Leaving that small village, the sound of the murmuring stream still seemed to echo softly in his ears. Ning Yi carried the small lantern and walked along the post road with Yun Zhu, the carriage following behind.

Looking back, the scattered lights of the small village became faint, dissolving into the night sky, indistinguishable from anything else. Holding her husband's hand, Yun Zhu could still feel the pressure in his emotions, caused by the war reports from the north, but the words he heard in that room above had not become the cause of his distress.

Having followed her husband through so many ups and downs over the years, Yun Zhu had been able to understand what Ning Yi, Xi Gua, and others were doing, after listening to their discussions for several years. Although she didn't participate, she could still understand. Now that they had walked a long way, Yun Zhu gently brought up the matter.

"That was... Zhong Hecheng, Master Zhong. I had seen him in the school before. I haven't heard him talk about these ideas before..."

The lantern emitted an orange light as they walked forward. Two people carrying baskets approached from the end of the road, farmers who were going somewhere. When they reached the front, they stopped shyly at the side of the post road, allowing Ning Yi and the carriage behind to pass. Ning Yi raised the lantern to signal to them.

The two farmers passed by. Ning Yi watched their backs as they walked into the starlight in the distance before saying,

"If this Zhong Hecheng intentionally tried to get to know you in the school, you should be careful, but it's unlikely. He has a more important mission, he wouldn't want me to see him."

"Hmm?" Yun Zhu frowned slightly, "He is... here to cause trouble? I thought he was influenced by A-Gua."

Ning Yi smiled, "It's not wrong to say that he was influenced by A-Gua."

"But you said that A-Gua is extreme."

"The beginning of thought is always extreme." Ning Yi smiled at his wife. "What's wrong with equality for all? It is the direction that mankind should go to for thousands of years. If there is a way, it would be better to achieve it today. I am very happy that they can take up this idea."

"Li Heng, aren't you afraid of stirring up trouble." Seeing Ning Yi's calm attitude, Yun Zhu felt somewhat relieved. She smiled, and her steps became lighter. The two walked forward in the night breeze, Ning Yi tilted his head slightly.

"When talking about equality with people, the biggest question is whether smart people and idiots can be equal, whether capable people and incompetent people can be equal, whether lazy people and diligent people can be equal. Of course, it is impossible. It's not about the impossibility of reason, but about the fundamental impossibility of doing it, but what exactly is the difference between capable people and incompetent people? How are lazy people and diligent people created? Yun Zhu, you teach in school, you teach regardless of class, but smart children may not be able to learn well, and idiots may be more diligent. If you encounter a hopeless fellow, do you think it is because you can't teach well or because no one in the world can teach him well?"

"Sometimes I feel that no one in the world can teach him well." Yun Zhu smiled, then said, "But of course, some teachers put in some effort, and there are always ways to teach children."

"In this world, everyone can become better, everyone can become useful, smart children have different teaching methods, stupid children have different teaching methods, and everyone has the potential to become talented. Those great heroes and great sages who people look up to were all stupid children in one way or another at the beginning. What is the difference between Confucius and the farmer who just passed by? Actually, there is no difference. They took different paths and became different people. What is the difference between Confucius and Yun Zhu?"

"There is." Yun Zhu quickly said.

Ning Yi laughed as he held her hand, "There isn't. This is equality for all."

"...Everyone has an equal possibility. Everyone can gain wisdom through learning, through self-discipline, through continuous summarization and reflection, and finally achieve equality and become excellent people. However, if you don't do anything, you want equality from birth, sitting at home with your head in your hands, expecting to be as equal as those who work hard and desperately, that's a joke, of course... it would be nice if this could be done, but it will definitely not be possible."

Ning Yi looked back, "When we first came, the two farmers who just passed by would kneel on the side of the road. They don't have the idea of equality in their hearts, and it's not their fault. For them, inequality is a matter of course, because they have lived in inequality all their lives. Even if someone wants to become excellent, even if they are smart, they don't have money, they don't have books, they don't have teachers. This is unfair to them. But if someone is excellent, hardworking, desperate, and spends everything to become better, and someone is lazy, cherishes his life in the face of major events, and forgets righteousness in the face of small gains, the equality of these two kinds of people is the greatest satire on equality."

"Plant the sense of equality in the hearts of a generation, as for finding how to be equal, that is a matter of thousands of years. Someone is gluttonous and lazy, why is he gluttonous and lazy? What kind of environment did he experience since he was a child, and what kind of personality did he develop? Is it because life is too good? Then, for children who live a good life, is there a way for teachers to teach them a sense of urgency so that they can empathize?"

