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County He Deng is mostly the residence of high-ranking Black Flag Army officials. Due to the return of a certain unit, the mountain and its surroundings appeared somewhat bustling for a time. Turning around the mountain path, one could see figures rushing back and forth, and the flickering light at night increased significantly. Search: \(¨Complete¨ Book¨ God¨ Station¨) to read high-quality literature for free.

Turning around the mountain path, the noise of the people faded away. The back mountain was the location of graves. A large black monument stood far away in the night. There was fire nearby, and someone was guarding the spirit. Behind the giant monument, there were densely packed small tombstones extending outwards.

"...The Xiaocang River Battle included the Northwest, the Zhong family... the ashes and cenotaphs of more than 43,000 people. This monument was erected, and those who passed away later were buried below. In the early years, fighting with the surrounding areas required a lot of manpower just to carve the tombstones. Later, someone said that all Chinese people are one family, and they can't even afford to eat, so it's better to bury them all under one monument and just leave their names. I didn't agree. Now the small tombstones are all the same. The artisans who carve the tombstones have very good skills, but now most of them are making landmines..."

Two figures walked forward hand in hand. While walking, Su Tan'er softly introduced the surroundings. Ning Yi had been to the three counties of He Deng once four years ago, and later only a few times to see it from afar. Now everything in front of him was new places, new things. Approaching the monument, he leaned on it and looked at it, his hand stroking the stone tablet, which was full of rough lines and drawings.

"General Zhong...was originally someone I wanted to keep..." Ning Yi sighed, "It's a pity, Zhong Shizhong, Zhong Shidao, Zhong Lie..."

"How is the Zhe family doing?" Tan'er asked in a low voice.

"...Dominating the Northwest." Ning Yi smiled, "It's just a pity that there are not many living people in the Northwest anymore."

In the three-year Xiaocang River Battle, the Zhong family army assisted the Chinese army in resisting the Jurchens. By the fifth year of Jianshuo, Ci Bushi and Shu Liesu went south. While trying to relocate the residents of the Northwest, Zhong Lie held Yan Prefecture and refused to retreat. Later, Yan Prefecture was captured and Zhong Lie died. Later, Xiaocang River was also broken by the army. Ci Bushi occupied the Northwest in an attempt to trap the Black Flag Army, but unexpectedly, the Black Flag Army infiltrated Yan Prefecture along secret passages. In a great battle, countless Jurchen elites were annihilated. Ci Bushi was also captured by Ning Yi and later beheaded at the head of Yan Prefecture.

In the Xiaocang River Battle, even if millions of corpses were buried, they were not in the eyes of the Jurchens. However, in the battle against the Black Flag Army, first the death of the god of war, Wanyan Lou Shi, and then the fall of the general Ci Bushi, along with the deaths of thousands of elites, was the greatest pain felt by the Jurchens. As a result, after the war, the Jurchens launched a massacre in the Northwest. The towns and villages that had previously favored the Chinese army or remained indifferent during the war were almost all massacred into white lands. After that, they vigorously promoted the argument that "this was all caused by the Black Flag Army. If you don't resist, it won't be like this."

After the great massacre at the end of the sixth year of Jianshuo, in the seventh year, plagues and famines spread in the Northwest, and later almost became a land of no people for thousands of miles. Except for the Western Army gathered by the Black Flag Army and the more than 20,000 Northwest residents who migrated south, now the bloodline in that area is probably only left in the several cities ruled by the Zhe family.

When the Black Flag Army went to the Northwest, one was to meet with Lü Liang, and the other was to find a relatively closed place of war, where they could properly refine the more than 10,000 soldiers of the Wu Rui Camp under the conditions of not being greatly affected by the outside world but being able to maintain great pressure. The subsequent development was tragic and terrible. The merits and demerits were difficult to discuss, and what had been accumulated was already an indescribable sea of blood debts.

Ning Yi was in a complex mood. He stroked the tombstone and walked past it. He saluted the spirit-guarding soldiers not far away, and the other party returned a military salute.

