Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 210: Improvement of corvee labor: Changes in the first year [Happy New Year!!!]

On the south side of Daxia Valley, there is a huge three-story wooden house.

The wooden house is more than 100 meters long and is built against the stone wall on the south side of the valley.

"Your father and everyone who came from Wuyuan have been placed in this wooden house. The south side of the wooden house is the entrance to the mine. You will probably live here for a long time in the future."

An ordinary-looking young man wearing a black animal-skin cloak led Xiang Liang to the door of the wooden house and introduced him to the house with a smile.

"Thank you for leading the way, sir. I am very grateful!"

"You're welcome. I just happened to be here for something. It's just on my way."

Hearing his thanks, the young man smiled, waved his hand slightly, and then led the way into the wooden house.

Xiang Liang looked at the young man, his heart filled with gratitude.

As soon as he left the wooden building, he found that his father and others were all missing, so he began to look for them all over the valley. However, there were so many houses in the Daxia Valley, at least thousands of them inside and outside, and he couldn't find them.

He did pluck up the courage to ask someone, but everyone in the valley was celebrating the Cold Yuan Festival, eating, drinking and playing, and few people were willing to pay attention to him. At most, they would point him in the direction, and he searched for a long time but couldn't find the right place.

Just then, the young man in front of him appeared. When he learned that he was looking for someone from Wuyuan, he not only showed him the way, but also kindly brought him here.

The young man in front of him looked to be in his early twenties at most. He was only wearing a fur cloak and had no weapons on him. His status in Daxia should not be very high.

From the moment he entered the Daxia Valley, Xiang Liang had been hit with one shock after another. He had just gone up to the third-floor hall and saw so many important figures. Now, suddenly there appeared a person of relatively lower status, not so arrogant, and who was so kind to him. Naturally, he felt closer to him.

"Brother, how long have you been in Daxia? Were you captured like us?"

Xiang Liang had observed that most of the clothes worn by the people of Daxia were made of a combination of animal fur and cotton cloth. They were not only warm and lightweight, but also beautiful. They were obviously better than animal skin cloaks, so he deduced that the man in front of him might have joined Daxia later.

The young man smiled and said, "Indeed, I joined later. I also served a year of corvée labor before becoming a formal member of Daxia. Most of you who came from Wuyuan should be the same as me, right?"

Hearing the young man say that he also served a year of corvée, Xiang Liang immediately felt a sense of sympathy, and said with a slightly gloomy face: "In our Hefeng camp, except for my father Xiang Ping, the other 28 Diggers were sentenced to one and a half years of corvée, and their 122 family members were also sentenced to half a year of corvée. The family members basically did not have the cultivation of the Diggers, so the corvée still had to be added to the 28 Diggers. In this way, they basically had to serve about four years of corvée."

The 122 family members were evenly distributed among 28 people, so each person had to bear an additional four to five half-years of corvee labor, plus their own one and a half years, which was indeed about four years.

The young man nodded, looked at Xiang Liang, and asked with interest: "Your father was not sentenced to corvée labor, what's the matter?"

Xiang Liang showed a look of relief on his face and replied, "Fortunately, we have a treasure in Hefeng Camp. I presented it to the leader, the Sicheng Lord, and that’s how my parents and my sister and brother were exempted from corvée labor."

"treasure?"

The young man turned his head slightly and glanced in the direction of the main building. He immediately turned his head with a smile, looked at Xiang Liang for a while, and said, "So you are worried about the other 28 Digging Realm masters in your Hefeng Camp, right?"

The big brother in front of me has such sharp eyesight.

Xiang Liang was amazed for a moment, then said with distress: "The diggers in our camp are basically very old. The oldest is almost forty, and the youngest is about thirty. Four years of corvée is indeed too long."

The average life expectancy in the Ice Abyss World is only in their forties, and the Digging Realm has not yet escaped this category. Judging from the age of the people in the Hefeng Camp, four years of corvée labor is indeed too long for them.

"I've asked around. There's no standard amount of coal and iron collected for corvée labor. In other words, four years is the standard four years. The key is that these four years of corvée labor can only be performed by the criminal's direct relatives. No one else can do it. So..."

Seeing that the young man was thinking with his head down, Xiang Liang thought that he was unhappy, so he did not dare to continue speaking.

The young man smiled and raised his head and said, "It's okay. When I was doing corvée labor before, I also had a lot of opinions in my mind. Just tell me directly."

Xiang Liang was relieved and continued, "That's too inhumane!"

Four years is equivalent to one tenth of the lifespan of humans in the Ice Abyss.

