In the summer of the eleventh year of Jianshuo, at the western end of Zhang Village, three fairly large buildings had been erected, each three stories tall, built of concrete and red brick, coated with white lime on the outside and fitted with clear glass windows. The three buildings formed a “pin” shape (品) around the plaza in front of them.
Under Ning Yi’s direction, the buildings were entirely different in style from the houses of this era—only the glass fitted into the windows already represented considerable value. Perhaps out of some mischievous impulse, the three buildings were simply named “Zhang Village Building No. 1,” “No. 2,” and “No. 3.”
The buildings were open to the public. Building No. 1 displayed the various scientific and technological achievements available so far, with demonstrations of their principles; Building No. 2 held various collections of books and a large record of the debates on ideological development within the Huaxia Army, along with a memorial hall commemorating major events along the way; Building No. 3 was a working building, originally meant to be allocated to the Huaxia Army’s commercial department for managing displays of relatively mature commercial products, but by this time its purpose had been slightly modified.
The Huaxia Army’s journey had been extremely difficult, and commercial methods had played a large role in sustaining itself. At the same time, although the shaping of the Huaxia Army’s ideology over the years was grounded in the concept of “equality,” on a practical level, promoting a spirit of contract and using investigation of things (格物) to guide the industrial revolution and the sprouting of capitalism was also a path that had to be taken.
Based on these ideas, after leaving Liangshan, establishing this kind of exhibition and memorial hall to introduce the outline of the Huaxia Army to others had become quite necessary—the commercial department could also use such displays to attract more business, while presenting the Huaxia Army’s image to the outside world.
After leaving the Liangshan region, the entire Huaxia Army system had been extremely busy for a time—taking over various areas, expanding and training troops, and needing to keep infrastructure in various places up to standard—so face-value projects had been relatively delayed. In designing and constructing these three buildings, Ning Yi had not considered any transitional aesthetics, directly applying the clean, grand, practical style of his previous life. With his background as an unscrupulous real estate developer, the construction project went smoothly throughout, and once completed, at first glance it had quite a “futuristic” impact.
But by the time these three buildings were finished this summer and the exhibition halls filled, the threat of Jurchen invasion was imminent, and the buildings originally meant to focus on commerce turned first toward political propaganda.
To prepare for the Jurchens’ arrival, the entire Huaxia Army across the Chengdu Plain was pushing forward. The areas not yet occupied by the Huaxia Army had been led by Zizhou, but besides Zizhou, there were also more than a dozen small and medium-sized towns across the northern part of the Sichuan Four Circuits, all of which had by now received ultimatums from the Huaxia Army.
At this point, although no large-scale fighting had yet broken out as far as the outside world could see, the overall atmosphere was anything but gentle. The Huaxia Army’s elite forces were divided into several groups, advancing while simultaneously conducting persuasion and negotiation. Between July and August, these towns surrendered one after another—by this point, under this backdrop, no one believed the Huaxia Army would continue to show mercy to those who resisted. Everyone understood that if they continued to play the die-hard holdout, before the Jurchens even arrived, the Huaxia Army would flatten everything before it without mercy.
Aside from a few small-scale acts of resistance that fell within expected probability, with Zizhou’s surrender in August, the entirety of the Sichuan Four Circuits, except for Jiange—the necessary passage point—had gradually entered the Huaxia Army’s territory, with the transfer of various powers and administrative affairs proceeding at a rapid pace.
But for the officials originally responsible for governing various regions, the Huaxia Army did not adopt a one-size-fits-all policy of complete replacement. After a simple written examination and assessment of intentions, some qualified officials who held no great resistance toward the Huaxia Army were gradually entered into a training phase.
The whole training process was actually simple, centered on a few locations built around Zhang Village. First, they toured the general outline at these three buildings in Zhang Village, then went in sequence to factories, government offices, urban districts, and military camps for on-site comparison, then returned to Zhang Village for another round of briefing on the overall situation, during which they could ask questions or request reference materials from the buildings, and finally took a simple written test.
