Arrogant and arrogant, this is Chen Kai's first impression of Li Dingguo. However, I have to say that Chen Kai's talent did make him feel a surprise, and even this surprise had washed away the dissatisfaction when he heard that it was Chen Kai who persuaded him to stop Zheng Chenggong from coming to attack Zhaoqing with him.

It's just that this temperament is indeed a little too straightforward, and he doesn't leave a little face for Shangguan and his colleagues at all, and there seems to be a big discrepancy with the relevant information collected by the staff, which makes him feel a little confused.

"The incident in Zhaoqing is indeed as Chen Fujun expected, our army has insufficient food and grass, resulting in a lack of stamina, so we will temporarily return to Guangxi to recuperate." Affirming Chen Kai's ability, Li Dingguo's words changed: "However, when discussing military affairs, you must also pay attention to your words!" ”

"It's the lower official's impulse." Having said that, Chen Kai had no intention of apologizing to Guo Zhiqi, as if he had lazy to pay attention to Guo and Lian.

This posture makes it clear that he is unwilling to work with Guo and Lian. Next, the staff saw that it was useless to talk too much, so he hurriedly confessed and went out, and came back in a blink of an eye, saying that the reception banquet was ready, and asked Li Dingguo and Chen Kai to go to the banquet first.

The words are not speculative, Guo Zhiqi and Lian Chengbi are sick and leave. Soon, many generals of the Ming Army and the Righteous Army in Western Guangdong who were originally going to the banquet also found various reasons. At the beginning of the banquet, there were more Li Dingguo's generals and staff in the big tent, as well as a small number of generals and commanders of the Ming Army and the Righteous Army in western Guangdong, which can be said to have created a new low in the number of people at the reception banquet since Li Dingguo entered Guangdong in the east.

This is taking sides, even if the two sides are not so stiff, it is inevitable. At the moment, it is even more so. Even, even the generals of the Ming Army and the Righteous Army in Western Guangdong who came may not have come to show favor to Chen Kai, some wanted to use their strength to fight, some had the mentality that neither side could be offended, and some came directly to do fine work, listening to Chen Kai's every move when they were away.

When the reception banquet was over, sure enough, someone went straight to Guo Zhiqi to make a report. The content is nothing more than the people and things at the reception banquet, but the hidden things are never so simple.

"Li Jianjie?"

"Yes, Inspector, it's Li Jianjie."

Li Jianjie is the most capable cavalry under Li Chengdong, with outstanding martial arts, this time Chen Kai came over, and it is said that the escort was this Li Jianjie, with more than 500 horses.

That's just it, Li Jianjie's appearance gave them a wake-up call - how many people did Chen Kai bring with him this time, and he was able to be so fearless. Guo Zhiqi and Lian Chengbi glanced at each other, but they still couldn't be sure. In the final analysis, although the Zheng Group is a little filthy internally, it is still monolithic against them, and there is really not much information they can get. On the western side of Guangdong, the civil officials are okay, basically the same qi and branches, but there are many feudal towns, not to mention the miscellaneous, and there are many signs of each other inside, and it is impossible to keep information confidential.

"Did Chen Kai mention anything about military affairs?"

The visitor recalled it carefully, and shook his head slightly confused in the expectant eyes of the two, saying that he didn't hear Chen Kai and Li Dingguo talk about any military affairs, just sitting there drinking, most of the time he was talking to Li Jianjie, but he had a good conversation with Li Dingguo's staff, and even the two left together after the banquet.

"Jin Weixin?"

As soon as this name was revealed, Guo Zhiqi and Lian Chengbi's faces turned pale at that time, obviously realizing what was about to happen.

………………

At the reception banquet, Li Dingguo's generals on the left side, such as Jin Tongwu, Zhang Sheng, Gao Wengui, Gao En, Wu Zisheng, Guo Youming, etc., were all present, and cronies such as Jin Weixin and Gong Ming were also present in the staff. Among them, Jin Weixin is a witness to the conflict between the civil officials of Western Guangdong and Chen Kai, and since the banquet, Jin Weixin has also stepped forward to talk with Chen Kai in accordance with Li Dingguo's wishes, and soon the two talked very happily, and even the interest after the banquet did not pass, and he walked out of his arms and went straight to Chen Kai's residence to continue talking.

