The rise of the poor

In the dead of night, the sky was pitch black, the moon was obscured by dark clouds, and one could not see their own hand in front of their face; only the cold wind howled incessantly.

Outside Jiaxing City, at the temporary camp, Liu Dadao selected three thousand elite troops to line up in the drill ground for Zhu Ping'an's inspection.

"Your mission is to arrive at your destination silently, lie in wait, and remain undetected—that is victory!"

"set off!"

After inspecting the area, Zhu Pingan waved his hand forcefully.

"Let's go!" Liu Dadao and his three thousand Zhejiang soldiers lowered their flags and drums and silently marched toward Songjiang Prefecture.

Because Zhang Jing was impeached by Zhao Wenhua, there was no unified command in Jiangnan, and the best opportunity to wipe out Xu Hai had been lost.

This battle was not about wiping out the Japanese pirates of Tuolin and Xuhai, but about taking a big bite out of them and giving the people of Jiangnan, who had suffered greatly from the pirates, a shot in the arm, bringing them hope and encouragement.

Zhu Pingan cannot leave Jiaxing for the time being. There are many Japanese pirate spies and insiders in Jiaxing, as well as people who collude with the Japanese. If he does not show his face for a long time, and this gets back to Xu Hai, it will increase the risk if it arouses his suspicion.

Zhu Pingan lit a lamp and studied the maps and intelligence.

Currently, the Japanese pirates from Tuolin are launching attacks in all directions, with increasing frequency and scale.

By studying the frequency and scale of the Japanese pirates' attacks and the locations of their raids, Zhu Ping'an gradually uncovered a pattern.

The Japanese pirates' attacks ranged from near to far, and the scale of their raids increased from small to large, with their targets ranging from towns to county seats.

Zhu Ping'an judged that the Japanese pirates from Tuolin would soon be attacking a prefectural city.

Based on the patterns of the Japanese pirate raids, Zhu Ping'an suspected that the prefectural city the Japanese pirates wanted to attack was Songjiang Prefecture.

The current capital of Songjiang Prefecture is located in Huating, less than 100 li away from the lair of the Japanese pirate Tuolin. It was harassed by the Japanese pirates many times and was even briefly breached by them once. However, since it was Songjiang Prefecture, it was quickly recovered.

Recently, only the Songjiang Prefecture city remained untouched within the Songjiang Prefecture's jurisdiction; the other counties had all been attacked and looted by Japanese pirates.

Songjiang Prefecture City has a large population, is a land of fish and rice, has a developed economy, and is a prosperous area, just like a big piece of fat meat.

How could the Japanese pirates of Tuolin not be tempted?

Songjiang Prefecture was close by, large in scale, and wealthy, making it the first choice for the Japanese pirates' strategy of conquering the prefecture.

In the near future, there is an eight or nine out of ten chance that the Japanese pirates will attack Songjiang Prefecture City. Zhu Ping'an is determined to give the Japanese pirates a heavy blow here.

Of course, just to be on the safe side, we should still verify it.

Knowing your enemy and yourself will ensure victory in every battle. It was time, so Zhu Ping'an decided to send someone to contact Zhao Gou and Wang Tie.

Zhao Gou and Wang Tie had surrendered voluntarily with the unconscious Ma Ye. After Zhu Ping'an gave them a beating, he made careful arrangements to send them back to the Japanese pirates' lair in Tuolin to act as inside agents.

Shortly after the two returned to the Tuolin Japanese pirates' lair, news came back that after a brief investigation by the Tuolin pirates, they were reintegrated into the pirate ranks and made minor leaders.

Zhu Pingan had already instructed them in advance that if the Japanese pirates were to attack Jiaxing, they should try to stay in their stronghold and not go into battle with the army. If they really couldn't avoid it, they should be prepared to escape at any time.

However, Wang Jiangjing has not contacted the two men since the battle and does not know how they are doing.

Now, it's time to send someone to contact the two of them.

Zhu Pingan wrote a transfer order by hand and handed it to the soldiers on duty outside the tent. He then sent someone in disguise to contact Zhao Gou and Wang Tie to see if they could get more accurate information from them.

