Angry Banana
Chapter 859: Overwhelming (10)
On the first day of May, in Danyang, Jun Wu woke up from a coma, and felt a similar emotion. The sun was scorching that day. When he woke up, he was still wounded, but he only felt boiling blood all over his body. His wife came over to serve him with washing, food, and congee. He then prepared to summon generals such as Yue Fei, but the first to arrive was an envoy from the inner palace who had traveled from Lin'an and had been waiting for a day.
At this time, the emperor Zhou Yong, his sister Zhou Pei, and others in the rear were already on the dragon boat on the Qiantang River. All affairs in the capital were being handled by a group of ministers, and what was currently underway was the peace negotiation with the Jurchens.
The order to cease hostilities, sent previously from Changzhou to Zhenjiang, was also being dispatched to various fronts. The more than 100,000 troops led by General Chen Shao had halted their advance towards Xi Yin's forces, and Xi Yin's Tushan Guard, along with the troops led by Shu Lie Su, ceased their slaughter in Zhenjiang and slowly turned south.
Jun Wu, still in pain from the wound in his abdomen, was dumbfounded. He needed to exert a great deal of effort to gradually understand everything before him.
In Lin'an, the first round of negotiations was underway. Wuzhu's cavalry originally intended to attack the city, but Emperor Zhou Yong had already reached the Qiantang River. The court officials proposed that the Jurchen army suspend their advance so that the two sides could continue peace talks. The Jurchen peace envoy, Wanyan Qingjue, exchanged this for a ceasefire from the Wu Dynasty's armies and the provision of food and supplies to the Jurchen troops.
Based on these peace talks, the court dispatched envoys to various armies in Jiangnan to issue ceasefire orders. On the Jurchen side, Wuzhu stationed his cavalry outside the city as a deterrent and also sent news to Zong Fu on the Jiangning battlefield, but it seemed that Xi Yin was unwilling to abide by these conditions.
The court's peace talks continued. After explaining the situation to Jun Wu, the inner palace envoy began to persuade Jun Wu to return to the capital. Jun Wu sat on the edge of the bed in a daze for a long time. He clutched his stomach, stood up with difficulty, and waved away his wife who came over to support him.
He tremblingly pulled out the precious sword hanging by the bed and walked towards the inner palace official, pressing the bright sword tip against the other person's chest:
"If you say another word, I'll kill you." The inner official's persuasion stopped.
The bright May day, in addition to the sunlight that filtered through the windows, also brought a quiet hum that felt like an illusion. Jun Wu put down his sword and sat down. After a long silence, he finally said softly, "Please invite Mr. Wenren in."
His wife went out and summoned Wenren Buer. Jun Wu sat there, pressing his forehead with his hand, and after a long time, he spoke, his voice weak and hoarse: "Senior Brother Wenren, do you know what's happening?"
"...Yes."
"My mind... is a bit confused. It's like I woke up and everything was wrong..." Jun Wu said, "What should I do?"
"The only thing to do now is to persuade His Majesty to withdraw his decree. Your Highness's words may be of some use."
"Father... is terrified and has already gone to the dragon boat on the Qiantang River. How can I persuade him? If he can be persuaded, then my Imperial Sister..."
As he said this, Wenren Buer stepped forward and whispered something in his ear, and Jun Wu understood.
"Since Imperial Sister is already... I don't know how to persuade Father. Senior Brother Wenren, please write a letter for me later, explain the stakes to Father, and then give it to this inner official to take back. Senior Brother Wenren..." His abdomen began to hurt, and he pressed it for a moment, "Now that things have come to this, if Lin'an makes peace, is it... is Jiangnan finished?"
Wenren Buer's lips moved slightly, and he considered for a moment: "I'm afraid... the world is finished."
Jun Wu stood up, pressing his abdomen. He walked out of the room in a daze, and his wife came over to support him.
What flashed before his eyes seemed to be the charging and bloodshed of the moment before he lost consciousness. He felt the arrow wound in his abdomen and saw the soldiers and civilians charging towards the Jurchens. That surging moment was the most longed-for moment of his nearly ten years, but as he awoke from his dream, his father turned and fled behind him.
He walked out in a daze. In the distance to the side of his vision were the city walls of Danyang. This was a huge military camp built around several small houses, and further away were the dense refugee camps spreading out. His wife said a few words beside him, this was the Zhenjiang army, that was the Beiwei army, and so on. Jun Wu recalled the city of Bianliang more than ten years ago. After the first defense of the city, he witnessed Qin Si Yuan being imprisoned. His teacher's mood, and even Wenren Buer's mood, was perhaps like this.
