Hanging the title of secretary of the military department, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang military affairs, to put it bluntly, is the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. Such an official position, the local government is second to none, even if he enters the court, the starting point is the six books, even if it is not difficult to enter the cabinet directly. And the cabinet, which is the ultimate dream of the vast majority of civil servants.

When such conditions are prescribed, Guo Zhiqi said it as a matter of course, and Chen Kai listened to it as a matter of course. However, those eyes stared at him, Chen Kai stood there, the wind of Guangdong Layue blew the corners of the clothes of the official mansion, gently pulling, but the whole person stood there as if he was straight, without the slightest wavering.

"Zhejiang has not yet recovered, even Fujian, and Xianxia Pass has not yet been taken when the officials set off. It is still unknown what the situation of the war will be now. At this time, is it too much to set up the post of governor of Fujian and Zhejiang? ”

Chen Kai said these words lightly, and Guo Zhiqi didn't show any different looks because of this, and still responded in the same tone as just now: "It is precisely because Zhejiang has not yet been recovered that it is necessary to become such a great talent." ”

Done?

Looking back on Guo Zhiqi's title just now, for himself, he is an old man; In Lianchengbi, it is a white table; Yu Chen Kai, at first it was the official title of Governor Chen, but at this moment it has become a real word. Chen Kai looked at Guo Zhiqi carefully, and did not see the slightest eagerness from above, obviously Guo Zhiqi was deliberately telling him that if he accepted it, the grievances would be written off, and he would be friends in the future, as well as comrades-in-arms backed by the Yongli Imperial Court.

This is already the greatest sincerity that Guo Zhiqi can show, because he is just a superintendent scholar, and recommending Chen Kai as the governor to the imperial court is already the limit. As the leader of the Yongli Imperial Court's peripheral organization in the Liangguang region, he also represented the Yongli Imperial Court, and threw an olive branch to Chen Kai with the entire civil official group.

Accepted, naturally there is the support of the imperial court behind him, and he is no longer attached to the feudal town in the past, and he can be left and right between the imperial court and the feudal town, which is indeed a way out of double insurance.

"Don't hide it from Inspector Guo, before the lower official set off for help, he had discussed with the surname of the country about the selection of the governor of Fujian."

"Oh?"

Chen Kai intended to reveal, but Guo Zhiqi couldn't judge what Chen Kai was going to say for a while, so he just said this and responded by chatting. At this time, with this response, Chen Kai continued the following words: "The lower officials have discussed with the national surname, and feel that it is more conducive to further recovering the lost territory with Lu Gong, the governor of eastern Zhejiang at the time of the first emperor, or the direct leadership of the national surname for the time being......"

As soon as these words came out, Lu Ruoteng was just right, and Guo Zhiqi immediately understood what Chen Kai was talking about, and his complexion changed slightly, and it was fleeting. Sure enough, Chen Kai said what Guo Zhiqi guessed next, at most, a little tactfully.

"As for Inspector Guo's kindness, the lower official said something clear, if the lower official is from a jinshi background, even if it is just a lifter, the lower official may be able to accept it. However, the background of Xia Guan, the son of a businessman, said to be a child, but in fact, he was putting gold on his face. So, you have your way to go, I have my river to cross, and there are some things above, or some time in the future, that we may stand together and fight side by side. However, there are other things, such as the current one, which cannot be accepted by the officials. ”

"Don't get me wrong, the old man really didn't use this as a bargaining chip to induce him to go against your heart, and he had no intention of separation. It's just that I cherish my talents for the country. ”

The controversy in the tent is still in the ears, and Guo Zhiqi is now raising this matter, which is indeed suspected of temptation and discord. Hearing the refusal, Guo Zhiqi's first reaction was that Chen Kai was unwilling to use this as a transaction, and hurriedly explained. A sentence of cherishing talents for the country, in fact, clearly understands his original intention, which is to win over, plus hopes that Chen Kai can leave Guangdong and no longer continue to compete with them here.

