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

Chapter 275 Progress of the Annamese Armed Forces
"Uh~?" Faced with his father-in-law's sudden praise, and such a frank one at that, Zhu Zhanhe was a little incredulous. He thought to himself: Has my father-in-law taken the wrong medicine today? How could he say such a thing to praise me?

It's important to understand that Xia Yuanji's words were essentially tantamount to him acknowledging Zhu Zhanhe's right to become emperor! Xia Yuanji had long harbored resentment towards his son-in-law's actions, which amounted to rebellion. Although his father-in-law had never said anything, Zhu Zhanhe could sense his father-in-law's disapproval, but for various reasons, he hadn't voiced it. But now, his father-in-law's sudden praise caught Zhu Zhanhe somewhat off guard.

"Your subject takes his leave!" Before Zhu Zhanhe could say anything more to his father-in-law, Xia Yuanji bowed to Zhu Zhanhe and then turned and left the study in Cunxin Hall.

"Xiao Xizi, tell your uncle to get ready. I'll let the alligator out by tomorrow at the latest, so Xiao Hu and the others can get to know it beforehand." Watching his father-in-law walk away, Zhu Zhanhe's mind raced, and he began planning his next actions in Yunnan. To prevent the two new dragon handlers from being frightened by the alligator, and also to let it get some fresh air and observe its recent growth, Zhu Zhanhe decided to let the alligator out for a stroll ahead of time.

"Yes, sir." Xiao Xizi was overjoyed when he heard that the alligator dragon was going to be released again. After all, he hadn't seen the alligator dragon for a long time, so he agreed without hesitation.

"Have you scouted out the route for the alligator dragon to enter the sea?" Zhu Zhanhe asked after arranging for the alligator dragon to leave its body. After all, the existence of the alligator dragon was definitely a huge killing move. It was necessary to release the alligator dragon unexpectedly to make the effect even more shocking. Therefore, Zhu Zhanhe felt that it was still necessary to conceal the alligator dragon in advance.

"Your Highness," Xiao Xizi replied, "although Yunnan also has rivers that flow directly to the sea, they run straight to Myanmar, completely opposite to the direction of Annam, which we are currently developing. Therefore, I believe the most suitable route is for Tuolong to first go with the army, and then for the army to go to the navy. This way, the morale of both the army and navy will be greatly boosted." Xiao Xizi had clearly done her homework and answered Zhu Zhanhe's question very clearly.

"Oh? That makes sense. This is good. Let Tuolong join the navy, which will put some pressure on the army and ensure the safety of his entourage. Let's settle on this." Zhu Zhanhe originally planned to send the various officials stationed in Annam in two groups to take up their posts, but the current situation made him realize that sending one group was the most reasonable and appropriate option.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanhe readily accepted Xiao Xizi's suggestion. After all, he couldn't let his personal preferences or unrealistic ideas contradict the actual situation; such a precedent couldn't be set! Of course, Zhu Zhanhe's change of mind was predicated on neither of the two groups having yet set off. If the two groups had already departed, even if Zhu Zhanhe knew he was wrong, he would absolutely not change his mind. This is the mindset of someone in a position of power.

"Send someone to inform General Liu and the Taoist temple that the route to Annam has changed, and ask everyone to replan their itinerary." Zhu Zhanhe instructed Xiao Xizi to quickly notify all personnel about the temporary change in the itinerary to avoid any further unexpected changes at the time of departure.

"Yes," Xiao Xizi replied respectfully upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words. Seeing that the Crown Prince hadn't assigned any other tasks, Xiao Xizi seized the opportunity to quickly go out and deliver the orders.

time flies.

That day, Zhu Zhanhe had separated the alligator dragon from his body and had his uncle lead two new dragon tamers in acclimatization training. It must be said that since the alligator dragon merged with Zhu Zhanhe, its growth rate was truly rapid. This time, the alligator dragon's measurements showed it was over ten zhang and three chi long. That's a super-long body exceeding thirty meters! Even when lying down, the alligator dragon was far taller than Zhu Zhanhe, who was two meters tall. The alligator dragon's appearance terrified the two new dragon tamers so much they wet themselves. And right now, the alligator dragon was still frolicking in Kunming Lake.

