Early morning, the wind and snow gradually subsided. Search: \(、Complete、Book、God、Site、) to read high-quality literature for free.

In the original ruins of the small town, a bonfire was burning. The sound of horses and people temporarily brought the breath of life back to this place.

Soldiers were using iron pots or washed helmets to cook porridge over the bonfire. Some were toasting cold, hard buns over the flames, or even luxurious strips of meat. Soldiers with minor injuries were still chatting and laughing by the fire. On one side of the camp, the rescued, ragged prisoners huddled together in small groups.

"Here, a blanket, take it..."

Ning Yi walked among them, handing out the few warm blankets he could find with the others. Having spent several months in the Jurchen camp, most of these people were injured and had suffered various forms of abuse. In terms of appearance—they were perhaps even more wretched than the most miserable beggars in later generations' films and television dramas, making them unbearable to look at. Occasionally, there were a few slightly cleaner ones, mostly women, some even wearing colorful clothes, but their expressions were mostly timid and dull. In the Jurchen camp, one could imagine the treatment women who were slightly dolled up would receive.

In fact, all the women among them had probably suffered such treatment, but some had been treated that way for a little longer, resulting in a wretched appearance that left one without any desire. Those who were left to fend for themselves were mostly those the Jurchens were too lazy to kill.

When some of them saw Ning Yi handing things over, they instinctively shrank back—they (or she) might still remember Ning Yi's actions in the Jurchen camp not long ago, driving everyone to escape regardless of their wishes, which led to a large number of deaths later on.

In that chaos, when the Jurchens attacked, some of the prisoners who had been locked up for a long time instinctively knelt down to surrender. Ning Yi and others hid among them and attacked the Jurchens. Those who were truly slaughtered were naturally these released prisoners. Relatively speaking, they were more like human shields, covering the more than one hundred people who entered the camp to burn the grain and attack the Jurchens. As a result, many people still had lingering fears about the ruthlessness of Ning Yi and others.

But of course, apart from a few seriously injured who were gradually dying in the cold weather, escaping was still a good thing. Even those who had lingering fears would not accuse Ning Yi at this time, and Ning Yi, of course, would not defend himself.

Soon after, people began to bring thin porridge and toasted bun slices. Since there were not enough bowls, people had to make do with washed broken tiles and porcelain pieces to drink the porridge.

With these things to warm their stomachs, the ruins of the small town became a little more peaceful under the light of the bonfire.

A small number of people were still setting up chevaux de frise on the edge of the town, slightly constructing defensive fortifications according to the terrain—although they had just won a victory and a large number of high-quality scouts were active in the surrounding area, constantly monitoring the movements of the Jurchens, the possibility of a surprise attack by the enemy still had to be guarded against.

"...At that time, I fell off my horse, and I was really a little flustered, but even if those Jin dogs rushed over, I had armor on. One stab, bang, didn't go in...Damn it, I went to kill him, and he dared to resist..."

In the snowy ground behind the chevaux de frise, the voices of a dozen figures digging pits could be heard.

The soldiers in the camp were mostly in the same situation, talking about the battle. The voices were not loud, but at this time, the entire camp was filled with a confident atmosphere, making people feel at ease.

Ning Yi, Hong Ti, Qin Shaoqian, and others were also among them, asking about the arrangements for various matters. There were also many trivial matters that others wanted to ask them about. At this time, the sky was still dark. When all the arrangements were almost done, someone brought some wine. Although it had not yet been distributed, the atmosphere became even more lively as the aroma of the wine filled the air. Ning Yi's voice rang out in front of the camp: "I have a few words to say."

The darkest hour before dawn was also the quietest. The wind and snow had stopped. After Ning Yi's voice rang out, thousands of people quickly quieted down, consciously looking at the figure who walked onto a small pile of gravel in the center of the ruins.

Ning Yi's face, however, was smiling.

"Are you excited? I'm also very excited. When we set off, I wasn't sure whether we were going to die or whether we could really do something. But we really did it. That army is said to be invincible with ten thousand men, the strongest in the world. In the months they were in Bianliang, they defeated more than 300,000 of our people. Today! We launched our first official attack and gave them a lesson! We defeated 10,000 of them! We burned their grain in front of them! We slapped them hard, something no one else could do!" Ning Yi raised his hand with a smile, "I told myself in my heart, we are invincible."

The crowd laughed.

"So after calming down a bit, I'm also very happy. The news has been sent to the village, to Bianliang, and they will definitely be even happier. Hundreds of thousands of people will be happy for us. Someone just asked me if I wanted to celebrate. Indeed, I prepared wine, and it's all..."

"...good wine, enough for you to drink. But these two barrels of wine were brought here, not for you to celebrate."

Ning Yi's face became slightly serious. He paused, and the soldiers below subconsciously straightened up. Most of these people were from Mount Lüliang and Dragon Head Stronghold. Ning Yi's prestige was beyond doubt. When he spoke seriously, no one dared to be negligent or disobey.

