Chapter 1 Grief-Stricken

As he stepped onto Wan Jin Beach and headed toward the Yellow River, he was filled with grief and indignation, with only one thought remaining fiery and burning, clenched tightly in his heart and refusing to be discarded.

No regrets, no unwillingness, no unwillingness.

He could no longer see the setting sun shining on the river, as the magnificent golden glow was gradually obscured by the rising darkness. The sounds of killing, shouting, and screaming gradually faded away, and his blood-stained armor pulled his body downward. The river water, filled with coarse sand, choked his nose and mouth, his chest gradually throbbing with pain, but his hair and limbs became strangely light, as if his severely injured left arm had regained its mobility.

He remembered what his mother had once told him when he was a child: that after a person dies, they must drink Meng Po soup to wash away the memories of this life before going to the human world again.

But what was the point of being born as a human? He had seen the corruption of the court, the infighting of officials, and had angrily petitioned to impeach Li Gang for not understanding military affairs, only to be forced to change his name and wander to other lands. He had witnessed the collapse of the world in one day, the shattering of the golden goblet, and had exhausted his family's wealth to recruit righteous soldiers, defending the isolated city in bloody battles, but still unable to stop the Jin soldiers' iron hooves from trampling the lands of Guan and Shan. Even if he fought to the last moment, he could not protect the elders and common people who trusted him with all their hearts with his solitary courage.

So, in this life, he had seen so much suffering, exhausted so much effort, only to come to an end.

He stopped struggling and allowed the boundless Yellow River to swallow him. Above the dark river water, and even higher above, were the fierce winds and scorching sun of Shaanxi Prefecture that had remained unchanged for thousands of years.

As his soul was about to dissipate, it felt as if someone was forcefully dragging his body. Away from the cold and heavy river water, his lungs inhaled the sweet air of the mountains and fields, and he coughed painfully, along with the pain of all his wounds. He felt as if he had been thrown into a hot oil pot and fried several times, and even with his iron-willed mind, he could no longer endure it, but fearing capture by the Jurchens, he refused to groan to lower his spirit. In the midst of the turbulence, he opened his eyes and barely saw what looked like two young men dressed as Song people. They had cut down a few branches, wrapped them with tarpaulins, placed him on top, and were dragging him step by step back to a distant camp.

1、

In the autumn of the ninth year of Jianyan, the Emperor Song launched a Northern Expedition, with the Emperor leading the troops in person, shaking the world.

Shaanxi Prefecture was located in a strategic location and had suffered greatly from the ravages of war during the Jingkang era. The newly established Song Dynasty of Jianyan had been established for ten years, and the entire city eagerly awaited the day when they could level Yanjing and vent their ambitions. Ever since Zhao, the Emperor, personally led the expedition and the edict for the Northern Expedition was read throughout the land, the people of Shaanxi Prefecture were in an uproar. Li, the Jiedushi (military governor), wearing silver helmet and armor, led a mighty army out of the city. The elders of the city saw them off thirty miles away, and only turned back when they could no longer see the banner of Zhong Liu Di Zhu (Pillar of the Midstream).

This battle was of great importance, and Li Yanxian only left Shao Yun to guard Pinglu Town and his younger brother Li Kui to provide support from the rear, while the rest of his subordinates followed the army on the expedition. Shaanxi Prefecture was also filled with an atmosphere of solemnity. Although the daytime was still a scene of peaceful fireworks, the city gates were locked early in the evening. Women and children stayed indoors, and young adults formed patrol teams, carrying torches and sticks along the streets every night, carefully questioning unfamiliar faces to guard against Jurchen spies.

Shao Zhou was the younger brother of Shao Yun, a trusted general of Li Yanxian. This year, he was only seventeen years old. When Li Yanxian inspected Pinglu, he saw that although he was young, he was clever and sensible, and liked him very much, so he took him by his side to work as a handyman. This time, when the army went on the expedition, Shao Zhou unfortunately contracted typhoid fever, and after he recovered, he had already missed the opportunity and could not follow. Fortunately, Shao Zhou was a cheerful person. While others sighed and regretted missing this great battle, he was busy in the rear office, without a hint of complaint.

