Seeing Chen Zizhuang so calm and calm, Lin and Huang also knew that they couldn't be persecuted too much. During this time, the two of them took away a lot of authority in the regimental defense bureau, but they never dared to take off Chen Zizhuang's façade.

"Okay, then there is Mr. Lao, and the juniors will send someone to Macau to inform the Francois and the Oriental Trading Company, so that they can also prepare early." Master Huang said.

When Chen Zizhuang sent the two out of the inner courtyard and came back, the person who had first hid behind the screen had already come out, sitting on a chair, holding a book from the shelf and reading.

This person was dressed in a green robe, and he looked like an old pedant, but in fact he was Shen Youlong, the governor of Liangguang.

"Your Excellency the Governor has heard it, and it is absolutely impossible to appease you." Chen Zizhuang said.

Shen Youlong's face was full of seriousness: "If the old man said that he had never had the heart to be appeased, would the old man be willing to believe it?" ”

"Seriously....... But the wind outside has been spreading for a long time, first saying that it will be suppressed, and then saying that it will be appeased, which does not seem like an empty wind. It is also said that the four pirates bought gifts on the streets of Guangzhou, and after being appeased, they gave them to local officials. Chen Zizhuang listened to Shen Youlong's words, and his heart was somewhat vague.

Shen Youlong said helplessly: "The old man doesn't know who concocted this rumor, but the old man has no such intention. Nowadays, the four surnames are declining, and it is a good time to eradicate extinction, how can they be appeased? Alas, alas, anyway, the old man has no such intention, no matter how much he explains, it is too much, and it is okay not to mention it. ”

Chen Zizhuang nodded slowly, he also felt that there was no possibility of appeasing the four surnames. It's not that the four surnames will be appeased, and whether the imperial court has the sincerity to appease them, but the Oriental Trading Company is there, and it has already fallen in love with the waters of the Pearl River Estuary, and together with the gentry, they have jointly planned the prospects of Guangdong trade, and the Guangdong gentry and the Oriental Trading Company will never let the four surnames be appeased.

"What those two people said just now is really excessive, and if it is according to the law of the country, it is not too much to cut it." Shen Youlong said.

Chen Zizhuang coughed embarrassedly, he deliberately let Chen Zizhuang hear the words of Lin and Huang, the purpose was to let Shen Youlong, the governor of Liangguang, know that in the regimental defense bureau, only one of his hearts is to the imperial court, and he is his natural partner, and the rest of them have been too deeply connected with Li Zhaoji.

But only so, he didn't expect Lin and Huang to be so crazy, saying that the strategy of hitting the four surnames first and disrupting the strategy of the imperial court was a death, but Chen Zizhuang didn't want these two people to really be punished, in that way, the regimental defense bureau would be mostly down, and without the regimental defense bureau, he Chen Zizhuang's right to speak would only be that little name.

"Lord Governor, those two people are Meng Lang on weekdays, and you also saw it just now, they simply rushed into the old man's house. What he said was also an unintentional mistake, and it may not be the original intention. You don't have to embarrass them, now, the four surnamed pirates are declining, and the Oriental trading company is sharpening their knives, which is quite a replacement, if they are allowed to become bigger, it is not the blessing of the imperial court, nor the blessing of Guangdong.

Therefore, our regimental defense bureau wants to discuss with the governor, first, how to exterminate the four surnames and restore peace in Yuehai. Second, how to deal with Li Zhaoji. Chen Zizhuang didn't want to get too entangled with Shen Youlong on the question of asking guilt, so he said.

Shen Youlong smiled: "The old man came to the door quietly this time, and he also wanted to abandon the influence of others and discuss this matter with the old man." ”

The extermination of the four pirates was originally the original intention of the establishment of the regimental training sailors, but the problem is that after the establishment of this regimental training, although the armament is not cultivated and the combat power is not strong, it has given the Guangdong gentry an extra trump card in their hands, whether it is facing Li Zhaoji or facing the Ming court represented by Shen Youlong, their words have a lot of weight.

Therefore, the Guangdong gentry were very active in exterminating the pirates with the four surnames, but after the extermination of the four surnames, they were even more active in retaining the force of regimental training.

