Starting from Chen Kai's outsmart capture of Chaozhou in the second year of Yongli, or even earlier in the twelfth lunar month of the second year of Longwu, the Zheng Group restarted its operations in Guangdong Province from Nan'ao Island.

At first, it was just a prefecture in Chaozhou. Later, Zheng Chenggong merged with Zheng Cai, and the Zheng Lian brothers regained the Zhongzuo Office, the original sea trade center of the Zheng Group, and then shifted the strategic focus to southern Fujian. However, as the situation in Guangdong worsened,

As the situation continued to deteriorate, especially the fall of Chengxiang and southwestern Chaozhou, Chen Kai took over the military and political affairs of Chaozhou, forming a back-to-back pattern with Zheng Chenggong.

In the following years, Hong Kong was like a nail stuck in the mouth of the Pearl River. Qiongzhou Prefecture was recovered by Li Dingguo during the great heat outside Zhaoqing Prefecture. The spoils of the Battle of Guangzhou, as well as Huizhou Prefecture and the western part of Guangzhou Prefecture were recently captured.

The central and southern part of Shaozhou Prefecture. After various calculations, although the Zheng Group's control area in Guangdong Province is not as good as that of Fujian, which covers almost the entire province, it also controls Guangzhou, Chaozhou, Qiongzhou, Huizhou and

A vast area covering most of Shaozhou.

Such a huge territory naturally requires a large number of troops to be stationed in Nan'ao Town. The newly appointed military officer Hong Zheng is in charge of the land division and water camp of the headquarters, taking care of the tasks of defending the island and patrolling the surrounding waters; Chaozhou Prefecture, the central part has Chaozhou General.

Chen Bao, the Marquis of Bing Zhongyong, Hong Xishan, the general military officer in charge of Chenghai local affairs in the south, and Zhang Jin, the Zhongkuang Bo in the north, who was in charge of the northern part of Chaozhou Prefecture and the northeastern part of Huizhou Prefecture.

Like Chaozhou Prefecture, Huizhou Prefecture also has the new Taibo Hao Shangjiu who is stationed in the west of Huizhou Prefecture, and a five thousand army of the city guard association outside the town. On the Qiongzhou Prefecture, there is also Fuming Hou Lincha who is in charge of the navy.

, Du Hui, the commander-in-chief of Qiongzhou in charge of the Lu Division, and Cai Yuan, the deputy general of Changhua.

Putting aside these three prefectures, the Zheng Group concentrated its real main forces in Guangzhou Prefecture and Shaozhou Prefecture. Not counting local troops including Hong Kong, the left admiral Ke Chenshu, the former Chongzhen Zhou Quanbin, and the rear Chongzhen Ke

Chen Mei, support the post-suppression town Lan Deng, guard the former town Shen Ming, guard the back town Chen Kui, guard the left town Xiao Gongchen, guard the right town Shen Qi, guard the middle town Chen Yaoce, guard the middle town Huang Xing, and guard the Hou Jin town Chen Bin

, Wang Qifeng of Tiejia Town, Li Jianjie of Hussar Town, plus Anding Bo Ma Bao who had just changed his gate. Tens of thousands of troops gathered here. If it were not that the people's livelihood in Guangdong was not enough to support further war, Chen Kai would have

Just take them to regain the lost territory, and they won't stay here for so long.

For such a large number of troops, military supplies and food are one of them, and military pay is one of them. The generals are stationed in the place, especially many of these troops are transferred from Fujian. They are just like guest troops, so there must be local support.

Only by sharing profits can we have stronger cohesion with Guangdong, which is also a way to ensure combat effectiveness.

Hidden local subsidies are one thing. Now that there is the Guangdong Business Alliance, Chen Kai has roped in Chen Qice and Li Changrong, and the Guangdong generals cannot ignore it. However, how to proceed is not trivial.

The question is whether to participate in maritime trade in the form of government and businessmen like the Zheng Group, or to form a trading company like Chen Qice and Li Changrong. Chen Kai has an idea in his mind, but further calculations and trade-offs are needed before he can pay.

In practice, however, Chen Kai has already informed the generals in private, saying that he will definitely take care of his brothers, and the benefits will definitely be indispensable.

Chen Kai still had some prestige in the military. After all, he had been in charge of troops in Guangdong for many years, and he had done a lot of work in Fujian. He probably had a good relationship with the generals in Guangdong. He still had some time to think, but he also

We can't keep putting it off forever, after all, things will change if we delay, and we can't let our hopes gradually turn into disappointment.

However, before deciding on these things, Chen Kai still has more important things to do, which is to meet with the newly appointed Guangdong Inspector Cao Conglong for the first time. Even if, regardless of whether he can take this person down, he will go to the Inspector's Yamen

Buda is indispensable for him - it is not only the rule of the officialdom, but also the tacit understanding between him and Zheng Chenggong.

"Yunlin, how late are you here?"

