Wearing a yellow military uniform, carrying a medicine kit and a rifle, Ning Ji saw the ancient city walls of Zizhou Prefecture in front of the army.
It was the eleventh year of the Jian Shuo reign of the Wu Dynasty, the year Zhou Yong died. Ning Ji was transitioning from thirteen to fourteen years old, gradually becoming a teenager.

In the past two years, following the army, Ning Ji had seen more than he had in the previous eleven.

He was born when the Jurchens first invaded south, in the autumn of the thirteenth year of the Jinghan reign. By the fourteenth year of Jinghan, when Ning Yi assassinated the emperor and rebelled, and the family went to Xiaocang River, he was only one year old. His father had only just had time to name him. The name was filled with boldness, though it was a taboo because it was given during the time of regicide.

He grew up in an environment like Xiaocang River and Qingmu Village. As he gradually began to remember things, the army began to move towards the mountains of the southwest. Because of this, what Ning Ji had seen since childhood was mostly a barren environment, as well as a relatively simple one. His parents, brothers, enemies, and friends were all very clear.

As the Huaxia Army marched out of Liangshan and entered the Chengdu Plain, and Ning Ji joined the medical team, the environment around him gradually became complex. He began to see large plains, large cities, majestic city walls, densely packed gardens, extravagant people, numb people, people living in small villages starving and dying... These things were very different from what he had seen within the Huaxia Army.

In the days of activity with the medical team, he sometimes felt different kinds of gratitude and kindness, but at the same time, there were also various malicious attacks.

For more than ten years since Ning Yi killed Zhou Zhe, the world's malice towards the Huaxia Army and Ning Yi's family had never stopped. The Huaxia Army had been very effective in internal rectification and management, and some conspiracies and assassinations were difficult to reach Ning Yi's family, but with the expansion of the territory in the past two years, the living space of Ning Xi, Ning Ji, and others could not shrink to the original small circle after all. Among them, although the matter of Ning Ji joining the medical team was blocked to a certain extent, it was still spread through various channels not long after.

In the year when Ning Ji was thirteen years old, he encountered a total of nine conspiracies and assassinations, two of which happened before his eyes. In February of the eleventh year, he killed someone for the first time, and there was another time in July. Now, the young man who was not yet fourteen years old had three lives on his hands.

For Ning Ji, personally killing the enemy did not cause too much psychological impact, but the many things he felt in this complex world in the past year or two still made him a little taciturn.

From childhood, the internal supplies of the Huaxia Army were not very abundant. Mutual assistance and thrift have always been advocated in the Huaxia Army. What Ning Ji had seen since childhood was that people supported each other in difficult environments, and the older generation shared their knowledge and feelings about the world with others in the army. Facing the enemy, the soldiers in the Huaxia Army were always tenacious and unyielding.

After entering the Chengdu Plain, he discovered that this world was not like this. People with abundant and wealthy lives lived a decadent life. Great Confucians who seemed to be knowledgeable opposed the Huaxia Army, using arguments of classical Chinese, which made people feel angry. Under them, the farmers lived a muddled life. They were not doing well, but they all thought it was justified. Some people living in hardship even held a hostile attitude towards the members of the Huaxia Army who went to the countryside to provide medical treatment and medicine.

Why do these people live like this? Ning Ji couldn't figure it out. In the past year or two, he felt it was natural for the enemy to try to kill him and occasionally pretend to be pitiful to attack him.

The Huaxia Army's education of "treating the enemy as coldly as winter" was extremely thorough. Ning Ji had always felt that the enemy must be cunning and tyrannical since childhood. The first assassin who really got close to him was a dwarf, who looked like a little girl at first glance. He mixed in the crowd in the countryside to see Ning Ji for treatment. Another companion in his team was recognized. The dwarf suddenly attacked, and the dagger almost stabbed Ning Ji's neck, trying to grab him as a hostage and escape.

The assassin underestimated the young man who had been jointly trained by Lu Hongti, Liu Xigua, Chen Fan, Du Sha, and others. When the dagger stabbed over, Ning Ji took the knife and cut the opponent's throat with a backhand. The blood splattered on his clothes, and he took two steps back, ready to kill the opponent's companion in the crowd at any time.

He was not confused by these encounters. The comfort from his parents and brothers afterward only made him feel warm, but did not think it was necessary. The complex world outside made him a little confused, but fortunately, some simpler and more direct things were about to come.

In the second half of the eleventh year of Jian Shuo, the situation on the Chengdu Plain had become extremely tense. The Wu Dynasty was disintegrating, and the great war between the Jurchens and the Huaxia Army was about to become a reality. Under this background, the Huaxia Army began to devour and digest the entire Chengdu Plain in an orderly manner.

