Lin'an, Shaoxing

Gao Yuan really wanted to write a thank-you letter to Feng Pu. A nineteen-year-old A-rank military general who excelled in Cavalry warfare had just been sent to him like this; how could Gao Yuan not be happy?

"Xian Chong, are you interested in joining my Personal Guard Battalion?"

Xian Chong did not expect to be able to enter the Personal Guard Battalion as soon as he arrived. He was somewhat happy, but still tentatively asked,

"Is it as an Jiang Huaizhen or..."

"Whether you can become an Jiang Huaizhen or just a common soldier depends on your own ability. I don't go in for seniority here."

Xian Chong nodded heavily.

"Alright, I'll go!"

"Good, that's the spirit. Go, take this order and find Commander Zhao Meng at the Personal Guard Battalion."

"Thank you, Commandery Duke."

Watching the confident youth leave, Gao Yuan seemed to see himself from a few years ago, just as high-spirited.

Putting aside his appreciation for talent, Gao Yuan returned to the study to continue handling his Jiang Huaizhen business.

Although all administrative affairs had been handed over to the women, as the scale of the army grew, military matters also increased.

Thinking back to when he first arrived in the Southwest, his territory was only West City, and his army numbered only a few thousand. In just a few short years, he now possessed the land of three circuits and dozens of prefectures.

Under his command, the elite Beiwei Army had 20,000 men, the Cavalry had 500, and the Xuanjia Army had 90,000. It could be said that his troops were strong and his horses sturdy.

Even if Song Ren and Mao Biao attacked together now, Gao Yuan had full confidence in blocking them, and even had the opportunity to counterattack.

Now, the only thing that could restrict him was probably grain.

Although his territory was large, there were not many places that truly produced grain. At most, there were fewer than ten prefectures; other places could only be said to be surviving in the cracks.

It was only by relying on terraced fields that he could barely guarantee the people had food to eat.

However, the days ahead would be easier. The Annan Circuit had large plains, and currently, large-scale land reclamation was underway. Coupled with the large areas of farmland in Lianzhou Prefecture and Leizhou Prefecture, as long as he developed steadily for a year or two, he believed that abundant granaries would be within reach.

The failure in the Battle of Hengzhou, the loss of strength, and the death of a son dealt a heavy blow to Feng Pu's ambitions for hegemony.

The only thing he was thankful for was that Mao Biao did not continue to march south, which gave him at least some comfort. Otherwise, if he lost Leizhou Prefecture and Lianzhou Prefecture, failed to take Hengzhou, and then lost Chenzhou, he would truly have suffered a crushing defeat.

Of course, for the current situation, he still had to thank that Emperor, The Emperor.

At this time, The Emperor's carriage had already arrived in Hangzhou. This picturesque place made him very satisfied, and he immediately decided to make Hangzhou the capital.

Where The Emperor lived naturally could not just be a makeshift arrangement; it required building an imperial palace, which in turn required money and grain.

Consequently, Mao Biao ran out of provisions, and having no choice, he abandoned his plans to continue marching south and could only reorganize his defensive lines.

The Valiant Cavalry Guard also retreated. As the Southern Palace Imperial Guard, their most important task was to safeguard the security of the imperial capital.

Just like that, the Da Qian Dynasty, this once-thriving empire, now only had the territories of The two Jiangnan Circuits and the Jiannan Circuit left.

The only comforting thing was that the arrival of the Southern Palace Imperial Guard at least extinguished the rebellions in the Jiangnan area, allowing this land of fish and rice to gradually stabilize.

In the North, with the withdrawal of the Qian Army, conflicts arose between Lu Kuan and Chang Xingrong, who had originally cooperated very happily.

After all, it was a piece of fat meat within easy reach; who wouldn't be envious? Both sides began a frantic scramble for territory.

At first, it was fine, but later, some friction was inevitable. Coupled with the fact that different interest groups stood behind them, these frictions gradually escalated, and it looked like the sparks were about to start a prairie fire.

Ever since the Great Qian Imperial Court withdrew from Luoyang, the Northern Liang Army was initially worried about a trap and did not dare to advance, until they discovered that Luoyang had become an empty city, at which point they swaggered into Luoyang.

No one expected that this regime, a mixture of bandits from the Northwest desert and qiang people, would become the first force to enter Luoyang.

