The propaganda conference lasted for the whole morning. The first half of the time was spent by Yong Jinnian, Chen Xiaoxia, Shishi, and a few other people in charge. The second half of the time was spent by Ning Yi.
The weight of the conference was actually very heavy. There were some important things that had been rumored and suspected. The direction of the conference was even clearer. The participants kept taking notes.
For a long time, the outline of the Huaxia army had been composed of several huge systems.
The cause and effect of these systems, if traced back, had to be pushed back to the beginning of the regicide.
After Ning Yi killed the king and rebelled, he used the training of the Green Wood Stronghold and the instigation of the Wu Rui Camp to form the initial framework of the Huaxia army. The military and political system was initially formed in Little Canghe. In addition to this system, there were two other systems that had been established a long time ago to support and coordinate with it.
The first was the business system, "Takeshi", which Ning Yi had gradually matured with the power of the Office of Secret Investigation and the Right Minister's Office. From the beginning of the rebellion, this system had already included various forces such as espionage, propaganda, diplomacy, and entertainment. Although it seemed to be just a combination of some restaurants, tea houses, and caravans, the internal operating rules had already been honed during the disaster relief incident back then.
The second was the Su family, which had always been managed by Su Tan'er. Although the Su family only had a small position in Jiangning at the beginning, after Ning Yi had moved to the capital, this system had developed once. Ning Yi's various industrial arrangements were initially carried out within the framework of the Su family. This included the papermaking with the Wang family, the manufacture of telescopes and hot air balloons, as well as a series of military prototypes such as assault rifles and artillery improvements.
The third system was the Ba Dao system that had been left behind in Miao Jiang. Although the two sides had interacted and learned from each other, and the Hua Xia army's advance to the south after the battle of Little Canghe had also been led by the Ba Dao army in Liang Mountain, this army had never undergone a relatively thorough reform of the Hua Xia military system. It had always been kept in the hands of Watermelon, Chen Fan, and the others. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they really couldn't find the time to carry out a more long-term modernization of it.
Among these three systems, the espionage, propaganda, diplomacy, entertainment, and military systems of the Huaxia army, although they also had a basic framework, their systems often overlapped with those of the Takeshi and the Su family.
In the past ten years, the Huaxia army had been in a relatively tense environment. After the transfer of Little Canghe, Ning Yi had carried out a "de-Ning of Ning Yi" anti-risk exercise. During this process, the entire system had never been completely integrated. Of course, because the Huaxia army had never had more than a million soldiers and civilians, the cooperation and operation between the Takeshi and the Su family and the Huaxia army had always been good.
But after swallowing the Chengdu plains and defeating the Jurchen Western Army, the number of people under their rule had suddenly increased. In the future, they might have to face even greater challenges. Integrating all these things into the highly unified system called "Huaxia" became something that had to be done.
After the war, the most urgent task was to deal with the aftermath. In the process of dealing with the aftermath, there were already signs of a major internal reorganization. Of course, the Huaxia army's territory had suddenly expanded, and there was a shortage of people in various positions. Even if there was a major reorganization, for those who were already used to working in the Huaxia army, it would only be based on merit and rewards. Everyone was excited about it, and very few people were afraid.
"… As for the future, the future is very bright for the time being. Our territory has expanded, and there are more people to manage and serve. In the future, all of you may be assigned to important positions … But don't forget, in the past ten years, we have only defeated the Jurchen Zhenren once — and that was just the first time. Mencius said that people are born from suffering and perish in ease. Next, our work is to deal with the enemies outside and those who have ulterior motives. At the same time, we sum up our previous experience. Those who have endured hardship, are disciplined, and are outstanding, we must do better. I will ruthlessly attack these people who are comfortable. "
In the curtain of rain, when Ning Yi finished his speech, his face was solemn and his eyes were extremely unfriendly. Although some people had heard that this was the norm for the past few days, they were still a little scared when they saw it on the scene.
