Battle ended

Losing five thousand men in two days finally cooled down Bayinnaung's brain, which had been clouded by hatred.

He knew that he had been defeated again this time, and it was a thorough defeat at that.

Not only did he suffer losses in troops and generals, but he also lost Nan Province, and it looked like Phetchabun could not be held either.

Territory doesn't become yours just because you say it is; it requires troops to garrison it.

With insufficient troops, he could only abandon some territory and contract his defensive line.

"Fine, let the Han people and the Khmer fight over it."

Bayinnaung consoled himself and went back to rest; after tossing and turning all night, he was truly exhausted.

The toungoo people began to withdraw. After being tormented by Gao Yuan like this, if they didn't withdraw, they would be completely wiped out by the time Liu Rengui's main army returned.

However, Bayinnaung was quite ruthless this time; although he abandoned Phetchabun, he had moved away all the population he could and emptied the treasuries.

Looking at the empty Region and the commoners returning from the mountains, Gao Yuan felt that he had set a bad precedent.

"This Bayinnaung has learned to be bad too!"

Seeing Gao Yuan shaking his head and sighing with an unhappy expression, the leader of the Personal Guards, Zhao Meng, approached him.

"Master, the toungoo people must not have gone far with the large number of commoners they are dragging along. How about I take the brothers and pursue them? We will surely be able to intercept and keep quite a few people."

Gao Yuan rolled his eyes at Zhao Meng in annoyance. This leader of his Personal Guards had followed him all the way from Luoyang to here.

Zhao Meng was not lacking in martial arts or Horsemanship, but it was a pity he was a reckless brute with no brains.

"The toungoo people have suffered such a big loss here, twice at that. Do you think they wouldn't be prepared?"

For Bayinnaung, this wild Host, Gao Yuan could strategically despise him, but he would never underestimate him.

Zhao Meng scratched his head and gave a silly smile.

"I am a rough man, how would I think of these things."

"I told you to read more books in your spare time, instead of just knowing how to fight, drink, and marry concubines all day."

Following him, this leader of the Personal Guards had already taken three foreign concubines.

"Alright, alright, stop standing there and hurry up to help settle those commoners."

Western Kang retreated and paid reparations, while Toungoo suffered losses in troops and generals and lost territory; such news quickly spread everywhere.

The three women in Guchang County finally set their hanging hearts at ease upon receiving this news.

The commoners were both happy and worried:

They didn't know if their men at home could achieve merit this time, and they didn't know if their men could return safely.

There were also three other people who breathed a sigh of relief: Song Ren of the Jiannan Circuit, and Governor Wang Chuan and Wang Fu of the Region.

Song Ren really had no confidence in attacking the Southern Yunnan.

Although he had not personally fought against the combat power under Gao Yuan's command, he had always heard of it.

An elite force tempered in a hundred battles, invincible—he believed that even if the Jiannan Army went instead, they might not be able to achieve such results easily.

Wang Chuan and Wang Fu were also in a very good mood; to them, Gao Yuan was not an enemy, but a God of Wealth.

Relying on the share they got from Gao Zhong, the two had long since purchased mansions and fertile land in Chengdu, Luoyang, and other places, and kept quite a few delicate young women.

Life was so comfortable, why fight? Once they started fighting and tore off their masks, how would they make money?

Therefore, as soon as the news of Gao Yuan's great victory arrived, the troops of the Jiannan Circuit and the Region dispersed and retreated to their respective garrison areas.

As soon as the troops on both sides retreated, Gao Yuan's side knew immediately because the system notification came.

"S-rank series event: Hegemony Struggle, Phase 4: Enemy of the World;

Event Goal 1: Repel the attack of Toungoo; (Completed)

Event Goal 2: Repel the attack of Western Kang; (Completed)

Event Goal 3: Repel the attack of the Great Qian Jiannan Army; (Completed)

Event Goal 4: Counterattack and acquire at least two prefectures; (Completed)

Event Reward: Reward of 500 permanent Martial Soul Cards of Wei Wu Soldiers, one random attribute enhancement card, and a special card: Allegiance of the People."

