"The attack on Chongqing was a resolution of the committee and was unanimously approved by all members, so of course I will share everyone's losses." Deng Ming saw that the other Kuidong generals did not understand, so he explained. In order to appease the dissatisfied Kuidong generals, the Yuanhui exercised Deng Ming's authorization and agreed to the offensive against Chongqing in Deng Ming's name - the Qing army in Chongqing refused to do business with western Sichuan, and naturally no one in the Yuan Council cared about their life or death.

Since it was the committee's resolution, and Sichuan Xi also agreed, Deng Ming used this as a reason to compensate Kui Dongjun financially, and announced that Sichuan West would bear the loss of grain this time, and no matter how much military rations Li Laiheng and they brought, Sichuan West would transport them one by one. In addition to encouraging the offensive spirit of the Anti-Qing Alliance, Deng Ming also wanted to maintain the authority of the committee, which was indispensable for the Sichuan and Hubei Ming armies in the absence of an emperor in charge.

If it was a mature imperial parliament, it probably would not agree to Deng Ming's discretion in controlling the wealth of the imperial government, but now Deng Ming does not have to worry about this, the current Chengdu Yuan will be easily appeased, as long as Deng Ming shares the spoils with them, he will be satisfied, and he has not yet had the courage or consciousness to interfere with Deng Ming's domination of the empire's property - or rather, the Yuan Council has not yet realized who owns these wealth, but follows the feudal tradition of "I am the state", and regards these property as Deng Ming's private property.

Together with several generals from Wanxian County, they rushed to Fengjie, and under the supervision of Wen Anzhi, Deng Ming and the other members signed a financial aftermath agreement. After receiving Deng Ming's assurance, Dang Shousu and Wang Guangxing both breathed a sigh of relief. The strength of the two of them is weak, and the territory development process is also poor, and this failure without harvest is a big blow to them. Wang Guangxing's situation was even worse than that of Dang Shousu, although he did not participate in the fierce battle this time, there would be a cost for sending troops, and he did not have the sponsorship of his camp partners.

Yuan Zongdi lost a lot of manpower, and half of the results achieved by Zhongxian last year were spit out in this battle, so after the financial subsidy agreement, Yuan Zongdi raised another question: "In addition to money, we also need soldiers, I don't know if Admiral Deng can help as appropriate." ”

"You can go to Chengdu and Xuzhou to recruit soldiers, I don't mind that." Although Deng Ming couldn't go to the territory of other warlords to recruit troops, he didn't mind that Kuidong generals would go to western Sichuan to recruit troops: "Of course, this must be a recruitment and not a strong ding, western Sichuan has always pursued freedom to come and go, and people with the status of Tongxiucai will not be hindered as long as they want to leave, the only premise is that they are voluntary." ”

He Zhen's eyes lit up when he heard this, now there is a lot of population in the Hanshui Valley, and he does not envy the population of western Sichuan at all, but he knows that western Sichuan has recruited many craftsmen from the southeastern provinces, so he tentatively asked if the craftsmen are also "free to come and go".

"As long as it's the same talent, it's all the same."

Deng Ming confirmed this, Wang Guangxing and Dang Shousu were not as thick-skinned as He Zhen, but they also secretly made up their minds in their hearts, if He Zhen really sent someone to dig the foot of the wall, then they could also consider keeping up, whether it was soldiers or craftsmen, these two families needed it very much. Although under normal circumstances, this kind of digging would be regarded as a hostile action, but Deng Ming obviously can't deal with it with common sense, maybe this is another action that Deng Ming helped Kui Dong's generals.

However, Yuan Zongdi's words shattered their dream: "Go to western Sichuan to recruit soldiers? Can you afford it? ”

Yuan Zongdi was very familiar with the policies of Chengdu and Xuzhou. The population of western Sichuan could move freely, and although this law was first proposed by Deng Ming, it had little meaning before the Battle of Zhongxian, and not many people paid attention to it. After the separation of Xuzhou and Chengdu, the people of western Sichuan paid more and more attention to this law. Chengdu and Xuzhou dug into each other's walls and competed to introduce preferential immigration policies, and the shield that the two prefects used to resist each other's accusations was the Tongxiucai Freedom of Movement Act. At present, not only the prefects and legislators of the two places, but also many people in the parliament have been talking about this bill all day long, and it is not once or twice that the plan has been amended.