"… Don't break the rules, don't be arrogant, and don't indulge in pleasure. We have said before that we should do this at any time and any place. But today, behind closed doors, I have to remind you that my heart will be particularly hard in the future. You are the leaders, and you may become the leaders. Once you make a mistake, I will punish you more severely! This may not be very reasonable, but you are usually the most reasonable people. You should all know that the breath after a big victory is the most important. The newly established discipline inspection committee will keep an eye on you. I have made psychological preparations to deal with a few people … I hope that no comrade will bump into me … "
After this meeting, it was close to lunchtime. Because of the heavy rain outside, the canteen was arranged in the courtyard next door. Ning Yi kept a dark face and did not participate in the lunch. Instead, he called Yong Jinnian, Shishi, and others to have a lunch meeting in the room next door. They were also discussing the following adjustment work. This time, he smiled a little, "I won't go out to eat with them. I want to scare them."
After the lunch meeting, Ning Yi left. After a while, someone came to call Li Shishi. She walked from the side door of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. In the drizzling rain was a row of long houses. In front of it was a small forest and an open space. There was a pavilion on the open space, facing the vast Maha Pond in the rain. The forest blocked prying eyes. There were two small boats floating on the surface of the lake. They were probably the guards. She walked along the eaves. There were all kinds of books, antiques, and other things displayed in the row of long houses. The room in the middle was made into an office study. The lights were on in the room, and Ning Yi was bending over the table to approve documents.
Shishi went in and sat on the guest chair at the side. There was tea and a plate of biscuits on the coffee table. Shishi sat and looked around. There were a few bookshelves at the back of the room, and the books on the shelves seemed to be expensive. After the Hua Xia army entered Chengdu, although they did not disturb the people, they still took over many places like this because of various reasons.
After sitting for a while, Ning Yi, who was approving a document, said, "The Illustrious Virtue Hall is suitable for meetings, so I asked someone to temporarily take over this place. Some suitable meetings can be held here, so I don't have to run around." He looked at Shishi and smiled. "The tea is for you, don't stand on ceremony."
Shishi turned and looked around. She smiled and said, "There's no one around."
"Before we went to Yan Bridge, we talked about those …" Ning Yi smiled and paused. "… I didn't dare to keep anyone."
Shishi closed her legs and pressed her hands on them. She looked at Ning Yi quietly and did not speak. Ning Yi looked at her for a while and put down the pen in his hand.
"Miss Shishi … how long have we known each other?"
"We've known each other since we were young."
"That doesn't count. I've forgotten everything in the past." Ning Yi looked up and recalled. "But it's been almost 20 years since we met again in Jiangning …"
"Spring of the ninth year of Jinghan," Shishi said. "It's been 19 years now."
"Yes, it's been 19 years, and many things have happened …" Ning Yi said, "I thought about the conversation before we went to Yan Bridge in detail. It was mainly because we won on the way to Hanzhong, and I unknowingly thought about many things … More than 10 years ago in Bianliang. You helped with the disaster relief and many things. Shishi, you … are very serious about many things. I can't help but … admire you …"
"Did Liheng do it?"
"Me …" Ning Yi smiled, choosing his words carefully. "… Sometimes, of course, I did."
Shishi looked at him, her eyes clear. "Men … when they are lustful, or when they want to take me in their room?"
Ning Yi laughed and looked at her. "Of course, there are times like that."
Shishi crossed her hands and did not speak. Ning Yi stopped smiling. "Later, I killed Zhou Zhe and kidnapped you. When we were in Little Canghe, we always quarreled, and you went to Dali. Twenty years have passed, and the situation has changed. We are now in a very complicated position. Shishi … We do have good feelings for each other, but there are many things that can't be handled like in the story … "
He weighed his words carefully. His mood and atmosphere were more or less a little oppressive. As both of them were of a certain age and held high positions, matters of the heart were no longer as simple as those of ordinary people. Ning Yi naturally had many considerations. Even for Shishi, she could muster up the courage to say those words before crossing the bridge, but when it came to reality, there were still many things that she had to consider.
