Having known each other for many years, Chen Kai knows very well where Zheng Chenggong’s bottom line lies. Therefore, as long as his actions do not threaten Zheng Chenggong’s control of military power, especially those old members of the Zheng Group, such as Lin Cha, Chen Bao, Zhang Jin, etc.

People, as well as the towns established by Zheng Chenggong since he started his army, the remaining matters are not without room for negotiation. Because the split is a real and imminent lesson for the Zheng Group.

Of course, this does not include the troops that Chen Kai has recruited since he took charge of the military and political affairs in Guangdong, such as Li Jianjie, Ma Bao, Hao Shangjiu, Wang Han and others, as well as figures like Lin Dezhong, Jiang Meiao, Nie Yiniang, and Zheng Chenggong will not

To touch them easily is a tacit understanding between them.

After writing the letter, Chen Kai sent someone to Chaozhou. It was the place where he and Zheng Chenggong first recovered, and it has always been the most stable base for the Ming army. The food produced there prevented the army from starving.

The silk, porcelain, tinware and other handicraft products produced there were sold to various places on the Zheng Group's ships. The gold, silver and raw materials obtained in exchange were also the nourishment for the continuous development of this army.

In the same way, the Zheng Group's long-term preservation of territory in Chaozhou has gradually made this province stand out among its peers, which were increasingly dilapidated due to the continuous tug-of-war between the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The letter was sent to Chaozhou Prefecture on flying horses along the post road, and when it entered the boundary of Chaozhou Prefecture, there were roads spreading on both sides, and people were farming everywhere. The messengers wearing Ming army uniforms were seen galloping on their horses, not to mention hiding in panic, most of them were just

He raised his head, took a look, then lowered his head again and continued his work, looking completely unfazed.

This kind of scene can be said to be the least new thing in Chaozhou. In the early years, when Chaozhou was surrounded by the Qing army, there were still some thoughts about whether the Qing army was coming again. Now, not only

Fujian and Guangdong provinces were recovered by the Ming army, and even most of southern Jiangxi was in the hands of the Ming army. Since the local area has become a hinterland, even if the sky falls, it will not be the first to be hit.

This is where the two provinces of Fujian and Guangdong meet.

On the official road, messengers are fleeting in the lives of ordinary people, and they have no longer become an eye-catching topic. The countryside is like this, and when you arrive near the county town, the closer you get, the faster your horse speed tends to be.

There are restrictions. There is a constant flow of people, businessmen, and gatekeepers in the city gate cave. As gatekeepers, the city gate pawns have already developed a pair of discerning eyes. With just one glance, they can have a rough estimate of the identity of the visitor.

Then you can make different responses according to different situations. This feeling formed by being well-informed is often more accurate than famous posts, and the speed is even better.

Of course, they did not dare to stop the messenger. Not only did they not dare to stop him, they even had to try to make way for him so as not to delay the military affairs. Even though Chaozhou has been a hinterland for many years, the long-term strict system and the culture of

Habits also make them like conditioned reflexes, and they can do it smoothly.

Naturally, the messenger went straight to the Chaozhou General Town Hall, where Chen Bao handled military affairs, and it was also the place with the strongest military atmosphere in the city. In comparison, Dongmen Street near Guangji Bridge had always been a place for business and travel.

This place is neither a festival nor a celebration, and it is also crowded with people. Even the more crowded trucks cannot move. So the merchants in this city simply converted their goods into small trucks outside the city before entering the city.

The clerks and hired men walked through the streets and alleys, trying to transport the goods to the warehouses and shops as quickly as possible, so as not to delay the progress of the business.

There is a three-story restaurant on Dongmen Street with the word "Xi Lou" written on it. It was originally built by a merchant who was engaged in tinware trading after he became successful. The name is also similar to the unmanned restaurant in Bianliang City in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Everyone knows where the "Fan Lou" is. However, it was just a two-story restaurant in the past. In recent years, it has been handed over to a businessman who specializes in restaurants, and it is constantly expanding.

It has made a name for itself in this Chaozhou city.

This place is not as elegant as some places where literati usually gather, but it is favored by local merchants. Especially since the establishment of the Guangdong Business Alliance, local members of Chaozhou often gather here, which makes the business atmosphere here

It's getting thicker and thicker.

The street was still busy with people coming and going. There was a private room on the third floor, standing by the window, where you could have a commanding view. A middle-aged man dressed as a Confucian scholar looked down for a moment, turned his head, and there was something unfinished about him.

In that look, the other two people who were still sitting at the table drinking wine couldn't help but smile.

"My dear friend, I haven't returned home for many years. Now that I see it, the city of Chaozhou is probably even more prosperous than when I left home for a long trip, isn't it?"

