Chapter 234 Compensation in Place

Gao Yuan's demands were written in his notebook:

Control of Jia Prefecture and Luzhou for ten years, using the tax revenue of both places to compensate for losses; additionally, the Imperial Court must provide five thousand sets of iron armor, one hundred thousand catties of pig iron, one hundred catties of gold, five thousand oxen, and five hundred beautiful women as ransom.

After reading the notebook, Wang Mian immediately understood that the items at the end were simply extortionate demands; what Gao Yuan truly wanted were just Jia Prefecture and Luzhou.

Next, he used all his skills to negotiate with Gao Yuan, hoping to reduce some of the losses.

However, Wang Mian soon realized he was wrong. While it was true Gao Yuan wanted the two prefectures, the extortionate demands at the end weren't a bluff either; Gao Yuan genuinely wanted to take a large bite out of the Imperial Court.

If he could, he really wanted to stall, but he didn't dare.

For every day he stalled, a new entry would be added to Gao Yuan's bill, and the losses for the Jiannan Circuit would expand further.

By the time the Imperial Court's envoy arrived at Jia Prefecture, his backside sore from the hurried journey, the negotiations had already reached a stalemate.

Mainly, Gao Yuan was asking for far too much, and Wang Mian didn't have the authority to make decisions on his own.

“Vice Minister Zhang, you’ve finally arrived!”

Seeing the travel-worn Zhang Cong, Wang Mian almost burst into tears.

Zhang Cong was startled; he hadn't expected Wang Mian to break down in tears the moment he saw him.

“Commander Wang, why are you like this?”

Wang Mian recounted Gao Yuan's terms and his stubbornness.

“Tell me, what should I do?”

After listening to Wang Mian's grievances, Zhang Cong couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air, contributing his own small part to global warming.

He knew very well that if he reported Gao Yuan's conditions, there was a thousand percent chance he would receive a severe scolding from The Emperor.

Left with no choice, Zhang Cong and Wang Mian could only bite the bullet the next day and continue negotiating with Gao Yuan, hoping he would understand their predicament and reduce the compensation amount.

In truth, Gao Yuan hadn't intended to negotiate seriously from the start. He didn't want to push Zhao Ji too far; he just wanted to use the opportunity to stall for time so Xue Linfeng and the others could reap more benefits.

Now that the Left Martial Guard army was about to enter the Jiannan Circuit, Gao Yuan was ready to quit while he was ahead, feigning a cooperative stance and making concessions.

After another three days of back and forth, Gao Yuan finally relented, and the two sides reached an agreement:

Jia Prefecture and Luzhou would be under Gao Yuan's jurisdiction, with the tax revenue from both places compensating for his losses for a duration of fifteen years;

Regarding the captured Jiannan Army soldiers, if they wished to stay in the Southern Yue Kingdom, the Jiannan Circuit would need to escort their families there safely;

Additionally, the Jiannan Circuit would provide an extra compensation of two hundred beautiful women and three hundred thousand dan of grain.

Gao Yuan would release all Jiannan Army soldiers and send an envoy to Lin'an to meet The Emperor and formally apologize, giving the Imperial Court some face.

Both sides were relatively satisfied with this outcome.

When Meng Zhenshan returned to Chengdu and heard of the Imperial Court's arrangement, he was moved to tears. He kowtowed toward the east until his forehead bled, secretly vowing to devote himself entirely to The Emperor's service until his dying breath.

To make up for his mistakes, Meng Zhenshan took out his personal savings to purchase the women and grain Gao Yuan demanded.

Fortunately, the Meng family was a top-tier Powerful Families family; although the amount was large, it wasn't enough to bankrupt him.

Thus, the peace treaty presented to Zhao Ji stated that Gao Yuan would occupy two prefectures to collect taxes for his losses but would release over ten thousand captured soldiers. Soon, Gao Yuan's envoy, Wu Guiyi, also arrived in Lin'an City.

Wu Guiyi didn't come empty-handed. He brought a large quantity of rare timber, numerous precious furs, and even a live baby elephant, an Elephant slave, and two enchanting Toungoo dancers.

