If I fail to overcome the tribulation, I can only return to the Ming Dynasty and become a prince.

Chapter 329 Nanyang Strategy
"Borrowing troops? Brother, do you want to ask me to borrow troops?" Facing Zhu Zhanji's request for help, Zhu Zhanquan touched his chin and said: "It's not that I don't want to lend them to you, it's just that the Qingyu Guards can't do it. My two children are about to be born. , the Qingyu Guards will be retained to protect the palace, but as for the others... the Jiuzhou Guards can be lent to you, are three guards enough?"

Zhu Zhanjuan responded to Zhu Zhanji's request for borrowing troops after only a moment of consideration.

For him, it is a good thing that Zhu Zhanji can quell the rebellion in the southwest.

As for whether he can stabilize his position after establishing his prestige, this kind of thing is indifferent to Zhu Zhancheng.

In other words, Zhu Zhanji's succession to the throne is a more suitable outcome for Zhu Zhanchun.

He didn't want to be the emperor, so naturally he didn't care about the fight with Zhu Zhanji, or it might hinder him from establishing meritorious service and gaining prestige.

So when Zhu Zhanji asked to borrow troops, except for his own Qingyu Guards, Zhu Zhanji actually didn't mind lending troops to Zhu Zhanji.

"Three Kyushu Guards? Are they good at water warfare?" Zhu Zhanji heard that Zhu Zhanquan was not willing to lend the Jade Guards, so he didn't pay much attention. He just frowned slightly and explained: "The Marquis of Fengcheng is My lieutenant general who countered the rebellion this time suggested that I go south by water. However, most of the soldiers and horses in the imperial court are not good at naval warfare, so he suggested that I borrow troops from you. After all, my second brother, your Qingyu Guards are the best at water warfare in my Ming Dynasty. force."

Facing the explanation given by Zhu Zhanji on the other side of the water mirror, Zhu Zhanyu couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Zhanqi didn't believe a word of this explanation.

It's not that he doesn't believe in his eldest brother, but that he doesn't believe in Fengcheng Hou Li Bin.

The so-called imperial soldiers and horses are not good at naval warfare. This is purely a lie. That is to say, only his elder brother who does not understand the situation will believe Li Bin's statement.

The imperial court sent Zhu Zhanji south to quell the rebellion. They were going to the Chief Secretary of Cochin to wipe out the remnants of the Chen Dynasty in Annan. They were going to go into the tropical rainforest and face snakes, insects, rats, and ants, rather than going south in a boat to fight as Li Bin said. naval battle.

"Brother, when you go to Jiaozhi to counter the rebellion, you should want troops who are good at mountain and forest warfare. Being good at water warfare is just to prevent you from seasickness." Zhu Zhanquan explained to Zhu Zhanji, and also suggested to him: " Although seasickness is a big problem, our Ming Dynasty has developed maritime transportation and has the best shipbuilding technology in the world. Eunuch Zheng's treasure fleet is enough to safely transport you to Jiaozhi.

At that time, you only need to find a place in the Chief Secretary of Cochin to repair for a period of time, and the army will be able to regain its combat effectiveness.

And although the remnants of Chen Chao are causing rebellion, most of the Chief Secretary of Cochin is still in the hands of our Ming Dynasty, allowing you to land and repair, and there are still ports that serve as logistics supply points for the army.

Even if not, there is no problem in asking Eunuch Zheng to capture one for you now. His fleet has sailed across the South Seas before and made all the countries in the South Sea surrender. With Eunuch Zheng's help, there will be no problem. "

In Zhu Zhanjun's view, whether it was the imperial court's conquest of Annan a few years ago when he was still awake, or whether Zhu Zhanji led troops to Jiaozhi to suppress the rebellion, the biggest problems to be solved were the acclimatization and the local man-eating primitive tropical rainforest.

You must know that even in the Second World War and the Vietnam War in later generations, the army with the blessing of modern technology was helpless when facing the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia.

Even the American imperialists in later generations spread chemicals on a large scale in order to solve the problem of the talking tropical rainforest and tried to "kill" this forest on a large scale, but they did not achieve very good results.

In this era, Ming Dynasty wants to clear up the rebellion in this land?It can only be said that it is not particularly difficult to defeat the rebels, quell the rebellion, or even kill the rebellious parties.

But want to completely eliminate resistance in this land?Without hundreds of years of investment, it would be impossible to achieve subtle transformation and influence through cultural penetration.

Although this place used to be the homeland of the Han family, the independence of Annan in the past hundred years has gradually caused this land to deviate from the mainstream of Han family and Central Plains culture, so the people here can easily be incited to rebel.

Facing towns where troops are stationed, these rebellious gangs can at best act as a source of harassment.

But if the imperial court wanted to exterminate them, they had to go deep into the mountains and old forests. This undoubtedly brought great difficulties to the Ming army, which was not used to fighting in tropical areas.

After explaining these issues to Zhu Zhanji one by one, Zhu Zhanji finally said conclusively: "So, brother, when you go to quell the rebellion, the most important thing you should bring is not the navy, but a large number of medicinal materials that can clear away heat and remove body temperature and enough medicine." Doctor. But if you really need a naval force, I have a good candidate to recommend to you! Did the imperial court consecrate a South China Sea Dragon King before?"

Zhu Zhanjun thought about it and felt that this seemed to be a good time for Ah Qing to officially enter the Ming Dynasty.

