In late September and late August, the unpleasant incident that happened in Huizhou Prefecture followed the messenger's detour through Jiangxi and southern Jiangxi, and the actual situation in Guangdong and Fujian gradually became clearer.

The report from Pinghai Senhu Office stated that they did see pirates landing on the beach at first, and even attacked their fishing boats. The pirates were not uniformly dressed and had various weapons, but there were many of them.

So they asked Huizhou Town for reinforcements.

However, after the messenger left, the pirates soon approached Qianhusuo's city, claiming that they were negotiating for peace. The Qing government assigned Huizhou Prefecture to their princes, so they asked Qianhusuo to provide grain and grass for military use.

Qianhusuo was not notified in advance, so of course they refused to submit. As a result, when the reinforcements from the Qing army arrived, all they heard was that the Qing army attacked the Ming army and was completely wiped out by the Ming army.

"I've never heard that guards officers have the right to hear what's happening!"

Liu Qingtai was very angry, because in such a situation, the overall recruitment situation was almost ruined, and it even led to his current passive situation. Although Zheng Chenggong was so passive, he did not lose his benefits, but he could not help being angry.

Refreshing.

"Army control, Duke Hai Cheng claimed that the army lacked cloth, so many soldiers in the army lacked uniforms. This may be the reason for the misunderstanding. The man's tone has softened a lot now, and he is not clinging to this matter.

In terms of the overall recruitment situation, this is already a very good progress.”

Speaking of which, Tong Guoqi also had doubts about this, but Liu Qingtai said that as a governor, he could not continue to be a scapegoat. The only way to be a subordinate is to give the governor a step down. Otherwise,

, is it possible that Liu Qingtai can be encouraged to start a quarrel with the two vassals in Guangdong, as well as the newly established Southwest Economic Strategy Hong Chengchou and the newly appointed Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Li Shutai.

On the Guangdong side, they no longer have any hope. They just ask those guys to do less things like pig teammates, so as not to ruin the overall recruitment situation. Fortunately, Zheng Chenggong did not get too entangled in this matter.

It indicated that the scope of the collection would be expanded to include cloth and porcelain. The former was naturally used to make clothes, and the latter was imposed because the soldiers in the army lacked dining utensils.

This is clearly a lie!

Many people have had such thoughts in their minds, but no one has put them into words, especially Liu Qingtai and Tong Guoqi, the two highest-ranking officials in Fujian.

Speaking of which, starting from the collection of grain and wages, to cloth and porcelain, this has become a disguised trade method. It's just that originally it was merchants smuggling to the Zheng Group, but now it has become a government levy, and then resold to the Zheng Group

The group is used to collect kickbacks. In this way, the merchants suffer losses, but they have no say; the bureaucratic group that has the right to say is the profiteer, so naturally they can't say much about it.

Not having the right to speak does not mean that there is no resentment in the heart, but when the expropriation work really started in October, the gentry and common people discovered that the officials of the Qing court came with knives to expropriate, and now they even wanted to

The talkative ones immediately stopped.

Money, grain, cloth, and porcelain were continuously collected, and materials were transported to the Zhongzuo Office one after another. The rebate money was sent to the homes of various officials at the same rhythm and frequency.

During this period, Tong Guoqi heard about an incident and rushed to the Governor's Yamen with his people to report it. Unfortunately, Liu Qingtai had already received the news about this matter.

"What Siyuan is talking about is that Duke Haicheng sent people to open a porridge restaurant and distributed money to the Confucian scholars. I have already heard about this matter, so there is no need to make a fuss."

Hearing this, Tong Guoqi and the Fuzhou city guard deputy general Feng Junrui who came with him were both stunned. Next, Liu Qingtai told them an old incident to explain his reaction.

According to Liu Qingtai's rumors, Zheng Zhilong and the great pirate Yan Siqi were sworn sworn friends. A group of Chinese pirates, with the support of some prominent Japanese figures, prepared to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. However, they failed and fled. Later, Yan Siqi died, and Zheng Zhilong became the leader of Yan Siqi's pirate group.

leader, and plundered the coastal counties of Fujian.

Logically speaking, such a giant bandit should be hated by everyone with gnashing teeth. However, except for Li Dan's partner in mainland China, Xu Xinsu, and the officials he bribed, other officials did not know whether this was acceptable. In addition, in the

Among the people, Zheng Zhilong is even regarded as a "righteous thief" who robbed the rich and gave to the poor.

The reason for such a huge contrast lies in Zheng Zhilong's massive bribery of Fujian officials, plus "it is not allowed to kidnap women and massacre people... If there are extreme poverty, they will be given money and rice." He even gave gifts to Confucian students who met on the road and were rushing to take exams.

The traveling expenses to take the exam were so unusual, and in exchange he was naturally recruited into the army as he wished, achieving the transformation from a thief to an official.

