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

Chapter 314 My name is Wang Tiezhu

An Chau Prefecture, as the political center of Annam, has always been a bellwether for the political activities of the entire Annam region, even after it was occupied by the Prince of Han.

On this day, the core members of the Yunnan Expeditionary Army gathered together in the government office of Anzhou Prefecture.

"Fellow colleagues, Annam has been largely conquered, but the remaining forces and some resisting clans still need to be cleared out! Our army and navy will continue to advance this matter," Hu Tian began, opening up the conversation and explaining the army's important work direction in the near future.

"General Hu is quite right. After discussion, the army and navy decided to use cavalry as the main force, with a small number of infantry assisting, to wipe out the resistance forces in Annam. All other troops will be used to assist the prefectures and counties in the work of measuring fields."

"At that time, please don't find us clumsy, Lord Yao." Wang Jinghong, sitting directly opposite Hu Tian, ​​said to Yao Guan, the prefect of Anzhou, with a smile. Wang Jinghong and all the military generals present knew that Yao Guan was the highest-ranking official sent abroad, someone who might even have a future in the Prince's Palace or the inner cabinet. Therefore, Wang Jinghong and the others were very polite to Yao Guan.

"How could I dare? I am deeply grateful for the great help of the two generals. I will certainly treat the brothers in the camp well when they arrive."

During the work period, the brothers would be divided into several teams, with most of them assigned to assist in measuring the fields;
Some people were assigned to assist in supervising the construction of the Taoist temple;

Some were assigned to supervise the construction of the school;
Some were assigned to assist various prefectures and counties in explaining criminal law and taxation systems. Yao Guan was very grateful for the army's help and readily accepted the assistance they provided. He also explained the main tasks of the soldiers who came to support him. After all, with Annam fallen, the workload for civil officials was immense; just measuring the fields alone was overwhelming! But no matter how difficult, Yao Guan would persevere, because the royal cabinet was still short-staffed!
"The military will compile a list of the wounded soldiers in the army. When the time comes, Prefect Yao, please have the counties under your jurisdiction take them in and properly distribute them to various villages. We won't talk about high-ranking positions for now, but positions like village chiefs are acceptable."

After all, these are our own people who have fought alongside us, and I believe they will be helpful to Prefect Yao in his future civil administration.” Following Zhu Zhanhe’s instructions, Jiang Xiaohu compiled a list of wounded and disabled soldiers who could no longer fight, and instructed Yao Guan to distribute them to various villages under his command in order to strengthen the management of grassroots villages and towns in Annan.

Upon hearing Jiang Xiaohu's words, Yao Guan was visibly taken aback. It was the first time he had heard of the idea of ​​dispersing wounded soldiers to serve as village chiefs in various villages. Admittedly, Yao Guan knew that the inclusion of wounded soldiers in villages and towns would be helpful for future civil administration, but there were also many drawbacks. For a moment, Yao Guan hesitated and did not reply.

"Lord Yao, these brothers are all wounded, rough men, and most of them are bachelors."

"When it comes time to distribute the land, I'd appreciate it if Prefect Yao could simply assign these roughnecks to various villages, preferably one or two per village. It would be even better if they could find wives in each village," Qian Zhongcai added, supplementing Jiang Xiaohu's words. Of course, Qian Zhongcai had also guessed Yao Guan's concerns—that the disabled soldiers might riot if they gathered together. "That would certainly be a good thing. Thank you all for your advice." Yao Guan had initially worried that the wounded soldiers might riot, but after hearing Qian Zhongcai's words, he felt much more at ease. After all, with family ties, land to support themselves, and the status of small landowners, these retired, disabled veterans were, in Yao Guan's view, definitely beneficial to rule—very obedient subjects. Furthermore, they would be the biggest supporters of the Prince's various policies and the monitoring of the populace!
Yao Guan even thought that it would be the best thing if those wounded soldiers could call their families from the heart of the Central Plains!
"As for the Taoist temple, the site for the temple in Anzhou Prefecture has been selected and is under construction. However, we need General Hu and Commander Wang to provide the temple with information on the soldiers who died in battle so that the temple can make offerings to them as soon as it is completed!" Old Zhang still had the demeanor of a hermit, with the little fisherman he had picked up on the beach who had changed a lot following behind him. He spoke calmly.