The whole process took about seven days, with the goal of helping these officials understand the basic ideological framework of the Huaxia Army, its governance operations, and future expectations. Full agreement on the larger direction wasn’t necessary—understanding and cooperation would suffice. Once they entered the system, there would naturally be extensive mechanisms for learning, oversight, identification, and vetting in the future.
The late autumn sunlight was still bright. Standing in the second-floor exhibition hall of Building No. 1, Liao Qibin couldn’t help casting glances toward the window beside him. Glass vessels and the like already existed on the market, but were quite precious. Later the Huaxia Army had improved on this material, making its color more transparent, even coating the back of the crystalline glass with mercury to make mirrors. Because this material was fragile and the mountainous terrain of Sichuan made transport difficult, the high-quality Black Banner glass mirrors had always been prized possessions among wealthy households outside; in recent years, some regions had even come to consider them essential items for weddings.
But here, such transparent and fragile glass had been made directly into windows—the sunlight and trees outside, the river in the distance, the pedestrians nearby, all visible at a glance. This made Liao Qibin, who had previously served as county magistrate of Xi County in Zizhou, feel a sense of extravagance.
However, after six days at Zhang Village, following this tour, Liao Qibin’s heart, beyond that initial sense of extravagance, now held more complicated feelings.
“…Returning to papermaking—on the first day, everyone only had a rough idea, but after these few days of walking around, you all have a clearer picture now, so this part is much simpler. In this room, the improvements and efficiency gains in papermaking methods are all recorded edition by edition, and you can also see the steps of improvement in papermaking methods over the previous several hundred years—we’ve specifically marked the years… Up to now, we’ve increased papermaking efficiency twelvefold, and this is the result of just over ten years of improvement, still ongoing… But before this, the improvement process for papermaking took several hundred years, and didn’t produce as many results as our ten years…”
“…This isn’t the eruption of accumulated progress in the marketplace reaching a certain threshold. All this progress has happened only within the Huaxia Army—this is the power of the study of investigating things…”
Liao Qibin turned his gaze back to the speaker in front of the crowd, a man seated in a wheelchair, his face not appearing particularly old but his hair already half white. Liao Qibin did not dare take this man’s identity lightly—his name was Qin Shaoyu, a member of the Qin clan who had nearly followed Qin Siyuan into disaster back in the day. When the invaders came, his legs had been broken, and he had survived to this day thanks to the Huaxia Army. Now, these three buildings representing the face of the Huaxia Army were managed by him. Each batch of visitors, upon returning to Zhang Village on their sixth day, was led by him for explanations, and he would personally answer some people’s questions.
More than ten years had passed since Ning Yi’s furious killing of Zhou Zhe. In these more than ten years, while the Wu Dynasty had always regarded Ning Yi as a great traitor nailed to the pillar of shame, the assessment of Qin Siyuan’s merits and faults had continued to shift. In recent years, due to Zhou Yong’s rule, his son and daughter had guided public opinion, which had in large part come to affirm Qin Siyuan’s achievements.
That aged former chancellor had shouldered the responsibility of resisting the Jurchens and saving the realm; his eldest son Qin Shaohe had died defending Taiyuan without yielding, also a hero. It was only that after so arduously repelling the Jurchens, the treacherous officials in power at the Jinghan court, fearing Qin Siyuan, had colluded to frame the loyal minister; the emperor, deceived by these traitors, had also done wrong.
Such public opinion had restored much of Qin Siyuan’s reputation, but of course, even so, Ning Yi—who recognized neither ruler nor father—remained, in Wu Dynasty public opinion, a man guilty of the gravest treason. When people discussed it, they would only say he should have dealt with treacherous officials like Cai Jing and Tong Guan at court, but should never have killed the emperor.
