To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 1166: Chapter 468 The Northern Expedition Ends_3 Chapter 1166: Chapter 468 The Northern Expedition Ends_3 …

After taking over Five Goat City, he controlled the local situation and persuaded a group of Xu State’s officials to surrender, using them as puppets and guides thereafter.

Lu Yuan then followed his own plan, starting from Five Goat City as the core, continuously dispatching troops to attack and take over various prefectures and counties of Xu State.

While the troops marched on their campaigns, they also carried with them edicts sealed with the Xu State’s imperial jade seal, issued in the name of the Emperor of Xu Country.

These were meant to be tokens to persuade the local officials and defenders to surrender upon arrival.

For those whose will to resist was not very strong, or those who were utterly loyal to the court or the emperor,

this edict undoubtedly served as the ace up their sleeve.

The former could realize that the Imperial Capital had fallen, and the emperor had surrendered.

What was the point for them, as his subjects, to continue resisting?

Unable to win and without the reason to fight, it was natural for them to choose surrender over resistance.

As for the latter, the die-hard loyalists, as long as they cared about the safety of the emperor and the imperial family, not wishing to see their sovereign threatened, they too had no choice but to surrender.

Thus, whether one was disloyal or loyal, the outcome was the same: surrender.

As both outcomes led to surrender, the Chu army’s takeover of the entire territory of Xu State was naturally smooth and effortless.

Oftentimes, the arrival of the imperial edict followed by the actual sighting of the Chu army would be enough to confirm that the events were genuine, prompting the local Xu State’s offices and military forces to open their gates and surrender.

Source: NovelFull.com, updated on ƝοѵǤο.сօ

Even if there were some ambitious individuals unwilling to give up their foundations and determined to resist,

against the powerful strike of the dozen or so Inborn Grandmasters dispatched by Lu Yuan among the troops, they couldn’t create any significant disturbance and were easily suppressed.

The transition of Chu State taking over Xu State proceeded methodically, with only occasional ripples of resistance.

Even after waiting for about ten days, as the subsequent arrival of more than two hundred thousand troops reached Hebei, the main force caught up.

With a large number of Chu soldiers as the backbone, the takeover of Xu State by Chu became even smoother.

As soon as the momentum was seen to be irreversible, countless people from Xu State, while feeling sorrow, also breathed a sigh of relief and surrendered cleanly to Chu.

The whole process lasted nearly a month.

On the seventh day of the eighth month, as the last Xu State fortress in Liangzhou lowered its banner and raised the flag bearing the Chu emblem, changing its allegiance,

Chu State’s absorption of the four Liang prefectures was officially declared complete.

And at this moment, Xu State was formally announced to have perished, after an existence of 1,321 years.

The fourth Northern Expedition of Chu State, during which Lu Yuan campaigned against four countries, thus declared the demise of the third.

This campaign concluded with an unprecedented and resounding victory.

As the news spread, the world, already shocked by Chu State’s unification of Central State,

received the news of Xu State being annihilated by a swift strike from Chu’s army within a month and was further astonished.

Particularly the Tang Kingdom adjacent to Xu State.

Learning of Chu’s forces crossing the river and Xu’s swift fall, they were terrified out of their wits.

One must know, this Northern Expedition targeted the four states of Tang, Xu, Zheng, and Jin.

Originally, the Tang army had withdrawn from Yuzhou, and with the Chu army not pursuing, this greatly relieved the people of Tang, thinking perhaps the Chu army lacked the resources, or simply didn’t value the regions outside of Central State and would not attack again.

This belief had allowed them to spend a few months in peace.

But now, with the Chu army suddenly striking Xu State and its immediate collapse,

this bloody example unmistakenly informed the people of Tang.

That is, you were mistaken.

Retreating to Hebei does not mean safety.

The Chu army will come for you regardless.

And Xu State had ceased to exist; in this Northern Expedition, the sole remaining country subdued by the Chu army was Tang Kingdom.

Being the final target of the Chu army, with the enemy close at hand, ready to strike at any moment, had utterly terrified everyone in Tang Kingdom.

The horrifying reality had chilled the courage of everyone, from the top to the bottom of Tang Kingdom.

Thus, to save their own lives,

Tang Kingdom desperately began to recruit troops and then gathered everyone in the capital, preparing to muster all strength for a decisive defense of the Imperial Capital against Chu State.

In their frenzy, in just one month, more than four million troops had amassed in the Tang capital.

Given Tang Kingdom’s national power, even with prior preparations, gathering so many people in such a hurried manner made the quality of these forces easy to imagine.

Of those more than four million, even sturdy women were forcibly dragged in to serve as part of the forces.

This sheer act of padding numbers revealed not only their madness but also the fear in their hearts.

And this action was practically a catastrophic blow to Tang Kingdom’s local production.

Originally, after fleeing back to Jingzhou, Tang Kingdom could have recovered in three to five years, returning to its status as a mid-tier hegemon.

But after this ordeal, let alone three to five years, it would take Tang Kingdom a decade or two to regain its vitality.

Even without Lu Yuan lifting a finger, the opponent might fall into internal turmoil and slowly collapse on their own.

The example of how Pre-Yue was annihilated wasn’t a distant warning.

…

However, Tang Kingdom had evidently worried too much.

In this Northern Expedition, Chu State had already taken ten prefectures of Yuzhou, and now four more from Liang State, totaling fourteen prefectures across Two Provinces.

Combined, these territories were equivalent to a complete and vast province.

For Chu State, it essentially meant an increase in territory by half.

With such a sudden acquisition of so much land, plus the original large swaths of newly occupied territories, as well as continuous immigration projects in Yan, Ji, and Yangzhou’s main territory,

All these burdens meant that even with Chu State’s size, it was somewhat overextended.

So, after the annihilation of Xu State and the occupation of Liang territory,

Lu Yuan had no further thoughts of expansion.

He would not attack Tang Kingdom.

Or rather, within this year, Chu State would not continue to expand.

To eliminate Tang Kingdom, even if swiftly, would have to wait until next year at the earliest.

And taking it slower, maybe in three to five years, after the newly acquired territories were assimilated, it would be normal to take action then.

Ɲονցο.сο

Therefore, with the thirty thousand strong army he brought as a foundation, and after incorporating two hundred thousand from the Xu Army, they began to expand.

Lu Yuan made his Avatar, Qingyunzi, the chief commander, and with nine Inborn subordinates, they established a Liang State Military Expedition to manage the five hundred thousand strong army there.

Their duty was to suppress Liang State, while also monitoring and constraining Tang Kingdom’s movements, in preparation for the future conquest of the Three Nations.

After handling the aftermath, he, leading a retinue of Xu State prisoners and the spoils of this battle, began the triumphant journey southward.

With Lu Yuan’s withdrawal, this fourth Northern Expedition of Chu State also came to a triumphant close.

…

In the 44th year of the Shenwu era, Chu army conducted four Northern Expeditions.

In the same year, Zheng, Jin, and Xu were annihilated, Yu and Liang were subdued, and Tang Kingdom fled to Jingzhou.

Chu defeated powerful adversaries and unified the realm within Central State, heralding an era not seen since the Three Emperors of antiquity.

The Three Emperors passed into legend, sung of by countless generations, and the Shenwu epoch belonging to the Chu Emperor, from this year forth, was officially underway.