"Zhijun has extensive knowledge and knowledge, and his subordinates admire him greatly."

In fact, Liu Qingtai didn't know much about this, but he had heard someone mention it. At this moment, when he told the story, Liu Qingtai, as the governor, would not talk to Feng Junrui, a small lieutenant, so he directly waved his hand.

He retreated, leaving Tong Guoqi to continue talking. But looking at Feng Junrui's retreating figure, he nodded and said to Tong Guoqi: "This person is still useful."

"It's exactly what Zhijun said."

Speaking of which, Feng Junrui was a confidant of the former Fujian governor Zhang Xuesheng. Logically speaking, with such an identity, Zhang Xuesheng was imprisoned, especially when this person also participated in the Xiamen battle. However, Feng Junrui has been doing private things in recent years.

His sea trade seemed to be very profitable, and he was very motivated and kept sending money to Shangguan's home. As a result, when Zhang Xuesheng was imprisoned, he used the money to get through to his successor Tong Guoqi, and he was able to continue doing business.

He held the position of deputy general of the Fujian City Guard.

Such a figure, among the Fujian official circles that today sing the praises of appeasement, is naturally very rare to be wary of the Zheng Group. When he learned that Zheng Chenggong had paid to buy local people, he quickly warned Tong Guoqi, so

Then the scene just happened.

After Liu Qingtai said this, Tong Guoqi nodded naturally - although recruitment is a big trend nowadays, it is always necessary for some of his subordinates to be wary of the target of recruitment, which is what it should be.

"After the official returns, he will be able to appease his people and will not let go of his desire to repay with his fists."

"I am the most at ease when it comes to Siyuan's work."

Although Tong Guoqi is just a governor, his surname is Tong. In the official circles of the early Qing Dynasty, the Tong Jia family was an absolutely wealthy family. What's more, Tong Guoqi's cousin entered the palace and became a concubine this year, which is the identity of Liu's maternal relatives.

Qingtai never showed any prestige as a superior official in front of Tong Guoqi, but the latter also adhered to his duties as a subordinate and did not step too far. Naturally, there was a lot of harmony between the two governors.

Feng Junrui's matter was passed off in one word, and Liu Qingtai gave an explanation. If you think about it carefully, Zheng Zhilong's riot in the Fujian Sea also led to the overthrow of the governor Zhu Yifeng and the commander-in-chief Yu Zigao, and the successor of the governor faction

Governor Xiong Wencan also had a prosperous official career in the Chongzhen Dynasty for a time. Now think about it, Governor Zhang Xuesheng was imprisoned in response to the main campaign, and they, the main governor faction, took care of the overall recruitment.

With the past as a guide, and it was Zheng Chenggong's old past, I thought there would be no surprises. However, Tong Guoqi was still a little worried, or it could be said that he was just bothering himself.

"If the military control continues to develop like this, the people of Fujian may no longer have the support of the imperial court."

This is a problem. After all, the Qing government is levying more money, and Zheng Chenggong is buying it from the local people. However, Liu Qingtai just laughed it off. Even if Tong Guoqi hadn't asked him, he might not have been willing to tell the truth.

Come.

"It's just another Zheng Zhilong, nothing to be afraid of. As for the people's support, as long as the Eight Banners Cavalry is still there, they will slaughter anyone who disobeys, and the remaining untouchables will naturally bow to the imperial court."

………………

In Fujian, the drama of appeasement and kickbacks complement each other. Speaking of which, the reason why there is appeasement is indispensable for the stalemate in the southwest. As Lei Yuelong said earlier, if this consumption continues, it will be detrimental to the Ming army.

There is no benefit. But if you think about it carefully, the Qing court has the Achilles heel of having too few core members. If it continues to fight battle after battle, it is impossible to say which side will be unable to withstand it first.

For this reason, the Qing government decided to take advantage of the opportunity when the former army returned to Yunnan and Guizhou to recuperate, and transferred back the main force of the Eight Banners Army in Tunqi. At the same time, it appointed Niu Colu and Chen Tai as the Ningnan Jingkou Generals, and together with the Manchurian Zhenglan Banner Gu

Generals such as Shan'e Zhentongjia*Lambai, Mongolian Zhenghongqi Gushan'e Zhenfucha*jixiha, and Baya Lahuzhang Jinnala*Suksaha took over his duties to guard Huguang.

Of course, this alone is absolutely not enough. Therefore, while Liu Qingtai was recruiting Zheng Chenggong, the Qing government also appointed Zheng Chenggong's fellow countryman, Hong Chengchou, a scholar, as the Southwest Economic Strategist, stationed in Changsha, and fully responsible for Huguang, Guangdong, and Guangxi.

