Lin Run was from Hujian and had been an official in coastal areas, so he was naturally not as ignorant of overseas trade as other officials. After taking office in Guangdong, he also specifically learned about the situation in this area, and even went to Macau incognito and chatted with sailors and merchants in dirty taverns.

So he knew that Guangdong’s annual overseas trade volume could reach tens of millions of taels!

This is so amazing! If all the money could be taxed, this amount of money alone would be enough to save money.

Unfortunately, 90% of it was smuggled. Only when merchant ships from Macau were allowed to enter Guangdong for trade every year could the government receive customs duties. Otherwise, the province would not be so poor.

But this problem cannot be solved. At least for now, it is not something that he, the governor of Guangdong, can solve.

Lin Run had no doubt that if he dared to crack down on smuggling, Guangdong's coastal areas would immediately be in chaos. He would also be burned by the Guangdong people again...

He had died once, so he was not afraid of death. But he had witnessed with his own eyes how the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang became chaotic overnight after Wang Zhi's death. For the safety of the people, he did not dare to act rashly.

Therefore, even though he knew that smuggling was rampant in Guangdong, Lin Run could only turn a deaf ear and wait for an opportunity.

So after hearing Zhao Hao's plan, Lin Run was still very excited. Because Jiangnan Group and Xishan Group at least paid taxes to the government according to the law and never evaded taxes.

Of course he wanted Zhao Hao to grow bigger and stronger as quickly as possible, and it would be best if he could seize all of Guangdong's trade volume. In this way, the province's income would be guaranteed, and those big merchants and sea owners, as well as the local tyrants and evil gentry who colluded with them, would no longer have the capital to do evil.

~~

Thinking of this, Lin Run slapped the stone table heavily and said, "Okay, I will fully support you to overcome all difficulties and rebuild Chaozhou Porcelain Industry!"

"With Zhongcheng's words, my confidence has been greatly doubled." Zhao Hao said excitedly.

"Stop it, just tell me what problem you are facing now!" Lin Run scolded with a smile.

"The main thing is that the research found that all the porcelain clay in the plains near the city has been dug up." Zhao Hao spread his hands.

"It seems like all this excitement is wasted?" Lin Run rolled his eyes.

"But the good news is that there is a huge high-quality porcelain clay mine in Feitianyan, thirty miles away from the city." But Zhao Hao changed the subject.

"But what?" Lin Run was no longer fooled.

"But that is the territory of the Hakka people." Zhao Hao said embarrassedly: "Decades ago, the natives in the city tried to take it over several times but failed, and many people died."

"Hakka-Punti fight..." Lin Run frowned slightly and said these four words, then smiled faintly: "So you want me to mediate?"

"With the position and reputation of the Zhongcheng, it is naturally the most suitable." Zhao Hao smiled and nodded, "Besides, there is no need to force the peace. As long as I can get those Hakkas to agree to sell the porcelain clay mine to me, it will be fine. As for how I use it, they can just pretend they don't know."

"This is much easier." Lin Run nodded slowly.

"I will also offer them conditions that they cannot refuse." Zhao Hao added: "I will definitely not embarrass Zhongcheng."

"I believe this." Lin Run smiled and nodded again.

"And Zhongcheng has an extra advantage." Zhao Hao suddenly whispered again.

"What advantages?" Lin Run asked curiously.

"According to our intelligence, the Hakka people of that tribe also have the surname Lin." Zhao Hao said with a smile.

"Oh?" Lin Run was stunned for a moment, and did not react for a moment. Because the Hakka people in Chao'an basically migrated from Fujian to the south. And as everyone knows, 'The Lin surname originated from Fujian, and the most common surname in Fujian is Lin'.

Basically, when you see someone with the last name Lin, you should first guess whether he is from Fujian, which is pretty reliable. For example, Lin Zexu, Lin Huiyin, Lin Pingzhi...

For thousands of years, Lin has been the most common surname in Fujian, and is far ahead of the second place. So it is not surprising that the Hakka people who migrated from Fujian to Feitianyan were named Lin.

The next moment, Lin Run finally reacted, pointing at Zhao Hao with a mixture of anger and amusement, and said, "You kid, you don't want me to become related to them, do you?"

"My people also learned that the Lin family is the descendant of the Jin'an County King." Zhao Hao asked seriously: "Lin Zhongcheng, you should be one too, right?"

"Isn't that nonsense? Duke Lu, the Prince of Jin'an, is the common ancestor of the Lin family in Fujian." Lin Run said with a smile, "Do you think I am right?"

The so-called Jin'an County King was called Lin Lu, who was from a famous family and assisted the royal family for generations. After the Yongjia migration to the south, he began to emerge and made great contributions to the Jin Dynasty regime in Jiangdong. Later, he was ordered to govern Fujian, which was called Jin'an County at that time. He was the first person to develop Fujian. After his death, he was posthumously named Jin'an County King. His descendants flourished in Fujian and became the largest surname in Fujian.

But Lin Lu lived more than 1,300 years ago. Instead of claiming a relationship through him, it would be better to directly claim a relationship through Bigan, the ancestor of the Lin family.

"That seems to be the case." Zhao Hao said excitedly, "Could this be God's arrangement?"

"Doesn't God have anything else to arrange?" Lin Run felt powerless.

"But after all, we are truly from the same clan, so it can't be considered as a relative." Zhao Hao still said shamelessly.

