In August, the autumn wind whipped up dust on the yellow earth. There is turbulence in the northwest land, and strange things are quietly brewing.

Since ancient times, the Northwest has been known as the Land of the Four Wars. In the previous tens or even hundreds of years, there were wars here from time to time, and it also developed a fierce folk customs, but since the establishment of the Wu Dynasty, under the guard of several Western armies that have been inherited for several generations, this place finally has a relative peace. Breeding, Zhe, Yang and several other families fought against the Western Xia, Tubo, and Liao, and established the great martial arts, but also formed an ecological pattern in this corner of the border far from the mainstream vision.

The northwest is not peaceful, that is compared with the hinterland of the Wu Dynasty, but the self-seeded family breeder Dao pushed the Western Army front through Hengshan with all his might, and among the disadvantages of Western Xia, the people of the northwest have actually lived in relative peace for many years.

Such a pattern was broken by the rise of the Jin State and its southward expansion. Since then, the family has been ruined, and the family is trembling, and when the war in the northwest is rekindled, the Black Flag Army, a foreign force that was suddenly inserted, is still a strange and strange impression to everyone in the northwest.

Before July of this year, there may not be many people in the northwest who knew about the existence of such an army. Occasionally, I heard that it was a bandit entrenched in the mountains, with more powerful powers, and knew that this army had made a shocking rebellion in the hinterland of the Wu Dynasty, and now it was chased by many parties and avoided here.

As for whether this army may pose a danger to the northwest, all forces naturally have some speculation, but before this speculation has become serious, the real trouble has already been the generals. The Western Xia army swept in, flattening half of the northwest, and people had long been unable to care about the bandits in the mountains. It was not until June of that year that the long-quiet Black Flag leaped out of the mountains to the east and crushed the Western Xia army with a terrifying and scalp-numbing force. People suddenly remembered that there is such a team all the time. At the same time, I also felt unbelievable and unfamiliar with this team.

After returning to Yanzhou City, the Black Flag Army still looked quite different from other armies. Whether it is the forces outside or the people in Yanzhou City. There was not the slightest sense of familiarity with this army and its leadership—perhaps not cordial, but like all the other things that everyone else did: now that it was too peaceful, it was necessary to summon celebrities and squires to understand the surrounding ecology, how the benefits would be distributed next, and what arrangements and expectations would be made for everyone's dealings as rulers.

These things. Didn't happen.

"We, the people of China, must watch and help each other."

"Since they are both Chinese people, they have the same obligation to protect their homes and defend the country!"

"That's what we should do, and you're welcome."

In the past month or two, this Huaxia army has actually done a lot. They went door-to-door to count the household registrations in and around Yanzhou, and then made arrangements for the food problem that everyone was concerned about: Anyone who came to write the word "Huaxia" would be given food according to their heads. Meanwhile. This army did some urgent things in the city, such as arranging to take in orphans, beggars, and old people after the massacre of the Tanguts. The medical corps treated those who had been wounded by swords over the years, and they mobilized some of them to repair the city and roads, and paid their wages.

If you want to win the hearts of the people, there are these things, in fact, it is already very good.

It's just for some of the original forces and clans in the city. What the other party wants to do, I can't understand it for a while. If everyone is really treated equally in the other party's heart, for these people who have family background and have the right to speak, the next thing will be very uncomfortable. This Huaxia army is too strong. Whether they are really so "independent", whether they are really unwilling to deal with anyone, and if this is the case, what will happen next, people do not have a bottom in their hearts.

If this foreign army relies on its own strength, it ignores all the land snakes, and even intends to sweep them all at once. For some, it was a hellscape even more terrible than that of the Tanguts. Of course, they didn't have much time to return to Yanzhou, or they wanted to see the reaction of these forces first, and planned to deliberately sweep away some thorns and make an example of the future rule, which was not a strange thing.

In the apprehension of the Yanzhou clans, all the forces outside the city, such as the seed family and the folding family, are actually secretly thinking about all this. After the situation in the vicinity was relatively stable, the envoys of the two families had also come to Yanzhou to express their greetings and thanks to the Black Flag Army, and in private, they also had some contact with the squires of the big clans in the city. The seed family is the original master of Yanzhou, but the seed family army has been defeated. Although the Zhe family has never ruled Yanzhou, he is now the leader of the Western Army, and people are willing to have some dealings with this side, in case the Black Flag Army really goes against the grain and wants to defeat all the strongmen.

