As early as last summer, Chen Kai regained the Shaozhou Prefecture and obtained Li Dingguo's recognition and thus had jurisdiction over Guangzhou Prefecture. Since then, Li Dingguo naturally led his army back west, and the governors of the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group——

Guo Zhiqi, Lien Chengbi and Zhang Xiaoqi were stationed in Liuzhou Prefecture, Zhaoqing Prefecture and Gaozhou Prefecture respectively in order to control the situation in Guangxi, western Guangdong, Guidong and southwestern Guangdong nearby.

The period of time was different, but during this period they were all busy accumulating more strength for the Yongli court, especially in the original plan when the emperor was supposed to arrive in Guangxi after Li Dingguo completed the work of welcoming him, so that he could make more changes.

It is good to rely on the power of Dongxi Erxun.

The war situation in Wuzhou has deteriorated to an extreme level. It is basically impossible to reverse the situation with the strength of the Guangxi Ming Army, because the main force of Li Dingguo in Liuzhou has been transferred to Yunnan, and only Xu Tianyou, the governor of Guangxi, is still left.

The important town is stationed here.

When Chen Kai left for Fujian, news of the settlement of the war also reached Liuzhou City. Some came from Wuzhou Prefecture, and some came from Guilin. As the Yongli Imperial Court had the highest level in Guangdong and Guangxi,

As an official, Guo Zhiqi set off soon after hearing the news.

He did not go to Yunnan to invite Li Dingguo to return to his army, because he knew very well that once Li Dingguo entered Yunnan, he would be locked up in Yunnan by Sun Kewang. In this regard, he sent a memorial to Yunnan to explain the situation

, and immediately set off south to Nanning Prefecture. It is an important town in the south of Guangxi, and it is an extremely important strategic location. Whether Hong Chengchou wants to completely cut off the traffic of the Ming army in the southeast and southwest, or go south to frighten those who are like Annan and occupy the city.

, Chenla and other countries, it has special significance for the Qing court to replace the Ming court as the new owner of the tribute system in the traditional sense, and it can also reduce the possibility and intensity of support for the Ming court from these vassal states.

Some time had passed when the rumors about the war situation in Wuzhou arrived in Liuzhou. It was still unclear whether the Xunzhou Prefecture and Nanxiong Prefecture were still in the hands of the Ming army. Guo Zhiqi did not bother to confirm the news, let alone grieve, and followed the Liujiang River.

Down.

The ship passed Xiangzhou and arrived at Wuxuan County. After the people resisted to death, Guo Zhiqi was forced to stay here for a few days, and they sent a few clever people to Xunzhou Prefecture to inquire about the news. As a result, before they could find out,

When the person who brought the news came back, envoys from General Li Chengjue and others rushed here first, and their purpose changed from delivering the message to greeting them.

"Supervisor, they just lost the city of Wuzhou..."

The implication of the staff's words was very clear, and it was nothing more than a reference to the misdeeds of these three generals in the Battle of Wuzhou - since they were able to throw away Liancheng Bi, if the Qing army attacked, they would most likely throw away Guo Zhiqi.

Regardless. At this time, they must not take any more risks.

"Of course I understand, but if I don't go, they won't be able to feel at ease. If they can't feel at ease, they will probably surrender directly to the Tatars, which will be even more detrimental to the national affairs."

Regardless of the objections of his entourage, Guo Zhiqi set off overnight. After receiving the news, Guo Zhiqi set off overnight, still going down the river, straight to the capital of Xunzhou. Fortunately, when he got there, nothing that the entourage was worried about happened, but the three generals

When I saw Guo Zhiqi, he seemed to be a skinny and withered son-in-law who had made a mistake. He was holding his big and round-waisted wife on his lap and crying bitterly. Everyone looked at him sideways.

The three generals regretted their mistake and only asked Guo Zhiqi to give them a chance to make a crime. After appeasing them, Guo Zhiqi asked them about some recent military information and set off quickly, leaving the defense of Xunzhou Prefecture in their hands.

This time, we no longer went down smoothly, but instead went upstream, passing through Nanning Prefecture and heading to Lianzhou Prefecture. As for Nanning Prefecture, which we originally planned to go to, we no longer left this time.

