"Welcome, welcome, Lord Zhu. Ever since I received the transfer order from the Governor-General, I have been looking forward to seeing you, Lord Zhu. Now that you are here, I can finally put my heart at ease."
Suzhou prefect Shang Weishi led a group of officials and arrived at the Shili Changting in the west of the city early in the morning. When he saw Zhu Ping'an and his party appearing exhausted, he led his men to greet them from afar and warmly welcomed Zhu Ping'an and his party to Suzhou.
Magistrate Shang is about fifty years old, tall and thin, from Hunan, and speaks with a strong Hunan accent.
"Your humble servant greets Prefect Shang." Zhu Ping'an hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.
"No need to be polite, Master Zhu, you must be exhausted after all the travel. Let's skip the formalities." Prefect Shang stepped forward and lifted Zhu Ping'an's arm, not letting him salute. He smiled and said, "Let's go into the camp and have dinner first. I have asked people to pack everything up. The tents, mattresses, etc. are all new, so you can move in directly. Hot water and meals are also ready. Everything else can be discussed after you have eaten and drunk enough."
"Thank you, Governor Shang, for your consideration." Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an expressed his gratitude to Governor Shang.
Suzhou, as expected of being the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty, even prepared brand new tents and mattresses for the entire army, which was truly a generous gesture.
"No, no, you came to Suzhou to garrison and protect our safety. We should be the ones to thank you." Shang Zhifu said with a smile, "When we get to the camp later, we will see if there is anything missing and we will make up for it tomorrow. In the future, all the food and wages your army needs will be handed over to us, and we will ensure that the soldiers will not go hungry."
"Thank you, Governor Shang."
Unexpectedly, Suzhou Prefecture was so generous that they even covered the food and wages. Zhu Ping'an was overjoyed when he heard this and thanked Prefect Shang repeatedly.
"Master Zhu, you are too polite. You have protected our safety, and these food and wages are what we should bear."
Prefect Shang said with a smile.
"We have set up your army's camp at Fengqiao Ferry, nine miles outside Xichang Gate, which is more than a mile ahead at Fengqiao Ferry, covering an area of 100 acres." Prefect Shang said as he led the way.
One mile is very close, and we arrived there quickly.
During this journey of more than a mile, Zhu Ping'an also witnessed the prosperity of Suzhou, and this was in the suburbs nine or ten miles outside the city of Suzhou.
There was a lot of traffic along the way, and merchant ships and cargo ships were constantly on the river, with all kinds of goods flowing continuously on both the waterway and the river. According to the prefect Shang, this was still affected by the Japanese invasion, and the number of merchants had decreased by about 30%.
"This is the legendary Maple Bridge."
Zhu Ping'an was outside the camp, looking at the Maple Bridge in front of him. It was about 40 meters long and 5 or 6 meters wide. He thought of the famous poem "Night Mooring at Maple Bridge" that has been passed down through the ages, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Yes, this is the Maple Bridge in the poem 'The moon sets, crows cry, frost fills the sky, maples on the river bank and fishing fires face me in sorrow'. It was formerly known as 'Fengqiao' because in ancient times, pirates and thieves often invaded Suzhou from the river. Every night, the government would block the bridge for safety, so it was named Fengqiao. Later, it was mispronounced as Maple Bridge."
Magistrate Shang nodded and briefly explained the origin of Fengqiao.
The Zhejiang Army Camp is just to the east of Fengqiao, right next to Fengqiao, covering an area of about 100 acres, leaning against the river and backed by a hill.
It's a nice campsite.
Located in the suburban area nine miles outside Suzhou City, it controls the main water and land transportation routes leading to Suzhou's west gate, Changmen, and protects the west side of Suzhou.
It can not only guard the security of the west side of Suzhou, but also enter Suzhou City for defense in time when necessary, and also ensure the military affairs and training space of the Zhejiang Army.
Zhu Ping'an was very satisfied with this.
The camp was surrounded by a fence, with brand new battalion hats neatly placed inside and the aroma of food wafting out.
"Sir Zhu, please, all the soldiers, come into the camp and have a meal. Fill your stomach first." Prefect Shang and others invited Zhu Ping'an and others to enter the camp.
