In the golden autumn, the sweet osmanthus is fragrant. Guangdong has finally gotten rid of the scorching heat and the weather has become hot.

But General Lin of Xiawei City felt like he was still in the hottest days of the year, and he was sweating profusely these days.

It’s not that he encountered any bad luck. On the contrary, he has recently become very popular in the Guangdong officialdom.

Since the beginning of August, Zhao Shouzheng, the acting prefect of Chaozhou Prefecture, has been constantly reporting to the province to praise his achievements.

According to the Chaozhou Prefecture's report, in just over half a month, his achievements included but were not limited to:

Earlier this month, after receiving the news that Zeng Yiben had been captured on Yishan Island, he immediately dispatched his fleet northward to avenge the people of Chaozhou. On August 11, his fleet arrived at Yishan Island off the coast of Fujian. Although Zeng Yiben was not found, he wiped out the pirate Damahou who was entrenched there and rescued 2,000 abducted people.

Two days later, based on the confessions of the captives, General Lin went south to Sandu'ao again, eliminated the pirate Wushier who had been entrenched there for several years, and rescued 20,000 captive civilians. Although Zeng Yiben was not found, the throat of the entrance and exit of the coastal area of ​​eastern Fujian was liberated.

On August 15th, the murderous General Lin didn't even celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. He destroyed the bandit nest on Pingtan Island, beheaded the three brothers Ma Daye, Ma Erye, and Ma Sanye, and rescued 10,000 abducted civilians!

Although Zeng Yiben was not found, the threat that was close at hand to Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, was eliminated.

On August 18, on Meizhou Island, General Lin's invincible fleet destroyed the pirate Yidaoxian and rescued a thousand captive civilians...

Although Zeng Yiben was still not found, his numerous military exploits were comparable to the great achievements made by Yu Long and Qi Hu after they entered Fujian to fight!

At first, the province naturally didn't believe it and accused him of crossing the border without permission. But the newly appointed Fujian General Yu Dayou personally wrote a letter to thank him and confirmed that all these achievements were true. He also said that General Lin had handed over the rescued people and prisoners to Fujian Province, and all the heads captured were personally checked by the Fujian Provincial Surveillance Commissioner... If Guangdong Province is not assured, it can send someone to re-check. But the weather is too hot, and there is no guarantee what the situation will be like at that time.

As for the issue of cross-border warfare, Yu Dayou said that according to the agreement between Fujian and Guangdong in the 45th year of Jiajing, in view of the Japanese pirates roaming between the two provinces, in an emergency, the navy of both provinces can cross the border to fight. However, in order to avoid trouble for General Lin, he specially wrote this official letter to Guangdong Province, saying that the matter was subject to the authority, and Fujian Province only expressed gratitude and would never nitpick.

Yu Dayou was the general of Guangdong in his early years. He had a very high prestige in Guangdong Province. He was always honest and would never lie. So when he said this, the officials in the provincial capital no longer doubted it and said that they could report their military achievements with peace of mind.

However, in view of the fact that General Lin's military achievements were so great and extraordinary, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Yin Zhengmao, decided to suppress the matter for the time being and not report it. He first sent someone to Xiawei to verify and confirm it.

Upon learning that the Governor's special envoy would arrive in Xiawei the next day, Lin Daoquan could no longer sit still and ran to the mansion where he lived as his godfather to ask for advice.

"Godfather, what's going on?" Lin Daoqian lit Xu Wei's water pipe and said with a distressed look on his face, "As the saying goes, when you are at home, misfortune comes from the sky. But for me, I have become a person who sits at home and merit comes from the sky."

"The merit comes from heaven, isn't that good?" Xu Wei became fatter and whiter, leaning comfortably on his concubine's legs, puffing on his cigarette.

"Is it a pot from the sky?" Lin Daoqian said with a wry smile, "My subordinates haven't been to Fujian recently, let alone to Xiaoliuqiu. Where can we go to kill so many people? Tell me the truth, are these victories the work of the young master?"

After much thought, he realized that only Zhao Hao had the ability to sweep the Fujian coast and get Chaozhou Prefecture and Fujian to cooperate.

"I stay at home all day and eat and sleep a lot, but I don't know more than you. You should wait for Tang Baolu to come back and ask him." Xu Wei pointed to his back, and the concubine stretched out her slender hand to tickle him.

"Oh my god, it's too late!" Lin Daoqian was sweating anxiously and said, "Tomorrow, the people from the Governor's Office will arrive at the end of the river. How can I explain this to them?"

"What are they here for?" Xu Wei asked back.

"To verify the results of the battle."

"Bullshit." Xu Wei sneered, "The results of the battle are all in Fujian. What can you verify here? Isn't it all based on your nonsense?"

"Uh..." Lin Daoqian was stunned, scratching his head and asked, "So Dad, do you mean that the other party has other purposes?"

"Hehe, the navies of Fujian and Guangdong have always been very weak, and can be said to be non-existent. They are not good enough in front of the sea masters." Xu Wei laughed and said, "Now you, General Lin, are the hot sea overlord. The governor wants to recruit you for his own use. Is it reasonable?"

"Is that so?" Lin Daoqian suddenly realized and asked hurriedly, "Then how should I deal with it?"

"You can't sing the song I taught you. You can respond however you want." Xu Wei puffed away nonchalantly.

"I need to ask godfather to teach me." Lin Daoqian said with a bitter face: "Whether it's the young master or the governor, they are people my son dare not offend. I don't understand the rules of the officialdom. If I make a mistake and offend someone, won't I be in trouble?"

