On the bank of the Yellow River, a town named Kunyu is a mixture of decay and dilapidation.

In the originally vast town, half of the houses have collapsed, and some places have been hit by fires. The gray-black beams have been weathered by wind and rain and are still standing in ruins. More than ten years have passed since the Jurchens first went south.

Time, wars, bandits, bandits, refugees, famine, plague, corrupt officials... have left traces here one after another.

Only a small part of the living area where Kunyu arrived back then is left. Due to the remoteness of the place, it still retains some vitality and is a good place for entry and exit in the ten-room and nine-empty landscape of the entire Central Plains.

Although the roads are in disrepair, they can still pass large cars. Although the town has shrunk by more than half, in the core area, inns, restaurants and even brothels that deal in skin and flesh are still open.

In the past, many big ferries on the bank of the Yellow River were controlled by the Jurchens and the puppet Qi forces. The water flow near Kunyu was slightly slower, and it once became one of the black smuggling crossings on the bank of the Yellow River. A few small boats and a few boatmen who were not afraid of death, supported

It started the subsequent prosperity of this town.

During this period, there were several gang fights, expulsions from the army, and plunder by bandits, but no matter what, the small town gradually recovered from this cycle. There were fewer residents in the town during the war.

, when the environment is slightly better, there will gradually be more.

In the summer of the second year of Zhenxing, the situation was relatively peaceful. However, due to the situation in the world, the Dadukou on the bank of the Yellow River was no longer under martial law. The private ferry crossing in Kunyu was also affected, and the business was much slower than last year.

May is the flood season, and there are fewer people crossing the river here. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, there were not many customers in the restaurants in the town. Regular customers nearby sat two tables in the lobby. The storyteller who stayed here recently

People were arranging the tables and chairs and talking about the major events in the world in the past period. Because there were few people, the middle-aged storyteller also spoke a little listlessly.

Near noon, two figures were walking along the road in the center of the town. Their destination was obviously the door of the restaurant here. The two figures were one large and one small, one fat and one thin, but they were wearing shabby monk robes.

Two monks. The fat monk was tall and shaped like Maitreya. He seemed to be quite old and had a package on his back. The thin monk was just a young novice monk who seemed to be twelve or thirteen years old.

Seeing such a combination, the waiter's face showed a somewhat irritable look. Monks eat ten square meals, but in these war-torn times, who can have enough food to do good deeds? He took a closer look at the fat monk's face.

There was no weapon behind him, so he subconsciously stood at the door.

"Two masters..."

As soon as he spoke with a slightly harsh tone, the fat monk who came towards him looked at the lobby of the restaurant and said with a smile: "We don't do alms."

"We have money." The little novice monk took out a bunch of copper coins and raised them.

The waiter immediately changed his expression: "...Two masters, please come in."

Two monks walked in, and then the young novice asked: "Can I sit upstairs?"

"Of course." The waiter smiled, "But our shopkeeper recently hired a storyteller from the north with a large sum of money. The lobby below may be able to hear it more clearly. Of course, it can also be heard upstairs. After all, there are not many people here today.

"

Kunyu has a smuggling business. In the past, business was good and there were many customers here. Moreover, the smugglers were generous in drinking and having fun. There was also a row of tables and chairs on the second floor of the lobby of the restaurant, leaning against the railing, for the guests to listen condescendingly.

Reading and watching a play. The little novice monk was obviously interested in the high place. When he spoke, the fat monk also said: "Let's go upstairs." Naturally, the waiter didn't say more and accompanied him with a smile.

The two of them walked upstairs.

After sitting down, the fat monk asked about today's menu, and then he generously ordered a few fish and meat dishes. The waiter was a little surprised, but naturally he would not refuse. After everything was ordered, he told him to take three more dishes.

Here comes the tableware and chopsticks, it seems that there are companions coming here.

After ordering, the waiter went down. The storyteller sitting in the lobby, considering the arrival of guests, spoke a little louder, talking about what happened at the World's No. 1 Martial Arts Tournament in the southwest last year. The young monk was lying on the railing upstairs.

He listened with great interest.

About a quarter of an hour later, another figure came from the outside. This time it was a man with obvious features and a burly figure. He had scars on his face and disheveled hair. Although he was dusty, he looked extremely handsome at first glance.

Not easy to mess with. As soon as this man entered the door, the little bald man upstairs waved his hand vigorously, and he went straight upstairs. The little monk saluted him and called: "Uncle." He also said to the fat monk: "Brother.

