Compared with days like this, Li Yu prefers to wander in the market, watch all kinds of things in the world, and get more inspiration from it to write legendary stories one after another. Just like "Lian Xiang Companion" the year before last, just like last year's "Kite Wrong"

, just like the "Yi Zhong Yuan" he is writing now.

However, compared to the last time, this time, my hands were not as shaking as before, and even the torture I suffered during the half hour of waiting was much lessened. There is indeed something that I am gradually getting used to.

The factors are there, but more importantly, the war situation in Fujian and Guangdong is gradually improving for the Ming army, which makes him see more hope.

That string of numbers was running between Hangzhou and the Zhongzuo Institute. Without radios, we could only rely on manpower, which undoubtedly took more time.

In Fuzhou, Li Yu's nominal sponsor Feng Junrui stepped out of the gate of the Fujian Governor's Yamen. But there was absolutely no joy in his expression about being promoted from general to deputy general.

Returning to the mansion, Feng Junrui asked his servants to summon the man who was temporarily staying in the wing. The two of them entered the study one after another. Former General Feng and now Deputy General Feng only waited for the door to close before immediately dressing up for the common man.

The man nodded and bowed. The man also changed his low profile before closing the door and became arrogant. Especially after hearing Feng Junrui's answer, he raised his eyebrows and showed a displeased look on his face.

"Why is he the deputy general of Fuzhou City Guards?"

"General Cai, the last general is also very strange. Zhang Fujun, well, Zhang Xuesheng said that the deputy general of Xinghua City Guard is not going to change, and he thinks that the last general is obedient and will be convenient for him to do anything.

.”

Jin Li defeated Zhongcuo, and the Qing army's strength in Fujian further shrunk. If it weren't for the Ming army's losses, which were also heavy and occupied nearly two prefectures in one go, they urgently needed time to recover and digest. I'm afraid the Ming army would have to

The situation turned from defense to offense. Under such a situation, the Qing government mobilized troops from Zhejiang to assist defense, and at the same time mobilized troops from the north of the Yangtze River to enrich the Fujian Green Camp. Many official positions in the Green Camp were changing, so Zheng Chenggong offered money to let Cai Qiao

The purpose of handing it over to Feng Junrui was to let him buy a vacant post for the deputy general of Xinghua Prefecture City Guards for future use.

Feng Junrui did not dare not to take over the Zheng family's money, otherwise the Xiamen incident would come to light and he would be left with a dead end. To Zhang Xuesheng, he only said that he made a fortune from sea trade, plus many years of savings.

Maritime trade is the most normal gray income for civil servants and military officers along the coast. Not to mention Zhang Xuesheng, many civil and military officers along the coast of Fujian are like this, including Feng Junrui.

And the governor, in recent years, has been scratching his head all day long at the criticism and dissatisfaction from the Qing court, not only on military matters, but also on how the guy Chen Kai, who was killed by his "distancing tactics",

He is alive again, and he has repeatedly defeated the Qing army in Guangdong. This all requires him to explain. This time when he met Feng Junrui, he had money to show his filial piety, and he also offered money to promote him. The intention was to ask him to operate from it, so he accepted it without hesitation.

Making a deal is a good thing that benefits others and yourself.

At this moment, Feng Junrui finished speaking with a low eyebrow. Looking at this Ming army general who had promised him money to buy an official position for Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai, he did not even have the courage to take a peek at the change in his expression. Because

This Fujian city guard deputy general was his request. Secretly, he still didn't want to get involved prematurely in the battle between the Ming and Ming armies on the Fujian battlefield. At this moment, he was even more afraid that Cai Qiao would see some flaws.

"Let Fuzhou stay in Fuzhou. Do it well and it will always benefit you in the future."

"Thank you, General Cai, for your understanding. Thank you very much, General Cai, for your understanding. I hope General Cai can speak kindly to the general in front of Mr. Guo Xing and Mr. Chen. The general will be deeply grateful."