Lianzhou Prefecture is still not the final stop. Guo Zhiqi arrived at Lianzhou Prefecture and took a boat directly to the Gaozhou Prefecture where Zhang Xiaoqi, the governor of Gao Lian Lei Qiong's Fourth Prefecture, was stationed. When they got there, the two of them didn't need to say anything. They just looked at Zhang Xiaoqi.

I know that Guo Zhiqi has extremely important matters.

"Supervisor, company and army..."

"General, Rubai sacrificed his life for his country in order to seek benevolence and gain benevolence. We must inherit his legacy and strive to ensure the rejuvenation of the Ming Dynasty."

Guo Zhiqi is from Jieyang, Chaozhou, Guangdong, Lianchengbi is from Jinxi County, Fuzhou Prefecture, Jiangxi, and Zhang Xiaoqi is from Wujiang County, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili. The three of them are not from the same hometown, and are even thousands of miles apart, but in these two Guangdong areas, they are

They are of the same spirit. This time Lianchengbi died for his country, Zhang Xiaoqi was also filled with grief and anger after receiving the news. He was just trying to deal with official duties. Seeing Guo Zhiqi here, his long-suppressed emotions suddenly burst out, but it was Guo Zhiqi here who

I had a lot of thoughts on the way, so I quickly comforted Zhang Xiaoqi, and then brought up another matter.

"When I was in Liuzhou, I heard that Chen Kai and Hong Chengchou were colluding to sell out Guangxi in exchange for southern Jiangxi and western Guangdong."

"this……"

Zhang Xiaoqi was stunned for such a shocking secret, but before Zhang Xiaoqi could express his opinion, Guo Zhiqi took the lead in making his opinion clear: "I think this must be Hong Chengchou's words to create a rift between you and me.

Kai, the discord between the imperial court and Duke Zhang."

"The superintendent has a clear view, and the subordinate officials also see it in the same way."

Before he had time to think through the details, Zhang Xiaoqi immediately echoed Guo Zhiqi's assertion. Then he analyzed the pros and cons of the details from Chen Kai's perspective, and Zhang Xiaoqi felt that Guo Zhiqi's views were insightful. No.

Talking about the sources of information and other issues, I just said that the advantage Chen Kai took in this transaction was too great. Hong Chengchou was never a master who was willing to suffer losses, so how could he let Chen Kai go so easily.

"Chen Kai is not Hong Chengchou's father. He is not so filial."

The words suddenly appeared in Zhang Xiaoqi's mind. Although they were a bit rough, the truth was correct. In this case, there was no collusion between Chen Kai and Hong Chengchou, so the only problem left was between them and Chen Kai.

"Supervisor, the King of Xining's entry into Yunnan was suggested by Chen Kai's suggestion. Is Chen Kai's move to take over the counties in the northern part of Zhaoqing Prefecture a move to seize all Guangdong?"

"The general knows my true feelings. I came here in a hurry just for this matter."

Those rumors about the fall of Wuzhou Prefecture and the death of Liancheng Bi are nonsense as long as anyone with a brain can figure it out. Guo Zhiqi and Zhang Xiaoqi both passed the Jinshi. If they can pass the Jinshi, at least their IQs are higher than ordinary people.

, like other Jinshi, those who do stupid things are basically either out of professionalism or because of their butt.

Since Li Dingguo entered Yunnan, the Ming army has actually made money in and out of Nangan and Wuzhou, because in terms of strategic layout, Hong Chengchou ensured a long border of thousands of miles and used it to limit the Ming army. The highest priority was

Cutting off the traffic of the Ming army in the southeast and southwest. Now the secondary goal has been achieved, but the primary goal has been wasted. It is nothing more than a loss of capital to make up for it from other places, so as to have an explanation to the Qing court.

However, Hong Chengchou made up for the situation, and Chen Kai inevitably stopped further offensives. Next, Chen Kai returned to recover the counties in the northern part of Zhaoqing Prefecture, ensuring that these areas were not occupied by the Qing army. But the problem was that Chen Kai was

In the process of controlling Zhaoqing Fucheng, Deqing Prefecture, Guangning, Sihui, Kaijian, Fengkai and other places, they also took over the two counties of Xinxing and Gaoming. These two counties were attacked by Zhang Yong and Hu Maozhen in the raids and rumor offensive.

It had not fallen, and it was in the hinterland. Chen Kai's actions in occupying these two places were probably not as simple as simply guarding against the Qing army in Wuzhou.

