Angry Banana
Chapter 916 A Song of Ice and Fire (IV)
The afternoon sun streamed in through the window, and the February air was still a bit chilly. Amidst Wanyan Qingjue's questioning, the young man in front of him looked at his fingers resting on the table, calmly recalling and beginning to speak.
"My first meeting with him was in the ninth year of Jinghan, during the winter when I was five years old…My Zuo family is a great family that has passed down literature for generations. The Yu family rose through military service, flourishing for only two generations. They had a marital connection with a branch of my Zuo family. That year, Yu Mingzhou was also five years old. He was intelligent from a young age, and Lord Yu brought him to our door, hoping he could study under my Zuo family and specialize in literary pursuits…"
"Actually, the Wu Dynasty was still considered prosperous. The Jin Kingdom was attacking Liao and was about to succeed. The voices of the Wu Dynasty wanting to launch a northern expedition were loud. Seeing that Yu Mingzhou was indeed quite clever, Uncle Grandfather advised him to cultivate both literary and military skills. He studied literature at the Zuo family's private school and was later taught martial arts and strategy by several famous generals in the court. Several children from my Zuo family also followed, and I was one of them. Over time, I became friends with Yu Mingzhou…"
"Yu Mingzhou came from a family of military generals, and he was healthy, but his temperament was peaceful. Although I came from the Zuo family, I was not from the main line, but I had a high opinion of myself when I was young…"
In the room, as Zuo Wenhuai slowly narrated, Wanyan Qingjue gradually pieced together the whole story. Of course, many things were different from what he had seen before. For example, the Yu Mingzhou he had seen was a young military general with a violent and bad temper, who had been clamoring to kill all the Huaxia army since his first defeat at the hands of Chen Fan. He didn't have a hint of a peaceful temperament.
And the young man named Zuo Wenhuai in front of him had greasy hair and a calm look in his eyes, looking like a rabbit. Apart from that punch at the beginning of the meeting, there was no trace of his childhood "high opinion of himself."
This was a southern story that Wanyan Qingjue had never heard before.
In the ninth year of Jinghan, two five-year-old boys met in the Zuo family. Later, due to their complementary personalities, they became good friends. Zuo Wenhuai was arrogant and often the dominant one in this pair of good friends, while Yu Mingzhou, who came from a military family, had a relatively gentle temperament and was always able to accommodate Zuo Wenhuai in many things.
The things that happened in childhood were not very new. They skipped classes together in the private school, were punished together, and fought with children of the same age. Zuo Duanyou probably already realized the arrival of a certain crisis at that time. He demanded that this group of children study martial arts more, be familiar with military strategy, and be familiar with troop deployment.
The atmosphere under the military generals was the atmosphere of military generals. In addition to a little more fighting, by the time they were seven or eight years old, a group of arrogant geniuses had been able to initially understand the meaning of being a military general. In the gaps of healing after fighting, the children were also determined to revitalize the Wu Dynasty, recover You and Yan, and become Wei Qing and Huo Qubing who could sweep the world for the Wu Dynasty.
When the Jinghan Dynasty passed and the Shame of Jingping arrived, the two children were only in their early teens and could not share the country's worries. At that time, the outside world was in chaos, and people were panicking. The Zuo family was also busy with relocation and avoiding disaster. As a large family in Hedong, even after the initial fall of the Central Plains, Zuo Duanyou still stayed in the local area, colluding with the forces that surrendered to the Jurchens, while subsidizing the many righteous armies and resistance forces in the Central Plains, and launched a struggle. But for the women, children, and children in the family, the old man still moved them to Jiangnan first, retaining the seeds of the future.
Zuo Wenhuai and Yu Mingzhou were transferred to Jiangnan under such circumstances. They did not feel the threat of war, but they felt everything that had been anxious all the time: the teachers changed and changed, the adults in the family disappeared, the world was in chaos, and countless refugees moved to the south.
