As the spring rains descended on the northern lands, vast expanses of accumulated snow melted away. The white that had dominated the winter gradually lost its reign. In the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the booming sound of melting ice echoed as it entered the riverbed, causing the water level of this mother river to rise significantly. The roaring river, swirling with the dirt that had spread across its banks during the winter, surged downwards, creating a desolate scene in the rain-soaked landscape along the Yellow River's edges. Search: \(¨Complete¨ Book¨ God¨ Station¨) to read exquisite literature for free.

From the Yellow River southward, beyond the Yangtze's rolling currents, the southern regions had awakened earlier. After the second day of the second lunar month, spring plowing began successively. Across the vast lands, farmers drove their oxen, starting the new year's labor in the crisscrossing fields. On the Yangtze, merchant ships, braving the wind and waves, had also become busy. Large and small cities, workshops of all sizes, and bustling merchant caravans continuously fueled this prosperous era. If one didn't look north of the Yangtze, towards the countless layers of a million-strong army already mobilizing, one would sincerely exclaim, "This is truly a golden age."

In a sense, it truly was a golden age.

Within Lin'an City, assembled beggars peddled their pitiful stories to passersby. Knights-errant, in groups of twos and threes, drew their swords and headed for the borders. Scholars, at this time, could finally find their own impassioned courage. Due to the great disaster in the north, brothels were filled with girls who had been sold. The songs of the *qingguan* often carried a sorrowful or tragic tone. Traveling merchants came and went, and the court was busy with official duties, officials often working overtime, overwhelmed with tasks. In this spring, everyone had found their suitable place.

The war in the north, and Tian Shi's tragic heroism, were currently generating heated discussions in the city. The Black Flag's involvement was negligible here. With Zong Wang and Xiyin's armies setting out, the Jin region was about to face a devastating disaster. At the same time, the war in Xuzhou had already begun. Crown Prince Junwu, leading a million-strong army, was stationed at the northern defense line, the focus of attention for scholars.

Meanwhile, informed individuals were also paying attention to the situation in the southwest. With the Hua Xia Army's armistice proclamation and call for a united resistance against the Jin spreading, a scandal related to the southwest was unexpectedly revealed in the capital.

This scandal was related to Long Qifei.

Since the Black Flag Army's betrayal and invasion of the Shu region last summer, Ning Liheng, the former regicide maniac, had re-entered the sight of the Southern Martial World. Although the Jurchen threat was now imminent, with the situation suddenly becoming a three-legged stand-off, the Black Flag Army, as a huge threat from the rear, had become a significant focus, even surpassing the Jurchen side in many situations.

After all, whether from a chatting or showing-off perspective, discussing how strong the Jurchens were undoubtedly seemed outdated and cliché. But drawing everyone's attention to the blind spot in the rear was more likely to highlight the uniqueness of one's thinking. The Black Flag threat theory rose sharply for a while, and by October and November, Long Qifei, a great scholar arriving in the capital with first-hand information about the southwest, became a new favorite in Lin'an's social circles.

As mentioned earlier, upon first arriving in Lin'an, Long Qifei, in an effort to salvage the situation, while exaggerating his efforts to mend the crack in the sky single-handedly, was actually lobbying dignitaries everywhere, hoping to make people aware of the Black Flag's power and wolfish ambitions. This of course included the importance of the Chengdu Plain, occupied by the Black Flag, to the Wu Dynasty.

However, circumstances were stronger than people. Not many were able to pick up such a hot potato as the Black Flag Army head-on. Even Qin Hui, who had previously advocated for an expedition against the southwest, could only silently swallow the bitter fruit after being tricked by the emperor and his colleagues—it wasn't that he didn't want to attack the southwest, but what if he was tricked again by the emperor if he continued to advocate for sending troops?

For this reason, Long Qifei's demands hit a wall. In frustration, he joined Left Chancellor Zhao Ding's faction, revealing much of Qin Hui's past misdeeds, as well as his initial instigation for everyone to stir up trouble in the southwest, but now ignoring the consequences there.

