"Brother Lin, please get up quickly. I'm so sorry for scaring you. But I was also confused when I heard the news." Zhao Hao smiled bitterly and said, "Although Governor Yin and I are from the same hometown, you know that he always helps people with gifts instead of relatives. If I want to ask him to do something, I have to spend a lot of money."

"No, your Excellency, I don't mean that. I just heard from Chief Minister Lin that only you and your father can save me!" At the critical moment of life and death, Lin Daoquan spoke in a very polite manner without any nonsense.

"I am willing to serve you at all times, risking my life and death, no matter what!"

"Well, let's stick together." Zhao Hao sighed, forced a smile and comforted him, "But don't worry too much. A man without integrity cannot stand. I, Zhao Hao, will definitely keep my word. No matter what the cost, I will definitely keep you safe."

After a pause, he continued, "Besides, the governor has already made his position public, and Minister Yin cannot undermine his authority. Otherwise, the governor and the governor will become enemies, and how can Minister Yin suppress the rebellion?"

"Then I feel much more relieved." Lin Daoqian nodded absentmindedly, but he did not show any confidence at all. He did not expect that he would be involved in the dispute between the governor and the governor-general. This officialdom is really terrible. In comparison, the open and secret struggles between the sea owners are just like children playing house.

"Why are you looking so sad? Just smile." Zhao Hao looked at him and said.

"Hehe..." Lin Daoqian forced out a smile that was uglier than crying.

"Oh, forget it. I won't embarrass you." Zhao Hao waved his hand and sighed, "I know what you are worried about. I have a lot of people who rely on me for food, and I don't dare to risk their lives and property."

"You are absolutely right, sir." Lin Daoqian nodded heavily and said, "Isn't that the reason? Minister Yin doesn't want to have hidden dangers in his back, so why would you dare to take risks?"

"Well, I'll think of a solution for the Governor's Office. I haven't talked to the Ministry yet, anything could happen." Zhao Hao nodded and said, "We can't just sit back and wait, we have to be prepared to avoid the embarrassment."

"Young Master, what you mean is that we should leave Xiawei first and avoid the limelight for a while?" Lin Daoquan felt a pang of pain in his heart, but he felt that this was the safest way.

"Oh, the governor's army hasn't arrived yet, but you've already withdrawn for no reason. What do you call this? This is called a guilty conscience, deserting the battlefield!" Zhao Hao sneered, "If I were Governor Yin, I'd just use you as a sacrifice!"

"Young Master is right..." Lin Daoquan's eyes were a little wide.

"But if you have a legitimate reason to lead your army to temporarily leave Xiawei City, that's another matter." But Zhao Hao changed the subject and said, "I didn't sleep all night last night. I have come up with an excuse. Please consider it."

"Please speak, sir." Lin Daoquan hurriedly pretended to listen attentively.

"It's very simple. Just continue with the drama of 'A Thief'." Young Master Zhao said in a deep voice.

"Continue with 'The Thief'?" Lin Daoqian understood immediately, but his voice was tense: "Sir, do you mean to continue to make a fuss about Zeng Yiben?"

"Right." Zhao Hao nodded, picked up the bottle and poured wine for him while saying, "Originally, this play only ended with the defeat of Zeng Yiben. But Zeng Yiben is not dead, and he still has many subordinates. His strength is not damaged, and he can come back at any time. What do you think, the Chaozhou army and people and General Lin should pursue the victory and wipe out the enemy completely to prevent future troubles?"

"My father and the residents of Chaozhou are good at defending the city, but they are not capable of going out to sea to fight and destroy the enemy in the ocean. We can only rely on Brother Lin." Zhao Hao's voice was still gentle, but Lin Daoquan couldn't help shivering, and he felt a bone-chilling cold in the dog days of summer.

Do they want me to kill Zeng Yiben with my own hands before they can feel at ease?

Then there would be no turning back for me. I could only follow them till the end...

"What's the matter, Brother Lin, do you have any concerns?" Zhao Hao asked with a smile.

"No, no." Lin Daoquan shook his head quickly.

"Hey, we're just chatting among ourselves, what's there to hide?" Zhao Hao smiled and comforted him, "How would I know if you don't tell me? How can I help you if I don't know?"

"Oh, okay." Lin Daoquan was a hero and quickly figured out the situation.

If it hadn't been for that incident during the day, he might have still been in a dilemma.

But now, the battle of Hanjiangkou has been completely blamed on him, so Lin Daoquan actually has no way out at this moment.

Thinking of this, he picked up the wine glass and drank it all. Then he threw it heavily on the ground and said viciously: "He is not my father, just do it, what's the point of talking nonsense!"

"Hahaha, that's what I mean." Zhao Hao clapped his hands and laughed, "Zeng Yiben is your inner demon. If you don't kill him, you will never be able to serve the court with peace of mind. This is a good opportunity to go out to sea to hunt him down. You can take your brothers and leave Xiawei City first. Now Governor Yin can rest assured, right?"

"Yeah." Lin Daoqian nodded. He already wanted to be clean. Once Yin Zhengmao came, he had to leave, otherwise it would be too dangerous!

