To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 804: Chapter 347 Confrontation Timing_3

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In addition, a heavy military presence must be stationed in the immigrant areas, responsible for clearing out wild beasts, bandits, resistant locals, as well as suppressing any unrest among the immigrants.

Which of the above is not an extreme drain on resources?

During the hardest times, to support these immigrants, develop new territories, and maintain local garrisons, Chu State had to expend tens of millions of stones of grain each year, and an equal amount of silver.

Originally, to sustain this consumption, Lu Yuan had invested the entire production of three counties and seventeen prefectures, over six million subjects, into this immigration project, and even then, had barely managed to get by through external plundering.

Thus, what we see today is the flourishing outcome after all the hardship, the achievement of a great empire.

But while Chu State had the underlying strength to support immigration, where could such capacity come from for the two smaller countries of Su and Song?

Always known for its poverty due to constant unrest and wars, Su Country’s people had long been trapped in hardship.

Now burdened with the immigration of half a province and four prefectures, and having to support fifty thousand soldiers and a large number of nobles, the country was already at its limit.

Song Country was somewhat better off, barely maintaining the immigration expenses thanks to the Red River Plain.

Yet, aside from immigration, Song had also adopted a strong military policy.

For a small nation of two million people, supporting a standing army of one hundred and fifty thousand was akin to impoverishing soldiers and waging incessant war.

All these policies were practically a repeat of the erstwhile Changsha Country.

Lu Yuan was well aware of how destitute his nation’s treasury had been during the time in Changsha—so poor that it could starve a rat.

By adopting the same policies for its expansion, Song Country rapidly grew stronger; however, it also impoverished itself in the process.

Thus, after joining Lu Yuan in the static confrontation, the two countries soon found their treasuries exhausted, lacking money and grain, struggling to continue.

In just two months’ time, by early August, the hastily assembled seventy thousand United Army of Su and Song collapsed due to the lack of funds, showing signs of disintegration.

If it were not for the emergency allocation of funds and grain from Nanhai Country, which gave both countries a lifeline,

the alliance between the two countries would have officially collapsed and become but a name alone, effectively nonexistent.

Even so, Nanhai Country had limited power and couldn’t support the two indefinitely.

Dragging on, there would inevitably come a day when the three countries would have to withdraw their armies and give up the confrontation with Chu State due to insufficient funds and grain.

Although Ning Country received news of this situation and realized the United Army was in a dire state,

it was separated from Su and Song by a thousand miles and numerous mountain ridges.

Under such circumstances, even if Ning had ample grain, the cost of transporting it to the territories of Su and Song was stifling.

Transporting supplies over such long distances for the Seven Nations Army was almost as demanding as supporting an army of seven hundred thousand.

Such excessive expenditure was unbearable for Ning Country.

Moreover, it was simply too wasteful to spend so much for mere tens of thousands of soldiers.

With the vast amount of money and grain that would be wasted, it would be better to recruit an additional two or three hundred thousand soldiers domestically.

This would not only strengthen one’s own forces but also ensure that the resources were spent on one’s own country.

Therefore, for Su and Song, far a thousand miles away, Ning Country felt powerless and unable to help.

Still, the Lingnan Region’s strategic location is crucial.

It not only can tie up a large number of Chu’s forces from another front but also sustain the existence of Su, Song, and Nanhai countries,

thereby thwarting Chu State’s ambitions to conquer Lingnan and exploit its manpower and resources.

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Therefore, failure here was not an option.

Amid internal and external troubles, the Four Kingdoms’ United Army had grown restless, considering whether to take the initiative and start the battle themselves.

If the Chu State wouldn’t come, then they would take the fight to them.

Could it really be that the combined forces of four countries, with an army of a million strong, could not defeat the Chu State?

However, although this suggestion was repeatedly proposed, in recent years the military might of Chu had been too formidable, and Lu Yuan’s victories too dazzling. Each country dreaded him and the strength of Chu, hesitating to be the first to launch an attack.

Each of the Four Kingdoms wanted another member to act first to test the strength of Chu.

But with everyone playing the same game and unwilling to suffer any loss,

this plan could only remain on paper.

Despite this, both the United Army and Lu Yuan were well aware

that the current standoff could not last indefinitely.

Before the United Army, or rather the Lingnan Region’s Three Nations, could no longer endure, they would definitely make a move and attack Chu.

It was wishful thinking for the Chu State to hope to exhaust the enemy through attrition and win this war.

The enemies were not fools; they wouldn’t simply sit by and await their doom, watching as Chu defeated their allies one by one, growing stronger, and then devouring everything.

The only uncertain factor now was how long the Lingnan Three Nations could hold out, or rather, how much patience they had left?

Regarding this,

Lu Yuan estimated that with the current resources of the Three Nations, they could last at most another two or three months, or even less.

Within one or two months, they would become impatient and launch an early attack.

On his side, in fact, he was also eager to commence the Southern Expedition.

As time passed, the ties between the Four Kingdoms’ Alliance grew tighter, subtly forming a trend of an alliance led by Ning Country against Chu.

At the same time, the military strength within the Four Kingdoms expanded rapidly. The longer they waited, the stronger the enemies became.

It was crucial to break their alliance before they fully united and developed their military strength to the limit, taking advantage of their moment of weakness to strike down a few smaller forces first.

Otherwise, if the Alliance grew stronger, the price Chu would have to pay to defeat them would be much greater than now.

So Lu Yuan too was finding it difficult to wait any longer, wanting to initiate the war himself.

But as stated previously, the greatest uncertainty within the Nine Provinces was the presence of the Great Immortal Sects and Zi Yang, so, dreading this, he forced himself to suppress the urge to move his troops and continued to wait for the opportunity.

Fortunately, after waiting for two months, that opportunity finally arrived.

In the eighth month of the tenth year of Shenwu, two pieces of news arrived in succession at Baling.

The first was from the Snow Plains. Following the success of the spring joint attack, the Snow Plains Nomads sent Messengers, seeking to invite Chu State to join them in this autumn’s raid for grain against Zhou Country.

Then there was Feishuang Tao.

The Dao master Mo Li, leading his disciples, came personally to Baling to bid farewell to Lu Yuan.

As time passed, the one-year period had finally arrived.

These Grand Immortal Sects of the Nine Provinces were actually ready to honor their promise and head north to the Northern Dark City, to hold the grand event of Ascension for all.