"It doesn't matter. We all know where you come from. Do whatever you want. No one will blame you for what you say. The key is what you did." Xu Wei blew a puff of smoke into his face and said, "If you are really worried, just tell them the truth. It's not me. I didn't do anything. You must have made a mistake."

"Hey, the Governor already thinks I have ulterior motives. If I push it all around, wouldn't that only confirm his opinion?" Lin Daoqian coughed twice and shook his head. "Anyway, it's even more absurd to deny this kind of thing. I have no way to defend myself now, so I can only bite the bullet and admit it."

"Hahaha!" Xu Wei laughed so hard that he fell backwards. "You are quite interesting, really cool! If it were someone else, they would not have been able to refuse."

"Hehe, in our line of work, the brave ones will die of overeating, while the timid ones will die of starvation!" Lin Daoqian also laughed. "If you have any credit, you must take it. You can't be a coward!"

He stood up and said, "After talking to my godfather, I feel much more at ease. I know what to do now!"

"Haha, good. This young boy is teachable." Xu Wei smiled and nodded, watching Lin Daoquan walk away with his head held high.

~~

The next day, the governor's ship arrived at Xiawei Port as scheduled. However, the person who came was not a court official, but a businessman named Lin Hongzhong.

This is not accurate, because Boss Lin has been conferred the title of fifth-rank Fengxun Doctor, and is fully qualified to do things on behalf of the government.

Both of them are big names in the Guangdong sea noodles business, so they have naturally heard of each other's names.

After listening to Lin Hongzhong's self-introduction, Lin Daoqian was really surprised. He didn't expect that Mr. Lin of Wuyang Trading Company would actually have such close ties with the governor, and could even be appointed as the plenipotentiary representative. It can be seen that his status in the Governor's Office is indeed not low.

"Why, my dear brother, didn't you expect that it was me who came?" Lin Hongzhong was wearing a fifth-rank hat and belt. He was in his forties, with a fair and well-maintained face. He didn't look like someone who made a living on the sea at all.

In fact, he had not traveled overseas for ten years since he followed the Portuguese back to Macau from Malacca.

Moreover, he was very different from the cautious look he showed in front of the retired Minister Zhao Liben. Now he was much more calm and composed. Even in front of Lin Zhongcheng, he was neither humble nor arrogant, and he was cheerful and cheerful. It can be seen that his status has changed a lot.

"We are all from Fujian. May I be so kind as to call you my brother?" However, he came here to win over Lin Daoquan, so he deliberately put on a friendly face and tried to be polite and courteous.

"It's my honor." Lin Daoqian smiled and said, "From now on, we will be a family."

"Yes, that's what I mean." Seeing that he was very understanding, Lin Hongzhong was very happy.

Lin Daoqian arranged a grand welcoming ceremony at the dock. Not long ago, the Governor had just been welcomed here, so he was familiar with the place.

But Lin Hongzhong was absent-minded. He was more interested in the ships docked at the pier.

When the ceremony was over, he was in no hurry to get on the sedan chair. He smiled at Lin Daoqian and said, "Brother, you have finally become invincible in Fujian and Guangdong after years of hard work. This is really cause for celebration. I wonder if the invincible fleet you rely on is in the harbor now?"

"Unfortunately they are not here." Lin Daoqian laughed dryly, "They are still fighting the bandits. I don't know when they will be able to return."

"We received news from Fujian today that Pepper Lao, who was entrenched on the Big and Small Kinmen Islands, was destroyed again." Lin Hongzhong smiled and looked at him and said, "It must be the work of my subordinates again, right?"

"Well, I haven't received any news about this yet." Lin Daoqian laughed and said, "I'll check it out later and report it to my brother."

"Okay, okay, we can talk about anything between brothers." Lin Hongzhong's eyes swept across the large and small ships at the dock, but he didn't see any powerful warships, and there were not even a few warships that caught his eye. He couldn't help but curse in his heart, this guy is still hiding his weakness from me.

~~

After visiting the dock, Lin Daoquan set up a banquet at the guerrilla general's mansion to entertain his newly-made elder brother.

After both the host and the guests had a great time, Lin Hongzhong dismissed his attendants and told him the purpose of his visit.

"The Minister admires you very much and has specially sent me to visit you. If there is no problem, the Minister will recommend you to be promoted to the Lieutenant General of the South Australia Coast Guard and will leave the northern gate of our province to you to guard."

"Really? Then I have to curry favor with my brother." Lin Daoqian smiled immediately.

"Haha, don't worry. We brothers fell in love at first sight. If I don't speak up for you, who else can I speak up for?" Lin Hongzhong patted his shoulder affectionately and said in a low voice, "From now on, we brothers will have our backs to the Governor's Mansion, one in the east and the other in the west, and we will respond to each other from afar. The entire Guangdong sea will be our world!"

"Brother, you eat meat, and I am satisfied to drink soup." Lin Daoqian said with a smile, "I will follow your lead from now on."

"Hahaha, good, we brothers are united, and we can make a fortune together!" Lin Hongzhong was not satisfied with toasting with him, so he asked someone to change the wine bowl, and the two of them drank happily. When they were in high spirits, he put his arm around Lin Daoqian's shoulders and said:

"Of course we have to endure hardships together. In the next battle, let me lend a hand to you, okay?"

ps. There is one more update, which will be sent to you soon.