Autumn is in the south of the country, but it is an uncertain year, and it is still much warmer than in the north.

Several heavy rainstorms in the summer caused the waterways in Fujian to swell sharply, and except for a few areas that survived, the river embankments and dams in many prefectures and counties were washed away and submerged, resulting in a large number of floods and loss of land and displaced people, which led to a large-scale reduction in Fujian's autumn grain output that year.

Due to the joint embargo of Huamei, Luzon, Dayuan, and Temasek, as well as the hoarding and reluctance of merchants from all over the world, most of the external grain and rice import channels were lost, and this natural disaster undoubtedly brought a catastrophe to the people of Fujian that was no less than that of the Qing soldiers marching south. Under the control of the Longwu regime, the methods of the government in various parts of Fujian Province to prepare for war and requisition grain have not been curtailed in the slightest, and the prices of grain and rice in many prefectures and counties have risen alarmingly, and the prices of grain in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, which are adjacent to Guangdong, have not stopped rising to eight taels of silver per stone.

"Wufu in the east, Liangguang in the west", Fenshuiguan, Zhao'an County, Zhangzhou, Fujian, a large number of displaced people from Fujian pass through guò every day. The Ming troops stationed at the pass did not do anything to obstruct the displaced people who traveled in a roundabout way, stretched for several miles, and dragged their children and daughters from east to west, but silently watched these people, who had been shaved out of grain by the local government and suffered natural disasters, slowly pass in front of them and enter the territory of Guangdong.

These officers and soldiers were subordinate to the Zhangquan General Military Mansion, and their immediate boss was Zheng Chenggong, a national surname who is now famous in the Longwu Imperial Court. They had already received a military order from Zhangzhou, not to embarrass these poor people who had been cornered by natural and man-made disasters, and still less to enter Guangdong without authorization and clash with the Guangdong officials and troops for the sake of requisitioning grain.

In Raoping County, the capital of Chaozhou, Guangdong, west of Fenshui Pass, under the organization of the local government and gentry, a row of relief shacks were opened along the official road of the county, which became the hope of the Fujian refugees from the east.

The relief initiated by a group of wealthy Chaozhou landlords and businessmen greatly reduced the burden on the local government, and although the relief shacks contained only gruel that was so clear that they could almost see the shadow of a human figure and a thick nest the size of a palm, it was able to save the lives of the displaced people. What's more, these big Chaozhou households are still taking the initiative to recruit displaced people, so as not to make any big trouble for the displaced people who have lost restraint all over the mountains.

It is in Tuolin Bay at the mouth of the Fengjiang River not far from the south of the county. There is a large fleet of ships moored, and the largest of them is a Western-style schooner warship with the banner of "Ming Daren Xuanwei Siyan".

As the important place of Chaozhou coastal defense, Qitoushan Island and Nanao Island in Tuolin Bay have complete sailor camp facilities, after Chen Qian, the former chief soldier of the water battalion of Guangdong Town, was killed by Emperor Longwu under the command of Zheng Zhilong, the garrison here has fallen apart, and most of the personnel, warships and military supplies have been coerced and swallowed up by Zheng Zhilong, leaving only a group of old and weak soldiers who are still surviving, and now they are also guarding the officers and soldiers who have landed on the island to beg for food and drink.

Another large group of men and women recruited from the homeless pile came towards the bay with numb expressions, led by a pot-bellied landlord's housekeeper and a group of men dressed as housekeepers. At the gate of the camp, Luo Da, the deputy general of the Dayuan Naval Division, and a group of officers and soldiers were waiting expressionlessly.

"Huh. I'm bothering you generals again! This time, there are a total of 600 people, all of whom have been carefully selected among the homeless people according to the instructions of my master! The landlord's housekeeper at the head saluted Luo Dazuo, and turned back to glare at the group of weak Fujian refugees, "The porridge is full, right?" My lord will do good deeds again, bring you over, and show the big guy a way to live in the face of God and the generals. ”

Looking at the rows of sea ships with cannons in the distance and the official and military camps close at hand, the words of the landlord's housekeeper made the Fujian refugees who had just eaten a meal of gruel and their heads shivering. Many women hugged their children and hid their faces and cried.