"We are facing the invincible Jurchens, with 50,000 attacking Bianliang, and more than 30,000 under Guo Yaoshi, who are also the strongest soldiers in the world, and are settling accounts with Zhong Shizhong of the Western Army. Today, if the more than 10,000 Jurchens in Moutuo Ridge didn't have to protect their grain first and fought recklessly, we would not have been able to retreat completely. Compared to the quality of other armies, you will feel that this is very powerful and worthy of praise, but if it is only like this, you will all die here—"

"Are you strong enough? Not enough! Are your achievements glorious enough? Not enough! This is just a small warm-up battle. Compared to what you will face next, it is nothing. Today we burned their grain and slapped them in the face. Tomorrow they will counterattack more fiercely. Look at the sky around you. In those places you can't see, packs of wounded wolves are waiting to skin you and tear you apart!"

Ning Yi spread out his hands: "What's in front of you is the stage where only the strongest in the world can stand. Life-and-death confrontation! You die, I live! Use any means necessary! As long as you can become a little stronger, you will definitely not be as good as others, because your enemies are the same, the most ruthless and powerful people in this world! Their only purpose is to take your life, no matter what it takes! With their hands, with their feet, with their swords and guns, with their teeth, to bite you to death!"

"What is strength? When you are seriously injured, as long as you have a little strength left, you must grit your teeth and stand up and continue to work. If you can get through it, you will become a little stronger. When you win a battle, you must not have the slightest slackness in your mind. You must not leave any weaknesses for your enemies. You have no weaknesses at any time, and you will become a little stronger! When you are tired, your body must hold on, more able to endure than them. When you are in pain, your teeth must be clenched, more able to endure than them! You must use all your potential, and you are the most powerful person, because in this world, you must know that what you can do, someone in your enemy's ranks can also do!"

"In the past... someone who worked with me said that I was not easy to get along with, because I was too strict and too demanding of myself. I didn't even use the standards I used to require myself to require them. But... when will this world be defined by the weak! When will the weak dare to complain about the strong with justification! I can understand everyone's shortcomings, greed for pleasure, laziness, and petty calculations. I also like that in a peaceful world. But in front of us, we don't have that room. If anyone doesn't understand, go look at the people we rescued today... our compatriots."

"I don't want to open old wounds, but this is the future of the defeated! There is no reason to be said! If you lose, your parents, wives, and children will encounter such things, be treated like dogs, be treated like prostitutes, your children will be thrown into the fire. You scold them, you cry, you say they are not human, it is useless! There is no reason to be said! The only thing you can do is to make yourself stronger, and stronger! Don't say the Jurchens have 50,000 or 100,000, even if there are a million or ten million, defeating them is the only way out! Otherwise, it will be the same fate! When you forget that you will have a fate, look at them..."

"And they will say that I open old wounds and have no humanity, they are crying..." Ning Yi pointed towards the more than one thousand people who were rescued, and many people were crying there, "But here, I don't want to show my humanity. I just want to tell you what you are facing. That's right! Many of you have been treated in the most severe way! You are wronged, you want to cry, you want someone to comfort you! I know all of this clearly, but I won't give you these things! I tell you that you have been beaten, scolded, slashed with knives, burned, and raped! Things will not end like this. If we lose, you will experience it again, and the Jurchens will do the same things to you, only worse! Is it useful to cry? After we leave, do you know what happened to the other survivors? Shuliesu burned all the others who dared not resist, or who ran late, alive!"

"Many of you are women, even children. Some people's hands are broken, some people's bones are broken, and they still haven't healed. You are tired and hungry, and even find it difficult to stand up and walk. You have encountered so many things, and some people must feel like they want to die when I say this now. It would be good to die. But there is no way, there is no reason. If you don't die, what is the only thing you can do? It is to pick up a knife, open your mouth, use your knife to chop, use your mouth to bite, and eat those Jurchens for me! Here, even the words 'I tried my best' should be taken back, it is meaningless! Because there are only two futures! Either die! Or your enemies die—"

Ning Yi's voice paused slightly, and the echo reverberated in the dark sky.

"But I tell you, the Jurchens are not that powerful. You can defeat them today. What you do is very simple, just defeat them every time. Don't compare yourselves to the weak, don't say you tried your best, don't say how powerful is enough. What you are facing next is hell. Here, any weak ideas will not be accepted! Today someone said that we burned the Jurchens' grain, and the Jurchens' attack on the city will be more fierce, but if they are more fierce, won't we burn it!?"

"We burned their grain, and they attacked the city more desperately. That city can only be defended, they can only defend, there is no reason to be said! What you are facing is one hundred obstacles. If you can't get past one, you die! Victory is such a harsh thing! But since we have already had the first victory, we have already tried their quality. The Jurchens are not some invincible monsters. Since they are not monsters, we can train ourselves into monsters they can't imagine!"

