In the various departments of the Huaxia Army, Hou Yuanrong worked in the General Intelligence Department and was usually well-informed. That evening, amidst the gossip, after mentioning Luo Ye, they inevitably discussed the current situation of Qu Qing and Zhuo Yongqing, who were in Changsha.

Birds of a feather flock together, and people are grouped by their similarities. Although everyone in the Huaxia Army was said to be united and the atmosphere inside and outside the army was quite good, people would always form closer, more like-minded groups for various reasons.

Over the past decade, small groups, both political and apolitical, had occasionally emerged in the Huaxia Army. Every soldier would become more familiar and band together with certain people for various reasons. However, the cruel scenes of the past decade were indescribable. It was rare to see a small group like Mao Yishan, Hou Wu, Luo Ye, Qu Qing, and Zhuo Yongqing, who had become close like family after surviving the battle of Lou Shi, still completely alive and well.

"...If we're talking about the brothers who fought the Jin together in the Wu Rui Battalion, defended Xia Village, and then rebelled together, I'm afraid...there aren't even three thousand of them left..."

It was already late at night. Mao Yishan leaned against the wall, his eyes slightly narrowed. Hou Wu, who was beside him, shook his head.

"Don't even mention three thousand, it's hard to say if there are even two thousand. Forget the three years in Xiaocang River, just think about how many people died in Dongzhiyuan..."

"Let's fight for another ten years, all the way to the Jin Kingdom," Mao Yishan said. "Do you think we'll still be around?"

"I think you probably won't be. You're always charging ahead." Hou Wu looked at his somewhat disabled hand and threw another piece of firewood into the fire. "I'm different, I'm always in the rear. Don't worry, if you die, I'll help you raise your children, Shitou and Chen Xia... or maybe Qu Qing can help you raise them. You know, that Qu Qing once told me that he likes big butts."

"Hey, Chen Xia has that personality, you can't handle her, and neither can Qu Qing. Besides, your old body is about to fall apart, isn't it, Fifth Brother? If you run into Chen Xia, she'll work you to death. We'll be meeting each other early." Mao Yishan chewed on a thin twig, tasting the bitterness, and laughed. "Yuanrong, advise your dad."

Hou Yuanrong laughed by the fire but didn't take the bait.

"Speaking of which, Luo Ye and Qu Qing are going to have a problem with whom they end up with."

"You already said Qu Qing likes big butts."

"I heard he's got something going on with Master Yong's sister..."

"Oh? Who is it?"

"Master Yong, Yong Jinnian's sister, named Yong Jinrou. She's a widow who remarried and is now a teacher at He Deng School..."

"Oh, big butt?"

"Hehe, let me tell you, it's not just about the butt. Two words: Charm..."

The topic of life and death was not a hypothetical one for the people in the room. More than a decade had taught them how to normalize it.

The topic revolved around crude jokes for a few rounds, and the silhouettes of the people in the room all began to giggle.

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

How much longer they could live and whether they could make it to the end were somewhat sad propositions, but when the bugle calls and morning exercises sounded the next morning, Mao Yishan, Hou Wu, and the others put these matters behind them.

The battlefield's slaughter never had any warmth. If the battlefield could not eliminate people's illusions, the tragedies of massacre would shape people in the same direction.

Experiencing such years was like experiencing the fierce winds of the Gobi or the blizzards of the coldest winter days. The wind would cut people's skin like a knife and tear open their souls. Therefore, the armies and soldiers who faced it head-on had a style like fierce winds and blizzards. Otherwise, people would not be able to survive.

Even with his injuries, Mao Yishan followed the others in running a few laps on the crowded, simple parade ground. After breakfast, he said goodbye to Hou Wu and his son, and set off on the mountain road towards Zizhou.

The weather turned gloomy again that day. Although there were many travelers on the mountain road, Mao Yishan's pace was brisk. By the afternoon, he had overtaken several convoys escorting prisoners and arrived at the ancient city of Zizhou. It was only Weishi time (1-3 PM), but the clouds had gathered and it would probably start raining soon. Mao Yishan frowned as he looked at the weather, and then went to the headquarters to report.

