When it was done, Deng Ming planned to leave after chatting with Chen Zuocai for a few more words, and now Chen Zuocai knew a lot more about the folk customs and customs of Sichuan than Deng Ming.

"Go back and think about it again, change the title of the book, besides, this book should not be said to be written by Guogong himself." When Deng Ming got up to say goodbye, Chen Zuocai said casually, this is the method he thought of when he was chatting just now.

"Why?" Deng Ming, who was already leaving, suddenly stopped: "Isn't it good to use my name?" If the words came out of my mouth, it would be easier for teachers and students to believe them, right? ”

"Of course it's true." Chen Zuocai sighed softly, the ruler of Chengdu in front of him is good at everything, but he doesn't know how to cherish his reputation, just like he didn't know how to change the name of this academy when he first ran it, and as a result, many people thought that Deng Ming was going to make a set of tools to plot the dynasty and usurp the throne.

After a little hesitation, Chen Zuocai did not answer Deng Ming's question head-on, but put forward a candidate: "How is Mr. Gong?" Let's just say that he wrote it. ”

Chen Zuocai and Gong Zuocai have talked a few times, and the other party's knowledge and knowledge have made Chen Zuocai admire him so much, Chen Zuocai also knows very well that Gong Zuocai cares about Deng Ming very much, although he has not been in Sichuan for a long time, but it is almost the same as Wen Anzhi, and he simply pins all his hopes on Deng Ming.

"Actually, why shouldn't I?" Chen Zuocai suddenly had such a thought in his heart, but he immediately dispelled it: "What am I thinking about?" I was deeply favored by the emperor's favor and was promoted to the ...... Well, was promoted to the general ...... In short, I must not let down the emperor, and without His Majesty's grace, the Duke of Baoguo would not have had the opportunity to see me at all. ”

After driving out these messy thoughts, Chen Zuocai continued the topic just now: "It's better to say that Mr. Gong wrote it, he even burned the god card anyway, and he won't take this matter to heart." ”

Hearing this, Deng Mingcai reacted and laughed: "It turns out that Chen Xijiu thinks that this book is not good for my reputation?" It doesn't matter, I dare to do it, besides, I can't push anything bad on Mr. Gong's head. ”

"Guogong has a great future, I don't know the importance now, but I will understand that it is still important to have a good reputation in the future." Chen Zuocai shook his head slightly and persuaded softly.

"Hmm." Deng Ming lowered his head and was stunned for a while, then raised his head after a while, and said in a firm tone: "I wrote this book, so that I can achieve the effect I want." ”

"Ci is not in charge of the soldiers, and the old man understands this truth very well. But it's like leading a soldier into a war, everyone needs to do their part. Chen Zuocai still did not give up the idea of persuading Deng Ming, in fact, he thought that Deng Ming had done a lot of inappropriate things when he went to Jiangnan again and again. In fact, there are many unpleasant things that are not good to go out in public, and you can let your subordinates take the lead to do it, Deng Ming just needs to pretend not to know. Chen Zuocai didn't make some things clear, he felt that since ancient times, a leader who can achieve great things will always have a better reputation, because he pays attention to maintenance himself, and his subordinates also understand that this is the division of labor between monarchs and ministers. Deng Ming's actual performance was much better than most of the leaders Chen Zuocai knew, and if you added attention to publicity, it was no problem to dress up as a saint.

"Why did Chen Xijiu say such a thing?" Deng Ming smiled slightly when he heard this. Gong Yan has talked to him privately about this reputation issue many times, and Deng Ming also knows very well what Gong Yan is thinking, that is, to make Deng Ming better win the hearts of the people - the people are looking forward to having a blue sky master, and even more looking forward to having a holy son of heaven; Not only the people have this expectation, but also the scholars. Therefore, the better Deng Ming is packaged, the more he can get the support and support of the people, and the more the people pin their hopes on him.

Gong Yan also admitted that Deng Ming had a good reputation so far, but why not go further? Leave all the theories of those robbers and empires to others to publish, and Deng Ming only needs to sit back and enjoy the benefits. Gong Yan even recommended specific candidates, one is Zhou Kaihuang, Gong Yan said that he could dress up this person as a murderous and brutal image; In addition, there is a Ren Tang, which can also give him the image of a conspirator who shakes a feather fan. In this way, many theories about the empire can be said to be planned by these two people - Gong Yan did not consider Mao Sui's self-recommendation, but he was worried that he was too old and did not know when he would die, and he could not guarantee to help Deng Ming carry this black pot to the end.

