Chapter 1701： Arrive in Suzhou

Chapter 1701 Arrived 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."

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

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

"The next official pays homage to Shang Zhifu." 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.

"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 the Shangzhi government again and again.

"Master Zhu, you are welcome. You protect our safety. We should 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 ​​100 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 is still nine or ten miles outside the city of Suzhou.

There is a lot of traffic along the way, and there is an endless stream of merchant ships and cargo ships in the river, and all kinds of goods are constantly flowing 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 30%.

"This is the legendary Maple Bridge."

Zhu Pingan was outside the camp, looking at the Fengqiao about 40 meters long and 56 meters wide in front of him, thinking of the ancient name "Fengqiao Night Mooring", he couldn't help feeling.

"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 Zhe Army Camp is just to the east of Fengqiao, next to Fengqiao, covering an area of ​​about 100 mu, leaning on the river and backed by a hill.

is a nice camp.

Located in the suburban area of ​​Jiuli outside Suzhou City, 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 if necessary, and also guarantee the military aircraft and training space of the Zhejiang Army.

Zhu Pingan is very satisfied with this.

The camp is surrounded by fences, and there are brand new battalion leaders standing neatly in the camp, and the smell of food wafts out.

"Master Zhu, please, all officers and men, enter the camp for meals, and let's have a full stomach first." Shang Zhifu and others invited Zhu Pingan 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 banquet, 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 He worked as an editor for the Imperial Academy for two years, and later he was appointed as a supervisory censor, and was assigned to Suzhou as a magistrate four years ago."

"Oh, it turned out to be senior, Wansheng Ping'an was rude." Zhu Pingan suddenly realized, and hurriedly 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."

"It's 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, which 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 Zhifu say that?" Zhu Ping'an 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 sails, and the prosperity far exceeds that of other places. It is worthy of the saying that "there is heaven above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below". Suzhou is worthy of being the first-class rich and romantic place in the world."

Zhu Ping'an 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 and medicinal materials are mostly dependent on our Suzhou and Songjiang Prefectures. It’s 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 at once."

"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 good at military affairs. I am not very good at commanding troops, marching and deploying formations, 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)