Because of this, Qin Shaoyu had become the best candidate for dealing and negotiating with people from the Wu Dynasty. When Cheng Zhouhai had come to negotiate before, bringing Song Yongping along, Ning Yi had brought Qin Shaoyu to spar with them. Here and now, Qin Shaoyu’s status naturally could also awe the crowd. After introducing papermaking, he went on to introduce the development of the glass industry, followed by various facilities and materials including ships, bridges, roads, concrete, and steel.
At the end of the second floor was a spacious water-powered lift. Qin Shaoyu, in his wheelchair, could only go up and down through this device similar to a later-era “elevator.” When someone wanted to help push his wheelchair, he waved them off—he insisted on doing everything himself.
“Back then… it was the last few years of the Jinghan era. My uncle rose again to become chancellor, and I went to the capital to run around with a group of dissolute young nobles. If any of you were in the capital back then, you might remember the notorious young rake of Bianliang called ‘Flower Tai Sui.’ I was worthless back then, wanting to throw my weight around in the capital with the others. But not long after, Ning Yi arrived in the capital, and my uncle had me receive him…”
“…The man everyone now calls Mr. Ning was, even then, quite the remarkable character. Despite being a matrilocal son-in-law, he treated people warmly, but even ‘Flower Tai Sui’ got nowhere trying to provoke him. Then many things happened, and I stayed by his side and learned things. In the eleventh year of Jinghan, when the Right Chancellery presided over famine relief in the north, Mr. Ning came up with strategies, mobilizing large numbers of merchants from various regions to sell goods in the disaster areas, driving down grain prices… The scene back then really made one’s blood boil…”
“I’m a man of middling talent—don’t let my age and half-white hair fool you. It’s actually because my aptitude is insufficient that I have to work so hard. Dealing daily with all of you who’ve come from the Wu Dynasty, all dragons and phoenixes among men, I dare not be careless—I just have to keep learning, keep spending the time…”
“As for the equality we speak of within the Huaxia Army, it’s actually quite simple. You’ve all seen it—papermaking and printing, after understanding the way of investigating things, efficiency has now increased more than tenfold; other industries too, even farming and fishing, have continuously improving methods. Egg and chicken meat supply from the farms has greatly increased… Everything can be improved. In the old days, studying was extremely difficult for you all, and only through great effort did one rise above others—some understood the principles, some didn’t. So the sage said: the people may be made to follow a path, but may not be made to understand it. Because making everyone understand was simply impossible.”
“But now, as you’ve seen, we might one day make it so that everyone in the world has books to read, and once they have books to read, everyone will have the hope of understanding principles. By then, complete equality between people, though difficult, will be something we can expect to approach.”
Qin Shaoyu pushed his wheelchair forward with both hands, and someone asked, “When that time comes, if everyone becomes an official, who will farm the fields?”
Hearing this question, Qin Shaoyu wasn’t flustered at all, his hands never slowing. He smiled and said, “If everyone truly could study, the world would necessarily take on a different appearance. Officials would no longer be superior to others, but merely administrative personnel equal to everyone else. Some would fish, some would farm, some would trade, some would teach—and naturally there would be those skilled at management and coordination who would take on administrative roles. As you’ve all observed these past few days, our Huaxia Army administrators are strictly forbidden from speaking harshly or arrogantly to the people under them—this comes precisely from that principle.”
“Of course, there’s been much discussion on this matter within the Huaxia Army too. There’s a great deal of preserved material on these years of debate in Building No. 2. Mr. Ning has offered explanations and proposals on this several times—those interested may go borrow and read them.”