On this day, as evening approached, a golden half-moon hung in the azure sky. Shao Zhou hastily wiped his mouth after eating dinner and hurried back to the kitchen. He brought out a bowl of cracked, scalding hot medicinal soup and tiptoed, trying to sneak into the east wing. He had only taken a few steps when someone slapped him heavily on the shoulder. Shao Zhou was so startled that he almost spilled the medicinal soup. He looked again and saw that it was Liang Dagang, a familiar playmate who was now working as a guard in the government office. This man was much taller than him, and could block half of the moonlight when standing in front of him. He had been so focused on walking quickly that he had not expected to be caught by this fellow.

"I'll just ask you, who are you secretly brewing this medicinal soup for every day? Is it that spy you and Wang Qi dragged back the other day? You usually have the Jiedushi's favor, so you need to be more careful, lest a spy sneak in and ruin things!"

When Shao Zhou heard him say that the hero he had rescued was a spy, he immediately frowned. But he was mild-mannered and did not like to argue loudly, so he just firmly protected the pot of medicinal soup, lest it be spilled if he was pushed again, delaying the person in the room.

"You're just slandering a good person. The hero had more than a dozen arrowheads dug out of his body, all of which were Jurchen swallowtail arrows. That can't be faked! Besides, the knife wound on his left arm is very serious. I'm afraid he won't be able to lift a knife or wield a sword even if he recovers. If you ask me, anyone who kills Jurchens is a hero. Anyway, I couldn't just leave him on Wan Jin Beach!"

After complaining to his friend, Shao Zhou continued walking towards the east wing. Liang Dagang's face flushed, and he had no choice but to follow closely. First, he looked around, then lowered his voice, "Don't you think this person looks a lot like the Jiedushi? No, they look exactly the same! Just darker, thinner, and with a scar on his face!"

Shao Zhou just lowered his head and pretended not to hear. He reached out and pushed open the door to the east wing and slipped in like a cat. Liang Dagang sighed outside, stomped his foot heavily, and finally couldn't help but follow in to see what was going on.

The cold moonlight slanted in through the window lattices, illuminating the person's thin figure on the kang (platform bed), as if lying in a pool of blue jade-colored water. Seeing the two of them enter one after the other, he just glanced at them slightly and said nothing.

The room was filled with a strong smell of medicinal herbs, as well as a faint smell of blood. Several ropes were hanging, all covered with fine cotton cloths used to dress wounds. Liang Dagang knew that what they had said had been heard by this person, and he immediately felt a little embarrassed. He rubbed his fingers together, wanting to say something, but saw the person coldly avert his gaze, as if unwilling to say a word. Shao Zhou seemed used to this person's temper. He took off his boots, knelt by the kang, and prepared to help him up to drink the medicinal soup.

"In this life, I only know how to kill Jurchens and avenge my family and country. I don't know what spying is all about." The person was arrogant and pushed away the bowl of medicine that Shao Zhou handed over, his voice hoarse, like an owl hooting at the moon.

Liang Dagang was even more embarrassed and coughed a few times: "It's not that I want to misunderstand you, hero. It's just that the country is about to go to war, so the city is conducting strict investigations."

The person was shocked, "What war? After the fall of Shaanxi Prefecture, is Wanyan Loushi going south again?"

Shao Zhou remained silent, seeing that the person was unwilling to drink the medicine, so he placed it on the nearby low table. Liang Dagang became anxious when he heard these unclear words, "You're a good man, but you don't understand anything. How could Shaanxi Prefecture fall? Jiedushi Li has led us brothers to defend it bitterly for eight years. The Emperor Zhao gave us the banner of Zhong Liu Di Zhu (Pillar of the Midstream). Wanyan Loushi was already beheaded by our Imperial Song soldiers in the Battle of Yaoshan. How could a dead ghost come back to life and lead troops!"

