The rise of the poor

Chapter 2084 It’s All Zhao Wenhua’s Blame

"Zihou, southern Zhejiang is now in your hands. Once we have wiped out Xu Hai, we will take advantage of the victory to send troops to southern Zhejiang and wipe out Wang Zhi in one fell swoop! Apart from Xu Hai and Wang Zhi, the Japanese threat in Jiangnan will also be eliminated! I will then be able to face His Majesty."

Zhang Jing patted Zhu Ping'an's shoulder with satisfaction and said with an optimistic look.

Zhang Jing was very optimistic, but Zhu Ping'an was not so optimistic. History has proved that after the execution of Wang Zhi and the destruction of Xu Hai, the Japanese invasion in Jiangnan became more rampant, and it took nearly ten years to completely quell it.

However, everything depends on human efforts. Although the road is long, we will reach our destination if we keep going.

"Ping'an wishes the Governor great success!" Zhu Ping'an stood up, picked up the teacup and toasted to Zhang Jing.

"Thank you for your kind words, Zihou!" Zhang Jing picked up his teacup and clinked it with his, then added, "This is also to wish us immediate success. After we wipe out Xu Hai, we will join forces in southern Zhejiang and wipe out Wang Zhi and his gang in one fell swoop!"

"Instant success!" They both drank it in one gulp.

"Governor, I came to Jiaxing today for one more thing. I was promoting the ten-household baojia system in Zhejiang, and I discovered that there were anomalies in Douniupu, not far northwest of Jiaxing, and Fuchun Bay, due north. I sent people to investigate in disguise. No anomalies were found in Fuchun Bay, but anomalies were found in Douniupu."

Before bidding farewell to Zhang Jing, Zhu Ping'an informed Zhang Jing of the abnormal situation in Douniu Pu.

According to Zhang Jing's order, he will return to Shaoxing tomorrow and will not have time to deal with Douniupu. However, the location of Douniupu is very critical. It is within the range of the future Battle of Wangjiangjing. If this thorn is not removed, it will probably cause considerable trouble.

Therefore, before leaving, Zhu Ping'an told Zhang Jing about the situation in Douniu Pu and asked Zhang Jing to remove this thorn.

"Oh, what's unusual?" Zhang Jing asked.

"I implemented the ten-household baojia system in Zhejiang, and no information about this village's baojia was reported. Of course, what's even more unusual is that more than ten days ago, the villagers of Douniupu were celebrating his father's birthday and holding a birthday banquet. Fifty or sixty relatives came to his family, all of them strong laborers, and they were all unfamiliar. I had never seen them before. After the birthday party, these relatives who stayed in the villagers' homes did not leave and stayed at home. Some villagers applied unnaturally, as if they were controlled by others. To sum up, I seriously suspect that Douniupu has been secretly controlled by the Japanese pirates."

Zhu Ping'an spoke slowly, informing Zhang Jing of all the abnormalities in Douniu Pu, and reminding Zhang Jing that Douniu Pu might have been secretly controlled by the Japanese pirates.

"Douniu Pu, right? I've got it in mind. I'll send someone to deal with it." Zhang Jing nodded.

Hearing Zhang Jing say that he would deal with Douniupu, Zhu Ping'an felt relieved and bowed to Zhang Jing to say goodbye.

"Zihou, take care." Zhang Jing sent Zhu Ping'an out of the study.

"Governor, please stay." Zhu Ping'an bowed and said goodbye to Zhang Jing, then turned and walked outside.

After Zhu Ping'an's figure disappeared in the yard, another person walked out of the study. It was the former Zhejiang Governor Li Tianchong.

"Zicheng, you have heard it all. Zihou has accepted the task. He will return to Shaoxing tomorrow and swear to march to Ningbo." Zhang Jing turned around and said to Li Tianchong.

"Lord Zhu takes the overall situation into consideration and bravely shoulders heavy responsibilities, which is admirable." Li Tianchong nodded and praised Zhu Ping'an.

"If we were not worried about Zhao Wenhua ruining the battle, it would be better for Zihou to lead the Zhejiang Army to join in the fight against the Japanese pirates led by Xu Hai. Zihou knows military affairs, and the Zhejiang Army has won successive victories against the Japanese pirates. It's just a pity."