"The elders comforted the department to recruit people to reclaim the famine, and each household who was willing to go was given twenty taels of silver to settle in, and every fifth household was given a cow, and each household was given another three stone rice when they arrived at the place. The water and soil are fertile. What you plant, it's no worse than your hometown, not to mention the rich and expensive days you live, and you can also have food and clothing for your family. Folks, though, feel at ease. My members are also old people who go to sea in Zhangquan and other places, and they will not deceive you! Those who are willing to go to the South Seas and the West Sea will have more money to settle down! ”

Luo Da finished in a deep voice. On the other hand, a few soldiers kicked open the lid of the box on the ground, and suddenly the silver ingots of white flowers were exposed to the sun, causing a group of Fujian refugees to be stunned.

After half a pillar of incense, a man in the prime of life gritted his teeth and took his wife and children out of the crowd, strode to the front of the soldiers, stretched out his thumb to sign and draw, and then dragged two ingots of silver into the camp.

More and more homeless people began to step forward, so that the landlord's housekeeper next to him smiled, but his mouth was still busy counting, and several account rooms on one side were even writing and drawing in the account books, for fear of missing a person.

According to the private agreement, every time the senior sailor takes away a person, regardless of men, women, old and young, these Chaozhou squires who organize relief and recruit people can get three stone rice in return.

Now what is the most valuable thing in the entire Daming coast, except for those exquisite and gorgeous seafood, it must be grain and rice. Even though Liangguang has escaped the catastrophe of floods this year and the agricultural harvest has basically not been greatly affected, with the influx of a large number of displaced people from Huguang, Jiangxi, and Fujian, as well as the difficulty in the circulation of rice in Nanyang, grain prices are also rising, and the grain prices in Guangzhou have exceeded three taels of silver.

In the past few years, the bulk of Nanyang rice, which is controlled by the Oriental Union Group, has been an important import channel for grain merchants in Guangzhou, Guangzhou, and Fujian.

And the lives of the displaced people all over the mountains are not worth much at all at this time, but they are still a burden many times.

At the thought that a few bowls of gruel and wotou could be exchanged for a large amount of valuable rice, the local rice merchants and squires and landlords in Chaozhou all smiled crookedly, and one by one they rushed to circle people among the homeless people, and then sent them to the beach in waves. Taking advantage of the good opportunity to fish in troubled waters is probably the most unscrupulous activity of the Chaozhou squires and landlords at present, and it is impossible to say that many Chaozhou squires are still privately thanking Zheng Zhilong for the big trouble caused by the two maritime merchants half a year ago.

Afraid of being pursued by the imperial court and the local government? This is a joke, who doesn't know that the entire Liangguang is in a mess, the squires of the people of Liangguang are on the verge of breaking out at any time, the local government is struggling to cope, plus the Qing army is going south, and the refugees from Fujian and Huguang are crashing into it endlessly, who can care about these things?

What's more, there are two Ming courts on the bright side now, and now who is in charge has not been decided! Local government decrees are a mess. It is too late for officials to win over the landlords and gentry to maintain local stability, who would dare to talk about the previous rules?

……

……

Just when all parts of Chaozhou were frantically "reselling" the Fujian refugees, in the yamen of the prefect of Guangzhou City, a group of people dressed as Confucian scholars were standing respectfully outside the main hall, listening to a man in official robes reading the documents in his hand.

“…… King Lu is the emperor and the Ming Dynasty, and the people are shuntian, and the squires of the two Guangchen workers are also loyal and pure, and this is the time when the country is in danger......"

The envoy from the small court of King Lu from Shaoxing, Zhejiang was still shaking his head, and a wave of people in the hall were also slightly bowing their heads and silent, among which the most conspicuous or the most prestigious was the highest. There are two old men with gray hair, one is the former governor of Guangdong, Zhao Youheng, and the other is the former governor of Fujian, Xiao Yifu.

"Brother Zhao, it seems that you really can't run this time......" Xiao Yifu lowered his head and muttered softly.

"Hehe, I'm afraid that there are also people in Fuzhou who are in Zhaoqing to add Ding Chukui to the knighthood, right? It's a pity that I'm so bright......" Zhao Youheng's face not only did not have a trace of joy, but a thick self-deprecating bitter smile appeared.

"This turmoil between the two provinces is really the right time...... Now, the old man has really served those Miyi maritime merchants, and he always has a set of prescient skills. Intimidating ......"

Xiao Yifu didn't pay attention to Zhao Youheng's emotion, but instead commented on another wave of people who could not be there.

