In October of the seventh year of Yongli, with the release of Xu Degong, the Fujian officialdom and even the Manchu and Qing courts were extremely optimistic about recruiting. Correspondingly, the work of collecting grain and wages in November also went smoothly.

As a result, the officials of the Qing court in Fujian, who were already making a lot of money and everyone was happy, let go of their hands and went to the countryside to promote education. For a while, the Fujian countryside was very noisy.

November was like this, and by the twelfth lunar month, Zheng Chenggong said that as the new year was approaching, he needed to give more rewards to the soldiers. Therefore, as the "old friends" of the Zheng Group, the Qing officials in Fujian naturally shouldered this heavy responsibility.

Grain, silver, copper coins, cloth, silk, porcelain and various specialties from Fujian were continuously sent to the Zhongzuo Institute, and then transported to Guangdong, Zhejiang, Japan, Korea, Ryukyu, Da Yuan, and Nanyang, Shanhai and other merchants through the Zhongzuo Institute.

They were so busy that even the Guangdong Trading Co., Ltd., which had just been established in Hong Kong for half a year, got a lot of shares.

The expansion of trade is a great opportunity to make a lot of money for the Zheng Group, for merchants from various countries, for the handicraft industries that need these goods as raw materials, and for the people related to them. But for everyone who is responsible for each

For the people of Fujian who earn one tael of silver per household per month and pay more during the holidays, this is like cutting out their flesh and drinking their blood. The accumulated grievances are constantly adding up, but no one knows when it will happen.

Just reached the zero point.

The recruitment of Fujian was proceeding smoothly, and the Qing court agreed to the request for more prefectures and counties to accommodate soldiers. Specifically, it was Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang, because it was no longer easy to divide the coastal areas of Fujian, and the Qing court also had the idea of ​​​​dispersing troops based on distance.

Zheng Group’s plans for naval strength.

The addition of Wenzhou Prefecture was a solicitation and compromise for Zheng Chenggong. At the same time, the Qing court also obtained another piece of information from Liu Qingtai, which was the status and strength of Chen Kai, the governor of the fourth prefecture in Guangdong, in the Zheng Group.

Far beyond their understanding, the earlier snub led to Chen Kai's secret obstruction, and it is said that Zheng Chenggong always attached great importance to Chen Kai's opinions. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the recruitment, the Qing court also made the following measures.

High-ranking officials and generous salaries are used as a gesture of coaxing.

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month in the eighth year of Yongli reign, Zheng Kuna, Zha Qina, and other central officials who were studying in the inner court of the Qing Dynasty arrived in Fuzhou with the imperial seal conferring Zheng Chenggong as Haichenggong. Tong Guoqi, the governor of Fujian, based on the message of Liu Qingtai, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang,

Send Li De to the Zhongzuo Institute to inform Zheng Chenggong.

The arrival of the Qing court's edict-proclaiming envoy means that the Qing Dynasty's peace negotiations have entered the most substantial stage. According to the process, the Qing court reads out the edict, Zheng Chenggong accepts the edict and expresses his gratitude, and the Duke of Zhang will completely become the Duke of Haicheng, just like

Signing a contract is normal. What follows is nothing more than bargaining on some details, but the major clauses of the settlement are officially implemented and the rest are additional.

On the third day of February, the two sides agreed to meet on Langqi Island adjacent to the capital city of Fuzhou. To this end, Zheng Chenggong, after receiving the news, sent the Chinese army Chang Shouning and Li De to wait in Fuzhou to welcome the edict. A few days later, the Qing government's emissary announced the edict.

When officials such as Zheng Kuna and Zacina, bachelors of the academy, landed on the island, Zheng Chenggong also went to the pier to greet him in person. However, compared to what was mentioned in the discussions between the two sides, there was an extra Chen Kai on the Ming army's side, and there was always something on his face.

The sinister smile lingered in their hearts.

"It turns out that this is Chen Fujun, and he is indeed very handsome. This time the emperor issued an imperial edict to recruit the troops of Duke Haicheng. I also brought the emperor's appointment and commendation to Chen Fujun. Originally, he planned to declare an edict.

Later, when we went to Chaozhou, Chen Fujun was able to come with Duke Haicheng, which shows that God is willing to promote this peace."

Zheng Kuna said it politely, but Chen Kai looked at him and asked teasingly: "What position has your emperor granted me?" He was not polite at all, and it always sounded like he was

With bad intentions.

Earlier, Liu Qingtai and Tong Guoqi had reminded them that Chen Kai seemed to be the representative of the main war faction in the Zheng Group. The Qing court had also told them about this before they came, so they could talk nicely.

Let's get things done first. As for whether Chen Kai will be forced to surrender to the Qing court in the future or whether the Zheng Group will split, this will only be a good thing for the Qing court.

"The Emperor's great kindness has specially appointed Chen Fujun as the governor of Zhejiang, with the title of left minister of the Ministry of War and left deputy imperial envoy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate... In addition, the emperor learned that Chen Fujun's ancestral home was in Datong, and specially ordered to restore the status of your noble family.

