To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck-Chapter 849 - 362: The Yong State Battle Situation_3

Chapter 849: Chapter 362: The Yong State Battle Situation_3

From now on, within at most a hundred years, it will become increasingly difficult for new Inborns to arise in the world.

At most two hundred years, all Inborn Grandmasters may have disappeared, just like the current Grandmasters, completely becoming a legend.

Therefore, being able to ally with some of the last remnants of the Inborn Grandmasters at this time, will naturally provide Chu State with a greater advantage in the struggle for high-end combat power against other countries in the future.

Thus.

Compared to ordinary people who could recover in just a few decades, Inborn Grandmasters who cannot be replaced once gone, will undoubtedly become even more important over the next two hundred years.

...

If Chu State can secure the allegiance of all the barbarian Inborns on the Snowy Wilderness, along with their own Inborns and those they might persuade to join them after conquering Ning State Lingnan, they could potentially amass over thirty Inborn Grandmasters.

Thirty Inborn Grandmasters.

If they really could muster such strength, let alone advancing into North of the River, securing a foothold in Central State in the future would be viable as well.

Even obliterating Liang and Lu Yuan also had some confidence in this.

Therefore, compared to such trivial benefits at the moment, the long-term future naturally didn’t concern him.

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If possible, Lu Yuan preferred to offer more help to the Barbarians in their time of need.

After all, it was highly likely that these Barbarians wouldn’t be able to turn the tables.

In that case, it was better to invest more in the future, exchanging today’s goodwill for tomorrow’s gain.

Of course, this was a long-term effort, and there was no need to rush for immediate results.

For now, all that was required was to gently nourish and silently influence, waiting for the fruits to ripen over the next few years, or even over a decade, before harvesting them.

Lu Yuan had the patience for this.

“But the Barbarians have it tough, and the situation for the Zhou People isn’t much better.”

He mulled over the intelligence from Zhou Country.

Last winter, the Barbarians struggled to survive, and the losses for Zhou Country were substantial as well.

Under the combined pressure of the Barbarians, Chu, and Wei People, Zhou Country, led by the famous world general He Basheng, managed to fiercely repel Chu and the Barbarians with their formidable strength. They kept the Helong stronghold as tight as a drum without revealing a single weakness.

However, on the northern battlefield of Zhou Country, the hastily escaping army of three hundred thousand suffered another crushing defeat under the attacks of Wei’s famous general, Xiao Wudi.

The Wei army of four hundred thousand clashed with the thirty thousand soldiers from Zhou Country, resulting in a disastrous defeat for Zhou and the loss of over a hundred thousand soldiers.

Even with the protection of strongholds and strategic passes, Zhou’s forces could hardly withstand the military might of the Wei.

The remaining half of Shuofang under the control of Zhou Country was lost within a mere three months.

Ultimately, early last October, after more than ten days of initial snowfall in the northern territories, the entire Shuofang region fell under Wei control, and Zhou Country completely lost the gateway to the Northern Border.

If it weren’t already deep winter by then, with continuous heavy snowfall making military operations extremely difficult,

it’s likely that the Wei would have seized this opportunity to continue their advance southward, breaking into Guannei and threatening Zhou Country’s capital, Chang’an.

Despite this,

the loss of Shuofang and the threat to Jingji left Zhou Country and its people in a state of panic.

To resist Wei Country, even Emperor Zhou who summoned back He Basheng, the only famous general in the nation from Helong, and ordered him to return to the Northern Border. There, in the northern part of Guannei, he set up defenses to counter the advances of his old adversary, Xiao Wudi.

However, Guannei currently, even if Zhou Country consolidated its remnants and added the fifty thousand soldiers guarding the capital, the total military force barely amounted to around two hundred thousand.

And the Wei, although they had sustained heavy losses by forcefully attacking Zhou’s city defenses and passes, with casualties rumored to exceed two hundred thousand,

inside Wei Country, aside from guarding against the nomads to the north, there weren’t any other enemies to defend against, and so they didn’t need to station many forces elsewhere.