"...The people of the Northwest died one after another, and the Central Plains also cut off contact with that side for self-preservation, so few people care about the great disaster in Western Xia... Those Mongols slaughtered Yinchuan, killing city after city. There have also been two frictions with the Jurchens in the north. Their light cavalry comes and goes like the wind for thousands of miles. The Jurchens didn't gain much advantage. Now it seems that Western Xia is about to be digested completely..."

"It sounds very powerful, but I still don't understand why you attach so much importance to them." Tan'er thought for a while, "A mountain cannot accommodate two tigers. Their great war in the north may not be a good thing."

"War will overwhelm people, and it will also temper people. They will overwhelm people like the Wu Dynasty, but they will temper people like the Jin Kingdom." The forest of steles stretched forward. Ning Yi took Tan'er by the hand and walked along the light of the lantern, "After occupying the Liao Kingdom and occupying the Central Plains, many of the old people in the Jin Kingdom also died. After Aguda, Zongwang, and Lou Shi left, the younger generation came to power and began to have the mindset of enjoying themselves. Those old generals have suffered for a lifetime and don't care about the extravagance and tyranny of the children. The poor get rich suddenly, it's always like this, but the foreign enemies are still there, and they will always hold their breath. The Black Flag Army and the Mongols are such foreign enemies."

Tan'er laughed, "In that case, it's better for us to be weaker."

Ning Yi also smiled, "In order to let them corrupt, we are also weak, then the winner will never be us... The Mongols are different from the Jurchens. The Jurchens are poor and dare to fight, but to put it bluntly, it is for a good life. The Mongols are martial, and believe that under the sky, all are the hunting grounds of the Eternal Sky. Since Temujin led them to gather into one force, this kind of thought has become more intense. They fight... not for a better life at all..."

"Then why?"

"Fighting *is* a better life." Ning Yi's tone was calm and slow, "Men are in the world to chase more ferocious prey, to defeat more powerful enemies, to plunder the best treasures, to see the weak cry, to rape women... The one who can gallop in this hunting ground is the most powerful person. They regard fighting as the essence of life, so, they won't stop easily."

Tan'er fell silent.

"After the fall of Yinchuan in Western Xia, the courage of the whole country has been lost. The Mongols slaughtered Yinchuan, driving the prisoners to break other cities. As long as there is a little resistance, the whole city will be killed. They are intoxicated by this process. The frictions with the Jurchens are all light cavalry guerrillas. If they can't win, they leave immediately, and the Jurchens can't catch up. After Western Xia is digested, these people will either go west or enter the Central Plains... I hope it's not the latter."

The two walked and talked, and when they came to a tombstone, Tan'er pulled Ning Yi's hand. Ning Yi stopped, looked at the words on the tombstone, and placed the lantern in his hand aside.

This was Su Yu's grave.

The old man had passed away more than two years ago.

As Tan'er's grandfather, the pillar of the Su family for many years, this old man actually did not have much knowledge. When he was young, the Su family was still a small clan running a cloth shop. The foundation of the Su family started with his father, but it was actually Su Yu who made it rise and shine. The old man had five children, two of whom died early, and the remaining three children were all mediocre. When Su Yu was old, he had no choice but to choose the young and intelligent Su Tan'er as a preparatory successor to cultivate.

This was an old man that Ning Yi admired. Although he was not as amazingly talented as Qin Si Yuan or Kang Xian, he did support a large family with his majesty and kindness. Thinking back to more than ten years ago, when he first woke up in this body, although he didn't care about the status of being a Son-in-Law, if the Su family had made things difficult for him, he would have had a hard time. But in the beginning, although the old man "knew" that this grandson-in-law was just a poor scholar with shallow knowledge, he actually took good care of him.

The old man didn't read much when he was young, but he was very concerned about the knowledge of his children and grandchildren. He spent a lot of effort to build private schools and academies, and even let the girls of the third and fourth generations of the family enter to learn. Although the academy seemed extremely mediocre from top to bottom, such efforts were indeed the correct way for a family to accumulate.

Later, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er supported the Su family, and the old man no longer managed too much. After the Liangshan Massacre, Su Yu was depressed and handed over all matters. Ning Yi and Su Tan'er both understood that although the old man no longer managed things, he still looked forward to the revitalization and leap of the Su family. Perhaps the later development was as he wished, until... the regicide and rebellion.