He chattered on, but Shao Zhou winked at him, took a quilt, carefully covered the person, and pulled his companion out of the room.

"You're so strange, this person doesn't understand anything!" Liang Dagang said indignantly.

"He's been drowning for too long, his brain is probably a little damaged." Shao Zhou walked in the moonlight with his hands in his sleeves, his face, which was originally a little childish, tightened into a serious line. "Maybe he's confused about the previous battles, but anyway, it's right for us to save him."

The autumn night was cool, and the moon passed the meridian. A layer of pale night frost hung on the grass they walked through. The sound of the night watchman's clapper came from the city. Shao Zhou sent Liang Dagang out of the government office, bowed slightly, and no longer had the composure he had just had. He ignored that his robe and boots had been wetted by the frost and hurried back, like a vigilant fox shuttling through the night.

He returned to the east wing, first glanced at the bowl of medicine on the low table, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the person was still willing to take the medicine on time.

"Are you afraid I'll commit suicide?"

"I am." Shao Zhou found a clean cotton cloth that had been boiled, wetted it in a copper basin, wrung it out, and prepared to wipe the person's body – severely injured people were prone to bedsores if they lay down for too long, and needed someone to take care of them, change their clothes, and turn them over. "Before, I followed my brother. He fought, and I saved people. Some of the heroes who were carried down couldn't bear that their comrades had all left, and turned around and slit their throats in places where no one could see them."

He heard the person sneer, "What year is it?"

"It's the autumn of the ninth year of Jianyan, and the Emperor has been back in Tokyo for seven years."

"Isn't the court just surviving in Lin'an? How can it restore the old capital? Don't make up lies to deceive me."

"Knowing that the General doesn't believe these things, words are not proof. Tomorrow, I will bring the Gazettes of these past few years for the General to see."

The people in the room fell silent, Shao Zhou finished serving and covered the quilt again. Seeing that the person was no longer speaking, he went out of the room again. He breathed a long sigh of relief, took out a bronze seal from his sleeve, and carefully examined it.

The bronze seal was small, warm to the touch, and the strap on the nose of the seal was slightly worn, obviously the person's personal belongings. One side was engraved in intaglio with the four characters "Chang Le An Kang" (eternal joy and peace), and the other side was engraved in relief with the two characters "Shao Yan", the silver hooks and iron strokes containing a kind of compelling heroic spirit between wandering and bowing.

2、

"Luxuriant sweet pear tree, do not cut it, do not fell it, under which the Duke of Shao lodged.

Luxuriant sweet pear tree, do not cut it, do not harm it, under which the Duke of Shao rested.

Luxuriant sweet pear tree, do not cut it, do not worship it, under which the Duke of Shao spoke...."

The weather became colder day by day. Children were jumping and playing outside the government office, and their childish songs were transmitted through the courtyard walls, adding a bit of fresh breath to the bleak winter.

After that person was able to get out of bed, he was still the same, silent, unwilling to go out, only resting on a bamboo recliner under the sweet pear tree in the backyard all day long. The early winter sun only had a faint warmth, and mottled light and shadow fell on his gaunt face through the thin branches. After he finished reading the Gazettes that Shao Zhou had brought over these years, he became even more silent, not asking questions or smiling. His eyes were black and white, becoming clearer and clearer, and occasionally when he looked at someone, he was as cold as a snowflake falling on the tip of a spear.

The military doctor had come and sighed to Shao Zhou, "The tendons and veins of his left arm are ruined. He won't be able to draw a bow or use a spear or knife in the future, and rainy days will be even more difficult. That's all he can do."

Shao Zhou quickly made a gesture to silence him and let the military doctor go back. Before he could turn around, he heard the person behind him say, "Your surname is Shao. Do you know Shao Yun?"

