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

Chapter 313 Is he going to get married again?

"Your Highness, I think your previous appeasement tactics were quite good."

"Why don't we ask the Princess Consort, as well as the princes and princesses in the family, to write letters to the Prince every now and then?" Xia Yuanji thought and thought, and could only come up with the idea of ​​using family ties to bind the Prince of Han.

"This is a good idea. We should ask the painter to make more copies of His Highness the Grandson's portrait and send them to the Prince."

Everyone says that grandparents and grandchildren are very close, and I believe that after His Highness sees His Highness the Grandson, he won't go to extremes. After hearing Xia Yuanji's suggestion, Mu Sheng followed the same line of thought and immediately came up with a good idea.

"That's a good idea, let's do it that way!" Zhu Zhanhe's eyes lit up after hearing Mu Sheng's suggestion.

"Xiao Xizi, go find a painter to paint a portrait of Yu'er, and give it to Erniu so he can deliver it to the Prince." Without hesitation, Zhu Zhanhe immediately asked Xiao Xizi to do it after coming up with a good idea.

"Yes, this servant will go right away!" Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's arrangement, she immediately ran downstairs with a face full of joy. After all, this was good news, and she needed to report it to the Crown Princess to prevent the Crown Prince from getting too busy and causing her, a mere eunuch, to be scolded by Sister Shi Xiaozhi again!
"Tell me about the current progress in Annam." After finishing his personal matters, Zhu Zhanhe immediately switched into work mode and began inquiring about the situation in Annam. After all, Annam was the most important matter for the Prince's Palace at the moment!
"Your Highness, the entire territory of Annam has now been captured by our army, and the army is currently suppressing the resistance forces!" Mu Sheng reported first on the overall progress of Annam's expansion.

Unsurprisingly, after a full-scale attack by both land and sea forces, all of Annam was under Zhu Zhanhe's control. The so-called suppression of resistance was simply a matter of selecting compliant Annamese clans and eliminating the disobedient ones! As for the resistance forces? Sorry, they were all buried in the ground as fertilizer!

As for those who might argue that it was too brutal, that innocent people would inevitably be killed, and that it was detrimental to governance, Zhu Zhanhe could only say that the Ming Dynasty's practical experience has shown everyone that a nation can be established solely through killing!
Zhu Zhanhe didn't object to the sudden acceleration of the expansion efforts by the army and navy; on the contrary, he approved of it. After all, everyone was working for him, and it wasn't a crime for them to work hard.

Of course, Zhu Zhanhe was aware of his father-in-law sending letters to Annam officials, but he didn't care. After all, in Zhu Zhanhe's view, when you are strong enough, any schemes and tricks are just fleeting clouds!

"Regarding the statistics of fallen soldiers, the work is underway. As Your Highness requested, the statistics will be posted in the military camp after completion."

"The location for the military academy has been selected and it's under construction. The students will be further identified based on the statistics of their battle merits," Mu Sheng emphasized, then went on to discuss the soldier casualty list and the military academy. After all, Mu Sheng knew that the soldier casualty statistics weren't just about compensating the fallen soldiers or stabilizing the morale of the Annamese people; they were also about His Highness the Crown Prince strengthening control over the military camps to prevent the occurrence of ghost soldiers receiving pay!
"In addition, the Ministry of War officials have been basically replenished, and the next areas to be developed after Annam have been drafted, tentatively set as Nan Zhang and Zhenla." Mu Sheng was also a quick person, and directly selected the next development targets after Annam.

"well done.

However, there's no rush to expand into new territories; we can first gather information and understand the situation. Expansion should only begin after everything in Annam has been fully established.

Judging by the time, it will be almost winter by the time Annam stabilizes. This will be a good opportunity for the army to rest and recuperate before expanding into new territories after the New Year.

By the way, take advantage of the year to sort out the land situation in Annam and handle the land allocation matters, so as to stabilize the morale of the army. Zhu Zhanhe did not decide to immediately start developing a new map after the Annam expansion was completed.

