“The one facing you, that group of people, they killed the Emperor of Wu Dynasty at the most inappropriate time! They cut off all retreats! They are against the entire world! They faced a million soldiers, without begging for mercy from anyone! For more than ten years, they fought their way out, endured it! You still haven’t seen it! They are who we used to be—”

The firelight illuminated the old general's lion-like figure, his voice echoing in the wind and snow before the large tent. Search: \((?Complete?Book?God?Station)\) to read quality literature for free.

The others were solemn, watching the bonfire burning, snow falling, the camp remaining silent for a long time.

Zong Han and the generals stood there, waiting until night had completely fallen, the wind and snow adding a bit more light to the sprawling military camp. Then, he began to speak.

“In these thirty years of battle, we’ve won countless victories, but who among you dares to say that you’ve never been defeated? I can’t, Lou Shi can’t, even if Aguda were reborn, he wouldn’t dare to say it. War is about victories and defeats, the defeat at Rainwater Creek, there were losses, but it’s just a battle lost—some people are so scared they want to blame others, but I think it's a good thing!”

“Good in what way? Firstly, the great battle at Rainwater Creek has allowed you to see clearly what kind of stuff the Black Flag Army is made of. Invincible at ten thousand? They could do it, surrounded by a million troops at Xiaocang River for three years! E Lilli was greedy and reckless, it was his fault, but not entirely! The Rainwater Creek battle has been going on for two months, he seized the opportunity to rush forward with his guards, I’ve done such things, and you’ve done them too!”

“E Lilli has been with you for over thirty years, he is a rare warrior, and even in death at Rainwater Creek, he is still a warrior. Did he die from greed and recklessness? No.”

Zong Han shook his head: "His death stemmed from the fact that he didn't see the Black Flag as an equal opponent. He treated the Black Flag as the Liao and Wu Dynasty people, and his risky strike ultimately failed. If you still treat the Black Flag as such enemies today, thinking they used tricks, thinking your own people held you back, you will die under the Black Flag’s blades one day. Zhenzhu, Baoshan, I'm talking about you! Kneel down to me—”

His gaze suddenly became fierce and majestic, and with this shout, Wan Yan She Yema and Wan Yan Xie Bao, the brothers by the bonfire, were stunned for a moment, and then knelt down on the ground.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been saying these past few days! As generals, you dare to slander colleagues who have fought hundreds of battles together! If you don’t know your mistakes, I will personally kill you!”

“—An arrogant tiger is easy to die! The ones who live the longest in the forest are packs of wolves.”

Among Zong Han’s sons, She Yema and Xie Bao were already generals leading armies during the attack on Bianliang. At this time, Xie Bao was over thirty, and She Yema was nearly forty. Zong Han used to scold and beat these brothers, but such things had rarely happened in recent years. He finished speaking each word clearly, then slowly turned and walked to the pile of firewood, picking up a piece of wood.

The wood was as thick as a large bowl, and should have been split in half, but this piece had not been split, with only a crack on it. Zong Han掰了一掰 the wood outwards with both hands, and with a bang, the log split into two in his hands, white frost spreading. Zong Han threw the wood into the fire.

“Open your eyes. This is one of the benefits of the Rainwater Creek battle. Secondly, it tests your measure!”

“It tests the measure of gaining and ruling the world!”

“Relying on two thousand people to conquer the world has the methods of two thousand people, relying on twenty thousand has the methods of twenty thousand! But having come this far, doesn't that one of yours have twenty thousand people behind him? My Jurchen is rich with hundreds of millions of subjects! To govern with the people of the world is the only way to last."

Zong Han paused: "Zong Fu and Zong Bi are short-sighted. In the Jiangnan region, they drove a million Han soldiers to surround Jiangning. The little crown prince of Wu Dynasty risked his life, and a million people collapsed like a flood, causing Zong Fu and Zong Bi to suffer the consequences. At the beginning of the Southwest battle, Gu Shen taught you all to coexist with the Han army, to be of one mind on the battlefield, only then can this battle be finished. Why? The Han people will be the subjects of my Great Jin, they will become your brothers! Without such magnanimity, will you have to keep fighting for the next twenty or thirty years? You won't be able to sit firmly on such a country, nor will your descendants!”

“The snow in the South is fine.” He looked up at the blowing snow, “The Han people who grow up in the Central Plains and Jiangnan have been at peace for a long time, and their combat power is not outstanding, but is that really the case? When you force people to want to die, there will also be Black Flag armies, and there will also be little crown princes who break out of Jiangning. If some people's hearts are with my Jurchen, they will slowly become like us Jurchen.”

