News from competitors

Gao Yuan had suddenly fainted in the courtyard, terrifying the maids who were serving him.

In the end, it was Mu Qing and several Female Soldiers who rushed over upon hearing the news and carried him back to his room together.

Gao Yuan slept for three whole days; had it not been for his steady and powerful breathing, the women would have suspected he had kicked the bucket.

"I love taking baths, my skin feels so good, ooh ooh ooh ooh..."

Early on the fourth day, Gao Yuan soaked in the wooden tub, humming a song as he washed away all the sweat stains and grime from his body.

As soon as he woke up that morning, he couldn't wait to check his attribute panel.

"Host: Gao Yuan, Character Attributes: Feminine appearance, ruthless, Comprehensive Evaluation: B+ (Bottleneck); Strength A, Agility B+, Stamina A-, Horsemanship C+, Intelligence B+, Command B, Internal Affairs C, Charisma S-; Martial Skills: Swordsmanship B+, Spearmanship B; Skills: Leaders Aura (D), Press the Advantage; First Life Mentor: First Life Mentor, Spearmanship training effect bonus 50%."

Long-term training, combined with actual combat and this Strength Enhancement Card, had improved several of Gao Yuan's attributes.

Especially after learning from a master like Liu Rengui, his Command had reached a good level, and his Internal Affairs had also reached the passing mark.

Looking at the word "Bottleneck" on the system panel, Gao Yuan felt a bit annoyed.

"Could it be that I can only rely on the system's help to break through from now on?"

He pinched his increasingly firm muscles, thinking that relying on the system didn't seem so bad after all.

Besides, his system wasn't too terrible; when it was time to give benefits, it really did give them.

Of course, it would be even better if it gave rewards directly without those annoying events.

Sometimes, people really shouldn't dwell on things, and the same went for the system.

Gao Yuan had just complained slightly in his heart when the system prompt arrived.

"S-rank Series Event 'Struggle for Hegemony' Stage Two Event 'Snatching Food from the Tiger's Mouth' triggered: How can one become a hegemon of the Indochina Peninsula without a sufficiently vast territory? Event Goal 1: Capture at least three prefectures in Lan Xang; Event Goal 2: Defeat at least 20,000 enemy troops; Event Goal 3: Occupy Vientiane; Event Reward: Complete Goal 1 to receive an A-rank Draw Card, complete Goal 2 to receive a Random Equipment Card; Complete Goal 3 to receive an S-rank Random Talent Summoning Card; Failure Penalty: If Goal 1 or Goal 2 is not completed, this series of events will end, and the final rating will drop by one small grade."

This event came unexpectedly, but Gao Yuan soon realized why the event had triggered suddenly.

Just as he stood up from the bathtub and hadn't even dried off, a maid called out from outside.

"Commandery Duke, General Liu Rengui requests an audience."

"It seems something big has happened."

Gao Yuan wiped the water droplets from his body while shouting to the door.

"Please have General Liu wait in the tea room; I will come once I have changed."

"Understood!"

A moment later, Gao Yuan changed into loose robes and arrived at the tea room.

"Liu Renguis courtesy name, what is so urgent?"

"My Lord, something major has happened."

Gao Yuan gestured for Liu Rengui to sit down, then began to brew tea in a leisurely manner.

"Don't rush, the sky won't fall; drink a cup of tea to moisten your throat first."

Seeing Gao Yuan's calm and composed demeanor, Liu Rengui suddenly felt a bit ashamed.

"My Lord is right; This humble general was reckless."

"That's more like it. You are a person destined for greatness, so you should have the composure to remain unchanged even if Mount Tai collapses before you. Tell me, what happened?"

Liu Rengui took out two intelligence reports and handed them to Gao Yuan with both hands.

"General Huo Juns style name and General Zhongye sent an urgent courier report: The Battle of Phitsanulok has ended. Toungoo has defeated the coalition forces of Khmer, Ayutthaya, and Lan Xang; now Toungoo is driving straight in, marching south to attack Ayutthaya and Bangkok."

Gao Yuan looked at the two intelligence reports, set them down gently, and sipped his tea.

