Chapter 2127: 雅国的窘境

"Hmm... It's composed of many tribes, with the Kelin tribe currently being the dominant one. When the main tribe goes to war, other tribes must send their people to accompany them, but they are responsible for providing their own horses, supplies, and medicine for the campaign."

"That's right, each tribe is obligated to provide their own provisions and funds when joining the army on an expedition." He Lingchuan asked him, "Obligations and rights should be reciprocal. So, what responsibilities does the main tribe have towards the other tribes?"

"Responsibilities?" "The distribution of spoils?"

"And the allocation of resources for relief during famine years! In that respect, it's just like other countries."

"For the past hundred years or so, most of Ya Country's land has been more barren than that of Bailie or Qing Country. Although it's predominantly plains, it only grew grass, not good crops. Farming on the few good plots they had wasn't enough to sustain them, which is why they lived as nomadic horsemen and frequently raided their neighbors."

He Yue nodded. "In the past, Blackwater City in Yuan Country was even more barren than Ya Country, bordered by the Coiling Dragon Desert. Life there was very hard for everyone."

"Otherwise, it wouldn't have become a place of exile and banishment for Yuan Country."

"But now it's different."

He Yue understood. "With abundant spiritual energy, have the grasslands changed?"

There was actually a sandbox display in the room. He Lingchuan walked over and pointed to Baiqiuyuan. "That's right. Just the meadows around Baiqiuyuan have seen hundreds of batches of wild grass grow wildly in the past two years. Coupled with frequent torrential downpours, wild grass, wild fruits, and shrubs all rot and ferment in the ground. The accumulated organic matter in one year now surpasses that of the past twenty, so the grassland soil is improving rapidly, and there's no problem planting crops there."

"Ya Country isn't foolish; they immediately promoted cultivation, hoping to solve their own food problems. If their own land could produce grain, their national strength would certainly increase, and the quality of life for their people would naturally be more stable. But they've encountered several problems."

"Firstly, most of their tribesmen don't know how to farm and don't like it. The people of Ya Country have been nomads their entire lives, so suddenly switching to farming is unfamiliar to them. This led Ya Country to raid Bailie, abducting people to bring back and use as farm slaves."

"Secondly, the crop seeds brought back from neighboring countries don't adapt well to Ya Country's soil and climate, resulting in low yields per mu."

He Yue nodded repeatedly. "Selecting and breeding seeds is indeed troublesome. Good things introduced from other places aren't necessarily suitable for one's own country; it depends on the hydrology and geography."

He had also worked on promoting agriculture and sericulture in Shen Country, knowing that crops can be particular and cannot simply be grown successfully by direct introduction from their place of origin.

"Even too much adaptability can cause problems, and this is the third issue," He Lingchuan said, raising a third finger. "To raise more good horses, Ya Country introduced an excellent fodder grass called Wind Poison Grass from Mou Country over ten years ago. It was said to grow quickly and be loved by cattle and horses."

"The people of Ya Country weren't foolish; after introducing it, they first opened up a plot for testing. For the first two months, the Wind Poison Grass performed very well. Its stalks were tender and juicy, it grew rapidly, and cattle, horses, donkeys, or sheep couldn't chew through its roots. So, they felt confident in promoting it."

He Yue, always quick to catch on, played along: "And then something went wrong?"

"Exactly. Three months later, the Wind Poison Grass suddenly hardened and grew thorns! At that point, no livestock except camels could eat it. So, this attempt to introduce fodder grass was a failure." He Lingchuan poured wine for both of them again. "I really suspect this was a trap Mou Country deliberately set for Ya Country."

"When the people of Ya Country started cultivating farmland, the Wind Poison Grass caused trouble again—it grew faster and stronger than the crops! With the current concentration of spiritual energy, if you don't weed for seven days, the entire field will be overrun with it, leaving no space for the crops to survive."

With abundant spiritual energy, crops did grow faster than before, but wild grass grew even faster and more aggressively!

The Wind Poison Grass was stiff and covered in sharp thorns, making weeding extremely difficult. Accidentally touching it would leave your hands covered in puncture wounds.

"So, in the past two years, as spiritual energy has become increasingly abundant, Ya Country's grand farming project has progressed much slower than anticipated. Furthermore, since Shining Gold has been unified under my rule, the small countries it used to raid are now my territory, and it no longer dares to reach out."

Why does Ya Country now hesitate to easily attack Shining Gold Plain?

They were deterred by the last battle.

They say the formidable fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who don't value their lives. The Shining Gold people fight as if they don't value their lives, and Ya Country's last sneak attack on western Shining Gold did not end well. The memory still fills them with lingering fear, and they don't want to try again. They'd rather go back to picking on weaker targets.

"The winter before last was exceptionally cold, with several heavy snowfalls. Many cattle, sheep, and horses froze to death on the grasslands. Each tribe suffered huge losses and appealed to the main tribe for help. However, the Kelin tribe couldn't afford to provide that much money, food, and supplies, leading to problems in distribution. As you know, when it comes to distribution, it's not scarcity that's feared, but inequality, and this led to significant resentment among the various tribes."

"Later, Ya Country's plan to raid Shining Gold was also unsuccessful. The Ge brothers suffered heavy losses in Shining Gold, both in personnel and military strength. They are important supporters of the main tribe, and once their power was weakened, the voices of dissent from other tribes grew louder."

He Yue understood. "So Ya Country is currently facing internal disunity?"

"Not just now," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "They've always had problems in this regard."

"Do you know why I chose Baiqiuyuan for the major battle instead of Zicao City, Ya Country's second-largest city?" He pointed to the map; Zicao City wasn't far from there and had flatter terrain. "Baiqiuyuan is the birthplace of three tribes in Ya Country, including the main tribe, a treasured land left by their ancestors. They absolutely have to fight for this place. But other tribes might not be as eager."

"If I attacked Zicao City, besides its high walls, it's also where the nobles from all tribes gather. All tribes would unite to resist, making it a difficult fight. Ya Country excels at cavalry, but if you look at the terrain of Baiqiuyuan, it's not as advantageous for cavalry."

Baiqiuyuan is a typical landform from the late stage of mountain and river degradation, with hills and mounds of varying sizes standing on the plain. In the midst of the windswept plains, it's a sheltered oasis that collects water, making it suitable for human habitation. Here, vegetation is lush, the climate is humid, and hundred-year-old trees, rarely seen on the plains, grow. Some of the land has also been developed into farmland.

However, this kind of hilly terrain is not suitable for large-scale cavalry charges and gallops; instead, it favors guerrilla tactics and ambushes.

This was a location He Lingchuan had carefully chosen several months ago. He had sent merchants and bird demons beforehand to meticulously scout the area, even being able to visualize it on the sandbox display. He was even more familiar with Baiqiuyuan than the Kelin tribesmen who rarely returned to their sacred land.

To be fair, Ya Country also didn't want to get entangled with the Dragon God Army in this kind of terrain. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to fight it out on the vast open plains outside? But alas, this was a sacred place, and they had to seize it no matter what.

Ya Country also wanted to respond calmly, but the Great Emperor Jiuyou, with his first move, struck at their very core, even sending Wanqi Song and Wanqi Feng, uncle and nephew, as vanguards to assault Baiqiuyuan first!