As the words fell, Chen Kai leaned back, leaned comfortably on the back of the Taishi chair, reached out and picked up the teacup, blew the heat that no longer existed, and tasted it carefully.

The number of gifts for serving tea to guests has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. However, serving tea at this time has nothing to do with it. Chen Kai looked like this, and Guo Zhiqi was also sitting there, motionless. Especially the latter, although it is motionless, but the brain is running rapidly, weighing the pros and cons over and over again. It's just that after a long time, it's still difficult to make that decision.

From the perspective of the overall situation, the Manchu Qing Dynasty must be vigorous this time, and the danger is self-evident. And Sun Kewang descended to the Qing Dynasty, and the southwest bottom was in his hands, plus his people had controlled the situation for so many years, how many henchmen from top to bottom were in a difficult situation at home and abroad.

This can be said to be a more dangerous crisis than when Li Chengdong swallowed Fujian and Guangdong, and when King Sanshun swept the two Guangzhous. He came at this time to try to find a way to retreat eastward for the imperial court.

Theoretically, Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai are ministers, and it should be incumbent on them. However, for many years, the imperial court has been jealous of the Great Domain, especially the Zheng family, who also had a history of supporting Emperor Longwu. Thinking viciously, the court was destroyed by the Qing court, and they could set up a new monarch and control it. On the left side of the center, there has never been a shortage of clans that have taken refuge.

Speaking of which, Guangdong has been recovering for several years, Chen Kai has organized investment and development, and a number of economic growth points have begun to drive the province's economic recovery. However, on the ground in western Guangdong, the feudal towns are divided into one side, and even if the civil officials want to do something, they have nowhere to do. In terms of the recovery of people's livelihood, there is a world of difference between stagnation and rapid growth.

Originally, they planned to slowly restore their authority, and the starting point was the counties in the north of Zhaoqing Prefecture, and even Chengbi almost exhausted its network resources before they finally created a superintendent, and they were barely able to use it when they brought it to the battlefield in Wuzhou. This is a not bad start, but in this world, the weak have always eaten the strong, Hong Chengchou, the tiger, suffered a loss from Chen Kai, so he had to change places to make up for the loss, which interrupted their plan at once.

The initial capital is lost in this way, and it will be difficult to make progress in the follow-up development. Zhang Xiaoqi relied on Hepuzhu to hold back a pitiful stroke, but it did not contribute to the overall situation in western Guangdong. It's so rotten, and western Guangdong is actually already a piece of chicken ribs, and it's a pity to abandon it without meat.

Before embarking on this experience, Guo Zhiqi was so worried about this that he had already forced him to be mentally prepared to give up western Guangdong. Chen Kai made a request here, and he also knew very well that Chen Kai was responsible for the Zheng Group, and the cooperation between the two sides could be carried out normally. There is only one point, that is, how much sincerity Chen Kai has, in other words, Chen Kai has the ability to put aside them and go it alone.

"When do you plan to send troops?"

Putting down the teacup, Chen Kai had already observed Guo Zhiqi for a while, and once he spoke, it would be like this, and it was not without his expectations: "Through some relationships, plus detailed returns, Hong Chengchou has not been idle in the past two years. On the Xiaguan side, it will take several months, or even half a year, to really start a full-scale war. Still, containment can be done. Moreover, don't hide it from the superintendent, His Royal Highness the King of Min has already started a war with the Tartars in Zhejiang, and small-scale confrontations are going on almost every day, and the next time you write a letter, it will be the result of the war. At this moment, the Tartar is inevitably overstretched. ”

Overstretched is from the overall consideration, Guo Zhiqi listened to Chen Kai's analysis, and couldn't help but nodded. It is undeniable that Sun Kewang's shock to the Ming army from all walks of life is really not small, Li Dingguo is trapped in Yungui and not to mention, Zheng Chenggong has already started to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Chen Kai is still busy preparing, it is he Guo Zhiqi, who is also in a hurry. In the final analysis, time is really not very optimistic for the Ming army at this stage.

"In that case, it's decided. The old man set off to Gaozhou Mansion, and he waited for good news in Guangzhou. With that, Guo Zhiqi stood up and wanted to leave. It's just that he just turned around, but he turned back again: "It turned out, in the coming day, Ming Zhongxing, and now he is the master of Zhongxing." ”

"Please rest assured, His Royal Highness the King of Min and the lower officials are deeply impressed by this!"

A little more than an hour, Guo Zhiqi set off again. In the past, there would probably be two people meeting again without speculation, and the rumors that Guo Zhiqi brushed his sleeves away quickly spread. But this time, it was the two of them who came out of the official room and seemed to be happy, and the conversation and laughter started from there, and it didn't end until the dock said goodbye again.

