Rise From the Humble

"Welcome, Mr. Zhu. Since I received the order from the Governor, I have been looking forward to the stars and the moon, and finally you, Mr. Zhu, are here. You are here. With my heart in my throat, I can finally put some food in my stomach. Let it go."

Shang Wei, the prefect of Suzhou, led a group of his staff to the pavilion ten miles west of the city early. After seeing the appearance of Zhu Pingan and his entourage, he led the crowd from a distance to greet Zhu Pingan and his entourage when they arrived in Suzhou.

Magistrate Shang is about fifty years old, tall and thin, from Hunan, with a thick Hunan accent.

"I'm going to pay my respects to the magistrate Shang." Zhu Ping'an quickly stepped forward and bowed his hands in greeting.

"Quickly excuse me, Mr. Zhu, you are exhausted from the long journey and the hard work of carriages and horses. All these red tapes will be dispensed with." Magistrate Shang stepped forward and held up Zhu Pingan's arm to prevent Zhu Pingan from saluting, and said with a smile. , "Let's go into the camp and have a meal first. I have already packed everything. The tents, mattresses, etc. are all new. You can move in directly. Hot water and meals are also prepared. Everything can be done after you have eaten and drank enough. .”

"Thank you, Magistrate Shang, for your consideration." Hearing this, Zhu Ping'an expressed his gratitude to Magistrate Shang.

Suzhou, which is worthy of being the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty, even prepared brand new tents and mattresses for the entire army. It was really a generous gesture.

"Where are you? You guys came to Suzhou to garrison and protect our safety. We should be the ones thanking you." Magistrate Shang said with a smile, "When we get to the camp later, we will see what is missing and we can make up for it tomorrow. In the future, you will be grateful." All the food and wages needed by the army have also been handed over to us, and we will ensure that the soldiers will not go hungry."

"Thank you, Magistrate Shang."

Unexpectedly, Suzhou Prefecture was so generous and even included food and salary. Zhu Pingan was overjoyed when he heard this and thanked Magistrate Shang repeatedly.

"Master Zhu, you are very polite. You are protecting our safety. We should bear the food and salary."

Magistrate Shang said with a smile.

"We have set up your army's camp at Fengqiao Ferry, nine miles outside Xichang Gate, which is more than a mile in front of Fengqiao Ferry. It covers an area of ​​100 acres." Magistrate Shang said while leading the way.

It's only a mile away and will be there soon.

During this one-mile journey, Zhu Ping'an also saw the prosperity of Suzhou, which was still nine or ten miles outside the city.

There was a lot of traffic along the way, there were an endless stream of merchant ships and cargo ships in the river, and all kinds of goods continued to flow on both sides of the waterway. According to Prefect Shang, this was still affected by the Japanese invasion, and the number of merchants dropped by about 30%.

"This is the legendary Maple Bridge."

Outside the camp, Zhu Ping'an looked at the Maple Bridge about forty meters long and five or six meters wide in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh when he thought of the famous "Maple Bridge Night Mooring" passed down through the ages.

"Yes, this is the maple bridge where 'the moon sets, the crows cry and the sky is full of frost, and the river maples and fishing fires confront the sorrowful sleep'. It was formerly known as the 'sealed bridge' because in ancient times, water bandits often invaded Suzhou from the river, and the government had to block the bridge every night. To ensure safety, it was named Fengqiao, and later it was called Fengqiao due to rumors.”

Magistrate Shang nodded and briefly told the origin of Maple Bridge.

The Zhejiang Army Camp is located east of Fengqiao, next to Fengqiao, covering an area of ​​about one hundred acres, along the river and backed by a hill.

It's a nice campsite.

Located in the suburban area nine miles outside the city of Suzhou, it guards the land and water transportation route leading to Changmen, the west gate of Suzhou, and protects the west side of Suzhou.

It can not only guard the security of the west side of Suzhou, but also can enter Suzhou City for defense when necessary. It can also ensure the Zhejiang Army's military aircraft and training space.

Zhu Pingan was very satisfied with this.

The camp was surrounded by a fence, with brand-new battalion commanders standing neatly in the camp, and the smell of food wafted out.

