"…Are the Jurchens already moving south?"

Under the autumn breeze-swept awning, after Ning Yi's question, a long silence followed. Lu Qiaoshan spoke, without directly answering Ning Yi's request. Search: \(Complete Book Website\) to read high-quality literature for free.

Ning Yi nodded. "I received the message from the north yesterday. Six days ago, Zong Fu and Zong Bi mobilized 300,000 troops and have already entered Hebei. Li Xizhi won't resist. As we speak, the vanguard of the Jurchen army is probably approaching Jingdong East Road. General Lu, you should be receiving these messages soon too."

In the present world, Ning Yi's Huaxia Army is the army that values intelligence the most. As he spoke, Lu Qiaoshan fell silent again. The Jurchens are enemies of the world, and could fall upon the Wu dynasty at any moment. This is a consensus shared by all who can understand the situation. But when it is confirmed with such casualness, the feeling in people's hearts is heavy and difficult to describe, even for Lu Qiaoshan, it is the most critical reality.

He looked back at the army behind him, silently contemplating all this. Ning Yi waited for a while.

"I've been preparing to subvert Liu Yu for some time. This is the last chance for all the rebels in the Central Plains, and also the last chance for the Wu Dynasty. Is it worth it to waste this hard-won time on internal friction with me? Most importantly... can you even do it?"

Lu Qiaoshan turned back, revealing his practiced smile: "Mr. Ning…"

Appearing simultaneously with his smile was Ning Yi's smile: "General Lu…" Then that smile faded, "While you were looking at me, I was also analyzing you. No need for empty words or platitudes. The court orders, your army creates a blockade, not an attack, wanting to drag the Huaxia Army to its weakest point to gain a sliver of victory. Anyone would do this, and it's understandable, but the opportunity has already passed. The Greater and Lesser Liang Mountains have stabilized, thanks to the cooperation of Li Xiannong and his group."

"But what can I do?" Lu Qiaoshan smiled helplessly. "The court's orders, those people are watching from behind. When they arrested Mr. Su, it wasn't that I couldn't save him, but a group of scholars were blocking me in front, and taking one step forward would make me a traitor. I already risked tearing up with them when I later bailed him out."

Ning Yi shook his head: "Compared to the life and death of tens of thousands of people, the Jurchens are about to fight all the way to Jiangnan, there are many ways to pretend. Even if someone really makes a fuss, before they get results, the Jurchens will already be here. At least you preserved your strength. General Lu, stop pretending to be confused. This time, you can't pretend anymore. If we can't reach an agreement, I'll see you as the enemy."

Ning Yi's voice lowered. Speaking here, he also glanced back. Su Wenfang had already been carried away on a stretcher, and Su Tan'er followed him into the distance: "Bearing the life and death of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people, many times you have to choose who will die. Su Wenfang is back, but six innocent people died in this matter, including the matter of the Greater and Lesser Liang Mountains. I could have flattened the Mangshan Tribe directly, but I cooperated with them to set up the game, sometimes putting more people in danger. I understand best how many people will die, but they can't not die… General Lu, if this fight breaks out, the Huaxia Army will lose more people. If you are willing to let go, we will swallow any grievances."

Lu Qiaoshan nodded. He looked at Ning Yi for a long time, and finally said: "Mr. Ning, may I ask a question... Why don't you directly flatten the Mangshan Tribe?"

"Good question," Ning Yi was silent for a moment, nodding, then exhaled a long breath: "Because to resist the external threat, one must first pacify the internal."

Lu Qiaoshan laughed, the smile on his face became extremely faint, but perhaps this was his true face: "Yes, the Huaxia Army is stationing troops in He Deng Three Counties. Now eight thousand people have gone out, and He Deng Three Counties still seems powerful, but if you really want to send troops to fight me, your rear is unstable. I guessed you would start solving this problem, but I also sincerely hoped that Li Xiannong and the others could achieve something... Blockading the Liang Mountains, you are consuming yourself every day. I sincerely hope this process can be longer, but I also know that in front of Mr. Ning, this little trick won't last long."

"Then there is only one question left," Lu Qiaoshan said, "You also know that to resist the external threat, one must first pacify the internal. How can my Wu Dynasty not be wary of your Black Flag moving east?"