He must take this army back to Lin'an and keep Father.
As this thought occurred in his mind, he stopped again. Outside Lin'an, Wuzhu's army was already encamped. In between, no one could actually pass.
Send someone back to lobby various parties, rescue Imperial Sister, keep the dragon boat, and do his best and leave the rest to fate... Various thoughts flashed through his mind. He walked slowly to the hillside beside the house and sat down under a sickly tree. Half of the tree's branches had been chopped off, casting a dappled shade in the afternoon sun. Jun Wu sat on a stone, watching the summer sun shine on the land before him.
After a while, his wife said beside him, "General Yue is here."
Jun Wu straightened up and had him come over. Yue Fei, wearing armor, came and saluted. Jun Wu smiled: "General Yue, what should we do next? This world... can't hold on."
"This humble general came for this reason."
"Does the general have a plan?"
"The most important task now is to stabilize the situation in Lin'an. Send a small number of people to contact the people in the Princess's mansion and try to keep His Majesty. If that fails, at least try to keep Her Highness the Princess. The Crown Prince should write a letter to persuade His Majesty to change his mind, which is also the first thing to do..."
Yue Fei said here, cupped his hands, and paused: "However, since Her Highness the Princess could not stabilize the situation in Lin'an, it may be difficult for Your Highness to achieve anything even if you intervene. Your Highness must consider what to do when you are powerless to turn the tide... If His Majesty flees, the morale of the army and the people will be completely lost. It will be difficult for local gentry and officials to fight the Jurchens. The fall of the world is imminent, but the only hope lies with Your Highness."
"General Yue hopes..."
"If His Majesty leaves, half of the lords in the world will kneel before the Jurchens, but there will also be half, or even most, of the loyal and righteous people who cherish the good old days of our dynasty and are unwilling to defect to the Jurchens. But even so, our dynasty will have lost its righteousness, and it will be difficult to fight the Jurchens again. People with divided loyalties, like those who appeared in Zhenjiang when Your Highness defended it, will emerge one after another. The most important thing now is to rectify the internal affairs so that Your Highness can still have a fighting force in your hands. As long as we still have the strength to fight, even if Lin'an kneels and the world falls, we will still have the support of the people south of the Yangtze River. There will still be room for maneuver to fight or stay."
Yue Fei's words were sonorous and resolute: "In the past eight years, Your Highness has rectified military discipline throughout the world, but in fact, you still had to win over and compromise among various officials, powerful ministers, and generals. The military discipline of millions of troops could not be unified, and law enforcement was not strict enough. That is why Xi Yin was able to take advantage of the situation in Jiangnan. Therefore, I beg Your Highness to gather the officials you can summon as Crown Prince and seize military power, strictly supervise, and rectify military discipline!"
"In extraordinary times, extraordinary methods must be used." A light flashed in Jun Wu's eyes, and he stood up. "But if I do this, I'm afraid I'll be breaking with Lin'an and the hearts of most of the clans in the world."
"Your Highness, if His Majesty flees, the people's hearts in this world may no longer be completely reliable. The only thing Your Highness can rely on is what you can hold in your hands."
Yue Fei's words had reached the extreme of frankness, and Jun Wu naturally understood. In the eight years of painstaking management, the most disciplined of the frontline armies was actually Yue Fei's Beiwei army. In many cases, it was so strict that it was criticized, but when the war began, the most capable fighters were this Beiwei army.
The rest, such as Han Shizhong's Zhenhai army, were also able to isolate many external influences by virtue of the Crown Prince's authority and Han Shizhong's great name. When he led the more than 100,000 troops guarding Zhenjiang this time, they were still elites in the Wu Dynasty's army, but just one or two spies ruined the battle line of more than 100,000 people, and even destroyed the foundation of the entire Wu Dynasty. It was heartbreaking to think about.
In the past, he was the Crown Prince of the Wu Dynasty. Even if he could protect the morale of one or two armies with great effort, he had to weigh and compromise various forces in the face of a country of tens of millions of people. In order to increase the odds of victory, he killed his brother-in-law, almost causing his wife to die in depression. But in the end, he was powerless to turn the tide.
Now, if Father fled Lin'an, the entire world would collapse. He could not take over the mess, the demands of various vested interests, and that would be nothing more than death—he no longer had to compromise.
The sunlight, which was gradually becoming colder in May, shone through the crooked trees. Jun Wu pressed the wound on his waist, and his gaze gradually condensed and became firm.
