Ceasefire

Gao Yuan was truly speechless. He hadn't expected Zhao Meng, this simpleton, to have such a sticky nature, impossible to shake off. He could only squat down and patiently persuade him.

"You simpleton, don't you know how important the Cavalry Division is to me? How can I be at ease if I don't give it to you?"

Zhao Meng stopped crying, blinked his ox-like eyes, and looked at Gao Yuan innocently.

"Master, you don't trust Xian Chong? Isn't he your brother-in-law?"

Gao Yuan was speechless. He reached out and grabbed Zhao Meng's ear.

"Who told you he's my brother-in-law? How many times have I said it? I have no relationship with Xian Ying!"

"Everyone says so. Lady Xian is so charming and deeply devoted to you, Master. Besides, you, Master, are fond of beauties, so you'll take her in sooner or later... Ah!"

Gao Yuan couldn't listen anymore and kicked Zhao Meng.

"Scram, get out of my sight! I'm telling you, if you don't lead the Cavalry Division well, you won't get a single hair from the women captured in the future!"

Unexpectedly, this trick worked quite well. Hearing that he wouldn't get a share of the women, this fellow finally scrambled away.

Toungoo has now tightened its defenses, and having just repelled the Mughal army, its morale is high, making it a tough nut to crack.

He had also raided their stronghold, not only acquiring massive wealth but also taking their mothers, concubines, and wives. If he continued to advance, Bayinnaung would probably reach his boiling point.

At Gao Yao's suggestion, Gao Yuan decided to stop while he was ahead. Being too aggressive might push Bayinnaung to his breaking point.

Moreover, leaving a remnant Toungoo force could serve as a buffer zone between himself and the Mughals, killing two birds with one stone.

For this, Gao Yuan even sent people to return Bayinnaung's Empress Dowager and legitimate wife, signifying a temporary reconciliation between the two nations.

Bayinnaung also truly didn't want to fight anymore. After driving the Mughal army over the Arakan Mountains and reclaiming Manipur, his army had already suffered over half casualties.

Clashing head-on with Gao Yuan again would make the outcome unpredictable, and he didn't want the newly stabilized situation to become uncontrollable again.

Just as Gao Yuan sent back his mother and wife, he seized the opportunity to cease hostilities. As for the royal nobles who clamored to retake the capital, who cared about them!

These royal nobles now had no men or money, looking like disheveled beggars, posing absolutely no threat.

With the armistice agreement reached with Bayinnaung, Gao Yuan's mission was complete, and it was time to go home. Before returning, he naturally had to arrange various affairs here.

These Toungoo territories had just been occupied, and public sentiment was unstable. At such a time, the help of a cheat was needed. Gao Yuan's mind stirred.

"System, use the 'Popular Support Card'."

"Host has used a High-Grade Popular Support Card. Please specify the target for use."

The system was very considerate, and a table immediately appeared before his eyes, indicating the number of people in various places and their level of recognition for him.

After a quick glance, it was indeed true that places occupied for a short time generally had lower recognition, and places with large populations like Ayutthaya and Bangkok also generally had lower recognition.

Gao Yuan then designated fifteen prefectures based on population size and recognition level, most of which were areas just conquered this time.

After using the cheat, Gao Yuan began to arrange the team that would stay behind.

Zhongnan Circuit was too vast for Liu Rengui to manage alone. Fortunately, he now had enough people, making him more confident.

At the last meeting before his departure, Gao Yuan publicly announced his decision.

"To cope with the new situation, I have decided to establish the Pugan Circuit, which will uniformly govern Mong Pai, Kengtung, Hsipaw, Mong Kawng, Mongnai (Monay), Mawlamyine, Yawnghwe, Mong Pai (Moby), and Toungoo and other places;

The capital will be Toungoo City, with Gao Yao appointed as chief clerk. At the same time, the Bagan Army will be established, with Huo Jun as the governor, and Gao Yao concurrently serving as deputy. It will have three divisions, with a total of twenty-five thousand troops."

After announcing the order, Gao Yuan looked at Liu Rengui.

"Zhengze, the Pugan Circuit has just been established and needs your strong support. I hope to transfer five thousand people from Zhongnan Circuit to them as a core force. What do you think?"

