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

Chapter 239 The Navy's Morale Soars

Looking at the massive fleet of ships densely packed together on the surrounding sea, yet not appearing crowded, Zhu Zhanhe's opinion of Wang Jinghong rose even higher. He believed that Wang Jinghong was an exceptional talent. After all, compared to army generals, naval generals were much more difficult to find and train.

While pondering, Zhu Zhanhe left the bow of the treasure ship and went straight up the stairs to the top of the fourth deck, the highest deck of the treasure ship. Wang Jinghong, Xiao Xizi, and the others followed closely behind Zhu Zhanhe to the upper deck, protecting him from a distance. Zhu Zhanhe looked down at all the ships guarding the surrounding sea, and for a moment, he felt his heart surging with excitement.

"Fellow sailors!" Zhu Zhanhe stood on the deck with his hands clasped behind his back, empty-handed, facing the fleet directly ahead, and shouted loudly to all around. In an instant, it was as if a thunderclap had struck the entire sea, and the originally quiet sea was instantly filled only with the sound of waves crashing against the hulls.

To everyone's astonishment, no one could have imagined that the Crown Prince's voice would be so awe-inspiring, and that it could travel so far to reach everyone's ears.

After all, a treasure ship is over a hundred meters long and several tens of meters wide, while there are more than two hundred ships gazing at each other on the sea. Although they have gathered the treasure ship in the very center together, the distance between the treasure ship in the center and the outer fleet is probably still a thousand meters. How could a human voice travel that far? Could it be celestial beings?

Moreover, the sound of the waves on the sea is incessant. Even the loudest sound would be drowned out by the waves. Otherwise, why would ships need to use gongs or flags to communicate? They could just stand there and shout! For a moment, everyone on the different ships looked at each other, searching for the source of the sound. Finally, they all had to focus their attention on the command ship, which they had gathered in the middle.

Now they were certain that the awe-inspiring, celestial voice had indeed come from the command ship!

"I'm not sure if everyone can hear me."

"How about everyone respond to me?" Wang Jinghong, Xiao Xizi, Xia Xuan and the others behind Zhu Zhanhe stared at Zhu Zhanhe with eyes wide with astonishment. They saw that Zhu Zhanhe, against the backdrop of the sea and the blue sky, was like a giant standing tall and firmly welded to the deck, continuing to transmit his thunderous voice to the surrounding ships.

"Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!" The quickest to react was Xiao Xizi. Dressed in a bright red eunuch's robe, he knelt down without hesitation upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words, shouting loudly and enthusiastically.

"Your Highness, may you live a thousand years."
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" As Xiao Xizi's voice rang out, Wang Jinghong and the others knelt down and shouted loudly. Immediately afterward, chaotic shouts rose and fell from the surrounding ships, creating a noisy scene. But soon, all the voices gradually merged together.

"Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"

Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!
"Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!" The shouts of more than 50,000 people on the sea shook the heavens and the earth, completely drowning out the sound of the waves. It was as if it were the only sound left in the world, resounding through the sky!

"Good! All soldiers, no need for formalities!" Zhu Zhanhe was in high spirits upon hearing the resounding shouts. He raised his hand, signaling the kneeling crowd behind him to rise, and then continued speaking.

"Our Yunnan Navy is newly established, and we have plenty of personnel. Since everyone is here, as the heir apparent, I have some things to say to you all." Zhu Zhanhe stood proudly on the deck, his majestic presence like that of a celestial general against the backdrop of the brilliant sun, the azure sky, and the emerald sea.

"Most of you are former soldiers of the three major battalions in Yunnan. It is truly commendable that you have joined the navy without hesitation." Zhu Zhanhe first expressed his high appreciation for everyone's willingness to join the navy.

"Since most of you recognize me, surely some of you will remember what I said." Zhu Zhanhe's words immediately ignited a lively atmosphere on all the ships, while those who didn't know better exchanged bewildered glances. But no one spoke up to explain for the others; their eyes were fixed intently on the treasure ship in the center. "That's right, it's the land distribution I promised you all, it's exactly what I said!" Zhu Zhanhe reminded everyone without hesitation, confirming their suspicions: they were right; he was referring to the land distribution.

"I've decided to repeat what I said to the Army when they went to war before I came to the Navy today to my brothers in the Navy."

After conquering Guangdong and Guangxi, the entire army will rest and reorganize before we set out on another expedition. The purpose of this expedition will be to expand our territory!
As I said before, as long as we expand our territory beyond the Ming Dynasty, we will distribute land to everyone!

Some people might ask, how much land will I be allocated?
I can tell you definitively that the area we are about to occupy has approximately 200 million mu of land suitable for cultivation and grazing! This number of 200 million mu is something ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of, and the soldiers on the ship had no idea what 200 million mu meant, because they had no concept of it! But what they did know was that they might, possibly, almost certainly be able to get some land!?

In an instant, everyone on each ship had their eyes shining brightly. Although they couldn't see the face of the person speaking at all, they still craned their necks to look and listened carefully, not wanting to miss any detail of the words.

"I promised that, outside of the Ming Dynasty, of all the land we occupy, 30% of it will be used for cultivation and grazing, and 10% will be given to the officers, while the remaining 20% ​​will be given to all the soldiers."

How much land is in the area that is about to be developed? It's probably less than 40 million mu!
Currently, there are approximately 120,000 soldiers in Yunnan Province, including both the army and navy, as well as auxiliary troops.

"I can tell you all that once we take that place, when the 120,000 soldiers are distributing the land, each of my soldiers in Yunnan will receive approximately 30 mu of land!" Zhu Zhanhe clearly told everyone, "Since I said I would distribute land to you, I will clearly tell you how much land is in the area we are about to occupy and how much land you will be given. I, Zhu Zhanhe, always keep my word and never deceive anyone, young or old!"

After Zhu Zhanhe finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the entire sea. The soldiers were generally poorly educated, or most were illiterate! They probably didn't know how much land, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of acres, actually represented.

But they knew how much thirty mu of land meant! One mu of land yielded about 300 jin of grain, and after paying taxes, about 200 jin of grain would still be left over. So, thirty mu of land would mean a full 6,000 jin of grain after taxes! This amount of grain was enough for a family of six to live comfortably for a year, and it wouldn't even be a problem to feed ten people!

And this was only the first time they were expanding the territory and dividing the land. What if they followed in the expansion several more times? Wouldn't that mean they could become landlords themselves? Just imagining it made the eyes of countless soldiers on the ship turn red.

Everyone joins the army for money, so their wives and children can live a comfortable life! Now, the opportunity to risk their lives for wealth and status has arrived! Anyone who dares to stop them, I will take their life! No one is allowed! This is the sentiment of countless soldiers on the ship at this moment.

"And I ask you all, are you willing to follow me and conquer the world with your sword!" Zhu Zhanhe could feel the fervent energy of the countless soldiers on the ship, so he shouted again. His captivating voice once again reached everyone's ears, instantly awakening countless people who were lost in their fantasies.

"Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"

Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!
Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!
The soldiers' resounding shouts of excitement revealed their burning passion. Even the sun, under the impact of this fervent energy, slowly hid behind the clouds. At this moment, whoever gave them land would be their leader.

(End of this chapter)