In January, when the Green Forest people were heading north in the direction of the Yangtze River, more people were fleeing the war zone in a panic to the west and south.

The triangular area, which stretches from Jiangning to Zhenjiang more than 100 miles to the east and Lin'an more than 450 miles to the south, is gradually falling into the flames of war. This is the most prosperous place in the whole world since the Wu Dynasty moved south, it contains the richest Jiangnan towns near Taihu Lake, radiating Changzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing and other large cities, with a total population of up to 10 million.

After the Jurchens were killed, there were prosperous and important places that had to be defended everywhere, but even with the manpower of the Wu Dynasty, it was impossible to garrison every city with heavy troops and try not to lose - in fact, in the second year of Jianshuo, which was called the great battle of Soshan and Jianhai, Wushu led the army, and actually trampled many towns in the south of the Yangtze River.

Fortunately, the situation this time is different from the past, and the Jurchens did not have the capital to drag it out for a long time for the Fourth Southern Expedition with the purpose of defeating Nanwu. After the Wushu army arrived in Lin'an, the Wu Dynasty mobilized about 170,000 troops previously stationed in Jiaxing, Suzhou and other places, and went to Lin'an Qinwang, plus the 200,000 forbidden troops stationed in Lin'an at this time, which became a core of this war.

After crossing the Yangtze River, the main attack point of the Eastern Route Army led by Zongfu was in Jiangning, and then spread towards Zhenjiang and the large and small cities in the south. Liu Chengzong's troops in the north attacked Xuzhou and took away the attention of some of the Jurchen troops, and the main force of the army under Zong Fu, excluding the attrition, was about less than 200,000, plus hundreds of thousands of Han troops from the Central Plains, on the one hand, they attacked Jiangning, and on the other hand, they sent elite troops to push the front south as much as possible.

The distance between Jiangning and Lin'an is more than 400 miles, and if you move forward at full speed, it will only be a journey of more than ten days. For the Jurchens, there are two strategic directions at hand. Either defeat the resistance group led by Prince Junwu along the Yangtze River, or gradually move south to pull out the city, and together with the elite cavalry of Wushu, threaten Lin'an and force the Wu Dynasty to surrender.

Again, these two strategic directions can be pursued simultaneously. In mid-January, more than 30,000 people led by the generals and Alubao marched to the south and southeast, and more than 100,000 Han troops led by the Central Plains warlords Lin Baoyue and Li Yangzong had pushed the battle line to the south of Taipingzhou (later Ma'anshan), Danyang, and Changning.

In addition to the 100,000 Wulie battalions originally stationed in Jiangning, Han Shizhong also led the main force of the 50,000 town navy to sit in Jiangning, and another 70,000 town navy pushed to Changning, plus nearly 300,000 Huaiyang troops and reinforcements, firmly blocking the way for Zongfu's troops to go south.

By mid-to-late January, Yue Fei's Beiwei Army, Xi Yin and Tu Shanwei led by Yinshuke arrived on the battlefield, and the Jurchen general Alubao and the more than 30,000 men who went to Changning shook a false shot, turned northeast to Zhenjiang, and cooperated with Xi Yin's troops to launch a surprise attack on the Zhenjiang area, the entire Jiangnan was already staggered, falling into a chaotic situation.

The situation in Lin'an is more complicated.

The Wushu cavalry had stopped attacking Lin'an since early January, and the army roamed and burned around Lin'an, occasionally clashing and clash with the forces of Shen Cheng and Xu Liejun, who had come to King Qin from the Wu Dynasty. Intellectually, it is not easy for a 50,000-strong army to break through the big city garrisoned by 200,000 troops - although the Jurchens have had more brilliant achievements in the past - the complex people's hearts in Lin'an City are more like the changes in the stock market in later generations, with the news from the outside world coming again and again, the news trend in the city also has treacherous fluctuations, in addition to the anti-gold cries and death slogans on the bright side, all kinds of thoughts are intertwined in private, and the dark tide is surging, and it goes up and down with the message of each victory or defeat.

Of course, for more than 200 years, the Wu Dynasty has raised soldiers, and words such as gold reduction or collaborating with the enemy will not be on everyone's lips, and since the rest of the month, the changes in various news in Lin'an have become more complicated. There are several kinds of information about Zhou Yong's falling out with a group of officials, such as the news that Zhou Yong wanted to reconcile with the Black Flag and was then placed under house arrest by hundreds of officials, because of its half-truths, it seems particularly convincing.