The system rewards had finally arrived, and what Gao Yuan cared about most was that card he had never seen before.

"Special Card: Allegiance of the People: The Host can use it on a designated prefecture;

After use, the approval rating of all indigenous residents in the region for the Host will reach the maximum value, and the speed of cultural and religious assimilation will increase (non-permanent)."

This was a card that could help him quickly digest the fruits of his victory; it was definitely a good thing.

However, Gao Yuan also noticed two key points; one was that it was non-permanent.

That is to say, if he kept courting death in various ways, these commoners would still become estranged.

There was another point: it was limited to indigenous residents. It seemed the system had indeed noticed the bug he exploited in Luang Namtha last time.

With a thought, the system notification came again.

"The Host has used the special card: Allegiance of the People, designating Nan Province as the target area."

However, Gao Yuan did not expect that the system had another bug this time.

A few days after using Allegiance of the People, Liu Rengui reported a laughable matter.

Among the two thousand and more captured soldiers, over a thousand were crying and shouting to join the Xuanjia Army. When asked, it turned out they were all people from Nan Province.

A few days later, a unit of the Toungoo army ran to Nan Province, also kneeling and begging to join.

These three thousand plus soldiers who joined voluntarily helped Liu Rengui solve the troop shortage problem all at once.

He carefully selected and kept fifteen hundred men to incorporate into the Xuanjia Army, and gave money and food to the rest to let them go home.

As for the remaining captive soldiers who were unwilling to join, Gao Yuan did not abandon them either.

He selected five hundred and eighty-seven of the stronger ones and gathered them together. Gao Yuan had a thought.

"The Host uses the permanent martial soul of Wei Wu Soldiers..."

After a night of screams, Gao Yuan's Second Division was restored to full strength, and it was a formidable force purely enhanced by the system.

Gao Yuan distributed the extra three hundred plus men from the Second Division to the other two divisions to make up the difference.

As for the Fourth Division, they were established the latest, their combat power was considered the worst among the Beiwei Army, and their losses this time were the most severe.

With heavy combat losses and no replenishment, the Fourth Division had shrunk from over twelve hundred men before the expedition to over eight hundred.

However, there was no way to replenish them now, so they could only return to Guchang County first.

Leaving the Second Division and Hong Wantong's army to Liu Rengui, Gao Yuan set off on the road home.

Gao Yuan's gains from this expedition were significant; not only had his personal strength improved, but he had also expanded his territory.

Most importantly, he had hurt two opponents, making them afraid to bare their fangs in the short term.

Returning from his joy, he realized that Mu Qing had a listless expression on her face.

"What's wrong? Who upset my Little Chili Pepper? Tell me, and your husband will go get revenge for you."

Mu Qing lowered her little head and shook it.

"No, I'm not upset."

Although she said that, one could tell she was unhappy just by looking at her delicate little mouth, which could hang an oil pot.

Thinking back to the last time he brought her on an expedition, Gao Yuan roughly guessed why she was unhappy.

Leaning close to the woman's ear, Gao Yuan whispered.

"It's rare to come out. How about we go inspect the various places and go back a few days later?"

The woman raised her head sharply, the joy in her eyes looking as if it were about to jump out.

However, she soon shook her head.

"It's enough that you have this heart, but let's go back early. The sisters, Yuer, and Naner are all missing you!"

Sigh, such a sensible girl; Gao Yuan felt a bit heartbroken for her. If they weren't still on the march, he would have taken her into his arms to comfort her properly.

Man proposes, God disposes; in the end, Gao Yuan let the Beiwei Army go back first on their own.

He, on the other hand, took Mu Qing and three hundred Personal Guards Cavalry, changed route, and galloped straight to Coastal Defense.

As for the reason, it was very simple. The secret letter sent by Gao Zhong said: The Xian Family has sent a representative, hoping to have a face-to-face talk with Gao Yuan, and the person is currently in Coastal Defense.