The rise of the poor

Zhu Ping'an and his party, each with two horses, changed horses at the post station without rest, and spurred their horses on, arriving in Yingtian on the evening of the second day.

Without special permission, foreign troops could not enter the city. Three hundred Zhejiang soldiers temporarily set up camp outside the city, and Zhu Pingan led Liu Dadao and ten others into the city.

Out of respect for the newly appointed Governor-General Zhou Chong, Zhu Ping'an led Liu Dadao and others into Yingtian City and immediately went to the Governor-General's Mansion to pay their respects.

Unfortunately, he was unable to see him. Although it was already evening, Governor Zhou was not at the Governor's Office. The Governor's Office clerk told Zhu Ping'an that Governor Zhou had gone to inspect the military camps around Yingtian early in the morning and had not yet returned.

"The Governor-General instructed that if any lords come to pay their respects today, I should inform them that you have traveled a long way and are tired. Please rest for the night to relieve your fatigue and come to the government office tomorrow morning. The Governor-General will summon you on time, so please be punctual," the Prefectural Clerk said, bowing to Zhu Ping'an.

"Thank you for the reminder. I will come to pay my respects to the Governor tomorrow morning." Zhu Ping'an took his leave.

It was too late, and they had to visit the governor's mansion again early the next morning, so Zhu Ping'an didn't take Liu Dadao and the others to the remote Jinling Post Station. Instead, he found an inn nearby and checked in. Just as they checked in, they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in, that's good." Zhu Ping'an thought it was Liu Dadao.

"Hehe, Zihou, how have you been?" Zhao Wenhua's voice rang out as the door opened.

Zhu Pingan looked up in surprise and saw Zhao Wenhua, as well as Hu Zongxian, who was inseparable from Zhao Wenhua.

"Lord Zhu," Hu Zongxian greeted him with a cupped-hand salute.

"Master Zhao, Lord Hu, please come in quickly." Zhu Ping'an hurriedly stepped forward to greet them, invited them inside, and poured them tea.

They arrived just as I was arriving in Yingtian and checking into the inn, which shows how much control they have over Yingtian.

When Zhang Jing was still the governor, Zhao Wenhua was sidelined, and his military and intelligence were completely blocked.

With Zhang Jing's downfall, Zhao Wenhua rose to power and became the master of the house, keeping track of every little thing happening in Yingtian.

“Zihou, I’m not trying to be mean, but you’re a high-ranking official, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Governor of Zhejiang. How could you stay in such a cramped inn? The room is old and stuffy, and it’s not even well-ventilated. This is not befitting your status. Come on, come on, we’ve already booked the Pengcheng Grand Hotel in front of us and reserved a top-class room for you that’s well-ventilated. That’s a room that’s more in line with your status.”

After Zhao Wenhua entered, he looked around, belittled the room, and warmly invited Zhu Pingan to stay at the Pengcheng Grand Hotel, which they had booked.

"Thank you for your consideration, Master Zhao, but we're only staying one night. We've traveled all night from Shaoxing and are exhausted. We don't want to go through any more trouble, so we won't trouble you." Zhu Ping'an politely declined Zhao Wenhua's offer.

"That Zhou fellow is really something. He doesn't understand any of you Zihou's feelings about being stationed in other places. The notification was so urgent and rushed. Isn't that forcing people to travel day and night? People aren't made of iron. Who can endure that?"

Taking the opportunity, Zhao Wenhua belittled Zhou Chong, mocking his harshness.

"Lord Zhu, you have traveled a long way, and you must be exhausted from your journey. You should stay in a better place to rest and recuperate. I have some men who are not very capable, but they are strong enough. I will have them help you move to Pengcheng Restaurant. That way, you won't have to go through any trouble and can just come and stay."

Hu Zongxian smiled and suggested that his people help Zhu Pingan move, so that Zhu Pingan wouldn't have to lift a finger.

Zhu Pingan cupped his hands in thanks, "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Hu. We've already checked in, so there's no need to trouble you. This inn is quite nice; it's much better than sleeping in the open outside."

