A few years ago, when the Qing army was strong in Guangdong, except for Chen Kai who still dominated the immovable areas of Chaozhou, the other Ming armies were driven up the mountains and off the island. The Gao Lian Lei Qiong Sifu in southwest Guangdong,

Compared with other places, the control of the Qing army with Guangzhou as the core control area was slightly less intense, and the survival of the Ming army there was easier.

Feng Yao, Zhou Jintang, Guo Dengdi and many other generals were stationed everywhere, ranging from hundreds to thousands. The Yongli court also sent Zhang Xiaoqi to liaise with Zhou Jintang, and Guo Zhiqi kept in contact.

The army's strength there is finally stronger. Although, it does not have the ability to independently regain the lost ground.

Last year, Li Dingguo swept through western Guangdong. He changed his route of directly attacking Zhaoqing the previous year and went south to capture southwestern Guangdong with the cooperation of the Ming army in western Guangdong. Lianzhou, Gaozhou, and Leizhou were recovered one after another. Li Dingguo then raised troops in Gaozhou, but

However, the army took the lead in entering Zhaoqing Prefecture and the southern part of Guangzhou Prefecture, and besieged Xinhui.

Together, these three prefectures were the earliest areas recovered by the Ming army except Chaozhou and Qiongzhou. The Ming army controlled the areas, and Zhang Xiaoqi and Zhou Tengfeng, under the banner of Li Dingguo, achieved this to a certain extent by collecting military supplies.

Control of administrative power.

Zhou Tengfeng came in a hurry because of the dispute between the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group and Chen Kai. As a member of the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group, their efforts in southwestern Guangdong will naturally come in handy at such a moment. It is the same.

The Qi connects the branches, which means that the same party can overcome differences.

"Report to the Superintendent, Gaozhou Prefecture, Lianzhou Prefecture, and Leizhou Prefecture have completed the collection of last year's autumn taxes. The amount is less than one-fifth of what it was in the Taiping Year."

"Yes, that's a good thing. Guangzhou and Zhaoqing couldn't collect last year's autumn taxes at all. Even this year's spring plowing has been affected. It's hard to say what the summer harvest will be like."

Regarding Luoding Prefecture, Guo Zhiqi never mentioned it. After all, Wei Yingdeng and Ye Biao had recaptured it the year before last. Later, Li Dingguo defeated Zhaoqing, and they were encircled and suppressed by the Qing army. Last year, with the help of

Following Li Dingguo's east wind, they once again recaptured Luoding Prefecture. It was one thing that it was almost in chaos and dilapidated. What was more important was that the power of the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group was very small there, and the entire Luoding Prefecture was basically still under military control.

, such as taxes and so on, will naturally be collected for military use, and they can't count on it.

This is undoubtedly good news, but Guo Zhiqi did not feel relieved. Instead, he asked Zhou Tengfeng: "When I went to Gaozhou Prefecture last time, the matter about military pay that I mentioned was discussed?"

On the surface, the discussion was about military pay, but in fact it was about the transfer of administrative power after the end of military control. The army needs to eat, and war also costs money, and the court needs military pay to support the army, otherwise the army will just

It is normal to be able to make a living on your own. Therefore, if you want to maximize your control over local administrative power, you must first feed the army and provide sufficient military pay in exchange for concessions in administrative power.

They had achieved some results through the Battle of Xinhui before. The cities and some counties in these three prefectures were actually controlled by the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group. However, there were still large areas under the control of the Ming army generals.

Here, as the source of military pay and rations. This is actually what Guo Zhiqi asked here.

In fact, Guo Zhiqi didn't have much hope in this regard. After all, he still had too few cards in his hand. As expected, Zhou Tengfeng shook his head when he heard this, especially when he mentioned the issues about Zhou Jintang and Deng Yao.

Zhang Pingbo Zhou Jintang and Jingfen General Deng Yao sent troops to Xinhui last year. They participated with Wang Xing as the main force of the Ming army in western Guangdong in the Battle of Jiangmen, and achieved a powerful victory over the Qing army on the left-wing battlefield.

Containment. These two troops had already returned to their base areas, but after their return, their rewards from the battle in Jiangmen were basically used to expand the army.

"It is better to expand the army when you have money than to live in debauchery."

Having said that, Guo Zhiqi also knew very well that if they wanted to take back the administrative power in those military-controlled areas, they would have to pay a higher price. And there is another problem, that is, the actions of these two generals are likely to cause

The chain reaction of other Ming army generals in the surrounding areas, such as Zhu Tong, Guo Dengdi and anyway, Zhang Yue and others, they are likely to expand their armies in response to the situation, and may even have already done so.