However, the young fisherman behind Zhang Laodao had already shed his timid and awkward appearance and transformed into a spirited young Taoist priest. He wore a long blue Taoist robe and had his long hair tied up. He was no longer the young fisherman he once was.

At this moment, Yan Sheng was trying his best to listen to everyone's words, although there were still some things he couldn't understand. However, Yan Sheng continued to listen attentively. Because Yan Sheng knew that all of this was due to his master's training! It was the foundation upon which he would secure his future!

"Rest assured, Immortal Master, the military has already compiled the list of fallen soldiers. However, they are currently verifying it again throughout the army. Once verified, it will be handed over to the Taoist temple." Hu Tian was very concerned about the list of fallen soldiers that Zhang Laodao had mentioned. After all, to put it bluntly, everyone who becomes an official and fights is doing it for wealth. Since His Highness the Crown Prince has already given so much land, he doesn't care about squeezing out a pittance from the soldiers. After all, given his status, the land rewarded for this battle alone is no less than ten thousand mu! The small amount of money deducted from the soldiers isn't even enough to cover his gains from one battle! It's not worth it!

Moreover, offending His Highness over this would be the greatest loss! Besides, His Highness has countless spies within the army! Therefore, Hu Tian greatly disdains those previous methods of embezzling salaries without working!
"My lords, I have contacted the merchant caravans of Guangdong and Guangxi, and have gathered all the necessary supplies, including grain, cloth, salt, and medicine, as well as over a thousand artisans. The Royal Ocean Merchant Caravan will fully cooperate with your efforts in the construction of Annam and assist you in stabilizing the livelihood of the people of Annam!" Amid the conversation, a young official stepped forward and respectfully addressed the crowd.

"Thank you for your strong support, Lord Liang." Yao Guan had no intention of underestimating the young merchant commander before him. After all, he had already witnessed the navy's combat power during the Annam campaign! Especially since the Prince's ocean-going merchant fleets would later be escorted by the navy! This meant that the young merchant commander before him would undoubtedly be an absolute confidant of the Prince's mansion! He might even be able to mobilize the Prince's greatest trump card—the Deep-Sea Crocodile!
Yes, after the naval and land forces joined forces, these civil officials led by Yao Guan had already witnessed the terrifying figure of the alligator dragon! Yao Guan also noticed that some key figures within the Prince's faction were wearing the same brass ring. Although he didn't know what it meant, Yao Guan knew that these people were definitely the Prince's most trusted confidants! Despite his doubts, Yao Guan secretly glanced at the ring on the Second Prince Zhu Zhanqi's hand, then suppressed his suspicions.

"Now that everyone has a direction for their work, let's proceed according to the plan." Seeing that everyone's discussion had gone smoothly and that each person had their own work goals and directions, Yao, as the current head of civil officials in Annam, announced that Annam's previous statistics and cleanup work had begun!

Thus began the vigorous Annam Movement.

My name is Wang Tiezhu, and I'm all alone. I'm an auxiliary soldier in the 3,000-strong battalion under Zhu Gaochi, the Prince of Han, during the Ming Dynasty. To put it nicely, I'm an auxiliary soldier; to put it bluntly, I'm just a groom with a knife.

My main job was to feed the horses and help the cavalrymen of the 3,000-strong battalion with their armor during normal times; in battle, I would occasionally fight alongside them as an infantryman. I always felt that one day I might die quietly in battle, and then be stripped naked, stripped of my armor and weapons, and hastily buried by my comrades.

(End of this chapter)