The Confucian scholar had been away from home for more than ten years. At first, he traveled around the world to study. Later, he caught up with the Qing army and entered the customs. He killed mountains of corpses and blood in various places, so he could only temporarily stay in a friend's home. When the first wave of Qing troops swept across

It was over. He was already preparing to return home, but before he left, he got news from some familiar people about Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai's recapture of Chaozhou. As a result, that place was bound to become a target of the Qing army's attack, and he would be in danger.

, they could only continue to travel abroad. Who would have known that Chaozhou not only did not fall again, but instead became the starting point for the Ming army to regain Fujian and Guangdong.

After not seeing each other for many years, I still remember that when I left home, the Chaozhou government lost control of the grassroots, resulting in powerful and powerful local bandits. There were frequent wars between each other, which caused great damage to the countryside and made businessmen unable to move forward. At that time, Chaozhou City had already begun to decline.

, I thought it would be impossible to recover within a few decades. Unexpectedly, when I returned home this time, what I saw was completely different from what I had imagined, but it was also somewhat familiar to those peaceful scenes in my youth.

It made him sigh.

"I've heard for a long time that Chen Fu's military skills are unparalleled. Today I saw that he is indeed an unparalleled scholar despite his great reputation."

The admiration was naturally directed at Chen Kai, because from recovery to management, Chen Kai contributed the most and had a huge influence on Chaozhou. However, the Confucian scholar's behavior was also due to his understanding before attending the banquet.

Now, the two people here have all joined the Guangdong Trade Alliance. One of them was still not elected in the council election, but he still got the title of alternate member - what is the story behind the Guangdong Trade Alliance and the council?

Who he is, even the servants of the Confucian scholar family know, he will naturally follow his fancy.

"Yes, Chen Fujun has said many times that if you have enough food and clothing, you will know the etiquette, and if you have enough food and clothing, you will know the honor and disgrace. Therefore, economic development, whether it is agriculture, handicrafts, or commerce, is to make the people rich and the country strong."

"The people are prosperous and the country is strong. The fact that there is a figure like Chen Fujun in the country is really the manifestation of Emperor Taizu Gao."

When Confucian scholars traveled to various places, what they saw the most was corrupt officials exploiting the people. The Ming court also wanted to drain the controlled area dry so that it could gather greater strength to compete with the Qing court.

Today is still a troubled time, and both the Ming and Qing Dynasties are trying their best to strangle their opponents to death. Under such a general environment, Chen Kai is still working hard to develop the economy and restore people's livelihood. Even the Zheng Group is under his influence.

Xia Ya is completely in a steady and steady posture, which is really rare.

The people's livelihood in Chaozhou went out of control in the last years of Chongzhen and the Qing army "passed by". Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai worked together to wipe out the heroes, so that the people could live and work in peace and contentment. In fact, because Chaozhou's psychological positioning towards the Zheng Group has changed from the historical

When the undefeable military grain production areas were converted into stable base areas that could be held firmly, the original targeted and predatory grain and salary collection policy was not implemented. Over the years, the wise saying "Don't worry about poverty but worry about insecurity"

, which has been confirmed in Chaozhou.

As local merchants in Chaozhou, they naturally achieved considerable development in this process by cooperating with the Ming army. In terms of wealth, Guangzhou, Chaozhou and Qiongzhou were the top three in Guangdong during the Ming Dynasty.

As the provincial capital, Guangzhou has always been a battleground for military strategists. The massacre of the city, combined with the violent conquests of Pingnan and Jingnan vassals, has long been ruined and landless. And although Qiongzhou is located in a remote place, it still cannot fight in the Ming and Qing wars.

They were spared, Li Chengdong took all of Guangdong, Li Chengdong anyway, Shang Geng and the two feudal lords rebelled against Du Yonghe, and Chen Kai took over the sea, many times, even though the intensity was far less than that of Guangzhou, but there were many locals.

The civil unrest caused the people's livelihood in Qiongzhou to inevitably decline.

In comparison, Chaozhou has a unique advantage in this regard. Long-term stability has allowed the population to grow, refugees have entered the country, and large tracts of wasteland have been reclaimed. It is backed by the Zheng Group and is located at the junction of Fujian and Guangdong provinces.

Once the place is blocked, business travel will be endless, and the handicraft industry that has no worries about sales will naturally develop further.

In recent years, the whole of Guangdong has been in decline. Only Chaozhou has quickly returned to its normal level after a short decline, and has even been further improved. Among the Guangdong Business Alliance, the financial strength of Chaozhou merchants is rapidly increasing.

The most powerful.

Confucian scholars also have business backgrounds in their families. To be precise, their families belong to the gentry and merchant families who use business to support the imperial examinations. Such families were not very common among the Confucian scholar-bureaucrat class in the Ming Dynasty, and more of them were like that.

