TO ACHIEVE IMMORTALITY, I CULTIVATE USING QI LUCK

Chapter 954: Chapter 398 Northern Territory Deliberations Chapter 954: Chapter 398 Northern Territory Deliberations Diligent Governance Hall.

After learning that the battle of the eastern province had erupted, Lu Yuan immediately convened his assembly of ministers to discuss the situation.

“Everyone, please speak your thoughts, Zhao and Liang are at war—how should Great Chu respond?”

Lu Yuan summarized the news from the northern Qingzhou and then looked towards the people, raising the question aloud.

Below him, the leading military officer Zhou Qing and the leading civil official Sun Siwen, each heading the significant military and civil officials of Chu State, listened somberly.

Upon hearing the inquiry, everyone exchanged glances before Zhou Qing stood up and said, “Your Majesty, in your servant’s opinion, with Zhao and Liang at war, Great Chu need not intervene excessively; we should simply watch and see how the situation unfolds.

Your servant was stationed in the Northern Border for many years, neighboring Former Zhou’s Xiangyang and Liang’s Jiangxia.

Over the span of several years, though no great war erupted with these two states, occasional minor conflicts did occur.

In the early stages of our skirmishes with these two nations, Zhou’s soldiers were robust, often overpowering Great Chu’s soldiers in direct confrontations.

However, in the later stages, Zhou’s finest soldiers were mostly drawn away by their many military engagements, and many infirm and elderly were forcibly conscripted, leading to a deterioration in the quality of their troops.

At the same time, due to the enlistment of men into the army, there was a labor shortage in the Zhou countryside, resulting in insufficient production and a scarcity of military supplies—consequentially, the soldiers could not undergo adequate training, naturally lacking in skill.

In the end, once renowned as one of the top three hegemons and immensely powerful, Zhou Country’s military strength rapidly declined, leading to its downfall amidst continuous war at the hands of Wei Country.”

Zhou Qing began by citing the example of the now-extinct Zhou Country, then smoothly changed the subject, saying, “Zhou became weak because of war and was ultimately destroyed due to its weakness—this was the cause of its downfall.

However, Liang has remained comparatively stable over the years.

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Although there have been some conflicts with Wei Country in recent years, even the deployment of a million soldiers would barely scratch Liang.

Thus, for decades, our Chu State has been unable to gain any advantage over Liang on the border.

Liang’s soldiers have always been among the fiercest in the world, the paragon of elite troops.

With their forces unscathed and soldiers unweakened, even if Wei, Zhao, and Xu—the Three Nations—attack, Liang might find it difficult to achieve a great victory, but there should be no problem defending the country and protecting its borders.

In your servant’s view, within fifteen years, it will be impossible for these Four Kingdoms to determine a victor in the ongoing war.”

Zhou Qing spoke freely, offering his own analysis.

He knew what his Master meant by inquiring about the war between Zhao and Liang—it wasn’t about whether Chu should kick them while they are down, joining Wei, Zhao, and Xu in ganging up on Liang.

Instead, it was asking whether Liang could hold on, and whether Chu should offer assistance.

Yes, preserving Liang is currently the top strategic priority of Chu.

The reason, of course, is that Qingzhou to the north cannot be divided; it must be unified under one power.

Only then can a situation arise where the victor takes all, and the loser is left with nothing.

Only then can the contradictions and disputes among the four nations reach the highest degree of intensity, completely incapable of being resolved.

The situation in the Nine Provinces is actually quite clear now.

As the four poles of Heaven and Earth undergo change, in order to survive, the occupants of the ten realms outside Central State will instinctively move closer to Central State.

In the end, all the forces from the Nine Provinces will converge in Central State, engaging in a ferocious struggle for the last remaining rights to existence.

And to capture a glimmer of hope in the upcoming grand struggle, to eventually seize dominance of Central State in the future—

—the existing factions must occupy enough territory in Central State beforehand, and amass the most formidable strength before catastrophe fully ensues, to achieve an absolute advantage over the other forces.

Without doubt, Liang currently occupies such an advantageous position.

So, to ensure that this advantage can be maintained until disaster fully erupts,

this power, which has unified Qingzhou and claimed half of Central State, will naturally do everything possible to protect its interests by preventing others from entering the fray to carve up its share.

This is precisely what Liang is doing.

On the west side, it suppresses Wei Country, seeking to expel them from Central State; in the north, it deploys heavy forces along the river to block Zhao and Xu’s advance southwards.

On the south side, Liang maintains a delicate balance with Chu, feigning cooperation along the Yangtze River—alternating between cautious and cooperative, walking on a tightrope.

On the east, Liang has a somewhat better relationship with Zheng of Yuzhou, sharing a similar plight, and so, they are not overly wary of each other, sparing their energy.

Therefore, from the aforementioned arrangements, it is evident that Liang is fully committed and intricately planning to preserve its interests.

Similarly, Zhao, Xu, and Wei—who either have not yet tasted the cake or feel they’ve gotten too small a piece—are unwilling to be prematurely ruled out of the competition for Central State.

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For survival, these three countries will struggle to advance into Central State, instinctively attacking those two that block their path deeper into the region.

One seeks to maintain its interests, to keep the cake; the other seeks to compete for interests, to claim a share of the cake.

As long as the balance of power among Zhao, Xu, Wei, and Liang is not broken, they are naturally in an adversarial position, bound by conflicting interests that are impossible to reconcile.

That’s why there is the ongoing massive war between Wei and Liang along the lines of Henan and Nanyang, with both sides rallying millions of soldiers and warring for several years.

Zhao’s million-strong army has invaded Liang’s eastern province, and the flames of war have risen on both sides.

Xu State, to the north of the great river, is eager to join the fray at any moment.

It’s all about interests at play here.

It’s also because of such interests that the four nations consume each other, just like the now-extinct China, slowly bleeding themselves dry bit by bit.

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