Listening to Ning Yi's words, her eyes turned slightly red. She lowered her head, closed her eyes, and arched her body, as if she was in pain. The room was silent for a long time. Ning Yi clasped his hands and was about to say something guiltily. He was going to say something funny to let the matter pass, but he heard Shishi laugh.
"… You really don't know how to talk … At this time, there is no one, a man and a woman alone … Can't you do something …"
She said this with a tearful smile. She raised her head and looked at Ning Yi. Ning Yi spread his hands and looked around. "You can't say that. Look here … There is only a table."
Both of them laughed. After a while, Shishi tilted her head and straightened her body. She took a deep breath and said, "Liheng, let me ask you two things. Do you not like me? Do you think that I am old …"
"There's no such thing …" Ning Yi said.
"Then, do you think that I just want to marry into the Ning family and become a princess or something …"
Ning Yi shook his head. "Then you didn't have to quarrel with me back then …"
Shishi looked at him, and Ning Yi spread his hands. After a while, Shishi slowly said, "I wanted to leave Fanlou more than ten years ago. From the beginning, I wanted to marry you. I don't know if it was because you were a good husband or because you were outstanding and did things well. I misunderstood you many times … You were in charge of the Office of Secret Investigations in the capital and killed many people. There were also some vicious people who wanted to kill you. I didn't know if you were a hero or an ambitious person. During the disaster relief, I misunderstood you. Later, I thought that you were a rare hero … "
"… Later, you killed the emperor. I couldn't understand why you changed from a good person to a bad person … I ran to Dali and became a nun. After a few years, I heard that you were dead. I couldn't sit still anymore and wanted to find out what happened. At that time, I saw a lot of things and slowly began to recognize you. You changed from a bad person to a good person …"
"But good people and bad people can't be said to have feelings for each other." Ning Yi interrupted.
Shi Shi ignored him. "Indeed, more than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Looking back, I've been trying to see if you're a good person or a bad person for the past ten years … Perhaps I thought that I would only consider marrying you after confirming whether you're a good person or a bad person. It's funny now that I think about it. From the beginning, I wanted to find a husband, just like any other lucky prostitute who finally found a husband. If it's not you, it should be someone else. But in the end, almost twenty years have passed, and I only have eyes for you …"
She smiled coldly, a little sarcastic.
"… Almost twenty years … Slowly, slowly, slowly, I saw more and more things. I don't know why, but the matter of marriage always seemed very small. I couldn't care less about it. Slowly, you seemed … to have passed the age to talk about these things … Sometimes, I thought, indeed, let's just forget about it. In February, you suddenly mustered the courage to tell me. If you want to say that it was a spur of the moment, of course it was … I hesitated for so many years and finally said it. These few months, I was also very glad that it was a spur of the moment … "
Shishi was silent for a moment. She picked up a piece of biscuit and bit off a small corner. Then, she pinched the remaining biscuit in her hand and looked at her fingers. "Liheng, I feel that I'm getting old. I also … won't look good for another two or three years. The fate between us has gone round and round for so many years. What should have been missed has been missed. I can't tell who is at fault. If it was in the past, I can't seem to find a reason for us to be together. Would you have married me back then? I don't know … "
Her tears fell. "But now … Liheng, I've seen countless people die. Many people in the Huaxia Army and outside the Huaxia Army died at a young age with regrets. One day, you and I might have to die too. I've been watching you for almost twenty years. In the future, it might still be like this. Now that we're in this position, I don't want to worry about anything anymore … I don't want to have regrets when I die, when I'm really old … "
She was silent for a moment and shook her head. "I don't want to say anything else …"
Outside the room was still a curtain of rain. Shishi looked at the rain. Of course, she had more to say. But in the past twenty years of emotions, those realities didn't seem important. Ning Yi picked up the teacup and wanted to drink some tea. It seemed that the tea in the cup was gone. He put it down immediately. "After so many years, this is the first time I've seen you speak so fiercely …"
Shishi stood up and took the kettle to refill his tea.
