Tan'er's sudden cry startled everyone in the courtyard. Yunzhu and Jin'er rushed down from the side building, while Xiaochan, still in her confinement, also emerged from the next room with Xing'er. Ning Xi ran clumsily towards them, tripping in the yard, then scrambling up, looking bewildered.

"What's wrong..." Yunzhu ran over, picked up Ning Xi, and brushed the dust off him.

"Go to the battlefield..."

"Don't cause trouble, go back! Xiaochan, I told you not to get out of bed..."

Amidst Ning Yi's shouts, the newborn child inside the room began to cry loudly. More commotion erupted outside, as Su Wending and others ran to the courtyard entrance, looking towards them. Tan'er was pinned against the door by Ning Yi, only able to say, "Xiang Gong is going north, he's going to the battlefield." Hearing this, the color drained from Yunzhu and the others' faces. Only Jin'er hesitated before saying, "This time... can you not go..." She knew she was only a concubine, and with Tan'er present, she didn't dare to say much, but stared intently at Ning Yi.

"I'm just going to handle some matters, not to the battlefield..."

As Ning Yi tried to explain, a voice came from the courtyard gate: "Second Sister, I'm going too. We're doing this for the country and the people, you shouldn't stop Brother-in-law." It was Su Wenfang who spoke. Before he could finish, Su Tan'er snapped her head around: "Shut up, you're going to have a child at home too, your wife is three months pregnant!"

Su Wenfang raised his head: "There's a greater good and a lesser good. A man protecting his home and country is his duty, it's a good thing I'm going north with Brother-in-law!" He would never have dared to speak to Su Tan'er like that in the past.

Ning Yi waved his hand and shouted: "Shut up!"

Su Wenfang looked somewhat aggrieved: "Brother-in-law..." Beside him, the woman recently diagnosed with pregnancy tugged at his sleeve, her face alternating between red and white. She looked at Ning Yi, then at her husband Su Wenfang, her gaze complex and silent. After Ning Yi had made a few more explanations in the courtyard, the sound of crying suddenly rose from the courtyard gate, followed by the sobbing voice of Su Wending's wife, "You... are you going too?"

"A man protects his home and country! These things are not for you women to talk about. Give me that sniveling, childish face and put it away, or I'll teach you a lesson..."

Then the crying, as if contagious, spread further.

Ning Yi's eyes twitched wildly, and he suddenly rushed towards the courtyard gate: "All of you shut up! What's going on now! It's just a trip north, why are you crying! Do you want your husbands to die?!"

He held absolute authority in this household, and these harsh words immediately caused the surrounding family members to restrain themselves. Wending and Wenfang proudly raised their heads: "That's right, who said we were going to die, you women..."

"Wending, Wenfang, you shut up too!" Ning Yi pointed at them, "Let them cry! Why can't they cry! Crying for you means they're worried about you, they care about you! Remember that... You think your Second Sister won't punish you!"

Ning Yi's unreasonable scolding was absolutely contradictory and two-faced, but no one dared to say anything. After he finished his tirade, he took a breath, looked around, and his tone became truly serious.

"It's only natural for family members to worry when someone goes out to work, but your Second Sister is overthinking it, it's not that dangerous! Didn't I single-handedly take down Liangshan with just a few dozen people in the past? We're just doing logistics outside the battlefield, we won't actually be fighting. I'm only telling you the truth to put your minds at ease. The Jurchens are strong, but I'm not facing them head-on, what are you afraid of!"

He paused briefly after saying this: "But no matter what we're going to do! The Jurchens have attacked, and we all have to go and meet the enemy! Your husbands, brothers, used to be a bunch of纨绔公子哥 (wankuku gongzige) who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun in Jiangning City! Wenfang is still a bit effeminate... But now they're men! Upright and honorable! You have children, and in the future, you can tell your children who their fathers were, and what they went through! You can be proud, and I will be responsible for bringing them back safely! Then any one of them who branches out can be a pillar of support, holding up a large family!"

"Alright!" Ning Yi raised his hand, "Time is short, we have to leave in the next couple of days. If you want to be together, then be together. If you have something to say, say it properly. If you want to cry for them, then go back and cry properly. Don't make a scene here with a bunch of people, it's just like before, it's not that exaggerated! Go back! I still have my own people to coax here..."

He sighed, turned around, and looked at the few people in the courtyard: "Alright, if you want to cry for me, let's go cry in the room, okay?"

Jin'er wiped her eyes and sniffled: "You won't be in trouble, I won't cry." A smile appeared on her face, but tears were still falling. Ning Yi helplessly walked over, put his arm around her, and then pulled everyone back into the room...

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

North Gate Street, Daixian County. The sounds of battle in the city came from all directions. Wanyan Xiyin rode his warhorse, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

The assassination came suddenly.