"There is no need to worry about this now, and there is no need to worry about it. Once the King of Xining leaves, as long as he takes over the areas controlled by His Highness in Guangzhou and Zhaoqing, and collects taxes, he can go to work with the generals little by little.

We don’t want to talk about it in a hurry. The key thing is to focus on the current matter.”

When Guo Zhiqi said this, he could be said to have a clear mind. Zhou Tengfeng also deeply agreed with this, and then mentioned another incident: "Before departure, Governor Zhang and the lower official heard that Qiongzhou Prefecture was organizing an organization

The merchants buying grain from Annan seemed to be doing so on a very large scale."

"I know this. There is a grain shortage in Fujian. Chen Kai has been busy transporting grain from Guangdong to Fujian recently in order to restore the people's livelihood in Fujian as soon as possible..."

Guo Zhiqi is not so stingy about using Guangdong's grain to subsidize Fujian's deficit. After all, they are all Ming troops, and the people in Fujian who are waiting for food are Han people. However, Chen Kai's attitude towards western Guangdong has always been very tough, and there is also a lot of confusion between them.

There are factional disputes, so it is inevitable that the Zheng Group will be regarded as an outsider. Of course, this outsider also depends on who it is compared with. If compared with Sun Kewang, it can still be regarded as an ally, let alone the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

, but if compared with other civilian and military forces under the Yongli imperial court that are almost actually controlled, there are inevitable worries about warlords.

Zhou Tengfeng continued talking about this matter, and Guo Zhiqi didn't pay too much attention to it. Trade has always been like this, there is nothing new. As for the vassal of Annan, he knows something about it. It is a small country that is in a state of fragmentation.

That's all. In the eyes of today's Ming court, weight is really nothing. Even a beggar would not consider such a thing.

"Governor Zhang and Xiaguan thought that food was in short supply in western Guangdong, so they simply bought a batch of food from Annan. They followed the method of Mo's in Gaoping, and the price was more reasonable. It's just that we, the two of us, are humble,

If you want to buy more, I'm afraid it will cost the Superintendent's face."

After Zhou Tengfeng said this, he subconsciously looked at Guo Zhiqi. The latter was stunned at first, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face. He repeatedly praised Zhang Xiaoqi and Zhou Tengfeng for their good strategies, and then repeatedly stated that he would supervise the division.

As a great scholar, Xiu Shu worked with Annan to facilitate their actions.

"The Mo family in Gaoping can go their own way, but forget about the Zheng family. Don't follow the facts."

"I understand."

One country, two dynasties, and four forces, this is the current situation in Annan. Among them, the Gaoping Mo family mentioned by Guo Zhiqi, the king of the Mo Dynasty only served as the commander-in-chief of Annan in the Ming Dynasty, all because of his ability to hug thick legs

Make sure not to be wiped out by Li Chao. When Guo Zhiqi talked about the dog food, he hinted to Zhou Tengfeng that he could continue to suppress the price with Mo Chao, and Mo Chao would not dare to resist.

As for the Li Dynasty, Lord Ruan is in the south, and they can't reach it for a while. The king of Li Dynasty is actually a puppet supported by Lord Zheng, somewhat like Sun Kewang of the Ming Dynasty to Emperor Yongli. They are

Politicians have always prided themselves on the legitimacy of the court, and of course they must avoid being slandered by political opponents in the future.

In fact, in addition to these forces, there is another protector in Annan, the Wu family, who is not very strong, in the Tuyuan Quang area of ​​Le Chao Shi Town. It is inland and has no borders with surrounding countries, so it is often ignored. However, Guo Zhiqi and the others

They have been struggling in the Guangdong and Guangxi areas for many years, and the surrounding forces are more or less familiar with them. As far as they know, this Wu family obeys the Li Dynasty on the surface, but secretly also colludes with the Mo Dynasty, thinking carefully about it.

, they also plan to take advantage of Mo Chao's relationship to try to take that route again.

Guo Zhiqi wrote the letter, and Zhou Tengfeng rushed back overnight. Soon, Zhang Xiaoqi received the letter and hurriedly sent it to Gaoping Mo's family.

As a governor, and as a cabinet bachelor, compared to Zhang Xiaoqi, Zhou Tengfeng and other local officials in southwestern Guangdong, Guo Zhiqi directly represented the Ming court and was an extension of the Ming court's power in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions. The safety of the Mo Dynasty depended on the Ming Empire

In a flash, this has been a reality for more than a century. When Guo Zhiqi's letter arrived, the words in the letter could not be called condescending, but the tone did not allow much questioning, and he directly asked Mo to deliver food to Zhang Xiaoqi.