The Huaxia Army began to march out of Liangshan in the ninth year of Jian Shuo. The original plan was to annex the entire Sichuan area, but later, due to the Jurchens' southward invasion, the Huaxia Army stopped within the Zizhou area after breaking through Chengdu in order to express its attitude.

Zizhou is located one hundred kilometers northeast of Chengdu. It was originally the second largest city and commercial center on the Chengdu Plain. A hundred kilometers past Zizhou is the most important pass controlling Sichuan: Jianmen Pass. With the Jurchens approaching, these places have also become the most critical locations in the future war.

The Huaxia Army's entry into Sichuan two years ago scared away a group of local natives. Later, the war stopped at Zizhou, and many local gentry and great Confucians who were pro-Wu settled in Zizhou. After the situation eased slightly, some people began to do business with the Huaxia Army. Zizhou became a transit station between the two forces, and it developed prosperously in a short period of one year.

In the second half of this year, the Huaxia Fifth Army began to advance towards Zizhou, and negotiations with all forces also began. During this period, naturally, many people came out to resist, criticize, and accuse the Huaxia Army's ceasefire years ago of being a show. But with the Jurchens coming, everyone understood that these things could not be solved by simple verbal protests.

Therefore, although the wealthy families and gentry near Zizhou seemed to be making a lot of noise between July and August, at the end of August, the Huaxia Army smoothly negotiated the unconditional merger of Zizhou and the Huaxia Army. Then, the army entered the city and took Zizhou without bloodshed.

On September 11th, Ning Ji entered the city with his luggage, following the third batch of troops. At this time, three regiments of the Huaxia Fifth Army, about 5,000 people, had already begun to advance towards Jianmen Pass. The engineering corps was stationed in Zizhou on a large scale, strengthening the surrounding fortifications. Some gentry, officials, and ordinary people who originally lived in Zizhou began to evacuate to the rear of the Chengdu Plain.

In this situation, the atmosphere inside and outside the ancient city of Zizhou was solemn and tense. People were busy migrating south, the streets were crowded, and people were in a hurry. Because some of the garrison patrols had been taken over by soldiers of the Huaxia Army, the overall order had not been lost.

Ning Ji felt a sense of familiarity with this atmosphere. He followed the army through the city and temporarily settled down with the medical team in a medical clinic near the military camp in the east of the city. The owner of this medical clinic was originally a wealthy household who had left. The medical clinic had a front shop and a backyard, and it was quite large. Now it seemed quiet. Ning Ji put down his luggage in the room and sharpened the three knives of varying lengths on his body as usual. Before evening, a young female officer in a dark blue military uniform came to him.

The girl was a head taller than Ning Ji, with short hair that only reached her shoulders. She had a youthfulness and beauty that was rare in this era, even unconventional. She smiled gently and looked at the boy sharpening a knife squatting in the corner of the yard, coming straight over: "Ning Ji, you're here. Are you tired on the way?"

"Sister-in-law." Ning Ji smiled, rinsed the short blade in his palm, which was not even as long as a finger, with well water. When he stood up, the short blade had disappeared into his sleeve, and said, "I'm not tired at all."

"Your brother asked me to take you over for dinner. He's at the household registration office in the north of the city. There are too many things to do."

The girl who came over was Min Chuyi, Ning Xi's fiancée, who was seventeen years old this year.

As Ning Yi's eldest son, Ning Xi had begun to gradually participate in the overall planning work in the past year or two. With more administrative work, it was difficult for him to focus on practicing martial arts to defend himself. Relatively speaking, Min Chuyi and Ning Ji were the only true disciples of Lu Hongti. Ning Xi was four years older than Ning Ji, but in terms of martial arts, his skills had been implicitly caught up by the not-yet-fourteen-year-old Ning Ji. Min Chuyi looked gentle, but her martial arts were steadily above Ning Ji. The two practiced martial arts together, and their relationship was like that of siblings. In many cases, Ning Ji and Min Chuyi met more often than with his older brother.

The two put down their things and went north through the city. The temporary household registration office set up by the Huaxia Army was near the original Zizhou Prefecture government office. Because the handover between the two parties had just been completed, the household registration review work was done in a hurry. For the stability of the rear, the Huaxia Army stipulated that those who wanted to leave the city and go south must first undergo household registration review. This made the entire street in front of the prefecture government office seem noisy, and hundreds of Huaxia soldiers were maintaining order nearby.

