Arrived home

Gao Yuan had left, but Liu Rengui was not idle. Zhongnan Circuit had suffered such heavy losses, and as the Military Governor, he was the primary person responsible.

Therefore, he quickly mobilized the army and launched an attack while Bayinnaung was suffering from his crushing defeat.

Of course, he had sought Gao Yuan's instructions for all these actions beforehand.

Although he was already a high-ranking official and held a rank equal to Gao Yuan's, he was, after all, a summoned character from the system and always felt that he was a subordinate of Gao Yuan.

The Toungoo army had been routed, not only suffering heavy military losses but also having their morale completely shattered.

Therefore, they were completely unable to withstand the counterattack from two thousand elites of the Second Division and the seven thousand Xuanjia Army.

However, Bayinnaung was no fool, and he quickly took measures.

He voluntarily abandoned a portion of his territory and contracted his defensive lines, which was the only reason he managed to hold onto half of Phitsanulok.

Liu Rengui's operation this time was purely retaliatory in nature, and he did not deploy many troops.

Therefore, he was quite satisfied with capturing three cities. Seeing that the enemy had rebuilt their defensive lines, he did not recklessly push forward.

In this great battle, Gao Yuan and Toungoo had forged a blood feud, especially with Bayinnaung.

If this eldest prince were to successfully ascend the throne, Zhongnan Circuit, Gao Yuan, and Liu Rengui would inevitably become his number one mortal enemies.

For the return journey, Gao Yuan did not choose to go through Luang Namtha to Menge and West City; instead, he took the route through East Pass and Coastal Defense.

The reason was simple: the more than thirty thousand Toungoo prisoners in his hands.

These people were native toungoo people and had little sense of belonging to him.

If a real battle broke out, it would be good enough if they didn't stab him in the back.

Therefore, the best way to deal with these people was to turn them into slaves, making them mine, farm, and work until they died.

If Gao Yuan had a sufficient population, he would certainly turn these people into forced laborers and squeeze out every last bit of value from them.

As it stood, however, he was very short on population. Diannan Circuit and Zhongnan Circuit, apart from East Pass and Vientiane, had never been grain-producing regions since ancient times.

Without grain, the population naturally wouldn't be very dense.

Currently, the twenty-four prefectures in the two circuits had, at most, only four hundred thousand households and a population of over two million.

And this was only the result of him cultivating terraced fields and relocating people after taking control.

In Gao Yuan's view, how could these dark-skinned, short, and lazy foreign tribes in the tropics compare to the hardworking and brave Han people?

Therefore, from the very beginning, he had made up his mind to sell every single one of these slaves to Jiangnan through the fleets of Gao Zhong and Wan Sanqian.

The landlords and wealthy families in Jiangnan had plenty of farmland and were quite fond of these relatively sturdy foreign slaves.

These were laborers who didn't need to be registered and could be exploited to death.

At Coastal Defense, Gao Zhong, having received the news, had long been waiting there.

Seeing Gao Yuan, Gao Zhong knelt on the ground with a "thud".

"Gao Zhong greets the Master. It has been several years; seeing the Master in good health is a blessing for this humble one."

"Hahaha, it's been a few years, how come you've become so sentimental, kid?"

Gao Yuan was very satisfied with Gao Zhong's attitude. He smiled and helped him up, even dusting off his knees, which left Gao Zhong flattered and overwhelmed.

"It should have been Wan Sanqian who came, but I truly missed the Master too much."

Gao Yuan patted his shoulder.

"You have done a great job over these years, raising a large amount of funds, supplies, and population for us;

next, Wan Sanqian's focus will shift to the Secret Guards, so you will have to work a bit harder;

work hard, and you will undoubtedly be ennobled and become a high official in the future."

Ever since becoming a boss, Gao Yuan had skillfully mastered the art of making empty promises.

"I would rather stay by the Master's side forever."

Regardless of whether these words were true or false, Gao Yuan was quite satisfied.

"This time I brought back over thirty thousand prisoners, all sturdy men. Send them to Jiangnan and get a good price for them."

