Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 411 The aging Li Tiancheng, a powerful team, and a hidden agenda: the integration of the three towns.
"Quickly put them down, let me bandage you up!"

Li Xuanling rushed in from the inner room of the side hall with maids such as Han Shuang. She first asked Xia Hong to put the child down, and then personally helped him take off his shirt and bandaged the wound on his back with a cloth bandage.

Seeing the worry on her face, Xia Hong felt a surge of warmth in his heart and smiled, saying, "It's alright. Yang Zun couldn't break my bones, it was just a flesh wound. I just took the Blood Restoration Pill, and I should recover in half a month at most!"

Li Xuanling immediately rolled her eyes at him, and after confirming that the bandages were tightened, she turned to Han Shuang and the others to give him the clothes that had been prepared in advance to change into.

"The lord's strength is astonishing, I am truly in awe!"

An elderly man with white hair and beard also came out of the inner room. His face was still full of surprise, clearly still immersed in the confrontation between Xia Hong and the lords of the six towns. He only remembered when he got to Xia Hong's side and hurriedly bowed to him.

"Mr. Li, you flatter me. There's no need for such formalities!"

The old man's body was slightly hunched, so Xia Hong naturally wouldn't let him bow. He took the initiative to help him up. Seeing that the wrinkles on the old man's face were becoming more and more dense, he couldn't help but sigh slightly.

This old man was none other than Li Xuanling's second uncle, Li Tiancheng.

In the third year of the Great Xia Dynasty, after being appointed as the Director of the Prison Department by his own hand, Li Tiancheng only took a little over two months to not only set up the structure of the Prison Department, but also to introduce the first edition of the Xia Law, which perfectly filled the gap of the Great Xia Dynasty having no criminal law.

The first edition of the Xia Law not only significantly reduced the soaring crime rate in Xia City due to the incorporation of population from Longyou, but also provided the most solid and powerful guarantee for the continued surge in Xia City's population with the subsequent improvements in the second and third editions.

Xia City's population has now exceeded 200 million. Xia Hong has long since stopped paying attention to the specifics of Xia City. He can only judge the current state of Xia City's operations through macro data such as crime rate, frequency of murders, number of unsolved cases, and number of riots.

Judging from these data and his occasional secret visits to the outer city, the prison department has done a pretty good job in the past five years. Xia Hong believes that even if he were to do it himself, he probably wouldn't be as good as Li Tiancheng.

What does it mean to have an elder in the family, like a treasure?
Li Tiancheng perfectly embodies these eight words.

The only drawback is her age.

Li Tiancheng is 95 years old this year!
During his first two years as the head of the prison department, he personally handled everything. Whether in Xia City or at external outposts, whenever a murder or unsolved case occurred, he would personally lead a team to investigate.

By the third year, which was the fifth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, he was clearly starting to feel overwhelmed. He not only handed over the Longyuan Squad, which he had personally created, to Lu Yushan, but also relinquished most of the affairs of the Prison Department to Hou Ming, the senior prison warden he had personally trained. He himself stayed in the inner city, focusing on studying and perfecting the Xia laws. Apart from occasionally carrying some things to the Zhaixing Hall to see his two grandsons, he spent most of his time in seclusion.

It's perfectly normal for someone of advanced age to have less energy, and Li Tiancheng had arranged things in the prison department very well, with almost no problems. So Xia Hong naturally wouldn't criticize him.

In fact, when Xia Hong summoned everyone from the Great Xia Dynasty to Hongmen City, he specifically instructed that Li Tiancheng did not need to come.

Li Tiancheng learned that his two grandsons had also come and was worried about their safety, so he volunteered to come. He hadn't gone out just now, but had stayed with Li Xuanling and by the children's side.

"The base strength is still 23, no, it has decreased slightly!"

While pondering, Xia Hong's expression darkened slightly after scrutinizing Li Tiancheng.

Li Tiancheng possesses a superior battle physique and his aptitude is actually quite good. In the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty, he had already reached the peak of the Cold Resistance cultivation level and had the strength of 17 manes.