Shao Zhou's heart skipped a beat, "He is my elder brother."

"Where is he? Did he go on the expedition?"

"No, Jiedushi Li arranged for him to guard Pinglu. These days, the Emperor has arrived in Pinglu, and my brother is attending banquets and receiving grace and praise. There has been no correspondence recently. The war is tight, and he may have gone to escort the Emperor north."

Silence.

Shao Zhou stole a glance and saw that the person was covering his face with his robe sleeve, his clenched fist was against his teeth, and his shoulders twitched for a long time, as if he was trying his best to restrain the turbulent tide in his heart.

Of course, he remembered Shao Yun, a comrade who shared weal and woe, a comrade who regarded him as a general and a brother, but in the end, he could not save Shao Yun from escaping.

Pinglu had fallen, and from the tearful words of the remnants who had fled back, he pieced together a tragic picture.

Shao Yun was righteous and indignant, and insisted on not surrendering. Wanyan Loushi ordered people to nail Shao Yun's bones with iron nails, nail his body to a wooden frame, and carry him to the east gate of the city to be displayed to the public. Shao Yun's clothes were ragged, revealing the black tattoo on his back, which attracted a young man to come forward and stroke it, and joke with his companions, "Good tattoo, can be my knife sheath."

Shao Yun was furious and tried his best to hit the other party with the wooden frame, but was pulled back to the original place. Shao Yun was nailed in the cold wind for four days without food or water. On the fifth day, Loushi ordered him to be executed by slicing. During the execution, Shao Yun's mouth was full of blood and he spat it on the Jin soldiers' faces. Even after his eyes were gouged out and his liver was taken out, Shao Yun continued to curse until he died.

That night after hearing the tragic news, he lost control to the point of near madness. He rode into the city and burned all the Taoist temples and Buddhist temples in the city, and slashed the clay sculptures and wooden statues enshrined on the incense tables with his sword. The soldiers who came with torches stood silently by his side – he looked around and saw that every child was a face that was young enough to make people feel pity, the Li family army that he had spared no gold or affection to keep. Hearing that their comrades had suffered a tragic death, some were full of tears, some hated with gnashing teeth, but no one said surrender, escape, or defeat.

"Heaven and earth are unkind, and gods and Buddhas are blind!" Even his divine mount seemed to know the grief and indignation of its master, and kept snorting and stamping its hooves. He reined in the reins, held up his sword flat, and the crackling flames were like blood, reflecting his stern face, "Don't even think about talking about benevolence and righteousness with beasts! This blood debt must be collected by ourselves, and this Shaanxi Prefecture can only be defended by ourselves!"

He rode away, and behind him were the shouts of the children who bowed down, shaking the world, "We are willing to die for the General!"

He knew that every inch of land and every wall under his feet was soaked in the blood of his comrades. Under the lonely moon in the high sky, he came to the beacon tower alone, knelt on the ground, stroked the huge bluestone, and cried loudly in the direction of Pinglu.

Li Yanxian did not light the beacon that night. He understood that there would be no reinforcements.

This place, which connects the two capitals and is a heavy pass of the Xiaohan, had long been abandoned by the court that had retreated to Lin'an. Emperor Zhao of Song was only concerned with living in peace in the prosperous Jiangnan, his eyes covered by songs and dances, his body wrapped in silk and satin. How could those in high positions remember the people who were struggling painfully in the smoke and fire of war.

But he couldn't let go, he couldn't do it, he couldn't leave.

Even if this troubled world was bloody and turbid, he only wanted to use his loyal and upright body to try to mend the cracks in the sky.

After a long time, Shao Zhou watched as the person finally put down the robe sleeve that was draped over his face and smiled tiredly.

"Well, that's good."

