Chapter 344 Super Gift Pack

Having finished all the tasks at hand, Gao Yuan finally had some free time. He chose an auspicious day to prepare to claim his rewards.

Since obtaining the system, he had never received an SS-rank reward. Now that it was within reach, how could Gao Yuan not be excited?

Leaning against the edge of the bath, Gao Yuan ate a slice of orange and took a sip of sweet, refreshing fruit wine. His every pore felt open and relaxed. With a thought, he opened the system panel.

"Host: Gao Yuan. Character Attributes: Soft face but strong heart, ruthless and decisive. Comprehensive Evaluation: S-."

"Strength: S-; Agility: A+; Endurance: A+; Intelligence: A-; Leadership: A; Internal Affairs: B; Charisma: S."

"Martial Arts: Saber Technique: A+; Spearmanship: A+; Horsemanship: A+; Mounted Archery: S-; Foot Archery: A+."

"Skills: Leaders Aura (B), Pursue and Attack, One-Strike Kill."

"First Life Mentor: First Life Mentor (Gao Changgong)."

"Equipment: Qin Qiong's mingguang armor (A), Gao Chong's Tiger-Head Gold-Inlaid Spear (A), lingbao bow (S)."

During this expedition, several of his attributes had improved. His Strength and Mounted Archery had even broken through to the edge of the top-tier S- rank.

His comprehensive evaluation had also reached S- rank, putting him on the same level as Liu Rengui, though Gao Yuan knew he was still far from actually matching him.

Gao Yuan was also starting to grasp the threshold. At this level, improvements in Strength and Agility could no longer rely on brute practice alone.

Learning how to utilize his own power had become an important means of raising his evaluation.

Satisfied, he ate another slice of orange and took a sip of wine before opening the event panel.

"SS-rank Life Event: Empress Cultivation (Completed). Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Indulgent Life Gift Pack."

"Sweet! System, open the gift pack for me."

"Host is opening the Indulgent Life Gift Pack..."

"Congratulations to the Host for receiving the following rewards:"

"Skill: Rejuvenation. The Host can use this on a designated target. When their physical condition enters its decline phase, it can restore them to their young adult state and significantly slow down their physical aging. Can be used ten times."

"Virtual Training Ground: The Host can conduct daily training within the system space without physical exertion. Can be used for four hours daily. Note: The physical fatigue caused by training will not disappear."

"Special Status: Prosperity. For the next five years, all regions under the Host's jurisdiction will enter a state of favorable weather. Production in all industries will increase by twenty percent, and the population birth rate will increase by fifty percent."

"Holy... Holy crap, that's amazing!"

Gao Yuan couldn't help but marvel inwardly. None of these three rewards would show immediate results, but each was incredibly powerful.

Especially the first skill; it was far more potent than simple longevity.

If it were just longevity, physical condition would still decline after a certain age. Whether one lived to seventy or a hundred, they would essentially be a sickly old man.

This was equivalent to giving himself a chance to return to his peak, and the aging process would slow down afterward. This was much better than simple longevity.

Not to mention the second reward; he could now practice martial arts while reading books.

As for the third, it gave him the chance to rapidly increase national power.

Next, he would have to face Northern Liang and Northern Yan. The strength of these two was not something the lingering Southern Qian could compare to.

Once the initial excitement passed, Gao Yuan began to filter the list of candidates for Rejuvenation.

Himself, Zhao Xiyao, Zheng Wan, Song Yao, Mu Qing, Wu Xu, Xian Ying, and Princess Consort Huang Yueying.

Himself and seven women—that already used up eight slots. Gao Yuan decided to give the ninth to his little brat.

Who knew if his descendants would turn out to be useless? It would be better to let Crown Prince Zhao Cheng be Emperor for a few more years.

As for whether his grandson could last until the day he became Emperor... children and grandchildren have their own fortunes, so that wasn't something he needed to worry about.