It's a property. But the specific amount cannot be found out in Datong. I have to ask Chen Fujun to write a statement so that I can send it to the court."

In order to tolerate it for the time being, Dorgon naturally took the blame for the Massacre of Datong. Even the appointments and awards were carefully considered by the Qing court - Chen Kai was the fourth son of Zhangquan Chaohui in the Ming court.

The Qing government did not intend to keep this temporary assignment as governor, as this did not show sincerity. However, the governor of Fujian could not rest assured. The governor of Guangdong estimated that Chen Kai would not agree, so he agreed to the governor of Zhejiang, where there were many people.

The city and the Eight Banners were garrisoned, so even if Chen Kai had different aspirations, he would not be able to cause any trouble; and the compensation for the family property was left to Chen Kai's price, completely showing that the Qing government would give him as much as Chen Kai wanted.

.

The Qing court asked themselves if they were sincere, and Chen Kai naturally understood. He just said "it's enough" and stopped talking, allowing Zheng Chenggong to walk arm in arm with them.

With a strong family background and sufficient preparations, Zheng Kuna and the others silenced Chen Kai as soon as they arrived. After a small victory, they followed Zheng Chenggong to the official office. As agreed, they would read out the edict there.

, In fact, Zheng Chenggong had already prepared the incense case there, waiting for them to arrive before they could receive the imperial seal as agreed.

Along the way, Chen Kai said nothing and just walked along. When he arrived at the official office, Zheng Chenggong was ready to receive the order, but this time Zheng Kuna and others refused to say anything and immediately issued the order.

"Haicheng Gong, it is the system of the Qing Dynasty to shave your hair and change your clothes. Please shave your hair first, and then I will issue the edict. It will happen that after the edict is announced, the official uniform will be given."

Outside the customs, shaving one's hair and changing clothes was a law strictly enforced by the Qing court. At the beginning of the entry into the customs, because Dashun and Nanming were still there, the northern gentry and people strongly opposed it. The Qing government once canceled the idea of ​​​​shaving one's hair and changing clothes, but when Li Zicheng fled to Huguang,

After they descended to Nanjing without a fight and wiped out the Hongguang Dynasty, those Manchu dignitaries who were inflated in their hearts once again resorted to the evil method of shaving their hair and changing clothes.

At that time, the Qing Dynasty was in ruins, and it was decided by various places. As a result, as soon as the hair-cutting order was issued, resistance swept across all places. During this period, the Lujianguo Dynasty and the Longwu Dynasty were supported by the gentry of Jiangsu and Zhejiang and the warlords of Fujian.

The Qing government did not cancel the hair-shaving order at that time, and it would not make an exception for Zheng Chenggong now. Zheng Kuna looked at Zheng Chenggong and the civil and military officials under Zheng Chenggong wearing Ming court official clothes and tied their hair. Naturally, he wanted to implement this principle. Which?

Knowing that Zheng Chenggong, who was always easy to talk about the recruitment, and even released Xu Degong with almost no bargaining, he hesitated for a moment and shook his head, saying that he would "make the request on his own." To put it bluntly, he just accepted the order first and then continued.

Bargain with the Qing court and wait until you are satisfied before shaving your hair.

"Haicheng Gong must know that shaving your hair and changing clothes is absolutely impossible for the court to change!"

Zheng Kuna shouted sharply, and Zacina who was traveling with him hurriedly pulled him, and then explained to Zheng Chenggong, hoping that Zheng Chenggong could act in accordance with the Qing court's system. Unfortunately, Zheng Chenggong still refused to compromise and tried his best to express his wishes.

There was full sincerity in this recruitment process, and the Qing government should consider it as appropriate.

The two sides were at a stalemate, and Zheng Kuna refused to read out the edict. However, Zha Qina's peripheral vision caught the trace of complacency on Chen Kai's face, so he expressed to Zheng Chenggong that he hoped he would consider it again, and temporarily put aside the situation here.

Entangled and separated.

"It must be Chen Kai who is causing trouble!"

This was the unanimous view of the two. Since Zheng Chenggong was allowed to think about it on his own, they did not leave Langqi Island immediately, but stayed temporarily. However, they already knew the importance of Chen Kai's status in the Zheng Group.

Understanding that Zheng Chenggong still looked like this the next day, they had no choice but to condescend and go visit Chen Kai.

"Sincerity?"

After understanding the purpose of his visit, Chen Kai sneered at Zacina's words, and then said to him: "The price offered by your country is indeed very exciting, but I have traveled thousands of miles south, and the hardships I have experienced along the way are nothing.

Can a little promotion in official position and money smooth things over?"

"Whatever Chen Fujun needs, I can also apply to the court for Chen Fujun."

Zhaqina patiently said what he said. In fact, if it wasn't for the Qing government's strict order to get this matter done, how could he come to compromise with a Han Chinese? However, Chen Kai just shook his head and said that if

They could convince Zheng Chenggong, and with Zheng Chenggong's kindness to him, he would follow and submit to the Qing court. But if they couldn't convince him, there would be nothing else to talk about. He didn't have that free time.

"see a visitor out."