He was usually cold, but when he smiled, he was like a warm spring sun. If Shao Zhou hadn't noticed the deep line of blood marks on the fist that he had just pressed against his teeth, he would have almost wanted to have the smile preserved by the hand of a painter, so that the world would always remember it, instead of just locking it in this courtyard, so lonely that even the sound of the wind could be heard clearly.

The person seemed to have gathered all the malevolence around him, and asked Shao Zhou in a tone that was gentle and kind for the first time, "What is your courtesy name?"

"My courtesy name is Zi Du." Shao Zhou replied respectfully.

"Zi Du, it's too tiring to save the world, it's good to save yourself." He muttered to himself for a while, then turned his head to look over, "Go find a Taoist temple and say that an old friend wants to cultivate the Tao. See if they will accept him."

Shao Zhou was shocked and stuttered, "How can I let the General go there..."

"So what?" When he looked up, it was just when the north wind was cutting through the clouds. A withered leaf broke free from the restraints of the tree branches and floated down to him leisurely. He did not dodge or avoid it, letting the withered leaf lightly kiss the scar on his cheek, "When Jiedushi Li returns from the Northern Expedition, won't there be two of him in this city? How are you going to explain it?"

Shao Zhou sucked in a breath of cold air and did not dare to reply. Seeing this, he suddenly laughed, laughing so hard that his whole body trembled, laughing so hard that tears flashed in the corners of his eyes, as if all the heroic souls belonging to the sky were attached to his body, wanting to use this wild laughter to vent all the past grievances and injustices.

"The Emperor Song is on the Northern Expedition, and the two rivers are being restored. What hatred do I have! I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me anymore."

3、

After Qing Hui became a Taoist priest, Shao Zhou rarely saw him show his face. He was usually worried and took grain, rice, and cloudy wine to the Taoist temple to visit. That person would just let him put things down, without even saying a word of thanks. Sometimes he would write letters with news of victory on the front lines and throw them in through the crack in the door, but he would not receive a single reply.

On the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Imperial Song army captured the two strong cities of Taiyuan and Yuancheng in succession. The soldiers and civilians of Shaanxi Prefecture were all overjoyed and danced, celebrating the New Year with firecrackers and lanterns, and lion dances, which lasted until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The Lyuzu Taoist temple on Mount Yangjiao in the city was still tightly closed, with moss covering the steps, as if it was isolated from this world.

As winter passed and spring came, the water of the Yellow River gradually thawed. Shao Zhou led the horses from the government office to Wan Jin Beach to wash them. This place was the most beautiful scenery in Shaanxi Prefecture. To the north was the vast and undulating Mount Zhongtiao for hundreds of miles, to the west was the turbulent Yellow River coming from the horizon, and to the south was the orderly row of houses and buildings of Shaanxi Prefecture. At dusk, the waves sparkled, the sand gulls cried, and the carp leaped their tails. Writers and poets who came here since ancient times all had unlimited feelings of rivers and mountains to express in their chests, hence the name Wan Jin Beach.

Shao Zhou tied the harness, washed the horses, and let the horses return to the city along the gravel road of the river beach. Only then did he look up into the distance. Dotted golden lights embellished between the waves were very lovely. Several rafts were freely coming and going in the calm waters, and the fishermen's songs were leisurely in his ears, which was a scene of leisure and beauty. However, the sound of a Dongxiao (vertical bamboo flute) came intermittently with the evening wind, its sound was sobbing. At first, he only felt that the person playing the flute was quite proficient in music, and his emotions were gentle and lingering. Listening further, the grief and resentment gradually subsided, and the meaning of golden ge (ancient weapon) conquests arose greatly. The listener, although standing in a piece of golden red warm light, was like bathing in a cold moon, with ice and snow on his head.

He was shocked by the sorrow in the song and looked around at the empty space, following the sound to find Qing Hui, whom he hadn't seen for several months. That person was standing in the wind, overlooking the endless Yellow River, playing the flute non-stop. A wide robe of Qinghei (blue-black) gauze was being supported by the wind, and his sleeves were fluttering, floating like an immortal.

