Zheng Tai spoke the words without any scruples, and Zheng Chenggong also wanted to come. He was not even their brother. Zheng Hongkui mentioned this in his last letter. Maybe even their always smart cousin thought so.

It's a pity that most of the children of the Zheng family lack the necessary foresight. Sooner or later, not only will they lose their face, but they will lose even more.

Of course, at this stage, the stalemate can only continue like this for the time being. However, Zheng Chenggong never sits still and waits for death. He mentioned the situation they had learned from Guangzhou and then mentioned that he had already reported it to the court.

A request was made to promote Chen Kai to the position of Inspector General of Guangdong Province, Guangdong Military Preparation Road.

At first, the position of Bingbei Dao could only be held by the censor of the Duchayuan or officials with the title of censorship of the Duchayuan. Later, it became common and could be held by the deputy envoys or ministers of the imperial envoys of each province. The imperial envoys

The deputy envoy of the Si is the fourth rank, and the chief minister is the fifth rank. Chen Kai was in charge of local military and political affairs from the time of branch inspection, and now he is involved in politics from the chief envoy of the third rank. Zheng Chenggong simply omitted that deputy character.

, directly requested the imperial court for the official position of Guangdong's envoy with a third rank.

After hearing this, Zheng Tai naturally understood the deeper meaning. Improving Chen Kai's status and using the weight of the court to suppress those Zheng clan members was one of them. What was more important was that Chen Kai's achievements were placed, and Chen Kai's promotion was

, and it is also an inspiration to other civil servants and generals.

Now, all he has to do is wait for the court's decree to be issued. Zheng Chenggong believes that the court will not reject this request for promotion to a third-grade official. Calculating the time, he estimates that it will only take a few months.

The time could be said to be long or short, but the imperial decree came much faster than he expected. Just a few days after he and Zheng Tai discussed the matter, the edict had already arrived.

to Xiamen Island.

"Congratulations to the Duke, congratulations to the Duke."

The edict was read out. Because Chen Kai was too involved in the war in Guangzhou, and in the end he betrayed Du Yonghe. The bullets were placed on the desk, and Zheng Chenggong's army was waiting for him there. This all made Zheng Chenggong

As a result, the title of Duke of the country was delayed.

But now, the news of Du Yonghe's surrender to the Qing Dynasty and even his death have probably spread to Xingzai. The Ming court no longer has any scruples. The imperial edict to confer Zheng Chenggong as the Duke of Zhang was issued. All the civil and military officials present were very happy.

.

"The angels are here, please come in and talk."

He arrived a little late, but Zheng Chenggong was still very polite to the envoy. However, the latter did not accept the kindness. Instead, he asked Zheng Chenggong whether Chen Kai was here.

"Chen Daotai is still in charge of local military and political affairs in Chaozhou and is not in the Zhongzuo Institute."

In response to the question, Zheng Chenggong responded to Chen Kai's whereabouts. Hearing this, the envoy of the edict also said "oh" and immediately revealed the truth in the eyes of everyone's doubts:

"The official is here now. In addition to being entrusted with the title of Duke, the imperial court believes that Chen Daotai has repeatedly achieved outstanding achievements over the years and is a rare talent. In line with the principle of reward for meritorious deeds, he was specially promoted to the Chief Envoy of Guangdong to participate in politics.

Chen Kai, the guardian of the Chaohui branch and the prefect of Chaozhou Prefecture, is the right minister of the Ministry of War and the right censor of the capital procuratorate. He patrols the four Chaohui prefectures in Zhangquan, supervises military affairs and is also in charge of food and pay, and bestows Shangfang..."

According to the normal itinerary, the people he sent are probably still bumping along the sea road. But now, the edict envoy has not only arrived, but also brought two edicts, one of which is to canonize Zheng Chenggong.

One job was for the Duke of the country, and the other job was to promote Chen Kai to the position of governor of the four prefectures of Zhangquan Chaohui!

The position of governor means "touring the country, pacifying the army and keeping track of the people." When the governor was first established, he was a temporary dispatcher, mostly responsible for special tasks such as supervising taxation and grain management, supervising rivers, tending refugees, and rectifying border customs.

For example, Zhu Biao, the prince of the Hongwu Dynasty, once patrolled Shaanxi. Later, as the status of civil servants became higher and higher, the place originally designed by Zhu Yuanzhang was divided into the administrative, judicial and health offices of the Chief Envoy, the Inspectorate and the Metropolitan Commander.

The pattern of separation of powers was broken. In order to solve the practical problem of the three divisions being separated and ineffective, the governor gradually became customized, and all three were responsible to the governor.

The power of the governor at this time was much greater than that of the senior officials of later generations. He was almost a provincial senior official, a senior official and the commander of the provincial military region. However, the establishment of a governor was not entirely in charge of a province. For example, the governor of Nangan was in charge of Jiangxi.