How could Liu Rengui have any objections? He immediately stood up, clasped his fists, and saluted.

"This humble general obeys!"

Gao Yuan nodded with satisfaction.

"Good. To help the Pugan Circuit establish a firm foothold, Xue Linfeng will lead the Central Corps Second Division, and Zhao Meng will lead the Cavalry Division to temporarily remain in Toungoo and return after three months."

Everyone stood up together, saluting and agreeing to Gao Yuan.

After the meeting, Gao Yuan kept Liu Rengui and Hong Wantong.

Knowing that there must be something to be entrusted, the two stood expectantly with Gao Yuan in front of the map.

"Zhengze, Wantong, I heard that the Lan Xang Kingdom's annual tribute has been decreasing over the past two years?"

To reduce consumption during travel, Gao Yuan had Lan Xang Kingdom directly send its annual tribute to Vientiane, and then Zhongnan Circuit would send the manifest to County.

Over the past two years, the Lan Xang Kingdom's annual tribute had been decreasing, and Gao Yuan was well aware of it. He hadn't paid too much attention to that small amount of goods initially.

But now that most of the Indochinese Peninsula was under his control, leaving a single Lan Xang Kingdom in his heartland felt like a thorn in his throat.

The two exchanged glances and immediately understood Gao Yuan's thoughts. Liu Rengui stepped forward and said,

"Lakhon's reduction of the annual tribute is a test of the Lord's bottom line. This subordinate believes that this trend must not be encouraged. This humble general will discuss it with Chief Clerk Wu upon returning and send an envoy to Thanh Hoa to inquire about this matter."

Gao Yuan was very satisfied with his subordinates' reaction and nodded.

"Good. This matter will be handled by you, Zhengze, and Wu Xu. Pay attention to the methods; after all, they are our vassal state, and we must never force them into rebellion."

Gao Yuan deliberately emphasized the words "force into rebellion." How could Liu Rengui not understand what to do?

"Understood! This subordinate understands!"

Walking out of the administrative office, Hong Wantong then asked Liu Rengui with a puzzled expression,

"Zhengze, for a small Lan Xang Kingdom, couldn't the Lord just send a large army to conquer them? Why go through such trouble? What's the point?"

Liu Rengui smiled and leaned close to Hong Wantong, whispering,

"This Lan Xang Kingdom is a vassal state of our Great Qian, officially enfeoffed by the imperial court. Moreover, they pay tribute annually and come to court every year, appearing respectful on the surface;

The Lord needs a reason to send troops to conquer them. Otherwise, wouldn't those literati in Capital City use this as an excuse to widely slander the Lord?"

"Ahem, we are far away in the Southwest. Those people in Capital City can only talk. Do they dare to send troops to attack us?"

"No, the Lord's ambition is the world, and reputation is very important. In the eyes of the people, privately raising an army is a grave offense, but suppressing rebels makes one a meritorious official. Do you understand the difference?"

Hong Wantong was not a fool and immediately understood the key point.

"So that's how it is. I thought too simply. Zhengze, you understand the Lord's thoughts so well, no wonder the Lord trusts you so much."

Returning to Vientiane, Liu Rengui relayed Gao Yuan's attitude to Wu Xu. This woman was indeed worthy of being the only female emperor in history, one who wouldn't hesitate to kill her own son.

That same day, she sent a chief clerk to Thanh Hoa to present the demands for annual tribute to Lakhon, the king of Lan Xang Kingdom:

In addition to the originally promised annual ten thousand shi of grain, and gold, silver, jewels, and silk fabrics worth ten thousand guan, they were also required to increase the number of able-bodied laborers by three thousand, young women by two thousand, and South Sea pearls by five hundred.

Not only that, the portion of the tribute reduced over the past three years had to be made up in full at once, otherwise it would be considered contempt of Great Qian.

The Lan Xang Kingdom only had five prefectures in total: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Tân Bình, Thuận Hóa, and Da Nang, with a population of about three hundred thousand. The total number of young men and women in the entire country was only about one hundred thousand.

To offer five thousand young men and women as tribute each year, the country would cease to exist within a few years.

Upon receiving this demand, everyone in the Lan Xang Kingdom was dumbfounded!