Chapter 1 Arriving at Golan's Main Tent

Arriving at Golan's main tent presented a different scene altogether. Although it was equally joyful and lively, those sitting in the innermost circle around the large bonfires were all people of status and position from various tribes or from the Central Plains. Those sitting on the outer edges were generally of lower status, lacking the camaraderie found around the other bonfires in the camp. This was unavoidable; most of the people in front of the main tent had more to worry about. Even at a joyous occasion like the Night Ghost Festival, they couldn't help but discuss business. This rare opportunity to gather together meant they had to make every second count, discussing matters even amidst the high spirits.

As Tan Xiaopei entered the tent amidst greetings, he realized that this seemingly unremarkable tent was actually quite special. The weather was only slightly cool, a preliminary chill to be dealt with during the Night Ghost Festival, which wasn't even in Yun Province or the Benlang Plains. Sitting by the huge bonfire was actually quite hot. The tent was made of wooden frames and cowhide on the outside, but inside was an open-air bonfire. The tent only served to create a separate space. The bonfire inside the tent was much smaller than the tall bonfires outside, piled high with wood, but it burned genuine fragrant wood and herbs, filling the tent with a faint fragrance.

"Your Majesty!" Tan Xiaopei quickly announced, "You may dispense with the formalities and rise!" as the entire tent knelt before him. Fortunately, the etiquette in Dongping was simple, and no one remained on the ground. Everyone sat down around the bonfire in the middle of the tent, and Golan quickly ordered his men to bring up the enormous camel, roasted to perfection. After Tan Xiaopei made the first cut, specially trained servants naturally carved the best meat from the camel and distributed it to the guests. Golan happily and proudly put away the knife with the golden hilt and cat's-eye stone that Tan Xiaopei had used to make the first cut. All the men had seats in the tent, and each was attended by beautiful female slaves, as was the custom. Even Zhuo Xiu, Tan Wei Shi, and Dai Qiuyan knew the tribe's traditions and didn't stay in the main tent, but went to the tent behind it prepared for noblewomen. But they wouldn't miss out on any of the delicious roasted camel.

Today, as the host, Golan couldn't be happier. He had never imagined that the Night Ghost Festival in Danyang would attract such a group of guests. He didn't consider the current setup for the Night Ghost Festival extravagant, and he would gladly spend several times more.

"Your Majesty, General Zhuo, Grand Commandant Chi, Lord Ye... it's truly unexpected that you could come to this Night Ghost Festival. Thank you all for looking favorably upon us tribesmen, and thank you for tolerating the crudeness of the Night Ghost Festival." Golan raised a large bowl filled with Grey Goose Liquor, offering a toast to everyone. "Everyone must enjoy themselves here."

After taking a large gulp, Golan handed the bowl to Ye Tao, who also took a hearty swig before passing it to Tan Xiaopei. Ye Tao said, "Your Majesty, let's all just do as the locals do today."

"Haha, good." Tan Xiaopei also took a large, heroic drink... The bowl of Grey Goose Liquor went around the bonfire and was soon empty. Seeing that everyone was giving him face, Golan was even more delighted.

"Your Majesty, are you having fun today? I heard you said you were a merchant and chatted well with that Zhang Shun," Golan asked.

Tan Xiaopei nodded and said, "I can't just come out to play; I have to inspect the people's conditions. I'll have the Grand Historian write it that way later, haha. But the ins and outs of Yun Province's business seem complicated. Tianma Trading Company is a well-known horse trading company, so why are they so afraid of Zhe Luo?"

Ye Tao proudly said, "They aren't afraid of Zhe Luo, or anyone else, but of Yun Province's rules." After briefly explaining the commercial law currently implemented in Yun Province and the commercial arbitration court that had begun its trial operation, Ye Tao added, "Yun Province may have many rules that need to be slowly changed over a long time to be fully applicable, but Yun Province's various laws are equal for everyone. Tianma Trading Company is restricted by the Bureau of Commerce and the Bureau of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, but that's alright. Other businesses are the same. There will always be cases of collusion between officials and merchants, but it's much better now."

Tan Xiaopei nodded and said, "Although you were a bit daring to use Chen Kai, it was also a clever move. But it's a bit of a shame to bury this person's identity."

Ye Tao smiled and said, "Chen Kai will emerge eventually. This job at the Third Civil Affairs Office tests his character more than his ability. Chen Kai should be a very good financial official in the future, it just depends on whether Your Majesty dares to use him then."

Tan Xiaopei smiled and said, "I dared to promote you directly to Yun Province Pacification Commissioner, and reading the memorials impeaching you has become a daily pleasure. What else wouldn't I dare to do?" Tan Xiaopei suddenly asked, "Since everyone is here today, I won't call another meeting. Let's discuss some matters here, shall we?"

Hearing Tan Xiaopei say this, Golan straightened his back. He quickly said, "Your Majesty, then I'll take my leave first."

