Zhu Ping'an looked at the smoke from the Japanese pirate camp and the messy camp, estimated the time, turned around and bowed his hands to Magistrate Shang with a serious face, "Master Shang, I have to trouble you with something next."
"Zihou, why should you be polite to me? You are now the commander-in-chief of the city defense. If you have anything to do, please feel free to ask me." Magistrate Shang chuckled and replied with his hand.
"Master Shang, I'm not polite. In the next half hour, I would like to ask Magistrate Shang to collect as many mules and horses as possible in the city. The more the better." Zhu Pingan was not polite and said to Magistrate Shang.
"No problem, I will take care of this matter, and I will not let Zihou down." Magistrate Shang immediately agreed, and then asked Zhu Ping'an doubtfully, "But why does Zihou want me to help recruit mules and horses?
"
"If you want to replenish the horses lost in the battle of the city gate, Zihou doesn't have to worry. After this battle, I will spend a lot of money to purchase a group of horses for Zihou that are far superior in quantity and quality to today..."
Magistrate Shang said to himself before waiting for Zhu Ping'an's answer.
He thought that Zhu Pingan asked him to recruit mules and horses to supplement the mules and horses lost by the Zhejiang army. After all, the Zhejiang army lost all the mules and horses under his command during the fierce battle in front of the city gate.
However, the number of mules and horses that can be collected in the city is limited, and the mules and horses collected from the common people during the war have to be returned to the common people after the war.
"Sir Shang, I am not here to replenish the mules and horses lost in the Battle of City Gate, but because when the Japanese pirates retreat, I will take the Zhejiang army on mules and horses to see them off, and give them a big gift by the way."
Zhu Pingan smiled slightly and replied meaningfully.
Hearing Zhu Ping'an say that he wanted to leave the city, Magistrate Shang immediately became nervous and his face turned pale with fright. He repeatedly waved his hands to dissuade him and said, "Zi Hou, no, you must not leave the city easily! We will defend the city. We can stand in the city."
It is an invincible place; it is extremely dangerous outside the city. The Japanese pirates are fierce, they have many soldiers and horses, and they are good at fighting in the field. The man named Wang can serve as a warning."
"Don't worry, Mr. Shang, it's one moment and the other. When the Japanese pirates pretended to be defeated, I warned them repeatedly not to go out of the city to pursue the Japanese pirates; but that's not the case now. The Japanese pirates are really defeated now and really want to retreat. Besides, Wang Jie and I don't agree.
Likewise, I will not move lightly unless I am completely sure... On this trip, I only led half of the Zhejiang army out of the city. After I left the city, Mr. Shang just closed the city gate tightly. Suzhou City will still be as stable as Mount Tai.
"I have mules and horses in my hands, and I can go as far as I can outside the city. No matter how fierce the Japanese pirates are and how good they are at fighting in the field, if they can't catch up with me, what can they do to me?"
Seeing Magistrate Shang's nervous look, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but smile and assured Magistrate Shang confidently.
"Uh..." Magistrate Shang was still hesitating.
"Master Shang said that I am the commander-in-chief of the city defense, but is it a joke?" Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly.
"How could it be possible? Zihou's goods are genuine, Commander-in-Chief. I will arrange for people to recruit mules and horses right away. I will not let Zihou down."
Magistrate Shang responded quickly.
After saying this, the prefect Shang summoned his subordinate officials and arranged them one by one, asking them to quickly go to every yamen, every workshop, every street, every government, every household to collect all the mules and horses that could be collected, and half of them must be collected.
The collection will be in place within an hour, and there should be no mistakes.
"The mules and horses of each yamen must be forcibly requisitioned in the name of the official; the mules and horses of the private sector must be explained clearly, compensated in the name of the government, and promised to be returned after the war. If the mules and horses are damaged, they will be compensated according to the market price."
Before the officials left, the prefect Shang gave them repeated instructions.
"Dadao, you go have breakfast quickly, then take a good rest and recharge your batteries. In about half an hour, we will go see the Japanese pirates off and give them the gifts we have prepared so that they will never forget it."
Zhu Pingan patted Liu Dadao and the others on their shoulders and said to them.
"Young master, why bother you? It's too embarrassing for the Japanese pirates. We can just go and see them off. Make sure you bring the gift. You and Master Shang can wait for us in the city." Liu Dadao, Liu Mu and others persuaded.