"Speaking of this, I suddenly remembered one thing, on the day of the parliamentary vote, what Chen Saijiu said in the parliament, I have also heard it, and Chen Saijiu spoke very well." Deng Ming sighed lightly: "Actually, this kind of thing, if you think about it carefully, I seem to have done it." Moreover, if the case is completed this time, I will also go to sell bonds—I can't have watched them spend all such a large sum of money on their own armies, or pay tribute to the Qing court. ”

Chen Zuocai's face showed arrogance again, and he listened noncommittally.

"When I listened to Chen Xijiu's words, I knew that the Chengdu Academy taught very well, and everyone knew how to listen to others, which really made me overjoyed." Deng Ming said this, and hugged Chen Zuocai.

"Teaching is a job." Chen Zuocai agreed briefly, his face was silent, and he quietly accepted Deng Ming's thanks, in fact, the thoughts in his heart were far from so simple.

"This is the credit of Baoguo Gong. If I sent someone to drag me out and kill me when I scolded you in front of Liu Jinge, Xiong Lan and all the teachers that time, then your subordinates would naturally follow suit, and whoever dared to make irresponsible remarks and point fingers in front of them would definitely not be spared. Chen Zuocai thought silently in his heart: "Because you don't sin because of your words - although you have repeatedly taught me and have not changed, the respect you show to me has made your subordinates know how to treat advice, you can not listen to it, but you can't help but let people say it, and now it has become the atmosphere of the whole Sichuan." Besides, I'm a little famous, so when I went to the council to scold them this time, although they all had the right to blast me out, no one was embarrassed to call the guards to do that. ”

Now Deng Ming expressed his gratitude to Chen Zuocai and praised him for his good teaching, and Chen Zuocai had no intention of correcting the other party's views, and also silently recited in his heart: "If you don't sin for your words, then I will be unjust, this is how a gentleman repays a gentleman." Needless to say, other kind words will save you, a young student, from being proud and complacent. ”

At this time, I heard Deng Ming say: "Five years ago, the Ming army was defeated under the city of Chongqing, and I fled to Fengjie with other routs, and on the way I participated in the first battle with the enemy, and I also killed an enemy in that battle. Deng Ming waved his hand and said with a calm expression: "I pulled out my bow, aimed at a living person, shot him, and watched him fall into the icy water with serious injuries, struggling to climb ashore, but in the end he bled to death and was washed away by the river - Chen Xijiu must not know that after the first killing, I didn't sleep well for several days, and I often woke up at night, thinking about the young man who was killed by me." And since then, I have known how war can distort people. ”

Chen Zuocai didn't interject and listened to Deng Ming continue.

"To be a soldier is to kill the enemy, there is no doubt about it, if you don't want to be killed by the Tartars and the Green Battalion, you have to fight back, you have to kill them all first, I have a clear conscience about this."

Next, I talked about the battle of Wanxian that followed. Because he witnessed a few familiar companions being killed by his side, Deng Ming and his guards chased the defeated enemy and cut down more than ten miles, and I don't know how many enemies died under his sword that day: "Since I started killing the first person, in the past few years, what I have done is to kill more people, thinking about how to kill people all day long, how to produce the best killing weapons, and train the army that is best at killing." Because I have done a good job, I have been recognized and appreciated by everyone, and I will continue to do this work, I don't know how many more years I will have to do it. War and peace are completely different, black and white, right and wrong are completely reversed, and Chen Xijiu has also been the boss, so he must be able to understand what I am talking about. ”

Chen Zuocai nodded slightly, and replied briefly: "The old man knows very well. ”

Chen Zuocai remained silent, and thought in his heart: "I haven't killed anyone with my own hands, but I have beaten people in order to ensure the production of the military tun, and I have whipped the auxiliary soldiers under my management to the flesh." At first I felt nauseous, but I had to force myself to do it, and then I got used to it. Chen Zuocai once completely adapted to the general job, but now when he looks back, he finds that he once again feels uncomfortable. He had been teaching in the academy for several years since he left Yunnan, and he was so relieved that he had ordered the punishment of the auxiliaries, but now he felt guilty in his heart.

"So, I propose that soldiers can retire as long as they have served for a few years, or have participated in a few battles. However, this approach does not apply to me. What I do is different from what they do, I have dealt with the Southeast Governor a lot in the past few years, and I can't tell right from wrong. Sometimes I have the idea that if it had been five years ago, I would never have cooperated with the Manchu officials, and I would never have stood idly by while they oppressed the Han people. But now I will first consider the success or failure of our great cause in Sichuan, and the grievances of some Han people are nothing compared to the image in the minds of our Manchu officials. Speaking of this, Deng Ming's face suddenly had a look of pain.