Qin Shaoyu smiled. “Of course, the world is hard, the road ahead not easy. Based on the development of the study of investigating things, many things will inevitably undergo earth-shaking change over time. Even the many ideas in Building No. 2 are merely the accumulation of a decade, not necessarily the final answer. If, after seeing them, you have further thoughts, the Huaxia Army holds such discussions regularly—if you have profound insights, they may even be passed up for Mr. Ning to personally respond to, even engage in debate over… Next, let’s look at some ideas and results regarding plant selection and breeding…”
Everyone had already toured these three buildings at Zhang Village on their first day. Many theories they hadn’t fully understood then had, after several more days of touring and explanation, formed a rough outline in their minds. Now, on this sixth day, with Qin Shaoyu tying it all together, the picture of the Huaxia Army’s present and future was gradually taking shape, and everyone’s hearts, already shaken, deepened further.
After Qin Shaoyu mentioned the large amount of material preserved in Building No. 2, people stopped asking the more superficial questions. Soon after, everyone moved into Building No. 2, whose first floor preserved the Huaxia Army’s record of battles and achievements along the way—in fact, it also displayed matters related to Qin Siyuan’s time as chancellor, and even the subsequent state of the Wu Dynasty after Qin Siyuan’s death, Ning Yi’s killing of the emperor, and so on, with many details disclosed within. Of course, for now, Qin Shaoyu politely skipped over this section.
He spoke as his wheelchair moved along: “In the earliest receptions, people always asked whether the Huaxia Army was simply dressing all this up beautifully—whether, in the end, many things could only be seen within these few beautiful buildings, including that glass window, and the steel and other materials used to build these three buildings—after all, not everyone can afford such things… But here, I hope you’ll all note that our Huaxia Army has, since its founding more than a decade ago, always been struggling in the most dreadful conditions…”
“We developed with great difficulty at Xiaocang River and Qingmu Stockade, reclaiming land, building… Not long after, the Western Xia came, and we crushed them in the northwest, later resisting an assault by nearly a million troops from across the Central Plains, including the Jurchens… We killed Loushi, killed Ci Bushi, moved from the northwest to Liangshan, and again, with great difficulty, forged a path through the mountains…”
“In such an environment, we still maintained this much development. By the time we left Liangshan and arrived here, how long has it even been? Has it even been a year since things stabilized? My friends, the Jurchens have come—they’ve conquered the Central Plains, Jiangnan, defeated the entire Wu Dynasty, and are now advancing on the southwest. Imagine, if the Jurchens conquered Sichuan, what would become of you…”
Qin Shaoyu pushed his wheelchair through a hall of historical scrolls: “Now look again at these development plans and imagine—if we defeat the Jurchens, if we’re given a somewhat larger place—not somewhere as remote as Xiaocang River, not somewhere as poor as the three counties of Hedeng—just a place like the Chengdu Plain, doesn’t even need to be bigger! If we develop for three years, for five years, what would it become? Think about it—by then, who in this world could stop us Chinese people, restoring the garments of the Han people… I believe this is also the vision my uncle once dreamed of…”
Sunlight streamed in through the windows. After touring Building No. 2, it was already noon, and Qin Shaoyu led the more than twenty Wu Dynasty officials to the cafeteria for lunch. Lunch was a simple but tasty self-service meal. After eating, Liao Qibin went outside to sit in the sun, his mind still somewhat muddled. He had risen to the position of county magistrate through proper channels and was, by any account, a talented man himself, but though a few days had been enough for him to see the broad outline clearly, digesting the shock of it all would still take time.
Soon officials and clerks came out to speak with him quietly, mostly about the coming great war—whether the core of the fighting would be at Jiange or Zizhou, whether the Huaxia Army could hold on, or whether the Jurchens would ultimately take the realm. These questions were the main topics of discussion.
During this, people also talked about Mr. Ning. From this plaza, one could see in the distance the side of the courtyard where Mr. Ning lived; it was said he was still at Zhang Village at this time. Someone brought up the transportation infrastructure of Zhang Village and this part of the Chengdu Plain.
