Chapter 335 Goods Worth Four Billion

With the fixed rewards redeemed, all that remained were the two uncertain rewards.

That random-rank summoning card certainly didn't disappoint Gao Yuan. Jiang Qin, with a B+ evaluation, might not seem particularly outstanding, but he was a famous general of the Three Kingdoms period. Most importantly, he excelled in naval warfare.

After several years of training, Cao Xing had grown from C+ to B-, but as a naval commander, he was still a bit lacking. Moreover, it was impossible for Gao Yuan to have only one fleet in the future.

With Jiang Qin, he had another option. It was perfect to have him lead the newly launched warships to guard Panyu Port and assist the Maritime Trade Office in tax collection.

Next, Gao Yuan turned his gaze toward the item he had bought with his eyes closed, worth two billion Mall Coins—which was four billion RMB.

The 'Loser's Gift Pack.' The name didn't seem very auspicious, but the money had already been spent, and the system didn't support a seven-day no-reason return policy. Gao Yuan could only grit his teeth and open the pack.

"Host is using the Loser's Gift Pack. Randomizing era and quantity..."

Then, two spinning wheels appeared before Gao Yuan's eyes. The wheel on the left was filled with the eras and reign titles of various dynasties and emperors, while the wheel on the right was marked with numbers from one to five.

The wheels spun rapidly, only gradually slowing down after about ten seconds. Then, both wheels stopped simultaneously. The left one read 'Tianbao Era of the Tang Dynasty,' and the other showed the number five.

Just as Gao Yuan was confused about what this represented, five character cards appeared before him, followed by the system's voice.

"Congratulations to the Host for obtaining famous generals who died unnatural deaths during the Tianbao Era of the Tang Dynasty: Li Siye (S), Gao Xianzhi (S), Feng Changqing (A+), Official Zhang Xun (A+), and Nan Jiyun (A+)."

What else could he say? Gao Yuan could only perform a knee-slide celebration to express the wild joy in his heart.

A bolt from the blue—he had suddenly become rich!

He usually lamented the lack of talent, and here they were—five of them all at once.

Li Siye, the Divine General, commander of the Tang Dynasty's Modao Army. In the clash at Xiangji Temple, he personally slew dozens of men, just a step away from a hundred-man slaughter.

Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing were the mainstays of the Tang Anxi Army. Together, they destroyed Little Balur, resisted the Tubo, and dominated the Western Regions. Although they narrowly lost the Battle of Talas, they still dealt a heavy blow to the Abbasid Caliphate.

As for Official Zhang Xun and Nan Jiyun, the phrase 'Official Zhang Xun of Huaiyang gnashed his teeth' was enough to establish Official Zhang Xun's eternal fame. Nan Jiyun was a rare and fierce general. It was their steadfast defense that blocked the rebels' southward advance, preserving the Tang Dynasty's source of grain and funds.

Although these five all met tragic ends, especially Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing who died at the hands of petty men, it couldn't be denied that they were all rare talents.

Quickly climbing out of the bath and drying himself, Gao Yuan changed into clean clothes with the help of his maids and rushed to his study.

With a flash of golden light, five figures appeared before Gao Yuan.

Li Siye was just as imagined: tall, with a back like a tiger and a waist like a bear, a broad face and heavy jaw—at first glance, a fierce general with the courage of ten thousand men.

Gao Xianzhi was a handsome man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, possessing a heroic aura. His partner, Feng Changqing, though ugly in appearance, was full of power from head to toe.

Official Zhang Xun was dressed as a scholar, but considering he was a county magistrate when the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, this image was quite appropriate.

Finally, Nan Jiyun, also known as Nan Ba, had a bit more of a knight-errant's heroic spirit compared to the others. Gao Yuan remembered that in the novel 'The Great Tang Knight-Errant,' his image was that of a hero with soaring spirits.

Regardless of their looks, they all appeared very pleasing to Gao Yuan's eyes. These were rare talents worth a thousand gold pieces; those four billion were truly well-spent.

