Zhui Xu

The night in the distance is still noisy.

Ding Songnan inspected the guards around the courtyard in the dark, told them to cheer up, and then returned to the room. The accompanying orderly served hot tea, and he turned off the lights in the room to one, and then returned to the room. Order the orderly out.

"Go and tell other people not to use too many candles to avoid unnecessary prying eyes."

The other party obeyed the order and went.

The fresh tea fragrance is escaping from the hot water in the teacup. Ding Songnan is sitting there holding the teacup. The tea is really good tea, but the teacup looks big and rough—this kind of big cup is always used when drinking in Xiaocanghe Water, and the love for tea, was developed in the Central Plains in the past two years.

In the past few years of dealing with Yin Zong, Chen Shiquan and others, there are countless treasures and valuables around him, and if he wants a woman, he will always come when he is called. Ding Songnan gradually learned to taste all kinds of good teas, and gradually developed his own particularity, but he still sneered at the methods of making tea and brewing tea, and chose to use this kind of rough big cup to brew slowly. Drinking slowly is more like a confrontation with that extravagant atmosphere. .

Not long after Funiu Mountain decided to break with the Huaxia Army and go their separate ways, Zou Xu had several serious meetings with other members of the working group who followed him. At the meeting, he analyzed his own abilities, strengths, and Yin Zong, Chen Shiquan and others relied on What is your own.

Coming from the southwest, people like myself have a grasp of the training, control, management, and organization of the army, which bureaucrats and big landlords like Yin Zong and Chen Shiquan can't match. The military law of the Huaxia Army is too strict, there is only responsibility, no enjoyment, which is contrary to the principles of human heart and human nature. But it's just a pig and sheep under the knife of Yin Zong, Chen Shiquan and others.

During such analysis and introspection, Zou Xu and other members of the working group also managed their forces with trepidation. On the one hand, it is admitted that there can be enjoyment, but on the other hand, when Zou Xu was in power, the requirements for actual performance were still extremely strict, and the people below were never allowed to delay things because of enjoyment.

Zou Xu's sobriety was supported by other members of the working group, including Ding Songnan. Since then, several degenerate "comrades" were even expelled from the leadership team of Funiu Mountain. In the long-term game of Chen Shiquan and other local snakes, the military system led by Zou Xu has also gained the upper hand in all aspects.

Has my ability improved now, or has it declined?

Holding the teacup and sniffing the attractive tea fragrance, Ding Songnan was introspecting like this.

If it really started a confrontation with the Southwest, the result...

Thinking about such things, he was stunned for a while. At a certain moment, there was a knock on the door, and the orderly came in again: "Mr. Chen is here."

"Oh, let him in."

Ding Songnan tidied up the desk, poured water to make tea, and after a little preparation, footsteps approached outside.

The one who came in under the leadership of the orderly was a scholar in his thirties, wearing a black gown and a hat, he looked like an ordinary accountant. This is a scholar named Chen Ting absorbed by Zou Xu, Ding Songnan and others after they took root in Bianliang and other places. After entering, the door was closed, the two sides arched their hands, and the other party smiled and said, "Why did you change the place again?"

Ding Songnan said: "I got some news, let's avoid the limelight."

"It's from the Southwest..."

Ding Songnan smiled and nodded: "Sit down first."

Chen Ting nodded and sat on the chair, but he was also very curious about the news: "Who is here, do you know?"

"It's better not to encounter a working group led by Qian Baye."

"Qian Baye... Oh, Miao Jiang's 'feathered knife'..." In the dim light, Chen Ting's face changed a few times, and then he smiled, "If there is a chance, I really want to see it."

"Maybe there is a chance."

Regarding Southwest's news, the two sides chatted a few words quite naturally, saying that "I'm not afraid" is enough. At this time the greetings were over, and the other party took out a small cloth bag from his bosom.

"I have contacted various parties in the past few days and found out a lot of news. A few of them have been summarized here. If some of the news are true, the Jiangning incident this time will be difficult to resolve."

"Oh? How to say?"

"Team Ding, please take a look." The scholar opened the small cloth bag and took out several stacks of various papers containing information, "These are the news I bought through various channels in the past few days, and they are all fair. Among the most credible pieces of information sneaked out from the most reliable information channels of the five parties, there are these few pieces of information about He Wen's actions, which are quite unusual, and then I found these pieces of information to confirm each other..."

While talking, Chen Ting spread out these messages on the table next to him. Ding Songnan came over with an oil lamp and watched the other party display these papers one by one.

