Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Gentlemen, do you think I'm joking? But I can tell you clearly that I'm not in the mood for jokes at a time like this."

After Shen Lang finished speaking, he didn't even look up, but picked up his teacup and took a sip of water.

Hu Haishan: "My lord, whether you're joking or not is irrelevant to us, but you need to borrow our manpower, supplies, and provisions..."

He shook his head at this point.

As the most prominent and powerful clan in Nanzhao, Hu Haishan naturally enjoyed considerable prestige.

If he doesn't agree, the other gentry from Nanzhao will naturally not provide any assistance to the garrison.

In fact, in the Nanzhao Kingdom, because it was far from the central government, the power of ancestral temples actually surpassed that of local government offices.

This led the people of Nanzhao living on this land to prefer relying on ancestral temples rather than the imperial court and government.

If the local government or county magistrates wanted to collect taxes or even execute criminals, they had to consult with these clan gentry and wealthy families first.

However, despite their powerful and influential families, these clans also had their share of loyal and righteous individuals.

As Hu Haishan said, the garrison camp could not have been established without the support and funding of local gentry.

Furthermore, whenever the local area suffers disaster, they generously offer assistance and actively cooperate with local disaster relief efforts.

Especially in the investment in garrisons, over several hundred years, the amount of silver invested in military fortifications has exceeded 30 million taels.

However, the capture of Laoshan Garrison by the Luchuan Army caused them to collectively lose trust in the local prefectural government.

After all, his purpose in donating funds to the garrison was to maintain the economic development of his manor.

However, the fact that the heavily repaired Laoshan defense line was so easily breached by Luchuan made them feel that the garrison troops were no match for them, and they were no longer willing to invest in it.

This is the real reason why Mu Yuanying sent an urgent message to the imperial court for help: the relationship between local government offices and local gentry was strained, preventing them from obtaining military supplies.

Moreover, the conflicts between the local government offices and ancestral halls of Nanzhao had accumulated due to their inability to reach a consensus on the distribution of their respective interests.

The fall of the garrison was merely the last straw that broke the camel's back.

In fact, many things in feudal times were far more complicated than people imagined.

Even seemingly absurd situations have objective environmental factors involved, and the reasons can only be analyzed by combining them with the actual situation at the time.

The relationship of mutual cooperation and mutual hatred between local gentry and the government remained largely unchanged until the Republican era.

After listening to Hu Haishan's words, Shen Lang smiled and said, "You have all lived in Nanzhao for a long time, so you must have heard about the atrocities committed in Luchuan."

Every city they conquered was looted clean, regardless of whether you were rich or poor; in the eyes of the Luchuan soldiers, everyone was the same.

At that time, your accumulated wealth will be robbed, your farmland will be destroyed, and your wives and daughters will be captured and forced into prostitution within the territory of Luchuan.

And you will lose everything you have now.

They were either enslaved or killed, with no chance of ever rising up again.

Aside from the top echelons of the imperial bureaucracy, the entire Luchuan region consisted of only three groups: soldiers, commoners, and slaves.

There is absolutely no such thing as a powerful clan or gentry, so your ridiculous idea that Luchuan taking control of Nanzhao won't affect yourselves is simply nonexistent.

Upon hearing this, Sanfen was startled.

What surprised them wasn't what he said, after all, they knew what kind of person Lu Chuan was.

But how could this young envoy know so much about the situation in Luchuan?

Hu Haishan cupped his hands in greeting: "We underestimated the intelligence-gathering abilities of the Pacification Commissioner."

But do you think the troops currently stationed in Nanzhao can possibly stop Luchuan's invasion?

Shen Lang: "Clan Chief Hu, I think you've misunderstood something. My goal isn't to repel the Luchuan troops, but rather to launch a preemptive strike within Luchuan territory."

However, I do not have enough cavalry to complete this plan. If you are willing to provide guards and warhorses for me to use, please do so.

Perhaps they could even acquire a huge fortune.

Yang Shun couldn't help but ask, "What enormous wealth? Can you explain it more clearly?"