In addition, since the Huaxia Army sent out a team of traitors, there were also discussions in the capital about who was a traitor and who had defected to the enemy, and the students turned their eyes to every suspicious minister in the court, and some of the tabloids in the capital opened after Li Pin began to privately make and sell pamphlets about the family backgrounds and personal relationships of the court and military members for everyone's reference. Among them, there are also literati who have repeatedly failed to participate in it, expressing high-level opinions and attracting people's attention.

Since the beginning of the war, discussions on the direction of the war situation in the world, the judgment of the possibility of victory or defeat in the future, and the many ways to turn defeat into victory have never been interrupted since the beginning of the war. Those who worry about the country and the people are running in private, and there are admonitions such as "Three Strategies for Resisting the Enemy and the Old Country" and "Ten Treatises on Retiring the Jurchen and Zhongxing", and the daily snowflakes fly to the court and even the princess's mansion.

On the fourth day of the second lunar month, a 60-year-old scholar who called himself "Old Man Qiulu" even asked a tabloid workshop to print a large number of pages containing his "good policies for governing the country", imitating the previous Jurchen meticulous work and throwing out such leaflets in the city. After the city patrol army arrested him, the old man shouted that he wanted to see Lin'an Mansion Yin, to see the prime minister, to see the privy envoy, to see the eldest princess and so on.

Yin Luo Shuwen of Lin'an Mansion had no choice but to see him and ask him about his good strategy, but he only asked the emperor to reuse a great sage like him, and immediately kill many court officials who he thought were problematic. The old man has been busy for fame all his life, but in fact, some of them are only a showman's identity, and in the end, the family wealth is scattered, only an old wife goes to the street every day to pick up some vegetable leaves and even beg for a living, and when he prints leaflets, he even puts up some coffins. Fu Yin Luo Shuwen couldn't cry or laugh, and finally had to offer two taels of silver tattoos and put the old man back at home.

More treacherous people's hearts are hidden under this vast and chaotic public opinion.

On the eighth day of the first month of February, a poetry meeting in the west of Lin'an City, the venue used is an old courtyard called Baopu Garden, the trees sprout, the peach blossoms are budding, the breath of spring has just come, and a middle-aged scholar who is over thirty years old, with a goatee, surrounded by a lot of people, this person brought a map of the entire territory of the Wu Dynasty, and is pointing and drawing on it, and its arguments are clear and convincing, alarming the four.

“…… Looking at the situation of our Wu Dynasty, everyone in the world thinks that the center is trapped in the south of the Yangtze River, which naturally makes sense. If Lin'an is fine, the Yangtze River line can finally be defended, and the Jurchen army will be dragged down, and the siege of the Wu Dynasty will be solved. If you can do it, you don't need to think about the rest...... But if you just look at it, there is still a little core today, in the west - the land of Xiangyang......"

He tapped his finger on the location of Xiangyang on the map, and then took it further west.

“…… You may not think so, Xiangyang is an important town, but it is more than 1,500 miles away from my Lin'an, whether Xiangyang is defended or overcome, it has nothing to do with the overall situation of my Lin'an. But here, we have to talk about a clichéd theory, that is, the so-called Jurchen East and West courts, in the past, we talked about the East and West courts, sowing discord, but the scholar's argument was on paper. But today, the Jurchens have come, and they are different from what they used to be......"

“…… For you and me, if the entire Jin Kingdom is regarded as one, then this southern expedition, their purpose is naturally to destroy our Wu Dynasty, but after the destruction, what will they do next? The scholar moved his finger to the west and further west, and tapped, "Destroy the black flag!" ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, to put it mildly, for the Jurchens now, the real trouble is probably not our Wu Dynasty, but the Black Flag Army that has risen from the southwest and once killed the Jurchen generals such as Lou Room and Ci Bu Loss. At present, the Jurchen armies attach different importance to the black flag...... Judging from the previous situation, Zong Han and Xi Yin's subordinates really regarded the Black Flag Army as a great enemy, while Zong Fu and Wushu and others had the primary purpose of destroying our Wu Dynasty and breaking Lin'an...... The two armies converged, first breaking the Wu Dynasty, and then invading the power of the world to destroy the southwest, which is naturally the best. But here, we should see, what if we retreat to the next best? ”

“…… In the previous years, let's say that there are contradictions between the Jurchen and the Eastern and Western courts, and they can be provoked, but that is just a dream talk that pays lip service but does not come to the truth, how domineering is Zong Han and others to conquer the world, how can they directly fight with Ah Gu because of some private provocations? But now, let's think about it, if there is such a choice in front of Zong Han and others: we Lin'an, we can hold on for a lot of time, drag on the Wushu, and even let the Jurchen Eastern Route Army's southern expedition return in vain, but for the Western Route Army, they can take advantage of it, and even go straight to the southwest, confront the Black Flag Army, destroy this army, and kill the Ning Demon Head, Zong Han Xiyin's side, could it really not be tempted? ”

“…… What I say next may be inappropriate, but it is only an idea, and if it is, ......"

