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

Chapter 258 Soldiers More Passionate Than the Scorching Sun

"Is this matter difficult?" Zhu Zhanhe knew that conducting a thorough investigation of the entire army would be quite challenging. After all, ancient times were not like modern times, where various advanced tools could be used as aids. In ancient times, only manual verification could be carried out, which was indeed very troublesome.

"Fortunately, His Highness had already conducted a census of soldiers and compiled a list of names before the expedition. However, the number of people is quite large, and a full review of this matter will require the full cooperation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard." Xia Xuan thought for a moment, knowing that this matter would be quite difficult. Then, Xia Xuan glanced at Jiang Xiaohu, the part-time commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had been specially left behind, and then said with a serious expression.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will fully cooperate!" Upon hearing Xia Xuan's words, Jiang Xiaohu bowed to Zhu Zhanhe without hesitation and agreed. In fact, Jiang Xiaohu had already guessed his mission from the moment Zhu Zhanhe began to mention this matter, so he remained calm and responded with a nonchalant expression.

"Your Highness, we may be a bit short-handed. Although I have some men, there aren't many literate ones among my brothers." After a moment's thought, Jiang Xiaohu finally spoke with a troubled expression, saying that there was a shortage of manpower.

"It's alright. This time, His Highness sent over two hundred scholars from Jinan. I will allocate some to the Navy and Army. You should all make the most of them." Zhu Zhanhe knew that this kind of army-wide census required a large number of literate people, which was precisely where the army was currently facing the greatest shortage. Therefore, Zhu Zhanhe had no choice but to make use of the scholars his father had just sent. Distributing some of these scholars to the Navy and Army would not only replenish the grassroots forces in the army but also serve as an initial step in cultivating his own core strength.

"Yes!" Upon hearing that scholars would be assigned to both the army and navy, Xia Xuan and Jiang Xiaohu's eyes immediately lit up. After all, scholars were highly valued in the military! Therefore, the two were quite satisfied. At least with the cooperation of some scholars, their work could proceed more quickly.

"After the personnel are replenished."

"This time, I'll leave the naval investigation to my brother-in-law." Zhu Zhanhe entrusted the task of investigating the naval personnel to his brother-in-law, Xia Xuan.

"Yes, ma'am!" Xia Xuan agreed without hesitation. He knew the importance of this matter and readily agreed. After all, he was the future maternal uncle of the eldest grandson of the Wang family. Protecting the interests of the eldest grandson of the Wang family was protecting the interests of the Xia family!

"General Jiang, I'm entrusting this task of investigating the army to you." Zhu Zhanhe handed over the task of investigating the army to Jiang Xiaohu.

"This subordinate obeys!" Jiang Xiaohu was taken aback. After talking for so long, he thought the Crown Prince of Han would assign this important task to the Second Prince Zhu Zhanqi, with him as his deputy. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince of Han directly entrusted the task to him. But he did not hesitate and happily agreed.

"Second brother, you must follow the generals in the army and learn from them well." Zhu Zhanhe looked at his second brother, who looked somewhat depressed, stood up, patted his shoulder, and encouraged him meaningfully, as if he were grooming his second brother to become an army commander in the future. Sure enough, Zhu Zhanqi was very pleased with Zhu Zhanhe's move.

"Don't worry, brother, Zhanqi will definitely learn diligently from all the generals and will not let you down." Zhu Zhanqi had originally thought his elder brother would assign him the task of investigating and clearing out the army, but now that his job had been taken away, he was somewhat disappointed. However, his elder brother's sudden encouragement made Zhu Zhanqi as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood. After all, his elder brother's words seemed to make Zhu Zhanqi see himself leading thousands of troops across the battlefield, and it seemed as if he could already see a fiefdom no smaller than Yunnan beckoning to him!

Early the next morning, Zhu Zhanhe personally led the Yunnan army and navy to officially withdraw from Guilin.

At this moment, the officials of the Guangxi Provincial Administration Commission looked at Zhu Zhanhe with a strange, burning excitement in their eyes, their eager expressions practically leaping off their tongues. Furthermore, Zhu Zhanhe clearly sensed a significant shift in the attitude of the Guangxi officials towards him today.