“...Gu Shen did not force the Han army to go forward, he clearly established rewards and punishments, and set down rules, was he just trying to repeat the Jiangning battle? No, he wanted to let the Han army who understood the general trend enter my Great Jin’s army first. There are always some in front and some behind, this is the preparation for pacifying the world. It's a pity that most of you don't understand Gu Shen's intentions. You fight alongside them but regard them as outsiders! Even so, in the Rainwater Creek battle, were there really only surrendered Han soldiers?”

“The Rainwater Creek battle.” Zong Han said each word clearly, “Of the remaining seven thousand people, nearly two thousand were Han soldiers who never surrendered from beginning to end. Han general Qu Fangyan has been commanding his subordinates to advance in battle. Some people didn't believe in him, so he restrained his subordinates to hold one side. After this battle, I heard that in Rainwater Creek, someone said that the Han army could not be trusted, calling for Qu Fangyan's troops to be transferred to the rear, or let them go to the front lines to die. Those who say this are hopelessly foolish!"

His scolding voice spread out, among the generals, Dalai frowned tightly, his face indignant, and others also frowned somewhat. Zong Han took a breath and waved his hand to the rear: "Qu Fangyan, come out."

After the words fell for a moment, a general wearing armor walked out of the tent. He walked to Zong Han, his eyes slightly red, and bowed his head. Zong Han accepted his bow and said, "Qu Fangyan, why didn't you rebel or surrender in the defeat at Rainwater Creek?"

"Little minister...my father, died at the hands of the Black Flag...Grand Commander..."

Zong Han nodded, lifted his hands, and helped him up: “Understood.” He said, “In the Southwest battle, I will give you a word, I will definitely let you avenge your father, but you also have to give me a word.”

“Please, please Grand Commander instruct…”

“Avenge this yourself. From today onwards, you are no longer a partial general with only three thousand men under your command. I will give you a good job—not only in the Southwest. The world's affairs are divided and reunited, the Wu Dynasty's fate is exhausted, this world belongs to Great Jin, but in the future, the places where these Han people are, will also be governed by you Han people, this is my expectation of you, remember it.”

Qu Fangyan said words of gratitude and wanted to bow again, but Zong Han grabbed his arm: “Resolute man, don't imitate women's demeanor, you go in." He waved his arm towards the bonfire over there, “From now on, you will be on equal footing with them!"

Qu Fangyan cupped his fist in salute and walked over there. He was originally a humble junior general in the Han army, but at this time, who present wasn't a Jin army hero who roamed the world, taking two steps, feeling slightly hesitant about where to go, Gao Qingyi waved his arm over there: "Come." Summoning him to stand by his side.

Walking past Han Qixian, Han Qixian also reached out and patted his shoulder.

Zong Han nodded.

“Sa Ba has done extremely well in dealing with the Han people, I am very pleased. Han Qixian Qing, Gao Qingyi Qing are also worthy of being models, you, put away that arrogance, look at them, learn from them!"

“As for Rainwater Creek, it was defeated by underestimating the enemy, but it’s not a big deal! In these thirty years of traveling across the world, if all the opponents are just clay chickens and瓦狗, I would find it a little boring! It's great to meet such an opponent in the Southwest battle."

“I think, everyone will think it’s great too.”

The wind and snow came down.

Regarding the battle of Rainwater Creek, Zong Han spoke so much, but it was all about matters that were higher and farther beyond the battlefield. Regarding the fact of the defeat, it was only two "very good"s. At this time, after speaking calmly, many people felt a sense of heroism rising in their hearts.

That's right, facing a small defeat, facing an equal opponent, what other emotions should the Jin Kingdom army, which had looked down on the world for more than thirty years, have other than a "very good"?

The snow was still falling, and in front of the raging bonfire, after a while, Zong Han had Han Qixian announce the details of the rewards, punishments, and transfers of many generals.

After the rewards, punishments, and transfers were all announced, Zong Han waved his hand, letting everyone return to their respective places, and he turned and entered the tent. Only Wan Yan She Yema and Wan Yan Xie Bao remained kneeling in the wind, snow, and before the bonfire. Without Zong Han's order, they dared not get up for a while.

After the meeting, some generals came one after another, to meet Zong Han alone in the camp. This night, after midnight, Wan Yan She Yema and Wan Yan Xie Bao were covered with a layer of snow. Zong Han came out of the tent, walked to his two sons, pulled up wooden stakes and sat for a while, then got up and sighed: "Come in."

