Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 406 A Small Gathering and the Strength of Great Xia: The Focus of Everyone's Attention
The eighth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, September 17th, late at night
Hongmen City, Siya Building
A young man dressed in a crimson robe with a silver sword at his waist slowly walked toward the gate. He looked to be in his early thirties, was over two meters tall, and had a physique far more robust than the average person. His steady steps and composed demeanor, even with a faint smile on his face, exuded an aura of profound and imposing presence that gave people an inexplicable sense of oppression.

His crimson casual robe was embroidered with a lifelike golden demon sheep, its six sharp horns protruding forward from its right shoulder. Its menacing posture added a touch of nobility to the young man.

"Greetings, Lord Yue!"

The dozens of golden-armored soldiers on duty at the main gate of the yamen immediately became solemn when they saw the young man approaching, and bowed to him.

"No need for formalities, may I go in directly?"

Yue Feng noticed that most of the people entering and leaving the main building were questioned and checked by the guards, so he smiled and asked a question.

One of the leading captains immediately stepped forward with a smile, cupped his hands and said, “Sir, you are joking. Some time ago, some spies from other towns tried to sneak into the government building to gather information. These spies were not very capable, but their methods of deception were all very clever. We were worried that they would disturb the Chief Justice and the esteemed officials, so our Yunjiao Army set up a checkpoint here to check them.”

The guards at the gate were all soldiers of the Yunjiao Army. Yue Feng recognized them as soon as he approached, but after hearing the captain's explanation, his expression became slightly somber.

"Then you'd better check carefully and not let those scoundrels in."

"Rest assured, sir. We will thoroughly investigate any unfamiliar faces, regardless of whether they are from the Great Xia camp or not. There will be absolutely no problem!"

Yue Feng nodded upon hearing this. He was not only the righteous commander of Longshan, but also the commander of an army. He trusted the military discipline of the Great Xia.

"By the way, are you coming to a banquet today, sir? I just saw Chief Justice Qiu and Chief Justice Yuan carrying up several large jars of fine wine."

Upon hearing the soldier's words, Yue Feng immediately smiled. After thinking for a moment, he took out a blue wine flask from his pocket and tossed it to the captain.

"Since they brought it, I won't. You can have this bottle of Qingyang wine!"

Amidst the envious gazes of the soldiers around him, the captain accepted the wine jug with a broad smile, chuckling, "Thank you for the wine, Lord Yue!"

Yue Feng smiled and waved, then walked straight in.

"Qingyang is a mid-grade wine. This one bottle is worth 25000 contribution points! That must be more than half a jin!"

"He just pulled it out casually; Lord Yue's wealth must be quite astonishing."

"Nonsense, you must know how powerful the Longshan garrison is, right? Lord Yue has been in charge of Longshan for six years, how could his wealth be small?"

"Right, right, I almost forgot. I heard that Longshan has long been ranked first in terms of profit creation value, making it the number one outpost in the Great Xia. Lord Yue, as the Longshan Garrison Commander, must have an astonishingly high net worth."

"The magistrate is nothing compared to Lord Yue. I've heard that Lord Yue has made outstanding contributions during his six years in charge of Longshan, and the Vice Minister is already planning to promote him."

"If the magistrate is promoted further, wouldn't that be..."

"Sizheng, should be a deputy Sizheng."

"Captain, don't keep that bottle of Qingyang to yourself. When you get off work and come back to the barracks, share some with us."

"Get lost! You finally got a free bottle. If you want to drink it, go exchange it yourself."

"How stingy!"

"Hahaha…………"

Yue Feng was unaware of the soldiers joking among themselves at the gate; he went straight up the stairs after entering.

The main buildings of all the offices in the Great Xia were basically designed similarly, with five floors in total. The top floor was used for meetings, while the four floors below were divided into eight areas, specifically for the eight departments to handle affairs.

Yue Feng walked up to the top floor with ease, went to a side hall, pushed open the door, and saw five young men of similar age sitting around a round table. A smile immediately appeared on his face.