The middle-aged man lowered his voice, and everyone listened to it, and after a while, some people pondered, some admired, and some put forward the idea of rebuttal...... The new shoots of the trees in the courtyard swayed, and the figures and various opinions were soon drowned in this cold spring color.

When the poetry meeting ended, it was already afternoon, and the crowd dispersed, and the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier said goodbye to the scribes, and then turned to the streets of Lin'an City. The middle-aged man turned a few streets and alleys, realizing that something seemed wrong behind him, he quickened his pace in the next alley, and when he turned into an uninhabited alley, he borrowed his strength and climbed up the courtyard wall of the next house, but then fell down because of insufficient strength.

When he got up from the muddy water, several figures were already coming towards him.

The figure was covered in a sack, dragged out of the alleyway, and thrown into the wagon. The carriage crossed several long streets and entered the prison of Lin'an Mansion, and soon Tie Tianying came in from outside, and someone led him to the prison, where the middle-aged man in his thirties had been tied up in the torture room.

The middle-aged man woke up and saw the old catcher who was burning the soldering iron, and he struggled on the shelf a few times: "You, you, who are you!?" Who? I am the identity of a person, the identity of Jinghan for thirteen years! What are you doing!? ”

Tie Tianying raised his head and looked at him: "If you don't know where you are, what kind of identity can you talk about, if you are kidnapped by bandits, your identity as a lifter can save you?" ”

"I, I, I...... I can guess that the country has training, but you can't punish doctors, you can't kill people who say things, you ......"

"Who told you to speak these things? Who taught you to speak? ”

"No one! No one! The rise and fall of the dynasty is the responsibility of the husband! I am a citizen of the Wu Dynasty, I am a person, the country has suffered a great disaster, and I share my worries for the country! Share worries for the country! And I just talked to everyone about it, and I didn't do anything else—"

The middle-aged man struggled on the wooden shelf, screaming in panic, and Iron Sky Eagle watched him quietly, and after a while, untied his bloated robe and put it aside, and then picked up the torture instrument.

"It's not a day or two to stare at you, and each does its own thing, then it's offended."

……

The early spring sun sinks, and the day turns into night.

In the early morning of the ninth day of the second lunar month, Zhou Pei got up with his clothes on, washed up, got into a carriage, and passed through the city.

It was only a little more than an hour after midnight, and the city seemed quiet, but the further north you went, the more you could hear a small humming sound in the air, and as you approached the north and the Ning Gate, this small sound gradually became clear, it was the sound of a large number of people moving.

On the afternoon of the eighth day of the first month, Xu Liejun's 30,000 men were routed by the 20,000 elite cavalry sent by Wushu on the way to transfer, with thousands of dead and wounded, and later Xu Liejun sent tens of thousands of people to repel the Jurchen cavalry that came to attack, and now a large number of wounded are being sent to Lin'an City.

After the wounded were transported into the urn city, there was also a screening, and some doctors went in to give emergency treatment to the seriously injured, and Zhou Pei climbed the city wall to watch the groans and screams in the urn city. Cheng Zhouhai is already there, come and salute.

"Defeated again, I don't know how many people will have to talk in private." Zhou Pei said in a low voice.

"Quietness is that in every war, there are people who have to think carefully." Completed Kaido.

"More than ten years ago, the world didn't know that the Wu Dynasty would really lose the Central Plains, even if they thought about it in private, they couldn't help but feel that the Wu Dynasty could hold on. Now that everyone is talking, they can't help but have to do some 'worst plans', and in the 'worst plans', they all hope that they will have a good life......" Zhou Pei said in a low voice, poking his head out to look into the darkness at the outermost part of the city wall, "Mr. Cheng, the city wall of Bianliang is also so high and thick, right?" I sometimes stand down and look up, thinking that such a majestic city wall should always be difficult for eternity, but the events of the years have taught me that it is not necessarily that difficult to knock on it. ”

Cheng Zhouhai was silent for a moment: "...... Yesterday, His Majesty summoned His Royal Highness into the palace, what did you say? ”

Zhou Pei smiled, then his face became solemn, and he looked around, before he whispered to Cheng Zhouhai: "My father asked me sideways, if the situation in the capital is critical, can the Zhenhai New Army led by General Han Shizhong be withdrawn to Lin'an in time and change guards with the forbidden army...... The father knew that the hearts of the people below were fluctuating, and he couldn't trust the forbidden army, and even wanted to ...... General Yu Zihua Yu, who removed the forbidden army. ”