Ning Xi's workplace was in a teahouse courtyard nearby. He had been in contact with the Huaxia Army's internal agents and intelligence work under Chen Tuozi for more than a year, and the several assassinations of Ning Ji by the Green Forest people and even the Jurchens were blocked by him. Now, Ning Ji, who was much shorter than his brother, was somewhat dissatisfied with this, thinking that he should also participate in such things, but when he saw his brother, the young man who had just transformed from a child was quite happy, calling out, "Brother," and smiling brightly.

The two brothers then went in to pay their respects to Chen Tuozi. Ning Xi made an excuse, changed into casual clothes, and led his younger brother to the most famous red building in Zizhou for snacks. The two brothers sat down in the corner of the hall. Ning Xi may have inherited his father's habit of being curious about famous food. Although Ning Ji was young, he did not have a strong appetite. He had killed three assassins in the past year. Sometimes he felt scared afterward, but more often he vaguely felt like his father that he was invincible in the world, longing for the subsequent battles. After sitting down, he began to ask: "Brother, when will the Jurchens arrive?"

"The situation in Lizhou is very complicated. After Luo Wen surrendered, Zong Han's army has pressed to the periphery. It's still hard to say now." Ning Xi said in a low voice, reaching out to order on the menu, "This place's crystal cake is the most famous. Let's have two bowls, shall we?"

"It's up to you, brother." Ning Ji pulled the stool closer, folded his hands on the table, like a serious student, "Brother, when are we going to Jiange?"

"We can have some roasted meat slices. I heard they are sliced very thinly and flavorful. I've heard it several times." Ning Xi licked his lips.

"Brother, when are we going to Jiange?" Ning Ji repeated.

Ning Xi put down the menu: "Don't always think about running to the front line as a doctor."

"I can help. I'm very good at treating injuries now."

"First of all, even if we take Jiange, Dad doesn't plan to let you go." Ning Xi frowned, then turned his gaze back to the menu. "Second, things at Jiange aren't that simple."

"Si Zhongxian refuses to cooperate with us? That's really a tough guy..." Ning Ji said, imitating an adult's tone.

With the great war imminent, there were frequent meetings and discussions within the Huaxia Army. Although Ning Ji was in the medical team, as Ning Yi's son, he could still access various sources of information, even reliable internal analyses.

Jianmen Pass is a strategic pass in the Shu region, a must-win place for military strategists. Although it is under the jurisdiction of Lizhou, the garrison of Jianmen Pass is composed of 20,000 main force of the Imperial Guards. The garrison commander Si Zhongxian is shrewd and capable, and has extremely independent administrative power in Jiange. It was originally an important barrier to prevent the Huaxia Army from leaving Sichuan.

However, until now, the Huaxia Army has no intention of forcibly leaving Sichuan, and there has been no major conflict with Jiange. At the beginning of this year, Wanyan Xiyin and others released the intention to only attack the southwest in the capital to persuade them to surrender. The Huaxia Army, on the one hand, released goodwill, and on the other hand, sent representatives to discuss with Si Zhongxian, the guard of Jiange, and Chen Family, the leader of the gentry, on matters of receiving and jointly defending against the Jurchens.

In the past intelligence of the Huaxia Army, Si Zhongxian was highly regarded, believing that he was loyal to the Wu Dynasty, cared about the national crisis, and cared for the people. At a critical moment - especially when the Jurchens were rampant, he was worthy of being won over and could think clearly about things.

It is said that such communication was quite smooth in the first half of this year, and Ning Ji also received news that there might be a direct confrontation with the Jurchens in Jiange - Jiange is a strategic pass that is difficult to break through. If this could be done, it might be the greatest benefit for the Huaxia Army, which lacked troops, but judging from his brother's attitude, this matter had changed.

Ning Ji's first reaction was that Si Zhongxian was stubborn and would rather face Wanyan Zong Han alone than join forces with the Huaxia Army. But after he finished speaking, his brother frowned, his eyes still looking at the menu: "Let's get a small portion of pig's trotters for you."

"Si Zhongxian wants to surrender?" Ning Ji's eyebrows stood up. "Didn't you say he was a sensible person?"

"The situation is very complicated, it's not that simple. Si Zhongxian's attitude is a bit strange now." Ning Xi closed the menu. "I was going to tell you this in the first place. Don't be so anxious."

Ning Ji nodded, his eyes slightly gloomy, but he calmed down. He was not very lively in the first place, and he had become more and more quiet in the past year. At this time, he was obviously calculating his own thoughts in his heart. Ning Xi sighed: "Okay, okay, let me tell you about this first."

Ning Ji nodded, and Ning Xi poured tea and continued to say: "The Wu Dynasty is failing recently, you know that. The Jurchens' arrogance is soaring, and more and more people are turning to our side. Including Zizhou, I originally thought it would be okay to take it down after fighting one or two battles, but later it actually came in without bloodshed. Can you understand the reason in the middle?"

