"… From the early years when the news paper was opened to the public, to us entering Chengdu, especially after the establishment of the People's Government last year, the newspaper industry in Chengdu can be said to be prosperous. Until today, we have counted all kinds of newspapers here — including the private circulation of tabloids, there are more than 250 kinds in Chengdu alone."
"This is the prosperity caused by the opening up last year, but until now, it has actually caused a lot of chaos. Some foreign scholars are rich and overbearing. When they write articles, they can't be published in the big newspapers, so they just create a small newspaper and publish it. Some newspapers are deliberately going against us. They publish their articles without any investigation. It looks like they are recording the truth, but in fact, they are just making things up in order to discredit us. We have banned a few such newspapers, but there are still some … "
"There are also those that don't seem to be going against people, but are just messing around. For example, 'Tiandu Daily'. The name looks very legitimate, but many people privately say that it's just a fake newspaper. Supernatural legends, gossip, and all sorts of made-up news. Every issue of the newspaper looks like it's the truth, but you don't know which one to believe. When the truth and falsehood are mixed together, the truth becomes falsehood … "
"So, these things need to be reorganized, but we need to have a good reason. First of all, we need a more detailed set of regulations to regulate these things. It is not that we are not allowed to write about the supernatural, but you have to mark it clearly in advance, and not mislead others. Describing things and expressing opinions need to be clearly distinguished, and can't be completely mixed up. The formulation of this set of regulations is what we will discuss next. We will try to sort out its first draft within this half a month … "
The next morning, the meeting of the Publicity Department was held. The meeting occupied a conference room on the second floor of the newly built conference building. The meeting place was bright and clean. Through the glass window on one side, they could see the green and yellow tree leaves on the canopy outside the window. The rain accumulated on the leaves and slowly dripped from the tips of the leaves.
This was the most important meeting of the Publicity Department in August. Yong Jinnian presided over it, and Shishi took notes at the side.
"… Regarding this matter, we have already published a document last month, so we have collected a lot of opinions, and we have filed them one by one here." As Yong Jinnian spoke, he stretched out his hand and patted the uniformly printed archived booklets on the side, and the hands of each of the participants below had already placed these booklets.
"… So, what we need to do next is to grind our teeth. Every day, we'll work overtime for half a day to hold meetings. We'll discuss each point one by one and express our own opinions. After we're done, we'll summarize and discuss again. During this process, if anyone has any new ideas, feel free to voice them out at any time. In short, this will be the basis for us to manage the newspaper for many years to come. Everyone, pay attention to it and do your best. "
"Alright, let's move on to the most important point, the first point …"
The water droplets spread down the bright window in a zigzagging path. Sometimes they converged with other water droplets, walking a few steps faster, and sometimes they stopped somewhere on the glass, refusing to drip down. In the conference room, not many people were in the mood to pay attention to this interesting scene.
The newly built conference building had a total of five floors. At this moment, many people had gathered in the conference rooms. Most of these meetings were dull and uninteresting, but the participants still had to do their best to participate and understand everything in between. They were currently weaving some crucial events that could affect the southwest and even the entire world.
If the disturbance of all things in the world was a storm, then this place was one of the cores of the storm. And for many years to come, it was very likely to be the largest one.
The autumn rain stopped for a short while.
On the street not far away, the horse carriages were still rattling along. They stopped by the side of the platform, and the people in the large carriages came out in a single file. The people going forward and backward, left and right mingled in the square outside. Indistinctly, after the rain stopped, the cries of children could be heard coming from the trees.
The first meeting lasted for the entire morning. After lunch, the core members of the meeting, including Yong Jinnian and Li Shishi, conducted another round of closed-door summarization to sort out the direction and framework of the discussion for the next half a month.
After the meeting, Yong Jinnian and Shishi laughed and talked about Yong Jinrou's pregnancy.
"… A few days ago, Qu Qing came over and sent the summary of the self-examination in Zhang Village. After the meeting, the chairman … Oh, he couldn't wait to send Qu Qing back immediately. He told him a lot of women's experiences after pregnancy. He said that Rourou is not young anymore and should pay attention to this and that. Qu Qing was originally a rough man, but he was also shocked. He ran to the military medical center and asked the midwives who knew how to deliver babies one by one. The midwives were very carefree and said that as long as she was in good health, nothing could happen to her. The women of the Huaxia Army are not rich young ladies who usually don't go out … Qu Qing didn't know who to believe, so he bought a bunch of supplements and went back. In fact, Rourou's body was not good in the past, but after so many years in the Huaxia Army, she has already been trained. Now that she is attending classes in Zhang Village, all the teachers are watching her. What can happen to her? "
Shishi also laughed. "He is a man. What does he know about women? He is just worrying for nothing."
"The chairman is also concerned about people. But on this matter, he is a little too careful. "
Shishi said, "Mrs. Jin 'er did not have a child before."
"Yes." Yong Jinnian nodded. "A heartless man may not necessarily be a real hero. How can a man not love his son? This is right."