Soon, someone led him to see Ning Yi.

The headquarters was noisy with people coming and going. When he saw Ning Yi in the small courtyard at the back, several officers from the staff department were reporting to Ning Yi. Ning Yi poured Mao Yishan a cup of tea, dismissed the officers, and then came over to chat with Mao Yishan with a smile.

"Is your injury okay?" Ning Yi asked directly.

This wasn't the first time they had met. After killing Lou Shi, Zhuo Yongqing was the main character, but Mao Yishan fought bravely. Later, during the Xiaocang River battle, he had a lot of interaction with Ning Yi. After being promoted to regimental commander, Mao Yishan, who was good at steady and methodical attacks, and Luo Ye and others often met with Ning Yi. During this period, Qu Qing worked in the General Staff Department, and Hou Wu, although he went to the rear, was also a trustworthy officer. The five people who killed Lou Shi were actually all elite generals in Ning Yi's eyes.

After a brief conversation, Ning Yi asked about the Eagle Beak Rock incident, and then said without ceremony, "Your injury hasn't fully healed yet, and I know this leave isn't long, so I won't keep you any longer. Your wife, Chen Xia, is currently working in Chengdu. It's almost the New Year anyway, so take her back and spend time with the children. I've had someone prepare some New Year's goods for you and arranged a carriage going to Chengdu. Oh, and here's a coat. Your clothes are a bit thin, so I'm giving you this coat."

Ning Yi picked up his new coat from the room and handed it to Mao Yishan. Mao Yishan declined for a while, but finally couldn't resist Ning Yi's insistence and had to put on the military coat. He looked outside and said, "If it rains, the Jurchens might attack again. There are too many prisoners on the front line, Mr. Ning. I can actually go to the front line again. My men are all there, after all."

Ning Yi shook his head. "There are some decisive guys among the Jurchens, and there's a possibility that they might take a risk after suffering a defeat, but the possibility isn't high this time. The headquarters' tension is a routine procedure. The front line is already highly prepared, and they don't need you. You're going back, and people from the propaganda department are looking for you. It's just a trip home for the New Year, don't think it'll be easy. At most, you'll be called back to report on the third day of the New Year."

Mao Yishan hesitated slightly. "Mr. Ning... I might... not really understand propaganda..."

Ning Yi nodded and laughed. "Don't worry, Zhuo Yongqing had a good image back then and was suitable for propaganda, so they were always asking him to cooperate with this and that. You're a brave general on the battlefield, so we won't have you running around all day bragging to people... But in general, this great battle in the Southwest, including the Fire Swallowing Plan that Qu Zhengyan and the others came up with, has also hurt our vitality a lot. Your killing of Eliri is very encouraging and good for recruiting, so you can cooperate appropriately and don't have to resist it."

There were many honest and simple people in the Huaxia Army. In fact, for most people of this era, it was nothing to brag a little in private, but they were a little confused when it came to major events like "propaganda." Ning Yi was very experienced in comforting people. Mao Yishan was relieved when he got his promise.

Afterward, someone led him outside to catch a ride. This was a carriage that was originally scheduled to transport goods to the Zizhou City South Post Station. Now, it would transport the goods to the post station and take Mao Yishan to Chengdu tomorrow morning. The driver was originally a little anxious about the weather, but after learning that Mao Yishan was the hero who killed Eliri, he drove while chatting warmly with Mao Yishan. Under the cold sky, the carriage sped towards the outside of the city.

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

When he sent Mao Yishan off, Ning Yi stood outside the headquarters and watched the regimental commander, who was the same age as him, for a long time.

Mao Yishan's appearance was honest and simple, and his hands and face had many small scars. These scars recorded the journey he had taken over the years.

