Li Sixing was shocked and said: "How can this be, looking at the performance of these people on weekdays, they are all loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty, especially He Jiuyi, but he has always been loyal to the Ming Dynasty, how could he suddenly think of surrendering to the Qing court?" Li Dingguo said: "What's so strange about this, when he left Kunming, He Jiuyi's family was scattered in Kunming, and the Qing army threatened him with his family, so that there can be someone who is unswerving to the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Li Sixing has never known about these things, but now after listening to Li Dingguo's words, he instantly realized that there were no people with the same heart in the army. Thinking of Qi Sansheng and others, he said: "But there is also Le Tongwu, Wu Sansheng and Qi Sansheng and others are loyal to the Ming Dynasty." ”

Li Dingguo said: "Is only loyalty useful?" Just a few people who are loyal to the Ming Dynasty are just a drop in the bucket for people in the world. Do we use these few people to fight against the people of the world, how much hope do you think we have? Li Sixing said dissatisfiedly: "Father, you are too underestimated, didn't Emperor Taizu rely on a few people to lay down the world and lay the foundation for the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Li Dingguo smiled: "Yes, so he is Emperor Taizu, and your father doesn't have that ability." Even the war does not have that ability, and the Shangqing army is now constantly defeated. If Pingyu Hou can really recover the Ming Dynasty, what can I not let go of the affairs of one person? ”

Li Sixing didn't expect Li Dingguo to have the intention of retreating, and suddenly said urgently: "Father, you are ......." Li Dingguo said: "Don't worry, your father has not yet reached the time when he wants to go into hiding, the court has not yet stabilized, the Ming Dynasty has not yet recovered, and your father cannot let go of other soldiers." ”

Hearing Li Dingguo say this, Li Sixing was also relieved. Li Dingguo continued: "Judging from the treatment of soldiers by the Restoration Army today, the Restoration Army has been asking soldiers to pay attention to themselves as a group, not a person. So I don't think it's possible for us to be independent of the Restoration Army. If we insist on not reorganizing, it is estimated that Pingyuhou will not give us a chance at all. When the time comes, they may use drastic measures, and they would rather forcibly reorganize than agree to let us exist alone. I guess even the white pole soldiers will be reorganized in the end, it's only a matter of time. ”

Li Sixing said: "I don't think there's anything special about what the Restoration Army did today, it's just to put on a show in front of us, so that we don't think they will be harsh on us." Li Dingguo glanced at Li Sixing and said with some disappointment: "You, you don't see the essence of things at all, this is something to do." ”

Li Sixing said: "Father, is there anything else to say here?" Li Dingguo said: "Of course there is, do you think, if we have a soldier who has made a mistake before, who will be punished?" Li Sixing said: "Needless to say, of course, it is to punish soldiers who make mistakes." ”

Li Dingguo said: "Yes, if it is serious, at most he will punish his superior generals, and he will be punished for people of the same small banner, or people of the same general banner, or even people from the same hundred households and the same battalion." There will be no punishment at all, and there will be no sense of community at all. Everyone thinks that as long as they don't make mistakes, they will be fine, but when there are more people who make mistakes, and the fact that the law is not held accountable, there will be more people who make mistakes. ”

Li Sixing said: "What does this have to do with punishing people with the same small flag?" Those who are going to make mistakes are not the same. Li Dingguo said: "Of course it's different, everyone is punished at the same time, if someone wants to make a mistake, others are worried about being punished, and they will definitely stop it." If he had been dissuaded, naturally nothing wrong would have happened. If it is not stopped, the matter may also become bigger, so that it can be detected early and remedied in time. What's more, other people are still watching, and this is much smoother for management in the army. ”

Regarding Li Dingguo's statement, Li Sixing always felt that it was nothing. Seeing that Li Sixing still didn't understand, Li Dingguo had no choice but to say: "I believe that in the Restoration Army, it is not just punishment. There should be a corresponding reward, so that if something happens, everyone thinks about how to do it well, so that a team, or everyone, can be rewarded. Regardless of whether they contribute or not, as long as they belong to a group, they will not hinder each other. ”

Only then did Li Sixing understand and said: "So that's the case, that is to say, in this Restoration Army, everyone wants to contribute." Instead of as you said before, my father, everyone thinks about how to preserve their strength, and when they have merit, everyone restricts each other and demolishes each other. ”

Li Dingguo said: "You finally understand, for our Ming Dynasty, now is the time to decline." Let everyone try their best to come up with ideas, ideas, and let everyone participate, so that the greatest potential can resist the Qing. This is the most beneficial thing to fight against the Qing Dynasty, and it is also the most popular thing. You think, even if the Qing army has an army of hundreds of thousands, there are only a dozen people who come up with ideas and plans. Besides, a battalion of troops, the only ones who can make a big contribution are the dozen or so people around the main general, and there will be no more than 100 people. The others are just blind followers, a little better than the people. But what about the Restoration Army? They are all thinking about how to contribute, how to defeat the enemy. This is the reason why the Shangqing army is invincible. ”

Li Sixing said: "Even so, what does this mean? Li Dingguo said: "Doesn't this mean anything?" At a time when the situation in our Ming Dynasty is critical, we, the generals, and the ministers of the imperial court are still pretending to be orthodox. I always think that the Manchus are nothing more than barbarians, and there is nothing to worry about, in the final analysis, we are still underestimating the enemy. ”

