Rise From the Humble

In the dead of night, in the study in the backyard of the Zhejiang Governor's Yamen, Zhu Ping'an let out a long sigh, "Alas."

"Three Japanese pirate assassins have been caught. Brother Zhu, why are you still sighing?"

Li Shu took Hua'er and Qin'er to deliver midnight snacks to Zhu Pingan. She happened to hear Zhu Pingan's sigh and couldn't help but ask with concern.

"Yes, uncle, no, master. Three Japanese pirate assassins have been caught, which is a great thing. Why are you still sighing?"

Hua'er and Qin'er came over with food boxes and placed the late-night snacks on Zhu Pingan's table while asking.

"It is certainly a good thing that the Japanese assassins were caught, but now the Japanese invasion is becoming more and more serious in Zhejiang, and various places have reported Japanese incidents. In just these three days, 18 cases of Japanese incidents have been reported in various places. This does not count as concealment. If all places reported If you report the Japanese affair truthfully, I guess it will be at least twice as much as what was reported.”

Zhu Pingan picked up the Japanese reports from various places on the table, couldn't help but shook his head and said with a frown.

"Is it serious?" Li Shu asked.

"It's very serious." Zhu Pingan nodded, tapped the report in his hand, and said in a low voice, "It's more serious than I thought."

Li Shu stepped forward and picked up a battle report, "Ruian County News, three days ago, a large number of Japanese pirates landed on the eastern border of Ruian. The soldiers and civilians worked together to defend the city and killed more than ten Japanese pirates. However, Li Han and Gaoliang of hundreds of households were fighting. They died in the battle. Fifty-seven soldiers were killed, 32 officers were killed, and 63 young people were killed. The gate of Ruian City fell for a time. At the critical moment, local tycoons Zhang Tianqiang and Zhang Yangshu's uncles and nephews organized eight hundred local braves to come. Reinforcement, a desperate battle, Zhang Tianqiang died in battle, Zhang Yangshu was injured, Babai Xiangyong killed and injured nearly a hundred people, and managed to save Ruian County with difficulty. The Japanese invaders broke into Wangji Town, burned, killed and looted, killing thousands of people to vent their anger."

Li Shu quietly read the memorial from Ruian County. After reading it, she couldn't help but frown for a long time and couldn't calm down for a long time.

"The Japanese pirates are so cruel. They couldn't defeat Ruian County, but they killed more than a thousand people to vent their anger. They are really beasts."

Hua'er was filled with indignation, and the corners of her eyes were moist.

"Aunt Hua'er, please don't insult animals. The Japanese pirates are worse than animals." Qin'er was also filled with indignation.

Li Shu then read the next memorial.

"Wenzhou Prefecture reported that two days ago, a Japanese pirate force of several thousand people invaded the coast of Zhejiang in 18 large ships. They burned, killed, and looted all the way to the sea in Huanghua, Yueqing. At the right time, officers and soldiers from the Puqi Guard Station patrolled by boat. On the sea, they saw Japanese pirate warships in the distance and fled away. Qin Guang from Qianhu and Ji Yong from Baihu led the officers and soldiers on the ship to shoot them with powerful crossbows and arrows, killing many Japanese pirates. Finally, they were arrested after all their efforts. The Japanese pirates persuaded them to surrender. Qin Guang and Ji Yong continued to scold the pirates. The Japanese pirates were embarrassed and hacked to death. , two people died heroically.”

After Li Shu finished reading, she couldn't help but frown again.

"The soldiers in Pu Qi's camp really had nothing to eat. They ran away when they saw the Japanese pirates and ate the common people's food in vain. Uncle, no, sir, you have to punish them well to see if they dare to run away again. Qin Guang and Ji Yong were officials, and they were quite courageous, but it was a pity that they were killed by Japanese pirates. "

Hua'er was filled with emotion after hearing this. She spurned the officers and soldiers of the guard station who escaped, and felt pity for Qin Guang and Ji Yong who died heroically.

