When they sent a letter to Deng Ming, Ren Tang and the others returned to Xuzhou and informed Chengdu of the committee's resolution. Soon after, with the exception of Li Xinghan, who was guarding Xuzhou, the three people who participated in the Fengjie meeting returned to Chengdu, and the senior officials of the Western Sichuan clique gathered together to discuss how to make decisions in Deng Ming's absence.

Just as Zhao Tianba feared, before Deng Ming's order came back, there was a difference of opinion within the Western Sichuan group.

Although Liu Jinge and Yuan Xiang couldn't weigh the pros and cons clearly, their Lao Tzu had spoken in the committee, and the two prefects were not easy to object, so they said that it probably didn't hurt to sweep the Jiangnan gentry. He Daoning has been in western Sichuan for the shortest time, and his sense of belonging is even worse, and his position is to raise criminal officers and not interfere in specific government affairs, so his understanding of shipping and Jiangnan trade is not very profound, so He Daoning is the most supportive of the committee's resolution. Moreover, He Daoning was also deeply influenced by his father, and always felt that since he had money to earn, he would take it in his hands first.

The most opposed is Ren Tang, followed by Mu Tan. Zhang Huangyan and Zheng Chenggong had a friendly relationship with Jiangnan Shilin, and Ren Tang and Mu Tan said that they absolutely could not accept the Qing court's proposal. The most radical Ren Tang even said that if the Qing court massacred the gentry, then the Ming army should intervene, and demanded that the Kuidong warlords should not participate, otherwise their allowances would be reduced.

Whether it is He Daoning or Ren Tang, the radical opinions of the two of them are obviously unacceptable, and Liu Jinge believes that the key to this matter is how much impact it will have on the shipping trade in western Sichuan. Although Liu Jinge knew that he had sat in the position of the prefect of Chengdu entirely because of his father's background, and also knew that his father firmly supported the plan at this committee, since Liu Jinge had already sat on this chair, he would inevitably have to take into account the interests of western Sichuan - Liu Jinge would not blatantly oppose his father, and if everyone agreed, he would never come out as a rebel even if he was worried; But since the opinions of the two parties are disputed, Liu Jinge's attitude has become ambiguous.

Now the IOUs in western Sichuan are no longer supported by grain, but by a large amount of salt sold by salt merchants to Huguang, as well as a large amount of goods sent back from Wuchang. It was precisely because the IOU guaranteed the purchase of all kinds of commodities that the IOU remained strong even as the price of grain continued to fall - Xiong Lan did not agree to start this war, because he feared that the war would make the gentry and rabbits of Huguang sad, and some of Huguang's salt was to be sold to Liangjiang. If a steady stream of cheap goods is lost, the credit of the IOU will be affected, which Xiong Lan cannot tolerate, but Xiong Lan has always firmly remembered Deng Ming's warning of "killing grain officials." In the end, Xiong Lan also thought that Zhou Peigong was not easy to deal with, and if he acted completely according to the other party's script, the Ming army would definitely struggle to be unpleasing in the end.

However, Xiong Lan couldn't convince everyone, because He Daoning asked rhetorically, will it definitely affect Wuchang's trade? Of course, Xiong Lan has no evidence that it will definitely have an impact, so Liu Jinge still refuses to be a rebel, and Zhou Kaihuang will not openly oppose the plan to make a fortune in the camp.

If Deng Ming is in Chengdu, then all the people don't need to worry, as long as Deng Ming speaks, Liu Jinge, Yuan Xiang, and He Daoning can easily explain to their respective Lao Tzu, and the generals of Kui Dong will not complain to them; Even if Deng Ming is not there, as long as Western Sichuan is a unified group and can speak with one voice to the outside world, then there is nothing to worry about, everyone can share the grievances equally, and individual people can also explain to their relatives that they can't help themselves.

However, the West Sichuan Group has never been a unified group, Deng Ming has just set up this team for two years, and new members are constantly joining in the middle. Under normal circumstances, the group that has just been established for two years will not have too many people, and it is easy to unite with the outside world, but the West Sichuan Group is now a large-scale nationwide gang, with hundreds of thousands of people and high-ranking officials from all over the world. This is not a group in the traditional sense, but a super-large federation. The most important thing is that Deng Ming has never fought an internal unification war, even if it is a horse bandit federation of hundreds of people, the leader of the alliance will dominate an uneyed ally.

The foundation of the Sichuan West Group was completely based on respect for Deng Ming, and when the leader was absent, it suddenly presented a situation of scattered sand. A few days later, after Liu Tichun and other lobbyists arrived in Chengdu, Liu Jinge's attitude became more ambiguous, and he began to claim that he firmly supported the committee's decision, and that this was the committee's first important decision, and that it should be well implemented to reflect the unity of the entire alliance.

Xiong Lan refuted Liu Jinge with all her might, saying that the committee was set up for bargaining, and even if the committee insisted on sending troops, Sichuan Xi could refuse for his own reasons, and it was a big deal to compensate for some goods. It just so happened that Liu Jinge allocated a lot of things to his father last time, so it should be prepaid.

