The fighting on the Western Front slowed down, and throughout May, Chen Kai was busy with civil affairs in Chaozhou. On the other hand, as the attacking party in the strategic layout, Zheng Chenggong also quickly raised a large army to advance eastward after learning the news of Chen Jin's assassination, and went straight to Tong'an County.

Tong'an County is located between the two prefectures of Zhangquan, west of Changtai, east to Nan'an, south across the sea is the left of the center. The circumference of the city wall is 2,710 meters, the height is 7.4 meters, there are more than 10 enemy towers and 10 forts, the city is strong, especially in those 10 forts, it is to further push the level of city defense to the era of hot weapon warfare.

It was once acquired by Zheng Chenggong in history, and then fell again under the siege of the Qing army, and even the city walls and defensive buildings were demolished. Chen Kai's Chaozhou strategy avoided the tragedy of Tong'an's bloody ditch, but the city was not attacked, and it was still the same fortified city.

However, even a strong fortress must be guarded by a determined guardian in order to be effective. The biggest key point of the war lies in people, and with the fall of Zhangzhou Mansion and the assassination of Chen Jin, the two shocking news came, the Qing army was panicked, and it had reached the point where the grass and trees were all soldiers, and when the Ming army's exploration horse just appeared at the boundary of Tong'an County, the defenders in the city, even with the Fujian Levy and the right town mark outside the city, hurriedly abandoned the city and retreated directly to the Quanzhou Mansion City.

Taking Tong'an County without a fight, Zheng Chenggong was very glad that the five giant cannons were not brought with the army, but were carried by the sailors and waited for their fate. Assigned to defend the garrison, the army continued eastward and soon returned to the town of Anping.

Anping Town is a land and sea trade hub that Zheng Zhilong vigorously built in those years, so that from the Zhongzuo Institute, goods can be exchanged between the sea and land. Many of the close clansmen of the Shijing Zheng family lived here, and later with the success of Chen Kai's interception and killing of Ma Degong, most of the Zheng clan moved to Xiamen Island, and Cheng Jibo Zheng Zhibao was left here to continue to stay.

Due to the fact that the interests of the maritime trade were also involved in the Fujian officialdom of the Qing court, although Zhang Xuesheng was furious, he had no intention of committing public anger for the two dead ghosts of Ma Degong and Huang Shu. Anping Town was preserved, and when Zheng Chenggong's army arrived, Zheng Zhibao, who was his uncle, hurriedly greeted him, and he didn't dare to put on his uncle's shelf.

"It's still the fourth brother who knows how to see people and things better, Da Mu really deserves to be a thousand miles of my Zheng family."

"The fifth uncle has an overreputation."

Zheng Zhibao is very enthusiastic about Zheng Chenggong, but Zheng Chenggong is very cold to this fifth uncle. The old thing of being pitted by three uncles last year is indeed in the past, but the knots are not so easy to heal. The harsh treatment of Zheng Zhiguan and the suspicion and exclusion of Zheng Hongkui, now that he has seen Zheng Zhibao, he is indifferent and is already very polite.

chattered and said flattering words, but Zheng Chenggong often went back with just a few words. Later, Rao is Zheng Zhibao is not thin-skinned, and he is embarrassed, after the request to invite Zheng Chenggong into the town to rest was refused, he knew that Zheng Chenggong could not trust him, and did not say more.

One side is compromised, and the other side does not intend to give this face at all. Zheng Chenggong was stationed here for two days, and then the army continued eastward, and soon approached the banks of the Jinjiang River.

Quanzhou Fucheng is located on the east bank of the Jinjiang River, Zheng Chenggong came from the west, and the army was naturally stationed on the west bank of the Jinjiang River. It is the place where maritime trade gathers, the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, and it is an important coastal defense town in the southeast since ancient times.

The Qing army could give up Tong'an without a fight, but Quanzhou was both a capital city and an important town, so it must not be given up easily. For this reason, the Qing army gathered heavy troops here, including Fubiao, Tibiao, the right town mark, and the remnants of the Tong'an defenders and Chen Jin. At this stage, they are defending the Jinjiang River, and Fujian sailors, including Cai Xing and Zhang Yunfei, are gathered, which can be called a strict battle.

On the other hand, after Zheng Chenggong arrived at the bank of the Jinjiang River, he did not rush to cross the river, but sent troops to sweep the Yongning Acropolis, Fuquan Qianhusuo City, Shihu City and other places, and all the key points in the south of Quanzhou west of the Jinjiang River, so as to ensure that the center left became the hinterland.

This was a major strategic goal of the Southern Fujian Strategy, and Zheng Chenggong was not very eager to seize Quanzhou. By the time all this was completed and the center and left had peace of mind, it was already June. At this time, with the issuance of a paper order, the fleet assembled in the center of the left set sail and headed straight for Quanzhou.

