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

Chapter 250 Yang Shiqi Arrives

"I hope General Hu will keep his word. I will keep an eye on you!" In response to Hu Tian's assurance, Wang You, the provincial governor, said to Hu Tian with a serious expression.

Upon hearing this, the Left Provincial Governor looked at his colleague with a look of shock. He naturally understood what his colleague meant.

"Lord Wang," the Left Provincial Governor, instantly understood his colleague's meaning. He looked at his colleague in shock, momentarily speechless. The Right Provincial Governor's words were a clear message to Hu Tian: he was willing to remain as a hostage in the Yunnan army, only asking that General Hu Tian refrain from killing the people of Guangxi!
“Lord Ji, the Commander-in-Chief is a bit impulsive and speaks bluntly. You must be more tolerant! We cannot fail the Emperor's grace, but there are millions of people in Guangxi!” The Right Provincial Governor knew how proud and stubborn his colleague was. But circumstances were beyond his control; preserving the people was the most important thing in the current situation! Therefore, he decisively chose to stay with the army in Yunnan.

"Brother Wang, I have remembered this!" Looking at the Right Provincial Governor Wang, who was willing to become a prisoner in the enemy camp for the sake of the people, the Left Provincial Governor Ji bowed deeply to him.

"Someone, escort Lord Ji out of the camp!" Seeing that the matter was basically settled, Hu Tian did not hesitate to arrange for someone to escort the Left Provincial Governor Ji out of the camp.

"Lord Wang, let's go into the city!" After watching Governor Ji Zuo leave, Hu Tian turned to Governor Wang Zuo and said.

"General Hu, you are too kind. My name is Wang Shiyong, courtesy name Tianbao. You may address me as Mr. Tianbao," said Wang, the Right Provincial Governor, with a smile. To be honest, although the two sides were hostile forces, Wang Shiyong had a good impression of Hu Tian. At least he greatly admired Hu Tian's upright and somewhat benevolent character.

"Second Prince!" Hu Tian had a horse brought for Wang Shiyong to ride, and they headed into the city together. He also specifically summoned Zhu Zhanqi to accompany him. After all, although this young man had come to the army to study, he was still the Crown Prince's younger brother, and this status was very useful in a situation involving accepting surrender!
"General Hu!" Upon hearing Hu Tian address him as Your Highness, Zhu Zhanqi knew that something required his presence as a prince, so he quickly got into the mood and rode over on his horse.

"Lord Wang is willing to accompany us into the city. Please lead the team, Your Highness!" Hu Tian was telling Zhu Zhanqi that with a high-ranking official from the other side accompanying them on the second attempt to persuade the city to surrender, they could enter the city to take over the territory.

"Lord Wang, General Hu, please!" Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhanqi immediately spurred his horse to the front of the group, while calling for the people behind to follow.

"Please inform my elder brother of this news, General Jiang!" After riding a few steps, Zhu Zhanqi suddenly remembered that he should tell his elder brother the good news, so he turned around and said it again.

"Your Highness is quite right, this subordinate will make the arrangements immediately." Jiang Xiaohu said this, but made no move, only offering a simple reply. Only after the entire army had completely entered the city did Jiang Xiaohu wave his hand, and soldiers quickly rode off.

"Send two squads of soldiers to inform Qingyuan and the various prefectures of Sicheng to open the city gates and surrender. Their commanders should immediately go to Guilin Prefecture to pay their respects to His Highness the Crown Prince! Do not say we did not warn you!" After entering Zhen'an Prefecture, Hu Tian did not hesitate at all and directly sent someone to deliver a message to the other prefectures in Guangxi, telling them to surrender quickly and not to make us beat them up!

"General Hu, I would like to write a few letters, but I beg you not to resort to violence!" Upon hearing Hu Tian's words, Wang Shiyong trembled involuntarily and quickly stood up to say this to Hu Tian. Wang Shiyong was genuinely worried that Hu Tian would unleash a massacre.

"Then thank you very much, Lord Wang." Hu Tian was very satisfied with Wang Shiyong's tact and praised him with a smile.

"No, no! General, you're too kind," Wang Shiyong quickly replied modestly.

Soon, several teams of fast horses rushed out of Zhen'an Prefecture and headed towards the surrounding prefectures and states.

Meanwhile, in Fangchenggang, Guangxi, Zhu Zhanhe's army had also completed its assembly. Watching the armored soldiers pouring down from the large ships, Yin Shi, the Guangxi Provincial Governor, was filled with despair, his brow furrowed.