However, Chen Kai was not interested in this at all, and just shook his head: "It's still the same sentence, different people have different paths to take, and if they encounter robbers, they can also defend and fight." However, how to go depends on the respective situation. Inspector Guo's kindness was appreciated by the lower officials. ”

During this time, Chen Kai's attitude was resolute, and Guo Zhiqi was not easy to force, so he said, "Since Chen Fujun said so, then this matter will be stopped", bowed, and strode out of the camp gate.

After pausing for a moment and distancing himself from Guo Zhiqi, Chen Kai walked towards his own camp by himself. Back at the camp, Chen Kai did not eat, but picked up the pen and wrote a letter. As for the destination, it is naturally Zheng Chenggong's case.

The content of the letter is nothing more than a discussion of the current situation in Guangdong and the prediction of the future war situation. In addition, what has just happened is naturally the least possible, in the letter, Chen Kai hopes that Zheng Chenggong must prepare as soon as possible and send the song to An Long as soon as possible, so as not to have the whims of the officials in the court and the central government to go to Fujian - although people from afar may not be able to do anything, but once there is a constraint, it is the relationship between the center and the feudal town that will be destroyed, which is very unfavorable to the current situation and future development.

The current Yongli Imperial Court is not only under house arrest in Anlong by Sun Kewang, but also from the analysis of the factions in the court, it is not enough to represent the anti-Qing forces in various places, and it is only limited to a circle in the southwest.

Such a situation is very unreasonable, as there are many feudal towns like now, at least it is necessary for the feudal towns to have spokesmen in the court, and the central government to have independent retainers or subordinate administrative bureaucrats in the feudal towns. The two sides must interact in order for conscience to work. But as it is now, the central control in the hands of a feudal town has been reduced to an empty shell, and the feudal town cannot be stuffed with a spokesperson in the court, and it is only sent by the imperial court, acting unilaterally, and being slightly unpopular, which often only makes the two sides more and more detached.

The letter was sent out as quickly as possible. Chen Kai put down the pen, closed his eyes, and went over today's events again, but he still couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Guo Zhiqi's co-optation is beneficial to the Yongli Imperial Court itself - Chen Kai's ability and the strength of the Zheng Group, these are all things they are willing to strive for. The discord between Guo Zhiqi and Chen Kai earlier was caused by the contradiction between the interests of the local peripheral organizations under the central center and the Zheng group in Guangdong. But now is different from the past, the existence of the Zheng Group in Guangdong is no longer possible to quickly disappear, whether it is to show goodwill, or to divide and kill, or just to change the opponent, their interests drive Guo Zhiqi to do this, in the final analysis, it is still the word interest.

Similarly, Chen Kai's attitude of rejection is also because of these two words: "I am rooted in the Zheng Group, and the accumulation of many years, whether it is contacts or prestige, there is where my foundation lies." For the sake of an official position one or two grades higher, it is very unwise to risk the possibility of being misunderstood as a traitor, and the possibility that there will inevitably be more conflicts with Zheng Chenggong. ”

With this in mind, Chen Kai opened his eyes again and pulled out a Chaozhou report from the book on the case. Then, he picked up the pen, added and subtracted it vertically on the paper, and when he had obtained the result, he put a corner of the scratch paper on the candle paper, and let the paper twist and dance wildly under the burning of the flames until it turned into ashes, and the cold light behind the fire flickered in the dark room.

Early the next morning, the meeting continued, Wang Zhuang's problem, Guo Zhiqi did not intend to make concessions, and Chen Kai was not ready to compromise. The two sides still continued to be entangled in those details, and Li Dingguo saw this, so he had to decide to put this issue aside first, anyway, the abolition was definitely going to be abolished, and the dispute was nothing more than the word aftermath.

Li Dingguo spoke, and Guo Zhiqi and Chen Kai had to do so for the time being. The next thing that needs to be discussed is the division of defense zones and the appointment of officials, and the next military operations that may need to be carried out will be based on this.

