Standing on the dock and looking at the fleet, Liu Fan's heart felt a strong sense of crisis. The arrival of Lu Xiangsheng www.biquge.info pen & fun & pavilion brought an extremely dangerous signal to Liu Fan. Liu Fan felt that Emperor Chongzhen didn't seem to trust him so much, otherwise he wouldn't have allowed the military department to send someone to test him.

The fundamental reason for this situation is that because the strength of the Broken Army is too strong, Emperor Chongzhen may feel that he cannot control Liu Fan or even tens of thousands of Broken Army, so he began to gradually change his attitude. Once Emperor Chongzhen began to doubt and limit himself, it would be bad. That will mean that Liu Fan will lose the protective umbrella on his head and be completely exposed to many hostile forces, and the pressure on the captives will increase geometrically.

Although Liu Fan's unremitting efforts were inseparable, Chongzhen's unsparing protection and support also played a decisive role. Leaving Chongzhen or breaking off relations with it will be the heaviest blow to the Broken Army that tells the development.

Such a result is unacceptable to Liu Fan, and he must seize the last opportunity to try his best to improve his strength before Chongzhen completely changes his attitude. Until it was so strong that Chongzhen didn't dare to tear his face with him at will. Now Liu Fan is no longer a small person at the beginning of the crossing, he doesn't have to beg for anything else, even if this person is Zhu Youzhen, who has always taken good care of him.

The first half of Chongzhen's eighth year is almost over, and after more than half a year of development, Liu Fan has basically controlled the situation in Laizhou, and the remnants of various landlords and gentry have basically been swept away. With the unremitting efforts of Zhang Yupeng and others, the people's livelihood and economic development in Laizhou have been extremely rapid, and various industries have also moved forward in an orderly manner with the support of the army. It can be said that Liu Fan's current foundation is already very solid.

If the army wants to develop, it must have enough strength to support it, and population, territory, and economy are all important factors. One of the most important is the territory, with enough territory, the population and economy will be easier to develop. If you want to expand the territory of the Broken Army, there are only two roads in front of Liu Fan to go, to the west or to the east.

To the east, it is better to say that the east of the two states of Jiaolai is Dengzhou, and after Kong Youde's rebellion, the originally prosperous Dengzhou is now a withering people's livelihood. Coupled with the barrier between the two states of Jiaolai, Dengzhou is basically already in the bag of the broken army, Liu Fan only needs to penetrate slowly, Dengzhou is Liu Fan's plate in the morning and evening, just see when Liu Fan has the appetite to swallow.

To the west, it is more difficult, to the east of Jiaolai is Qingzhou and Jinan and other places, where since ancient times is the most prosperous and rich place in Shandong, among which there are many families, the relationship network is intricate, although there are Liu Fan's most coveted coal mines, iron mines but the resistance is also the largest. And once Liu Fan has the momentum to march there, it will inevitably cause a huge chain reaction, and even Zhu Dadian himself will not sit idly by. Liu Fan doesn't want to start a war with the entire Shandong force now, nor does he want to start a war with Zhu Dadian, a strongman. So he could only choose to infiltrate slowly and wait for the moment when Zhu Dadian resigned.

There is a lot of resistance to expansion on the turf, and it takes a lot of time to pave the way, and Liu Fan can't wait. In this way, the only way to start is from the economic aspect, the development of the Broken Army is inseparable from a large amount of capital investment, and Liu Fan also needs a lot of wealth to realize his grand blueprint. However, he really doesn't have much money now, and the sea trade, which Liu Fan has high hopes for, can't bring him huge wealth in a short period of time, and affected by the level of scientific and technological development of the times, the cycle of income needs is too long, which is good as a supplement, but not at all. Finding new sources of revenue or expanding the foreign market is the biggest way out in front of Liu Fan.

Where is the biggest market in Daming? In addition to the capital, I am afraid that it is the prosperous and rich Jiangnan. Liu Fan felt that it was necessary for him to go to Jiangnan. While opening up this huge market, you can also visit the Zheng family Zheng Zhilong and see with your own eyes what kind of style this maritime hegemon across East Asia is? It would be nice to be able to negotiate some cooperation projects. Moreover, Fujian also has the talent that Liu Fan needs the most, the military bull Mao Yuanyi during the Chongzhen period, this person is a talent that Liu Fan is determined to get, and he will be tied to Jiaozhou. Oh, and Song Yingxing, who wrote "Heavenly Creations", seems to be a petty official in Fujian? Tied together, such talents should not be let go.

In addition to the above points, there is another very important reason that prompted Liu Fan to make up his mind to go south. That is, Liu Fan really wants to see the "Qin Huai Bayan" that everyone envies in later generations, and when he comes to the last years of Chongzhen, how can he not see these famous ancient beauties with his own eyes?

Liu Fan is also a decisive person, and once he has made up his mind, he will quickly put it into action. In the next few days, Liu Fan began to prepare for many matters in the south, he is now the soul of the two states of Jiaolai, and he is the life and death of millions of people in Jiaolai, not just walking. At the very least, everything at home should be arranged before leaving.

How can Liu Fan's big move hide from the women who are the pillow people? One day, after learning the news that Liu Fan wanted to go south, the girls suddenly exploded, and they all clamored to accompany Liu Fan to the south.

Looking at the beautiful wife and concubine in front of him who scorched his eyes and swore to give up, Liu Fan felt a big headache, and hurriedly shirked and said, "Okay, okay, don't quarrel, my head is too big, master, I'm going to do business this time, what is the matter with you all going along?" Spread out, what is the face of me, the chief soldier? This time I'll go by myself and bring no one! ”

Hearing Liu Fan's words, the women reacted differently, Xiaozhu and Xiaohe knew that they were low, and they also had a history of "spy". So he didn't dare to ask for too much, but just looked at Liu Fan intently with a resentful gaze. The grievances revealed in her beautiful eyes made Liu Fan's heart tremble a little.

Sighing helplessly, Liu Fan hugged the two poor children, and comforted them softly, "Zhu'er, He'er, you have grown up in the palace since you were a child, and you have never been to the sea, and you don't know how dangerous the wind and waves in the sea are." It's a long way to go, and you still have symptoms of seasickness, so don't go this time, just stay at home, okay? ”

The two girls nodded meekly, and said softly, "Don't worry, master, Xiaozhu (Xiaohe) is waiting for you at home" In fact, the two girls don't really have to go, they just hope that Liu Fan can pay more attention to them. Although the two girls have been by Liu Fan's side for the longest time, both sides know very well that the two are just tools used by Wang Chengen to monitor and win over Liu Fan. After Liu Fan's rise, although Wang Chengen gave up his plan to continue to control the two daughters out of helplessness, there was this "criminal record", and the two daughters were never able to raise their heads among the women.

Liu Fan also knows the reason for the inferiority of the two women, so he has always tried his best to take care of their feelings. Maybe there is not love between the three of them, but this does not prevent Liu Fan from loving the two. In this troubled world, love is too extravagant, and for the two daughters from humble backgrounds, a stable and happy life is the most important thing! (To be continued.) )