"The answer lies in that I can flatten the Mangshan Tribe, but your Wu Xiang Army can't defeat this Black Flag behind me." Ning Yi looked at him, "If it were peacetime, I would call you a hero for knowing the impossibility and still doing it, but with the Jurchens invading south now, you are wasting ten thousand people on me. It is worthless."

Lu Qiaoshan walked to the side, sat down on the chair, and said in a low voice: "But this is the value of the army."

"What?" Ning Yi's voice was also low, he sat down, and reached out to pour tea. Lu Qiaoshan's body leaned back on the chair, his gaze turned to the side. For a moment, the postures of the two were like casual friends chatting.

"Mr. Ning, over the years, many people have said that the Wu Dynasty is weak, and has repeatedly been defeated by the Jurchens. What is the reason? What is the way to win the war? After becoming the leader of the Wu Xiang Army, Lu racked his brains and thought of two points, although they may not be correct, at least they are Lu's humble opinions."

"I am willing to hear the details." Ning Yi pushed the teacup over.

"In this world, in this imperial court, civil and military officials all have faults, of course. The army can't fight, first because civil officials don't understand the military. They think they are full of knowledge, use armchair tactics to make people do it, and expect to defeat the enemy, which is the source of the trouble. But are military generals without fault? Slandering colleagues, eating empty salaries, wanting money, food, land, playing with women, flattering superiors and bullying subordinates. Are there no faults of these generals who have lost their integrity? These are two faults."

Lu Qiaoshan held up his fingers: "How to correct them, I can't say, Lu can only control himself. But after thinking for a long time, there is one thing I have figured out. The world is ultimately managed by civil officials. If one day things can really be done well, then the senior officials in the court must issue correct orders, and the military generals must do their own thing well. Only when these two points are all realized can things be done well."

"As Mr. Ning said, pacifying the internal before resisting the external threat may be right, but the court only let my Wu Xiang Army of ten thousand people fight against this Black Flag, perhaps it is wrong. But who can say for sure? Maybe this time, their decision is right? Who knows what those bastards are thinking!" Lu Qiaoshan looked at Ning Yi and smiled, "Then there is only one way."

"My Wu Xiang Army will obediently execute the orders of the court. If they are wrong, it seems that I am not worth it. But I, Lu Qiaoshan, am here today not for whether it is worth it or not, I am here so that this world can take the right path. If I do it right, just wait for them to do it right, and this world can be saved. If I do it wrong, regardless of whether they are right or wrong, this game... Lu will be utterly defeated."

"The army must obey orders."

Lu Qiaoshan's voice echoed in the autumn wind.

"On weekdays, Lu can trade with your Black Flag Army, because you have cannons, and we don't. Being able to get benefits, everything else is a small matter. However, the ultimate goal of getting benefits is to win the war. Now that the fate of the country is at stake, Mr. Ning, the Wu Xiang Army can only do the right thing, the rest is left to the officials of the court."

His voice was calm and firm, no longer the frivolous appearance of his usual smile. Ning Yi's fingers tapped the table in front of him, listening quietly all along. When the voice fell, the tapping gradually stopped. He looked up, took a long breath.

"Understood." There was no longer any meaning of persuasion in this voice. Ning Yi stood up, tidied his robes, then opened his mouth, silently closed it and opened it again, his fingers falling on the table.

"...War." Ning Yi said.

The wind blew from the nearby mountains, rushing along the earth with a whooshing sound. The awning, which had been built for who knows how long, stood quietly, unaware that it had witnessed the occurrence of history. After a simple farewell, Ning Yi walked towards the black, fluttering flags. Behind Lu Qiaoshan, the posture of the three thousand Wu Xiang Army was equally upright, as if confirming and telling of the general's determination.

Inside Zizhou City, Long Qifei and a group of scholars were gathering, verbally and in writing criticizing Lu Qiaoshan's shameful act of having people take Black Flag members from the prison. People were indignant, wishing they could immediately kill this traitorous villain with their own hands. Soon after, the Wu Xiang Army's proclamation of war against the Huaxia Army was delivered.