The once arrogant children were overshadowed by the chaos, but the pressure of reality was not too much for the children for the time being. Then, in the second year of Jianshuo, when Zuo Wenhuai and Yu Mingzhou were both thirteen years old, they had their first real separation in eight years.
At this time, the age of thirteen was not far from the "adulthood" of children in this era. The teenagers already had a basic logical framework, and they agreed that when they met again, they could fight side by side, slaughter the Jin dogs, and revive the Great Wu.
At that time, Yu Mingzhou did not know where Zuo Wenhuai was going. Zuo Wenhuai himself was not clear about the family's arrangements. Under Zuo Duanyou's instructions, a group of young Zuo family teenagers were quickly arranged to go north to Xiaocanghe to be taught and study by Ning Yi. This learning process lasted for more than two years.
In the third year of Jianshuo, the Jurchens began to attack Xiaocanghe, kicking off the prelude to the three-year war in Xiaocanghe. Ning Yi once wanted to hand these children back to the Zuo family to avoid damage in the war and to live up to the Zuo family's trust. But Zuo Duanyou wrote back and refused, the old man wanted his family's children to endure the same tempering as the children of the Huaxia army. If they could not become talents, even if they came back, they would be useless.
In the autumn of the fourth year of Jianshuo, Zuo Wenhuai and others moved south with the first group of women and children. At that time, they had experienced the difficulty of Xiaocanghe being blocked, and witnessed the heroic posture of the Huaxia army soldiers in combat.
At this age, there are some things that will be engraved in the soul once they are witnessed.
After going to the southwest and participating in the construction for a period of time, Zuo Wenhuai returned to the Zuo family as a sixteen-year-old "adult". When he and Yu Mingzhou met again, the things in their souls were more like steel. At that time, the three-year war in Xiaocanghe had just ended, and the news of Mr. Ning's death came out. Zuo Wenhuai's heart was greatly impacted. On the one hand, he could not believe it, and on the other hand, he could not help but start thinking about the future of the world.
Yu Mingzhou had spent a few years in the false song and dance of peace. Although his thinking was still sunny and upright, his understanding of the Jurchens' ferocity was insufficient, and he only had a little vigilance about the weakness after the peace of the Southern Wu. His mind was full of optimistic emotions.
The two men, who were now sixteen years old, were able to decide their own future. Due to the strict confidentiality education they had learned in Xiaocanghe, Zuo Wenhuai did not reveal his whereabouts for three years to Yu Mingzhou for a while. He led Yu Mingzhou, who had completed his studies, to leave Jiangnan, cross the Yangtze River, travel all over the Central Plains, and even reach the border of the Jin Kingdom.
The one or two years after the end of the Xiaocanghe War were the most chaotic time in the Central Plains. Due to the fact that the Huaxia army finally arranged spies within the warlords in the Central Plains, the "Da Qi" forces led by Liu Yu acted almost crazily. Famines, wars, the cruelty of officials at all levels, and countless tragic scenes were presented to the two young people. Even Zuo Wenhuai, who had experienced the Xiaocanghe War, could not bear it, let alone Yu Mingzhou, who had been living in the song and dance of peace all the time.
After traveling like this for a year, Zuo Wenhuai gradually told Yu Mingzhou about the Huaxia army and explained to him everything he had witnessed in Xiaocanghe in the past few years.
However, at this time, Zuo Wenhuai, who was only seventeen years old, had the idea that "understanding can be gained by speaking out" was just a fantasy. His most critical three years were witnessing Xiaocanghe and everything about the Huaxia army, while Yu Mingzhou's most critical three years were living under the teaching of military generals who were loyal to the Wu Dynasty and upright and unyielding. When he heard Zuo Wenhuai confess his thoughts, the two friends had a fierce quarrel.
