Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 480 The Surprise Brought by Ji Hong, First Hearing of Xue Zijing

boom……

“It’s been almost four years since March of the ninth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, hasn’t it?”

On the top floor of the Shigui Restaurant, in a private room behind the round hall's high platform, Xia Hong sat alone by the window, while Jiang Xinfan and thirteen others stood on either side.

Seeing Zhang Yuchuan lead Ji Hong in, Xia Hong waved slightly, first using his inner energy to close the door, then releasing a little bit of his blood energy to fill the room, and finally looking at Ji Hong, he spoke with a touch of emotion.

"I was taken away from Hongmen by Chen Yiqing on the second day of the third month of the ninth year of the Great Xia Dynasty. It has been three years and eight months since then, a full 1323 days..."

As Ji Hong spoke, he walked up to Xia Hong. After recounting the 1323 days, he suddenly knelt down. His long-suppressed emotions finally erupted, and his eyes instantly reddened.

"Your subordinate Ji Hong greets Your Lordship!"

1323 days, you even remember the time so clearly...

Xia Hong naturally had no doubt about Ji Hong's loyalty to Da Xia. He was impressed because Ji Hong remembered the time so clearly, which showed that after leaving Hongmen with Chen Yiqing, traveling a long way to Chencang, and staying in Chencang for so long, every day must have felt like an eternity.

It's not surprising. Chen Yiqing is his mortal enemy who killed his sister. Xia Hong is familiar with both Ji Hong and Ji Jiang. He knows Ji Hong's personality very well. He is somewhat paranoid and extreme. If nothing unexpected happens, Ji Hong will definitely blame the entire Chencang for his sister's death.

"Get up!"

Xia Hong looked at Ji Hong's slightly red eyes and smiled, "I remember you're only three years younger than me, so you shouldn't be thirty yet this year. Back then, during the Tupo Wooden Puppet Monster incident, you and your sister were contemplating suicide. I even asked Xia Chuan to persuade you, right?"

Back then, it was the lord who sent the chief minister to persuade him!
Ji Hong's expression suddenly froze, and the tears in his eyes could no longer be held back, streaming down his cheeks. His face was full of regret as he said, "The lord gave my brother and me a second life, but Ji Hong was young and ignorant, and still failed to protect my sister, allowing A Jiang to be harmed by Chen Yiqing..."

People grow up. Nearly four years have passed, and as Ji Hong's hatred grows stronger every day, his understanding of his sister Ji Jiang's death has naturally become more profound.

Looking back now, he realized that his sister's death was ultimately due to his own lack of vigilance towards outsiders. He remembered clearly that Chen Yiqing first approached him on the eve of the Battle of Hongmen in the eighth year of the Great Xia Dynasty. Their chance encounter outside the city, their casual conversation at Zhao's Restaurant, and his own unrestrained speech were the source of all the trouble.

The more Ji Hong realized this, the more tormented he became. He could only let the hatred in his heart grow, so that he could numb himself and have hope for the future.

"...Ji Hong knew his sins were grave. Three years ago, he was dragged to Chencang by Chen Yiqing. Without thinking of anything else, he focused on collecting intelligence on the four vassal states. First, he wanted to be a vanguard for our Great Xia to unify Mo'aochuan in the future, and to be the first to spy on the enemy. Second, he wanted to destroy Chencang and avenge his sister A Jiang."

Xia Hong had already learned a great deal about the Ji siblings, but after listening to Ji Hong's remorseful account and hearing him reveal his two goals for staying in Chencang, and looking up at this young man who was only three years younger than him, Xia Hong was still slightly moved.

He pondered for more than ten breaths, and finally sighed softly, "Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. Your enemy is Chen Yiqing, so there's no need to hold a grudge..."

"My lord, please look..."

Interrupted by Ji Hong, Xia Hong didn't look at what Ji Hong handed him. Instead, he looked up and met Ji Hong's gaze. When he saw the determination and resolve in Ji Hong's eyes, he thought for a moment and then gave up the idea of ​​persuading him.