It is difficult to know how the old man viewed these things. As a cloth merchant family, even if the old man's vision went beyond Jiangning, it probably wouldn't reach the world. Not many people knew how he viewed his son-in-law's regicide and rebellion. At that time, the old man's body was not very good. After considering these things, Tan'er had cried to Ning Yi, "Grandpa will die on the road..." But the old man stubbornly arrived at Mount Lüliang.

In the next few years, the old man quietly watched all this, gradually becoming more and more recognized from silence. At that time, Ning Yi was busy with work, and he didn't have much time to see Su Yu, but every time they met, they would have a conversation. Regarding the disaster of the Jurchens and the resistance of Xiaocang River, he gradually felt proud, and he often raised his own questions about many things Ning Yi did, and listened quietly, but it could be seen that he naturally couldn't understand everything - after all, he didn't read much.

Five years ago, when the war was about to begin, the old man went south with everyone, traveling more than a thousand miles, but during this process, he never complained. Even if the Su family members who accompanied him had any bad words or deeds, he would call them over and beat them with his crutch. He used to think that the only member of the Su family who had any talent was Su Tan'er, but now he was proud of Su Wending, Su Wenfang, Su Wenyu, Su Yanping and others who had become talented after following Ning Yi.

But the old man was too old after all. After arriving at He Deng, he lost his ability to move, and he became confused and sober at times. In the fifth year of Jianshuo, Ning Yi arrived at He Deng, and the old man was in a state of confusion. He had no further communication with Ning Yi, and that was the last time they saw each other. In the early spring of the sixth year of Jianshuo, the old man's physical condition finally began to deteriorate. One morning, he woke up and asked everyone about the battle situation in Xiaocang River, whether Ning Yi and others had returned in triumph. At this time, the Northwest War was at its most tragic stage, and everyone didn't know what to say. Tan'er and Wenfang came, and then told the old man the whole situation in detail.

The old man passed away on this day. When he was last conscious, he said a few words to the talented young people and children of the Su family to encourage them. When he asked Tan'er to bring a message to Ning Yi, his thoughts were already blurred. Su Tan'er later wrote these things in a letter and sent them to Ning Yi.

"...Your father and I... made an engagement for you, in a forest... You were still young, walking, falling... Many people came, the Su family... the Ning family... At that time, Su Yun was still there, sick for a long time, dressed up, and then came out... In the forest, under the grape trellis, many people..." The old man's memory seemed to stay in that forest more than thirty years ago for a long time. That was the Su family's forest. At that time, Jiangning was still peaceful, and Tan'er's grandmother, Kang Suyun, was still alive. People were young. The old man recalled for a long time, and the light in his eyes gradually faded. In the end, he held Tan'er's hand, and when Tan'er leaned over, he heard the old man say in a low voice: "...the backbone of the world..."

That was probably asking Ning Yi to be the backbone of the world.

Tan'er also wrote it in a letter and sent it to him.

"Grandpa should have been very satisfied when he left. What he was worried about before was probably that the family members could not become talented. Now Wending and Wenfang have both started families and become talented, and the children are studying and are sensible. In the end, Grandpa was actually very happy these few years. In the two years in He Deng, his health was not good, and he always told me not to tell you, those who are fighting don't have to worry about the family. A few times he told Wenfang and the others that he had seen the world from south to north and then from north to south. He used to walk around with goods, that was all fake. So, there's no need to be sad for Grandpa."

They placed a few symbolic sacrifices in front of the grave. The night wind gently blew past. The two sat down in front of the grave, looking at the scene of tombstones extending below. Over the past ten years, the old people had passed away one after another, and it wasn't just Su Yu. Qin Siyuan, Qian Xiwen, Kang Xian...gradually aged and left. The young people who shouldn't have left also left in large numbers. Ning Yi held Tan'er's hand, raised it, and then put it down.

"Five or six years ago, before the war started, I went to Qingmu Village and chatted with Grandpa. Grandpa said that he didn't really know how to teach people. He thought that if he set up a school, people would learn well. He spent money to hire teachers, and beat and scolded the children. The children were stubborn and unbearable. He thought the children were all like Su Wenji. Later, he felt that only Tan'er in the family could take on the great responsibility..."