"

The three people who appeared here were naturally Lin Zongwu, the best in the world, his junior brother "Crazy Tiger" Wang Nanda, and the young monk was safe.

During this period of time, the land of Jin gradually became calm after the Jurchens left. Lin Zongwu took his disciple Ping An to live in seclusion for a period of time, mainly to consolidate Ping An's martial arts foundation - actual combat can certainly train resilience, but on weekdays

The basic skills are equally important. After he came out of the hermitage in peace, he felt that the land of Jin gradually became less interesting. On the contrary, the south was turbulent and something big was about to happen, which was the most suitable for training, so he simply took him all the way to the country.

Come over to the bank of the Yellow River.

He has not paid much attention to the teaching affairs of Manichaeism in recent years. The only person who knew his itinerary privately was the Mad Tiger King Nanda. When he learned that his senior brother and nephew were planning to go south, Wang Nanda wrote a letter and made an appointment.

Meet Kun Yu here.

The three of them sat down, and the waiter was already serving dishes. The storyteller downstairs was still telling interesting stories about the southwest. Lin Zongwu and Wang Nanda exchanged a few words before asking, "How's it going in the south?"

"The situation is tense." Wang Nanda smiled: "Liu Guangshi paid a large price to obtain the first batch of military supplies in the southwest. His intention to seize the south of the Yellow River has become obvious. Dai Mengwei may be among them, and he wants a share.

Geng. Chen Shiquan of Bianliang, Yin Zong of Luoyang, Zou Xu of Funiu Mountain and others have now formed a group and are ready to fight."

"Chen Shiquan, Yin Zong...should not be able to defeat Liu Guangshi."

"Liu Guangshi has strong soldiers and horses, but Zou Xu is a tough guy in Bianliang. He was trained by Ning Liheng himself. Although he is said to have rebelled, he is very good at training and using troops. Luoyang and Bianliang are now fully supporting him.

The entire south of the Yellow River is tightly controlled by the 40,000 people Zou Xu has... They have no choice. In the past, Yin Zong was considered the boss, but now, Zou Xu can rely on his men without any tricks or tricks.

, Yin Zong and Chen Shiquan both have to call him big brother."

Lin Zongwu nodded: "These 40,000 people, even if they are half as powerful as Southwest Black Flag, I'm afraid Liu Guangshi will be beating the drum in his heart..."

"After receiving assistance from Southwest, Liu Guangshi became less timid. I heard privately that the man from Southwest was also encouraging Liu Guangshi to fight. He seemed to have said that if Zou Xu was captured, he would get 20% of all previous transactions with Southwest.

.So Liu Guangshi wants Zou Xu’s head, but when it comes to fighting, things are not necessarily simple. Dai Mengwei, an old man, secretly colluded with Liu Guangshi to take over the Central Plains, but when it comes to Zou Xu, he wants to be in the middle.

Mediate and persuade Zou Xu, Yin Zong, Chen Shiquan and others to surrender, and all parties will form an alliance to fight against the Southwest. So, we can’t tell what the outcome of the fight will be."

Wang Nanda paused: "But no matter what, in the second half of the year, there will definitely be a fight."

Lin Zongwu nodded, then said a few more words, and someone else came in from the lobby downstairs. There were eight people in this group, all of them were arrogant-looking Green Forest people carrying swords, guns and weapons. The leader of the group was dressed in noble and elegant clothes.

He holds a long knife in his hand, has triangular eyes, and has a sinister face. He seems to be a local gangster in Kunyu, and he is very familiar with the boss.

After the eight people came in, they looked around and saw that the two tables before were all locals. They waved and raised their eyebrows and said hello. Then they saw the three people upstairs. Among them, two ruffians carrying knives were facing upstairs.

He came up, probably to check whether these three "outsiders" were a threat. The leader, the triangular eye, had already sat down at the square table closest to the storyteller and said: "Lao Xia, tell me something exciting.

If you have a woman, don’t keep talking about the troublesome Southwest."

"Hey, hey..." The storyteller nodded quickly and started to tell a story about a certain green forest with a hero and a knight-errant. The triangular eyes were quite happy. The little monk upstairs pursed his lips and said a little aggrievedly.

He leaned back to the table and started eating.

The two ruffians walked to the side of the square table and looked at the three people here. They might have wanted to find some trouble, but seeing the fierce look on Wang Nanda's face, they didn't dare to make a move for a while. Seeing these three people, they really

There were no conspicuous weapons, so he showed off his power and made a signal to "stop making trouble" before turning around and going down.

