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

Chapter 251: A Century of Leasing Guangdong and Guangxi!
"Why is Grand Secretary Yang not in Beijing enjoying good fortune and presiding over His Highness the Crown Prince's enthronement ceremony, but instead has time to come to this poor and remote rural area of ​​Guangdong and Guangxi?" Zhu Zhanhe continued to ask Yang Shiqi the question he already knew the answer to. At the same time, he also clearly told Yang Shiqi that not only Guangxi, but also Guangdong would be conquered by the Crown Prince in the future!
"Uh..." Yang Shiqi frowned, speechless for a moment, as Zhu Zhanhe repeatedly emphasized that the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi already belonged to the Prince of Han's residence. After his lips twitched for a long time, Yang Shiqi finally continued to speak to Zhu Zhanhe.

"Your Highness, this matter was indeed caused by the court's lack of rigor. I wonder if Your Highness could give the court another chance to make amends?"

"This time, I..." Yang Shiqi knew that the court had indeed acted unfairly in this incident, and he also knew that the possibility of getting the Han prince to withdraw his troops just by talking was very low. However, he still wanted to try again, and he was even prepared for the court to pay some price again.

"Grand Secretary Yang, our army has already completely occupied Guangxi. There is no need for you to mention the matter of retreating again!"
"Let's talk about something else!" Zhu Zhanhe interrupted Yang Shiqi's preparations, clearly telling him that he shouldn't even think about making him withdraw his troops, and that they should discuss other matters.

"Your Highness, please speak!" For some reason, Yang Shiqi was suddenly interrupted by Zhu Zhanhe. Faced with Zhu Zhanhe's sudden change of topic, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Someone come here!" Zhu Zhanhe didn't continue talking to Yang Shiqi, but simply waved his hand. Immediately, Xiao Xizi led a group of eunuchs in neatly.

Xiao Xizi didn't rest after entering the room. He immediately led the eunuchs to get busy. Some put down stools, some put down chairs, some put down writing brushes and ink, and some put down teacups. In no time, a small desk with a table, chairs, and writing brushes and ink appeared in front of Yang Shiqi.

After everything was arranged, Xiao Xizi stood respectfully to the side, holding a plate covered with a yellow silk cloth, and served them.

"Your Highness, what is this...?" Yang Shiqi stared blankly at the small desk in front of him, then looked at Xiao Xizi carrying a plate beside him. He was puzzled and wondered what the Crown Prince of Han was up to. Of course, he was even more curious about what was on Xiao Xizi's plate. He was filled with confusion.

In fact, not only Yang Shiqi was dumbfounded, but even the generals of the Yunnan army and navy were also stunned, not knowing what their prince was doing. But everyone just watched quietly, and no one said a word.

"Please sit down, Grand Secretary Yang!" Before Yang Shiqi could react, Zhu Zhanhe slowly got up, came to Yang Shiqi, pressed him into a chair, and made him sit at the makeshift desk.

"Second brother!" Then, before Yang Shiqi, who looked puzzled, could ask, Zhu Zhanhe suddenly turned around and called his second brother, Zhu Zhanqi, over.

"Big Brother!" Although he didn't know why his older brother had suddenly called him, Zhu Zhanqi still walked over quickly and stood respectfully behind his older brother.

"Show the contents of the plate to Grand Secretary Yang," Zhu Zhanhe whispered to his second brother.

"Yes!" Even though he didn't know what his elder brother wanted him to get, Zhu Zhanqi still respectfully agreed. He walked a few steps to Xiao Xizi, gently lifted the yellow cloth covering the plate, and saw a piece of clean white paper about a foot long inside, with many words written on it. But Zhu Zhanqi didn't look at it carefully. He simply picked up the paper with both hands and slowly placed it in front of Yang Shiqi, who was sitting at the desk.

"Grand Secretary Yang, please." After putting down the paper, Zhu Zhanqi respectfully said this to Yang Shiqi, and then obediently stood behind his elder brother again.

"What is this?" Yang Shiqi looked at the paper with a few lines of writing on it in front of him. He didn't read the contents carefully. Instead, he looked up at Zhu Zhanhe with a surprised expression and a questioning look on his face.

"Grand Secretary Yang, please read carefully before asking any questions!" Zhu Zhanhe ignored Yang Shiqi's curious gaze and solemnly told Yang Shiqi to carefully read the contents of the paper before discussing other matters.