"Ci is not in charge of the army." Chen Zuocai spit out four more words.

"Well, I always comfort myself, after all, someone has to do this kind of thing, someone has to stand up to protect the security of the country."

This time, Chen Zuocai didn't let Deng Ming wait for a long time, and immediately blurted out: "What Guogong said is not wrong at all. ”

"It's just that I think that in ten years' time, when the Tartars have been driven out and the war is over, I am afraid that my colonels and I will be half-insane—I don't think that the people of a county would be comfortable with a murderous fellow being their magistrate, but they think that the winner of the war is the best ruler."

"Guogong's words, the old man doesn't understand a little." Chen Zuocai felt that he couldn't keep up with Deng Ming's train of thought.

"I think that when the war is over, my colonels and I need to rest and relax, and we have developed a completely upside-down set of rules that are to be used against the enemy and not our own." Deng Ming shook his head, feeling that a soldier may not be a suitable official, even if he is a war hero, I am afraid that he will need to calm down for some years before returning to politics, at least until he has eliminated the impact of war in his peaceful life.

"That's why Baoguo Gong just got it, will this courtyard come out?" When Chen Zuocai heard this, he suddenly had a sense of enlightenment, he had also seen how the three kings of the Southern Ming Dynasty drove the people, and Deng Ming was probably afraid that he would lose control and become a tyrant.

"Indeed, a reason." Deng Ming felt that if he did not carry out post-war psychological recovery in the future, it was very likely that he would use the concept of leading troops against his own people, and those with different opinions would be killed as deserters. With a wave of his hand, he launched various production campaigns, not caring how many people were used as cannon fodder - while he was still sober, Deng Ming first set up the framework of this council, and then led the army to gradually get used to obeying it. Otherwise, in the future, it is difficult to say whether he will be willing to use the council to limit himself.

"Therefore, I am not willing to hide my work, and I will not deliberately maintain a good reputation," Deng Ming said to Chen Zuocai, "I will always remind myself to share my true thoughts with the academy." You are in the rear, basically living in a peaceful environment, even if I don't realize that I have gone crazy, but you can definitely see that Chen Xijiu should make the colleagues in Sichuan understand that if the soldiers have been in office for too long and their minds are not normal, it is also a sacrifice for the country, and they should be treated well, so that the soldiers can recover. ”

Chen Zuocai stared at Deng Ming carefully for a long time, and asked solemnly: "Can you take the liberty of asking the Duke of Guo, can the Duke of Guo's ambition after expelling the Tartars?" ”

"My ambition?" Deng Ming laughed: "I hope that after the expulsion of the Tartars, the parliament will be full of parliamentarians from all over the country, and they represent the people of the whole world......" Speaking of this, Deng Ming suddenly stopped, he wanted to say that he hoped that the parliamentarians would give him a standing ovation when he entered the door, and when he went out, the speaker would say "We represent all the people, thank you for your many years of service to the country", but this ambition is too big, Deng Ming felt that Chen Zuocai must not understand, and he chatted with great interest today, and almost accidentally confided it.

"Guogong's mind has always been unpredictable." Chen Zuocai waited for a while, and seeing that Deng Ming had no intention of continuing, he nodded and promised: "Since Guogong has thought it through, then the old man will try his best to help." ”

……

Beijing.

Jiang Guozhu sent a report not long ago, saying that the Wailing Temple case and the sales case he was responsible for had improved, and the chief culprit in the Wailing Temple case, Jin Shengsi, and others had absconded in fear of crime, and after there was no leader, Jiang Guozhu personally instructed the local officials to use means to divide and disintegrate the peripheral personnel involved in the case -- these people who did not abscond were still illusions about the Qing court, so they stayed. Chiang's plan was to "provoke the gentry to fight each other," suggesting that those who were hoping for the Qing court's leniency were no longer going to pursue the matter, but that one or two scapegoats were needed for the sake of the government's prestige, and then the others would be pardoned.

As for the specific candidates, Jiang Guozhu did not designate them, but let the gentry decide for themselves. He also came up with a high-sounding reason, saying that the government acquiesced to the responsibility left by the person who took the blame, in other words, everyone was responsible for taking care of the family of the person who took the blame and pooled money to make up for the loss of the person's house being raided.

