Chapter 429: After the battle, it’s time to divide the land!
Caught in a pincer attack and losing top-tier forces, the Great Xia Dynasty’s army finally couldn’t hold on. They were routed by the alliance led by Lin Beifan, abandoning their armor and fleeing in disarray. In the end, the alliance forces occupied the White Tiger Fortress. Following that, Lin Beifan continued to lead the alliance forces, breaking through the resilient defenses of the northeastern territories.
At this point, with two consecutive defeats, the Great Xia Dynasty could no longer muster a strong resistance. They could only watch helplessly as their territory was falling, gradually losing sovereignty. After another half month, nearly one-third of the Great Xia Dynasty’s land had fallen. The world was stunned by this performance.
“The alliance forces are too formidable! In just a month, they’ve captured over three-tenths of the Great Xia’s territory!”
“This speed is truly astonishing, almost unimaginable!”
“Could it be that the Great Xia is really done for?”
“As one of the three major dynasties in the world today, can they really fall so easily?”
“The main reason is that the major imperial princes and their descendants, along with ministers and generals, are all vying for power, and other military forces are guarding different border fortresses. Therefore, they can’t concentrate their forces to resist the alliance.”
“But if this continues, the Great Xia will definitely fight back!”
“I also believe that the Great Xia won’t be finished so easily! But this is still a shameful situation for them, something they can’t easily wash away! Haha!”
People all over the world continued to closely follow this war, speculating about how far the alliance forces could advance and what kind of damage they would inflict on the Great Xia.
However, at this moment, Lin Beifan felt it was time to halt their advance.
Firstly, the front lines had stretched too far. Although they had suffered losses up to this point, they still had 1.5 million soldiers. While having a large army was an advantage, supplying them with food and provisions was a significant challenge. Once their supply lines were severed, it would become an unbearable burden for the alliance.
Secondly, continuing the offensive would invite a frenzied counterattack from the Great Xia. As one of the three major dynasties in the world, the Great Xia’s military strength was formidable. Their current poor performance was due to numerous internal issues, preventing them from concentrating their forces against the alliance. However, if the alliance pressed deeper into the heartland of the Great Xia, they would undoubtedly respond vigorously. At that point, their casualties would quickly escalate.
Thirdly, they had been fighting for a month, and the soldiers were becoming weary. Some were showing signs of homesickness, and their combat effectiveness was severely diminished.
So, it was time to pause.
So, Lin Beifan gathered the generals and announced, “Generals, we can stop here. We’ve gained enough territory and benefits; it’s time to return home.”
“Why stop now, Commander?”
“We’ve had a smooth journey so far, and there’s more we can conquer!”
“This is a rare opportunity; we should seize it and take more from the Great Xia!”
“Commander, let’s continue the campaign and push forward!”
The generals were still eager.
Lin Beifan smiled and shook his head, saying, “I understand your thoughts, but we really can’t continue. We need to call it quits.” He then proceeded to explain his analysis.
After listening, everyone nodded in agreement, rationalizing Lin Beifan’s decision.
“Now that you generals are on board with my decision, we’ll rest for two days, then lead the army back. But before we leave, let’s divide this land!” Lin Beifan said with a smile.
The generals became excited.
They went to war for the purpose of gaining land from the Great Xia, didn’t they? Now, it was finally time to reap the rewards!
Inside the tent, Lin Beifan spread out a map showing the territory of the Great Xia. The part marked in red was the land they had just captured.
Looking at the map, they had already occupied a significant portion of the land. Lin Beifan said, “Generals, according to our initial agreement, each country has had someone tally up their contributions.”
The more effort and sacrifices a country made, the more land they would receive! And according to the size of their contributions, those with the greatest merits had the priority in land distribution. Lin Beifan took out a ledger. It was a book of military achievements, recording each country’s contributions and the number of sacrifices.
Lin Beifan opened the ledger and read out each country’s contributions. “Ranking first is the Great Peng Kingdom, which sent a total of 700,000 troops and suffered over 450,000 casualties! According to our prior agreement, they have the priority to allocate ×× thousand acres of land!”