"But he later realized that it was not like this. It turned out that he just didn't know how to teach. Sharp swords come from sharpening. It turned out that as long as they were polished, Wending and Wenfang could also make the Su family proud, but it's a pity for Wenji... I think, the old man ultimately felt sad when he thought about Wenji's matter..."

What they were talking about was the Liangshan Massacre more than ten years ago. At that time, Su Wenji, who was frightened by the massacre, clamored to hand over Tan'er, who was hiding in the crowd. The old man came out and stabbed this grandson to death in front of everyone. People are not plants, how can they be without feelings? In that massacre, nearly half of the Su family was slaughtered, but later, when he thought about it, the old man was still unable to let go of killing his grandson with his own hands...

"At that time, I was teaching classes in Xiaocang River, teaching a group of people who could do things. I told the old man that the sky was falling, how could a few people resist it? Things are ultimately resisted by everyone. Me, Wending, and Wenfang, what we do is our duty... The people of the world are the backbone of the world... Grandpa may have thought of this in the end..."

"Yes." Tan'er replied softly. Time passed, and the old man was ultimately just living in memory. Asking carefully didn't have much meaning. People's encounters and gatherings are based on fate, and fate also has an end. Because of this regret, their hands can be tightly held together.

In the distance, the rising flames lit up, and faint fighting sounds could be heard. The search during the day was just the beginning. After Ning Yi and others arrived, there would inevitably be fugitives who got the news and wanted to spread it. The second round of checking for omissions has already been launched under the leadership of Hong Ti, Xigua and others.

"Let's go back first." The two held hands, bypassed the mountain road, and walked towards the brightly lit courtyard in the distance. Over there, many people were already waiting.

In the late autumn of the eighth year of Wujian Shuo, Ning Yi returned to He Deng. At this time, the Black Flag Army, after going through the initial mud, finally began to swell into a huge behemoth. During this time, the world was silent in tension, and Ning Yi's family finally spent a rare period of leisure here.

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

Lin'an, Heavenly Prison.

When the sky was slightly bright, the servants and guards of the Princess Mansion walked through the long corridor in the prison. The steward directed the jailers to clean the road in the Heavenly Prison. The people in front walked into the inner prison cell. They brought hot water, towels, shaving razors, clothes and trousers, etc., and did everything for a prisoner in the Heavenly Prison and changed clothes.

The prisoner's name was Qu Zonghui. He was shivering with fear from this kind of behavior. He resisted a little, and then asked, "What are you doing... Are you going to kill me... Are you going to kill me... I'm the駙馬 (fuma, Imperial Son-in-Law), I'm from the Qu family, you can't do this... you can't do this..."

His shouts were soon stopped by the steward's serious gaze. He allowed the servants to wash, shave, and tidy up his long hair in a slight tremor. After completion, he also became a handsome and elegant young master - this was the good appearance he originally had - soon after the servants left, and after a while, the Princess came.

She was dignified in appearance and wore wide and beautiful clothes. It seemed a bit like when she got married, and was very formal in any case. But Qu Zonghui was still frightened by the calm gaze. He stood there, trying to calm himself down, but he didn't know whether he should kneel down: Over the years, he had been swaggering outside, seemingly fearless, but in fact, his heart had been very afraid of this princess. He just understood that the other party would not care about him at all.

But this time, he knew things were different.

Zhou Pei sat down in the prison cell. All the servants outside the prison cell had left. Only a silent guard was in the shadows not far away. The flames were shaking in the oil lamp, and the surroundings were quiet and gloomy. After a long time, he heard Zhou Pei say, "駙馬 (fuma, Imperial Son-in-Law), sit down." The tone was gentle.

Qu Zonghui slowly sat down opposite him. Zhou Pei faced him like this, looking at him calmly for a long time. Over the years, except for the long talk after the marriage, this was perhaps the longest time Zhou Pei had looked at him.

"I am responsible for you." I don't know when, Zhou Pei opened her mouth softly, Qu Zonghui's lips trembled: "I..." He couldn't say anything in the end.

