Lin Run patted Zhao Hao's shoulder heavily and said with full appreciation: "It is true that heroes have always emerged from youth! To break the decadence accumulated over two hundred years, we still have to rely on the vigor of youth!"

"Zhongcheng is still very young, so you should keep your spirits up," Zhao Hao said with a smile, and he heaved a sigh of relief. This time, Lin Run was completely pulled into the chariot.

"Okay, stop flattering me." Having relieved himself of the huge psychological burden, the heavy look on Lin Run's face finally disappeared. "You can laugh at me as much as you want. I'm no better than a teenager when it comes to things. You're really living like a dog at your age."

"Because I only heard Zhongcheng's retelling. There's a layer of separation between me and the pain. I can't feel that excruciating pain." Zhao Hao didn't mean to laugh at him at all.

Because he knew too well what a terrible pressure it was for a person to bear the secret of the country's fall and the extinction of his people.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have used the unconscious Lin Zhongcheng as a tree hole to vent his anger...

Now that someone is here to share the burden, Zhao Hao naturally feels much more relaxed.

"Okay, enough time has been wasted. Tell me quickly, how do you want me to cooperate with you this time?" Lin Zhongcheng, whose inner demons had been put aside, regained his decisive and resolute character.

"Then I won't be polite." Zhao Hao smiled and bent down, picked up Lin Run's black gauze hat, lightly dusted it and said, "Please ask the Minister to go to Chaoyang County first."

"Chaoyang County?" Lin Run paused and said, "Xiawei City?"

"Yes, let's go to Lin Daoqian's territory and inspect it." Zhao Hao said with a sly smile, "In order to rescue Chaozhou, Mr. Qingteng had to bring up the Minister of Justice to persuade General Lin to send troops. I hope the Minister of Justice will not blame me and help Old Xu to cover up the lie. Don't let him get impatient and kill him."

"I think Xu Wenchang has also moved Yin Butang out?" Lin Run took his official hat and wiped it carefully. He had a serious mysophobia and would never pick up anything that fell on the ground unless it was important.

He teased, "If you want to brag, of course you have to brag about the biggest thing. What's the point of bragging about me, the second-best one?"

"It's quite interesting." Zhao Hao smiled awkwardly and passed it over. "Anyway, this place is not far from Xiawei. If the Minister is willing to go, I will quickly send a message to Lin Daoqian to come and welcome him."

"You arrested me for more than just to save Mr. Qingteng, right?" Lin Run did not agree immediately. This matter was too serious. Because the attitude of the entire Guangdong officialdom towards Lin Daoqian was to use a delaying tactic to stabilize him first and then kill him when they had time. As a governor, he could not easily offend the public, otherwise how could he carry out his work.

"Well, I would like to take this opportunity to restore some credibility for the government." Zhao Hao said solemnly: "The Zizhi Tongjian says, 'Trust is the great treasure of the king. The country is protected by the people, and the people are protected by trust; without trust, the people cannot be led, and without the people, the country cannot be defended!' Therefore, those who achieve the kingly way do not deceive the world, those who establish hegemony do not deceive the neighboring countries, those who are good at governing the country do not deceive the people, and those who are good at managing the family do not deceive their relatives. Because the little advantage gained by deception cannot make up for the damage caused. What is gained is far less than what is lost! Therefore, only hopeless fools do the opposite, and as a result, the superiors do not trust the subordinates, the subordinates do not trust the superiors, the superiors and the subordinates are alienated, and even fail miserably! So I say that breaking trust is the beginning of the destruction of a country. If you want to save your country, you must first rebuild its trust!"

"Great!" Lin Run couldn't help but applaud, "This hits the nail on the head. When the court went back on its word and arrested and killed Wang Zhi, I was firmly against it. In fact, I hate the Japanese pirates. But since Hu Butang has recruited him in the name of the court, he must not go back on his word and ruin the court's credibility! It's not worth it even if we exchange it for a hundred Wang Zhis!"

He sighed in frustration. "It's a pity that at that time, I was a newly-minted scholar, and no one paid any attention to me."

"It was precisely because Wang Bengu killed Wang Zhi that the anti-Japanese situation deteriorated drastically. From then on, all the Japanese pirates and sea thieves fought to the death and refused to surrender. Even if they surrendered, it was only a temporary measure. They still had to maintain their military power and maintain their independence."

Zhao Hao pointed to the ruins on a cliff in the distance and said, "That was where Wu Ping's camp was originally located. According to Wang Rulong and others, the battle on Nan'ao Island was extremely difficult. Wu Ping's subordinates put up a desperate resistance, some fought to the last moment, and some committed suicide by jumping off the cliff into the sea. In the end, only more than 700 of the nearly 20,000 pirates escaped. Why did they fight to the death? It's because they no longer believed that the court would really let them go!"

"Do you want to use Lin Daoquan to buy horse bones with a fortune?" Lin Run nodded and asked.

"Yes, but Lin Daoqian is not a weakling, but a swift horse, and he knows the big picture." Zhao Hao said with a smile, "He listened to Old Xu's advice and sent troops to attack Zeng Yiben's retreat, which means he has completed the most difficult transformation of identity. If we help him now, he will be the vanguard of suppressing the pirates. If we chill his heart now, he may start flirting with his old friends again."

"Yes." Lin Run nodded again, raised a finger and said, "The last question is, what if he becomes bigger in the process?"