Not to mention the Tongxiucai in Sichuan, even the southeastern population who relocated to Sichuan could not get their hands on it, and they had already been divided between Chengdu and Xuzhou, and Chengdu and Xuzhou also sent propaganda officers early to boast that western Sichuan was full of flowers, and the people in the southeast came to Chengdu and Xuzhou, and unless they robbed them, they didn't want to pull them to settle down in the Three Gorges.

"How can such an expensive soldier be recruited? It is also necessary to manage the marriage of daughters-in-law, allow retirement from the army, and reserve self-cultivated land after discharge. Wang Guangxing protested: "Isn't it an empty word that Admiral Deng said that we are allowed to go to western Sichuan to recruit troops? ”

He Zhen also contributed to the troubles on the side: "That is, that is, Admiral Deng should show some sincerity." In this battle of Chongqing, not only a few of us, but also Little Tiger and General Liu also suffered heavy losses and needed to be replenished with troops; It's the same with General Yuan. ”

He Zhen wiped out the financial compensation agreement that Deng Ming had just signed with one mouth, he knew that the relationship between Yuan Zongdi and Deng Ming was very good, and he felt that bringing Yuan Zongdi to Deng Ming would definitely give him some face: "There are so many strong people in western Sichuan, and there are many craftsmen, even if you don't give it to us, you can also give some points to General Yuan, it is not easy for him to guard the east gate for the admiral for so many years." ”

He Zhen's words made Dang Shousu and Wang Guangxing listen to it very well, and there was a faint hint of sameness in Deng Ming's eyes, and they also shouted together: "It's not easy for General Liu, he took the whole army all the way from Yiling to Wanxian, and Hu Shuai also brought a lot of grain and grass ......."

"Haven't I already paid for the grain and grass?" Deng Ming interrupted their complaints, his face full of puzzlement, and he said to Dang Shousu and Wang Guangxing: "The conditions for recruiting troops in western Sichuan are not set by me, I have been out for almost a year. ”

"Who's going to do that?" Seeing that Deng Ming actually denied it irresponsibly, and denying it so clumsily, Dang Shousu and Wang Guangxing, who originally felt that they were at a loss, shouted in unison, and unconsciously raised their voices. didn't notice that as Deng Ming's words came out, He Zhen, who was still vibrating just now, suddenly froze.

"The prefect of Chengdu is the son of General Liu," Deng Ming pointed to Yuan Zongdi, who was embarrassed on the side: "The prefect of Xuzhou is the nephew of General Yuan." These laws were announced by the two of them when I went to Burma. You don't ask General Yuan and General Liu, but ask me? ”

If all the governors appointed by Deng Ming in the western part of the country, then of course all the policies were at his behest, and as long as Deng Ming was forced to nod his head and agree to the change, then the matter would be done - Deng Ming had no way to push it cleanly, and no one would believe that he had no right to make changes.

However, the problem in western Sichuan is a bit complicated now, because the two prefects - the real power holders in the eyes of the generals of Kuidong - are the sons and nephews of the generals of Kuidong, and it is impossible to say that the laws enacted in western Sichuan are aimed at Kuidong; Further, it is difficult to say who instructed these laws, and it can also be said that this is Kui Dongzhong's general taking advantage of Deng Ming's absence to seize power.

In any case, Deng Ming trusted the nephews of General Kui Dong so much that no one could say that he was wary of the Kui Dong Army; On the other hand, these people in Kuidong must not be able to use people in western Sichuan as henchmen like Deng Ming, right?