Judging from the current situation, after a year of fierce battles, Wang Shi successively recovered the entire territory of Lianzhou Prefecture, Leizhou Prefecture, Gaozhou Prefecture, and Luoding Prefecture, as well as the five counties of Yangjiang, Yangchun, Xinxing, Gaoming, and Enping in the central and southern part of Zhaoqing Prefecture, and the five counties of Nanhai, Panyu, Shunde, Xinning, and Xinhui including Guangzhou Prefecture. In addition, Chen Fujun's side also recovered Xiangshan and Xin'an counties, and Huizhou Prefecture also had Xintaibo's troops attacking the city, plus the general surnamed Guo and Chen Fujun's previous recovery of Chaozhou and Qiongzhou, the situation can be described as very good. ”

Pointing to the map, Li Dingguo pointed out these areas one by one, and a large area from the four prefectures of Gaolian Leiqiong in the southwest of Guangdong, to Luoding Prefecture, and then to the south of the Xijiang and Beijiang rivers to Guangzhou Prefecture had become the control area of the Ming army. In the east, it still seems a little staggered, but the balance of power in eastern Guangdong of the Ming and Qing dynasties was unbalanced from the beginning, and now without the support of the two feudatories, it is only a matter of time before they are recovered.

"In Guangdong Province, most of the Wang Division has been recovered, but there are still the northern areas of Zhaoqing Mansion and Guangzhou Prefecture, some areas of Huizhou Prefecture, and Shaozhou Mansion and Nanxiong Mansion in northern Guangdong are still in the hands of the captive master."

This is a dividing line, and the reason for this is that the Ming army either moved along the coast or came from the sea, and the army converged at this intermediate point in the south of Guangzhou, and then won the field battle and went straight to the important town of Guangzhou.

How to distribute, the eastern part of Guangdong is actually very simple, Chaozhou has long been recovered, and Chen Kai in Huizhou Mansion has already discussed it with Hao Shangjiu in advance. There are only these two prefectures in the entire eastern Guangdong region, Hao Shangjiu accounts for a part, and Chen Kai's department has made a great contribution, which can basically be said to be no worse than Li Dingguo. However, there is no more territory left in eastern Guangdong, first of all, we must solve the problem on Chen Kai's side.

"This king thinks that Xiangshan County and Xinning County, which have been recovered by Chen Fujun, are under the management of Chen Fujun, and the magistrates and garrisons are also appointed and assigned by Chen Fujun. In addition, Dongguan County, Zengcheng County, Longmen County, and Conghua County in the east of Guangzhou are also the same. ”

On the Huizhou Mansion, the four battles before and after Guangzhou were almost unsuccessful, and at most Hao Shangjiu, who was a pinning down, would control a lot of territory. Li Dingguo was very generous, and simply offered the entire eastern part of Guangzhou Province as a reward for this battle.

This is what Li Dingguo had thought about earlier, and even had a basic idea when he courted Zheng Chenggong before the Battle of Zhaoqing last year. Now, compared to his original thoughts, there is only one more Conghua County and one Xiangshan County at most, and he is a little embarrassed to say this - after all, the performance of Chen Kai and the Ming Army towns in eastern Guangdong in this battle is no longer something that two counties can satisfy.

In this regard, Chen Kai did not continue to bargain, after all, for him, Zheng Chenggong and the entire Zheng Group, the entire Huizhou Mansion plus the eastern part of Guangzhou is already a great sincerity of Li Dingguo, and he naturally needs to be informed and interested, so that the cooperation can last for a long time.

Although the Ming Army of Eastern Guangdong came late, it played a decisive role. There is no doubt that Chen Kai's wisdom and the sailors and land divisions of the Ming Army in eastern Guangdong have all made great contributions to this great victory. In this regard, Li Dingguo Rusi said that Guo Zhiqi did not have the slightest objection, and simply made up his mind.