"Besides, you are dispatching troops under the order of the Chaozhou Coast Defense Co-Governor, so it certainly cannot be considered as deserting the battlefield. In this way, my father and I can still protect Xiawei City for you. If the Governor-General wants to borrow it, my father can legitimately exchange it for a better place, such as Chenghai Xidongzhai. In short, I will never let you suffer any loss!"

"What else do we have to worry about now?" Lin Daoqian asked with gritted teeth, "When do you want me to send out troops, young master?"

"No rush. For now, the Governor's Office has only decided to send troops, but it is not so easy to march out tens of thousands of troops. It also takes time to prepare food, fodder and military equipment for a war. I think it will take at least a few months." Zhao Hao said as he looked at Xu Wei, who had served as the Governor's chief of staff and had the most say.

"That's right. Although Guangdong has a large army, we have to use our own people to tackle tough problems." Xu Wei took a sip of wine and continued, "Yin Zhengmao took office at the beginning of the year. None of his most capable subordinates and troops - Yu Dayou, Liu Xian, Deng Zilong and his gang - are in Guangdong now. The only one who can fight in Guangdong right now is Zhang Yuanxun, and he has never been with him before. Even if the Ministry of War is run by his family, it would be great if he could transfer all the generals here before autumn and have the army in place before the end of the year."

"But it's Chinese New Year, who would still want to fight? It's better to set off firecrackers." Xu Wei continued, "So a wise commander would set the assembly time after Chinese New Year. Fortunately, Yin Zhengmao is still the governor of Guangxi, and he can order the army to drill and prepare for war in advance. In this way, they can assemble in place as early as February and attack the rebels in March. It's not too hot at this time, so it's a good time to start the war. I think it's okay."

"That's not bad..." Lin Daoqian breathed a sigh of relief. He had also set up his own business in Xiawei, and there was no time to move in such a hurry. If there was still half a year, he could still arrange it.

"What I mean by bid is where Zeng Laoguan's lair is, what kind of terrain it is, and how many troops it has. All of these will take time to figure out... oh, it means to inquire and scout the area." He quickly explained: "Zeng Laoguan's strength is not inferior to mine, and we must be fully prepared before we start the war."

"Well, it's right to be cautious, don't fight a battle without preparation." Young Master Zhao nodded with a smile and said, "By the way, while you touch the plate, please help me find out something."

"Sir, please give me your instructions." Lin Daoqian said respectfully.

"You should have heard that Jiangnan Group's trading post in Ryukyu was taken over by someone else, and the loss was really not small." Zhao Hao said angrily: "Do you think you can swallow this?"

"No."

"So, no matter who did it, I will make him pay with blood!" Zhao Hao pounded the table lightly and sighed, "But, we are completely in the dark about this area of ​​Fujian and Guangdong. We have nowhere to look if we want to find out who did it. So we can only trouble Brother Lin."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll take care of it." Lin Daoqian patted his chest and said, "I'll give orders later to search all the thirty-six islands and seventy-two caves in Fujian and Guangdong, and help you find the culprit who is so audacious!"

"Okay, then thank you, Brother Lin." Zhao Hao smiled and changed his cup, refilled it with wine and said, "When the time comes, I may have to trouble Brother Lin as well. I will definitely reward him handsomely. Thank you in advance."

"Okay, okay." Lin Daoqian agreed without hesitation. He clinked glasses with Zhao Hao and drank them all in one gulp. "As soon as I get any news about the thieves, I will send someone to report to you, young master."

"Don't bother, just tell Mr. Qing Teng directly." Zhao Hao said with a smile: "He told me that he wants to stay in Xiawei to teach you how to deal with the government, and he can also help us pass on a message."

"That's great. Now that godfather can stay, I feel completely relieved!" Lin Daoquan was so happy.

~~

The moon was at its zenith and the banquet was over.

Lin Daoquan walked away drunkenly, taking one step forward and one step back.

Zhao Hao sent him to the gate of the courtyard and came back to drink tea with Xu Wei to sober up.

"Look how scared you are to my son." Xu Wei held his belly and lay on the bamboo mat, legs crossed, toes curled up. "Playing with the little brat again?"

Such a big thing, Zhao Hao didn't inform him in the afternoon, so there is only one possibility, that is, Lin Run didn't tell him at all...

"Haha, even though Minister Lin didn't say it, I know that if Governor Yin really wants to attack Lan Yiqing and Lai Yuanjue, he will definitely do it next year." Zhao Hao also leaned comfortably on the jade pillow, feeling the coolness penetrating his bones, and said with a smile: "If you don't believe me, let's make a bet?"

"Dream on, I have too much money to burn?" Xu Wei curled his lips. When it comes to foresight of the future, he has never seen anyone who can compare with Zhao Hao. He even speculated blindly, whether this guy has the ability to predict the future, otherwise how could he always hit the target and never miss the target?

"But..." After a pause, he tilted his head and looked at Zhao Hao and said, "Will Yin Zhengmao really divide his troops? Is he that stupid?"

ps. I won't be posting tonight. I'll spend the weekend with my family. But I won't be resting tomorrow. I'll post two more chapters...