Zhu Pingan looked at the smoke from the Japanese pirates' camp and the messy camp, estimated the time, turned around and bowed to the governor Shang with a serious face, "Sir Shang, I have to trouble you with one more thing."
"Zihou, why do you need to be polite to me? You are now the commander-in-chief of the city defense. Just ask me if you have anything to say." Prefect Shang smiled and bowed in reply.
"Sir Shang, I won't be polite then. In the next half hour, please collect as many mules and horses as possible in the city, the more the better." Zhu Ping'an said to Governor Shang without being polite.
"No problem, I will take care of this matter. I will not let Zihou down." Shang Zhifu immediately agreed, and then asked Zhu Pingan in confusion, "But what does Zihou want me to help collect mules and horses for?"
"If you want to replenish the war horses lost in the battle of the city gate, Zihou, don't worry. After this battle, I will spend a lot of money to purchase a group of war horses for you that are far superior in quantity and quality..."
Prefect Shang spoke to himself without waiting for Zhu Ping'an to answer.
He thought that Zhu Ping'an asked him to recruit mules and horses to replenish the mules and horses lost by the Zhejiang Army. After all, the Zhejiang Army lost all its mules and horses during the fierce fighting in front of the city gate.
However, the number of mules and horses that can be requisitioned in the city is limited, and the mules and horses requisitioned from the people during the war must be returned to the people after the war.
"Sir Shang, I am not here to replace the mules and horses lost in the battle of the city gate, but to take the Zhejiang Army to see off the Japanese pirates when they retreat, and to give them a great gift."
Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and replied meaningfully.
Hearing Zhu Ping'an saying he wanted to leave the city, Shang Zhifu immediately became nervous, his face turned pale, and he waved his hands repeatedly to dissuade him, "Zihou, no, you must not leave the city easily! We can defend the city and remain invincible; leaving the city will be extremely dangerous. The Japanese pirates are fierce, have a large number of troops, and are good at field battles. The Wang family is a lesson for us."
"Don't worry, Lord Shang. This is a different time. When the Japanese pirates pretended to be defeated, I warned them again and again not to go out of the city to pursue them. But it's not the same now. The Japanese pirates are really defeated and are really going to retreat. Besides, I am different from Wang Jian. I will not act lightly without absolute confidence... This time, I will only lead half of the Zhejiang army out of the city. After I leave the city, Lord Shang can just close the city gates. Suzhou City will still be as stable as a mountain. I have mules and horses in my hands. The outside of the city is so big that I can go anywhere. No matter how fierce and good the Japanese pirates are at field battles, they can't catch up with me, so what can they do to me?"
Seeing the nervous look of Prefect Shang, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but smile and assured Prefect Shang with confidence.
"Uh..." Magistrate Shang was still hesitating.
"What Lord Shang said, that I am the commander-in-chief of the city defense, was it just a joke?" Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly.
"How could that be? Zihou is the real commander-in-chief. I will arrange for people to collect mules and horses right away and will not let Zihou down."
Prefect Shang responded quickly.
After he finished speaking, Prefect Shang called his subordinates and made arrangements one by one, ordering them to quickly go to each government office, each block, each street, each government office, and each household to collect all the mules and horses that could be collected, and to ensure that they were all collected within half an hour without any mistakes.
"The mules and horses of each government office shall be forcibly requisitioned in the name of the official; the mules and horses of the people shall be explained clearly and compensated in the name of the government, and promised to be returned after the war. If there are any losses of mules and horses, they shall be compensated according to the market price."
Before his officials left, Prefect Shang gave them repeated instructions.
"Big Knife, you guys go have breakfast quickly, then have a good rest and conserve your energy. About half an hour later, we will go to see the pirates off and give them the gifts we have prepared so that they will never forget them."
Zhu Ping'an patted Liu Dadao and the others on the shoulders and said to them.
"Sir, why bother you to come here? It's too much of a face-saving for the Japanese pirates. We can just go and send them off. We promise to bring the great gifts. You and Lord Shang should wait for us in the city." Liu Dadao, Liu Mu and others persuaded.