"How is Jiangnan?" Lin Zongwu asked Wang Nanda with a smile.

"The Fairness Party has become so powerful that it has traveled rapidly and now has more than a million soldiers." Wang Nanda said, looking at Lin Zongwu, "Actually... my coming here this time is also about matters related to the Fairness Party.

, I want to talk to you, senior brother."

"I guessed what was going on with you." Lin Zongwu smiled, "There is no need to avoid anything between you and me, let's talk about it."

"The leader of the Fair Party is He Wen, but although He Wen initially used the banner of Southwest, he is actually not a Black Flag man. Senior brother should know this."

"I heard that his and Ning Yi's ideas are actually different. He also said the same to the outside world."

"Since last year, He Wen has used the banner of the Fair Party, saying that he will divide the land, divide the rich and the poor, get rid of the landlords and gentry, and make everyone equal. At first glance, it seems a bit crazy. At most, what everyone thinks of is Fang La.

The Yongle Dynasty. But He Wen did learn a lot of skills from Ning in the southwest. He took power in his hands and tightened discipline. Everywhere the Fair Party went, they counted the belongings of wealthy households and publicly interrogated the wealth of these wealthy people.

Crime, but indiscriminate killing is strictly prohibited. In just one year, the Fairness Party swept across Jiangnan, from around Taihu Lake, to Jiangning, to Zhenjiang, and all the way up to almost Xuzhou, with strong troops and horses. Now most of Jiangnan belongs to him

Already."

Lin Zongwu frowned slightly: "Tie Yan, Wu Qimei, just watch them get into such a situation?"

"The people of Lin'an were unable to stop them. They sent out troops three times and were defeated repeatedly. Outsiders said that the people of the Fair Party fought without their lives, comparable to those in Southwest China."

"Then what you want to say is..."

"The Fairness Party is so powerful, mainly because the methods that He Wen found from the southwest are easy to use. Although he targets rich households, divides their fields, and induces them to make profits, he also restrains the people and prohibits indiscriminate killing. Military laws are strict. These things

Being merciless has made his troops more capable on the battlefield. However, this matter has become such a big deal, and there are various forces in the Fairness Party, including Xu Wen, who is called one of the "Five Tigers" by outsiders.

Zhaonan, used to be a branch leader under us."

"You want me to help him?" Lin Zongwu's face darkened.

"Senior brother, listen to me. Xu Zhaonan now has nearly two hundred thousand troops under his command, but he has always considered himself a Manichean sect. He has always been respectful to the elders of the sect. This man is good at training and using troops, and he has

For a while, he talked about things in the southwest. At that time, Zhou Tong once combined what he had learned throughout his life and left for Ning Yi a set of small team cooperation and martial arts methods on the battlefield. Later, Ning Yi combined this method to improve it and made the scouts

The elite are organized into so-called special forces, specializing in assassinating leaders and beheading generals on the battlefield, and have repeatedly performed extraordinary feats."

Wang Nanda said: "Brother, these so-called special forces are, to put it bluntly, those green forest men with high martial arts skills. However, in the past, people with high martial arts skills were often arrogant and arrogant. I am afraid that only close relatives can often use cooperative martial arts methods."

Training. But it is different now. In the face of a powerful enemy, Xu Zhaonan gathered many people to train such strong soldiers. Therefore, he told me that among today's teachers, I am afraid that only the leader can get along with a training force comparable to that of Grandmaster Zhou.

There is a way. He wants to ask you to come over and give him some advice."

When he said this, the little monk Ping An, who had already finished his meal, stood up and said, "Master, Master, I'll go down for a while." Not knowing what he was going to do, he walked downstairs with his rice bowl.

Wang Nanda was trying to persuade Lin Zongwu and continued: "According to what I saw in Jiangnan in the past, He Wen and Southwest Ningyi may not have much to deal with. Nowadays, Southwest Black Flag is considered to be one of the most powerful, and the momentum in the middle

The most powerful one is Liu Guangshi. Among the groups of people in the east, only the Fairness Party is the only one. It has been developing and is bottomless. I estimate that if one day the black flag jumps out from the southwest, maybe all the people in the Central Plains and Jiangnan will already be

The territory of the Fair Party has been lost, and there may be a fight between the two sides."

"In the past, senior brother stayed in Jin, so I couldn't say this. But this time, since senior brother wants to travel around the world with Ping An, I think it's better to go and take a look at Xu Zhaonan... Hmm? Ping An is here
To be continued...