Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 300: Hou Jing's Abnormality, Hou Kong's Choice
The 48th year of Longyou, June 22, late at night
On the snowy plain west of Bai Yuan’s base, a long team of about five to six thousand people was slowly moving towards the west.

The front row of the team is young and strong, the middle row is the old, the weak, women and children, and the thousands of people in the back are hunting team members wearing iron armor and carrying longbows. The overall order is clear, and you can tell at a glance that it is a standard camp migration team.

If you pay more attention, you will find that among the hunting team members wearing iron armor at the back of the team, there are very few people wearing blood-red armor.

Anyone who is familiar enough with the Twelve Families of Longyou can recognize at a glance through the blood-colored armor that this migrating team is from the Zhaoyang Camp.

"Uncle, won't Bai Yuan's people move to Longshan with us?"

At the end of the team, Hou Kong looked back at Bai Yuan's camp, frowned slightly, and asked his second uncle Hou Jing beside him in a low voice with a very respectful attitude.

Just like Longshan is dominated by the Li family, Zhaoyang is dominated by the Hou family. But compared to the Li family, the Hou family members are obviously much more competitive. There are a total of 24 cold-resistant classes in Zhaoyang, and 16 of them are surnamed Hou, accounting for nearly 70%.

Hou Jing is already over eighty years old this year. His hair is grey and his face is decayed. He looks as if he will not live beyond the next year. He is the younger brother of Hou Luan, the father of Hou Hu, and the oldest surviving member of the Hou clan in Zhaoyang.

In the world of Bingyuan, seniority naturally doesn't count for anything.

The main thing is strength!

Hou Kong knew very well that his second uncle Hou Jing only looked old, but his strength was definitely not bad. Even his eldest brother Hou Hu was very respectful to him on weekdays, and the camp would always seek his opinion first for any important decisions.

Hou Jing was wearing a jujube-colored cloak, his gray beard trembling slightly, and he seemed to have difficulty moving. Hearing Hou Kong's question, he turned his head and stared at Bai Yuan's residence. A hint of coldness flashed across his cloudy pupils, and he whispered, "Why should he move with us? Bai Yuan is not from the same family as us."

Hearing this, Hou Kong's expression froze.

Baiyuan was incorporated into Zhaoyang as early as April. Bai Qiuchen even brought people to Pinggu to pay a visit to Hou Hu in person. Later, when the situation with Longshan was tense, the Blood Guard Army also directly stationed in Baiyuan.

But soon, Hou Kong understood what his second uncle meant. His expression suddenly turned cold and he asked in a cold voice, "Does Bai Qiucheng want to turn against us?"

"With Zhaoyang gone, who are we going to rebel against? We will all be dogs for the Li family from now on. It's not too much for Bai Qiucheng to get more benefits and merge into Longshan in the name of his own camp."

Hou Jing was old, and was probably used to this kind of opportunistic behavior. After he finished speaking in a low voice, he saw that Hou Kong was still angry, so he smiled and shook his head and said, "Don't be so angry. This is a different time. Zhaoyang can't do it himself, so don't blame others for being realistic..."

He paused, sighed and continued: "800 sets of Hundred Forging-level armor were looted, and the Blood Guards were almost wiped out. Hou Ming, Hou Bing, Hou Ying, Lin Ye, Hou Tong, Hou Quan, Zhang Qingyuan, Lu Yin, Hou Ming, Wang Lie, and almost half of Zhaoyang's cold-resistant class were all captured by Daxia and their lives are unknown. Even the leader himself was seriously injured and almost died.

With Zhaoyang's current wealth, let alone Bai Qiucheng, I think Yu Bin in Xiling has also started to think about it. It is because Dong Zhong in the east has brought people to join Zhaoyang early, otherwise Dongkang will definitely regret it. "

When Hou Jing mentioned the recent huge losses in Zhaoyang and the people who were captured by Daxia and whose lives were unknown, Hou Kong clenched his fists, his face full of hatred and anger towards Daxia.

"Why, do you still hate Daxia?"

"Of course, the foundation of the Zhaoyang Marquis family was destroyed because of Daxia. Xia Hong is a despicable and shameless person. I wish I could eat his flesh and bones. The leader brought us to Longshan, isn't it just to use the power of Longshan to destroy Daxia for revenge?"

Zhaoyang's current situation was all caused by Daxia. How could he not hate it? Not only him, but everyone in Zhaoyang hated Daxia to the core.

"It's true that you can use the power of Longshan to destroy Daxia and take revenge, but..."

Hou Jing paused and continued, "The most important reason is that we in Zhaoyang only have this one way to go. If we don't join Longshan, the final result will be either being destroyed by Longshan or being destroyed by Daxia. Do you understand?"

Hou Kong suddenly fell silent and didn't speak for a long time.