However, if the four surnames are exterminated, it is a question of what name this group training will continue to exist in. The legitimacy of the establishment of the group training comes from Shen Youlong, and similarly, the legitimacy of the survival of the group training must also come from Shen Youlong.

"Now that the rogue is rampant, the eastern captives are rampant, and the imperial court is using soldiers. If the regiment is willing to leave his hometown and continue to serve the imperial court, the old man feels that even if the four surnames are suppressed, this army should not be dispersed. Now that there are only two of them, there is naturally no need to twist to speak, and Shen Youlong will tell the truth.

His meaning is very clear, whether the group training can survive or not, when it depends on whether the group training can be used by the imperial court, if he just stays at the mouth of the Pearl River as a household dog, Shen Youlong naturally can't accept it.

And he said: "Speaking of which, the old man and the old gentleman are both dedicated to the court, but if Li Zhaoji replaces the four surnames, he may not be willing to see the group practice continue to exist." ”

Chen Zizhuang bowed slightly, and said: "It's just that the regimental training costs a lot, and it was only maintained by the ship introduction and tariffs from Guangzhou to Macao, and then the gentry and businessmen donated salaries. If the pirates are suppressed, how can the team training be maintained? ”

Shen Youlong smiled and said, "When the four surnames are exterminated, the Pearl River Estuary will be peaceful." The old man planned to unify the ship guide and Macao customs into Guangdong Customs, and all ships entering and leaving Guangdong and engaged in foreign trade would pay customs duties to raise the army.

What does the old gentleman think? ”

Chen Zizhuang nodded: "This plan is very good, so there is no need to levy it directly, so as not to suffer the people." It's just that those whose business involves maritime trade and go abroad have the background of official eunuchs and gentry, but those who enter the mouth of the Pearl River are mostly foreign ships and boats.

This new customs in Guangdong, but taxation is a tricky matter. ”

To put it bluntly, Chen Zizhuang doesn't care much about what the regiment does and who commands him, the reason is very simple, he Chen Zizhuang is just a gentry at home, and has no real power. And there are no talents in the family who use soldiers to train soldiers, and these powers cannot fall into his hands, what he cares about is where the salary for regimental training comes from and whether he can control it.

Shen Youlong naturally knew Chen Zizhuang's purpose, and hurriedly said: "The customs is preparing for the operation, and the old man still wants to ask the old man to praise him a lot." The income from customs revenue may not be used for group training. ”

Chen Zizhuang's face changed slightly, and he said in his heart that this customs has not yet been established, you want to share the profits, remembering that Shen Youlong has always wanted to expand and renovate his governor's standard camp, but he has no money, so he became vigilant, if Shen Youlong takes too much, this matter must not be done.

"Why, Lord Governor's standard camp lacks some armor?" Chen Zizhuang asked.

Shen Youlong sighed and said: "The old man's standard battalion has experienced the loss of the eight rows of Yao chaos, and repeated arrears of pay have led to desertions, but there are less than two thousand soldiers in battle. There is no need to transfer money from the customs to prepare it, what the old man means is that part of the customs revenue will be allocated to the Oriental Trading Company. ”

"Oh?" Chen Zizhuang was stunned for a moment, and then understood Chen Zizhuang's meaning, and laughed: "The governor is really an old man who seeks the country, and the temple is thousands of miles." ”

Allocate a part of the silver to the Oriental Trading Company, and the military affairs in the customs tax collection can also be handed over to Li Zhaoji to handle.

Those who participated in the sea trade were either the wealthy families in Guangdong, and these people let Li Zhaoji offend. Those who came to Guangdong were also merchants from the South Seas, as well as Arabs and Indians, or those Chinese businessmen from the South Seas, who dared to mix in these waters, they were all ruthless people, and who did not have a few iron cannons and muskets on the ship, how could they be people who were good at getting along, this kind of people, who were not domineering and powerful people like Li Zhaoji, could not be suppressed.

The reason why Zheng Zhilong was able to sell the water order flag was not the endorsement of the Ming court, but the fleet of sailors under him.

Shen Youlong nodded slightly: "What Lin and Huang said just now, the old man also heard it. As the old gentleman said, it was just nonsense, and the old man didn't want to blame them. lest you ruin the reputation of the gentleman and make people say that yours is not.