During the Chinese New Year period, Qin Hui was thus attacked from all sides, and he had to act obsequiously countless times to gain Emperor Zhou Yong's forgiveness. Now, it was February.

During this February, in order to coordinate with the upcoming war in the north, Qin Hui was overwhelmed with work in the Privy Council, barely able to return home each day. He seemed to have no time to care about insignificant figures like Long Qifei.

As for Long Qifei, he had already taken the stage, and naturally couldn't step down easily. For several months, Long Qifei was worried about the southwest, and had become a leader among the scholars. Occasionally leading students from the Imperial Academy to kneel on the streets of the city, this was a time of national crisis, and students' patriotic concern was a commendable story. Zhou Yong had also passed the stage of wanting to play with women every day after becoming emperor, only to be caught. He had killed Chen Dong, who liked to gossip, earlier, but now he turned a blind eye to these students and scholars in the harem, and occasionally even praised them. The students, after receiving praise, praised the emperor's wisdom, and the two sides lived in harmony and were happy with each other.

The first incident involving Long Qifei concerned Lu Guo'er, the top courtesan who had followed him eastward. This female hero had drugged Long Qifei in a moment of crisis, then accompanied him to escape the precarious Zizhou under the Black Flag's threat, and went to the capital to seek assistance, a story that was spread as a legend. After Long Qifei became famous, Lu Guo'er, as Long Qifei's confidante, also began to gain fame. For several months, even though she acted as if she had already devoted herself to Long Qifei and didn't go out much, she slowly developed a small social circle.

However, on Long Qifei's side, the original "legend" actually had other secrets. Long Qifei had a guilty conscience, and was somewhat wary of the woman beside him. He promised Lu Guo'er the status of a concubine, then abandoned the woman and ran for fame and fortune. By February, Long Qifei noticed that something was wrong with the woman beside him during the occasional gaps in their interactions.

He was originally also a hero. He remained calm for the time being, and investigated privately. He then discovered that the woman from the southwestern frontier had long been addicted to the glamorous world of the capital. And the most troublesome thing was that she had also taken a young scholar as a lover.

On February 17th, with the war in the north and the Black Flag Army's proclamation causing a stir in the capital, Long Qifei killed Lu Guo'er in his newly bought mansion at midnight. Before he had time to destroy the evidence, the government officials, alerted by Lu Guo'er's new lover, rushed into the mansion and arrested him. This newly acquainted lover of Lu Guo'er—a patriotic young scholar—stepped forward and reported Long Qifei's ugliness to the government. Afterwards, the officials found Lu Guo'er's handwritten letter in the mansion, which recorded the development of the affairs in the southwest in detail, as well as Long Qifei's ugly truth of asking her to collude and cooperate during his escape.

On the third day after being imprisoned, Long Qifei confessed everything under the weight of the evidence, including the whole story of how he accidentally killed Lu Guo'er because he was afraid that the matter would be exposed. This incident shocked the capital for a time. At the same time, the officials who had been sent to the southwest to bring back another meritorious official, Li Xiannong, had already set out.

You sing and I take the stage. We don't know what the situation in Lin'an will be like when Li Xiannong arrives in the capital after his grievances have been redressed. During this time, Qin Hui, who was always busy in the Privy Council, did not make the slightest move—he had not made any move when he was previously criticized by Long Qifei, nor had he made any move at this time—when people thought of this matter and talked about it, they couldn't help but give a thumbs up from the bottom of their hearts, saying that this was a selfless official who was unfazed by honor or disgrace and dedicated himself to the country.

In this rainy February, some people who knew the inside story mostly smiled it off after hearing about the development of the situation.

Zhou Pei heard about Long Qifei's matter on the carriage to the palace. The person beside her roughly described the course of the matter, she just sighed and put it out of her mind. At this time, the outline of the war had become clear, and the atmosphere of gunpowder smoke almost seemed to suffocate people's eyes. The princess's mansion was already extremely busy with the propaganda, internal affairs, searching for Jurchen scouts, and many other tasks. This day, she was going to go outside the city when she suddenly received her father's summons. She didn't know what new ideas this father, who had been worried since the beginning of the year, had again.