.
"There is no need to persuade anymore. Gift-giving is not that easy. Gift-giving is an art. You have to make them unable to refuse. I have to follow you personally to feel at ease. Or do you not have the confidence to protect me?"
Zhu Pingan looked at Liu Dadao, Liu Mu and the others with a smile, deliberately irritating the general.
"Of course we are confident that we can protect the young master. With us here, we can guarantee that the Japanese pirates will not be able to harm the young master."
Liu Dadao slapped his chest loudly.
"That's it, let's go eat quickly and have a good rest after dinner." Zhu Pingan patted their shoulders.
Zhu Pingan inspected the area. Except for the soldiers on duty, the rest of the soldiers were sitting on the ground and enjoying breakfast.
Zhu Ping'an casually found a group of soldiers gathering for dinner, found an open space, sat on the ground with them, picked up a bowl of hot rice porridge, Kuaizi inserted two flower rolls, put a bowl of large pot of vegetables and a stack of cold salad
He put the side dishes on the ground casually, knocked the hard-boiled eggs on the ground, and chatted with the soldiers while peeling off the egg skins.
The officers and soldiers of the Zhejiang Army had become accustomed to this, but other defenders on the city wall found it too strange.
An official like Zhu Ping'an, a fourth-rank official appointed by the imperial court, and the commander-in-chief of the city defense, even the prefect Shang obeyed him... He actually sat on the floor with them, eating the same meal, even the bowl
Because the big pot dishes were served late, the big bowls were full of leftovers, which was not as rich as the ones in their bowls.
However, Mr. Zhu didn't dislike it at all. He ate it very deliciously and even smashed the eggs on the ground to peel them off. He sat on the ground and chatted with them about their family affairs.
He even told them a naughty story about a butcher who went to a flower shop and forgot to bring his silver. The old madam asked Mr. Turtle to follow him home to get it. The butcher’s wife asked, “Why do you need so much five taels of silver?!” The butcher said yes.
He poured water into the meat and was caught by them. They reported him to the officials without paying compensation, and the butcher's wife gave him money.
There was suddenly a burst of laughter and laughter on the city wall. The soldiers were no longer afraid of Zhu Ping'an, and the atmosphere became more harmonious.
"Master Zhu is too down-to-earth and approachable..."
The defenders on the city wall were deeply moved. They couldn't help but envy their colleagues in the Zhejiang Army around them. Mr. Zhu was brave, resourceful, responsible, and approachable. It was a very happy thing to serve as a soldier under Mr. Zhu.
After breakfast, the officials sent by the prefecture to recruit mules and horses came back one after another, but not many mules and horses were collected.
Hundreds of officials were dispatched to collect mules and horses throughout the city, but in the end, less than 500 mules and horses were collected.
"But the people are not cooperating. Is it because the money provided is not enough?" Magistrate Shang asked displeasedly.
"The people are very cooperative."
"Sir, when I heard that it was used to fight Japanese pirates, the people were very cooperative. Many people even didn't want any money, no matter how much they gave it. They just secretly stuffed it behind their thresholds with low-level jobs, and only told them when they were far away."
All the subordinate officials replied one after another.
"Why is that?" Magistrate Shang asked displeasedly.
The subordinate officials explained: "Sir, there are not many mules and horses among the people. Our Jiangnan is not suitable for raising horses. The people who own mules and horses in the city are only a few big families. The small families in the city cannot raise horses. There are a little more in the countryside."
Some, there are only these mules and horses in the city, but there are still two to three hundred donkeys, but these donkeys are all used to pull carts and grinders, and have never been ridden. If you want to ride, you need to train for at least ten days and a half.
OK......"
"This is too little, less than five hundred horses." Magistrate Shang frowned, wondering how to explain it to Zihou.
"Sir, there are actually some horses..." an official whispered.
"Wherever there is, why don't you hurry up and recruit them! When is it, why don't you hurry up and tell me." Magistrate Shang said displeased.
"The garrison in our city still has about three to four hundred horses..." the subordinate officer replied in a low voice.
"What's the use of their horses? Take my token and levy all their horses. Tell them that this is a military order. If they violate it, they will be severely punished!" Magistrate Shang took off the token from his waist and immediately
road.
"No." The subordinate officer took the order and left.