Rise From the Humble

  Chapter 1848 Approachable and down-to-earth

  Zhu Ping'an looked at the smoke from the pirates' camp and the messy camp, estimated the time, turned around and bowed to Shang Zhifu seriously, "Sir Shang, I have to trouble you with one thing."

   "Why should Zihou be polite with this old man, you are the commander in chief of the city defense now, please ask for your help if you have anything to do." Shangzhifu replied with a smile and cupped his hands.

   "Master Shang, then I will not be polite. In the next half an hour, please ask Shangzhifu to collect as many mules and horses as possible in the city. The more the better." Zhu Pingan was not polite, and said to Shangzhifu.

"No problem, this matter is on the old man's shoulders, and Zihou will not be disappointed." Shang Zhifu immediately agreed, and then asked Zhu Pingan suspiciously, "However, why does Zihou want the old man to help recruit mules and horses? "

   "If you want to replenish the horses lost in the Battle of the City Gate, Zihou doesn't need to worry. After this battle, I will spend a lot of money to buy a group of horses for Zihou whose quantity and quality are far superior to today's."

  Shang Zhifu didn't wait for Zhu Pingan's answer, so he said to himself.

  He thought that Zhu Pingan asked him to recruit mules and horses to supplement the lost mules and horses of the Zhejiang Army. After all, the Zhejiang Army lost all the mules and horses under its command during the fierce battle in front of the city gate.

  However, the number of mules and horses that can be collected in the city is limited, and the mules and horses collected from the common people during the war must be returned to the common people after the war.

   "Master Shang, I am not trying to make up for the mules and horses lost during the battle of the city gate, but because when the Japanese pirates retreat, I will take the Zhejiang army to see them off on mules and horses, and I will also give them a big gift by the way."

  Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly, and replied meaningfully.

Hearing that Zhu Ping'an said that he was going out of the city, Shang Zhifu immediately became nervous, his face turned pale with fright, and he repeatedly waved his hands to dissuade him, "Zi Hou, no, you must not leave the city easily! We defend the city, but we can stand in the An invincible place; going out of the city is extremely dangerous, the Japanese pirates are fierce, have many soldiers and horses, and are good at field battles, the surname Wang is a lesson from the past."

"Don't worry, Mr. Shang. At this time and that time, when the Japanese pirates bluffed and defeated, I repeatedly warned them not to go out of the city to pursue the Japanese pirates; this is not the case at this time. The Japanese pirates are really defeated at this time, and they really have to retreat. Besides, I have nothing to do with Wang Qiang." Similarly, without full confidence, I will not act rashly. For this trip, I will only lead half of the Zhejiang army out of the city. After I leave the city, Master Shang will close the city gates. Suzhou City is still as stable as Mount Tai; I have mules and horses In hand, the outside of the city is so big, you can go there, no matter how fierce the Japanese pirates are, and how good at field warfare, if they can't catch up with me, what can I do."

   Seeing Shangzhifu's nervous appearance, Zhu Pingan couldn't help smiling, and assured Shangzhifu confidently.

   "Uh" Shang Zhifu is still hesitating.

   "Master Shang said that I am the commander-in-chief of the city defense, but is it a joke?" Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly.

   "How can it be, Zihou is the real commander in chief, I will arrange for people to recruit mules and horses, and Zihou will not be disappointed."

  Shang Zhifu quickly responded.

After finishing speaking, Shangzhi's mansion recruited officials and arranged them one by one, ordering them to go to every yamen, every square, every street, every mansion, and every household to collect all the mules and horses that could be collected. The collection is in place within an hour, and there must be no mistakes.

   "The mules and horses of each yamen are forcibly expropriated in the name of the official; the mules and horses of the people must be explained clearly, compensated in the name of the government, and promised to return after the war. If the mules and horses suffer losses, they will be compensated according to the market price."

  Prefect Shang repeatedly told the officials before they left.

   "Da Dao, hurry up and have breakfast, then take a good rest and recharge your batteries. About half an hour later, we will see the Japanese pirates off, and by the way, give them the gifts we prepared, so that they will never forget it."

  Zhu Pingan patted Liu Dadao and the others on the shoulder, and said to them.

"Young master, why bother you, it's too much face for the pirates, let's go see them off, make sure to bring the gift, you and Lord Shang wait for us in the city." Liu Dadao, Liu Mu and others persuaded .

