To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 991: Chapter 410 The Time Has Come_2 Chapter 991: Chapter 410 The Time Has Come_2 “`

But considering Wei Country’s financial difficulties in recent years, the deduction of military expenses, and the problem of soldiers worn out by prolonged warfare, the actual combat power of Wei’s military forces has seriously declined.

When both sides are compared like this, the gap between the soldiers is actually not that great.

So, after both sides clashed, they unexpectedly found it difficult to determine a winner, and they ended up in a stalemate.

“We’ve been fighting outside the fortress for a month now, only advancing over three thousand li into the grassland, which is just circling around the periphery.

We haven’t even touched the core of Huotuluo Country.

If we keep fighting like this, I’m afraid that by the end of the year, when winter comes, we won’t have conquered the opponent’s capital, let alone meet up with the Chu army in Yong West.”

After hearing the deputy general’s words, Meng Chenglin sighed and then asked, “How is the Chu army doing on their side?

How far have they advanced now?”

The deputy general replied, “According to the message sent three days ago, the Chu army has been out of Longshan for half a month and has now captured the entire Longxi Prefecture.

They are currently closing in on Hexi Prefecture.

However, the Chu army had been operating in Longxi Prefecture beforehand, controlling many military forts and strongholds in that prefecture.

There are also not many Barbarians in Longxi Prefecture, just two or three million.

With an army of one million sweeping through them, it’s understandable that the Chu army is moving quickly.”

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“No matter how you look at it, conquering a prefecture in half a month, given there is a population of several million, truly shows the sharpness of their military edge.”

Meng Chenglin waved his hand, feeling emotional, “Great Wei has been fighting for decades, and in the end, our soldiers are blunted and instructions are lax.

The nation has greatly weakened, and it’s not like before.”

Yes, it’s not like before.

If it were replaced by Wei Country from thirty years ago, no, even just twenty years ago.

At that time, Wei Country only needed to deploy a million troops, not to mention the inability to penetrate into the grassland’s core.

In one month’s time, advancing directly to the capital of Huotuluo Country wouldn’t have been impossible.

Wasn’t it in the Southern Expedition conducted by Great Wei that, in a short span of one or two months, the Northern defense lines of Zhou Country in Shuofang were disintegrated, and beacon fires directly approached the outskirts of Chang’an City?

If even Zhou Country, a dominant force in one state, was like this, let alone a minor Huotuluo Country.

But alas.

The Wei Country of today is no longer the Wei Country of thirty years ago.

A continuous thirty to forty years of warfare, across two to three generations, has long drained Wei Country of its vitality.

Facing scarcity of food, of money, and even of qualified soldiers, there’s even a shortage of officers…

War after war has consumed Wei’s resources, incessantly pulling them toward the abyss.

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‘So this expedition outside the fortress must end in victory.

Huotuluo Country must also be destroyed,’ Meng Chenglin thought, determination flashing in his eyes.

To the west of Great Wei, there are mainly two threats.

One is the southern grasslands located to the northwest, and the other is the Yongxi Helong region to the southwest.

In the southern grasslands, the active force is Huotuluo Country, this power with a population of over ten million, initiating tens of thousands of troops each year for eastward campaigns, continuously harassing Wei Country’s borders.

In recent years, much of Wei’s military forces and resources have been entangled with this western grassland nation, unable to extricate themselves.

On the Yongxi Helong side, there are two major nations, Bahan Na Country and Mojilo Country.

Likewise having populations exceeding ten million, these two nations are also from the Western Regions, having assimilated numerous small nations and tribes along their way, eventually accumulating the foundation of dominant countries.

Originally, these two nations were also a significant threat to the western borders of Wei Country; considering their population and size, they were even more challenging to deal with than Huotuluo Country.

But as these two nations occupied Helong, their military ambitions didn’t only extend eastwards into Guannei, harassing the Jingji region of Wei Country; they also infiltrated south towards Hanzhong, with intentions of pushing further into Chu State.

Everything changed then.

Faced with such aggressors coveting their own territory, with Lu Yuan’s temperament, naturally, he couldn’t possibly tolerate it.

Also considering that prolonged peace could lead to corruption within the military, which wouldn’t be conducive to survival in times of chaos.

Therefore, to solve the border troubles and also provide a place to train troops,

upon receiving the report from Hanzhong about the harassment by the Barbarians and other ethnic groups from the northwest, Lu Yuan decisively deployed hundreds of thousands of troops, entering Longxi Prefecture and pushing the borders out by several hundred li, initiating Chu State’s perennial military exercises in the northwest.

Just like that.

With Chu State’s intervention, the pressure from the southwestern border was instantly alleviated by a large margin.

The Bahan Na Country and Moro Country, coming from the Yongxi Helong area, had most of their forces tied up by Chu State, with the few that managed to infiltrate the Guannei counties unable to cause any significant turmoil and easily dealt with by Wei Country.

Therefore, for Wei Country,

with Chu State present, the Barbarian threats from the southwest direction could essentially be ignored to a great extent.

Their real enemy is still just Huotuluo Country.

Thus, in this expedition, the Wei Army did not bother with the Longxi direction but instead headed straight for the southern grasslands.

“The Wei Country of now can no longer afford to fight.

To continue would mean the end of the nation.

Great Wei has reached the time when we must recuperate and regenerate.

So this battle outside the fortress is the last battle.

After this battle, our Wei Country will commence disarmament, focus on recuperation, and work on restoring production, using peace to accumulate strength.

But for peace, we must deliver a crushing defeat or even annihilate Huotuluo Country in this battle, to completely resolve this great northwest trouble, securing decades of peace for Great Wei.”

Meng Chenglin looked at the generals beside him, sharing and explaining the imperial court’s thoughts before giving a command, “Now is the time to gamble with the nation’s fate, no longer caring about losses, no longer considering the risks.

Pass down the military order, all the cavalry protecting the logistics, gather them all back.”

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