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

Chapter 351 Zhu Zhanhe Teaches His Younger Brother 2
"Brother, Zhanqi will remember this." Zhu Zhanqi visibly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that his elder brother was dissatisfied with the soldiers' deaths. Zhu Zhanhe witnessed all of this.

"In Zhanqi, every soldier represents a family."

In the battle of Annam, the Yunnan army lost 20,000 men and the Annam auxiliary army lost nearly 50,000 men, which means a loss of 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers, or 70,000 to 80,000 men!
Seventy or eighty thousand males represent seventy or eighty thousand families.

If a family has four members, then seventy or eighty thousand men would represent the population of the entire city of Dali!
"Tell me, if you were to take away all the men from Dali City now, what would Dali City become?" Zhu Zhanhe saw his younger brother's indifference and continued to patiently teach him.

This time, after his elder brother's vivid analogy, Zhu Zhanqi's expression became serious. The generals sitting at the table also gradually became solemn.

Especially Yao Guan, the prefect of Anzhou, wore a very serious expression. He had never imagined that he, a prince who was like a war maniac, would actually complain about too many deaths! At this moment, the image of Zhu Zhanhe gradually became more vivid in Yao Guan's mind.

"Zhanhan, your elder brother said that he would allocate fiefdoms to you and your younger brothers in the future."

If in the future, in the fiefdom your elder brother grants you, if one of your cities suddenly loses 70,000 to 80,000 able-bodied men, how will you defend it?
What will you do about your spring planting?
What will you do with your autumn harvest?
What about your taxes?
Will the people rebel?
Have you ever thought about these things? And what about the series of problems that arise from this?" Zhu Zhanhe threw out more questions. This time, Zhu Zhanqi's expression clearly froze.

"Zhanqi, your elder brother does not oppose war; in fact, he likes it."

Because in the elder brother's view, territory is only on the edge of a sword, and borders are only within the range of artillery fire.

However, all of this must be done within reasonable limits.

My brother doesn't object to reasonable sacrifices. However, we cannot exchange the lives of our people for everything we have.

Why did our elder brother allow the auxiliary troops of Annam to participate in the war? On the one hand, it was to deplete their manpower; on the other hand, it was to reduce our own losses; and on the other hand, it was to allow the auxiliary troops to integrate into our ranks through their military achievements.

However, excessive consumption can have a backlash.

Because our tax revenue will decrease, and our garrison will decrease. You need to think carefully about why this is happening.

In the future, you will also be a regional ruler, so don't just focus on immediate gains.

If you still don't understand, think about it: what if one of those fallen soldiers was from our palace, or what if one of our brothers was gone?

Or, what if all the brothers were gone?

"Thinking deeper, what if all 70,000 or 80,000 who died in battle were our relatives?" Zhu Zhanhe continued to earnestly instruct his younger brother.

"Brother, Zhanqi will always remember your teachings." At this moment, Zhu Zhanqi finally understood his elder brother's good intentions. He stood up and bowed deeply to his elder brother.

"Good that you remember." Seeing that his younger brother had completely listened, Zhu Zhanhe was very satisfied and reached out to help him up.

"Bring the wine! I want to drink with all the generals." After lecturing his younger brother, Zhu Zhanhe did not continue to lecture the generals present, but instead called for wine to be served.

"Splash splash~~~~" Xiao Xizi led a group of eunuchs to pour wine for the generals in the palace.

"Generals, the battle of Annam has been progressing smoothly and the results are gratifying. You have all worked hard."

The generals and I will drink this wine together.

Tomorrow, I, the King, will divide the land with you all.

"Then let's rest well and celebrate the New Year. After the New Year, we will set off again to explore new territories!" Zhu Zhanhe said to everyone, holding a wine bowl in his hand, and then drank it all in one gulp.

"Long live the Prince!" As if they had rehearsed in detail, the generals replied to Zhu Zhanhe in unison, and then drank their wine in one gulp.

"Sit down and continue eating." After putting down his wine bowl, Zhu Zhanhe invited everyone to continue eating. After all, he had said what needed to be said, and he had said it in front of many soldiers and civil officials!
"Hu Tian, ​​Wang Jinghong!" Zhu Zhanhe began calling out names after sitting down.
"Your Highness~" Hu Tian and Wang Jinghong quickly stood up and obeyed Zhu Zhanhe's orders.

