The night wind was blowing, and the galloping horses with torches crossed the road in the field.

Since the Huaxia Army entered the Chengdu Plain, the first thing the engineering department did was to repair the roads connecting various places as much as possible, even so, the dirt roads at this time were not suitable for galloping horses at night, even if the stars were bright, such high-speed running still carried huge risks.

However, the hurriers were anxious, and the second was also the courage of the masters, and the royal priests with torches in their hands crossed the official roads between the rice fields and the hills, occasionally passing through the villages, and passing by the extremely rare night pedestrians. When they crossed a forest on the way, the woman on horseback seemed to suddenly realize that something was wrong, and with the reins in her hand, the horse neighed, ran a few feet away, and stopped.

The war horse was in the middle of the road, and the woman on horseback glanced back. The next moment, the torch came out of her hand and streaked across the night sky, and the figure of the woman roared, swept off the horse's back, and ran into the forest.

The torches were still flying, and only the lone war horse was in the middle of the road between the two dense forests, and someone shouted out in confusion in the dark night: "Liu, Liu Shuai......"

Another person said: "The ...... of the six ladies"

The figure that swept through the woodland had already come out, and at this time it was turned back in an instant, and the watermelon was nominally the marshal of the 29th Army in Miaojiang in the Huaxia Army, and among some people close to him, he was also known as the Sixth Lady. Her figure swept over a distance of more than ten zhang and saw several people hidden in the woodland on the side of the road, although they were all dressed in casual clothes, but two of them, she knew.

"Lin Qiu, Xu Shaoyuan, what are you doing here?"

"Liu Shuai, this is ......"

This Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan are also relatively important young officers around Ning Yi, one is in the General Staff and the other is working in the secretary's office. The two sides greeted each other first, but the next moment, they were more or less vigilant. Watermelon was on the road for an afternoon, she came lightly, only carrying a single knife, and after a little contemplation, she understood the origin of the vigilance in the other party's eyes.

"Where is Liheng? Did you stay here, did he order you, or did you follow someone else? ”

Her words were stern, and she went straight into the forest with a single sword, although there were five people lurking in the forest in front of her, but she was strong in martial arts, and she was enough to dominate the world with a single sword. Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan glanced at each other: "Mr. Ning didn't tell us that you would come over......"

"I heard that there was a problem here, so I rushed here, Liheng is still in the old bull's head?"

Lin Qiu shook his head: "There are guards ahead, Mr. Ning doesn't want people outside to come over and startle the snakes, so he arranged for us to be here...... The gentleman and his party have come out of it......"

"Take me to him."

Lin Qiu hesitated slightly, Watermelon frowned, and his eyes became stern: "I know what you are worried about, but I am married to him, even if I defect, I can still talk!" He told you to stop people here, and you can stop me? Don't talk nonsense, I still have someone behind, you two take me to see Liheng, and the rest of the people hold my token and stop the people behind! ”

She pulled out a sign and threw it to the others in the woods. Lin Qiu hesitated for a moment in Xu Shaoyuan, and finally nodded: "Come with us." ”

The three of them walked through the woods, then rode three horses tied to the edge of the forest, climbed over the hill in front of them, and entered a small forest. Neither of them spoke on the way.

Watermelon's eyes are like water, and she naturally understands where the tension between the two of them comes from, she has preached the most about the equal thinking in the Huaxia Army over the years, and this time someone secretly revealed the news to her, hoping that she can come forward, and in the case of Mr. Ning and everyone turning against him, she can still stand up for the situation, on the other hand, it also reveals that these people are afraid of Ning Yi, maybe they hope that if something is unsuccessful, they can come forward to protect people.

If it was Su Tan'er at the moment, if it was someone else, Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan would definitely not be so vigilant, they were afraid that they had become enemies.

In the struggle for power and line, no matter how close people are, they may turn against each other. Back then, in Hangzhou, watermelons supported the Badao Battalion and killed Qi Yuankang, and he tasted such a taste. At this time, this complicated feeling that she would never want to experience came up in her heart again, this time, Ning Yi may have been prepared, but he didn't reveal it to himself, is he also guarding against himself?