Unfortunately, the Great Xia Dynasty did not develop any pills to enhance the strength of peak-level Cold Resistance cultivators in previous years, so Li Tiancheng's strength remained basically unchanged for the past few years.

Since the Logistics Department added the Dragon Carp and Green Cod pills last year, Li Tiancheng and other cultivators at the peak of the Cold Resistance realm in Great Xia have had the opportunity to continue improving their strength.

In May of this year, Xia Hong met Li Tiancheng. He remembered clearly that Li Tiancheng's strength was almost at level 24 at that time, but now it showed signs of decline.

This means that Li Tiancheng is too old, and his physical condition has begun to decline; in layman's terms, his lifespan is coming to an end.

The lifespan of the Cold Resistance level is said to be 100 years, but very few people can actually live past 100. Li Tiancheng has actually lived to this age, which is quite remarkable.

Thinking that Li Xuanling had been frequently taking Yu Yao and Yu Sheng to visit Li Tiancheng since last year, Xia Hong sighed slightly and said softly, "Old Master Li should stay in Xia City and cultivate in seclusion. If he can break through to the Manifestation Yang level, his lifespan will double. Would he still have to worry about not having time to spend with his two grandsons in the future?"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, Li Xuanling immediately looked at Li Tiancheng with a reproachful expression and said, "That's right! Second Uncle, I told you not to come, but you insisted on coming. The only thing you need to do now is to stay in the camp and cultivate properly, break through to the Manifestation Yang level as soon as possible, and solve the problem of lifespan."

Upon hearing their words, Li Tiancheng smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "Lord and Madam, there's no need to comfort me. My flesh and blood have already begun to decline, and there's definitely no hope of breaking through. Rather than wasting time on cultivation, I'd rather spend more time with my two grandsons."

After speaking, he bent down and touched Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng's foreheads, his face full of affection.

"Yes, yes, yes, Ayao loves Grandpa the most. Grandpa should spend more time with me."

“Sheng’er also loves her grandfather the most, and I also want to spend more time with him.”

The two little ones were only five years old and didn't even know what lifespan was, so they naturally couldn't understand the deeper meaning behind Li Tiancheng's words. They only knew that their grandfather often brought them delicious food and fun things, and they were overjoyed to hear Li Tiancheng say that he would spend more time with them.

"Hahaha, that's right, Grandpa loves you all the most too!"

The children's innocent voices made Li Tiancheng laugh uncontrollably. He squatted down, picked them up one in each arm, and deliberately ran around, spinning them in circles, making the two children laugh even more.

Seeing the heartwarming scene of grandfather and granddaughter playing together, Xia Hongxian smiled slightly. Then, he quietly reached out and gently patted Li Xuanling's back, whose eyes were red-rimmed. He leaned closer and whispered to comfort her, "The Heavenly Yang Fruit from the Flood Dragon's Nest should be able to be used to make elixirs soon. Your second uncle still has hope of breaking through. Moreover, I will be going to Caiqiu Prefecture in a while to see if there are any elixirs that can increase lifespan."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuanling's eyes lit up with hope. She turned to look at Xia Hong and nodded emphatically, saying, "Okay!"

Having been married for over five years, the couple's feelings for each other run deep, so naturally, they can't bring themselves to say words like "thank you."

Seeing the hopeful look on Li Xuanling's face, and realizing how much she was looking forward to it, Xia Hong couldn't resist and quickly looked away, saying:

"Alright, come with me! Don't keep the people in the main hall waiting too long."

"I almost forgot the important matter, my lord, I shall take my leave now!"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, Li Tiancheng immediately put down the two children, bowed to them in farewell, and left the side hall first.

"You go ahead, I'll stay here with the two kids."

"No need. You can bring the two children with me. Everyone is here today, so it's time for them to meet the people."

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, Li Xuanling was taken aback and asked, "Aren't there other people from the town? Should we take them both out as well?"

Xia Hong waved his hand, a disdainful glint in his eyes, and said, "After what happened today, do you think anyone in the eight towns of the southern foothills of Mo'ao would dare to lay a hand on those two?"