Whether they are enemies or friends has not yet been determined, and when they got married, they also gave a congratulatory gift. Therefore, when he learned about Cao Conglong's arrival, Chen Kai put down what he was doing and lowered his rank to greet him. When the visitor saw Chen Kai, he also

He quickly stepped forward to salute, but was held back by Chen Kai.

"You are the Minister of War, and I am also the Minister of War. Since we are equal, why should we be like this?"

"Chen Fujun is the governor, and the lower officials only serve as inspectors. It is the etiquette of meeting the superior officials."

There are gestures of saluting, there are words of saluting, and there is a basic attitude. With this attitude, it was a good start for Chen Kai. Immediately, he grabbed the visitor's forearm.

Then he walked directly to the office room.

Chen Kai strode forward, followed by those who came. Looking closely, he was a civil servant in his thirties or forties. He was not a Confucian scholar like Chen Kai. He had been in charge of military and political power for many years, and he had the aura of a man in power.

Come to think of it, although he has been in the official position of the Minister of War for many years, the Minister of War of the Lu Jianguo Dynasty was originally a bad person. In the center, the military power was in the hands of the Ming army vassals and rebel leaders. The Minister of War

There are not many people who can intervene, let alone a minister.

In this way, there is still a bit of the temperament of a Confucian scholar in him, which can be seen at a glance. But based on Chen Kai's experience in recognizing people, he always feels that there is a looming temperament in this person that can tempt people. In the end,

At least it's not as flamboyant as ordinary Confucian scholars, let alone arrogant.

Chen Kai didn't know if this was related to the fact that his achievements over the years had made other civil servants unable to open their eyes, but as long as he felt the word "forbearance", he always felt uneasy in his heart.

Not caring about this much, Chen Kai introduced Cao Conglong into the second hall, sat down on both sides, and immediately smiled at him: "Just in time, I heard that Yunlin was coming, and I specially invited someone who should have something in common with Yunlin."

"oh?"

Sitting on the chair, Cao Conglong was slightly confused, but then a look of understanding appeared on his face. However, up to this time, he did not express his thoughts and just nodded.

Although such an action was not taken, in Chen Kai's eyes, it was more worth pondering than taking any action. During this time, the two of them were chatting, and Chen Kai just pretended that he had no ideas and talked about Fujian.

After talking about the situation and what he had seen along the way, until a moment later, Cao Conglong lost his temper. He simply said that he had something to discuss with Chen Kai in detail, but his eyes drifted to the servant next to him.

This meant having a secret conversation, and Chen Kai certainly understood it. Perhaps it was the sequelae of the heavy responsibility of assassinating Che, but Chen Kai had fantasized about being assassinated more than once. At this time, Cao Conglong was like this. Such an association resurfaced, but he immediately waved his hand.

In the meantime, he smiled. Because after seeing each other for a moment, looking at his pace and posture, he estimated that he would be restrained within five seconds of close combat. It was not that Chen Kai had much confidence in his own martial arts. It was really a matter of life and death.

He has personally experienced the fringe scene more than once, and his psychological quality alone is definitely much higher than this guy with a scholarly temperament.

With a wave of his hand, the servant who was waiting at the side withdrew wisely. After the door was closed, Cao Conglong subconsciously looked around, making sure that there was no fifth ear that could hear the secrets here, and then

He stood up and strode up to Chen Kai. He stretched his right arm forward, bent his forearm, made a fist with his right hand, and made a flat-chested salute within the Tiandihui with the tiger's mouth facing his heart.

"The earth shakes the high hills, and the western mountains show their beauty through the ages."

Cao Conglong's voice was not loud, but when Chen Kai heard the words, his original smile disappeared. His face was stern, but he immediately regained his composure, stood up, made the same action, and replied at the same time: "Door

Towards the sea, the three rivers merge and the water flows for thousands of years."

"Cao Conglong, a member of Tiandihui Lotus Hall, has met the chief rudder."

Heaven and earth will meet!

Lotus Hall!

Chief helmsman!

With that code word, Chen Kaiyue already understood what was going on. Speaking of this, the Lotus Hall alone explained the situation even more. Because when Chen Kai recruited Lu Ruoteng and Shen Quanqi to join the Tiandihui,

The two asked about the name of the branch if they were to establish a branch in Fujian in the future, and Chen Kai replied with the word "Lotus". This was decided by Chen Kai based on his memory. Another example is Hongshun Hall in Guangdong, which is limited to him here.

Memory, Lu, and Shen, since Cao Conglong was the one who was in charge of the Lotus Hall in Fujian when he opened his mouth, it was naturally those two people who led him into the Tiandihui.

I remember that not long after he and Zheng Xiyuan got married, when they invited Lu Ruoteng and Shen Quanqi to join the Tiandihui, they had mentioned the affairs of several overseas societies. Their evaluation of these societies was positive.

He was also a member of the Overseas Club, and he had expressed that the six members of the Overseas Club also planned to invite Chen Kai to join the club, but Chen Kai was busy with affairs in Guangdong at the time and did not accept the invitation.

