Second Summoning

It actually needs to level up. Gao Yuan couldn't help but complain. But overall, it was a good thing; once it grew, it would definitely be a lethal weapon.

While his luck was still hot, Gao Yuan decided to use the Talent Card as well. With a thought—

“Host is using a B-rank Random Talent Summoning Card...”

This time, the system interface displayed a series of character cards that changed rapidly. Gao Yuan saw many familiar figures.

“I didn't expect B-rank to have so many famous people. As expected, our China's history is full of talent.”

After a few seconds, the screen gradually slowed down and stopped on an unexpected person.

“Congratulations to the Host for randomly drawing a B-rank Talent, Huo Jun;”

“Huo Jun, style name Huo Juns style name. Attributes: Expert Defender, Unyielding. Comprehensive Evaluation: B;”

“Huo Jun: A famous general under Liu Bei during the late Han and Three Kingdoms period;”

“Main achievements: Defended Jiameng City with several hundred men against an attack of over ten thousand by Liu Zhang for a year, and eventually defeated the enemy army; died young, thus failing to develop his full potential.”

After reading these attributes and the introduction, Gao Yuan was certain he had struck gold. This was a general who was absolutely underestimated.

To be precise, he was a general underestimated because his early death meant his potential was never fully realized.

Otherwise, based on this record and the disadvantageous situation of the later Shu Han period, his achievements and fame would certainly not be lower than those of Hao Zhao, who held Chencang to the death.

A golden light flashed, and a robust general appeared before Gao Yuan, cupping his fists and bowing deeply.

“This humble general, Huo Jun, pays respects to my Lord.”

Gao Yuan stood up from his lounge chair and helped Huo Jun up.

“Gaining Huo Juns style name is like a tiger gaining wings, hahaha!”

Obtaining such a talent was truly like being handed a pillow when one was sleepy. Gao Yuan thanked the System Daddy in his heart.

He called for a Personal Guard to take Huo Jun to the barracks to get familiarized first, while Gao Yuan returned to the courtyard to start drafting his plan for a strong army.

In this era, paper was still a luxury item, so he found a sand table and began sketching and writing.

Currently, the troops under Gao Yuan's command were mainly divided into two major blocks:

One block was his direct forces. This part consisted of the Gao Family's household generals, and the remaining were the soldiers possessed by Martial Souls.

After several battles, there were over two hundred household generals left, over eight hundred Beifu Army soldiers, and over eight hundred Garrison Soldiers, totaling a bit over two thousand men.

Mu Sheng's tribal soldiers, the prisoners of war, and those who surrendered at Menge City totaled over three thousand two hundred men.

Many in this latter group were purely there to make up the numbers; there was no need to keep them. It would be better to give them money and grain and let them return to farming and hunting to increase tax revenue.

The numbers were clear, so the next work objective was obvious: decommission part of the army to reduce expenses.

Thanks to his experience as a corporate drone writing PPTs and project proposals every month before transmigrating, his inspiration flowed like a burst pipe. Soon, a complete proposal was produced.

In this proposal, Gao Yuan divided the army into three blocks:

The first block: the remaining fifty or so guards from the original Princesss Residence would be assigned to Mu Qing as the Princesss Residence guards.

The second block: using the direct forces as the backbone, a standing army of two thousand five hundred men would be formed under Gao Yuan's direct command.

The third block: two garrison forces of five hundred to one thousand men each, responsible for the daily security and defense of Dehong, Menge, and other towns.

The most suitable candidate for this part was naturally Huo Jun. Gao Yuan prepared to hand over the defense of Menge City entirely to him, while Gao Yuan planned to personally take over Dehong City.

The attribute boost he gained from the last actual combat made him deeply understand the meaning of the phrase, 'Knowledge gained from paper is always shallow; one must practice it personally to truly understand.'

His current abilities were quite poor, so he would use the few hundred City Defense Forces to practice.

The next day, seeing this complete proposal, Zhao Xiyao and the other two women were very surprised.