Not only the Eight Garrisons, but even the Caiqiu Garrison would probably have to think twice.

Although Xia Hong didn't say the last sentence aloud, Li Xuanling quickly understood it from his eyes due to the tacit understanding between the couple. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him first, and after thinking for a moment, she quickly nodded in agreement.

There were only two people from out of town in the main hall, and given their status and their current relationship with Da Xia, they wouldn't go around spreading rumors, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

"Yao'er, Sheng'er, when we go inside later, sit next to your mother. Don't talk or move around, understand?"

"I know, mother!"

Hearing Xia Hong say that he would take them to the main hall and that they would see many people they had never met before, Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng were already incredibly excited. They had been worried that their mother, Li Xuanling, would disagree, but upon hearing Li Xuanling's request, they immediately agreed in unison.

"Haha, let's go then!"

Xia Hong picked up the two of them and carried Li Xuanling toward a side room.

The side hall where they were located was behind the main hall. The inner partition was connected to the back of the main hall, so the four of them could hear the sounds from inside the main hall after only a few steps.

"Twelve beast kings! The lord actually possesses such abilities."

"The lords of those six towns were so frightened their faces turned pale, hahaha!"

"If you ask me, the twelve beast kings only have the advantage in numbers. Our lord's strength is truly unfathomable. If Yang Zun hadn't used that strange movement technique at the end, today's defeat would have been far more than just a simple loss."

"What bizarre movement techniques! If Shangguan Yang and Qin Feng hadn't intervened, Yang Zun would surely be dead today!"

"Right, right, I forgot about that. The lord's strength clearly overwhelms Yang Zun!"

"These two town lords have really lost their minds. They actually dared to attack Si Cheng and Yuwen Sizheng. The lord's angry shout really brought honor to our Great Xia!"

"Hahaha, I'll probably never forget the way those six lords slunk away in the end."

"They want to throw all sorts of dirty water on our Great Xia? Dream on."

………………

It was only early evening, and the events of the day were indeed very exciting. The people of Great Xia in the main hall were still discussing it enthusiastically.

step... step... step...

Xia Hong didn't deliberately quicken his pace, but the moment he carried the two children into the main hall, the lively discussion instantly ceased.

As the entire hall fell into complete silence, the footsteps of Xia Hong and Li Xuanling naturally became clearer and heavier.

When Xia Hong, carrying two children and leading Li Xuanling, slowly walked out from behind the main seat, the more than six hundred Great Xia Cold-resistant warriors in the hall, clad in thousand-forged thunderous golden armor, wielding various weapons, with solemn expressions and standing in neat and orderly positions, were all stunned for a moment.

But they quickly realized what was happening, and their eyes immediately focused on the two children in Xia Hong's arms, their faces full of curiosity.

Soon, the curiosity on everyone's faces froze, followed by disbelief. After a closer look, as if they had confirmed something, their faces were filled with shock and horror, and finally turned into a deep joy.

Inside the main hall, there were not only the more than 600 armored warriors of the Cold-resistant level, but also three people dressed in civilian clothes sitting upright in chairs at the front row: Xiang Fuhai, Murong Chui, and Xiahou Zhang.

When Xia Hong and his family of four came out, the three of them were clearly stunned.

Not to mention Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang, even Xiang Fuhai, who had been in Xia City for more than four months, was seeing Xia Hong's wife and children for the first time.

Like the other six hundred or so people in the main hall, they immediately recognized Li Xuanling's cultivation level, and then turned their attention to the two children in Xia Hong's arms.

box…………

Since Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang were sitting in chairs, their bodies jerked violently at the same time, immediately producing a clanging sound.

As everyone watched, Xia Hong had already taken his seat with Li Xuanling. He sat in the main seat with the two children in his arms, while Li Xuanling sat in the second seat next to him.

As soon as Xia Hong and his three companions took their seats, Xia Chuan, who was in the front row, immediately led the eight division chiefs to bow respectfully to the person in the main seat.
"Your subordinate greets the lord, the lady, and the two princes!"