Zhu Pingan kept the lamp lit until the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) before turning it off and falling into a deep sleep.

The following day, Zhu Pingan drilled the Zhejiang soldiers in the temporary camp as usual. The loud slogans, the neat steps, and the fragrant communal meals in the camp were just like the day before.

To prevent outsiders from noticing that 3,000 soldiers were missing, Zhu Ping'an made slight adjustments to the Zhejiang army's formation during drills and had them run an extra half lap.

Zhu Pingan planned to have the Zhejiang troops march out of the camp with torches at night, creating the illusion of a full force by using many torches.

At dusk, Zhu Pingan received a message from Zhao Wenhua, informing him that the angel from the capital who came to deliver the imperial decree had arrived at Qiaotoupo Town, which was only about fifty miles from Jiaxing. Due to the long journey, they stayed overnight at Qiaotoupo and would arrive in Jiaxing City the next day. Zhu Pingan was instructed to go to the north gate of Jiaxing City early the next morning to meet the angel and go out of the city for thirty miles to welcome him.

Zhao Wenhua also specifically told Zhu Pingan to bathe and change clothes tonight, as he would be receiving the imperial edict.

The next morning, before dawn, Zhu Ping'an, without even having breakfast, rode out of the camp under the protection of Liu Dagang and ten other soldiers, heading thirty li north of Jiaxing.

Thirty li outside the North Gate, a dragon pavilion was erected overnight. Outside the pavilion, crowds thronged, including an honor guard and a drum and suona ensemble.

Of course, many officials also arrived early, some I knew and some I didn't, divided into two camps: civil and military.

The leader was naturally Zhao Wenhua, who had impeached Zhang Jing. With everyone working together, no one dared to take the lead.

Zhu Ping'an is now a figure of considerable importance. Along the way, people frequently greeted him, and Zhu Ping'an returned their greetings one by one, exchanging a few simple pleasantries. It's all about official etiquette; regardless of the relationship, the atmosphere must be respectable.

Zhu Pingan walked and stopped along the way until he arrived in front of Zhao Wenhua, where he bowed to Zhao Wenhua in greeting.

"Zihou is here. Have you had breakfast? I had someone cook breakfast over there. Just a few simple dishes. Go and have a bite."

Zhao Wenhua gently patted Zhu Ping'an's shoulder, pointed to the woods behind the Dragon Pavilion, and said gently.

Sure enough, there were twenty or thirty tables set up in the woods, earthen stoves built, and several large pots placed on them, with the aroma of food faintly wafting through the air.

"I wonder when the angels will arrive?" Zhu Pingan rubbed his stomach.

"The angel's journey was too tiring, so he got up a little late this morning. He should arrive in about an hour. Go and eat, you'll be busy later. There's plenty of time, Merlin and Longwen are eating there."

Zhao Wenhua waved his hand.

"Thank you, Master Zhao," Zhu Ping'an said, bowing with his hands clasped in gratitude.

Upon arriving at the woods, a perceptive constable immediately served Zhu Ping'an breakfast. The breakfast was very lavish, far from the simple dishes Zhao Wenhua had described, but rather a full five dishes and a soup—three meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup—a truly sumptuous breakfast.

"Lord Zhu, over here." Hu Zongxian greeted him warmly from the table.

"Lord Hu." Zhu Ping'an walked over.

"Humph!"

A cold snort rang out from the side; it came from Luo Longwen, who was standing next to Hu Zongxian.

"Luo Longwen, have you found a doctor for your injury? Otherwise, we'll be late." Zhu Pingan chuckled as he walked over and plopped down next to Luo Longwen.

"Zhu Pingan, stop threatening me. I'm not afraid of you. Do you think you can let a soldier commit violence in public?!" Luo Longwen snorted, tilting his head back and moving his bowl to the side to keep his distance from Zhu Pingan.

"Alright, you're paying the price for not listening to good advice." Zhu Pingan smiled meaningfully.

"You're being sarcastic and sarcastic; you can keep the 'Doctor Who Injured People' for yourself."

Luo Longwen held his own. (End of Chapter)