"Why can someone work hard, is it because his family was too poor before, or is it because he enjoys the sense of accomplishment? In fact, as for what an excellent person should do, if a person is willing to read, he will already understand everything by the time he is thirty years old, the only difference lies in how to do it. Diligence, restraint, effort, seriousness... How can a powerful system be created for thousands of children born in the world so that after learning, they can stimulate their excellent things? When everyone in the world starts to become excellent, that is equality for all."

Perhaps he thought about these things a lot on weekdays, as he walked, Ning Yi spoke softly. Yun Zhu remained silent, but could understand the sadness behind it. The sacrifice of Zhu Biao and others—if they really sacrificed—this is the value of their sacrifice, or rather, this is what her husband sees as "something that must be done."

The dirt road turned a corner. Under the distant sky, the firelight of the Chinese Army's camp spread, dottedly reflecting the Milky Way in the sky. The couple stopped for a moment, holding the small lantern, standing under a tree by the road and watching.

"We probably won't see equality for all in this lifetime." Yun Zhu smiled and said softly.

"That's a matter of thousands or tens of thousands of years." Ning Yi looked over there and responded softly, "Waiting until everyone can read and write is just the first step. Principles are easy to hang on people's mouths, but it is extremely difficult for principles to dissolve into people's hearts. Cultural system, philosophical system, education system... Exploring for a thousand years may reveal true human equality."

"So, even the most extreme equality, as long as they sincerely study and discuss it... it's all a good thing."

As Ning Yi said this, his voice became even lighter. He smiled slightly in the darkness, and then Yun Zhu seemed to hear a sentence: "I have to thank Li Pin..."

This sentence sounded like the wind. Yun Zhu looked over, "...Hmm?"

"What?" Ning Yi looked over with a smile. Before Yun Zhu could speak, he suddenly said again, "By the way, one day, there will be equality between men and women."

"Ah?"

"When men and women are equal, everyone does similar work and takes on similar responsibilities, and no one will be able to marry several wives like me... Well, by then, when everyone digs up old accounts, I will probably be criticized by everyone."

As he said this, he pressed Yun Zhu's hand to his lips, and Yun Zhu smiled until her eyes narrowed. "That sounds... quite interesting..."

"...But let me take advantage of this for the rest of my life."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the distant military camp. The couple stopped talking. Not long after, they sat down on the grassy slope by the road.

The warm yellow light was like a cluster of fireflies. Yun Zhu sat there, turning her head to look at Ning Yi beside her. More than ten years had passed since they met and fell in love.

Apart from the peaceful first few years, they had been floating like a small boat in a storm for the past ten years. Even though she came from an official family, Yun Zhu had never imagined that she would experience such a changed life later. At that time, she lived in a small building by the river, watching the scholars running past the door every day. They occasionally had calm greetings, and she fantasized about spending this life quietly as his concubine or mistress.

Jiangning had finally become a thing of the past. What followed were experiences that she had never had even in the most bizarre of imaginations. The calm and composed young scholar had turned the world upside down and gradually reached middle age. He was no longer as calm as he used to be. The small boat had sailed into the sea, into the wind and waves. He was more like fighting the giant waves meticulously in a desperate posture. Even the demons in his heart, which were feared by the world, were actually clenching their teeth and tensing their spirits all the time.

Over the years, Yun Zhu had been teaching in the school. She occasionally heard Ning Yi and Xi Gua talk about the idea of equality, and she could understand it and felt a burst of heat in her heart. But at this moment, as she looked at the man sitting beside her, she just recalled Jiangning back then. She thought: No matter what happens to me, I just hope he will be okay, that's all.

She reached out and wanted to smooth his slightly furrowed brows. Ning Yi glanced at her, not hearing her heart, but just hugged her over, and the couple sat together for a while under the warm yellow light of the tree. Under the grassy slope, the sound of the stream flowed gurglingly, like Jiangning many years ago, when they were chatting under the tree, and the Qinhuai River flowed by...

Not long after, Ning Yi returned to the courtyard and gathered his men to continue the meeting, without stopping for a moment. It rained outside that night.

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

Time never stops.

On both sides of the Yellow River, heavy rain poured down. Many things were like every raindrop in this heavy rain. It went its own way, crossing the sky and the earth without stopping, gathering towards the direction of streams, rivers, and the sea.

When they come together in pieces, we can see where they are going, and their huge destructive power. But when it falls, no one can care about where each raindrop is going.

In the Central Plains, the rain of the world has been falling for a year.

This is one of the ordinary raindrops...

Night.

The rumbling sound was roaring, the water swept over the village, washed away the houses, and in the heavy rain, people were shouting, people were running, and people were scurrying in the dark mountains.

