While Chahan's attack on the Huaihe River was unfavorable, news of the Mongolian army's defeat in Xiangyang came, so Chahan led the army to flee north in a hurry. When his subordinate King Chilao was crossing the Huaihe River in the north, he was suddenly attacked by Du Gao's Shunchang garrison. Four hundred war horses and tens of thousands of other items were robbed. At night, the Mongolian army was attacked by the Song army at night. After King Chilao withdrew his troops to a safe place, he sent an envoy to ask Du Gao for the 500 horses and other robbed items that the Song army had robbed. Du Gao wrote and replied that if the Mongolian army returned all the Song Dynasty property and people they had looted in the Huaihe River, he would return the 500 horses, and the matter was dropped. At the same time, a rebellion broke out in Pizhou under the rule of the Mongolian army. The Song army went to rescue, but was defeated by the Mongolian defenders of Pizhou, and the rebellion was quelled. This is the general situation of the Mongolian activities in the Huaihe River this time. In general, the Mongolian army's attack on the Huaihe River this time, because they were unfamiliar with the terrain and customs, mostly only used traditional looting tactics and exploratory attacks, ravaging the countryside of the Huaihe River and testing the strength of the cities in various places. An offensive and defensive battle like Xiangyang took place. Qiu Yue, who guarded Zhenzhou, and Du Gao, who guarded Anfeng, both showed extraordinary talents. Zheng Yunming was convinced that his father, Mr. Du, was one of the few famous Southern Song generals in another dimension whose name he could remember. Today, it seemed that he was indeed well-deserved. As long as Du Gao guards Lianghuai and Zhao Kui and Meng Gong guard Jinghu, he will have enough time to manage the dilapidated political situation in Sichuan. He said to the young envoy: "I am aware of the situation in the Huaihe River. You can take a short rest while I write a letter to report to the Huaixi History System and Anfeng Du Zhijun respectively. By the way, I still don't know your name?" That young man He cupped his hands and said, "Young man Li Tingzhi, from Suizhou." Zheng Yunming subconsciously replied: "What are you doing running out so early? Didn't you wait decades later?" After the words were spoken, he felt that it was inappropriate and changed his words to cover up: "In addition to replying to the letter, I also want you to do one more thing. When you return, make a detour to Xiangyang and go to Yang Guan, the commander of the Tulong Army, to ask for a few things. One is to ask for a large-scale modified copper general. Drawings of this large copper general, it can shoot up to a thousand steps and is very effective in defending the city. You ask Yang Guan to select some of the best craftsmen to go with you to Huaidong to make the envoy. Second, go and ask for one. This brochure about burning blue and red bricks tells Duke Du that coal can be purchased in Pingxiang to consolidate all the cities in Lianghuai into brick walls as soon as possible. Third, I have asked for a brochure about the salt-drying method. I have called Bai from the Dutong Division. It is proposed to try the method of drying salt in Nanzhang County. The land of Huaiyang is the central market for salt in the country. If you go to Du Zhijun, Huaiyang will make profits with salt, connect the city with the wall to strengthen the foundation, and use firearms to help the battle, you will be as stable as Mount Tai. As for the upper reaches, it's all up to Zheng Yunming, he doesn't need to worry about it." Li Tingzhi said goodbye and went out. Zheng Yunming turned sideways and said to Wang Deng: "This boy is young and courageous. He will definitely be a pillar of the imperial court in the future. He will hold an official position. If there is an opportunity in the future, he can recruit him to our service." Wang Deng nodded in agreement and said: "The imperial court The newly appointed Sichuan Production Department officials have now arrived in Chongqing and are urging the governor to return to Chongqing to discuss matters." Before Zheng Yunming set out for Chengdu to fight, he received a notice from the imperial court. The imperial court was slow and cumbersome in peacetime, but it was always very efficient during wartime. Swift. The army to rescue Sichuan had just arrived, and the rewards and punishments for Sichuan officials had also arrived. Even Zheng Yunming was surprised by the severity of his punishment. Because of the disastrous defeat of the Sichuan war, Sichuan Xuanfu envoy Zhao Yanna, as the Sichuan commander-in-chief, could not escape the blame and was dismissed on the spot and sent to Hunan Road for custody in Hengzhou. He was succeeded by Li Zhi, a veteran minister who was nearly seventy years old, and the court ordered the young and powerful Hunan pacification envoy Yang Hui to go to Sichuan to assume the position of Sichuan envoy. As for Zheng Yunming, the governor of Quanzhou who led the army to Sichuan first, he was officially promoted to the governor of Lizhou, counselor of military affairs of the Sichuan Envoy Department, and governor of Jiading Prefecture. As for the former Jiading prefecture Zhang Yimu allowed him to retire and return to his hometown. Being able to retire and return home at this time is a reward from the imperial court. Zheng Yunming knew that the imperial court, or the person sitting on the dragon throne, had become somewhat dependent on him by allowing him to control the overall military and political situation on the front line. The emperor and the central government are actually a kind of community that is quite afraid of trouble. There are more than ten million reports sent to Lin'an every day, and there are more than ten million instructions issued from the political hall. If everything is carefully considered and analyzed in depth, then everyone can Even the most intelligent people in the world may not be able to support the operation of political affairs. What the imperial court most hopes to see is an all-round talent who is obedient, steady, and can handle things flawlessly. He does not need to complain to the imperial court about how difficult things are to handle, and how many local difficulties hinder the implementation of imperial decrees. He only needs to Do two things, report what is needed to the court, and then handle it to a result that satisfies the court. Zheng Yunming is such a satisfying talent. The court gave him money and food, and he was able to do it almost magically.He