"...The five forces of the Fair Party seem to be deeply intertwined, but generally speaking, there are still several major development directions...Since the attack on Jiangning, Zhou Shang and Gao Chang went south with all their strength, trying to eat the small imperial court in Lin'an, Xu Zhaonan and Shi Baofeng, one consolidates the inner circle, trying to use the guise of the Great Brightness to encroach on the inside of the Fair Party, the other expands business routes to the west, and wants to connect with Liu Guangshi and others. As for He Wen In addition to releasing news about holding this meeting, the main thing to do is to extend northwards, try to get through Xuzhou, and want to have a big battle in Xuzhou... But there are some unusual news in the middle..."

As Chen Ting said, he picked out a few pieces of information: "...Team Ding, look, in July and August, 'Hai Xian' He Miao was still deploying his fleet to the direction of Taihu Lake. Rest, but before the fleet left, there was a round of unusual fluctuations in the grain price in Jiangbei. From the outside, it was preparations for the Xuzhou battle, but in fact, Ji Luan, their leader in charge of logistics, at this time , happened to appear in Suzhou, and a round of official administration was purged..."

This scholar named Chen Ting was originally a Confucian scholar who read the books of sages and sages, but in the past two years he has been taught by Zou Xu and Ding Songnan, and his analysis of intelligence has already become clear and logical.

"... There can be several explanations for this matter. For example, the attack on Xuzhou is imminent, and Taihu Lake is the most important rear area, so Ji Luan went to stabilize the situation. But among these news, we found these two suspicious news ..."

"...The Fair Party started an uprising in the south of the Yangtze River, and the forces of the five parties are most intertwined, and they are all around Taihu Lake. We can basically confirm that the 50,000 troops directly under Longxian seem to be marching northward, but in fact they are still in the south of the Yangtze River and beyond Lake Tai The north did not move, and the Xuzhou Raiders, which seemed to be raging, most likely covered the southward movement of the six troops under He Wen..."

"...According to today's judgment, Longxian Fu Pingbo's direct line is in Taihu Lake, next to Xu Zhaonan's throat, his largest granary, Changzhou. Zhao Jingci's reclamation army is wandering around Yangzhou at this time, corresponding to Zhenjiang's Gao Chang's main force... He Miao's navy has been watching Shi Baofeng's fleet for two months... Junxian Lin Jiaojiu, the largest force under his command seems to have gone to Xuzhou, but his most capable The 8,000 direct lineage is now in the north of Jiangning, guarding He Wen... In fact, in the past eight months, the new army under He Wen's Shen Linglian has drawn a large number of elites from Lin Jiaojiu's men, and now no one knows Where is it, according to common sense, it seems to have gone to Xuzhou, but in fact, there are very unusual movements in the Jingjiang and Jiangyin areas, please read these two pieces of news again..."

Chen Ting sorted out some key information, Ding Songnan looked at it expressionlessly, and nodded when he put it down.

Chen Ting's expression was a little excited. He was quick in thinking. After learning the Southwest's way of handling intelligence from Zou Xu, Ding Songnan and others, he conducted a lot of training and simulation. in the practice of such a great event.

"The credibility of this information varies. In a short period of time, we have no more reliable sources of information..." He spoke cautiously, "But if the key information among them is good, I have great confidence in the judgment. Four months ago, He Wen had already been carefully preparing for the showdown at the conference. Regarding the book club, he pushed back Shi Baofeng's attack. Others thought he was a bit blunt and thought it was possible What kind of political tricks are you playing to make the other four confused and confused, but...he may really have no room for it, he wants to fight four..."

After Chen Ting finished speaking, he calmed down, and Ding Songnan took a sip of tea from his teacup. There was a long silence in the room.

"When he was in the southwest, He Wen was just a scholar." After a while, Ding Songnan said slowly, "Now it seems that after a round of family ruin, he still learned something."

"...In the past few days, the reading club has also taken action." Chen Ting whispered, "According to the information that has been sent in the past few days, since He Wen began to send orders to various places not to persecute the members of the reading club, the other four members of the fair party have started Aware of confrontation on the surface, they blocked roads in large places and started arresting members of the FAIR Party who were hiding pamphlets, but the whole thing did not go as smoothly as expected..."

"...In the past, the Quartet arrested the members of the reading club, mostly with radical ideas and privately colluding with people who tried to get closer to the southwest, but this time, it was expanded to the scope that anyone who kept the southwestern classics would be guilty, and all parties immediately arrested them. Tens of thousands of people were arrested, but then it was discovered that there were a large number of unjust, false and wrongly decided cases, and framing... After all, the judgment of guilt for private collection of books was too general, and some members of the book club directly threw the books at the homes of opponents or innocent people , there have also been a large number of cases where political opponents have been eliminated by similar means..."

