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While the autumn sun still cast golden warmth on the southwest lands, in the Jin Kingdom, thousands of miles away, the breath of winter had arrived early.

Cloud City, the ninth day of the eighth month.

Lead-grey clouds shrouded the sky, and the north wind had begun to howl across the land. As one of the most prominent cities in the Jin territory, Cloud City seemed helplessly mired in a grey swamp, its entire populace seemingly tainted with a gloomy aura.

The carriages entering and leaving the city appeared less lively than before, and the cries of vendors in the market seemed more weary. In taverns and teahouses, patrons spoke with a greater air of gravity, whispering as if discussing secret and significant matters.

In the muddy streets of the city, Han slaves wrapped themselves tightly in their clothes, their bodies hunched over. They kept their heads down, as if afraid of being noticed, yet they were not cockroaches, unable to shrink into inconspicuousness. Some huddled against the walls, anxiously avoiding passing pedestrians, only to be knocked to the ground, perhaps to be kicked or suffer worse beatings.

Amidst this atmosphere, the city's nobles maintained their high spirits. Their high spirits were tainted with brutality, occasionally erupting within the city, turning the oppressive atmosphere into orgies of bloodshed.

In a small courtyard on the south side of the city, Xu Xiaolin met Tang Minjie for the first time.

Xu Xiaolin was a messenger from the southwest.

The southwest was thousands of miles from the Jin territory. In those days, exchanging information was extremely inconvenient. Therefore, most of the actions in the north were handled entirely by the local负责人 (fùzé rén - person in charge). Only when encountering crucial junctures would the two sides communicate to allow the southwest to adjust its overall strategy.

News of the outcome of the entire southwestern war reached Cloud City in mid-May. Lu Mingfang set off south to report on the progress of the entire operation to Ning Yi in the southwest and provide more references for future development. He died in late May.

At almost the same time, the southwest had already developed further predictions about the development of the situation in the Jin Kingdom. Ning Yi and others did not yet know about Lu Mingfang's departure. Considering that even if he did not go south, the Jin Kingdom's actions would need to be changed and understood, they sent Xu Xiaolin north soon after. He had some experience living in the Jin Kingdom.

Xu Xiaolin arrived in the Jin Kingdom near the end of July. The process of making contact was cautious and complex. He later learned that the Jin Kingdom action leader had sacrificed himself—because the Jurchens had publicized this as a great achievement.

Although the Huaxia Army had considered action plans after the death of the main负责人 (fùzé rén - person in charge), operating this plan in enemy territory took a lot of time. The main reason was that, under the premise of caution, verifying each link, contacting each other, and re-establishing trust required more steps.

Therefore, although Xu Xiaolin roughly transmitted his arrival information in late July, the first contact was not until a few days later, and he himself remained vigilant and made two attempts to test each other. Thus, on this day, the ninth day of the eighth month, he was led here to formally meet the负责人 (fùzé rén - person in charge) who took over after Lu Mingfang.

This负责人 (fùzé rén - person in charge), codenamed "Joker," was thin, with slightly sunken cheeks. This was secretly reminded by the highest level before departure. He was a comrade worthy of trust in times of crisis. Coupled with the two attempts to test each other, Xu Xiaolin finally established trust in him. The other party probably monitored him for several days. After meeting, he moved several piles of dry wood in the yard and took out a small package to hand to him. The package contained Jin Chuang Yao (金疮药 - golden sore medicine).

Before joining the Huaxia Army, Xu Xiaolin had followed merchant caravans in the north for a while. He was tall and understood the language of Liaodong, so he was a good candidate for performing messenger work. Who knew that when he came to Cloud City this time, he would not have expected the situation here to be so tense? He said a few words in Chinese to a Han slave on the street and was beaten by a Jurchen gangster who was looking for trouble on the road, along with several Han slaves. He was hit on the head and was still wearing a bandage.

