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

Chapter 347 Yang Shiqi Attends the Annam Court Assembly 2
Yang Shiqi knew that Hu Tian's four simple sentences meant that the Han Prince's army had completely occupied the entire territory of Annam!
This means that Annam will henceforth be under the jurisdiction of the Prince of Han's Palace!

In addition, there was the Guangdong and Guangxi territories ceded by the imperial court.

Currently, the Han Prince's Palace already possesses the lands of four prefectures: Yunnan, Guangdong and Guangxi, and Annam!
That's a whole four states!
The Prince of Han's mansion now has the confidence to defy the imperial court and even confront it!

What alarmed Yang Shiqi was Hu Tian's words: the rebellious forces in Annam have been wiped out!

This signifies a massive massacre! Yang Shiqi could even surmise that Hu Tian had essentially wiped out the powerful local noble families of Annam! Thinking of this, Yang Shiqi felt a wave of dizziness wash over him; the aura of slaughter was truly overwhelming!

Yang Shiqi also knew that Hu Tian would never have dared to do such a thing without the tacit approval of the Prince of Han! This meant that the Prince of Han was going to purge the local forces in Annam!
Looking at the majestic Prince of Han sitting on the high platform, Yang Shiqi trembled. He seemed to see the decisive and ruthless appearance of Emperor Hongwu and Emperor Yongle.
The next two sentences from Hu Tian further indicate that the Han Prince's army had already completed the post-war resettlement work! They had even properly settled the wounded soldiers! What terrifying efficiency!

The Prince of Han's residence is a major threat to the imperial court!
The Prince of Han was truly a great ruler!
Unlike Yang Shiqi's shock, Zhu Zhanhe continued his questioning.

"What about casualties?" Zhu Zhanhe guessed that the army's casualties must be considerable. Therefore, Zhu Zhanhe specifically inquired about the army's casualties. He wanted to know exactly how many soldiers his Prince of Han had sacrificed to take Annam!

"This humble general, Xia Xuan, reports to Your Highness." After hearing Zhu Zhanhe's question, Xia Xuan, Zhu Zhanhe's brother-in-law, stepped forward from the naval side to report on troop casualties.

"General Xia, please speak~" At the court assembly, Zhu Zhanhe naturally wouldn't address him as his elder brother, but rather by his title.

Yang Shiqi naturally knew Xia Xuan as well. He was the eldest son of Xia Yuanji, the former Minister of Revenue, a promising young talent, and the brother-in-law of the Prince of Han. He had actually become a general in the Prince of Han's army! This Prince of Han truly did appoint people based on merit! Yang Shiqi thought to himself.

"Your Highness, the army and navy together have a total strength of over 110,000 troops, including over 80,000 in the army and over 30,000 in the navy. These are the direct forces of the Prince's mansion."

On the naval side, more than 1,000 were killed and more than 3,000 were maimed, for a total loss of about 4,000 men.
On the army side, more than 6,000 were killed in action and more than 9,000 were disabled, for a total loss of about 15,000 troops; the army and navy lost about 20,000 combat troops.
In addition, after occupying the various prefectures of Annam, the local auxiliary troops of Annam were incorporated into the army and navy, totaling more than 80,000 auxiliary troops. Currently, there are more than 40,000 auxiliary troops still in service.

"As per the prince's decree, all fallen soldiers have been registered and recorded." Xia Xuan reported on all casualties suffered by the army and navy during the expansion of Annam.

It must be said that, in Zhu Zhanhe's view, the casualties of his Han Prince's soldiers were too great. The Yunnan expansion army had a total strength of about 110,000 men, and after this expansion, they lost about 20,000 men, which was close to 20% of the total!

Meanwhile, the Annamese soldiers who served as auxiliary troops suffered even greater casualties, with a loss rate of approximately half!
Zhu Zhanhe stated that he could not accept this outcome!
In contrast to Zhu Zhanhe, Yang Shiqi showed a look of surprise after hearing Xia Xuan's report.

In stark contrast to Zhu Zhanhe, Yang Shiqi was shocked by how little the Han Prince's forces had been lost!

After all, in Yang Shiqi's view, no matter what, the Han King's Palace had directly occupied a country with a population of about three to four million! Yet, they had only lost tens of thousands of soldiers! Yang Shiqi couldn't help but marvel at the terrifying military prowess of the Han King's Palace!

