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

Ma Chengwu, realizing that the joint encirclement and suppression efforts had failed and that the situation was in Mu Yuan's favor, once again stepped in to smooth things over:

"We're all on the same side, let's not let such a small matter ruin our harmony. Besides, it's just a discussion, why are you all so angry?"

At this moment, Prince Ning, Zhu Zheng, also stepped forward and said in a cold voice:

"You're all arguing so fiercely, don't you even respect me, a prince?"

The two men, one playing the bad cop and the other the good cop, quickly stabilized the situation.

"Lord Ma, this is not our fault, but Mu Yuan and Old Lady Mu's refusal to cooperate." While defending his own people, Soren did not forget to frame Mu Yuan and Old Lady Mu.

However, faced with Soren's act of splashing dirty water on Mu Yuan, Ma Chengwu, who had just been advising everyone to be peaceful, and Prince Ning, who seemed to be upholding justice, both chose to turn a blind eye.

Mu Yuan saw through the hypocrisy of these people and could only sneer inwardly.

Fortunately, he personally arrived today and suppressed them. Otherwise, these people might have joined forces and used some dirty tricks behind his back.

"The first matter is open to discussion. As for the second matter," Ma Chengwu paused slightly, took a deep breath, and said, "it concerns the reduction of military pay."

Upon hearing the words "military pay," Mu Yuan's eyes narrowed, a glint of shrewdness flashing within them.

They really do come up with another plan when one fails!

The first thing to do was to reduce the number of troops, specifically by cutting the strength of the Western Army.

Now, the proposal to cut military pay has been put forward.

This is clearly another conspiracy targeting the Western Army.

In recent years, the amount of military pay allocated by the imperial court to the Western Army has been decreasing, and the Mu family has been the one paying for its upkeep.

Now, military pay is being cut.

This was clearly another insidious scheme to weaken the Western Army.

Ma Chengwu deliberately and cautiously inquired about Mu Yuan's opinion: "General, in the entire Southwest, the Western Army under your command has the highest military expenditure. Right now, the imperial treasury is empty. What do you think about reducing military pay...?"

Faced with these successive encirclements, Mu Yuan pondered for a moment and said:

"Do as you say!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Chengwu and Prince Ning exchanged a glance, a hint of joy flashing in their eyes, and a triumphant smile appeared on their faces.

"Look at that, that's what magnanimity looks like!"

Ma Chengwu immediately praised Mu Yuan: "As expected of a descendant of the Mu family, you truly have a magnanimous air!"

When Grandma Mu and Qin Hongxiu saw Mu Yuan nod in agreement, their eyes were filled with disbelief.

Although the Mu family paid 70% of the military expenses of the Western Army, the remaining 30% was still an astronomical figure.

It should be noted that the Western Army had a strength of nearly 200,000 men.

Without the support of 30% of military pay, the Western Army would have no choice but to face the dilemma of troop reduction.

Clearly, the second thing Ma Chengwu mentioned, along with the first thing he raised earlier, is part of a chain.

The first thing, disarmament, failed.

So, the second thing to do is to cut military pay.

In this way...

The Western Army had to reduce its military pay significantly, so it had to personally downsize its troops.

Once the door to troop reduction is opened, it will inevitably cause panic and demoralization within the Western Army.

After all, the Western Army was renowned far and wide.

Nobody wants to be forced to retire and become a farmer, toiling in the fields day and night, accomplishing nothing.

Qin Hongxiu was about to say something, but Mu Yuan gestured with his eyes, reminding her not to speak in such a setting, lest she say something that might cause her to make a mistake.

Mu Yuan looked at Ma Chengwu, whose face was beaming with joy:

"Lord Ma, since I have agreed and set an example on the spot, shouldn't the other chiefs and clan leaders who have received favors also express their gratitude?"

"That's for sure." Ma Chengwu nodded repeatedly, first looking at Soren:

"Chief Solon, regarding the matter of the court reciprocating our tribute with gold, silver, and jewels, I will report to the court and suggest that the reciprocation be changed to local specialties from other regions. What do you think?"

Soren's face turned extremely ugly upon hearing this.

His tribe was large, and because they were skilled in riding and archery, they also owned a considerable number of horses.

But all of these require a lot of money to maintain.

Therefore, they paid tribute to the imperial court every year in order to receive gold and silver rewards, which they used to raise horses and purchase various riding equipment.

Now, with just one sentence from Ma Chengwu, the return gift of gold and silver jewelry has been cancelled.

This undoubtedly cut off his source of income.

If this continues, internal conflicts will inevitably arise within his tribe, and it may even decline.

"Lord Ma, weren't you...?"

Soren intended to bring up the promise Ma Chengwu had made in private, but Ma Chengwu interrupted him in a deep voice, subtly threatening him:

"What? Do you intend to disobey orders?"

Dealing with Soren is much simpler than dealing with Mu Yuan.

The Soren people barely survived thanks to the gold and silver rewards from the court. If their source of income were cut off, the people would quickly collapse.

But Mu Yuan is different.

The Mu family behind him has been based in the southwest for many years.

Not only did they accumulate a great deal of wealth, but they also commanded nearly 200,000 soldiers in the Western Army.

The only way to deal with Mu Yuan is to proceed slowly and step by step. If we push him too far, and he were to lead his troops in rebellion, it would be a major disaster for the court.

"Yes, sir," Soren reluctantly agreed.

Ma Chengwu turned his gaze to the Gao family father and son.

Gao Song quickly declared, "Lord Ma, from now on, my Gao family will absolutely not accept a single reward from the imperial court."

The Gao family owns many properties in Diancheng, enough to support their more than 10,000 relatives and soldiers. As for why they were in such a hurry to make a statement, it was because they were worried about some unforeseen events.

If Mu Yuan were to step in and cause trouble, the Gao family would suffer a double loss, which would be the most infuriating thing.

After all, the matter of Soren is right in front of us.

Next, Ma Chengwu asked other clan chiefs or leaders who commanded troops, and they all agreed.

"General, are you satisfied?" Ma Chengwu asked Mu Yuan.

Mu Yuan didn't speak, he just nodded.

"Look, we've delayed your meal because of a few trivial matters. Please start eating," Ma Chengwu said with a smile.

As he finished speaking...

Everyone started eating.

However, most people lost their appetite.

Ma Chengwu had already contacted them privately, promising to join forces to suppress Mu Yuan and weaken the Western Army, provided that their interests were not harmed.

But now, plans can't keep up with changes.

Their interests have all suffered losses to varying degrees.

The only thing they could be thankful for was that Mu Yuan agreed to reduce the military pay of the Western Army.

late at night.

Mu Yuan left the Ma residence with Old Madam Mu and Qin Hongxiu.

On the way back by horse-drawn carriage.

"Why did you agree to Ma Chengwu's offer to cut the Xifu Army's pay? You know the current situation of the Xifu Army." Qin Hongxiu finally let out all the words she had been holding back.

She simply couldn't understand Mu Yuan's actions.

"Sister-in-law, don't be anxious, let Yuan'er explain." Compared to the anxious Qin Hongxiu, Old Madam Mu appeared very calm.