But there is one thing, the gentry of the League Defense Bureau and the Oriental Trading Company have made a lot of foreign transactions in the past year, and the interests are too entangled, and the old man is afraid that in the future, Li Zhaoji will be stationed at the mouth of the Pearl River, collude with them, and annex the regimental training, making it private property and not working for the imperial court.

This is not what you and I want, but it is also a blessing for the court. ”

Chen Zizhuang nodded: "Therefore, the authority of the regimental defense bureau and regimental training must be entrusted to credible people who are loyal to the imperial court, and they must not be taken away by a businessman." If the governor is headed by the old man and makes customs regulations, the old man can rest assured that the old man and his eldest son Huairen will take care of it personally, and others will not interfere.

It's just that how does the military power belong? The few generals in the regimental training were mostly from gentry families and were not reliable. ”

"Is there a candidate for the old gentleman?"

Chen Zizhuang said: "Lin Cha, the chief soldier, has a deep disagreement with Li Zhaoji, and he once said that if he does not share the sky, he may be usable." ”

Shen Youlong shook his head: "This person is definitely not available." You and I run a group training, using the Oriental Trading Company, the plan is the great cause of Kuangfu Sheji, and in the future, the integration of this force is to go north and destroy the thieves in Pingdong. That Lin Cha, a villain who is greedy and derelict in his duties, has more than enough success and failure, and the regimental training is handed over to him, it must be a mess, if he can't train a strong army, it will be useless in the great cause.

What's more, it is inevitable to use Li Zhaoji in the future, if he leaves Yuehai and goes north to fight, it will be difficult for Lin Cha to ensure that he will not take advantage of the situation.

Lin Cha and Li Zhaoji are used together, and if the two tigers fight, one will be injured. ”

Chen Zizhuang nodded slightly, he mentioned Lin Cha, that is, to test one or two, but he never thought that Lin Cha was already such an evaluation in Shen Youlong's eyes, and after thinking about it, he understood again. Shen Youlong has always wanted to rectify the armament, Lin Cha is an obstacle, maybe Shen Youlong wants to take the opportunity to get rid of it, so as to establish his authority, take out the money and food that was originally raised by the Lin Cha Department to raise the troops, and also refresh the personnel.

"Speaking of which, Li Zhaoji is domineering, rich, and has the courage to compete with him, and he is not tempted by him, I am afraid that it will be difficult to find, if you want to know the general ........" When Chen Zizhuang said this, he simply asked directly: "Is there a candidate for the governor?" ”

"How is Chen Ping?" Shen Youlong asked.

Chen Zizhuang frowned: "This person fights with pirates, he is very brave and prestigious, and the old man has also heard that he also has a dislike for Li Zhaoji, but it seems that his qualifications are shallow." ”、

Some time ago, the old man sent him and Mr. Zhao to Tamsui to invite Li Zhaoji and tell him that whether it is to exterminate the four pirates or to support Sheji in the future, Li Zhaoji will be of great use, so that he will not be an enemy of Li Zhaoji again.

Listening to Mr. Zhao, Chen Ping went to Tamsui, presented his family wealth, and made compromises, just to reconcile with Li Zhaoji. Although Li Zhaoji did not give up his past suspicions with him, and only promised not to be an enemy again, but just this compromise shows his loyalty and open-mindedness. Shen Youlong said earnestly.

Chen Zizhuang nodded slightly: "In this way, it can also be used." But after all, it's okay to have less qualifications. Let him practice on behalf of the group first, this time to suppress the thief, no matter how he acts, he will be credited with great merit. In the final analysis, with the support of the Governor, Chen Ping can also stand on the side. ”

Shen Youlong said with a smile: "But it's not just the old man's support, but also the old man's praise."

Old gentleman, Chen Ping has been in front of the old man for a long time, the old man admires him a lot, treats him like a nephew, but he is not married, I heard that the gentleman's family has an unmarried pearl, I don't know if I dislike Chen Ping is a martial artist? ”

"Oh?" Chen Zizhuang hesitated for a while, and said in his heart that this guy was going to marry to stabilize the cooperation between the two parties, but his daughters were already married, but his granddaughter was young for many years, and he thought about it, and said: "My brother passed away, leaving behind a daughter, who has been raised in the house for many years, and is already sixteen.

If the Governor and General Chen do not dislike it, they can ask someone to come and match the eight characters to see if they are compatible. ”

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