Mysterious visitor

During those peaceful days, besides practicing martial arts and reading, Gao Yuan's greatest pleasure was leaning against Zheng Wan and Song Yao's bellies, whispering and muttering.

"Baby, can you hear my voice? I'm your father. Hurry up and come out so Father can play horsey with you."

"Baby, you have to be good in Mother's belly. Don't cause a ruckus."

The women found his behavior both annoying and amusing, but their hearts were filled with sweetness.

Seeing how sweet Zheng Wan and Song Yao were, Zhao Xiyao felt even more jealous, and her demands on Gao Yuan became even more excessive.

The days passed slowly until the end of August. As another harvest season approached, Gao Yuan was preparing to take the women to the outskirts for a relaxing stroll when a guard suddenly arrived to report a visitor.

"Did the person give a name?"

"No, they only said they are an old acquaintance of the former family head."

"An old acquaintance?"

Gao Yuan exchanged puzzled glances with the women and received only negative responses. He originally intended to just kick the person out, but Zhao Xiyao advised him otherwise.

"Husband, since the other party is being so secretive, they must have some confidential matter."

The other women chimed in one after another.

"Yes, Husband, serious business comes first."

They were all sensible and kind women. Gao Yuan left a kiss on each of their foreheads and followed the guard to the front hall.

Arriving at the front hall, Gao Yuan saw an elegant middle-aged man sitting there, unhurriedly sipping tea.

Seeing Gao Yuan enter, the middle-aged man immediately set down his teacup and stood up to bow.

"Lu Daoyuan, the Crown Prince's Junior Supervisor, pays respects to the Duke of Xicheng Commandery."

Although Gao Yuan knew full well that this 'Crown Prince' referred to the Former Crown Prince, he refused to acknowledge it verbally.

"Crown Prince's Junior Supervisor? As far as I know, although His Majesty has offspring, he has not yet appointed an heir. Where is this Eastern Palace Crown Prince, and where is this Junior Supervisor?"

Lu Daoyuan was not surprised and continued.

"The Commandery Duke is exceptionally brilliant, so why play dumb? You know I am referring to the Former Crown Prince, Zhao Wufang."

"Fine, fine. That Crown Prince of yours is a thing of the past."

Gao Yuan interrupted Lu Daoyuan, picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and then looked up at him.

"For what purpose did my elder brother-in-law send you all this way?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince wishes to invite the Commandery Duke to rise up together and overthrow the unprincipled tyrant."

As Lu Daoyuan spoke, he gradually straightened his posture.

"His Highness said that once the deed is done, he is willing to divide the world equally with the Commandery Duke. Below one person, above ten thousand..."

"Pfft... Hahaha!"

Hearing Lu Daoyuan say this, Gao Yuan couldn't help himself and burst out laughing.

"Why does the Commandery Duke laugh?"

Gao Yuan took the handkerchief handed to him by a maid, wiped his mouth, coughed twice, and said,

"Does my elder brother-in-law take me for a fool? Divide the world equally? Go flip through the history books and see—whoever received such a promise didn't end up dead without a place for burial?

Alright, enough empty talk. If my brother-in-law truly wants to cooperate, then stop hiding. Show your strength, and we can divide the interests properly."

Lu Daoyuan was initially displeased, but then felt a surge of wild joy. He quickly spoke to confirm.

"The Commandery Duke is willing to cooperate?"

Gao Yuan suddenly felt that this brother-in-law of his wasn't worth cooperating with; he had too many idiots under him.

Seeing Gao Yuan's look, Lu Daoyuan realized he had misspoken and immediately tried to salvage the situation.

"Forgive me, Commandery Duke. I was simply too excited. In truth, His Highness has not been idle since his demotion. He has been enduring hardships to build up his strength, and has already made a breakthrough in the Shu Region."

"A breakthrough? What kind of breakthrough? Don't forget that the Jiedushi of Jiannan Circuit has eighty thousand troops under his command."

"His Highness has prepared eight thousand troops and has also contacted the Xikang Army. If the Commandery Duke rises up at the same time and attacks prefecture and Jia Prefecture, the great cause can be achieved."