Ganzhou, Nan'an, Shaozhou and Nanxiong in Guangdong, Chenzhou in Huguang and Tingzhou in Fujian were originally six provinces belonging to four provinces. Another example is the governor of Denglai, whose jurisdiction is only Dengzhou and Laizhou in Shandong.

Two mansions.

The governor of the Fourth Prefecture of Zhangquan, Chaohui, who was appointed by Chen Kai was not an old official position, but like another current governor in Guangdong - Zhang Xiaoqi, the governor of the Fourth Prefecture of Gao Lian and Lei Qiong, they were in charge of the Ming army in these Qing dynasties.

It is difficult for the military power to fully develop in corners and corners, and restraining the local Ming army in these places is considered to have the effect of recovery.

The only difference here is that, first, Zhang Xiaoqi was an administrative official within the imperial court, while Chen Kai was a local official who was promoted step by step. One's roots are inside, and the other's are outside; second,

Zhang Xiaoqi nominally supervised many Ming armies in those four prefectures, while Chen Kai only had the troops of the Fujian Ming army under his jurisdiction.

In other words, once the governor Chen Kai takes over, without a supervisor, manager, or governor, he will nominally become the highest-level official in the area, even if he is only a second-grade official, like Zheng Chenggong.

Faced with the ancestral system of using civility to control military force, ordinary princes must also be restrained by Chen Kai!

Once such an appointment was displayed in front of everyone, even a person would have various expressions. Chen Kai was appointed as the governor, and Zheng Chenggong had already appointed Chen Kai as the governor earlier, with full responsibility for the Guangdong battlefield, as well as Chen Kai's recent years.

At this moment, his status as the second-largest figure in the Zheng Group cannot be questioned by anyone. Whether it is Feng Chengshi in charge of the Arms Bureau, Pan Gengzhong who praises military affairs, or Zheng who exists as the God of Wealth.

Tai, these most useful civil servants within the Zheng Group, none of them can compare with Chen Kai who has obtained the endorsement of the imperial court.

But as a result, everyone is thinking deeply about the changes in status between civil and military officials, the division of power between governors and generals, the relationship between Chen Kai and Zheng Chenggong, and other deeper things. Everyone is thinking deeply about the situation in the future.

development, thinking deeply about their respective positions in it, there was a moment of silence.

"So that's how it is, then how about asking the angels to go inside first to talk, wait for the wind to wash away the dust, rest for a few days, and then go to Chaozhou to promulgate the edict?"

"All lower-ranking officials must obey the arrangements of the Duke of the State."

Zheng Chenggong generously let the edict envoy in, and after chatting for a while, Zheng Chenggong asked about the situation of the Yongli court and the Ming army in the southwest, and also introduced their efforts in Fujian and Guangdong, especially Zhong Chenggong.

The Battle of Cuo and the two great victories at Lufeng were unknown to the edicts. If Zheng Chenggong had not sent someone to ask the court to change Chen Kai's Fujian Chief Envoy to the Government to Guangdong Chief Envoy to the Government, I am afraid that even the year before the previous year would not have happened.

I also know nothing about the three battles and three victories.

The two are thousands of miles apart, and they are also separated by the Qing court's control area. Intervals and detours are inevitable, and these all affect the transmission of news. However, the two battles between the Ming army in Jingzhou and Guilin

The news of victory has spread here, and there are even vague rumors about the Ming army's victory in Huguang again, but I don't know whether it is true or not.

"Congratulations to Master Wang and congratulations to the Duke!"

"Congratulations to the Ming Dynasty, congratulations to the court, and congratulations to the emperor!"

The celebration banquet was held after dark, and the news that Zheng Chenggong was canonized as the Duke of Zhang spread quickly to every corner of the Zhongzuo Institute. Along with the canonization of the Duke, there was also the appointment of Chen Kai as the governor.

It caused an uproar on the island.

The people who came from Guangzhou and were protected by Chen Kai in the battle of Zhongzuosuo all praised the court's wisdom and knowledge. While they were happy for Chen Kai, they were also happy that capable officials like Chen Kai were appointed.

Such a high-ranking official will definitely be able to better realize the counterattack against the Tartars and will be very happy.

Drinks quickly became in short supply on the island. Some people drank to feel happy, while others drank to relieve their emotions. But if the wine makes people sad, they often make the worries even worse.

"That fellow was appointed governor after he defeated a few Tatars. Governor, the imperial court is really treacherous in appointing officials in such an indiscriminate manner!"

"It's not that we beat away a few Tatars. I heard that the imperial court didn't know anything about this year's war. They were canonized and promoted according to last year's standards. Damu is like this, and that guy is like this too. I can't wait until the angel returns.