Among them, there are several counties that are still in the hands of the Qing army. For example, Dongguan, Zengcheng, Longmen, and Conghua all need Chen Kai to lead the army or assign a general to attack. In addition, on the side of Huizhou Mansion, Hao Shangjiu's 5,000 soldiers and horses may not be enough, and Chen Kai's reinforcements are also needed, which is also a proper meaning.

There are only two families in eastern Guangdong, Chen Kai and Hao Shangjiu, who were appeased by Chen Kai, which are naturally very simple. But when it comes to western Guangdong, Li Dingguo's army is not mentioned, and there are troops from the Ming army and the righteous army from various parts of western Guangdong, which can be described as very complicated. Fortunately, how to divide it, in the past few days, Guo Zhiqi has been busy discussing with the Ming army of various departments, and he probably has a basic eyebrow, and the rest is how Li Dingguo and Guo Zhiqi divide the account.

"Guangzhou Mansion City, there is still a world-famous general like His Royal Highness in charge to ensure completeness." Guo Zhiqi praised him, and Li Dingguo hurriedly said modestly: "Since Guangzhou City is assigned to His Highness's garrison, then the three counties of Qingyuan, Shunde, and Xinhui should also be garrisoned by His Highness's army." On the Zhaoqing Mansion, the old man thought that the same was true of Fucheng, Sihui, Xinxing, Gaoming, Guangning, Kaijian, Fengchuan and Deqingzhou. ”

"Isn't this too much, or should the two counties of Xinxing and Gaoming be assigned to the other marshals?"

"Your Highness, don't refuse, this is what the old man has discussed with them. The feat of recovering Guangzhou today is all due to the fact that His Royal Highness has set off this general trend. If it weren't for that, they wouldn't have had anything to do with the two feuds. ”

"Well, then the king will be disrespectful."

The two of them said, it's none of their business, Chen Kai only watched from the sidelines, but Guo Zhiqi pressed all the subordinates, but he could still see it. He also understands why, but there is no need to break it, because he doesn't have similar thoughts.

After this division, the remaining prefectures and counties are Lianzhou, Leizhou, Gaozhou, Luoding, Yangchun, Yangjiang, Enping and Xinning counties of Zhaoqing Prefecture. Specifically, I only heard that Zhou Jintang and Deng Yao were going to return to their respective defense areas, that is, the southwest of Guangdong, Wang Xing obtained Enping and Yangchun, Li Changrong controlled Yangjiang, Chen Qice sat on Guanghaiwei and Xinning County, and the rest of Chen Kai is not very clear for the time being.

The division of the defense zone is over, and then there are only luxury goods and Wang Zhuang's affairs. At this moment, the top priority is still the matter of Wang Zhuang, because luxury goods can be subdivided, but this one is different.

At this time, Chen Kai also sat there and thought about it for a while, but he didn't mention the matter of Wangzhuang, and said directly to Li Dingguo: "Don't hide it from Your Highness, in the first month of the sixth year of Yongli, due to the dispute between the local people in Chaozhou, Xiaguan swore to the local Chaozhou people and the people of Guangzhou who lived in Guangzhou that they would return to Guangzhou within three years. With the power of His Royal Highness this time, he can get what he wants, and the people of Guangzhou will also remember His Highness's kindness. ”

"Don't dare."

Li Dingguo smiled back, and Chen Kai continued: "However, the people of Guangzhou live in the capital city of Guangzhou and its surrounding areas, and those fields, houses, and shops are where they have lived for generations. Therefore, if the lower officials want to come, they should still let them go to their own homes, so that they can settle down. ”

When the words fell, Chen Kai stood up and saluted again. This is what he has to do, but at this moment, Li Dingguo's face is a little surprised, but Guo Zhiqi still looks so light.

This has nothing to do with yourself. Chen Kai knows very well that now the problem is no longer an argument between him and Guo Zhiqi, but has become a bargain between him and Li Dingguo. And this scene was obviously expected by Guo Zhiqi for a long time, and there was nothing to be surprised about.