The more than two hundred people in the main hall immediately bowed and said in an extremely respectful tone, "We pay our respects to the lord, the lady, and the two princes!"

Clang...

Today, everyone from the Great Xia was wearing armor. The sound of so many people bowing at the same time was quite loud. Moreover, when Xia Chuan and the others bowed, they clearly deliberately mobilized some of their qi and blood. The more than 600 people behind them followed suit and mobilized their qi and blood as well.

It should be noted that in order to intimidate the Six Garrisons, Xia Hong mobilized almost all of the Great Xia's elite forces to Hongmen City. Among these people, those qualified to come to the main hall on the top floor of the Siya Building to see him are of even higher status.

There were over six hundred people in the main hall at that moment, and their positions were arranged according to the official ranks of the Great Xia Dynasty.

At the front was Xia Chuan, the Director of the Department. Behind him were Yuwen Tao, Qiu Peng, Yuan Cheng, Xu Ning, Luo Yuan, Hou Jing, Li Tiancheng, Mu Dong, Cheng Feng, Bai Dongying, and Zhu Yuan, 11 officials of the Eight Ministries or their deputy directors. They were the only 12 officials of the third rank or above in the Great Xia Dynasty.

The more than 200 people in the middle, including Yue Feng, Lin Kai, Lu Yang, Liu Yuan, Li Yuankun, Xu An, Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, Zhao Bao, Shi Ping, Ying Yi, Tong Xinglong, Xu Shicheng, Hong Tian, ​​Hong Gang, Hong Guang, Hou Quan, Hou Tong, Yuwen Yong, Meng Yi, Bai Wuting, Lin Fan, Zhu Shun, Wang Tao, Xiao Kangcheng, etc., were either the heads of various districts or the eight major garrisons in Xia City, or the commanders or deputy commanders of the army. They were all officials of the fourth and fifth rank in the Great Xia Dynasty.

The last group had the largest number of people, totaling more than 400. Zhu Xing, Wang Yuan, Hou Ming, Zhang Jiuling, Yuan Shan, Yuan Ning, Lu Yushan, Liu Chang, Tong Xingsheng, Hou Ying, Hou Bing, Hou Ming, Lin Ye, Zhou Yuan, Cheng Guang, Zhang Qingyuan, Lu Yin... These people were either deputy heads of the Eight Departments, garrison commanders of the subordinate departments, or military captains. At the very least, they held important positions in the Eight Departments of Xia City. A small number were fifth-rank officials, and the vast majority were sixth-rank officials.

These 600-plus people are the core elite force currently supporting the entire territory of Great Xia and its comprehensive construction.

The fundamental principle of valuing strength above all else in Bingyuan will never change. Therefore, in personnel appointments, Daxia will always consider both strength and ability equally. This is why Xia Hong often reminds Mu Dong and Cheng Feng to focus on improving their own strength.

This also means that anyone who can obtain an official position in the Great Xia Dynasty must be quite powerful. Xia Hong could easily sense the strength of the more than 600 people present by just a slight perception of their auras.

The further you go, the weaker they become, but even the weakest ones have a base strength of 15 or more, with a few exceeding 20.
The strength of the more than two hundred people in the middle area varies relatively widely. There are people like Yue Feng, Lin Kai, and the three Zhao brothers, whose strength is over or close to 30, and there are people like Xiao Kangcheng and Lin Fan, whose strength is just over 20. But it can be confirmed that no one's strength is below 20.
On the contrary, the strength of the twelve people in the front row was somewhat uneven. Xia Chuan, who was strong, had 41 hairs, Yuwen Tao was close to 40 hairs, Yuan Cheng, Lu Yang, and Xu Ning had obtained the master's organs and were now slowly catching up. Two had 39 hairs and one had 36 hairs. The weakest one, Mu Dong, was only 18 hairs.

More than 600 people with strength of 15 or above deliberately mobilized their qi and blood to speak, causing not only this main hall but the entire Siya building to shake violently.

