TO ACHIEVE IMMORTALITY, I CULTIVATE USING QI LUCK

Chapter 1005: Chapter 415: Surrounding Tigers and Wolves Chapter 1005: Chapter 415: Surrounding Tigers and Wolves In the forty-first year of Shenwu, it was a year belonging to Chu State.

Since the Chu army crossed the river in April, the great momentum that Chu State had amassed over time completely erupted and began to sweep across the entire world.

As the foremost hegemon of the world, Liang crumbled at the first touch of Chu’s assault.

In just a few months’ time, it lost one-third of its territory, and its capital city of Liang was once besieged by the Chu army, nearly leading to the nation’s annihilation in a single battle.

Back then, the hegemon of Central State who once faced down three adversaries alone, now seemed like a paper tiger before Chu, collapsing at the slightest poke.

The contrast between then and now was simply jaw-dropping.

Was Liang too weak?

Thinking it over, it seemed that just five years ago, Liang had just thoroughly defeated Wei, Zhao, and Xu, instilling deep fear in the other states.

Its fame was so illustrious that when Zheng Kingdom merely heard that Liang intended to move against them—without even confirming the news—

they hurriedly sought Chu’s protection, offering money and ceding territory in hopes of diverting the disaster east and avoiding the threat of Liang.

To say such a country is weak would be an immense insult to the defeated and terrified great powers.

So, Liang was absolutely not weak.

Even, atop the Nine Provinces, before the Northern Expedition of Chu, Liang was the number one hegemon in the world.

They were the universally recognized first hegemon, achieving this status through their illustrious military achievements.

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And it was for this reason that the myth of being first, once broken by Chu, caused a shock to the hearts of the people of the world that was simply unimaginable.

Chu State, as a result, attracted many troubles.

…

This winter, Lu Yuan spent his time in East Sea County.

After half a year of campaigning, this county had become the hub for all the advance military camps’ headquarters of Liang, with countless troops being stationed and dispatched here, serving as the heart.

“I can understand that Zhao has bolstered its defenses in its sole remaining county in Central State for its own survival, Xu has been scared into increasing troops in Le’an, and Tang has taken advantage of the situation to attack Qingping County—after all, they are trying to protect themselves and take advantage,”

Lu Yuan, going through the most recent reports, felt a surge of anger: “But what is Zheng thinking, joining in the commotion and reinforcing troops on the border of Yangxia, posing a threat to the rear of my main camp in Yangxia?

What is their intention?”

Tossing aside the report regarding Zheng, his dissatisfaction with Zheng Kingdom grew increasingly intense.

The relationship between Zheng and Chu was originally very close.

More than a decade ago, the two states had diplomatic relations, and after establishing good foreign relations, their communication was unending, with merchants and travelers bustling constantly, and exchanges between officials and citizens were extremely frequent.

By last year, Zheng had ceded Yangxia County to secure Chu’s protection, bringing relations between the two countries to a pinnacle.

Perhaps it was precisely because of ceding Yangxia County that provoked the conflict between Liang and Chu, which led to the war that captivated the world this year.

Then the outcome became awkward.

According to Zheng’s original plan,

Liang was the largest state in the world, with Chu being the second largest.

The power and strength of these two countries were far superior to all other nations.

A conflict between these two states could not possibly produce a clear winner or loser in the short term.

Although in Yangxia County, which is far from Chu’s mainland, the strength and resources the Chu army could deploy were limited and could not match that of the Liang army—

likewise, as the hegemon of Central State, Liang bordered six great powers and with pirate troubles in the South, too many enemies had sapped too much of its energy.

Under such circumstances, the strength Liang could ultimately gather to confront Chu at Yangxia County was incredibly limited.

One side unable to deploy much, and the other unable to commit fully, meant that the wars in Jiaodong and Yangxia were doomed to be a stalemate.

Liang and Chu would thus keep pouring in troops and resources, falling into an endless cycle of attrition.

Meanwhile, Zheng, taking advantage of the conflict between the two great powers, could focus on fending off northern enemies and developing domestic affairs, slowly building up strength to face more severe future challenges.

Yes.

From this plan, everything seemed perfect.

The assumption was that Liang and Chu would actually proceed according to Zheng’s expectations.

However, the people of the world are not fools, and the Nine Provinces are filled with unpredictable and tumultuous momentum.

Chu did come, and Liang followed suit; both indeed fought fiercely over Yangxia County.

In the fortieth year of Shenwu, everything did go as Zheng predicted, staying within their control.

But in this year, in the forty-first year of Shenwu, with Chu’s sudden Northern Expedition, everything changed.

Liang was swiftly defeated, its eastern third of the territory snatched by Chu.

The remaining central regions, with the city of Liang at their core, also began to blaze with war.

Liang and Chu engaged in fierce battle there, turning the entire central region into a land wreathed in flames of war.

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The weakness of Liang was suddenly laid bare for all to see.

Everyone quickly realized that this once-great hegemon was now so frail that it seemed anyone could come and kick it while it was down.

And so the wolves gathered.

Zhao sent out its armies to Xingyang County, seeking to expand its territories in Central State while opportunity knocked.

But they collided with Chu’s main military camp and were instantly beaten to a bloody pulp.

Not only did they fail to gain any benefits, but they were also pushed back to their Old Nest with half of their remaining eastern county seized.

Had Zhao not seen the dire situation and immediately abandoned its Northern Border defenses to hastily draw another million-strong army from within the country to join this war,

Zhao may well have been driven back to Hebei, giving up all the territories it had expanded into Central State over the past decade.

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