"Don't worry, I'm here for you." Zhao Hao smiled faintly and said confidently, "I will arrange a destination for him. I guarantee that he will leave Guangdong within five years."

"Where to?" Lin Run's eyes lit up. Now there was nothing to worry about.

"Haha, that's hard to say." Zhao Hao kept it a secret and said, "In short, you can trust me to do the job. If the Minister is really worried, I can issue a military order. If I can't deal with him in the future, I am willing to be punished by military law!"

"That's not necessary." Lin Run laughed and said, "Your life is worth ten thousand times more than his. I believe you."

After saying this, he slowly put his clean official hat back on his head and said with a firm look, "Since you are going, be sincere and let Lin Daoqian wait for you at the back. There is no need to go far to meet him. This will save him from having any unplanned thoughts."

"Zhongcheng is really brave. This time, I guarantee that Lin... uh," Zhao Hao suddenly remembered that Lin Run also had the last name Lin, and quickly changed his words, "He completely influenced Lin Daoqian."

"Hahaha." Lin Run laughed heartily.

~~

Xiawei Castle, the guerrilla general's residence.

"What? Lin Zhongcheng is coming to inspect in person?!" After hearing what Tang Baolu said, Lin Daoquan jumped up from his chair.

"Yes." Tang Baolu, who was ordered to come to the message, nodded with a reserved smile and said, "Yesterday, the Minister of State arrived at Nan'ao Island. After listening to my son's report on the general's deeds, he happily decided to make Xiawei City the first stop of the inspection. The general must know how important this is, right?"

"Clear, clear." Lin Daoqian felt hot all over and couldn't sit still anymore. He rubbed his hands back and forth.

"What do you think, son? Did your godfather lie to you?" Xu Wei was also present, his nose raised to the sky with pride.

Tang Baolu's eyes popped out when he heard this. He had only been away for a few days, and these two were already calling each other father and son?

Looking at Xu Wei again, he was obviously whiter and fatter than before. Lin Daoqian did not treat him badly. In addition to inviting him to drink and eat big meals every day, he also sent four pretty beauties to serve him. This lonely painter was so happy that he didn't want to leave.

"That's right, I've never doubted my godfather!" Lin Daoqian was happy to call him father. Unlike later generations, the most popular godfathers in this era were eunuchs and outlaws. He was born in the latter group, and those of similar age would become sworn brothers if they were close to each other, and those who were older would recognize each other as godfathers, and there was nothing shameful about it.

Besides, being the godson of the world-famous Xu Wenchang was a great honor for him, right? If it wasn't for chance, how could a stinking pirate want to be Xu Wei's son? No way.

"Second brother, prepare the boat quickly. I want to go and welcome the Prime Minister in person!" Lin Daoquan shouted excitedly.

His second in command, also his cousin Lin Huiyin, hesitated upon hearing the order and said, "Brother, be careful of fraud."

"The governor has spoken personally, so how can there be any fraud?" Lin Daoquan looked indifferent.

"Back then, the Governor personally wrote a letter to invite the Prince of Jinghai." Lin Huiyin had a lot of opinions about Xu Wei, this old idiot. He glanced at him and said, "Isn't that right, Master Gan?"

"You know nothing." Xu Wei sneered and said, "Hu Meilin sincerely wanted to persuade Wang Zhi to surrender, but some people were unwilling to lift the maritime ban, so they instigated Wang Bengu, that stubborn guy, to take action."

He paused, then continued, "Now the maritime ban has been lifted. The Chaozhou Coast Guard Co-governor and even the Governor-General are willing to endorse your brother. Who else would cause trouble for your brother? Let him behave himself!"

"Stop talking nonsense and go!" Lin Daoquan felt relieved and drove his second brother out.

"Oh, by the way, the Zhongcheng has ordered that General Lin just wait at the bottom and there is no need to go far to meet him. So as to avoid having any unnecessary thoughts." Tang Baolu slapped his head, as if he had just remembered something.

"How can I do that? The Zhongcheng is so magnanimous. If I keep staying at home and not coming out to greet him, I will not be a human being!" Lin Daoquan was so moved.

The hero of the green forest believes that if someone respects me one foot, I will respect him one yard.

Now he had to go!

~~

So, when the governor's fleet turned back to Xiawei from Nan'ao Island, the lookout saw dozens of warships decorated with red and colorful patterns, sailing towards them in a line.

Seeing those large Guang ships flying the big flag with the Chinese character "Lin" on them, each of which was over a thousand tons, Li Chengli, the adjutant general of Guanghuichao's coastal defense, who was on escort duty, became nervous. If the Lins were up to something bad, he would be unable to defeat them.

He hurriedly asked Lin Run whether he should order Lin Daoqian to stop the ship immediately. If the other party refused to stop, it would mean that they were plotting something bad, and there would be time to cover the retreat of the Zhongcheng.

Lin Run said indifferently, "Guerrilla Lin has just made a great contribution, how can he easily go back on his word? Don't stop the boat, just tell him to come and pay his respects."

If you don't come, you are a coward, and it will be useless no matter how many warships you have.

Soon, Lin Daoqian, accompanied by Tang Baolu and two rowing attendants, came to Lin Run's boat in a small boat and paid a visit to Lord Zhongcheng alone!

"Not bad, he's quite a character." Young Master Zhao, who was hiding in an inconspicuous corner inspecting the goods, nodded with satisfaction and chuckled, "He is worthy of being the man I chose."

Sister Ma felt a chill.