Li Dingguo saw that Li Sixing did not understand, so he explained: "This kind of light enemy is not a light enemy on the surface, but a light enemy in the bones. However, we do not see that the Manchu Qing Dynasty has occupied most of the Ming Dynasty, and many literati have begun to approach the Qing court. They are already recognizing the Qing court, so that we have become a corner of the enemy, and we still want to change the situation by winning a few battles. What about the Qing court? Those scholars recognized the Qing court, and they would give advice to the Qing court. Our overall situation is that the scholars of the Qing court are dealing with our civil servants and military generals. Can we go undefeated? ”

Only then did Li Sixing understand: "There is still money and materials, the Qing court occupies the world, and it can be endless, but we don't have much." On the contrary, we can't let go of the orthodox shelf in the world, and still for the sake of decency, you fight for me, so that the court, which is already at a disadvantage, will continue to suffer from internal friction. ”

Li Dingguo approvingly: "Yes, but it's different on the side of Pingyuhou." The big aspect is that the Qing army entered Yunnan and Guizhou in a big way, and the Sichuan army was empty, and the Pingyu Marquis took advantage of its unpreparedness to quickly seize Sichuan. He also rectified Kuidong's army, so that he had no internal friction in Sichuan at all. The people of the Restoration Army are all ordinary people, surrendering troops, and recruiting recruits, these people do not have the burden of the imperial court, and they will not be intrigued. What's more, after the Restoration Army and the Kuidong Army were rectified, they ordered one door, and there would be no mutual restraint at all. ”

Li Sixing also understood at this time, and said: "There are no external troubles, let alone internal worries, everyone works together, which makes the Restoration Army have almost no opponents to speak of." Li Dingguo said: "Yes, not to mention that Ping Yuhou also seized the time when the Qing army's troops were scattered and all parties reported the military situation, and the Qing army was caught off guard. ”

Li Dingguo said more and more energetically: "It is precisely because of these points that the Marquis of Pingyu has grasped these points that the army can grow rapidly. He let the people of the Restoration Army integrate together, and everyone worked together to do things. For the Qing army, the Restoration Army has formed a local advantage, and the so-called brainstorming is naturally faster than the Qing army. In this way, it also made up for the shortcomings of the Restoration Army's lack of combat experience. ”

Although Li Dingguo's analysis was very thorough, Li Sixing also understood that the best thing now is to let go of everything and join forces with the Restoration Army in order to complete the great cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty to the greatest extent. But Li Sixing didn't think about this, and said, "But is my father really willing to let go of all this?" Is my father willing, and are the other generals willing? I also inquired, in the Restoration Army, the generals of Kuidong are headed by Linguo Gong, and the generals are still scattered, and there is no force at all, but there are signs of grouping. If my father gives up, we, the generals from the Great Western Army, will not even have anyone to talk to. ”

Li Dingguo looked at his son, sighed and said, "You are forcing me to engage in party fighting." Li Sixing said: "This is not a party dispute, we are just trying to protect ourselves." If it really came to the day of exclusion, would my father really want to look at us and be cornered? ”

Li Dingguo shouted at Li Sixing: "What are you talking about? As soon as you saw a little hope, you began to form a party, is this going to ruin the hope of the Ming Dynasty? ”

Li Sixing saw that Li Dingguo was angry, so he had no choice but to stop persuading, turned around and left. Li Dingguo watched Li Sixing leave, and he didn't feel good in his heart, things above the court are also changing rapidly, and they don't have to be easy to come from the battlefield at all. I don't know if my choice is right, and what kind of results will it bring to these generals who follow me in the future.

After two days off, it was the end of the first month. Although Hao Yongzhong did not come to urge Li Dingguo, Li Dingguo knew that the military rations of the Restoration Army had begun to run out. So Li Dingguo announced that he would return to Kunming with the army and his family.

This way back to Kunming, Li Dingguo and everyone were not in a hurry, and the road from Jingdong to Chuxiong Mansion was not easy to walk, so he walked slowly for ten days. When Li Dingguo led the army to see the city of Kunming, countless people were crying. No one thought that they were evacuated from Kunming in a hurry, and now they can return to Kunming.

Li Dingguo looked at Kunming City and was also full of emotion, and said: "When I left Kunming, the people followed all the way, and after several wars, there are not one out of ten people who can return to Kunming now." The civil and military ministers of the imperial court are now also going their separate ways, and I don't know how many people I can see again. ”

The other generals in the same company were also embarrassed, and Bai Wenxuan said: "King Jin doesn't have to be sad, as long as we are alive, we will recover the Ming Dynasty in the future, and their sacrifice will be worth it." Although He Jiuyi and others on the side also felt a little emotional, they were also very happy in their hearts, and now they can return to Kunming, which is already very good for them, and this Kunming is now also the world of the Ming Dynasty, and there is no persecution from the Qing army.

Seeing everyone's persuasion, Li Dingguo was no longer sad, and said: "Yes, compared to those who sacrificed their lives for the country, we are much luckier." As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a group of people in the city greet him, and everyone looked at it, but it was Zhang Zuochen and others sitting in Yunnan.

Li Dingguo and others also greeted each other, and when everyone met, it was inevitable that they would say goodbye to each other. was greeting Zhang Zuochen, and Li Dingguo saw a few familiar figures in the crowd. But it is the scattered bachelor Fu Gang, Zheng Fengyuan, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, Chen Qixiang of the Imperial History, and Jiang Zhilian, the director of the Literature and Anthology Department of the Ministry of Officials.