“Ranking second is the Mo Kingdom, which sent a total of 600,000 troops and suffered over 320,000 casualties! According to our prior agreement, they can allocate ×× thousand acres of land!” “Ranking third is…”
Lin Beifan went through them one by one. Interestingly, in this campaign, the Great Wu had neither the most troops nor the highest number of sacrifices. They ranked second to last in terms of troops deployed.
However, they had the least number of sacrifices, ranking first with fewer than 3,000 casualties, not even reaching the upper thousands.
So, according to the pre-arranged contribution agreement, Great Wu was ranked last. However, Lin Beifan didn’t mind at all and smiled, saying, “Therefore, in the War against the Great Xia Alliance, the greatest merit belongs to the Great Peng Kingdom! As per our agreement, please, the representative of the Great Peng Kingdom, go ahead and allocate the land first!” After saying this, he applauded, and under Lin Beifan’s leadership, the other generals and officers joined in applauding.
The generals from the Great Peng Kingdom were extremely excited. They had the highest military achievements and could gain the most land, potentially doubling their country’s territory. This was a significant expansion of their land, a remarkable feat that could be prominently recorded in history. Moreover, with these achievements, they were certain to receive promotions, titles, and other honors, truly a dream come true.
“Thank you! Thank you all!” The Great Peng’s generals suppressed their inner excitement, walked with pride, and accepted Lin Beifan’s brush, prepared to make their mark on the map, symbolizing the division of the “cake.”
However, at this moment, they halted and handed the brush back to Lin Beifan. In a serious tone, one of them said, “I believe that in this campaign against the Great Xia, the greatest merit and contribution should go to Great Wu! Without Great Wu’s persistence and efforts, there wouldn’t be the Great Xia Alliance today! Without Commander leading the troops, we wouldn’t have achieved such a significant victory! If it weren’t for Great Wu’s soldiers leading the way, we wouldn’t have captured such vast territories! So, I believe that the greatest merit belongs to Great Wu, and Great Wu should be the first to divide the land! Furthermore, we, the Great Peng Kingdom, are willing to allocate ×× acres of land to Great Wu!”
People secretly thought, “What a cunning old fox!”
Everyone knew that, in reality, Great Wu had made the most significant contribution in this campaign!
Their contributions and achievements were merely exploiting loopholes in the rules, taking advantage of the situation. If they followed the rules precisely, even if Great Wu said nothing, they might still hold a grudge against them.
After all, they had already thoroughly offended the Great Xia. If they offended Great Wu as well, it would be game over, and they could expect their nation’s downfall.
Therefore, no matter what, the greatest merit and benefits had to be given to Great Wu.
First, let Great Wu have a share of the meat, and then they wouldn’t covet their soup.
“General Zhao, you’re absolutely right! I also believe that the greatest merit belongs to Great Wu, so let Great Wu decide first! In addition, the Mo Kingdom is willing to allocate ×× acres of land to Great Wu as a token of our gratitude for Great Wu’s support and assistance during these days!” General Liu of the Mo Kingdom proclaimed loudly.
“I agree as well…”
…
Next, generals from various countries expressed their opinions. They unanimously decided to let Great Wu have the first choice in dividing the land and were willing to allocate a portion of their own land quotas to Great Wu.
Lin Beifan was pleasantly surprised and said, “Generals, how can this be?”
“Commander, why not? It’s clear that Great Wu made the greatest contribution, so it’s only natural for you to choose first!”
“Commander, if you consider me a friend, then please don’t refuse our goodwill. Please don’t decline!”
“Commander, we kindly request you not to refuse.”
Under the insistent requests of the generals, Lin Beifan was deeply moved and tearfully accepted their kindness.
“Since you generals are so sincere, then I won’t decline,” he said.
“Commander, that’s how it should be, hahaha!”
As a result, Great Wu obtained the privilege of choosing land first and the largest land share.
Lin Beifan picked up a brush and meticulously outlined the territory on the map, including the far eastern regions, aligning perfectly with Great Wu’s initial goals.
However, the price they paid was far less than what they received. After finishing, Lin Beifan was very satisfied, saying, “Alright, this is the land Great Wu desires! Next, it’s Great Peng Kingdom’s turn! General Zhao, please!”
With that, he handed over the brush.
