"Now I finally understand why the Songluo Tea made by the notorious monk Dafang is so famous and hard to come by. This tea is like a dragon and a snake rolling in the cup. When it goes down the throat, it is like orchid on the tongue, refreshing the heart and spleen; it is like a soul in the sky, floating in the air. If there is a fairy product in the world, it must be this tea. Ahem, I have to break my promise. Does your promise to let me take half a can with me mean it? If not, I will shamelessly ask you for half a can to take away."
After Hu Zongxian took a sip of the tea, he seemed to be intoxicated in every pore. He highly praised Songluo tea and spoke highly of it.
"Hahaha, I always keep my word and act accordingly. You are well versed in the inner charm of Songluo Tea and are a wise owner of Songluo Tea. If I don't give this half jar of tea to you, who else should I give it to?! From this moment on, this half jar belongs to Hu."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenhua couldn't help but burst into laughter and generously handed half a can of tea to Hu Zongxian.
"Thank you very much for your kindness, Lord Zhao. I would be honored to refuse your kindness."
Hu Zongxian took the half can of Songluo tea with both hands, laughed with joy, and put it into his sleeve as if it were a treasure.
"Haha, Merlin came to visit you so late at night this time. I wonder what the matter is?" Zhao Wenhua asked with a smile.
"Your Excellency, although I am not talented, I have the ambition to wipe out the Japanese pirates and support the country. I come here tonight to recommend myself to help you pacify the southeast." Hu Zongxian did not hide anything. He bowed to Zhao Wenhua and explained his purpose directly.
"Merlin, please get up quickly, please get up quickly. With Merlin's help, I am like a fish in water and a tiger with wings. Why should I worry about the Japanese pirates not being destroyed or the unrest in the southeast!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenhua could not help but step forward with a look of joy to help Hu Zongxian up. He was very satisfied with Hu Zongxian's initiative to surrender.
Although Zhu Ping'an left, Hu Zongxian came, so this wave did not result in loss, and even profit.
In terms of status, Hu Zongxian was appointed by the emperor as the inspector and censor of Zhejiang, and his status was far higher than Zhu Ping'an. In terms of knowledge and ability, Hu Zongxian's knowledge and ability were not inferior to Zhu Ping'an. In the 17th year of Jiajing, Hu Zongxian passed the imperial examination at the age of 26. Although it was not as exaggerated as Zhu Ping'an's success in the imperial examination at the age of 20, it was not much worse than Zhu Ping'an. Moreover, after Hu Zongxian was appointed as the magistrate of Yidu County in Qingzhou, he demonstrated his outstanding political talent in one post. He first eliminated the locust plague and then pacified the mountain bandits. Then he inspected important frontier towns such as Xuanfu and Datong, rectified military discipline, and consolidated border defense with outstanding achievements. Then he inspected Huguang and pacified the Miao uprising. In the past ten years since he entered the official career, he has steadily risen step by step, with outstanding political achievements and a rising reputation. Two months ago, the emperor personally appointed Hu Zongxian as the inspector and censor of Zhejiang, and placed high hopes on him.
He is a man of both civil and military talents, outstanding political talent, courage and strategy!
In terms of age and experience, Hu Zongxian is about 20 years older than Zhu Ping'an and has much more experience than Zhu Ping'an. He is calm and sophisticated in his work, much more sophisticated than Zhu Ping'an, a young man who is easily impulsive in his work.
In terms of knowing the current affairs, he took the initiative to invite Zhu Ping'an. Although Zhu Ping'an did not completely refuse, he did not accept it either. However, Hu Zongxian took the initiative to surrender, which was much more aware of the current affairs than him, Zhu Ping'an.
This is the real Junjie!
Zhang Jing was all-powerful and regarded the military affairs of the southeast as his own, and would not allow others to interfere. The officials in the southeast were in awe of him and even more in awe of Zhang Jing. Now that Hu Zongxian had surrendered, the predicament in the southeast could be broken.
"It's late at night now. Meilin, don't go back. Just rest in the yamen. I can talk with Meilin about the current situation in the southeast by candlelight all night long." Zhao Wenhua pointed to the dark night outside the window and tried to persuade Hu Zongxian to stay.
"Thank you for your consideration, sir. I will stay in your yamen for one night." Hu Zongxian responded immediately.
Zhao Wenhua nodded with satisfaction and had some wine and food sent to his study. He and Hu Zongxian talked late into the night by candlelight.