The abruptly condensed murderous aura seemed to dim the sky and cut off the sounds. A silent and sharp killing intent, carrying a chilling intent, suddenly shot out from a small, half-collapsed building by the roadside. By the time everyone reacted, it had already burst directly in front of Wanyan Xiyin's warhorse, the sharp edge slicing down from the sky.

Among Wanyan Xiyin's guards, one had already shot an arrow from the rear, while another flung a long spear. However, in that instant, everyone's reaction seemed unable to keep up with the speed of the assassination. The person in the air let out a sharp cry as the sharp edge came down: "Waaaaah—" The shrill and eerie sound was like the cry of a night raven.

Wanyan Xiyin's cloak unfurled in the air with a whoosh. On the afternoon street, the warhorse reared up, and a burst of sunlight seemed to explode in mid-air. Wanyan Xiyin let out a "Ha!" sound, drew his sword, and slashed. The Yuan Wang Golden Sword brought up a golden light, colliding in the air with that chilling, deathly aura.

The attacking assassin was sent flying backward by the slash. It was a short, ugly dwarf, holding a weapon that looked like a knife and a scythe, incredibly sharp. He rolled on the ground several times before just standing up, only for a rain of spears to arrive.

"Ah—"

He cried out, his figure flying backward. An arrow pierced his shoulder, and a long spear followed. He slashed wildly with his knife, only to be forced into a dead corner in the roadside ruins in a moment. Several long spears pierced his body, almost lifting him up entirely. He clutched the scythe in his hand, his eyes looking at Wanyan Xiyin, blood coming from his mouth, still shouting "Ah—", but then, that eerie cry also disappeared.

This dwarf was short and lacked strength, but he had been practicing martial arts all his life, honing the art of assassination to its peak, hoping to kill a great general with a single blow. But once the blow missed, he was dead.

Wanyan Xiyin sat on his horse, looking at the corpse: "He is a Green Forest hero from the Wu Dynasty, with good skills. After the city is captured, hang him on the city gate."

He sheathed his heavy sword, and a guard acknowledged the order and left.

On the third day of the eighth month, in any case, on this afternoon, the knife of the Wu Dynasty's Green Forest hero reached the front of a high-ranking Jin general for the first time. However, the identity of this assassin was not known by many for a time.

Not long after, the South Gate of Daixian County was also completely captured by the Jurchens, and the slaughter of the city began. And all this that happened in the north was just a small prelude to the Jin invasion of the south. Soon after, they swept down, pressing on the ancient city of Xinzhou...

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

Although they subconsciously showed resistance to Ning Yi's trip north, when it really came down to it, there weren't many choices for women besides crying and worrying.

And for Ning Yi, although he had once had the idea of wanting to live in a corner of the world even if the country was destroyed, it had now been overturned. When things really pressed down, he didn't have many choices he could make. In the end, he could only appease the most important members of his family with the greatest patience.

In any case, the ease and peace of the past year had been truly severed by something from the moment Tan'er cried. Looking back at this time, one could suddenly feel the preciousness and happiness that accompanied that ease and leisure.

He hadn't even had time to choose a good name for his child with Xiaochan...

As the sun set, dinner hadn't been served in the mansion yet. Ning Yi and Tan'er walked along the nearby streets. There was a small river near the courtyard that ran through the city. There was a stone bridge over the small river, and there weren't many pedestrians around. The autumn sun shone on the leaves falling into the river. Watching the black-awning boats pass under the stone bridge, Tan'er held his hand. Nearby, there were many guards and servants following.

"I originally... wanted a simpler life." Tan'er smiled, "Like Jiangning, it would be good if we didn't always have to bring so many people when we went out, afraid that others would attack. We could walk leisurely, leisurely see the scenery, Xiang Gong, do you still remember? Near our home in Jiangning, there was also such a bridge. Sometimes when you came back, I would meet you there... The first time I moved here, I saw it and thought in my heart, I would take a walk here at the bridge when the sun goes down, and then see you walking from the other side of the bridge..."

After the affairs of the Bamboo Company and the things on Ning Yi's shoulders grew bigger and bigger, the family had to bring guards and bodyguards when they went out, and they mostly took carriages when they came home. There were almost no opportunities to take walks outside anymore. Ning Yi lowered his head, and Tan'er shook her head.

"I also know what Xiang Gong you want to do, and I support you in everything. But there's only one thing I don't understand. The affairs of the world are done by the people of the world. Why... is there so much urgency in Xiang Gong's heart? Like this time, you could clearly do it while staying in the capital. The efficiency would definitely be worse, but so what if it's a little worse. When I'm at home, in front of Yunzhu and the others, I don't dare to ask you this, but I don't understand..."

Ning Yi squeezed her hand tightly, remained silent for a moment, then sighed and murmured, "I want to see the battlefield..."