"...Since the news of the Jin army's defeat in May came, most of the Jin Kingdom has become like this. Looking for trouble and beating people on the road are nothing big. Some wealthy families have started killing Han people. Emperor Wu Qimai of Jin stipulated that fines would be imposed for killing Han people indiscriminately, so these large families openly beat and killed Han people in their homes. Some sons of officials compared with each other. The one who paid more fines was a hero. Last month, two lords competed. You kill one, and I will kill two. The other family will add two more. Finally, each family killed eighteen people. The government came forward to mediate before it stopped."

Letting Xu Xiaolin sit on a stool, Tang Minjie unwrapped the bandage on his forehead and reapplied the medicine. While applying the medicine, Xu Xiaolin listened to these words and could see the deepness and calmness in the man's eyes: "Your injury is still good. Those gangsters don't beat people to death because they are afraid of paying money, but there are also some people who are seriously injured on the spot and can't survive for a few days, but the fine will not reach them."

Xu Xiaolin was a warrior who had experienced the southwestern war. At this time, he clenched his fists and looked at Tang Minjie: "We will get it back sooner or later."

"Yeah." In the other party's calm gaze, there was a slight smile. He poured a cup of tea and handed it over, continuing to speak, "The situation here is not just these. Winter comes early in the Jin Kingdom, and it's starting to cool down now. In the past, some Han people here would die every year. This year is even more troublesome. The refugee camps outside the city are full of Han slaves who were captured in the past. At this time of year, we have to start cutting trees and collecting firewood, but the barren hills and fields outside the city are said to belong to the爵爷 (juéyé - lords) in the city. Now..."

He paused, took a sip of water: "...Now, it has become a trend for people to guard the wastelands and not allow Han slaves to cut firewood and pull grass. In the past few days, people outside the city have been beaten to death for stealing firewood every day. More people will freeze to death this winter. In addition, several arenas have been opened privately in the city. In the past, places where chickens and dogs were fought have now brought out the practice of killing people."

"Aren't the Jin dogs capturing people for labor..." Xu Xiaolin said.

"When they get excited, who can control so much." Tang Minjie smiled, "Speaking of these, it's not for anything else, stopping it is impossible, but someone has to know what it's like here. Cloud City is too chaotic now, and I plan to send you out of the city as soon as possible these few days. What should be reported will be said slowly next... What are the instructions from the south?"

"Actually, the south has some speculation about the situation here." Xu Xiaolin said, taking out a wrinkled piece of paper from his sleeve. There were not many words on the paper. Tang Minjie took it. It was a simple cargo list. Xu Xiaolin said: "The information has been memorized, that's all."

"Wait for me."

Tang Minjie got up and walked to the other side of the small room. Xu Xiaolin nodded, sat there, and drank hot water.

Before long, Tang Minjie came out of the room over there. The number of words would be even fewer after the information on the cargo manifest was interpreted. In fact, because the entire order was not complicated and did not require excessive secrecy, Xu Xiaolin basically knew it. Giving Tang Minjie this cargo manifest was just to corroborate credibility.

"The south has some speculation about the current situation in the Jin Kingdom, so in order to ensure everyone's safety, it is recommended that all intelligence work here go to sleep, do not actively investigate the Jurchens' news, and do not carry out any sabotage work. We hope you will put your safety first." Xu Xiaolin looked at Tang Minjie and said.

Tang Minjie's expression and eyes did not reveal too many emotions. He just nodded slowly: "But...it's too far away. After all, the southwest doesn't know the specific situation here..."

Xu Xiaolin also nodded: "In general, the principle of autonomous action here will not be broken. How to adjust it specifically is up to you to judge, but as a general guideline, we hope to preserve the lives of most people. You are heroes, and you should live and return to the south to enjoy happiness in the future. All heroes who fight in this place should have this qualification—this is what Mr. Ning said."

Tang Minjie was silent for a moment, then looked at Xu Xiaolin.

"By the way, how is the southwest? Can you tell me about it in detail? I only know that we defeated Zong Han and Xi Yin and beheaded Zong Han's two sons. I don't know what happened next."

