Chapter 273 Anxious

Chu Yue was full of confidence, not expecting her brother-in-law to refuse her.

'Yueyue, it's not that your brother-in-law is stingy, but we are currently in the south, where warhorses are extremely rare. Any decent ones are prioritized for the army.'

As he spoke, Gao Yuan pushed open the carriage door and pointed to the four horses pulling the carriage in front.

'Look at Zhao Xiyaos informal address's carriage; it only uses packhorses that are a bit stronger than average.'

'Is that so... I thought it was like in the TV dramas, where everyone has tall, strong horses!'

Gao Yuan reached out and pinched her cheek, saying with a smile,

'Think about it again and see what else you want. As long as it's permissible, I will definitely try my best to satisfy you. This promise is valid indefinitely.'

'Pinky promise!'

'No way, that's so childish!'

'I don't care, I want it. If you won't even pinky promise, you must be planning to go back on your word later.'

Gao Yuan couldn't resist this accusation at all. He had no choice but to helplessly perform this ancient and childish ritual with the little girl. With both sides finally stamping their agreement, the pact between the brother-in-law and sister-in-law was officially concluded.

Upon returning to the palace, the first order of business was bathing the children. Gao Yuan had originally wanted to do it himself, but he was met with eye-rolls from the women.

Chu Yue, while pushing Gao Yuan out, said with a look of disdain,

'How old are the children now? You have no self-awareness at all! Get out, hurry up and get out!'

Just like that, Gao Yuan was kicked out of the large bathhouse and had no choice but to return to his own sleeping quarters to soak in his bathtub, feeling quite aggrieved.

Soaking in the bathtub, Gao Yuan closed his eyes and began to plot out some future affairs.

He was thirty-one years old this year, and sixteen years had passed since he had fled in a sorry state to West City with Zhao Xiyao, Zheng Wan, and Song Yao.

In the eyes of others, his rise had been incredibly rapid; in just sixteen years, he had built such a massive power base. However, Gao Yuan was still not satisfied.

Compared to those famous emperors in history, his speed could be said to be surprisingly slow. Liu Xiu took only fourteen years from rising as a commoner to rebuilding the Great Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin took only six years.

Admittedly, both of them received strong support from the Powerful Families on their path to unification, though they were also severely constrained by them later on for this very reason.

But it also proved their outstanding abilities; otherwise, how could the Powerful Families have fully supported them?

Although he was anxious, Gao Yuan knew very well that a major reason limiting him was the economy. The Southwest had historically never been a place that produced much grain, making it unable to support him in fully ramping up his military and attacking on all fronts.

Thinking about the recent battle in the Jiannan Circuit, it had basically exhausted all his previous accumulations, which was frustrating to think about.

If only he could support the troops, money, and grain, he could have completely driven Li Yuanlang and Gao Hu out of the Jiannan Circuit in one go.

Furthermore, his strategy had always been to expand outward first and accumulate enough strength before turning back to plot for the Central Plains, so a slow pace was inevitable.

However, things would be better from now on. With high-yield rice, potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes, and having gained control over most of the Jiannan Circuit's territory, he would be able to mass-produce troops after just a few more years of accumulation.

There was another problem: Cavalry. A major reason why southern regimes found it difficult to unify the world was their disadvantage in Cavalry, unless...

Right, firearms. If he had firearms, the disadvantage of Cavalry would no longer be a disadvantage.

Thinking of this, Gao Yuan stood up from the bathtub, spilling water all over the floor.

After wiping his body haphazardly and putting on his pajamas, Gao Yuan hurried to Yang Xin's sleeping quarters.

Seeing Gao Yuan burst in so anxiously, Yang Xin couldn't help but blush, but she still slowly stood up and walked to Gao Yuan.

'How can you be so impatient? It's almost dinner time; couldn't you have waited until after eating?'

'Of course I'm anxious. This is a major matter; how could I not be?'