“…… The temperament of the people in the northwest is strong, and tens of thousands of troops in the Western Xia can't defeat something, even if a few thousand people are invincible in battle, how can they really defeat everyone. Could it be that they will have to be bloodied again if they get Yanzhou City? ”

The news here reached Qingjian, and Zhi Keqiu, who had just stabilized the situation in Qingjian City, was saying such cool words on the one hand, and his heart was also full of doubts - he didn't dare to reach out to Yanzhou for the time being, but if the other party was really perverse, the local snakes who could speak in Yanzhou would take the initiative to contact him, and of course he could follow. At the same time, the seeds in Wonju may be in the same mood. Both the gentry and the commoners actually preferred to deal with the locals, after all, they were familiar.

Such doubts arose for a while, but in terms of the overall situation, the forces of Western Xia never withdrew, and the situation in the northwest was not at all stable. How to fight Gyeongju, how to divide the interests, whether the black flag will send troops, whether the breeders will send troops, and how to move the folded family, these undercurrents have not stopped day by day. In the minds of the people who are asking for it, Chong Yan and others, the black flag is powerful, but in the all-out battle with the Western Xia, it has also been damaged a lot, and they are entrenched in Yanzhou to recuperate, maybe they will not be dispatched again. But even so, it is worth testing to see how they act, whether it is a scaffolding that was forced up after the war......

At the end of August, he prepared to send an invitation to the Black Flag Army to discuss the matter of sending troops to pacify Gyeongju. Before the messenger was dispatched, several shocking messages had already arrived.

Since Xiaocanghe, a black flag army has come out again and escorted the Western Xia army prisoners out of Yanzhou. Head towards Gyeongju. A few days later, Li Qianshun, the king of Western Xia, returned to Gyeongju and other places to the Black Flag Army. The Western Xia army retreated to the north of Hengshan.

The Black Flag Army, which had been standing still, had quietly settled the situation in the northwest. This unbelievable state of affairs made people stunned and confused. They all felt a little nowhere to focus. Soon after, even more bizarre things followed.

The envoys of the Black Flag Army came to Cheonggjian and Wonju respectively and invited Zhe, Chong and others to Gyeongju to negotiate and solve all issues, including the ownership of Gyeongju.

After receiving this invitation, Zhi Keqiu was stunned for a long time in the reception room of the temporary residence of Qingjian City, and then looked at the envoy in front of him with the eyes of something indescribable-he was the head of the city and the famous Zhe family, and he greeted the envoy of the Black Flag Army with an extremely enthusiastic attitude on the way in, only at this time. It seems to be a little out of shape.

"Counseling...... Gyeongju belongs? ”

Maybe the world is really going to be turned upside down, and I can't understand it anymore—he thought.

Soon after, Zhi Keqiu and Chong Yan came to Gyeongju and met the bewildering leader of the Black Flag Army, Ning Liheng, a scholar who had killed the emperor of the Wu Dynasty on the Golden Palace.

At this time, Gyeongju City, which had been in the hands of the Tangut people for two more months, was devastated, and the surviving population was less than one-third of what it had been. Large numbers of people are on the verge of starvation, and the epidemic is already showing signs of emerging. When the Tanguts left. The wheat in the vicinity that had been harvested had already been transported. The Black Flag Army exchanged some grain with the Western Xia captives for the other side, and at this time they were giving porridge and distributing relief in the city.

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

This traitor named Ning Yi is not kind.

After meeting, it was a kind of first impression that was hard and desirable.

It's a fairly neat barracks, a chaotic and busy scene. Soldiers were deployed to give porridge and medicine to the population, and the corpses were collected and burned. It was in such a situation that the two of them saw each other, and in the midst of the anxiety and busyness, this junior, who was not yet thirty, greeted each other with a straight face. Didn't give them a smile. The first impression is that the other party is acting, but I can't be sure, because the other party's military camp and soldiers are also the same stereotypical image in the midst of busyness.

"During this time, whether it is Gyeongju or Yeonju, too many people have died, these people and corpses, I hate to look at them!" Leading the two of them through the ruined city, looking at the people who had suffered so much, the scholar named Ning Liheng showed a look of disgust, "For such a thing, I have been thinking about it for a long time, these days, there is a little immature opinion, do the two generals want to hear it?" ”

"Mr. Ning is worried about the people's suffering, but it doesn't hurt to say it."

"I think it's all your fault."

Ning Yi's gaze swept over them: "Living in one place, protecting the territory and the people, this is your responsibility, things are not done well, they are messed up, it is useless for you to say any reason, if you find a reason, they will die without a place to be buried, this matter, I think, the two generals should reflect on it!" ”

Before coming over, I really didn't expect that the leader of this invincible army would be such an upright and upright person, and the corners of his mouth twitched so much that his face hurt a little. But to be honest, such a character, in the current situation, is not annoying, and he quickly admits his mistakes, and reflects on it as well as a stream. Several people climbed the city wall of Gyeongju.

