To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 617: Chapter 285: Yellow Turban Strongman – 3

Hence, this path is not feasible, and other alternatives must be sought. Use different spiritual objects to replace spirit beans.

Although using other spiritual objects as substitutes creates Yellow Turban Strongman with fixed forms and significant limitations from the beginning, and they cannot be transformed into spirit beans, making them difficult to store easily.

However, even so, creating a Yellow Turban Strongman with strength equivalent to the second stage of Breaking through Innate would be a tremendous boon for me and Chu State.”

What is the most significant disadvantage for Chu State at present?

It’s not the small territory.

Nowadays, Chu State, with four prefectures and twenty-five counties, ranks among the top twenty in the Nine Provinces in terms of territory size. It falls just behind the top Supreme Dominator countries and can be considered a first-class nation.

It’s not due to a lack of people or wealth either.

With a population of more than 7 million in Chu State and an annual income of 20 million silver tales, it has become a prosperous country.

Nor is it because of weak troops and generals.

Currently, Chu State has more than 200,000 well-trained soldiers at its disposal. With a little mobilization, a million-strong army can be assembled in an instant. This military power is enough to fight against even the Supreme Dominator.

The real weakness of Chu State is in its top-level combat forces, the Inborn Grandmasters.

Although Great Chu now occupies four prefectures, its territory is divided into four parts.

Jianghan Plain to the north of the river, Dongting Plain to the south, Xichuan, and Qianzhong.

These four regions are separated by mountain ridges and thousands of miles apart. Communication among them is quite difficult, making it hard for them to support one another.

As a result, even though Lu Yuan knows about the severe threat posed by Nanzhao Country in Xichuan, he can only strengthen the troops there and maintain a passive defense, unable to take proactive measures to change the situation.

Why is this?

It’s because he doesn’t have an Inborn Grandmaster who can command a region and hold his own ground to ensure its safety.

It’s precisely because of this disadvantage that Lu Yuan is so passive in the Xichuan battle. Even the fighting in Qianzhong County has been affected to some extent.

If not for the current eight-prefecture makeup of Qianzhong County, which still lacks two prefectures compared to the mainstream planning of ten-prefecture counties, why wouldn’t Lu Yuan fill it up?

He knows that Hui Chuan Country is just across the Lu River. Lu Yuan has already incorporated nearly half of its territory into Eshan Mansion. The remaining area is also divided into two prefectures, all prepared to be merged into Qianzhong County.

However, this matter has been delayed until now, and even after a year, there has still been no progress.

This is not only because Chu State is too small in scale to absorb too much territory.

It’s not just because Lu Yuan is overstretched and doesn’t want to cross the natural barrier of the Lu River or delve deeper into the southwestern barbarian territories, entwining directly with Da Changhe Country and Nanzhao Country.

At present, with the Lu River dividing the area, only a small number of troops and energy are needed to fend off the Da Changhe army from beyond the natural barrier.

Lu Yuan can act with more freedom, carrying out reforms within Qianzhong County, dividing prefectures and counties, cleaning up localities, eliminating remnants, and registering citizens…

All these policies can be implemented without disturbance from external forces.

As for Da Changhe Country, they are too entangled with Li Xiong, a mad dog, at present.

Until he resolves this problem, he does not want to provoke Lu Yuan further and initiate another battle in Hui Chuan Country.

Otherwise, fighting on two fronts would be too much for the current situation of Da Changhe Country, leading to the risk of national collapse.

It is based on this reason that the two countries have maintained a long standoff and peace for a year since driving the Da Changhe army back across the Lu River last October.

At this time, both sides can co-exist peacefully as long as Li Xiong is not defeated.

However, if Lu Yuan leads his army into Hui Chuan Country, he will step out of the role of the hidden mastermind and confront Da Changhe Country directly.

It wouldn’t be just Da Changhe Country either.

Keep in mind that Hui Chuan Country is already adjacent to Nanzhao Country. If Lu Yuan attacks there, it’s impossible not to alert Nanzhao Country.

At that time, Chu State might face a joint attack from Da Changhe Country and Nanzhao Country, getting completely bogged down in the quagmire of Hui Chuan Country and unable to remove themselves.

With the current situation in Chu State, Xichuan County is in danger, with the border threatened by over a hundred thousand Nanzhao Country troops.

Major countries such as Zhou, Liang, and Ning have also been strengthening their troops along the borders with Xiangyang and Dongting counties since the news of Zhou Qing’s Breaking through Innate last year.

Even the southern Su Country, which is currently fighting Dali Country, is not to be underestimated.

What kind of place is Dali Country?

A land of southwestern barbarians, poor and remote.

Looking at Qianzhong County today shows that conquering such a place wouldn’t yield much in terms of resources.

Attacking there would not be as profitable as attacking Dongting County and Nanhai Country.

If they were to conquer these two territories, their gains would be substantial, allowing Su Country’s strength to expand two or three times.

With Su Xuange’s ambitious personality and unhidden ambitions, especially considering the financial difficulties they currently face, Lu Yuan fears that this mad dog may turn around and bite him.

He doesn’t believe that alliances can constrain the other party.

At the moment, Su Xuange doesn’t dare to act mainly because he fears Lu Yuan and Chu State’s powerful strength.

Therefore, as mentioned earlier, the surrounding area of Chu State is full of lurking dangers, and the risk of national ruin is imminent at any moment.