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

Chapter 310 The Choice of Officials in Guangdong and Guangxi
As the discussion reached this point, none of the officials in the Guangxi Provincial Administration Office spoke up about the fact that the imperial court had redeemed the two provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi with a fleet of ships, as if everyone had forgotten about it.

"The Prince of Han's residence is a local vassal king who guards a region. As officials appointed by the court, it is inappropriate for us to associate with vassal kings!" The Left Provincial Governor first looked at his colleagues present, a strange light flashing in his eyes, and then said in a firm tone.

After the Left Provincial Governor finished speaking, he carefully observed the expressions of his colleagues present. He saw that everyone sat silently, expressionless, and it was impossible to tell what they were thinking. Then, the Left Provincial Governor spoke again.

"However, although it is inconvenient for us officials to associate with local princes, we can still offer some congratulatory gifts for the birth of His Highness the Prince of Han's eldest grandson in our personal capacity!"

After all, the Crown Prince of Han established large caravans in our Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan regions, which stabilized prices in Guangxi, made Guangxi's commerce prosperous, and greatly helped Guangxi's local development and the imperial court's tax revenue.

Therefore, it is only right that we express our gratitude to His Highness the Crown Prince of Han. The Left Provincial Governor had previously told everyone that the Prince of Han was a regional prince, and court officials were not allowed to make private connections with him; in the following sentence, he further explained that while court officials were forbidden from associating with princes, we could maintain a personal relationship with the Crown Prince of Han, after all, he had created a stable market and stable tax revenue for Guangxi!
"The Left Councilor's words are reasonable! I wholeheartedly agree!" As soon as the Left Provincial Administration Commissioner finished speaking, the Guangxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, who was sitting upright to the side, immediately stood up to express his opinion and voted in favor!

The other officials present did not object to the provincial inspector's statement, which can be considered as everyone tacitly agreeing to the matter!

"In that case, let us, in our individual capacities, jointly present a congratulatory gift at His Highness Wang Changsun's centennial celebration." The Guangxi Provincial Governor, understanding the implication in his colleagues' words, didn't refuse; instead, he readily agreed, as if this outcome was originally his own idea.

In the eyes of the Guangxi Provincial Governor, even after the defeat of the Han Prince who led the rebellion, he was merely imprisoned in his palace in Beijing by the Emperor, and none of his generals who participated in the uprising were punished. After that, the court even sent the Han Prince more than 500 ocean-going ships, complete with firearms, weapons, shipwrights, and navigators! Only then was the Han Prince able to redeem the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi!

This demonstrates the immense power of the Prince of Han's residence and the formidable strength of the Crown Prince of Han! A mere provincial governor like him could not afford to offend such a powerful figure!
Even now, some people are secretly gossiping that the Emperor's treatment of the Prince of Han's residence is tantamount to aiding the enemy! Therefore, given the court's ambiguous attitude, no one is willing to offend the Prince of Han's residence!

Moreover, the officials in Guangxi knew that the Crown Prince of Han was generous and was even prepared to give everyone land. Even if they didn't want the land, the Crown Prince of Han was willing to use gold and silver instead!
At the same time, in the Guangdong Provincial Administration Office, its main officials were also gathered together, discussing the information they held regarding the birth of the eldest grandson of the Prince of Han, the gifts to be given at the grandson's 100-day celebration, and the matter of the Prince of Han's estate distributing land to everyone.
Meanwhile, in Annam, Hu Tian, ​​who was leading his army to attack the city, also received a letter from Xia Yuanji. Hu Tian glanced at it briefly and prepared to continue commanding his army in battle.

However, when Hu Tian saw the most crucial part of the letter—the birth of Wang Changsun—his eyes widened involuntarily, and he excitedly read the letter again from beginning to end, word by word.

After reading the letter, Hu Tian's eyes revealed a strong murderous intent and an extremely excited light, the two being so contradictory yet so harmonious.

"Messenger, relay this order to the entire army: at all costs! Accelerate the conquest! Speed ​​up the suppression of local forces in Annam!" After reading the letter, Hu Tian's eyes gleamed sharply. Clutching the letter tightly in his hand, he sat upright on his horse and loudly issued the orders to expedite the conquest of Annam and the suppression of its forces. "Yes, sir!" Although the messenger didn't know the contents of the letter in General Hu Tian's hand, seeing the unwavering determination in his eyes, he resolutely chose to deliver the order and rode off.

"Messenger: Pass this letter to General Qian, General Jiang, Prefect Yao Guan, and the Second Prince!" Watching the departing messenger, Hu Tian casually beckoned to another messenger and handed him the letter. He knew that to achieve Lord Xia Yuanji's goals, he needed to get his men truly working hard! He needed to motivate them! And right now, the best source of motivation for them was the news of Wang Changsun's birth!

"Yes!" Another messenger rode up to Hu Tian, ​​took the letter from Hu Tian's hand, and then turned and rode away into the distance.

"The weight on my heart has finally been lifted!" Watching the departing messenger, Hu Tian glanced at the army that was fiercely attacking the city not far away and uttered a strange remark.

To modern eyes, Hu Tian's worries might seem unnecessary. However, in the eyes of the ancients, any ruler must have descendants; this was the most effective way to stabilize the hearts of the people and consolidate rule! After all, the succession of the father to the son was an immutable law throughout history! And all of the Han Crown Prince's current actions depended on him personally; if he had an heir, all his followers would have confidence!
If the King of Han had no sons, he wouldn't have so many followers!
It's like this: Zhu Qizhen succeeded in his restoration because Yu Qian didn't stop him, and Yu Qian didn't stop him because Zhu Qiyu had no son! If Zhu Qiyu had even a son who was only one day old, Zhu Qizhen would never have succeeded in his restoration! This is the difference between having an heir and not having one!
Meanwhile, on the naval side, Wang Jinghong, who remained at sea to oversee the naval operations, also received a letter from Xia Yuanji. After reading the contents of the letter, Wang Jinghong was so excited that he stood up from his chair, laughing heartily as he went to the deck of the main ship.

Hahaha, what a wonderful thing! What a great thing!
"Summon! Summon Commander Xia, Uncle Wei, and Immortal Zhang to the main ship for a meeting!" Looking at the letter in his hand, Wang Jinghong was overjoyed. As a seasoned veteran, he naturally understood the meaning behind Xia Yuanji's letter, but he still chose to support him. And Wang Jinghong was ready to share this joy immediately!
"Roar~ Roar~ Roar~" As Wang Jinghong convened this meeting, a series of loud dragon roars echoed continuously over the sea along the coast of Annam!
In the Han Prince's Mansion in Beijing.

Today is the day when the Prince of Han will listen to Yu Qian, the lecturer sent by his nephew, explain the Four Books and Five Classics.

The Prince of Han was still leisurely reclining in a small rocking chair, with a table full of fruits and vegetables on the small table beside him. At this moment, the Prince of Han was leisurely drinking his wine, and all that was missing was someone singing a little tune.

"Oh, isn't this Attendant Yu, Lord Yu? You're here again today? Which passage of the sage's writings will we be studying today?" The Prince of Han, sipping his wine, didn't even look up when he heard someone enter, and spoke directly to Yu Qian as he stepped in.

"Glug~" Seeing the Prince of Han's shameless appearance, Yu Qian snatched the wine from his hand without any annoyance. He didn't mind that the Prince of Han had just drunk from it and drank it down by himself.

"Such fine wine, Brother Zhu, drinking it like this is truly a waste." Yu Qian held his wine cup, savoring the mellow taste in his mouth, and couldn't help but mutter to the Prince of Han.

(End of this chapter)