Chapter 299 Immense Ambition

In the short span of about a year, the Nanyue Kingdom's treasury had accumulated a wealth of assets; not only were money and food abundant, but various military armaments were also in high supply.

Under Chen Dao's efforts, the Imperial Guard Division had reached its full complement of ten thousand men, and its combat effectiveness had begun to take shape. However, ensuring their absolute loyalty to him would still take a long time.

As Xiao Ting sheng said in the second part of Nirvana in Fire, that kind of loyalty is cultivated through long-term nurturing and grace; it is absolutely not something that can be formed overnight.

In this regard, the Bank played a massive role. All soldiers' pay was disbursed directly from the national treasury, rather than being distributed through generals, commanders, or even Military Governors.

Thus, in the minds of all the officers and soldiers, the ones providing their pay and feeding them were the Prince of Nanyue, Zhao Xiyao, and the Duke of Yue, Gao Yuan.

To a certain extent, this avoided the possibility of subordinate generals using their troops to assert independence.

With the Imperial Guard Division established, Gao Yuan began working on forming the Fifth Division of the Beiwei Army. As the main force for southern and northern campaigns, the Beiwei Army was the core of the core.

Looking at the budget submitted by Gao Yuan, Wu Xu couldn't help but shake her head.

"Husband, we don't even have half of the world yet, and we already have such high military expenditures. If we truly rule the world in the future, this spending... I worry the burden on the treasury will be too heavy..."

Gao Yuan shook his head. Military spending was tied to his grand strategic policy, and he didn't intend to back down a single step.

"Meiniang, if our gaze only stops at the Southwest or the Central Plains, then on the day the world is unified, I would naturally choose to demobilize and cut costs. But my ideals go beyond that..."

"Does Husband mean the Indian Peninsula?"

"Not just the Indian Peninsula, but also Liaodong, Goguryeo, the Western Regions, and even the Persian Empire further west, among others."

Gao Yuan reached out and pinched Wu Xu's little face, causing the woman to blush and complain coyly before he continued.

"As long as our army continues to advance and expand our territory, the treasury will never face an excessive burden."

"Is it as you say, Husband—when the Cannons roar, ten thousand taels of gold follow?"

Wu Xu pulled Gao Yuan down to sit and then sat on his lap, whimpering softly in his arms like a lazy kitten.

"Husband, what exactly is a 'Cannon'?"

"How should I put it? I'll tell you what, on the next rest day, I'll take you all to see what a Cannon is."

Gao Yuan felt it was time to let his women see what firearms were, to give them more confidence.

A few days passed in a flash. Early one morning before dawn, Gao Yuan took his family out of Panyu and headed straight for the testing grounds.

A major reason Gao Yuan formed the Imperial Guard Division was to free up the two thousand Baier Soldiers. He needed an army he could absolutely trust to handle these firearms.

To this end, he had even ordered that all soldiers from the front line who had been possessed by a martial soul be recalled to exchange places with the current soldiers of the Imperial Guard Division.

Boom!

Boom!

Two massive roars echoed through the valley. The birds and beasts in the valley fled for their lives in a panic once again, while a group of unfortunate sheep and roosters were blown to pieces.

The women in the safety bunker were stunned, unable to recover for a long time, their rosy mouths hanging wide open.

After a long while, the women finally came to their senses. Their gaze toward Yueying changed; they wondered how this small woman could develop such a terrifying thing.

Gao Yuan looked proud as he patted the large iron barrel beside him and said,

"Actually, this isn't the final form of the Cannon. What you see now is just a compromise made because our manufacturing capabilities haven't reached the standard yet."

"This... this is just a compromise?"

Even the usually calm Zhao Xiyao stuttered slightly as she looked at Gao Yuan in disbelief.

Gao Yuan nodded and said with a serious expression,

"When Cannons are developed to their limit, they can flatten the main hall of the Luoyang Palace from dozens of miles away with a single shot."

The women were shocked. Even Yang Xin pulled on Gao Yuan in disbelief and whispered in his ear,

"You aren't talking about missiles, are you?"

"I'm talking about Cannons!"

"Are there really Cannons that powerful?"

"Of course. During World War II, the Schwerer Gustav built on the orders of Little Mustache flattened a reinforced concrete fortification complex with just six shots."

"That powerful?"

"Yeah, though that Cannon was an anomaly. It weighed over a thousand tons and had to be mounted on a train."

Yang Xin rolled her eyes at Gao Yuan and stopped talking.

Next, Gao Yuan introduced various uses for artillery, including sieges, field battles, and especially the revolution in naval warfare.

"Once our Treasure Ships are fully equipped with Cannons, naval battles will no longer require boarding actions. As long as the enemy vessels enter range, a single volley will turn them into splinters."

The women quickly imagined the scene and felt as if it were already before their eyes.

Wu Xu looked at Gao Yuan and said seriously,

"Husband, these Cannons must be operated by people we can absolutely trust, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable."

Gao Yuan nodded.

"I have already written letters to recall the veterans who followed us from the beginning. They will join the Baier Soldiers to form a new army called the Shenji Camp, specializing in the control of various firearms."

Seeing that Gao Yuan already had a plan, the women were completely at ease and no longer had any objections to his continued increase in military spending.

On the Indian Peninsula, Liu Rengui had led the army to conquer over a dozen prefectures in one go, and was now only one step away from the old Mughal capital of Lahore.

While the army's advance was fast, Gao Yao in the rear was exhausted to the point of nearly coughing up blood. As soon as Liu Rengui stopped to rest and reorganize, Gao Yao immediately went to the commanders tent.

"Regel, you once governed the Zhongnan Circuit too, so you should know the hardships involved. You can't do things like this."

Liu Rengui was stunned for a moment before realizing what Gao Yao was complaining about. He could only shrug helplessly.

"I can't help it. These people are so fragile; one battle often takes two or three prefectures. With such opportunities to gain merit, can I really stop the soldiers?"

Gao Yao sat down and sighed.

"I've already written to the Lord, hoping he can send someone here as soon as possible. Otherwise, I really won't be able to handle so many affairs."

At this moment, Gao Yuan was also helpless. He really wanted to send someone to help Gao Yao, but he simply had no one available; he only had a few civil officials capable of handling things on their own.

Suddenly, he remembered the system reward he had received last time. Hope flared up, and with a thought, he said,

"System, use the Mysterious Key."

"Host is using the Mysterious Key..."

The long-lost mall interface appeared before Gao Yuan again, and he discovered two shimmering gold items.

"S-Rank Random Talent Summoning Card, price: one billion Mall Coins."

"S-Rank Random Legion Summoning Card, price: one billion Mall Coins."

Gao Yuan wanted both. Crucially, he didn't lack Mall Coins—the Chu family's assets had been exchanged for over five billion—but unfortunately, he only had one key.

It felt like having two rooms in front of him: one with Yang Mi and Liu Yifei, and the other with Black Widow and Anne Hathaway. It was a truly difficult choice.

After agonizing for a day, and with the system urging him to make the exchange quickly, Gao Yuan finally made up his mind and gritted his teeth!