Because he knew clearly that Guangxi had twelve prefectures and eight states, totaling twenty administrative regions, but the available military force in Guangxi was only tens of thousands, and they were scattered in various prefectures and states.

On average, each prefecture and state had fewer than 10,000 soldiers, and these were mainly infantry. How could they possibly withstand the Han crown prince's two armies, which consisted of cavalry, artillery, and infantry, totaling more than 100,000 men?

Furthermore, no one expected the Crown Prince of Han to come by sea, leading to insufficient preparation in several prefectures and states along the coast and inland. In addition, Zhu Zhanhe still had two high-ranking officials in the Guangxi Provincial Administration Commission. Therefore, the navy led by Zhu Zhanhe encountered no obstacles at all along the way and arrived at the Guangxi Provincial Administration Commission office—Guilin Prefecture—almost without any hindrance, taking only a few days as travel time.

Meanwhile, Hu Tian's land army swept through the enemy without hindrance, and in just over ten days, they joined forces with Zhu Zhanhe in Guilin Prefecture. Of course, Hu Tian did encounter a few stubborn enemies along the way who refused to admit defeat, but basically no one could withstand Hu Tian's attacks for even half a day before the city gates were breached and they surrendered without hesitation.

That day, Zhu Zhanhe was sitting in the provincial administration office in Guilin, drinking tea. After all, the process of occupying Guangxi had been remarkably simple. He was currently planning to join forces with Hu Tian and then directly send troops to occupy Guangdong.

"Your Highness, the Second Prince and General Hu Tian have arrived, and they've brought a guest with them." Zhu Zhanhe was pondering his strategy when Xiao Xizi suddenly came in to report.

"Oh? Our army has made great contributions in this battle. Let them in quickly." Upon hearing that his trusted general had arrived, Zhu Zhanhe put down his teacup and said with delight in his eyes.

"Your humble servants Hu Tian, ​​Qian Zhongcai, and Jiang Xiaohu pay their respects to Your Highness!"

"Your humble servants Zhu Zhanqi, Mu Lin, and Mu Bin pay their respects to Your Highness!" As soon as they entered the room, the army's main commanders knelt down to greet Zhu Zhanhe.

"Everyone, get up quickly! The army fought very well in this battle. I am very satisfied!" Zhu Zhanhe was very pleased with the army's performance and did not hold back his praise.

"Someone, bring seats!" Zhu Zhanhe said happily, gesturing for the group to sit down and talk.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Hearing Zhu Zhanhe's praise, the army generals beamed with smiles and cheerfully rose to their feet. After all, they had arrived in Guilin Prefecture several days later than the navy, and they had initially thought the Crown Prince would criticize them. Unexpectedly, they were praised by the Crown Prince, which made them slightly ashamed: it seemed they needed to work even harder in the future and not be outdone by the navy!
Just as the Yunnan Army generals sat down, someone else walked in and started speaking.

"Your humble servant Yang Shiqi greets Your Highness!" Zhu Zhanhe, who was initially delighted to see his army arrive, looked up upon hearing the voice and frowned in surprise upon discovering that the visitor was Yang Shiqi. At that moment, Yang Shiqi, who had just entered, was bowing respectfully to Zhu Zhanhe.

"Grand Secretary Yang, you're so busy with state affairs, what brings you to Guangxi? Is there something you need?!" Zhu Zhanhe was somewhat surprised to see Yang Shiqi, but not entirely unexpected. After all, he had already taken over Guangxi, so it was normal for the imperial court to send someone. However, he hadn't expected that the person sent by the imperial court this time would be Yang Shiqi himself.

However, even if Yang Shiqi came, Zhu Zhanhe would not be polite to him. He clearly told Yang Shiqi that Guangxi now belonged to his Han Prince's Mansion!

"Your Highness is surprised to see me?" Yang Shiqi didn't mind that the Crown Prince of Han didn't ask him to rise, and he stood up on his own, smiling as he spoke softly to Zhu Zhanhe.

"Of course it's not surprising, but I didn't expect that the person sent by the court this time would be Grand Secretary Yang again." Zhu Zhanhe wasn't afraid of that old fox Yang Shiqi and said with a face full of disdain.

"Someone, please give Minister Yang a seat and serve him tea!"

"We can't let people say that we don't entertain guests on my Han Prince's territory." Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand, and Xiao Xizi immediately went to make the arrangements.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Yang Shiqi was somewhat surprised by Zhu Zhanhe's courteous treatment. After all, given the circumstances of being repeatedly mocked by the court and now leading his army to occupy Guangdong and Guangxi, ordinary people would not have such a broad mind.

(End of this chapter)