"Hmm?" Tan'er turned her head and looked at him.

Ning Yi smiled and looked back, his eyes clear: "Do you know how long Guo Yaoshi resisted before Yanjing City fell?"

Tan'er obviously didn't understand why he said this.

"He resisted for five shichen (a Chinese unit of time, equivalent to two hours), fighting Wanyan Zongwang evenly for five shichen. If there had been no changes, no one stabbing him in the back, he might even have defeated Wanyan Zongwang." Ning Yi continued, "We have someone arranged beside Guo Yaoshi, not to the extent that we can control him or kill him, but we can know the whole picture. Zhang Linghui and Liu Shunren withdrew from the battlefield, wanting to surrender, but Guo Yaoshi really wanted to win. After this defeat, he returned to Yanjing. If he defended the city, he could have defended it for a while, but he immediately surrendered. Do you know what this means?"

"What?" Tan'er asked, but she probably didn't care at all.

"From the time Zhang Jue died, the issue of surrender was no longer important to him. If nothing further happened, he could fight, but because two brothers decided to surrender, and he couldn't change that, he immediately knew that it was meaningless to continue fighting. From... maybe after Zhang Jue died, he clearly knew that he was not optimistic about the Wu Dynasty."

Ning Yi smiled: "Also, as soon as the war started, the one in the palace was preparing to make Guo Yaoshi the Prince of Yan. Can you imagine what this means?"

Tan'er's eyes were doubtful. Ning Yi paused, then continued: "Everyone in the court probably saw it. The one in the palace... was afraid, scared out of his wits. Of course, he might not realize it himself, but he was grasping at straws. Guo Yaoshi hadn't even won, and he was directly making him the Prince of Yan. He said he was buying bones with gold, but what about others? There was no precedent for this, what about the Western Army that had been defending against the Western Xia for generations, how would he explain it to Zhong Shidao and the others. He was afraid, he was putting all the chips he had on the table at once... And after the one in the palace, Tong Guan directly abandoned Taiyuan and returned to the capital. He was preparing to come back when the Yanmen Pass and Yanjing City probably hadn't even fallen yet..."

Tan'er was silent for a moment: "They..."

"The emperor in the palace, the minister in charge of the army, the generals on the front lines..." Ning Yi smiled, "They all don't believe that the Wu Dynasty can win. Heh, at least at this time, they've all become the most competent prophets. Well, they can say that everything is peaceful in their mouths, all kinds of outrageous things, but everyone knows what's going on in their hearts..."

Realizing the meaning revealed in Ning Yi's words, Tan'er didn't know what to say for a moment. Ning Yi held her hand.

"Of course, things aren't as bad as you think. No matter how much a country collapses, it can drag on for a while, but in the smallest probability, they could really kill all the way here, break through the capital, and even destroy the entire Wu Dynasty in a few years or decades. Then, everyone might not be able to escape." He paused, "This possibility, after all, exists."

"All I care about is you, in the end, it's just the people in this family." Ning Yi held her hand, looked into her eyes, and smiled, "There are tens of millions, even billions of people in this world, and I hope they can live well. But to be honest, if things can't be reversed, even if tens of millions of people all die in front of me, I can come back and live a good life. But if the Jin soldiers really break through Bianliang, or break through Jiangning, chasing us to the point where we have nowhere to escape, what do I do when it really falls on you?"

"It's fine if I can't do anything, but I can do something now, how can I completely entrust your safety to such an unreliable group of people?" He bent her fingers one by one, made a fist, and then wrapped it in his palm. The woman's hand wasn't big, and at this time, the figure of his wife in front of him seemed small. He smiled, "So I want to go to the battlefield and see..."

From beginning to end, Ning Yi was someone who firmly believed in human effort and ability. People have things they are good at, and things they are not good at, but if they are willing to put in arduous efforts, the things they are good at can accommodate the things they are not good at. Therefore, he also had to go to the front lines of the battlefield, to see, to hear, and to feel. Only because he didn't want to entrust the things he cherished to the hands of others, people always had to put in their own efforts.

The woman embraced the man's body, and the silhouette of autumn leaves illuminated by the setting sun merged the two figures into one. The thunder of summer had passed, and this was the final warmth of early autumn. Next, there would be cold killings and boiling rivers of blood.

On the fourth day of the eighth month, he spent the whole day making arrangements for the affairs of the household, and at the same time, he had already sent orders to the Bamboo Company in the north. In the afternoon, he also met Shishi. That evening, Ning Yi bid farewell to the Prime Minister's residence and his family, left the still peaceful Bianliang City, shining with thousands of lights, and set off north with Wenren Bu'er...

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

In the north, Shi Jin and others crossed Xinzhou City. The chaotic, cruel, bloody, and desolate scenes of war unfolded before their eyes. Then, there were countless enemy armies...