"Okay." A murderous aura emanated from his body. "It's time to kill people!"
He strode down the hillside.
"General Yue, even if this country falls into chaos... you and I will never surrender until death."
Yue Fei cupped his hands: "This humble general obeys your command."
Summer gradually deepened, and the atmosphere in the world gradually began to change.
On the second day of May, Jun Wu gathered the generals in Danyang who had defended Zhenjiang and began to seize military power and enforce strict discipline, using the 30,000 elite of the Beiwei army as the core. At the same time, he wrote letters to persuade the armies in Jiangnan, analyzed the situation, and explained the stakes, hoping that even in the face of this crisis, all parties would put the interests of the Wu Dynasty first, adhere to their bottom line, and jointly resist the Jurchens.
The rectification and reorganization of Danyang began in the strictest form. At the same time, Xi Yin and Yin Shuke's troops ignored the preconditions for peace talks and quickly moved south. In the court of Lin'an, Wanyan Qingjue claimed that "the negotiators are Marshal Zong Fu and Marshal Zong Bi, who cannot restrain Xi Yin's troops," and agreed to send envoys to try to delay or stop Gu Shen's troops from moving south. In practice, this was naturally just empty talk.
Zhou Yong was already on the dragon boat at this time and did not care about the Jurchens' southward advance. Orders to cease hostilities were sent in all directions. In the following days, forces centered on the Princess's mansion, the Crown Prince's mansion, the Huaxia Army, and the main battle faction in the city continued to make efforts to intercept and rescue Zhou Yong and Zhou Pei. The situation in the capital was chaotic and there was fighting everywhere.
On the fifth day of May, the Dragon Boat Festival when Qu Yuan drowned himself in the river, Zhou Yong, after confirming that Xi Yin's troops were gradually approaching Lin'an, ordered the dragon boat fleet to set sail and leave by sea. Qin Hui, who had facilitated this, was summoned onto the dragon boat by Zhou Yong and became one of those fleeing the capital. The peace talks in the capital were then presided over by a group of ministers led by Li Nanzhou, the leader of the peace faction. Zhou Yong hoped that they could withstand the Jurchens' coercion "without any worries" and strive for satisfactory surrender terms for the Wu Dynasty.
On the eighth day, Xi Yin's troops arrived in Lin'an and silently began to set up siege equipment. The negotiation situation was in chaos. Wanyan Qingjue forced Li Nanzhou, who was acting as emperor, to draft an edict and send envoys to summon Han Shizhong to leave Jiangning.
On the eleventh day of May, the envoy heading to Jiangning was intercepted halfway by Jun Wu's men. At the same time, the army that had initially completed the reorganization of Danyang began to head towards Jiangning. After ten years of management, Jiangning could be regarded as Jun Wu's true base of operations. Zong Fu's hundreds of thousands of troops were blocking the way, and the two sides were facing each other south of Jiangning.
At the same time, orders were constantly issued from the court, ordering Crown Prince Jun Wu not to act rashly and not to lightly start a war with the Jurchens. Jun Wu left a decree and did not reply.
In the long mid-May, countless people and countless wills were secretly linked together on the vast land of the Wu Dynasty at this time. When the news of the ceasefire reached Xiangfan, Liu Guangshi sighed to the sky and wept with old tears, but he was already prepared to fight to the death and not surrender. At this time, the news of the internal strife and split in the Huaxia Army that came from the southwest more or less increased the Jurchens' bargaining chips.
By the end of May, everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit. On the evening of May 26th, Wanyan Xi Yin had made complete preparations for the siege of Lin'an. Niu Xingguo, the deputy general of the Forbidden Army, and others launched a rebellion in the most desperate situation.
At this time, various humiliating and treasonous clauses had been drafted in the court, and the gates of Lin'an were about to be opened. The 100,000 Jurchen troops outside the city were eager to move, and the first batch of women collected under the Jurchens' urging were about to be sent out of Lin'an, starting the most tragic Jingkang Incident again.
Rebellion out of the city meant certain death in the face of 100,000 Jurchens. Staying in the city and waiting for the Jurchens to enter the city openly also meant certain death for everyone. The "rebels" in Lin'an finally chose to launch a desperate attack.