The five of them bowed to Gao Yuan together and said respectfully in unison,

"We pay our respects to the Lord!"

Gao Yuan raised his hand in a gesture of assistance.

"You may dispense with the formalities and rise."

After a few simple pleasantries and once the maids had served the tea, Gao Yuan began to arrange their respective positions.

"I know you are all talents that appear once in a century, but unfortunately, you haven't achieved any merit yet. Therefore, I cannot assign you very high positions for the time being, otherwise, the soldiers in the army might not be convinced."

The men were understanding and quickly stood up to bow to Gao Yuan again.

"We await the Lord's instructions."

Gao Yuan was very satisfied with their attitude. After nodding slightly, he began to arrange the five of them.

Since its formation, the Fifth Division of the Beiwei Army had lacked a Division Commander; only two Brigade Commanders were acting as the Division Commander and Deputy Commander. Gao Yuan had checked both, and they were only at a C+ level.

Taking this opportunity, Gao Yuan transferred both of them to Jiangnan West Circuit to serve as military governors of a prefecture, which was considered a promotion.

Then, he appointed Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, Li Siye, and Nan Jiyun as the four Brigade Commanders of the Fifth Division. According to Gao Yuan's plan, Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing would eventually be figures capable of commanding on their own; this was just a transition.

As for Li Siye and Nan Jiyun, they were fierce generals for charging into battle. They would train for now and could be used as his personal enforcers in the future.

Official Zhang Xun was appointed as the provincial inspector of Jiangzhou and the Transport Commissioner of Jiangnan West Circuit, handling logistics for Wen Pin.

According to the rules, any official appointment Gao Yuan made had to go through Zhao Xiyao. However, given Gao Yuan's famous 'eye for talent,' Zhao Xiyao would approve any recommendation he made without hesitation.

There were people who criticized this situation, but Zhao Xiyao would just laugh it off, not even bothering to explain.

She knew very well that if Gao Yuan wanted to replace her, he didn't need to go to such trouble. The vast territory of the Kingdom of Yue had been conquered by Gao Yuan, and the hundreds of thousands of troops were loyal to him.

To put it bluntly, as long as Gao Yuan was willing to give the word, she, the Prince of Yue, would have to step down obediently.

In fact, Zhao Xiyao had expressed several times that if Gao Yuan wanted to be Emperor, she was willing to retreat behind the scenes as Empress, or even be satisfied as a concubine.

Having arranged the six newly drawn people, Gao Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought to himself that being a leader really wasn't easy; arranging a few people required considering this and that, for fear of accidentally causing some chaos.

Thinking about the future, if he truly unified the world, then the tens of thousands of officials under him...

The thought alone was chilling. Fortunately, he didn't want to be Emperor. After the war was over, he would push everything onto his wife and children, and he would just be a 'salted fish' lying flat and sunbathing every day.

Hearing that Gao Yuan had acquired more talents, Xia Luqi was overjoyed. Currently, he was concurrently serving as the Division Commander for four divisions of the Beiwei Army, and his life was truly miserable.

Several times he had complained to Gao Yuan, hoping to just be a simple vanguard leading troops to charge, but he was always turned back by Gao Yuan on the grounds of having no one else.

Now, hearing that Gao Yuan had put several people into the Beiwei Army, he immediately went to test the capabilities of Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, and the others.

Although he wasn't skilled in commanding troops, after a few exchanges, he could see that Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing were both generals capable of holding their own.

Li Siye's martial arts were not inferior to his at all, and Nan Jiyun's mounted archery had reached a level of perfection.

The result made him ecstatic; he felt that his hard days were finally coming to an end.

Gao Yuan naturally saw these actions. Over the years, forcing a square peg into a round hole was unavoidable. The Beiwei Army was his core combat strength, and he really didn't feel at ease leaving it in someone else's hands.

In any case, every time they went to war, either he or Liu Rengui's group would be leading, so he had just let Xia Luqi keep the concurrent positions.