Chapter 439: Chapter 226: Different Paths, Dead Ends
Translator: 549690339
Upon hearing Bai Mengyang’s words, everyone in the tent was stunned, and when they recovered, they were excited beyond measure by the good news.
“That’s great. The King of Changsha truly lives up to his reputation.”
In the camp, after digesting the news from Bai Mengyang, Yan Wangqiu’s face broke into a delighted smile, saying, “King Changsha has already established his martial arts prowess with the earlier defeat of Gui Lianyun, and now he has captured Fu City, truly a general of his time.
“With his help, capturing Xiangyang City may not be far off.”
Yan Wangqiu naturally praised his ally generously.
However, as they listened to his praises, although the people in the tent showed smiles on their faces, their eyes were full of different colors.
Since the news of Lu Yuan beheading an Inborn Grandmaster in front of the army came a few days ago,
Many people in the United Army began to see the King of Changsha in a different light.
There were those who were happy, those who were jealous, those who were fearful, and those who were worried…
Regardless of their attitudes, one common thing was that everyone’s focus on Lu Yuan had reached a new level.
If previously people viewed Lu Yuan as just an ordinary newly promoted Inborn who could fight wars, commanding some strong soldiers, and not possessing particularly extraordinary abilities,
At this moment, Lu Yuan had become, in the eyes of the people, an incredibly terrifying Grandmaster with overwhelming strength and extraordinary military skills.
Well, looking at these opinions, doesn’t it seem familiar?
Yes, at this point, to everyone’s eyes, Lu Yuan had become the second Wuan Marquis.
The reason he is second is only that Lu Yuan is still young, and his strength is not as great as Bai Mengyang’s, and he has only killed one Inborn, which is not as impressive as Bai Mengyang’s war record over the years.
Yet, judging by the strength and potential he has shown now, in thirty years, he will likely achieve what Bai Mengyang has achieved today.
Such a character with strength, potential, and a king of a country, leading a group of strong soldiers,
Who wouldn’t be afraid of him?
Who wouldn’t be frightened?
At any rate, the people from the court camp were deeply worried about Lu Yuan’s sudden display of formidable strength,
Even including Su Xuange in Lu Yuan’s camp, who had also begun to worry about his well-performing ally.
Just as Lu Yuan never truly believed in his heart that the Three Nations Alliance would last very long.
In the heart of the Monarch of Ninghai, he didn’t believe that the Three Nations Alliance would last very long either.
At this time, with powerful external pressure, the Three Nations could temporarily band together for support.
But if the external pressure were to lessen, such as at this moment, when Zhou Country was repelled, and then Yue Country stopped its aggression,
Without the powerful external pressure, the intimate alliance of the three countries would become a problem as their crises were significantly reduced.
As for what the other two allies thought, Su Xuange didn’t know,
But in his heart, he had ambitions to take advantage of Yan Wangqiu’s death to swallow up Southsea and unify Lingnan Region.
Su Xuange was only in his eighties, and even if he had to endure a few more years until Yan Wangqiu’s death, he’d be in his early nineties at most.
For an Inborn Grandmaster, this age was in the prime of life.
With more than sixty years still ahead of him to live, if he didn’t make any achievements during that time, he’d be wasting the title of a founding monarch.
Su Xuange’s ambitions went far beyond just Ninghai Country.
With the decline of Yue House, chaos was reigning throughout the world, the people were displaced, and grass-roots heroes were rising.
It was a time for heroes to flex their muscles.
Su Xuange asked himself, since he had achieved a little in his life, not only being an Inborn Grandmaster but also a founding monarch, could he not be considered a hero?
If he was a hero, why should he be confined to the small land of Ninghai?
The land of Lingnan, or even the whole Jiangnan nation, was where he could truly show his abilities.
It was precisely because of these various ambitions that Su Xuange harbored doubts about this Northern Expedition.
As for Lu Yan’s exceptional performance and emergence, he was even more worried.
Judging others by oneself, Su Xuange thought that since a person like himself had ambitions to swallow up Lingnan,
Luyuan, who was younger, more accomplished, and stronger than him,
Would someone who seemed like a heroic youth, be truly content to be confined to Changsha, guarding a place worse than Ninghai, and live out his life in loneliness?
If it were any normal person, wouldn’t they be unwilling?
That’s why Lu Yuan had proposed that all the captured territories be under his control during the surprise attack.
This proposal, to begin with, exposed the other party’s ambitions.
This was not a person who could be content with his lot and bear loneliness.
Now that Lu Yuan demanded the land of Xiangyang Prefecture in Zhou Country, how would he not covet the land of Lingnan Region if he had the opportunity?
With the current state of the two nations in Lingnan, what could they use to resist, given the strength and the strong soldiers of the other party?
‘It seems I should make some preparations early, to guard against any future threats.’
Su Xuange thought to himself, resolved to immediately prepare for raising an army capable of fighting when he returned to his country,
It would be best if the number of troops could reach one hundred thousand. Only then could they compete with Changsha. Also, it would be to accumulate strength for the future to conquer Southsea.
‘However, maintaining an army is expensive. Based on Lu Yuan’s military expenditures, maintaining a hundred thousand troops would cost six million silver taels a year just for their salaries.