From the Prime Minister's residence, I went to both of Bamboo Memoir's stores and returned home. It was still early, so Ning Yi took a stroll around the courtyard. (Search: \(?Complete? Site?) to read fine literature for free)

Since moving to the capital in the tenth year of Jinghan, three years have passed in a rush, yet they also feel long. In these three years, the family has moved twice, each time due to the increasing number of residents.

Fortunately, firstly, the young people are more adaptable, and secondly, the Prime Minister's residence helped with the house purchase, and the original residents were mostly people of substance. The houses had been carefully arranged and maintained by the original owners, so after buying them and moving in, they could quickly make it feel like home.

The current courtyard where they live originally belonged to a Confucian scholar who was proficient in both calligraphy and painting. The layout of the house and courtyard is very particular, with a refined and elegant spirit. After Ning Yi and the others moved in, the general appearance remained unchanged, but without the original owner's many rules, the atmosphere became more lively and natural.

Autumn had arrived, and the leaves of the paulownia trees in the courtyard were beginning to turn yellow. The sunlight and the shadows cast had a warm and comforting feel. Wen Fang, Wen Ding, and the others were mostly indifferent to such scenes, but Ning Yi liked this atmosphere very much. He walked back to the inner courtyard, nodding slightly to some family members. Knowing about the recent tense situation in the north, and knowing that Ning Yi was working in the Prime Minister's residence, these family maids and younger siblings dared not disturb him too much.

Returning to the room he now shared with Tan'er, as the mistress of the house, Tan'er was looking through some account books or business records. Seeing him return, she greeted him with a smile and asked Juan'er to pour tea. "Has the war in the north improved? Why did the Prime Minister's residence let you come back so early today?"

Ning Yi said with a smile, "I have something to tell you. Sit down first."

"Okay." Tan'er sat down by the bed. Ning Yi held the tea, looked outside, and then closed the door, slightly darkening the room.

"The news just came in, directly to Prime Minister Qin, so you haven't seen it yet. The war in the north has collapsed." Ning Yi gulped down the tea. "Guo Yaoshi was defeated, and the Yisheng Army at Yanmen Pass surrendered, opening the city gates. The Jurchens have already broken through the first line of defense."

After Ning Yi took over the Secret Intelligence Division, in order to let Tan'er's power be brought into play, and to have another pillar of support at home, much of the intelligence was passed on to Tan'er at the same time as it reached him. Right now, this intelligence was too shocking, and had not yet been formally announced, so Ning Yi could only tell her about it. Hearing his words, Tan'er also frowned. "Then, what should we do? Does the court have any countermeasures?"

"From Yanmen Pass south, there are still hundreds of thousands of troops. It can't be said that there are no countermeasures. But there's one thing that needs to be done, Tan'er. You need to take the family south, you can go back to Jiangning, or not go back to Jiangning. We have money, go to a place where we have houses and live there first, but... I hope you can evacuate south of the Yangtze River as much as possible. Leave the things here, after things have passed, we can come back."

Tan'er's gaze had already become serious. She looked at Ning Yi and thought for a moment. "Your... the Prime Minister's residence's expectations... are that bad?"

"In the worst-case scenario." Ning Yi lowered his voice. "It's not impossible that the capital will be breached."

"Okay." Tan'er took a breath. "I understand. What about you? And Wen Ding and Wen Fang? Are you leaving? If you stay in the capital, will there be a chance to escape then?"

"I'm going north."

The room fell silent.

"...What?"

"Two aspects." Ning Yi pulled a stool and sat down in front of Tan'er, leaning his body slightly forward. "I'm going to be responsible for the scorched earth policy in the north. This plan is very troublesome, but it must be done. According to current expectations, in the Yanmen Pass and Taiyuan line, the Jurchens still have infantry and supply units. Their cavalry is too powerful, but the infantry is our key target."

"...Attacking the infantry, slowing down their speed while the nearby residents evacuate into cities or mountains and fields, cooperating with the army to launch attacks on the Jurchens in these places, but there are too many people in the north, the scorched earth effect is limited, and it is almost impossible to completely destroy their supplies. However, only considering the cavalry, if they conduct mobile warfare, they can only have a few days of rations at most and must constantly plunder. They cannot fight a war of attrition with us in the north, so we must consider the possibility of them quickly resolving the battle and directly approaching the capital."