Ning Ji raised his chin: "We are the only ones in the world who can fight the Jurchens. It's better to rely on us than to rely on the Jurchens."

"That's part of it. Many of us think so, but second brother, the most fundamental reason is that Zizhou is close to us. If they don't surrender, they will be taken down by us before the Jurchens come. If they are really in the middle, it's hard to say whether they will rely on us or the Jurchens."

"...So Si Zhongxian wants to rely on the Jurchens? Isn't it just killing a useless dog emperor! They hate us so much!"

Ning Ji's eyes widened, his anger burning. Ning Xi shook his head and smiled: "It's not just these. The main reason is what Dad mentioned in the letter he gave me half a month ago. Second brother, when the Wu Dynasty was still there, people in the Wu Dynasty court talked about driving away tigers and swallowing wolves, saying that they would cede thousands of miles west of Xiangfan to the Jurchens so that the Jurchens could fight us. This statement sounds interesting, but no one really dares to do it. Even if someone proposes it, the opposition below will be very strong, because it is a very embarrassing thing."

"...But today, he has really lost all his face." Ning Ji listened carefully. Ning Xi paused slightly before saying this sentence. He said: "Today, the Wu Dynasty is really about to end, there is no face. At this time, many of them remembered that letting us and the Jurchens fight to the death seems to be really good."

Ning Ji stared, opened his mouth, and did not say anything. He was still young after all, and his understanding was a little slow. Ning Xi took a breath, and then opened the menu again. He looked around and lowered his voice:

"In the past two months, the assassination attempts against you, me, and against Dad, Mom, and them have begun to increase. This is organized by some of the former Wu Dynasty families. They know that the Wu Dynasty is about to perish, and they also know that the Southwest War is about to break out. They hope that there will be more irreconcilable feuds between us and the Jurchens, such as kidnapping you and me, killing them, and throwing them into the Jurchen camp. In this way, Dad will lose his mind when facing the Jurchens. When we entered Zizhou half a month ago, we found a group of guys who wanted to attack Aunt Jin, because Aunt Jin would occasionally go out to direct performances, and they wanted to take Aunt Jin to the Jurchen camp..."

Ning Ji's fingers gripped the edge of the table, and there was a cracking sound, and the grain of the wooden table cracked slightly. The boy suppressed his voice: "Aunt Jin has already lost a child!"

The edges of Ning Xi's eyes also showed some blood red, but his words were still calm: "These guys are not very happy now. But second brother, telling you this is not to let you vent your anger on the table. Being angry is being angry. Dad has warned us about the most important thing since we were young, don't forget it."

"I know." Ning Ji took a breath and slowly released the table. "I have calmed down."

"Anger is motivation, but the most important thing is to calmly see the reality, objectively face it, and systematically exert the strength of everyone, so that you can exert the greatest ability and cause the greatest damage to the enemy, make them the most unhappy, and the most uncomfortable... In the past few months, the danger outside is also very great for us. Zizhou has just returned and is more complicated than the south. You cheer up... As for Si Zhongxian's change of heart, it may also be for such reasons, but it is not certain now. I heard that people in front are still trying to find a way."

"Okay." Ning Ji nodded, suppressing his anger was extremely difficult for a young man who was not yet fourteen years old, but the experience of the medical team in the past year gave him the power to face reality. He had to watch his seriously injured comrades have their legs sawn off, and had to watch people bleed and die in pain. There are many things in this world that go beyond human power and take away lives, and no matter how great the grief and anger is, it is impossible to do anything. In many cases, it will make people make wrong choices.

"Twenty days ago, your sister Chuyi was also injured, bleeding for half the night, and she has only recently recovered... So we have to eat more things. That's how a family is, and so are comrades. If you are stronger and calmer, people around you will suffer less harm. Do you want us to order all of these things we haven't eaten yet?"

"...Brother, don't joke, just order what you like." Ning Ji smiled perfunctorily, slightly clenching his fist in his hand. After a while, he finally said, "But why? They can't beat the Jurchens, their places are occupied by the Jurchens, and everyone is suffering! We are the only ones who can defeat the Jurchens, and we are good to the people around us. The army goes out to help people cultivate wasteland, and we go out to help people see doctors, and we don't charge much... Why do they still hate us! Are we more hateful than the Jurchens? Brother, how can such people live in this world!"

He slapped his small palm on the table: "I can't wait to kill them all! They all deserve to die!"

Ning Xi was silent for a moment, then handed the menu over to his younger brother: "Forget it, let's order first..."