The battle for supremacy

Having understood Liu Rengui's scheme, and with his grain reserves dwindling daily, Wu Changwen made up his mind.

"We cannot just sit here and wait for death. We must break out. We'll break out tonight while the Han people are unprepared, heading west."

If he had elite troops and a large force, a breakout might have stood a chance, but unfortunately, Wu Changwen possessed neither.

The breakout attempt that night was discovered as soon as they left the town. After losing nearly a hundred men, Wu Changwen had no choice but to retreat.

Upon learning that his son was besieged and the reinforcements had suffered heavy losses, Wu Quan was also struck with terror, momentarily losing his cool.

At this moment, a minister stepped forward.

"Your Highness, I have heard that Gao Yuan, the lord of Nanzhou, has a fondness for beauties and wealth. Why don't we send an envoy to negotiate..."

Gao Yuan: I didn't, don't talk nonsense.

Wu Quan, as if grasping at a life-saving straw, quickly scanned the room.

"Which of you, my dear ministers, is willing to make this trip?"

The group of ministers all looked down at their noses and hearts, remaining silent.

Finally, Wu Quan grew somewhat annoyed and pointed at the man who had just suggested the idea.

"Since it was your idea, you shall be the one to go and negotiate with the Han people. You must save my son."

"Your Highness, I am old and frail; I fear I cannot withstand the hardships of the journey. Please..."

Wu Quan's eyes widened. He pointed at the fifty-something-year-old minister and roared in anger.

"Guards, drag this old thing away and throw him into the Imperial Prison! Order the Imperial Guard to seize his household!"

Upon hearing that he was to be imprisoned and his assets seized, the previously trembling minister's back no longer ached and his legs no longer pained him. With a 'thud', he knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.

"I will go, I will go! Please, Your Highness, spare my life..."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go quickly! If you cannot save the Prince, your entire family will be buried with him!"

As one of Gao Yuan's most trusted confidants, Liu Rengui executed Gao Yuan's policy perfectly: to take as many advantages as possible.

As for territory, one shouldn't be too greedy. As long as the country was prosperous and its strength grew, territory could be taken whenever they wished.

Therefore, he chose to reject the Tonkin envoy's proposal to cede Cao Bang in exchange for Wu Changwen.

Cao Bang was not a wealthy place, and with the Nanzhou Army currently short on manpower, there was no point in taking it even if it were ceded.

After several days of bargaining, Wu Changwen finally ran completely out of food and could hold out no longer. After consulting Wu Quan, the Tonkin envoy finally agreed to Liu Rengui's terms.

One thousand oxen, ten thousand catties of raw iron, two thousand catties of copper ingots, one hundred thousand dan of grain, and one hundred beauties.

They say a 'son of a thousand gold pieces' should not sit in a dangerous place; this time, Wu Changwen truly became a son worth a thousand pieces of gold.

After emptying half the national treasury and being forced to deliver the goods to Son La, Wu Quan finally rescued his son and four hundred soldiers whose eyes were glowing green with hunger.

Originally, Liu Rengui had wanted to sell the two thousand captured soldiers for a good price as well, but in the end, the Tonkin people stated they were truly out of money and could not afford the ransom.

Ultimately, those of Han descent who could speak Chinese and were willing to join Nanzhou were kept.

The remaining thousand-plus men were all sold off by Gao Yuan's decree to the original Local Chieftain families of Nanzhou. The Mu Family, as Gao Yuan's primary supporter, acquired five hundred strong laborers in one go.

This expedition was truly a windfall, with large numbers of craftsmen, vast quantities of raw iron and ox hides, as well as weapons, armor, and grain directly filling the storehouses of Dehong.

The few hundred soldiers, over a hundred households of commoners, and a thousand oxen felt like mere bonuses instead.

For the soldiers of this expedition, Gao Yuan not only generously granted them a makeup lunar new year leave but also distributed a large number of military medals and rewards.

As for the beauties, he didn't dare keep a single one, distributing them all among the officers of various ranks.

