The rise of the poor

He, Zhang Jing, can quell the Japanese pirates, but I, Zhao Wenhua, am a sabotager. Can't I, Zhao Wenhua, quell the Japanese pirates?!
Faced with Zhao Wenhua's questioning, Zhu Ping'an remained silent on the surface, but inwardly he was speechless, thinking, "Zhao Wenhua, don't you know whether you're a sabotage or not? Do you even know if you can quell the Japanese pirates?!"

Your Yan faction used the Japanese pirates to seize military power; your Yan faction is the one that nurtured the Japanese pirates to enhance its own power!
According to historical trajectory, it took Hu Zongxian, whom you support, more than eight years to serve as governor-general and suppress the Japanese pirates!

Eight years!
Centuries later, Japan far surpassed my country in economy, military, and other aspects. After the establishment of the Anti-Japanese United Front, the eight-year War of Resistance against Japan was won. Now, Japan is far inferior to our Ming Dynasty in every way, and we still have to fight for more than eight years to eradicate the Japanese invaders?!
Before I, Zhu Ping'an, came here, it took eight years to eradicate the Japanese pirates. After I, Zhu Ping'an, come here, it will take another eight years to eradicate the Japanese pirates, and the people will have to suffer eight more years of inhumane torment. Then, wasn't my coming here for nothing?!

Furthermore, if it weren't for your urging, Zhang Jing wouldn't have launched the Battle of Wangjiangjing!

You're trying to steal credit for the Battle of Wangjiangjing!

Zhu Ping'an immediately saw through Zhao Wenhua's intentions. Zhao Wenhua not only wanted to impeach Zhang Jing, but also wanted to steal Zhang Jing's credit for the Battle of Wangjiangjing and pluck the fruits of victory!

"Zihou, I invited you here today not to punish you, but to give you another chance. If you don't seize this opportunity, don't blame me for turning against you later. This time, besides Zhang Jing, the angel also captured his henchman Li Tianchong?!"

Zhao Wenhua stared intently at Zhu Ping'an, speaking in a chilling tone, using both reassurance and threat.

Well, Li Tianchong still couldn't escape this calamity.

Historically, Li Tianchong was the governor of Zhejiang. He was executed along with Zhang Jing. Unexpectedly, even after being demoted and no longer the governor of Zhejiang, he still could not escape the calamity of being executed along with Zhang Jing.

pitiful!

"Lord Zhu, Lord Zhao has good intentions," Hu Zongxian chimed in, adding his own words of encouragement.

"Please enlighten me, Master Zhao." Zhu Ping'an bowed.

"Simple, this is a memorial to the throne. You can simply add your name to it." Zhao Wenhua revealed his true intentions, taking out a memorial from his robes and handing it to Zhu Ping'an.

Zhu Pingan took the memorial and quickly skimmed through it. A smirk crept onto his lips. It was a memorial that framed Zhang Jing and Li Tianchong, and attributed the victory at Wangjiangjing to Zhao Wenhua and Hu Zongxian.
Zhao Wenhua and Hu Zongxian had already signed their names at the end of the memorial, leaving a space for their own signatures afterward.

Shameless!

A true man knows what to do and what not to do!

I cannot save Zhang Jing, but I also cannot frame him! To frame a loyal and virtuous person—I'm sorry, I simply cannot do it.

In addition, there was another reason why Zhu Pingan could not sign his name. This memorial was different from the usual ones. This memorial was also a pledge of allegiance. As long as Zhu Pingan signed his name, he would be tied to Zhao Wenhua. Zhao Wenhua was Yan Song's adopted son and Yan Song's right-hand man. Zhu Pingan being tied to Zhao Wenhua meant being tied to Yan Song's faction.

However, the Yan Party was not an unsinkable giant ship. According to the historical trajectory, in less than ten years, the Yan Party would fall, Yan Shifan would be beheaded, Yan Song would be stripped of his official position and sent back to his hometown, and the members of the Yan Party would be purged one by one.