After all, it's best to eat one bite at a time. Moreover, Zhu Zhanhe believed that only when the soldiers were actually allocated land would their enthusiasm be even greater, and they would be more actively engaged in the land reclamation work the following year and beyond!
"Yes." Mu Sheng was quite surprised by Zhu Zhanhe's words. After all, he had prepared to persuade the Crown Prince of Han to postpone the continued expansion, but Mu Sheng hadn't expected that the Crown Prince of Han could resist the temptation of territory and actively begin to consolidate the conquered lands. This was something that surprised Mu Sheng greatly. After all, he had seen the word "youthful impetuosity" in the Crown Prince of Han, but now he also saw maturity and composure! The two were so contradictory, yet so harmonious.

After Mu Sheng finished his report, it was Xia Yuanji's turn to give his work report. "Your Highness, the officials in the Six Ministries have been replenished."

The second batch of scholars and officials have been distributed to various prefectures and counties in Yunnan. Basically, now every prefectural and county government in Annam has at least three chief officials. As for their clerks and assistants, they can only be recruited privately by each prefecture and county. Xia Yuanji first reported on the situation of officials in various parts of Annam.

"Because Annam has been fully occupied, the army and navy have begun to fully assist in the land surveying work. The progress is not slow and it will definitely be completed before the end of the year."

Regarding the Taoist temple, several locations have been selected in various places, and we are just waiting for the immortal master to personally confirm the locations.

The Annam law compiled by the Ministry of Justice has been completed, and it is only waiting for the situation in Annam to stabilize before it can be publicized and implemented in various parts of Annam.

The Ministry of Revenue has finalized the salaries of officials at all levels, and the preliminary tax calculations for various regions have also been completed. Currently, the household registration work is underway; with the addition of a large army, the land survey has been accelerated considerably.
The Ministry of Rites has begun selecting locations for prefectural schools in various regions.

The Ministry of Works has contacted our Yunnan-based ocean-going merchant fleet to fully implement the Prince's requirements for comprehensive development in Yunnan and stabilize the market situation in Annam. The various tasks reported by Xia Yuanji are of paramount importance to the livelihood of the people of Annam. Whether it's the selection of officials, taxation, or legal issues, these are all major projects affecting people's well-being!

"Excellent, everyone is making great progress!" Zhu Zhanhe was very satisfied with the progress in Annam reported by the two ministers.

"Uncle Mu, now that Annam has been developed, let's send the new navy to Annam and let Wang Jinghong take over."

"Select capable personnel from the existing navy, establish a new management system for the new army, form a second ocean-going fleet, and begin combat training!" Zhu Zhanhe suddenly remembered that he still had more than 30,000 new naval troops under his command. Since there was time now, he decided to form a second ocean-going fleet!
Zhu Zhanhe was eager to build a second ocean-going fleet for two reasons: firstly, to carry out pioneering battles; secondly, to start ocean-going trade; and thirdly, to carry out the gold and silver mine development plan for Japan!
"Yes!" Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words, Mu Sheng immediately agreed. After all, Mu Sheng also felt that Annam had been opened up, and it was time to send the new army out.

"Once things stabilize in Annam, I will personally go there, find a place to stay for a few days, and experience life among a foreign people." Zhu Zhanhe decided that after Annam was stabilized, he would personally go there, summon all his officials, and stage a grand display of power to reassure the people and intimidate Annam!
However, it is clear that Xia Yuanji's ideas differ somewhat from Zhu Zhanhe's.

"Your Highness is right. Annam is now generally stable, and Your Highness's appearance is beneficial to Annam's stability."

Meanwhile, the Crown Princess had said that she would select a concubine for His Highness in Annam. Once Annam was stable, I would summon officials to begin the selection of women for the imperial harem. For the sake of Annam's stability, Xia Yuanji decided to sacrifice his son-in-law's harem and personally select some Annam women to enrich it.

"This was said by the Crown Princess?!" Zhu Zhanhe was stunned after hearing his father-in-law's words. His father-in-law and Crown Princess personally choosing a wife for him, the Crown Prince? Could there be such a good thing in the world? For a moment, Zhu Zhanhe felt the beauty of life.

Meanwhile, in Annam, a series of legendary events were unfolding, including the crackdown on local tyrants, land surveying, the construction of government offices, and the building of Taoist temples.

(End of this chapter)