………………

Thousands of sails sailed out, and the land division had already set out for the expedition. The barracks on Xiamen Island began to become empty, but the ports used by merchant ships were still bustling with traffic, and it seemed that there was a tendency to become more and more prosperous.

This is due to the Ming army's successive victories in battles, and the improvement of trust has made more people engaged in maritime trade begin to believe in the safety of Xiamen Island. And it is precisely security that can bring more business opportunities.

After seeing the weapons and sailing away with the fleet, Feng Chengshi turned to return to the Arsenal Bureau's workshop. This is the most important batch of weapons, gunpowder and war materials prepared for the First Battle of Quanzhou, and it is also the largest batch, which was prepared after almost all the warehouses were emptied, otherwise there would be no need for one of his officials in charge to rush over.

After leaving the port, the hanging heart was half relaxed. Feng Chengshi nodded to the officials of the port, and then walked to the carriage not far away, during which some people who didn't know each other came to say hello, he also smiled, and didn't wipe the sweat off his forehead until he got into the carriage.

"Go to the Mint."

The Mint is a newly established department under the Ordnance Bureau, which is responsible for coinage, which can be regarded as the most important expansion since Feng Chengshi took charge of the Ordnance Bureau.

The finished product has already been born, such as the one in Feng Chengshi's hand, weighing seven coins and four cents, with "foot lines" engraved at the upper end of the back and "pass" engraved at the lower end; The front is written horizontally "Zhangzhou Military Salary", and the bottom seems to be a pattern, but it is actually a cursive signature with the three characters "Zhu Chenggong" in one. Unlike the old copper coins and ingots, this is a silver coin with no square hole in the middle, just a circle. It seems to be more like the silver coins used in some countries on the European continent.

This design, as far as Feng Chengshi said, is to distinguish it from military pay and money, so as not to be criticized. Zheng Chenggong also expressed his approval for this, because there was really no need for him to rashly change the old system of Kong Fangyuan money, which had been practiced for more than 2,000 years.

With the development of coinage, Feng Chengshi's position in the Ordnance Bureau became more and more stable, and in Zheng Chenggong's curtain, he began to be regarded by others as the most trusted staff member after Chen Kai. Of course, Chen Kai's status as a staff member has become increasingly diluted with the continuous improvement of his status, especially after he became the general system of eastern Guangdong and won the victory in the defensive battle against Su Li and Geng Jimao, even those children of the Zheng family who advocated divorce were mostly silent, and the gap between the two sides was still a qualitative level.

However, this does not affect Feng Chengshi's popularity in the center and left. Just like in the port, whenever Feng Chengshi appears in a place, there will always be sycophants who come forward, because he is a person who is a person and belongs to the traditional scholar class, many scholars have a good impression of him, which makes his current status like a fish in water.

Arrived at the Mint, which is not too far from the workshop of the Ordnance Bureau, but it is a place with three layers inside and three layers outside, surrounded by the Ming Legion and strictly protected. Feng Chengshi stepped into it, and there were several posts before and after, even if it was for him, it was also checked layer by layer. This is the system he has set in order to be perfect.

After the inspection, Feng Chengshi led the servants into the workshop. After the salute, the craftsmen continue to work, and the temperature here is very high because the metal has to be melted down before it is cast. When all was said and done, there was not much difference between the one that appeared in his hand and the one he was playing with in the carriage.

"You're doing a great job."

After expressing his approval and accepting the compliment, Feng Chengshi returned to the Ordnance Bureau after completing his inspection and continued to sit on duty. His son, Feng Xifan, recently studied behind closed doors at home and did not follow him out to run errands. Feng Chengshi returned to the official room, reviewed some documents, and before he could get off the value, a new official document arrived, and after Feng Chengshi read it, he simply recruited Chen Qi together.

"Chen Duzao, how much inventory is there in South Australia?"

The inventory of South Australia that Feng Chengshi refers to is not the inventory of the head town government, but the inventory of the Ordnance Bureau in South Australia. The Ordnance Bureau's workshop in South Australia is still producing all kinds of weapons, and the output is naturally not comparable with that of the Central Left Institute, but the supporting facilities there are relatively perfect, and they are not under Feng Chengshi's nose, so it is relatively easier.

At this moment, Feng Chengshi asked, Chen Qi recalled it, and gave a figure that was really not very good-looking. In this regard, Feng Chengshi carefully flipped through the local inventory, and immediately said to Chen Qiyan: "As for the production of the Zhongzuo Institute, the national surname is making great strides to attack the Fujian captive division recently, and it must not be moved lightly. Send all the inventory of South Australia to Mr. Chen, and Chaozhou is on the defensive, so that they can save some money. ”

Speaking of this, Feng Chengshi thought about it for a while, and immediately shook his head: "Forget it, it's better for me to personally repair a letter and explain the situation to Mr. Chen." ”