Zhou Pei didn't care about his words either, just looked at him for a moment, speaking in recollection.

"When I was still a girl, I had a master. He was so talented that no one could match him..."

The Heavenly Prison was quiet, like a ghost realm. Qu Zonghui listened to the faint words, and his body trembled slightly. He actually knew who the princess's master was in his heart. He was not afraid of this, but after being married for so many years, when the other party said so much to him for the first time, the smart him knew that things were going to get big... He couldn't guess his next fate...

"...I was young at the time, although I was impressed by his talent, I never admitted it verbally. I couldn't understand many things he did, and I didn't understand many things he said, but unknowingly, I cared about him... The admiration of childhood cannot be counted as love, of course it can't be counted...驸馬 (fuma, Imperial Son-in-Law), later I married you, and I no longer had him in my heart, but I envied the relationship between him and his Shiniang (师娘, master's wife). He was a Son-in-Law, just like you, 駙馬 (fuma, Imperial Son-in-Law). When he got married, he and his Shiniang (师娘, master's wife) had no feelings, but the two later contacted each other, understood each other, and slowly became a family that cherished each other. I envied such a relationship very much, I thought... I could have such a relationship with you, 駙馬 (fuma, Imperial Son-in-Law)..."

"This is my big mistake..."

"I married you with such naive thoughts, had a long talk with you, and I told you that I wanted to understand slowly, and slowly be able to be with you and stay together forever... A girl in her teens, really naive. You heard it, 駙馬 (fuma, Imperial Son-in-Law), maybe you think it's just an excuse for me to be unintentional to you... Whether it is or not, this is ultimately what I thought wrong. I never thought that you had never seen such a way of getting along, emotion, and cherishing each other outside. Those scholars you interacted with were all ambitious and upright people. I humiliated you. You agreed to me on the surface, but in the end... in less than a month, you went to the brothel to visit prostitutes..."

"My naivety destroyed my good man and ruined your life..."

The calm voice narrated all the way, and this voice floated in the prison cell. Qu Zonghui's eyes were sometimes fearful and sometimes angry: "You, you..." He had resentment in his heart, wanting to explode, but he didn't dare to explode after all. Opposite, Zhou Pei just looked at him quietly, with a tear dripping down her cheek in her eyes.

"...In the following ten years, the Wu Dynasty suffered a great disaster. We were displaced and ran around. I had things on my shoulders, and you were... let go after all. You went to brothels to visit prostitutes, stayed overnight, drank and made trouble with a group of friends. If you had no money, you would go back to the steward to ask for it, one sum after another, and even smashed the steward's head. I never paid attention. You can take three hundred taels or five hundred taels, even if you say I treat you harshly outside, I..."

She paused, and lowered her head: "I thought it was because I was broad-minded, but now that I think about it, I feel guilty."

"You, you, you... You finally know! You finally said it! Do you know... you are my wife, you are sorry to me—" Qu Zonghui finally shouted at the end of the prison cell.

Zhou Pei's eyes looked to the side, quietly waiting for him to finish, and after a while: "Yes, I am sorry to you, and I am sorry to... the family you killed... Looking back, in ten years, I always looked forward to my good man one day becoming a mature person. He would let go of his past grudges with me and repair our relationship... These years, the court has lost half of its country, the court has withdrawn south, and refugees from the north have been coming all the time. I am a princess, and sometimes, I feel tired... Sometimes, I see you making trouble with people at home, I might be able to go over and talk to you, but I can't open my mouth. I'm twenty-seven years old, and the mistake ten years ago can only be suffered after ten years. And you... twenty-nine, right..."

"In these ten years, you have been visiting prostitutes, spending money, and bullying others outside. I closed my eyes. For ten years, I have become more and more tired, and you have become more and more crazy. It is still willing for you to visit prostitutes in brothels, and I don't care if you raise thin horses outside. I don't sleep with you, you always have to have women around you, spend when you should spend, it's good... but you shouldn't kill people, living people..."

Her hands were clasped in front of her, her fingers twisted together, and her eyes looked over coldly, Qu Zonghui shook his head: "I, I was wrong... Princess, I will change, we... we will be together well in the future, I, I won't do those things anymore..."

