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

Chapter 300 The Prince of Han's Do-or-Die Approach
After the meal, Zhu Zhanhe let the pregnant woman sleep with her arms around his, while the two maids, Yun'er and Jian'er, gently fanned him. Seeing the pregnant woman fast asleep, her plump, round face filled with happiness, Zhu Zhanhe decided to stay with his anxious wife for a while, so he closed his eyes and lay down beside his princess consort.
While Zhu Zhanhe was busy with his expansionist endeavors in Yunnan and enjoying the warmth of family life, the Prince of Han had already received a handwritten letter from his son.

"Xia is about to give birth; Qi'er has joined the army; Yan'er can also help take care of his brothers at home; Yu Shu is engaged; the expansion in Annam is going smoothly; we will also test the effects of the Twelve Theories in Annam; Your Highness..." The Prince of Han looked at the thick stack of letters from his sons in his hand, and for some reason, his eyes suddenly became moist.

Unbeknownst to him, Prince Han had reached the age where he was about to become a grandfather! His daughter was also about to get married, and when his son mentioned that Princess Wei had gray hair, Prince Han unconsciously raised his hand to wipe his eyes. He realized that he had missed so many things in his life, and if asked who he felt most sorry for in his life, it would probably be the Princess Wei who had borne him children and toiled for the royal family her entire life.

It turns out that, without anyone noticing, the son of the Prince of Han had already done so much for his father!

Suddenly, the Prince of Han had a thought that he had ruined his son's future! With Tuolong by his side, if he hadn't insisted on starting a rebellion, if he had listened to his son and established a fiefdom earlier, perhaps the father and son would have already joined forces to conquer Annam, Burma, and the entire Indochina Peninsula, becoming true emperors of their respective regions!
Did I really do something wrong? The Prince of Han held the letter, frowning, and unconsciously began to think about many, many things.

"Second brother, what are you doing?" It was unclear how long the Prince of Han had been lost in thought, holding the family letter in his hand. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the unexpected voice of his third brother, the Prince of Zhao.

"Third brother, what brings you here?" Coming back to his senses, Prince Han subconsciously turned his head to look in the direction of his third brother, Prince Zhao. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he quickly turned his head to the side, turning his back to his third brother.

"Why are you here? My little brat wrote a letter, and he's reading it right now!" The Prince of Han, with his back to the Prince of Zhao, subtly wiped his eyes, raised his hand and waved the letter from his son at the other, before turning back to face the Prince of Zhao and speaking.

"Oh? It's He'er who wrote?" Prince Zhao seemed unsurprised by his nephew's letter, as if it were only natural.

"Yes, that brat wrote a whole bunch of trivial family matters, and asked me for money, soldiers, food, basically just asking for things."

They even said it was to prevent our defeat, so they prepared some things in advance and sent them back to him!

"That brat, he has no idea what's going on!" The Prince of Han, whose emotions were in turmoil, was completely unaware of his third brother, the Prince of Zhao's, unusual state, and was just grumbling to himself.

"Second Prince, I need to go see the Prince of Chu. We agreed to attack the court from both sides, but that brat hasn't made a move yet. I have a bad feeling, so I've decided to go and meet him in person!" Prince Zhao's eyes were full of seriousness as he spoke. In fact, as the head of the largest intelligence agency in the Ming Dynasty, Prince Zhao had already keenly noticed the unusual phenomena in his army!

Although their army had been winning the standoff with the imperial court until now, with the imperial army suffering repeated defeats, he still felt that everything they had won had been too easy!

Moreover, Prince Zhao recently discovered that his own army, as well as the generals and soldiers of Prince Han's army, were maintaining very close correspondence with the imperial army! This intensified Prince Zhao's unease. Therefore, he kept urging his second brother, Prince Han, to end the battle as soon as possible, and not to drag it out waiting for some decisive battle, or for some battle to capture the new emperor alive!

However, the proud King of Han never listened to any of his advice, only believing that victory was in his grasp! Until this time, when the King of Chu, who should have accompanied them on the expedition, showed no sign of moving, the King of Zhao, whose unease grew, decided to go to the King of Chu in person to demand an explanation.

To be honest, even though he was feeling extremely uneasy at that moment, Prince Zhao still held onto the hope of victory for his army!
His visit to the Prince of Han was not only to inform him of his whereabouts, but also to warn him to be careful. However, his words were once again ignored by the Prince of Han. "Don't worry, the Sixth Prince of Chu won't cause any trouble. If he gets pushed too far, we'll just march straight down and wipe him out first!" The Prince of Han wasn't worried at all about the Prince of Chu's alleged disloyalty, because he had hundreds of thousands of elite troops under his command!

"I still suggest ending this battle as soon as possible! I'll go to the King of Chu myself. Be careful." The King of Zhao was also somewhat exasperated by his stubborn second son. So, he decided to avoid the trouble altogether. He decided to vent his anger on the King of Chu and also clear his head.

To be honest, the whole thing about Prince Zhao going to see Prince Chu was suspicious.

First of all, the two kings are in the middle of a rebellion! It is illogical that the King of Zhao would abandon his elite troops, the Five Armies Camp, and go to settle accounts with the King of Chu with only a few guards.

Secondly, it makes no sense that Prince Zhao had already discovered that his generals were in contact with the imperial court, but he did not remind Prince Han.
Furthermore, as a rebellious prince, you travel without an army, only with a small number of guards. Aren't you afraid that the imperial court will intercept you?
Finally, Prince Zhao, who controlled the entire Imperial Guard, essentially held the eyes of the nation. He would certainly have conducted reconnaissance before heading to the Prince of Chu's fiefdom! Therefore, Prince Zhao knew the Prince of Chu's movements. Since he knew, why bother going there personally to demand an explanation? It would be better to simply lead a large army there!

Therefore, Prince Zhao's trip this time may also be partly a way for him to find a way out in advance, knowing that Prince Han is not capable of being developed!
"Alright, go ahead." After hearing that his third son wanted to cause trouble for the King of Chu, the Prince of Han only pondered for a moment before agreeing.

"Second Prince, be careful of that brat." Prince Zhao reminded Prince Han again, then bowed to Prince Han before turning and leaving.

Watching Prince Zhao leave, Prince Han, holding his son's letter, narrowed his eyes.

Although the letter from his son caused Prince Han to become somewhat emotional, he still keenly noticed Prince Zhao's unusual state.

The Prince of Han stood there in deep thought for a long time, then read his son's letter word by word, and finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"Someone come here!" The Prince of Han carefully folded his son's letter and placed it in his bosom. He then reached out and touched it again, and only after confirming that the letter was safe did he turn his head firmly and call out to the door.

"Your Highness!" At the call of the Prince of Han, a general who had been waiting outside the door quickly pushed open the door and entered, kneeling on the ground and respectfully obeying the Prince of Han's orders.

"Have the quartermaster reserve three months' worth of provisions, supplies, gunpowder, cannonballs, gold, silver, ironware, and all other materials. Send all other supplies to Yunnan with trusted confidants and hand them over to the Crown Prince for his disposal!"

In addition, another 30,000 elite new soldiers will be selected and sent along with them!

"I am determined to burn my bridges and decide the fate of the world in one fell swoop!" After pondering for a long time, the Prince of Han, after an intense internal struggle, finally decided to send his son as many supplies as possible!
(End of this chapter)