"Tiantai County News reported that two days ago, Tiantai was attacked by more than 3,000 Japanese pirates. The whereabouts of the county magistrate Wang Fugui are unknown. Tiantai County fell. Thousands of people were massacred by Japanese pirates. It was a tragic situation. The local tycoon Wang Pei, who was over 70 years old, called on the villagers to resist. A thousand Xiangyong were organized to form a fort to resist the Japanese pirates. In order to rescue Tiantai County, Wang Pei led the Xiangyong when they were passing through Shishoupo. They were ambushed and attacked by Japanese pirates. Wang Pei commanded the Xiangyong to form a spear formation to resist, but they were defeated by the Japanese pirates. , was killed by Japanese pirates at close range. More than half of Xiangyong suffered casualties, and Wang Pei unfortunately died in battle."

Li Shu then read another memorial quietly, and fell silent again after reading it.

After reading one report after another, Li Shu and others finally understood why Zhu Pingan sighed.

The Japanese situation in Zhejiang is really serious. There are more than ten reports of Japanese pirates attacking frequently. The losses in various places are serious. The casualties include the loss of soldiers and the serious fall of the county. The people are massacred by the Japanese pirates, with heavy casualties. How can Zhu Pingan not sigh? .

"Sir, don't sigh. All the soldiers in the security guard are here. Give orders to the various security posts and ask them to take better precautions and fight against the Japanese pirates."

Hua'er comforted her and said that in her opinion, it would be better to give the order to the guard station and let the guard station fight the Japanese pirates properly.

"What Aunt Hua'er said makes sense." Qin'er rarely praised Hua'er, and after Hua'er finished speaking, she agreed.

"Wei Shao? Haha." Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but hehe.

"Is the guardhouse so useless?" Li Shu asked in disbelief after hearing Zhu Pingan's hehe.

After all, Li Shu came from a noble family, and she had some understanding of the Ming Dynasty's national policy of guard system. Although she also knew that the guard post was no longer what it used to be. The guard post's armaments were depleted, and the old, weak, sick and disabled were used to make up for it, and the combat effectiveness was degraded. However, she did not As for being so useless.

"The guard station cannot be pointed out. You may have noticed the report just now. There have been several cases where the officers and soldiers of the guard station ran away when they saw the Japanese pirates. How can you point them out when they saw the Japanese pirates and ran away."

Zhu Pingan shrugged his shoulders and said lightly.

Li Shu and others nodded.

Zhu Ping'an continued, "Also, I don't know if you have noticed it, but there are many local powerful organizations in the local report that organized rural people to fight against the Japanese."

"What's wrong with local tyrants organizing the people to fight against the Japanese pirates, sir? This shows that they have a responsibility." Hua'er asked in confusion.

"The reason why local tyrants organized the local militia to resist the Japanese pirates shows that the guards in various parts of Zhejiang are already in name only. The guards are becoming more and more unusable and vulnerable to the Japanese pirates. Therefore, local tyrants have to organize the local militia to participate in the great cause of fighting against the Japanese pirates and protecting their homes, protecting their hometowns and families, and fighting against the Japanese pirates."

Zhu Ping'an sighed helplessly and said slowly.

"And the Puqi Guard, which fled at the sight of the Japanese pirates, is one of the three best guards in Zhejiang. I looked through the files in the government office, which recorded that the armaments and defenses of the Puqi Guard were one of the three best guards in Zhejiang. The armaments of other guards were abandoned, but their guards could be strictly guarded. Because the Japanese pirates have invaded the Puqi Guard area almost every year in recent years, Puqi Guard is the best in terms of material allocation, personnel allocation, or supervision. Such a benchmarking guard also fled at the sight of the Japanese pirates, and the guards in other areas are even more useless." Zhu Ping'an was very disappointed with the guards. (End of this chapter)