The noise itself is secondary; the key is that with so many people, even just talking, the combined force of their qi and blood is quite terrifying.

It was nighttime, and there were many coal stoves lit on both sides of the hall. As the air circulated, the flames of the coal stoves became much stronger, and the temperature inside the hall suddenly rose by several degrees.

This was the first time Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng had experienced such a scene, but their reactions surprised Xia Hong. Both of their faces were tense. Xia Yusheng subconsciously gripped Xia Hong's left arm, his expression slightly nervous; Xia Yuyao was also nervous, but her face was clearly more excited, her big eyes boldly surveying the people in the front row.

Xia Hong patted her little head, raised his eyebrows slightly, and instead of signaling everyone in the hall to get up, he turned his head slightly to look at the three people who were still sitting steadily in their chairs on the left.

A simple bow doesn't need to be made a big fuss.

Xia Hong knew perfectly well what Xia Chuan's purpose was in doing this.

Xia Hong's questioning gaze was so blatant that Xiang Fuhai, Xiahou Zhang, and Murong Chui noticed it immediately.

"Greetings, Lord! Greetings, Madam! Greetings, Your Highnesses!"

Xiang Fuhai was the first to stand up. He even had a hint of unease on his face, clearly realizing that he had just broken a taboo. He quickly bowed to Xia Hong.

But after he lowered his head, Xia Hong still didn't speak, so he could only continue to bow his head and bend over, just like the other six hundred or so people in the hall.

Only Xiahou Zhang and Murong Chui remained in the entire hall.

They had noticed Xia Hong's gaze long ago; a hint of resentment was still clearly visible in their eyes. Seeing that Xia Hong remained silent for so long, and with over six hundred people in the hall frozen in place, they exchanged glances, and finally, a look of helplessness appeared on their faces. Then, they simultaneously stood up from their chairs, cupped their hands, and bowed deeply to Xia Hong.
"Greetings to the Lord of Great Xia, greetings to the Lady, greetings to the two Your Highnesses!"

Hearing how the two addressed him, Xia Hong shook his head slightly, but ultimately said nothing. He smiled and waved, saying, "No need for formalities, please get up!"

Clang...

More than 600 people finally stood up straight.

Xiang Fuhai, Xiahou Zhang, and Murong Chui stood up again, looked at the seats behind them, but ultimately did not have the courage to sit down again.

"Since the Longshan New Policy, it has been a long time since we, the people of Great Xia, have gathered together like this. In the past, at most, you could only lead a hunting team. In the blink of an eye, six years have passed. Now, some of you are in charge of a department, some govern a region, some command a battalion or an army, and at the very least, you hold important positions in the eight departments. You can be considered to have high positions and great power..."

Xia Hong suddenly spoke these words with emotion, which made everyone's faces show a bit more nostalgia. Seeing everyone's expressions, he paused and continued with a smile: "Speaking of you more than 600 people, some of you were from the Great Xia during the Tupo period, some from Hongmuling, some from Wuyuan, some from Shanbei, some from Longyou, some from Beiyuan... Some of you joined the Great Xia willingly, some of you were forced to join the Great Xia after your camp was defeated, and some of you were even forced to join by the Great Xia. In short, your backgrounds are all different."

Upon hearing Xia Hong mention this, the expressions of the more than 600 people in the hall changed slightly, especially those who had joined the various families of Longyou after their defeat, such as Hou Ming, Hou Quan, Hou Tong, Wang Tao, and Wang Lie; they even became somewhat nervous.

"The last major population expansion should be the one in the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty, the one in Longyou. If I remember correctly, the population increased from 14 to over 40. More than half of you six hundred people should have been incorporated into the Great Xia Dynasty during that period, right?"

“That’s right, my subordinate Li Tiancheng was in the round of annexation into Great Xia!”

Li Tiancheng was the oldest and the most insightful. He seemed to have already sensed Xia Hong's intentions and directly bowed in response.

"My subordinate Hou Quan was also incorporated into the Great Xia in that year."

"My subordinate Hou Tong is also one of them."

