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

Chapter 348 Yang Shiqi Attends the Annam Court Assembly 3
After Yao Guan finished explaining the situation at the Taoist temple, he did not stop, but continued to report.

"At the same time, the Prince's Palace has appointed at least three chief officials who have been selected through the Prince's Palace's civil service examinations in all counties and above in Annam; currently, the county governments in various places are operating in an orderly manner."

The new tax policy promulgated by the Prince's Palace has been disseminated in various places, and the new criminal law is still being disseminated in various places.
However, due to the shortage of interpreters in various regions, the implementation of various decrees issued by the Prince's Palace was somewhat slow for the time being. After discussing the Taoist temple, Yao Guan continued to talk about the allocation of officials in various parts of Annam and the dissemination of the Prince's Palace's policies.

It must be said that Yao Guan's abilities are indeed quite good. He not only gave a general report on the progress of the Taoist temple's construction, but also explained the Wangfu's control over various counties and above.

Furthermore, to Zhu Zhanhe's surprise, Yao Guan was very pragmatic. He did not conceal the predicament that Annamite civil officials were currently facing in their work. Instead, he specifically explained the bottlenecks in Annam's current development.

"A shortage of interpreters?" Zhu Zhanhe was aware that the biggest problem in governing Annam at this stage was the language barrier. He also understood the shortage of interpreters. After all, the local officials were all from the Ming Dynasty, so it was normal for them not to understand the Annamese language. Although Annam admired Central Plains culture, only a minority of people had the ability and resources to learn it.

At the same time, when the topic of interpreters came up, a man named Huang Zhong suddenly came to mind. Zhu Zhanhe remembered that Huang Zhong was the first person he had promoted in Annam.

"I will resolve this matter as soon as possible."

"Have Huang Zhong come to see me later." Zhu Zhanhe nodded to indicate that he understood the matter and arranged for Huang Zhong to come to see him.

"Yes!" Although Yao Guan didn't know much about Huang Zhong, since the prince had said he wanted to see this person, he would find a way to get him to stand in front of the prince!
At this moment, Yang Shiqi was once again shocked by the methods of the Prince of Han.

Because Yang Shiqi heard that the Prince of Han was actually building Taoist temples in various prefectures! Originally, Yang Shiqi was still puzzled about the purpose of the Taoist temples, but when he heard Yao Guan say that they were rushing to make memorial tablets for the fallen soldiers, Yang Shiqi knew that the army of the Prince of Han's palace would eventually be invincible!
Because, the Prince of Han actually enshrined the memorial tablets of all the soldiers who died in battle at the Prince of Han's residence in a Taoist temple! This move not only boosted the morale of the soldiers, but also stabilized the hearts of the people of Annam! At the same time, it strengthened the soldiers' strong sense of identification with the Prince of Han's residence!
Meanwhile, Yao Guan mentioned that new laws and tax policies had already been promulgated in Annam. Although the specifics of these so-called tax policies and laws are unknown, judging from the current situation, they are likely measures beneficial to Annam's development.

Furthermore, the Prince of Han had appointed at least three chief officials in each county. Combined with the village officials, who were also wounded soldiers, this ensured the smooth and unimpeded transmission of the Prince's decrees!
"A skillful ruler!" As Yang Shiqi looked at the majestic Prince of Han, this phrase suddenly popped into his mind.

"How is the construction of schools in each prefecture and county progressing?" When the topic of language communication came up, Zhu Zhanhe naturally thought of the school construction issues in various parts of Annam.

"Your Highness, the site selection for schools in various prefectures and counties has been completed;

Furthermore, most schools in the prefectures and counties can be used as usual with only minor modifications, and teaching materials are also easy to find.

However, the problem now is the lack of teachers for the school. Yao Guan once again attributed the problem to insufficient manpower with a troubled expression.

"Oh? So how do you plan to solve this?" Zhu Zhanhe understood Yao Guan's predicament. However, Zhu Zhanhe was more interested in how Yao Guan and the other civil officials would overcome this difficulty given their dire circumstances!
"Your Highness, all prefectures and counties are currently in the enrollment phase."