"Everything in the Central Plains was caused by the Huaxia army," "Ning Liheng is just a reckless butcher," "The Black Flag Army should bear the blood debt of the entire world"...When Zuo Wenhuai said the deeds of the Huaxia army, Yu Mingzhou also began another direction of accusation. The two friends, who were like brothers, quarreled for half a month, and the quarrel escalated into a fight. When the seemingly weak Zuo Wenhuai knocked Yu Mingzhou to the ground again and again, Yu Mingzhou chose to break off his friendship with Zuo Wenhuai.
"The Wu Dynasty will definitely have a way out other than the Black Flag!"
Holding this belief, after parting ways with Zuo Wenhuai, Yu Mingzhou traveled for nearly a year on that chaotic land in the Central Plains. No one knows how many tragic scenes he saw again. Zuo Wenhuai returned to Jiangnan and entered the work he should do. A year later, he knew that Yu Mingzhou had returned to continue studying military strategy. He never revealed to others that Zuo Wenhuai might have become a member of the Huaxia army from beginning to end.
Starting from the ninth year of Jianshuo, the Jurchens prepared for the fourth southern expedition. In the tenth year, the world fell into war. Yu Mingzhou, who was just over twenty years old, did some things, but they were bound to be of no avail. No one knows what kind of anxiety this young man, who had no foundation or ability, felt in his heart as he watched the world fall.
This continued until the autumn of the eleventh year, when an accident happened. At this time, Yu Gusheng, in order to protect himself, turned to the Jurchens and was supported by Xiyin to attack Changsha. Yu Mingzhou contacted Zuo Wenhuai through a hidden line.
When the two met again, Zuo Wenhuai saw Yu Mingzhou, who had already made a certain decision. His eyes were hidden with bloodshot eyes, vaguely with a hint of madness: "I have a plan, maybe I can help you defeat Yin Shuke and hold Changsha… Can you cooperate?"
Naturally, Zuo Wenhuai nodded in agreement to win over reinforcements. However, after Yu Mingzhou roughly said the beginning, Zuo Wenhuai shook his head greatly at such a plan. Giving up his own 50,000 troops, winning the trust of the upper echelons of the Jurchens, and expecting to play a decisive role at a critical time, such an idea was too much of a test of luck. If he really intended to do so, he might as well try to persuade Yu Gusheng to rebel with the army.
But Yu Mingzhou just laughed sarcastically: "If you turn to the Jin dogs, half of your family will already be under their surveillance. Let alone whether my father, the softie, has the guts to rebel. Even if we join forces with you, those 50,000 troops will probably not be able to withstand Yin Shuke's charge. What's the use of things to make up the numbers?"
Looking back on it later, Yu Mingzhou, who decided to betray his own army and even his biological father at that time, must have experienced a series of things that made him feel desperate: the tragedy of the Central Plains, the defeat of Jiangnan, the vulnerability of the Han army, the collapse and surrender of millions of people…
After passing the information of the army to Chen Fan through Zuo Wenhuai, Yu Mingzhou, who experienced the first major defeat, encountered the young prince Wanyan Qingjue, who rushed to the Jurchen camp.
…
"The information about you was transferred to Yu Mingzhou by me at that time. The many details you saw were perfected one by one in the days that followed. The Yu Mingzhou you saw, who was irritable and helpless, actually came from his imitation of you…"
In Zuo Wenhuai's words, Wanyan Qingjue slammed his hands on the table, extremely angry because of the humiliation contained in this sentence…
…
Wanyan Qingjue's arrival increased the likelihood of Yu Mingzhou's plan succeeding.
As Xiyin's disciple, the Jin Kingdom's young prince, Wanyan Qingjue had a detached status in this battle of Changsha. And of course, he could not have imagined that during the period when he was captured by the Huaxia army, the staff headquarters of the Huaxia army had conducted a lot of observation and analysis on him, including having people imitate his behavior, speech, and appearance to play his appearance. Among the three armies initially defeated by Chen Fan, the one led by Li Touhe was confused by the Huaxia army team disguised as the young prince, and was ambushed and defeated after receiving false information.