Ning Yi waved his hand to illustrate. "If the cavalry really arrives here, they can start to re-establish camps. The looted grain can also be used to prepare for the siege and stockpile it. Therefore, the most important thing is to prevent them from looting enough rations to support the siege under Bianliang City. The scorched earth policy in the north is ultimately to increase their advance efficiency and buy time for the cleanup around Bianliang City."

"I told Prime Minister Qin that in order to avoid being passive politically, I would consider the order from north to south, but in fact, it must be a two-pronged approach, and Prime Minister Qin understands this as well. The north is racing against time, and the surroundings of Bianliang City are not really moving, but all preparations must be started immediately. The whole thing is very big, and I need to be in the center to have the fastest response speed and the highest efficiency. Tan'er, you can understand."

The two had been husband and wife for many years, and since gaining each other's understanding, they had been able to discuss many things together. Ning Yi's words were both an explanation and an inquiry, hoping to gain the support of his family when doing such a big thing. However, at this moment, when she looked up, Tan'er had straightened her body, her eyes looking at him, and after a moment, she suddenly shook her head.

Ning Yi rubbed his fingers a few times. "Tan'er, this is... something that must be done."

"But this is war." Tan'er said urgently. Since becoming husband and wife, Tan'er had indeed had a strong side in the beginning, but since the royal merchant incident, at least in front of Ning Yi, Tan'er had no longer shown the posture of a strong woman. Sitting there just now, she had only been listening as a wife. It was not until this moment, blinking her eyes and looking anxious, that she showed some of her former demeanor again. "I don't agree this time. Can't you... at least stay in the capital?"

"It's not necessarily any different from Fang La or Liangshan."

"Of course it's different. Those are Jurchens, they've already defeated the Liao Dynasty."

"How can you..."

In Ning Yi's heart, the many things he had experienced had always been no different. He did not expect Tan'er to object at this time. He stood up. Tan'er by the bed also stood up almost with a start, grabbing Ning Yi's sleeves with both hands, as if subconsciously grabbing him to prevent him from leaving.

Outside the window, the sound of family members moving around could be faintly heard. In the room, Ning Yi sighed. "Things have already been decided." His right hand was grabbed by Tan'er, he reached out with his left hand and put his arms around her. Tan'er took two steps and was embraced by him. She blinked her eyes, but they were already wet.

"I'm not going to die. The Jurchens' invasion this time has a force of only twenty thousand at most. They emphasize speed, and there won't be many places they can sweep across. I have such good information, I have more room to maneuver outside the city, it's very safe."

Tan'er in his arms just shook her head.

"Also, the scorched earth policy may not be very effective, the scale is too large. But there will definitely be some effect, it won't be completely meaningless. The battlefield is one aspect, on the other hand, Bamboo Memoir has hundreds or thousands of people who can participate in this action. They have been initially trained to do things according to regulations. I simplify the steps for them and set rules. You can imagine, as long as these people, under the dispatch, participate in promoting a large migration of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people, no matter what the result, Bamboo Memoir will have a large number of available talents. I will know the household registration, terrain, and population of the north like the back of my hand. With them, not to mention doing business, we can do anything in the future. No family force in the north can suppress us... our enemy is not just this time's Jurchens, it's not enough to defeat them. Compared to the Jurchens' seriousness in defeating the Liao Dynasty, their attitude this time is simply playing around..."

As he spoke in the second half, Ning Yi had lowered his voice. He hugged his wife, comforting her on one side, while reaching out his right hand, moving up along her body. He hugged her tightly, caressing her back, and then gradually kneading her chest, then unbuttoning her clothes. Tan'er naturally did not resist his movements, only listening to him and occasionally shaking her head silently. When her upper garment was unbuttoned for the most part, and her chest was fiddled with by her husband's hand, she suddenly struggled a bit, stepped back to the side, and broke away from Ning Yi's embrace.

"But I still don't agree this time." Tan'er's eyes were filled with tears, just like when Ning Yi had to go out to do dangerous things in the past, only in the past she was worried, but did not stop him, but this time she had a different attitude. "I'm your woman, you clearly don't have to go to the battlefield, you must go, why do you want me to nod in agreement?"