Why is it taking so long to change clothes?

"Come on, come on, we've been waiting for you."

"It's been a long time since the six of us have all been together like this. It's not easy for us to get together at Hongmen this time, so let's not waste any time and hurry up."

………………

It turned out that the people sitting around the round table at that moment were Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Xu Ning, Lu Yang, and Lin Kai.

"Haha, thank you for waiting!"

Hearing everyone urging him on, Yue Feng hurriedly laughed and sat down at the table. He looked around at his five friends at the table, his smile tinged with a hint of wistfulness.

"Ever since the new policies of Longshan in the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty, it has indeed been a long time since we have all gathered together like this. Especially after Xu Ning's accident last year, I thought that the six of us would never have the opportunity to get together and drink like this again."

Hearing Yue Feng's exclamation, the six people exchanged glances, their expressions becoming somewhat moved.

These six men have been following Lord Xia Hong since the time of Tupo ten years ago, and they can all be considered veterans of the Great Xia Dynasty today.

But upon closer examination, the oldest, Yue Feng, is 31 years old, and the youngest, Lin Kai, is only 28 years old, so the ages of the six are actually not that old.

At the very least, compared to those in high positions in the other eight towns, who are often in their sixties, seventies, or even eighties or nineties, these six are definitely considered young.

Although the six were young, their experiences over the past ten years were no less than anyone else's, especially their journey following Lord Xia Hong. They witnessed the Great Xia Dynasty grow from a precarious state during the Tupo era to its current size, possessing over 20,000 square kilometers of territory and overwhelming the eight towns south of the Mo'ao Mountains. Even a simple opening of the Hongmen port could attract a massive influx of people from the eight towns, all of which...

These six people were not only witnesses, but also heavy participants in all these changes.

The more experiences you have, the stronger your bond becomes—this is no exaggeration.

Today, the six of them are no longer the six ignorant boys who once lived on the earthen slope, waiting for the lord to bring back beast meat.

Qiu Peng is now the Director of the Supply Department, in charge of the Great Xia Treasury. The amount of finances he handles each year is countless. Basic cultivation resources like beast meat, which were once highly sought after, are now something he can barely manage to review the accounts each month. It can be said that any decision he makes can directly affect the lives of more than one million people in the Great Xia. His power is the greatest among the six.

Yuan Cheng is currently the Director of the Garrison Department, in charge of all districts within Xia City and all outposts outside Xia City. He is responsible for both security and personnel appointments. Strictly speaking, Xu Ning and Yue Feng are his subordinates.

Xu Ning is now not only the Deputy Director of the Garrison Command, but also the Garrison Commander of Ba Shang. Unlike other garrisons in the Great Xia, Ba Shang is a large town-level city. Therefore, the surrounding He Yin and the sixteen newly established garrisons around the Jiuqu Camp are all under the jurisdiction of Ba Shang. The value of the Garrison Commander of Ba Shang can be said to far exceed that of the garrison commanders of all other garrisons.
Yue Feng is now the garrison commander of Longshan, in charge of half of the Longyou outposts, and also oversees such a large resource-rich area as Longshan, so his status is self-evident.
Lin Kai is currently the magistrate of Hongmen City. Hongmen has only been open for a little over two months, and many transactions are still in the exploratory stage. Therefore, Xia Chuan is currently personally in charge here. However, as the transaction details and various rules in the city are fully established, Lin Kai will definitely be in charge in the end.
Lu Yang goes without saying. The Dongling outpost is related to the second eastward route of the Great Xia, and its strategic significance is self-evident. In a sense, the value of his role in upholding justice is no less than that of Yue Feng, Lin Kai, and Xu Ning.

Times have changed, of course, but no matter how their status has risen, one thing has never changed: the friendship between the six of them.

The friendship between them cannot be described simply as "good friends," and even terms like "best friend," "brother," or "sibling" seem inadequate.

The last major change in the camp should be traced back to the Longshan New Policy in the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty. Since Yue Feng took office as the Longshan Protector in that year, the Great Xia Dynasty has begun to develop rapidly. The six of them have each taken on important positions and have basically never been able to gather together as a whole.