It's indeed a bit inhumane!

"If we can quantify the standards for corvée labor, such as how much coal and iron ore must be mined each year to meet the standards, and then relax the restrictions on others serving on their behalf, we can greatly reduce the burden on these people, and the output of corvée labor will remain unchanged in the end, which is much better."

After Xiang Liang finished speaking, he sighed softly. This suggestion was certainly good, but he was not sure whether Daxia's motive for sentencing these people to corvee labor was for resources or to punish them.

The most important thing is that his words are of little importance and no one will listen even if he speaks.

Or to put it more bluntly, he didn't even have the chance to speak.

What Xiang Liang didn't notice was that after hearing his last words, the young man looked at him and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"With the abundance of resources in Daxia, it shouldn't be too difficult for us to break through the Digging Realm. If we can really do as I said, these corvée services can be completed quickly, and we can obtain the status of official members of Daxia sooner. In the end, won't we still be able to contribute to Daxia?"

Thinking of the mountains of animal meat on the table and the piles of white animal bones displayed on the open space at the back of the valley, Xiang Liang's expression was moved.

In fact, after witnessing the splendor of Daxia with his own eyes, Xiang Liang no longer had any resistance to coming to Daxia. He believed that the more than 5,000 people, including Wang Lie, the main culprit, were the same as him.

The living standards in the four camps in Shanbei are similar.

Even someone as fierce as Wang Lie has a strong desire for a better life.

If only I could live a life like that of Daxia every day.

Who would be willing to go to the north of the mountain and continue to live a miserable life?
But the corvée labor that weighed on them was too heavy a burden for them.

The diggers in the four camps in the north of the mountain are generally older, and it is not known whether they can complete such a long period of labor service. Even if they are lucky, they will probably not live for a few more years after completing their labor service.

This is really unfair to them.

"Thanks to the kindness of the chief, he exempted us from three months of corvee labor. For so many people combined, it's already very good. We still can't ask for too much, after all, we were the ones who made the mistake first."

Thinking of the last decree shouted out by the man just now, Xiang Liang still showed some comfort on his face. One person was exempted from three months, and including his family members, according to the calculation just now, everyone could serve less than one year.

The young man looked at Xiang Liang and said with a smile, "I saw you just came down from the main hall. Since you have such a good idea, why don't you tell those people in the main hall?"

Xiang Liang smiled bitterly and said, "Just now in that hall, let alone letting me speak, I didn't even dare to make a sound when I breathed."

The young man chuckled and shook his head when he heard this. He was about to speak when Xiang Liang happened to find his father Xiang Ping and others in the wooden house.

"Brother, thanks to you today, may I ask......"

Xiang Liang wanted to ask the young man's name, but when he turned around, he found that the man had disappeared. He was stunned.

"Liang'er, come quickly. There are many people in this wooden house who are just like us. They also came here not long ago. We have found out a lot about Daxia..."

Seeing that Xiang Ping and the other Digging Realm masters beside him looked a little excited, although Xiang Liang was still wondering where the big brother in black had gone, he still walked towards his father, wanting to know why they were so excited.

The young man in black who puzzled him had already stood on the rooftop of the wooden house at some point. He first glanced at the thousands of people below, then looked at the mine on the south side of the wooden house, and finally set his sights on Xiang Liang. He chuckled and looked thoughtful.

"This kid is quite smart. The corvée labor must be changed. The iron mine in the valley will soon be exhausted. Those who perform corvée labor will soon be dispersed to several other iron mines. If there is too much resistance, the management costs will increase sharply, and in the end it will not be worth the loss. I have to talk to Xia Chuan about it..."

………………

It was different from the joyful and noisy atmosphere of tens of thousands of people in the Daxia Valley.

At this moment, there was silence in the hall on the top floor of the main building.

The tables and chairs on both sides of the hall were empty. More than a hundred people stood in the center of the hall in a row, with solemn expressions, staring at the platform, and their faces were full of anticipation.

"Why, are you all waiting for me to start the banquet?"

Suddenly, a voice sounded from the platform.

Everyone below immediately showed joy on their faces.

But when a figure appeared on the platform, they were all stunned at the same time.

An ordinary-looking young man wearing a black fur coat suddenly walked out from behind the platform.

He even sat down on the golden chair.

Everyone subconsciously showed anger on their faces, but then they realized something and looked carefully at the young man staring at the podium, their faces full of suspicion and speculation, but they didn't dare to confirm.

"Hahahahaha..."

Seeing everyone's uncertain expressions, the young man in black on the chair suddenly laughed heartily, then fiddled with his face for a while, and immediately tore off a light vermilion mask.