Historically, Hu Zongxian relied on the Yan Party to govern Jiangnan, ultimately rising and falling because of the Yan Party. After the Yan Party fell, Hu Zongxian was also purged because of his membership in the Yan Party, and finally died with "his precious sword buried in a wrongful prison, his loyal soul lingering in the white clouds".

If he were to sign this memorial, thus pledging his allegiance, he would be branded as a member of Yan Xishan's faction and ultimately purged when Yan's faction fell. Even if Xu Jie, who ultimately defeated Yan's faction, was his mentor, he could not save himself.

Back then, the Jiajing Emperor even protected Hu Zongxian, but in the end, Hu Zongxian was still purged and died.

Therefore, under no circumstances should Zhu Ping'an sign this memorial.

Therefore, after Zhu Pingan finished reading the memorial, he sighed, placed it back next to Zhao Wenhua, slowly shook his head, and replied softly, "I'm sorry, Teacher Zhao, please forgive me for not being able to comply."

"Zihou! Think it through before you speak." Zhao Wenhua looked at Zhu Pingan with a cold gaze.

"I have thought it through, please forgive me, Master Zhao." Zhu Ping'an repeated himself without hesitation.

"Zihou, have you thought this through?!" Zhao Wenhua repeated aggressively once more, "This is your only chance. If you refuse, don't blame me for being ruthless in the future!"

"Lord Zhu, what are you thinking?! The situation is clear now. Zhang Jing and Li Tianchong have already been arrested and brought to the capital for trial. Even without this memorial, they would have been doomed." Seeing this, Hu Zongxian couldn't help but step forward to persuade Zhu Ping'an, earnestly saying, "Lord Zhu, if you want to achieve something, you must first have a position. Only when you are valued and in a position can you realize your ambitions. In life, you must make choices."

Only by being given important responsibilities can one achieve something and realize one's ambitions.
This must be Hu Zongxian's inner defense for siding with Yan's faction, going against his conscience, and framing Zhang Jing and Li Tianchong.

But, I'm sorry, I can't do it.

"Master Zhao, I have no intention of being your enemy, nor do I wish to be. My only wish now is to wipe out the Japanese pirates as soon as possible and restore peace to Jiangnan. That is all. Whoever fights the pirates, I will support. If Master Zhao becomes the governor of Jiangnan, I will fully support your cause of annihilating the pirates! If Lord Hu becomes the governor of Jiangnan, I will also fully support your cause of annihilating the pirates! I will brave mountains of knives and seas of fire!"

"As for partisan disputes, political views disputes, and so on, students are unwilling, uninterested, and do not want to participate in them."

"Suppressing the Japanese pirates? That's all there is to it!"

Zhu Pingan looked up calmly at Zhao Wenhua, then at Hu Zongxian, and slowly addressed the two of them.

Upon hearing what Zhu Ping'an said, Hu Zongxian's expression changed. If he, Hu Zongxian, were to be the governor of Jiangnan, it would be as if his hidden ambitions had been exposed. He quickly coughed and said, "Lord Zhu is joking. I, Hu Zongxian, am merely a seventh-rank imperial inspector. What virtue or ability do I have to be the governor of Jiangnan? It's better not to make such jokes."

"Lord Hu is too modest. The promotion of the Imperial Inspector is different from that of other officials. The responsibilities are heavy. If an Imperial Inspector is punished with three degrees of impunity, his promotion and reward will also be increased by three degrees. There are quite a few Imperial Inspectors who have been promoted to the third rank or above because of their merits. With this great achievement at Wangjiangjing, Lord Hu's promotion is a foregone conclusion. In this way, the position of Governor-General of Jiangnan is not far away. It will not take long if things proceed step by step."

Zhu Pingan cupped his hands in greeting to Hu Zongxian and said calmly.

"Cough cough." Hu Zongxian couldn't help but cough a few more times upon hearing this. (End of this chapter)