He is not stupid. The moment the Blood Guards were wiped out last night, the other Zhaoyang Cold-Proof Class soldiers, including him, had already seen this clearly. That's why they were so eager to merge into Longshan.

What he didn't understand was why Hou Jing said these words at this moment.

Especially just now, when asking him whether he still hated Daxia, Hou Jing used a clearly rhetorical tone.

"Second Uncle, do you disagree with the leader's decision to merge with Longshan?"

Hearing Hou Kong's question, Hou Jing's eyes narrowed slightly, but then he nodded brightly and gave an affirmative answer.

"That's right. When I went to Longshan last night, I did not agree with Hou Hu's decision. In my opinion, it would be better to surrender to Daxia than to join Longshan..."

"How is it possible, Second Uncle, you are confused. There are more than 50 Cold-Resistant Masters in Longshan, 3,000 Longyou Army, and tens of thousands of Digging Realm. How can a foreign force like Daxia defeat them? Moreover, Daxia has annihilated the Blood Guards, killed so many of us, and captured so many Cold-Resistant Masters. Xia Hong also severely injured their leader. It is impossible for them to surrender to them!"

Hou Kong interrupted Hou Jing with an angry look on his face. For a moment he forgot that he was the elder, and there was even a hint of reprimand in his tone.

Hou Jing's face darkened slightly, but he was not angry. He shook his head and said lightly, "Adding icing on the cake is no match for sending timely help. If you understand this principle, you will understand."

Hou Kong's face froze, and he seemed unable to think of any rebuttal to Hou Jing's words.

But he soon realized what was happening, and said with a serious expression, "Second Uncle, you want to surrender to Daxia for the sake of Hou Bing and Hou Quan, right?"

Apart from this, Hou Kong really couldn't think of any other reason that could make Hou Jing think of surrendering to Daxia.

Hou Jing had only two sons, Hou Bing and Hou Quan, both of whom were captured by Da Xia. He was worried about his sons' safety and wanted to buy a chance to live for his two sons by surrendering to Da Xia, which did make sense.

"Of course, but I am doing this not only for my son, but also for you."

Hou Jing did not deny it, and continued in a deep voice: "You are so sure that Longshan can destroy Daxia, but have you ever thought about why Longshan is willing to take out the Shengyang Pill and 800 sets of armor to let us form an alliance with it to fight against Daxia?"

Hou Kong's expression froze. The biggest reason why Hou Hu decided to form an alliance with Longshan was the Shengyang Pills and 800 sets of hundred-forged-level armor sent by Longshan.

Faced with the high price offered by Longshan, and the fact that Zhaoyang and Daxia had already been enemies because of the Beehive, all of Zhaoyang's cold-resistant class warriors, including Hou Hu, nodded and agreed to form an alliance with Longshan.

Hou Kong only reacted suddenly when Hou Jing suddenly reminded him of this.

The reason why Longshan offered such a high price is intriguing.

From the surface, Longshan's strength far exceeds that of Daxia. Even if Zhaoyang and Daxia join forces, they may not be able to defeat them. Do they need to offer such a high price to win them over to deal with Daxia?
"Longshan must know more about Daxia than we do. They know it's hard to deal with Daxia on their own, so they offered such a high price to win us over. In other words, Longshan is already afraid of Daxia's true strength. Such a simple fact is right in front of us, but Hou Hu and the rest of you are blinded by anger and can't see it."

Hou Kong's face became increasingly gloomy, and his eyes began to become a little vague. It was obvious that he began to believe what Hou Jing said.

Leader, is this really wrong? He even began to doubt Hou Hu's decision to join Longshan.

"Hou Kong, your brother Hou Ming is now in the hands of Da Xia, not to mention the other cousins. Joining Longshan means standing completely against Da Xia. Have you ever thought about what you would do if Da Xia threatened your brother's life?"

Hou Kong's father died early, and he was almost raised by his brother. Needless to say, he has deep feelings for Hou Ming. After Hou Ming lost contact with the Beehive, he was worried every day. Later, he found out that Hou Ming was captured by Daxia. He immediately asked Hou Hu to send someone to negotiate with Daxia, hoping to exchange supplies for hostages. Unfortunately, Daxia directly refused and did not even listen to any conditions offered by Zhaoyang.

At this moment, Hou Jing’s meaning couldn’t be clearer.

If Zhaoyang could defect to Daxia, then his brother, including the nine cold-resistant-level warriors who had been captured before, would all be able to come back alive.

No, no!

Hou Kong's expression suddenly froze. He turned his head to look at the migrating team that had already gone far behind him, then turned back to stare at Hou Jing and said seriously, "Second Uncle, are you a little bit abnormal today? The decision to merge into Longshan was made by the leader, and it was also unanimously agreed by everyone. You are saying this now..."

stomping on...

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from the flank, interrupting Hou Kong's words.

"who!"

Hou Kong's expression trembled, and he drew the big knife from his waist with an angry shout. Then he turned around and found that a young man in black had quietly walked to a position less than 20 or 30 meters away from him.