"Good!" Yang Shiqi was also quite surprised. What was the Crown Prince of Han trying to do by making such a fuss? At the same time, Yang Shiqi's unease was gradually intensifying. "Bang!~" Yang Shiqi had just glanced down at the cloth and paper on the table when he slammed his hand on the table and stood up angrily, staring at Zhu Zhanhe with eyes full of anger. At this moment, even the ink on the desk was jumping, which showed how angry Yang Shiqi was.

"Your Highness! How dare you!"
"Are you crazy?!" Yang Shiqi pointed his finger at Zhu Zhanhe's nose, his eyes blazing with fury!

"Yang Shiqi, how dare you!"

"Is this a place where you dare to act so presumptuously?"

"How dare you!" In an instant, faced with Yang Shiqi's sudden and disrespectful act towards the Crown Prince of Han, the numerous army and naval commanders in the room rose to their feet, swords at their waists, glaring at Yang Shiqi, almost ready to chop him down. Of course, they were waiting for Zhu Zhanhe's order; as soon as Zhu Zhanhe gave the command, they would draw their swords and kill Yang Shiqi!
"Has Grand Secretary Yang finished reading?" Zhu Zhanhe was not angry at Yang Shiqi's rudeness. Instead, he raised his hand to stop the group of angry generals, and then turned to ask Yang Shiqi if he had finished reading the contents of the paper.

Despite Zhu Zhanhe's gesture to stop the generals from making any violent moves, Yang Shiqi showed no gratitude, continuing to glare angrily at Zhu Zhanhe. The generals, however, rested their hands on their sword hilts, squinting at Yang Shiqi as they slowly sat back down. But the kindness in their eyes was gone.

"Your Highness, what exactly do you want to achieve with this agreement?!" Yang Shiqi held the cloth in his hand, his hands trembling, and carefully read through the agreement. Then, with eyes full of fear, anger, and resentment, he loudly questioned Zhu Zhanhe.

"Didn't Grand Secretary Yang understand?" Zhu Zhanhe ignored Yang Shiqi's anger. What he wanted was the land of Guangdong and Guangxi, not to be swayed by anyone's emotions.

"Then let me explain this in detail to Grand Secretary Yang!"
This agreement states that the imperial court voluntarily leases the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi to my Prince Han's residence as his fiefdom to make up for the imperial court's mistakes!

Apart from the fact that the imperial court can still appoint and dismiss officials in Guangdong and Guangxi, everything else in Guangdong and Guangxi, including military affairs, people's livelihood, taxation and other matters, shall be under the jurisdiction of my Han Prince's Mansion and shall belong entirely to my Han Prince's Mansion!
The lease term is one hundred years! The annual lease fee is one hundred thousand taels of silver, to be paid to the imperial court on a regular basis!

If the imperial court wants to terminate the lease agreement early, in addition to delivering a brand-new ocean-going fleet of three hundred ships to the Han Prince's Mansion, it also needs to pay the Han Prince's Mansion fifty ocean-going treasure ships every year during the lease period!
"Is what I'm saying clear, Grand Secretary Yang?" Zhu Zhanhe smiled and lowered his head, placing his hands on the table, his eyes full of mockery as he spoke to Yang Shiqi.

Little did they know that the moment Zhu Zhanhe uttered these words, the entire Guangxi Provincial Administration Office fell into complete silence! Everyone stared blankly at Zhu Zhanhe, only now realizing that the Crown Prince of Han actually wanted to sign an agreement with the imperial court to lease the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi!
But is this really a lease? What kind of state leases land belonging to two provincial administrations? What kind of lease is for a hundred years? And with an annual lease fee of 100,000 taels? And terminating the agreement early would mean compensating for such a large fleet? How could the imperial court possibly agree to this? This is blatant robbery of the imperial court!
"Does Your Highness think I would agree?" Yang Shiqi suppressed his rage, raised his head and stared directly at Zhu Zhanhe, who was wearing glasses, and said through gritted teeth, his voice as ferocious as a madman about to devour someone.

"I think Grand Secretary Yang will seriously consider it!" Zhu Zhanhe responded to Yang Shiqi's question with a serious expression.

Zhu Zhanhe's words sent a shiver down Yang Shiqi's spine, whose face was contorted with rage. In an instant, faced with the Han prince's calm words, Yang Shiqi felt a chill run through his body, and his heart sank to the bottom.

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness?" Yang Shiqi asked, his heart trembling, as his bad premonition grew stronger.

(End of this chapter)