Zhu Zhanhe subconsciously touched his glasses, only to realize that he wasn't wearing them today. At that moment, Zhu Zhanhe was listening to Liu Erniu report on the recent progress of the expansion in Annam.

"Your Highness, on the ground, the three prefectures of Anzhou, Ninghua, and Sanjiang in Annam have been captured by our army, and the progress is smooth. Moreover, according to Your Highness's strategy, the morale of our Yunnan army is high, and with the addition of two hundred interpreters by General Huang Zhong to spread propaganda, the auxiliary troops recruited in Annam are fighting very hard, and our casualties are not great, and all of them are registered."

On the naval front, they have already captured Shenghua Prefecture, a coastal city in Annam. However, due to a shortage of naval interpreters, the incorporation of foreign auxiliary troops has been somewhat slow, but the situation in Shenghua Prefecture has been stabilized. Liu Erniu briefly reported on the progress of the Yunnan Expeditionary Army. Zhu Zhanhe was satisfied with the progress of both the army and navy and immediately gave the latest instructions. "Reply to both armies. First, the documents regarding land distribution will arrive along with the officials dispatched to each prefecture. Instruct both armies to conduct propaganda work within their ranks and in the occupied prefectures. Also, any problems must be reported promptly."

Secondly, the navy should expedite the recruitment of interpreters, and the army should select some interpreters to be dispatched to the navy to support its work.

Thirdly, some local lawless gentry were purged, and grain was collected locally as much as possible, which would reduce some trouble for the later land allocation work.

Fourth, we must reduce unnecessary casualties among civilians of other ethnic groups, and we should also cherish the auxiliary soldiers of other ethnic groups, as we will need a lot of people for later construction.

Fifthly, after hearing Liu Erniu's report, Zhu Zhanhe immediately gave some requirements for the two armies. However, Zhu Zhanhe did not urge the army and navy to speed up the occupation of land. After all, he was not in a hurry at all, because once the land distribution policy was implemented, countless people would be even more anxious than he, the crown prince!

After all, that's real land!

"Yes." Liu Erniu carefully noted down Zhu Zhanhe's words and quickly turned around to arrange the work.

"Your Highness, Lord Xia has arrived." No sooner had Liu Erniu left than a eunuch announced Xia Yuanji's arrival.

"Summon him!" Zhu Zhanhe took a sip of tea and immediately beckoned his father-in-law in. As soon as he finished speaking, his father-in-law walked in carrying a thick stack of papers.

After "Your Highness" entered, Xia Yuanji saw his son-in-law without glasses. Xia Yuanji was a little uncomfortable at first, but he was only slightly surprised and quickly recovered, and greeted Zhu Zhanhe very politely.

"Father-in-law, please don't stand on ceremony. Please have a seat." Zhu Zhanhe noticed his father-in-law's severe dark circles and guessed that he had probably been very busy lately and hadn't been sleeping well. So he quickly asked Xiao Xizi to bring a stool. However, Zhu Zhanhe also knew that he wasn't wearing his glasses, which made everyone a little uncomfortable, so he didn't pay attention to his father-in-law's strange look and pretended not to see it.

In fact, ever since the alligator dragon separated from his body yesterday, Zhu Zhanhe found his vision was impaired after putting on his glasses, so he had to obediently go without them. The Crown Princess even remarked that he looked much cooler without glasses! Besides, the alligator dragon is currently playing and getting used to the water with the two young dragon handlers, and it hasn't quite merged yet. However, Zhu Zhanhe believes that for now, the alligator dragon is mostly being fed or having its scales wiped with a rag!

"Thank you, Your Highness." Xia Yuanji shook his slightly tired head, no longer dwelling on whether his son-in-law wore glasses or not, after all, he had many important matters to attend to. So, without any hesitation, he plopped down on the stool that Xiao Xizi had brought over. He had indeed been quite exhausted these past two days, after all, he was not young anymore.

(End of this chapter)