“…Since the Huaxia Army took control of Chengdu, aided by disaster relief and the convenience of trade, road repair has been the top priority. Now, with Zhang Village as the center, the main post roads have all been resurfaced, connecting in all directions. Mr. Ning stationing himself at Zhang Village is indeed the best choice. When the great war begins, even if some in the rear harbor ill intentions, the response here will be the fastest. Don’t you see, just a few years ago this place was a barren riverbank, and now four bridges have already been built…”
As people discussed these matters, they naturally couldn’t help but marvel. Even those who, after several days of touring, still didn’t understand the Huaxia Army wouldn’t say so at this point—as long as they didn’t ultimately serve as officials for the Huaxia Army, even if watched for a time, they could eventually free themselves. And besides, even setting aside ideology and just considering method, the sheer feat of Ning Yi building this kind of enterprise was truly something to admire.
After discussing this for a while, Qin Shaoyu came over from not far away and joined the small-group discussion. Smiling, his sparse white hair catching the late autumn sun, he brought up the topic everyone was curious about: “Were you all just talking about Mr. Ning? Too bad you won’t see him today.”
Everyone felt a flicker of curiosity: “Could we possibly have a chance to see Mr. Ning?” Some minds even began to stir—if they truly had a chance to see him, perhaps a desperate strike…
But Qin Shaoyu smiled and said, “Everything here has already been arranged, with the great war approaching… He set off for the Zizhou front yesterday.”
Qin Shaoyu’s words were calm, but hearing this, Liao Qibin—recalling the grim atmosphere and the figures of fierce warriors he’d seen touring the Huaxia Army camps these past few days—felt a chill of alarm. He was stunned for a long moment before saying quietly, “Mr. Ning… going to the front line? If the Jurchens come and surround Zizhou… the thousand miles of the Sichuan Four Circuits… I fear the response would be inadequate…”
They had not yet fully joined the Huaxia Army. Liao Qibin knew such questions were inappropriate to probe too deeply, but he couldn’t help letting it slip out anyway. Qin Shaoyu narrowed his eyes, glancing at him. “It’s fine.”
He said, “As long as the Sichuan Four Circuits still stand, as long as the Huaxia Army still stands, Zonghan… will not be able to surround Zizhou.”
Ning Yi left Zhang Village on the afternoon of September 23rd; by September 24th, he was already nearly at Zizhou.
Blocking Wanyan Zonghan’s great army, keeping the battlefield confined as much as possible to the hundred-kilometer stretch between Jiange and Zizhou, had been the plan settled on early. Naturally, the ideal scenario was to block the enemy at Jiange; if Jiange could neither be brought over nor taken by force, then the front line would be set at Zizhou.
Although the stretch from Zizhou south to Chengdu had been the Huaxia Army’s territory for two years, the fact was that beyond Zizhou, the Chengdu Plain stretched out boundlessly. Even if Wanyan Zonghan’s forces could be defeated head-on, his hundreds of thousands of troops, still under the command of an outstanding Jurchen general, could scatter chaotically and easily turn things into a hopeless mess—even exploiting their numerical superiority to seize various small cities, then driving civilians around to fight everywhere, even doing something like breaching the Dujiangyan dikes. With the Huaxia Army’s manpower already stretched thin, this could ultimately result in being battered into disarray.
Ning Yi’s departure was prompted by two pieces of news that arrived one after another on the 23rd.
One was that in the Jiangnan region, a carefully planned rescue operation closely tied to the effort to persuade Si Zhongxian had ended in failure.
The other was that a meticulously planned assassination attempt had erupted in Zizhou, extending to reach Ning Ji himself. Ning Ji had at one point been seized by the assassins.
Not until he had been taken to the outskirts of Zizhou city, where several assassins converged, did this thirteen-year-old member of the Ning family finally use the short blade hidden in his sleeve to cut the ropes and strike suddenly. Before help arrived, he pursued and killed the assassins one by one along the way, using various methods to kill six of them.
Ning Yi, keeping it from Xiao Chan, set off for Zizhou that very day.