With that said, Feng Junrui took out a meeting ticket and stuffed it into Cai Qiao's hand. Cai Qiao didn't show too much concern about this. She gave some instructions and left on her own. She just opened the door.

He returned to the low-key tone he had just before, no longer as domineering as he was in the study room.

After leaving Fuzhou City and boarding the boat in Min'an Town, Cai Qiao returned directly to the Zhongzuo Institute. Over at the Zhongzuo Institute, the festive atmosphere of the New Year was still continuing, and Zheng Chenggong had also received the goods sent from Hangzhou.

Several confidential letters, including reports from Shanwu merchants, were handed over to Zheng Tai in advance, and there were also figures sent from Li Yu - the last time was also the first time he did such a thing.

Results.

"The news was not as fast as expected. It was probably a little late when we sent people there."

Zheng Chenggong handed over this matter to Cai Qiao because of his careful consideration and the experience of following Chen Kai, but more importantly, it was because Cai Qiao knew a lot of inside information about the matter.

Many of the people Chen Kai came into contact with along the way were anti-Qing people lurking in the Qing-occupied areas with different purposes. Even among them, there was Li Yu who was almost semi-forced.

"That person from Hangzhou, never asked who Chen Jinnan is?"

"No, the people sent to Hangzhou are all sophisticated and trustworthy. In order to ensure their loyalty, I even moved their parents, wives and children to the Zhongzuo Institute. There should be nothing hidden."

"That's good. I heard from Jingcheng that the man is a smart man and would not be so rash."

This is an extremely important chess piece. Chen Kai once mentioned that don't let him take the initiative to test. As long as he can follow the instructions and send what he heard to the contact, he doesn't need to worry about the rest. In this way

In the future, it is possible to avoid the possibility of Li Yu being exposed to a greater extent. After all, a talented man like him who can deal with middle and high-level figures in the Qing court is still a rare person. Perhaps, he can play a greater role in the future.

Maybe.

The line Cai Qiao was responsible for was laid out along the route that Chen Kai had taken. This was something Cai Qiao had been busy with in the year after Chen Kai came back. The most important point was in Hangzhou.

Hangzhou is the provincial capital of Zhejiang, and its economy is as developed as Suzhou. It is the end point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and has the Eight Banners stationed there for a long time. Its military, political, and economic status are among the giant cities on the southeastern coast. In addition to Cai Qiao's

Line, the Shanwu merchants he had discussed with Zheng Tai earlier had already established a foothold there. Goods could be purchased continuously from Jiangsu and Zhejiang with Hangzhou as the starting point, and then transported to the sea, becoming the sea trade of Zheng Group.

Source of goods.

The fulcrum of Hangzhou greatly increased the supply of goods for sea trade. At the same time, this year, the Ming army secured the control area of ​​Guangdong and further extended the license and rate system to the Pearl River Estuary, further increasing the number of licenses and rates.

Not to mention the benefits from wages, many Chinese businessmen who originally traded between Guangdong and Southeast Asia also began to trade in Hong Kong. A lot of profits would fall into the hands of the Ming army instead of supporting Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao.

Their extravagance is extreme.

"It is a brilliant idea to use Hong Kong Island as the core control area of ​​the Pearl River Estuary and build warehouses and shops there for merchants from inland Guangdong and Southeast Asia to trade."

Zheng Tai has long been responsible for the five merchants of Shanhai and the trade with Japan, Ryukyu, Dayuan and other places. He has been traveling around by boat for more than a year and has been very busy. After more than a year of hard work, many places have been renovated.

The Zheng Group's trade network was restored, and with the successive victories of Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai in Fujian and Guangdong provinces, the Zheng Group's authority at sea was also constantly restored and improved.

"It's true. To be honest with my brother, I actually mentioned this. At that time, I wanted to capture Langqi directly and completely block the sea route of the Minjiang River. If it hadn't been for the large-scale attack by the Japanese army at that time, maybe I would have really

Did it.”

"It's not too late now."

"Yes, it's really not too late now. We just have to see the result of this year's battle."