However, to this day, Lu Ruoteng and Shen Quanqi have actually developed a member of Tiandihui from within. Chen Kai clearly remembered that he did not authorize the two of them to recruit others to join the membership. But now that he thinks about it again, it seems that he did not prohibit the two of them from doing so.

.

In this case, Chen Kai stopped talking about the matter and just acquiesced. Afterwards, he talked with Cao Conglong in detail and found that it was really Lu Ruoteng and Shen Quanqi who did it. Moreover, these two people not only dragged Cao Conglong into the Tiandi Society, but also several overseas societies.

Xu Fuyuan and Chen Shijing have also joined the Tiandihui. Only Zhang Huangyan is still clean now, or he followed Zhang Minzhen to Chongming the year before last, so he has not had time to be roped in. Otherwise, those overseas societies will almost be annexed by the Tiandihui.

Well, I really don’t know what Chen Zilong and Xia Yunyi felt when they were under Jiuquan.

"Yu Tunan, Shen Guangwen, Ren Tinggui, Cai Yingchang, Wang Zhongxiao, Ren Yingmei, Fu Qifang, Qian Sulin?"

"Indeed."

In addition to Lu Ruoteng, Shen Quanqi, Xu Fuyuan, Cao Conglong and Chen Shijing, Cao Conglong reported to Chen Kai some other members they had secretly developed during this period. Among them, Shen Guangwen was the minister of Taipus Temple, and Yu Tunan was the deputy envoy of Taipus Temple.

, Ren Tinggui is the Minister of Taichang Temple, Cai Yingchang and Ren Yingmei are the Ministers of Taichang Temple, and Fu Qifang and Qian Sulin are the chiefs of the Ministry of War.

Like the five major figures from several overseas societies, Chen Kai listened to their backgrounds and immediately classified them all into the collection of former bureaucrats. This is not uncommon among the anti-Qing people, and logically speaking, it is nothing.

No big deal. But the problem is that these people are all civil servants of Lu Jianguo Dynasty, and Qian Sule is the seventh brother of Qian Sule, the former Shangshu of the Dongge University Soldier Department of Lu Jianguo Dynasty. And the only one among them is not Lu Jianguo

Officials appointed by the imperial dynasty - Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple in the Longwu Dynasty, Wang Zhongxiao, the right minister of the Ministry of War in the Yongli Dynasty and minister of Taichang Temple, are also in Kinmen and are accompanied by Zhu Yihai, the Supervisor of Lu.

It is understandable that secret societies are difficult to put into words. But what Chen Kai never expected was that the Lotus Hall of the Tiandihui, which should have been the strongest place of the Zheng Group, has now become

Lu Jianguo Chao was a small group within the Tiandihui, which really made Chen Kai not know what to say for a while.

Whether Lu Jian Guochao intends to use the Tiandihui organization and his power to carry out a backdoor listing. Chen Kai has no way of knowing. Lu Ruoteng and Shen Quanqi have already recruited Xu Fuyuan, Chen Shijing and others according to their vision.

Cao Conglong, the three former ministers of the Lu Supervisory Dynasty, and these three people took advantage of the opportunity to attract a group of people. To them personally, they are all trustworthy figures. Chen Kai can't say much. However, this cannot be said.

It aroused his deep thoughts, so that the wariness he had just put down towards Cao Conglong was raised again, even more seriously than before.

Compared with the Guangdong Business Alliance, which is blatantly displayed and is playing an increasingly important role, the Tiandihui has always been a secret and idle chess piece of Chen Kai. For the Tiandihui members in Jiangxi, Southern Gansu and Fujian, brainwashing is

Yes, but the investment in other aspects is negligible. In terms of control, due to the communication technology of this era, it is relatively loose. This is indeed conducive to the self-expansion of Tiandihui, but whether it will be invaded by people with ulterior motives remains unclear.

It also needs attention.

"So, it was Muzhou and Fuzhai who proposed that Yunlin express his sincerity to Guoxing?"

"Replying to the chief helmsman, it is indeed the case. In addition to me, there are several other members who have also terminated their close ties with His Royal Highness King Lu. Through the recommendation of Chu Xian Guan and Mu Zhou and Fuzhai, they obtained

Appointments with national surnames. At this stage, except for me, all of them are serving in Fujian."

"As expected."

Cao Conglong's visit this time, in addition to Zheng Chenggong's appointment, also had the task of Lu Ruoteng reporting to Chen Kai on the development of Tiandihui in Fujian. Obviously, Fujian's Lotus Hall has begun to consciously penetrate the Zheng Group's administrative system in Fujian

——They want to play a greater role, but this is very dangerous and is no different from playing with fire. Now it seems that this organization has to be rectified. At the same time, it is necessary to consider whether to materialize it and make it public.

issues.

There were many issues that needed to be considered, and Chen Kai had no intention of making an immediate decision. At this time, a report came from outside. So, Chen Kai signaled Cao Conglong to return to his seat, and let's not talk about the Tiandihui.

.
Chapter completed!