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The room was still warmly lit, and pancakes were being made in the pot. They each ate some.

They talked, feeling the passage of the night outside. The topics varied, but they generally avoided areas that might be sensitive, such as Cheng Min's "work" in Shangjing, or Lu Mingfang.

Tang Minjie told Cheng Min about some of his life in Liangshan, Southwest China. At that time, the Huaxia Army had just withdrawn from the southwest, and the news of Mr. Ning's death had spread. The situation was quite difficult, including dealing with various people near Liangshan, all of which was done cautiously. The Huaxia Army was almost forced to split internally. During that most difficult time, everyone relied on their will and hatred to take root in the vast mountains, clearing forests, building houses, and constructing roads…

"...The mountains in the southwest are actually quite interesting after you've looked at them for a long time… At first, we didn't have enough to eat and weren't in the mood to look at them. They were all deep mountains and old forests, full of snakes, insects, rats, and ants. Looking at them just made you feel annoyed. But later, when we could finally catch our breath a little, I liked to stay in the watchtower on the mountain. Looking out, all you could see were trees, but countless things were hidden inside. Sunny days, rainy days… the weather was ever-changing. People say the benevolent find joy in mountains and the wise find joy in water, because mountains remain constant and water is ever-changing, but in fact, the mountains of the southwest are where the real endless changes lie… There are also many fruits in the mountains, and I've eaten only some of them..."

Cheng Min was from Central China. She was abducted to the north when she was a girl and had never seen the mountains of the southwest or the waters of Jiangnan. This night, waiting for change, seemed long. She asked Tang Minjie about these things, and he spoke in a scattered way, which she listened to with great interest, wondering if she looked so curious when facing Lu Mingfang.

Sometimes she also asked about Ning Yi: "Have you met that Mr. Ning?"

Tang Minjie shook his head: "I haven't."

"Oh, that's a pity." Cheng Min said, "If we defeat the Jurchens in the future and can go south, I want to go to the southwest to see him. He's really amazing."

"Did Old Lu tell you about him?"

Cheng Min nodded: "He told me some stories about Mr. Ning's past, like how he killed 50,000 people in Liangshan with only a few people, and was later called the 'Inner Demon.' Also, he was highly skilled in martial arts, and people in the Jianghu were terrified of his name. Recently, I sometimes think that if Mr. Ning came here, he wouldn't watch this situation helplessly."

Tang Minjie smiled slightly: "Mr. Ning went to Liangshan with dozens of people, and he had already prepared inside help before he went. Also, Mr. Ning's martial arts..."

He paused for a moment. Cheng Min turned to look at him, and then she heard him say: "...It is said that he was indeed very skilled."

"So, if Mr. Ning came here, maybe he could secretly take action and kill those bastards one by one." Cheng Min waved her hand like a knife. "Old Lu used to say that it was a pity that Zhou Yingxiong died. If he had joined our side and secretly come to the north to be assassinated by us, those people in the Jin Kingdom would have died a long time ago."

Although Cheng Min grew up in Central China and had lived in Shangjing for so many years, and was in a state where she didn't need to pretend too much, her inner habits were actually somewhat close to those of northern women. She was beautiful, and when she was straightforward, she had an air of heroism. Tang Minjie nodded in agreement.

At this time, it was past midnight. While they were talking, they were actually paying attention to the movements outside. After saying a few more words, the night outside suddenly shook. Someone, from a very far distance, suddenly fired a cannon, and the sound passed through the low sky, spreading throughout Shangjing.

Tang Minjie and Cheng Min suddenly stood up and rushed out the door.

"It's going to be a fight..."

Tang Minjie murmured, his face flushed. Cheng Min grabbed his ragged sleeve and shook it hard twice: "Something's going to happen, something's going to happen..."

They stood in the courtyard looking at the dark night sky. The surrounding quiet night was gradually becoming restless. They didn't know how many people were lighting lamps, awakened from the darkness. It was as if a stone had been thrown into a calm pond, and ripples were spreading.