The two were numb from their legs and followed him step by step, kneeling again in the tent. Zong Han pointed to the chair beside him: "Find a chair and sit down, don't kneel. Drink some hot tea, don't ruin your knees."

The two brothers stood up again, sat down on the side, took some hot water from the small table and drank a few mouthfuls, then resumed sitting upright. Zong Han sat behind the table, and after a while, he opened his mouth: "Do you know why your father knocked you?"

Wan Yan She Yema bowed his head and cupped his fist: "It is indeed inappropriate to slander the general who just died in battle. Moreover, after suffering this defeat, Father's knocking the sons can serve as a deterrent to the rest."

“Superficial!” Zong Han's gaze was cold. “The battle of Rainwater Creek shows that the combat power of the Huaxia Army is no less than ours. If you act smart again, and are negligent and underestimate the enemy in the future, Father will really be sending a white-haired person to see off a black-haired person in the Southwest battle!"

“...Yes.” Wan Yan She Yema's eyes shifted, hesitated for a moment, and finally lowered his head again.

At this time, Wan Yan Xie Bao stood up from the side, cupped his fist and said, "Father, your son has some words, I don't know if I should ask."

"Speak."

"In the battle of Rainwater Creek, many generals in the army know the information before and after. With the intelligence of people like Gao Qingyi and Han Qixian, they may not know where the root of this battle lies. Although they didn't say it, they still allowed everyone in the army to talk about the problems of the Han army, because the Han army really can't fight. Father is now boosting the morale of the Han army, could it be that they can really...participate in this great battle?"

Wan Yan Xie Bao asked with some hesitation, but his thoughts were clearly well thought out. Zong Han looked at him for a long time, and smiled approvingly:

“You seem reckless, but you are careful in your roughness, which is not a bad thing. You were taking the lead in the army these days to discuss E Lilli, that was also a plan you had already thought about, right?”

Xie Bao said: "Reporting to Father, E Lilli fought against eight hundred Black Flags at Eagle Beak Cliff with nearly a thousand guards and did not win, although the ones defending Eagle Beak Cliff were also one of the most powerful teams in the Black Flag, it still shows the Black Flag’s combat power. This matter, only Father can say it today, in order to boost everyone's morale. Your son thinks...someone always has to take the blame, whether it's E Lilli or the Han army, it's better than letting everyone think the Black Flag is more powerful than us."

"Then why did you choose to slander E Lilli, instead of scolding the Han army for being incompetent?"

Xie Bao smiled bitterly: "Father asked knowingly, after Rainwater Creek was fought, there were indeed less than two thousand Han soldiers in front. But adding Huang Ming County and the ones that have been stuffed in along the way, the Han army is close to one hundred thousand, it took us two months to stuff the people in, to say that they can't fight and then withdraw them, the Southwest battle doesn't need to be fought."

He paused: “But even so, this son still doesn’t understand why we should rely so much on the Han people—of course, for the future, greatly rewarding Qu Fangyan is indeed the right thing to do. But if we want to drag them onto the battlefield, this son still thinks…the Southwest is not where they should be.”

Zong Han laughed heartily. Wan Yan Xie Bao's face was rough, and the words in front of him seemed cautious, but only to the last sentence, vaguely with a bit of arrogance that looks down on the world. Zong Han noticed this, and was very pleased, smiling for a long time before gradually stopping.

He sat in the chair and remained silent for a long time, until the tent was so quiet that it almost caused hallucinations, She Yema and Xie Bao heard his words.

“The matter of the Han army is Gu Shen's plan, and there is a purpose. Since you still have some intelligence, get along well with the Han generals in the future, and besides, keep an eye on Qu Fangyan for me!"

Hearing the name of Gu Shen, the two's minds were a little more stable, and they got up together to receive the order. She Yema said: "Father, does you feel that this Qu Fangyan is a spy?"

"All the Han troops surrendered, only he did not surrender, with that 心魔's means, who can know? It is never wrong to be wary of others.” Zong Han finished speaking and waved his hand.

“Go down.”

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

The moonlight was covered by thick clouds, and wind and snow blew across the rugged mountains.

From Jin Kingdom, to the Central Plains, to Jiangnan, the heavy snow covered everything within sight. This was the year when the Han people suffered the most serious disasters. The burned cities had not yet been rebuilt, and refugees with their families collapsed in the howling wind and snow. Starving people exchanged their children and ate them. Many people who lost their families soon embarked on the same path as their families.

Hope was like a faint spark.

