“You ignorant little brat! Hurry up and apologize to Lord Zhu. He knows more about your grandmother than you do!”
Madam Wa Shi glared at Cen Da Lu, scolding him.
“No need, no need. How could I stoop to a child’s level?” Zhu Ping’an smiled lightly, waving his hand.
“Who are you calling a child?!” Cen Da Lu’s neck stiffened, his whole being bristling with indignation.
Then, Madam Wa Shi’s palm landed on his shoulder with a soul-crushing force, firmly suppressing him.
“Acting so immature, and you still claim you’re not a child?! If you think you’re not, then act like a man, take responsibility, and apologize for your mistakes. Do I need to teach you that too?!”
Madam Wa Shi berated him, exasperated at his failure to live up to her expectations.
“I…” Cen Da Lu’s face twisted with resentment and conflict. After two seconds of inner struggle, he made up his mind. Turning to Zhu Ping’an, looking as if he were marching to his execution, he clasped his fists, bowed his head, and apologized, “Lord Zhu, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have called you a hypocritical Central Plains lord without knowing better. I take it back. You’re not hypocritical—you truly know my grandmother and can recount her deeds in detail. I apologize.”
Though the apology was somewhat coerced, his attitude was sincere enough.
“No one is perfect; to err is human, but to correct one’s mistakes is the greatest virtue,” Zhu Ping’an said, nodding with a smile.
“Look at Lord Zhu’s magnanimity, like a prime minister’s! He doesn’t hold your petty faults against you,” Madam Wa Shi couldn’t help but praise.
Cen Da Lu’s resentment meter spiked +10086…
Then, unable to hold back, he slipped into sarcasm again. “Since Lord Zhu’s heart is so magnanimous, I’m relieved. I was worried your heart might not be big enough to handle the outcome.”
“Oh? How so?” Zhu Ping’an asked, playing along.
“Just now, your Zhejiang troops sparred with our wolf soldiers in five matches. We won three, lost two. Your Zhejiang troops are no match for our wolf soldiers,” Cen Da Lu said smugly, brimming with pride.
“Congratulations. The wolf soldiers’ ferocity is renowned across the land, and they live up to their reputation. Our Zhejiang troops still need more training,” Zhu Ping’an said, unsparingly giving a thumbs-up.
“What a pity, though. Lord Zhu arrived late, and the matches are already over. We didn’t set any stakes beforehand…” Cen Da Lu said with a feigned sigh.
“No need to feel pity. Even without stakes before the match, we can set them after. Your wolf soldiers won, and I’ll reward you handsomely. I’ve noticed your soldiers’ armor rate is low—barely one or two in ten wear armor. Armor can protect your men from strong enemies. To better fight the Japanese pirates, I’ll gift you five hundred cotton armors and five hundred iron armors, a total of one thousand suits, to lend you strength!”
“The five hundred cotton armors can be delivered now. The iron armors will be sent from Shaoxing once I return,” Zhu Ping’an said with a smile.
“What? Five hundred cotton armors? Five hundred iron armors?” Cen Da Lu’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
He’d only thrown out a sarcastic jab, peeved that his grandmother praised Zhu Ping’an’s “prime minister’s magnanimity” while calling him petty.
He never expected Zhu Ping’an to not only graciously acknowledge the wolf soldiers’ victory but also offer a reward after the fact, despite the Zhejiang troops’ loss—*one thousand suits of armor*!
*Listen clearly: one thousand suits of armor, not one thousand swords, but armor!*
Armor was incredibly valuable, exorbitantly costly, time-consuming to craft, and technically challenging to produce.
Yet its value was immense. Each suit could protect a soldier, and large-scale equipping could withstand enemy attacks or even turn the tide of battle with a squad of armored troops.
The wolf soldiers, scraping together every resource and turning their chieftainship upside down, had barely mustered seven hundred suits, half of which were older than Cen Da Lu’s grandfather, barely functional. Over half were only half-body armor.
But now, unbelievably, Lord Zhu Ping’an had casually offered one thousand suits of armor.
*One thousand suits!*
Five hundred cotton armors, five hundred iron armors!
Iron armor needed no explanation. The wolf soldiers had only three hundred subpar suits, yet Zhu Ping’an was offering five hundred court-issued iron armors, far superior to their shoddy ones.
And the cotton armor!
At first, Cen Da Lu had scoffed at cotton armor, making snide remarks. But when a Zhejiang soldier, fed up, demonstrated their cotton armor, it blew Cen Da Lu’s mind.
The cotton armor was comprehensive, with defensive capabilities rivaling, if not surpassing, iron armor—especially against firearms, where it far outperformed iron. Most crucially, it was much lighter, less burdensome, and allowed greater mobility.
Though Cen Da Lu was immature, his military upbringing gave him the discernment to recognize armor quality.
This Lord Zhu was unbelievably generous!
*Grandmother was right. Lord Zhu’s heart is as vast as a prime minister’s, able to carry a ship. Compared to him, I’m just a child—no, a petty villain. I judged his noble heart with my small-mindedness!*
*I’m such a fool!*
“Lord, our armor supplies aren’t exactly abundant…” Liu Dadao muttered, still holding a grudge against Cen Da Lu’s earlier disrespect.
“We may not be flush, but we can spare five hundred cotton armors and five hundred iron armors. Didn’t we bring an extra five hundred suits for the battle against Xu Hai, in case of damage? Since we’re leaving tomorrow and won’t join this campaign, we’ll leave the spare five hundred cotton armors for the wolf soldiers. As for the iron armors, we prefer cotton armor, so we’ll gift the iron ones in our camp to them,” Zhu Ping’an said, waving his hand calmly.
“Lord Zhu, five hundred cotton armors and five hundred iron armors are too much. Don’t listen to Da Lu’s nonsense. We didn’t set stakes before the match, so there’s no reason to set them after. Thank you, Lord Zhu, but please retract your order,” Madam Wa Shi said, clasping her fists.
“Madam, you’re mistaken. Even without the match, I’d have given you these five hundred cotton armors and five hundred iron armors. Your wolf soldiers are brave and skilled, but your armor rate is low. Each suit protects a soldier. These one thousand suits will make your wolf soldiers even mightier, better equipped to crush the Japanese pirates!” Zhu Ping’an insisted, waving his hand firmly.