"...Among the messages sent to Jiangning by various parties in the past two days, we bought some, and found that most of them were documents from the middle level who started to report this kind of chaos. , and did not dare to take measures to deal with it immediately, which is relatively sensible. But after a few days, we can find at least a dozen towns or middle and low-level forces in the towns. Opportunities turned against each other and sparked a fight."

Chen Ting handed over a report: "Look here, in Changshu's Ganjia Township, a middle-level deputy of 'Abi Yuantu' rebelled and killed his boss. Thousands of people were annihilated, but this report came this morning. It is said that the confusion may have been caused by the reading club incident. The two chief officers had a rift for a long time. After receiving the order, they immediately framed each other... Now it is not clear who is who. The deputy is killing the boss Later, he also carried out local purges, and then threatened to defect to Xu Zhaonan, and he emphasized that he was not a rebel from the reading club..."

"This kind of fight caused by the criticism of the chief official and his deputy is a trouble, and framing the blame is also a trouble. At the same time, the situation of secretly assassinating has begun to appear. He Wen's site has been transferred, but the road has been blocked. Some people in these reports have always shown a tendency to read books and love to talk about Southwest thought with others. Probably because they realized that they could not run away, they took the risk and chose directly. Assassination of chief officials and even indiscriminate killings... There have been dozens of similar cases, just more or less, and these people all say that they are for the future of the fair party..."

Ding Songnan took the oil lamp and glanced at the pieces of information displayed one by one for a while, before opening his mouth when he put it down.

"Looking at these things, it may be the main reason why He Wen wants to innovate."

"Team Ding refers to..."

"Organization." Ding Songnan sighed, "When I was in Southwest in the past, Mr. Ning once said several times that the power of an individual is limited, and people make up the crowd. The most core indicator that determines the power of a group, that is, the degree of organization, is great. The ideal is for organization, the strict discipline is for organization, and the layer-by-layer supervision is for organization. The biggest problem in violating organization is the weakness of human nature."

"Everyone has weaknesses. They want to enjoy themselves, to be lazy, and to get something for nothing. Foolish people can't see the future benefits. They think that as long as there is a stutter in front of them, all kinds of troubles are unnecessary...then there must be preaching, and there must be To be enlightened, we have to break down the truth, so that everyone can see the necessity of mid-line and long-term efforts. At the same time, in the short term, it is best to have benign gains, so that the long-term, medium- and short-term benefits and human nature can reach an optimum. A good balance point cannot be for the sake of long-term benefits, so that people will not eat in the short term. Only by finding these balance points and an organization can we obtain the best degree of organization... Mr. Ning once admitted that he did not know the best balance point, where."

"But look at the fair party, the organization is in a mess. In two years, it seems to be huge, but it is actually a mess. The five kings have no restrictions on each other. As for the five kings? What about eight executives, three talents, four towns, seven Kill, can the five great kings really use their arms and fingers? No, these leaders also have their own hilltops and ideas. The top of the mountain. To put it bluntly, this fair party with tens of millions of people is actually more like the result of thousands of bandit camps gathering at will with a few flags..."

Ding Songnan paused for a moment: "This fair party meeting, He Wen made a lot of noise. His purpose...isn't about these four great kings. It's more like he held another...membership meeting after attracting everyone's attention? "

His words were low and hesitant. In the past few days, all parties in the world have turned their attention to Jiang Ning, making up their minds and making guesses. Naturally, it is the way the five parties of the Fair Party will carry out a round of integration. Even if there will be a complicated political struggle in the middle, it will be nothing more than One party or two parties will be eliminated, and outsiders will bet on this to gain huge benefits in the future.

But if He Wen's idea is not to form an alliance at all, the direction of the whole thing will completely deviate from the previous expectations.

Of course, the news gathered by Zongling has yet to form strong evidence to prove this point, and Ding Songnan also has some reservations about his thoughts.

Chen Ting also hesitated for a moment: "This matter...Actually, it's hard to imagine a humble job...Although it sounds very grand, but relying on the big words in the booklets of the book club, can it really convince these people who rely on burning, killing and looting? The man who started... self-renewal, disciplined?"

“…that was not possible at all ten years ago.”

Ding Songnan sighed: "But now...the Huaxia Army has defeated the Jurchen, and Mr. Ning is selling his little book everywhere, such as the Four Peoples, freedom, the limitations of the peasant uprising, the corruption of the feudal bureaucracy... These things are in Dai Mengwei, Wu Qimei , Liu Guangshi and others can all be banned, but in the Fair Party, they are raised under the banner of the Southwest."