Liu Jinge and Xiong Lan sang higher and higher tunes, partly because they found that no matter how loud they shouted the slogan, it was useless, the power was in the hands of the prefect's yamen, and the military power was in the hands of the four generals left behind; Liu Jinge did not issue a mobilization order or give an appropriation, although the army could not set off; But even if Liu Jinge ordered the mobilization, as long as the four generals were not in charge, the Western Sichuan Navy Division would not be able to dispatch. Now Mu Tan and Ren Tang are fiercely opposed to sending troops, Li Xinghan is neutral, and Zhou Kaihuang is lonely.

The chaos in Chengdu disappointed the envoys of the Kuidong group, and in their opinion, this was a clear proof of Deng Ming's unstable foundation. In the past, Kui Dongzhong will be more than once, and more than one person should not be greedy and chew too much, but settle down and earnestly build his own team, and establish absolute authority. But Deng Ming just didn't listen. Although Deng Ming relied on his courage and good fighting, which made the West Sichuan Group swell rapidly, how could the internal chaos become like this? Many of these envoys were also tasked with inspecting the situation in Chengdu. The rapid development of western Sichuan made many Kuidong generals very envious, and even began to doubt whether their construction of Deng Ming was correct, but now the envoys are convinced that the Chengdu model is definitely not worth imitating.

When the discussion in the prefect's yamen was in full swing, the members of the Senate were very bored, and they were always tired of scolding Liu Jinge every day, wasn't it? This time, everyone decided that Liu Jinge supported the dispatch of troops because of his relationship with Lao Tzu, and if it was in the past, he would be scolded again. But now everyone is a little lazy, because it is useless to scold, and when the time comes, it is time to send troops or send troops.

"We should play an important role in our Senate." Yang Youcai spoke in the Senate: "It is a matter of the future of the capital, and we should supervise the work of the prefect's yamen as the governor of Zuo said." ”

However, the people below listened listlessly, including the Mongolian commander who was promoted to the council, after he entered the Senate, he learned to scold Liu Jinge as quickly as he entered the Senate, but now he has long stopped scolding - Liu Jinge has not beaten him, and the Mongolian commander can scold a person he does not know for a few months, which is okay.

As for the veterans of the Qingcheng faction, they were even more absent-minded. Liu Yao pretended to listen, and his mind had already flown to the mahjong table, thinking about another bloody battle with his colleagues after work.

Only a few generals of the Shanxi Green Battalion were still listening with great interest, not long after they joined the Senate, they relied on scolding Liu Jinge together for getting acquainted with their former enemies, and now they began to care about their future. After Yang Youcai's speech, several Shanxi people applauded and cheered one after another, and asked Yang Youcai how to play the "important" role of the Senate, but Yang Youcai said angrily: "I want to" and walked back to his seat quickly.

"The morning is over, it's time for the lunch break!" Liu Yao jumped up and announced loudly: "Take a two-hour lunch break, and then start the half-hour agenda in the afternoon." ”

Since Deng Ming asked to work all day, let's go up.

The Qingcheng faction quickly set up the card table and gathered around to rub hemp. Several Shanxi people were also invited to their seats, and the former Mongolian commanders looked at them with fierce eyes -- when they first entered the Senate, the former Mongolian commanders were very happy when they were invited to rub their linen, and felt that this was a good way to quickly integrate into the new collective. As a result, the Senate's allowances were all out of the pockets of the Qingcheng faction because they were unfamiliar with the rules, and he had to steal food from the lunch table every day so as not to starve at night - and now it was the turn of the Shanxi people to familiarize themselves with the rules of the bloody battle, and the Mongols were determined to win back all the allowances they had lost.

Liu Yao was eating in his hand while considering the cards in front of him. In the past, when he was tired of organizing the reclamation in Chengdu, he dreamed that one day he would be able to do nothing, have rice to eat, and watch plays and play cards, but now this dream has finally come true. But playing cards and watching plays every day, Liu Yao felt a little bored again, and he wanted to find something to do - at this time, he gradually missed those partners who were reclaimed, and even recalled the days of feeding chickens and pigs himself, at least to the fullest.

At this moment, the wild laughter of his old comrade-in-arms Yang Youcai suddenly came from behind: "The sky has changed, the sky has changed, the sky really has eyes!" ”

Everyone turned their heads in surprise and looked at Yang Youcai, who suddenly rushed into the door like crazy. The latter was waving a piece of paper in his hand: "The order of the marshal has come, and the time has come to play an important role in our Senate!" ”

At this time, the officials of the Chengdu prefect's yamen were also circulating Deng Ming's warrant, and Ren Tang and several other soldiers were very impressed by the mobilization ability of the spoils distribution committee, but Deng Ming's order still surprised them, and after seeing that the Senate also had decision-making and supervision responsibilities, Ren Tang said suspiciously: "What is this?" Do you use the imperial history as a cabinet? Well, no, to review and approve the decisions of the Imperial Diet and to review the accounts of the yamen, the specific undertaking is still the prefect's yamen and the standing army staff (the name given by Deng Ming), and the Senate is more like a celebrant supervisor. It should be! ”