"What about the farmland?" Zhu Zhanhe was not satisfied with the casualty figures, so he didn't offer any comments. He went straight to asking about the farmland.

"Prefect Yao Guan of Anzhou, answering Your Highness's question." After hearing Zhu Zhanhe's question, Prefect Yao Guan of Anzhou stepped forward from the ranks of civil officials to reply to Zhu Zhanhe's question. "Speak," Zhu Zhanhe gestured for Yao Guan to speak.

Yang Shiqi also knew Yao Guan; he was the fourth-ranked candidate in Yunnan's first imperial examination. He was the prefect of Anzhou Prefecture in Annam, and the leading figure among all civil officials in Annam!

"Your Highness, thanks to the concerted efforts of the military, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and various prefectures and counties..."

Preliminary measurements indicate that Annam has approximately 195 million mu of farmland and 375 million mu of forest land.
Now, we have worked with the military to calculate the post-war land allocation for all personnel according to the standards issued by the Prince's Palace, and we are waiting for Your Highness's review and decision.
Furthermore, in accordance with Your Highness's request, we have prioritized the allocation of land to wounded and disabled soldiers ahead of schedule and assigned them to villages in various counties as village chiefs to manage the local areas;

Meanwhile, marriage arrangements have been completed for unmarried disabled soldiers. Yao Guan respectfully reported on the land and landscape of Annam and explained the resettlement of the wounded soldiers.

Upon hearing Yao Guan's words, Yang Shiqi was even more shocked. Because, from Yao Guan's words, Yang Shiqi understood the determination of the Han Prince's Palace, or rather, the current Han Prince, to reform Annam! After all, the Han Prince's Palace had systematically compiled data on all the land, farmland, and even the mountains, forests, and lakes of Annam.

Moreover, Yang Shiqi saw the Han King's determination to distribute land to the soldiers!
At the same time, Yang Shiqi astutely guessed that the Prince of Han probably intended to allocate land not only to the military system, but also to the entire bureaucratic system of the Prince of Han's court!

Yang Shiqi could see that for all the officials under the Han Prince's command, this was an open and unsolvable trap! Because Yang Shiqi didn't believe anyone could resist the temptation of land! In fact, not only the officials of the Han Prince's command, but no one could resist such temptation! Yang Shiqi himself was no exception! Especially when he heard about hundreds of millions of acres of farmland and forest, Yang Shiqi couldn't help but twitch violently. At this moment, he was extremely shocked!

Even more terrifying, the Prince of Han actually assigned all the wounded and disabled soldiers in the army to serve as village officials in various villages in Annam!

In Yang Shiqi's view, this move was simply a stroke of genius! Because this combination of appointing wounded soldiers as village officials and allocating land not only solved the resettlement problem for the wounded soldiers, but also directly strengthened the Han Prince's administration over Annam! In fact, the Han Prince's move directly broke the ironclad rule that imperial power should not extend to the countryside!
Yang Shiqi could foresee that in the future, the entire Annam would become the Prince of Han's backyard! Because those wounded and disabled soldiers who were allocated land were not only beneficiaries of the Prince of Han's land distribution, but also staunch supporters of the Prince of Han's rule!
Yang Shiqi could even imagine that if the Prince of Han continued to expand his territory, the descendants of the wounded soldiers in Annam would become the most steadfast supporters of the Prince of Han's Mansion! No one would be able to stop the Prince of Han's Mansion from advancing! No one!
What a terrifying Prince Han! Decisive in killing! Sharp-minded! Appointing people based on talent! Strategically planning! Yang Shiqi stared intently at Prince Han on the high platform with a complicated expression.

At this moment, there might really be regret in Yang Shiqi's eyes!
Yang Shiqi's thoughts were racing, but on the other side, Zhu Zhanhe's questions continued.

"well done.

"How is the construction progress of the Taoist temples in each prefecture and county?" Seeing that Yao Guan was doing a good job, Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help but praise him with a smile, and continued to inquire about the construction work of Taoist temples in various places.

"Your Highness, Annam comprises thirty-six prefectures and over two hundred counties."

The Taoist temples in each state have completed site selection and construction has begun, and the Taoist masters have already moved in;
The locations for Taoist temples in each county have not yet been finalized and are currently being selected.

"The memorial tablets for the fallen soldiers enshrined in various Taoist temples are currently being made," Yao Guan replied earnestly.

(End of this chapter)