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

Chapter 261 So-called Benevolence

"I am willing to sign a pledge!"

"Within a month, I will surely present Your Highness with no less than two hundred interpreters!" Seeing such a great opportunity right in front of him, and it was in his most proficient field of translation, Huang Zhong, the interpreter, became excited. He knelt on the ground, trembling, and immediately raised his right hand to Zhu Zhanhe, making a solemn pledge.

"Good, you have backbone! I await your good news!"
If you really succeed, then come find the generals behind me, and they will take care of you! Go down." Zhu Zhanhe looked at Huang Zhong, who was full of enthusiasm and had even made a pledge, and couldn't help but chuckle. He glanced at Xiao Xizi behind him and then waved Huang Zhong down.

"I take my leave," Huang Zhong said, suppressing his excitement, and slowly withdrew from the main hall.

"Xiao Xizi, are you really willing to give up your position as the naval commander?" After Huang Zhong stepped back, Zhu Zhanhe glanced at Xiao Xizi, who was standing respectfully behind him, and asked.

"Your Highness, this servant is better suited to serve by your side!" Xiao Xizi's eyes dimmed slightly upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's question, but he ultimately uttered the words quietly. In truth, through this naval expedition to Guangdong and Guangxi, Xiao Xizi had realized he was simply not cut out for management. Therefore, when the two armies parted ways, he decisively relinquished his position as naval commander and returned to Zhu Zhanhe's side, resuming his familiar role as a palace attendant.

“I respect your opinion.” Zhu Zhanhe had noticed Xiao Xizi’s predicament with management while on the ship, but he still chose to let Xiao Xizi decide for himself. Xiao Xizi was indeed a decisive person. After realizing that he was not good at management, he immediately and decisively gave up the management of the ocean-going fleet. Zhu Zhanhe patted Xiao Xizi on the shoulder to encourage him.

"Set out the meal, summon all the generals!" Looking at the sky outside, Zhu Zhanhe noticed the sun was already setting. He patted his stomach and stopped worrying about Xiao Xizi leaving the navy to become a eunuch. He then instructed Xiao Xizi to set out the meal. After all, a eunuch didn't need exceptional abilities; loyalty was all that mattered!
"Yes!" Xiao Xizi readily agreed.

Soon, a large number of army soldiers gathered together, and soldiers brought out food one after another.

"Your Highness."

"Your Highness."

"Your Highness."

"Alright, alright, everyone, no need to be so polite. Let's eat. While we eat, I'll say a few words." Seeing the generals arriving one after another greeting him, Zhu Zhanhe quickly waved his hand, gesturing for everyone to sit down and talk.

The generals were speechless for a moment, and could only obediently sit down one by one. After all, they knew that when the Crown Prince was not angry, he was very kind to everyone and had no airs at all. Therefore, everyone was quite relaxed when the Crown Prince was in a good mood. For example, right now, after everyone sat down, they picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.

"The situation in Guangdong and Guangxi is progressing very smoothly. As long as Yunnan continues to maintain its current strong military momentum, there will be no problem in Guangdong and Guangxi." Zhu Zhanhe took a sip of wine and first summarized the situation in Guangdong and Guangxi.

At this moment, the generals who were eating and drinking put down their bowls and chopsticks and began to stare at Zhu Zhanhe as he spoke. Everyone who knew Zhu Zhanhe remained silent, knowing that His Highness had not yet gotten to the important issue!

"Right now, we have taken over the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Office, and we will take over the other parts of Annam little by little."

Don't rush, don't panic, and coordinate well with the navy.

"No, let the navy take over a few prefectures along the coast, just to give them some practice," Zhu Zhanhe said to Hu Tian. He knew that Annam's terrain was like a giant axe, top-heavy, with only Jiaozhi (northern Vietnam) being relatively large; the rest were just prefectures. Therefore, Zhu Zhanhe thought of letting the navy try their hand at it.

