Chapter 2228: The Gold Content of the Nine Abysses Strategy

The eyes of the world were drawn to the Mu-Bei War, and few paid attention to Ya State anymore.

At this time, Ya State's territory had been largely occupied by Mu State, leaving the tribes only the remaining barren lands for survival.

Mu State did not annex all of Ya State for three reasons: first, Between Between Between Beijia exerted frantic pressure; second, Ya State's tribes resisted fiercely; third, and most importantly:

The remaining land of Ya State was not fertile, lacked mineral resources, and the plains were easy to attack but hard to defend. To You Huan, looking at the debt ledger, it was a chicken rib—tasteless to eat, a burden to discard!

Even Mu State looked down on this land; if they wanted to sustain a large force across the entire region, the survival pressure would be self-evident.

To compete for scarce resources, the tribes quickly turned on each other, conflicts erupted incessantly, and the former glory and camaraderie vanished completely.

The Ke Lin tribe was no longer royal; the Second Prince was soon killed in the chaotic fighting, and Ya State fell.

Of course, the Ya Di tribes hated Mu State most, launching harassing attacks on Mu-occupied areas—formerly their own lands—every few days. Meanwhile, the civilians in those areas colluded with the tribes externally, causing great trouble for the Mu troops stationed there.

On the Mu-Ya border, conflicts thus continued without cease.

Moreover, since the Ke Lin tribe was no longer royal, the tribes governed themselves independently and no longer elected a great chieftain, making Mu State's decapitation efforts futile, while conflicts frequently escalated.

Border troubles and internal turmoil became the prominent contradictions in this new territory of Mu State.

When the generals of Cang Yan observed the situation in that region, they all lamented Mu State's greed for land. In truth, governing the Ya State territory indeed required a high administrative cost.

This also inversely proved that the initial decision by the Nine Abysses Great Emperor not to covet Ya State's land, signing the agreement and then leaving immediately, was indeed quite shrewd.

War is a double-edged sword; one misstep leads to another, and ultimately it may very well turn into an endless downward spiral.

Although Ya State had fallen, Cang Yan continued to uphold the previous agreement with Ya State—that is, to keep trading furs, fur materials, medicinal herbs, and livestock with the former Ya tribes. The policy remained unchanged, worthy of being called keeping one's word.

Mu State and Cang Yan gave these tribes vastly different experiences; life on the barren grasslands was truly harsh.

Finally, after several heavy snowstorms in winter froze many to death, three tribes proactively surrendered to Cang Yan, hoping to join the new greater family.

After all, the treatment the Bai Long tribe received under the Nine Abysses Great Emperor served as a benchmark, giving the Ya people great hope.

The Nine Abysses Great Emperor gladly accepted them.

Cang Yan lacked no land, but at all times lacked brave and skilled warriors.

Several months later, another four tribes surrendered to Cang Yan.

Although Cang Yan gained more warriors, this was actually what Mu State wished to see. After these tribes pledged allegiance to Cang Yan, they effectively came under Cang Yan's jurisdiction—either they had to relocate from Ya lands and could no longer recklessly harass Mu State's borders.

The Nine Abysses Great Emperor's strategy toward Ya State stood the test of time, and its value kept rising.

Let us return to the Mu-Bei War.

After resolving Ya State and harmonizing with Cang Yan, Mu State could turn eastward without rear concerns and fully engage with Between Between Between Beijia.

Whether it was due to absorbing the Nine Abysses Great Emperor's advice or You Huan's own intention, when facing Between Between Between Beijia's invasion, the Mu army abandoned its former style, becoming steady and not rash—counterattacking when due, yielding when appropriate, employing flexible tactics and reducing the frequency of desperate last stands. At the same time, the Mu army opened another front, invading Between Between Between Beijia's northeastern border—

There's no reason I should passively take blows without striking back. From now on, you fight your fight, I fight mine.

On the Mu-Bei battlefield, each side had wins and losses; overall, Between Between Between Beijia maintained an offensive posture, while Mu State held the line and launched suitable counterattacks.

Mu State was naturally vast and resource-rich, and with the flourishing of Imperial Flow Elixir, food and medicine supplies were basically no problem. Furthermore, through "normal trade" with Cang Yan, it continuously obtained other military supplies, so Mu State never showed signs of exhaustion, but rather appeared increasingly spirited the longer it fought.

This war dragged on for a long time.

As He Lingchuan had initially predicted, the over-three-hundred-day great war left Mu and Bei states littered with casualties, yet they still had reserves, far from reaching the point of exhausted people and depleted treasury.

To exhaust two major powers, such a war would need to last at least three to five years or more.

As time passed, Mu State also brought out its hidden treasures—various precious magical artifacts, prescriptions, secret treasures, and cultivation techniques—to exchange for Cang Yan's continued support.

You Huan also clearly understood that these things, no matter how valuable, must be used to realize their worth.

Cang Yan had made considerable money these past two years, but the common ailment of emerging nations is a shallow foundation, lacking these treasures and foundations. Hence, Cang Yan's attitude was very proactive.

Observers could also notice that Mu State, from the royal court Wang Ting down to the sects, frequently reported personnel changes and replacements. Clearly, Mu Emperor and You Huan used the war as an opportunity to reform personnel, ruthlessly purging several batches and appointing several batches to eliminate entrenched ills.

During wartime, You Huan's prestige reached unprecedented heights, enabling such reforms.

Du Shan also told the ministers that, in domestic reform, Mu State still held an advantage over Between Between Between Beijia.

The frontline battle reports of the two major powers flew like snowflakes into Ju City Palace. Know that Mu State had fought Ya State for a year and a half without recovering from the war's damage, then immediately faced Between Between Between Beijia. This was equivalent to Ya State and Between Between Between Beijia launching a wheel war against Mu State.

Who would have thought that Mu State grew braver with battle, as if it had injected itself with a strong heart stimulant.

Seeing Mu State's sect cultivators enthusiastically respond to mobilization, marching westward to join the national war, He Lingchuan could not help but sigh, truly worthy of Mu State—its war potential astonishing, its foundations still deep.

Of course, this was also the image Mu State wished to display to neighboring states, especially Between Between Between Beijia:

I am still strong, and the more I fight, the more vigorous I become.

But from another perspective, Mu State focused almost exclusively on its own battlefield, offering almost no support to its minor allies or other forces under Lingshan.

As Between Between Between Beijia gradually trimmed its wings, Mu State did not angrily dispatch troops, but instead adopted a full-scale retrenchment strategy—short for self-preservation.

Although there was much controversy in the domestic court, You Huan still bore the pressure; although Lingshan was also dissatisfied, Mu Emperor remained unmoved, firmly refusing to open a second battlefield in other small states and minor powers.

Concentrating national strength to focus on winning the war on its own territory—that was the core of You Huan's strategy.

At the same time, Mu State's foreign trade instead reached new highs.

As the war developed to this stage, affected by public opinion and military conditions, Between Between Between Beijia no longer directly traded with enemy states. In practice, however, Between Between Between Beijia's several vassal demon states, through the Yang Shan Islands, achieved peak trade with Cang Yan.

Such a huge trade volume—how much of it truly belonged to Cang Yan, and how much was Mu State's goods passing through Cang Yan and the Yang Shan Islands before reaching Between Between Between Beijia?

Someone certainly could calculate this hidden account clearly, but it would never be made public.

In this world-shaking great war, someone lost their life, someone made money, someone watched the spectacle, someone developed.