Such questions were swirling in her heart, and on the other hand, she was also wary of the two people in front of her. There is a problem within the Huaxia Army, if the two people in front of them have privately surrendered to the enemy, the next thing to greet them may be a trap that has been prepared for a long time, which also means that Liheng may have fallen into a deep crisis - but she is not afraid of such a possibility, she is familiar with the special operations methods of the Huaxia Army, no matter how complicated the situation is, she has some certainty of breaking out of the encirclement.

But then, this situation did not happen, through this forest, there were already lights in front, this is a small settlement on the edge of the woods, it may only be a part of the nearby village, the house is three martial arts, there is a threshing flat in front, there is a small fish pond, Su Wending came from the front, listened to Lin Qiu and Xu Shaoyuan's report, and sent them away.

"Liu Shuai knows the situation?" Su Wending is not close to watermelon on weekdays, but he also understands the likes and dislikes of the other party, so he uses Liu Shuai's title, and when watermelon sees him, he is also a little relieved, and his face is still expressionless: "Liheng is okay, right?" ”

"Brother-in-law is fine."

Walked all the way, when I arrived near the Nata Guping, I saw Ning Yi appear on the road at that end, saw her, was slightly stunned, and then walked towards this side, the watermelon stood there, the fighting mood she had prepared along the way finally fell at this time, Hongti smiled at her from afar, Ning Yi walked closer: "Did you hear the news?" ”

"Hmm." Ning Yi stretched out his hand, and the watermelon also reached out, held Ning Yi's palm, and asked calmly, "What's the matter?" You already knew they were going to do things? ”

"The situation is a little complicated, and there are still some things to deal with, you come with me. Let's take our time. ”

The voices of the two were not loud, speaking of which, Ning Yi took the watermelon's hand and signaled to the rear, and the watermelon also nodded, all the way through the threshing ping, to the front of the house, on the way, the watermelon's gaze swept over the first small house, and saw Chen Shanjun, the county magistrate of the old cow's head.

"Chen Shanjun is quite interested in the idea of equality." Watermelon said, "Is he involved?" ”

"Well, he's one of the initiators, and he'll lead them forward."

"Backwards?"

"You'll know later, let's go to the front first and deal with one person's problem."

Turning around a few small houses here, walking around for a while, there was another room, located in a corner that could not be seen here, and the light seeped out of it, Ning Yi led the watermelon in, waved his hand, and a few people who were originally in the room came out, leaving a scholar who was pressed on the side of the table, this person was thin, his beard was half white, but there was a strong air between his eyebrows. His hands were tied, but he didn't struggle, but after seeing Ning Yi and the watermelon, his eyes were a little sad.

"I thought that at least Liu Shuai would support my ideas, but I didn't expect that she was still just a short-sighted woman. Mr. Ning, you have no last resort, I am enlightened, since the victory and defeat have been divided, you can kill me and wait, there is no need to say any more humiliating words. ”

"Li Ximing." Watermelon nodded.

Ning Yi pulled out the knife, cut the rope on the other party's hand, and then walked back to the side of the table and sat down, he looked at the half-white scholar in front of him, and then took out a thing: "I won't beat around the bush, Li Ximing, a native of Changsha, has made a name for himself in the Wu Dynasty, you and I both know, what everyone doesn't know is that four years ago, you accepted Li Pin's persuasion and went undercover in the Huaxia Army, and then you became interested in the idea of equality and democracy, two years ago, you became the best executor of Li Pin's plan, you are knowledgeable, your thinking is also correct, and you are very convincing, Although you did not participate too much in the implementation of this incident, you still pushed the boat along the river, but at least half of it was your credit. ”

The Confucian student named Li Ximing in front of him originally had the momentum of seeing death as home, and when Ning Yi said this, his face suddenly turned pale, and Ning Yi had no expression on his face, just licked his lips slightly and turned the page.

"There's no need to talk nonsense, I'm very interested in some of the things Li Pin is doing in Lin'an, so Zhu Ji has a focus on him. Old Li, I have no problem with you, for the sake of the concept in my heart, I put my life on the line, and I am against others, that's just the opposite, this time, half of the promoters are you and Li Pin, and the other half is me. Chen Shanjun is in front, I don't know that you are here for the time being, I will isolate you alone, I just want to ask you a question. ”

Ning Yi's speech was not slow, and he said here like a cannon: "You have been in the Huaxia Army for four years, and you are used to hearing the ideal of equality and democracy, and you have written so many theoretical things, and you don't just use this statement as a tool against me in your heart, right?" Is there a little bit of it in your heart...... Agree with these ideas? ”

Ning Yi looked at him with cold eyes, Li Ximing raised his head, and his face was puzzled: "You...... Could it be that you really want to take the path that Chen Shanjun and the others wanted? Not only was there confusion in his eyes, but he was also slightly excited, and Ning Yi shook his head.