Zuo Wenhuai made a guarantee for Yu Mingzhou in the Huaxia army. After that, Wanyan Qingjue's information was handed over to Yu Mingzhou.
In the first raid and defeat, although Yu Gusheng's army was repelled by Chen Fan, Yu Mingzhou showed a certain command strength in the defeat. He gathered the remnants of the army and retreated while fighting, which seemed quite methodical. However, the Jurchens, who were deeply guarded against the Han army, would not appreciate him because of his talent. Yu Mingzhou had to choose other directions.
Chen Fan's troops were small in number, so they could only choose to defeat the army of more than 100,000 people, but they could not carry out a large-scale annihilation. After the Yu family's army was defeated, it was gathered again. The second defeat occurred when Wanyan Qingjue was attacked. The information itself was passed out by Yu Mingzhou, and he also led the army to approach Wanyan Qingjue. In the great chaos, Yu Gusheng was attacked and "died". Yu Mingzhou commanded the remnants of the army to fight stubbornly and protect Wanyan Qingjue's transfer.
In this battle, Yu Mingzhou not only "lost" his father, but also lost three fingers on his left hand.
…
"His fingers were chopped off by himself… I said later that one finger would be enough, and he said that it would be too stingy to cut off only one finger with one knife. If four fingers were chopped off, the hand would be useless, and he was reluctant to do so."
In Zuo Wenhuai's calm words in the room, there was a thrilling tremor. Wanyan Qingjue took a deep breath. He naturally remembered the bloody hand and the almost hateful and crazy look of the young general at that time.
…
Yu Mingzhou killed one of his uncles, personally kidnapped his father, chopped off three of his fingers, and then began to play the crazy general who wanted to avenge the Huaxia army.
Wanyan Qingjue empathized with his hatred and later wanton ugliness.
Being easily captured by the Huaxia army that year was the biggest pain in Wanyan Qingjue's heart, but he could not show his revenge against the Huaxia army. As a decision-maker, especially a disciple of Gushen, he had to show a calm demeanor, and in private, he was even more afraid of others laughing at him because of this incident.
The more unbearable ugliness shown by Yu Mingzhou allowed him to find a mirror. That's right, he also wanted the Huaxia army to pay a heavy price, and he also wanted to slaughter the other party's entire family, watching the other party howl and beg for mercy. These vulgar thoughts made him feel ashamed, and therefore, Yu Mingzhou's pain made him feel happy.
It just so happened that Yu Mingzhou was really not an incompetent general. He had good command and planning abilities, and he also knew a lot about the officialdom and the army of the Wu Dynasty. In private, Yu Mingzhou also knew the way of enjoyment of the Wu Dynasty very well. He would seemingly inadvertently provide Wanyan Qingjue with some ways to enjoy himself, and would seize some precious treasures that Wanyan Qingjue liked, and then transfer them to Wanyan Qingjue's hands in a form that was never publicized, and he would also exchange some military supplies for "revenge" and leave.
After four months of getting along, Wanyan Qingjue finally completely trusted Yu Mingzhou, and the troops commanded by Yu Mingzhou also became one of the Han army teams most trusted by the Jin people in the Battle of Changsha. On February 21, a large-scale battle had begun, and Yu Mingzhou chose to act after repeated calculations.
The plot was revealed.
…
The last time Zuo Wenhuai saw Yu Mingzhou was at the moment when he was full of bloodshot eyes and finally decided to act.
They had been friends for more than ten years, although there had been a few years of separation, but after meeting each other these past few months, they had been able to say a lot of things openly to each other. Zuo Wenhuai actually had a lot of things to say, and he also wanted to persuade him to go over the whole plan again, but Yu Mingzhou still showed obstinacy in this matter.