Taking advantage of the Hongmen incident, the six of them finally managed to get together, so they were determined to have a good, drunken night.

As the six men raised their glasses and chatted, they opened up about the past, from the hardships of ten years ago to Dajue Temple last year, and then to the current situation in the nine towns on the southern slope of Mo'ao Mountain. They basically talked about everything they could.

Correspondingly, the empty wine jugs on the table piled up at a visible speed, from 6 to 12, and then to 18. Only then did the six of them intentionally increase their conversation and control their alcohol consumption.

"Xu Ning, your luck is truly unbelievable. We were so worried when we found out about your accident last year, but who would have thought you would actually..."

Lin Kai suddenly thought of something, pointed at Xu Ning, and looked on with envy.

Qiu Peng couldn't help but chime in, pointing at Xu Ning and saying to the other four, "Looking back now, this kid just rested for half a year, took a nap, and his battle physique aptitude went from high grade to top grade. Aren't you angry?"

"Hahahaha!"

Seeing the envious looks on Lin Kai, Qiu Peng, and Yue Feng's faces, Xu Ning couldn't help but burst into a smug laugh. After laughing, he showed his gratitude and said, "In the end, it's all thanks to the lord. The liver of Master Wusheng has been of great help to me. When the lord woke me up at the end of April, my basic strength directly increased to 27. Now, only four months later, I have already increased to 36."

36 bristles!
Upon hearing Xu Ning's report of his strength, everyone's expressions immediately changed.

Qiu Peng couldn't help but show his astonishment and said, "You've improved by 9 points in just over four months? What kind of speed is that? That's a bit too exaggerated!"

Not only Qiu Peng, but Lin Kai and Yue Feng were also shocked, clearly unable to comprehend Xu Ning's terrifying rate of improvement; Yuan Cheng and Lu Yang, on the other hand, did not show any surprise on their faces, as if they had expected it.

"Hehe, don't just stare at me! Yuan Cheng and Lu Yang received valuable treasures from the lord, let them tell you about them."

Upon hearing Xu Ning's words, the three of them immediately turned their gazes to Yuan and Lu.

Yuan Cheng had no intention of hiding anything and said directly, "I don't know about Xu Ning's situation. Since I used the lung from the Vajra Master last month, my skin, flesh, meridians, and bones have been almost completely renewed. My basic strength increased by 9 fu on the spot. After a month of cultivation, I have increased by more than 2 fu, and now I have 39 fu."

“My situation is similar to Yuan Cheng’s. Before using Master Yanlong’s heart in early August, my base strength was 27 manes. After the exchange, it increased by 9 manes. In the past month or so of training, it has increased by more than 2 manes. Now I have about 39 manes of strength.”

Their skin, flesh, meridians, and bones were all completely renewed, so their cultivation speed was naturally much faster than before. When Qiu Peng and the other two heard what Yuan Cheng and Lu Yang said, although they understood, they still found it hard to believe after thinking about it for a while.

To improve by more than 2 hairs in just over a month—that's an outrageous cultivation speed!
“You two only started using the Guru’s organs in August. The effects of the Guru’s organs will gradually decrease over time. The cultivation speed in the first month will indeed be very fast, but it will gradually stabilize later. I am now in my fifth month, and I expect to improve by at most half a mane this month.”

Hearing Xu Ning's words, Qiu Peng and the other two finally relaxed a little.

Among the three, Qiu Peng is the strongest with 31 mana, followed by Yue Feng with 30 mana, while Lin Kai is the weakest with only 29 mana.

It's not that I don't want Yuan Cheng and the other two to become stronger, but the key is that if the three of them continue to improve at this rate, their strength will be completely dragged down in just a few years.

"There's a limit to how well we can improve with pills. The gap between us is already almost 10 mana, and it's likely that the gap between us and you will only widen in the future!"

