The calm before the war

After sending Liu Lin away, the Emperor fell into silence; he was becoming increasingly wary of Gao Yuan.

He had ability and means, and now he had real power.

Sitting on four prefectures with a population of nearly two hundred thousand, his troop numbers were unknown, but he estimated they would not be fewer than five thousand.

Most crucially, being far away in the Southwest, he was beyond his reach; he truly worried that in a couple of years, Mao Biao and Song Ren wouldn't be able to keep him down.

His thoughts on Gao Yuan lasted only a moment before a much larger trouble arrived.

Tuyuhun had invaded Ganzhou and Suzhou, already capturing two county seats; he had to immediately decide who would lead the army to battle.

A few years ago, there was a ninety percent chance it would have been the three Fathers and sons of the Gao Family.

Now that the Gao Father and sons were dead, and the most capable fighters among Gao Wu's Twelve Protectors were mostly dead as well, only Gao Jia and Gao Gui remained.

Currently, the two were left idle in Yangzhou and Hangzhou by the Emperor.

He was concerned that they might harbor resentment over how he had handled the Gao Family.

After thinking for a long time, he still abandoned the plan to employ the two; he simply couldn't trust them!

If Gao Yuan knew the Emperor's internal process, he would surely beat gongs and drums to thank Murong Cheng of the Tuyuhun.

If not for Tuyuhun helping to draw the fire, the Emperor might have been unable to restrain the impulse to send troops.

On the Southwest border, Gao Yuan's major defeat of Yang Zhao sent this regional hegemon scurrying back to his lair to lick his wounds.

This news quickly spread everywhere, leaving the Local Chieftains trembling with fear.

They were terrified that this god of slaughter, Gao Yuan, might wipe them out on a whim.

Coincidentally, these Local Chieftains all sent envoys to Dehong with gifts to curry favor.

Some sent gold, silver, and jewelry, some sent beauties, and some sent grain; in short, they allowed Gao Yuan to fill the gaps in his treasury nicely.

Faced with these gestures of goodwill from the Local Chieftains, Gao Yuan took the opportunity to make a promise with a wave of his hand:

"I will not attack unless I am attacked, but if I am attacked, I will certainly retaliate—the kind that doesn't end until death;"

"Go back and remind your Local Chieftains not to make a mistake."

"Rest assured, County Duke Gao, we will certainly deliver your words exactly as they were spoken."

As for return gifts, Gao Yuan didn't have the bad habit of those historical Emperors who insisted on giving more than what was offered to show off the grandeur of the Celestial Empire.

Since it was the early stage of his venture and everything required careful budgeting, Gao Yuan gave each person a one-foot-tall bronze Buddha statue.

The Southwest region was different from the Central Plains; beliefs were quite diverse, and Theravada Buddhism had become rather popular in recent years.

These statues were spoils Gao Yuan had captured from Lan Xang, and he hadn't yet had time to melt them down to mint coins.

Having sent off the envoys, Gao Yuan had just returned to the backyard when he was met with eight eye-rolls and four soft huffs.

"Wait, what's going on? Is it because I stepped into the courtyard with my left foot first?"

Gao Yuan was completely baffled and even stepped back out of the courtyard to re-enter with his right foot first.

"Wives, what's wrong? Did someone upset you? Tell me, and your husband will vent your anger for you."

"Fine, but what if we tell you and you can't do it?"

Looking at the women's expressions, Gao Yuan, no matter how dense, knew they were angry with him, so he quickly changed his tune.

"What to do? Just deal with it!"

Seeing that setting a trap was useless, Song Yao went straight to the point.

"Well then, Gao Yuan, you really are like other men, never satisfied with what you have."

"Exactly. Seeing others send beauties, your face was beaming with joy."

So that was why. Gao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and immediately began to defend himself.

"I've been wronged! I didn't keep a single one of those beauties; I gave them all to others. Oh, by the way, Mu Qing, your Father was given one too."

Mu Qing's eyes widened as she looked at Gao Yuan in disbelief, and after a moment, she ran out in a huff.

In the blink of an eye, the girl turned back, stomped hard on Gao Yuan's foot, and ran off again.

Wrinkling his nose and sniffing lightly, Gao Yuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"This girl, though her skin is a bit dark and she spends all day training with weapons, actually smells quite nice."