………………

"Sure enough, it's this Chen Kai!"

Back at the post house, Zacina repeated Chen Kai's original words, and Zheng Kuna slapped the table. Logically speaking, if softness is not enough, hardness will naturally come. Assassination is

The best way, but now this is the territory of the Zheng Group, and they did not expect this to happen earlier. What's more, let alone whether it can really be done, just that if Chen Kai is assassinated now, the result will definitely be peace negotiation

The generals of the Zheng Group saw that the Qing court could not accommodate Chen Kai, so they naturally focused on fighting the Qing court to the end.

"What a shame, this man named Chen is still the son-in-law of the Zheng family. If anyone really touches him, even Zheng Hongkui will probably fight for his life."

Sighing, there was really nothing he could do. Zheng Kuna immediately brought up an old incident: "When the court decided to recruit, King Pingnan pointed out that Hao Shangjiu had two ambitions. At that time, the court was afraid that it would alert the snake, so it did not agree to treat the man named Hao.

Take action. Now it seems that if we really take action, Duke Haicheng will definitely be dragged into the war by Chen Kai. Then there will be nothing to discuss about recruitment."

"If that's the case, we won't talk about it, and the court won't say anything. It's better now, but it will make things difficult for the two of us."

"Why."

After sighing together, the two of them had no choice but to continue to argue with Zheng Chenggong about whether to shave their heads first or to issue an edict first. As a result, the two sides could not argue for five days in a row, so Zheng Kuna and Zacina simply stopped talking.

After struggling a lot, he went straight back home and asked Zheng Chenggong to explain to the Qing court on his own.

Speaking of what happened in Langqi, Fuzhou was somewhat aware of it. Liu Qingtai and Tong Guoqi didn't expect to be stuck in this, but they always felt that it was just a superficial cause, so they sent people to try to investigate clearly.

When Zheng Kuna, Zacina and his party came back, they forced them to stay with them for a few days, and the people sent out finally gave a reasonable explanation.

"It is true that Zheng Hongkui said that his son-in-law was dissatisfied with the recruitment, but the key point is that there are indeed many generals in the army who are also dissatisfied with the recruitment. Now these people are expressing their emotions to Duke Haicheng through Chen Kai, and Duke Haicheng

They had to take into account the morale of the military, so they decided to discuss the order of shaving hair and issuing edicts."

Naturally, Zheng Hongkui would not say that. Liu Qingtai and others had heard the exact words and could not understand what they were referring to. However, this was also the biggest problem. Zheng Chenggong definitely did not want to be like his father when he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

If the army falls apart, the only way to appease the generals is to compromise with Chen Kai. Otherwise, if Chen Kai has no ambitions, the uncompromising general will leave on his own; if Chen Kai has ambitions, he can rely on him to control eastern Guangdong.

With many years of connections and abilities, it is not a problem to recruit a group of Ming soldiers to work alone.

"It's a shame that Chen Kai still has the post of governor of the puppet dynasty and has the right to control local generals..."

The Ming army split on its own, which is what the Qing court wanted to see. But now it is clear that Chen Kai and Zheng Chenggong had a tacit understanding. It is impossible to separate the family, but the recruitment matter will inevitably be delayed.

"If my guess is correct, it won't be long before Duke Haicheng will ask the court for more prefectures and counties to place his generals."

According to Liu Qingtai, since Zheng Chenggong wants to appease the generals, he must allocate more resources. Only in this way can he ensure that these generals will always be on his side.

However, Zheng Chenggong will definitely not produce these things. In the final analysis, the Qing court still has to buy it. Zheng Hongkui did say that he would persuade Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai, but even this man is both Zheng Chenggong's uncle and Chen Kai's father-in-law.

From the perspective of Taishan, such a well-known and powerful "peace advocate", the possibility of successful persuasion is very small. In the final analysis, the power of those generals who oppose recruitment is really not small. Both Chen Kai and Zheng Chenggong cannot ignore it.

.

With nothing to be done for the time being, Zheng Kuna, Zacina and his entourage set off back to the capital, leaving only Liu Qingtai and other local governors to continue to worry about this.

In the Zhongzuo Institute, the Qing court's envoys left Langqi, and Chen Kai and Zheng Chenggong also returned here. The two of them were still a little nervous along the way, until they met Zheng Hongkui in Zheng Chenggong's study, and they felt that they could no longer hold back.

.

"The fourth uncle's words are just right, and the rest is left to the Tatars to figure out."

"If my father-in-law hadn't played such a red face, my son-in-law's fair face wouldn't be so prominent. Now, the Tatars are probably very angry."

Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai praised repeatedly, but Zheng Hongkui directly put the credit on the two of them, while he himself only exerted a little more effort, which was nothing. Just such a tossing was enough, and the actual effect achieved had already been achieved.

Zheng Hongkui, who doesn't care about worldly affairs, still seems a little uncertain.

"To be fair to my fourth uncle, this time we negotiated a false peace with the Tatars. After a few months, the gold, silver, and copper coins were converted into silver, and a total of 7.66 million taels were collected, and there were also one million shi of grain. This is not yet
Chapter completed!