Who else could it be behind the mask but their leader Xia Hong!
"Hahahaha, this mask made of red wood is quite effective. None of you can tell it."

When the more than one hundred people below saw Xia Hong's true appearance, they first smiled, then all bowed to the platform and said:
"Welcome the leader out of the customs!"

When everyone shouted these six words, they obviously increased their voices deliberately. Not only the main hall, but also the entire wooden building and even the valley outside the building fell silent in an instant.

The tens of thousands of people who were originally noisy on the three main roads in the valley suddenly became quiet. They turned their heads to look at the top floor of the main building, and realized that Xia Hong had come out of seclusion and was now in the hall. They all stood up from their seats in unison and bowed respectfully towards the main building.

"Welcome the leader out of the customs!"

Listening to the voice echoing in and outside the valley for a long time, Xia Hong's smile became more and more intense. He gathered his luck in his throat and spoke slowly with a hint of solemnity to the tens of thousands of people below and outside the valley:
"At the beginning of the new year, I wish Han Yuan good health. The first year of Da Xia has come to an end. I hope that our Da Xia camp will expand its territory and become more prosperous in the coming year. I also hope that all of you will reach new heights in your cultivation in the coming year and have better and better lives. I will not go home until I am drunk tonight. Cheers, everyone!"

The more than one hundred people in the hall and tens of thousands of people in the valley all raised their cups and shouted loudly towards the main building:

"Long live the leader, long live Great Xia!"

"Long live the leader, long live Great Xia!"

"Long live the leader, long live Great Xia!"

………………

Nine passionate shouts in unison resounded through the sky and shook the nine heavens. They not only dispersed the snowflakes in the sky above the valley, but also heralded that a new chapter in the second year of Daxia had slowly begun.

………………

In the main hall, Xia Hong put down his wine glass, leaned back on his chair, and said with a smile:
"I have been in seclusion for more than four months. What is the current situation of the camp? Xia Chuan and the six department chiefs, please stand up and tell me. The rest of you should all sit down and listen to me. Take this opportunity to understand what the current situation of our Great Xia is!"

Upon hearing the voice, the more than one hundred people in the hall immediately sat down.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Xia Chuan and the other seven people in the middle.

"Then let's start with me!"

After thinking for a moment, Xia Chuan was the first to bow and speak:
"Reporting to the leader, as of now, the total population of my Great Xia camp is 30129. In addition to the leader, there are 2 people at the Cold Resistance level; 6 people at the Cold Resistance level who are breaking through, including Luo Yuan, Hong Guang, Yuan Cheng, Hong Tian, ​​Meng Yi, and Zhu Yuan; 63 people who have reached the limit of the Digging Realm and started to use beast blood; there are 2192 people in the Digging Realm; there are 11924 people in the Logging Realm, and there are people breaking through almost every day." Hiss...

"More than two thousand Digging Realm?"

"How can there be so many people in the Lumberjack Realm of 12,000!"

"There are six people who are breaking through to the Cold Resistance level. If they break through at the same time, wouldn't our Great Xia suddenly have eight... No, nine people at the Cold Resistance level?"

"hiss…………"

Someone gasped, and in the hall, there were cries of surprise one after another.

Everyone looked at Xia Chuan in the center, their faces full of excitement.

Let’s not talk about the cold-resistant level for now, what does it mean to have more than two thousand digging level?
It is equivalent to seven times the size of the original Jingxian Camp.

In these four months, the progress has been huge, right?

Xia Chuan, who was in the center of the hall, smiled and waited until everyone's reactions calmed down before continuing, "In addition, the six ministries were rectified three months ago. The rectification mainly included three items:

1. The gathering and logging departments are merged into the logging department.

2. Change the pioneering department into a garrison department. In addition to being responsible for pioneering, it is also responsible for the rest of the garrisons in the entire territory of Daxia. Currently, two garrisons have been set up in Jinggu and Wuyuan, with twelve hunting teams stationed respectively. Yue Feng is the garrison commander of Jinggu, and Xu Ning is the garrison commander of Wuyuan.

3. A new Civil Affairs Department will be added to be responsible for the overall management of all household registrations in Daxia, as well as food, clothing, housing, transportation, and all other matters related to people’s livelihood.

Currently, the camp has six departments: hunting, camp supplies, logging, craftsmen, jurisdiction, and civil affairs. The next step is for the six department chiefs to speak for themselves..."

After Xia Chuan finished speaking, he gestured to Yuwen Tao.