Lightning flashed across the night sky, and the white light illuminated the scene ahead. Under the hillside, the flood was vast, submerging the places where people lived on weekdays. Countless debris was rolling in the water, roofs, trees, corpses. Wang Xing stood in the rain, his whole body was shaking.

On the hillside, a small number of people who had escaped were still shouting in the rain, and some were crying out the names of their families. People were walking up the mountain, mud was flowing down the mountain, and some people fell into the water and rolled down. In the darkness, there were hysterical cries.

The heavy rain continued to fall. By daybreak, the people who climbed to the top of the mountain could see the surrounding scenery clearly. The river burst its banks in the night and rushed down from the upper reaches. Although someone reported the news, only two or three out of ten survivors escaped from the village. Wang Xing dragged out a small bag of dried fish for food, and all his belongings were gone.

The rain did not stop. He hid under a tree and built a small shed with branches. His whole body was shaking, and more people were crying in the distance or not far away.

Many people's families died in the flood. Survivors not only had to face such grief, but more terrifyingly, all their belongings and even food were washed away by the flood. Wang Xing trembled in the small shed for a while.

When it was bright, the rain gradually subsided. The surviving villagers gathered together, and then, a strange thing happened.

They saw Wang Xing carrying the bag of dried fish over, with half a pot he didn't know where he found: "These are the only things left at home. They'll get moldy if they get rained on. Let's cook them and eat them together."

Wang Xing was the most stingy and slippery down-and-out household in the village on weekdays. He had a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, was lazy and timid, didn't dare to stand up for major events, and showed his ugly face when he could get small gains. He was the only one in his family, and he had not married a wife at the age of thirty. But at this time, the expression on his face was very different. He actually took out the last of his food to share with others, which surprised everyone.

Of course, at this time of great disaster, the doubts in their hearts were doubts, and then everyone started a fire, divided the dried fish, and ate it to fill their stomachs. When they were sharing the dried fish, the survivors in the village did not notice Wang Xing's whereabouts. Not long after, a child turned around the large stone behind the mountain and saw something strange again.

Wang Xing was squatting behind the stone, digging something with a stone chip, and then dug out a long object wrapped in oilcloth. When he opened the oilcloth, there was a knife inside.

At this time, there was still rain falling from the sky. Wang Xing had been drenched in the rain all night, his whole body was wet, and his hair was sticking to his face, like a lost and disoriented stray dog. Coupled with the fact that he was originally not good-looking, this scene looked chilling.

The child was very frightened. Not long after, he told the adults in the village about it, and the adults were also taken aback. Some said that this guy must be preparing to kill people and rob things since he had nothing left. Others said that Wang Xing's timid personality, where would he dare to take a knife, the child must have seen it wrong. Everyone searched for a while, but after that, they never saw the down-and-out household in the village again.

Just as they were searching everywhere, Wang Xing had already walked on the mountain road far away from here.

The heavy rain in the Central Plains has actually been falling for more than ten years.

From the first time the Jurchens went south to the establishment of the Puppet Qi, life has never been good. The Yellow River has always been said to be the mother river, but the residents on both sides of the Yellow River both love and fear it. Even during the prosperous period of the Wu Dynasty, the cost of managing the Yellow River every year was sky-high. When Liu Yu ruled the Central Plains, he plundered wealth unscrupulously, and the work of managing the Yellow River every year had also stopped.

For ten years, the breaches of the Yellow River have been getting worse and worse. In addition to floods, the annual epidemics, refugees, conscription, and exorbitant taxes have long pushed people to the brink of life and death. As for this spring in the tenth year of Jianshuo, what is attracting attention is the resistance in Jin and the fierce battle in Daming Prefecture, but long before this, the floods over people's heads had already surged.

Since the Jurchens launched their expedition last year, conscription and exorbitant taxes in the Central Plains have reached the point of marrow extraction. After Wanyan Chang took over Li Xizhi's territory, in order to support the Southern Expedition of the East Route Army, the money, grain, and taxes in the Central Plains were increased several times. He ordered Han officials to handle this matter, and anyone who was not good at collecting grain would be killed without mercy.

In the first few months, almost half of the affairs officials in Li Xizhi's original territory were replaced. As for those who were "replaced," their heads had been hung on the city walls for public display. The food stored in Han people's homes in the Central Plains has been completely emptied. As long as the officials are cruel enough, they basically still have a way to survive.

As for the other way to survive, it is to join the army and eat. When Li Xizhi died, nearly 200,000 troops were scattered. After Wanyan Chang took over the military affairs, he mobilized the remaining troops in a short time and launched conscription at the same time. During the days of besieging Daming Prefecture, the Han soldiers who rushed to the front line ate like beggars. Some died in the war, and some were scattered again. By the time Daming Prefecture was captured, the Han army near here, together with the garrison "troops" in various places, had reached as many as 400,000.