“Is this the proposal? It is indeed very thorough, covering every detail. But this Huo Jun...”

Gao Yuan scratched his head and brought out the explanation he had prepared yesterday.

“Huo Juns style name is a talent I discovered by chance. I see that he is well-versed in military strategy and has great insight into city defense, so I plan to entrust the Menge City Defense Forces to him.”

It wasn't as difficult as he had imagined. The three women looked at each other, and Zhao Xiyao nodded in agreement.

“Since he is a candidate the Consort has chosen, then appoint him as the Menge City Defense Colonel.”

Huo Jun hadn't expected to be given such a heavy responsibility and such an important post right after joining. He was suddenly somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.

In this space-time, he was only nineteen years old. Holding the appointment letter, his face was full of trepidation.

“Lord, This humble general is still young and lacks learning, I fear...”

Gao Yuan waved his hand.

“I am well aware of Huo Juns style name's talent. There is no need for self-pity. As the saying goes, if you use a man, do not doubt him. Go to Menge and do your best. There are just two points you must pay attention to.”

“Please instruct me, Lord.”

“First, Menge City has just been pacified. There are surely people who haven't given up their wicked intentions. You must be cautious and show no mercy to those who rebel;”

“Second, most of the Menge City Defense Forces are the original troops of the West City Local Chieftain. Their combat effectiveness is uneven and their morale is unstable. You must train the army as quickly as possible.”

“This humble general will certainly not fail the Lord's trust.”

Gao Yuan patted Huo Jun on the shoulder.

“Good. Select your troops as soon as possible and set out!”

“Understood!”

For Huo Jun's trip to Menge, Gao Yuan gave him one hundred elites as the backbone. The remaining nine hundred men would need to be selected by him from the original troops under the West City Local Chieftain.

Once he arrived at Menge, he would rotate Xia Luqi and the Menge Local Chieftain's troops back.

To prevent anyone with ulterior motives, Gao Yuan chose a cross-garrison strategy, swapping the garrison locations of the West City and Menge troops.

Of course, if someone didn't want to continue being a soldier and wanted to go back to farming or hunting, Gao Yuan naturally welcomed it with both hands, giving them money and grain to go home.

Farmland in Menge and West City was scarce, and the population was even scarcer. All told, there were only over ten thousand households, with a population of less than one hundred thousand.

According to the convention of feudal dynasties, usually ten households supported one soldier. Based on the armed forces Gao Yuan currently controlled, it could be described as militaristic to the extreme.

In the short term, he could still rely on the money and grain he had plundered to survive, but in the long run, it definitely wouldn't work.

Expanding territory was the primary goal for a long time to come.

And the prerequisite for all this was to accumulate grain, train elite troops, and then seek development.

He was busy for a long time, right up until the middle of December.

Everything had begun to get on the right track, and the family finally had time to go out together to relax.

The terraced fields Gao Yuan suggested had already begun to take shape. Although planting hadn't started yet, they were already loved by many as a landscape.

Gao Yuan, Zhao Xiyao, and their group were seeing them for the first time.

Standing at the highest point, Gao Yuan took a deep breath of fresh air and gave a long stretch.

“Stealing half a day of leisure from a busy life. Since coming to Dehong, it's really been a long time since I've been this relaxed.”

Zheng Wan walked over holding a cloak and gently helped Gao Yuan put it on.

“It's cold on the mountain. Husband, don't get sick.”

The two of them had started awkwardly, but after working and living together for so long, that awkwardness had mostly dissipated.

Gao Yuan took Zheng Wan's soft hand and pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in the cloak.

“Do you miss home?”

Zheng Wan played dumb.

“Didn't we just come from home? It hasn't even been half a day.”

“You clearly know where I'm asking about.”

Zheng Wan's eyes reddened slightly, and she snuggled into Gao Yuan's embrace.

“Sometimes I do, but I know that I can't go back there anymore.”

Gao Yuan didn't know how to comfort her. He looked up at the distant terraced fields.

“I promise, we'll be able to go back soon.”