"No need to persuade them anymore. Giving gifts is not that easy. It is an art. They have to be unable to refuse. I have to follow them in person to feel at ease. Or do you not have the confidence to protect me?"
Zhu Ping'an looked at Liu Dadao, Liu Mu and others with a smile, and deliberately provoked them.
"Of course we are confident that we can protect you. With us here, we guarantee that the Japanese pirates will not be able to harm you in the slightest."
Liu Dadao slapped his chest loudly.
"That's it, go eat and have a good rest after dinner." Zhu Ping'an patted their shoulders.
Zhu Ping'an took a round tour and found that except for the soldiers on duty, all the other soldiers were sitting on the ground and enjoying breakfast.
Zhu Ping'an randomly found a group of soldiers who were gathering for dinner, found an open space, sat on the ground with them, picked up a bowl of hot rice porridge, stuck two steamed buns in it, put a bowl of big pot dishes and a pile of cold dishes on the ground, knocked a boiled egg on the ground, peeled the egg skin, and chatted with the soldiers.
The Zhejiang Army soldiers were already accustomed to it, but the other defenders on the city wall found it unbelievable.
Zhu Ping'an was such a high-ranking official, a fourth-rank official appointed by the court, and the commander-in-chief of the city defense. Even Prefect Shang listened to him... ...but he actually sat on the floor with them, eating the same meal. There was even leftovers from the big bowl of food because the food was served late. It was not as rich as what they had in their bowls.
However, Lord Zhu did not dislike it at all. He ate with great relish, cracked the eggs on the ground and peeled them, then sat on the ground and chatted with them about family matters.
I even told them a dirty joke, saying that a butcher went to a brothel and forgot to bring silver. The madam asked a pimp to follow him home to get it. The butcher's wife asked why he needed five taels of silver, so much? The butcher said that he had injected water into the meat and was caught by them. If he didn't pay compensation, they would report him to the police. So the butcher's wife gave him the silver.
There was a sudden burst of laughter on the city wall. The soldiers were no longer afraid of Zhu Ping'an, and the atmosphere became more harmonious.
"Master Zhu is so down-to-earth and approachable..."
The defenders on the city wall were all deeply moved, and couldn't help but envy their Zhejiang Army colleagues around them. Lord Zhu is brave, resourceful, responsible, and approachable. It is a very happy thing to serve as a soldier under Lord Zhu.
After breakfast, the officials sent by Prefect Shang to collect mules and horses returned one after another, but the number of mules and horses collected was not large.
Hundreds of officials were sent out to collect mules and horses from the entire city, but in the end they only collected less than 500 mules and horses.
"But the people don't cooperate. Is it because we don't give them enough money?" asked Prefect Shang unhappily.
“The people are very cooperative.”
"My Lord, when the common people heard that it was used to fight the Japanese pirates, they were very cooperative. Many of them even refused to accept the money no matter how much we offered them. It was only I who secretly slipped it behind their doorsteps and told them after we were far away."
A group of officials responded one after another.
"Why is that?" asked Magistrate Shang unhappily.
The officials explained, "Sir, there are not many mules and horses among the people. Jiangnan is not suitable for raising horses. The people in the city who own mules and horses are a few wealthy families. The small families in the city cannot raise horses. There are slightly more in the countryside. There are only these mules and horses in the city. There are two or three hundred donkeys, but these donkeys are used to pull carts and mills. They have never been ridden. If you want to ride them, you need to train for at least ten days or half a month..."
"This is too little, less than five hundred horses." Prefect Shang frowned, wondering how to explain to Zihou.
"Sir, there are actually some horses..." an officer whispered.
"Where is there more? Why don't you collect it quickly? It's already so late, why don't you tell us quickly?" Prefect Shang said unhappily.
"We still have three or four hundred horses stationed in our city..." the officer replied in a low voice.
"What use do they have for horses? Take my token and requisition all their horses. Tell them that this is a military order and any violation will be severely punished!" Magistrate Shang took off the token from his waist and said immediately.
"Yes." The official took the token and left.