All around, great enemies lood to the north and south, their own strength thoroughly exhausted; they could only rush about, seeking self-preservation, no longer capable of playing any significant role.
Chu State could no longer place hopes on these three nations.
As for Liang,
Despite the heavy loss of its manly n due to the wars over these years, and a significant reduction in its population because of famine five years ago,
it was, after all, once the foremost power in the world, now in possession of more than half of Qingzhou, with such a foundation, it could not decline much further.
It is heard that its dostic population still nears seventy million, with three million armored soldiers.
Furthermore, due to the slowing of conflicts in these years, local production has recovered, and they no longer rely on purchasing grain from foreign lands, resting in dostic tranquility and without worry.
With such a foundation, if left to recuperate for five or ten more years, I fear a return to a force of five million mighty soldiers, reclaiming its status as the mightiest nation in the world.
Such a formidable enemy must not be allowed to recover at leisure.
We must seize the current mont when they are at their weakest, with our greatest strength, to launch a full-on assault.
To initiate a northern expedition, muster the troops of the entire nation, cross the river and annihilate Liang."
Clearly, having comprehended the pros and cons of the situation, the Grand Chancellor of Chu also supported the Northern Expedition.
Lu Yuan was not surprised at this.
His good friend had never let him down in such an overarching perspective.
Discussing these matters with him and Sun Siwen was not just about consensus, there were other reasons as well.
Therefore, upon hearing Sun Siwen’s agreent with the Northern Expedition, Lu Yuan asked, "For this military campaign, I intend to mobilize the full force of the nation, with n in battle and won in transport, making the utmost effort to obliterate Liang.
By my calculation, Great Chu should dispatch five million elite troops to the battlefield. And then, levy ten million civilian workers to transport military food supplies.
Beyond that, from among the vassal states, excepting the coastal nations, I also plan to levy one million soldiers and two million civilian workers, ordering them to erge from within the nation’s Inborn and assist in the Northern Expedition.
Combined, these two forces total eighteen million people.
Are the nation’s accumulations capable of supporting the consumption of so many people?"
Waging war is about logistics.
At this point, since Lu Yuan had decided on the Northern Expedition, what he sought was to give it everything he had, with no reservations.
Not only the directly subordinate troops within his nation but even those vassal states wouldn’t be left out.
After more than thirty years of recuperation, those vassal states to the south were now exceedingly prosperous.
The eighteen vassal states in the southwest and Lingnan now have, according to statistics, a total population exceeding twenty-four million, more than a third of the population of Chu.
Such strength, Lu Yuan naturally couldn’t let idle behind the lines, stirring up trouble for himself.
But to mobilize eighteen million people at once, and with the war lasting at least a year or more, potentially even two or three, or longer,
he felt sowhat uncertain about such imnse consumption.
The tragic situation of Liang running out of grain previously remained vivid in his mory.
Now with Chu about to deploy troops, Lu Yuan naturally attached great importance to logistics and supplies, and this required the assurance of his dostic Grand Chancellor, Sun Siwen.
"Eighteen million people..."
Upon hearing this number, Sun Siwen also felt a headache coming on; then he began calculating Chu’s national reserves: "In recent years, so new Granaries have been built in the nation, albeit selling a portion of our grain produce to Wei and Liang after deducting for dostic use, the remainder has all been stored away.
Currently, the nation has a reserve of five hundred million shi of grain.
With the army on campaign and supplies being shipped from the rear, even with the help of boats, there is still considerable loss.
Eighteen million people might consu roughly two hundred million shi of grain per year.
If all these grains were mobilized, they would suffice for the consumption of eighteen million people for two and a half years.
After withdrawing these n’s labor from the nation, fifty-five million elderly and weak would remain, capable of tilling about two-thirds of the nation’s fields, or four hundred million mu, producing three hundred million shi of grain a year.
Out of these three hundred million shi, subtracting dostic needs, around fifty million shi could annually be allocated for the front line.
If we press harder, only leaving the people with just enough food for survival and levy more, it might be possible to draw upon a hundred million shi.
Thus relying on continuous production and transportation from the rear, once the reserve in the Granary runs out, it should still sustain another year and a half.
Afterward, the nation could no longer maintain this.
To support the Northern Expedition of eighteen million people, given Great Chu’s current reserves, we could fight for up to four years at most.
After four years, regardless of victory or defeat, the war must end."
Sun Siwen delivered his final answer.
To support the Northern Expedition of eighteen million for four years was the accumulation of three decades of recuperation for Chu.
It was also the conclusion provided by the entire era of Shenwu prosperity.
"Four years..."
Lu Yuan, upon hearing this figure, pondered in his heart and finally nodded slowly: "That will be enough. To pacify the north of the river, to destroy Liang, four years is indeed sufficient."
Given Liang’s current strength, with barely seventy million in population and rely three million soldiers— even Inborn Grandmasters totaling no more than forty—it was strong but unworthy of consideration compared to Chu.
"Then Your Majesty, when do you plan to initiate the Northern Expedition?"
Sun Siwen, full of confidence in the success of Chu’s Northern Expedition, went straight to the point: "So that your servant can tily allocate supplies and mobilize civilian workers."
"It’s already June, and soon we will enter late autumn, leaving at most three to four months for the army to campaign.
That span of ti would be barely enough to cross the river.
Moreover, in such haste, to mobilize an eighteen million strong army and also equip them with supplies will be challenging."
Lu Yuan pondered for a mont and said, "Let’s set the date for the Northern Expedition to February of next year. This gives us more than half a year to prepare; should that be sufficient for the Cabinet to coordinate supplies and mobilize manpower locally?"
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