The two were communicating in voices that could only be heard by each other, and did not hinder the envoy from the small court of King Lu's imperial court from reading it.

“…… Zhao Youheng was reinstated to the original post of governor of Guangdong, and the rank of left attendant of the military department was added. Awarded the Fellowship of Togaku University...... Xiao Yi was the secretary of the Ministry of Auxiliary Officials, added the title of Imperial History of Zuodu, awarded the scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, and chose a day to enter Shaoxing in ...... You can report loyal and diligent people, etc. Separate rewards will be used. ”

After reading the edict of the prison state, the envoy of King Lu faded his strict expression and showed a flattering expression to Zhao Youheng and Xiao Yifu in the hall: "The two elders are the pillars of the country. This time, the king of Lu should be in charge of the country, and he will recruit talents and scholars to govern the two countries, and I hope that the two bosses will not shirk it! ”

After speaking, several entourages on the side also took out a bunch of things such as official robes and official seals.

took it, a bunch of official titles are worthless, and they are also tiger skins; If you don't accept it, this reward document of King Lu's small court will be no different from waste paper.

On a certain level, you admit it, Longwu and King Lu are both golden branches and jade leaves, and if you don't recognize it, they are all a pile of shit.

Zhao Youheng first silently looked back at the many Liangguang officials, squires or scholars behind him, then sorted out his clothes, and took a few steps forward to take over the appointment documents of King Lu.

Faced with Zhao Youheng's previous gains and losses, but now he is extremely decisive in choosing a team, Xiao Yifu was a little surprised. After sighing slightly, Xiao Yifu bowed to the envoy of King Lu, and also expressed his attitude of accepting the orthodox status of King Lu's prison state.

Whether it was King Lu in eastern Zhejiang, or Zheng Zhilong and Emperor Longwu in Fujian, the courtship of Guangdong officials and gentry has never stopped. It's a pity that Zheng Zhilong's reputation in Guangzhou has rotted on the street, and Qu Shiyun, the governor of Guangxi, who has long supported the wishes of Zhu Youlang, the king of Gui, does not buy the account of the small court of Longwu.

The current situation in Liangguang, fueled by a group of squires and maritime merchants, has pushed up the prices of people's livelihood one after another, and the civil unrest that has been secretly set off has risen one after another, and it has almost escaped the control of the local government. Coupled with the farce of the prison caused by Zhu Hengjia, the king of Jingjiang in Guilin, who imprisoned Qu Shiyun, the entire Liangguang became a blank in the territory of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

Under the wings of a butterfly, Ding Chukui, the governor who originally had the highest military power in Liangguang, was completely unable to command the new army with the strongest combat power, and now he has lost his influence on Liangguang. Ding Chukui, who once wanted to follow Zheng Zhilong, could only shrink in Zhaoqing under the current messy situation, shirking various excuses from the two envoys from Fuzhou and Shaoxing, and did not dare to express his position.

Seeing that Zhao Youheng and Xiao Yifu both expressed their willingness to stand in line with the small court of King Lu, most of the Guangzhou squires or low-level officials present showed happy expressions, especially Zhao Youheng's descendants, who were even more excited.

……

……

With the allegiance of the Grand Minister's Propaganda Division, the small court of King Lu can be said to be full of good news, not only did it obtain a one-time commitment from the Yan family to subsidize 200,000 taels of silver and 500,000 stone of grain in the next six months, but also the political lobbying in Guangdong can be called a huge harvest.

And a group of middle- and lower-level officials and wealthy merchant squires in Guangdong, who had long been disgusted by Zheng Zhilong, were even more determined to draw a clear line with Fujian through the signboard of King Lu's small court.

Not only did Zhao Youheng regain the official title of governor of Guangdong from the small court of King Lu, but even Guangdong Xinzhen and Qiongzhou also received various recognitions and rewards this time.

As the grandson of Wang Hongxue, a famous minister of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Changyan of the Ding'an Wang family in Qiongzhou was rarely promoted and reused as an embryonic person, and was given a position in Qiongzhou to prepare for the road. This big traitor who fought with the Qing army wolf bèi in history to suppress the anti-Qing movement on Hainan Island. This time, he became the spokesperson of the local snake government in the hands of the Qiongzhou squire, and officially embarked on the official career of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

Guangdong New Town, which has always been a bit chaotic in terms of status, was officially divided into two this time, re-divided into Guangdong Town and Qionghai Town. King Lu's small court was particularly generous in terms of adding officials to the knighthood, Zhang Jianye was appointed as the chief soldier of Qionghai Town, and after many years of hard work, he finally flew to the branch and became a phoenix.