As long as people are alive, they need something to look forward to.

Without this overwhelming hatred as a driving force, how could Ji Hong, with his feelings for his sister, have endured for so long in a place like Chencang?

To blame the entire Chencang region for Ji Jiang's death is too extreme. Ji Hong may not be unaware of this, but no matter what, Ji Jiang is already dead, and even if he kills Chen Yiqing, it will be too late to undo the damage.

Ji Hong is setting himself an impossible goal as his reason to keep living!

"Why…………"

Xia Hong sighed inwardly and said nothing more.

He couldn't possibly expose Ji Hong again. Ultimately, it was Chen Yiqing's own doing to cause trouble; he shouldn't have provoked this ill-fated brother and sister.

Let's talk about the future when it comes!

What Ji Hong took out from his person was a folded animal skin scroll.

Xia Hong unfurled the animal hide scroll completely and laid it on the table in front of him, his pupils suddenly dizzy.

The animal skin scroll was a giant map, a map that encompassed the entire Mo'aochuan Four Feudatories. The map only outlined the general areas and the locations of major cities for the three feudatories of Hezang in the north, Caiqiu in the middle, and Weibo in the east, including some of the terrain. But what Xia Hong couldn't take his eyes off was Chencang in the southwest.

Ji Hong had been in Chencang for more than three years, so he should have the most complete understanding of the situation there, which is evident from the map.

The map of Chencang Prefecture not only shows the detailed locations of its five prefectures and seven cities, including Chencang City, but also clearly marks the distances between them. Furthermore, it also indicates the specific terrain, mountains, rivers, lakes, and even mountain roads and paths, as well as the number of slave villages.

Not only that, the specific locations of the troops stationed in various places, the types and numbers of soldiers, the commanders and their cultivation levels, and even the personalities and preferences of these commanders, as well as their backgrounds, were all marked.

Chen Cang's map even goes so far as to the westernmost side of the Blood Miasma Plain, to a place called the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor. Xia Hong can see it very clearly. The Nine-Bend Blood Corridor is built along the western shore of Yanze Lake, on the side of Mount Mo'ao. Passing through here will lead to a place called Danxue Peak. After passing Danxue Peak and going south, you will reach the Dongchuan jurisdiction of Beishuo Town.

"Good, good, Ji Hong, you did a great job!"

Xia Hong was so excited that he even paled slightly. He said "good" three times in a row, looked up at Ji Hong, and his eyes were full of admiration.

The surprise that Ji Hong brought was simply too great.

Suddenly, he thought of something and took out a piece of animal hide from his body. When he unfolded the hide, there was a map of Caiqiu on it.

However, his map only marked the locations of the seven cities in the four prefectures of Caiqiu. Among them, only the cities of Qinghua and Linchu were more detailed, involving terrain, garrison, and some more hidden situations. In addition, a part of the Blood Poison Plain was also included. It was no match for the map that Ji Hong had brought out.

“I came to Caiqiu from the Bone-Eating Path in August of the ninth year of the Great Xia Dynasty. My travels only took me to Qinghua and Linchu. Due to the sensitive nature of my identity, I didn’t dare to explore these areas in detail. Your map is far superior to mine. With this map, even without considering the future war with Chencang, the Great Xia already has a significant advantage. Excellent, excellent…”

Hearing Xia Hong's slightly excited tone, Ji Hong smiled broadly, but in reality, he was not very moved.

"My lord, have you forgotten? Before coming to Chencang, I was already a full member of the Dragon Martial Army's scout battalion. I know the importance of maps. In the past three years, besides investigating Chencang's strength, I've devoted almost all my energy to this map. Moreover, as my position in Chencang has risen, this map has continued to be improved." Appointing Yuwen Tao as the Director of the Military Affairs Department was definitely the right decision!
Upon hearing Ji Hong's words, Xia Hong couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for Yuwen Tao, the Director of the Ministry of War.