Returning to the governor's yamen, Chen Kai took out two letters and handed them to Chen Song: "Give these two letters to Zhang Yue and Guo Dengdi." In addition, I sent someone to Luoding Prefecture and asked Wei Yingdeng and Ye Biao to come to Guangzhou to see me in person before the third day of the next lunar month. ”

………………

Leaving the city of Guangzhou, Guo Zhiqi's sea boat went down the river, much faster than when he came. Just because the speed of the ship has increased, it does not necessarily mean that the weight on board has also decreased. In the course of more than an hour, the water was replenished, and the captains and sailors bought some goods at the dock to carry them, but they were much heavier. In particular, it is Guo Zhiqi's state of mind that has gone to a heavy burden and added an even heavier burden.

With such a weight in his bearing, the ship sailed quickly to Gaozhou Mansion. Fortunately, although it was the center of the region, the seat of the Yamen of the Governor of Gao Lian Lei Qiong, it was not located in the central area of the four prefectures, but in the northeast adjacent to Zhaoqing Prefecture. It was a good thing that there was less time spent on the road, but it was a pity that Guo Zhiqi soon found out that he was not able to save much time at all.

"Xia Guan doesn't understand!"

From-for-tat and incompatible, to harmonious coexistence and unity, the difference is only in Guo Zhiqi's line, that's all. If Guo Zhiqi can bargain, at least he will be relieved of the distress in southwest Guangdong, and Zhang Xiaoqidang will not have anything that he does not understand or understand. However, on behalf of the imperial court, he had to compromise with Chen Kai, the staff of the domain, which really made him feel unreasonable.

"General, you can't figure it out for a while, I can understand, but you must know that everything we are doing now is for the sake of Daming Zhongxing."

"Inspector, when Daming will be able to prosper, it is still unknown. But now we are busy compromising with the martial arts, and when the time comes, even if it is Zhongxing, what will be left of the Ming Dynasty? ”

Once he thought that after the revival of the Ming Dynasty, he would face the chaos of the martial arts, or even the possibility of replacing it, especially Guo Zhiqi was still drinking to quench his thirst at the moment, Zhang Xiaoqi couldn't help but feel sad and inexplicable. However, at this moment, seeing Zhang Xiaoqi like this, Guo Zhiqi felt something completely different.

"Perhaps, when I return to the dynasty to practice for a while, it will really be beneficial to Zhang Xiaoqi."

In this way, Guo Zhiqi did not put it into words, but what he was thinking about in his heart was all directed to this. Thinking that back then, they decided to confront Chen Kai, just from the height of the overall situation, and foresaw the possible chaos of the martial arts in the future, so they had to prevent the slightest and suppress Chen Kai to curb the expansion of the Zheng group in Guangdong.

Of course, this ultimately failed. But after this trip to Guangzhou, Guo Zhiqi also looked at it from the perspective of the overall situation, but found that the Zheng Group may still need to be wary of in the future, but Chen Kai may not be their enemy. This is the fundamental reason why he decided to change his mentality, but Zhang Xiaoqi seems to have been in this position for many years, and his vision has been limited to this small southwest of Guangdong, and he can't consider the problem holistically.

Failure to take into account the overall situation is a very serious bad evaluation. Guo Zhiqi had never commented on Zhang Xiaoqi before he went to Guangzhou, but the scene just now made him can't help but have such a thought in his heart.

It's just that Zhang Xiaoqi was already in the same party as him, and now the court is even more talented, such a character is already very rare, and it must be explained clearly. After all, for now, entering the dynasty is both tempering and protecting Zhang Xiaoqi, which is necessary and necessary.

"You should know what those gentry, heroes and businessmen in southwest Guangdong say about you behind their backs!"

"It's nothing more than the number one traitor in history, it seems that as long as I Zhang Xiaoqi dies, the land of three prefectures and one state in southwest Guangdong will immediately be able to recreate a peaceful and prosperous era."

In fact, the public opinion in southwest Guangdong is not as exaggerated as Zhang Xiaoqi said. At the very least, even if you look at him unpleasantly, I can't wait for him to get out of the house immediately, so that I can toss the Advisory Bureau out this morning, and I can't do this job. How to say it, he is still a feudal official, and he is not easy to offend.

Zhang Xiaoqi's stubbornness really made Guo Zhiqi sigh, and he said to him: "I know what you are, and the princes of the court also know." However, this is what the people want, and if you stand in their way, there is nothing black and white to distinguish. ”

"Then you can't just tolerate the adulterer, in the long run, won't the authority of the court be wiped out!"

"General, there are some things that you may not understand now, but after returning to the court, you can always figure it out from the standpoint of the court. The old man only has one sentence to warn you, current affairs are different, Chen Kai and his advisory bureau will be a sharp weapon to counterbalance the chaos of the military in the future, and only by cooperating with them can we prevent those feudal towns from suffering for future generations. ”

Guo Zhiqi is not a bitter woman, but after years of hard work, it turned into nothing overnight, and Zhang Xiaoqi's heart is always unavoidable: "Chen Kai, he is not a pure minister!" ”

"Of course he is not a pure minister, but the court needs him!" Saying this categorically, Guo Zhiqi paused, and then said: "There should be precautions, there must still be ones, the old man believes that he is the same for the court." However, this did not affect his use by the imperial court, because the imperial court and him had the same interests in some matters. ”