The rise of the poor

"Is this the reason why you hang around in places of brothels, looking for prostitutes?" Zhao Wenhua joked with a laugh.

"Ahem, it's unfair, sir. I was just trying to understand the people's feelings." Hu Zongxian coughed and replied with a sophistry without blushing.

"Haha, you are really responsible in understanding the people's sentiments. You even understand what's going on in people's beds." Zhao Wenhua pointed at Hu Zongxian and laughed.

"I am just following your advice, sir. As an official, you have to be responsible for what you do. If you are responsible, you have to be responsible to the end." Hu Zongxian touched his chin shamelessly.

"Merlin, you are really eloquent, but with your skills, can you really do it..." Zhao Wenhua scolded with a smile.

Zhu Ping'an drank tea and watched them flirting. He understood in his heart that the fact that the two of them could joke like this showed that Hu Zongxian had already gained Zhao Wenhua's deep trust. Their relationship was so good that they were almost like one family. Hu Zongxian was worthy of being Hu Zongxian.

"Okay, I won't chat with you anymore. We are here for serious business." Zhao Wenhua smiled and waved his hand.

"It's my fault." Hu Zongxian admitted it.

"Zihou, the second reason we came here is to congratulate you on your new achievement. You have quietly launched attacks in three places in northern Zhejiang, ambushed the Japanese pirates, and won another brilliant victory. This is really cause for celebration."

Zhao Wenhua walked up to Zhu Ping'an with a smile and patted him on the shoulder, congratulating him on his great victory in the ambush in northern Zhejiang.

"Congratulations, Lord Zhu. Lord Zhu made a great plan and the ambush in northern Zhejiang was amazing. This great victory really boosted the morale of the army and the people. It is a great joy for Jiangnan." Hu Zongxian also followed suit and congratulated.

As expected, the reason Zhao Wenhua and his men came here was to ambush the Japanese pirates in northern Zhejiang and achieve a great victory. Zhu Ping'an was not surprised by this.

See the picture poorly.

Zhao Wenhua's visit this time was probably fake congratulations, but he really wanted to take credit for the work. There is no doubt that Zhao Wenhua is capable of doing such a thing.

"Thank you, Master Zhao, and thank you, Lord Hu. It's all because of the bravery of the soldiers. I just happened to be in this situation." Zhu Ping'an replied modestly.

"Zihou is too modest. As the saying goes, it is easy to get thousands of soldiers, but it is difficult to get a good general. Without Zihou's planning and command, how could we have such a great victory." Zhao Wenhua laughed and praised Zhu Ping'an, praising him like a flower.

"That's right. Soldiers cannot move without a general, and snakes cannot move without a head. If there were no Zihou, there would be no Zhejiang army, and there would be no such victory."

Hu Zongxian also joined in.

"Master Zhao, Lord Hu, thank you for the compliment." Zhu Ping'an was humble again.

"Don't be modest, Zihou. You deserve it. Remember when I first came to Jiangnan to serve as the commander of the Sea Sacrifice? During the Sea Sacrifice, more than a thousand Japanese pirates attempted to attack the ceremony and attacked the camp late at night. It was Zihou who alerted the enemy, discovered the Japanese pirates, and turned the tide. We worked together and fought side by side. In the end, we killed more than a thousand Japanese pirates and won the great victory of the Sea Sacrifice. Zihou, your military and literary skills are obvious to all, and I know it well."

Zhao Wenhua was reminiscing about the past. He mentioned the great victory at Ji Hai and praised Zhu Ping'an for his extraordinary military and literary skills.

At last, Zhao Wenhua sighed again, "I really miss the days when I fought side by side with Zihou."

"Haha, sir, why do you need to reminisce about the past? You are in Jiangnan, and so is Lord Zhu. The Japanese pirates who disturbed Shenzhou are also in Jiangnan. If you want to fight the Japanese pirates side by side with Lord Zhu, you will have the chance. Isn't that right, Zihou?"

As Hu Zongxian spoke, he looked at Zhu Pingan with a smile and gave Zhao Wenhua a first-level assist.

Zhao Wenhua also looked at Zhu Pingan.

Well.
Zhu Ping'an was slightly stunned. At first he thought that Zhao Wenhua was here to steal the credit, but he was wrong. They still had some integrity and did not come to steal the credit directly. Instead, they wanted to pull him onto their chariot and make another contribution.

