The World Online

Chapter 1069: Siam Yields

The Border Defense Legion Corps system set up by Zhang Liang also included the Annan, Yingzhou, Morocco, Somalia, and Auckland formations.

The status of the formations were the same as the Beijiang Legion Corps.

Out of the four legions from the Korea war prisoners, apart from giving the Beijiang Legion Corps three, the remaining one was sent to the Annan formation.

The current Annan formation already had three legions, and Ouyang Shuo was preparing to expand it to max.

During the Nanzhang and Zhenla battles, as both sides were not on the same level, the number of losses the Dragon Legion Corps and Annan formation suffered was relatively lesser.

Helplessly, the number of imperial city guards of the two added together was less than 180 thousand. After the battle, deducting war losses and weak soldiers, there were only 100 thousand left.

It was only enough to form one War Fighting Legion.

Once the Annan formation was full, it would be promoted to a Legion Corps and changed to the Hanoi Legion Corps.

“Nanzhang, Zhenla becomes prefectures, along with Annan Province, to build a new Province – Hanoi Province. The Provincial Governor will be Hu Zongxian, and the governing area will be in Hanoi,” Ouyang Shuo said.

After merging, Hanoi Province would jump into a really important super province. Ouyang Shuo believed that with Hu Zongxian’s ability, along with the help of Lu Xiufu, he definitely would be able to rule the land well.

The name of the Hanoi Legion Corps came from here.

“The original Annan formation Lieutenant General Xue Rengui will be promoted to Hanoi marshal, given the title of Grade 2 south protecting general.” Xue Rengui and Yue Fei, one protecting the south and one protecting the north.

At this point, the country war month adjustments had come to an end.

During this time, Ouyang Shuo even specially met Korean general Yee Sun-sin. This general was really stubborn and was not willing to join the Great Xia navy. Helplessly, Ouyang Shuo could only arrange for him to be a teacher in the navy academy.

“At least he’ll be using his talents.”

Whilst the Hanoi Legion Corps was being formed up, the Dragon Legion Corps would take over the Leopard Legion Corps and move into Luzon’s Laoag City to go up against Luzon. Whilst they defended, they would also reduce the combat strength of Luzon.

At a suitable time, Great Xia would launch an attack on Luzon.

Along with Nanzhang, Zhenla, Brunei, and East Timor being destroyed, Great Xia had stabilized in the north of Luzon. The entire ASEAN situation had changed, and it would need a new round of readjustment.

The first to move was Siam, which was connected to Great Xia.

On the 7th month, 9th day, the 2nd day after Ouyang Shuo returned to the Capital City, Siam Lord Theeradej sent out an envoy. They brought a letter, which expressed that they were willing to have Great Xia as their suzerain state.

Along with both Nanzhang and Zhenla being destroyed, although Siam and Great Xia had an agreement, Siam still felt uneasy. Hence, they decided to surrender.

“Recognizing a suzerain is much better than being wiped out.” Theeradej was really sharp.

During this round of country war, as New Zealand was under Great Xia, they were able to escape. If not, they would have failed to block Luzon’s attack.

It seems like recognizing a suzerain country was a really worth it trade.

The country war month was not a one-off thing, and escaping once did not mean you would escape twice. Furthermore, Great Xia launched an attack on Luzon right after the country war month ended, so it seemed like they did not even need to wait for a year.

Due to such considerations, not long after the country war month ended, Theeradej sent out the envoy.

Ouyang Shuo naturally would not make it hard for Siam since they knew their place. It was mentioned that for Great Xia to gain a footing on Planet Hope, it could not go on an all-out war against everyone.

One more friend was better than one more enemy.

The suzerain setting fit Great Xia’s demands. Whilst they became allies, they also did not need to make enemies with the surrounding countries.

“Now it’s time to see how long Piao Country and Johor can last.” The moment both of them submitted and Ouyang Shuo took down Luzon, most of ASEAN would be under Great Xia.

