The rise of the poor

Chapter 2072 He Replaced

"Zihou, do you know where I went before I came to you?" Zhao Wenhua asked Zhu Ping'an.

Zhu Pingan shook his head slightly.

However, he knew in his heart that Zhao Wenhua had only passed through so many places when he came from Yingtian, from north to south, and the only place worth mentioning was Jiaxing. Combined with what he did after coming to Jiangnan, it was almost certain that he went to Jiaxing to supervise Governor Zhang Jing and urge Zhang Jing to send troops to destroy the Japanese.

Sure enough, Zhao Wenhua revealed the answer himself the next second, "I went to Jiaxing to supervise General Zhang Jing to lead troops to suppress the Japanese."

"Guess what he said?" Zhao Wenhua put down the teacup angrily.

Without waiting for Zhu Ping'an to answer, Zhao Wenhua continued angrily, "He said that the troops would be dispatched when it was time. I asked him when 'the time was' was, and he said 'the time was' was the time'. I... He was just playing a tongue twister. This is really too much, too much."

"Master Zhao, please calm down." Hu Zongxian poured a cup of tea for Zhao Wenhua and persuaded him to calm down.

"Whether you believe it or not, I, the commander-in-chief Zhang Jing, am not at odds with him. I am acting impartially. The emperor is eagerly looking forward to the pacification of the Japanese pirates in Jiangnan, and the people in Jiangnan who have been burned, killed and looted by the Japanese pirates are also looking forward to living a peaceful life." Zhao Wenhua drank a cup of tea, calmed down his anger a little, and said to Hu Zongxian and Zhu Pingan.

"I am well aware that Lord Zhao has a heart dedicated to the country and the people, and I admire him deeply." Hu Zongxian flattered him.

"Merlin is very much in my heart." Zhao Wenhua nodded with satisfaction.

Zhu Ping'an remained expressionless but sneered in his heart. When you first came to Jiangnan, the first thing you did to find Zhang Jing was not to ask for the commander-in-chief, but to ask Zhang Jing for 20,000 taels of silver. It was only after Zhang Jing refused that you started to ask for the commander-in-chief frantically.

If you really want to serve the emperor, relieve his worries, comfort the people and let them live in peace, then you should assist Zhang Jing with all your heart and soul, or do your best. Instead of asking him for 20,000 taels of silver, you should help him to arrange food, fodder, weapons and military pay so that he has no worries. Instead of going to Zhang Jing's mansion to urge him to send troops, or writing a memorial to impeach him if he doesn't send troops,

In addition, I know history. You madly sent General Zhang Jing to command the army not to wipe out the Japanese pirates, but to set a trap for Zhang Jing.

When Zhu Ping'an was sneering at Zhao Wenhua in his heart, he suddenly heard Zhao Wenhua's questioning voice.

"Zihou, do you think Zhang Jing is a competent governor of Jiangnan?" Zhao Wenhua asked Zhu Pingan.

"After receiving the appointment from His Majesty, Governor Zhang transferred Shandong spearmen, Guangxi wolf soldiers and other wolf soldiers to Jiangnan, sent generals to lead them, trained foreign soldiers such as Shandong spearmen and Guangxi wolf soldiers, stored food and grass, and made intensive preparations for the suppression of the Japanese."

Zhu Ping'an spoke slowly, without directly saying whether Zhang Jing was qualified or not, but simply listed what Zhang Jing had done after taking office as governor.

The meaning is self-evident.

Although Zhang Jing did not send troops to suppress the Japanese pirates, he was making intensive preparations to wipe them out.

This is also because the Japanese pirates are powerful and the local garrison soldiers are useless, so they can only transfer spearmen from Shandong and wolf soldiers from Guangxi to these capable foreign soldiers to suppress the Japanese pirates. However, these foreign soldiers have just arrived, and they don't know their generals, and the generals don't know their soldiers. They are even more unfamiliar with the local soldiers and horses. They must be trained until the commander can command the foreign soldiers as if they were using his fingers and arms, and the foreign soldiers and local soldiers are familiar with each other, so that they can be confidently sent to suppress the Japanese pirates.

