Chapter 312 Renewed Chaos

In the east, Gao Yuan had been making waves recently, quietly completing the expansion of his territory and preparing for the future Northern Expedition. However, in the west, Liu Rengui, who had ventured deep into the heart of the Indian Peninsula, ran into trouble.

It wasn't that the army's advance had stalled, but rather that problems began to emerge in the rear. Because many indigenous people could not be relocated in time, the number of immigrants remained at a disadvantage. Consequently, conflicts were sharp across various regions, and public security issues were frequent.

To address this, Yu Qian and Gao Yao jointly submitted a memorial requesting Gao Yuan to order a temporary halt to the offensive and to establish a new institution to manage these newly conquered territories.

Gao Yuan placed great trust in Yu Qian and Gao Yao. Since two Prime Ministers were complaining at the same time, Gao Yuan could roughly guess how difficult the management there must be.

After much consideration, Gao Yuan made a decision:

He would slow down the pace of the Western Expedition and order the main army back to Panyu for rest and reorganization. He ordered the establishment of the Tianzhu Circuit, with the capital set at Lahore, and appointed Yu Qian as the chief clerk to oversee all administrative affairs.

Simultaneously, the Tianzhu Legion was established, with Gao Yang appointed as Commander and Yu Qian as Deputy. The legion would oversee four divisions with a total strength of thirty-three thousand men. Three of these divisions were transferred from the Pugan Circuit, while the troop structure of the Pugan Circuit was revised to four divisions.

As his territory grew larger, Gao Yuan realized once again that he lacked sufficient talent. He was not only short of high-level officials capable of working independently but also faced a massive shortage of grassroots county magistrates and provincial inspectors.

Even though Gao Yuan was reluctant to use the people brought by the Zheng and Song families, he had no choice but to hold his nose and select a few.

The only silver lining was that after years of pouring money and grain into education, the county schools, prefectural schools, and national academies were finally able to provide a systematic supply of talent.

In the past two years, they could supply hundreds of talents for various industries annually. Every year, twenty to thirty people alone were able to pass the selection to serve as local officials like county magistrates.

Gao Yuan believed that with increased investment, the number of administrative talents under him would soon become more than sufficient, and the situation where one county magistrate managed two or three counties would never happen again.

"Brother-in-law, Brother-in-law, I'm here!"

While he was pondering these matters, a voice full of vigor suddenly came from outside. Gao Yuan couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth when he saw the newcomer.

Now eighteen years old, General Yang Zhan had grown into a handsome young man. An A-rank versatile general, he was now ready for use after careful cultivation by Xia Luqi and Liu Rengui.

Logically, Gao Yuan should have highly valued the boy, given his strong abilities and the fact that he was his cheap brother-in-law.

But this kid was a handful. Gao Yuan's two precious daughters followed him around every day, making Gao Yuan feel like his little 'padded jackets' were starting to leak air.

Gao Yuan had complained about this many times to Zhao Xiyao and Yang Xin, but instead of receiving any comfort, he only made them laugh until they shook.

"Mm, you're here. Why didn't you go to school today?"

Gao Yuan asked in a muffled voice without looking up.

General Yang Zhan puffed out his chest and said with a proud face,

"The teacher said I've finished my studies, so I came today specifically to ask you for an assignment, Brother-in-law."

Hearing this, Gao Yuan's eyes lit up. He was secretly pleased, but he maintained a calm expression on his face.

"There are assignments, but I'm afraid you won't be able to handle the hardship."

General Yang Zhan immediately grew anxious.

"Brother-in-law, don't look down on me! I've been by my two masters' sides since I was a child and often visited the army. How could I not handle hardship?"

"Are you sure?"

"Sure!"

Slap!

Gao Yuan sat up straight, slapped the table, and looked at General Yang Zhan, asking,

"What if you can't handle the hardship?"

General Yang Zhan raised his proud head and looked at Gao Yuan with piercing eyes.

"If I can't persevere, I will never see my two younger sisters, Naner and Yuer, again."