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and took a few steps forward, seemingly wanting to hug Zhou Pei, but feeling Zhou Pei's gaze, he didn't dare to do it after all. Zhou Pei looked at him and said coldly, "Go back!"

Qu Zonghui retreated.

Zhou Pei's eyes calmed down again. She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again before she could speak.

"My master, he is an upright man. He kills bandits, kills corrupt officials, kills resentful soldiers, kills Jurchens, he... his wife had no feelings for him at first, and he was not angry or annoyed. He never treated his wife in a way that would destroy himself.驸馬 (fuma, Imperial Son-in-Law), you were a bit like him at first, you are smart, kind, and romantic and talented. I originally thought you were a bit like..."

"I spent ten years, sometimes angry, sometimes guilty, and sometimes reflecting on whether my requirements were too much... A woman can't wait, sometimes I think, even if you have done so many wrong things over the years, if you repent one day and come to me to say you won't do this anymore, and then you reach out to hug me, that would be great, I... I might forgive you. But not once..."

"I was naive for ten years, and you were naive for ten years... A twenty-nine-year-old man, playing with women outside, killed her, and then killed her whole family, you are no longer a child. My admired master, he even killed the emperor himself in the end. I certainly disagree with him, but he is really amazing... The good man I married ruined his own life and ruined someone else's whole family because of a girl's naivety. He is really... worse than a pig or a dog."

Zhou Pei clenched her fists tightly on her legs and gritted her teeth: "Beast!"

Qu Zonghui knelt down crying, saying words of begging for mercy, Zhou Pei's tears had already filled her face, and she shook her head.

"I can't kill you." She said, "I want to kill you, but I can't kill you. The emperor and the Qu family won't let me kill you, but if I don't kill you, I will be sorry for the wronged family. They are also citizens of the Wu Dynasty. I can't turn a blind eye to them being killed by someone like you. I originally wanted to castrate you..."

When she said this, even Qu Zonghui, who was crying, was stunned for a moment.

"I originally wanted to castrate you." She shook her head and said, "So that you can't harm people anymore, but I know this won't work. At that time, if you hold resentment, you will only harm people in a more psychologically twisted way. Now the Three Divisions have proved that you are innocent. I can only bear your sins to the end..."

"I was wrong, I was wrong..." Qu Zonghui cried, kowtowing repeatedly, "I won't do these things anymore, Princess, I respect you and love you, I did these things because I love you... Let's start again..."

"We won't start again, and we will never be able to break it off." Zhou Pei showed a desolate smile on her face, stood up, "I have cleaned up a courtyard for you in the Princess Mansion. You will live there in the future. You can't see outsiders and you can't leave at all. I can't kill you, then you live, but as for the outside, just pretend you are dead, you can't harm people anymore. Let's live next to each other for the rest of our lives."

She walked towards the outside of the prison cell, Qu Zonghui howled and rushed over to drag her skirt, saying words of begging for mercy and loving her. Zhou Pei struggled to break free, and a strip of her skirt was torn off with a crash, but she didn't care.

"Our缘分 (yuanfen, predestined relationship) is over..."

She looked at him for a moment, walked through the dark prison corridor, and gradually disappeared from Qu Zonghui's sight.

On this day, Qu Zonghui was taken back to the Princess Mansion and locked in that courtyard. Zhou Pei did not kill him, and the Qu family no longer made much noise. However, Qu Zonghui could no longer see outsiders. He shouted and repented in the courtyard, saying words of apology to Zhou Pei and words of apology to the dead. This process probably lasted for a month. He finally began to curse in despair, cursing Zhou Pei, cursing the guards, and cursing the people outside. Later, he even cursed the royal family. This process lasted for a long, long time...

Everything in the world is just a process of meeting and separating.

In the autumn of the eighth year of Wu Dynasty Jianshuo, even the fallen leaves seemed to be pregnant with a surging tide. Wu Dynasty, Black Flag, Central Plains, and Jin Kingdom were still enjoying precious peace in this tension. The world was like a shaking net, and I didn't know when it would break all the lines...

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