"Liu Renguis courtesy name, what do you think?"

"Ayutthaya has lost its main force. If they can make a painful sacrifice and abandon some territory to concentrate their forces and rebuild their defense line, they might find a sliver of hope; otherwise... in This humble general's opinion, the war will end this year."

"If you preserve the land but lose the people, you lose both. If you preserve the people but lose the land, you preserve both. My judgment is similar to yours, Liu Renguis courtesy name. It seems that at Toungoo's pace, in a year or two, Khmer will be finished too. It looks like we will soon have to clash with this hegemon of the peninsula."

Liu Rengui drank the tea in one gulp, stood up, and bowed to Gao Yuan.

"Therefore, This humble general believes we should act as quickly as possible to expand our strength; otherwise, the outcome will be unpredictable in the future."

Gao Yuan looked at Liu Rengui with great interest.

"Then, Liu Renguis courtesy name, tell me, in which direction should we expand?"

Liu Rengui walked to the tea table, pulled back the curtain to reveal the map of the Indochina Peninsula behind it, and took out a pointer.

"This humble general believes that the land in Western Kang to the north is barren and has difficult terrain that is easy to defend but hard to attack, so it is not cost-effective to attack Western Kang. The Jiannan Circuit to the northeast and the South of the Ranges to the southeast have strong forces and are backed by the Great Qian, so it is not advisable to provoke them for now. Therefore, This humble general believes we should set our target on Lan Xang, especially places like Vientiane, which have fertile land and a dense population."

"Clap, clap, clap."

Gao Yuan couldn't help but applaud.

"Good, worthy of the person I value. Since the goal is set, Liu Renguis courtesy name, you shall be fully responsible for this matter and formulate a complete battle plan."

"Understood! Thank you for your trust, My Lord."

"Go."

"This humble general takes his leave."

"Sigh, it looks like I have to go on a business trip again."

Gao Yuan was also very helpless; he had barely had a few days of peace and now he had to go on an expedition again.

But there was nothing he could do about it; the system's rewards were just too tempting.

Especially that final S-rank summoning card; he really wanted it and silently apologized to his ally in his heart.

Meanwhile, in Vientiane, Khon Kham was also panicking.

In the Battle of Phitsanulok, his army lost over ten thousand men, which made his heart ache so much he couldn't sleep at night.

What made him even more terrified was that Toungoo had sent someone to deliver a state letter, and the content was very simple: either surrender and submit, or wait to be conquered.

Looking around, Ayutthaya was not far from being destroyed, and Khmer was just as weak as him now.

Looking north...

This neighbor and ally had strength, but asking him for help was tantamount to carrying firewood to put out a fire.

In Khon Kham's view, if Toungoo was a tiger or leopard, then Gao Yuan was a jackal; neither was easy to deal with.

"my son, do not panic. It's just the loss of some troops; we can just recruit more."

The Queen Mother, Nan Jiaopi Pa, had a decent demeanor, at least calmer than her son.

Khon Kham looked at his mother and shook his head helplessly.

"Mother, recruiting troops requires money and grain, and troops recruited in a hurry have no combat effectiveness."

"There is one army that is not only well-equipped but also trained long-term; as long as you recruit them, they will have combat effectiveness."

Khon Kham's eyes lit up, and he looked at Nan Jiaopi Pa in surprise.

"Mother, whose army?"

"Which of those nobles or ministers doesn't have some private soldiers or death squads? As long as you can make them hand them over, my son, you can have ten or twenty thousand elite troops immediately."

The surprise on Khon Kham's face gradually disappeared.

"Mother, I naturally know they have troops in their hands, but will they be willing to hand them over?"

"Hehe, they won't hand them over? If they don't, then we shall exterminate them."

"Mother, absolutely not. That will cause chaos. What if they take the opportunity to rebel..."

"Don't you understand the nature of those nobles? As long as you are willing to take out those lands and wealth to distribute among them..."

Khon Kham immediately understood the key to this and revealed a knowing, smug smile.

"Mother is truly brilliant."

Nan Jiaopi Pa thought about her experiences over the years and waved her hand.

"I have just seen a bit too much of human nature."