Zhang Shun's call of "Master Zhu" was like a bolt from the blue, exploding over the heads of everyone present.
What?!
Zhu, Zhu... Lord Zhu?!
This, this... This poor scholar is actually an official? !
Upon hearing this, the sergeant who had just been escorting Zhu Ping'an with such dignity turned pale and began to tremble uncontrollably. He swallowed three mouthfuls of saliva in succession, raised his head tremblingly, looked at Zhang Shun with hope, forced a smile, and asked with a trembling voice, "Zhang, Captain Zhang, you are not joking, are you?!"
The sergeant still held on to 0.1 percent hope. This reality was too cruel for him. He was unwilling to accept it and still wanted to rescue it.
The other four soldiers were the same. Like drowning men who had grabbed at the last straw, their bodies trembled and they looked at Zhang Shun with hope.
"Do I look like I'm kidding?!"
Zhang Shun's face turned ashen. He glared at them, a vein on his forehead bulged out. He asked back in a cold voice, then ignored them and busied himself untying Zhu Ping'an.
joke?!
I think you are kidding me, how can a fifth-rank official of the imperial court be a thief in a steamed bun shop? ! !
Zhang Shun couldn't believe it. How could they think Zhu Ping'an was an accomplice of the thief? !
I have heard for a long time that the new commander of the West City Military Department thought he had a Yan party background and acted lawless in handling cases. I didn't expect him to be so lawless!
When Sergeant Wu and the others heard this, their ears buzzed. The last bit of their fantasy was shattered. They were scared out of their wits and fell to their knees with a thud.
We actually framed an imperial official as an accomplice of thieves, tied him up and escorted him to Shuntian Prefecture Prison, and we were so disrespectful on the way... This, this... This is like a birthday star eating arsenic - he thinks his life is too long!
When they thought of this, Wuzhang and the others turned pale and bloodless, with cold sweat pouring down their backs. They pressed their foreheads to the ground and begged for mercy, "We are blind and have offended you, you are worthy of death. Please forgive me..."
The woman who was waiting and watching the excitement not far away was also confused at this moment. She was used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong in the countryside. She never expected that the poor scholar studying by the river was actually an official?! After learning the truth, she took a few steps back in fear, her face turned pale, her heartbeat accelerated, and she seemed to have caused a big trouble...
Now, the woman just hopes that the poor scholar is not as high-ranking as her husband. In this way, her husband can still use his power to suppress others and calm the matter down.
"Why hasn't he been put in jail yet?" The naughty kid didn't know what was going on. He just pouted in dissatisfaction when he saw that Zhu Ping'an hadn't been put in jail yet.
"Hush."
The woman quickly took the naughty boy into her arms and covered his mouth.
"Why are you covering my mouth!" The naughty child struggled to get out, kicked the woman, and looked dissatisfied.
"Little ancestor, please keep your voice down."
The woman pulled the naughty child aside and coaxed him slowly and finally calmed him down.
The gaze returned to the center of the crowd.
"Haha, Captain Zhang, long time no see."
Zhu Pingan smiled and greeted Zhang Shun, then dodged Zhang Shun's hand and said seriously, "No, Captain Zhang, forget it if you want to untie me. I don't want to implicate you as an accomplice."
"Master Zhu, you are joking. How could you be a thief?" Captain Zhang shook his head vigorously.
"Haha, I wish I was joking, but unfortunately, I was caught red-handed by Mr. Gao. Look, did you see the bag on Sergeant Liu? The pen holder, brush, books and five taels of silver in it are all stolen goods. Why, you don't believe it? If you don't believe it, ask Mr. Gao! Is that right, Mr. Gao?"
Zhu Ping'an curled the corners of his lips, walked up to the military officer named Gao, raised a brilliant smile, and his white teeth sparkled in the sun.
"Ahem, maybe there's some misunderstanding here."
The military officer surnamed Gao's expression changed again and again, and finally he coughed and evaded the question as if nothing had happened.
"Misunderstanding?!" Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but laugh when he heard it. "Haha, that's not right, Mr. Gao. You swore before that you had caught the criminal red-handed. How come it's a misunderstanding now, Mr. Gao?"
"Haha, I am honored to be the commander of the West City Military Department. I wonder what position you hold, sir?" The military officer surnamed Gao did not respond to Zhu Ping'an's words, but revealed his identity, hoping to use his official position to suppress Zhu Ping'an and calm the matter down.