Zhang Jing said with emotion.

"Your Excellency does not need to feel guilty. You are responsible to the Emperor and to the people. Sir Zhu will surely understand. If you want to blame someone, blame Zhao Wenhua and the Yan Party!" Li Tianchong consoled.

Zhang Jing still felt a little emotional.

Seeing this, Li Tianchong said again, "Sir, if the king is not discreet, he will lose his subjects. If the subjects are not discreet, they will lose themselves. If a few things are not discreet, they will become harmful. For the overall goal of suppressing the Japanese, confidentiality is of utmost importance. The Yan Party and the Japanese pirates are not clear. If Zhao Wenhua learns of the deployment to suppress the Japanese, it is equivalent to the Japanese pirates knowing it! Knowing yourself and the enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. If the Japanese pirates know our deployment, it would be strange if the war against the Japanese can be successful."

After listening to Li Tianchong's words, Zhang Jing nodded and said, "Zi Cheng is right. We must keep it secret."

Then Zhang Jing asked again, "I hadn't finished talking just now when Zihou came. Let's go on. Have you verified that the two people from the Yan Party colluded with the Japanese pirates?"

"Your Excellency, Wang and Zhang must have colluded with the Japanese pirates. Last month, they purchased eighty carts of healing herbs in Yingtian City. They shipped them out of the city in the morning, but were robbed by the Japanese pirates outside the city at noon. None of their people were injured, but all the herbs were robbed by the Japanese pirates. This is too coincidental. In addition, they bought more than a hundred carts of food in the city the month before last, which were also robbed by the Japanese pirates by coincidence!"

"It's the first time, but not the fourth time. However, something happened the day before yesterday. Their manor was attacked by Japanese pirates and all the property in the manor was looted. As luck would have it, more than a hundred good horses that Wang had stockpiled from the northwest were being shoed in the manor and were robbed by the pirates."

"Also, last time Lord Zhu Ping'an defended Suzhou, he burned nearly a hundred warships of the Japanese pirates. Although the Japanese pirates in Takulin recovered in Jiaxing, they were still in urgent need of warships. Isn't it a coincidence that Zhang bought thousands of fir and pine trees and hundreds of barrels of tung oil from Jiangnan, saying that he wanted to do furniture business. As a result, they were all robbed by the Japanese pirates. Ha, as everyone knows, the wood commonly used to make ships is fir and pine, and the indispensable auxiliary material is tung oil."

"There are many similar cases. They buy whatever the Japanese pirates need, and they grab whatever they buy! They are always accurate! This can no longer be called a coincidence. They are simply the butlers of the Japanese pirates! They are responsible for purchasing goods for the Japanese pirates! If they don't collude with the Japanese pirates, who will?"

Li Tianchong pointed out several examples of people with the surname Wang and Zhang, and said with certainty that he was absolutely sure that they were colluding with the Japanese pirates.

"Is there any evidence?" Zhang Jing asked.

"Evidence?" Li Tianchong was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said with some regret, "They are very careful. Every time they do this kind of thing, they either use children from the same clan or their own children. They are all confidants and keep their mouths shut. In addition, they are afraid of alerting the enemy, so many methods cannot be used. We haven't obtained a confession yet; as for physical evidence, we haven't got it yet. Their family patrols are very strict. Our people have not been able to find their bedroom and study after several night visits, but I believe that if we search their house, we will definitely find their secret letters with the Japanese pirates."

Zhang Jing heard this and shook his head. "Without evidence, we cannot convict them. How can we search their homes? The Yan Party is behind them. They have deep roots in Jiangnan. If we search their homes without any evidence, how can they just sit back and cooperate? How can they just give up? Can you guarantee that we can find secret letters and other evidence when we search their homes? We broke into the house in front, and they only need to block them for a moment. No matter how many secret letters we have, they will not be able to burn them! If we break into the house and still cannot find any evidence, then we will hand the handle to the Yan Party. They will definitely take advantage of the situation and we will be the ones who suffer." (End of this chapter)