Ning Yi sighed. "Such a big Huaxia Army. In the future, the executives will become a family. In fact, it's a bit troublesome. There's a Takeshi and a Su clan. Others will laugh at me for managing the harem. In the future, you'll be in charge of cultural propaganda … "
"You don't have to pity me. You think that I can't find anyone today. You don't want me to have regrets … It's not that regretful. If you don't like me, you don't have to comfort me."
"Who doesn't like Li Shishi …"
"Do you want to be together … Do you like her differently from others?"
"Yes."
"That's enough."
Shishi pushed the teacup to him, then walked behind him. She gently squeezed his shoulder and smiled. "I know what you're worried about. Today, if you marry me, there will be a hundred disadvantages and no advantages. I can do a lot of things. Today, I can't let go of it, so I can't go to your house to embroider. In fact, it's just in vain in front of Tan'Er, Yunzhu, Jin'Er, and Liu Shuai. But you, a person who is about to become an emperor, are still thinking about these things …"
"I hope you have a more ideal home …" Ning Yi raised his hand and held her right hand.
"Wasn't I originally choosing? As soon as I saw Liheng, I missed my whole life. "
Shishi laughed. She had written a lot of scripts recently. In the past, she also talked with Ning Yi a lot. Ning Yi was very strange. He always had strange "love" ideas in his mind. He often felt sorry for someone. Their relationship was also strange. In Liheng's eyes, it was inevitable that it was not perfect. More than ten years ago, if they were to talk about being together, there was always something missing between the two of them. Now, all kinds of emotions and even regrets were mixed together. Time passed quickly, and the reason for them to be together seemed to be gradually becoming more and more sufficient.
And for her, there was something more that seemed perfect to her. She wandered from place to place all her life. Although she was treated well by Li Yun, she lost all her family since she was a child. She got close to Yu Ho-chung and Chen Sifeng. Wasn't it because she wanted to grasp something "inherent" and find a symbolic port? She also hoped for perfection. Otherwise, why would she repeatedly examine Ning Yi for more than ten years? Fortunately, in the end, she was sure that she could only choose him. Although it was a little late, at least she was 100% sure.
The fear of rootless duckweed had actually accompanied her all year round. It was only after she had truly integrated into the Huaxia Army that it was slightly alleviated. Now, she was finally sure that one day in the future, she could truly go home with peace of mind — as the family of someone she truly acknowledged. As for other things, there was not much to be picky about …
As for these feelings, she did not want to tell Ning Yi for the time being. She planned to tell him one day in the future when she wanted to make him happy.
In order to temporarily relieve Ning Yi's conflicted emotions, she tried to hug him from behind. Because she had never done it before, her body was slightly trembling. She said wittily, "Actually … I've almost forgotten what I learned in Fanlou more than ten years ago …"
"You may not believe it, but I'm very good at those things." Ning Yi smiled and touched his nose. He looked a little regretful. "But today, there is only a table …"
…
Because there was only a table, and the two of them actually had a lot to communicate with, the two of them just chatted.
The rain became lighter, but it was still falling. The two of them opened an umbrella and went to the small pavilion in front. Shishi told Ning Yi about Qu Qing's story. Ning Yi sighed about Xu Shaoyuan's lost love. Then, Shishi talked about her meeting with Yu Ho-chung.
"… He Zhong's vision is ordinary, just like ten years ago. He can't achieve anything big, but he also can't do great evil … The person who came with him is called Yan Daolun. He is Liu Guangshi's strategist. This time, Liu Guangshi sent people as ambassadors, and Yan Daolun is secretly in charge. When he came to see me, he didn't use an alias. His intentions were very clear. Of course, I also said that the Huaxia Army is open for business and welcomes cooperation. After that, he should come again with a clear intention … "
They chatted for a long time in the pavilion under the curtain of rain. After all, Ning Yi still had a schedule, so they had to temporarily separate. The next day, they met here again and chatted for a long time. In between, they did something else. When they met for the third time, they found a place with more than just a table. Interacting with adults was always dry and boring, so there was no need to describe it for now …
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