Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 333: Longshan Clan Gathering, Simplified Patriarchal System

Just as everyone in Xiacheng was preparing for the Hanyuan Festival.

In a meeting room on the second floor of the main building, a large group of people gathered there, sitting silently on chairs with serious expressions.

Meng Ying, Jiang Ping, Yue Qian, Cheng Guang, Zhou Yuan, Sun Yan, and Song Kang, the seven great Vajras of Longshan, were in the front row; in the middle were Xu Shicheng, Zhang Jiuling, Yuan Shan, Yuan Ning, Lu Yushan, Wang Tao, Liu Chang and other fourteen strong men of the cold-resistant class; at the end were Cheng He, Meng Tian and dozens of young people of the younger generation.

Obviously, this was a gathering exclusively for the Longshan faction, and all present were core members of the first Longshan camp.

Everyone's eyes kept glancing towards the door, obviously waiting for something.

"Ha ha ha ha………"

Suddenly, an old man's laughter came from the door, and Li Tiancheng walked in quickly from outside with an unstoppable smile on his face.

Everyone stood up. When Meng Ying and the other seven people in front saw Li Tiancheng's expression, they immediately realized something. The solemnity on their faces disappeared in an instant, and was replaced by joy.

"Mr. Li, is the Madam okay?"

"It must be alright. The mother and child must be safe, otherwise Mr. Li wouldn't be smiling so happily."

"I said that the two gentlemen are blessed by heaven and nothing will happen to them."

"That's great, that's great, I hope both gentlemen are okay!"

…………

Obviously, everyone gathered here to find out about the condition of the baby in Li Xuanling's belly.

Li Tiancheng walked to the front of the crowd, nodded and said with a smile: "The Jade Dew Stone has been refined. Madam is fine, and mother and child are safe."

Looking at the old people from Longshan, Li Tiancheng had a complicated expression and sighed softly, "You shouldn't have gathered here. If the lord finds out, you will be suspected of forming a clique for personal gain!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment when they heard this, then turned around and looked at the people around them, and immediately realized why Li Tiancheng said this.

Meng Ying was obviously well prepared. He said loudly, "Mr. Li, you are worrying too much. We are gathered here for no other reason than to worry about the safety of Madam and the two young masters. We want to get the news from you as soon as possible. Even if the Lord knows, he will not blame us."

Song Kang beside him also nodded and continued, "The two young masters are the legacy of the camp, so it is only natural for us to be worried about them. What's wrong with that?"

After hearing Song Kang's words, the expressions of the people in Longshan became subtle, and then they reacted and nodded to continue the conversation.

"Yes, the two young masters are the eldest sons of the lord after all. They will definitely take over Daxia in the future. It is natural for us to be worried!"

"Even if the lord marries another woman in the future, the two young masters will always be the eldest sons. They are the legacy of Daxia, so we should naturally pay more attention to them."

"Forgive me for saying something disrespectful, but the Lord will eventually grow old, and one of the two young men will definitely take over the Lordship. Caring about them is caring about the future Lord, so what crime have we committed?"

………………

Hearing what everyone said, Li Tiancheng's old face flushed red, and there was a hint of excitement in his pupils.

Last night at Yangyuan Peak, when he learned that Li Xuanling was pregnant, the fear in his heart as a grandfather was probably not much less than that of Xia Hong, the father.

Li Xuanling knew much more about what the baby in her belly meant than people like Meng Ying and Cheng Guang.

He is Xia Hong's eldest son, his undisputed first-in-line successor, and will inevitably be the next lord of Daxia.

And this future new lord has half Li's blood.

This is the biggest reason why all the old members of Longshan gathered here tonight.

From the moment Li Xuanyan and Li Xuandu left Longshan, the demise of the Li family was doomed to be irreversible. In the two months since coming to Xiacheng, Li Tiancheng has tried to contact Li Hu several times, but this grandson's hatred for the Li family has almost penetrated into his bones. It is definitely impossible to make him change his mind in a short period of time.

Under such circumstances, there is no hope of raising the Li family flag again in Xiacheng and reuniting Meng Yingchengguang and his old friends.

But now, the two children in Li Xuanling's belly made Li Tiancheng see the opportunity again, a wonderful opportunity for the old people of Longshan to reunite in Daxia.

It’s not that he likes to form cliques. Humans are organized creatures, especially in Da Xia, where the population now exceeds 400,000.

Li Tiancheng arrived in Xiacheng in October. In the first two months, he had already roughly realized that the factions within Daxia were actually extremely chaotic and complicated.

First of all, the largest and most valued by Xia Hong is the Hongmuling system.