The combat power of these "troops" may not be high, but it is enough as long as they can rob money and grain from the people. Part of this money and grain belongs to them, and part of it begins to be sent to the south. As for March, when Daming Prefecture was captured, the area north of the Yellow River could not be described by just one sentence: "The people are living in misery." The matter of eating people has actually appeared in many places.

Wang Xing is a coward.

Some people once knew that he was forcibly conscripted into the army to attack Xiaocang River. He was afraid, so he ran away. After the Xiaocang River incident came to an end, he secretly ran back. When he was conscripted into the army, he was still young. Over the years, the situation was chaotic, and the people who died or left the village gradually disappeared. He returned here and lived a cowardly and wretched life.

Of course, no one would know that he had been captured by the Chinese Army to the Southwest.

He was too afraid of death. He was captured to the Southwest. After a period of preaching, the Chinese Army's life was not easy. There were many military regulations, and they also went hungry in the early days. Wang Xing couldn't stand it, so he lied that he had an old mother at home and was released by the Chinese Army.

This journey back and forth, thousands of miles away, further wiped out Wang Xing's courage. This world is too terrible. He doesn't want to die—doesn't want to die suddenly at the front.

Over the years, life has been extremely difficult. In this year, conscripting soldiers broke into his home and beat him half to death. He almost thought he was really going to die, but he slowly survived. Jin is still fighting, and Daming Prefecture is still fighting. Those heroes with courage in their hearts are still resisting.

I can't become such a person, and many people can't, which is human nature. Wang Xing told himself this in his heart, and as long as there are such people and people like the Chinese Army who are constantly resisting, this world will not be destroyed after all.

During the time he was in the Chinese Army, at least he remembered some things: Sooner or later, people will drive away the Jurchens.

When that day comes, good days will eventually come.

But I'm not a hero... I'm just afraid of death, I don't want to die in the front.

That's what he thought in his heart.

Until that day in April, there was a flood by the river. He had good luck and took the opportunity to catch some fish, took them to the city to exchange for some things, and suddenly heard the Jurchens' propaganda.

Daming Prefecture has fallen, and the Black Banner Army has been defeated.

His heart suddenly collapsed.

He waited in the city for two days and saw the convoy escorting the prisoners of the Black Banner Army and the Guangwu Army into the city. Some of these prisoners had severed limbs, and some were seriously injured and dying, but Wang Xing could clearly identify them as Chinese soldiers.

Not long after, they were all beheaded at the execution ground, and their heads rolled down.

In the Jurchens' propaganda, the Guangwu Army and the Chinese Army were completely wiped out.

No matter how hard life is, there will always be some people who survive.

Some people want to live with ambition, some people want to live like human beings, some people just bend over without kneeling... Someone will always rush to the front.

It doesn't matter to me, I'm just afraid of death, even if I kneel, it doesn't matter to me. I'm different from them after all, they are not as afraid of death as I am... I'm so afraid, there's nothing I can do. That's what Wang Xing thought in his heart.

The Wu Dynasty was defeated. Before, there were rebels everywhere, but the rebels gradually disappeared. Later, there were the Guangwu Army and the King of Jin. Even if the Guangwu Army and Jin were defeated, at least there was the Black Banner. But all of this is gone... But we haven't defeated the Jurchens yet.

The lid of the Central Plains has been pressed down, and no one will resist anymore. Returning to the village, Wang Xing's heart also gradually died. Two days later, the flood came at night, and Wang Xing was cold all over, constantly trembling. In fact, from the moment he saw the beheading in the city, he had already understood in his heart: There is no way out.

He left a little dried fish, gave the rest to the villagers, and then dug out the already rusty knife. Two days later, the killing of a Han soldier who robbed grain happened on a mountain road dozens of miles away from the village.

Wang Xing took the little grain he had robbed after killing someone, found a small sampan, and chose a day when the weather cleared slightly, and began to cross the river against the wind and waves. He heard that there were still Chinese troops fighting in Xuzhou.

Growing up on the banks of the Yellow River, he understood since he was a child that half of those who crossed the river in this situation would die, but it didn't matter, those who resisted were already dead.

Even the most timid people have no way out.

The rain in the Central Plains is still falling.

Many things are gradually fermenting in the rain...

At the same time, under the command of Wanyan Chang, an army of more than 200,000 began to besiege Liangshan Marsh. After the Guangwu Army and the Chinese Army were wiped out, there were still tens of thousands of family members living on the islands in the marsh. Only more than two thousand troops are now guarding them...

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