"Master Zhu, please invite all the officers and men to enter the camp to have a meal. Eat your stomach first." Magistrate Shang and others invited Zhu Ping'an and others to enter the camp.

Zhu Pingan led a group of soldiers to thank them and entered the camp. Tables and chairs had been set up. After Zhu Pingan and others sat down, the food was served. There were fish and meat, chicken and duck, ten vegetables and one soup. The food was abundant and delicious. The Zhejiang Army soldiers who were tired and hungry all the way devoured it and were very satisfied.

"Haha, Mr. Zhu, speaking of it, we still have the same friendship." During the dinner, after thirty days of tea, Zhifu Shang said to Zhu Ping'an with a gentle smile, "Eleven years ago, after I became a Jinshi, I first He worked as an editor at the Hanlin Academy for two years, and later became a supervisory censor. Four years ago, he was assigned to Suzhou as the prefect."

"Oh, it turns out it's senior. It's rude to be born late." Zhu Ping'an suddenly realized and hurriedly stood up to greet him again.

"Haha, sit down, didn't I just say that we don't have to do these false etiquettes, the most important thing now is to eat and drink enough." As soon as Zhu Pingan got up, Zhifu Shang grabbed Zhu Pingan, smiled and waved his hand, " I say this not to put on airs as a senior, but to say that our relationship is different and we don’t need to be so unfamiliar. I am in charge in Suzhou, and you are stationed in Suzhou to protect the safety of Suzhou. We must cooperate sincerely and closely."

"This is natural. I am stationed in Suzhou, and I am in the same boat as the prefect Shang. We must cooperate sincerely and closely." Zhu Ping'an naturally nodded in agreement, which was also what he wanted.

"With Master Zhu's words, I feel relieved." Magistrate Shang nodded with satisfaction, then patted his heart and said, "I felt relieved when I heard the news that Governor Zhang wanted to transfer you to lead the Zhejiang army to garrison in Suzhou. Take a breath."

"Why did Magistrate Shang say this?" Zhu Ping'an asked.

"Zihou, how about visiting Suzhou?" Magistrate Shang asked without answering.

"Along the way, ten miles outside the city, there are also busy cars and sails. The prosperity is far beyond other places. It is worthy of the saying that 'there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below'. Suzhou is worthy of being a first-class rich and romantic place in the world."

Zhu Pingan replied.

"Yes, Suzhou is the most prosperous city in the world. It is prosperous but not prosperous. Hanchuankou is prosperous but not prosperous. Guanglingfu is prosperous but not prosperous. It is the most prosperous city in the world, except for Wu Xiayou, the capital. I, the Ming Dynasty, rely heavily on the southeast for taxation, and the southeast for taxation Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture are known as "Su Song taxed half the world". The inner prefecture has gold flowers and silver, the household department has Taicang silver and Cao silver, the Guanglu Temple palace meals and sacrificial food are exchanged for silver, and the fourth department of the Ministry of Industry has silver for materials. All kinds of materials are converted into silver. The Ministry of Rites relies heavily on our Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture for livestock materials and medicinal materials. It is no exaggeration to say that our Suzhou Prefecture bears one-tenth of the taxes of the Ming Dynasty."

"Nowadays, Japanese pirates occupy Tuolin and other places in Songjiang Prefecture and plunder everywhere. Songjiang Prefecture is almost destroyed."

"The bold Japanese pirates are not satisfied with Songjiang Prefecture, but also covet our prosperous Suzhou. During this period of time, the Japanese pirates have come up the Yangtze River from the mouth of the Yangtze River several times and invaded the southern area of ​​​​Suzhou, burning, killing, looting, and raping. Daughters of the people, plundering women and children, I am determined to kill the thieves. Although I have studied military books, I am not good at military affairs. I am not very good at commanding troops, marching formations, and offensive and defensive strategies. Now I am exhausted. Songjiang Mansion is destroyed. Suzhou Mansion cannot be destroyed again, otherwise our Ming Dynasty’s finances will be in danger.”

When Magistrate Shang said the last thing, he couldn't help but sigh, then he looked at Zhu Ping'an, his eyes lit up and said: "Master Zhu knows military affairs, has a record of defending the city and destroying the Japanese. He led two thousand Zhejiang troops to garrison Suzhou and relieved me. It’s urgent.”