Apart from anything else, as long as Ah Qing can successfully help Zhu Zhanji put down the rebellion in Jiaozhi, then she will have made a great contribution. She can also spread the belief in the Dragon King of the South China Sea to Jiaozhi, and use it as a basis to expand to the entire country. Nanyang area.

So when Zhu Zhanji mentioned the navy, he first thought of A Qing and the navy under her command that had begun to take shape.

"Dragon King of the South China Sea?" Zhu Zhanji showed a surprised expression, but then nodded and said: "I heard my father and grandfather mentioned that it was a new 'god' that you proposed to canonize, second brother, but this god It’s not someone who has passed away like grandma, but a dragon that has lived for thousands of years.”

"Yes, Ah Qing is indeed a dragon. She is still training the navy here with me, and she is now very impressive, so you can go south with her this time." Zhu Zhanyu nodded slightly and introduced himself to his eldest brother. Situation: "Although Ah Qing has not yet fully grasped the role of the Dragon King of the South China Sea, and his naval army has only set up a shelf, but with a Dragon King accompanying the army on the expedition, you basically don't have to worry about encountering any problems at sea.

Moreover, Ah Qing's navy can also help you in the war against Jiaozhi. Although this navy may not be able to help you put down the rebellion, there is still no problem in using it to escort logistics supplies and help you guard the place. "

Zhu Zhanju's words made Zhu Zhanji overjoyed. He hurriedly said happily: "This is great. This way, we will have enough troops to put down the rebellion in the southwest, and we can also ensure the smooth flow of the sea food route!"

"Grain routes on the sea? I would say that the imperial court should not transport grain to Nanyang at all." Zhu Zhanquan heard his eldest brother's words and immediately complained: "The rice in Nanyang can be harvested three times a year. Grab a handful of rice and sprinkle it on You can harvest something in the fields, but you actually think there will be a shortage of food in Nanyang?"

"But how to harvest the food from Nanyang? Aren't these all in the hands of the people in Nanyang?" Zhu Zhanji showed a puzzled expression.

Zhu Zhanju couldn't help but smile and said: "Collect it? Why should I collect it? Can't you just let them send it over by themselves? Nanyang is rich in products, but its production level is not good, and it is far inferior to the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the porcelain, ironware, silk and other commodities produced in the Ming Dynasty are all very popular in Nanyang. If the goods are sold to Nanyang for one tael of silver, if they cannot be sold for 100 taels of silver, the transaction will be considered a loss.

Similarly, if the goods from Nanyang can be transported back, the profit can also be doubled. Therefore, the Song Dynasty relied on this sea trade route to ensure such a high annual income.

So brother, when you go to Nanyang, you don’t need to do anything else. Ask Eunuch Zheng to transport a batch of porcelain and silk for you. It doesn’t need to be very good stuff, just the ones produced by ordinary folk kilns and workshops. Bring it to Nanyang and sell it locally. Let them trade food to meet your army's needs for conquest. "

Zhu Zhanyun's words really opened up new ideas for Zhu Zhanji. He is a young man by nature, loves to play and doesn't like to follow rules. He is particularly interested in the strategy proposed by Zhu Zhanyun.

So he said to Zhu Zhanquan: "Second brother, are you sure you can really get food from Nanyang? If you can really get food, the military rations to counter the rebellion will be second. If you can transport the food from Nanyang back Domestically, wouldn’t our Ming Dynasty never have to worry about famine?”

"If you can control the entire Nanyang, develop all the land in Nanyang, and let everyone in Nanyang farm the land for our Ming Dynasty, then this can really be done." Zhu Zhanyu thought for a while, then nodded in confirmation. Zhu Zhanji's thoughts: "But for now, let's solve the problem of Jiaozhi first. After stabilizing the Chief Secretary of Jiaozhi, the imperial court can use this as a foundation to continue to expand the imperial court's influence in Southeast Asia.

For example, we can station troops in places like the Xuanwei Division of Old Port, just like those islands in the Ming Dynasty. We can establish garrison posts to control and ensure the safety of the waterways, and at the same time, we can spread the influence of the Ming Dynasty to the local areas and deter those vassal countries that do not want to. Dare to cause trouble again. "

The two brothers became more and more excited as they chatted, and Zhu Zhanji was even more excited. But thinking that he was short of troops and talents, he still said helplessly: "It's a pity, second brother, you have to wait for our good nephew in Kyushu." If my son is born, otherwise we brothers will go to Nanyang together to capture this place for the imperial court, so that our Ming Dynasty will not have to worry about famine from now on. Isn’t this comparable to my grandfather’s achievements in driving Hu Mang to the north and sealing the wolf to Xu?”

"Which man can resist the temptation of chasing Hu Mang in the north and returning to Han territory in the west?" Zhu Zhanquan shook his head, then smiled and sighed: "It's a pity that I really haven't been in the mood to go on an expedition recently, and the Japanese country has not been there recently. There is great peace, but Ashikaga's rebel forces are still causing chaos. Last time they assassinated my concubine.

Therefore, I plan to clarify the situation in these few months, and then help Uncle Ning and the others to completely pacify Honshu Island and let the Japanese country settle down. "

"In this case, I have no choice but to go to Nanyang by myself!" Zhu Zhanji immediately expressed regret, but then he said: "But after you have pacified the Japanese country, second brother, you might as well come to Nanyang to see it! I think We may still need your help in countering the rebellion this time."

(End of this chapter)