Chapter 737: Chapter 325: The Unsolvable Situation_2


    Over the past four years, more than two million of the old and weak barbarians have died due to this reason.


    In addition, from time to time, Zhou People would also send out some light cavalry to infiltrate deep into the Snowy Wilderness andunch surprise attacks and massacres on the barbarian tribes, causing heavy losses to the Snow ins Nomads and a reduction of around three to four hundred thousand poption.


    Adding up all of these factors—war, famine, and ughter—due to natural and man-made disasters, the Snow ins Nomads have lost about 3.5 million people in these four years.


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    This is already equivalent to 20% of the original total poption of the Snowy Wilderness.


    Although there are still about twelve million Snow ins Nomads left, their strength has been reduced to less than 60% of its peak after losing arge number of adult men and the old and weak.


    Furthermore, this remaining 60% is weakening rapidly.


    Looking at this situation, it is as Zhou People predicted that if the warsts for another two or three years, the Snow ins Nomads will not be able to support themselves and will bepletely wiped out.


    With the danger of extinction staring them in the face, how could the barbarians not be anxious, desperate, and afraid?


    For this reason.


    When the barbarians found out that Chu State was trading grain with Zhou Country and seemed to be preparing to support Zhou People in their war against the barbarians.


    At the same time, a small number of Snow ins Nomads who had fled to the core of the Snow ins through the treacherous trails during Chu State’s attack on the Hegu Snowy Wilderness had also brought news that the Chu State army was already bordering the barbarians.


    Under the pressure of Zhou People, the copsing barbarians could not sit still any longer.


    Dealing with Zhou Country alone had already pushed them to the brink of extinction.


    At this point, if another Chu State, which was rumored to be no less powerful than Zhou People, were to join the fight, the barbarians would have no hope left, and extinction would be a foregone conclusion.


    Fortunately, the intelligence sent back by their spies in Zhou Country indicated that the rtionship between Zhou Country and Chu State was not very good.


    Ten years ago, the two countries had even fought a war.


    Four years ago, the two countries almost broke out into a fight in Hanzhong County of Zhou Country.


    At that time, the barbarians had just started to wage war with Zhou People, and upon learning this information, the Snow ins Nomads couldn’t help but regret it.


    If Chu State had joined them in fighting against Zhou Country back then, they wouldn’t have suffered such a miserable defeat today, and they wouldn’t be on the brink of extinction.


    However, the good news was that they learned of Chu State’s existence at this moment and also knew that Chu State’s rtionship with Zhou Country was not as good as it seemed on the surface.


    It was not toote to win over Chu State and fight against Zhou Country together.


    They, the Snow ins Nomads, still had the hope of capturing Longxi and Hegu counties and oveing this disaster.


    An alliance was a must.


    This consensus was reached by the senior leaders of the Snow ins Nomads afterprehensively evaluating the strengths of themselves and Zhou People.


    To promote the alliance.


    Various tribes joined forces to contribute one hundred million silver tales and five hundred Divine Pills.


    Even to secure the alliance and strengthen their rtionship with the King of Chu, they persuaded the spiritual woman of the Great Mohism to be the Divine Lady and agreed to marry the King of Chu and be his concubine.


    In order to win over Chu State, these barbarians had almost emptied their coffers.


    Of course, some might be wondering why the barbarians, with so much money, would not buy grain from others to survive this snow disaster.


    Instead, they risked huge losses for four consecutive years, stubbornly fighting for the two counties of Hegu and Longxi in Zhou Country, as if they wouldn’t give up until they captured those territories.


    This had to be considered from a practical perspective.


    Question: How many people lived in the barbarian poption before the war?


    Answer: The entire Snowy Wilderness had about fifteen million barbarians in total.


    Question: Due to the snow disaster, about 40% of the barbariansck grain. How many people are affected in the fifteen million barbarian poption?


    Answer: Approximately six million people.


    Question: How much grain is needed to support six million people for one year?


    Answer: At the very least, 50 to 60 million stones of grain are needed for a year to barely survive.


    Now, the problem arises.


    Evaluating the prices during the famine, even considering Chu State buying and selling grain with Zhou Country at six cents per catty, we have a rtively medium price range.


    Ten million stones of grain would cost about 6.6 million silver tales.


    To buy 50 million stones of grain, it would cost 33.3 million silver tales.


    In other words, to maintain basic survival needs, the Zhou People tribes living in the Snowy Wilderness would need to spend 33.3 million silver tales each year to buy grain from the outside world.


    Moreover, considering the growing trend of starving people in the Snow ins Nomads, the money spent on buying grain each year will only continue to increase.


    One hundred million silver tales wouldst at most three years.


    How much money would the Snow ins Nomads have?


    To buy grain for six or seven years given their impoverished state, they would have to spend all their savings and thenpletely run out of money.


    Having no money would mean they’d starve to death in the end, right?


    Besides.


    Where can they find someone to provide food for six million people, with the number increasing rapidly?


    Lu Yuan’s Chu State had only eight million people, and apart from providing for its poption, it could only produce surplus food for about one million people.


    Some of this surplus grain was sold to Su Country, and the rest had been stored in warehouses, totaling only 40 million stones of stored grain.


    This amount of grain was not enough to meet the needs of the barbarians in the Snowy Wilderness for even a single year.


    Moreover, although Chu State bordered the Snowy Wilderness, there were no major roads connecting the two, leaving only small, winding, and rugged paths that were difficult for ordinary people to traverse.