However, before the fire spreads to them, these two countries would not admit defeat. Especially Johor, who had just taken down Brunei. This showed that they had ambition and would not easily admit defeat.

This was expected by Ouyang Shuo. After all, going under Great Xia came with a price.

With Siam as an example, after recognizing Great Xia as the suzerain, although it still had the country title of Siam, in truth, it was just another province of Great Xia.

The Provincial Governor structure would be exactly the same as the Great Xia one, with some organizations having Great Xia officials. The governing area would be shifted over to Bangkok.

Of course, compared to other provinces, Siam had higher self-rule ability.

Since it was under Great Xia, trading border tax would be zero and huge amounts of Great Xia products would swarm in. At the same time, Siam’s materials and products like tin, rubber, and the like would all be sold in Great Xia.

This was really beneficial to the dynasty.

Next, there would be the large-scale reduction of troops. Of the 500 thousand guard troops along with the 200 thousand territory troops, apart from keeping a 20 thousand strong emperor force, the remaining 680 thousand would be removed.

They would change into garrison forces, bailiffs, or take up other occupations. As for the safety of Siam, naturally the Hanoi Legion Corps would take care of that.

If they did not have an army reduction, there would be no talk of joining them.

Although Theeradej was mentally prepared, cutting 670 thousand troops at once made his heart feel pained. Of course, this was just toward him, for the entire Siam, there were benefits.

The imperial city guards were one out of every ten players and was a huge burden on the civilians. After the reduction of troops, the imperial city could lessen taxes whilst also focusing more on their lives.

The 5th year of Gaia was a decisive year in the game.

Before this, war and conquest was the main and only topic of the wilderness. From then on, internal development and economic prosperity slowly took over and replaced war.

In a dynasty like Great Xia that was so huge, for the civilians who lived far away from the borders, war had long since left their lives.

With Shanhai City as an example, apart from the conquest in the Lianzhou Basin, it had been many years since they fought. In the foreseeable future, war would not happen there either.

Of course, being far away from war did not mean that one forgot about it.

As long as the dynasty needed it, relying on their highly efficient administrative system, they could quickly recruit the millions of troops back.

This was why Great Xia was so scary.

They kept only a certain amount of elite troops. However, whilst reducing the military expenditure, they also hid many troops amongst the civilians to help promote the construction and economic growth.

Even if Handan City wanted to replicate such a model, they could not.

That was because they could not even have enough troops to expand, much less cutting down the numbers.

Only dynasties like Great Xia that expanded constantly could amass such shocking power. They did not look so terrifying, but in truth, they were a huge monster.

This was why Siam with 700 thousand troops did not dare to wage war against Great Xia.

If the situation continued to develop in this fashion, Great Xia would be like a snowball, becoming more and more terrifying and fearful. Sometimes, without even sending troops, it would cause people to submit to them.

This was the true aura of an overlord.

Siam submitting was undoubtedly a huge example to the surrounding countries. Once Siam started to develop, many more people would be tempted.

The moment the news spread out, the world was shocked. People talked about it for many days straight.

…

7th month, 10th day, when Han Xin led the troops back to the Capital City, Ouyang Shuo kept his promise and promoted him to commander in chief, which was the same as Baiqi and Li Jing.

Ouyang Shuo also set up a temporary Grand Council minister position that changed every half a year.

The minister would only be chosen out of Baiqi, Han Xin, and Li Jing.

With that, through the system, it confirmed their position in the Grand Council and even in the entire dynasty.

War God Baiqi, Army immortal Han Xin, Military God Li Jing.

These three names would be carved into Great Xia history, shining bright.

The moment the news went out, maybe Sun Bin, Li Mu, and the others would feel despondent. That was unavoidable, as the army always rewarded the strong and those who had contributed greatly. Although they were all listed as the top 10 generals in history, Baiqi, Han Xin, and Li Jing were slightly stronger and more all rounded, which was why Ouyang Shuo liked them more.

At this very moment, a System Notification suddenly sounded out.