The new emperor of the Wu Dynasty, the former crown prince, was leading the army and refugees south. Further south along the coast, the eldest princess landed near Putian, contacted the nearby troops, and plotted to seize Fuzhou.

On New Year's Eve, Mao Yishan and his wife led their children back home, cleaned up the stove, posted 福 characters, and made a New Year's Eve dinner that was hastily prepared but warm and lively.

At Liangshan, for the New Year's Eve meal, Zhu Biao, Liu Chengzong and others approved three times the usual amount of food for the people in the army. A stage was also set up in the military camp, and performances began at night. Zhu Biao and the others ate and drank, while discussing the great battle in the Southwest, gossiping about Ning Yi and the others in the Southwest, a group of skinny people laughing so hard they leaned forward and backward, carefree.

Wang Shanyue and his wife, whose faces had been disfigured and were referred to by Zhu Biao as Tian Can Di Que (Heavenly Cripple and Earthly Deficient), also came to sit for a while on this day: "The Southwest battle has been going on for two months, I don't know if that Ning Yi can hold on." Talking about such things, Wang Shanyue said: "Maybe he's already dead at the hands of Zong Han, his head being kicked around like a ball? To save this world, we Wu Dynasty must do it."

“Since he disfigured his face, this face doesn’t look like his own.” Zhu Biao and the people around him teased him, “Dead sissy, abandoned himself, haha…”

The Huaxia Army and Guangwu Army of Liangshan fought side by side, but nominally belonged to two different camps, and now they were used to each other. Wang Shanyue occasionally said bad things about Ning Yi, saying he was a madman and a psychopath; Zhu Biao occasionally talked about the Wu Dynasty's fate being exhausted, saying that Zhou Zhe was a yin-yang person with a rotten ass. Both sides had also adapted.

Who can argue with an idiot—both sides thought so.

In Jin, Lou Shuwan and others organized a simple but solemn dinner party.

Since Liao Yiren retreated step by step and even gave up Weisheng, the bandits and righteous armies from all over Jin came to join them, some in groups of dozens, some in hundreds, all came to pay homage to this legendary female 相 (Prime Minister).

Under the suggestion of the Huaxia Army and Shi Jin and others, Lou Shuwan cleared out a group of bandits with major misdeeds. Those who intended to join and were relatively clean were also required to be scattered and unconditionally accept the leadership of the army superiors, but those with leadership skills would retain their positions.

Even after such strict elimination, this year-end banquet still showed the image of people coming from all directions to join, some people even regarded the female prime minister, Yu Yulin and others as future 天子 (Sons of Heaven).

Of course, Lou Shuwan, who had experienced so much turbulence over the years, was not so carried away by this. Even if she really completely cleaned up Liao Yiren and held half of the Central Plains, the possibility of a devastating disaster was still waiting for them ahead. Leaving aside other things, just the return of the West Route Army led by Zong Han and Xi Yin, whether they won or lost in the Southwest, would be a difficult test for Jin.

She did not shy away from this, but frankly shared such a prospect with everyone.

“...I used to be the 千金小姐 (daughter of a wealthy family) of a wealthy merchant family in Hangzhou. Since I was over twenty years old—from the time when Fang La broke Hangzhou until now, I often feel like I’m living in a nightmare that I can’t wake up from.”

At the banquet, holding up a wine glass, she spoke to everyone like this.

“When I was young, I read history, and often saw, that in these thousands of years, there were riots one after another, often lasting dozens or hundreds of years, starving corpses filled the ground and exchanged children to eat. In the past, these were all in books, and hundreds of years passed with a few strokes of the pen…Now, I have seen these things, and often think about it, and still can’t figure it out, how can people survive here for decades?”

Her words were solemn, and everyone was somewhat silent. Speaking here, Lou Shuwan stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, smiling: "I am a woman, sentimental, I made you laugh. This world has been fighting for more than ten years, and if there are more than ten years, I don't know if there will be an end, but other than persevering—unless we persevere, I can't think of any other way to go. Everyone is a hero, and you must understand this principle."

“This year’s New Year’s Eve is a little better, there will be a big battle next year, so…whether it’s for ourselves, or for our children and grandchildren, let us work together and persevere…let us kill our way through!”

Before, she had spoken calmly, but only when she raised her glass at the end and added a "kill our way through" did a bright smile appear on her face. She lowered her head, this moment of smile was like that of a girl.

Yu Yulin, Wang Juyun, An Xifu, Shi Jin, Zhan Wu…and many other officials and generals on the scene also smiled and happily raised their glasses.

Support (Complete Book God Station) Share this site with the little friends who need it! If you can't find a book, please leave a message!