Yuwen Tao nodded, walked forward and bowed slightly:
“There are 2192 people in the camp, and 2012 of them have registered with the Hunting Department. As of now, there are 83 hunting teams under my department, 16 of which are mid-level teams, and the remaining 67 are low-level teams.

All teams are operating well, with few casualties. The hunting targets and coal and iron delivery targets for the previous four months are all normal. The Quartermaster Department should have records, so I won't say any more!"

Qiu Peng, the director of the Camp Supply Department, nodded upon hearing this and stood up:
"There have been significant personnel changes in the hunting and logging departments, and the resources handed in each month have gradually increased. There is no average at the moment, so I will report the total amount of resources from last month..."

Having said this, he was not afraid of being laughed at by the people around him. He took out a booklet from his arms, smiled, and continued:
"In December, the total amount received by the Camp Supply Department from the Hunting Department was:
兽血10220斤；兽肉210万斤；中级兽骨28万斤；兽皮共计1621张；铁矿石710万斤；煤石1420万斤。”

The figures reported by Qiu Peng immediately caused exclamations from the more than 100 people present. Although these things were handed in by them, they only had a vague idea of ​​the total amount. Naturally, they were amazed when they heard such a large number directly.

However, Xia Hong, who was at the top, reacted much calmer than all of them.

"Of course, this is only the income from the Hunting Department. The amount of resources submitted by the Craftsmen and Logging Departments is also quite large. Now I will tell you about a few important things..."

After everyone's surprise gradually subsided, Qiu Peng turned a few pages and continued with a smile: "Our department currently has a total of 12152 finished weapons in stock. The most common types are the four types of Xia swords, namely Yi, Heng, Mo, and Zhan, accounting for half. The rest are thirteen types including swords, spears, sticks, axes, etc.

There are 6232 finished iron bows in total, including 10 hundred-stone bows, 100 fifty-stone bows, 300 twenty-stone bows, 5000 ten-stone bows, and the rest are five-stone bows. According to the current situation, it will be a long time before bows are made;
盐巴目前储备420斤、各类丹药共计2521瓶、陈酿有820斤、血寒酒35斤、丝绸90米、棉布1220米、纸张29斤，朱木、晶果…………”

The function of the Quartermaster Department is to manage all materials in the camp, from basic raw materials to finished products produced by the Artisan Department. Therefore, the materials reported by Qiu Peng are not only huge in quantity but also diverse in types.

From various materials from cold beasts, to weapons and tools, to medicines and salt, as well as finished products made from various fruits and bamboo silk, almost everything is available. Except for a few precious materials, the reserves of most materials are also extremely terrifying.

This undoubtedly also reflects the abundance of supplies in Daxia at present.

After the quartermaster department finished speaking, it was the turn of the logging department.

Cheng Feng stepped forward, and after the gathering and logging departments were merged, he became the chief, and Bai Dongying became the deputy chief.

"All 11524 loggers in the camp have registered with our department. However, our current focus is no longer on timber, but on fruits and various medicinal plants in all areas of Daxia.

Up to now, the logging department has discovered and recorded a total of 78 species, including 19 types of trees, 34 types of medicinal materials, 14 types of fruits, and 11 other types of materials whose functions are currently unknown.

After we have found out the growth cycle of medicinal herbs and fruits, we will organize people to pick them regularly. Trees with special functions will also be reported to the craftsman workshop, and they will be cut down for special purposes if necessary. We have basically stockpiled some of each type of tree.”

Next is Mu Dong’s craftsman department.

“There are currently 580 registered craftsmen in our department, including 180 digging craftsmen and 400 logging craftsmen. We have four workshops under our jurisdiction: forging, alchemy, summer clothing, and carpentry.

The forge can currently forge 17 types of weapons, including the four types of Xia Dao, 39 types of iron tools, and 120 types of iron products.
The Alchemy Workshop can refine a total of 18 kinds of elixirs;
Xiafufang has 7 categories of ready-made clothing styles and 21 kinds of small items;
Woodworking workshop, 42 types of furniture, 210 types of wooden products. ”

Mu Dong stepped back after he finished speaking, and then Yuan Cheng stepped forward.

After the Pioneer Department was changed to the Defense Department, considering that Shi Ping was a little weak, he was appointed as the deputy chief, and the chief was replaced by Yuan Cheng.

"The Jurisdiction and Defense Department currently has only two garrisons under its jurisdiction, namely Jinggu and Wuyuan. The achievements of the two garrisons last year are obvious to all, so I won't say much. In the new year, I hope that the leader and Si Cheng can lead us to continue to expand our territory and set up a few more garrisons, so that we don't have to have only two now, which doesn't look good..."

