Undercurrents beneath the calm

What made him even happier was that the system had given him more rewards; besides the event rewards, there was an unexpected surprise.

"B-Rank Temporary Event, War of Conquest triggered: Objective One (Completed), Objective Two (Completed)."

"Congratulations to the Host for receiving the reward: one b-rank lottery card."

"Congratulations to the Host for recruiting an A-Rank local talent for the first time. Reward received: Growth-type Equipment: Famous General's Battle Armor."

"Growth-type equipment? Is it the same as my halo?"

"Correct, Host. However, one is a halo-type skill, while the other is equipment. Their growth methods also differ."

"System, take out this armor so I can see it."

With a thought, a set of black basin-collar half-body armor appeared on the table in front of Gao Yuan. Every iron plate was coated in shiny black lacquer and bound together with red cowhide cords.

"Host has used the Growth-type Equipment: Famous General's Battle Armor. It has been converted into Liao Hua's Basin-Collar Armor (F)."

"Liao Hua's Basin-Collar Armor (F), Growth-type Equipment. Wearing it slightly reduces the Host's stamina consumption. Growth conditions: Can be upgraded through exclusive events or by accumulating damage taken."

"System, can you be any more of a scammer? How is this armor better than the set I have now?"

"Please work hard to upgrade it, Host. There will be unexpected gains in the end!"

Gao Yuan was truly speechless. He had finally managed to get an achievement reward, yet it had to be slowly nurtured. It was far too underwhelming.

But then again, if this equipment could eventually grow to S-Rank, that would be amazing. After comforting himself, Gao Yuan decided to just use the lottery card as well.

"Use the lottery card for me too."

"Host is using a b-rank lottery card. Drawing in progress..."

It was still the classic prize wheel. Gao Yuan didn't even bother to look. What kind of fancy thing could a B-Rank card possibly produce?

"Congratulations to the Host for receiving a B-Rank reward: Fifty Soldier Cards."

It was a reward he had never seen before, which piqued Gao Yuan's interest. He immediately clicked to check them.

Soldier Card: Use to obtain one well-trained ordinary soldier.

This was actually quite good. Gao Yuan couldn't wait to use all fifty cards, and fifty figures suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

Looking at their physiques, each was about 1.8 meters tall with resolute eyes, broad shoulders, and thick waists. They were clearly well-trained, though they only wore plain cloth clothes.

Once equipped, they would definitely be no worse than the soldiers of the First Division. This convinced Gao Yuan that he had drawn something good today.

After arranging for people to send these soldiers to the First Division camp, Gao Yuan's lottery task for the day was complete. It was another harvest day.

In the thirteenth year of Taichu, the powerful Great Gan Dynasty appeared exceptionally calm. Aside from some regions suffering from famine, things were generally stable.

However, the capital, Luoyang, was far from peaceful. Since the start of winter, the Emperor, Zhao Che, had been confined to his sickbed.

The hidden ailments and old wounds from years of warfare began to flare up as he entered old age. The pain became unbearable every winter. Furthermore, in his quest for longevity, he had inevitably followed the path of past emperors—alchemy.

Ever since he returned from the Northern Expedition in the tenth year of Taichu and felt his health declining, he had gathered a large number of alchemists from across the country to refine "immortality elixirs" for him.

He would frequently consume a handful of pills, causing toxins to accumulate in his body and leaving the Emperor's face exceptionally pale.

The Emperor's poor health caused the struggle between the Former Crown Prince, Zhao Wufang, and the Third Prince, The Emperor, to grow increasingly fierce. The two camps often clashed over matters until they were red in the face.

Zhao Che was clearly aware of this, yet he intentionally or unintentionally allowed the conflict to continue, making it even harder for the ministers to discern the Emperor's thoughts.

Previously, Zhao Che had clearly favored The Emperor, so the ministers naturally thought better of the Third Prince. But now, with the Former Crown Prince faintly gaining the upper hand in court, the ministers began to hesitate again.