"...In the past two years, even if the members of the book club were arrested privately, they just thought that these people wanted to help Southwest seize power, but among the middle and high-level members of the True Fairness Party, who has not read a few books from Southwest? ? Even if they are illiterate, they have already had their master read to them... Everyone doesn’t like Southwest, because they don’t like him coming to seize power. How many people will think that Mr. Ning is telling lies?”

"The thing about thinking is that no one will discuss it. Once someone discusses it, there is always a possibility of taking root. What's more... even if some people don't care about thinking, they will want to bet with Southwest..."

When Ding Songnan said this, he shook his head slightly: "He Wen knew that there was a big problem with his fair party. He was not satisfied with the compromise between all parties in the Jiangning talks. He wanted to further improve the quality of the organization, so he took the risk. Then Next, there are two possibilities. First, the biggest possibility is that a good slogan is no match for the evil in people’s hearts, and the other four kings will join forces to eat him... In fact, this is the best thing for us As a result, at that time, the Fair Party will really become a mess, and after the battle of Bianliang, we can plot Jiangnan."

"But if it is true that He Wen found a group of like-minded 'comrades' under such circumstances, and worked hard to raise the level of organization by bloodletting, then the future of the Fair Party may really be on the right track...in the short term Chaos, but in the long run, it will be very troublesome..."

Chen Ting thought for a while: "He Wen said outside...the Huaxia Army has come, and they are already on his side."

"I saw He Wen a few days ago, and it was he who reminded me that the team from the southwest was led by Qian Baye, so we moved places." Ding Songnan smiled slightly, "If this is true, it means that he borrowed from the southwest. If this matter is false, it means that there are not many words in his mouth that can be believed-so no matter whether it is true or not, it can at least show that He Wen is not an honest man in the political field. A man who can do anything."

Ding Songnan paused: "However, such a person must be a mother if he has milk. As long as we are still valuable, he will definitely cooperate with us. On the contrary... there is no need to make any friendship."

"...Then let's...bet on which side is better?"

"There is nothing embarrassing for us. The result of the Central Plains War has not yet been announced. Naturally, like Dai Mengwei, all parties bet that if we defeat Liu Guangshi, then we will open the door to do business. If we lose, all the agreements will naturally come to nothing. Piao... the current situation, no one is in a difficult situation, it is very good."

After he finished speaking with a smile, he stretched out his hand and patted Chen Ting's arm: "Leave this information, you go back and rest first, it's hard work. There are still some things to do in the last two days, and we will leave the city after a general agreement is reached."

"yes."

Chen Ting left the room, Ding Songnan gathered the information, lit the oil lamp, and read all the information carefully. When the work came to an end, the tea was already cold. He didn't add any more water. He took two sips and walked out the door. The night outside was getting darker, and there was an occasional sound in the distance of the city, fierce and weird.

He walked around under the eaves, went to the edge of the courtyard, and subconsciously inspected the surrounding guards. Right now the city is not peaceful, the original dwellings are already on the fence, the guards are hidden in the darkness like a city wall, Ding Songnan stayed on the high place in the darkness for a while, thinking of the days spent in Jishan in the past.

From the conversation just now, it can be seen that Chen Ting is very interested in the topic of the Southwest, but in fact, for people like himself who came from the Southwest, the news about that place seems to be strange after all. Taboo.

In Funiu Mountain, Bianliang and other places, Zou Xu and himself would of course frankly analyze the ills of the Southwest and the excessive suppression of human nature. In front of students like Chen Ting, they always spoke frankly, as if they could avoid The fear in my heart. But in today's dialogue, both sides have been avoiding the most important possibility.

What if the Huaxia Army really came and met them?

As a force, the Huaxia Army, what kind of attitude does it take towards its own side at present?

As an enemy, am I qualified to face them?

He was trying to get around these problems, which was caused by the fear in his heart—he analyzed himself with the self-examination method he learned from Southwest, and tried hard to summarize.

However, there is still hope after all... According to the strict rules and rigid laws of the Southwest, it will not reach the future after all. According to Mr. Ning, in the game between the weakness of human nature and long-term interests, he did not choose the radical approach of Lao Niutou, nor did he directly attack the local tyrants on a large scale to divide the land like the Fair Party—although he has already mastered this Weapon—he chose a speed that the Huaxia Army can currently control, but is this speed still too harsh for this world?

Maybe in the end, his idea will collapse, but Zou Xu and himself, after a while, will be able to survive forever?

Could it be... He can tolerate the radicalism of Lao Niutou, the extremes of He Wen, and even the conservatism of Dai Mengwei, and eventually Zou Xu's way?

The city was noisy in the darkness, Ding Songnan stood in the darkness, looking into the distance restlessly.

