Chapter 526: Chapter 255: The Third Year of Shenwu

The entire second year of Shenwu passed quickly amidst the chaos of local and court affairs.

At the end of the year, Lu Yuan received good news.

His queen was pregnant again.

Yes, after giving birth to the first child and a year of recovery, Lan Cai’er was pregnant again under Lu Yuan’s relentless efforts.

He was going to be a father again.

Although this news was not as joyful as Lu He’s birth, it was still a happy news worth celebrating.

As his queen was pregnant, Lu Yuan, as the king, naturally had to devote some of his energy to her care, and his desire for external expansion diminished even more.

So, at the end of the year and the beginning of the next, he spent his time dealing with the aftermath of the two reforms and accompanying Lan Cai’er in her pregnancy.

This busy and leisurely life continued until the beginning of the third month of the third year of Shenwu.

Shenwu’s third year was destined to be a year of great harvest for Chu State.

By this year, the immigration project that started in the ninth year of Hongdao had been completed for three years. More than 2.1 million immigrants from 410,000 households settled in various parts of Great Chu and began paying taxes.

After more than three years of recuperation, the three provinces and seventeen prefectures of Great Chu were thriving and prospering under the governance of local officials and ministers.

As Sun Siwen previously said,

From this year onwards, Great Chu’s revenue and expenditure would be balanced.

Even though there was now an additional navy, and an annual expenditure of several hundred thousand or even millions of silver tales,

With the military reform of soldiers and local soldiers carried out before, an annual surplus of 1.2 million silver tales could be achieved, which could be used as naval military expenses and barely covered.

Not to mention, there was still the five-million-silver-tale aid from Su Country and Nanhai Country.

However, Lu Yuan planned to use the five million silver tales for military spending.

To invade Da Changhe Country, at least 100,000 troops would be needed, and the annual military expenditure would increase by at least three million silver tales. Without this aid, Chu State definitely could not bear the terrifying cost.

For this reason, he had already discussed this matter with the Two Chancellors, and it was decided that the money would be used solely for the military and not diverted to other purposes.

Sun Siwen and Cui Changqing both agreed.

Both even expressed that they would try their best to save as much money as possible for the military use.

What could Lu Yuan say about that?

On one side, he was moved by the supports of the Two Chancellors, and on the other side, he became increasingly eager to plan for the invasion of Da Changhe Country.

However, this matter could not be rushed for the time being.

Firstly, Lu Yuan was not confident that he could lead 100,000 troops to subdue the Great Changhe Country by himself.

The opponent was still two Inborn Grandmasters and more than 200,000 troops.

It wouldn’t be easy to defeat them.

Secondly, Lu Yuan still did not feel at ease with the internal affairs of his country.

With him leading 100,000 troops away, the country’s defensive forces would suddenly be emptied by half.

Under such circumstances, not only would it be easy for internal turmoil to occur, but it would also invite foreign enemies’ coveting.

What if someone took advantage of this vulnerability and invaded Da Changhe Country just as suddenly? That would be disastrous.

Don’t doubt it.

If Lu Yuan really got stuck in Da Changhe Country and couldn’t disengage,

Would you believe it if Ning Country and Zhou Country, who had long hated Lu Yuan to the bone, would immediately send hundreds of thousands of troops for a full-scale invasion?

This was absolutely possible.

After all, if the positions were reversed, Lu Yuan would definitely be unable to resist the temptation to see a target who had robbed his own territory suddenly expose such a huge weakness.

Human hearts, after all, cannot withstand trials.

It was for this reason that even though the military budget was now sufficient, Lu Yuan was still hesitant to send troops.

The timing was still not ripe.

He had to wait.

First, he would wait for Da Changhe Country to continue its stalemate and erode its own strength.

Second, he would wait for their side to further strengthen its power and for the external environment to improve.

And this opportunity came soon enough.

In August of that year, during the celebrations of Lan Cai’er giving birth to their second son,

Lu Yuan received a letter from the north of the river.

Changle Palace.

As Lu Yuan read through the letter, his heart was filled with joy and excitement.

“Xiaoqing is about to break through Innate.”

He held the letter, reading Zhou Qing’s greetings and congratulations on having another son. Then he described his recent cultivation insights.

According to Zhou Qing, over the years, he had followed his teacher’s instructions and cleansed his Inner Strength daily with the Immortal Spirit energy within the jade pieces.

Over time, his spirit had become full and strong, and he felt he was ready to transform it into Martial Dao True Intent.

As for his Inner Strength, it had gradually shown signs of transforming from emptiness to solidity, and his Inner Strength field began to take on some external appearance.

The changes in his overall condition were now consistent with the various requirements his teacher had described when he was about to break through Innate.

Thus, he wrote to his teacher asking whether he should attempt to break through Innate.

As a disciple with no experience, he hoped for his teacher’s guidance.

All the content in the letter made Lu Yuan extremely surprised and overwhelmed with various emotions.

He was happy that his country was going to have another Innate, one of the kind that he could absolutely trust, further strengthening its foundation and power.

He was also gratified and melancholic to see the child he had raised for more than a decade finally growing up, and unknowingly on the verge of breaking through Innate, catching up with his own steps.