His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

The fox's tail has finally been revealed.

Mu Yuan sneered inwardly. The so-called dismissal of officials was just a feint; the real intention was to reduce the size of the military.

Looking at the local forces present, who also commanded troops, they were all calm and composed, as if it were none of their business.

It is clear.

Ma Chengwu had already spoken to them privately.

As for troop reduction, whose troops should be reduced?

It's clear at a glance.

"The imperial court has had a difficult time these past few years. The national treasury is in deficit, and a large amount of military pay has been allocated. It is already a case of spending more than it earns. Since I am the governor of the southwest, it is my duty to share the burden of the imperial court."

Ma Chengwu spoke with sincerity and earnestness, appearing as a patriotic and compassionate figure, and there was not a single fault to be found in his words.

At this moment, a young man at the next table stood up and echoed:

"The existence of an official like Lord Ma in the Great Qian Dynasty is truly a blessing for the Great Qian!"

The young man was dressed in fine clothes, but his demeanor gave off a frivolous and impetuous feeling.

This person was Gao Yan.

"Young Master Gao flatters me," Ma Chengwu said modestly, waving his hand with a smile. "As a subject, this is what I should do."

Gao Yan feigned deep emotion: "Lord Ma is absolutely right, my Gao family fully supports you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, other local forces stood up to echo his sentiments.

In an instant.

More than half of the people in the room supported Ma Chengwu's decision.

Ma Chengwu looked at Mu Yuan:

"General, what's your opinion?"

"Of course, it's about seeing with your eyes."

Mu Yuan knew that Ma Chengwu's troop reduction was clearly aimed at him.

By reducing the strength of the Western Army, the power of the Mu family was effectively weakened.

Including the local forces in the room who support Ma Chengwu, most of them are probably in cahoots with him in private. Today's banquet is a complete trap.

Since this concerned the Western Army, Mu Yuan naturally made his stance clear.

Seeing that Mu Yuan was deliberately avoiding the topic, Gao Yan coldly snorted:

"General, what do you mean by this? Are you dissatisfied with Lord Ma's decision, or with the imperial court? Or perhaps you harbor ulterior motives, amass military power, and intend to harm the court?"

Gao Yan used a variety of false charges, all warranting execution, to pin on Mu Yuan, attempting to force him to compromise.

Mu Yuan continued to evade the topic, instead asking, "It seems that Young Master Gao is very supportive of Lord Ma."

"Of course!" Gao Yan said, head held high. "My Gao family not only supports Lord Ma, but is also utterly loyal to the imperial court, as the sun and moon can attest!"

A playful smile appeared on Mu Yuan's lips:

"Very well. Your Gao family had tens of thousands of relatives and soldiers decades ago. In recent years, you have been preparing for war, and your military strength is probably even greater than before. Since you keep saying that you support Lord Ma and are loyal to the court, why don't you first dismiss five thousand relatives and soldiers to set an example for everyone here?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yan's face instantly turned ashen, and he didn't know how to respond.

Asking him to dismiss 5,000 of his relatives' soldiers is simply impossible.

Over the past few decades, the Gao family has endured hardship and secretly selected tall and strong members of the clan for training and incorporating them into the clan's army, thus expanding their existing forces by several thousand.

If we really cut 5,000 troops.

Wouldn't that be like going back decades in one night?

disarmament?

This is even more painful than killing Gao Yan.

"Why is Young Master Gao silent? Is he merely expressing support for Lord Ma, or is he dissatisfied with the court, or perhaps harbors ulterior motives, intending to amass military power and become a threat to the court?"

The death sentence that Gao Yan had just accused Mu Yuan of was now being returned to Mu Yuan in its entirety.

"You...you..." Gao Yan was so angry he almost vomited, and he couldn't even speak properly.

He hadn't expected Mu Yuan to be so ruthless, and the other party was also someone who held grudges—no, to be precise, someone who would retaliate immediately!

"What do you mean, 'you'?! Sit down properly! Who gives you the right to interrupt?"

Seeing the situation was turning against him, Gao Song suddenly stood up, first publicly reprimanding Gao Yan, then bowing to those present to express his apology, and finally fixing his gaze on Mu Yuan:

"General, your unfilial son has spoken out of turn. Please forgive him."

"Clan Chief Gao, it seems the lesson from last time hasn't been learned by you very well," Mu Yuan said authoritatively without anger.

Gao Song trembled, his face filled with fear, and he desperately tried to explain, "General, your unfilial son did indeed misspoke, he did not mean to target you."

Just as Gao Song finished his explanation, an elderly man with white hair and strange clothes stood up, staring at Mu Yuan with disdain:

"Young man of the Mu family, your Mu family has been stationed in the southwest for many years, with nearly 200,000 troops under your command in the Western Army. You are a powerful and well-equipped force. As the leader, you are not supporting Lord Ma now that the imperial treasury is in deficit. Instead, you are bullying the weak. What are your intentions?"

Before Mu Yuan could respond, Old Madam Mu beside him said in a deep voice, "Soren, in terms of military strength and cavalry, my Mu family is not even half as strong as yours!"

"Old hag Mu, what do you mean by that?" Soren's eyes flashed with malice.

Old Madam Mu said slowly and deliberately:

"You are the chieftain of Yanzhou, with a clan numbering over 500,000. Your people are skilled in horsemanship and archery, and in terms of military strength and cavalry, you are the true leader of the Southwest! So, are you going to disperse your clan and scatter them throughout the Great Qian Dynasty?"

"Stop talking nonsense! We're talking about disarmament, not about our people!" Soren said sternly.

"That's right, we're talking about disarmament, but your people are skilled in riding and archery, and they keep so many horses. If there's any unrest, your hundreds of thousands of people could easily become soldiers!" Old Madam Mu's gaze sharpened even more.

Soren was rendered speechless by Old Madam Mu's words.

After much thought, Soren finally came up with a solution and retorted, "What you're saying is all speculation. Even if what you say is true, my people are all self-reliant and have never received any favors from the court. Why should we disperse them?"

Upon hearing this, Old Madam Mu was about to say something, but Mu Yuan stopped her.

"Grandma, let me do it!"

Mu Yuan felt sorry for Old Madam Mu, who was getting on in years, and worried that these things would upset her and harm her health. Therefore, he decided to meet with Soren himself.

"Soren, you say you haven't received any favors from the court? But as far as I know, every year you pay tribute to the court with horses and some wild mountain products, and the court reciprocates with large amounts of gold and silver jewels. Isn't that a favor from the court?"

Mu Yuan easily refuted Soren's statement as soon as he arrived.

"You little brat, what do you know? My relationship with the court is mutually beneficial!" Soren remained defiant.

Seeing that he was as stubborn as a rock in a latrine, Mu Yuan said, "My Mu family's storeroom also has some wild mountain products. I wonder if you would be willing to exchange them for a large amount of gold and silver jewelry, so that we can benefit each other?"

"you..."

Soren pointed at Mu Yuan with trembling right hand, stammering as he spoke, and finally could only stare at Mu Yuan with angry eyes.

Seeing that he was speechless, Mu Yuan's lips curled up slightly.

He dared to defy the imperial decree, so why would he be afraid of your joint encirclement and suppression, which is a disguised way of weakening the power of the princes?