By the time Shao Zhou had climbed to the high place panting, Qing Hui had already put away the Dongxiao. Seeing him coming up and propping his elbows to catch his breath, he couldn't help but look slightly displeased, "All the children in the army are physically strong and practice martial arts all day long. How can you be so weak? How did Shao Yun teach his brother? He only allows himself to be a Tongzhi (military officer), and doesn't think about getting you a future?"

Hearing that his words were not really blaming him, but rather had a rare sense of intimacy, Shao Zhou first bowed respectfully, "General, you don't know, I have been weak and difficult to raise since I was a child. My father and brother inevitably dote on me, so I am only diligent in miscellaneous affairs and errands. It is enough to live a safe life, and I have never thought about fame or anything like that."

"Since I am no longer a person in the world, why should I use the old title again, change it."

"Yes."

A round red sun gradually set in the west. The mountains were densely wooded, and the shadows were heavy. The two of them picked up the steps down the mountain along the ranks. Along the way, Shao Zhou did not mind the tediousness, only specifically talking about the anecdotes, political speeches, and remarks of the current dynasty over the years. When Qing Hui heard him talk about the killing of the white horse and the changing of Shaoxing, he finally couldn't help but interrupt him, "Did the Emperor really say that, scolding the Two Sages to their faces as what things?"

"Yes, the Two Sages abandoned the world during the Jingkang years. Although they were his father and brother, the Emperor deeply hated them. In the White Horse incident, he also expelled more than seventy officials who wanted to negotiate peace with the Jin Kingdom, and would only be willing to sweep the court and clear the lair before he would stop."

"This Emperor is not the Emperor of Zhao Song at all." Qing Hui suddenly stopped, looked at the few lonely stars in the sky, and then glanced at Shao Yun, who was frightened by these rebellious words, before slowly adding the rest of his words, "He is a star in the sky who has come down to earth."

They walked slowly all the way, and it was already evening when they entered the city. Although Shaanxi Prefecture was not as prosperous as the capital city of Tokyo, it also had the scale of pearl curtains and embroidered foreheads, with terraces and pavilions standing side by side. Now that the front had successively conquered cities, the inspections in the evening were not as strict as they had been when the war had just started, and lights were shining everywhere. Many shops and markets were open, and pedestrians and ladies were constantly on the road, with fragrant carriages and fine horses coming and going. Shao Zhou stole a glance at Qing Hui, only to see that he seemed to be more familiar with these streets and alleys than himself. Every time he moved and lifted his steps, he never hesitated. In this bustling city, only he was clean and cold. No one greeted this lonely figure, and no one cared where this Taoist priest was going.

"Alas——" When they reached the foot of Mount Yangjiao, Qing Hui sighed, "The Qing Yu An (Jade Green Hairpin) that Emperor Zhao wrote that you told me about last time is a wonderful good word. I still haven't copied it for me yet."

Hearing this, Shao Zhou hurriedly replied, "Then why not bother the Taoist priest tonight? I will carefully copy all the poems and lyrics that the Emperor has written over the years for the Taoist priest to see."

Qing Hui did not say yes or no, but went up the mountain path by himself.

Shao Zhou naturally followed closely behind. The mountain path was narrow, and the two of them could only pass one in front of the other. After walking dozens of steps, he heard the Taoist priest say to him in front, "I am an ominous person, and you say that you are physically weak. That bronze seal that you picked up when you saved me that day, throw it away as soon as possible, or bury it, lest it hinder you."

Hearing him slowly talking about himself like this, his tone was also as lifeless as dry wood, without sorrow or joy. Shao Zhou couldn't help but choke up and wiped his eyes with his sleeves before replying, "General, don't say that. If the General is an ominous person, who has earned this peaceful time?"

