Kinmen, located in the southeast sea area of Fujian Province, Quanzhou Weitou Bay and Xiamen Bay, stands in the west of the Taiwan Strait, and the nearest place is only five miles away from the mainland, located outside the mouth of the Jiulong River, looking at Xiamen Island in the west, facing Taiwan in the east, is a military important place in the southeast coast of Fujian.

A year and a half ago, Zheng Cai led 2,000 soldiers to occupy Kinmen Island, killing snakes and tigers on the island, and as a military base, Kinmen Island mainly played the role of liaison and support for Taiwan and the pacification and resettlement of Fujian refugees. At the end of last year, the Ming court took Kinmen Island as an important coastal defense town, and Zheng Cai was also able to hang the general's seal to guard Kinmen.

The sea breeze is warm, the day is just at the beginning, Kinmen Island has become a paradise after more than a year of Zheng Cai's governance, and the population has also grown to 4,000 households, on the pier of Kinmen Island, Zheng Cai is standing there, wearing a military armor, holding a sword, looking at the sea in the distance, the clear blue water is undulating, the waves are high, and there is no momentum.

Not long after, a black dot appeared in Zheng Cai's sight, getting closer and closer, soon it was a count, and when it got closer, it was a dozen points, as early as five days ago, Zheng Cai received a decree from the imperial court, saying that the emperor was going to send someone to come to the army, so Zheng Cai would wait here, ready to welcome the envoy.

An hour later, more than a dozen sea ships finally came to the dock, Zheng Cai also shook his hands, very excited, it seems that there are a lot of things, Kinmen Island is different from the Central Plains, the materials are extremely scarce, and the military funds given by the imperial court every year are not much, there are too many prohibitions, and the method of making money also needs to be pushed into a new one, Zheng Cai also relied on smuggling goods and other methods to feed more than 6,000 troops under his command.

"Zheng Zongbing, I've been waiting for a long time!"

"General Zhang, it's hard work, we live overseas, always admire the grace of heaven, now General Zhang is here with the dignity of the emperor, I, Zheng Cai and my soldiers, are deeply honored!" Zheng Cai is also polite to return the courtesy, he is not a reckless martial artist, Zheng Cai was young, influenced by his parents, and also received a traditional Confucian orthodox education, and he was also polite and thoughtful when he spoke.

The person who came was Zhang Mingzhen, the chief soldier of the East China Sea Division, Zhang Mingzhen was a native of Jiangning County, a native of Nanjing Jinyi, a former Taizhou Shipu guerrilla, General Feng Fuping, upright and bold, quite strategic, ambitious, this time the matter of the army, Cao Bianjiao after careful consideration, he was assigned to come, Zhang Mingzhen is a kind person, and can handle the relationship with Zheng Cai.

Under the leadership of Zheng Cai, Zhang Mingzhen also went ashore, Zhang Mingzhen first took out the holy decree and said: "General Mao, this is the will issued by the imperial court, let's take the decree first, and the rest will be described later, how about it?" ”

"Of course, come here, put incense on the table, and receive the holy decree!" Zheng Cai also hurriedly ordered.

The incense case was quickly prepared, and Zhang Mingzhen also opened the holy decree at the moment and read it out: "Fengtian carries the emperor, and the edict says: Zheng Cai, the chief soldier of Dongguan, is loyal and pure, although he is based overseas, he still does not forget the legacy of his ancestors, and he is loyal to the country and fights against pirates, Zheng Cai is a loyal minister of my Ming Dynasty, and the soldiers of Kinmen are all heroes of my Ming Dynasty. Chin this! ”

"Ministers, thank the emperor for the grace of heaven, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

Zheng Cai respectfully accepted the holy decree, carefully put it away, there was a reward, and there was an honor, this is Zheng Cai's greatest pursuit in this life, he is more than forty years old, he has seen through many things, and now that he has come to this point, he also feels that this life is worth it.

Zhang Mingzhen took out another document from his arms, handed it to Zheng Cai, and said with a smile: "Congratulations to General Zheng, in addition to the holy decree, this is the general's military order, take a look!" ”

Zheng Cai took it and looked at it, the more he looked at it, the more it was not a taste, this was not a commendation order, but it was also an order, Cao Bianjiao appointed Zhang Mingzhen as the chief soldier of Kinmen Town in the official document, instead of Zheng Cai to take charge of Kinmen affairs, Zheng Cai was transferred to the Beiyang Naval Division, and in addition, Zheng Cai sent his son to the Army Military Academy to study, in Zheng Cai's opinion, this is to supervise himself, how can he look so indifferent.

Zhang Mingzhen saw that Zheng Cai's face was not very good, and he stepped forward and said: "The first meaning in this, let the lower officials come to the army, is to reward the soldiers for their merits in fighting the pirates, this order involves a system of things, Taiwan is deployed in all aspects, there are people in general, the foundation of the Beiyang Naval Division is weak, and a good general like you is also needed to go to the assistant, this is also the general's instructions before leaving, let me tell you, it is the matter of Ling Gongzi, the Royal Military Academy, this is prepared by the general himself, In order to cultivate military talents, the person responsible for teaching is the former military department Shangshu, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, Wang Yingxiong Wang, and the general will often personally supervise, all those who come out of the military academy are far better than the protégés of the Son of Heaven, and that is the confidant of the general! Not anyone is qualified to enter, layer by layer inspection, very strict, now the general has given Zheng Zongbing this place, Zheng Zongbing don't appreciate it! ”

"Where! Where! As a general, he should be the only soldier to obey, but things came a little abruptly, so he didn't come back to his senses for a while, and he never heard of it. ”

Zheng Cai is not a brainless person, Cao Bianjiao wants to designate someone to take over the former Fujian Navy Division and eliminate the power of the Zheng family, this is a matter of time, although the East China Sea Division and the Fujian Navy Division have been merged, but their Zheng family's strength is still very strong, threatening the imperial court, it is inevitable to use some means, just send his son there, he really did not react, after Zhang Mingzhen said this, he also understood some information at the moment, the military academy, as the name suggests, is to train officers, After coming out, they are all Cao Bianjiao's henchmen, and the official lord must be easier to earn, he is in Fujian, and he can rely on his prestige for a while, but he also understands that if he dies, his son will not have the ability to command these people, rather than this, then let him go his own way and seek a better future.

"This time, the general transferred 20,000 silver dollars from the treasury to reward the army, and there are other rewards for Zheng Zongbing and his generals, I don't know how many troops in Kinmen are, and I will arrange the labor army under the order!"

"If someone else asks, then I don't dare to say the real number, but General Zhang is the messenger of the emperor and the general, which means the emperor and the general, and naturally I don't dare to hide it, there are more than 20,000 people in Kinmen, and 7,000 soldiers are ready to serve the general! There were 3,000 people who reported to the imperial court before, and I really knew that the imperial treasury was tight, so I have been really tight here these years! ”

Zheng Cai knows very well that Zhang Mingzhen is the overseer, I don't know now, and I will know how many people he has next, Kinmen Island is so big, he can't hide it, he doesn't want to hide it, he has to leave, it is impossible to take these extra soldiers away, so he is also talking about it at the moment.

"Well, it's calculated based on 7,000 people, three yuan per person, and the reward will be issued tomorrow, and the general will be asked for orders, and the salary will be distributed according to the number of 7,000 people in the future, the general is very important to Zheng Zongbing, rest assured to go to the Beiyang Naval Division, you have made contributions over there, and the general will not hesitate to give some rewards!"

"Then thank you General Zhang, please, pick up the wind and wash the dust and get ready for the banquet, let's go together!"

"Then it should be practiced for General Zheng, please!"