Therefore, although losing over two hundred thousand soldiers and suffering great damage was a huge loss for Wei Country, it wasn’t something it couldn’t bear.

With a stature comparable to that of Zhou Country and maintaining sufficient defenses in the north, Wei could still easily conscript and draw troops within the country to replenish the losses on the southern front line.

By this time, the Wei Army in Shuofang had regained its strength after a winter and half a spring’s replenishment, with troop numbers recovering to a formidable force of four hundred thousand.

Moreover, within this army of four hundred thousand, the number of Inborn Grandmasters from Wei was even larger. It was said to be almost twice the size of the northern border army of Zhou.

Such strength, although not enough to say it could directly crush Zhou Country, was indeed a gap that was enough to make people despair.

With He Basheng’s capabilities, it would probably be challenging to stop the Wei Army.

“So in the end, Zhou Country can either trust in He Basheng’s capabilities, risking the two-fold disparity in troop numbers to fight to the death against Wei at the Northern Border, gambling on a slim chance of victory,

or they could give up Helong’s two counties, relocating the remaining forces and population to the counties within Guannei, thereby concentrating troops and resources. Without a doubt, this would significantly enhance the strength of the counties within Guannei and naturally could resist Wei.

It’s a risk of losing all three counties, betting on a chance of victory.

Or surrender the already devastated two counties of Helong, preserving the heartland counties of Guannei where the capital resides.

What should Zhou Country choose?

This must also be the barbarians’ final cautious glimmer of hope, right?

As long as Zhou Country abandons the two counties of Helong, the barbarians on the brink of collapse could gain Helong’s two counties, thus managing to cling to survival for a while longer.

This might have a significant impact on my plan to annex the barbarians, likely a variable…

Lu Yuan thought about his future strategies and couldn’t help pondering, but in the end, he shook his head: “It probably won’t come to that. I’ve heard that Western Liang up northwest of Yong State has also shown signs of grain shortage in recent years due to the chill.

The Western Liang army has already started probing, attempting to infiltrate the two counties of Helong, seeking new grain-producing lands to survive the calamities.

And then there’s Wei in the north.

Now having occupied Shuofang, they share borders with the two counties of Helong.

Wei is affected even more by the chill and faces an even greater grain crisis, therefore their need for grain-producing lands is more urgent.

In such a situation, if Guanzhong turns into an impenetrable stronghold, who knows what Wei might plan for the neighboring two counties of Helong.

And Zhou, having lost its western defense, probably won’t give in either.

Once they muster their strength, they may also attempt to return and reclaim the two counties of Helong.

With so many wolves circling, the barbarians are better off not taking Helong’s two counties.

If they do take over, they would replace Zhou’s current position and be besieged from three sides, left floundering and overextended.

Perhaps by then, the barbarians’ downfall might even arrive faster than if they were simply declining naturally, and I could more quickly inherit their legacy.”

Lu Yuan speculated calmly and was reassured in his heart.

Then, looking at the fully risen morning sun over the river, a sense of urgency also arose within him.

With the situation in the north changing so rapidly and Zhou Country already facing the peril of extinction, Yong State might change hands soon.

As the chill slowly intensified, the unrest in the world became ever more apparent.

Chu State, where he resided, also needed to hasten its steps, striving for more advantages in this global struggle for supremacy.

Otherwise, if the north gradually unifies, integrating the resources of various states, supreme empires spanning across states and counties, far surpassing any single-state overlord, would emerge.

Then, even as Lu Yuan, before outlasting those Inborn Grandmasters, he might be willing yet powerless, unable to contend with them.

“So, if I don’t want to be left behind, I need to quicken my pace.”

Looking into the distance towards the east, gazing in the direction of Ning State, Lu Yuan’s eyes deepened, and his decision was already made.