After some bewilderment, the crowd began to congratulate each other, rejoicing at the upcoming war.

On the second day after the proclamation of war arrived, the 100,000 Wu Xiang Army officially advanced into the Greater and Lesser Liang Mountains to conquer the Black Flag rebel bandits and support the Lang Ge and other tribes—at this time, the Ni clan inside the Greater and Lesser Liang Mountains had basically surrendered to the Black Flag Army, but large-scale fighting had not yet begun. Lu Qiaoshan could only use this time to force many Ni clans to make choices again with the power of his army, and at the same time interfere with the Black Flag Army's autumn harvest.

The literati and scholars made many poems and articles for this, to praise the efforts of Long Qifei and others in this matter—if not for the righteous people who risked their lives to take the risk, caught the Black Flag Army's traitor, and made the vacillating and hesitant Wu Xiang Army have to break with the Black Flag, how could Lu Qiaoshan, with his weak personality, really make up his mind to fight the other party?

This grand army's advance meant that the Wu Dynasty had finally made a formal, grand conquest of this shameful parricidal traitor. If one day the rebel surrendered, the scholars knew that their names would be on this merit book. They were looking forward to a heroic battle in Zizhou, constantly encouraging the people's morale, and many had already begun to rush to the front.

Soon after, people would witness a disastrous defeat.

In the north, a huge army advanced on the winding road south. The Jurchen army columns were neat and magnificent, stretching endlessly. In front of them were the surrendered lands of Shenzhou. The mountains in the field of vision rose and fell, and the water stretched endlessly. On the periphery of the Jurchen army, Li Xizhi's army, which had gathered together, had also set out, swarming together, clearing obstacles around them.

Although since Liu Yu was captured and issued a proclamation to surrender south, there have been many insurgents and responders in the Central Plains, the will to resist that has been revealed in the territory of General Li Xizhi, the Pacifier of the East, is not strong at present.

In the hinterland of Li Xizhi's territory, in a poor mountainous area of Shandong, with the arrival of the general of the night, two teams of knights gradually ascended the hill. Soon after, the light of the fire vaguely shone on the faces of the leaders on both sides.

At one end of the field of vision was a man with a face more beautiful than a woman. This was Wang Shanyue, known as the "Wolf Bandit" many years ago. Beside him was his wife, "One Zhang Qing" Hu Sanniang.

And at the other end of the field of vision, the man who gradually appeared had a scruffy beard, making it impossible to see his age, but his eyes still seemed firm and divine. Behind him, he carried a spear that had already become famous in the world.

This was "Burning City Spear" Zhu Biao.

Since Ning Yi committed parricide and the world was in chaos, Wang Shanyue, who was involved, first returned to Shandong under the protection of his wife. Zhu Biao returned during the three-year battle of Xiaocang River. Due to Li Xizhi's rise and the encirclement and suppression of the Black Flag Army, Dulonggang finally disappeared from people's sight after several battles. The Zhu family and the Hu family also broke up with each other due to different positions. Over the years, this may be the first time the three have met.

Hu Sanniang, who had once been engaged to Zhu Biao, was extremely wary of the man in front of her, but Wang Shanyue didn't care about the danger of Zhu Biao in this matter. He smiled and rode his horse over, looking at Zhu Biao in front of him, and didn't say too much—having worked together beside Ning Yi in the past, there was a deep friendship between the two men, and even if they later went their separate ways because of different paths, this friendship did not disappear because of it.

"What do you want to do?"

"Maybe the same as you."

"Then let's cooperate."

"Okay."

"After success, the credit belongs to the imperial court."

"When it comes to opera, can you beat Bamboo Records?"

"...Let's give it a try."

Wang Shanyue turned his horse's head and stood side by side with him. Hu Sanniang also came over, her wary gaze still following Zhu Biao.

The first resistance against the Jurchens, which shocked the world, was about to begin. The moonlight on the hill was like water, the starry night was lonely, no one knew how many people who looked up at the stars at this moment would survive after this great battle...

But when true destruction descends, people can only follow one after another, constantly moving forward...

Support (Complete Book Website) to share this site with those little friends who need it! Please leave a message if you can't find a book!