"Your subordinate obeys. I will pass the information on to Commander Wang and Commander Xia shortly." Hu Tian had no objection to Zhu Zhanhe's arrangement. After all, their army had already taken the lion's share from Annam, so giving the navy a little something was good; they couldn't appear stingy! After all, they would be brothers with the navy in the future!

"At the same time, every time we recapture a city in Nan'an, we incorporate the city's garrison into our army and have them all participate in the subsequent attack and defense."

Those who survived should be registered so they can get a share when the land is distributed later! Zhu Zhanhe decided to have the army occupy the land while the local people also take over. "Is Your Highness planning to use this as an excuse to achieve your goals?" Qian Zhongcai, not being very bright, couldn't quite grasp the deeper reasons, so he asked directly.

"My brother's idea is to make the recruited people our main force for attacking the city. Those who survive the battle will be allocated land just like our soldiers, and those who die will be left alone. In this way, through word of mouth, our army will definitely be able to win without fighting!"

This not only reduced our soldiers' casualties but also won the hearts of the local people! After frowning and thinking for a while, Zhu Zhanqi immediately thought of the key issue.

"Second brother is right! Therefore, when we expand our territory in the future, we will incorporate many foreign tribes into our army and make them serve us. We, the people of the Great Ming, are meant to conquer all races; how can we die in foreign lands in vain?"

Our people have land allocated to them, and those who are alive also have land allocated to them.

"I hope that in the future, every soldier of my Great Ming Dynasty will be a general, leading countless foreign tribes to fight for us!" Zhu Zhanhe started making empty promises to everyone again, but everyone thought these promises were very well made! At this moment, the generals' eyes were blazing with anger as they looked at Zhu Zhanhe.

"Your Highness, will our army's combat effectiveness decline over time?" Qian Zhongcai's thinking was indeed different from others. While others saw the huge benefits, he saw the side effects of using too many alien legions, which might reduce the combat effectiveness of his own army.

"No, Lao Qian, what are you thinking?" Hu Tian muttered irritably at Qian Zhongcai for asking such a somewhat exasperating question.

"Did I say something wrong?" Qian Zhongcai clearly hadn't realized where he went wrong.

"Old Qian, let me ask you, now that you command the entire Three Thousand Battalion, do you personally go into battle to fight the enemy?" Hu Tian rolled his eyes and asked Qian Zhongcai irritably.

"Of course, I, Lao Qian, have always been at the forefront." When it came to being at the forefront, Qian Zhongcai thumped his chest loudly, without the slightest hesitation, full of pride.

"That settles it. You're a general commanding a large army now, and you'll still be leading troops into battle. When the time comes, our brothers, each leading a foreign tribe as a squad leader or platoon leader, won't they also have to be at the forefront? Otherwise, what's the point of having soldiers?" Hu Tian's words hit the nail on the head. In the future, the recruited foreign soldiers would all be frontline soldiers under the Ming army!
"That makes sense!" After Hu Tian's explanation, Qian Zhongcai understood and nodded involuntarily. His simple and honest appearance made everyone in the room burst into laughter, and Qian Zhongcai's chubby face immediately turned a little red and shy.

"Let me be frank with you all, we will be opening up even wider territories in the future. Each of you will become a commander leading your own army."

We cannot remain confined to Yunnan forever; after all, it was part of the Ming Dynasty, not our own territory. The same applies to Guangdong and Guangxi!
Where are we?

Look at this geomantic map; an infinitely vast land awaits our conquest!

In the future, I hope that every place on this geomantic map will have our people.

And they could have dozens of acres of land, dozens of servants, several wives, and a bunch of children in every place on this geomantic map, and they could live a good life.

"And we will be the owners and rulers of this new land!" Zhu Zhanhe calmly proclaimed his nationalist theory and his future plans. His words received enthusiastic unanimous approval from the generals present.

"Your Highness is merciful!" Everyone present stared eagerly at Zhu Zhanhe, their eyes also fixed on the magnificent geomantic map. The vast expanse of land looked so alluring! So benevolent!
Yes, the land is the greatest benevolence!

(End of this chapter)