"This is my business. After I kill Yin Shuke, let's see who is better." Yu Mingzhou said this with an arrogant expression, "...The Wu Dynasty also has a way to win. If you give me twenty more years, I won't need you."
After he said these words, he hesitated slightly, but finally…he didn't say any more words.
In the entire operation, Yu Mingzhou only had one chance. He captured Wanyan Qingjue, and then disrupted the communication system and issued a false order that he had drafted earlier, in the name of Wanyan Qingjue, leading Yin Shuke's troops into the mountains, dividing the troops by the mountain situation, and then mobilizing a large number of Han troops to block the road.
He set up a large-scale minefield for Yin Shuke to ambush, but the plan still failed to keep up with the changes. As an old Jurchen general who had been in the world all his life, Yin Shuke had sensed the problem in advance, and the minefield did not cause great damage to him. The situation in the mountains was in chaos, and Yin Shuke led the elite to rush out and meet with the main force.
Chen Fan's troops were still rushing in the mountains and had not arrived. Yu Mingzhou personally led the team to block it. Yin Shuke, realizing the problem, rushed straight to Yu Mingzhou's main formation. Yu Mingzhou tried his best to entangle or escape in the mountains, restraining Yin Shuke.
On the morning of February 24, Yu Mingzhou, who had been fighting all night, led a small number of guards and was blocked by Yin Shuke in the mountains - he had surrendered for too long, and many things needed to be kept secret. After all, there were not many troops with real combat power around him. A large number of troops were vulnerable to Yin Shuke's charge, and eventually just fled all over the mountains. At the moment of being blocked, Yu Mingzhou was covered in blood and his armor was shattered. He held a single sword and laughed loudly at the Yin Shuke's troops rushing in front of him, issuing a challenge.
"Hahahaha, Yin Shuke! Grandpa is Yu Mingzhou of the Wu Dynasty! I am the one who let you get to this point! If you want revenge, do you dare to fight me one-on-one--"
His hand was shaking, and he could hardly hold the blood-stained long knife, but while shouting, he was still walking forward, his eyes were filled with unforgettable, bloodthirsty hatred. Yin Shuke accepted his challenge and rushed over alone.
When the morning sun rose, Yu Mingzhou pounced on the enemy of the Jin Kingdom without reservation and fought with all his strength——
…
"Yu Mingzhou cannot come to see you. On the morning of the 24th, he died in the battle with Yin Shuke." Zuo Wenhuai said, "Unlike the Huaxia army, he had too few companions, and until the end, not many people could fight side by side with him. This is the reason for the demise of the Wu Dynasty. But as a human being, he really did not lose to anyone in this world."
"He…"
Zuo Wenhuai pondered for a moment, a deep sorrow flashed in his eyes, but he did not speak again.
The problems he faced were too huge, the world he faced was too tragic, and the responsibilities he had to bear were too heavy, so he could only resist in such a resolute way. He betrayed his father, killed his relatives, mutilated his limbs, and abandoned his dignity… Is his nature brutal? It was only because the world was too corrupt that the hero could only resist in this way.
He fought all the way, and finally walked forward with his sword. Who can compare to him?
Zuo Wenhuai slowly stood up and left the room.
…
The chaos of information and the departure of the commander caused huge losses on the battlefield, which were also decisive losses.
Yin Shuke died in the next hour after Yu Mingzhou's sacrifice. Chen Fan led his troops to catch up with him.
Someone told Chen Fan the news of Yu Mingzhou's death. Soon after, Chen Fan got off his horse and walked towards the Jurchen commander who was at the end of his road.
"Translate for him, Yin Shuke! Give you a chance! You and I will decide the outcome of this war!"
Yin Shuke's warhorse had already died under Yu Mingzhou's sword. He waved to the guards, threw away his helmet, and held his spear forward. Not long after, this veteran Jurchen general was beaten to death alive by Chen Fan in a fierce fight on a hillside near Liuyang County.
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