Ever since they had tasted the joys of the bedchamber, Zheng Wan and Song Yao had become increasingly dependent on him and kept a closer eye on him.

With the oxen, this year's spring plowing proceeded even more smoothly. Over ten thousand additional mu of terraced fields were reclaimed across various regions, which would translate to over twenty thousand dan of grain by autumn.

Before the joy had completely faded, early one morning in mid-March, a fast horse galloped swiftly into Dehong City.

"Urgent report! Urgent report! Everyone out of the way, out of the way!"

The urgent shouts startled the citizens of Dehong and woke up all the drowsy passersby.

Watching the Red Plume Messenger kick up dust as he headed straight for the Prefectural Office, everyone couldn't help but show looks of concern.

Gao Yuan had just finished his workout and hadn't even had time to wipe his sweat when he received the urgent report.

He tore it open, scanned it, and his expression turned grave.

As he was pondering, the three women hurried over.

"We heard a Red Plume Messenger arrived. Has a war started somewhere?"

"Husband, you're not going off to war again, are you?"

Seeing the three women's worried looks, Gao Yuan shook his head and gave a relaxed smile.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. A large number of Toungoo troops have appeared in Kengtung and Mawlamyine to the west of Luang Namtha. Zhongmiao is worried the toungoo people might attack, so he sent word."

"That's a relief, that's a relief!"

The three women breathed a sigh of relief, their chests heaving with a slight ripple.

Zhao Xiyao was quick-witted and reacted immediately.

"Should we send reinforcements to Luang Namtha and Menge just in case?"

Although Menge and Kengtung shared a direct border, they were separated by a vast expanse of primeval jungle. Generally, there was no precedent for an attack from there, which was why Luang Namtha was so important.

However, no precedent meant there could be a surprise attack. Necessary precautions still had to be taken.

This was just like the Shu Han Dynasty military camp Deng Ai saw when he crossed the Yinping Path. If A Dou hadn't carelessly withdrawn that army, how could Shu Han Dynasty have fallen so quickly?

Gao Yuan nodded in affirmation.

"Regardless of whether the toungoo people intend to attack Luang Namtha and Menge, we must make the necessary preparations."

The three women did not interfere in military matters; they had breakfast with Gao Yuan and then departed.

After finishing breakfast with the ladies and taking a bath, Gao Yuan sat in his study and began to plan.

The First Division had just finished a battle and was exhausted; it was not suitable to redeploy them at this moment.

Menge only had eight hundred City Defense Forces, and Luang Namtha only had fifteen hundred.

Should an accident occur, this small force would certainly not be enough to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

The only option was to draw troops from other locations.

After some thought, Gao Yuan began to write the deployment orders:

Draw five hundred men each from Puer and West City to reinforce Menge and Luang Namtha; the First Division will rest for half a month before setting out to garrison Luang Namtha.

As for the vacancies created in those two locations, they would be filled by the six hundred-plus surrendered Tonkin soldiers.

Combined with some local recruitment of new soldiers, the defense should not be a problem.

Unexpectedly, just as he put down his brush and before the ink had even dried, a system prompt arrived.

"S-rank series event 'Struggle for Hegemony' Stage One: 'Beginning of Supremacy' triggered:

The road to hegemony begins with a single step. Conquering a country is a necessary path for the Host to become the Hegemon of Southeast Asia;

Event Goal One: Destroy Lan Xang or Tonkin (0/1);

Event Goal Two: Expand territory to ten prefectures (6/10);

Event Goal Three: Increase territory population to 300,000 (243,896/300,000);

Event Reward: Completing Goal One rewards upgrading the skill Leaders Aura (F) to Leaders Aura (D);

Completing Goals One and Two rewards upgrading the equipment Liao Hua's Penling Armor (F) to Wu Anguo's Tongxiu Armor (D);

Completing Goals One, Two, and Three rewards 2,000 S-rank Permanent Martial Soul Cards;

Failure Penalty: Morale and public support will plummet across all territories, making desertions and resident migrations more likely."

After reading these requirements, rewards, and penalties, Gao Yuan truly didn't know whether to be happy or sad.