Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 484 The Pill of Destiny Continues, The Regional Military Governor System and Counter-Strategy
In Caiqiu's Treasure Pavilion, the selling price of the Burning Bone Pill is 49 taels, the Superior Bone Removal Pill is 20 taels, and the Cleansing Meridian Pill is 25 taels.

The batch of pills that Jiang Xinfan brought back included 75 taels of Burning Bone Pills, 30 taels of Superior Bone-Removing Pills, and 37 taels of Cleansing Meridians Pills.

Therefore, the price of these pills purchased from Frost Ashes is about 50% higher than the price through normal channels.

That's not hard to understand. After all, it's not a normal channel. The fact that they dared to sell it to you is a risk. The fact that they only charged a 50% premium is probably because Ji Hong and Jiang Xinfan are insiders of the Frost Ashes Society.

With his elixirs replenished, Xia Hong naturally began a new round of seclusion.

The Meridian Cleansing Pill, when combined with the Twelve Blood Meridians Exercise, serves two purposes: first, it flushes out impurities from the meridians, and second, it improves the efficiency of blood and qi circulation.

The former can purify and unblock the meridians, releasing the body's potential and thus slightly improving strength; while the latter can directly increase cultivation speed.

Without breaking through to the Xianyang level, Xia Hong could only rely on it to improve his strength, and he also had to depend on it to shorten the time it would take to break through to the late Xianyang stage.

"Keep spending money to buy it, it's not a long-term solution. Once we get back to Xia City and find out the formula, things will be much easier. The only pity is that the cultivation conditions for the Twelve Blood Scripture Technique are too demanding. One must have a top-grade battle physique with a base strength of over 5 manes when breaking through the Cold Resistance level to be eligible to cultivate it. There's no foundation for widespread promotion, otherwise..."

The Blood Ginseng Pill from Muyin Town is essentially a watered-down version of the Cleansing Pill. The Great Xia Dynasty has already mastered its refining method. Even if it's not widely promoted to everyone in the Great Xia, just lowering the cultivation requirements to the level of an ordinary top-grade battle physique would have an extremely terrifying effect on the Great Xia.

Thinking of this, Xia Hong looked at the Enlightenment Lotus Platform beneath him and murmured, "I've been too busy outside all this time. When I get back to Xia City, I'll use the Enlightenment Lotus Platform's ability to deduce martial arts techniques to focus on studying the Twelve Blood Scripture Technique. Ideally, I'll create a watered-down version that lowers the cultivation requirements, so that it can be promoted to the greatest extent possible and still be just as effective!"

The biggest weakness of Great Xia is that it has only been rising for a short time, a mere fifteen years. It is estimated that it will be difficult to find a similar entity in a town-level camp.

On the one hand, this is certainly something to be proud of, after all, it took such a short time to become so powerful that it could dominate a region; but on the other hand, it also shows that the Great Xia lacks sufficient foundation. It is not difficult to become king in the small town of the Nine Southern Mountains, which is surrounded by barriers, but when it comes to a place like Mo'ao River, and encounters a long-established warlord-level power, the inherent weakness immediately becomes apparent.

Unleashing the body's potential and slightly enhancing strength; accelerating the circulation of qi and blood and improving cultivation efficiency—these two functions not only cover all cultivation realms but can also be used for a lifetime. Once they can be fully promoted, they can bridge the time gap that the Great Xia and the vassal states, and even other forces with longer histories, cannot cross to the greatest extent.

"75 jin, my strength is finally able to move a little bit, but it seems there's not much room for improvement. Every little bit helps, and the main thing is to speed up my cultivation so I can break through to the late stage of Manifestation Yang as soon as possible..."

After pondering for a moment, Xia Hong closed his eyes and began cultivating.

………………

Like the Nine Garrisons, the four major military districts of Mo'aochuan are basically the same in terms of overall system design and detailed local job arrangements.

Within the entire vassal state, the Fangbo (方伯) naturally held the highest position; below the Fangbo were the two Yi (两伊). The Lingyi (令伊) commanded the army and was in charge of all military affairs within the vassal state, including all the commanders and generals, including the Bingsi (兵司). The Taiyi (太伊) was in charge of the government and was in charge of the six departments of military, jurisdiction, law, personnel, civil affairs, and finance. In theory, the heads of the six departments had to obey the orders of the Taiyi.

Of course, these were the top-level structures of the regional military governors.

The territory of the regional military governors covered tens of thousands of square kilometers. The people at the top controlled the overall direction, while the specific affairs of each city below were naturally managed by the local departments at the next level.

This next level of local government refers to the six ministries of each prefecture and city.

So it's quite interesting that the names of the core administrative departments and local subordinate agencies of the four domains of Mo'aochuan are exactly the opposite of those of the Great Xia.

The Great Xia consisted of eight districts in Xia City and eight local administrations.

The four vassal states were the six local governments, while the local governments were the six ministries.

When discussing the Six Ministries, one must mention the relationship between the prefects and the Six Ministries.

The prefect is the head of a prefecture, usually the son of the governor. Even if he is not the son of the governor, he is the most powerful and influential person in the entire fiefdom besides the governor.

These people are only a hair's breadth away from the position of a regional governor. It's already outrageous enough that they are in charge of a prefecture. If they were to also govern the six local departments, then there would be almost no hierarchy between the prefecture city and the town.

To prevent local powers from becoming too powerful, the four vassal states all adopted the same measures: to weaken the power of the prefects. Except in special periods, the prefects only had supervisory power over the Six Ministries, not the power to govern them.

In other words, the heads of the six departments only need to report to the town's superiors, and their daily affairs are also carried out according to the orders of the town's superiors. The town is responsible for their dismissal and promotion, and the prefect cannot interfere.