That evening, two city gates west and south of Lin'an were opened, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians began to surge out of the city. Jurchen soldiers also chased after them, and the sky gradually darkened. A raging fire burned in Lin'an. Niu Xingguo and other generals led the Forbidden Army soldiers and tried to block the Jurchens' pursuit on the battle lines outside Lin'an, but they were soon dispersed by Wuzhu's cavalry. Some of the soldiers and civilians carried bombs and gunpowder and launched suicidal attacks on the Jurchens.
People scattered and fled under the cover of darkness, and a small number of soldiers and civilians were able to survive. On the Qiantang River bank south of Lin'an, large numbers of people were chased into the water. Some prepared escapees carried wooden boxes, cabinets, wooden beams, and bamboo rafts floating on the water, preserving their lives in the future. Tens of thousands of lives were swallowed by the waves.
More people died in the massacre. Xi Yin's and Wuzhu's troops entered the city and officially took over the Wu Dynasty's country after Zhou Yong left. A humiliation and massacre more tragic than the Jingkang Incident broke out in Lin'an.
The bell of the collapse of the vast Jianshuo Dynasty was thus rung.
***************
That summer, countless unspeakable tragedies were happening throughout Lin'an.
Resistors were killed in the streets. The ministers of peace, led by Li Nanzhou, collected treasures, women, and craftsmen in the city and handed them over to the Jurchen army to compensate for the "debts" of the war. This was a scene similar to the Jingkang Incident, but there were not many imperial relatives and nobles in the capital for the Jurchens to humiliate and play with.
People in the capital lost their husbands, wives, mothers, and children in this war... After ten years of peace, this tragic and unspeakable scene was just the small beginning of the tragedy that the entire world was about to experience.
Wanyan Xi Yin walked into the ruined Jinluan Hall. Wuzhu sat on the emperor's throne and was playing with a group of Han officials kneeling on the ground. Seeing him come, he waved his hand and dismissed the Han officials.
"The Wu Dynasty's affairs are over. It's time to do what we agreed on before."
Wuzhu did not dare to sit on the chair and face Wanyan Xi Yin, so he came down from above: "The Wu Dynasty's emperor is not dead, the Crown Prince has not been eliminated, and your elder brother is still fighting in Jiangning. This place is three thousand miles away from the southwest. What should we do?"
Wanyan Xi Yin's gaze narrowed slightly, and his eyes began to become cold.
"Little Si, your thoughts... say them again?"
Wuzhu spread his hands and retreated slightly: "The fighting in Jiangning is still going on. Your elder brother's troops can't just withdraw, right? The Wu Dynasty's emperor has gone to sea, and their navy is still being recruited. Once we chase after them, I still have to intercept him on land. Gu Shen, I and my elder brother told you before that we will do everything to help you destroy the southwest. You can have anything you want. Now the world is ours, and the people of the Wu Dynasty are surrendering. Like this—give it all to you, as long as you can take it with you, the troops, equipment, logistics, you can take it all—enough for you to flatten the southwest."
Xi Yin stared at him, and Wuzhu was getting goosebumps: "I and my elder brother will destroy the Wu Dynasty, you and Nianhan will destroy the southwest. All the troops in the world are given to you, what else do you want? Are you afraid that I will cause trouble behind your back? I, Wuzhu, swear in the name of my ancestors that this time, I will never cause trouble behind your back!"
"...The Tushan Guard suffered losses in Zhenjiang. Give me 30,000 of your cavalry."
After Xi Yin finished speaking, he turned and left. Wuzhu stayed behind for a moment.
"...Okay. I wish Gu Shen a victory, and may the southwest bandits be pacified in one battle!"
……
The world is falling.
Summer continued, and countless people chose their sides in this chaos. In June, Liu Guangshi led a large number of defeated soldiers south and established a small-scale resistance force. In the same month, Chen Fan, with his white horse and silver spear, broke through Changsha and planted the black flag on the city walls of Changsha.
After more than ten days of confrontation, Jun Wu broke through the flank of Zong Fu's defense line with the two-pronged attack of the Beiwei Army and the Zhenhai Army, returned to Jiangning, and began another strict purge. At this time, the court had been constantly issuing edicts to strip Crown Prince Jun Wu of his official power, but the chaotic world had already unfolded, and such edicts had no meaning.
The Jurchens' decrees were sweeping the world.
……
Southwest.
The first wave to arrive was the negotiation and surrender envoys sent by Xi Yin's will from Zong Han's army. They carried a document with multiple requirements, perhaps written by Xi Yin himself, and arrived in Zhang Village. The document listed various requirements, such as the Huaxia Army submitting to the Jurchens, transferring various technologies, transferring specific craftsmen, and ordering the Huaxia Army to self-emasculate in various technologies. In this era, such "civilized" surrender letters were rare.
