After greeting each other, Liu Tichun repeated the question he had just asked Yuan Zongdi.

"Admiral Deng underestimated our combat effectiveness too much." Li Laiheng said bluntly. He had indeed made preparations for a long time, and after hearing that Chengdu had delayed providing military rations to Wanxian, Li Laiheng also prepared some by himself, and they had already been shipped: "Chongqing now only has Li Guoying's 10,000 soldiers, and we have more than 20,000 soldiers, and the little nephew brought 5,000 people this time, and we should be able to take Chongqing in a month." ”

"Don't worry about the matter of grain and grass," Yuan Zongdi handed Liu Jinge's letter to Li Laiheng and told him that Chengdu would bring grain to Wanxian, but Chengdu was short of manpower and needed Wanxian to prepare its own auxiliaries.

"That's fine." Li Laiheng's expression was a little complicated when he took the letter, and he was obviously relieved after reading the letter.

Liu Tichun observed his words and asked, "Do you have any concerns?" ”

At first, Li Laiheng was reluctant to speak, but after listening to Liu Tichun repeat the words of the party Shousu, Li Laiheng also sighed lightly: "I also think that Admiral Deng and our old camp people seem to be a little estranged, but it doesn't look like it, he has always reused our people, and he also uses three walls as guards." ”

"Isn't it just Liu Yao and them to divide power this time?" Liu Tichun wouldn't say such a thing in front of other Kuidong generals, but the three people present were the people who had the closest relationship with Deng Ming and had the best feelings, so he was not worried about what serious consequences would be caused by these words: "We don't know the details of Liu Yao and Yang Youcai, and we don't have the ability to govern government affairs at all." ”

"It's not entirely impossible to say that the two of them are not entirely impossible. In the past, we all thought that Admiral Deng was a bit gobbling up, afraid of his internal instability, but this time Western Sichuan could not only fight Burma with one hand, but also send 50,000 people to Jiangnan. Yuan Zongdi was very surprised by Chengdu's mobilization power, Liu Tichun and Li Laiheng's territory population is much larger than Chengdu's population, if you count He Zhen and Hao Shaoqi in the Hanshui Basin, it is even more incomparable to Western Sichuan, but they can't carry out two expeditions at the same time.

"This should be Admiral Deng's means, Liu Yao and they are just acting according to orders."

No matter what his son's letter says, Liu Tichun still can't understand the system in western Sichuan at all. Liu Jinge couldn't do everything first, and secondly, Liu Jinge didn't understand where the mobilization power of this system came from, Liu Tichun had never been to western Sichuan, so Liu Jinge couldn't convince his father that the Yuanhui did have this ability, not Deng Ming presiding over everything behind the scenes.

Li Laiheng nodded gently. This time, the West Sichuan Academy did not give any face to the generals of Kuidong, which made him feel a little uncomfortable, which was completely different from the impression that Deng Ming had given him before; However, out of trust in Deng Ming, Li Laiheng also took the initiative to explain for him: "After all, it is He Zhen who is too angry." ”

Deng Mingwei suppressed Huguang and Liangjiang, and Hao Shaoqi couldn't even beat Zhang Changgeng, even Li Laiheng and Liu Tichun, in fact, if they really wanted to fight Wuchang, most of them would not have the upper hand.

"That's right, it shouldn't have anything to do with our camp background, the third prince is not the kind of duplicitous person." At least verbally, Yuan Zongdi always stood on Deng Ming's side, sparing no effort to deny that Deng Ming was guarding against Kuidong's generals: "The third prince personally told me that it is right to break into the camp, you see, can Chengdu say a word that is not good for breaking into the camp now?" ”

……

July, Chengdu.

Now the people of western Sichuan are jubilant. The latest news from Yunnan said that Deng Ming had returned to China and embarked on the return journey back to Chengdu; And the downstream also came good news, the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, who had resolutely suppressed before, gathered troops against the Ming army, but was beaten by the Sichuan army and lost his armor. Zhejiang's coastal gateway was opened, and the Sichuan army reported that a large number of fishermen and sailors had been rescued, and the strategic goal had been achieved. The troops in the south of the Yangtze River have gained a lot, and it seems that there is no need to continue the attack on Shandong, and it is estimated that they have now begun to return to Sichuan.

Compared with the first battle of Chongqing, this time the Ming army went down to the south of the Yangtze River and the whole country was shaken, Huguang and Liangjiang both reported to Beijing, although they swore to defend the city, but the Ming army passed through the place of mourning, the prefecture and county were broken, and they asked for tax exemption for a large area of territory. The defeat in Zhejiang had a huge impact, and the Ming army's attacks on the downstream were frequent to almost once a year, and the scope of the attacks became more and more extensive, and the Qing court was helpless against it.

Although the Qing court continued to claim that the Ming army suffered heavy losses, that is, after the battle of Gaoyou Lake, the Qing court insisted that the Ming army also suffered heavy losses, but the "heavy losses" of the Ming army came to Jiangnan again, and this time it was said that there were 100,000 troops, obviously the Qing court's statement was very suspicious. If it weren't for the hatred of the monarch and father, the call for peace would have reappeared.

"The officers and soldiers have made a lot of money this time, right?" Chen Zuocai from Chengdu Academy called his physical education teacher, Geriletu, for questioning.

"I must have earned a lot of sacrificial wine." Although Geriletu became a councillor, it was only a title, and his daily job was to teach physical education at the academy and live on this salary.