Mr. Zhao, who was sitting next to him, suddenly remembered that his son had forced his way into a relationship with his nephew Zhao Jin. Who would have thought that the thief who was a soldier at that time would now be a high official.

But I am not bad either. I was a poor student back then, but now I am the top scholar and acting prefect, right?

Not to mention my son...

Therefore, our Zhao family has a solid foundation and strong capabilities!

Thinking of this, Mr. Zhao couldn't help but smile like a kind aunt.

To Lin Run, that smile seemed to be a way for Lord Zhao to laugh at him for being so cautious about his own safety while doing great things and for not being able to let go of his status as governor.

He really couldn't let go of his pride. Although they both had the surname Lin, he was a descendant of a prominent family and the governor of a province, while the other party was a mountain villager living in a foreign land. It was really too much to ask him to humble himself and make friends with him.

But when he thought about it, he had sworn to die in order to save the Ming Dynasty. Why was he unwilling to make such a small sacrifice?

Being so hypocritical and arrogant, what's the difference between him and Yuan Gonglu?

Thinking of this, he made up his mind and said, "Okay, as long as you promise to pay taxes according to the law in the future, I will go and recognize you as my relative!"

"Zhongcheng, don't worry. In the future, we will set up an independent Nanyang Group in Guangdong. All our actions will be based on the Jiangnan Group. We will do the same thing as they do over there. We will pay all taxes and assume all responsibilities!" Zhao Hao said to reassure him.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Lin Run was delighted when he heard this and said, "If I had known earlier that you were going to set up a Nanyang Group, would you have worried so much about Guangdong's affairs?"

As he said this, he stood up excitedly, expanded his chest a few times, and said with uncontrollable excitement: "Now that Guangdong is dead, I know what to do!"

Nanyang Group will surely gather a force of progress quickly and completely disrupt the deadlock in Guangdong where snakes and rats are all in one place and there is no room for maneuver. For a master like Lin Run, once the other party loses his footing, there will be plenty of room for him to display his skills!

"There's no time to leisurely. I'm going to Hanjiang today and Feitianyan tomorrow. I'll help you understand the situation as soon as possible. I have to go back to Guangzhou." Once he saw hope, he didn't want to waste a moment.

"Don't worry, Zhongcheng. Let's try the effect of Cool Music first." Zhao Hao saw Lao Mu coming out of the signing room and nodding at him, so he stood up and said with a smile: "This thing is easy to move. If the effect is satisfactory, you can take it with you on the ship."

"That's right." Zhao Shouzheng nodded repeatedly, and stood up and said with a smile: "Zhongcheng, let's go and give it a try?"

"Okay." Unable to resist the enthusiasm of the father and son, Lin Run had no choice but to follow them to the signing room.

The signing room is guarded by soldiers inside and outside, so the door is usually open. If there is no ventilation, it will be suffocating.

But at this moment, the door was closed.

Seeing the Zhongcheng coming, the personal soldiers hurriedly opened the door, and then the long-time attendant lifted the bamboo door curtain, and Lin Run felt a cool breeze blowing on his face.

"There's something." He walked in curiously and found that the room was indeed much cooler than outside.

The 'cool music' had been running for quite a while, and the signing room was not very big, so after ventilating it and closing the doors, the temperature would naturally drop.

Zhao Hao and his son followed in, smiling as they looked at Lin Zhongcheng, who was standing in front of the louvered box with his eyes slightly closed, enjoying the cool breeze.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but Zhao Hao saw that Lin Run’s eyes were a little moist.

If Lin Zhongcheng's eyes were red, it was obviously not because he was happy to finally get air conditioning. Instead, he felt Zhao Hao's friendship...

This young man is always worried about his injury.

"Thank you." Lin Run took a deep breath. When he turned around, he was back to normal. He squeezed Zhao Hao's shoulders and said to Zhao Shouzheng, "It's getting late. Let's go."

"Okay, okay." Zhao Shouzheng just wanted to enjoy the cool breeze, but he had to put on his black hat again.

"You go too." Lin Run stopped Zhao Hao who was about to sneak away and said, "Pan Minister said yesterday that if I don't understand anything about the project, I can ask you."

"Damn, this old Pan." Master Zhao had no choice but to accept his fate.

~~

When Zhao Hao and his son accompanied Lin Run to the dock, all the officials and gentry who were allowed to accompany them for the inspection had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing that Master Zhao was here today, Liu Zixing, Yue Yunpeng and others couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief. It seems that Lin Zhongcheng does have a close relationship with Master Zhao, not just his father. So, those big cakes that Master Zhao painted should be fulfilled, right?

However, they did not dare to greet Zhao Hao, otherwise the governor would suspect that they had colluded to build momentum for Master Zhao.

So everyone pretended not to know each other well. Of course, they soon became familiar with each other.

By the time the inspection ended in the evening, everyone's relationship had quickly heated up to an appropriate level.

As long as no one investigates further, this will cover up the previous activities...

At least Lin Run had no intention of delving into their relationship. After getting off the ship at the departure pier, he bowed to the officials and gentry who accompanied him and said, "Thank you all for your help today."

Naturally, everyone was busy saying, it’s not hard, it’s our honor.

Then Lin Run said in a deep voice: "Then how about you all take more trouble and accompany us to Feitianyan tomorrow?"

"Ah!" Liu Zixing, Yue Yunpeng and the others were all stunned. They never expected that Master Zhao had such great power that he could even mobilize the governor to help them solve their problems!