The economic basis of the farming, reading and poetry-li family families is mainly farming, rent collection and teaching. Even planting cash crops is very different from pure business.

Originally, the family behind the Confucian scholars was cooperating with the Ming army, which was just a sign of publicity - after all, the children that the family had fully supported were always in the area controlled by the Qing court, and there was no shortage of hedging their bets.

However, now the Ming army is gaining momentum, and with the birth of Chen Kai's Advisory Bureau. It is also a bet that the most he can do in the Qing court is to be an official, and based on his fame and connections, he is probably also high.

Not going anywhere; but here, as long as he has a stable position in the council, it will be of great benefit to the family to rely solely on influence in the future. So, he came back, and the first time he came back was

One thing is to try to reconnect with some old friendships. For example, these two people were childhood acquaintances who were enlightened at the same time as him. The three families also have business contacts, so there is no need to talk about friendship.

After talking about the great situation at hand, the Confucian scholar turned to the thing he wanted to know the most. Unexpectedly, not only the alternate congressman had a good face, but also the other friend

Also full of smiles.

"My dear friend, after all, I have read the books of sages, and I got to the point as soon as I asked." He applauded, and the friend immediately turned his attention to the alternate member, and the latter also answered unhurriedly.

: "Chen Fujun has already made it clear about the size of the advisory bureau. The current advisory bureau in Guangzhou City is only for establishment. In the future, it will evolve into a provincial advisory bureau. In each government, there will also be advisory bureaus.

, in order to better speak for the people. The staffing of the Provincial Council and the Government Council will not be the dozens of people it is now. It will only increase, not decrease."

If there are only a few dozen people, or even if it is expanded at the provincial level, then the Confucian scholar asks himself that it is impossible to get into the council with his personal reputation and family background. But now it sounds like the provincial

There is probably still no hope at the first level, but if he reaches the consultative bureau at the government level, he may still have some chances due to his dual status as a scholar and a businessman.

This was also what the family behind him considered. After getting the answer, he felt at ease and praised Chen Kai for his foresight. Then, while trying to learn more about the relevant systems of the Advisory Board, he

, has not forgotten his concern for local business development, especially how to join the Guangdong Business Alliance, which is what he is most concerned about.

"Well, the rules of the association stipulate that generally three formal members are required as introducers, and family and personal backgrounds must also be investigated. Those who have a cooperative relationship with Master Wang are naturally easy to recommend. If they are related to the Tatars,

It’s hard to say…”

The conditions for joining the association, if the Confucian scholar thinks about it carefully, basically the family business can meet it. The hard conditions are not a big problem, and the formalities are not something that can be understood in one go today. So, the direction of the conversation is very clear.

Soon it turned to the operations of the Guangdong Commercial Alliance in Chaozhou.

"Compared to other prefectures, Chaozhou has the strongest financial resources. In the past two years, the local tinware, ceramics and silk industries have received a large amount of investment and have developed very rapidly."

When it comes to business matters, not to mention that he has made a lot of money in the past two years, especially since the alternate member had the opportunity to attend the meeting in Guangzhou because of the Guangdong Business Alliance, he was even more energetic.

"Speaking of it, it is indeed not as impressive as the Guangzhou gang who made the silk industry in Shunde. But with the Guangdong Business Alliance, internal competition is reduced and external competitiveness is enhanced. There is no need to worry about buyers, and you can also be honest.

Let’s talk about it, the money is definitely less than theirs. If there is a disadvantage, it is that the local foundation in Chaozhou is very good. Unlike Guangzhou, a large amount of land can be purchased at a low price, and the monthly salary of the workers is also very good.

It doesn’t take much, even if you take care of food, housing and a little money, people will flock to you.”

Chaozhou porcelain, Chaozhou embroidery, and tinware are all local products with strong competitiveness in the market. However, because the cost is not as low as that in Guangzhou, profits will inevitably be limited, which is inevitable.

things.

Nowadays, the Chaozhou members of the Guangdong Business Alliance are already studying how to further tap the industrial potential. When mentioning this matter, the alternate member suddenly gave another person a wink, and the other person understood it and the Confucian scholar was puzzled.

He stood up under his gaze, quietly opened the door, observed for a while, and then returned to his seat.

The former shook his head, and then the alternate lowered his voice and said some things that could be said but not said in front of these two childhood friends: "Mrs. Chen is now in charge of the Chen family's business. In Shunde, Guangdong,

The silk mill and the cotton spinning workshop in Qiongzhou were all invested with money. The governor's wife was the daughter of Duke Dingguo, and she had a good business vision. Both investments were making continuous profits.
Chapter completed!