The rise of the poor

"Zhenjiang and Wuxi were suddenly attacked by Japanese pirates. The 30,000 taels of silver and 5,000 shi of grain that Wuxi County had just raised for the construction of the city were all looted by the pirates. The bricks, stones and timber used to build the city walls were burned to ashes. The southern neighborhoods of the city were burned, killed and looted by the pirates. Hundreds of houses in the city were destroyed, and the casualties and losses were heavy."

In the Zhejiang army's temporary camp, Zhu Ping'an received an urgent report that Zhenjiang and Wuxi had been attacked by Japanese pirates. He glanced through the report and placed it on the side of the table.

Three urgent notices have already been placed there.

"First it was Wuxian County in Jiangsu, then Jiangdu County in Yangzhou, then Muyang County in Huai'an, and now it's Wuxi in Zhenjiang. In just three days, Tuolin Xu Haihuo's Japanese pirates have already attacked four county towns!"

Zhu Pingan took out a map and marked the areas that had been attacked by Japanese pirates in the past three days with a charcoal pencil.

The Japanese pirates in Tuolin have become active again, it seems they have received reinforcements from the real Japanese pirates and have shaken off the shadow of their defeat at Wangjiangjing.

Jiangdu County in Yangzhou, Muyang County in Huai'an, and Wuxi in Zhenjiang were all prosperous places, but they suffered heavy losses when attacked by Japanese pirates.

After studying the map, Zhu Pingan discovered that these three places had one thing in common: the money used for building the city had all been robbed by Japanese pirates.

Wuxi had just raised the money and grain for building the city walls, and before they even started construction, the city was robbed by Japanese pirates. What a tragedy!
In Huai'an Muyang County, the land had just been leveled after the funds were raised when it was attacked by Japanese pirates.

Jiangdu has city walls, but the walls have been in disrepair for many years. Recently, tens of thousands of taels of silver were raised to prepare for repairs, but before construction could even begin, they were looted by Japanese pirates.

This made Zhu Ping'an very suspicious of Luo Longwen. Could this guy have already colluded with the Japanese pirates at this point?!

Although the Japanese pirates not only stole the money for building the city, but also harmed many ordinary people, the fact that they stole the money for building the city in three different places three times in a row is suspicious.

Luo Longwen was in charge of supervising the construction of city walls in the Jiangnan region. Since he came to Jiangnan, he has been collecting money and urging local governments to raise funds and grain to build city walls. Apart from the local officials, he was the one who knew the construction situation of city walls in various places the most.

If Luo Longwen had already colluded with the Japanese pirates, then it wouldn't be surprising that the pirates repeatedly launched precise attacks and looted.

It is better to believe that it exists than to believe that it does not exist!
You must be on guard!
There are also places in Zhejiang where new city walls need to be built or repaired.

"Guards!" Zhu Ping'an summoned men and ordered the Zhejiang army to strengthen patrols and protection of the areas where the city walls were being built and repaired.

Another day later, Zhu Pingan received another urgent report: Changshu County in Suzhou had been attacked by Japanese pirates.

The ancient city wall of Changshu was intact and did not require repair. There was no loss of money or grain for the construction of the city. However, the Japanese pirates used a strategy of collusion between inside and outside to seize the city of Changshu. The pirates entered the city and burned, killed, and looted. The people suffered heavy casualties, and the treasury of the Changshu County Government was also looted. The county magistrate of Changshu was killed in battle, and the county magistrate of Changshu disguised himself as a servant and escaped the disaster.

The Japanese pirates from Tuolin are too arrogant!

After reading the urgent report, Zhu Pingan placed it heavily on the table and, unable to contain himself any longer, led Liu Dadao and the others straight to Zhao Wenhua's residence to pay their respects.

"I'm sorry, Lord Zhu, my master has gone out on an inspection tour and is not at home," the gatekeeper said apologetically.

"Where did Master Zhao go on his inspection tour, and when will he return?" Zhu Ping'an asked.

"This is putting me in a difficult position. Master doesn't report to me when he goes out on inspections. I really don't know where he goes or when he will return. Please forgive me, Lord Zhu." The gatekeeper shook his head with a troubled expression.