Although he realized that it would be difficult to get more things, Dang Shousu still did not give up and argued: "When these laws came out, wasn't it approved by the Admiral?" ”

"Of course not, I was in Myanmar at the time." Deng Ming replied confidently. He didn't mention a word about the Yuan Council, but suddenly stretched out his arm and pointed at He Zhen: "When I am not in Sichuanxi, all bills will take effect immediately as long as they are signed by his son!" ”

……

Deng Ming's plan for the Kui Dongjun was that they went to He Zhen and Hao Shaoqi's territory to recruit troops, and Deng Ming was willing to subsidize some economically, but He Zhen and Hao Shaoqi couldn't pull out a dime. The members of the committee share weal and woe, and they can't put all the burden on Kawanishi, and now Deng Ming is willing to bear the big burden, and others should also symbolically bear a little.

"There is chaos in Shandong, and there is also in Guangdong," the news of Shandong's Yuqi uprising has reached Fengjie, but the specific situation is not clear at all, Deng Ming said to everyone: "After the Chinese New Year, Sichuan West has settled the immigrants this time, and you can consider sending troops to Shandong, and I will naturally go with Zhujun at that time." ”

After the initial solution to the problem of the Kuidong Army, Deng Ming reported to Wen Anzhi on his trip to Burma.

Although Wen Anzhi didn't say much, Deng Ming could see that he didn't save the emperor from the barbarians, and Wen Anzhi was very dissatisfied with this. Wen Anzhi felt that even if the emperor lived in Bamo, it was better than staying in the hands of the rebellious vassals. Deng Ming had no choice but to swear that Wacheng was indeed suitable for defense rather than attack, and Deng Ming would never ignore the safety of the Son of Heaven and the royal family, and once he freed up his hands in the future, he would still go to rescue the Son of Heaven.

After finishing the report to Wen Anzhi, Deng Ming asked for a batch of stagecoaches, ready to return to Chengdu quickly before the army, and the Imperial Diet waited for him to report, which would definitely be a more detailed expedition report than Wen Anzhi had heard.

Deng Ming also received news that the "Chengdu Feng Shui Research Association" he secretly funded had finally achieved a result.

Since he had the income of the channel two years ago, Deng Ming has secretly funded this seemingly completely private feng shui research society. Although he claims to be a Feng Shui student, the person in charge is a painter with two apprentices, as well as a few blacksmiths and two watermill masters. They bought magnets, told people that they wanted to make a large compass, and then they would pull copper wires and wires all day long according to Deng Ming's requirements, and then wrap these wires with paint, bundle them into bundles, and be driven by waterwheels to spin in the magnets.

Although Deng Ming knew that science and technology were the primary productive forces, he knew nothing about how to make a steam engine, nor could he draw structural sketches - except for middle school textbooks, his additional scientific knowledge basically came from children's popular science books and interest groups in primary and secondary schools, and in primary school interest groups, Deng Ming used enameled wire to make electromagnets.

Deng Ming drew a lot of design drawings and asked the Chengdu Feng Shui Research Society to wrap the metal wires with lacquer and then try various binding methods, and Deng Ming asked them to have the effect that the two wires drawn out could make a large plate of enameled wire similar to mosquito coils heat—the people of the Feng Shui Research Society did not understand the principle of insulation, anyway, they did whatever Admiral Deng asked them to do. Since the Admiral said that the patent leather should be tightly sealed, then it should be done meticulously.

According to a secret report to Deng Ming from the Feng Shui Research Society, after two years of failure and exploration, the last time they started the water wheel, the large mass of enameled wire connected to the wire suddenly became hot, and a pungent smell of burnt smell was emitted -- if it was really a Feng Shui research society, it would be considered a ghost. But these things were made by the craftsmen after two years of hard work, and there were hundreds of failures, otherwise they would have thought it was a ghost. But now they only had the joy of success, and reported to Deng Ming that this tool of "predicting fortunes" (which the craftsmen thought so) had been completed, and absolutely no outsiders knew about it, and they would wait for further instructions from Deng Ming.

"If I can open up the jade market, I will secretly fund an alchemy research society." After reading the report, Deng Ming said to himself.