The Son of Heaven, Ji Bai, had become nothing more than a figurehead, and everyone rallied around Luo Zhi.
"Everyone, this is a war unlike any before it."
Luo Zhi declared in a ringing voice, "After more than a century of growth, the population of the All Xia states has more than doubled.
"When Qi State became the Hegemon, its army numbered only a hundred thousand or so, and it was the only state under heaven capable of fielding ten thousand chariots.
"But now?
"States capable of fielding ten thousand chariots are beyond counting.
"Chu State has five hundred thousand troops, Qin State three hundred thousand, Zhao, Wei, and Han more than three hundred thousand, Qi State more than three hundred thousand, Luo State more than two hundred thousand, and Wu State two hundred thousand. No one knows what consequences will follow when two million men slaughter one another."
Hearing that long string of numbers, quite a few people already felt as though they were suffocating.
"The Wu-Chu War involves four hundred thousand men in total. With the grain, armor, and weapons Wu State has stripped from Song State, along with some assistance, it can manage."
The war between Wu and Chu was more a struggle for strategic positions, to prevent Chu State from attacking the Central Plains coalition's flank through Xu-Huai.
Pointing at the map, Luo Zhi said, "In the confrontation between Qin State and the Three High Ministers of Jin State, Qin and Wei State have four hundred thousand men combined. Chu State also has a hundred thousand men south of the Royal Domain, while Han-Zhao currently have only two hundred and fifty thousand."
"Jin State is in chaos, and many troops remain in the hands of the small and medium High Minister Clans.
"Inform Han-Zhao that I