"I will not take this path, but I will give you a chance to go down this path yourself. The question I asked, you think for yourself, you don't need to answer me, I will give you a place, give you a breathing space, over the years, one after another agree with you, can really participate in this matter, about a few thousand, pull over......"

Ning Yi looked at the fist he put on the table: "Elder Li, you have opened this head, and then you can only follow them down." You have lost today, I don't ask for anything else, just talk about one thing, you came to the southwest at Li Pin's request, in order to agree with his ideas, not his subordinates, if you have a little agreement in your heart with the concept of equality for the past two years, from now on, go on like this. ”

"After coming to the southwest, your family moved to Lingling's hometown, you have a wife and two concubines, two sons and a daughter, grandchildren, grandchildren, granddaughters, originally five boys and four girls, and recently the eldest son has added Ding, a total of nineteen people over there in Lingling, I'm not welcome......"

Ning Yi swallowed a mouthful of saliva and paused slightly.

"It's a ...... It is a very difficult road, if you can get out of a result, you will be famous for eternity, even if you can't go through, you will leave a thought for future generations, take a few detours, many people's lives will be hung with you, so, please do your best. As long as you do your best, success or failure, I am grateful to you, why you are here, no one will ever know. If you still deliberately hurt these people for the sake of Li Pin or Wu Chao, your wife and children are nineteen, plus five dogs in your backyard...... I'm going to kill them all. ”

"It's a bit stingy and not very nice, but that's all I can do compared to the people who will be affected by this incident, please understand...... Think about it first, and someone will come over and tell you what we need to do in the next few days......"

After Ning Yi finished saying these words, he fell silent, as if he was about to leave. Li Ximing on the other side of the table showed confusion, then complicated and surprised, and opened his mouth in disbelief at this time.

"You, you, you...... You want to ...... Want to split the Huaxia Army? Mr. Ning...... Are you crazy? The Jurchen attack is imminent, and the Wu Dynasty is worried about internal and external troubles, you ...... Do you split the Huaxia Army? What are the benefits? You...... What else are you going to do to fight the Jurchens, you ......"

"Since you know I'm crazy, you'd better believe it...... I can do everything. Nineteen people...... Five dogs......"

With that, he stood up, turned and walked out of the house. Li Ximing still felt unbelievable about these things, and the watermelon was also in confusion and confusion, she followed out the door, and the two walked forward for a while, Ning Yi took her hand: "What's wrong?" Blame me for not telling you? ”

“…… What Li Ximing said is not unreasonable. The current situation ......"

Ning Yi walked forward, looked at the road ahead, sighed slightly, and waited a long time before he spoke.

“…… I'm free to do this, but I can't manipulate everything - if I do, it's not their own thing. For this place in Niutou County, there were indeed some deliberate arrangements for the transfer of these people earlier, and I hope that they will get together and sit down and talk about it, and there are Li Ximing's reasons for the launch of this matter, as well as external reasons. At the beginning of the year, a hoe order was issued, and a large number of their backbones were sent out, and these people had ideas, and in January and February, there were all kinds of advice, but I didn't adopt them, so they really couldn't help it, and I just took advantage of the trend......"

"But as you said, things won't come to pass. Not to mention the situation in this world......"