The two of them chatted for a while at this time and left the conference building. Then, they separated and walked in different directions. Shishi walked along the road with big trees on both sides and not many people to the west. She passed through a gate and walked past a pond with a simple garden. It was a courtyard hidden in the forest. Under the eaves, there were shadows passing by. In the rooms in the courtyard, there were different secretaries who were handing over to outsiders or sorting out documents. This was the most central point in the center of the storm.
At this time in the afternoon, as long as there were no emergencies, Ning Yi was usually not too busy. When Shishi walked over, he was sitting on a chair under the eaves. He was holding a cup of tea and was in a daze. On the tea table next to him, there was a simple map and a pen and paper for writing and drawing.
"Is the meeting over?" He did not turn his head to look at her, but Ning Yi looked forward and said with a smile.
"What are you up to this time?" Shishi smiled and put today's meeting record on the table. There was no extra meaning in her words because there were a lot of people coming and going in this office. There was no room for personal matters. The two of them occasionally met here, but it was limited to reporting work or chatting.
"I'm thinking about how to write an article to scold Jia Ding, who has been going against me in the newspaper recently … Oh, he has a lot of dirt on him, but it's a pity that I can't expose it." Ning Yi tilted his head and showed an "I want to make trouble" smile. Shishi was already familiar with this side of him in private.
"Don't mess around. We are in a meeting here. Be careful that we come up with a clause to arrest all you anonymous writers."
"Don't scare me. I've talked with Teacher Yong. What's there to ban pen names? " As the real mastermind behind the scenes, Ning Yi rolled his eyes and was very smug. Shishi could not help but laugh.
At this time, the intermittent autumn rain had stopped for a long time. Looking out from the eaves of the house where Ning Yi was sitting, he could see that not far away, between the trees, the sunlight shone on the pond, forming a golden rainbow. The two of them sat and watched for a while. Ning Yi poured her tea, and Shishi held the teacup.
"Two days ago, Hou Yuanyong said that Brother Yu would come looking for me. He did come yesterday," she said.
"Did something interesting happen?"
"Something happened with Yan Daolun …"
Shishi sat sideways and calmly talked about the matters regarding Yan Daolun and Yu Ho-chung. Ning Yi listened and raised his eyebrows. "It's not a big deal whether we can control Yan Daolun or not. But if we can, of course, it's good."
"Liu Guangshi is at war. We delayed the shipment for so long. Will there be any problems?"
Ning Yi turned to look at her. "What do you think?"
"Of course, the first thought is that you don't want Liu Guangshi to win easily. The longer they fight, the more money we make."
Ning Yi smiled. After a while, he shook his head. "If that's the case, of course it's great. But Liu Guangshi has already shipped a lot of military supplies. To be honest, even if we don't give him anything, it's enough to support him until next year. After all, he's rich and willing to throw caution to the wind. This time, the northern expedition to Bianliang is quite well-prepared. So it's not a big problem to delay it for a month or two. Liu Guangshi won't go crazy because of this. "
"… If it's not this reason, then it's another one …"
Shishi said this in a low voice. She did not point out the speculation in her heart because it might involve many additional things, including a lot of confidential work in the intelligence department. Ning Yi could hear the caution in her tone, but he shook his head and smiled.
"It's not a big secret. The preliminary deduction of the General Staff Department itself included this speculation."
He held the teacup, looked at the pond in front of him, and said, "In the so-called chaotic world, the world collapses, heroes rise, dragons and snakes rise. In the beginning, the snakes, insects, rats, and ants all have to come on stage to perform for a while. But some of them are really capable, some of them adapt to the situation, and some of them are purely lucky and rise to fame. This is the same as the chaos when the Central Plains fell."
"But then, the snakes, insects, rats, and ants will start to bite in the Gu Gu. Whether it's a mule or a horse, it will be revealed. At this time, the rules and ways of playing in the chaotic world will really come out to dominate everything. Political power comes from the barrel of a gun. Whoever is a coward, who looks fat but is weak inside, will be filtered out one after another. This filtering has already begun. "
At this point, he took a sip of tea. Shishi nodded. She recalled what Yu Hezhong had said last night. Pushing the blame onto others, trying to earn money … In fact, she had already seen all of this.
"Actually, yesterday, I asked Brother Yu if he should move sister-in-law and the child to Chengdu."
"You see, even without the support of intelligence, you also felt this possibility." Ning Yi smiled and said, "And his answer?"
"He … can't bear to leave his two confidantes here. He said the past year was the happiest period of his life …" Shishi looked at Ning Yi and said helplessly.
Ning Yi nodded. "As long as nothing big happens, he will still have a good life. But once Liu Guangshi is out, he may not have such a good life now."
"He has money, and he has invested it in building factories and workshops. In addition, he has used his connections with Yan Daolun and the others to bring people in from outside."