Although he was the one who initially established the military system of the Great Xia, Yuwen Tao established and gradually improved all the subsequent rules and regulations of the Military Department. For example, the Military Department set up a special agency for drawing maps and also provided drawing training for the soldiers of the scout battalions of the Great Xia army. Xia Hong was aware of all these things.

Of course, skills are one thing, but having the will is the most important.

In three years, Ji Hong was able to understand the entire Chencang region so thoroughly, including the troop deployments and the generals leading them. His effort was secondary; the amount of money and energy he spent was probably countless.

"How's your investigation into Chen Cang's strength going?"

Xia Hong temporarily suppressed his other thoughts and inquired about Chen Cang's overall strength.

Ji Hong, of course, knew what the lord wanted to know. After pondering for a moment, he slowly and methodically began to explain:
"Chencang's overall strength should be considered top-tier among the four Mo'ao vassal states, stronger than Hezang and Caiqiu, and only slightly inferior to Weibo."

The regulations of the shogunate of the four domains of Mo'ao River are basically the same. The lord has been in Caiqiu for a long time and should have some understanding of it. I will give a brief introduction to the situation in Chencang.

Chencang Fangbo, whose real name is Chu Longteng, is 318 years old this year and is a well-known fourth-stage Tribulation Realm expert in Mo'aochuan...

Xia Hong was stunned when he heard Chu Longteng's cultivation level.

Not at the Fifth Revolution Tribulation Body Realm?
Ji Hong seemed to see through Xia Hong's confusion at a glance and continued, "The lord probably thinks that the four regional governors must all be experts at the fifth level of the Tribulation Realm. When I first came to Chencang, I thought so too. But as I learned more and more, and after cross-verifying with multiple sources, I finally figured it out."

The five stages of the tribulation are extremely difficult to break through, especially the breakthrough from the fourth stage to the fifth stage, which is accompanied by a great risk of death.

The four regional governors dared not attempt it, and besides, they were all only a little over three hundred years old. Considering their cultivation at the fourth level of the Tribulation Realm and a lifespan of 450 years, they had plenty of time, so they were not in a hurry.

Of the four regional governors, most are likely at the fourth level of the Tribulation Body realm. Currently, the only one most likely to break through to the fifth level of the Tribulation Body realm is Li Gangfeng, the governor of Weibo.

Of course, this information was gathered by my subordinates from various sources. While cross-verification lends it a certain degree of credibility, it cannot be guaranteed to be 100% accurate!

Hearing Ji Hong's final addition, Xia Hong nodded slightly, his eyes flashing slightly as he said, "The lifespan of the Tribulation Realm is 300 years, and then each breakthrough grants an additional 50 years of lifespan, is that correct?"

Ji Hong nodded and said, "That's right. The ages of the four regional governors are actually not that different. The oldest is Cai Qiu Governor Cai Qianshan, who is rumored to be 369 years old this year."

369 sounds like a lot, but if we calculate based on 450 years, there are at least 80 years left to live.

Therefore, the four regional governors are at most in their twilight years, and can last for at least another hundred years. During that hundred years, as long as a new fourth-stage Tribulation Realm expert emerges, the lineage of the regional governors will be continued.

"Keep talking!"

Ji Hong nodded and continued, "Chencang has two major regional governor lineages, namely the Chu family and the Chen family..."

"I know roughly about the situation of both families. You can focus on telling me about the situation of the Tribulation Realm expert in Chencang!"

Ji Hong was taken aback, but considering that Xia Hong had also stayed in Mo Ao Chuan for so long, it wasn't surprising. He continued, "Besides Fang Bo Chu Long Teng, Chen Li Wu, the current Ling Yi Chen Clan patriarch of Chen Cang, is also a fourth-level Tribulation Body Realm expert. These two are the Chen Cang Twin Suns. Of the eight fourth-level Tribulation Body Realm experts in the entire Mo Ao Chuan, the Chen Cang family has two."

The remaining experts in the Tribulation Realm of the Chencang Shogunate, with cultivation levels ranging from the first to the third stage, numbered 14 in total. They were either the offspring of these two individuals or their disciples.