"Good! A real man's word is his bond. Let us clap hands to seal the oath!"

Clap... Clap... Clap!

The two clapped hands three times, officially reaching an agreement. Then, Gao Yuan wrote the appointment letter on the spot, appointing General Yang Zhan as a Squad Leader to serve in the army of the Tianzhu Circuit.

General Yang Zhan was indeed bold. After saying goodbye to Gao Nan and Gao Yu that day, he set off the next day with a hundred Personal Guards selected for him by Yang Xin.

Regarding General Yang Zhan's appointment to the Tianzhu Circuit, Gao Yuan was nearly scolded to death at home by the two young girls and Yang Xin. They all believed Gao Yuan wanted to break up the young lovers, which was why he sent General Yang Zhan to such a distant place.

At first, Gao Yuan would offer a few excuses, but eventually, he got truly annoyed. He showed the authority of the head of the household and said with a stern face,

"A good man should have ambitions across the world. When I was his age, I was already leading armies on southern and northern expeditions. Otherwise, how do you think you have such a comfortable life?

If you want General Yang Zhan to be a mediocre commoner in the future, then I'll order him back tomorrow. Anyway, the Yang Family doesn't lack money, and he won't go hungry for the rest of his life. How about that?"

Seeing that Gao Yuan was truly angry, the two little girls' arrogance was instantly suppressed. They shrunk behind Zheng Wan and Song Yao, looking as timid as startled rabbits.

It was the first time Yang Xin had seen Gao Yuan lose his temper. She sat there like a child who had done something wrong, her head bowed and her eyes red as she sniffled.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiyao quickly spoke up to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, the family is eating. Let's not talk about these things."

Zhao Xiyao walked over to sit beside Yang Xin, took her hand, and whispered in her ear,

"Can't you see? Husband wants to properly temper that boy General Yang Zhan. Otherwise, on what basis could he marry both Naner and Yuer? Not only is there a generational gap, but there's also a significant difference in status;

If Husband really wanted to deal with him, he wouldn't have sent him to the Tianzhu Circuit. You must know how easy the battles are over there, right? And who is the Commander there?"

Yang Xin was no fool; she had just been blinded by concern. Upon hearing Zhao Xiyao's analysis, she immediately understood Gao Yuan's well-intentioned efforts, and a different kind of emotion instantly flickered in her beautiful eyes.

Although the two little girls were still young, they had inherited their parents' excellent genes; they were not only beautiful but also intelligent.

After being taught by their mothers that night, they also understood that their father was not cold and heartless, nor was he breaking up the lovers, but rather paving the way for them.

Suddenly, the two little girls were moved to tears. In the following days, they clung to their father every day, acting spoiled and letting Gao Yuan fully enjoy the happiness of family life.

In these troubled times, how many opportunities were there to live such a peaceful and happy life?

After only a few days of leisure at home, a massive upheaval occurred.

In the Capital City, the imperial palace was currently in a state of chaos, all because Emperor Zhao Changluo had suddenly fallen into a coma.

As for the reason, it was simple. A man in his fifties or sixties who spent every day fooling around with women would inevitably find his strength failing. Therefore, Zhao Changluo had a habit of taking potent aphrodisiacs.

Taking such medicine once or twice might be fine, but taking it every day—let alone for someone with one foot in the grave like him—even the Hulk would be turned into skin and bones.

This day, he felt that one pill no longer had any effect, so he took two in one go.

To his surprise, while he was in the midst of a wild romp with two palace maids, he suddenly started bleeding from every orifice and immediately lost consciousness.

This truly threw everything into chaos. All the ministers, heads of the Powerful Families, and members of the imperial clan gathered in the palace.

Zhao Changluo had only that one foolish son, who was clearly unfit for the throne. This gave many members of the imperial clan some alternative ideas.

Meanwhile, those of the Powerful Families wanted to push Zhao Xun onto the throne, as a fool would be the easiest to control.

With everyone harboring their own ulterior motives, a conflict seemed inevitable.