Ning Yi took a sip of tea. "That's quite smart …"
"He is in cahoots with Li Rulai …"
"Ahem, ahem, ahem …" Ning Yi put the teacup aside and coughed a few times. He pressed his forehead and didn't know whether to laugh or scold. Then he said, "This … this … forget it. You can persuade him to do things with a conscience when doing business. He can't make all the money … and maybe nothing big will happen …"
"Yesterday, he told me that if Liu Guangshi succeeds, Yan Daolun will give me a gift as thanks. He also said that he will help me invest in Li Rulai's business. I'm wondering if it's possible to make a record first. Once something happens to Li Rulai, I can transfer the money to him. Anyway, the money can be used to buy a lesson for him. "
Ning Yi thought for a moment and shook his head.
"It's better not to. Once things involve people at your level, the truth can't be explained clearly. When the time comes, you will put yourself in and pull him out. You will have done your duty, but who will believe you? If the situation is different, in order to protect you, you will have to kill him … Of course, I don't mean this matter. It should be suppressed, but … why? "
Shi Shi nodded. "Then I'll think of another way."
"Okay."
The two of them sat quietly for a while. Shi Shi said, "… Do you really think Liu Guangshi will lose? That is to say, he delayed it for one or two months just to avoid paying one or two debts? I thought it was a bigger strategy … "
"Two debts are a lot. It's already a big strategy." Ning Yi said with a smile, "As for Liu Guangshi, of course, there is no conclusive evidence. But according to the information from the front line, although Zou Xu has rebelled, he is still very strict with the discipline of his troops. The two big landlords, Chen Shiquan and Yin Zong, have almost been emptied by him. They are gambling with everything they have. His troops have the fighting power. After Liu Guangshi crossed the river, several small victories gradually turned into big victories. We think Zou Xu is holding back … "
"Private conflicts are one thing, but Zou Xu is a man who has the ability to make big strategies. From the first confrontation, he must be seeking a complete victory. Now we are too far away from Bianliang. It is impossible to predict where he will win. But if it is not a speculation, 90% of the people in the General Staff who know him will bet on him to win. "
Ning Yi turned his head. "So now we don't know how he will win, but I think he will win."
"… Then can't we intervene and let them fight for a while longer?"
"The distance is too far. We tried to help Liu Guangshi in the beginning, to make up for some of his shortcomings. But look at Yan Daolun and the others, it is clear … On a real strategic level, Liu Guangshi is a fat man, but he is full of flaws. We can't fill up so many flaws, and Zou Xu only needs to punch one of them to kill him. We also don't have the ability to help him predict which flaw he will hit. So in the early stage of the transaction, I have been emphasizing speeding up the transaction. You guys should hurry up and transport the goods over, pay up quickly. Now … let's drag it out for two months. If he is lucky enough to survive, we can continue the transaction. Anyway, this incident was caused by their people. "
Ning Yi paused for a moment. "That's why he's a useless teammate. In the next batch, not to mention the small warlords who don't understand, once Wu Qimei, Tie Yan, and Liu Guangshi fight for real, they will most likely be eliminated in the first round. I think if He Wen can still stand after the Martial Arts Competition in Jiangning, Wu Qimei and Tie Yan will be in trouble. "
As he said this, he tapped his finger on the small map on the tea table. Shi Shi looked down and saw that there were indeed a lot of symbols on the small map, probably representing a certain group of forces. They were all arranged around Jiangning. Ning Yi did not even mark more things in the direction of Bianliang than in Jiangning.
"So you are thinking about this place." She smiled. "Jiangning is so lively, and it's the Martial Arts Competition. I heard that Fatty Lin is also going. You actually want to join in the fun, right?"
Ning Yi sighed. "I was just thinking about it out of boredom."
"How many years has it been since I went back? I don't know what it's like now."
"It has been massacred a few times. I don't think it's the same as before." Ning Yi looked at the map. "But someone is helping me … I think they are almost there …"
His words were gentle, and Shi Shi only thought that he was talking about the rumored task force sent to Jiangning. At this time, he was talking to Ning Yi about his memories there. Then, the two stood under the eaves and chatted for a while.
It was a quiet courtyard on an autumn afternoon. People came and went nearby, and their voices were calm. But Shi Shi knew what kind of news would appear here. At this time in August, the Seventh Army was undergoing a rectification from top to bottom. The conspiracy against Liu Guangshi was being carried out. The Ministry of Education in and out of the city was promoting "good learning". All the departments, big and small, and countless jobs of the same level would be extended here.
And including the Publicity Department, the major conference that would affect the development of the newspaper industry in the next few years or even decades, because it had just begun, it was not even enough to be the material for an official report.
The center of the eye of the storm was always calm. Sometimes, they would talk about trivial things. The sun shone down, and the fish in the small pond would spit out a bubble. And only in places that were really far away from here, at the scale of tens, hundreds, or thousands of miles, would the true destructive power of the hurricane erupt. There, the sound of cannons roared, swords and spears danced, and blood flowed into a red fertile field. People were ready to go, ready to fight.
That was the scene that was already blooming north of the Yangtze River. Next, this huge storm would also come to the long-awaited …
The ancient city of Jiangning.
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