"General, how is the situation in these provinces?"

The northern part of Zhaoqing Prefecture is now a foregone conclusion. Whether Guo Zhiqi can leverage it is a matter of two minds. Here, I asked about the situation of Zhang Xiaoqi Gaozhou Prefecture and Leizhou Prefecture Lianzhou Prefecture. This is also because apart from the northern part of Zhaoqing Prefecture, this area can be regarded as the strength of the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group.

The strongest point is that Zhang Xiaoqi has been operating here for many years. Except for the blank piece of paper in the north of Zhaoqing Prefecture, other prefectures and counties are basically incomparable. This is the case in Guangdong and the same is true in Guangxi.

However, when Guo Zhiqi asked about it this time, Zhang Xiaoqi smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying that it was basically the same as before. Guo Zhiqi did know some general information about what the old situation looked like.

In the fourth year of Yongli, the two feudal vassals of Shang Geng captured Guangzhou. Except for Chen Kai who occupied Chaozhou, the rest of the Ming army were basically either driven into the mountains or bombed into the sea. Under such circumstances, the Gao Lian Lei Qiong Sifu in the southwestern part of Guangdong

Factors such as distance and geographical situation became the location where a large number of Ming troops were entrenched.

When Chen Kai cooperated with Li Dingguo to regain Guangdong, or even just Li Dingguo invaded Guangdong from Guangxi, the Ming army here was finally able to defend the place until the moon came out. They occupied the prefectures and counties, raised taxes and raised troops, as if they were one by one.

Independent Kingdom. Zhang Xiaoqi did a lot here, from raising food and salary for Li Dingguo's army to trying to restore local administration. However, the cards in his hand were not good. Those vassal towns had always eroded local rights and interests under the banner of raising troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty.

There is a good reason. He cannot get back more rights without a good exchange. He can only deal with the situation bit by bit by playing hard and soft.

In fact, they had some things they could get in the past, such as the division of spoils in Guangzhou, the right to distribute merit and rewards, and the military power of Zhaoqing Prefecture. These things can all be exchanged.

It's a pity that in order to score points with Li Dingguo, they spent a lot of money, food and grass on supporting Li Dingguo's westward march. As a result, the city of Guangzhou was still controlled by Chen Kai, which was a bad move. Later, Lian Chengbi was found in Zhaoqing.

Working hard to improve the northern part of the government was actually a good choice, but in the end, Cheng Yaojin showed up again, and the result was nothing.

"The harvest is not without success. During this time, Xiaguan has taken control of the Dan people's organization that collects Hepu beads."

The Hepu Pearl is the South Pearl, which has been an extremely valuable tribute in all dynasties. Qu Dajun's "Guangdong News" said that "the West Pearl is not as good as the East Pearl, and the East Pearl is not as good as the South Pearl." Zhang Xiaoqi used the banner of tribute to put an end to other vassal towns.

He coveted some, and he would definitely need to pay tribute, but for the others, he planned to pay for them through sea trade, and then use the money earned to buy off the generals and restore authority, which was also a good way.

"Hepu Zhu, eh."

After some discussion, Guo Zhiqi set off again. This time his target was bound to be Guangzhou. He needed to discuss an explanation with Chen Kai before he could make corresponding countermeasures.

It was a rush all the way again. After all, it was a thousand miles from Liuzhou to Guangzhou, with basically no rest in the middle. It was not an easy task for anyone. By the time Guo Zhiqi arrived in Fucheng, Guangzhou

, I can finally take a break, because Chen Kai hasn't come back from Fuzhou yet. Even if he wants to talk now, he still regrets whether he should have learned the eight-legged essay in the first place. Wouldn't it be nice to just learn the Thousand Miles of Sound Transmission?

In the following days, while waiting, Guo Zhiqi was also observing the changes in the capital city of Guangzhou, trying to catch a glimpse of the leopard in order to understand Chen Kai's policies and strategies after he went to Guangxi.

The military aspect is basically all on the surface. Chen Kai has achieved the goal of regaining southern Jiangxi and forcefully inserted himself into Jiangxi. This is bound to pose a huge threat to the Qing government's rule south of the Yangtze River. In comparison,

Next, he paid more attention to civil affairs measures. Until Chen Kai returned a few days later, what he heard most about was the Guangdong Business Alliance that Lian Chengbi mentioned in his letter before, but he just didn't understand such a business organization.

