raised his head slightly, rotated his wrist a few times to relax: "There's a little bit more left, you wait a minute, or I'll go find you later?"

Liu Xigua looked at him: "I'll wait."

Ning Yi nodded and continued to write. After a while, Xigua hesitated to speak, but finally took out a small bag from her arms, looked at a small stove next to her, stood up, rummaged through Ning Yi's package, and pulled out a small pot.

"I, I have some tea leaves, let me make you a cup of tea."

Her pronunciation trembled slightly, slowly, she said so…
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