Hearing Yue Feng's sigh, Yuan Cheng immediately waved his hand to comfort him, saying, "With the lord's current strength, there will definitely be more treasures like the Master's organs in the future. Next time it will be your turn. Lu Yang and I were just lucky, we just had enough contribution points. Otherwise, it's hard to say who would use these organs!"

Qiu Peng was furious when he heard this. He took a big gulp of wine and glared at Lu Yang and Yuan Cheng, saying, "I really suffered a big loss this time. I was just 35 contribution points short, and you two beat me to it."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Yuan Cheng knew about this. Xia Hong priced the two organs of Yanlong and Vajra Master at 1000 million. Apart from Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao, only he and Lu Yang in the entire camp had them. Qiu Peng's contribution value was exactly 965 million, which was indeed only 35 short. Now that he thought about it, he was obviously at a loss.

"1000 million contribution points! I've been saving them up for almost half a year, and I've spent them all in one go. Next time there are any good treasures, I definitely won't get a chance."

As Lu Yang finished speaking, Xu Ning said quietly from the side, "You guys can still pull out so much? I still owe the Logistics Department more than 100 million contribution points, and I guess I won't be able to pay it off until the end of the year."

"Hahahahaha..."

Upon hearing Xu Ning's words, everyone burst into laughter.

When Xu Ning was rescued at the end of April, he only had a little over 500 million contribution points. Xia Hong had valued Master Wusheng's organ at 800 million, so Xu Ning did indeed owe the Logistics Department nearly 300 million. The fact that he had been stationed in Ba Shang for the past four months, occasionally taking time to go hunting to pay off his debts, was now widely known in Xia City. "Those three organs of the Master were treasures that the Lord risked his life to obtain. He was actually willing to give them to us. Such a life-saving grace is something we can never repay in this lifetime. Xu Ning proposes that the six of us toast the Lord together!"

Joking aside, the moment Xu Ning uttered those words, the five men immediately became serious. They nodded emphatically, stood up, raised their wine glasses above their heads, their faces filled with reverence and respect, and said in unison:

"Long live the Lord! Long live the Great Xia Dynasty!"

The six men drank their wine in one gulp before sitting down again.

"Qiu Peng, how many people did the lord actually send this time? I led the Dongyang Army on a forced march back from Hanqiong, and I saw that the outposts along the way were almost all ordinary Digging Realm cultivators. Could it be that the lord has sent all the Cold Resistance level and Digging Realm limit cultivators to Hongmen?"

Lu Yang's Dongyang Army had always been stationed in Hanqiong. This time, they were suddenly ordered to come to Hongmen. Because they set off late, they arrived later than the Falcon and Xiongwu armies stationed in Longshan, so they did not have a complete understanding of the situation.

He had been drinking too much and had gotten a little carried away, but now that he was a bit more sober, he couldn't help but ask Qiu Peng for clarification.

Not only Lu Yang, but also Yue Feng, who had just returned from Longshan and arrived earlier than him, Xu Ning, who had just returned from Bashan last night, and Yuan Cheng and Lin Kai, who had been staying in Hongmen, were obviously unaware of this matter. Upon hearing this, they all looked at Qiu Peng with curiosity.

Qiu Peng's gaze sharpened slightly, and he nodded in affirmation of Lu Yang's guess, then said, "It is indeed the limit of all Cold Resistance and Earth Digging Realms!"

The five people froze instantly, their faces filled with horror.

"all?"

"Did I hear correctly?"

"All the Cold Resistance level and Earth Digging Realm limit level personnel from the 58 outposts within the Great Xia territory have been transferred here?"

………………

Seeing that the five people were still somewhat incredulous, Qiu Peng nodded again, and said with a sneer, "If it's for deterrence, then it naturally has to be thorough. If we just bring some people over casually, what kind of deterrent effect will it have?"

Suddenly, Yuan Cheng remembered something and asked with curiosity, "By the way, Qiu Peng, I still don't know how many Cold Resistance and Earth Digging Realm limit cultivators there are in our Great Xia right now?"

Upon hearing this question, the other four immediately turned to look at Qiu Peng.