Zhu Pingan led a group of soldiers to thank them and entered the camp. Tables and chairs had already been set up. After Zhu Pingan and others sat down, the food came up. There were fish, meat, chicken, duck, ten dishes and a soup. The food was large and delicious. The soldiers of the Zhejiang Army, who were exhausted and hungry, ate heartily and were very satisfied.
"Haha, Lord Zhu, we are still friends in the same government office." During the banquet, after drinking tea for thirty minutes, Shang Zhifu smiled gently and said to Zhu Ping'an, "Eleven years ago, after I passed the imperial examination, I first worked as an editor in the Hanlin Academy for two years, and then changed to the Supervisory Censor. Four years ago, I was assigned to Suzhou as a prefect."
"Oh, it's you, senior. I'm sorry for being rude." Zhu Ping'an suddenly realized and hurriedly stood up to greet him again.
"Haha, sit down. Didn't I just say that we don't need to go through all these empty formalities. What's important right now is to eat and drink enough." As soon as Zhu Ping'an stood up, Prefect Shang pulled Zhu Ping'an back and waved his hand with a smile. "I'm not saying this to act like a senior, but to say that our relationship is different and there's no need to be so unfamiliar. I'm in charge of Suzhou, and you're stationed in Suzhou to protect Suzhou's safety. We should cooperate sincerely and closely."
"Of course. I'm stationed in Suzhou, and I'm in the same boat with Prefect Shang. We must cooperate sincerely and closely." Zhu Ping'an naturally nodded in agreement. This was what he had been wanting.
"I feel relieved with what Lord Zhu said." Prefect Shang nodded with satisfaction, then patted his chest and said, "I am relieved to hear that Governor Zhang wants to transfer you to lead the Zhejiang Army to garrison Suzhou."
"Why does Magistrate Shang say that?" Zhu Ping'an asked.
"Zihou, what do you think of Suzhou?" Prefect Shang asked instead of answering.
"On this journey, there were also a lot of cars and boats ten miles outside the city, and the prosperity was far beyond other places. It is worthy of the saying 'there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below'. Suzhou is indeed the most prosperous and elegant place in the world."
Zhu Pingan replied.
"Yes, Suzhou is the land of the world, and it is not a false rumor. Hanchuankou is prosperous but not ostentatious, Guanglingfu is ostentatious but not ostentatious, and it is the most prosperous city in the world, except for the capital city of Wu. The taxes of our Ming Dynasty rely on the southeast, and the taxes of the southeast rely on Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture. It is said that 'Susong taxes half of the world's taxes'. The gold and silver of the inner palace, the silver of Taicang and the grain transport of the Ministry of Revenue, the silver of the palace meals and sacrificial food of the Guanglu Temple, the silver of the four departments of the Ministry of Works, the silver of the livestock and medicinal materials of the Ministry of Rites, most of them rely on our Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture. It is no exaggeration to say that our Suzhou Prefecture alone bears one-tenth of the taxes of our Ming Dynasty."
"Now, the Japanese pirates have occupied Songjiang Prefecture's Takulin and other places, looting everywhere, and Songjiang Prefecture is almost destroyed."
"The bold Japanese pirates are not satisfied with Songjiang Prefecture alone, and they are also coveting my prosperous Suzhou. During this period of time, the Japanese pirates have come from the Yangtze River Estuary and Shuojiang River several times to invade Suzhou and southern Jiangsu, burning, killing, looting, raping women, and kidnapping women and children. I want to kill the pirates, but although I have studied military books, I am not good at military affairs. I am not very good at commanding troops, marching, and attacking and defending strategies. Now I am in a mess. Songjiang Prefecture has been destroyed, and Suzhou Prefecture must not be destroyed again, otherwise the finances of the Ming Dynasty will be in danger."
At the end of his speech, Shang Zhifu couldn't help but sigh, then looked at Zhu Ping'an, his eyes lit up and he said: "Lord Zhu knows military affairs, and has a record of defending cities and destroying Japanese pirates. He led 2,000 Zhejiang troops to garrison Suzhou, which solved my urgent need."