Tan Xiaopei quickly said with a smile, "Ah, Clan Chief Golan, don't be in such a hurry. What I said includes you. This matter is greatly related to you, old Clan Chief, you have a say on the Benlang Plains."

Golan felt greatly relieved, cupped his fist, and sat down again, ordering the female slaves to withdraw.

Tan Xiaopei didn't necessarily have to discuss matters here, but a father's instinct had kicked in. He didn't doubt Ye Tao's feelings for his two precious daughters, Tan Wei Xin and Tan Wei Shi, but he also didn't doubt Ye Tao's feelings for his other wives. Seeing the two beautiful female slaves prostrate themselves beside Ye Tao and Ye Tao remaining calm and showing no unusual behavior made him uncomfortable. Since discussing things here was the same as discussing them elsewhere, he might as well use this as an excuse to clear the room.

"What I want to ask is, how much military strength can Yun Province prepare by next year?" Tan Xiaopei asked.

Ye Tao and Golan exchanged glances. After a while, Golan cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, the Jingyun cavalry composed of elite tribal youths can be ready for battle at any time, right? Although... it seems that less than half have been equipped and trained, my tribal sons can still fight. As for what to do on the Benlang Plains, it depends on Your Majesty's instructions. Gathering tens of thousands of elite cavalry shouldn't be a problem."

Ye Tao sensed something and asked, "Your Majesty, is there any new development?"

"Yes," Tan Xiaopei said with a smile, "After all, Northern Liao is unwilling to sit and wait for death. According to the information from Nie Rui's spies, Northern Liao's Eastern Route Army will attack Beining Pass, preparing to take Beining Pass, and preferably Yicheng as well, wanting to improve their situation before we complete our preparations. I have to say, if they really take Beining Pass, I'll really have a headache. However, the Xue family has guaranteed me that there won't be any problems holding it."

"A desperate struggle!" Chi Xianping continued, "Although I wouldn't dare to say that taking Northern Liao is a sure thing, even if we start the war now, we still have a 60% chance of winning. I'm just afraid that if we fight like this, our military strength will suffer relatively large losses, then..."

Chi Xianping didn't say what exactly. But everyone understood that after destroying Northern Liao, there were even bigger battles to fight. It was precisely because taking Northern Liao was not a problem that they hoped to minimize losses. As for Xiling and Chunan, they all knew that they would have to pay a relatively heavy price.

"Your Majesty, although my relationship with the Xue family isn't great, the Xue family members are very reliable when it comes to fighting. Since they say there won't be any problems with Beining Pass, then there shouldn't be any problems," Ye Tao said. "Does Your Majesty want us to launch a flanking attack to contain them?"

"No," Tan Xiaopei said decisively, "I hope that you can take advantage of Northern Liao's inability to pay attention to you, whether it's attacking the northern tribes or Xiling, or engaging with Northern Liao's Western Route Army, to hone Yun Province's military strength."

"Rotation of troops?" Ye Tao asked with a frown, "Why did Your Majesty change your mind?"

"Because I feel that if we're too afraid of losing military strength, we might lose even more. Soldiers who have been on the battlefield are different from those who haven't, you all understand that. We have enough troops now, and the equipment is considered excellent, but whether it's the armies of Liang Province, the Tianxuan Army, the Beining Pass garrison, or other armies, they are not the armies that fought back and forth with Xiling and Northern Liao more than a decade ago. Most of them haven't seen blood. In recent years, the ones who have seen the most blood are the bloodline army of a bunch of young masters, and the Yun Province armies. And now the problem is that my Dongping can afford to fight, but Northern Liao can't. If they want to attack, we can let them attack. I plan to send the Tianxuan Army directly to fight a protracted war with Northern Liao, gradually grinding away Northern Liao's military strength and morale. But in the end, we still have to solve the problem. When Northern Liao is exhausted, I hope to be able to attack from both sides and solve Northern Liao in one go, without letting the war drag on for too long. In other words, although I know that Northern Liao is going to attack Beining Pass, I don't plan to counterattack in advance, but rather maintain a defensive posture until we are all prepared. The Imperial Guards, the Tianxuan Army, the bloodline army, and the Beining Pass garrison will all attack together at that time, and your Yun Province armies will attack from the west. I want to completely entrust the task of solving the Western Route Army to you. By then, I don't want any problems in any link. Therefore, no matter which army it is, they must be prepared to see blood."

Ye Tao thought for a moment. He knew the current military strength of Yun Province relatively well. Although Yun Province's fifty battalions had not been fully equipped, it was still possible to draw fifteen to twenty battalions to fight while maintaining the safety of Yun Province. And Tan Xiaopei's words also reminded him of one thing: the Yun Province armies were too new, so new that everyone was exploring how to control them.

"Then I'll try to take down the Zhenbei Military Command," Ye Tao said after thinking for a while. "The Western Route Army doesn't have any food and can't fight us. Moreover, I think Gao Senqi doesn't dare to fight us for the time being."

"Zhenbei Military Command?" Tan Xiaopei smiled and said, "You have quite the ambition."