In the northwest of Ningbo, in the city of Hangzhou, there are two people sitting opposite each other in the inner hall of the Zhejiang governor's yamen. Among them, sitting at the top was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a white face and long beard, very elegant, wearing a governor's uniform, this person was Xie Qian's younger brother Xie Di. Sitting opposite Xie Di was a middle-aged military general of his age, this person had a long face and thin lips, and at a glance he knew that Lu Dao was the kind of person who was more scheming.

"Lord Futai, Zhou Zhong has given me an order, let me return to Dinghaiwei within three days, calculate the time, tomorrow is the third day, if I don't leave today, I'm afraid I really can't go back!" I saw that the middle-aged military general said with an anxious face, his slender eyes flickering, obviously having his own plans.

"What are you afraid of, Zhou Zhong is just a hairy boy, and he used to be a businessman, even if he gets the favor of His Majesty, he can't get rid of the habits of a businessman, so you just have to stay in Hangzhou City with confidence, and I will make decisions for you!" I saw that Xie Di took a sip of tea unhurriedly.

In the past, Zhou Chong was just a small businessman, and Xie Di didn't care much about it, but now Zhou Chong suddenly became a feudal official on an equal footing with him, which made Xie Di have to face Zhou Chong, but he was born in a scholarly family and looked down on Zhou Chong, who was born in a scholarly family, and of course he looked down on Zhou Chong, and of course he looked down on him, Xie Di actually couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Zhou Chong in his heart.

Seeing that Xie Di still let himself stay in Hangzhou, Cheng Quan was even more anxious, but he still smiled and said: "There is Lord Futai who is the master of his subordinates, and his subordinates naturally don't take Zhou Chong seriously, but I heard that Zhou Chong is a scheming person, when he used to be a businessman in Shuangyu Port. It quickly developed a dying chamber of commerce into one of the largest chambers of commerce in Shuangyu Port. In addition, it has also squeezed out many Korean and Japanese chambers of commerce. So I'm worried that if I don't stay in Dinghaiwei for a long time, just relying on Zhong Zhen's idiot, I'm afraid that Zhou Zhong will take advantage of it, in case he controls Dinghaiwei, it won't be good news for us! ”

Hearing Cheng Quan's words, Xie Di was stunned for a moment, and after pondering for a while, he felt that what Cheng Quan said made sense, and Zhou Chong had now arrived in Ningbo. And his attitude is far tougher than he expected, in case he really takes advantage of Cheng Quan's absence to forcibly take over Dinghaiwei, then not only Cheng Quan will be unlucky, but his face will also be lost.

Thinking of this, I saw Xie Di's fingers knocking on the table and said: "What you said also makes some sense, although Zhou Zhong is from a low background, but after all, he has the emperor's order, if he oppresses people with power, I'm afraid those straw bales under your command won't be able to withstand it at all......"

Before Xie Di finished speaking, Cheng Quan heard his attitude loosen. Immediately, he spoke impatiently again: "Lord Futai is wise, and that's what his subordinates think." Although Dinghaiwei is from the imperial court, our Cheng family has been operating in Weizhong for hundreds of years and has a very high reputation in Weizhong, as long as his subordinates are in Weizhong, Zhou Zhong wants to take over Dinghaiwei, I'm afraid it will not be an easy task! ”

Seeing that Cheng Quan was impatient to go back, Xie Di sneered and said: "Commander Cheng, I know that you are worried about being forcibly elevated by Zhou Chong, and Zhou Chong's toughness also scares you, but it is still the same sentence, with me protecting you, Zhou Chong doesn't dare to do anything to you!" ”

Speaking of this, Xie Di paused for a moment, and then spoke again: "But what you said also makes sense, you can't let Zhou Chong take advantage of your absence, so you can go back, but not today, but tomorrow!" ”

"Ming...... Tomorrow? Cheng Quan shouted in surprise when he heard this, and then he said anxiously again, "Lord Futai, tomorrow is the third day, even if I leave early tomorrow morning, I'm afraid I won't be able to rush back to Dinghaiwei on time, what if Zhou Zhong uses this as an excuse to ask his subordinates for guilt, then what should I do?" ”

"Hmph, didn't I say it, with me protecting you, Zhou Zhong will never dare to do anything to you! He tells you to go back in three days, and you have to go back on the fourth day, and then see what he does. Xie Di looked directly at Cheng Quan at this time, and said with a tough face.

After listening to the whole process, he scolded Xie Di in his heart, and now he finally understood what Xie Di meant, it turned out that he was treating himself as a chess piece to test Zhou Chong, and when he went back on the fourth day, if Zhou Zhong did not dare to punish him, then Zhou Chong's prestige would be hit. On the contrary, if Zhou Zhong dares to punish himself, then with his prestige in Dinghaiwei, it is likely to arouse the dissatisfaction of the guards. Anyway, no matter which of these two outcomes is coming, it will be a dilemma at that time, and it has nothing to do with Xie Di.

