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

Chapter 286 The Lively Training Ground

"General, you are truly awe-inspiring!" Upon hearing Hu Tian's words, Zhang Laodao was momentarily stunned, but he quickly realized that this must have been arranged by his student!

Originally, the old Taoist priest was still pondering how to deal with the original religious personnel in Annam, but he hadn't expected that his student had already arranged for the military to handle it all. The old Taoist knew that his adopted student, worried about him working so hard at his age, had arranged for it to be done in advance. However, the old Taoist wasn't against it. Nearly eighty years old, he understood perfectly well that any expansion requires sacrifice! The expansion of Taoism was no exception!

And since the students doing this would save the old man a lot of trouble, why wouldn't he be happy to do it? At worst, once the new temple was built, he could just add a few guardian spirit tablets for the sacrificed foreign Taoist priests; after all, it was just using the dead to appease the living. After a few years, if he didn't like them anymore, he could just find a reason to get rid of them! Therefore, Old Zhang accepted this outcome quite calmly.

"General Jiang, after the land distribution is announced tomorrow, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will be stationed in various locations!" Hu Tian was naturally aware of the Embroidered Uniform Guards sent this time. Although he wasn't entirely sure how many were dispatched or their specific work assignments, Hu Tian only needed to know that they existed; he didn't need to know too much. After all, Jiang Xiaohu, the commander of his Fifth Army Battalion, also held the concurrent position of Embroidered Uniform Guard commander.

Therefore, Hu Tian's arrangements regarding the Embroidered Uniform Guard were straightforward. Moreover, with the increase in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, their army's expansion would proceed much more rapidly. After all, in Hu Tian's view, intelligence was a crucial element in warfare.

Moreover, since His Highness the Crown Prince intends to thoroughly cleanse all parts of Annam, the role of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is naturally significant. Indeed, in Hu Tian's view, the Crown Prince's requirement for the army to eat during battle is precisely for the purpose of eliminating foreign forces! Hu Tian is naturally happy to accept this, after all, he stayed up all night reviewing the land distribution documents; enemy heads are the soldiers' actual land!

"This subordinate obeys!" Jiang Xiaohu did not hesitate to answer Hu Tian's words. After all, seeing that His Highness had actually brought the land allocation documents, it meant that they, these worthless soldiers and lackeys of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, were really going to become landlords in the future! Therefore, Jiang Xiaohu had no reason to refuse!

"Uncle, after the land distribution is announced tomorrow, I would appreciate it if you could boost the morale of the troops before setting off for the navy." After giving instructions to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Hu Tian approached Wei Jizhong and said respectfully.

"General Hu, you're too kind. Please make the necessary arrangements in advance." Wei Jizhong naturally knew what Hu Tian meant by boosting the morale of the troops. Therefore, Wei Jizhong did not refuse, because this was also one of his purposes in coming to the army!

Hu Tian's continued courteous treatment of Wei Jizhong made the civil officials' hearts tighten. These scholars might be a little slow to react, but they were definitely not fools! They had already guessed that this unassuming Uncle Wei must be a highly skilled person with special abilities to elicit such a respectful attitude from the army's commander-in-chief!
Compared to the ignorance of the scholars and officials, the old Taoist priest Zhang Zhengheng's reaction was much more intense.

"Thump!" Everyone heard a strange sound and turned to look. They saw that the old Taoist priest Zhang Zhengheng had suddenly stood up and was looking at Hu Tian and Wei Jizhong with a look of astonishment.

"Who are you planning to release from the army?!" Before anyone could speak, the old Taoist priest, as if he had seen a ghost, loudly questioned Hu Tian and Wei Jizhong.

"Yes, Immortal Master!" Hu Tian wasn't surprised by the old Taoist's astonishment. After all, what he and Uncle Wei had discussed did sound rather shocking. Moreover, Hu Tian knew what the old immortal was afraid of: the appearance of that person would cause chaos in the camp! This was also what Hu Tian was worried about. However, Hu Tian still chose to let the soldiers see for themselves.

After all, this would boost morale in the army and increase their sense of identification with the Crown Prince. Besides, since that person was going to the navy to participate in the battle, it wouldn't be illegal for the army to see him for themselves!
After all, the navy has the alligator dragon directly participating in the battle. Isn't that even more frightening than an army soldier seeing the alligator dragon? Hu Tian couldn't help but think to himself.

"Aren't you afraid of causing an uproar?" The old Taoist priest was flustered by his concern. But right after he said that, he suddenly realized that since Hu Tian and his group dared to make such arrangements, they must have a solution!
Hearing the old Taoist priest's words, the scholars and officials were even more bewildered. This seemingly honest and simple uncle could actually cause an uproar in the camp? Are you sure you're not joking? That's a camp riot! But then, seeing the expressions of the military commanders, especially Hu Tian's serious demeanor, the scholars realized that this uncle might really be able to cause a camp riot! What a terrifying existence! For a moment, the scholars looked at Uncle Wei with a sense of awe.

After all, these scholars knew that the power of a riot was far more terrifying than the defeat in a battle!
"Have you figured out a solution?" Hearing Hu Tian's words, the old Taoist priest felt somewhat more confident, but he still asked with some lingering concern. "It should be fine," Hu Tian replied, not daring to give a 100% guarantee, only saying he would do his best.

"That's good, that's good." After hearing Hu Tian's words, the old Taoist priest was slightly relieved, but still sat down slowly with some unease.

"Now that we've finished discussing the important matters..."

"Gentlemen, please drink up." Having finished the main business, Hu Tian picked up his wine bowl again, changed the subject, and toasted everyone.
Early the next morning, on the military training ground outside Anzhou City, numerous generals lined up in a neat square formation, surrounding the high platform in the center of the training ground.

In an area outside the training ground, all was deathly silent, not a bird could be heard, except for a series of deep and strange gurgling sounds that were deafening.
"Have you heard? His Highness the Crown Prince sent over the documents for allocating land!" Soldier A said.

"I heard that His Highness really is going to allocate land to us!" Soldier B said excitedly.

"I wonder how much we'll get?" Soldier C interjected nervously.

“Didn’t you say it was thirty acres?” Soldier Ding interjected.

“Forget thirty acres, I’ll do it even if it’s just ten acres!” another soldier chimed in.

“That’s right, Annam is so small, we can take it down before winter. And there’s Zhenla and Burma next to Annam. If we can really get ten acres of land from a small country, my life will belong to the Han prince. Maybe when I die, I can leave dozens of acres of land for my family!” Another more radical soldier also spoke up.

"Me too! If I'm well-fed, get paid, and even get land, I'd be willing to risk my life!"

"Me too!" On the vast training ground, nearly 100,000 soldiers formed a huge square formation, discussing the purpose of their gathering today and the possible distribution of land. The atmosphere was lively and bustling.

"quiet!
"Silence!" Suddenly, a messenger galloped in on horseback, repeatedly shouting for everyone to be quiet. Gradually, with the messenger's continued shouts, the crowd quieted down, and then countless eyes focused on the high platform in the center of the drill ground.

At this moment, the army generals led by Hu Tian, ​​the abbot's team led by the old Taoist priest, and the Annamese scholars and officials led by Yao Guan had all gathered on the high platform. Of course, the platform couldn't accommodate so many people, and many others had already waited below it.

"I'm sure you all are eager to know why I've gathered you all here today," Hu Tian said, holding a small megaphone as he addressed the assembled soldiers. As his voice rang out, the soldiers stared intently at him, all wanting to know if His Highness was truly going to distribute land to them.
(End of this chapter)