The groundwork for war

With official matters handed over to Liu Rengui, Gao Yuan was not completely hands-off.

Upon returning to Dehong, he summoned the envoy from Khon Kham, whom he had left hanging for several days.

The envoy had been living in Dehong for a few days and was already becoming impatient; upon receiving Gao Yuan's invitation to meet, he immediately scurried over.

"Lakhon, envoy of Lan Xang, pays respects to the duke of anle county of the Great Qian."

"Your Chinese is quite good."

"This lowly one has admired the culture of the Central Plains since childhood and once lived in Luoyang for a few years."

"No wonder your ruler sent you."

Gao Yuan took a sip of tea before asking, "I wonder, what business has Khon Kham sent you here for?"

Lakhon took out a document, held it up with both hands, and bowed to Gao Yuan. "Our ruler admires the might of the County Duke Gao immensely and wishes to form an alliance with the County Duke to resist our strong enemies together."

Gao Yuan immediately understood. Khon Kham was scared, afraid that Toungoo would finish its business and come for him.

After all, Gao Yuan was just a venomous snake that would take a bite from time to time, while Toungoo was a fierce tiger intent on annexing them.

In the past, Gao Yuan would not have minded taking a bite out of Lan Xang while Toungoo was attacking.

But now, he felt that uniting with Lan Xang to resist Toungoo was not a bad idea.

Moreover, at this moment, Lan Xang still had a huge use.

After all, there were ten thousand elite Tokyo troops surrounded by Khon Kham in Ganmeng, which could be considered a help to his own strategic goals.

Thinking of this, Gao Yuan put on a harmless smile. "Easy, easy. Your ruler is generous and forthright; being allies with him must be a pleasant thing."

Lakhon almost vomited blood. Was his ruler generous? That was clearly being repeatedly scammed by you!

However, he still wore a fawning smile on his face. "Since that is the case, I wonder what the County Duke thinks about our alliance..."

"No problem, no problem. You can go discuss the specifics with my subordinates."

Gao Yuan was now the supreme military commander of the Nanzhou Army, and haggling with others was beneath him, so he naturally gave an outline and left it to his subordinates.

With Gao Yuan's authorization, the alliance was reached in just ten days.

The alliance was simple. This time, Gao Yuan did not make excessive demands; he only asked Lan Xang to open two border towns in Mengwei to facilitate merchant trade.

Khon Kham was truly puzzled by this request from Gao Yuan.

"When things are abnormal, there must be a demon. Has this Gao Yuan really had enough and changed his nature?"

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Chuantong had already been stripped bare by Gao Yuan, so Mengwei could not have any more issues.

Therefore, although he opened the two border towns, Khon Kham still made full preparations.

He transferred the three thousand newly recruited troops to station in Mengwei, guarding against Gao Yuan coming to scrape the land again.

But in the eyes of the ruler of Tokyo, Wu Quan, this was a sign that the Lan Xang people were ready to make a move.

He still had ten thousand troops trapped in Ganmeng, and Wu Quan dreamed of saving them.

Added to that, having been defeated by the Lan Xang people this year, gaining nothing while losing troops and generals, he could not swallow this anger.

Therefore, he quickly responded to the troop movements of the Lan Xang army.

The Son La garrison moved south, mainly deploying at the border with Mengwei and Chuantang.

He also mobilized the Hung Hoa garrison to the vicinity of Son La, preparing to reinforce at any time.

Although they did not start fighting, the constant border frictions caused both sides to accumulate anger.

This was the best news for Gao Yuan.

With the eyes of the Tokyo people fixed on Lan Xang, the upcoming war of conquest for Liu Rengui would be much easier.

Just when Gao Yuan was feeling proud and content, the system, which had been quiet for nearly a year, popped up.

"B-level temporary event, War of Conquest triggered."

"War of Conquest: To dominate a region, growing one's strength is the foundation."

"Event Goal 1: Conquer a prefecture."

"Event Goal 2: Increase the population by at least twenty thousand."

"Event Reward: Completing Goal 1 avoids punishment; completing Goal 2 rewards a B-level lottery card."

"Failure Penalty: Morale and public sentiment in all territories will decrease."

Gao Yuan wanted to smack the system in the face. Look at this event; the rewards and punishments were completely unequal.

But since the event had been triggered, what could he do? Fortunately, this event was consistent with his short-term strategic goals.

It was like killing two birds with one stone; if he hit it, he would earn a little more.

However, Gao Yuan also realized that as his strength grew, the system's difficulty seemed to be gradually increasing.

He really did not know if a B-level event would require taking over a large area in the future. Just thinking about it made the future feel bleak!

The weather was getting cooler, and the hot Southwest felt exceptionally comfortable after entering winter.

On November 11th, Gao Yuan finally celebrated his eighteenth birthday in this world.

Fortunately, there was no name like "Singles' Day" in this era, otherwise, this birthday would have been mocked to death.

What excited Gao Yuan the most was that he was eighteen, an adult, and little Gao Yuan would not have to eat vegetarian food anymore.

It was just unclear which of Zheng Wan or Song Yao would be willing to be the pioneer, and he did not know if the girl next door, who would not be an adult for another half year, would mind.

The warm family dinner ended, and the family sat together, drinking tea and chatting.

The women were very happy to see Gao Yuan handing over the war to Liu Rengui this time.

"Husband, you are a commander in the future. You must learn to use people and cannot always do everything yourself."

As the oldest and most experienced, Zheng Wan taught Gao Yuan earnestly.

Song Yao nodded repeatedly.

"That is right, that is right. Husband, you are going to do great things in the future. You cannot always think about being at the forefront. Father-in-law used to say that doing it once or twice is enough; there is no need to do it every time."

Finally, Zhao Xiyao gave the summary.

"Those in high positions must prioritize using people. Since you think Liu Rengui has the talent of a great general, then let him do it."

Gao Yuan knew that the matter of being injured in the last expedition still weighed on their minds.

Smiling happily and helplessly, Gao Yuan put down his teacup and said solemnly,

"I naturally know this principle, but our family foundation is too thin, and we cannot afford to lose, not even once. If we lose once, we will be doomed."

"That is why I had to watch every expedition personally before, for fear of accidents."

"But it will be better in the future. As long as Zhengze can take on the heavy responsibility, I will try to let him lead the charge in the future."

"It is good that you can think this way."

"Actually, even if we lose, it does not matter. At worst, we can find a place to live in seclusion under assumed names."

"As long as the family is together, simple meals and plain clothes do not matter."

Gao Yuan suddenly felt a palpitation. Looking at the three girls, he nodded heavily.

"Yes, as long as the family is together, it will be fine."

Chatting late into the night, Zhao Xiyao's pretty face suddenly turned red, and she got up and pulled Song Yao.

"Yaoyao, I... I still have some intimate words to chat with you about. Can you... can you come to my place to stay tonight?"

Song Yao did not react for a moment, but since the first wife said so, she, the concubine, had no reason to object.

Just like that, Song Yao was pulled away from Gao Yuan's courtyard by Zhao Xiyao, looking back with every step.

How could Gao Yuan and Zheng Wan not understand Zhao Xiyao's intentions? Both of their eyes were a bit evasive.

"Hus... Husband... Let... Let us rest!"

The usually calm, decisive, and incredibly fiery Nanzhou Assistant Magistrate was now as shy as an innocent little girl, twisting and issuing an invitation.

With a beauty inviting him, Gao Yuan would not be a normal person if he could still hold back.

The night was very quiet, truly a good time for diligent study.