When he said this, there was a slight smile in his words. He walked to the table and sat down. Xu Xiaolin also smiled: "Of course, I left Jian阁 (Jiàn Gé - Sword Pavilion) in early June, so I only know what happened in the south from the end of the southwestern war to that time..."

He smiled and talked about the things that happened in the south from the end of the southwest war to early June, including Ning Yi's檄文 (xíwén - formal written denunciation/declaration) to the entire world, inviting guests and friends from all over the world, including some reactions from the entire world to the southwest war, including the upcoming military parade and congress that were already being planned. Tang Minjie asked many questions about the outline and process of the entire congress with great interest.

The news of the congress in June had not yet been released to the public, but there was already a specific work schedule within the Huaxia Army, so Xu Xiaolin, who worked internally, could also say a lot about it, but Tang Minjie would ask him about some key points and stump him. Tang Minjie didn't dwell on it too much. If Xu Xiaolin couldn't explain clearly, he would skip to other places. For a few moments, Xu Xiaolin even felt that this northern负责人 (fùzé rén - person in charge) had some shadows of Mr. Ning on him.

He asked the most about the congress. As for the military parade and martial arts competition that others might be more interested in, Tang Minjie didn't have too many questions, just nodding from time to time, occasionally smiling and expressing his views.

"...Well, gather the people in for a big performance. During the military parade, kill another batch of famous Jurchen prisoners. After that, everyone will disperse, and the news should spread throughout the world..."

Xu Xiaolin thought for a moment: "It wasn't said to kill Jurchen prisoners... Some people outside said that the captured Jurchen prisoners can be used to negotiate with the Jin Kingdom and are a good bargaining chip. It's like fighting Xixia and then fighting after Wangyuan Bridge. They were all exchanged for prisoners. Moreover, keeping the prisoners in our hands may make these Jurchens hold back."

"Hold back?" Tang Minjie laughed, "Are you saying that if we don't kill those prisoners and keep them, the Jurchens might treat the Han people here a little better because they are afraid?"

Xu Xiaolin frowned and thought. He saw the opposite side shaking his head and smiling: "The only way to make them hold back is to kill a little more, kill a little more... kill a little more..."

The room was silent for a moment. Tang Minjie poured a glass of water, took a sip, and his tone became gentle: "Of course, apart from here, what I mainly think about is that although we open the door to welcome guests from all directions, many of those people who come from outside still won't like us. They are good at writing beautiful articles. After they go back, they will still scold us and find various reasons... But there is only one thing in the middle that they can't cover up."

He said: "There have been more than ten years of war in the world, and countless people have died at the hands of the Jin people. Today, perhaps thousands or tens of thousands of people have gone to Chengdu. They see that only our Huaxia Army has killed the Jin people, and they kill those who deserve to be killed in front of everyone. This matter cannot be concealed by beautiful articles and various fallacies. No matter how many reasons you write, the people who read the articles will remember their dead relatives..."

"Of course, these are just some of my thoughts. I'm not sure what will happen specifically." Tang Minjie smiled, "You go on, you go on..."

Xu Xiaolin then said a lot of things, some tragedies that happened in the southwest, but more of them were rare comedies. Whenever he talked about some people surviving and reuniting with their families, he could see the smile in the corner of the dry man's eyes.

After a while, he suddenly remembered and mentioned the betrayal that had caused anger within the Huaxia Army during that time. He talked about Zou Xu, who colluded with the enemy near Funiu Mountain, occupied the mountain as king, and harmed his comrades...

The north wind howled outside the room, and the world was gray. In this small room, Tang Minjie sat there quietly listening to the other person talk about many, many things. In his hand, the tea was a little warm. He knew that in the distant south, the efforts of countless people had allowed the earth to bloom with new buds.

…

"...The Jurchens' East and West Route armies have returned here. Even without our help, their East and West Mansions will fight next. Let them fight. Please be sure to pay attention to the order from the south. Don't add unnecessary sacrifices. After all, we have already sacrificed too much."

At the end of this day, Xu Xiaolin once again made an exhortation to Tang Minjie.

Tang Minjie nodded.

"I know," he said, "Thank you."

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