To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Since the Liang army was reluctant to engage in battle, Lu Yuan did not press them.

The main force he currently led indeed had fewer numbers, barely reaching one million.

Moreover, among these one million, there were only six Inborn Grandmasters, even fewer than those in the city of Liang.

Under such circumstances, to think about capturing the great city of Liang was simply wishful thinking.

He could also guess what the Liang people were thinking, nothing more than intending to use the surrounding key towns to wear down the Chu army’s strength and drag out the time.

But to Lu Yuan, these tactics hardly posed a problem.

The people of Liang had underestimated him and also underestimated the resolve of the Chu army to seize the great city of Liang.

At this time, when the opponent wished to stall for time, why wouldn’t he also wish to delay?

"Just wait,"

Lu Yuan sneered, "Once Ning Ling, Yu City, and Gu Shu are taken, Liang will have lost all its defenses, and that will be when this imperial capital of both countries falls."

He took a distant look at the city of Liang, withdrew his gaze, and turned back to the main camp.

After the Chu army’s arrival at Liang, the initial period passed in calm.

The Liang army did not wish to fight, and the Chu army, with its insufficient forces, was also unwilling to fight.

Besides building fortifications and deploying camps widely, both sides just faced each other, with neither taking the initiative to attack.

Both sides gazed at each other from afar, across camps and city walls.

A silent war, with a strange posture, appeared on this battlefield that drew the attention of the world.

...

After returning to the main camp, Lu Yuan did not idle.

Although the planning for expanding and downsizing the army had not yet been implemented due to the ongoing wars at various military expeditions,

the time for its implementation was not far off.

He planned to take advantage of this winter period, influenced by the cold snap, to quickly begin this task.

The Chu’s Northern Expedition had been underway for almost two years.

For those in the standing army, it was slightly better; their livelihood depended on it, and being constantly engaged in warfare was routine and nothing to complain about.

But for the conscripted civilian workers, it was different.

They were ordinary citizens, conscripted temporarily due to the needs of war.

Such conscriptions for a few months, or even a year, was somewhat acceptable.

But like now, extending for two years or possibly even longer, was hard for people to accept.

With civilian workers conscripted, their families lacked their pillars, affecting agriculture and other tasks greatly.

What’s more important, with a man absent from their homes, who knew whether their wives and children would be bullied?

With the husband away for a long time, what if the wife committed adultery?

All these were inevitable.

Therefore, feelings of homesickness had already begun to spread widely among the civilian workers.

The Chu’s Northern Expedition had indeed been successful, defeating two of the world’s powerful nations in battle.

But however successful the war’s progress, hope for a swift and decisive victory remained slender.

Having fought for so long, even the least knowledgeable civilian workers, influenced by rumors and what they saw and heard, had come to realize.

This war would not end in less than three to five years, or perhaps even longer.

Realizing that the day of their discharge was indefinitely far away, many despaired, feeling they might die on the battlefield, never returning home.

Last year, after a year of fighting, the results were certainly brilliant, but under that brilliance, out of twelve million civilian workers, nearly two million had died.

Each conquered city and every piece of territory controlled was bought with the blood of those civilian workers and soldiers.

In just one year, so many had died.

This year’s Northern Expedition, fighting at Mengshan Pass, had cost ten thousand lives.

And now, facing the battles at Ning Ling, Yu City, and Gu Shu, it was estimated that another two to three hundred thousand, or even more, would die.

Afterward, fighting for the great Liang, wouldn’t there be over a million deaths?

All these were not merely numbers but living human lives.

No, it should be said that in the eyes of the generals, these were just numbers.

But in the eyes of the soldiers and civilian workers, it was their own lives.

Every powerful city had to be filled with their lives.

At present, the Northern Expeditionary Army numbered three million, and after this great war for Liang, who knew whether even two million would remain?

With last year’s experience, all civilian workers had some foreboding, knowing that there was a significant chance they wouldn’t return.

Under these circumstances, could their emotions and morale remain unaffected?

Lu Yuan had noticed this point, and that’s why he had to make adjustments.

Downsizing the army was not just about reducing grain consumption but also about allowing those long-term conscripted civilian workers a chance to return home and reunite with their families.

If he did not let them go soon, he feared that the morale of the entire army might collapse.

However, even if he wanted to release them, it was not a matter of simply letting them go.

The old soldiers conscripted for last year’s Northern Expedition could be sent back.

At their peak, they numbered twelve million, but now, only about ten million remained.

After this year’s second Northern Expeditionary battle and further attrition from the seven military expeditions, it was estimated there would be only seven or eight million left.

Of these seven or eight million, if another two million were enlisted, in the end, about five or six million should be able to return home.

Well, twelve million went, and five or six million returned; having half survive to return home was an acceptable number of losses.

After all, in a war of this magnitude, being mere cannon fodder, having only half perish instead of all, was already quite fortunate.