To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 724: Chapter 321 Deceive the Heaven and Cross the Sea

Half an hour later, after Lu Yuan had bathed, changed clothes, and rested briefly, he set out for Qianyang Hall.

By the time he arrived, Sun Siwen and the envoy from Chu State had been waiting for quite a while.

“Greetings to the king.”

“Diplomat Su Xun pays his respects to the King of Chu.”

When the two men saw Lu Yuan’s arrival, they hurriedly paid their respects.

Lu Yuan walked to the throne and sat down. Then he looked down and swept his gaze over the two people, particularly examining the Chu State envoy for a moment before asking, “What brings the Zhou envoy to Chu State?”

Su Xun appeared like a delicate scholar, with a handsome and graceful presence that gave people a refreshing feeling.

After hearing Lu Yuan’s question, Su Xun said frankly, “In recent years, my country has been plagued by wars, causing many of our able-bodied young men to serve as soldiers rather than contribute to production. Time has passed, and we are now facing a shortage of food.”

“We have heard that the Chu State is known for its abundance of food, and in recent years, has continually sold grain to neighboring countries, providing relief to many. Thus, our monarch has sent me to Baling to request purchasing food and fodder to alleviate the difficulties in our nation.”

“Buying grain?”

After hearing Su Xun’s purpose, Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered, and he glanced at Sun Siwen. He then looked back at Su Xun and immediately understood in his heart.

No wonder his good friend had said that he himself could not decide on this matter and would let Lu Yuan take control of it.

Indeed, buying grain from Chu State was an important matter of state.

However, in recent years, Chu State had been selling grain to other countries, and Lu Yuan had delegated the matter to his cabinet ministers like Sun Siwen.

He only paid attention to the results without interfering personally.

While Chu State could sell grain to Su State, Song State, three southwestern vassal states, and even Yi states like Dali and Nanzhao, it could not, under any circumstances, sell to Zhou Country.

The reason was simple.

It was because Lu Yuan had already told his close ministers like Sun Siwen that the next strategic target for Chu State would be focused on the Hanzhong region of Zhou Country.

It was just that there hadn’t been an opportunity yet, and Chu State needed time to recuperate. So they had not yet taken action against Hanzhong.

How could Sun Siwen, knowing Chu State’s next strategic target, possibly sell Chu State’s grain to the future enemy and help them grow stronger?

Therefore, when the Zhou Country sought to buy grain, Sun Siwen and other cabinet ministers did not dare to decide on their own, so they had to consult Lu Yuan, the King of Chu, for his decision.

After understanding all this, Lu Yuan’s thoughts raced through his mind, considering various factors. Ultimately, his gaze flashed as he looked at Su Xun and said with a smile, “Since several years ago, my Great Chu has been selling grain to countries around the world, doing business with everyone. If Zhou Country is willing to do business with Chu State, I am more than happy to oblige.”

“However, I would like to know how much grain the envoy wishes to purchase, so that I can prepare accordingly and avoid disappointing Zhou Country.”

Upon hearing this, Su Xun was overjoyed and quickly bowed, saying, “Thank you for your generosity, King of Chu. I report to the king that my Zhou Country only wishes to buy 10 million units of grain. It is said that the Great Chu has stockpiled 40 million units of grain, so this amount should not cause any difficulties.”

After Chu State became top-ranked, people marveled at various aspects: Chu State’s population size, military strength, and vast territory. Naturally, some were amazed at the wealth and abundance of grain in Chu State.

Among them, Zhou Country was most concerned about the latter.

Due to the wars, they were gradually running out of grain and desperately needed to buy food and fodder from other countries to make up for the shortage in their own country.

However, to the north of Zhou Country was their mortal enemy, Wei Country.

To the east, the Liang Country was eyeing them, ready to advance westward at any time and annex the Henan and Nanyang regions of Zhou Country.

To the west, there was the small and barren Western Liang Country, which also lacked grain.

None of these three could sell grain to Zhou Country.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

So, looking around, the only country with enough grain and willing to sell it was Chu State.

Therefore, when the news of Chu State’s 40 million units of stored grain spread, the monarch and ministers of Zhou Country immediately decided, after deliberation, to send an envoy to Chu State to buy grain.

Moreover, seizing the opportunity of buying grain, they tactfully tested Chu State’s intentions to see if this newly rising southern power had any ill intentions towards Zhou Country.

At this point, Zhou Country had enemies on three sides. If Chu State joined in and acted against Zhou Country, it would be disastrous news.

In particular, the garrison in Hanzhong County, the southern territory of Zhou Country, had been reduced by more than half, leaving only 50,000 soldiers to guard the area, making the defense vulnerable.

If Chu State sent troops northward at this time, Zhou Country’s strength would be insufficient to resist, and Hanzhong County would be lost as a result.

So, in order to prevent such an occurrence, it was necessary to test Chu State’s intentions while buying grain.

If Chu State indeed harbored malicious intent towards Zhou Country, they would never sell grain to Zhou Country to aid their enemy at this critical juncture.

If that were the case, Su Xun would have to report to the Heavenly Son upon his return, urging him to strengthen the defense of Hanzhong in preparation for Chu State’s attack.

If, however, Chu State did not harbor any ill intentions toward Zhou Country, things would be even better.

With the 10 million units of grain, if used sparingly, it could sustain a million-strong frontline army and greatly alleviate the pressure on the country’s food supplies.

By now, the Snow Plains Nomads on their southwestern border, who have been continuously invading for several years, had become exhausted, suffered heavy casualties, and were significantly weakened.

According to the calculations by the many wise ministers in Zhou Country’s court, the nomads could only hold out for two more years at most before they would collapse completely.