"It was still the first year of Yongli, I went south to join the country, and I met robbers on the road, and even the short fights and straw sandals I wore when I met were borrowed from someone. Looking back now, I was really depressed, and it was a great chance that the guards with the surname of the country didn't drive me away as Hanako. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Kai laughed out loud, and Jin Weixin also echoed and laughed twice: "That is also Chen Fujun's talent, and the surname of the country is also a knowing person, and it is inevitable that you can be used at first sight." ”

"Not really." Chen Kai shook his head and continued to say to Jin Weixin: "At that time, the national surname had just started the army, and he was inseparable from the Tartars, so the gentry in Fujian and Guangdong provinces who were inclined to the court did not come back to vote. And because of the father of the national surname, those who have their hearts towards the king do not look down on the national surname. The surname of the country was the second year of Longwu in the month of the army, and when I went to the island in April, I was actually the first scholar to come to serve. Such as Du Hui and Ke Chenshu, they were all brought from Fujian by the national surname, and no one even came to defect until the national surname was sent out of the army. It's very important to be born at the right time. ”

After saying that, Chen Kai sighed, and a hint of luck appeared on his face. But it was this luck that was seen in Jin Weixin's eyes, but his heart couldn't help but be touched.

"Don't hide it from Chen Fujun, when the students defected to His Highness's scenes, His Highness didn't have any staff in the scenes. At that time, His Royal Highness had not yet accepted the appointment of the imperial court, and many people said that the students had been thieves. ”

Looking back on that year, Jin Weixin also felt a lot. It was Chen Kai, who heard this at this moment, couldn't help but raise his head and re-examine Jin Weixin, and when he looked at it again, there was already a sympathetic closeness in his eyes, and Jin Weixin's heart couldn't help but warm.

"I was in a good hurry, and the staff who had to be used later, such as Ye Yiyun, Chen Ding, Feng Xifan, and Pan Gengzhong, have not yet defected. Some of them are jinshi, and some are lifters, if they don't go early, otherwise I, a so-called child who hasn't even passed the county exam, how can it be so easy to gain a firm foothold in the national surname. In this regard, Mr. Jin is much better than me. ”

"Chen Fujun is a genius, and students dare not compare."

Jin Weixin said modestly, but Chen Kai shook his head, and then said two words to Jin Weixin categorically - chance!

"Oh?"

"When I went to the island, the surname Guo was ready to send troops to cooperate with Zheng Cai and Zheng Lian brothers to attack Haicheng County. At that time, the national surname was expanded, but the weapons were insufficient. I'm new here, and with such an identity, I can only pick a heavy burden to carry. Only by winning the first battle and making a name for themselves can you have a status to speak of in the future. Otherwise, how could the national surname take the risk according to my method in the next year? ”

Increasing the output of ordnance manufacturing and outwitting Chaozhou are the two most important things for Chen Kai to gain a firm foothold in the Zheng Group. With these practical deeds, he proved that he is a compound talent who can conquer cities and conquer cities and retreat, and can preside over military logistics, and he is also a trustworthy figure, the so-called own person.

Chen Kai talked eloquently, looking back at the past, Jin Weixin couldn't help but nod, especially the rescue of Guangzhou, in which the thrill was like stepping on the tip of the knife, after Chen Kai's artistic processing, it was even more difficult to hear Jin Weixin scratching his ears and cheeks.

"No wonder an unruly character like An Subo is willing to follow Chen Fujun's command, it's really Chen Fujun who did that job."

"It's also that An Subo is loyal and unwilling to surrender."

said that the rescue of Guangzhou, and the back was nothing more than marrying the Zheng family. It is unimaginable for a staff member to marry the daughter-in-law of the proprietor's family and the son-in-law of the father-in-law. What's even worse is that next, before the marriage was concluded, Chen Kai killed the proprietor's own uncle first, which made Jin Weixin even more dumbfounded.

"I thought very clearly at the time, I am a staff member of the country's surname, and the proprietor is on a campaign against the king of Qin, so I should take care of the house for the proprietor. Yu Gong, the warehouses of the Zhongzuo Institute are all used to raise soldiers, to recover lost territory for the imperial court, and to revive the Ming Dynasty. The surname of the country is a loyal and patriotic person, and he will be able to understand me. Even if I can't, at least I've worked hard, and I believe that my efforts have brought a better future to Master Wang. ”

Chen Kai said these words proudly, and he was also immersed in memories. At this moment, Jin Weixin also recalled how exhausted he had been over the years, not only to do his job well, but also to spend a lot of time digging out the way of loyalty and righteousness from various historical stories, which was used to give Li Dingguo insights. With these, he became the most indispensable figure in Li Dingguo's scene, even if Li Dingguo became a famous king later, and Confucian scholars from Huguang, Guangxi and other places came to vote one after another, many of them were stronger than him, but with these foundations, his position was unshakable.

"My efforts over the years have also taken into account both the court and the proprietor."

Thinking about it, Jin Weixin couldn't help but think of the alliance between the Yongli court and Li Dingguo. In this, in the eyes of the people around him, there is no lack of his efforts, and even he himself wants to come here, it is nothing more than not taking credit in front of others.

is also from a staff member, which makes the two have the same sympathy, and even the same hatred and resonance. The more they talked, the happier they became, and they talked all night, and only hurriedly said goodbye when the rooster crowed. The two talked about the year and the table, and they talked together when they had time, as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.