"My subordinate Peng Bo is also one of them."

"My subordinate Chen Yingyuan is also one of them."

"Subordinate..."

In an instant, sounds rose and fell in the hall. Over twenty breaths, at least three hundred voices rang out one after another.

Xia Hong did not interrupt the crowd, but waited for the sounds to gradually disappear before slowly asking, "This lord asks you three hundred-plus people, after being incorporated into the Great Xia for six years, have you ever regretted it?"

"I have no regrets. If we hadn't merged into the Great Xia, I, Hou Quan, would never have been able to break through to the Cold Resistance level in my lifetime, let alone have the strength of 25 Manes now!"

"Let alone my cultivation level, if it weren't for you, my entire family would have died in Hanqiong Gourd Valley six years ago. My family of eight has never forgotten your great kindness. How could I possibly regret it?"

"I have no regrets. If I hadn't come to Great Xia, I'm afraid I would still be living a precarious life, and it's hard to say whether I would have lived to this age!"

"I never regret it!"

“Never regret it.”

"I have no regrets."

………………

Everyone has their own scales. Whether life is getting better or the quality of life is improving are things that can be seen and touched. You can find the answer as soon as you ask yourself. Even if you say you don't care about these things, you should still care about whether your strength is improving.

The six hundred people present were the strongest group in Great Xia at present, and they were among the biggest beneficiaries out of the nearly two million people in Great Xia.

Therefore, it was perfectly reasonable for them to give such an answer to Xia Hong's question.

Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yuwen Tao, and the others in the front row showed no surprise whatsoever, clearly taking it all for granted.

However, the expressions on Xiang Fuhai's, Xiahou Zhang's, and Murong Chui's faces were different.

They didn't know much about the situation in the Great Xia Dynasty. When everyone in the hall was talking amongst themselves, they were already surprised. Then, when they heard everyone shouting "I will never regret it" one after another, their eyes showed even more complicated emotions.

They not only possess the cultivation level of the Manifest Yang stage, but they are also quite old. The youngest of the three, Xiahou Zhang, is almost 100 years old this year.

Age means experience, and also a strong ability to discern; they can hear the deep gratitude and relief in the voices of those people.

Of course, more importantly, they knew very well that Xia Hong's actions in the main hall were aimed at the three of them.

There should be two: Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang.

The population of Ba Shang had already begun migrating at the beginning of this month. Xiang Fuhai might have felt resentful, but no matter how resentful he was, he could only accept his fate. The fact that he was the first to stand up and bow to Xia Hong, and directly addressed him as "Lord," was proof of that.

"Good, with you all saying that, I am relieved. This incident at Hongmen City was less about intimidating the Six Towns and more about a purge. It not only let those petty villains in the Six Towns see what the strength of our Great Xia is now after six years. How about it, I haven't disappointed you, have I?"

Disappointed?

How could I be disappointed!

The scene of Xia Hong defeating Yang Zun and unleashing twelve beast kings to intimidate the lords of the six towns was almost deeply etched in everyone's minds.

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

Xia Chuan was the first to bow and answer Xia Hong with eight words.

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

Then everyone bowed down and shouted at the same time.

The high-spirited and fervent emotions of everyone in the hall even infected the two little ones, Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng, in Xia Hong's arms.

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

They all looked up at their father, their eyes filled with admiration and respect. Xia Yuyao even clenched her little fists and shouted along.

Unfortunately, she called out a little too late.

She called out as soon as the voices of everyone in the hall disappeared.

And so, her clear voice resounded throughout the hall.

"Hahahahaha..."

"Hahaha……"

"Your Highness is clever; you even know to follow along."

"Hahaha……"

………………

The entire hall erupted in laughter, and Xia Hong joined in the laughter as well. Even Li Xuanling, who was usually the strictest with the two of them, was clearly unable to hold back.

"Alright, now that the Hongmen incident is over, all eight departments can resume operations. The garrison commanders and officers of each post, as well as the officers of the eight departments, the various armies, and the hunting teams should return to their respective posts. Everything is back on track. Xia Chuan, you will arrange these specific matters together with the heads of the eight departments."