"Withdrawing to the town navy, this is a rush to the hospital, as for General Yu......" Cheng Zhouhai frowned: "General Yu...... Ascended from the martial arts camp, but His Majesty's henchman. ”

Zhou Pei hesitated for a moment, remembered what his father had said yesterday, and showed a sarcastic smile on his face: "...... Yes, the Wulie Battalion was stationed in Jiangning back then, and Yu Zihua and his father knew each other in the old days, so they were able to command the forbidden army, but at this time, they ...... Mr. Cheng, his father knows best what the people who played with him back then were. He just has no one to use, bullying and bullying people to drink flower wine, his father trusts them more than anyone else, and when he is about to fight, his father can't trust them more than anyone else......"

"However, over the years, General Yu has indeed changed his past wrongs and has been extremely strict with himself."

"My father doesn't believe this, so I can only ...... Do your best to dissuade yourself. Zhou Pei rubbed his forehead, "The town navy can't be moved, and General Yu can't go lightly, alas, I hope my father can be stable." Recently, he often summoned Lord Qin Hui and Lord Qin into the palace to inquire, Lord Qin was old and seeking the country, and it seemed to have played a dissuasive role in his father's thoughts, and his father wanted to summon the town navy back to Beijing, and Lord Qin also persuaded him...... In the next few days, I would like to visit Lord Qin in person and talk to him openly and honestly......"

The two watched the tower for a while, then left, the carriage drove away from the city wall, drove through the dark streets, and when they arrived near the prison of Delin'an Mansion, Zhou Pei, who rubbed his forehead, remembered something: "It seems that some people were caught on the side of the iron catcher yesterday, let's go to the prison to have a look." ”

Cheng Zhouhai nodded yes.

When the group came to the prison, the deputy next to them had already reported what Tie Tianying was doing, and when they approached the torture room, the smell of blood came out, and Tie Tianying probably washed his face and hands a little, and came out of it, with a lot of blood stains on his clothes. He took a stack of interrogation papers in his hand, and led Zhou Pei and Cheng Zhouhai towards the execution room to see that the middle-aged scholar tied to the wooden shelf was no longer human.

"Are you doing this as a trick?" Cheng Zhouhai frowned and asked.

"It's not." Tie Tianying shook his head, "This person's connection with the Jurchen side has been confirmed, the letters, the corrector, and the guards of the forbidden army who came in for him have all been confirmed...... Now it seems that the Jurchens have begun to think newly. ”

"The ones you reported earlier?" Cheng Zhouhai asked.

Tie Tianying nodded, and then looked at Zhou Pei with Cheng Zhouhai: "This matter is allowed to be reported next, His Highness wants to ......" Tie Tianying pointed to the relatively clean small room on the other side of the torture room, and asked slightly, Zhou Pei looked at the bloody man in the cell whose nails had been pulled out, and turned his head to the small room.

Tie Tianying and Cheng Zhouhai followed, spreading out the map on the table in the small room: "This matter has been talked about on a small scale a few days ago, and it sounds quite deviant at first glance, but if you chew it carefully, it is not a bad idea, and its general direction is like this......"

Tie Tianying paused, cut his palm on the location of Xiangyang on the map, and then swept towards the western area marked on the map: "If the war in the capital is urgent, there is no way to retreat...... To Marshal Zonghan of the Jurchen West Route Army, cede Xiangfan and all areas west of Xiangfan and north of the Yangtze River. ”

After he said this, Zhou Pei's arm pressed on the table, and his whole face was already gloomy.

Cheng Zhouhai said in a low voice on the side: "There is a private word, this is the request that Wanyan Xiyin, the Jurchen general near Zhenjiang, secretly put forward to the city. At the beginning of January, the Black Flag side intended to discuss with the Sword Pavilion guard Si Zhongxian about borrowing the road, and the Sword Pavilion was the main road out of Sichuan, which was obviously Ning Yi's deterrence and pressure on the Jurchens, and the Jurchen side made such a decision, which was also obviously a counterattack against the Black Flag Army. ”

He pointed to the area on the map: "Xiangfan to the Sword Pavilion, a land of thousands of miles, and control Sichuan and Shu, once this place is ceded, the Jurchen Western Route Army's achievements are enough, and there is no reason to go south to attack the army, and even the Eastern Route Army's futile return can be more welcome to them." And once this area is controlled, Zong Han and Xi Yin will enter Chengdu with strong troops, and Zong Han and Ning Yi will have to face each other in advance. It's not impossible to lose both......"