The Hongmuling faction is divided into two small groups. One is the group that followed Xia Hong the earliest from Tupo. Its representatives include Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Yue Feng, Xu Ning, Lin Kai, Lu Yang, and about fifty other cold-resistant level people. This faction should be considered the most powerful one at present. Almost everyone has their people, from the seven divisions to the cold-resistant level and down to the various hunting teams.
The other small group is composed of the former members of the Rogge Camp in the valley, represented by the three brothers Luo Yuan and Zhao Long, Cheng Feng, Bai Dongying, Bai Wuting, Tong Xinglong and others. There are more than 40 people in this group who are at the cold-resistant level, led by Luo Yuan, deputy director of the hunting department, and Cheng Feng and Bai Dongying who are in charge of the logging department, and their power is also considerable.

There are two small groups in Hongmuling, with more than one hundred people at the cold-resistant level, almost half of the total number of cold-resistant people in Daxia. Moreover, the two groups have a harmonious relationship on weekdays and hardly any conflicts occur. This is also the biggest reason why they are valued by Xia Hong and Xia Chuan.

The second is the Jingu system.

The Jinggu faction is represented by Yuwen Tao, and has more than 30 cold-resistant level warriors including the Hongguang brothers, Zhu Yuan, Meng Yi, etc. There is not only Yuwen Tao, the head of the hunting department, but also Zhu Yuan, the head of the civil department, who controls two of the seven departments. Although it cannot be compared with the entire Hongmuling faction, it is also the second largest force in Xiacheng at present.

Then there is the Wuyuan School represented by Xiao Kangcheng; the Fengchao School represented by Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo; the Longbei School represented by Hou Jing...

Of course, no one would admit that they were a separate group, but there was no doubt that people in the same group would hold the same stance on daily decisions in the camp and on issues concerning the allocation of important resources.

This is not about forming a clique for personal gain, but human nature.

During the peak period of Longshan Camp, the population exceeded 100,000, so Li Tiancheng had a thorough understanding of these things. He knew very well that this had nothing to do with Daxia's management system. Any camp, as long as it had a large population and a large scale, would inevitably encounter such problems.

In this case, the old members of Longshan would naturally gather together, not to confront other groups, but mainly to protect their own interests from being infringed upon by others.

Previously, the only reason for these old members of Longshan to stick together was Li Xuanling, the lord's wife, which was not very solid.

In an environment like Bingyuan, it is impossible for a powerful lord like Xia Hong to have only one wife. As Daxia expands, he will definitely have other women in the future. It is unclear whether Li Xuanling can always maintain his current status.

But if you have children, and two at that, then the situation is completely different!

Li Tiancheng put aside the thoughts in his mind, turned around and looked around at everyone in the hall, and said in a deep voice: "It seems that everyone has their own ideas. Daxia does not have the eldest son inheritance system of our Longshan. The Xia ritual only stipulates that the offspring have the right of inheritance, and does not mention the issue of priority. I will make suggestions to the lord on a chosen day. At that time, I hope you can also say a few words. How about it?"

After hearing Li Tiancheng's final request, everyone responded:

"Don't worry, Mr. Li. The eldest son inherits the throne. It is only natural. We will join you in making this proposal to the lord."

"The eldest son inheritance system was established by old leader Tianhua. It not only prevents fratricide, but also stabilizes people's hearts. It is good for both individuals and the camp. It is our duty to give advice to the lord." "Yes, we have no selfish motives. Daxia now has a population of more than 400,000, and there are countless families with many children. If the eldest son inheritance system can be established, it will definitely be a great thing."

………………

Hearing what everyone said, a smile immediately appeared on Li Tiancheng's face.

He didn't say anything else, but turned around and looked at the Star-Picking Palace behind him.

………………

"I'm only in my twenties, and your second uncle has already started to bring these people to consider the selection of the future new lord. Isn't that a bit too hasty?"

In the living room behind the Zhaixing Palace, Li Xuanling was sitting next to the Hanxu Cauldron. When she heard Xia Hong's joke, her face suddenly turned slightly red.

But she quickly recovered her composure and defended herself, "Second Uncle and the others are just worried about me. If they really wanted to form a clique for personal gain, they wouldn't choose to gather in a place like the second floor of the main building."

"Don't worry, I won't blame them!"

Seeing that Li Xuanling was a little nervous, Xia Hong first comforted her.

Indeed, the main building was only thirty meters away from the Zhaixing Palace. The fact that Longshan's group chose to gather on the second floor of the main building could not be considered as forming a clique for personal gain. Moreover, they did not take any precautions during the entire conversation, which clearly showed that they were not afraid of me eavesdropping. In that case, I certainly could not blame them.

"What do you think about the system of primogeniture? Do you think Daxia should follow your example and establish this system?"

Hearing Xia Hong's question, Li Xuanling's expression instantly became subtle.

Her first reaction was obviously to open her mouth to agree, but she probably felt that doing so would make her appear to be very selfish, so she held the words back.