Now, when he comes back, he might be the governor of Fujian and Guangdong."

Some are happy and some are sad. They originally planned to fight with Chen Kai within the Zheng Group to ensure that they, the children of the Ishii Zheng family, can continue to enjoy their wealth. How could they have imagined that the imperial court would value Chen Kai so much.

This is simply because they are accustomed to greed and cannot see the benefits of others. They do not understand that a governor like Chen Kai, who has repeatedly made extraordinary achievements, is nothing. But now Chen Kai's promotion makes them immediately

I felt tremendous pressure - although from the third-rank chief envoy to the second-rank governor, the three ranks are more or less, but the governor is already a local official on the restraint side, even if he becomes a governor.

At the very least, he was an official serving as the Minister of War, and it was not impossible for him to become a minister or join the cabinet.

A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. No matter how weak the imperial court is, it cannot be matched by the Zheng family in terms of justice and honor. What's more, isn't the imperial court's will the emperor's will? The weight of these two words is so heavy.

They can't even breathe smoothly.

"By the way, where is Shaoji?"

Speaking of which, Zheng Zhaoji can be regarded as the most trouble-making among the Zheng children, but he is not here at the moment, which seems a bit strange.

"Humph, my brother-in-law is going to be the governor. In all likelihood, he has gone back to Baisha to pull up his sister's skirt. How can he hang out with us unworthy people here?"

Envy, jealousy, and even resentment are unavoidable. But like them, if they cling to the pattern of one-third of an acre and do not explore a bigger future, they will always be limited to that one-third of an acre.

in.

Just as they were trying their best to limit Chen Kai's status within the Zheng Group by boycotting the marriage, Chen Kai was busy investigating the current situation of the anti-Qing Dynasty in the four southeastern provinces, and was busy saving the people in eastern Guangdong.

In the critical situation, he was busy making plans with the Jingnan vassal army, and was busy using Hong Kong's geographical location and the Ming army's maritime superiority to contain the expansion of the power of the Shang Geng vassal. When Chen Kai accomplished some major things, and then turned around, the imperial court awarded him an official title.

When they were rewarded for their meritorious deeds and appointed as governors, they could only look at the ocean and sigh, and let out a sour bark.

At the banquet, after three rounds of wine and five dishes, all the civil, military and edict-proclaiming envoys under his command were enjoying themselves. Zheng Chenggong went back to rest. The next morning, he rushed to say hello to his grandmother and at the same time to the woman.

An ancestor officially reported this good news.

After being granted the title of Duke, it is natural to open an ancestral hall to announce the good news to the ancestors. This is already the fourth time for the Zheng family, including Duke Zheng Zhilong of Ping, Zheng Hongkui, Duke of Ding, and Zheng Zhipeng, Duke of Yan. Now there is another Zhang

The Duke of Zheng Chenggong, with four dukes in his family, is more popular than the Xu family during the founding of the People's Republic of China. But now, two of the four Dukes are idle and living at home, and the other one is even worse.

The Qing government placed them under house arrest in the capital, leaving only a young man who had just been ennobled and was still trying his best to save the country. I don't know whether this is ridiculous or lamentable.

Fortunately, with the experience of the first three times, he was familiar with it. After all the etiquette was completed, Zheng Chenggong had a private conversation with his old grandmother. After Zheng Chenggong left the house again and returned to the house, he repaired a letter and sent it to her.

The content of Chaozhou's Taoist Yamen was simply to ask Chen Kai to prepare for his marriage.

"This matter is finally over."

Putting down his pen, Zheng Chenggong leaned on the Taishi chair, took a long breath, and suddenly felt extremely relaxed. This was never just a simple marriage, but the positioning of the Zheng Group, a profit-seeking organization with the Ishii Zheng family at its core.

It is a maritime business group, and it is also a military and political group that uses maritime trade to assist the cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty. All the contradictions are concentrated on this marriage.

Now, the matter has finally been resolved, and the authority of the imperial court has overwhelmed all the opposition within the family. This is not only Chen Kai's victory, but also his victory over those in the family who are in reserve for surrender to the Qing Dynasty like his father Zheng Zhilong.

.

As for Chen Kai's position as governor, he didn't think it was a big deal. The use of civil servants to control military forces has been a common practice for more than two hundred years, but now it is no longer what it used to be, not to mention that Chen Kai was originally his

With a background as an aide, is it possible that Chen Kai could still use Shang Fang's sword to cut him down?

Zheng Chenggong's expression was full of relaxation, and even his steps were much lighter. Seeing all this in the eyes of Dong Yougu, Dong Yougu didn't make a sound and just returned to the room. When she and her eldest son Zheng Jing were left alone, she seemed
To be continued...