TO ACHIEVE IMMORTALITY, I CULTIVATE USING QI LUCK

Chapter 924: Chapter 388 Jiangdong Issue Chapter 924: Chapter 388 Jiangdong Issue Ever since the defeat in the Western Expedition, Shen Qiu had led his remnants of defeated soldiers back to the homeland, he had not lived a single day of peace.

Over this past year.

He desperately expanded the recruitment of soldiers, drafting men from all across the country.

The aristocratic families of Linhai County also contributed funds and grain, sparing no effort.

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Finally, with great difficulty, he managed to restore the national forces to a pre-war strength of eight hundred thousand.

But although the number of troops had been restored, they were only numbers after all.

The reconstituted Ning Army, whether in terms of the quality of soldiers or training time, fell far short of those elite troops that Ning Country had spent ten years raising and training before the war.

The only thing that allowed Ning Country some peace of mind was that even though the standing forces had sharply declined in strength, the country’s top-tier combat strength, the number of Inborn Grandmasters, had been maintained at thirteen, thanks to the full support of Purple Cloud Dao.

Such a number of innate masters, when considered, was already unbeatable in the world.

Keep in mind, in Xuzhou to the North, Xu State, which controls six counties, had only twelve Inborn Grandmasters.

In Ji Province, Zhao State had only sixteen Inborns.

Yet Ning Country had thirteen Inborns, coupled with eight hundred thousand soldiers.

From the perspective of mere military force, they were no different from the hegemony of the contemporary world.

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The only slightly weaker aspect was that the territory was a bit small, and the population a bit fewer.

Ning Country now controlled only two prefectures and seventeen counties.

Among these, Guangling County had a population of three million, while Linhai County had five million.

Together, the population barely reached eight million, and the size of their territory was just barely ten thousand miles.

From the perspective of fundamental resources, Ning Country had undoubtedly fallen from the position of a hegemon.

But in terms of military force, it could still be called a hegemon.

Relying on thirteen Inborns and an army of eight hundred thousand, Ning Country, now secluded in a corner of Jiangdong, tucked away in Jinling City, was indeed able to maintain the dignity of a hegemon.

And countries around the world, due to the military strength of Ning Country, hadn’t taken them too lightly.

They still regarded them as a hegemon, granting corresponding recognition and status.

After all, from the current situation, although the unification of Jiangdong by Chu State seemed inevitable.

However, the forces and Inborn Grandmasters controlled by Ning Country were still quite considerable.

With an army of eight hundred thousand and thirteen Inborns holding down Ning Country, if they were solely focused on defense, even if Chu State exerted their entire country’s effort to attack, it wouldn’t be easy to conquer them.

As long as Ning Country did not make mistakes or exhibit any major flaws, then the war between Chu and Ning was destined to be a brutal and bloody grinder.

Fighting for ten or twenty years, or perhaps even thirty to fifty years, were all very likely scenarios.

If outside forces were to interfere, it was even possible that Chu State might not unify Jiangdong.

Of course, all these were only under ideal circumstances.

In reality, for Ning Country to support its army of eight hundred thousand with a population of eight million, it was bound to be an extremely difficult, even unsustainable burden.

Which was indeed the case.

Out of the eight hundred thousand troops within Ning Country, only three hundred thousand veteran soldiers formed the elite, receiving treatment as regular combat soldiers.

The other five hundred thousand newly recruited soldiers were treated as county soldiers, or even Tuntian Soldiers.

These five hundred thousand new soldiers engaged in production and cultivation during peacetime, and were conscripted as soldiers in times of war, with their combat power being self-evident.

This type of Tuntian Soldier was fundamentally incapable of fighting tough battles, they could only defend the city and maintain a bit of public order.

However, given the dire situation Ning Country now faced, expansion was basically impossible, and all they had to do was defend.

So, with the backbone of three hundred thousand elite soldiers, supplemented by five hundred thousand Tuntian soldiers as auxiliary, it was indeed enough to uphold Ning Country’s defensive system.

This could also be considered making the best use of resources.

But even though they adopted the Tuntian Soldier system, supporting an army of eight hundred thousand with the country’s full strength was still suffocating Ning Country’s finance.

And it wasn’t just the finances.

Because a large number of able-bodied men had been conscripted into the army, one-third of the adult population was taken out of production.

Local industries, commerce, and agriculture were all severely affected.

Local farmlands more or less exhibited signs of abandonment, and even in the farmlands that were cultivated, the lack of sufficient labor prevented meticulous care, leading to reduced grain production.

Although the current territory of Ning Country benefited from rich lands and could barely be self-sufficient in grain production without facing famine,

once the war with Chu State began and more civilians were conscripted for labor, further reducing the production population at the rear, a famine in Ning Country was inevitable.

The war might last half a year, a year, at most two or three years before Ning Country would collapse without a fight due to famine caused by a lack of grain.

So Ning Country currently found itself in a very awkward position.

Sufficient soldiers and powerful military force allowed Ning Country to protect itself in the war against Chu State, but its shallow resources could not support this military force, making it difficult to sustain a long-term war.

The crisis of national destruction loomed over its head at all times.

And it was precisely at this time that friends from the North, the country that had unified Qingzhou and become the strongest country of the age, Liang State, sent an envoy to Jinling.

“According to the message from Xuan Chengzi, Liang Country sent an envoy to Ning Country not only signing an alliance and mutual aid agreement but also providing substantial aid to Ning Country.

They are willing to provide twenty million silver tales and ten million stones of grain in aid each year.

This money and grain are enough for Ning Country to arm another three hundred thousand regular combat soldiers.

If exchanged for county soldiers, even the five hundred thousand Tuntian soldiers in Ning Country could be supported.”

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