"I obey my orders!"

Xia Chuan immediately stepped forward with the Eight Division Chiefs, bowing and obeying orders.

Xia Hong would no longer interfere with these specific matters. After instructing Xia Chuan, he turned to Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang on his left, a smile appearing on his face. He first cupped his hands and said, "I am extremely grateful to the two lords for coming to Hongmen's aid this time."

"Lord Xia Hong is joking. Xiahou Zhang clearly did nothing, so how could he possibly come to Hongmen's aid? I dare not accept such a great gift."

"With the strength of the Great Xia, there is no need for this old man to come to its aid!"

Xiahou Zhang and Murong Chui immediately returned the greeting with clasped hands, their faces full of helplessness.

"Your presence is the best support you can provide. To be honest, if you two hadn't come this time, I really don't know how I would have been able to continue coexisting with Jiangxia and Muyin towns."

Upon hearing Xia Hong's seemingly cryptic yet sharp remark, both Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang felt a sudden jolt of relief, their eyes simultaneously flashing with a hint of joy.

Judging from what happened during the day, if they hadn't come, or if they had sided with the other six towns, their fate probably wouldn't have been good.

"I know that you two want to revitalize Muyin and Jiangxia, but Muyin is too close to the three northern towns, and its resource areas are often invaded; Jiangxia was severely damaged in the battle of Dajue Temple and has not yet recovered, so its ability to acquire resources is limited. I have a way to help the two towns solve these problems. Why don't you two lords listen to what I have to say?"

Upon hearing this, both Xiahou Zhang and Murong Chui showed a hint of wariness in their eyes, but after pondering for a moment, they nodded and cupped their hands to Xia Hong, saying, "We would like to hear more details!"

"With the integration of the three towns and the sharing of resources, people from your two towns can hunt in all areas of Great Xia, freely purchase and exchange supplies at any supply depot or even the supply headquarters in Great Xia, and even join the hunting teams of Great Xia."

Of course, correspondingly, the hunting teams of my Great Xia camp also enjoy the same rights, and the resource areas of Muyin and Jiangxia towns are also open to my Great Xia personnel at the same time..."

"How can this be!"

"Lord Xia Hong..."

"Gentlemen, please calm down and let me finish speaking."

Before Xia Hong could finish speaking, Xiahou Zhang and Murong Chui spoke up emotionally. Seeing the resistance on their faces, Xia Hong didn't show any surprise.

Given the current strength of Muyin and Jiangxia, it's less about them contributing resources and more about the two towns unilaterally opening up their resource areas to Daxia. After all, with their current strength, they're too busy managing their own resource areas to even think about hunting and gathering within Daxia's territory.

"I know that your two towns are in a difficult situation right now, so I will not bully you like this. Therefore, the condition for sharing resources is that whenever people from the Great Xia go to your area to hunt and gather, they will have to hand over 10% of the profits to your two towns. How about that?"

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Zhang and Murong Chui's expressions immediately changed, showing interest.

“One percent is a bit too little, Lord Xia Hong. Our hunting grounds in Muyin have been squeezed too much by Wuchuan. The situation is indeed too difficult.”

“Indeed, Lord Xia Hong, could you raise the price a bit more? You know the situation in Jiangxia. Right now, the entire camp only has less than two thousand people with the Cold Resistance level, and there aren't many hunting teams left…”

It's good that you know how to bargain!

"Alright, since you two are interested, then Xia Chuan and Qiu Peng will be in charge of discussing it with you!"

Xia Hong didn't give Xiahou Zhang and Murong Chui a chance to refuse. After speaking, he stood up with the two children in his arms, and Li Xuanling next to him immediately stood up as well.

"Alright, I have something else to attend to. You can continue your discussion."

Everyone was surprised that Xia Hong was leaving so soon, and they immediately bowed to him, saying, "Respectfully seeing off the Lord, respectfully seeing off the Madam, respectfully seeing off the two His Highnesses!"

(End of this chapter)