Entering the palace, Zhou Yong, with his hands behind his back, was pacing under the eaves in front of the imperial study, wondering what he was pondering. After Zhou Pei greeted him, the emperor came over to help her with a smile on his face, "Good daughter, you're here. No need for formalities, no need for formalities..." He said, "Come, come, it's cold outside, let's go inside first."

Zhou Pei entered the imperial study and stood in front of the chair. Zhou Yong, with a smile on his face, pressed both hands on her shoulders: "Have you eaten?"

"Father, if you have anything to say, just say it..."

"It's nothing, nothing big. I just missed you, haha, so I summoned you in to see you, haha, what's wrong? Do you have something going on over there?"

Zhou Pei stared at this unreliable father for a moment, then out of respect, she first lowered her eyes: "Nothing big."

"You look thinner." Zhou Yong said sincerely.

"Father is concerned about my health, and I am very touched." Zhou Pei smiled, appearing gentle, "But what exactly is it that Father summoned me to the palace for? It would be better for Father to speak directly."

"Cough cough, it's... it's not a big deal, it's just..." Zhou Yong was a little embarrassed, "It's just that there's something, Father has been thinking hard about it these past few days, but I haven't figured it out yet, I just want to... ask you to consult about it, after all, you are resourceful, of course, uh..."

"..."

Zhou Yong "uh"ed for a long time: "It's... the matter of the southwest..."

"What about the southwest?"

"The one named Ning said he wanted to seek peace..." Zhou Yong stared at his daughter, "What does Huang'er think about this matter?"

Zhou Pei understood. Since the shadow of the Jurchens had arrived, this unreliable father didn't say it on the surface, but he was actually worried every day. He had limited wisdom, and usually indulged in pleasure. Now that he wanted to take out his brain and use it again, it was a bit difficult. After Tian Shi of Jin died, the southwest immediately issued a proclamation, stopping the attack on Zizhou and calling on the Wu Dynasty to stop the opposition to the southwest, in order to resist the Jurchens with the greatest strength.

The Black Flag had occupied most of the Chengdu Plain and stopped in Zizhou. When this proclamation reached Lin'an, there were many discussions, but in the upper echelons of the court, negotiating with a regicide demon was still a completely insurmountable bottom line, and none of the court's officials were willing to step on this line.

From the Wu Dynasty's point of view, this kind of proclamation seemed righteous, but it was actually trying to trap the Wu Dynasty, giving two options that could not be chosen and pretending to be generous. These days, Zhou Pei had been fighting against the Black Flag spies who were secretly promoting this matter, trying to eliminate the impact of this proclamation as much as possible. Who knew that the ministers in the court hadn't taken the bait, but her own father had taken the hook.

Zhou Pei held back her anger: "Father knows that negotiating with a regicide will make it difficult for the Wu Dynasty to maintain its tradition -- this is simply impossible. Ning Yi is just eloquent and uses clever words, he knows very well that the Wu Dynasty has no choice..."

"Alas, how can Father not know the difficulty of this matter? Once I say it, those old scholars in the court are afraid they will point at Father's nose and scold me... But daughter, circumstances are stronger than people. Sometimes you can be stubborn, but sometimes you can't be stubborn, so you have to admit defeat. The Jurchens are killing us, and your brother is at the front..."

Zhou Yong sighed here: "When Father became this emperor, it was like being forced onto the stage. I wanted to be a good emperor and leave a good name, but after all, I didn't have a clue. But Father still remembers the situation when the Jurchens killed us that year. During the half-year floating at sea, Jiangnan was slaughtered into a white land, and many people died. Father is sorry for them, and the most sorry for is your brother. I left him behind and left, and he was almost caught up by the Jurchens..."

"Junwu is fierce, upright, and clever. Father can see that he will be a good emperor in the future, but our Wu Dynasty is still a mess now. The Jurchens have smashed all these belongings, and we will have nothing left. These days, Father has carefully asked the ministers in the court, and I'm afraid we can't stop them. Junwu's character will be broken there, what can we do? We have to have a way out..."