"A lot of their grain was burned, maybe they are crying now." Ning Yi pointed casually and said a witty remark. If it were normal, people would probably laugh, but at this time, everyone was looking at him, not laughing. "Even if they don't cry, it is human nature to be frustrated by failure. Celebrating because of victory also seems to be human nature. To be honest with you, I have a lot of money. One day in the future, you can celebrate however you want, the best women, the best wine and meat, everything is available, but I believe that when you are qualified to enjoy these things, the death of the enemy is the best gift you can get, like a saying goes, at that time, you can drink from their skulls! Of course, I won't allow you to do that, it's too disgusting..."

"There is no celebration today." Ning Yi said, "Each person is only allowed one cup of wine, in order to warm your bodies and rest well. But your vigilance must not be relaxed for a moment! When you wake up, you must be stronger than you are now! You can only be stronger than you are now! Then, make your enemies tremble and let them die. And you live."

"...I'm done." Ning Yi said.

The camp was solemn and quiet. Someone stood up, almost all the soldiers stood up, their eyes burning red, whether it was because they were moved or incited.

"Yes—" A soldier from Mount Lüliang shouted, his forehead bulging with veins. The same voice rang out like a tidal wave in the next moment. The voice was like answering Ning Yi's training, but it was more like a surge of anger that had been held back in everyone's hearts. Centering on this small town, it instantly resounded throughout the mountains and snow-covered peaks, a pressure more condensed than killing intent. On the trees, accumulated snow rustled down, and unknown scouts reined in their horses in the darkness, circling in confusion and panic, not knowing what was happening there.

Ning Yi walked out of the crowd, Zhu Biao, Tian Donghan, Chen Tuozi, and others followed him. Everyone's heart might be uneasy this night, but what this surge brought was not agitation, but an indescribable strength and solemnity. Ning Yi went to the tidied-up small room. Soon after, Hong Ti also came. He hugged her and fell into a deep sleep in the blanket spread on the ground.

Except for those responsible for patrolling and guarding, the others also fell into a deep sleep. And in the east, the sky was about to turn pale.

When they woke up, they would become stronger people.

In the capital, the first round of propaganda has already been released under Qin Si Yuan's instruction. Many insiders already know about the battle at Moutuo Ridge last night, and some people are still confirming the news through their own channels.

In the Ministry of War's hall, Qin Si Yuan, who had been busy all night, tidied up his things slightly and prepared to rest. Li Gang, who had come over to chat with him for a while, was also full of exhaustion.

"After dawn, it will only be more difficult." Qin Si Yuan cupped his hands. "Prime Minister Li, please rest well."

"Yes, that's right, I also have to... sleep for an hour or two. I need to rest well to deal with the Jin dogs."

The old man said, and laughed again. Since receiving this news, he had been overjoyed, and his steps were much faster than usual. Rooms for temporary rest had been prepared for them behind the Ministry of War. The two went to the rooms, and servants naturally served them. Qin Si Yuan fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed. Li Gang lit a candle, opened the window, and looked at the dark sky outside. He smiled again, and tears unconsciously rolled down from his wrinkled eyes.

Li Gang was violent, loyal, and upright in nature. He had been in the position of prime minister for many years and had not tasted tears. His ability was debated from different angles, however, his patriotic heart was fervent and incomparable. In recent years, he has promoted various things, but has been constrained by various forces and chaos in the imperial court. The military affairs were rotten. He wanted to revitalize the matter, but how much could he do? This time, the Jurchens attacked the city, and he organized a resolute defense. He was even prepared to die here, but the Jurchens' strength was like Mount Tai, crushing down. His death was not a pity, but he had never seen hope.

Only at this moment, he suddenly felt that in the pressure of the past few days and the thick darkness accumulated by a large number of lives, deaths, and blood, he could finally see a little light and hope.

He took a breath, walked back and forth in the room twice, and then quickly went to bed to let himself sleep.

He had to rest quickly. If he couldn't rest well, how could he die generously...

In the Jurchen camp, a bonfire was burning. Zong Wang stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the huge city in front of him.

Liu Yanzong followed behind, also looking at the city.

With the war developing to such a point, the camp was actually attacked last night, which was really an unexpected thing. However, for these Jurchen generals who had experienced hundreds of battles, it was not a big deal.

"...Yanzong, if we can't completely break this city, what face will we have to go back."

——In a sense, it only deepened Zong Wang's determination to break the city.

Liu Yanzong's eyes were indifferent, and he had the same idea in his heart.

Before coming, they thought the Wu Dynasty would have some background, and they were quite cautious. Later, after defeating the Wu Dynasty's army, they felt that they were just a bunch of rabbits, with no combat power at all. Now, they have been scratched by rabbits.

Unlucky...

They had to kill more of these Wu Dynasty talents! Completely... kill them until they dare not resist!

The sound of roosters crowing had already sounded in the warm rooms of the rear courtyard of Fanlou.

Shishi was lying in bed, covered with a quilt, sleeping soundly. Under the quilt, her fair, slender feet and ankles tied with red ribbons were exposed.

When she opened her eyes, she felt the strange agitation outside the room...

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