exchange

Li Yuanhao actually didn't want to continue fighting either; for him, the returns were too low.

Now, Tuoba Tao's suggestion gave him a way to back down gracefully.

“Since the Great General has said so, we will continue peace talks with the Han people.”

Tuoba Tao thought of something and offered a suggestion:

“Your Majesty, we captured quite a few Han slaves when we attacked Song Prefecture and Hexi Corridor previously. Perhaps we could...”

Receiving Tuoba Tao's hint, Li Yuanhao's eyes lit up.

“Pass down my decree: have all Han slaves from various places gathered and handed over to the Great General.”

After a pause, Li Yuanhao looked deeply at Tuoba Tao.

“Great General, everything is entrusted to you.”

“Your Majesty, rest assured. This subject will definitely bring our lads back safely.”

Gao Yuan looked at his ragged compatriots, and the fury in his heart was impossible to suppress.

Mu Qing naturally noticed his distress, reaching out to grasp Gao Yuan's trembling hand.

“Don't be angry. Won't we be able to take them home today?”

Tuoba Tao, unarmed, rode his horse and stopped fifty paces in front of Gao Yuan.

“Commandery Duke Gao, there are a total of 8,576 slaves here, all of them Han people. They are all being presented to the Commandery Duke today;

In addition, our Emperor has prepared fifty beauties from the Western Regions, ten thousand yaks, and one hundred carts of furs. Could you perhaps be lenient?”

Gao Yuan knew that making this exchange would put him at a disadvantage, but looking at those vacant eyes, his heart softened.

He knew he shouldn't be soft-hearted, but he was only human.

Gritting his teeth, he struggled internally for a long time. Gao Yuan finally sighed and loosened his grip on the reins.

“Add five hundred warhorses, and we have a deal.”

A smile finally appeared on Tuoba Tao's face, and he immediately agreed.

“Deal!”

The exchange proceeded quickly. In less than ten days, over ten thousand Western Kang captives, along with several thousand people who had been besieged in the city, were handed over to Tuoba Tao.

Looking into the eyes of the over eight thousand tormented common people, one could tell what kind of inhumane treatment they had suffered.

That day, Gao Yuan immediately arranged for Medical Practitioners to treat them, and the Kitchen Battalion worked tirelessly from morning till night cooking porridge.

Having starved for too long, it was not suitable for them to eat too much at once; they could only eat small, frequent meals consisting mostly of soft foods.

The entire resettlement camp was silent, with only the sounds of people slurping porridge audible.

Mu Qing felt a chill watching this scene, and she couldn't help but lean closer to Gao Yuan.

“Husband, why aren't they speaking at all?”

“They have lost hope in life; only the instinct to eat remains.”

Gao Yuan sighed and scanned the area.

“The most important thing now is to restore their confidence in life.”

After the relocated populace returned to their homes, the rescued people were settled in West City and Puer.

People from all over felt empathy upon hearing the plight of their compatriots and welcomed them warmly.

By the time all of this work was completed, time had unknowingly reached the beginning of the sixth month.

The weather gradually warmed up, and only then did Gao Yuan embark on his journey south.

The fighting on both fronts had essentially concluded, but for Gao Yuan, there was still an unfinished matter.

The Zhongnan Circuit had only recovered Phitsanulok and captured Nan Province, falling just short of the goal of capturing two more prefectures.

The territories in Western Kang were increasingly desolate, and Gao Yuan truly had little interest in them.

However, he was very interested in the former Ayutthaya territory—that fertile land situated in the tropics, capable of producing three rice harvests a year.

In the Zhongnan Circuit, Liu Rengui calmed down after repelling the Toungoo attack. It wasn't that he didn't want to attack, but a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; he couldn't do anything without troops at hand.

So, when he received the report from the messenger sent by Gao Yuan, he was overjoyed.

“Hahaha, the Liege Lord's reinforcements will arrive soon. We can prepare for a counterattack.”

“Really?”

Ma Song impatiently took the secret letter from Liu Rengui's hand, glanced at it, and also burst into laughter.

“Haha, this time we must make the toungoo people pay dearly.”