For the final slot, Gao Yuan thought for a long time before deciding to give it to his sister-in-law, Chu Yue.

Speaking of which, this girl wasn't young anymore; it was about time she got married.

Unfortunately, her father-in-law, mother-in-law, and Yang Xin had arranged several blind dates, but she had rejected them all.

As for her thoughts, Zhao Xiyao had once mentioned them to him.

"With such an incredible brother-in-law, how could any other man catch her eye? Why don't you just take her in?"

Yang Xin had actually agreed with Zhao Xiyao's suggestion. Of course, she had another layer of consideration: secrecy.

Only a few people in this world knew that Gao Yuan and the others were transmigrators.

Once a woman marries, her thoughts can become unpredictable. Therefore, from this perspective, Chu Yue was indeed unsuitable to marry anyone else.

"I'll have a chat with that girl later. If she's truly willing, I can try 'eating the rice with the lid on'..."

Thinking this, Gao Yuan showed a smug smile, his grin reaching up to his forehead.

Gao Yuan was the type who couldn't sit on money; as soon as there was money in the national treasury, he would start infrastructure projects.

Having just obtained such powerful skills, he used them all immediately, with no intention of saving them for later.

Having received the big rewards, Gao Yuan was in a great mood. He climbed out of the bath, dried himself, changed clothes, and went to Wu Xu's courtyard.

That night, the Empress was tossed and turned until she nearly fainted. The next day, she even had trouble walking.

Knowing one is about to come into a fortune, what would a normal person do?

Naturally, they would consider how to spend the money.

Gao Yuan was that normal person. From the next day, he began planning how to spend the wealth.

With favorable weather for the next few years, tax revenue would certainly increase.

Combined with the mining income after the expedition against the 'Little Japs,' the national treasury would surely become more abundant day by day.

Aside from keeping a bit of a reserve for emergencies, the rest of the treasury's money should be spent decisively.

Besides infrastructure and the massive development of Jiangnan, he needed to prepare for war.

Despite Great Qian's vast territory, it had always lacked a suitable horse-breeding ground.

This meant warhorses could only rely on external imports, which severely limited the scale of the Cavalry.

The Xiaoguo Army had reached a bottleneck at five thousand men and could not expand further.

There was a saying: why did many famous generals not have famous horses? It was because for generals who fought every day, warhorses were consumables.

Consider how fierce Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin was; he lost so many good horses during the process of unifying the world.

In these years, Gao Yuan had changed horses four times, mostly because they were retired due to heavy injuries.

If even the commander-in-chief was like this, not to mention the average cavalryman; the rate of warhorse consumption was even faster.

Although he already had cannons, Cavalry were still essential. One must know that even in World War II, there were still Cavalry units.

Before transmigrating, when Gao Yuan was bored, he had seen a documentary showing that the people's army in the twenty-first century still maintained a Cavalry unit.

Therefore, taking the Guanzhong and opening up Western Liang became Gao Yuan's next top priority.

As he thought, Gao Yuan picked up his brush and wrote the two words: 'Cavalry.'

And in his heart, Gao Yuan already had a plan for the candidates to march into the Guanzhong and Western Liang.

Gao Xian Shiba plus Li Siye—could there be a more suitable combination than this pair?

As for Liu Rengui, let him move around in Jiangnan to intimidate his cheap old man.

Meanwhile, he could let Qin Hui sow some discord, getting Northern Yan to help draw some of the fire.

Thinking of this, Gao Yuan couldn't sit still. He immediately sent people to call Gao Yao, Yu Qian, and Gao Xianzhi to the Grand Marshals Mansion.

Though called the Grand Marshals Mansion, it was actually a side hall of the imperial palace designated by Zhao Xiyao as the office for the Grand Marshal.

In addition, Zhao Xiyao had assigned Gao Yuan a beautiful female secretary—Chu Yue.

The excuse was that family members wouldn't leak secrets.

Actually... those who understand, understand.