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Chapter 469: 236: Wealth Soars

Bai Mengyang ordered Shangguan Ming, Jihui, and Qiao Kangquan, along with the remaining 60,000-strong army, to rush to Xiangyang Camp to join him.

After this group arrived in Xiangyang, the size of Bai Mengyang’s army would then be increased to around 200,000. Among them, there would be no less than 100,000 elite soldiers and six Inborn Grandmasters, enough to compete with Zhou and Liang countries.

The management of Xichuan Prefecture would be temporarily handed over to Lu Yuan to maintain local security and stability, with the land to be handed back after the war is over.

As for the Hanzhong Prefecture issue that Lu Yuan cared about, Wuan Marquis had made the decision to let Lu Yuan lead his troops northward to defend against Zhou people in Hanzhong Prefecture.

In the letter Bai Mengyang sent, he earnestly wrote: “Now that Liang people are coming from the east, the battle in Xiangyang is inevitable. Zhou and Yue will clash, and it must eventually end with peace talks.

But the negotiations have only just begun.

That’s why I am sure Zhou people will mobilize a large number of troops to retake Hanzhong Prefecture and even try to recapture Xichuan Prefecture to threaten our flank.

Therefore, Hanzhong must be guarded by heavy troops.”

With the threat of Liang people to Xiangyang, Zhou and Yue countries dare not fight a big battle.

But Hanzhong Prefecture is thousands of miles away, separated by mountains and rivers. Liang people cannot intervene in this matter.

Therefore, they can’t fight in Xiangyang Prefecture, but they can in Hanzhong Prefecture.

So, the focus of the upcoming contest between the two countries would now lie in the gains and losses of Hanzhong Prefecture and Xichuan Prefecture.

If Yue Country can hold Hanzhong Prefecture, they will naturally have the upper hand in the negotiations.

On the other hand, if Zhou people recapture Hanzhong Prefecture, Yue Country, under such threat, will naturally be restrained in negotiations and will have to let go of a lot of interests they have already swallowed up.

Perhaps after this Northern Expedition, everything that has been conquered will have to be spit back out, and the territories of the two countries will return to their original boundaries.

Bai Mengyang didn’t clearly say this, but from his letter, Lu Yuan already saw the meaning behind it.

For this reason,

Although Lu Yuan was somewhat dissatisfied with having to confront Zhou’s main force on his own, he didn’t say much.

Because the facts were evident.

Now, the one controlling the territory of Hanzhong Prefecture and the western part of Xiangyang Prefecture is Lu Yuan. As for the court, they only control the three southern prefectures of Xiangyang Prefecture as of now.

As to who gained more, it’s crystal clear.

As a result, the court could give up the three southern prefectures of Xiangyang Prefecture, which would not be a significant loss to them.

But could Lu Yuan accept giving up the three western prefectures of Xiangyang Prefecture and Hanzhong Prefecture?

For him, this would be tantamount to losing half of the territories he now controls and all the achievements of the Northern Expedition, which is absolutely unacceptable.

Therefore, in this battle for Hanzhong Prefecture, he had no choice but to resist.

If he couldn’t block Zhou people, he should be prepared to lose everything and give up all his war achievements.

“These vampires are really cunning!”

Lu Yuan threw the letter away, cursed, and then sighed. He ordered his troops to get ready to depart for Hanzhong Prefecture.

Afterward, he commanded to look after the captives and escort 50,000 captive Zhou soldiers, as well as thousands of Qiang captives captured from Yuzhong Prefecture and Wushan Pass, all the way back to Jiangnan for reorganization.

As for the captives, it’s worth mentioning that during this Northern Expedition, Lu Yuan made a huge harvest of captives.

In the Battle of Guining Prefecture, after beheading Gui Lianyun, Lu Yuan captured 40,000 Zhou soldiers when he stormed the Fu City.

Then he laid an ambush for the Zhou soldiers who fled Dangyang and captured over 10,000 of them.

At Hanzhong Prefecture, he also captured several thousand county soldiers.

Adding the more than 50,000 captives in Xichuan Prefecture,

In total, Lu Yuan has captured over 110,000 elite soldiers throughout the Northern Expedition.

This is an extremely terrifying number.

Before the Northern Expedition, Lu Yuan had around 170,000 troops under his command, including Miao soldiers and local county soldiers.

Now, after the Northern Expedition and the battles, he only has more than 80,000 soldiers left, 30,000 Miao soldiers, and 10,000 county soldiers, totaling around 130,000.

Currently, there are as many as 110,000 captives, all of them elite soldiers. If not controlled and assimilated properly, they will become a hidden danger and time bomb under Lu Yuan’s rule, ready to explode at any time.

Therefore, to press down on these captives, he had to allocate 10,000 of his remaining soldiers to the task of escorting captives back to Jiangnan.

After these people escorted the captives back, they would both recuperate and supervise the captives along with the 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 county soldiers stationed in Jiangnan.

With these 60,000 men in Jiangnan, they could reluctantly maintain local stability and keep an eye on the 110,000 captives.

After sending out these 10,000 soldiers, Lu Yuan’s original troops from Changsha, were now less than 20,000 strong. The rest were nearly 10,000 righteous soldiers and over 30,000 militiamen, totaling about 70,000.

After making these adjustments,

Before setting off, he ordered Zhou Qing to be the acting magistrate of Xichuan Prefecture, temporarily responsible for the security and stability of the region, as well as gathering food and fodder to support the front line at Hanzhong Prefecture.

Additionally, he instructed Zhou Qing to sell government-controlled land and properties in Xichuan Prefecture, as well as those seized from Zhou and Qiang people, and transport all the assets and property accumulated by Li Xiong and Zhou people over the years to Changsha.