In Chaoyang County, outside the Maerjiao Cape, the two fleets stopped about two miles away.

In the northern fleet, several large and small Haicang ships and Cangshan iron ships surrounded a large Guang ship made of iron wood. On the main mast of the Guang ship hung a large red flag with a baton, on which was written a line of eye-catching black characters:

'The Imperial Commissioner and Governor of Guangdong and other places is in charge of military affairs and food and salaries'!

It was the boat carrying Lin Run, the governor of Guangdong.

On the decks, towers, and gangways, the personal soldiers in distinctive armor were lined up fully armed, with a very neat military appearance.

After Lin Daoquan was searched, he quickly climbed onto the bow deck under the guidance of Tang Baolu.

There, a handsome man in a scarlet official robe with a peacock pattern on his chest was looking at him with a smile.

"That's Lin Zhongcheng." Tang Baolu quickly reminded in a low voice.

Lin Daoqian didn't expect that the governor was about the same age as him, and even more handsome than him. He quickly suppressed his surprise, walked forward quickly, and bowed down at the bottom of the stairs.

"General Lin Daoqian is here to see the Prime Minister. I am guilty of failing to welcome you. I deserve death!"

"Hahaha, General Lin, get up quickly." Lin Run walked down the stairs, bent down to help Lin Daoqian up, and looked at him carefully. He praised: "Well, today I finally met the famous General Lin. He is indeed extraordinary and outstanding. He looks like a hero!"

Lin Daoqian was so excited by Lin Run's praise that he didn't know where to put his hands. He stammered, "You are too kind, Zhongcheng. I am not that good..."

"Hahaha! General Lin has been the overlord of Fujian and Guangdong for more than ten years, so his courage and ability are naturally ten times superior to others. But I didn't expect that you can understand the greater good and make prompt decisions to save the court. You really impress me!" Lin Run patted his shoulder approvingly and said in a deep voice: "This time you have made great contributions to Chaozhou and Guangdong, and proved that those groundless suspicions against you are unreasonable!"

"Thank you... Zhongcheng for your praise..." Lin Daoqian's eyes turned red. This was the first time he heard recognition from a court official since he accepted the amnesty. And it was recognition from the Governor of Guangdong!

For Chaozhou people like them who have never left Lingnan in their lives, the Governor of Guangdong is more important than the emperor in Beijing.

Thinking of the contempt and slander he had suffered in the past, and the fear he had lived in day and night after being recruited, Lin Daoquan could no longer suppress his emotions and could not hold back his tears.

Since the day he went to sea, Wu Ping taught him a way to save his life - every night before going to bed, he should tie a burning incense stick to his finger or toe. When the incense stick burns to the end, it will burn his hands and feet, waking him up from his sleep. This can prevent him from sleeping too deeply and not knowing what is happening outside.

Then, no matter what the situation was when he woke up, he would immediately change his sleeping place. In this way, no one would be able to know where he slept, and naturally no one would be able to assassinate him... This was similar to the emperor sleeping in twenty-seven beds at night.

It was fine when he was a pirate, a desperado should have the consciousness of a desperado. But after accepting the amnesty, he still maintained this habit, fearing that the government's assassins would come to his door in the middle of the night.

It is easy to imagine how serious the pressure and fear will become if they accumulate over time.

Lin Zhongcheng's words finally gave him hope of a good night's sleep, but once his emotions were released, he couldn't hold them back.

"If you want to cry, just cry as much as you can. Men don't shed tears easily, but they just haven't been heartbroken yet." Lin Run smiled in understanding, "After crying this time, the past will be over, and it will be a brand new beginning!"

"Yes." Lin Daoqian nodded heavily, then lowered his head and covered his face, tears streaming down his face.

~~

In that inconspicuous corner, Zhao Hao asked the professional Sister Ma with a smile: "Look at Lin Daoqian's acting skills, can he make a living by the Qinhuai River?"

"I saw that he was crying very sadly, how can it be said that he was just acting?" Sister Ma took off her gold-rimmed glasses and wiped the mist off them, as if she was deeply moved.

"How can a pirate leader who kills people like crazy shed tears? If he does, they would be crocodile tears." Zhao Hao said in disbelief, "But this drama has to be performed like this. Lin Zhongcheng knows it very well, and he just has to cooperate with him. If you don't believe me, just look, according to the established routine, he will say, 'I will serve you till my death...'"

Outside, Lin Daoqian had raised his head again, and he was fully refreshed. He knelt before Lin Run with his butt sticking out, and said loudly, "I will repay the trust of the chancellor with my life! If I regret it, I will be struck by lightning!"

Inside the cabin, Sister Ma covered her mouth and giggled. At the end, she glanced at him coquettishly and said, "Young Master, you are really good. But since you know that this man is full of tricks, why did you choose him?"

"Because you only know how to drive, not sail." Zhao Hao pinched her slender white hand, kissed it and said, "Otherwise I will let you be the Pirate King for me."

"Don't we still have Sister Huaixiu?" Sister Ma's finger gently lifted his chin, and then she took it away. When it comes to teasing, even if the other four people from Lianli Company were tied together, they would not be her match.

"I'm a serious entrepreneur." Zhao Hao really put his arms around her slender waist.

"So, Master, what do you mean by that? I am not a decent person now?" Sister Ma bit her lower lip in a resentful tone, which made Zhao Hao feel like he was growing grass in his heart. If the governor had not been outside meeting his subordinates, Master Zhao would have... just run away shyly.