When it came to Gao Zhong's specialty, his eyes immediately gleamed, his demeanor changed, and he patted his chest, saying,

"Master, rest assured. If there is even the slightest loss, it will be due to my incompetence."

"Good, then go and get busy. I need to head home as well."

"Master, wait a moment."

Seeing Gao Yuan about to leave, Gao Zhong hurriedly called him back and pulled him aside.

"Master, according to information my subordinates gathered in Guangzhou, it is rumored that the Feng Family and the Xian Family may be splitting up."

"The Feng Family and the Xian Family? Haven't these two families been intermarrying for generations? How could they fall out?"

Gao Zhong shook his head.

"The specific reason is unknown, but based on my analysis, it is the Feng Family that wants to abandon the Xian Family;

ever since the old Lady Xian passed away, the Xian Family has gradually declined, while the Feng Family has grown increasingly powerful since becoming the legitimate Military Governor of Lingnan Circuit."

With Gao Zhong's analysis, Gao Yuan roughly understood. The company had grown large, and the major shareholder was dissatisfied with the partners who were just freeloading, wanting to kick them out and go it alone or find new partners.

"Have you found out which backer the Feng Family has found?"

"No, for now, it seems Feng Pu just wants to cast off the Xian Family; there have been no other actions yet."

"Keep a close watch. If there is a chance, make contact with the current Lady Xian; perhaps we will have to rely on her when we march into Guangzhou in the future."

"Understood!"

Gao Yuan naturally wanted to take Guangzhou; it was not only a good place for grain production but also a natural deep-water port.

Once Guangzhou was captured and maritime trade was fully developed, he could make a fortune within five years.

After handing over the prisoners, Gao Yuan led his troops north to return to Guchang County.

He hadn't been out for very long this time, but Gao Yuan felt as if a year had passed; he missed home immensely.

On the first day of the sixth month of the third year of the era name, Guchang County was filled with an atmosphere of joy.

The reason was simple: Gao Yuan had returned to Guchang in triumph.

Outside the city, the Xuanjia Army stood in formation on both sides of the road, holding back the enthusiastic commoners.

In the middle of the main road, Wen Pin and Mu Sheng stood at the front, flanking a magnificent large carriage.

After a while, that long-awaited banner finally appeared in their line of sight.

The crowd suddenly erupted.

"They're here, they're here! That's the Commandery Duke's banner."

"I wonder how my husband is doing."

"I hope everyone can return safely."

People were anticipating and praying, hoping that their men would all return safely.

However, for many, their expectations were dashed. What they received was an urn of ashes, a generous pension, and a military medal.

"Ah! My dear, why have you left us? How are we, a helpless widow and orphan, supposed to live!"

"My son!"

Suddenly, wailing shook the sky, and the joyful atmosphere was completely dispersed.

Hearing the wailing outside, Gao Yuan felt quite bitter in his heart, and he pulled the women into the carriage.

The women naturally smelled the medicine on Gao Yuan; they pulled open his battle robe and saw the bandaged wounds.

With no heart to blame him, the women couldn't help but shed tears, and Gao Yuan hurriedly tried to coax them.

"Alright, alright, don't cry, don't cry. Didn't I come back in one piece?"

"Stop crying. You two are pregnant; be careful, or the baby will be born with a tearful face."

Zhao Xiyao wanted to punch him with her pink fists, but she was afraid of hitting his wounds. She could only sob while speaking in a tone that was both heartbroken and reproachful,

"You said you wouldn't go to the battlefield. Look at you, covered in wounds. How could I not be heartbroken!"

Gao Yuan held the delicate young woman in his arms.

"It's just that the toungoo people didn't follow the rules of war and bypassed the first line of defense to attack the prefectural city directly!"

"Actually, compared to those fallen soldiers, I am already very fortunate."

After much effort, Gao Yuan finally comforted the women and then suggested,

"I plan to hold a grand ceremony in Guchang County to honor the fallen soldiers and ceremoniously enshrine their spirit tablets in the Shrine of Loyal Martyrs."

The women naturally had no objections to this proposal, and upon returning to the government office, they entrusted this matter to Mu Sheng and Song Yong.