“…… I took root in Xiaocanghe, originally planned to go to the northwest to do business, at that time the old Xianggong had never passed away, and I was lucky, but soon after, the Xixia people came, and the old Xianggong also went. Our Black Flag Army didn't want to fight, but there was no way to come out of the mountains just to earn a life. Now this northwest can be settled, it is a good thing, I am a person who speaks of rules, so my brothers under my command are willing to follow me, they choose their own path. I believe that in this world, everyone is qualified to choose their own path! ”

In the first half of Ning Yi's words, both of them nodded in agreement, and were willing to say two words of compliment, but in the second half, the scholar spread his hands solemnly at the devastated city, and the two were more or less puzzled, frowning at each other, and exchanging glances.

Such a person...... No wonder they killed the emperor......

Such a person...... How can there be such a person......

Ning Yi's words continued: "The people of this Gyeongju City have suffered a lot, and when they settle down a little, I will let them choose their own path." Two generals, you are the mainstay of the northwest, and they are also your responsibility to protect the territory and the people. Now that I have counted the number of Gyeongju people, their household registrations, and when the food at hand is ready, I will launch a poll to see if they are willing to follow me, or if they are willing to follow the family army or the family army - if they don't choose me. When the time comes, I will hand over Gyeongju to the person they choose. ”

The city was already quiet, and they looked at the cold-faced scholar and raised his hand: "It is my lifelong wish to let everyone in the world choose their own path." ”

"Two, the next situation will not be easy." The scholar turned back and looked at them, "First of all, the food for the winter, this city is a mess, if you don't want it." I'm not going to give you any, I'll do my best to take responsibility for them as long as they're in my hands. If it comes to you, you're going to be tormented. So I asked the two generals to come over for an interview, and if you are not willing to take Gyeongju from me in this way, and you don't like it, then I understand. But if you want, we need to talk about things. That's a lot. ”

He turned and walked forward: "I thought about it carefully, if there really is such a vote. There are many things that need to be supervised, how to do every process of letting them vote, how to count the votes, and which local elders and respected people need to be invited to supervise. The choice of tens of thousands of people, everything must be fair and just in order to convince the public. I intend to settle these matters with you, and write them down in clause......"

That Ning Yi chattered while walking, planting and folding the two as if they were listening to the Arabian Nights.

“…… Frankly, I came from a businessman's background. He is good at business and not good at governing people, so he is willing to give them a chance. If it goes well here, even if it is Yanzhou, I am willing to vote once, or co-rule with the two. However, no matter what the result of the vote is, I must at least ensure that the trade routes can be passed, and not hinder the passage of our people from Xiaocanghe and Qingmu Village from the northwest -- when there is plenty of money, I am willing to give them a choice, and if there is no way out in the future, our Huaxia Army will not hesitate to fight to the death with anyone. ”

Ning Yi frowned, mentioned the matter of the trade route, and understated it. After that, the two sides talked a lot. Ning Yi occasionally said, "...... Of course, the two generals should not be too happy, people are not grassy and ruthless, my Black Flag Army has done so many things, they see it in their eyes and remember it in their hearts, and they may not necessarily choose you. ”

The two of them laughed and nodded their heads repeatedly.

That night, the people and staff gathered in the resting garden like a dream, and they didn't care about the details of what the other party said today, but on the whole big concept, whether the other party was lying or not.

Let the people vote on who will govern the place? Is he really going to do that?

In the dark attic in the distance, Ning Yi looked at the lights from a distance, and then withdrew his gaze. Beside him, the spy who had returned from the Northland was whispering what he had seen and heard over there, and Ning Yi tilted his head and occasionally asked. After the spies left, he sat still in the dark for a long time, and after a while, he lit an oil lamp and buried himself in recording some of his thoughts.

The guards in charge of the garrison occasionally turned their heads to look at the figure in the window, and since the time since the Jurchen envoy left, Ning Yi had become more and more busy, pushing everything he wanted step by step and racing against time......

In the next two days, the three parties met and focused on some unimportant matters, which mainly included the things that needed to be guaranteed after the Gyeongju vote, that is, regardless of the result of the vote, the convenience and preferential treatment of the Xiaocanghe caravan that the two families needed to ensure when doing business and passing through the northwest region, in order to protect the interests of the caravan, the means that Xiaocanghe could use, such as priority and supervision, and the means of mutual checks and balances that all parties should have in order to prevent a party from suddenly turning around and affecting the caravan of Xiaocanghe.

Ning Yi also focused on talking to them about the taxes that can be obtained by both parties in these businesses - but to be honest, they don't really care.

In this way, everyone seemed to be happy in their own ways, and soon after, activities that surprised everyone took place in the northwestern land.

(To be continued.) )

PS: Dropped a ...... Ask for a ticket, ask for a ticket, ah-

The chapter title is taken from a friend's lesser-known work, and if you are interested, you can check out the ...... ^_^