Xia Qiang went to revise the official document, while Zhu Ping’an turned his gaze towards Hu Wei and his uncle Zhu Shouren, who were standing nearby. He asked, “Mr. Hu, Uncle, have you finished the calculations? How much grain do we need to request from Suzhou Prefecture?”
“Sir, I don’t think I made a mistake,” Hu Wei, unaware of his error, arrived at the same conclusion after recalculating.
Zhu Ping’an then looked at his uncle Zhu Shouren, “Uncle, have you finished your calculations?”
“Ahem, I also think Brother Hu is correct,” Uncle Zhu Shouren coughed and chose to trust Hu Wei once again.
On one hand, Hu Wei had been very meticulous in his calculations, using an abacus and scratch paper diligently. On the other hand, Uncle Zhu Shouren was not skilled in calculations; he couldn’t even use an abacus. Small numbers were manageable, but large numbers were beyond his capability. The amount of provisions needed was simply too large for him to calculate. Without any alternative, he had no choice but to trust Hu Wei.
For a moment, both Hu Wei and Uncle Zhu Shouren looked at Zhu Ping’an with confidence, believing they had not made a mistake.
“Mr. Hu, how many days are there in a month?” Zhu Ping’an asked Hu Wei with a look of resignation.
“Of course, thirty days,” Hu Wei replied without hesitation.
“Then, how many days did you calculate for?” Zhu Ping’an asked, staring intently at Hu Wei.
“I, of course, calculated for thirty…” Hu Wei began to reply without thinking, but halfway through, he realized his mistake. “Oh my, it seems I calculated based on ten days…”
“What?! You calculated based on ten days?” Uncle Zhu Shouren panicked, looking at Hu Wei with concern. “Then the gunpowder and weapons you calculated for me, were those also based on ten days?”
Zhu Ping’an’s mouth twitched. His uncle was still the same as ever.
“No,” Hu Wei shook his head.
“Oh, that’s a relief,” Uncle Zhu Shouren sighed in relief.
But the next moment, his relief vanished.
“Because you were calculating for half a month’s consumption, I first calculated for a month and then halved it, meaning I actually calculated for five days…” Hu Wei said somewhat sheepishly.
“Five days…” Uncle Zhu Shouren’s face darkened. “Brother Hu, I trusted you so much, and you’ve let me down.”
“It’s not entirely my fault. I asked you to check the calculations, and you said they were correct,” Hu Wei couldn’t help but complain.
“If I could do the calculations myself, why would I need your help?” Uncle Zhu Shouren retorted confidently.
Well, you have a point there. Hu Wei was left speechless.
“Ahem, nephew, would you like to see the document I wrote?” Uncle Zhu Shouren asked awkwardly, holding up the document.
“Uncle, do you think it’s still necessary for me to look at it?” Zhu Ping’an asked with a bitter smile.
“Ahem, let’s wait for Brother Hu to recalculate, and after we make the corrections, we’ll show it to you,” Uncle Zhu Shouren said awkwardly, putting the document back on the table.
Wait a minute.
There seemed to be another piece of paper underneath the document Uncle had placed on the table. Zhu Ping’an, with his sharp eyes, noticed it immediately.
Zhu Ping’an stepped forward to pick up his uncle’s document.
“Let’s wait until we correct the numbers before you look at it, nephew,” Uncle Zhu Shouren said nervously, pressing down on the document.
“It’s fine, I’m not here to look at the document,” Zhu Ping’an smiled slightly, forcefully moving his uncle’s hand aside. Under his uncle’s anxious gaze, Zhu Ping’an picked up the document and saw another one hidden beneath it.
Seeing that Zhu Ping’an had discovered the hidden document, beads of sweat appeared on Uncle Zhu Shouren’s forehead.
Zhu Ping’an picked up the hidden document and, upon reading it, laughed—a laugh of exasperation.
This document from his uncle was modeled after the request for gunpowder and weapons, but its content was a request for silver.
In the document, Uncle Zhu Shouren demanded that Suzhou Prefecture allocate three thousand taels of silver to reward the soldiers and boost their morale, so that they could perform at their best in the upcoming battle against the Japanese pirates, willing to fight to the death.
Uncle’s appetite was growing larger and larger, secretly requesting silver behind his back, and asking for three thousand taels at that.
What nonsense about rewarding the soldiers! Given his uncle’s character, his sneaky behavior, and the cold sweat on his face now, Zhu Ping’an knew full well that if the three thousand taels were approved, every last bit would end up in his uncle’s pocket.
“Uncle, what is this?”
Zhu Ping’an picked up the secretly drafted request for silver and stared at his uncle, asking calmly.
“Nephew, let me explain—no, let me clarify,” Uncle Zhu Shouren stumbled over his words.
“Then go ahead and explain,” Zhu Ping’an said indifferently.
“Ahem, clarify, I mean clarify, nephew,” Uncle Zhu Shouren coughed, emphasizing the word.
Zhu Ping’an looked at his uncle without comment, and Uncle Zhu Shouren awkwardly closed his mouth, no longer insisting on whether it was an explanation or a clarification.
“Nephew, it’s like this. I heard you say that the Japanese pirates are about to attack Suzhou. You had Brother Hu request provisions, Brother Xia arrange training, and me request gunpowder and weapons. It seems war is imminent.”
“War is no trivial matter. Isn’t there an old saying that the great affairs of state are sacrifices and war? Since war is coming, your uncle naturally wants to help you fill in any gaps. When it comes to war, timing, terrain, and human factors are crucial. As the saying goes, ‘Heaven’s timing is less important than Earth’s advantages, which are less important than human unity.’ Human unity is extremely important in war.”
“How to improve ‘human unity’? Your uncle thought of the saying, ‘Under heavy rewards, there will be brave men.’ To boost the soldiers’ morale, what could be better than giving them a reward? And if one reward isn’t enough, then give two.”
“So, I requested three thousand taels of silver from Suzhou Prefecture. When the time comes, each soldier will receive one tael, and they will surely fight the Japanese pirates with all their might.”
“Fighting tigers requires brothers, and going to war requires father and son. I am your uncle, and this is what I should do. Nephew, you don’t need to thank me…”
Uncle Zhu Shouren spun his tale more and more smoothly, growing more confident as he spoke. It was clear that he was quite skilled at lying.
Zhu Ping’an watched his uncle lie calmly, and in his heart, he had already formed an assessment of this test: Hu Wei and Xia Qiang were careless and unreliable, unfit for handling military affairs, and he couldn’t trust them with such responsibilities. As for Uncle Zhu Shouren, he was even more unreliable—deceitful, duplicitous, more likely to ruin things than to accomplish them, and greedy for money. If he were to help, he would only be looking out for his own gain. In fact, if the price was right, Uncle Shouren would probably sell out the Zhejiang army and Zhu Ping’an himself without a second thought…
So, it was best to send them away as soon as possible.
Zhu Ping’an had made up his mind.
Forget about having “Sleeping Dragons” or “Young Phoenixes” by his side. His humble abode was too small to accommodate these three “great Buddhas.”