"Hahaha, Yuan Sizheng, you think you have too few subordinates."

"Hahahaha, Lao Yuan, you are a bit too ambitious!"

"Haha, to expand the territory, Yuancheng, you have to do it yourself."

………………

As soon as Yuan Cheng finished speaking, everyone in the hall started laughing and joking.

Xia Hong, who was on the high platform, couldn't help but chuckle twice.

"Alright, alright, go down, Zhu Yuan, keep talking!"

The last Chief of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was Zhu Yuan.

Zhu Yuan stepped forward and said, "The Ministry of Civil Affairs currently records a total of 6621 households, with 800 new households added in the first four months. In addition to 241 newly married couples, the remaining 551 households are all people who joined the camp later.

A small half of the 4200 plots of land in the valley have been sold, and the residences have been built. The remaining 2000 plots are expected to be sold out in the next six months. By then, I'm afraid I'll have to find a way to open up new land!"

Hunting, camp supplies, logging, craftsmen, jurisdiction, civil affairs, as the six departments were all talked about, the atmosphere in the hall became lively.

“We’ve done so much this year?”

"There are over 2000 houses in the valley, and I haven't even discovered them yet!"

"There are too many things in the quartermaster department. Every time I go there, I just stand at the door. I must go in and take a look someday. I guess there won't be enough space for everything, right?"

"Are there so many kinds of weapons? Apart from the four types of Xia Dao, I have only seen four or five other kinds of weapons."

"There are more than 200 kinds of wooden products, and I haven't seen many of them."

"Hey, you don't have kids at home, right? My kid is always staring at the wooden products in the workshop. There are so many little gadgets, and he keeps asking for them. It gives me a headache when I go back home."

"There are so many kinds of clothes. No wonder my wife wants to buy clothes all the time."

………………

This is the confusion of the people in power. Among the more than one hundred people in the hall, at least they are captains of hunting teams, and they are considered to be the people with the highest status in Daxia at present.

But even they only had a vague understanding of Da Xia's overall current situation. If Xia Hong had not summoned Xia Chuan and the six department heads today and asked the seven of them to describe the situation as a whole, they would probably never have known about it.

It turns out that Daxia has developed to this extent without anyone noticing!

Everyone in the hall showed a hint of pride on their faces, and an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and pleasure rose in their hearts.

After all, they also contribute to these achievements!
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work throughout the past year!"

Xia Hong's voice immediately made the expressions of the more than 100 people below calm down.

"Chief, we don't work as hard as you."

"Yes, if the leader hadn't killed so many cold beasts before, we wouldn't be where we are today. Speaking of hard work, the leader has worked the hardest in the entire camp."

"Four months ago, the leader hunted so many mid-level frigid beasts and we reaped the benefits of their blood. How can we still complain about our hard work?"

"Don't say that, Chief!"

…………

Hearing the sincere rebuttals from the crowd below, Xia Hong felt a warm current in his heart. He didn't say much, but just raised the wine glass in his hand and said with a smile: "Okay, you have worked hard, and I have worked hard too. Let's drink this glass together. I wish our Great Xia will reach a higher level in the coming year!"

More than a hundred people below raised their glasses and stood up immediately.

"Long live the leader, long live Great Xia!"

"Well, I wish my Great Xia and everyone present here a long life!"

Xia Hong laughed heartily and led more than a hundred people to drink up the wine in their glasses!

The crowds began to toast each other in the hall, and Xia Hong, the leader, could not escape the attacks of the crowd.

On the first Cold Yuan Festival, in order to show solemnity, the Quartermaster Department took out almost half of the stored aged wine, and almost everyone who could come to the main hall was given a pound of aged wine for free.

The leader Xia Hong was naturally treated specially. There were two pots of aged wine and one pot of blood-cold wine on the table.

As the atmosphere in the hall gradually reached its peak, Xia Hong took advantage of the time when no one was toasting and quietly opened his system page.

[Camp: Daxia (Level 0)]

[Lord: Xia Hong]

[Cultivation: Cold Resistance Level]

[Territory population: 30129]

【资源：木230万煤324万铁246万银0金0】

【已开启建筑6：烈阳鼎（3级）、武道馆（3级）、炼药坊（2级）、锻造坊（2级）、青竹篱（1级）、记事牌（2级）】

[Unopened Building 3: Yellow soil, small wooden table, thick iron chain]

"With so many resources, we can upgrade all the buildings before we leave. Let's see what surprises we can bring!"

(End of this chapter)