Every day, the spoils of the southern expedition are delivered, which means that no one will believe that the officers and soldiers have not earned money.

"Okay, I said before that I would give us the horses of the academy, so we should give them this time, right?" Chen Zuocai said solemnly: "There is also the funding of the academy, should it be increased?"

"Sacrificial wine, this is not up to the council, if there is no permission from the house, the council will not make a proposal, and even if it does, it will not pass." As Liu Yao understands, the parliament is now basically a subordinate department of the Senate. Geriletu knew that Chen Zuocai wanted him to go to the parliament to ask for money, so he hurriedly explained to President Chen: "I just have an empty name, when there is a proposal in the Senate, I will go and vote, I can't do this thing that asks for money." ”

"You always get to see people in the Senate, don't you?" Chen Zuocai instructed: "You go and talk to them." ”

"Yes," said Geriletu, who was in the Senate in the Senate in the past, and reported it in the evening: "But let me say it, it is better to say that it is useful to say that it is better to say that it is better to say that it is useful." ”

"You represent me, where do I have time?" Chen Zuocai got angry as he spoke: "Zuo Dudu has a great prejudice against literati, and he is superstitious about force. ”

Chen Zuocai spot-checked the work of some teachers in the pavilion a few days ago, and found that the handwriting of the students they taught was unsightly, and the fundamental reason was that many of these teachers were quick - first let the recruited scholars teach the apprentices, and then these apprentices (including female teachers) would teach the new students to read and write - Deng Ming believed that only in this way could more people quickly become literate, and how well the font was written was not the focus of his attention.

But Chen Zuocai is different, he believes that fonts are crucial, and when they are enlightened, they should let students write neatly, so that they can benefit for a lifetime. So Chen Zuocai revised Deng Ming's education system and ordered all scholars to go down to take students to ensure that everyone who was educated could get full guidance.

"A teacher can only lead a few students, how can there be dozens of people in a class? Is teaching as a military training for Zuo Dudu? The more Chen Zuocai spoke, the more angry he became, and he had claimed many times in public that this was Deng Ming deliberately making things difficult for the scholars and giving them small shoes. However, even if there are dozens of people in a class, Chen Zuocai insists that the students meet the standards of private schools, and naturally the teachers are overworked. Chen Xijiu is still a calligraphy teacher in two classes, and he teaches students every day except for eating and sleeping, and has almost no time to rest - which makes Chen Zuocai's mood even worse, and he believes that Deng Ming is deliberately embarrassing the reader.

The next day, he rushed to report to Chen Zuocai with an invitation: "There is a ceremony for the Senate to hang a plaque tomorrow, and Speaker Liu asks you to attend, and they also said that they will listen to the request for sacrificial wine in person." ”

"But I have a class tomorrow." Chen Zuocai's first reaction was to resign.

"As long as you go to the sacrificial wine, won't this matter be solved?" Geriletu was also looking forward to solving the problem of the horses quickly, and he had been reluctant to spend too long with the donkey. He was a warrior on horseback, and he couldn't teach a child how to ride a donkey all day long - if he died suddenly, he wouldn't have the face to go to his ancestors underground.

"Okay." Chen Zuocai thought about it and felt that it really couldn't be delayed any longer, the teachers were working overtime, so they naturally had to pay more salaries to pay. Chen Zuocai flipped through his schedule and called a servant: "Let the students of the two classes tomorrow come tonight, and I will give them a lesson first." ”

If Deng Ming saw the scenery when Chen Zuocai arrived at the Senate the next day, he would be able to understand why as soon as he mentioned the establishment of the academy, he would make Li Dingguo and them think wildly.

Speaker Liu Yao and all the senators came out to welcome, and many people said: "The old grandmaster is here." ”

In fact, Chen Zuocai is not old, but his status is almost a grandmaster, because he is the sacrificial wine of the academy, and all the teachers can be said to be his disciples. Now there are people from all walks of life in Chengdu who go to the academy to learn to read and write, and they can be regarded as Chen Zuocai's apprentices or grandchildren. And since it is a grandmaster, it must be old.

Liu Yao is in a good mood today, and the big characters on today's plaque are his handwriting: Don't forget the grace of a meal.

Nominally, it is to call on the people of Chengdu to always remember the kindness of the Governor of Zuo, but in fact, it also implies a demonstration against Governor Liu, telling the other party that the Qingcheng faction will not forget the grudges of the past, and it is not that they will not report it, and the time has not yet come.

In the morning, many people came to congratulate them, and when they saw the plaque, they would first ask: "What is written on this?" Then there are words of praise: "Speaker Liu's pen is brilliant, vigorous and powerful, and he has a martial arts demeanor." ”

After Chen Zuocai arrived, he stared at the plaque for a long time and asked the same question: "Speaker Liu, what are you writing here?" ”

In order to give a lecture to the students last night, Chen Zuocai's sleep was greatly affected, and now his eyes are bloodshot and his mood is even more anxious.

Liu Yao personally explained to the old master with a smile on his face.

"Don't forget the grace of a meal?" Chen Zuocai muttered in his mouth, stared at the plaque with red eyes and looked at it twice, and suddenly shouted: "Liu Shuai, did he teach you calligraphy?" As he spoke, Chen Zuocai pointed his arm back and fixed it on Geriletu, who came with him.

Halfway through, an aggrieved voice came from behind Chen Zuocai: "The words of sacrificial wine are too hurtful, I can write." ”

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Author's note: See you on the 28th. The author will then try to make up for the arrears of these days in the long term.