"Merlin, I'm new here. What's the current situation of the Japanese in the southeast?" Zhao Wenhua asked.
"My Lord, the Japanese invasion in the southeast is in full swing and is getting worse and worse. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is corrupt. Since the Japanese chief Wang Zhi's proposal to open a market was rejected, Wang Zhi colluded with the Japanese pirates to invade on a large scale. Hundreds of ships were brought to the sea. East Zhejiang, West Zhejiang, Jiangnan, Jiangbei, and Binhai were all alerted at the same time. Tens of thousands of Japanese pirates captured cities and fortresses, killing countless civilians. The Japanese pirates also captured countless civilians and forced them to work for them. Women weaved during the day and were bullied at night. Strong men were forced into slavery and even forced to join the Japanese pirates as cannon fodder. The Japanese pirates looted wealth and property. The looting was incalculable. After the robbery, they set fire to the place, causing huge smoke and fire. The loss was incalculable and the people suffered terribly. In addition to Wang Zhi, there were also Japanese chieftains Xu Hai and Chen Dong who gathered more than 40,000 Japanese pirates and occupied places such as Tuluchuanshabao in Zhejiang. New Japanese pirates gathered in their places every day. Xu Hai, Chen Dong and others often led their troops to plunder the surrounding towns, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of evil, which also caused great harm. There were more than ten other groups of Japanese pirates, but the number of their troops ranged from a few hundred to several thousand. Although they were not as powerful as these two groups, they were also very harmful. "
Hu Zongxian sighed and briefly reported to Zhao Wenhua the situation of the Japanese pirates wreaking havoc in Jiangnan.
"God damn the Japanese pirates, it would be fine if they just did a little bit of trouble, but they dared to be so rampant. Southeast is an important tax collection area for the Ming Dynasty. The Japanese pirates are so rampant in the southeast, which seriously threatens the financial income of the Ming Dynasty and shakes the country of the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty is very worried about this. The Japanese pirates really deserve to die!"
Zhao Wenhua said indignantly after hearing this.
"Your Excellency is right. Due to the influence of the Japanese pirates, the taxes paid by various parts of Jiangnan this year are less than 30% of previous years. The property looted by the Japanese pirates is more than tens of millions of taels." Hu Zongxian sighed and added further.
Zhao Wenhua became even more indignant when he heard that so much silver had been robbed by the Japanese pirates. It was tens of millions of taels of silver.
"The Japanese invasion is so serious, how should all parties respond?" Zhao Wenhua asked with concern after he recovered from the tens of millions of taels of silver.
"Alas, the Japanese invasion has made the garrisons in various places quite unbearable. The garrison troops are generally cowardly. When they encounter the Japanese pirates, they lose all their courage. As soon as they meet the Japanese pirates, they are defeated like a mountain. Their fighting power is not much stronger than that of ordinary people. Less than one out of ten garrisons can resist the Japanese pirates."
"Governor Zhang, in view of the cowardly troops of the garrison, decided to mobilize troops from other places to the southeast coast to assist in the suppression and fight against the Japanese pirates. At present, Governor Zhang has appointed Bai Xuan, the former general of Guizhou, and Zou Jifang, the commander of Guangxi, as guerrilla generals to Tianzhou, Guishun, Nandan, Donglan, and Nadi to mobilize 6,000 wolf soldiers to Zhejiang to resist the Japanese pirates. Among them, the hereditary local officials of Tianzhou are young and cannot be regular soldiers. Mrs. Wa will take over the command of the wolf soldiers of Tianzhou. The wolf soldiers are on the way and will arrive soon. In addition to the wolf soldiers, Governor Zhang also mobilized Li Fengshi and Xu Guodong, the recruited soldiers, to lead 6,000 Shandong spearmen to Zhejiang to resist the Japanese pirates. They are also on the way and will arrive soon."
Hu Zongxian said slowly.
"How has the campaign against the Japanese invaders been going since Governor Zhang took office?" Zhao Wenhua asked again.
"Governor Zhang is quite cautious about suppressing the Japanese pirates and has not yet sent troops to suppress them. Currently, he is mainly urging the barracks and garrisons to intensify their training and raise food and money, intending to wait for the Shandong spearmen and Guangxi wolf soldiers to arrive before moving forward to suppress the Japanese pirates."
Hu Zongxian replied.
"You haven't led your army to suppress the Japanese since taking office?" Zhao Wenhua narrowed his eyes when he heard this, not knowing what he was thinking.