The man looked young, carrying a thin long sword, and wearing a black robe of obviously good material. The most important thing was that he walked all the way through the snow without leaving even a tiny footprint along the way.

"Xidao, Heiyi, are you the leader of Daxia, Xia Hong?"

Although Hou Kong had never seen Xia Hong, he was able to guess his identity from his clothing, weapons, and unfathomable strength.

clap clap clap...

Even though Hou Kong had already drawn his weapon, Xia Hong had no psychological burden and walked all the way to a position only three or four meters away from him. Then he turned around and looked at Hou Jing and smiled, "It seems that Senior Hou has failed to convince Hou Hu."

Hou Jing bowed to Xia Hong with great respect and said in a deep voice, "I am here to see you, leader. Hou Hu is stubborn and wants to join Longshan. I have failed to convince him. According to Lord Zhao Long's instructions, I have divided all the people in Zhaoyang into the cold-proof class who are loyal to Hou Hu and the die-hard digging class. Their families are all in the migration team tonight. There are a total of five to six thousand people."

After saying that, he pointed to the migrating team behind and signaled to Xia Hong.

Xia Hong nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Hou Kong.

Hou Kong was unable to react at this moment. His respected second uncle Hou Jing had already rebelled and secretly defected to Daxia. Even the people migrating tonight were intentionally divided and allocated by him.

His face turned green and red, and his expression changed many times. He realized that Xia Hong was looking at him, so he quickly withdrew and retreated dozens of meters. Then he angrily said to Hou Jing in a deep voice: "Zhao Long, you are the one who was sent by Daxia to Longshan before. In April, second uncle, you actually got involved with Daxia in April?"

He had already remembered that after Daxia conquered Wushuang in April, it had sent a special envoy to Longshan. The envoy's name was Zhao Long.

Hou Jing shook his head and denied it, "No, I just chased him out in April and asked Lord Zhao Long about Hou Bing's situation. I said that what really made me decide to surrender to Daxia was the current situation in Longyou. Surrendering to Daxia is the best way out."

Having said that, even a fool like Hou Kong would understand.

Ten cold-resistant soldiers from Zhaoyang were captured by Daxia. Hou Hu was in Longshan with Hou Ning, Wang Peng and Lu Yan. There were only ten cold-resistant soldiers in the camp. Except for himself and Hou Jing, five of the remaining eight had already gone to Longshan.

Now think about it carefully, those five were indeed Hou Hu's die-hard fans, and the remaining three who didn't go were most likely already turned against the government.

In other words, Hou Jing deliberately followed him to escort the migrating team tonight, actually in order to win him over and follow him to join Daxia.

"Hou Kong, listen to my advice. Your elder brother is living well in Daxia. As long as you join me in Daxia, you can reunite with him immediately..."

Hou Jing probably thought that Hou Kong, a junior, had a great chance of winning, so he kept persuading him, and he never stopped even though Hou Kong did not give any response.

Xia Hong, on the other hand, remained silent and said nothing. As Hou Kong did not respond for a long time, he even looked a little annoyed.

In Xia Hong's opinion, there is naturally no need to fight for a cold-resistant level warrior with only three manes of strength. The biggest reason why he is willing to stand here and wait is to give face to Hou Jing.

"Hou Kong, how do you think five or six thousand people left tonight? If the leader wanted to, he could have captured these ordinary people and used them to hold all of us hostage, but not only did he not do that, he also ordered me to divide up those who were willing to join Longshan, including their families, so that they could all go to Longshan smoothly.

The leader is so broad-minded, what do you have to worry about if you follow him? "

These words made Hou Kong's expression freeze. He looked up at Xia Hong with a complicated look in his eyes.

Indeed, what Hou Jing said was not wrong.

As long as Daxia sends a few cold-resistant class soldiers and Hou Jing cooperates with them, it will be easy to capture all their cold-resistant class families. Then, using the families to threaten them will be a sure thing.

But Daxia didn’t do that!

After thinking for a long time, Hou Kong obviously had an answer. He clenched his fist and asked Xia Hong loudly: "May I ask, Chief Xia, if I don't surrender to you tonight, will my brother Hou Ming's life be in danger?"

Xia Hong was looking towards the east. When he heard Hou Kong's words, he waved his hand without hesitation and said, "Go to Longshan! Don't worry, I won't kill Hou Ming."

…………

Hou Kong was stunned when he heard this, and then looked at Xia Hong who didn't even turn his head when he said this. His expression was a little embarrassed, but more of it was complicated.

After thinking for a long time, he still clasped his hands towards Xia Hong:

"Thank you, Chief Xia. If there is a chance in the future, Hou Kong will definitely repay you."

After saying this, he bowed to Xia Hong, then immediately turned around and chased after the migrating team to the west.

(End of this chapter)