TO ACHIEVE IMMORTALITY, I CULTIVATE USING QI LUCK

Chapter 1062: Chapter 434 Warfare and Pros and Cons Chapter 1062: Chapter 434 Warfare and Pros and Cons “Hand over Haiyang Prefecture…”

Upon hearing the conditions of the Zheng Kingdom’s Messenger, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

The so-called abdication and hostages mentioned earlier were essentially meaningless.

Even if Zheng Kingdom followed through, it would provide Chu State with nothing more than superficial benefits.

If it were a time of peace and prosperity, when appearances needed to be maintained, such superficial measures could be acceptable.

But in an era of chaos and great strife, where nations either fought or perished, who wasn’t reforming and striving for strength?

In such times, who would have the mind for mere facades, when everyone was putting all their effort into gaining benefits and shoring up their substance?

Therefore, terms like abdication and hostages were fundamentally pointless.

Moreover, these two conditions, while meant as reparations to Chu State, might not be so bad for Zheng Kingdom, perhaps even beneficial.

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For instance, allowing the current Zheng Emperor, Zheng Lian, to take the blame and depart with all the responsibility, while the Crown Prince ascends the throne, taking up arms lightly to rejuvenate Zheng Kingdom.

Wouldn’t that be a boon for Zheng Kingdom?

Thus, Lu Yuan didn’t care at all about these superficial bluffs; he heard them once and promptly forgot them as if they were jokes.

What did catch his attention, though, was the latter condition regarding the concession of Haiyang Prefecture.

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Lu Yuan was well aware of Haiyang Prefecture’s location.

Even now, he had an avatar leading troops in an assault on this prefecture, already achieving minor successes and capturing lands of two prefectures within it.

Looking at the current situation, perhaps he could conquer the entire prefecture before winter set in this year.

After all, the prefecture lay in the southern part of Yuzhou, too far from the northwest of Yuzhou, which Zheng Kingdom was using as its new hub of rule.

It was extremely difficult for Zheng’s influence to extend that far.

Nowadays, they didn’t have the energy to manage that area.

Therefore, while Zheng Kingdom had not given up on Haiyang Prefecture,

the resources they invested there were also minimal.

They had only appointed an Inborn as the prefecture’s chief, along with two or three local Inborns, and about five hundred thousand local soldiers to maintain a desperate defense.

With such strength, even though the Yuzhou Expeditionary Camp was focusing primarily on Zheng Kingdom’s core, a mere detached army sent to Haiyang Prefecture was enough to sweep through.

Zheng Kingdom realized this, understanding that they were likely to lose the prefecture and that it would soon fall.

Hence, they briskly put it forward as a bargaining chip, hoping to acquire Chu State’s understanding in exchange.

In doing so, Zheng Kingdom could abandon a rather useless territory and pull back the troops stationed there to focus on warding off Tang Kingdom’s invasion.

The North, though assisted by Jin Country, was still not looking optimistic on the battlefield of Yidu Prefecture.

Tang Kingdom had been biding its time for a year, and this year’s Southern Expedition was a vengeance for last year’s great defeat.

The determination they had put into this was significant.

This time, the troops Tang mobilized were the elite of their nation, accompanied by a considerable number of Inborn Grandmasters, intending to crush Zheng Kingdom with a powerful strike.

Thus, the ferocity of Tang’s troops truly deserved to be described as irresistible.

Had Jin Country not interfered suddenly, Zheng might already have been eradicated.

But even with Jin’s aid, facing the aggressive Tang army, the United Army of the two countries was still somewhat struggling to hold the line, retreating step by step.

The lands of Yidu Prefecture were being steadily conquered by the Tang army and would soon be entirely lost.

In such a critical moment, how could Zheng Kingdom not be anxious?

If they could exchange Haiyang Prefecture for Chu State’s understanding at this time, temporarily eliminating the southern threat,

and pull back the hundreds of thousands of defenders from Haiyang, then the dire military situation in Yidu could be alleviated.

Eventually, they might not only drive out Tang’s forces but also possibly unite with other countries to counterattack Tang Kingdom—the troublemaker—and settle the score with them.

One could not aim to eradicate Tang Country directly, but at the very least, force them to regurgitate the lands of Yu State they had swallowed.

By then, losing the South but compensating in the North, conceding Haiyang Prefecture but recapturing another elsewhere, would be tantamount to no loss at all.

However, all the above were benefits for Zheng Kingdom, with the people of Zheng reaping the rewards.

But what benefits would there be for Chu State?

Lu Yuan pondered within his heart.

‘First of all, to fully claim the southern part of Yuzhou and initially complete partial integration—that’s a definite in-hand advantage.’

Chu State had already gained a substantial amount in Yuzhou.

Yuzhou encompasses fifteen prefectures in total, and Chu State had already secured three.

If they agreed to Zheng Kingdom’s peace proposal, they could effortlessly gain another.

By then, nearly one-third of Yuzhou would be in Chu State’s possession.

This was a major gain for Chu State, which initially had no plans for a campaign in Yuzhou.

After all, Chu State originally only had its sights set on Qingzhou.

The goal of the Northern Expedition was limited to Wei Country and Liang alone.

Zheng Kingdom, and by extension Yuzhou, appeared as sudden changes in the situation, unintended in the original plan.

This indirectly proves that the world can’t always revolve around one person, even if they are the protagonist.

Plans can’t always be carried out as intended—there will always be unexpected situations bringing a variety of unforeseen changes.

Fortunately,

Chu State was well-founded, and Lu Yuan was strong enough that, even faced with the unexpected developments from Yu State Zheng Country, they ultimately persevered.

Moreover, they took advantage of the situation, establishing a base in Yuzhou and securing such a vast territory.

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