"I don't know if County Magistrate Zhao has any flaws. How about accompanying me to visit Chen Dacheng, the patriarch of the Chen family, and persuading him to help me recruit soldiers by appealing to his emotions and explaining the pros and cons?" Zhu Ping'an extended an invitation to County Magistrate Zhao.
County Magistrate Zhao is the parent official of Yiwu. With County Magistrate Zhao accompanying us, it should be easier to do ideological work on Chen Dacheng.
Zhu Ping'an thought so.
"Since your Excellency has invited me, I should do my duty, but..." County Magistrate Zhao said hesitantly.
"Oh, yes. Magistrate Zhao just said that there is a simple case in the afternoon. It depends on Magistrate Zhao's time. It won't be too late for us to visit Chen Dacheng after he finishes trying the case. It's a good opportunity for us to buy some gifts first. It's not good to visit someone empty-handed." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and said softly.
"Sir, this is not a case. This case is simple and can be handed over to County Magistrate Wang to handle." County Magistrate Zhao shook his head.
"Oh, why is that?" Zhu Pingan asked puzzledly.
It's just that you accompany me to visit Chen Dacheng. It's not a difficult thing. Why is County Magistrate Zhao refusing
Zhu Ping'an was puzzled by this.
"Well, to be honest with you, sir, Chen Dacheng has some prejudices against me. I am afraid that if I follow you to visit him, I will not only be unable to help you, but will ruin your plans." County Magistrate Zhao sighed and said with a wry smile.
Oh, that's why. No wonder Magistrate Zhao was so evasive. It turns out that Magistrate Zhao and Chen Dacheng have a bad relationship. Chen Dacheng has a prejudice against Magistrate Zhao. I just don't know if there is any misunderstanding. Zhu Ping'an has been in Yiwu for two days, and he has made open and secret investigations. Magistrate Zhao's reputation among the people is actually quite good. Even compared with his corrupt predecessor, the people are still quite satisfied with Magistrate Zhao.
Since County Magistrate Zhao had said so much, Zhu Ping'an no longer insisted. Just as County Magistrate Zhao said, if Chen Dacheng had a prejudice against County Magistrate Zhao, then if County Magistrate Zhao went with him, he would be more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.
"In that case, County Magistrate Zhao will not go. I will go to visit Chen Dacheng." Zhu Ping'an nodded.
"I feel ashamed for not being able to share your worries, sir." County Magistrate Zhao bowed and apologized.
"You are too kind, County Magistrate Zhao. You have helped me analyze the cause and find a solution. You have already done me a great favor."
Zhu Pingan said with a smile.
After learning more information about the Chen family and Chen Dacheng from County Magistrate Zhao, Zhu Ping'an took Liu Dadao and others to visit Chen Dacheng.
On the way, Zhu Ping'an took Liu Dadao and others to buy some gifts. They were not expensive, but they were also generous gifts, including tea, wine, cakes and silk cloth. As the saying goes, reciprocity is the right thing to do, and the more gifts, the less blame.
"Sir, you are a high-ranking official. You are already giving him a great honor by visiting a small clan leader. Why do you still need to give him a gift..."
On the way, Liu Dadao said indignantly that Chen Dacheng had already made a big mistake by daring to stop the young master from recruiting soldiers. It would have been fine if he didn't come to apologize, but the young master was a high-ranking official of the fourth rank. It was such a great honor for him to condescend to visit a small clan leader like him. Why should he give him gifts
"Haha, Dadao, reciprocity is our custom. It would be embarrassing to visit others with empty hands, and now we need help from them." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and patted Liu Dadao on the shoulder.
Chen Dacheng lives in Beilei Village, Yiwu, which is not far from Yiwu County. Zhu Pingan and his party arrived at Beilei Village on horseback in less than half an hour.
Beilei Village is a large village, covering an area of three miles with a population of nearly a thousand people. Chen Dacheng is the patriarch of the Chen family and the village chief of Beilei Village. By asking around in Beilei Village, one can find out where Chen Dacheng's home is.
When the villagers of Beilei Village saw that Zhu Ping'an was well dressed and Liu Dadao and others brought gifts, they knew they had good intentions. The clan leader had a wide circle of friends, so this man might be a friend of the clan leader from other places, so they did not hide it and took the initiative to lead the way for Zhu Ping'an and his party.
Chen Dacheng's house is not small, even bigger than the Zhu family's old house. It is a brick and wood structure and is considered to be a relatively good house in Beilei Village.
"Chief, Chief, someone is looking for you." The villagers entered Chen Dacheng's house and shouted loudly.
"Oh, which friend is here?"
A deep voice came from the house, and then a burly man in his thirties walked out of the house. He walked steadily, his eyes were as bright as the morning stars, and his muscular body was full of explosive power. It was obvious at first glance that he was quite skilled.
"Hello, Patriarch Chen. I'm sorry for coming here uninvited." Zhu Ping'an smiled and bowed to Chen Dacheng.
"No, no, oh, my friend and the three brothers behind you, you look very unfamiliar. I don't think I have met you before. I wonder what brings you to see me today?" Chen Dacheng saw Zhu Ping'an, Liu Dadao and others and found that he didn't recognize any of them. He narrowed his eyes and asked while clasping his fists in return.
Then, without waiting for Zhu Ping'an to answer, Chen Dacheng continued, "Thank you friends for thinking highly of me, Chen. If you encounter any difficulties, please speak up. As long as I can, whether it is money or manpower, I will do my best to help."
This Chen Dacheng is really as the rumors say, he is eager to do good, generous and helpful, and is quite like Song Jiang, the "timely rain".
"Thank you, Patriarch Chen. I am really in trouble and would like to ask for help." Zhu Ping'an first thanked Chen Dacheng, then said with a smile.
"Oh, I wonder what difficulties my friend has encountered. What can I, Chen, do?" Chen Dacheng asked curiously.
"Let me introduce myself first. I'm Zhu Ping'an, acting deputy envoy of the Zhejiang Provincial Judicial Commissioner's Office. I'm in charge of the Zhejiang militia on the orders of His Majesty. Yesterday, Governor-General Zhang Jing gave me a recruitment quota of 1,200 soldiers. I've heard of the heroes of Yiwu for a long time, so I came to your county specifically to recruit soldiers to help wipe out the Japanese pirates and bring peace to the people in the south of the Yangtze River..." Zhu Ping'an bowed slightly and spoke slowly. After he finished speaking, he took off his badge and handed it to Chen Dacheng with both hands for Chen Dacheng to verify the authenticity of his identity.
"What? The deputy envoy of the Zhejiang Provincial Criminal Investigation Department? He's actually an official. What is he doing here?!"
"It's him, the man who came to our county to recruit soldiers. The clan leader didn't allow us to enlist, so he came to the clan leader's house. Is he here to ask our clan leader for an explanation?"
"How dare he? The clan leader is right. Their government is corrupt and incompetent. They can't be trusted. What has the garrison become? They bully the weak and fear the strong. They can get by with bullying us ordinary people, but when they see the Japanese pirates, they run faster than rabbits. If we join the army, we will die and that's it. If we don't die, we will also be looked down upon and become **."
The curious people in the yard, after hearing Zhu Ping'an's self-introduction, could not help but buzz and whisper to each other. (To be continued)