'Aren't you afraid that your sisters will blame you?'

While saying this, Yang Xin's small hands still reached out to skillfully help Gao Yuan take off his pajamas.

Once his pajamas were removed, Gao Yuan finally realized what was happening and quickly put his clothes back on.

'I misunderstood, I misunderstood! I wasn't talking about 'clapping' (intimacy), but something else entirely.'

About a quarter of an hour later, Yang Xin finally understood what Gao Yuan was so anxious about. Thinking of her previous misunderstanding, her pretty face turned as red as a monkey's butt.

After a long while, the woman finally gathered herself. While taking a robe from a maid to help Gao Yuan change, she patiently explained,

'I actually already arranged for Sister Yueying to take people to work on the development of gunpowder, but there hasn't been much progress yet, and it's still a long way from being able to manufacture firearms;'

'Moreover, even if gunpowder is successfully developed, given our current smelting technology, we cannot make firearms that can be used stably for a long time. So, I estimate that if you want to fully equip the army, it's impossible without at least eight or ten years.'

Hearing that it was impossible, Gao Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, but Yang Xin's words soon reignited his hope.

'However, although muskets and cannons are out of the question for now, as long as gunpowder is successfully developed, I do have a type of firearm that can be used immediately to recommend to you.'

'What?'

'An explosive satchel?'

'An explosive satchel? That thing is only useful for sieges; it's useless in field battles. I can't just have people hold an explosive satchel and go trade their lives one-for-one with others.'

Seeing that she had hit upon Gao Yuan's historical blind spot, Yang Xin looked smug.

'You're a man, yet your historical knowledge isn't even as extensive as mine.'

'Hehe, with such a capable good wife, why do I need to know so much? Good wife, good Xinxin, just reveal the answer.'

'Have you ever heard of a 'conscienceless cannon'?'

Hearing this name, an image immediately appeared before Gao Yuan's eyes: a crude, simple iron barrel, and an explosive satchel flying out of it.

Although this thing was crude, its lethality was astonishing. People caught in the shockwave often died from bleeding from their seven orifices, the kind that couldn't be saved.

'Mwah!'

Gao Yuan excitedly hugged Yang Xin and gave her a hard kiss.

'You really are my dear wife; I love you to death.'

With the heavy stone off his chest, Gao Yuan's appetite became exceptionally good. He ate his dinner with great relish, having one extra bowl of rice and two or three more pieces of meat than usual.

With no battles to fight, Gao Yuan poured more energy into economic development. In addition to training, the soldiers also took on the task of reclaiming land.

For every five mu of land reclaimed, they could not only receive an award but also get an extra mu of land for personal use or a certain amount of money when they retired in the future, so the soldiers worked quite hard.

Although Gao Yuan had abandoned the Fubing system and adopted a volunteer recruitment system, with soldiers' military pay transferred directly through the bank, this not only prevented generals from holding too much power but also avoided the collapse of the Fubing system due to land annexation.

But who wouldn't be willing to strive for more land or money and grain for their family?

Wealth moves the heart, after all!

Throughout the sixth year of the new era name, besides the major battle at the beginning of the year, the entire theme of the Nanyue Kingdom was development, and there was a scene of bustling activity everywhere.

Everywhere was a scene of prosperity, which allowed everyone from top to bottom to see vitality and hope. Those soldiers who had just surrendered were also completely relieved after being reunited with their families, pledging their loyalty to the Nanyue Kingdom.

In less than half a year, the two divisions of the Beiwei Army were fully staffed, and the scale of the Xiaoguo Army expanded to two thousand two hundred men.

As for the Third Division of the Beiwei Army, with its commanding general transferred away and a lack of troops, its designation was temporarily abolished.

Over in the Jiannan Circuit, Liu Rengui was also doing a great job. The Jiannan Corps was basically formed, and production in various places was gradually beginning to recover, with no significant population loss occurring.