Chapter 593: Chapter 277: Battle across the River_2

“Only wait for half of a moment more over there, then set off immediately whether each division is ready or not.”

Li Xiong made the decision and looked at his increasingly aged younger brother. He sighed in his heart, feeling both contempt and disgust. He said seriously, “Shou, this battle is related to my grand cause, whether our tribes can revive in the Southwest Yi territories, whether our Dachu can re-establish itself, it all depends on this.”

“This matter is too important, we must be cautious and pay attention.”

Li Shou lowers his head in response to his brother’s gaze, “Younger brother understands, elder brother rest assured that I will do my best to assist you in rebuilding our Shu State.”

Although his words were firm, his tone was still full of only agreement, which mad Li Xiong increasingly unhappy.

This brother of his, who shared the same mother and resembled him greatly in appearance, had often been regarded as a copy of Li Xiong when he was young.

Back then, the two brothers took pride in this, supporting each other and working together, ultimately creating a solid foundation for the Shu State.

But all this faded away with the fall of the Shu State, their fleeing from east to west, and the constant suppression of life.

He didn’t know when it started.

The younger brother of the West Qiang Twin Heroes in the spirited days of Jianghu, the King of Anyang in the Shu State, and the awe-inspiring general on the battlefield, had become what he is now.

He was submissive and fearful.

Looking at the face that looked so much like his own, Li Xiong felt like he saw another failed version of himself, what he might become in the future, and he grew more disgusted and disdainful.

So, after looking at his younger brother for a moment, he took back his gaze without a second glance, and simply said, “In that case, Shou, you go and make arrangements.”

Li Shou replied and left, not knowing if he had felt the emotional change in his elder brother’s heart, and still keeping his composure.

As for Li Xiong, he just glanced at him and then withdrew his gaze, his thoughts drifting back to three days ago.

He remembered the news and words given to him by the young King of Chu when he came to see him three days earlier.

Four-nation alliance, joint offensive against the Yi people!

As it turned out, even before he went to the Chu State for help, the King of Chu had set his sights on the Southwest Yi lands due to the civil unrest in the Great Changhe Country.

And he didn’t plan to go it alone, but instead roped in three allies, making a grand event of a four-nation expedition against the Yi people.

‘Four nations against the Yi people, huh?’

For some reason, Li Xiong was reminded of the defeat he suffered in the Northern Expedition of Yue Country years ago.

At that time, the not-yet-vanquished Yue House had formed an alliance with its then-tributary states of Changsha, Ninghai, and Southsea, forming a four-nation alliance.

The four nations jointly sent more than 400,000 troops, mobilizing four Inborn Grandmasters, and launched a massive Northern Expedition.

In the end, with an unstoppable vigor, they defeated the united forces of him and the Zhou Country.

In just half a year, the 300,000 Zhou-Shu united forces were wiped out.

The Shu State was directly annihilated, and he fled in humiliation, ending up in the undeveloped lands of the barbarians.

Zhou Country also lost two Inborn masters and a province.

Although several years have passed, every time he thinks of this painful experience, Li Xiong can’t help but sigh with regret and sadness, giving rise to some feelings of powerlessness and fear.

The past is still vivid in his mind.

Yue Country may have perished, but with Chu State’s leadership, a new four-nation alliance has emerged.

Although this new joint alliance has a combined force of only 280,000, and even with the Yi soldiers he has conscripted, the total force is still less than 400,000. Among them, Inborn Grandmasters are even fewer, only five, far inferior to the previous joint alliance.

But this time, the enemy they face is not a major power like China that has dominated the world for a week, but the Southwest Yi, which is much weaker than Zhou Country and divided into three factions.

From this perspective, the situation faced by both parties and their respective power comparisons are actually not much different from the previous Northern Expedition.

‘So will this expedition be as swift and fierce as the one seven years ago, like chopping bamboo with ease?’

Li Xiong thought about the gains Lu Yuan had made since the expedition began, taking a province swiftly and decisively, and winning an absolute advantage by annihilating the 100,000 Yi soldiers of Da Changhe Country.

This track record indeed qualifies as swift and fierce, like a knife cutting through bamboo.

That King of Chu truly lives up to the assessment of the outside world. He is another military god in Jiangnan and Yangzhou after the Wuan Marquis.

With him leading the charge in the southwest expedition, they should be able to achieve good results, right?

The last Northern Expedition resulted in the emergence of the two countries of Xichuan and Hanzhong.

So, following this Western Expedition, it should be natural for another Shu State to emerge, right?

These two campaigns, both in participation and in the form of alliances, gave Li Xiong unimaginable confidence and passion in his heart.

It is because of these similarities that he is full of confidence and anticipation about Lu Yuan’s promise and his own future.

“Back then, the King of Chu gained great military achievements under the command of the Wuan Marquis through two thousand-mile raids, eventually reclaiming the territory of two provinces and seven prefectures in the north of the river.

Now I am under the command of the King of Chu and have been tasked with the important mission of breaking through the Lu River defense line of the Great Changhe Country and capturing the strategic city of Kunhai.

If I can achieve the strategic goal, then with such great merit, I should be able to exchange it for the two thousand miles of Kunhai territory, right?”

Li Xiong held onto the railing of the boat, gazing at the vast river, and his heart swelled with pride.

Although he is now in a difficult situation, completely dependent on the Chu Country and has become a general under the King of Chu.