Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 222 Zhu Zhanhe's Cabin Deployment
"A true dragon nearly nine zhang long, wouldn't that be invincible?!" Zhu Zhanqi, the most impulsive of them all, exclaimed in shock. Instantly, everyone's gaze fell upon Zhu Zhanhe.

But at this moment, Zhu Zhanhe did not speak. Instead, he went to the bow of the boat again and looked at the lake.

"The alligator dragon and I are companions in life. Now that it has eaten its fill, it is time to go back." Zhu Zhanhe looked at everyone's eager gazes and stood at the bow of the ship, saying something inexplicably.

Everyone looked at Zhu Zhanhe with confusion, wondering what he meant by those words.

"Come!" Zhu Zhanhe faced the vast Erhai Lake and waved his hand towards the water. Instantly, a huge wave splashed up from the lake, and a massive black shadow shot straight up into the sky from the water.

Everyone stared blankly at the lithe figure that obscured the entire ship in the sky, their gazes momentarily vacant. But soon, their eyes filled with terror.

"Roar~" The flying dragon let out a deafening roar in the air, then drew a graceful arc in the sky, opened its blood-red maw, and turned to pounce straight towards the large ship.

"Your Highness!"

"Big brother!"

"He'er!" Faced with the alligator dragon swooping down from the sky towards Zhu Zhanhe at the bow of the ship, everyone exclaimed in surprise, dumbfounded and at a loss for what to do.

But then, something astonishing happened: the dragon descending from the sky closed its ferocious maw in mid-air, and the moment it touched Zhu Zhanhe, it seemed as if its entire body had turned into a soft lake, completely merging into Zhu Zhanhe's body.

"A true dragon has entered his body!" Although he had seen this scene several times, the old Taoist priest Zhang Zhengheng still couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when he saw it again.

"You're so lucky!" Old Taoist Zhang Zhengheng had just exclaimed when he suddenly felt someone spying on him. Turning his head, he saw Xia Yuanji staring blankly at him. Then, the old Taoist rolled his eyes and muttered something to Xia Yuanji with great envy.

"Uh~" Xia Yuanji was astonished upon hearing the old Taoist's words. But soon, he turned his head and saw his daughter, who was slightly holding her belly, and he immediately understood the meaning behind the old Taoist's words.

"Roar~" The feeling of surging power flowing into his body again made Zhu Zhanhe feel extremely comfortable, and he couldn't help but let out a high-pitched dragon roar towards the lake.

After a dragon's roar, Zhu Zhanhe felt refreshed and let out a long breath. But when he turned his head, he saw a series of blank stares.

"Let's talk in the cabin." Zhu Zhanhe didn't put on his glasses, but turned around and walked directly towards the cabin.

"Gentlemen, this is why I've been wearing these glass glasses all along." After arriving at the cabin, everyone sat down in turn, and Zhu Zhanhe showed everyone his terrifying vertical eye.

"Big brother, those are dragon eyes!" The second brother, Zhu Zhanqi, looked at his older brother's eyes with admiration, feeling that his older brother's dragon eyes were simply majestic.

Everyone nodded in agreement with Zhu Zhanqi's words. After all, if a true dragon could enter one's body, then having a pair of dragon eyes was perfectly reasonable!

Seeing everyone nodding in agreement and no one arguing back, Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help but twitch his lips.

"Now, let's get down to business." Zhu Zhanhe stood up and let the Crown Princess Xia dress him, while he began to assign tasks.

"Please give your orders, Your Highness!" Without any hesitation, even Mu Sheng bowed respectfully to Zhu Zhanhe this time.

"First thing, General Hu!" Zhu Zhanhe began to count heads.

"Your subordinate is here!" Hu Tian responded loudly, his face full of excitement.

"I want you to eliminate all opposition within Yunnan Province within three months, at the fastest possible speed!"
"Three months from now, the entire army must be deployed to Guangdong and Guangxi at any time according to my latest orders!" Zhu Zhanhe's words brooked no refusal. "This subordinate obeys!" Hu Tian answered without hesitation. Although he didn't know why the Crown Prince of Han wanted to deploy troops to Guangdong and Guangxi, he had no intention of arguing. With the true dragon present, what did it matter if there was a rebellion?!