Why is it so popular in Guangzhou?

The news of Chen Kai's return first came from Hong Kong, where Chen Kai would transfer to the governor's Yamen official ship and enter the Pearl River. After receiving the news, Guo Zhiqi restrained his observations of Guangzhou City and waited for Chen Kai's return wholeheartedly.

Chen Kai really came back, and within a quarter of an hour after the two met, they started talking to each other again.

"Hepuzhu is not enough, so what else do you want? The recommendation of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, or the manager, or the supervisor, as long as you can tell it, whether it can be done or not, I will do my best."

In the management of the northern part of Zhaoqing Prefecture, Liancheng Bi had already done a very impressive job. If the place had not been so dilapidated that it was unable to support more troops, and if Hong Chengchou had not made up for it, giving Liancheng Bi another period of time might not have allowed him to become the true leader of the Yongli Imperial Court.

actual control area.

Now that Liancheng Bi is dead, Guo Zhiqi is ready to shoulder this burden himself. But the problem is that these places are now in Chen Kai's hands. Guo Zhiqi feels that he does not have enough reasons to persuade Chen Kai to hand over this half of the mansion.

Moreover, he knew even more clearly that even if Chen Kai really gave in, he would not be able to defend himself in front of Dingnan Fan. Therefore, he planned to exchange Hepu Zhu's sea trade monopoly and let Chen Kai help him. After he integrated it,

It is enough to compete with Dingnan Fan. He was responsible for the defense here before, just like Li Dingguo did before.

Of course, Hepu Pearl alone might not be enough. Guo Zhiqi, with the idea of ​​paying back the money on the spot despite the sky-high asking price, prepared to slowly build up the business with Chen Kai. As a result, Chen Kai had no idea that Chen Kai was not interested at all.

"Administrator Guo, the company's army was martyred for the country. The subordinates admired his integrity very much and always used it as an example. However, to be disrespectful, the company's army was integrated in the northern part of Zhaoqing Prefecture for more than a year.

Without guarding these states and counties, do you think you can do it yourself?"

When he came back from Fujian, he had thought a lot along the way and his state of mind had already recovered. However, as soon as he returned to the city, Guo Zhiqi made such a move, which inevitably caused the irritability in his chest to come out again.

As calmly as possible, Chen Kai told Guo Zhiqi about the military deployment of Nanfan in Wuzhou Prefecture. He even dug out a bunch of reports on the situation in Wuzhou from the official room in front of Guo Zhiqi and analyzed them one by one for Guo Zhiqi. However,

As a result, Guo Zhiqi seemed not to understand at all, and only talked about business and nothing else.

The dignified Grand Master Superintendent insisted on learning from merchants, which really made Chen Kai laugh. Of course he understood the importance of these counties in the northern part of Zhaoqing Prefecture to the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group and even the Yongli Imperial Court, but for

For him, after returning from Fujian, this is no longer just a matter of military defense. The Zheng Group does not have the habit of spitting out what it eats. He is now in an embarrassing period within the group, even more so.

It's not good to do anything that "harms the public and enriches private interests".

"Chen Fujun, you must understand that you are the governor of the Ming Dynasty, not a servant of his Zheng family!"

He said it with a dry mouth, but he still couldn't let Chen Kaisong say a word. Anger arose in his heart and turned to his courage. As soon as Guo Zhiqi said this, he immediately thought to himself that it was not good. But the words had already been spoken, and he also

I just had to hold on.

Returning to the original point when he met Lien Chengbi in Wencun, Chen Kai couldn't help but smile bitterly. However, regarding this statement, Chen Kai also showed no sign of weakness, saying that he was very clear about his personal position and very aware of it.

He knows what he wants to do and what he should do, so the supervisor Guo Zhiqi doesn't have to worry about it.

With a "Send Off", Guo Zhiqi left angrily. Chen Kai sat on the Grand Master's chair in the official room, breathing heavily, trying his best to release the pressure he was facing at the same time from the Zheng Group, the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group and the Qing court.

, but it was still in vain. It was not until a long time later that Chen Kai took a deep breath, pressed his palms heavily on the table, and stared straight ahead, as if he were serious.
Chapter completed!