"Wrap up the remaining pancakes. If the army enters the city and starts burning and killing, who knows what will happen..."

"The best outcome is for the East and West Mansions to start fighting each other directly. Even if it's not as good as that, if Zonggan and Zongpan fight head-on, the Jin Kingdom will be in great chaos..."

"Although it's internal strife, it's unlikely that there will be burning, killing, and looting throughout Shangjing. What we fear is that it will get out of control tonight… There's no need to flee in a panic…”

Tang Minjie talked on and on, calculating various possibilities. He returned to the room and went out to the courtyard again. Although he had frostbite, he didn't feel cold at this moment. When Cheng Min closed the door and said, "Put on your hat when you go out, and calm down," his emotions calmed down slightly.

He couldn't help but say, "Do you know that if the Jin Kingdom's East and West Mansions have internal strife, the day when our Huaxia Army will destroy the Great Jin can be advanced by at least five years. Tens of thousands... or even hundreds of thousands of people can die less. Firing cannons at this time, he can't hold it back, haha..."

He laughed in a suppressed and short manner. In the lamplight, he looked somewhat eerie. Cheng Min looked at him. After a moment, Tang Minjie took a deep breath and gradually returned to normal. But soon after, listening to the movements outside, he murmured, "It's going to be a fight, it's going to be a fight..."

"It should be a fight." Cheng Min poured him water, echoing him.

……

The light of hope was like a thick layer of clouds, it bloomed for a moment, but then slowly, deeply buried again.

The cannon blast at midnight did cause a small commotion in the city, and tragedies may have occurred in some places. But for some reason, as time went on, the riot that should have continued to expand did not continue to expand. After midnight, it even gradually subsided and disappeared without a trace.

Without concrete information, Tang Minjie and Cheng Min were unable to analyze what happened that night. The night was quiet, and when dawn was approaching, there were no more changes. The curfew in the streets was lifted at some point. Cheng Min went out to check for a moment. The only thing she could be sure of was that the atmosphere of tension last night had completely subsided.

Why was there such a cannon sound? Why didn't the two sides, who were at each other's throats, fight after that cannon sound? What exactly happened behind the scenes? It was impossible to know now.

"I'll go back to the building to inquire about the situation. Such a big thing happened last night, everyone will be talking about it today. If there is a very urgent situation, I will come here tonight. If you are not here, I will leave a note. If the situation is not urgent, we will still meet tomorrow morning... I can get out better in the morning."

Cheng Min said this, and then said, "Actually, if you trust me, you can stay here for a few days, which would also make it easier for me to come and find you. Shangjing doesn't have strict checks on Black Flag spies. This house should still be safe, and it may be better to live in than a place you secretly rent from someone. Your hands and feet can't stand the cold."

As she spoke, she took out the key from her body and placed it on the table. Tang Minjie took the key and nodded. As Cheng Min had said before, if she had turned to the Jurchens, he should have been arrested by now. Although there were Jurchens who could remain calm, they wouldn't be calm to this extent, relying on a woman to get information from him to find out things.

"I'll stay here for a few days. You... follow your own pace, protect yourself, and don't arouse suspicion."

Cheng Min nodded and left.

Tang Minjie also went to the street to observe the surrounding scenery. The tense atmosphere last night must have affected everyone in the city, but he couldn't hear any clues from their conversations. After walking for a while, it began to snow again in the sky. White snowflakes covered everything in the field of vision like mist. Tang Minjie knew that the Jin people must be experiencing earth-shaking events internally, but he had no way to think about it.

He could also awaken another intelligence officer to spend money in the black market to find out the situation, but in the current situation, Cheng Min's news might be faster. Especially in the absence of an action team, even if he knew the information, he could not rely on himself to take actions that would shake the overall balance of the situation.

This day was the twenty-second day of the tenth month of the first year of Wu Zhenxing and the fifteenth year of Jintianhui. Perhaps because she did not find out any key information, Cheng Min did not come over the whole night.