Although Cheng Quan was very dissatisfied with Xie Di treating himself as a pawn, especially after going back, he had to risk being severely punished by Zhou, which made him scold Xie Di for being a bastard all the time. But no matter how dissatisfied he was, he didn't dare to show it, after all, in this Zhejiang officialdom, he had to rely on the Xie family to survive, to put it mildly, their Cheng family was just a dog raised by the Xie family in the officialdom, not to mention Xie Di's reaction to ask him to go back a day late to test Zhou Chong's reaction, even Xie Di asked him to bite Zhou Chong directly, and Cheng Quan didn't dare to disobey in the slightest.

Thinking of this, Cheng Quan had no choice but to sigh, nodded a little heavily, and said: "Since Lord Futai has long had this plan, his subordinates must obey the order, and I will go back early tomorrow morning!" ”

Seeing that Cheng Quan finally gave in, Xie Di finally showed a smile and said: "Commander Cheng just needs to figure it out, you go back and prepare now, and go back to Dinghaiwei early tomorrow morning, like Zhou Chong, he doesn't dare to do anything to you!" ”

"Subordinates say goodbye!" Cheng Quan also immediately said goodbye and left when he heard this, he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he couldn't help but punch Xie Di in the face a few times.

Before dawn the next day, Cheng Quan took people to ride horses to the direction of Ningbo, usually from Hangzhou to Ningbo generally have to walk for two and a half days, but if you ride a fast horse, use the post station to change horses along the way, and do not rest at night, then you can barely rush back on the fourth day.

In addition to rushing desperately along the way, Cheng Quan was also very worried in his heart, originally he was the same as Xie Di, he thought that Zhou Zhong would not see him in Dinghaiwei, and he would not be able to take over Dinghaiwei, and he could only go to Hangzhou to find himself, but Zhou Chong's toughness was beyond his expectations, and he only gave him an order to return to the camp within three days, otherwise he would be engaged in military law, which made Cheng Quan keenly aware that he was probably kicked to the iron plate this time. In addition, Xie Di forced himself to go back a day later, which made Cheng Quan very worried, and he didn't know what Lu Dao Zhouzhong would do with him.

After a day and a night of hurrying, Cheng Quan finally arrived at Dinghaiwei on the morning of the fourth day, but when he passed by the barracks, he heard the sound of killing inside, obviously the barracks were engaged in intense drills, and when he wanted to enter the barracks to find his henchmen to inquire about the news, he found that there were brocade guards in front of the camp gate, and he couldn't get in at all, even if he showed his identity, but unfortunately the Jinyi guard Xiaoqi who was the leader told him that the Admiral had already issued an order, and there was no warrant from him. No one is allowed to enter or leave the barracks!

Seeing that he couldn't even enter the barracks, Cheng Quan was even more frightened, and after the most shock, he inquired about the other party, and when he learned that Zhou Zhong was in the meeting hall of Zhenhai Tower to discuss with the generals, Cheng Quan also dispelled the idea of entering the barracks, and immediately rushed to Zhenhai Tower, but unfortunately there were still brocade guards here, so he could only report his name and wait outside.

Today, Zhou Zhong not only summoned the generals of the three thousand households in Ningbo Port, but also the generals of the two thousand households stationed on Zhoushan Island and Guo Ju. It's almost the New Year, and it's only half a year before the Portuguese attack on Malacca, so Zhou Zhong is going to merge the soldiers of the five thousand households together for joint exercises, focusing on exercises at sea, such as the control of warships, the coordination between warships and warships, and so on.

At this moment, the Jinyi guard outside suddenly came to report that Cheng Quan, who was supposed to rush back yesterday, finally rushed back, which made Zhou Chong's face sink suddenly, and he glanced at the generals sitting at the moment, and from the eyes of these people, he saw many complicated expressions such as worry, excitement, and schadenfreude.

"Let Cheng Quan report the door and enter!" Zhou Chong snorted coldly and said, the so-called 'report to the door' means that the people who come in must shout their positions and names every few steps, which is not only a means of humiliating people in the barracks, but also only when the army enters the combat state, some generals who delay the military aircraft will be punished.

It is precisely because of the meaning of the report and entry that all the generals present were stunned, and Zhou Chong, in order to keep it secret, has not told them until now that he took over Dinghaiwei to aid Malacca City next year, so these generals did not know what to say, when Zhou Chong arrived at Dinghaiwei, the entire army had already entered a state of combat.

And Cheng Quan outside was also startled when he heard Zhou Chong let him report to the door, as a military general, he naturally knew what it meant to report to the door. In addition, he also knew that the army is in a state of combat readiness in peacetime, and the implementation of military law can be relaxed a lot, but once it enters the state of combat, it will be like a mountain of military orders, if it violates military law at this time, then no matter how the lord will deal with himself, it should be, because at this time, the lord will have the power of life and death, and a word can decide the life and death of others.

Thinking of this, Cheng Quan's heart suddenly surged with an unspeakable fear, although he didn't know why Lu Dao Zhouzhong had promoted the military camp to a combat state, but the other party, as the commander of the four seas, would definitely not joke about this kind of military aircraft matter. Although he was only a day late, in the fifty-four laws of military law, 'not on time, not on time' is the crime of slow army, and it is also to be killed, that is to say, now Cheng Quan's life is all in the middle of a thought! (To be continued......)