As for the person involved, The Emperor, he was even more anxious. Seeing his nearly guaranteed victory slipping away, how could he not be worried?

When the court fought, it was ultimately the common people at the bottom who suffered.

Several small-scale famines expanded because the struggle between the two sides delayed disaster relief efforts.

Natural disasters turned into man-made calamities. Discontent among the people grew, and some began to harbor ulterior motives.

Among them, the Xiao Family—descendants of the previous dynasty's imperial family who had been forced to settle in the Jiangnan region—were the most active. They used the famine as an excuse to gather people, and their household servants even exceeded twenty thousand.

Gao Gui, one of the Gao Family's Twelve Protectors, had previously submitted a formal report on this matter. Unfortunately, the report was like a stone dropped into the ocean, receiving no response at all.

Taking advantage of the New Year festival, Gao Gui, who was troubled by the Xiao Family's affairs, sought out his second brother, Gao Bing.

"Second Brother, the noble families and local gentry everywhere seem restless now, yet the imperial court doesn't seem to care..."

Gao Gui downed a large bowl of wine in one go, his face full of worry.

"The Zhao family members are all busy fighting for the succession; how would they have time to care about such things? We should just focus on doing our own duties."

"I'm just afraid that if trouble breaks out in the future, we will be the first to bear the brunt of it."

"If we can win, we fight; if not, we run. You're not actually planning to die for the Zhao family, are you?"

Gao Gui looked at Gao Bing in shock.

"Second Brother, you weren't like this before!"

A cold sneer appeared on Gao Bing's face.

"The Family Head, the two Young Generals, and ten of our brothers all died on the battlefield for Great Gan and the Zhao family. And the result? It's chilling just thinking about it!"

Thinking of the Gao Family's fate, Gao Gui also sighed incessantly and downed another bowl of wine.

"Sigh, I wonder how the Third Young Master and the two Madams are doing now?"

Gao Bing glanced around warily. After confirming no one was there, he leaned into Gao Gui's ear.

"Twelve, have you heard? I heard that the Third Young Master has already built a significant foundation in the Southwest. Do you think he might want to..."

Speaking of this, Gao Gui also became alert and leaned in.

"I've heard it too. They say the Third Young Master is invincible in the Southwest, though he doesn't seem to have plans to change his allegiance yet."

"I think the Third Young Master is trying to build up strength in silence, avoiding the spotlight while waiting for the right moment."

Gao Gui thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"It's just a pity the Southwest is a remote borderland lacking in soldiers and generals. I'm afraid it will be hard for him to become a major power!"

The two looked at each other and spoke almost simultaneously.

"How about we help the Third Young Master?"

The two shared a knowing smile of mutual understanding, already forming a plan in their hearts.

Gao Yuan had no idea that two of his family retainers far away in Jiangnan were plotting to send him a huge gift.

In the Northwest, in Ganzhou, three men in black were currently gathered for a secret meeting.

"By intercepting the imperial supply convoy this time, we've made quite a haul!"

"Won't we be detected?"

"Don't worry. They'll only think it was bandits causing trouble; they won't suspect us."

"We already have eight thousand heavy cavalry. As long as we contact our old units and take Ganzhou and Suzhou, the Northwest will be ours to roam."

The leader of the three finally spoke.

"No rush, no need to rush. We will continue to accumulate strength and wait for the opportunity."

"How much longer do we have to wait?"

"Wait patiently. Zhao Che is now at death's door; chaos is about to break out. When they fall into chaos themselves, that will be the time for us to rise."

Gao Yuan was completely unaware of what was about to happen in Great Gan. At this moment, he was receiving the gift sent by Gao Zhong, grinning from ear to ear.

To be precise, the gift was sent by Governor Wang Chuan and Wang Fu. According to their previous agreement, the two had sent over eight hundred people, all of whom were criminals exiled to Region due to their involvement in various cases.

Combined with the more than one hundred women Gao Zhong had gathered, there were over a thousand people in total, all young men and women.