We, your humble servants, have privately discussed that after the enrollment period ends in various regions, officials from each prefecture and county will take turns teaching the students at the schools every day until enough teachers are recruited, in order to alleviate the immediate shortage.” Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe’s words, Yao Guan knew that the prince was testing him. Excited, Yao Guan’s mind raced, and he immediately offered a solution. “Good! Very good.”

"Prefect Yao, it seems you've done a very good job as the Prefect of Anzhou!" Zhu Zhanhe was very satisfied with Yao Guan's work attitude. Regardless of whether Yao Guan had done the work in advance, it had to be said that Yao Guan's ability was indeed quite good.

At this moment, Yang Shiqi's head was already buzzing. But he still shook his head vigorously, trying to focus his mind on the speech of the Prince of Han and his ministers.

It wasn't that Yang Shiqi didn't want to focus; the problem was, the Prince of Han had given him far too much of a shock. Leaving aside what had just happened, just consider the current question-and-answer session between the emperor and his ministers. The Prince of Han had actually established schools at the county level or above in Annam! Wasn't this blatantly a system for training civil officials?!
What a forward-thinking idea! In Yang Shiqi's view, the Prince of Han's approach was absolutely ahead of its time. After all, starting to cultivate scholars in Annam, where the language was incomprehensible, wasn't just about solving the language barrier, but about completely Sinicizing the entire country! From then on, everyone in Annam would speak Chinese and read the Book of Songs! That's the most terrifying thing!

Prince Han, this is entirely about laying the foundation for your future development. After all, even if it takes ten or twenty years of training, Prince Han can afford to wait! Because he is still young!
Yang Shiqi could imagine that in the future, the entire Annam region would become a stepping stone on the grand road of the Han King!

"How is the deployment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in various places?" After speaking with Yao Guan, Zhu Zhanhe turned his gaze to Jiang Xiaohu and inquired about the deployment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Annam.

"Commander Jiang Xiaohu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard reports to Your Highness." Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe mention the work of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Jiang Xiaohu stepped out from the crowd and respectfully bowed to Zhu Zhanhe.

Looking at the burly man who stepped out from the crowd, Yang Shiqi was somewhat bewildered, because he knew very little about this person. He only knew that the man had once served as a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard under Prince Zhao, Zhu Gaosui. Later, he was inexplicably dispatched to the Prince of Han's residence in Yunnan to serve as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

At the same time, what was even more frightening was that when the other side went to Yunnan, they also brought a group of elite soldiers from Prince Zhao's Fifth Army Camp! In Yang Shiqi's view, this phenomenon was a harbinger of the two princes' rebellion!
"Speak," Zhu Zhanhe said, quite curious about the current situation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Annam. After all, Zhu Zhanhe was well aware that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was also severely understaffed, and he wondered how it was operating in Annam under such circumstances.

"Your Highness, the Imperial Guards we have trained are somewhat lacking."

However, after careful planning by your servants, I have deployed several Jinyiwei officials in various counties, and allowed them to recruit and train a group of soldiers on their own. At the same time, I have used wounded and disabled soldiers who have retired from the army as the basic force of Jinyiwei in various places, in order to collect information.

Currently, I am selecting suitable personnel from the army to supplement the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) force.

Regarding the three-army surveillance team that the prince is preparing to establish, it is still in the planning stage. It must be said that Jiang Xiaohu is indeed resourceful. He first established a local-level Jinyiwei framework by utilizing the existing Jinyiwei resources, and then used the wounded soldiers from various villages as the backbone of the Jinyiwei. This is a very thoughtful and effective measure.

However, there's still no clear plan for the Prince's Supervisory Authority that Zhu Zhanhe wants to establish, comprised of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, navy, army, and civil officials. Zhu Zhanhe understands this, as there is indeed a shortage of manpower; it's best to wait and see.

Expand the Embroidered Uniform Guard! Expand the intelligence network! Yang Shiqi's beard trembled. He silently marveled: Even the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty didn't have such foresight and long-term planning!
(End of this chapter)