The fighting now was different from the hot weapon warfare of later generations. Knives were not as deadly as firearms and often left more traces on the bodies of veteran soldiers. There were many such veterans in the Huaxia Army, especially in the later stages of the three-year Xiaocang River War. Ning Yi had also traveled back and forth on the battlefield many times, and he had also left many scars on his body, but he had people around him to protect him intentionally. What was truly shocking was the sight of those Huaxia Army soldiers who had fought a hundred battles. On summer nights, they would take off their clothes and count their scars. The person with the most scars would wear a simple smile of "I won," which could make people's hearts tremble.

Even if these people didn't die early, they would suffer a lot in the second half of their lives.

Of course, many of them were already dead.

During that time, Ning Yi liked to talk to these people about the future of the Huaxia Army. Of course, he talked more about the future of "Gewu" (scientific investigation), and at that time, he would talk about some "modern" scenes. Airplanes, cars, movies, music, dozens of stories high buildings, elevators... all kinds of desirable lifestyles.

At that time, the Huaxia Army was facing the encirclement and suppression of millions of troops, and the Jurchens were aggressive. They ran back and forth in the mountains, and many times they had to go hungry to save food. Ning Yi was unscrupulous when talking to these uneducated soldiers.

Sometimes he would also frankly talk about the injuries on these people. "Alright, alright, so many injuries. If you don't die now, you'll be in pain in the future. Rheumatism will hurt you to the bone, you know? Don't think it's a good thing. We'll have to build more hospitals to take you in in the future..."

The soldiers who heard this would laugh without caring. If they could really make it to the "future," it would already be a very, very good thing.

"But there's no other way. If we lose, everyone has seen what the Jurchens will do to the whole world..." He could only encourage everyone like this every time.

Many of those people didn't have a future, and now no one knows how many people will make it to the "future."

Mao Yishan was probably one of the soldiers who had heard him describe the future back then. Ning Yi always vaguely remembered that they had sat together in the mountains at that time, but he naturally couldn't remember the specific details.

As Mao Yishan left Zizhou City in the carriage, a small convoy was speeding towards this place. Near dusk, Ning Yi walked out of the bustling headquarters and received Tan'er, who had traveled all the way from Chengdu to Zizhou, outside the side door.

In this year of Jianshuo 11, Ning Yi originally planned to return to Zhang Village before the Little New Year, first to communicate with the people left behind in Zhang Village about the things that the rear should pay attention to, and second, to reunite with his wife and children in the rear. This time, due to the breakthrough results of the Rainwater Creek battle, Ning Yi was instead guarding against Zong Han's sudden madness and desperate gamble, so his return turned into Tan'er's arrival.

In name, it was a simple meeting.

After meeting, Ning Yi opened his arms and hugged Tan'er, saying, "I've found a place, and I'm going to take you to explore it."

"Ah?" Tan'er was slightly stunned. Over the past decade, she had managed many things under her command, and she usually maintained a serious and dignified demeanor. Although she was smiling at her husband at this time, the expression on her face was still quite formal, and her confusion seemed serious.

There was still a slight breeze in the sky, exuding a cold atmosphere in the city. Ning Yi carried a package and led her through Zizhou City, entering an empty and gloomy villa using a clumsy method of climbing over the wall. Ning Yi led the way through several courtyards, and Su Tan'er followed behind. Although she had handled many major events over the years, she was still somewhat afraid of such an environment based on a woman's instincts. However, the expression on her face was one of wry smile. "What's going on?"

"Li Weixuan's villa. The people are gone, and I found a pretty good place."

"Then there's no need to climb over the wall to get in..."

"It wouldn't have that kind of feel if there were too many people coming."

The cold wind blew through, and the air was filled with the faint, rotten smell of prolonged vacancy. Tan'er frowned slightly. After a while, the two arrived at the small building deep in the villa. Ning Yi led her to the corridor on the second floor. The sky was already a bit dark, and the wind was whistling at the eaves. Ning Yi put down the package and said, "Wait for me for a while." He went downstairs by himself.

Tan'er crossed her arms and turned to look around this empty and deserted small building that looked like a haunted house...

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