quickly formed an army, and the imperial court appointed him an official position, and he could guard wherever he was asked to guard. When he was in need, he never concealed his political achievements, but the achievements he reported were so dazzling and bright. Such talents, no matter which dynasty they are placed in, are the treasures that the court wants to obtain. So much so that Emperor Duanping, no, in order to avoid the bad luck of the Hu invaders during the Duanping Year, the reign name has now been changed to Jiaxi. This Emperor Jiaxi promoted Dongxiao Palace Zheng to his former prime minister. When the Prime Minister talked about his second son, he jokingly said: "I wish I could build an ancestral hall for Zheng Yunming in the palace. When there is trouble, I will send Dong Songchen to pay homage. It will definitely be better than putting up a few incense sticks in Lingyin Temple." It worked. "The emperor just told a few jokes to his close ministers, but Zheng Qingzhi was so frightened that he was sweating profusely. If these words were spread, some courtiers would definitely remonstrate and impeach the emperor for disrespecting his status. If he loses the way of a monarch and his ministers, the DPRK and China will unanimously regard Zheng Yunming as a future political opponent, which will lead to unreasonable jealousy. Fortunately, when the emperor told Zheng Qingzhi these jokes, only a few close friends were present. But the emperor was obviously very proud of having this useful chess piece in his opponent's hands, so much so that he blamed Zheng Yunming for everything on the Sichuan front line without thinking. Zheng Yunming had to deal with it carefully. Over the years, he had been successful in his official career. The emperor made it clear that he wanted to cultivate him, a talented official son, to fight against the increasingly large academic bureaucracy of scholars. In addition, the local chiefs were his father's old subordinates, so he could It is said that she has taken care of him all the way. He has always been a good man in Jinghu. There are many cases where he oversteps his authority or contradicts his superiors. All of this is done for the sake of the emperor and Zheng Qingzhi. Zhao Kui works in the middle to protect him. Otherwise, why would everyone in Jinghu obey his orders so much? Zheng Yunming knew this. But this time when I went to Shu alone, the situation was very different. Except for the tens of thousands of Jingxiang disciples he led, he himself had never served in Sichuan, and he had no old subordinates or officials to speak of. He was an out-and-out guest. The officialdom in central Sichuan has always been complicated. The interests of local powerful people and the interests of middle- and lower-level officials are intertwined. As long as an official is not careful, he may be conspired to play by middle- and lower-level officials, or stimulate local civil unrest, which is a very dangerous thing. In addition, there are many barbarians in Sichuan. There are Tubo tribes in the west and southwestern Yi tribes in the south. Even in the eastern Sichuan area, there are also a mixture of capable officials. The folk customs are strong and tyrannical. There are many conflicts with the Han people and the government on weekdays. It is better to deal with local affairs than in Xiangyang. It's much more complicated than that. Speaking of the boss¡¯s side, Zhao Yanna, the old enemy of his father Zheng Qingzhi, has completely lost his political future at this time, so there is nothing to worry about. However, the newly appointed Sichuan Xuanfu envoy Li Zhi has been in the officialdom for many years and never easily chooses sides. He is neither a Neo-Confucian school of integrity nor does he side with Shi Miyuan. His position is always unclear. From a certain perspective, It is said that what Zheng Yunming is afraid of is not people with clear positions, even if they are tit-for-tat opponents, because the behavior patterns of these people are easy to grasp and it is easy to formulate a set of response strategies. On the contrary, it is this kind of old fox in the officialdom who cannot capture a clear position and is the most troublesome. "To deal with such a troublesome old bureaucrat, one day of observation is not enough. Only after several years of contact and using various means to spy on him can we come to a generally passable judgment. ¡°Similarly, only by taking root in Sichuan¡¯s political situation and people¡¯s livelihood and analyzing it carefully can we grasp the inside story. What Zheng Yunming hopes most is to meet the new Sichuan commander-in-chief as soon as possible. Only by meeting Li Zhi in person can he start a first-hand study of him. Similarly, Ambassador Li Xuan, who was nearly seventy years old and had experienced many hardships and hardships, was also waiting for this new official to come and see him. At this time, both inside and outside Chongqing Mansion were as busy as a large construction site. There are more than two million refugees and migrants gathered in Chongqing and its nearby prefectures and counties. A large part of them have to go down the river to settle in sparsely populated prefectures and counties in Jinghu. The rest are assigned to the government After the rations and tools are distributed, they must immediately choose a place in eastern Sichuan to restart their lives. Five hundred thousand grains and rice from Hubei and Hunan are arriving one after another, and they must be distributed to the refugees in time. There is a call from the Central Government to intercept all the transportation from Sichuan and use it for the resettlement of refugees. However, the imperial court could not make up its mind. Instead, it issued a temporary edict, allowing Sichuan officials to intercept the public and private property of all officials who fled Sichuan along the river and use it to assist civilians. On the other hand, Peng Daya, the prefect of Chongqing, immediately began to renovate the city of Chongqing. Peng Daya worked vigorously and immediately opened dozens of brick kilns in Chongqing and nearby prefectures and counties. Fearing that there would be insufficient materials, he also opened many quarries. When stone can be used, use stone; when stone is not enough, use blue brick. The money sent by the imperial court was spent as soon as it came into his hands. When Zheng Yunming saw him, he jokingly said to him: "Now people outside are telling me that Prefect Peng spends money like water, and it won't be long before the imperial court Never again will any money be allocated to Sichuan.¡±