Seeing this, Hu Zongxian did not insist any further.

"Please, Master Zhao and Lord Hu, have some tea." Zhu Ping'an poured tea for the two men and invited them to sit down and enjoy the tea.

Zhao Wenhua sat down, took a sip of tea, and slightly pursed his lips. The tea provided by the inn was very ordinary; even his servants wouldn't drink tea of ​​this caliber.

Hu Zongxian, however, remained unmoved.

"Zihou, do you still remember that bet we made back then?" Zhao Wenhua put down his teacup and looked at Zhu Ping'an.

"Is Master Zhao referring to the bet on the governorship?" Zhu Ping'an narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Indeed, Bei Zihou was right. This time, the governorship is indeed not mine.” Zhao Wenhua shook his head with a wry smile. “I never expected it to fall on Zhou Chong’s head. Hehe, I wonder what the higher-ups are thinking.”

“The higher-ups haven’t realized how formidable the Japanese pirates are. The pirate raids are far more serious than they imagine. Once they fully understand the extent of the pirates’ power, they will set aside factional strife when appointing governors and instead appoint people who can truly solve the pirate problem,” Zhu Pingan said slowly, taking a sip of tea.

"That's right. As an official responsible for criticizing corruption and power, Zhou Chong is not even as good as Zhou Cong in criticizing corrupt officials and offering honest advice. As for quelling the Japanese pirates, Zhou Cong is even less capable of doing so." Zhao Wenhua criticized Zhou Chong without any restraint, bluntly stating that Zhou Chong was incompetent.

Zhu Pingan didn't respond. He wanted to see for himself whether Zhou Chong was capable before making a judgment.

"Zhou Chong, a native of Yingcheng, Huguang, passed the imperial examination in the eleventh year of the Jiajing reign and was appointed magistrate of Yongjia County. After a year, he was summoned to serve as a supervising secretary in the Ministry of Personnel. At that time, the emperor was on a southern tour, and he accompanied the emperor. He submitted a memorial criticizing corrupt officials and directly advised the emperor against extravagance, requesting him to be frugal. He was flogged in court and demoted to the position of clerk in Zhenyuan County. Later, he was reinstated as magistrate of Wuyuan County. He was then transferred to the positions of principal of the Ministry of Revenue, director of the Ministry of Rites, provincial inspector of Shandong, and then Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, until his current position as governor-general. Looking at Governor-General Zhou's resume, he has no history of suppressing bandits or quelling rebellions. If he were to take up the position of governor-general rashly, he would probably be unable to deal with the current Japanese pirate problem."

Hu Zongxian recounted Zhou Chong's resume in great detail, echoing Zhao Wenhua's opinion that Zhou Chong was not qualified for the position of governor-general.

"Now that the Japanese pirate problem is getting worse, it would be more harmful than helpful for the great cause of suppressing the Japanese pirates to appoint someone who is not good at suppressing the Japanese pirates to govern the Jiangnan region."

Hu Zongxian further stated.

“Indeed, Merlin is absolutely right.” Zhao Wenhua nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Zhu Ping’an with a burning gaze, “Back then, Zihou, do you still remember what you said? If the person who succeeds to the position of governor is not me, Zhao Wenhua, what would you do?”

"Of course I remember." Zhu Pingan nodded.

"Now that the time has come, Zihou, what do you plan to do?" Zhao Wenhua asked, his gaze intense.

"The Zhejiang army has been engaged in continuous battles in southern Zhejiang, and then fought the battle of Songjiang Prefecture. The men and horses are exhausted, their weapons and armor need repair, their gunpowder is almost used up, the soldiers need rest, and their military supplies need to be prepared. Before I came, I had already given the Zhejiang army soldiers a 20-day leave in rotation." Zhu Ping'an looked at Zhao Wenhua and said slowly.

"Hahaha, good, good, good! As expected of Zihou, you keep your word." Zhao Wenhua laughed with satisfaction. (End of Chapter)