"Ceding a thousand miles of land? Does that make sense? Zhou Pei's voice was dry.

"If the safety is in danger, then it is quite easy to say...... "Chengzhou Haidao," and, if you look at it in the general direction, the Jurchens ...... At least on Zong Han Xiyin's side, the fear of the Black Flag Army is even greater than that of the Wu Dynasty, if they can swallow the Wu Dynasty and then destroy the Black Flag, it is of course the best, but if they retreat to the second, I sometimes feel that they would rather be able to destroy the Black Flag this time......"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Zhou Pei quietly, and Zhou Pei's body shook. Some things do sound like a fantasy at first glance, but if it can really be done, Zong Han led the army into the southwest, and Ning Yi led the Huaxia army, and he will definitely not retreat, these two strongest armies in the world will be killed together, then the situation will definitely not be as embarrassing as the Jiangnan War of the Wu Dynasty......

Zhou Pei thought for a while, and finally shook his head and left: "This is the words of the cholera people's hearts, find out them, and kill them all one day!" ”

Cheng Zhouhai showed a slight smile, and when he left the prison, he said: "Even if these things are said beautifully, their purpose is only to disturb the hearts of our army. However, although we can understand this, I am afraid that many people in the city will be moved, and there is also His Majesty's side...... I hope that His Highness will be cautious and ......"

Zhou Pei nodded, and soon took the carriage away.

After a few days, similar news began to spread and ferment in the city, and the Jurchen Western Route Army put forward a demand: cede the west of Xiangfan and the north of the Yangtze River, and withdraw the troops.

And among them, it is said that the Jurchen East Route Army also put forward a request: the Wu Dynasty recognized Dajin as his father, forever as a vassal, and paid tribute every year to the court, and at the same time-

——Kill Han Shizhong, with the heart of the people!

……

In Zhenjiang in February, the camp of the garrison was mixed with frost and mud, and when Junwu walked out of the camp, he could see the scene when the army changed guards and materials were transferred, and occasionally the wounded came in, with the smell of gunpowder smoke and blood.

The war is more about iron and blood, and in half a year, Jun Wu has almost adapted to such a rhythm, in front of him, is the attack of many Jurchen generals who are famous all over the world, and behind him, he has also experienced hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of military and civilian casualties.

To the east and south of Zhenjiang, the troops of Jurchen generals such as Xi Yin, Yinshuke, and Alubao had conquered several small cities and were cautiously extending the battle line to the south, while in the larger area, the troops belonging to the Wu Dynasty were blocking the roads of the southern front layer by layer. There is friction once or twice every few days.

The most elite Tushan Guard under the command of Jurchen Zonghan led by Xi Yin, even the current Beiwei Army, could not stop its offensive in frontal combat. However, the Wu Dynasty troops gathered around it were wearing down its sharpness layer by layer, and even if it could not stop its advance in one or two battles, it would definitely block his back road, making it unable to move south for a long time.

Compared with the bloody struggle of the front-line soldiers and the general's strategy, the identity of the prince is more like a backbone and mascot here, he only needs to exist and firmly implement the belief of resistance to complete the task. Jun Wu was not discouraged by this, no matter how tired he was every day, he tried his best to dress himself up, grow some beard, and have a good appearance, so that he looked more mature and determined, and also boosted the morale of his soldiers.

Occasionally, all kinds of intrigues and complicated people's hearts fluctuate from Lin'an, which makes him laugh and sigh, and occasionally some of the behaviors of the anti-Jin fighters who come from the outside world in front of the Jin people make him feel encouraged, most of these news are heroic and tragic, but if everyone in the world can do this, how can the Wu Dynasty lose the Central Plains?

On February 12, the envoys of the Jin people came to the army in Zhenjiang and asked to persuade the prince Junwu and the entire Wu Dynasty court to surrender, and the conditions included the conditions of being a minister and ceding the area north of the Yangtze River west of Xiangfan, and severely punishing the anti-Jin generals and many other lions opened their mouths.

"Xi Yin and the others are now besieged by my million-strong army, so let's go back! Push him out of me and kill—"

The envoy was dragged out, shouting: "The two armies will not kill the envoy when they fight!" The two armies fight without killing! It's okay to talk! You can talk about it, His Royal Highness the Prince-" After that, he was dragged to the school field and cut off his head with a knife.

Not long after, Wanyan Xiyin, who was stationed in the southeast of Zhenjiang, received the head of the envoy in the military camp, smiled slightly, and said to the people around him: "This little prince has a strong heart, but it is a little different from everyone in the Wu Dynasty......

"It's a pity......" he sighed.