Leaving Chen Kai's place, Jin Weixin didn't sleep all night, but it seemed that there was still a wave of excitement, and he hurriedly went to see Li Dingguo and explained the results of the night.

"According to what the students have seen, this Chen Fujun is not difficult to get along with."

"So, what he did before the banquet was all deliberate?"

Li Dingguo frowned and said, Jin Weixin also nodded solemnly: "Your Highness is wise, the students heard from Chen Fujun's words, in the final analysis, it is due to the exclusion of him by the company control army at the beginning. ”

"yes, that's really hurtful."

The surname Zhu is still surnamed Zheng, don't say it's Chen Kai, Li Dingguo felt very uncomfortable when he heard it, because he also had the possibility of being asked whether he was surnamed Ming or Xi. This is true of Li Dingguo, and so is Jin Weixin, because as a staff member, he also faces the possibility of questioning whether his surname is Zhu or Li.

Because of that exclusion, Chen Fujun was reluctant to work with Inspector Guo and Lian Zhijun. It is said that when he was in the background of the national surname, he was conspired against several times by a confidant general with the national surname at that time, called Shi Lang, and he hated the feeling of being dragged back. ”

was dragged back, this word was said by Chen Kai to Jin Weixin personally, and Jin Weixin directly relayed it to Li Dingguo. However, when he heard this, Li Dingguo couldn't help but think of the great victory in Guilin that year, which was already a good situation of taking Guangxi and advancing troops into Guangdong, but as a result, he was transferred back to Huguang, which led to the re-fall of several prefectures and counties in Guangxi. That incident made him a great victory in Hengyang. However, according to his original script, Hengyang Dajie was to encircle in three ways and completely annihilate the main force of the Eight Banners Army, but he returned and only killed a Nikan who was rash and rash to advance, and Tunqi took the Eight Banners Army away in a hurry, almost unscathed.

In the next year, Sun Kewang reaped the consequences, but it was a pity that so many elite troops were lost by that guy for no reason. And what Sun Kewang is even more hateful is that he wants to kill him in the name of military discussion and seize the army for his own use. When it didn't work, he cut off his salary, which directly led to his embarrassment in the Battle of Zhaoqing.

Pig-like teammates, Chen Kai's word is so apt that Li Dingguo can't help but think deeply. After a while, he continued to ask Jin Weixin about Chen Kai's purpose, and the latter also gave a clear answer.

Chen Fujun said that he was invited to cooperate with His Royal Highness, not with Inspector Guo and General Lian. He didn't think that with the ability of Guo Inspector and Lian Commander, he could help much, but he was worried that civilian officials who did not understand military affairs would interfere with military affairs, and that friendly troops of mixed quality would expose their flaws to the Tartars. Therefore, he hoped that once he had a frontal battle with the main force of the Tartars, His Highness would join forces with him, and rely on His Highness's headquarters to cooperate with the elite of eastern Guangdong he brought, so as not to be taken advantage of by the enemy. ”

Jin Weixin blurted out Chen Kai's plan, and Li Dingguo thought about it, but also remembered the chronic illness of the Ming court's civil officials leading the troops, and the reason for Liu Wenxiu's failure in the battle of Baoning.

It is undeniable that Chen Kai is indeed a soldier, and his achievements over the years are brilliant, and the analysis here is also reasonable, which can't help but cause him to think deeply. At this time, he immediately realized a crucial problem.

"Chen Fujun is here, how many soldiers and horses did he bring?"

Regarding Li Dingguo's question, Jin Weixin knew everything and said everything, briefly mentioned Chen Kai's statement, and then made a detailed analysis. It wasn't until the end that another key point was paraphrased.

"Chen Fujun said that His Royal Highness and the national surname are in-laws, and he and the national surname are also the relationship between his brother-in-law and his uncle, and they are all relatives."

In terms of relatives, this is what Li Dingguo has thought of a long time ago, it is nothing more than the discord between Chen Kai and his other ally, the civil officials of Western Guangdong, plus Chen Kai choked with Guo Zhiqi and Lianchengbi as soon as they met, so that he forgot about this stubble.

When I think about it again, I have another affirmation in my heart. Although relatives are extremely unreliable these days, with more such friendships, cooperation should be more harmonious, just like when he asked Zheng Chenggong's daughter for his son last year, didn't he think the same thing?

By the time we said goodbye, it was already early afternoon. Chen Kai stepped into the big tent, and only Li Dingguo and Jin Weixin were inside. The latter smiled at him, and when he looked up, Li Dingguo also had a sense of closeness. In this regard, a smile secretly appeared on the corner of Chen Kai's mouth.

"Selling and boasting, how can there be people who can be trusted to help say that the project should be more effective?"