To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 999: Chapter 413: The Azure Dragon Begs for Forgiveness Chapter 999: Chapter 413: The Azure Dragon Begs for Forgiveness The Chu army breached the city of Jiangxia, but Lu Yuan did not linger there for long.

After a mere two days stationed within the city for some rest and reorganization, he led his troops to continue their advance northward.

Indeed, the situation could be described as exceedingly favorable.

All nine vanguard armies had achieved remarkable results; the East Sea Prefecture had been pacified, a large part of Xingyang County had been subdued, and the troops were in the midst of conquering the three prefectures of Jiying, Liang, and Chengyang.

Even the capital city of Liang, Daliang, was now under the threat of the Chu army’s sharp edge.

The decision to dispatch the nine armies had already garnered a great deal of success.

However, it was precisely for this reason that the reinforcements led by Lu Yuan, who were tasked with safeguarding the rear and filling in the battle lines, needed to catch up sooner.

Although the nine vanguards were advancing irresistibly, they were after all, only nine hundred thousand strong.

Now rampaging across five prefectures, as troops were dispatched, their forces were quickly diluted.

At present, atop the front line of the three prefectures of Jiying, Liang, and Chengyang, Chu’s military presence was less than two hundred thousand strong.

Despite their sharpness remaining intact, with the arrival of the Liang state’s loyalist armies to various locations, Liang’s resistance was swiftly strengthening.

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The vanguard armies were no longer able to guarantee the previously unstoppable progress.

In the three front-line prefectures, both Chu and Liang had taken their positions, creating a stalemate.

Source: .com, updated on Ɲ0νǤο.ƈο

During such times, it was naturally impossible for Lu Yuan to sit idly by.

Therefore, after conquering the city of Jiangxia and eradicating the last stronghold of the Liang army in the southern line, he decided to immediately lead his main forces northward to offer support.

Liang country was caught off guard and in dire straits, the moment of greatest difficulty and urgency.

Would it not be a waste of the thirty years of waiting and plotting if he didn’t take advantage of this great opportunity to crush the opponent once and for all?

Hence, after ordering Huang Lin to continue leading the western military expedition northward to attack Xingyang and Jiying, Lu Yuan led the central and eastern military expeditions towards the East Sea, advancing in the direction of Daliang and Chengyang.

As for the prefectures and counties of Jiangxia and the Guangling region to the north that had already been conquered, they were handed over to the prearranged officials from the cabinet, who under the protection of the army, began to immediately establish government offices, assemble teams, and restore local production and stability.

They were also to handle the immigration of new settlers rushing in from the south, aiding them in resettling within the various prefectures and counties to the north of the river.

The number of civilians that Lu Yuan had relocated from the southwest and Lingnan amounted to over eighteen million, almost equal to the entire Northern Expedition force.

Such a massive population, crowded along the banks of the Yangtze River in Jiangnan, consumed an untold amount daily.

The security issues brought on by the large, idle crowd were also too numerous to document.

Just half a year in, the local authorities along the Yangtze River in Jiangnan were already overwhelmed with complaints, continuously petitioning the government.

They claimed that if the situation were not addressed, local grievances would boil over, possibly leading to an uprising.

Naturally, Lu Yuan took this very seriously.

With the Northern Expedition achieving some success, he immediately ordered the early resettlement of five million people in Jiangxia County and the Guangling region to the north.

Though this territory covering one county and three prefectures was not vast, spanning only about seven thousand miles,

The local population of both places was not large either, adding up to only about five million or so.

Compared to Chu State in Jiangnan, where it was common for a single prefecture to have a population of ten million, these places had a sparse population.

Therefore, relocating five million people there, despite the immense pressure, was not an impossibility.

However, the recently settled Chu nationals might not be able to secure much fertile land and would need to reclaim wild land themselves, making the first few years quite arduous.

But Lu Yuan had anticipated this and made preparations accordingly.

To develop a new expanse of wild land into arable land would take three to five years before yielding any results.

During this period, those citizens would largely depend on the support of the court.

After three to five years, once the land development had made some progress, the immigrants would mainly be able to sustain themselves.

However, at this time, their income would still be meager, barely enough to make ends meet, so they would need another three to five years of development before the court could levy taxes from these people.

Thus, a single wave of migration, taking at least six years and at most ten, would be required before the court would see any return on its investment.

With the current wealth of Chu State and the underlying strength of Liang to the north, if this Northern Expedition were to go smoothly, then after amalgamating the fourteen prefectures of Liang, the total population of Chu would reach approximately one hundred fifty million.

Among them, about twenty million people would need to be resettled and supported as immigrants.

This means that going forward, Chu State would need to use one hundred thirty million people to support and sustain twenty million people.

The duration of this support would last from three to five years.

While the pressure was considerable, it was bearable if they gritted their teeth.

And if they could further absorb Wei Country and acquire its four prefectures and forty million people, then supporting these twenty million would become even easier.

There would be no need to grit their teeth; they could complete this task with relative ease and prosperity.

This was one of the reasons why Lu Yuan included Wei Country as one of the targets in this Northern Expedition.

Because only by amalgamating Liang and Wei, then integrating them with Chu to consolidate the force of the Three Nations, could they sustain the annual immigration work of ten million people.

The first batch of immigrants came from the most southern regions, the southwest, and Lingnan.

Following them, Chu State also had seventy million people within its borders.

If these were to continue in batches of twenty million, the process would take five years to complete.

Chu State would need at least twenty years to successfully resettle all the people within its territory.

Such consumption and pressure could not be borne by Chu alone; the incorporation of Liang and Wei was indispensable.

Moreover, the sooner the immigration work was carried out, the better.

Relocating immigrants to the north of the river this year and expecting them to cultivate was impossible.