Moreover, food and supplies must be prepared before troops move out. If troops are to be mobilized, food, salaries, and weapons must be mobilized to ensure logistics.

If the foreign troops are transferred but cannot be guaranteed food and wages, can they work hard to suppress the Japanese? Or, even more seriously, if the foreign troops mutinied because of lack of food and wages, wouldn’t they be attacked from both sides?

Also, the same goes for the local garrison soldiers. They have been owed food and wages for a long time. The war is about to start. If they are not given food and wages, how can they be asked to fight to the death to suppress the Japanese invaders? This is impossible.

Are there few local soldiers who mutinied? Zhu Ping'an experienced it once. In fact, many local soldiers took the initiative to surrender to the Japanese pirates!

In order to wipe out the Japanese pirates, these preparations must be made.

After hearing Zhu Ping'an's answer, Zhao Wenhua chuckled in disdain, "Haha, these things are all false. Zhang Jing has been the governor for several months. What has he done? How many Japanese pirates did he destroy? Not even one!"

"After he became the governor, the Japanese pirates in Tuo Lin became more and more crazy, occupying more and more territory and ravaging more and more people. But during the past few days of the New Year, the Japanese pirates in Tuo Lin went out hundreds of times. Nine out of ten houses in Songjiang Prefecture were empty, and every family was in mourning. On the way here, I encountered dozens of funerals. This is the new atmosphere of Governor Zhang's new position!"

"Zhang Jing failed the emperor's trust and expectations. The emperor appointed him as the governor-general and looked forward to the news of the pacification of the Japanese pirates in Jiangnan. But he didn't even kill a single Japanese pirate!"

"He has failed the people's expectations. Zihou, go out and listen. Whether it's Yingtian, Suzhou, Jiaxing, or even your Shaoxing, how many people are openly or secretly cursing Zhang Jing, saying that Zhang Jing is not the people's father and mother official, but the father and mother official of the Japanese pirates. He watched the Japanese pirates burn, kill, and loot without sending a single soldier, and also forbade other officials to send soldiers, for fear of hurting a Japanese pirate."

"He is not a competent governor!"

Zhao Wenhua emotionally listed Zhang Jing's dereliction of duty and came to the conclusion that Zhang Jing was not a competent governor.

"I also think that Governor Zhang's deployment to suppress the Japanese pirates is too conservative and too slow. He could have done better, but unfortunately, the Japanese pirates are getting more and more powerful, Tuo Lin and Xu Hai's troops are getting stronger, Li Gang and Wang Zhi are getting more and more unscrupulous, and the people in Jiangnan are suffering more and more, and people are getting more and more disappointed."

Hu Zongxian followed suit. This time he was not simply agreeing with Zhao Wenhua, but he truly felt that Zhang Jing was incompetent.

If Hu Zongxian were the governor, he would definitely do a better job than Zhang Jing, ten times, or even a hundred times better.

"Zihou, do you agree?" Zhao Wenhua looked at Zhu Ping'an with burning eyes and asked bluntly.

Zhu Ping An.

Zhang Jing is at least more competent than you, Zhao Wenhua. Of course, Zhu Ping'an cannot say such words and can only remain silent.

"If he takes over, I believe you are definitely more competent than Zhang Jing. You will definitely do better than Zhang Jing, ten times, a hundred times or more."

Zhao Wenhua did not force Zhu Ping'an to speak. He walked slowly to Zhu Ping'an, patted him on the shoulder, and said meaningfully.

Zhu Ping'an's blood suddenly began to beat faster.

"Well, I've been bothering you for quite some time now, so I won't bother you with your official duties any more, Merlin. Let's go."

Zhao Wenhua waved to Hu Zongxian and walked out.

"Goodbye, Master Zhu." Hu Zongxian bowed to Zhu Ping'an and followed Zhao Wenhua out. (End of this chapter)