Zhu Zhanhe knew in his heart that this was definitely caused by Xiao Xizi and his group telling the Guangxi officials about the expedition to Annam and the land distribution. Zhu Zhanhe could imagine the shock and astonishment the Guangxi officials felt when they learned that land was to be distributed.

At this moment, Zhu Zhanhe believed that as long as he occupied the new land and completed the first land division, then in the future, not only Yunnan, but also people from Guangdong and Guangxi, and even more distant places such as Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, and Sichuan, would definitely come to him with their families despite the hardships! "Gentlemen, this time, I will return with the army, and after passing through Jiaozhi, I will return to Yunnan."

"I hope all my ministers will work together with one heart and one mind to achieve a bright future!" Zhu Zhanhe, riding on his tall horse, glanced at the officials in Guangxi, then turned to the generals in Yunnan and said. He was clearly telling everyone that if they followed him and worked hard, no one would be left without land in the future!
"We will certainly live up to Your Highness's expectations!" The generals, along with the officials from Guangxi, all bowed to Zhu Zhanhe.

Then, Zhu Zhanhe rode at the forefront, leading the group towards the outskirts of Guilin City.

"Your Highness, may you live a thousand years! May you live a thousand years! May you live a thousand thousand years!"

"Your Highness, may you live a thousand years! May you live a thousand years! May you live a thousand thousand years!"

"Your Highness, long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Crown Prince!" Zhu Zhanhe had just led the way to the outskirts of Guilin when he saw countless soldiers neatly arranged in square formations, standing like statues on the open ground outside the city. When they saw Zhu Zhanhe appear at the city gate, the soldiers greeted him with thunderous shouts. This enthusiastic scene left the officials from Yunnan and Guangxi momentarily stunned.

The officials in Guangxi, in particular, had never imagined that the Crown Prince of Han would wield such terrifying prestige within the army! They had initially assumed that the Crown Prince was merely relying on the prestige of the Prince of Han to command an army of over 100,000. But reality had shown them that the Crown Prince led the army based on his own strength!
Given the current situation, the officials in Guangxi couldn't help but seriously doubt that even if the Crown Prince Zhu Zhanhe ordered the soldiers in front of him to rebel and lead everyone to attack Beijing, the soldiers would probably not hesitate to draw their swords and follow him!

"Wealth and honor are within reach! Gentlemen, may you triumph!" Looking at the soldiers before him, their faces burning brighter than the sun, Zhu Zhanhe stood tall and proud on his horse, raising his arm and shouting to them. Instantly, Zhu Zhanhe's deafening, dragon-like voice drowned out the shouts of the countless soldiers before him! It echoed in the ears of everyone present!

Zhu Zhanhe's dragon roar made the Guangxi officials, who had never seen the world before, stare in horror at the burly Han prince on horseback, speechless with shock!
The officers in Yunnan, however, stared at Zhu Zhanhe with eyes full of admiration, their excitement overflowing. No one felt sad or panicked because the person they were loyal to was a super strong person!

Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's voice, the soldiers who had received a response were filled with even greater excitement and emotion! Of course, this might also be due to their excitement at seeing the land they were about to acquire. In any case, the soldiers' emotions became even more intense and fervent.

"Your Highness, may you live a thousand years! May you live a thousand years! May you live a thousand thousand years!"

"Your Highness, may you live a thousand years! May you live a thousand years! May you live a thousand thousand years!"

"Your Highness, long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Crown Prince!" Looking at the soldiers before him, whose morale was even higher, Zhu Zhanhe knew that his generals must have informed them of the expedition to expand their territory yesterday or early this morning. That was why the soldiers, about to embark on their journey, were so excited.

Land is the best morale of an army; there is no more persuasive military mobilization force in the world than land! Zhu Zhanhe said to himself.

"Let's go!" After the overwhelming roar of the soldiers, Zhu Zhanhe didn't waste any more words. He drew his long sword, pointed it diagonally to the sky, and used the sound of a dragon's roar to tell everyone that the troops should be dispatched immediately!
(End of this chapter)