"I'll make you suffer tonight." He quickly let go of the seductive little waist beauty, took a deep breath to calm his blood, turned his gaze to Lin Daoqian and said, "It's not scary to play tricks. As long as you know his tricks, you can use the tricks against him."

As he said that, he pushed open the cabin door and went out.

Sister Ma covered her mouth and laughed. Actually, she was also going against the routine just now...

~~

On the deck, Lin Run was encouraging Lin Daoqian. Seeing Zhao Hao coming out, he called him and said with a smile, "Why don't you come and thank your father for saving your life?"

Zhao Hao smiled and bowed deeply to Lin Daoqian, saying with gratitude: "Thank you so much, Brother Lin. I have been dependent on my father since I was young, and my father is everything to me. I really don't know how to express my gratitude. I will definitely repay Brother Lin."

"You are... Young Master Zhao?" Lin Daoqian looked at Zhao Hao in disbelief after hearing this. He never expected that Young Master Zhao, who was described by his godfather as an omnipotent monster and one of the most powerful people in the Ming Dynasty, was actually so naive...

"His last name is Zhao, so he really deserves the title of Young Master." Lin Run said with a smile, "Then it should be him."

"Oh, I'm honored to meet you, sir. My apologies for being so rude." Lin Daoquan suppressed his inner surprise and bowed repeatedly to Zhao Hao.

He knew better than anyone that the governor's trip to Xiawei was facilitated by this young man who was not even twenty years old.

Lin Daoqian originally thought that the other party's so-called endorsement was to ask the governor to praise him for his merits and ask for a reward. Unexpectedly, Mr. Zhao actually brought the governor himself to him.

Therefore, Zhao Hao's age would only make him feel terrified, and would not have the slightest contempt.

"Brother Lin is too polite." Young Master Zhao smiled as brightly as a harmless boy next door. "It's a pity that I came a step too late and didn't get to see Brother Lin's heroic figure defeating a thief at Hanjiangkou."

"A stolen book?" Lin Daoquan was stunned.

"Oh, this is a new Yingge dance from Chaozhou. It tells the story of the glorious deeds of Chaozhou soldiers and civilians and Brother Lin fighting against Zeng Yiben's pirate group together." Zhao Hao said with admiration: "Now all the people in Chaozhou are grateful to Brother Lin."

"Well, protecting the country and the people is my duty." Lin Daoquan replied quickly, but he felt it was ridiculous in his heart. He didn't expect that he would say such lines one day.

But this feeling is pretty good.

~~

“At noon that day, the Governor’s fleet entered Xiawei Harbor, greeted by Lin Daoqian.

As soon as he arrived at the dock, Zhao Hao saw the spoils of war that he had asked Tang Baolu to deliver. He pointed to the more than 30 large ships docked at the farthest pier and shouted excitedly, "That's the warship that Brother Lin seized from the pirates in the battle at Hanjiangkou, right?"

"Uh, yes..." Lin Daoqian was sweating, thinking that it was you who sent it, okay? But in this situation, how could he deny it? Wouldn't that be ruining Mr. Zhao's plan?

Lin Run was also shocked when he saw this. He originally thought that Zhao Hao's so-called victory at Hanjiangkou was just a boast. Now he saw that the large warships captured in this battle were almost as large as the Guangdong Navy.

If this wasn’t a great victory, then there would be no great victory along the southeast coast…

"Make statistics immediately after landing. This court will recommend General Lin for merit!" Lin Run ordered his subordinate Wu Chenshi in a deep voice. The fat and somewhat vulgar Wu Chenshi quickly responded with a smile.

Seeing that they had decided on this matter without thinking about it, Lin Daoqian wanted to argue with them, but his mouth twitched a few times and he didn't say anything in the end...

Although Master Zhao gave the credit to him, if he had a choice, Lin Daoqian would rather not take the big gift package that brought him both fame and fortune - because the gift package also contained a poison pill!

Although he was successfully persuaded by Xu Wei, he only intended to talk big and pretend to scare Zeng Laoguan. It was not fair to go to war with his former comrade, and it was not in his interest, so he would never do it.

But who would have thought that before his fleet left the port, Zeng Yiben and a group of sea lords were defeated by Zhao Hao at the mouth of Hanjiang River. More than 30 large ships were captured!

Upon hearing the news, Lin Daoquan was stunned. If he had not seen with his own eyes the more than 30 large ships being dragged into Xiawei Harbor, he would never have believed that Zhao Hao could defeat Zeng Yiben with only ten small boats.

Later, Lin Daoqian carefully questioned his men who went to tug the boat, and roughly guessed that the enemy took advantage of the narrow channel of Hanjiang River and carefully chose to attack the pirates halfway through the low tide, causing a large-scale stranded ship while the pirates were in panic, thus achieving such a brilliant result.

He originally thought that Zhao Hao just temporarily stored the spoils with him, but he didn't expect that he would give it to him directly. This hot potato is not easy to eat! Isn't it obvious that he wants the world to think that the battle at Hanjiangkou was done by him, Lin Daoqian?

In fact, a sea lord had already sent someone to break off relations with him, scolding him for being a lackey of the imperial court and stabbing his brothers in the back. Lin Daoqian still tried his best to defend himself.

Now, the rumor that he was the one who did it was confirmed. And it was even confirmed by the governor, which was as ironclad as it could be.

This is like yellow mud falling into your crotch. It's shit if not shit.