The next day was the twenty-third day of the tenth month. In the early morning, Tang Minjie heard the sound of cannons.

This time it was not the sound of cannons from conflict. The rhythmic cannon blasts resounded through the dawn sky like drumbeats. He pushed open the door. The heavy snow was still falling outside, but the festive atmosphere was gradually beginning to appear. He walked on the streets of Shangjing for a while, and then he understood the whole story among the crowd.

Just yesterday afternoon, after the clan leaders of the Wanyan clan of the Great Jin and the various Bojilie held a meeting in the palace, they finally selected Wanyan Dan, the son of Wanyan Zongjun and the adopted son of Wanyan Zonggan, as the third emperor of the Great Jin Kingdom to rule the world. The year name was established as: Tianjuan.

Tang Minjie listened silently to the lecturer's reading of this matter in the wind and snow. Countless Jin people cheered in the wind and snow. The matter of the three princes vying for the throne had also troubled them for many days. Wanyan Dan's ascension meant that the princes and marshals who were the pillars of the Jin Kingdom did not have to compete with each other. The new emperor would not carry out large-scale purges after he ascended the throne. The Jin Kingdom's prosperity was expected, and the whole world celebrated together.

Cheng Min still did not come over that night. She came to this small courtyard on the morning of the twenty-fourth. Her expression was tired, and there were bruises on her face from being beaten. When Tang Minjie noticed it, she shook her head slightly.

"Those beasts drank too much last night and played a little too much. But thanks to them, I found out everything."

Tang Minjie handed over a bottle of ointment. Cheng Min looked at it and waved her hand: "How can a woman's face use this kind of thing? I have better ones." Then she began to tell what she had heard.

Wanyan Dan's ascension to the throne caused Shangjing to be noisy and festive for almost the entire night. A group of nobles who went to Cheng Min's place took out the inside story in the middle and publicized it wildly, almost revealing everything. The entire situation in Shangjing in the past six months was the layout of the late emperor Wu Qimai, followed by the control of Zonghan and Xiyin. On the night of the twenty-second, Zonghan and Xiyin personally persuaded all parties to suggest that the younger Wanyan Dan be made emperor in order to break the Shangjing stalemate, which could turn bloody at any time.

Zonggan and Zongpan were naturally unwilling at first, but the various great nobles standing on both sides had already taken action. This power struggle was started by Zonggan and Zongpan, and there was originally no way to escape a big fight. Who knew that Zonghan and Gushen were still cunning and far-sighted, turning their hands into clouds and overturning them into rain, solving such a huge problem with a wave of their hands, so that the Jin Kingdom could temporarily put aside their grievances and work together for the country. When a group of young nobles talked about this, they simply worshiped Zonghan and Xiyin like gods.

At the same time, they also felt that such powerful figures had returned from the southwest in defeat. The Black Flag in the south might be as terrible as the two described, and would sooner or later become a major problem for the Jin Kingdom. So a group of young people drank and celebrated in the brothel, while shouting that they would definitely defeat the Black Flag and kill all the Han people in the future. The "Black Flag threat theory" brought by Zonghan and Xiyin also seemed to have come true.

"...What happened to the cannon on that night?" Tang Minjie asked.

"It is rumored that Zonghan taught people to fire a cannon outside the city, deliberately causing a commotion," Cheng Min said, "and then forcing all parties to make concessions and negotiate."

Tang Minjie sat quietly on the stool in the room. That night, he saw that the Jin Kingdom was about to be in chaos, and his expression was excited and somewhat unable to suppress his emotions. At this moment, the look in his eyes turned cold, his eyes moved, and countless thoughts jumped in his mind.

"My enemy is the enemy's hero." Cheng Min looked at him, "Is there any way now?"

Tang Minjie looked over calmly, and after a long time, he opened his mouth, his voice a little dry:

"...There isn't."

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