The rise of the poor

Chapter 1701 Arrival in Suzhou
"Welcome, welcome, Mr. Zhu. Since I received the order from the governor, I have been looking forward to the stars and the moon, and I have finally hoped for you, Mr. Zhu. You are here. I can finally put my heart in my throat. let go."

Shangwei, the prefect of Suzhou, led a group of officials to the long pavilion ten miles west of the city early. After seeing Zhu Ping'an and his party appearing in a hurry, he led the crowd from a distance to welcome him, and welcomed Zhu Ping'an and his party to Suzhou with enthusiasm.

Shang Zhifu is about 50 years old, tall and thin, from Hunan, with a strong Hunan accent.

"The next official pays homage to Shangzhifu." Zhu Pingan hurriedly stepped forward and bowed his hands in salute.

"Hurry up and get rid of the ceremony, Mr. Zhu, you have been busy all the way, exhausted by the exhaustion of the carriages and horses, and these red tapes will be avoided." Shang Zhifu took a step forward and held Zhu Ping'an's arm, preventing Zhu Ping'an from saluting, and said with a smile , "Let's go, let's go to the camp first, settle down and eat. I have already ordered people to clean up. The camp tents and mattresses are all new, and you can move in directly. Hot water and meals are also prepared. Everything will be done after eating and drinking." .”

"Thank you Shangzhifu for your compassion." Zhu Pingan expressed his gratitude to Shangzhifu after hearing the words.

As expected, Suzhou, the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty, even prepared brand new camp tents and mattresses for the entire army, which is really a big deal.

"Where are you, you came to Suzhou to garrison and protect our safety. We should thank you." Shang Zhifu said with a smile, "When we arrive at the camp later, we can see what is missing, and we can make up for it tomorrow. The food and salaries needed by the army have also been handed over to us to ensure that the soldiers will not go hungry."

"Thank you, Prefect Shang."

Unexpectedly, the Suzhou government was so generous that it even covered the food and salary. Zhu Pingan was overjoyed when he heard the words, and thanked Shangzhi's government again and again.

"Your Majesty Zhu, you are being polite. You guard our safety. We are supposed to bear the food and salaries."

Shang Zhifu said with a smile.

"Your army's camp, we set up at Fengqiao Ferry, nine miles outside Xichang Gate, which is about one mile in front of Fengqiao Ferry, covering an area of ​​[-] acres." Shang Zhifu said while leading the way.

One mile is very close, and we will arrive soon.

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

There was a lot of traffic along the way, and there was an endless stream of merchant ships and cargo ships in the river, and all kinds of goods flowed continuously on the two waterways.According to Shang Zhifu, this is still affected by the Japanese invasion, and the number of merchants has decreased by about [-]%.

"This is the legendary Maple Bridge."

Outside the camp, Zhu Pingan looked at the 40-meter-long and [-]-[-]-meter-wide Maple Bridge in front of him. Thinking of the ancient name "Fengqiao Night Mooring", he couldn't help but sigh.

"That's right, this is the Fengqiao of 'The Moonsets, the Crows Cry and the Frost Fills the Sky, Jiangfeng Fishing Fire Meets Mianmian', the old name is 'Fengqiao', because in ancient times, water bandits often invaded Suzhou from the river, and the government would block the bridge every night Get up, in order to ensure safety, so it was named Fengqiao, and later it was rumored to be Fengqiao."

Shang Zhifu nodded, and briefly explained the origin of Xiafeng Bridge.

The Zhejiang army camp is just to the east of Fengqiao, next to Fengqiao, covering an area of ​​about [-] mu, leaning on the river and backed by a hill.

It's a nice camp.

Located in the outskirts of Suzhou nine miles away, it guards the water and land traffic arteries leading to Changmen, the west gate of Suzhou, and protects the west side of Suzhou.

It can not only guard the safety of the west side of Suzhou, but also enter Suzhou city for defense in time when necessary, and also guarantee the military aircraft and training space of the Zhejiang Army.

Zhu Pingan is very satisfied with this.

