Chapter 705: Chapter 314: The Qualities of a Hegemon_3


    Of course.


    When Lu Yuan is ready to send troops in a certain direction, in addition to the mobile troops that can be mobilized, the local troops and forbidden army in that direction will naturally be within the forces that can be mobilized.


    For example, if Lu Yuan is in Xichuan County, preparing to gather troops to attack Hanzhong County, then the forty thousand forbidden army in Xichuan County and thirty thousand county soldiers can naturally be mobilized by him to attack Hanzhong County together.


    Even in Xiangyang Prefecture, one or two defending forbidden armies can be dispatched to help from the nks.


    By this calction, the troops he can mobilize can reach as many as two hundred thousand.


    If it is from Dongting County, preparing to attack Ning Country, or Nanhai Country and Su Country, then the forces stationed in Dongting County, and even those from Xiangyang Prefecture, can be mobilized ordingly.


    When using troops here, the number of regr soldiers Lu Yuan can mobilize would reach three hundred thousand and above.


    In addition, there are still eleven or twelve thousand Yi people captives left in Qianzhong County, who, aside from those arranged for mining, can also be called upon at any time to serve as cannon fodder for the army.


    This method has been in use since Lu Yuan began his military campaign and can be said to be an old trick.


    So, if you calcte carefully, in the future, if Lu Yuan really wants to use troops, no matter which direction among the four counties of Great Chu, he can guarantee that he can mobilize more than one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers and more than one hundred thousand auxiliary forces.<div>


    In this way, some more Civil Group Volunteers are conscripted, and the total number of troops and horsemen along the way is at least three hundred thousand.


    If it is in areas such as Dongting County, the scale of troops is even closer to five hundred thousand and above.


    With such strength, it can barelypete with those hegemonic countries that have millions of troops at their disposal.


    ‘However, even so, based on Chu State’s reality, it can maintain such a scale of troops in only one direction.


    If, like Zhou Country, warfare is conducted on two or even three fronts at the same time, I cannot guarantee that there will be more than five hundred thousand troops in two or three directions at the same time.’


    Compared to those hegemons of one state, Chu State has barely reached the threshold of a hegemon, but it is still far from enough.’


    Lu Yuan calcted the foundation of his own family and couldn’t help but sigh secretly.


    Although the forces he had established since his uprising developed rapidly, in just six years and ten, it had developed from the original county with hundreds of troops to the current four counties with more than forty thousand troops.


    But such strength is still far from enough whenpared to the great nations that have umted for hundreds or even thousands of years.


    Setting the poption aside, Chu State, which had a poption of only eight million, could barely maintain its current standing army of four hundred and fifty-six million, which was already at the limit.


    The nearly twenty-to-one poption-to-military ratio had already exhausted Chu State’s foundation limit.


    Even if Lu Yuan wanted to conscript more troops, it would be difficult to pick more qualified soldiers from themon people under his administration.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    And even if he could pick them, Chu State’s national strength would hardly be able to support more.


    After all, if there is not enough youngbor force in the local areas and no one is engaged in production and cultivation, who will pay taxes and provide food and fodder for Chu State?


    Without these, what could Chu State use to support the army?


    “So, in the final analysis, it’s because of theck of strength and insufficient foundation.


    If the territory isrge enough and the poption isrge enough, I wouldn’t have to be like now, carefully calcting the expansion of troops and worrying about not being able to support them.”


    Lu Yuan thought of those old hegemonic countries, who often boasted about expanding their forces by three to five hundred thousand, while looking at his own actions, which had only increased by eighty-six thousand men, and couldn’t help but be resentful.


    It’s not enough, far from enough.<div>


    The current Chu State is still too weak.


    To grow to the level of Zhou, Liang, and Zhao, or even to the point of rivaling Ning, there is still a considerable distance to go.


    Nowadays, all countries strive to be the first, time waits for no one.


    All people and countries are working hard to enhance themselves.<div>


    If Chu State does not catch up now, the gap will be bigger and bigger as those whog behind one step will advance one step.


    Now Liang Country has emerged as a behemoth with millions of troops.


    As other countries are stimted and hasten to annex the small countries within their respective states, the second and third hegemonic countries that unify one state are expected to emerge soon.


    At that time, facing powerful forces that can easily deploy millions of troops, if Chu State still only had its current strength, even if Lu Yuan is now a Grandmaster of both the Immortal Method and Martial Arts, he would not be able to protect Chu State’s territory.


    Today is, after all, The Age of Dharma Decline. The Immortal Method is not thriving, and while individual transcendental power is important, it has some limit to turn the tide in the world’s trend.


    With the further exhaustion of spiritual energy, the further intensification of the Age of Dharma Decline, and the further decline of individual strength, this phenomenon will be even more apparent.


    When the dayes when spiritual energy ispletely exhausted and transcendence havepletely perished, the power of the group willpletely dominate the individual.


    At that time, gathering people will be the right way, and going alone will be the small way.


    Although Lu Yuan had anticipated this day in the future, he still had some feelings about it now.


    As in the myth, or in the historical records, going back a thousand years, the Immortal Method masters and even Martial Arts Grandmasters of that time, were said to be able to stand against a million armies and were unmatched in power.


    But a thousand yearster, which is now.


    Lu Yuan has almost reached the peak of the world’s top level, but he also knows that, despite his strength, he cannot break through a million armies alone.


    In the face of a hundred thousand troops, he can still manage it by using his full strength.<div>


    However, when ites to the level of one million, even if Lu Yuan exhausts his True pneuma and fights attritively, that would still not be an enemy’s match.


    If he stubbornly attacked a million-strong army, the final oue would be exhaustion and death.


    In the End of Dharma era, it is ultimately not a world where individual greatness can suppress everything.


    “Therefore, for the sake of future considerations, now let’s start with a small goal, increasing the poption of Chu State to the level of ten million, so as to truly enter the threshold of hegemony and stabilize its current position.”


    Ten million people is the threshold of hegemony recognized in the present world.


    Because only such a poption can maintain more than five hundred thousand fighting soldiers and deploy an army of millions.


    In this world of great contention, how can one dominate withoutmanding millions of troops?


    Now Lu Yuan’s Chu State has only eight million people, and there is still some distance from this level.


    Previously, it was recognized as a hegemonic state only because of the strong military power that barely touched this level.


    As for the actual foundation and national power, it is still somewhat inadequate.


    Sitting in this position now is somewhat illusory and unstable.


    So Lu Yuan’s goal now is to cultivate his Inner Strength and continue to open up to the outside world so that Chu State can sit firmly in this position.”


    Hanzhong County… Su Country…<div>


    Lu Yuan muttered these two names, and a spark of warmth shed through his heart.


    The most suitable directions for expansion around Chu State are these two ces.


    And in either of these territories, as long as one can swallow them, Chu State’s poption can be boosted to ten million in one fell swoop.


    The next expansion target will be one of these two ces.