However, entering Luoyang did not seem to be a good thing. Suddenly, Northern Liang became the target of public criticism; whether it was Lu Kuan, Chang Xingrong, or Li Zonghan, all were eyeing Northern Liang covetously.

In the Luoyang Palace, a middle-aged man with an aura of killing intent walked into the main hall with vigorous strides.

His eyes were fixed on that chair that haunted people's dreams. In the shadows, a Eunuch walked over quickly with a bent back.

"Congratulations, Great King, congratulations to the Great King for capturing Luoyang."

"Hehe, it's too early for congratulations. This city of Luoyang is a piece of fat meat that everyone is watching. I don't even know if I can sit firmly on it."

"With the talents of the Great King and the two Princes, those rebels are nothing but weeds and ants."

"Hahaha, I finally know why The Emperor favored you so much."

The middle-aged man patted Liu Jin on the shoulder.

"From now on, you will stay by my side and serve as the Eunuch of the Palace Secretariat."

Liu Jin was overjoyed and knelt on the ground, kowtowing like a pestle pounding garlic.

"This Servant will definitely do my best to share the Great King's worries."

"Alright, you go down first. Clean up this Luoyang Palace as soon as possible; I will live here from now on."

"Understood!"

Liu Jin left, and only then did the middle-aged man walk up to the imperial dais and sit on the dragon chair. He immediately felt a sense of comfort all over his body and couldn't help but laugh wantonly.

His laughter echoed continuously in the empty main hall, shaking some dust down from the rafters.

After laughing, he took a battle report from his bosom, unfolded it, and looked at it again, muttering to himself.

"Gao Yuan, Gao Yuan, I didn't expect you to be able to achieve this much. I wonder if you will be a help or a hindrance to me in the future!"

At this time, Gao Yuan, far away in County, sneezed several times in a row and couldn't help but look around, feeling that someone was talking about how handsome he was.

"Could it be that some girl is thinking of me? Is it a hometown fellow or the Empress? It couldn't be that young married woman, Xian Ying, right!"

Ever since he ate two plates of fragrant dumplings, Gao Yuan deeply realized how ingenious the saying "When young, one doesn't know the goodness of an auntie, and mistakenly treats a young girl as a treasure" was.

In Guangzhou, Feng Pu, who had set up the Chenzhou defensive line and returned to his old nest, always felt that some plant was growing on his head, which made him restless all day long.

In Hangzhou City, The Emperor, who was temporarily staying in a wealthy family's mansion, held his first court meeting since arriving at the new emperor.

Chief Eunuch held up a scroll of the imperial edict and read it with cadence, using his duck-like voice.

"To avoid the sharp edge of the rebels, I have moved the capital to Hangzhou, renamed Hangzhou to Capital City, and changed the era name to new era name. Inheriting the great legacy of the generations, promoting the grand cause of the century, I hope that all ministers can do their utmost to help me recover the Central Plains."

Then came the conferring of rewards upon those "meritorious Jiang Huaizhens" who had followed him all the way south to Hangzhou.

Mao Biao was awarded the title of Duke of the State of Lu and promoted to General of the Cavalry for repelling Feng Pu and ensuring that the Jiangnan region was not lost.

Meng Zhenshan was awarded the title of County Duke of Xiangyang for assisting Mao Biao in repelling Feng Pu and ensuring that the Jiangnan region was not lost.

Jiang Huaizhen, General Ma Zhiyuan, and others were also granted titles. Even Gao Yuan's two brothers-in-law, Song Yehong and Zheng Ting, managed to get the title of County Earl, serving as Ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice, respectively.

At the same time, The Emperor also issued an edict stripping Feng Pu of his Jiang Huaizhen position and title, declaring him a rebel, and calling on people of insight throughout the world to strive to suppress the rebels.

The news of the Imperial Court moving the capital to Hangzhou quickly spread throughout the world, and everyone finally understood why Luoyang was lost so quickly.

It turned out that The Emperor was cowardly and lustful, and he had run away before even fighting.

This made many people who were preparing to go south to Hangzhou to follow the Imperial Court hesitate.

"Is such an emperor, such an imperial court, still worth them serving?"

Gao Yuan was also very shocked. Besides being shocked that The Emperor had run to Hangzhou, he was also shocked that he had renamed Hangzhou to Capital City, and finally, he had even used the era name of Wanyan Gou.

era name, new era name; this Emperor really didn't learn anything good!