Ning Yi received the envoys and read them with interest: "Tsk, Xi Yin over there has learned from me well. He is getting more and more imaginative."
"Among the heroes of the world today, only Gu Shen and you, sir, cherish each other. Gu Shen often mentions Mr. Ning from the southwest, saying that if you were in the same country, you would definitely be confidants. Now that my Jin Dynasty has destroyed the Wu Dynasty and unified the world, only the black flag in the southwest remains, unsupported. I heard that there has been internal strife again. Now the Wu Dynasty's million-strong army and Marshal Nianhan's Western Route Army are ready to fight. Gu Shen is concerned about the people of the world, so he is leaving room and hopes that you, sir, can make the right decision."
"Several years ago, in Xiaocang River, your envoy named Fan Hongji was not as good at pleasing people as you are." Ning Yi smiled and looked at the envoy in front of him, then wrote a few words on the thick document and threw it back: "Do you know why?"
The envoy took the document and flipped through it casually, saying, "Mr. Ning..." As he said this, he saw the words written by Ning Yi, and his words stopped.
The nine casual words were on the back of the document.
——All disagree, take it back and revise it.
Ning Yi had already walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "That's because the Huaxia Army is no longer the Huaxia Army it was in Xiaocang River. Wanyan Xi Yin sent you here just to see my will. You are not important at all. What you can't get on the battlefield, you won't be able to negotiate at the table... I originally hoped that the Wu Dynasty could last a little longer. Now, forget it, I'll do it myself. What million-strong army is ready to fight? Go back and tell Nianhan and Xi Yin to come over. If your Western Route Army enters the Chengdu Plain, I'll bury you there."
He finished speaking calmly and left the room. The light of late summer shone in from outside the window.
……
At sea, it was already the end of summer. With Zhou Yong's soft heart, Zhou Pei was able to come out and walk around on the deck of the dragon boat to relax. At first, the guards around her were still watching her closely, but gradually, facing this silent princess, everyone gradually relaxed.
On June 24th, seagulls were flying in the sky. Zhou Pei looked up, and the sea was as blue as the sky.
Zhou Yong walked over from not far away, reached Zhou Pei's side, reached out to dismiss the guards around him, and sighed softly, seeming to want to say something.
Zhou Pei stood up and suddenly ran towards the ship's rail.
She leaped high, seagulls flew past her eyes, and her body fell towards the blue sea.
A tear fell from the air...
……
In Yunzhong, Tang Minjie finished reading the various information transmitted from the south, then closed his eyes. A light flashed across his stern and indifferent face.
"The Second Jingkang Incident..."
He clenched the paper in his hand, gritted his teeth, word by word.
……
Xuzhou.
Due to the collapse of the Jiangnan defense line, Liu Chengzong's troops no longer needed to threaten the Jurchens' retreat route. The troops that had been fighting for several months were heading towards Shandong, north of the Yangtze River.
Jin.
Lou Shuwan and Yu Yulin's armies launched several counterattacks with extreme difficulty. With the will of the various forces in Jin waning, they expanded their territory slightly and gained a bit of breathing room. But at this time, the accumulation of Tian Hu and Tian Shi's era had gradually been exhausted, and even more difficult times were about to come.
……
At the end of June, in a small corner that no one in the world had noticed, something was happening.
Northwest, since the Battle of Xiaocang River, the Jurchens had carried out an inhumane massacre here, so that plagues raged for several years, leaving the land barren for hundreds of miles.
This situation was about to be gradually forgotten by people.
Fuzhou, under the rule of Zhe Keqiu, was the largest gathering place for people in the Northwest after the Huaxia Army and the Jurchens left. In the context of the fierce battles around the world, the situation here had gradually become a relatively peaceful haven.
On this day, the sky-swallowing glow was about to fall. Wushugang, a post station west of Fuzhou, had a veteran guard appearing from the room. The warm evening breeze was blowing the barren sand and dust as he walked. He suddenly felt an ominous tremor.
The old soldier lay on the ground and listened, his gaze gradually showing confusion. After a moment, he saw on the other end of the earth a surging cavalry charging over!
He was about to turn around and walk back, but on the figure behind him, a figure that had arrived in advance leaped high into the air and raised his machete.
The blood surged and bloomed——
(Ninth Collection *Vast Land* End)
(Welcome to *Son-in-Law* Tenth Collection *Long Night Passes into Spring*)
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