"Never mind, I'll come back to see Master Zhao later." Seeing that he couldn't get any more information, Zhu Ping'an had no choice but to leave for the time being.

Zhu Pingan did not return to the camp outside the city, but instead went back to Hu Zongxian's residence. Hu Zongxian was not at home either. The gatekeeper of his residence told him that the prefect of Jiaxing had sent someone to invite him this morning, and Hu Zongxian had accepted the invitation to attend the meeting.

Prefect Zhao Chong of Jiaxing!

Upon hearing the name Zhao Chong, the prefect of Jiaxing, Zhu Ping'an frowned, feeling quite displeased.

The Jiaxing prefect who colluded with Japanese pirates miraculously escaped punishment.

In this great victory at Wangjiangjing, Zhang Jing used Zhao Chong, the prefect of Jiaxing who had surrendered to the enemy, to deceive Xu Hai, leading to Xu Hai's crushing defeat at Wangjiangjing.

The report of the great victory at Wangjiangjing, submitted by Zhang Jing, was also truthfully reported.

By all accounts, Zhao Chong was doomed, but unexpectedly, the prefect of Jiaxing, Zhao Chong, managed to clear his name.

It's unclear how Zhao Chong managed to get through to Zhao Wenhua, but it's easy to guess—he must have heavily bribed Zhao Wenhua.

After the great victory at Wangjiangjing, Zhao Wenhua and Hu Zongxian wrote a letter stating that Zhao Chongbing had not surrendered to the Japanese pirates, but had instead endured humiliation and feigned surrender to them to carry out espionage, all in order to capture Xu Hai, a Japanese pirate from Tuolin, in one fell swoop.

Zhao Wenhua stated that the reason Wang Jiangjing achieved a great victory was because Zhao Chong, under Zhao Wenhua's instructions, contacted Xu Hai, the chieftain of the Tuolin Japanese pirates, and tricked him into coming. They could have eliminated Xu Hai in one fell swoop, but unfortunately, due to Zhang Jing's delayed deployment, they missed the opportunity, resulting in failure and Xu Hai leading his remaining troops back to Tuolin's lair.

After Zhao Wenhua and Hu Zongxian submitted their memorials, Yan Song also endorsed them. As a result, Zhao Chong was not only innocent, but also meritorious.

Ha, who can I complain to about this?

Zhao Chongming surrendered to the Japanese pirates and became a traitor who aided and abetted the Japanese. Who would have thought that he would turn around and become a meritorious official in the great victory at Wangjiangjing!
This is really annoying!
Zhu Pingan left Hu Zongxian's residence with a gloomy expression. Hu Zongxian had gone to meet Zhao Chong, and there was no doubt that Zhao Wenhua had also gone, as Hu Zongxian was almost inseparable from Zhao Wenhua. Zhao Chong's invitation to Hu Zongxian and Zhao Wenhua was undoubtedly to express his gratitude to them profusely afterward.

That damned Zhao Chong!
It is because of these incompetent people that the people in the jurisdiction have suffered terribly!

"I will make these bastards pay the price!" Zhu Pingan vowed silently in his heart, his face grim.

Before noon, Zhu Pingan went to Zhao Wenhua's residence again and learned that Zhao Wenhua was still out on patrol and had not returned.

What a load of rubbish about inspections!

They went to Zhao Chong's place to collect gifts!
Zhu Pingan had no choice but to leave.

In the afternoon, Zhu Pingan went again, but Zhao Wenhua still hadn't returned. As Zhu Pingan turned to leave, he saw several carriages slowly approaching under the escort of guards.

Zhu Pingan noticed that the emblem on the carriage looked familiar; it seemed to be Zhao Wenhua's carriage. Zhu Pingan stopped in his tracks and waited to the side.

As expected, when the carriage arrived, Zhao Wenhua lifted the curtain and saw Zhu Ping'an waiting outside. He was somewhat surprised and chuckled, saying, "Zihou, what a rare guest! What brings you here? You've never come to my residence on your own initiative before."

As Zhao Wenhua's carriage approached, Zhu Ping'an smelled a strong odor of alcohol; the smell intensified when Zhao Wenhua spoke. (End of Chapter)