This caused the anger in Zhao Ji's heart to vanish instantly. That night, he spent the entire night admiring the dancers' performance.

As for that baby elephant, it also earned Zhao Ji's favor and later became one of the mounts he used for excursions.

The great war provoked by Meng Zhenshan ended just like that. Both sides seemed satisfied with the result, except for Wang Mian and others in the Jiannan Circuit, who were in immense pain.

The Jiannan Circuit had lost two wealthy prefectures and had been plundered by Gao Yuan like a locust swarm. To make matters worse, The Emperor not only failed to reduce their tax burden but demanded that not a single cent of their revenue be missing.

On Gao Yuan's side, the surrendered Jiannan Army soldiers perfectly replenished the losses of the Central Corps.

Not only were the Beiwei Army's losses fully restored, but it was expanded to twenty-four thousand men. At the same time, the captured warhorses were used to expand the Xiaoguo Army to two thousand men.

The captured iron armor was repaired, not only meeting the needs of the Central Corps but also allowing Gao Yuan to issue an extra thousand sets to each corps, enabling them to form elite breakthrough units.

However, these gains came at a price. Since the armor and grain were public property, Gao Yuan had to pay out of pocket for the soldiers' pensions and bonuses.

The small amount of wealth that had just accumulated in the government treasury was once again swept clean, and he even had to take out another loan from the bank.

If Zhao Xiyao hadn't already repaid some of the loans, Yang Xin wouldn't have even wanted to lend to Gao Yuan; this guy simply owed too much.

Giving the man in front of her a dirty look, Yang Xin said crossly,

“Gao Yuan, can't you just settle down for a bit? With the amount you owe now, the annual interest alone would take a month's worth of Southern Yue's tax revenue to repay. If this continues, not only will the government go bankrupt, but my bank will be dragged down with it.”

Gao Yuan chuckled, diligently massaging Yang Xin's shoulders.

“Don't worry. This year, I will definitely bring the total loan amount down.”

“I don't believe you. If a man's word could be trusted, sows would fly.”

Gao Yuan's expression changed. He turned Yang Xin around to face him and said seriously,

“Comrade Yang Xin, this line of thinking is very dangerous, you know?”

The woman blinked playfully.

“Dangerous? How so?”

“This is a precursor to becoming a radical feminist. Be careful, or you won't be able to get married in the future.”

“Hmph, I have money and power now. At worst, I'll just keep a few pretty boys, just like Wu Zetian did.”

“You dare? I’ll revoke your power right now.”

“Hmph, the Council won't agree to that!”

Seeing the woman's confident look, Gao Yuan flashed a wicked grin.

“Won't agree? Hehe, I'll take out whoever doesn't agree!”

Yang Xin was shocked. She only then remembered that this wasn't the modern world where everyone followed rules and laws. This was a feudal society in a chaotic era, and the man before her commanded an army of over a hundred thousand.

Talking about rules with someone like him was like a person seeking a quick death.

“You... you wouldn't be so unreasonable, would you?”

“ I am a regional overlord. How can I be called an overlord if I'm not overbearing?”

Yang Xin's eyes widened as she looked at Gao Yuan in disbelief, completely shocked by his logic.

“This... this... I...”

The former foreign corporate executive was completely defeated by the man before her; she was speechless against both his dominance and his logic.

Having settled the loan matter and teased his hometown fellow, Gao Yuan returned home humming a little tune, feeling satisfied.

Lying on a lounge chair in his small courtyard, he opened the system panel while soaking up the sun.

“A-rank Event: Battle of Validation:

Event Objective: Defeat the Jiannan Army and the Left Cavalry Guard in a frontal assault without using any surprise tactics to achieve victory in this great war. (Completed)”

“Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the reward: One Mysterious Key. The suppression effect on Emperor Zhao Ji has taken effect.”

Gao Yuan excitedly looked at the brand-new reward.

“Mysterious Key: A key to open the System Mall. Each key can be used once to randomly refresh a certain number of items. It closes after one purchase.”

This is... the System Mall! The mall he had been longing for has finally arrived.