Under the care of Chen Qian, the former commander-in-chief of Guangdong Town, and Ding Chukui, the governor of Liangguang, Zhou Qiao, who was mixed with the general of Humen coastal defense, saw the direction of the wind clearly this time, completely surrendered to Zhao Youheng, and was promoted two levels in a row and was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Guangdong Town.

Even if Zhao Youheng knew that Zhouqiao was a waste of firewood, he had to be promoted at this time as a transitional means to continue to win over the remnants of the former Guangdong Town. For the control zhì good Guangdong town. Chen Shangchuan, Zhao Youheng's protégé, stepped forward and served as the military supervisor of Guangdong Zhenzhong as a bachelor of Hanlin and a fellow of Guangzhou coastal defense soldiers.

After the hectic government affairs and official rectification, with the new army of the two towns in his hands, Zhao Youheng finally issued a decree in the name of the small court of King Lu, announcing the termination of the ban on the two Guanghai that was provoked by Zheng Zhilong behind the scenes half a year ago, and then actively prepared to crusade against Zhu Hengjia, the king of Jingjiang, who was huddled in Guilin and lived the dream of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Zhao Youheng's official repeal of the maritime ban is actually dispensable. Because at the instigation of some maritime gentry in Guangzhou or under the threat of rebellion. Local officials had defiantly abandoned the rules set by Ding Chukui a month earlier, and Qiongzhou maritime merchants had openly entered Hong Kong under the protection of the gunboats of the Huamei Asian Fleet.

The merchant ships of the Oriental Union Group reappeared in Guangzhou and Qiongzhou, and a large amount of cloth, lamp oil, soap, ironware, rice and other goods that had been stored in the early stage began to pour into Guangdong from the Hong Kong port. However, this time, the wholesale price of Nanyang rice in Hong Kong has risen to three taels of silver per stone. Whether it is the Qiongzhou Nanhai firm or the Huamei Oriental Union Group itself, they are eager to make back all the previous losses at the current grain price, but it is the ordinary people of Liangguang who pay after the chaos.

Ding Chukui, the governor of Liangguang, who was hollowed out by local officials and gentry, and whose influence had already existed in name only, could not be said to dare to come out with one now. The new army of Guangdong Town, which was escorted by Chen Shangchuan. At this time, he had already assembled near Zhaoqing in the name of preparing for the war against Zhu Hengjia, the king of Jingjiang, and there was a great possibility that if Ding Chukui could not see the situation clearly, he would end Zhaoqing by the way.

Although Ding Chukui was still grinding in Zhaoqing and did not make his position clear, he had to send his henchmen to bring a large number of gifts to Zhao Youheng and frequently show goodwill. There are tens of thousands of taels of silver alone, which makes Zhao Youheng, who is very strapped for money, secretly happy.

And the Fujian Zhengjia Group, which had provoked the squires of Liangguang before, was surprisingly calm at this time. At present, Zheng Zhilong is facing military and political pressure from several directions, not only to sort out the internal distribution of interests, but also to face external military threats. Wan Yuanji, the governor of Jiangxi, and He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang, were respectful to Emperor Longwu on the surface, but in essence, they strictly guarded Zheng Zhilong and others, who monopolized the central authority of the Longwu court.

At this moment, the Dayuan has openly "allegiated" to the small court of King Lu in eastern Zhejiang, and the Dayuan sailors have not only infiltrated eastern Zhejiang, but also frequently carried out activities near Penghu occupied by the Zheng family group, and even dispatched the main fleet to occupy Nanao Island, with the intention of blocking the Zheng family fleet from going south to Guangdong.

At first, the Zheng family was a little surprised that the Dayuan Naval Division was pressing on Fujian with such fanfare, and quickly sent warships to the sea to try, but soon got the answer: the main force of the Huamei Asian Fleet was stationed in Anping Port in Dayuan Dongning Mansion in the name of "joint training at sea", and secretly supported the Dayuan Naval Division under the nose of Penghu, and there were more than ten Western heavy artillery ships that had been coveted by the Zheng family for many years and could not be obtained. (To be continued......)

PS: Resurrect the first bullet