"Don't be nervous, I just want to tell you something small." Seeing the two of them stand up nervously, Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand, indicating that they should sit down to talk, but the two were clearly stubborn and preferred to stand and listen. Zhu Zhanhe respected this.

"It's nothing serious. Starting next year, the number of accompanying medical officers in both the army and navy will increase by 10%, and we need to stock up on more medicines."

Find out why the soldiers died. If their weapons are not good, add more weapons; if their armor is not good, add more armor; if they don't have enough firearms, add more firearms; if they don't have enough food, add more food.

In short, we must do everything we can to keep our brothers who have followed us through thick and thin alive. Zhu Zhanhe's words ultimately revealed his deep concern for the lives of his soldiers.

"Your humble servants accept the imperial edict!" Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words, Hu Tian and Wang Jinghong were deeply moved. They understood that the prince still cared about the lives of his soldiers.

"Eat, eat." After saying that, Zhu Zhanhe continued to have the two of them sit down and eat.

"Hey~? Prefect Yao, do you think what I said is right?" Suddenly, Zhu Zhanhe saw Yao Guan, the Prefect of Anzhou, beside him and couldn't help but ask.

"Your Highness loves your soldiers and your people like your own children; this is truly a blessing for the people of Annam." Upon hearing his lord's sudden question, Yao Guan put down his chopsticks, stood up, bowed to Zhu Zhanhe, and said sincerely. Moreover, this was Yao Guan's true thought; after all, those in power who truly love their people are few and far between!

Hehehe~
Prefect Yao, you must have something to say here.

"Let's get straight to the point. Everyone's here, so let's get everything over with at once." Zhu Zhanhe smiled slightly after hearing Yao Guan's compliment. Then, Zhu Zhanhe asked Yao Guan what he wanted to discuss.

"Your Highness, this..." Upon hearing his master tell him to speak directly, Yao Guan stood up somewhat awkwardly, as if it were difficult to say.

"If there's anything you can't say, hurry up and say it."

"After dinner, there's bound to be a lot of things to do later." Zhu Zhanhe wanted to finish what was at hand as soon as possible. After all, Annam was a newly developed region, and there were countless things to deal with; no one knew what other problems might arise at any moment. Therefore, Zhu Zhanhe felt it was best to deal with things quickly!
"Your Highness, Lord Xia and Lord Mu of the Cabinet jointly conveyed a message."

It is said that with the approval of the Dowager Princess and the Princess Consort, they will organize a selection of candidates for the Prince in Annam, and select no fewer than thirty women from respectable families for the Prince to choose from.

"Your humble servant has come to ask if this matter can be started as soon as possible? When Your Highness returns for the New Year, you can bring the person back to let the Princess and the Dowager Consort see her." Seeing that his prince was so stubborn in insisting that he speak now, Yao Guan had no choice but to bite the bullet and tell him the truth.

The moment those words were spoken, the entire room fell silent. Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help but purse his lips, glancing around with a slightly embarrassed look. Immediately, many of the generals buried their heads in their bowls and shoveled rice into their mouths, as if they had a grudge against the food.

Meanwhile, the two maids who had been serving Zhu Zhanhe stiffened for a moment. But after a short while, they continued to serve Zhu Zhanhe food and wine as usual.

"Clatter~" A crisp sound came, and everyone looked up to see that Mu Lin, one of the Mu brothers, had dropped his chopsticks and hurriedly went to pick them up.

"Your Highness, Mu Lin was a little excited when he heard that Your Highness was going to choose a concubine. Please punish him!" Mu Bin, who was sitting next to Mu Lin, quickly explained for his brother.

"It's alright, he's engaged now, it's normal for him to be excited to hear this." In fact, Zhu Zhanhe was quite satisfied with his brother-in-law, Mu Lin. At least according to the information from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Mu Lin was a steady person. Besides, he was wearing a mourning cap now, so Zhu Zhanhe didn't mind Mu Lin's rudeness.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Mu Bin quickly bowed to Zhu Zhanhe to express his gratitude, then pulled his younger brother down to sit. Seeing that the prince had no objections, everyone else had even less to say. After all, this was the prince's brother-in-law!

(End of this chapter)