“We cannot just wait. Issue the order: the First Division and Third Division are to immediately relocate to Phitsanulok. Five hundred Xuanjia Army soldiers and one thousand civilian laborers are to be drawn from every prefecture and concentrated in Vientiane.”

“Understood!”

Following Liu Rengui's command, the war machine immediately started operating rapidly, and large quantities of grain, fodder, and military supplies began to be drawn from local treasuries.

By the time Gao Yuan arrived in Vientiane, all preparations for war had been completed.

Gao Yuan was very satisfied with this level of efficiency.

“Zhengze truly possesses the talent of a Prime Minister and Great General. With you overseeing the Zhongnan Circuit, I am completely at ease. Thank you for your hard work!”

This was the highest praise. Liu Rengui was inwardly overjoyed, but his expression remained calm and composed.

“It is the honor of This humble general to serve the Liege Lord wholeheartedly; I dare not speak of hardship.”

“Let's enter the city first and allow the army to rest for a few days.”

“Your subordinate has already prepared the military camp, and all grain, fodder, and meat rations are ready.”

“Good!”

Since Gao Yuan had arrived, Liu Rengui vacated the main courtyard of his Military Governor's residence and moved to the side courtyard.

After so many days of marching and fighting, although he had opportunities to bathe, Gao Yuan still felt like he smelled sour. Now that he had settled down, his first priority was naturally to enjoy a long soak in a bath.

Steam filled the spacious bathroom. Gao Yuan leaned comfortably in the tub, enjoying Mu Qing's service, feeling every pore in his body relax open.

“Comfortable, so comfortable. Qingqing, why don't you join me?”

Mu Qing pinched him, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“You're indecent!”

Gao Yuan grinned mischievously, grabbed the woman's small hand, and teased her while playing with it.

“We're an old married couple now, why are you still shy?”

“Husband, with Commander Liu and General Xia there, you won't need to personally lead the charge this time, right?”

Gao Yuan nodded noncommittally.

“Mm, I'll let them handle the specifics. I will try my best to remain in charge of the rear.”

Mu Qing clearly missed the ambiguity in Gao Yuan's words and flashed a sweet smile.

“That's good. Otherwise, the sisters will worry, and I will worry too.”

It felt wonderful to be cared for—a feeling he had never experienced in his previous life. Gao Yuan also displayed a happy smile, gently squeezed the woman's soft hand, closed his eyes, and continued to enjoy the moment.

After the most comfortable night since the start of the campaign, Gao Yuan woke up early the next day.

He carefully moved the beauty in his arms, got up, dressed, and stretched vigorously, feeling refreshed and invigorated. He also resumed his morning exercises, which he had paused for quite some time.

Ever since reaching the A-level, Gao Yuan clearly felt that relying solely on daily practice made further improvement difficult; he needed actual combat experience.

The scale of troop deployment in the Zhongnan Circuit was considerable, and with Gao Yuan personally arriving in Vientiane, the news could not be concealed.

Bayinnaung, upon receiving this news, also became fully alert.

Just looking at the map made him feel overwhelmed; there were simply too many places to defend.

Bayinnaung gathered everyone under his command and drew a circle on the map with his finger.

“Now, the Han forces are stationed in Phitsanulok. They can attack Nan Province to the north, encroach upon Phetchabun to the south, or even advance west to attack Luang Prabang and Sukhothai;”

“Given the current situation, what are your esteemed opinions?”

The group exchanged glances; how could they possibly guess Gao Yuan's direction of attack?

After a long silence, seeing that Bayinnaung was about to lose his temper, Pindalipha finally spoke.

“Your Highness, in This humble general's foolish opinion, why not deploy troops across all these prefectures?”

Bayinnaung gave his trusted favorite general a glare and snapped:

“Nonsense! If I had that many troops, would I need to ask you?”

Pindalipha realized he hadn't expressed himself clearly and quickly explained.

“What This humble general meant is that basic defenses should be set up everywhere, and Your Highness should concentrate the main forces, waiting until the enemy's direction of attack is confirmed before striking out to annihilate the Han main army.”