The development of Luoyang City had reached a bottleneck.
Whether it was limited resources, confined land, or a relatively small population, all were unfavorable factors restricting Ding Yun from further developing and strengthening the Zhou Kingdom.
Without sufficient population, the technological tree was difficult to climb.
Industrial development also required a large population of high caliber.
Most crucially, the King of the Chu Kingdom, that scoundrel, had sent an envoy a month prior. He first inquired about the weight of the Ding, then mocked Ding Yun's son as poor and pitiful for having the audacity to restore the state of Song with only two or three villages.
As he left, he threatened King Zhou Jing, stating that if Song was not abolished within the deadline, their Chu Kingdom would dispatch troops to the borders of Luoyang City and once again annihilate this Song state, which consisted of only two or three villages. He warned that if their soldiers, beyond their control, entered Luoyang, they would not be responsible.
The threat was utterly blatant.
Facing such a threat from Chu, Ding Yun certainly would not compromise, nor would she sit idly by. Therefore, preparations naturally had to be made. However, because Chu and Zhou did not share direct borders, with a portion of territory originally belonging to the Jin state, partitioned by the Ji-surnamed Han clan, lying in between.
Ding Yun was thus in a dilemma: should she find a way to borrow passage to attack Chu, or wait for Chu to find a way to invade Zhou territory and then counterattack? The former, although bearing the reason of restoring the state of Song, could barely be considered a just cause.
The latter, however, was more justifiable and reasonable.
After much deliberation, Ding Yun ultimately decided to wait.
To wait for Chu to attack her.
However, out of concern that Chu might just be blustering and not actually come, Ding Yun, after all preparations were complete, deliberately spread Chu's previous remarks. Then, she had King Zhou Jing righteously declare that he would never abolish the state of Song.
He also took the opportunity to criticize Chu's injustice.
He denounced them for proclaiming themselves kings while originally being viscounts.
Subsequently, public opinion erupted. Some scoffed and mocked the King of Zhou, others eagerly awaited the spectacle to see how Chu would respond, and some seized the opportunity to purchase more goods, fearing they wouldn't be able to buy them later if the two countries truly went to war, or if Luoyang City were destroyed, making them impossible to purchase or even go out of print.
Some timid individuals, knowing the Chu barbarians lacked manners, quickly fled after buying their goods, fearing they would be implicated if they ran late. Even many princes from other vassal states temporarily residing in Luoyang City began to flee.
Frankly, almost no one held any hope for Zhou, nor did anyone believe Zhou could withstand Chu's invasion. Even the few vassal states directly bordering Zhou, upon receiving the news, felt hesitant. They were unsure whether to attack Chu before Chu attacked them.
After all, Zhou was quite prosperous now.
If so many good things were snatched away by these southern barbarians from Chu, wouldn't that be tantamount to aiding the enemy?
However, they desired the benefits while not wanting to lose face too badly, so they ultimately did not act. They merely began to gather troops, likely planning to make their move after Chu officially invaded. This way, they could declare with all justification that they were supporting the Zhou royal family, and also take the opportunity to plunder the wealth of Luoyang.
With both face and benefit secured, why not?
The Chu Kingdom likely never expected Zhou to be so resolute, and for a time, they hesitated. It wasn't that they feared they couldn't defeat Zhou, but rather they were concerned that such an action might lead to other vassal states ganging up on them. After all, Zhou was still nominally the co-lord. Bullying them a bit was one thing, but if they truly sent troops to attack, even to annihilate a state, it would provide a legitimate reason for other vassal states to collectively attack Chu, or even partition Chu.
Especially as the news spread wider, Chu felt as if they were being put on the spot. It seemed that not attacking would be admitting defeat. Thus, the King of Chu ultimately decided to attack.
And first dispatched envoys to borrow passage from the Ji-surnamed Han clan.
Then, he gathered an army of ten thousand and set off.
In the King of Chu's opinion, Zhou was such a tiny place, how many soldiers could it have, and how much danger could there be? Ten thousand troops were more than enough consideration. As the Chu army marched, the once bustling Luoyang City's population plummeted instantly, showing signs of decline.
Not only did outsiders flee in haste, but many of the native nobility also fled to neighboring states with their assets.
Only the common people and slaves, the poor and humble, could not move.
At this moment, Ding Yun's soldiers were also not few, numbering around ten thousand. More importantly, her ten thousand soldiers were by no means comparable to those of Chu. Because her ten thousand soldiers were not only finely equipped, but each had also been injected with gene serum, making each of them a super-human.
One soldier could fight a hundred, and even without resorting to futuristic weapons, they were more than enough to handle the enemy with ease.
Her Myriad Worlds Delivery app connected to three worlds. Among them, one world had already entered the interstellar age. The pharmacy there sold specialized gene serum. Top-tier ones, capable of transforming people into true super-humans, were not available for sale. However, ordinary gene serum was basically over-the-counter medicine; as long as one had money, they could buy as much as they wanted. For the people of that world, the effects were relatively poor, only capable of enhancing physical fitness by seven or eight times and extending lifespan to around 180 years.
But for Ding Yun's soldiers.
It was undoubtedly a divine elixir.
After the injections, their strength increased many times over, but they did not become disobedient.
Instead, they regarded Ding Yun as a true immortal god.
They became even more loyal and devoted.
Under such circumstances, when the Chu army officially arrived at the borders of Luoyang City and battle ensued, the outcome was predictable. It was a complete one-sided affair.
Chu was routed overwhelmingly.
How to describe it? Ding Yun's soldiers were like martial arts masters charging into a crowd of ordinary civilians. They rampaged through, like high-level players dominating newbies in the beginner village.
While this scene was not as terrifying as the indiscriminate shelling of modern weaponry, it was still quite frightening.
If Ding Yun had not preemptively trained her soldiers, teaching them the skill of only severely wounding the enemy without killing them, the Chu army would not have ended up mostly writhing on the ground in agony with a few surrendering, but rather strewn with corpses.
As for why they were spared, wasn't it primarily because Ding Yun was desperately short of people? Her Myriad Worlds Delivery app did not sell robots, nor did it sell industrial assembly lines. Everything had to be developed slowly by Ding Yun herself.
Normally, if she wanted to buy ten thousand young male slaves,
It would take an unknown amount of effort.
Now, ten thousand young men were delivered to her doorstep. Ding Yun was reluctant to let a single one of them die.
Keeping them meant labor.
Severe injuries were also not a problem. Medicine was readily available through the Myriad Worlds Delivery app, not expensive, and quite effective. As long as they weren't dead, they could be easily healed and then managed by a group of mini super-humans.
She figured they wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.