Chu Longteng has five sons: Chu Tianming, the governor of Heyang County; Chu Tianhe, the governor of Xichuan County; Chu Tianxu, the governor of Yanling County; Chu Tianmang, the governor of Fengyang County; and Chu Tianba, the Minister of War, one of the Six Departments. In addition, he has two disciples who have also broken through to the Tribulation Realm: Wu Dongyang, the commander of the Crimson Dragon Army, and He Taiping, the Minister of Justice, one of the Six Departments.

Chen Liwu has five sons: Chen Tianjue, Lord of Longxing City; Chen Tianyang, Lord of Pingyang City; Chen Tiandong, Prefect of Donglin County; Chen Tianqing, Commander of the White Robe Army; and Chen Tianshuang, a minister in one of the Six Departments. He has a younger brother, Chen Lixin, who was the former Taiyi (a high-ranking official) but was dismissed six years ago. He also has a disciple named Wang Xuanjun, who is currently the Minister of the Personnel Department, one of the Six Departments. Both of them are at the Tribulation Body Realm, and there are rumors that Chen Lixin has already broken through to the fourth level of the Tribulation Body Realm.

Ji Hong's words contained a great deal of information.

Therefore, in terms of the number of experts in the Tribulation Realm from the two major regional governor lineages of Chen and Cang, although they are the same with eight experts each, the Chen family is clearly superior, since they are likely to have two experts at the fourth level of the Tribulation Realm.

Moreover, the Chen family only had one apprentice from outside the family, Wang Xuanjun, while the remaining seven were all family members. In contrast, the Chu family only reached eight members by having two apprentices from outside the family.

"The regulations of the four regional governments are all the same. Under the governor, the commander-in-chief is in charge of the army, the chief administrator is in charge of the government, and there are six departments. You just mentioned the military, criminal, and civil affairs departments. Who are the heads of the civil and financial departments?"

Having spent so much time in Caiqiu, Xia Hong had learned a great deal about the regulations of the Four Feudatories' government. The functions of the Six Offices could be discerned from their names; they were roughly equivalent to the Eight Ministries of the Great Xia, only the names were different. The heads of the Eight Ministries of the Great Xia were called Sizheng, while those of the Four Feudatories were called Butang.

"The Minister of Civil Affairs is Chen Tianyu, son of Chen Lixin, while the Minister of Finance is Chu Xuanning, grandson of Governor Chu Longteng."

Chu Tianba, the Minister of War, and Chu Xuanning, the Minister of Finance, meant that Chu Longteng, as the regional governor, had a firm grip on both the military and the purse strings. In addition, He Taiping, the Minister of Justice, was also his disciple.

However, Chen Liwu, the patriarch of the Chen family, is no simple man. He is the commander of the army and can control Chu Tianba, the Minister of War. Three of the remaining six departments are under his command. Moreover, when Ji Hong mentioned him, he also mentioned the White Robe Army, which is obviously a military force under the Chen family that can compete with Fang Bo's Red Dragon Army.

And that's not all. Ji Hongke said that Chen Liwu's younger brother, Chen Lixin, was the former Taiyi, who was dismissed just six years ago.

In other words, if we go back six years, Chen not only occupied the military and political positions in both Iran and Iraq, but also took over the three offices. We don't even need to examine the people under Chen; we can roughly see some signs just from this high-level structure.

Chu Longteng must be feeling extremely uneasy about his position as a regional governor!
The former Taiyi, Chen Lixin, was dismissed six years ago. This is probably when Chu Longteng began to reclaim power and suppress the Chen family.

"The former Taiyi has been removed, so who is the new Taiyi?"

Upon hearing this question, Ji Hong's expression slightly brightened, and he solemnly uttered a name: "Xue Zijing..."

After saying the name, Ji Hong paused for a moment before continuing, "Although I have never met him, I can tell from the reform proposals he put forward after arriving in Chencang that this Mr. Xue Zijing must be a man of great talent."

The proposal for reform originated from this person.

Xue Zijing!
Xia Hong pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up instantly.

(End of this chapter)