My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 285 General Tian Ce is heading to Shandong, where he is loyal!

"Damn it...who taught her that? Luckily I have a strong back."

Gao Yu grumbled and cursed, but he was secretly delighted.

Yuan Miao had gone completely mad in her desire to get pregnant, and she even 'borrowed' Zheng Dache's princess dress. She looked more like a princess than Zheng Dache herself, quite convincingly.

Gao Yu even suspected that she might go to the palace one day to borrow an empress's dress from Erzhu Ying'e.
"Brother!"

"uncle!"

While Gao Yu was lost in thought, Gao Yue and Duan Shao had already ridden up to him. These young men had learned that the Xuanjia Army had defeated 300,000 with only 3,000 men, and when they saw that Gao Yu was going to the military review field to train his troops, they insisted on going with him.

Gao Yu naturally wouldn't refuse.

Previously, when my power was small, I didn't need to consider so much. But now that I'm going to the three provinces of Xu, Qing, and Yan, which have such a large territory, I have to give up some power to the local strongmen in exchange for their cooperation.

But one can only feel at ease if the core positions are held by one's own blood relatives.

Duan Shao and Gao Yue were both extremely capable people in historical records. Gao Yue was a trusted minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor after Gao Huan's death, and Duan Shao was the leader of the "Three Heroes of Northern Qi". If Duan Shao had not died, Northern Qi would have been the stronger country and could not have been so easily destroyed by Northern Zhou.

"Your riding skills are quite good; they've improved."

Gao Yu smiled and praised him.

"That's natural!"

Gao Yue proudly raised his chin, "After you left, I practiced diligently day and night. Now I am skilled in archery and horsemanship and can follow you into battle. Don't underestimate me, brother!"

"You brat, let's go."

In fact, with Gao Yu's current title of 'General of Heavenly Strategy', he doesn't need to do many things personally; he can just delegate them to his subordinates.

But Gao Yu did not slack off.

He is training this group of soldiers to be non-commissioned officers, and they are destined to become the middle-level backbone of his army after he expands it.

He rose to power through military force and needed to constantly exert his influence over the army.

As soon as Gao Yu appeared on the training ground, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"General! The general has arrived!"

I don't know who shouted it.

In everyone's eyes, Gao Yu shone brightly, as if he had transformed into the sun, warming their hearts.

They all stood up straight, displaying their best spirits, just to receive a compliment from Gao Yu.

After the Battle of Luoyang.

Gao Yu is their god!

"Wang Xuan, you've gotten quite a bit stronger."

"Zhao Gou Dan, haven't you eaten? Your shouts are even weaker than a woman's."

"........."

Gao Yu inspected the soldiers like the sun over the people. He had a sharp mind and could remember almost everyone he met, including their names.

I suppose that although I come from the Gao family, I also have the talent of the Liu family's 'succubus'?

Wang Xuan was the young man who initially said he wanted to join the Xuanjia Army and follow her. He was talented and courageous, and Mulan took a liking to him and promoted him to captain.

Gao Yu also remembered the names of many other ordinary soldiers.

Although it was meant to win people's hearts, this method was quite effective.

They all knew that Gao Yu was going to Shandong after the New Year. Gao Yu hadn't said it explicitly, but these soldiers had already been inquiring about it openly and secretly, wanting to follow Gao Yu.

Even where the emperor resides, the Great Wei Kingdom is unwilling to stay, insisting on following Gao Yu.

Actually, you can see some clues.

"Mulan."

"The end will be here."

"I'll leave these two brats to you for now."

Gao Yu kicked Gao Yue and Duan Shao in the butt, "Get lost, follow Mulan, I have things to take care of."

Mulan was helpless; she was treating him like a wet nurse looking after her child, but she still bowed respectfully and said, "Yes, sir!"

Enter the camp.

Gao Yu then took out paper and pen and began to think.

He will definitely use the 'Fubing system' next, and in the process of conquering the world, the 'Fubing system' is undoubtedly an extremely excellent system.

The current situation appears to have stabilized.

But it was just the calm before the storm.

Erzhu Rong harbored ambitions to usurp the throne, and Yuan Ziyou was unwilling to become Emperor Xian of Han, so there was bound to be a struggle between the two.

Once the two start fighting.

The world will descend into chaos once more, and ambitious figures will once again take center stage.

He needs a strong army to mend the chaos in the world!
"Xuzhou and Qingzhou have been ravaged by war these past few years... there must be quite a few unclaimed territories, but I don't know if they've been abandoned. We still need to find a way to seize the farmers who depend on the powerful clans from their manors. The foundation of everything is people..."

"Ugh, my head hurts."

He had to compete with powerful families for population, and get a large number of 'hidden households' back to the official lands to become self-employed farmers again, so that he could collect enough taxes.

To put it another way.

Why was it often said during this period that "whoever wins over the powerful families wins the world"?
These aristocratic families not only monopolized knowledge and culture, but also accumulated vast wealth over generations.

More importantly, they also control a large population.

........................

The ninth day of October.

The first snow of the year fell over Luoyang.

In the blink of an eye, the entire city of Luoyang was covered in a blanket of snow, transforming the city into a completely different world.

Erzhu Rong had left Luoyang two days earlier and headed north back to Jinyang.

He had always felt unsafe staying in Luoyang, and his hasty return was to deal with the 200,000 surrendered civilians captured after the victory in the Hebei campaign.

He would absolutely not allow this group of people from the six towns to leave; they must remain under his watchful eye, that is, be absorbed within Bingzhou and Sizhou.

If we let them flow out, who knows, once they hear that Gao Yu is in Shandong, they might all flock to Shandong.

This was the first time Erzhu Rong had not met with Gao Yu privately during his return to Luoyang.

The breakdown in their relationship was practically obvious.

The members of the Erzhu clan generally did not associate with Gao Yu, except for Erzhu Zhao, who did not care about such things. He stayed in Luoyang for the time being and would occasionally come to drink with Gao Yu.

"Wanren, aren't you afraid that Tianbao will become suspicious of you by visiting me so frequently?"

"Even if you don't marry Yuechan, you are still my old friend and brother. Why can't we keep in touch?"

Erzhu Zhao didn't care, and then sighed, "Ever since he became prime minister, Tianbao has changed... It was more comfortable when we were in Xiurongchuan a couple of years ago."

Gao Yu remained silent, but raised his glass and said, "Don't worry, I will not let Yuechan down either, and I will regard you as... a brother."

"Haha, let's drink together!"

The snowfall was extremely heavy, but it was a good thing.

A timely snowfall promises a bumper harvest.

This means that the people will have a good harvest next spring.

The tenth day of the second month of the second year of Jianyi.

Outside Dongyang Gate in Luoyang.

Many civilians gathered here to watch, and squads of soldiers lined up. Although they were not wearing armor, their faces were filled with a fierce and murderous aura, making it clear at a glance that they were elite troops!
The military flag they carried bore the large character '高' (Gao, meaning "high" or "tall").

The news had already spread.

General Tian Ce is about to leave Luoyang for his loyal territory of Shandong!

(End of this chapter)