When conspiracy theories were raging among the soldiers on the city wall, a discordant voice emerged:
"You are really robbing a hero with the heart of a loser. Why can't it be that Lord Zhu really returned with a great victory? General Wang, no, Wang Jian's return with a great victory is certainly worthy of suspicion, but for Lord Zhu, isn't it normal to return with a great victory?! Lord Zhu wiped out tens of thousands of Japanese pirates in the battle of Fengqiao Camp! Don't say you didn't see it from the city wall, the Japanese pirates were bloody and dead in front of Lord Zhu's Fengqiao Camp!"
"Wang the traitor led the Japanese pirates into the city and deceived all of us, including the prefect. But Lord Zhu had anticipated it before Wang the traitor left the city. When Suzhou was about to fall, he fought bloody battles with the Japanese pirates, annihilated the Japanese pirates inside the city, repelled the Japanese pirates outside the city, and saved Suzhou."
"Master Zhu is both civil and military, and is good at strategy and fighting. With Master Zhu's strategy and ability, isn't it normal for him to return with a great victory?"
As soon as this voice came out, the conspiracy theories that were rampant on the city wall suddenly fell silent.
yes.
Why can't it be Master Zhu returning victoriously? !
Lord Zhu was already the top scorer in the imperial examination at the young age of twenty, and was also well versed in military affairs. He was simply the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang. The Japanese pirates were wreaking havoc in the south of the Yangtze River, and they suffered repeated defeats in various places, with few victories. Even if they did succeed, they only captured a few or dozens of people. Lord Zhu killed tens of thousands of Japanese pirates in front of the Fengqiao camp, and resolved the situation in Suzhou city in time. Under the eyes of everyone, he annihilated the Japanese pirates in the city and drove away the pirates outside the city!
It is indeed normal for Lord Zhu to return victoriously.
After all, the Japanese pirates in their heyday were no match for Lord Zhu, and the Japanese pirates who fled in panic were even less of a match for Lord Zhu.
Thinking of this, all the defenders on the city wall nodded repeatedly, and the conspiracy theory that was rampant was replaced by a bunch of "Master Zhu's awesome writing."
"Master Zhu, we have invited the messenger sent by your army into the city and treated him to delicious food and drink."
The deputy general on the city wall humbly clasped his fists and said to Zhu Ping'an who was below the city.
"You invited me to the city to eat and drink, it sounds good, but I was still detained and interrogated by you guys."
Liu Dadao said dissatisfiedly.
"Ahem, it's not an interrogation, it's a consultation. We heard the news of your army's great victory and were overjoyed. We were so excited that we couldn't help but want to know more details, so we asked more specific questions."
The deputy general on the city wall gave a red-faced explanation, but his voice was hardly convincing and he lacked confidence.
"Ask for advice? Is there anyone who asks for advice like this?"
Liu Dadao sneered and wanted to say something, but Zhu Pingan waved his hand, interrupting his subsequent complaints.
"Deputy General Zhang, there is no need to explain. This concerns the safety of Suzhou City. We have to be more cautious and careful. Our Zhejiang Army will all cooperate. Now the remnants of the Japanese pirates and the ambushes have retreated, and we have plenty of time. Suzhou is generous, and I believe you will not treat my brothers unfairly." Zhu Ping'an said with a smile.
According to the information obtained from interrogating the captured Japanese pirates, the reconnaissance scouts arranged by Zhu Ping'an had already discovered the whereabouts of the Japanese pirates' ambush. The Japanese pirates' ambush had withdrawn from the ambush site when the sun set, and ran all the way towards Tuo Lin without looking back.
Now, Suzhou City is safe and there is plenty of time.
"Thank you, Lord Zhu, for your understanding. Don't worry, we will treat your brothers as our honored guests and treat them with fine wine, meat and delicious dishes." The deputy general wiped the sweat from his forehead and thanked him repeatedly with gratitude.
While Deputy General Zhang was wiping his sweat with a red face, Prefect Shang came running all the way. He bowed to Zhu Ping'an with a look of great joy and congratulated him, "Hahaha, congratulations, Zihou, congratulations on your victory in the war against the Japanese again and your return with a great victory. To be honest, when we got the news, we almost dropped our jaws. When you left the city, I was still very worried about your safety and tried to dissuade you again and again. Now think about it, I was really showing off my skills in front of an expert. In fact, I thought that Zihou and you might return victorious on this trip, but I never dreamed that you would achieve such a great victory this time. You are truly the best in the southeast!"
To be honest, Prefect Shang still had some doubts about Zhu Ping'an. Of course, he did not doubt that Zhu Ping'an would surrender to the Japanese pirates like Wang Jian did, but he suspected that there was some water in the military achievements Zhu Ping'an had achieved this time.
The Japanese pirates' invasion of Jiangnan was so serious that it could even be said to be corrupt. Various places were repeatedly plundered by the pirates and the people were living in dire straits. It was common for local governments to suffer defeats, even major setbacks, and victories were rare.
As for great achievements like Zhu Ping'an, they have not happened in a hundred years.
Being able to capture dozens of Japanese pirates, or even just a few of them, would be worthy of being written about by local governments.
Zhu Ping'an and his men had made great achievements in battle. They had to use tens of thousands of swords, and even captured a Japanese chieftain...
So terrifying!
How could people not be suspicious of such a great achievement
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Excellency. We are truly unworthy of it." Zhu Ping'an waved his hand modestly.
"Zihou, don't be so modest. After I have verified the facts, I will report them to His Majesty to commend you for your achievements."
Prefect Shang stroked his beard and said.
"Thank you, Your Excellency." Zhu Ping'an bowed to express his gratitude.
"Okay, Zihou, for safety reasons, we need to verify and identify your army." Prefect Shang changed the subject.
"Don't worry, sir. We will fully cooperate no matter how the verification and identification are done." Zhu Ping'an immediately expressed his attitude. After expressing his attitude, Zhu Ping'an bowed to the prefect Shang and said, "Sir, while you are verifying and identifying, please organize a group of carriages and horses and young men in the city to help our army clean up the battlefield."
There was no way. The Kunshan battlefield was so large and chaotic, and the destructive power of our own fires was so great. The river was full of the wreckage of burned warships and the corpses of Japanese pirates, and the river was almost blocked.
There is also that forest, the fire in it has not been put out yet. I don’t know how many Japanese pirates were burned to death in it.
There are too few Zhejiang troops to clean up these two main battlefields. I don’t know how long it will take.
There were no water purifiers in ancient times. People of this era mostly relied on well water and river water to meet their daily drinking water needs. There were so many corpses of Japanese pirates in the river. If they were not salvaged quickly, it would seriously pollute the people's water source.
The same goes for that forest. If possible, it would be better to organize people to put out the fire, so that the fire will not get out of control and spread to the surrounding villages and towns, seriously affecting people's lives.
Therefore, Zhu Ping'an asked the prefect Shang to organize some young and strong men and carriages and horses to clean up the battlefield when the time came.