Before he could finish speaking, he was hit on the head with a whisk, and the person in front of him became stern, "That is naturally because the Emperor here is leading your Jiedushi and the other commanders, and the tens of millions of soldiers in the Imperial Army have worked hard for nine years. What kind of person am I? I am just a lonely ghost in this world. Saying that would damage my luck in reincarnation!"

For a moment, no one spoke. After walking for several more miles, Shao Zhou had to rest several more times than Qing Hui before stopping at the top of the mountain. Seeing that it was quiet all around, Qing Hui spoke again to explain, "Letting you bury it also has another meaning: that private seal was engraved and given to me by my father in the past. All the generals of the army see the seal as an order. If you accidentally lose it and someone with ulterior motives picks it up, it will ruin that Jiedushi Li. Do you understand?"

After hearing this, Shao Zhou replied respectfully, "Yes."

Lyuzu Taoist temple was just a few small pink walls, a low wooden door. The courtyard was full of towering pines and cypresses, and flowers and plants covered the ground. At this time, the magnolias were blooming beautifully, clustered together, growing on the branches, grinding jade and producing snow, and falling under the steps, leaving a fragrance in the wind and dew. Qing Hui opened the small lock on the door knocker and gestured for Shao Zhou to enter. He stood on the steps with his hands in his sleeves, watching the flowers in the moonlight.

The room was pitch black. Shao Zhou struck the flint in his arms, groped for a fire starter, and then lit the candle before he could see the surrounding scenery. This room was extremely simple, with only a curtain, a couch, and a desk. The bedding and curtains on the couch were the most ordinary blue-dyed cloth, washed clean and free of dust, and some places had already turned white. Even ordinary people's homes were more comfortable than this, as simple and lonely as a snow cave.

Shao Zhou went to the desk to look for pens and ink, and found a thick stack of papers stained with ink when he turned them over. He curiously picked them up to look at them, and found that they were all the Imperial Court's proclamations to the world about the Northern Expedition, each of which was written in a dignified and elegant small regular script. Using ink dipped in gold powder, each word and each sentence was written down, not knowing how much effort and eyesight the writer would have to spend. He held them in his hands, flipped through a few pages, and then quickly looked at them again. Sure enough, there were thousands of hundreds of pages, and even the dozens of rolls of paper that had been bundled up by the wall were all in this way:

"Marquis Wu's Post-Expeditionary Table narrates Zhao Lie's aspirations, saying: 'The Han and the thief cannot coexist, and the royal career cannot be biased.' The shame of Jingkang is not washed away, and I feel ashamed when I call myself the Emperor; the two rivers are not returned, and you gentlemen call yourselves Han ministers, which is also ridiculous. Therefore, the Northern Expedition is a matter of national foundation. How dare I call myself the descendant of the Three Kings without building a peaceful world? How can I inherit the rule of China without inheriting the territory of Han and Tang?"

Shao Zhou held them in his hands and unconsciously read them out. He himself did not realize that his hands were shaking, and although his voice was low, it had already been heard by Qing Hui, who was standing in front of the door.

"Continue reading, read aloud." That person brushed the fallen flowers on the stone lion squatting on the steps with his sleeves, and sat down on his own, "The people in the sky want to hear it."

Shao Zhou unconsciously burst into tears. He raised his voice, and the eruption of each word and each sentence was like a ball of fire tormenting his blood, about to be boiled dry, as if the unyielding karmic fire could not be quelled until the skin, flesh, bones, and ashes were turned to ashes.

"Jianyan has been established for nine years. The Emperor and his ministers are one, enduring for the country. The cycle of heaven is running, sharpening and growing together. Now the Imperial Song Dynasty's national power has been revived, and its soldiers and armor are excellent. He has governed the left, right, front, back, middle, cavalry, water, and sea armies of the Imperial Army, totaling 300,000 people. He has also raised scholars and men from the Central Plains and the Guanzhong region, totaling 500,000 bodies. Trustworthy ministers and elite soldiers, shouting and following, this is a grand occasion that has never been seen before! We should bravely fight and strive to recover our homeland, drive out the barbarians, restore China, establish principles and records, and save the people."

