I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 570: Scallion Leaf and Rue
"But if we have time to prepare, we can do a lot of things, such as mobilizing and training the army, researching and promoting new tactics, manufacturing and deploying new weapons, etc. At that time, we can make several plans to lure the enemy into a large-scale battle with us, and then defeat the enemy in one fell swoop and eliminate the enemy's manpower. In this way, we can win the war a few more times, and the damage to the Ming Dynasty will be minimized."

Jiang Jiangong nodded heavily. This is indeed the most ideal state.
"Besides, a war now would force us to make some decisions we don't want to make."

"If a war breaks out at this time, should we withdraw the guards stationed in the Western Regions Protectorate and the Yanran Protectorate? There are still 20,000 guards and 30,000 Guangdong troops attacking Annan. Judging from the battle report, they are making good progress. Should we withdraw them as well?"

"If we withdraw them, these places may become unstable when the domestic war breaks out, and your majesty's efforts over the past decade may be wasted. If we don't withdraw them, we will face great pressure in the beginning, and how will we solve their supply problem? Annan is easy to deal with, as it is rich in rice and can produce three crops a year, but the Western Regions and Yanran don't have such conditions. The local military farming has not yet seen much effect, and they cannot do without our supplies. So we need time to come up with a solution that satisfies both sides."

Jiang Jiangong's face turned gloomy. This was indeed a dilemma.
"In addition, we have many branches outside our control area, and we have stationed a large number of Royal Group employees. There are at least 100,000 of them. If the war breaks out at this time, how can we guarantee their personal safety? So we need time to withdraw them."

Chen Hong's face also turned gloomy, because this was the area he was responsible for, and it was indeed a very important matter.
Jiang Jiangong and Chen Hong were both silent. They were completely convinced by Zhu Houxuan.
"And there is another very important point." A strange light suddenly flashed in Zhu Houxuan's eyes.

"What?" Jiang Jiangong and Chen Hong asked at the same time.

"I feel that not enough people have come out yet. I'm afraid that the sudden outbreak of war will scare them back, so we still need time to make some moves to show weakness and lure them all out. Otherwise, I won't have enough reasons to settle accounts after the war," said Zhu Houxuan.

"Ah?" Jiang Jiangong and Chen Hong were once again shocked by Zhu Houxuan's train of thought.
"What? You know the principle of eradicating all evil! Since they want to fight, we will fight to the end and wipe out all the monsters and demons!" Zhu Houxun said with a sneer.

Jiang Jiangong and Chen Hong exchanged glances and felt speechless, but Zhu Houxuan's attitude made them feel much more excited.

"Your Highness is right. We must strive to seize the initiative in this war instead of being led by the enemy," Jiang Jiangong said with appreciation.

"Then how can we buy time and prevent the war from breaking out immediately?" Chen Hong suddenly asked.

"I don't have a good solution right now. We can only do everything we can and hope that they have internal problems so that the war won't break out immediately," Zhu Houxuan shrugged.

Jiang Jiangong and Chen Hong were speechless again.
The three of them talked in the study for a while, but they didn't come up with a good solution because they didn't have enough information about the Jiangnan rebels at that time. However, they did agree on a strategic plan for the future.
A clear female voice suddenly sounded outside the door, "Is father in the study?"

"His Highness is discussing matters in the study. Princess, you cannot go in now," said the servant outside the door.

"But I haven't seen my father for a long time, I miss him so much." There was some grievance in the clear female voice.

"We also have our own lives to perform, and you understand that Your Highness is very busy right now. Please forgive us, Princess." The servant outside the door continued.

When Zhu Houxuan heard the voice coming from outside, a smile appeared on his face. He thought of the Queen Mother Zhang's performance today that made him feel cold, and suddenly wanted to see his family and find some comfort from them.
"That's all for today," Zhu Houxuan said to Jiang Jiangong and Chen Hong. "Yes, sir!" Jiang Jiangong and Chen Hong said.

Then Zhu Houxuan raised his voice and shouted, "Is that Yunqing? Father is here, come in!"

"It's me, father! Can I come in?" Zhu Yunqing said happily.

"Come in, I haven't seen my Yunqing for a long time, I miss you too." Zhu Houxun's face was full of smiles.

Then a beautiful girl of about twelve or thirteen pushed the door open and greeted Jiang Jiangong and Chen Hong politely.

"Greetings, Princess!" Jiang Jiangong and Chen Hong also returned the greetings.

Zhu Yunqing is the second child of Zhu Houxun and Qin Yuelan. There are very strict restrictions on naming male members of the Zhu family, but there are no restrictions on naming girls. The father is free to express himself, but most of the names are beautiful words.

Just like Emperor Jiajing had five daughters, named: Zhu Shou'an, Zhu Fuyuan, Zhu Lu'an, Zhu Rui'an, and Zhu Su'an.

In comparison, Zhu Houxuan's style of naming his daughter is relatively fresh.
Zhu Houxuan loved this daughter very much. Zhu Yunqing often came to ask Zhu Houxuan about this and that. Zhu Houxuan usually regarded Zhu Yunqing's visit as a way to relax after his busy work.
The father and daughter talked for a few words, and Zhu Houxun made Zhu Yunqing laugh.

Then Zhu Yunqing suddenly took out a copy of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, opened a page and said, "Father, do you know what this 'Xieye Yunxiang' is? I asked my teacher, but he didn't know what it was either."

Zhu Houxuan took a closer look and found that it was the passage about Zhuge Liang capturing Meng Huo:
In the third year of Jianxing in Shu, Zhuge Liang led his army to the south and reached Zangke County (now in Anshun and Liuzhi, Guizhou Province). At that time, the weather was extremely hot and there was miasma. The Shu army was hungry and thirsty, and the soldiers were exhausted. Suddenly, they saw a spring and were overjoyed. They drank it. Unexpectedly, they immediately showed symptoms of poisoning. The lives of the soldiers were in danger, and Kong Ming was helpless. In a hurry, he went to the temple of Ma Yuan, the general of Han Fubo, and knelt down. He met the master "Wan'an Hermit" Meng Jie, who instructed him that the water the soldiers drank was called Yaquan, and they had to use Anle Spring water to detoxify, and pick "Xieye Ruenxiang" to hold in their mouths. "Everyone holds a leaf in their mouth, and naturally the miasma will not invade", and then there was the great victory of capturing Meng Huo five times.

Zhu Houxuan laughed. He really knew what this thing was. He held Zhu Yunqing in his arms, pointed at the words on the book and said, "Although the name of this 'Xieye Yunxiang' looks elegant, it is actually garlic."

"Ah? It's garlic!" Zhu Yunqing said. She did not doubt Zhu Houxun's statement because Zhu Houxun had never answered the question.

"Father, you are so awesome!" Zhu Yunqing praised sincerely.

But she didn't get a response from Zhu Houxuan. She turned her head and saw that Zhu Houxuan was staring at the roof in a daze, muttering in a low voice: "Garlic. Garlic? Garlic!"

(End of this chapter)