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Chapter 1148: Chapter 462 Dividing Forces to Confront_3 Chapter 1148: Chapter 462 Dividing Forces to Confront_3 “The Emperor of Tang isn’t wrong,” Lu Yuan said.

Although Chu State looks imposing,

it might just be superficially bloated—intimidating in appearance yet not truly so.

On their side, they seem at a disadvantage, with just a corner of Yu State against most of the world.

But that’s only on the surface.

What they need to confront isn’t the entirety of Chu State, but rather a Chu State that is exhausted and can only muster a fraction of its strength.

The alliance of four kingdoms might not be able to defeat the entire Chu State,

but to take on a weakened half of Chu—surely that’s manageable?

With this thought, their minds became much more settled after a moment’s reflection.

“Since none of you have any objections, let’s proceed with the plan as originally decided,” the Emperor of Xu State said upon seeing the boosted morale after the Emperor of Tang’s words, nodding with satisfaction.

Then he rose, lifted the wine vessel in front of him, and declared, “In unity, we stand against the tyranny of Chu.

Gentlemen, empty this cup with me to witness our oath and celebrate the victory in the upcoming Great War.”

“To victory!”

The other three emperors stood up and raised their cups to drink in unison.

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With the clinking of cups, the alliance of the four kingdoms of Yu State was officially formed following the Northern Expedition against Chu State, and they began to mobilize.

…

Just as Yu State began its urgent preparations, with troops steadily arriving at the front line and settling in various fortresses under the arrangement of Military Officers,

the shadows of Chu’s forces also started to slowly close in before this impregnable defense line.

Their banners obscured the sun, stretching endless across the fields.

Lu Yuan led the main force of his army to Yangxia County.

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Being one of the earliest counties in Central State to fall into Chu hands, and the first in Yu State as well, Yangxia County, once an isolated outpost within Yu State with only sea routes for precarious communication with Chu proper,

gained direct land access to the territories of Chu in both Yu State and Qingzhou after the Second Northern Expedition breached the east-west passage.

Thus, as the bridgehead for Chu’s eastward push into Yu State, Yangxia was naturally given significant attention for development by Chu.

Throughout the past year, Chu had relocated two million people here, primarily consisting of Barbarians from Yan State and refugees from Wei Country.

This was the policy of Chu.

Developing the comparatively undeveloped and less hospitable land of Yu State couldn’t possibly be assigned to the core population of Chu.

It was these Barbarians and subjugated enemies who were the primary force tasked with taming these remote regions.

However, for these Barbarians and Wei refugees, the chance to settle in the much-desired Central State without the cost of bloody conflict was already a dream too good to be true.

Therefore, they didn’t mind the hardships of pioneering new lands.

Upon their arrival in Yangxia County last year, these immigrants began their land reclamation based on the existing villages and towns of the local population, gradually expanding and carving out new land for survival.

A year later, their efforts were beginning to bear fruit.

As Lu Yuan’s army marched on, new immigrant villages emerged along the way, along with patches of freshly cultivated land scattered around these settlements.

Though still primitive and wild, a hint of civilization was taking root.

With continued perseverance and several more years to a decade of sustained development, and after two or three generations, this place would become a qualified Land of Fish and Rice, a source of wealth and provisions.

The vast settled lands over in Qingzhou were developed in exactly this step-by-step fashion.

On the Yu State front, they were merely advancing slowly, following the same footsteps.

After inspecting the immigration work in Yangxia County and being very satisfied with how the immigrants fit into the local government work, Lu Yuan contentedly returned to the main camp and then convened a military meeting.

This expedition aimed to defeat the Four Kingdoms and seize the entire territory of Yu State.

A brief patrol of the immigration work was just a side matter.

War was the main objective.

However, just as with the immigration process, which had to be carried out in batches, under different situations, and using different strategies,

so too was this fourth Northern Expedition a matter of great strategical consideration.

The estimates from the Four Kingdoms were not wrong; Lu Yuan’s Northern Expedition indeed comprised of five million soldiers and only a hundred Inborn Grandmasters.

In terms of overall numbers, they were roughly the same as the enemy had estimated.

Compared with the previous three Northern Expeditions, this one’s scale could be considered modest.

Therefore, how to effectively utilize this limited military strength to achieve maximum effectiveness became an essential consideration for Chu State.

Upon synthesizing reports from the Imperial Secretariat and various intelligence gathered from the Four Kingdoms, Lu Yuan finally decided on a strategy of striking the strong and seizing the weak, focusing on a single direction regardless of the number of fronts.

That is, to strike directly at the weakest link among the Four Kingdoms, to eliminate one enemy first, and to achieve a breakthrough on the iron wall defense line they had constructed in Yu State.

Then, using that as a base, to expand continuously, and like a rolling snowball, ultimately forming a crushing force against the Four Kingdoms, securing a complete victory in this war.

For this purpose, Lu Yuan divided his five million-strong army into four expeditionary forces.

One force was the Tang Kingdom campaign, with one million soldiers and ten Inborns, commanded by Huang Yun.

The target was to attack the land of Yu State occupied by Tang Kingdom from Qingping County.

The main enemy was the million-strong army of the Tang Kingdom mainland.

One force was the western campaign, with one million soldiers and ten Inborns, commanded by Huang Qing.

The target was to attack the land of Yu State occupied by Zheng Kingdom from Jiaodong County.

The main enemy was the eight hundred thousand-strong force sent by Tang Kingdom to assist Zheng Kingdom in its defense.

One force was the southern campaign, with one million soldiers and ten Inborns, commanded by Qingyunzi.

The target was to attack the land of Yu State held by Jin Country from Xianyun County.

The main enemy was all million soldiers of Jin Country.

The remaining force was the central main army led by Lu Yuan himself, which comprised two million troops and seventy Inborns.

The goal was to simply attack Zheng Kingdom from the south of Yu State, starting from Yangxia County.

The main enemy was the seven hundred thousand-strong army of Zheng Kingdom.

Indeed, the distribution of these forces was quite straightforward.

Lu Yuan used the three diversionary campaigns to contain Tang and Jin Countries.

His own main force, on the other hand, was focused on consolidating power, primarily the advanced combat strength represented by the Inborn Grandmasters, to breach Zheng Kingdom’s defensive lines and create a breakthrough, shattering the iron wall of the Four Kingdoms.

“I want to see, faced with the strike of my seventy Inborns, what can little Zheng Kingdom muster to resist?”

On the battlefield at the front, Lu Yuan gazed at the extremely sturdy fortress constructed by Zheng Kingdom, a trace of contempt in his eyes.

Then, with a sweeping gesture of his hand, he ordered the attack on the city.

Accompanied by the mournful sound of a war horn,

the beat of the war drums from the Chu army’s large array resonated like thunder, as wave upon wave of yellow torrents began to close in on the fortress.

And within this tide, several Inborn Grandmasters who had already concealed their identities moved with the army.

The lethal killing move was already set in motion.

If they remained still, all was calm; but once they moved, they were certain to kill.