"I'm not going to the battlefield."

"You just want to go to the north, don't lie to me with nonsense. It doesn't matter if the efficiency is a little worse, it doesn't matter if more people die, I know you can stay in the capital. I support you in doing things, but I don't want you to go where there's such a big danger for no reason."

Saying this, she suddenly ran towards the door, buttoning up her clothes while opening the door, and shouted outside, "Yun Zhu, Jin'er, Xiao Chan, come quickly, the husband is going to the battlefield--"

Ning Yi did not expect this move at all. He also walked over there, Tan'er turned around, looking at him, wiping her tears with her left hand and right hand, respectively. Seeing Ning Yi coming over, she suddenly knelt down in front of Ning Yi. At this time, Ning Xi was also wobbling in the courtyard. Ning Yi picked up Tan'er, "What are you doing?"

"I'll stay with you in the capital to do things, I don't want you to go."

As his wife sobbed, Ning Yi looked outside. The entire courtyard, inside and out, had already begun to become chaotic. Yun Zhu and the others had all been alarmed and ran over.

Before heading north, such a scene actually occurred. This was definitely something he had not anticipated...

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

North.

A huge chaos is spreading in the area from Yanmen Pass to Taiyuan.

After Yanmen Pass was broken, the scattered Wu Dynasty army fled in all directions. Along the way, groups of soldiers and generals began to form formations again, either stationed to await orders or concentrated in nearby large cities. The Jurchens did not stop. The army's edge quickly expanded to the surrounding counties and towns. On the third day of the eighth lunar month, Dai County, Xinzhou, thirty miles from Yanmen Pass, had just been breached.

The slaughter spread through the county town like a tide, engulfing and covering everything. The army that failed to retreat in time and some of the residents of the original city organized scattered resistance, but were subsequently crushed under this overwhelming disaster.

This is an important population gathering point and trading post located south of Yanmen Pass. Although compared to Taiyuan Prefecture, Xinzhou City, or even Shuozhou, which has already been captured and massacred, this place can only be considered a small place. However, due to its proximity to Yanmen Pass, the defenses of Dai County were relatively tight. South-north trade prospered here, resulting in tens of thousands of permanent residents. In any case, it can be regarded as a piece of fat.

North Gate, Wanyan Xiyin, with his hand on the hilt of his sword, led his personal guard into the streets of Dai County. The sounds of killing and arson were continuous, spreading out.

A pair of eyes, in a collapsed two-story building by the roadside, was quietly staring at him...

...

Near the south gate of Dai County, soldiers and civilians crowded the city streets, frantically rushing out of the city. In the streets behind, the Jurchens had already advanced, launching a devastating slaughter in the streets and alleys. In an alleyway filled with people, three Jurchen knights blocked the rear, holding long spears, and frantically stabbing forward.

Fresh blood splattered out, the screams of men, the cries of women, and the crying of children merged into one. Some people tried to hide below, and were immediately crushed their arms and heads by the horses' hooves. Others were climbing over other people's bodies to the other side of the wall. Among them were also defeated soldiers, holding steel knives. Seeing that the speed of the crowd was too slow, they raised their steel knives and began to kill people. However, the long spears stabbed from behind, still piercing their bodies.

When the corpses and blood stretched half an alleyway, a figure suddenly descended from the wall. With a bang, he slapped one of the Jurchen's heads into pieces. The reaction of the nearby Jurchen cavalry was also extremely fast. The long spear swept over in the first instance. The descending man waved his hand smoothly, and the long spear fell into his hands. He turned it around, and then with two simple swipes, the heads of the two cavalrymen were instantly pierced, and brain matter and blood splattered on the walls.

When the crowd in the alleyway saw clearly that the person was an elderly man, the old man was already holding a long spear, reining in his horse, and rushed towards the other end of the alleyway. A small team of Jurchen soldiers were appearing at the crossroads over there. The man reined in his warhorse, and the warhorse's hooves kicked out with a bang, trampling a Jurchen soldier into a pulp. The old man danced wildly with the spear in his hand, smashing people, smashing weapons, smashing out blood, and had already begun to fight with the surrounding Jurchen soldiers.

