It was only a mile away, and they arrived in a few words. Zhu Ping'an got off the carriage immediately. On the one hand, he wanted to get off the carriage to direct everyone to settle down, and on the other hand, he really couldn't stand the demon woman Ruonan's white eyes. The carriage was so small that he couldn't avoid the demon woman Ruonan's white eyes that were as sharp as a knife.
Zhu Ping'an had already stepped off the carriage, but the enchanting woman Ruonan did not forget to roll her eyes at Zhu Ping'an's back twice.
Thinking that flowers are the thing of plants, the seductive girl Ruonan now feels disgusted when she hears the word "flower". The culprit of all this is that bastard Zhu Ping'an, so who else should she roll her eyes at if not him.
Although Hua'er's face was also flushed, the way she looked at Zhu Ping'an was different from that of the demon girl Ruonan. The demon girl Ruonan rolled her eyes, but Hua'er's eyes were full of shyness, affection and watery... ...
"Okay, everyone has worked hard. Don't rush to unload. Someone will help you later. Let's take a break first."
Zhu Ping'an stood on a high place and spoke to the motorcade. The motorcade consisted of 113 carriages. Except for ten carriages provided by the Yamen of the Supreme Court, the others were rented. Thirty of the accompanying personnel were runners from the Yamen of the Supreme Court, and the remaining one hundred or so were runners seconded from other Yamen.
"Thank you, sir." The officers thanked him happily.
While the other officers were resting, Zhu Ping'an did not rest. He led Liu Dadao and others to ride around Taohuaji on horseback to observe the terrain and topography. Then he used bamboo poles to mark out the outer walls of the camp, watchtowers, tent living areas, toilet areas, training areas, shooting areas, etc.
"Young Master, do you think the boss can bring the people here on time?" Liu Dadao looked into the distance and asked somewhat worriedly.
"Of course they can, because they arrived yesterday and are in the nearby forest. I asked them to come at 15:30, and they are almost here." Zhu Ping'an said to Liu Dadao with a smile.
"They arrived yesterday?!" Liu Dadao was stunned, "Didn't they send anyone to deliver a message?"
"Ruonan has a special way of contact with them." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and explained briefly.
Sure enough, we soon saw a large group of people coming out of the forest on the hillside not far away and running towards this side.
"Look, they are coming, let's go to meet them." Zhu Ping'an said to Liu Dadao and others.
"Dad~~" The demon girl Ruonan, who had a solid foundation in light skills, arrived first and quickly passed Zhu Pingan and others. She was the first to rush forward, hugged the arm of the leading burly man, and shouted happily.
The burly man leading the group was Ruonan's father, Ruofeng. When he saw the enchantress Ruonan, every cell in his body was smiling. He gently patted the enchantress Ruonan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Hehe? Girl, I'm back."
"Welcome to the triumphant return, big brother Ruo. We will reward you according to your merits later. Welcome all heroes." Zhu Ping'an clasped his fists and stepped forward to greet them.
"Greetings, Lord Zhu." Ruofeng stepped forward and knelt on one knee to pay his respects, expressing his formal submission to Zhu Ping'an with action.
Hu Laosan and others in their village also knelt down.
However, the other two bandits who surrendered to the mountain stronghold looked at the young Zhu Ping'an and stood there with their mouths wide open in surprise. They smacked their lips in amazement. How could this Lord Zhu be so young that he could be described as a greenhorn
"Seventh Brother Xia? Zhang Hu, why are you still standing there like an idiot? Come over and pay your respects to Lord Zhu. And you bastards, why don't you kneel down quickly? You are so lucky to meet a master who accepts you." Ruofeng turned around and shouted to the leaders of the two strongholds and a group of bandits.
"Greetings, sir."
After Ruofeng's shout, the bandits from the other two strongholds came to their senses and knelt down to greet him. They were just surprised that Zhu Ping'an was so young, not resisting his surrender.
The evil woman Ruonan looked at her father kneeling to Zhu Ping'an with a complicated expression, but she did not stop him, because it was normal for subordinates to kneel to their superiors? It was just that she still couldn't accept it in her heart... ...
"Brother Ru, please stand up? Everyone, please stand up."
After everyone knelt down, Zhu Pingan stepped forward to support Ruonan's father, and shouted to Ruonan's father and the bandits with a smile. It was not that Zhu Pingan intended to take advantage of Ruonan's father, but to establish the fact that the bandits had surrendered.
In a feudal society that emphasizes etiquette and strict hierarchy, kneeling has a special and profound meaning. On this occasion, their kneeling means accepting the amnesty and submitting to the court. Zhu Ping'an must accept their kneeling.
"Thank you, sir. Please don't call me Brother Ruo anymore. You are the lord and I can't bear it." Ruo Feng scratched his head after he stood up. However, he was full of pride when he looked at Xia Laoqi and Zhang Hu, the two leaders of the mountain stronghold, that Zhu Ping'an called him brother in front of everyone. Did you see that? The lord calls me brother. You didn't believe it when I told you at the beginning, but you believe it this time.
"Haha, in official occasions we address each other by our positions, but in private we are brothers." Zhu Ping'an said with a smile.
"Not even in private." Ruofeng declined repeatedly. Of course, when he looked at Xia Laoqi and Zhang Hu,
"Okay, you all came from afar because you trust me, Zhu Ping'an, and I, Zhu Ping'an, will never let you down. Today, the Japanese pirates are rampant and people are suffering. It is the time for our dynasty to use people. If you can abandon the dark and join the light, our dynasty will not hold you accountable for the past. Your past sins will be written off. From today on, you will all be incorporated into the militia under my command. From today on, you are no longer bandits who are in danger of losing your life every day, but militia officers and soldiers who eat the emperor's food and receive silver. I promise you that the silver will be paid on time every month, and you will be rewarded for your merits! Of course, you must also obey my orders and abide by military discipline, otherwise you will be severely punished!"
Zhu Ping'an stood on a high slope, waving his arms and making loud promises to the bandits who had just surrendered.
"We are here to see you, sir, and we will obey your orders." The bandits knelt on the ground.
"Okay, let's cook. I bought a slaughtered pig and a sheep in Taohua Town. We'll stew the meat today. There will be plenty of rice and steamed buns. Everyone, feel free to eat as much as you can. We can talk about other things after dinner."
Zhu Pingan waved his hand.
"Ah, a pig, a sheep..." After hearing this, the bandits all drooled.
Since the flood, their lives have been difficult, otherwise they would not have agreed to surrender. They haven't had a full meal for a long time, not to mention that they actually had a pig and a sheep to stew today.
They shouted excitedly, "Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."
At this point, the three major mountain strongholds officially surrendered to Zhu Ping'an. Of course, it was only a preliminary surrender. It would take time to completely subdue these bandits.