The camp was surrounded by a fence, and there were brand new battalion leaders standing neatly in the camp, and the smell of food wafted out.

"Master Zhu, please, all officers and men, come to the camp for dinner, let's have a full stomach first." Shang Zhifu and others invited Zhu Ping'an and others to enter the camp.

Zhu Pingan led a group of officers and soldiers to thank them and entered the camp. The tables and chairs had already been set up. After Zhu Pingan and others took their seats, the food was served.There are fish and meat, chicken and duck, ten dishes and one soup, and the meals are delicious. The hungry soldiers of the Zhejiang Army, who were busy all the way, ate to their heart's content and were very satisfied.

"Hehe, Mr. Zhu, speaking of it, we still have the friendship of the same government." During the dinner, Shang Zhifu said to Zhu Ping'an with a gentle smile after thirty days of tea, "Eleven years ago, after I became a Jinshi, I first did it. Edited by the Imperial Academy for two years, then changed to supervisory censor, and was distributed to Suzhou as the magistrate four years ago."

"Oh, it turned out to be senior, Wansheng Ping'an was rude." Zhu Ping'an suddenly realized, and quickly got up to salute again.

"Hehe, sit down, didn't you just say that we don't fix these vain rituals, the most important thing is to have enough food and drink now." Shang Zhifu stood up with Zhu Pingan, pulled Zhu Pingan back, and waved his hand with a smile, " I said this not to put on the airs of the seniors, but to say that our relationship is different, so there is no need to be so unfamiliar. I am in charge of the government 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 Shangzhifu is on the same boat. We must cooperate sincerely and closely." Zhu Pingan naturally nodded and said yes, and this is what he could only wish for.

"With Lord Zhu's words, I feel relieved." Shang Zhifu nodded in satisfaction, then patted his heart and said, "I am relieved to hear that Governor Zhang wants to transfer you to lead the Zhejiang Army to garrison Suzhou. Take a breath."

"Why did Shang Zhi Fu make such a statement?" Zhu Pingan asked.

"Zihou, how about seeing me in Suzhou?" Shang Zhifu asked without answering.

"During this journey, the suburbs of the city are full of traffic and boats, and the prosperity far surpasses that of other places. It is worthy of the saying that 'there is heaven above, and there is Suzhou and Hangzhou below'. Suzhou is worthy of being the first-class rich and romantic place in the world."

Zhu Pingan replied.

"That's right, Suzhou is clothed all over the world. It's true. Hanchuankou is prosperous but not prosperous, and Guanglingfu is prosperous but not prosperous. The world is the most prosperous, except for the capital Wuxia. My Ming's taxes rely heavily on the southeast, and the southeast relies heavily on taxes. Suzhou Mansion and Songjiang Mansion are known as "Susong pays half the world's taxation". Jinhua silver in the inner mansion, Taicang silver and Cao silver in the household department, palace meals and sacrificial food in Guanglu Temple, silver in the four divisions of the Ministry of Industry, All kinds of materials are converted into silver, and the Ministry of Rites’ livestock materials and medicinal materials rely heavily on our Suzhou and Songjiang prefectures. It is not an exaggeration to say that my Suzhou prefecture bears one-tenth of my Ming Dynasty’s taxes.”

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

"Bold Japanese pirates are not satisfied with Songjiang Prefecture, but also covet my prosperous Suzhou. During this period of time, Japanese pirates have come back from the Yangtze River several times, invaded the southern part of Suzhou, burned, killed, looted, and raped. Minnie, I want to kill thieves, and I want to kill thieves. Although I have studied military books, I am not very good at military affairs. I am not very good at commanding troops, marching and deploying troops, and attacking and defending strategies. The Suzhou Mansion can no longer be destroyed, or my Ming Dynasty’s finances will be in danger.”

At the end of Shangzhifu's speech, he couldn't help sighing, then looked at Zhu Ping'an, his eyes lit up and said: "Master Zhu knows about military affairs, and has a record in defending the city and destroying the Japanese. He led two thousand Zhejiang troops to garrison Suzhou, and relieved me." Urgent."

(End of this chapter)