Then she thought for a moment and continued, "There is nothing wrong with what Meng Ying and the others said. The system of primogeniture is indeed very beneficial to stabilizing people's hearts, especially for people with higher status and more resources under their control. These people often have more than one child. If there is no system of primogeniture, there will be many tragedies of siblings killing each other. Longshan has learned from this before."

"So your eldest brother, despite his lack of strength and mental ability, still inherited your father's position as leader?"

Hearing Xia Hong's joke, Li Xuanling's expression suddenly froze.

Li Xuanyan's case is a typical example of the negative impact of the primogeniture system.

Anyone with a discerning eye can basically see that Li Xuanyan is obviously stronger than Li Xuantian and Li Xuandu, let alone Li Xuanling. However, because he has the title of the eldest son, Li Xuanyan finally took the position of leader.

The subsequent developments were not unexpected. At the April meeting, Li Xuanyan's indecision was clearly a sign of being unworthy of his position. If someone else had been in charge at that time, the outcome would probably have been completely different from today.

Li Xuanling was speechless at the moment because what she had done was clearly against the system of primogeniture. After all, it was she who had personally pulled Li Xuanyan down from the position of leader.

How can she have the nerve to say that she agrees with this system now?
But after hesitating for a moment, Li Xuanling finally spoke to Xia Hong:

"My elder brother's case is just an isolated case..."

At this point, she paused, then looked up and looked directly into Xia Hong's eyes, and continued: "Besides, you should believe me, and believe in yourself. The child born to the two of us is destined to be extraordinary."

After all, she is a mother, and for the sake of her son's future, Li Xuanling is willing to lose face.

Xia Hong raised his eyebrows when he heard this, but said nothing.

The Longshan system of primogeniture inheritance is actually a simplified version of the patriarchal system.

Because there was no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children in Longshan, a system of primogeniture was created. The core content of the system was that the oldest son had the right to share all of his father's inheritance. To put it bluntly, the eldest son inherited everything.

Those who have a conscience, or who have a good relationship with their younger brothers and sisters, will naturally take out a portion of the inheritance to distribute to them; those who have no conscience, or who have a very bad relationship with their younger brothers and sisters, then there is nothing that can be done.

It is hard to say whether the patriarchal system is necessary or not.

The population of Daxia is now increasing, and the emergence of nobles is inevitable.

Xia Hong's establishment of a nine-level nobility system was a disguised recognition of the existence of the aristocracy, while also providing a channel for everyone to be promoted to nobility.

This kind of aristocratic status will rise step by step in the future, and sooner or later there will be a day when there are no more titles to be given. At that time, it is inevitable to establish hereditary titles.

In this case, it seems necessary to establish a legal system!

Xia Hong turned his head and looked towards the main building, and suddenly a strange look appeared on his face.

Li Tiancheng and his gang are now setting their sights on me.

To put it bluntly, they wanted to come up with the system of primogeniture for the sake of the baby in Li Xuanling's belly. Xia Hong really didn't plan to solve this problem in the short term.

He is only twenty-two years old now, and his lifespan at the Cold-Resistant Level is over a hundred years, not to mention that he will break through to the Yang-Resistant Level. Moreover, with the existence of the camp system, his future upper limit of cultivation will definitely be very high, and his lifespan will continue to increase.

Does he need to consider the issue of succession?
Xia Hong shook his head and said to Li Xuanling, "Tell your second uncle and his people to stop thinking crookedly. I admit that Longshan's system of primogeniture is useful, but Daxia doesn't need it at this stage. Tell your second uncle not to mention it to me. When the time comes for this system to appear, it will appear naturally in the future."

Li Xuanling's expression froze instantly when she heard this. She was obviously thinking of something bad, and her expression gradually became angry as she looked at Xia Hong.

"Don't let your imagination run wild. You just said that your child is destined to be extraordinary. With the help of you and your uncle, I don't think it's wrong to set up this system. It should be fine, right?"

Li Xuanling gritted his teeth and said nothing, obviously still having some opinions about what Xia Hong said.

"Then you'd better not flirt with other girls outside..."

Boom…………

A loud drumbeat suddenly sounded from the sky above the Zhaixing Palace, interrupting Li Xuanling's words.

The sound of the drums was so deafening that not only the Zhaixing Palace, but also the entire valley where Xiacheng was located seemed to tremble along with it.

Boom...boom...boom...boom...

Then eight drum beats continued to sound.

"It's the Cold Yuan Festival. Come on, follow me to the Council Hall!"

Li Xuanling had already dressed up. She hadn't finished what she just said and seemed a little indignant. But seeing that Xia Hong had already taken the lead and walked out, she could only grit her teeth and follow.

(End of this chapter)