Reading to this point, he could no longer hold back, and finally threw down the paper as thin as new snow, rushed to the outside of the house, and poured out all the doubts in his heart to the wooden figure:

"Jiedushi Li, General Li! Li Yanxian!"

"Is it, Shaanxi Prefecture has been defeated! You came from there, didn't you!"

"Where's my father? Where's my brother? Where am I?"

"What about our tens of thousands of Li family troops? Are they all dead? Are they all gone!"

Silence.

Shao Zhou lost all his strength, knelt down in the fallen flowers all over the ground, hugged that person's sleeves, and cried bitterly.

Until he felt that person's hand gently patting the top of his head, one tap after another, with almost no body temperature, as if there was a piece of ice and snow hidden in his robe.

"Yes."

"The people in the sky all want to see it, they want more than 50,000 copies. I write day and night, writing for ten years, and I don't know if it will be enough."

"Those people, they are all the soldiers and righteous soldiers that I recruited from all over the place. What kind of hooligans have they not done before?"

"Burning paper money for them is just a joke. It's better to tell them a sentence that 'the army is crossing the river' is more pleasant."

Shao Zhou clearly felt that although the tone of that person's speech had not changed and was still wooden, two cold drops of water clearly fell on his forehead.

4、

The sun and the moon passed, and time flew by.

Shao Zhou had a daughter when he was twenty-three years old. He specially prepared a gift and wanted to ask Qing Hui to name his daughter. That person was still writing in the Taoist temple every day, rarely asking about world affairs, and his appearance had not changed, but the white hair in front of his temples had gradually increased.

In fact, Shao Zhou did not know his age. When he rescued him that year, he looked like he was in his thirties, but in the past few years, he had been plagued by old and new injuries and had suffered a lot of torture. Although the noble demeanor all over his body had not been worn away, he had gradually gained the momentum of the Great Years.

"Why are you getting confused about this matter?" Qing Hui slowly ground a section of ink in the ink pool, coughing non-stop – this was the root of the disease left in his lungs when he drowned in the river that year. Because of the cough, his hands often held the pen unstable, and recently the speed of the paper rolls piled up on the bookshelf in the corner had obviously slowed down a lot.

"That person in Shaanxi Prefecture promoted you. You have done a good job in these years, and the position of chief steward of the government office has also been handed over to you. This person, don't look at the fact that he usually doesn't say anything, he cares about the affairs of his subordinates' families. Now that you have a daughter, but you ask an outsider to name her, if he gets petty, he will be thinking about it."

He held a wolf hair brush and moistened it with ink in the inkstone, and suddenly laughed again, "If he is a little curious and runs to the temple to see this outsider, do you think I can still live in this Shaanxi Prefecture?"

After Shao Yun returned from the expedition, he naturally knew that his younger brother had met a Taoist priest and often provided for him constantly. At first, he was worried that his younger brother had never seen the world and would be deceived by the Taoist priest's words about gods and demons, so he offered to come to Mount Yangjiao to pay a visit. Every time he visited, Qing Hui was either gathering medicine in the mountains or traveling outside, and he could not see his true face ten times out of ten. Shao Yun's temper flared up, and he almost kicked the two broken wooden doors, until Shao Zhou let his brother see the rolls of paper that had been piled up on several bookshelves in the Taoist temple, and then he calmed down, only telling his brother that he would also share in the offerings in the future, and then he never mentioned the matter again.

Shao Zhou nodded when he heard him say this, "Yes."

But before a moment had passed, he said with a smile, "Then when I have a son in the future, I will still have the Taoist priest teach him calligraphy and martial arts. For example, this hand of writing, my family can't write it so well, and now I'm going to a private school, the tuition is so expensive, and the teacher doesn't have as much