Zhou Yong's words were sincere and humble. Zhou Pei listened quietly, and was somewhat moved in her heart. In fact, after being the emperor for these years, Zhou Yong, although he indulged his children a lot, was actually already a person who liked to put on airs. He usually referred to himself as "I" or "We", but at this time, he could discuss with her so humbly, which was considered to be telling her his heartfelt thoughts, and it was also for the sake of his brother.

But even if she was moved in her heart, this matter could not be justified on the surface after all. Zhou Pei sat upright, clenched her fists on her knees: "Father..."

"So, I thought about it, just thought about it blindly, I don't know if it makes sense, daughter, you just listen..." Zhou Yong interrupted her, speaking cautiously and carefully, "There's no way to rely on the ministers in the court, but you can have a way, can't you? Can you first contact the other side..."

"Father!" Zhou Pei's anger rose up at that moment.

But Zhou Yong didn't stop, he said: "Father is not saying just to contact them, Father means that you had friendship back then. Last time Junwu came, he once said that you actually admired him quite a bit. Father suddenly thought these past two days, that's good, extraordinary things must have extraordinary methods. The biggest thing that the one named Ning committed back then was killing Zhou Zhe, but the current emperor is our family. If you and him... let's just force it, as long as we become a family, what are those old guys... Daughter, you don't have anyone around you anyway, that Qu Zonghui should be killed... To be honest, Father has been feeling guilty about your marriage back then all these years..."

The emperor lowered his voice, gesticulating with his hands, which made the scene in front of him seem particularly dramatic. Zhou Pei didn't understand at first, until at a certain moment, she heard a "buzz" in her brain, as if the blood all over her body rushed to her head. This also carried an incomparable shame and annoyance after some of the deepest parts of her heart were seen through. She wanted to stand up but couldn't, her arm raised, not knowing where it was waving.

The emperor in a dragon robe was still talking, only to hear a bang on the coffee table. The princess's left hand had broken the teacup, and fragments scattered, followed by blood flowing out, scarlet and viscous, shocking. The next moment, Zhou Pei seemed to realize something, and suddenly knelt down, but was unaware of the blood on her hand. Zhou Yong rushed over and shouted loudly outside the hall...

The small episode in the palace ended with the eldest princess returning to her mansion in a distraught state, with her left hand wrapped in bandages. The emperor dismissed this whimsical idea, which no third person knew about yet. This was the end of February in the tenth year of Jianshuo, and many things in the south still seemed calm.

The fierce battles in Daming Prefecture and Xuzhou had already begun. At the same time, the division of the Jin region had actually been completed. Although Lou Shuwan had taken many of the spoils by taking advantage of the Hua Xia Army's victory, the huge pressure was actually descending with the arrival of the Jurchens' army.

Later, Lou Shuwan, Yu Yulin, Lin Zongwu, Ji Qingli and other forces occupied some large and small cities west and south of Weisheng. The surrender faction led by Liao Yiren split off many areas facing the Jurchens directly, such as the east and north, and in essence, turned nearly half of the Jin region into an occupied area.

While announcing their surrender to the Jurchens, Liao Yiren and the others mobilized and gathered troops under the instructions of the Jurchens, and began to march towards the west and south, starting the first round of sieges. At the same time, the Black Flag Army, having achieved victory in Linzhou, was rushing towards the east, and the Ming Prince Army led by Wang Juyun began its southward expedition.

Against this backdrop, Lin Zongwu, the leader of the Great Brightness Sect, with the cooperation of Lou Shuwan and others, gained control of Gaizhou and the three cities to its east and south, and also obtained a large amount of supplies and military equipment.

In March, the army was the first to arrive at Weisheng, and Yu Yulin and Lou Shuwan defended the city. No one expected that Weisheng had not yet been broken, and Xiyin's ambush had already been launched. Chen Wei, the general guarding Gaizhou, defected, and the world changed overnight due to internal strife. Yinshuke then led his cavalry south, making Lin Zongwu's Great Brightness Sect the first team to be eliminated from the Jin region's resistance against the Jin...

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