As Jiang Guozhu expected, in order to deal with the crime, the already not very united gentry alliance immediately cracked, and they were able to form this alliance before because of the example of northern Zhejiang; However, when Jiang Guozhu made it clear that the government had no special target, these gentlemen began to hold running competitions again - but Jiang Guozhu was not a Deng name, and he did not intend to eat only the last place.

After reporting and framing each other, Jiang Guozhu arrested several of the gentry and then demanded that the rest of them follow the initial agreement, and let them take care of the arrested people's families in partnership. During this period, Jiang Guozhu secretly told a group of them that they were not on the government's strict list, and even if no one convicted them, they would be fined at most.

Jiang Guozhu estimated that after hearing this, these people would definitely feel that they were actually not a big deal, and it was very unfair to share the burden of the sinners, and after these people made trouble about this matter again, Jiang Guozhu distributed the letters that they had framed each other and informed, and it was estimated that the gentlemen on the blacklist would completely turn against each other - Jiang Guozhu planned to arrest these rich families in three to four batches, confiscate their property, and then sell them to the people of Sichuan. As for the proceeds of the seizure, Chiang Guozhu planned to send 10% to Beijing, use 30% to buy bonds in Sichuan, and use the rest to raise troops.

In his report to Beijing, Jiang Guozhu boasted of his loyalty and ability, patted his chest and promised that he would be able to transport at least one million taels of silver to Beijing.

Gently placing Jiang Guozhu's recital on the table, Sonny pondered for a while, and said to Ao Bai and Suke Saha: "Now that Jiangnan is so chaotic, it comes down to Deng Ming. ”

"Exactly." Ao Bai and Sukh Saha replied in unison, and then looked at Sony together with expectant faces.

Not long ago, Prince Kang Jieshu put on another note, thinking that after getting Caoyin, the Qing court could move westward, enter Shaanxi through Tongguan, and concentrate the elite green battalions in Henan, Shanxi and other places in Baoning and Chongqing, plus the elite Hexi soldiers, and fight to the death with Deng Ming again.

Jieshu was obviously reluctant to return to Beijing in disgrace, and both he and Ji Bilong were quite unconvinced by Huai'an's defeat, believing that if it were not for the dense water network, the fluctuating hearts of the people in Jiangnan, the unfavorable investigation, and the repeated urging of the imperial court, they would not have suffered a setback. Starting from Baoning and Chongqing, as long as the grain and straw are well prepared, and the auxiliaries and livestock are enough, they can attack Chengdu by land.

As long as Chengdu is captured, all the turmoil and unrest will naturally be solved, even if he fights with Deng Ming, it can also prevent him from continuing to use the advantages of the naval division to harass Huguang, Liangjiang, Zhejiang, and Shandong endlessly-rather than letting the officers and soldiers be exhausted in such a large area and fortify everywhere, it is better to concentrate manpower and material resources to level Sichuan.

This plan is also shared by Ao Bai and Sukh Saha. As a general who has been to Sichuan, Ao Bai said that he believes that it is completely feasible to attack Xichuan by taking the road of Hanzhong. Although there are no people on the road, it is true that a large number of people and animals can solve the transportation problem; The Qing court also had some confidence in land warfare, and the morale of the army in the north was not bad. For example, Zhao Liangdong in Hexi has repeatedly shouted that he has the confidence to wipe out Deng Ming in one fell swoop - after Deng Ming burned Hong Chengchou to death, attacked and killed Hu Quancai, and captured Lang Tingzuo alive, there are few people who dare to shout like this; And after the battles of Gaoyou Lake, Zhejiang and Shandong, good men like Zhao Liangdong are even rarer, if they go to Chengdu, a fierce general like Zhao Liangdong must be brought, and his good partners Daniel Zhang and Wang Jinbao needless to say must also go together.

Only Sony is still worried that such a large-scale mobilization will put the Qing court in danger of being stripped of its own funds.

If you can do it once and for all, of course, it will be worth the amount of money, and you can make up for the loss with ivory and jadeite - didn't Gao Mingzhan say that Tibet is full of elephants with tusks and jadeite used as doormats?

But if the war is unfavorable, what should the Qing court do?

"If we had made that decision a few years ago, we wouldn't have to sit here now." Seeing that Sonny had no follow-up again, Ao Bai anxiously persuaded: "If we are reluctant to spend this money now and can't make up this decision, then in a few years, Deng Ming's range of circulation will only become larger, and the burden on the court will be heavier. ”