"For the sake of ...... There is always some way to go for some things to be realized in the future. Agua, you used to yearn for these, I hope everyone can be self-reliant, I also hope that this road sometimes has to go straight, sometimes it has to take a detour, and it always has to be trial and error step by step, just like the bear children at home, they always have to go out to get into trouble to become adults, and we can only try to carry it around. In the darkness, Ning Yi smiled a little tiredly, and it seemed to be an illusion, "The old bull head is sitting in the corner, and to the north there are some Wu Dynasty soft eggs who can't fight, enough for them to toss for a while." ”

The two walked in the direction when they were going back and forth on the dark path, and when they passed the small fish pond, Ning Yi sat down on the wooden stake by the pond: "People in later generations will say that we killed many people. ”

Watermelon sat down on the ground next to him and took his hand: "Xianggong, do you think that you killed them?" ”

Ning Yi nodded: "Well, I will kill them, whether it is these people, or those who will die more because of the bumps experienced by the Huaxia Army." ”

“…… Maybe...... They won't make too much trouble, and they are all people with good intentions. ”

Watermelon thought about it, for some things, she was hesitant after all, Ning Yi sat in the darkness and smiled, there will not be many people in the world who understand his choice, and there will not be many people in the world who understand what he has seen. The world is huge, and the efforts of hundreds of millions of people may bring about a slight change in the world, and the world is very small for everyone, and a person's life cannot withstand a slight bump. The difference between the big and the small will also bother him, especially when he has another life experience.

He shook the watermelon's hand: "Agua, they called you over, what do you think?" ”

Watermelon rested his head on his lap: "You don't believe me either?" ”

"I lied to you in Hangzhou more than ten years ago, after all, this is your lifelong pursuit, I sometimes think, you may also want to see its future ......"

"You also said that you lied to me more than ten years ago, maybe as Li Ximing said, I have become a short-sighted woman after all." She got up from the ground, patted her clothes, and smiled slightly, she still looked a little naïve at night more than ten years ago, but at this time she was alone in her back, but she was already heroic in the world, "Let these people go out separately, it will have an impact on Huaxia Jun and you, I will not leave you." Ning Liheng, you talked like this, it hurt my heart. ”

She dragged Ning Yi's hand and pressed it on her chest, Ning Yi laughed: "I'm sad that more people will die because of this, as for what is the impact, I am not afraid of anyone in this world, it is just a matter of time." ”

Watermelon looked at him and frowned slightly: "Bragging...... The Holy Father never dared to say such a thing back then. ”

"Cows don't dare to brag, so his achievements are limited."

Ning Yi just rested for a moment, and he had already stood up, and said: "In the next two days, we will disappear for a while, tomorrow tomorrow, the nearby Huaxia army will gather here, and the negotiations will begin...... In the Huaxia Army, you have contributed the most to democratic thinking, and it is estimated that they will try to contact you in the future, I think...... It is possible to stay in touch to facilitate ...... in the most extreme situations Save some people. ”

"Li Ximing was asked by Li Pin, really put it back?"

"I have evil thoughts in my heart." Ning Yi said, "I hope that they can move forward completely uncontrollably and as much as they want, but I also hope that when they can't turn back in the future, there is a slight possibility of turning back, pinning their hopes on you, pinning their hopes on Li Ximing, these are all such thoughts." ”

Watermelon smiled: "I also said how powerful I am, and I am also an indecisive person." ”

"I want to see the light of people's continuous struggle in the tide of the world, which makes me feel that talents are like people, and at the same time, I hope that they can really have a good result for such people, but unfortunately the two are often opposite." Ning Yi said, "They still have something to do, I'll go to sleep first, do you want to come." ”

"Let Sister Hongti accompany you, didn't you just say that you pinned your hopes on me. I would like to know what you have next. ”

"Go and ask Wending, he has all the plans there."

The couple held hands, was quiet in the dark for a moment, and finally walked in different directions, on the way they glanced back again, waved their hands, and in the faint light, the smile on Ning Yi's face did have a rare tired look.

He went to rest.

I don't know how many dreams I experienced this night, I got up the next morning, my mood was still a little tired, a faint fog floated in the early morning of the Chengdu Plain, Ning Yi got up to wash, and then in the time of breakfast, there was news from outside, this is the most urgent message, and the time corresponding to the previous message came was yesterday afternoon.

Ning Yi finished reading the news, put it aside, and didn't move for a long time.

Thousands of miles away to the east, Wanyan Xiyin was also completing the general of the Wu Dynasty at his fastest speed.

April 25, early morning.

Zhenjiang fell.

When he walked into the door, Ning Yi was picking up the spoon and putting the rice porridge into his mouth, and the watermelon heard him muttering to himself that he didn't know what he was referring to—the words were a little vulgar.

"Come over here, then...... Stupid ......"