"Second brother, you must learn well from General Sanwei!" Zhu Zhanhe turned to his second brother, Zhu Zhanqi, and said.

"Your subject obeys!" Upon hearing his elder brother's words, Zhu Zhanqi was taken aback at first, but immediately bowed and accepted the order. He knew that his elder brother was grooming him! His excitement was palpable.

“Father-in-law, please write a letter in my name to the imperial court and to my uncle.”

Tell them, three months. I'll only give them three months. If they haven't received what I want, I'll use the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi to pay off the debt. Until they deliver the goods!" After instructing Hu Tian on sending troops, Zhu Zhanhe turned to his father-in-law, Xia Yuanji.

"Your Highness, writing a letter is fine, but what are you talking about?!" Xia Yuanji was also completely bewildered. Did his son-in-law mean that the court owed something and wasn't paying it back?

"I know everyone is confused, so I'll explain." Zhu Zhanhe could see that everyone was very puzzled and wanted to know what he was talking about.

"Before Emperor Taizong passed away, he promised me an entire ocean-going fleet. I won't go into the reasons. But the late emperor passed away before he could fulfill his promise. Before his death, the late emperor had ordered the construction of ships for me."

Of course, the late emperor also saw my true dragon, so he left behind a will, granting me permission to ascend the throne if the Ming Dynasty was in danger. This will is now in the hands of my uncle.

I promised my grandfather that I would never rebel, which is why I didn't help my father, the Prince of Han, and that's why I obediently came to this fiefdom.

"But my condition for coming to this fiefdom is that my uncle must give me the fleet promised by the late emperor." Zhu Zhanhe's explanation to everyone was earth-shattering, containing a staggering amount of information!
"My father-in-law, the letter said that the court should speed things up and give me the fleet. Once that's done, I'll return the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi to the court."

Of course, I'm not an unreasonable person, and I know that building ships isn't that fast.

"The court can send me its existing old ships and corresponding personnel, and I can grant you some more time. However, the specific timeframe still needs to be discussed further." Zhu Zhanhe revealed his true colors. He not only wanted the court to build him new ships, but he also coveted the court's existing old ships and crew!
"After all, I promised the soldiers that there would be no rewards for domestic wars, but only for the territories we conquer! I'm a man of my word." Zhu Zhanhe was clearly telling Xia Yuanji that he didn't want to rebel; he only wanted the court to provide ships and men. Furthermore, he, Zhu Zhanhe, wanted to expand the territory outwards!
"Okay!" Xia Yuanji understood his son-in-law's words. He took a deep look at his son-in-law, who was dressed, and agreed emphatically.

"General Jiang, mobilize the Embroidered Uniform Guard and launch a full-scale exploration towards Annam, Mok Bang, and Meng Yang." Zhu Zhanhe was clearly telling his soldiers that he would lead everyone to expand their territory and provide everyone with enough land to survive!

"This subordinate obeys!" Jiang Xiaohu wasn't stupid; he instantly understood Zhu Zhanhe's intentions and immediately agreed without hesitation.

"Uncle Mu, what do you think of my actions?" Zhu Zhanhe asked with a smile, looking at Mu Sheng, who had been silent ever since he met Tuolong.

"The Mu family is ordered by Emperor Taizu Gao to guard the border of the country. Wherever the border is, the Mu family will be there!" Mu Sheng was not stupid. He knew clearly that this was Zhu Zhanhe's test, but he really had no choice.

The Mu family faced a choice: either be abandoned by the Han prince or be at his beck and call. But the Mu family was in Yunnan, and there was no escape. Therefore, after much deliberation, Mu Sheng decisively chose to follow his heart.

"I thank Uncle Mu in advance," Zhu Zhanhe said, quite pleased with Mu Sheng's tact and immediately helped the bowing Mu Sheng up.

"Teacher, over there?" Zhu Zhanhe continued, his gaze turning to the old Taoist priest Zhang Zhengheng beside him.

"Don't worry about it, I'm busy right now!" The old Taoist priest seemed quite annoyed by the student's question.

"Yes, yes, thank you for your hard work, teacher." Zhu Zhanhe could only greet the irritable old Taoist priest with a smile, after all, compiling scriptures out of thin air was no easy task!

(End of this chapter)