After repelling Jin Li's army, Zheng Chenggong's plan in Zhangzhou Prefecture and Quanzhou Prefecture was now stable. In the past few months, the Qing army first dispatched some elites from the Zhejiang Green Camp south to assist in defense, and at the same time sent troops from the north of the Yangtze River to

A large number of troops were mobilized to supplement the losses of the Fujian Green Camp.

At the same time, Zheng Chenggong was not idle. While confronting the Qing army between Quanzhou Prefecture and Xinghua Prefecture, he regained the three counties of Yongchun, Dehua and Anxi in Quanzhou Prefecture, taking the entire Quanzhou Prefecture into his hands.

Longyan County of Zhangzhou Prefecture was invaded. As a result, among the Zhangzhou and Quanzhou Prefectures in southern Fujian, only Ningyang County, which was deep inland, was still in the hands of the Qing army.

The territory of four counties was acquired again, and the Qing army did not even have the desire to fight for it. This made the Ming army and those who were fond of the Ming army particularly excited. However, the Qing government's large-scale increase of troops obviously would not be put aside.

As for the decorations there, there will definitely be a war between the two sides this year, which will establish the control of both sides over Fujian Province.

"Is there any chance of winning?"

Zheng Tai is the God of Wealth of the Zheng Group and has been responsible for maritime trade for a long time. He is very aware that the strength of the Ming army will affect their authority at sea. However, Zheng Chenggong did not answer directly. He only mentioned joining the army and Feng Chengshi

He praised Chen Kai's bastion for its miraculous effect on the Guangdong battlefield and suggested that Zheng Chenggong also build a bastion in Hui'an County to deal with the Qing army's attack.

"I asked Jingcheng about this matter in a letter, and he felt that it was not enough to build one to protect the county town, so he had to build a group of bastions. However, this time, it doesn't need to be as big as the one he built on the Luohe River.

It is enough to be able to defend it with one or two hundred sergeants. As long as the Tatar attack route from land to Quanzhou is blocked, at least we can keep the existing control area."

The Qing army is powerful, and it has never been easy for the Ming army to hold on to the hard-won control area. But now with this bastion, the situation is completely different. As for building a bastion, it requires a lot of money, Zheng Chenggong

On the contrary, he didn't care too much because he had a lot of money.

"Damu has become an unparalleled talent. He is truly a rare talent. It is better to win over such a person."

What Zheng Tai pointed out, how could Zheng Chenggong not know. In fact, speaking of it, Zheng Chenggong's trust is a big reason why Chen Kai is what he is today. The two have always cooperated with each other tacitly, and even Shi Lang could not alienate the relationship between the two. However,

That marriage was originally a good thing that would add a double insurance to the relationship between the two of them, but it turned out to be disrupted by their grandmother.

This is naturally due to the dispute over the positioning of the Zheng Group. Zheng Chenggong has already expressed his attitude with practical actions. However, the group he and Chen Kai belong to already has a lot of power from the Ishii Zheng family. He also

It was impossible to go against the grandmother's wishes for this reason, so she could only remain frozen for almost two years.

"When the news came that Jingcheng had won the second Lufeng victory, I went to pay homage to my ancestor. My ancestor relented, but I had to pay homage to my third uncle first before I could continue the six rites."

Zheng Chenggong knew more or less that there were many children of the Zheng family struggling in this. They also wanted to use the marriage to suppress Chen Kai, or to suppress Zheng Chenggong, at least not to fall behind in terms of momentum. And he

The old grandmother was also a face-saving person, so we hit it off right away.

Even if Chen Kai swallows his anger, Zheng Chenggong will not agree to this, because it means that all their previous efforts will be in vain. What's more, with Chen Kai's temperament, killing people does not mean throwing them into the sea to feed the fish.

Okay, kneeling down and kowtow and surrendering is simply a fantasy.

"It's a pity that Miss Xiyuan was wasted for so long by these guys."

