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Chapter 1008: Chapter 416 Tang Zheng Backstab Chapter 1008: Chapter 416 Tang Zheng Backstab Why does Lu Yuan harbor such hate for Zheng Kingdom?

The reason lies right here.

Initially, Tang Kingdom made exorbitant demands, aiming to swallow up three counties in the eastern part of Liang at once, almost hitting Liang’s vital weakness, nearly knocking it to the ground.

Why say so?

First, let’s see how much territory Liang actually has now.

After the Northern Expedition of Chu, Liang lost half of Guangling County, one Jiangxia County, one Xingyang County, one East Sea County, and one Jiying County—a total of four and a half counties’ worth of land gone in one fell swoop.

Since then, the east of Qing no longer belonged to Liang.

Then, in the central part of Qingzhou, to the north, Xu State seized Dongping County, and Chu’s eastern military expedition advanced into Chengyang County and Rencheng Prefecture.

In these two counties, each occupied more than half of the territory, and the fighting with Liang was intense.

Therefore, in the center of Qingzhou, Liang only held Liang County, Shanyang County, the northern part of Chengyang County, and the northeastern part of Rencheng Prefecture—roughly the territory of three counties.

Moreover, these territories are all at the front line, where millions of Chu and Liang troops saw back-and-forth conflict, and the local population, affected by the ravages of war, fled and died in large numbers, turning the place into waste land.

Such territory is fundamentally untenable for focused production, providing no revenue.

Apart from using it as a defensive line, providing strategic value, it has no other benefit to Liang.

Therefore, the real logistical bases for both countries are just a small slice of land in the eastern part of Qingzhou.

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That is, Qingping County, Jiaoxi County, Donglai County, Yingling County, and Jiaodong County—the land of these five counties alone.

But now what?

Jiaodong County became a battlefield last year, with nearly three million troops from Chu and Liang clashing there.

The impact of the war here is even more severe than in Liang’s central part; naturally, it’s impossible for this place to serve as a logistics base under such circumstances.

Thus, in Qingzhou’s east, the actual territory that can be considered as a logistical rear for Liang amounts to just four counties.

Yet, even this four-county territory, Liang’s last lifeline, has been utterly compromised by Tang’s stab in the back.

Qingping County was directly seized by Tang, and Jiaoxi County and Donglai County also faced an invasion by seven hundred thousand Tang forces.

If these two counties are lost as well, then the only dependable territory left for Liang would be a mere Yingling County.

With just this single county’s land to rely on, supporting Liang’s rapidly growing military size, which now numbers nearly four million troops and horses, is desperately impossible.

No.

Perhaps even this last county might not remain.

Because nobody knows whether Tang, after taking Jiaoxi and Donglai, will continue moving south and snatch Liang’s last peaceful Yingling County.

After all, judging by Tang’s current actions, the opponent simply doesn’t care, showing no concern about whether they can hold off Chu’s advance eastward after Liang’s collapse.

Although it is an age of great strife, with weak nations commonly forming alliances to oppose the strong, it has become a mundane affair.

But not every country can take the long view, nor is willing to consider the future.

Some are only interested in short-term gains, only caring about what can be obtained immediately, without worrying about what might be lost later on.

From what we can see, Tang belongs to the latter.

They don’t care about Chu.

They just want to take Liang’s five eastern counties, to first devour this twenty thousand li of rivers and mountains, the population of several tens of millions, and reap the benefits before considering the rest.

As for Chu afterward, having expanded nearly double after consuming Qingzhou’s east, they deemed their strength no weaker than Liang’s pre-war.

With such power, they don’t seek to beat Chu but, by adopting the tactics of states like Zhao and Xu, fiercely defending one territory should pose no real problem, right?

Tang doesn’t believe it.

With millions of soldiers at the front line, could Chu really break through?

Even if they did, it’s no great loss.

At worst, they’d just give back the territory they’ve taken and retreat with their troops back to Tang.

After all, in front of Tang, there are Zhao, Xu, and Zheng blocking the way, and these countries are closer to Chu, sharing a larger border.

The threat they pose to Chu is greater than that from Tang.

If misfortune is to come, these three nations would suffer first, and Tang can lie low in the rear, continuing to benefit from playing both sides.

Hmm, it must be said, this idea is indeed shortsighted.

But it is also very realistic.

One often does not feel the heat and pain until the fire reaches their eyebrows.

Tang is such a state, and its monarch and ministers are such people.

Even if other countries bristle with anger, they have no recourse against such a shameless nation.

However, compared to the hatred of the other countries, Chu is naturally delighted.

Tang’s brilliant move, a surprise attack from the northeast, struck Liang’s critical weak point in one go, a great help to Chu.

In the face of such benefactors, the people of Chu are naturally immensely grateful.

When Lu Yuan received the news, he immediately dispatched a messenger to Tang’s main camp, hoping to discuss a joint attack on the Liang’s forces.

After all, regardless of whether Tang intends to take Qingzhou’s east, it would be beneficial for both sides to first join forces and bring Liang to its knees.

Without Tang’s support, Chu would still have to grapple with Liang in Qingzhou’s central Da Liang City, spending time and countless lives grinding down the central defense line, contending with Liang and the nations behind it.

If Tang joins in, Chu could seize the opportunity of Liang being attacked from both front and rear, to first break its central defense line and claim the central counties.

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