Could it be that they saw that they had made great achievements by ambushing the Japanese pirates and thought that fighting the Japanese pirates would be easy and they could win with just one strike? !
Let’s not talk about whether we can win the battle against the Japanese pirates. It’s impossible just to fight the Japanese pirates together with you.

Zhang Jing was the governor-general of Jiangnan. He had the final say on the overall situation of Jiangnan's fight against the Japanese invaders. Moreover, Zhang Jing's attitude towards Zhao Wenhua was obvious to all. The military information such as the deployment of the war against the Japanese invaders, the deployment of troops and generals, etc. were all blocked from Zhao Wenhua. If he fought against the Japanese invaders together with Zhao Wenhua and Hu Zongxian, Zhang Jing would definitely block the military information from himself in the same way as he did to Zhao Wenhua. He would exclude himself from the whole war against the Japanese invaders.

This is absolutely unacceptable.

However, if we reject Zhao Wenhua directly, it is better to offend a gentleman than a villain. Zhao Wenhua is a villain who holds grudges. After Zhang Jiang steps down, Zhao Wenhua will influence the political situation in Jiangnan for a long time. If we offend Zhao Wenhua, he will retaliate and make things difficult for us after he takes office.

Moreover, Zhao Wenhua was an expert at filing complaints. Zhang Jing, Li Tianchong and the two unlucky men who later succeeded him as governor were all brought down by him. Zhang Jing and Li Tianchong even paid the price with their lives.

If Zhao Wenhua went to Emperor Jiajing to complain about him every now and then, it might be okay once or twice, but over time, he would be in danger.

Zhu Pingan was stunned for a moment, then replied with a wry smile, "Of course I think so too. Not only Master Zhao and Lord Hu, I am willing to fight side by side with anyone to wipe out the Japanese pirates, report to the emperor, and bring peace to the people, but..."

"To be honest with Master Zhao and Lord Hu, the price of our victory in this ambush on the Japanese pirates in northern Zhejiang is that 30% of our firearms were damaged and our gunpowder was almost completely consumed. We cannot replenish the lost firearms and consumed gunpowder in a short period of time. Our Zhejiang army has heavy firearms, and if we can't replenish them, then 30% of our strength will be wasted. Gunpowder is even more deadly. Without gunpowder, the firearms in our Zhejiang army's hands will become fire sticks."

"Without firearms, our Zhejiang Army would become a toothless tiger. Fighting against the Japanese pirates would be tantamount to seeking our own death."

"So, even if I want to fight side by side with Master Zhao and Lord Hu to attack the Japanese pirates again and make new achievements, it is like a skilled cook without rice. I can't do it."

Zhu Ping'an spread his hands with a wry smile, and used the shortage of firearms and gunpowder faced by the Zhejiang Army as an excuse, and agreed and rejected Zhao Wenhua and Hu Zongxian's request to fight side by side.

I am willing to work side by side with you, but due to objective reality, I cannot do it without firearms and gunpowder.

"What? Has the Zhejiang Army used up all its gunpowder?" Zhao Wenhua frowned slightly and looked at Zhu Ping'an suspiciously.

"How dare I lie to Master Zhao? The reason why I was unable to welcome Master Zhao and Lord Hu was because of the problem of firearms and gunpowder. I was worried and went to the Zhejiang Army camp to check it out and study solutions. Unfortunately, both firearms and gunpowder are time-consuming and labor-intensive to make, and they cannot be replenished overnight."

Zhu Pingan replied with a frank look on his face.

"Why consume so much gunpowder?" asked Zhao Wenhua.

"Master Zhao and Lord Hu know that our Zhejiang Army is heavily armed with firearms. One of the reasons for this is that the Japanese pirates are extremely powerful. In a close combat, our Zhejiang Army may not be able to defeat them. Firearms can injure or injure the Japanese pirates without engaging them in close combat."

"In addition, I have recruited tens of thousands of Zhejiang troops, who have been training for less than half a month. If I lead them to fight the Japanese pirates in close combat, it will undoubtedly be a dead end. I can only use firearms to ambush the Japanese pirates, so the consumption of gunpowder is extremely high."

Zhu Pingan explained. (End of this chapter)