"Western Kang? They are willing to help? The price must not be small, right?"

Lu Daoyuan's eyes darted around before he said,

"Not much, just some money, grain, silk, horses, cattle, and sheep. It's not much."

Gao Yuan couldn't be bothered to listen to any more. His eyes narrowed, faintly revealing a hint of killing intent.

The loquacious Lu Daoyuan felt a chill down his spine but didn't understand the source of the danger. Seeing that Gao Yuan seemed to be listening intently, he spoke with even more vigor.

When Lu Daoyuan finished speaking with a parched throat, Gao Yuan finally withdrew his killing intent and showed a smile.

"Junior Supervisor Lu, in that case, I shall quietly await good news from my elder brother-in-law."

After seeing Lu Daoyuan off, Wen Pin immediately approached. Just as he was about to speak, Gao Yuan gave a cold snort.

"Zhongye, lead the First Division to garrison Dali. If the Western Kang people dare to invade Jiannan Circuit, set out immediately and stab them in the back."

Wen Pin breathed a sigh of relief. The warning he wanted to give was swallowed back down as he took his orders and departed.

Gao Yuan then sat down and sighed, lamenting,

"Truly, profit blinds the mind. Colluding with foreign tribes is something the world will not tolerate. I'm afraid my elder brother-in-law is going to die without a place for burial."

He originally wanted to complain about this to the women, but seeing Zhao Xiyao's face, he gave up on the idea.

His wife was more concerned about the country and the people than those princes. If she knew her elder brother was colluding with foreign tribes to invade Jiannan Circuit, she would be so angry she wouldn't be able to eat.

Gao Yuan scoffed at Zhao Wufang's request for an alliance, but Lu Daoyuan didn't see it that way.

Thus, the message he relayed to Zhao Wufang was:

"Your Highness, that Gao Yuan has agreed. As soon as we rise up, he will send troops to Jia Prefecture and prefecture to pin down the Jiannan Circuit forces."

Sitting in the shadows, Zhao Wufang stood up excitedly.

"Good, good, good! Hahaha! The great cause can be achieved! The great cause can be achieved!"

"Your Highness, what about Western Kang..."

Only then did Zhao Wufang react.

"Right, right, right. How could I have forgotten this? Someone, send a message to Ji Chengzi. Say that I agree to their demands;

As long as I gain the world, the land of Hexi Corridor will belong to Western Kang."

Truly, selling the father's fields without a care. If Gao Yuan knew Zhao Wufang had agreed to such conditions, he would surely take a thirty-meter-long blade and hack Zhao Wufang into a hundred and eight pieces.

At this time, the situation in Great Gan was much better than before. At least the flames of war in various places had been largely extinguished.

After all, they were peasant rebel armies. Relying on numerical superiority to bully local garrison troops was one thing.

But asking them to face the elite Sixteen Guards of Great Gan was a bit too much to expect.

However, these rebels who had already embarked on the path of rebellion and could not turn back did not just sit and wait for death.

They retreated and converged along the way, gradually merging into three major powers.

One was the army led by Lu Kuan, a branch member of the Fanyang Lu Clan. They were centered around Youzhou and Location.

They had gathered a population of several million and had an army of nearly a hundred thousand, including thirty thousand cavalry.

Another was a force secretly supported by the Shandong gentry, led by the rebel general Chang Xingrong. They occupied Dengzhou, Laizhou, Mizhou, and other places, with nearly a hundred thousand troops.

The last one was the rebel army led by Li Zonghan. This man had Turkic blood, so he obtained the support of the Turks and occupied Yunzhou, Daizhou, Shuozhou, and other areas.

Although this army had the fewest people, it possessed over fifty thousand cavalry mixed with Turks. They were exceptionally fierce and the most difficult to deal with.

Added to this was the Northern Liang force currently attacking the Three Sanfu Guanzhongs of Guanzhong.

These rebel forces had passed their initial chaotic period, and the soldiers under their command were now battle-hardened.

They had gradually transformed from ordinary peasant rebels and horse bandits into regular armies with high combat effectiveness.

It could be said that although there were fewer prefectures ravaged by war in Great Gan at this moment, the situation was even more dangerous.