In the eyes of the military officer surnamed Gao, Zhu Ping'an was young, and even if he was an official, he must have just entered the officialdom. He couldn't possibly be a higher official than him, who was a sixth-rank official? ! The officialdom was very particular about rank. If his official position was higher than his, then he had the final say. Zhu Ping'an had to accept it no matter how reluctant he was.
At worst, I can give him some compensation later. I can still afford a few dozen taels of silver.
"Master Gao, this is Master Zhu Ping'an. Although Master Zhu is young, he is already a fifth-rank lecturer in Prince Yu's Palace."
Before Zhu Ping'an opened his mouth, Captain Zhang at the side had already introduced Zhu Ping'an.
"ah?!"
When the military officer surnamed Gao heard this, he was shocked. His face turned pale in an instant and his heart almost stopped beating.
The first thing that surprised him was that he didn't expect that Zhu Ping'an actually held a higher position than him, and was actually a fifth-rank lecturer in Prince Yu's Palace!
The second thing that shocked me was Zhu Ping'an's name! Zhu Ping'an, these three words shocked me more than hearing that Zhu Ping'an was a fifth-rank official!
The military officer surnamed Gao is too sensitive to Zhu Ping'an's name!
The military officer surnamed Gao was the new commander of the Xicheng Army. The reason why he was able to take up the post of commander of the Xicheng Army was because his predecessor, Zhao Daying, was beheaded! The position of commander of the Xicheng Army was vacant, so he had the opportunity to use his connections and activities to take up the post of commander of the Xicheng Army.
Why was Zhao Daying beheaded? It was because of the impeachment of this man named Zhu Ping'an!
And that’s not all!
Some time ago, because of this Zhu who investigated Taicang, I don’t know how many people lost their heads! I don’t know how many people were exiled! I don’t know how many people were fined! Even Yan Shifan, the young prime minister, was fined!
You say, how can he not be sensitive to Zhu Ping'an's name? !
If he had known in advance that the man in front of him was Zhu Ping'an, he would definitely kick his son on the spot, slap his wife in the face, then apologize and leave.
People like them who have dirty records can't even hide from someone like Zhu Ping'an, so how could they provoke him
"So it's Lord Zhu Ping'an. Your humble servant Gao Botai has long heard of Lord Zhu's great name. Haha, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, it's all misunderstanding today. It's really like a flood that has washed away the Dragon King Temple. Family members don't recognize each other anymore, haha..." The military officer surnamed Gao's attitude took a 180-degree turn, and his face was full of smiles.
Gao Botai?!
Zhu Pingan was slightly startled when he heard this, "Are you Gao Botai?"
"Haha, yes, I am Gao Botai. Lord Zhu, have you also heard of me? Haha, then I am so lucky." Gao Botai was delighted when he heard that.
"Haha, I've heard of it, I've heard of it, it's very well-known." Zhu Ping'an looked at Gao Botai, the corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a bright smile.
Indeed I have heard of it!
In history books.
But you, Gao Botai, are just a supporting role and were just mentioned in the story.
The reason why Zhu Ping'an remembered it so clearly was that he wrote a paper on land annexation in the Ming Dynasty in modern times, which involved military farming. Zhu Ping'an specially consulted historical materials of the Ming Dynasty, and Gao Botai's name also appeared in the notes in Zhu Ping'an's paper.
According to historical records, after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, military farms were mostly embezzled by generals. On January 13, the 34th year of the Jiajing reign, Chen Ru, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, was ordered to investigate the military farms in Xuanfu and Datong. He found that the amount of embezzlement in Xuanfu reached more than 4,000 hectares, and Gao Botai was the one who embezzled the most military farms. Chen Ru said: "Please punish all the embezzled military farms, and all the generals who embezzled the frontier pay and privately used the laborers should be punished." The Jiajing Emperor approved the request. In the same year, all the generals who embezzled military farms, such as Gao Botai, were investigated and imprisoned.
Zhu Ping'an looked at Gao Botai and smiled brightly. It seemed that he would have to submit another memorial.
Gao Botai felt an inexplicable palpitation in his heart. He looked up and saw Zhu Ping'an's bright smile, and he felt a chill.