   "There is no need to persuade me any more. Giving gifts is not easy. Giving gifts is an art. You have to make them irresistible. I have to follow them myself to be at ease. Or do you mean that you don't have the confidence to protect me?"

  Zhu Ping'an looked at Liu Dadao and Liu Mu with a smile, deliberately aggressively speaking.

   "Of course we have the confidence to protect the young master. With us here, we can guarantee that the Japanese pirates will not harm the young master."

   Liu Dadao slapped his chest with a bang.

   "Then it's over, go eat quickly, and take a good rest after eating." Zhu Pingan patted them on the shoulder.

  Zhu Pingan made a round of inspection. Except for the soldiers on duty, the rest of the soldiers were sitting on the ground and enjoying breakfast.

Zhu Pingan randomly found a group of soldiers gathered for dinner, found an open space, sat on the ground with them, picked up a bowl of hot rice porridge, two flower rolls stuck in the chopsticks, put a bowl of big pot vegetables and a stack of cold side dishes Put it on the ground casually, knock the boiled egg on the ground, and chat with the soldiers while peeling the egg skin.

  The soldiers of the Zhejiang army are used to it, but the other defenders on the city wall find it too unbelievable.

Zhu Ping'an is such a high-ranking official, a fourth-rank official appointed by the imperial court, and the commander-in-chief of the city defense. Even the Shang Zhifu listened to him and sat on the ground with them, eating the same meal, and even the big bowl of vegetables was made because of cooking. Because of the lateness, the big bowl of dishes is leftovers, not as rich as their bowls.

  But Mr. Zhu didn’t dislike it at all, the food was delicious, and he even knocked the eggs on the ground to peel the skin, sat on the ground, chatted with them, and chatted about family affairs.

   Even told them a nasty joke, saying that a butcher went to the flower building and forgot to bring the silver. The old man asked the turtle to go home with him to pick it up. ! The butcher said that he poured water into the meat, but they caught him and reported to the officials if he didn't pay the money, and the butcher's wife gave the money.

  The walls of the city were bursting with joy and laughter. The soldiers were no longer afraid of Zhu Ping'an, and the atmosphere became more harmonious.

   "Master Zhu is too down-to-earth, too approachable."

  The defenders on the city wall were all deeply moved, and couldn't help but envy the colleagues of the Zhejiang Army around them. Master Zhu is brave, resourceful, responsible, and approachable. It is a very happy thing to serve as a soldier under Master Zhu.

   After breakfast, the officials sent by the Shangzhi Mansion to collect mules and horses returned one after another, but there were not many mules and horses collected.

  Hundreds of officials were dispatched to collect mules and horses throughout the city, but only less than 500 mules and horses were collected.

   "But the people don't cooperate, is it because the money is not enough?" Shang Zhifu asked displeased.

   “The common people are very cooperative.”

   "My lord, when I heard that it was used to fight Japanese pirates, the common people were very cooperative. Many people even didn't ask for money, no matter how much they gave it. It was still a lowly job that was secretly stuffed behind their threshold, and people told them when they went far."

   All the officials replied one after another.

   "Why is that?" Shang Zhifu asked displeased.

The officials explained: "My lord, there are not many mules and horses among the people. We in the south of the Yangtze River are not suitable for raising horses. The people who own mules and horses in the city are a small number of big families. Small households in the city can't raise horses, and there are a little more in the countryside." Some, there are only these mules and horses in the city, but there are still two or three hundred donkeys, but these donkeys are all pulled by carts and have never been ridden. If you want to ride them, you need to train for at least ten days and a half months. OK"

   "This is too little, less than five hundred horses." Shang Zhifu frowned, how to explain to Zihou.

   "My lord, there are actually some horses" a subordinate official whispered.

   "Where there are more, don't rush to recruit them! What time is it, why don't you hurry up and ask." Shang Zhifu said displeased.

   "Our garrison in the city still has three or four hundred horses," the subordinate officer replied in a low voice.

"What's the use of them wanting horses? Take my official's badge and conscript all their horses. Tell them, this is a military order. If they violate it, they will be severely punished!" road.

   "No." The subordinate officer took the token and took the order to leave.

  (end of this chapter)