Chapter 189: Chapter 137: Sudden Turn of Events_2
Translator: 549690339
Adding another blot of deep ink to his record of annihilated nations.
Yet under such promising circumstances, a twist occurred unexpectedly.
Within just half a month, the Army of the Destruction of Shu met a severe setback, more than half of the soldiers were lost, the previously favorable situation immediately ceased to exist, and there was even a looming possibility of losing Xichuan region again.
“The imperial court lost fifty-thousand troops, even the Wuan Marquis was said to be heavily damaged under the siege by Li Xiong in alliance with two Inborn Grandmasters of Zhou Country.
Although he eventually escaped by sheer luck, his vitality was greatly damaged and he would be unable to act in a short period of time.
More than half of the soldiers were lost, with the Commander severely injured.
No matter how you look at it, the impending fate of the imperial court’s Army of the Destruction of Shu is quite critical.”
Lu Yuan frowned upon reading the news in his hand.
Now he stood on the ship of the court of Da Yue; if the court capsized, although he wouldn’t necessarily go down with it, it would still be a significant loss for him.
After all, he had 15,000 troops in his hand, didn’t he?
Such a powerful force, coupled with the resources he could mobilize from his current position, could not be lightly abandoned.
“But for now, even if the Army of Pacifying Shu were entirely annihilated, with the foundation of Da Yue, it wouldn’t immediately perish. It could resist for several more years or even a decade, that should not be a problem.”
Just last month, when Wuan Marquis invaded Xichuan,
Liang Country, which had been fighting against Da Yue for nearly four years, mobilizing nearly a million troops, finally couldn’t hold on.
Upon seeing that Da Yue had largely quelled its internal unrest and that no breakthrough could be made on their Northern Border, they reluctantly chose to withdraw their troops.
After a month, it was estimated that more than half of the 400,000 troops from Liang in the Northern Border had been withdrawn.
They had been fighting for four years and were exhausted.
Even if they received news of the upheaval in Xichuan now, it would not be probable for them to march their troops southward again.
Otherwise, like what happened in Yue Country, large-scale rebellions would likely break out within Liang Country.
With the threat from Liang in the north eliminated, of the 300,000 Da Yue troops stationed in the Northern Border, more than 100,000 could be left to guard the border, and the remaining half could be mobilized.
With an army of more than 100,000, even though it might not be possible for Da Yue to take back Xi Shu with the interference of Zhou Country, it would still not be a big problem to hold its current territory.
However, this could only maintain the status quo for the time being.
If Zhou turns out to be like Liang, sticking to fighting with Da Yue for another two or three years.
No matter how robust the foundation of Da Yue is, it would not be able to bear such consumption and is bound to collapse.
“So now it depends on Zhou Country in the north, whether they only want to seize the Xichuan region and then quit while they’re ahead, or if they have bigger plans in mind and want to swallow Da Yue in one bite.”
Thinking about these things, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but shake his head, feeling pessimistic about the future of Da Yue.
After all,
If he were the lord of Zhou Country, upon seeing the frequent uprisings within Da Yue, and that it was so weak in its external performance, he would probably also be unable to hold back and would want to take a bite himself.
If he could take a bite, that would be the best scenario, so he could swallow up most of Da Yue’s territory.”
If not, he could retreat satisfactorily with the Xichuan region that he had already captured.
No matter how you look at it, Zhou Country would not incur much loss.
“Moreover, the situation within Dongting County, and even the other counties of Da Yue, will likely become unstable as well,” Lu Yuan thought further.
A few months ago, perhaps because the Army of Pacifying Shu had been victorious one after another, giving the court great confidence.
The news channel between Xichuan region, which was originally blocked by Xi Shu, and the outside world, was reopened by the court.
Therefore, all kinds of situations in Xichuan County finally became known to the outside world.
This practice, under the circumstances where the court had a smooth sailing and continual victories, was indeed very good.
The news of successful military operations could effectively boost the confidence of the domestic people when it reached the home front, and it could also undermine the morale of the rebel forces.
And indeed, it happened this way.
With the continuous victories of the Army of Pacifying Shu, the persistent uprisings in Dongting County gradually subsided.
Some tribes of the Miao Rebel Army controlled by the Poison Sect, seeing the court showing signs of regaining prosperity, those who were timid began to recall their troops and go back to their homes, hiding back into their mountain villages, becoming good people again.
The army leaders in Dongting County, who had been arrogant and domineering in the past, changed their attitudes and obediently accepted authority from the regional court.
All of these, however, were based on the premise that the court continued to achieve great victories.
Now, with the Wuan Marquis’s crushing defeat and the loss of over half of the
Army of Pacifying Shu,
This news was already impossible to conceal, upon reaching the home front, it’s certain that the situation, which was gradually beginning to stabilize, would develop twists again.
Dongting County was definitely going to get messier.
The Miao people might become more arrogant, some ambitious local individuals might not be able to help but stand up, following Li Xiong’s example of rebelling and declaring himself emperor.
Even the other counties of the court might have someone ambitious like the Poison Sect, standing up to rebel.
“These are challenging times for the country.”
Thinking about these multitudes of predicaments, Lu Yuan felt a headache.
Yet, facing these problems, he couldn’t do much.
After all, Lu Yuan was just a top-notch master, while at the same time a Miscellaneous General in charge of a 15,000-strong army.
This small force might be quite strong at the local level, enough to influence the situation of a county or prefecture.
But if placed on a global scale, between countries, it would be insignificant.
Not to mention the three countries of Zhou, Liang, and Yue, each of which had hundreds of thousands of troops..