Zheng Tai is not a close relative of Zheng Zhilong. If Zheng Zhilong had not adopted him as his adopted son, his status in the Zheng Group would never be as high as it is now. For this reason, coupled with the rectification of the old business of the Zheng Group

Regarding the relationship, he and Zheng Chenggong have long been tied together. Naturally, he has to speak for Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai here, because they are the people who help his career the most, not his relatives.

"When I come back this time, I haven't seen my grandmother for more than half a year. Brother Yu will try to talk about Xiang Yier."

"That's fine. My father said back then that my brother's tongue is better than mine. If I can convince my grandmother this time, I will let Jingcheng and Yuanyuan thank my brother."

The two looked at each other and smiled, discussed other matters, and then Zheng Tai said goodbye and left. After returning to the mansion, he washed up for a while, then brought gifts to pay homage to the ancestor.

Zheng Tai was the most useful junior chosen by Zheng Zhilong. Mrs. Huang always liked this grandson who was well-spoken and reliable. Once they met, they would naturally not be able to avoid working hard for Zheng Tai during this period.

And shed some tears. As he spoke, Zheng Tai mentioned Chen Kai's efforts to ensure the Ming army's control area in Guangdong and further expand Guangdong Sea trade, paving the way for subsequent remarks.

However, as soon as he said this, his old grandmother seemed a little impatient, and simply asked bluntly: "It was Damu who asked you to come and speak for the boy named Chen."

Zheng Tai said it was older, just to prove to Mrs. Huang how much Chen Kai's existence and efforts had contributed to the strength of the Zheng Group. At this moment, the old grandmother stopped her words, and Zheng Tai did not deny it.

He continued talking about this topic.

"Grandma, my grandson is here to speak for Jingcheng, but it is also for Yuan Yuan, for our Zheng family. With this delay, there are more and more rumors outside. If Yuan Yuan is not mentioned in a girl's family, even if it is a single

After all, this is not a good thing for our Zheng family..."

Next, Zheng Tai began to use his eloquent power to add fuel to the so-called "gossip" outside, or talk about it out of nothing. The Zhongzuo Institute was too close, and Zheng Tai said nothing.

Mention, but he has been to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Japan, Ryukyu and other high-ranking officials. He also mentioned the comments of some people that Mrs. Huang may have heard of on this matter. Among them, the slander of the Zheng family can be described as disgusting.

.

"These bastards, it's their turn to talk too much about the Zheng family!"

"Grandma said it, and my grandson said the same thing about them, but in the end our Zheng family still has to do sea trade. In these places, in Nanyang, the senses of these outsiders are also very important, otherwise it will affect our family.

Trade. If this happens, all my years of development and accumulation will be in vain."

Employing people is a crucial point for the survival of a company. If it cannot treat its employees well, especially its capable employees, such a company is not worthy of trust. Even if it goes well, nothing will happen, but once it goes against the trend, many negative things will

It will further affect the overall survival and development.

Zheng Tai does not need to explain this point too clearly, Mrs. Huang can also be aware of it to some extent. Even if she is not aware of it, it is enough to at least let her understand that it will not be good for the Zheng Group if this continues. Because he knows very well,

In this old grandmother's heart, the interests of the Zheng family are the most important.

Such words really made the old ancestor ponder for a long time. Zheng Tai didn't say anything more. He just sat there and sipped the fragrant tea, completely confident of winning. Unexpectedly, when the old lady spoke again, she was still determined.

He resolutely rejected Zheng Tai's persuasion, and it was also in the interests of the Zheng family.

"You have to understand that I am doing this so that we, the Zheng family, will not be taken advantage of by outsiders. Now that we are married, your third uncle is also the elder of Yuan Yuan's husband. Is it so difficult to ask him to kowtow?

?”

These words blocked Zheng Tai. After leaving the big house, he went straight to Zheng Chenggong's house. The latter let him go to the study, leaving only the two of them. But Zheng Chenggong

After listening to this exchange, I couldn't help but sneer in my heart and sigh about "the interests of the Ishii Zheng family are indeed not the same as the interests of the Zheng Group".
Chapter completed!