, Military and political affairs in the five provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou.

Responsible for the military and political affairs of five provinces, and at the same time facing the Qin Fan of the Ming Army in the southwest, the King of Xining, and Chen Kai, the governor of the four prefectures of the Zheng Group in Guangdong, the burden on his shoulders is so heavy that it is simply unimaginable.

.

For this reason, Hong Chengchou first tried his best to recruit capable people and established the shogunate. Since it was in Changsha, it was also called the Changsha shogunate in later generations. At the same time, Hong Chengchou also asked the Qing Dynasty

The imperial court recommended some officials whose career was not going well for the time being, such as the newly appointed governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Li Shutai.

Li Shutai was the second son of the great traitor Li Yongfang. His real name was Yanling. Later, Nurhaci changed the word Shutai to him. Before entering the customs, he accompanied Huang Taiji in his expedition to Chahar and North Korea.

After attacking Jinzhou in western Liaoning, he also plundered Shandong with Beile Abatai. After entering the customs, he accompanied the army to conquer Li Zicheng, and went south to seize Nanzhili, Zhejiang, and Fujian. Later, when Lu Jianguo was wreaking havoc in Fujian, he also

He once followed the army to suppress him, and later went north to join the army to conquer Jiang Xiang in Shanxi Province. Anyway, he made great achievements in battle.

However, his official fortune in recent years has not been very good. In the fifth year of Yongli, he was dismissed from office and was demoted. In the next year, it was slightly improved, but not to a great extent, until Hong Chengchou reported to the Qing court

After strongly recommending him as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, he finally felt relieved.

Hong Chengchou and Li Shutai were ordered to the capital in May and June, and they had already learned about the Qing government's decision to appease Zheng Chenggong on the eve of their departure. In this regard, Li Shutai was responsible for the Guangdong and Guangxi areas because there was a man like Chen Kai who had nothing to do.

The guy who jumped out to make a fuss was here, and he discussed countermeasures with Hong Chengchou on the road.

"Shuda, you know about the recruitment matter. This is the decision of the imperial court, and it is also a good thing for us to relieve the pressure. However, the Zheng family and his son and I are from the same hometown, and we have heard of this son.

I don’t think he is a character who will give up. Chen Kai is the kid’s staff, so he follows his lead. It’s best if the recruitment matters can be handled well. If they can’t be handled, it’s also Liu Qingtai’s responsibility. We just don’t want to do too much.

Just intervene."

"What the old man said makes sense, and I will take a lesson from you."

Unlike Hong Chengchou, who also hired capable people to fill the shogunate on the road, Li Shutai walked with him for a while and then immediately headed south and rushed to Guangzhou as quickly as possible.

In September and October, the food and salary collection in Fujian was in full swing. In Guangdong, the unpleasantness that happened in Pinghai Qianhu Station was quickly over under the overall plan of recruiting. According to the letters written by Chen Kai and Zheng Chenggong earlier,

It was agreed upon in the meeting that Zhongyong Hou Chen Bao would come forward to take charge of the food and salary collection in Guangdong, which was also in progress.

Outside Qianhusuo City in Pinghai, Lu Wei, the commander-in-chief who was seriously wounded last time, arrived again. This time, the local guard officer did not dare to ask for help from the city, so he had to pay the money and food in a polite manner so that he could be killed.

The uncle sent him away as soon as possible to avoid any trouble again.

They didn't have much money, and they had the reason that "the local area is just a place with thousands of households." In this regard, Lu Wei was not too pretentious. He waved his hand like his colleagues in Fujian and sent proportional kickbacks to the officers.

before their eyes.

"Well, although what you did last time was unethical, I still have to give you this kickback because of the military orders of Duke Haicheng and our Zhongyong Marquis. 10%, this is the rule, if you pay it with food and salary

If you have more, I will give you more, so don’t make any noise."

After that, Lu Wei, who was hanging by one arm, walked back swaggeringly, leaving only the group of guards officers still looking at the silver and continuing to struggle.

"Qianhu, this is a receipt, and you can get this kickback for free. It is really a beautiful thing that fell from the sky. Even though you are humble, Mr. Lu doesn't seem to be very satisfied..."

What Qianhu meant was that Qianhu was instigating him to transport more money and grain from the warehouse to get kickbacks. But he just received news yesterday that the newly appointed governor of Guangdong and Guangxi was checking the accounts and was giving a lecture.

It has been mentioned many times that Guangdong is located between Guangxi and Fujian, and warehousing is particularly important. How dare we make mistakes again.

"Do you think I don't want to?"

Without any explanation, Qianhu angrily embarked on the road back to Qianhu. On the other hand, Lu Wei took a boat back to Nan'ao Island and reported the money account to Chen Bao, but the loyal and brave man was attracted by it.
To be continued...