He also tried to open up contact with the Wu family and tried to use Wu's channels in Li Dynasty to purchase more grain.

For this, Mo Jingyu, the contemporary king of the Mo Dynasty, Mingzong, was helpless. Speaking of which, if the Ming Dynasty in Guangdong and Guangxi were still the same as before, it would be fine, but now the Ming army has regained Guangzhou in one fell swoop, and further away

There is also news that the Ming army recaptured Fujian in one fell swoop last year. This was clearly a stand-up move. For separatist forces like them, who relied solely on clinging to survive, they could clearly see what they should do.

After receiving the letter, Mo Jingyu ordered the purchase of grain at a low price in the Gaoping area. At the same time, he secretly sent someone to contact Wu Gongpi, the contemporary leader of the Wu clan, to act as a middleman to purchase grain from the Wu clan.

Today in Annan, the strongest person is Lord Zheng. As they are, their strength is not even as strong as Lord Ruan. They have to cling to the thigh of the Celestial Dynasty to pretend to be powerful. Food began to be collected quickly. They took the land route and passed through the control of the Mo Dynasty.

The grain was transported from the district to Guangxi, and then transferred to Lianzhou Prefecture. From there, it was diverted to the waterway to gather the grain in the direction of Guangzhou.

Such an action would inevitably escape the eyes and ears of Lord Zheng. However, Lord Zheng could no longer take care of them at this time. Businessmen from Qiongzhou Prefecture came forward to purchase grain through their various connections in Annan. Zheng

The price of grain in the main control area has inevitably risen. Of course, what makes Lord Zheng feel balanced is that these Qiongzhou merchants are also purchasing grain in the area controlled by Lord Ruan. The rise in food prices is also affecting this old rival.

Most of the money for purchasing grain came from the profits from the recapture of Guangzhou. In addition to solving the food shortage, the grain also more importantly provided Li Dingguo's army with food and grass for the expedition.

In a blink of an eye, it was already May, and food was arriving one after another. The generals of the Guangzhou Ming Army who were waiting for subsidies found Guo Zhiqi faster than Li Dingguo and asked the governor to fulfill his earlier promise. In response, Guo Zhiqi

He did not soften his tone. He only said that the agreement at that time was that the summer tax collection would be completed before the subsidies would be paid. Calculating the date, it was already August. As for this batch, the supervisor had other purposes and was not used for subsidies.

.

"When food goes into the pockets of those generals, it is like rice going into the stomach, and what comes out is just shit. Now, we only have so many resources, and every energy must be used to expand the actual control area.

Only by controlling more areas can we have more money and food, and can we do more things."

Guo Zhiqi figured it out, and he did it in the same way. Here, food was still being transported, and he was also keeping an eye on Hong Kong. It seemed that there were also food ships arriving from Qiongzhou, to be precise, from the direction of Annan. This

It is as it should be. Guo Zhiqi knew very well that a large part of this food was shipped to Fujian to relieve the food shortage, and at the same time to feed Fujian's growing army. However, there were also Chen Kai who had the same thoughts as him, and it was nothing more than

It's just a tacit understanding of each other.

On May 12th, Chen Kai's official ship returned to Hong Kong. It took more than a month to go there. Calculating the distance, the delay at sea was inevitable, but it was not too long.

After receiving the news of Chen Kai's return, Guo Zhiqi went through the account books of grain and weapons. These items were all piled up in the warehouse. After reading the account books, he felt a little more at ease. He knew very well that Chen Kai came from Nan'ao.

When he returns, the political struggle will break out again. Sure enough, Li Dingguo's army is about to leave, and the inside story of the battle for the ownership of Guangzhou between the Western Guangdong Civil Service Group and the Zheng Group was also revealed in Guangzhou on the day Chen Kai arrived in Hong Kong.

The news spread throughout the city. Counting the time, it seems that the news had been leaked long before Chen Kai came back.

"This is Chen Kai trying to avoid suspicion."

Chen Kai has a great gift for the people of Guangzhou. Even if you think about it with your toes, you can guess which side the people of Guangzhou will side with once there is a conflict between Chen Kai and Guo Zhiqi. The departure of Li Dingguo will be the most affected.

It must be the people of Guangzhou. Once they heard the news, the scene of the gentry and people of Guangzhou going to Li Dingguo's palace every day to ask for orders from His Highness the King of Xining to allow Chen Kai to take charge of Guangzhou City immediately appeared in Guo Zhiqi's mind.

Lingering.

"Chen Kai, this is the biggest trump card in your plan. Public opinion is indeed formidable, but I will never lose to you. Let's see whose method is better."
Chapter completed!