...Where will this troubled world go?

Under the same pitch-black sky, at the northern end of the city, He Wen was also meditating on a tall building overlooking the distance.

In the northeast, Gao Chang declined the invitation of the brothers to have a carnival, drank some wine, and sat quietly in the empty lobby. In the darkness, his eyes became clearer.

In the New Tiger Palace, after Xu Zhaonan visited Lin Zongwu, another round of secret summons began.

After seeing the injury of his second son Shi Weiyang, Shi Baofeng took a carriage and walked on the road for the next round of visits.

Zhou Shang was sitting in the old ancestral hall reading a book, and occasionally someone sent messages of one kind or another.

Lin Zongwu was practicing boxing in the dark, his steps and boxing were slow, his sleeves waving like in the water.

Meng Zhutao went to see the paralyzed junior brother as usual, he has not yet come to his senses, the doctor said that he might not wake up, the junior sister and others looked at him with hatred under the eaves of the courtyard, there were lanterns hanging in the courtyard, rockery and short trees Blurred in the light, reminding him of thousands of lights.

Monkey King Li Yanfeng practiced boxing with his injuries, but he was still vigorous.

More people are fighting in the chaotic darkness...

…

Zhonganfang, a small square on the street outside the Juxian Pavilion, Yan Tiehe staggered to the corner ahead, and when he saw the scene in the dark, he leaned his body against the wall at the corner, as if he had lost his standing. strength.

Yan Yunzhi came from behind and tried to help him, but was pushed away by Yan Tiehe.

"roll."

he said weakly.

There are corpses one by one on the platform in the small square ahead.

A few days ago, in order to lure Yan Yunzhi to appear, Jin Yongsheng secretly found someone to injure Yan Tiehe, using it as a bait. After Shi Weiyang's arm was cut off, Hei Niu and others who happened to meet at the meeting rescued Yan Yunzhi and Yan Tiehe, trying to find out the gossip between the little girl and Ning Ji.

Shi Baofeng immediately captured all the entourage who came from Yanjiabao, and until today, these people were all killed on this execution ground outside Zhong'anfang.

The situation in Jiangning City became more and more complicated. He took advantage of the book club to make trouble. Originally, he hoped that the progress of cooperation in the city would become more in-depth. However, the situation on the King of Fairness was out of control. Shi Baofeng finally didn't care about the Yan family's decency.

"You..." In the dim light, Yan Tiehe's eyes were like blood, pointing at Yan Yunzhi, "It was you... who killed them—"

Yan Yunzhi clenched his fists tightly, his lips were drawn into a line, and his eyes trembled slightly. She was dissolved in the darkness and did not speak for a long time.

Not far away, Hei Niu and the other three were watching all this quietly. Yuwen Fei spit on the ground.

"Where the hell..."

…

On the other side of the city, Qu Longjun, who was like a beggar, took advantage of the night to return to the neighborhood where the "Bai Luocha" was located. Wei Yanwen's one-hundred-one killing order had passed in the city for one round, so she quietly returned, wanting to see the situation here.

There was a fire on the other side of the broken yard.

She approached there in the dark, and not far from the road, Aunt Huo's body was hoisted on the street, the yard was breached, some women were killed in a pool of blood, and some were still alive, At this time, their necks were tied with ropes, and they were kneeling in a row on the street outside the courtyard. They were drenched in feces and urine. In the cold wind of late autumn, some of these skinny women trembled, and some wept softly, as if they were about to die. skeleton.

The people who broke through the courtyard were vaguely holding the banner of "King Gao Tian".

Since Jurchen went south for the fourth time, these women have experienced various tragedies, and in the process since then, they joined the "White Rakshasa" and created all kinds of cruelty, but what comes at this moment is not retribution, reflected in the song In Long Jun's eyes, it was like the evil spirits in **** eating each other. She was shaking and curled up in a corner of the street.

After regaining her freedom in the southwest, she was bound by her father's feud, and the only place she could think of was to return to Jiangnan.

...There is no Jiangnan anymore.

…

The night grew darker. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com

In the middle of the night, He Wen had a secret conversation with the person who came quietly. After the night walker left, he sat in the room for a while, and then called the staff in the next room.

"Let's release the news... I will be there for the next conference. I will... give everyone a thorough explanation of the matters that everyone cares about."

The staff promised to go. Silence returned in the darkness, and He Wen sat in the depths of the night and looked far away.

The dark color of the city meets the sky, with occasional waves, as if looking up at the deep seabed...

The possibility of destruction looked down on him from there, but no matter how many times he thought about it, those people he valued had long since fallen into darkness.

Regardless of its…

he whispered.

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