Shen Lang: "What's most abundant in Luchuan? Minerals and people. The copper, iron, and coal reserves there are astonishing in both quality and quantity."

There are even several open-pit mines with extremely rich reserves. Aren't you guys even a little bit tempted?

Hu Haishan: "Even if you're tempted, so what? Is Luchuan so easy to conquer? Lord Shen probably doesn't know much about Luchuan, does he?"

Shen Lang chuckled: "How will you know if you don't try?"

How about this, I'll make a gentleman's agreement with the clan leaders.

If you are willing to provide assistance, then the conquered lands of Luchuan will be divided according to their performance.

The more land you conquer, the greater your profits will be.

Your industries don't have to be limited to the Nanzhao region; you can expand entirely into the Luchuan area.

The area is rich in rivers and lakes, making it ideal for agriculture. It's said to have hundreds of millions of acres of fertile land. Don't you want to take it for yourselves?

After saying this, Hu Haishan and the other two immediately began to whisper among themselves.

They were clearly interested.

Everyone wants their family business to grow bigger and bigger, especially powerful clans with ancestral halls, who want to leave more assets for their heirs.

But is this a gamble that has never been attempted before, and is it worth it?

After careful calculation, Hu Haishan and the other two came to a conclusion.

This deal seems like a good deal; my only investment is horses and guards, and if it fails, I'll only lose a few people.

But if successful, the benefits will be substantial.

You can give it a try.

However, there is one last question that needs to be confirmed.

"Lord Shen, we have one last question: is this the court's will, or your personal will?"

"His Majesty has decreed that all decisions regarding the Battle of Luchuan in Nanzhao shall be made by me. My intention is the same as His Majesty's intention and the intention of the court."

Hu Haishan and the other two immediately stood up: "Lord Shen, since things have come to this point, we, as citizens of Nanzhao, will naturally do our part to help."

Within three days, seven hundred warhorses and seven hundred skilled riders will be delivered to the gates of the garrison on time. May our Great Chu army achieve a resounding victory!

"Then I, on behalf of the court, thank you all."

With the support of local gentry and powerful families, Shen Lang breathed a sigh of relief.

The idea of ​​involving local gentry in the war and then sharing the spoils was something Shen Lang had planned before he left Jinling.

Once these gentry and commoners have gained enough benefits from the war, they will inevitably change their mindset and begin to support the court's path of foreign expansion.

After all, once a person's greed is aroused, it will be uncontrollable.

Even when the empire stops expanding, they will find ways to create diplomatic incidents to force the empire to continue waging wars abroad and reap huge profits from them.

The two most prominent examples in ancient history are Qin and Han. They created diplomatic incidents to constantly provoke hatred from other countries, thereby achieving a win-win situation for both the nation and themselves.

Of course, in this situation, it is only the ordinary people who suffer.

Looking at world history, similar cases are numerous, with the modern example being Ma Yao being forced to open China's doors by Britain and having his spine broken by Japan.

With 700 cavalrymen, plus the local cavalrymen of Nanzhao, and 300 cavalrymen brought from Jinling, there are about 1,200 cavalrymen, 200 more than expected, enough to launch a counterattack against Luchuan.

Shen Lang was fairly satisfied with the size of the cavalry; it was within his acceptable range.

There's one last thing to do.

"Chief Hu, there is another matter I would like to ask you."

"Please speak, Lord Shen."

Do you know about the Kingdom of Mubang?

"Of course I know. Nine years ago, Mubang was conquered by the Luchuan army, and 100,000 Mubang men were captured by the Luchuan soldiers and taken to Wadang City to be forced into hard labor and slave troops."

The present-day Mubang Kingdom has become a vassal state of Luchuan, guarding the northern gateway to Luchuan, at a pass forty li north of Laoshan.

Shen Lang nodded: "Alright, thank you for informing me, Clan Chief Hu. I will be here in three days to await the arrival of Clan Chief Hu's heavenly soldiers."

"Lord Shen, we shall take our leave."

After Hu Haishan and the other two left, Shen Lang pondered for a moment and then said, "Next, we should make a trip to Mubang and try to make contact with their king."