At this end of the long street, the crowded crowd squeezed forward even more frantically, and in the streets and alleys adjacent to them, the Jurchens had already chased up. In some places, small-scale resistance would occasionally form, but except for old men like this who could fight, kill, and escape, resistance was usually crushed after a short time. The bodies of people either lay by the side of the road, or were pierced on the long spears...

...

Shi Jin and several younger brothers were sitting in a restaurant, watching occasional strangers and carts passing through the county town, or residents of the county town packing up in twos and threes to leave for large cities like Taiyuan.

The number of people fleeing south from the north had been increasing, and among them were also soldiers from the original Wusheng Army, bringing bad news. The Jurchens broke through Yanmen Pass, massacred Shuozhou City, and are now approaching Xinzhou. Dai County, which bears the brunt, is probably about to be lost. The Yisheng Army surrendered to the Jurchens. These original Liao people are attacking together with the Jurchens. None of the surrounding Wu Dynasty armies are capable. It is said that Duke Tong Guan of Chu is in Taiyuan, so everyone is fleeing towards Taiyuan.

The restaurant was no longer open for business, and the owner was packing up his valuables and planning to leave. Shi Jin didn't care, he wasn't afraid. While watching all this in the restaurant, someone came up from below, wearing Jianghu-style clothes and a bamboo hat. There were three of them in total, apparently all greenwood people.

"We're not selling wine here, the boss is closed." The younger brother said to the three.

The three looked at this side, then cupped their fists: "Brother only knows this place, we agreed to meet someone here, just borrowing the place to rest a bit."

The younger brother glanced at Shi Jin. Shi Jin turned his head to look below, he didn't care, so the younger brother stopped talking. Before long, two more greenwood people came over, greeted the other three, and after a while, another person came.

The six whispered to each other, speaking softly. The last person to come was obviously a well-informed busybody in the Jianghu, with a light figure and a good lower-plate foundation, probably specializing in passing on information. He was talking to the other five about the situation of the war in the north. Shi Jin pretended not to care, but his ears were listening.

After a moment, a piece of content caught his attention.

"...The Jin people are coming fiercely, they broke Shuozhou City without any effort... when Shuozhou was massacred, the old man was there... gathering all the heroes for help... Grandmaster Zhou is already eighty years old, but he is still able to do this. We are in our prime..."

The others then asked: "Where is Grandmaster Zhou now..."

"Being able to help Grandmaster Zhou is my blessing for a lifetime..."

Shi Jin stood up. Several younger brothers were about to stand up, but Shi Jin waved his hand to signal them to sit down. He walked towards the six, cupped his fists: "Brothers, are you talking about Zhou Tong, the Grandmaster Zhou of the Iron Arms?"

The six looked at him, then got up and cupped their fists: "This brother is..."

"My humble name is an insult to your ears. But if you brothers are going north to help Grandmaster Zhou, can you bring me along?"

The others looked at each other, one of them said: "Brother, we are going north to die, it's not something you can go with a moment's whim."

"Let's test each other."

Shi Jin stretched out his right hand, and the person opposite also stretched out his hand. When their hands touched, the person suddenly exerted force and twisted his wrist, and the eagle claw grabbed towards Shi Jin's meridian gate. Shi Jin also turned his palm over, letting him grab it, but his sleeve went out, blocking the view of the crowd. After a moment, the person retracted his hand: "This brother is a master. Naturally, the only one in the world who can be called Grandmaster Zhou is Zhou Tong, Senior Zhou. But brother is so skilled in martial arts and is unwilling to reveal his identity. Could it be an enemy of Grandmaster Zhou?"

"I'm also a Han." Shi Jin cupped his fists, and after a moment said, "I am a guilty person, but one of my closest brothers is a direct disciple of Grandmaster Zhou. His teacher is here, so I have to go."

The others laughed: "It's hard to have a clean body for those who are in the Jianghu."

The light-figured person next to him said: "It's enough to have brother's words that he is a Han."

The seven spoke a few more words here. Before long, the sky approached dusk. Seven figures left the small county town and galloped north along the official road, while on the nearby official road, there were many pedestrians fleeing south from the chaos of war, with anxious expressions and endless...

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