In the Great Xia Dynasty, all cultivators above the Woodcutting Realm must be registered separately by the Logistics Department, and their contribution value will be recorded in a special ledger. Therefore, Qiu Peng, the head of the Logistics Department, has the deepest understanding of the number of people at each cultivation level in the camp.

"7304 people at the Cold Resistance level, and 24572 people at the Earth Digging Realm limit."

Upon hearing the two numbers Qiu Peng gave, the pupils of all five people widened in shock.

Lu Yang, in particular, was beaming with joy and couldn't help but exclaim excitedly, "In terms of the strength of a single town, our Great Xia is no weaker than any of the three northern towns. Even Bei Shuo cannot compete with us!"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Peng's eyes lit up with curiosity. Recalling the intelligence Lu Yang had previously sent back, he couldn't help but ask, "I remember you once said that Beishuo Town has four elite units, all of whose soldiers are at the Cold Protection level. In terms of numbers, they are more than us, right? And Beishuo's strength is not as good as ours?"

"Call the Northern Shuo Army!"

After reciting the designation of the elite Northern Shuo military unit, Lu Yang's eyes flashed with a cold light as he continued, "At the end of last year, the spies I planted in Northern Shuo City had thoroughly investigated the situation of the Northern Shuo army..."

As Lu Yang explained in detail, Qiu Peng and the others finally understood why he had concluded that Bei Shuo could not compete with Da Xia.

Because the secret passage connecting Dongling to Hanqiong's outpost was extremely important to Daxia, Lu Yang acted with exceptional steadiness during his years of infiltration in Beishuo in order to ensure the absolute safety of this passage. Whether it was infiltration or reconnaissance, he carried it out in an extremely discreet and slow manner.

As a result, not only is the intelligence obtained limited, but the authenticity of the intelligence is also frequently questionable.

For example, the total number of cold-resistant soldiers in Beishuo Town, and the specific situation of the Beishuo Army, are all kinds of intelligence that involve the town's secrets and are not so easy to obtain.

Especially in previous years, when the Dongling group was not strong enough, they didn't even dare to enter Beishuo Town. They had to rely on asking around for information, and they only dared to ask people outside the town, so they couldn't guarantee the authenticity of the information.

"The so-called Beishuo Army of Beishuo Town is actually just one. The reason it is said to have four is that the cold-resistant level of the fifteen town defense armies were all temporarily drawn out and formed into three armies. I was wondering before that the total number of cold-resistant level soldiers in Beishuo is at most six thousand. How did they manage to create four Beishuo armies? Later, after the scout sent back a message, I finally understood what was going on."

After Lu Yang finished speaking, he continued to smile at Qiu Peng and said, "I told Lord Si Cheng about this at the end of last year. It seems that Lord Si Cheng didn't tell you."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Peng suddenly realized what was going on. Then, as if remembering something, his eyes lit up slightly as he asked, "Then the Golden Armor Army of Jinshan Town and the Black Armor Army of Wuchuan, are they all like this?"

Lu Yang nodded and smiled, "It's pretty much true. Among the three northern towns, Beishuo is indeed the strongest. If even they are like this, then the so-called elite forces of Jinshan and Wuchuan are only enough to fill one unit at most."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Peng and the other four immediately relaxed their brows.

"Given the chaotic military system of the eight towns of Mo'ao, the combat strength of their individual armies is basically no match for our Great Xia. If, as Lu Yang said, the three towns only have this much strength, then this deterrence will be of little use!"

Although they had not yet witnessed the elite troops of the three northern towns, they could get a general idea from the situation of the garrison troops of the eight towns.

Xia Hong personally led them to observe every battle between Jiangxia and Bashang towns and Dajue Temple last year. If such a conclusion were drawn based solely on what they saw, it would be somewhat hasty. However, considering the actual cases of the three major battles at Yumen, Fushan, and Fengshan, there is no suspense.

"My only question now is how many families will come with the three towns. Chuishan should be a sure thing, but it's hard to say for Yangqu and Longgu towns yet. As for Jiangxia and Muyin..."

"Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang arrived just as dawn was breaking."

Before Yuan Cheng could finish speaking, Qiu Peng interrupted him.

Upon hearing Qiu Peng's words, all five of them immediately smiled.

"Then it's basically a sure thing!"

"I wonder how the lord will deter these villains."

"Strength, or some other method?"

"Isn't strength enough?"

"The lord alone can kill three of the five great masters. How are Yang Zun and his ilk any different from ants in front of him?"

………………

Just as Qiu Peng and his six companions were having a drink and chatting in the main building.

The entire Hongmen City was bustling with activity.

The edict from Lord Yang Zun of Beishuo was known to almost everyone, from the people in the eight towns down to the village-level camps of the Digging Realm.

Everyone knew that a battle that would determine the situation of the nine towns on the southern slope of Mo'ao for the next few years was about to begin at dawn.

At this time of day, naturally no one can sleep.

Especially in the southern part of the city, the restaurants were almost full, and many people who couldn't find a seat had to wait on the street.

Individual feelings are ultimately insignificant. Although they knew that many cold-resistant individuals had come to Hongmen City from all over the country, no one knew exactly how many people had come until they saw them with their own eyes.

Only now, with half an hour to go before dawn, did everyone in the South City finally have a real sense of what was happening, as all the cold-resistant units had come out in full force.

"There must be tens of thousands of people, right?"

"Could it be that all the cold-resistant level warriors from every village in the Eight Towns have come?"

"A village? Are you kidding me? The total number of people in the eight village-level camps at the cold-weather level is at most eight or nine thousand. How could there be that many?"

"Why are there so many?"

"So the town's people are here too!"

"Even the cold-resistant level warriors from the town are here to watch the show? Today is the day the lords of the nine towns are clashing. Aren't they afraid of being blamed by their own lords?"

"The eight towns of Mo'ao each have a population of seven or eight hundred thousand, and each family's cold-resistant base has at least three or four thousand people. Do you think everyone is so loyal?"

"You mean...?"

"A good bird chooses a good tree to perch on, what's so surprising about that? You probably don't know how many people have been clamoring to join Daxia Town since Hongmen City opened in July. If Daxia hadn't been unwilling to budge so far, it would probably have already absorbed a large number of people from the eight towns."

"Is it that they are unwilling to budge, or that they dare not budge? If the Great Xia were to openly recruit people, not to mention the other towns, the three northern towns would probably be the first to object, right?"

"That's unclear. Whether it's unwillingness or fear, we'll see the results today."

"Heh, naive. Great Xia just doesn't openly recruit people. I reckon they've already secretly recruited a large number of people, and the number of spies and moles planted in the Eight Towns is probably countless!"

"Is this happening?"

"Foolish! Why do you think the three northern towns are in such a hurry to suppress Great Xia?"

"The opening of Hongmen Port is a move that cuts off the fuel supply. In terms of vision, financial resources, strength, alchemy, casting, manufacturing... none of the three northern towns can compare with Great Xia on their own. If we don't join forces to suppress them, Great Xia will eventually have the final say on the southern slopes of Mo'ao."

"Then what should we do?"

"Us? It's good enough if we're not affected by the fighting of the gods. What else do you want to do? Just watch and pray that Great Xia can hold off the three towns! If Great Xia is suppressed this time, it's questionable whether it can continue to fight in Hongmen City."

………………

The people of Nancheng were buzzing with excitement, all their eyes fixed on the main building of the Great Xia government office, a strange sense of anticipation in their eyes.

The brighter it got, the quieter the noise in the southern part of the city became.

As dawn broke and all the Earth-Digging Realm cultivators retreated back into their houses, leaving only the Cold-Resistant Realm cultivators standing outside on the South City Street, the atmosphere in the entire Hongmen City instantly became solemn and quiet.

"coming!"

Several beams of light suddenly appeared on the northern horizon. Someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise, and everyone immediately looked up and headed north.

(End of this chapter)