Knowing the reason for the girls' anger, Gao Yuan began to coax them with targeted effort.

The cheesy pick-up lines he had seen online in his past life were tossed out as if they cost nothing.

In the end, he naturally coaxed the three girls until their faces were flushed with embarrassment, and they all chided him incessantly.

With their moods improved, Gao Yuan naturally took the opportunity to tease them with some verbal flirtation.

Unlike the harmony here, the former Local Chieftains Office, now renamed the Marshal's Manor, was currently filled with screams, pleas for mercy, and angry shouts.

"Daughter, please spare your Father's old bones. I really had no intention of remarrying!"

"I don't believe you! You definitely want to betray Mother; otherwise, why did you bring that vixen home?"

"Father just wanted to find you a companion; you can't get married later without even a dowry maid, right?"

"Excuses, all excuses! I don't believe it!"

Mu Sheng was truly suffering, feeling he had been terribly wronged, and could only keep pleading for mercy and making promises.

Finally, Mu Qing led the woman away with her head held high, leaving Mu Sheng to sigh and rub the spot where his daughter had pinched him.

Time arrived once again for the spring plowing; this year, without needing Gao Yuan's encouragement, the commoners began raising fish and seedling broadcasting one after another.

Suddenly, the price of fish fry in various parts of Nanzhou rose significantly, yet it still couldn't dampen the people's enthusiasm.

The fish soup was simply too fragrant, and the dried fish was too delicious; everyone wanted to eat it!

Of course, this Seedling Broadcasting Method and fish farming were not secrets that could be kept hidden.

According to intelligence, at least some people in the surrounding areas had already begun to follow suit.

Gao Yuan wasn't worried about this at all; after all, it would all be his territory sooner or later.

The wealthier they were now, the more satisfying it would be when he took over later.

Looking at the flourishing scene everywhere, everyone was filled with hope.

In the Kingdom of Dongjing, at the capital Thanh Hoa City, a middle-aged man with a sinister expression walked out of the royal palace.

This person was the former Second Prince of Lan Xang, Wen Huan, who was now in exile in Dongjing.

After paying a massive price, he finally secured the support of Wu Quan, the Lord of Dongjing.

Ten thousand elite troops, plus ten thousand laborers, over a thousand pack horses, and fifty thousand dan of grain.

The price was that after the restoration of his kingdom, Lan Xang would recognize Dongjing as its suzerain, and Wen Huan would recognize Wu Quan, who was eight years his junior, as his Father.

At the same time, Lan Xang would cede Location and Location to Dongjing.

Paying such a huge price caused Wen Huan's resentment toward Khon Kham to reach its peak.

Looking up and squinting at the sun, Wen Huan spoke in a voice only he could hear.

"Third Brother, just you wait; soon you will taste a fate worse than death."

No one was aware of the turmoil about to erupt in this area; everyone was busy with the spring plowing, their hard-earned sweat irrigating the land and nurturing their desire for a bountiful harvest.

Since the Battle of Puer, Gao Yuan, knowing the grain shortage, didn't say a word about expanding his territory; every day, besides practicing martial arts and exercising, he led the First Division in training.

After several reinforcements, the average combat power of the First Division had declined significantly; casualties in several campaigns had been heavy, and besides equipment issues, the fact that their combat strength hadn't reached a crushing level was also a problem.

This time, Gao Yuan hardened his heart, determined to train and arm the First Division properly.

According to his vision, this unit should be trained into an elite force capable of taking on ten men each, like the Camp of Trapped Soldiers or the Vanguard Camp from the Three Kingdoms period.

To train elites, the logistics had to keep up.

After taking over personally, Gao Yuan finally understood why even a great family like the Gao Family of Yanzhou could only support seven hundred men in the Camp of Trapped Soldiers.

Not to mention equipment, just the food alone could bankrupt someone.

Because the training volume and consumption were high, these soldiers were each more voracious than the last.

Each person per day: two and a half catties of grain, half a catty of meat, three taels of vegetables, and one tael of salt.

Apart from the animals hunted on the mountains every day, the remaining meat was almost entirely purchased, which made Mu Sheng, who was in charge of logistics, complain incessantly.