Of course, the prefect's supervisory power was not to be underestimated. He could freely inspect the accounts of the six ministries and investigate the staff of the six ministries. If he found any problems, he could go directly to the two Iraqis or even the governor of the prefecture.

In this way, the relationship between the two parties becomes quite delicate, as there are elements of superior-subordinate relationship, but it cannot be considered a completely superior-subordinate relationship.

This system is clearly designed to prevent local authorities from becoming too powerful. How could someone in a high position not see this?
Therefore, in order to prevent their superiors from becoming suspicious, the heads of the six ministries and the prefects would tacitly maintain a certain distance and dare not get too close.

The Prefectural Governor's Office and the Six Ministries usually do not interfere with each other. Only in special circumstances, when there is an order from the Governor or the two Yi states, will the two parties work together.

However, although the prefect does not command the six ministries, he does have some power in the prefecture city. For example, the prefect controls most of the prefecture's guards and garrison troops.

The prefect's primary responsibility is to defend the territory, and naturally, he cannot be without troops. Therefore, these prefectural guards and garrison troops, in the absence of orders from the governor, the commander, or the military commissioner, only obey the orders of the prefect, and are essentially the prefect's personal armed forces.

The prefect couldn't possibly lead these troops himself, but they didn't have the authority to transfer people from the military command to manage them. Therefore, the prefect's office set up three military advisor positions. The military advisors were responsible for assisting the prefect in handling various affairs and helping to command the troops. They were essentially the prefect's trusted advisors.

Chencang was also one of the four feudal lords, so the situation was naturally the same!
Yanling has three top military advisors, listed in the order of their appointment: Zhao Yixin, Chen Tianhong, and Yang Zun.

Chen Tianhong was born into the Longxing Chen clan. Given the delicate relationship between the Chen and Chu clans, it would have been difficult for him to become a confidant of Prefect Chu Tianxu. However, things are not absolute. Chen Tianhong not only became a military advisor in Yanling County, but he was also the one who was closest to the prefect among the three military advisors.

"Let's not talk about Yang Zun. He's from Jiuzhen and an outsider in Chencang. He probably joined the army for cultivation resources, so it's understandable that he's not very close to Chu Tianxu."
But Zhao Yixin is Chu Tianxu's personal disciple, which makes their relationship unusual. Chen Tianhong is even closer to Zhao Yixin than to Chu Tianxu, which can only mean that he is one of the few in the Longxing Chen Clan who has completely set aside sectarian prejudices, is unwilling to fight among themselves, and hopes that Chencang can unite as one to continue to grow and prosper..."

November 25th, 291st year of the Chencang calendar, nighttime
At the main building of the Chen residence, Ji Hong was waiting at the entrance for Chen Tianhong to summon him.

To be fair, Chen Tianhong had indeed treated him well after taking him as his last disciple. Whether it was the daily cultivation resources or his treatment in the manor over the years, he was practically no different from the most outstanding members of the Chen family. Unfortunately, they each served their own masters. Ji Hongsheng was a citizen of the Great Xia Dynasty, and he would die a citizen of the Great Xia Dynasty. From the day he was forced to come to Chencang, he knew his future mission clearly. Moreover, he already knew that Chen Yiqing was Chen Tianhong's nephew. Based on this relationship alone, no matter how good Chen Tianhong was to him, it wouldn't make a difference!
A sharp glint flashed in Ji Hong's eyes as he mentally reviewed Chen Tianhong's general situation. He took a slight breath to suppress the turmoil in his heart.

"Young master, the master invites you in!"

Upon hearing the message from the maid in the main building, Ji Hong smiled, nodded, and slowly walked inside.

Inside the main hall, an elderly man with gray hair, dressed in a blue brocade robe, sat in the main seat. When he saw Ji Hong enter, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"What, you martial arts fanatic have time to come see me now?"

Chen Tianhong is 158 years old this year. According to the lifespan of 200 years for the Xianyang level, he is already considered old. Although he has the cultivation of the peak of Xianyang and the strength of 43 jun, he no longer has much hope of breaking through to the Tribulation Body level. Now his only wish is to cultivate more outstanding young people for Chencang and the Chen family.

He was obsessed with the way of the sword all his life. Three years ago, on his way back home, he unexpectedly saw this young man brought back by his nephew Chen Yiqing practicing the sword. Seeing the talent for the sword that the young man showed, he was overjoyed. After asking Chen Yiqing about Ji Hong's background, he learned that he came from the Southern Wilderness and immediately took him under his wing.

Moreover, after spending some time with him, he grew to appreciate his young apprentice more and more, and finally announced that he would no longer accept apprentices, in other words, he regarded Ji Hong as his last disciple.

His disciple was good in every way, except that he was too obsessed with cultivation. He did almost nothing but cultivate. Heaven rewards diligence, and as his master, he was well aware of Ji Hong's strength.

In August of this year, Cai Qiu's heir, Cai Shihong, came to the county town to cause trouble. Seeing that the prefectural governor's office could not produce a single good candidate, he directly brought out Ji Hong.

Ji Hong did not disappoint him, defeating Cai Shihong cleanly and decisively, making his master look good in the prefectural governor's mansion.

With this in mind, he naturally grew to like his young apprentice even more.

“Master, I recently heard about a strange thing in the city. I thought it might be a problem, so I came to report it.”

"What's weird?"

Ji Hong cupped his hands in response, "Didn't Master say last month that I should go out and make more friends? I've been staying in the manor for a long time, so it's not easy for me to contact other people casually. I thought that there are quite a few guests in the manor, so I picked a young man named Jiang Kang from among them."

“Jiang Kang…”

Upon hearing this, Chen Tianhong frowned slightly. After silently reciting the name, he immediately remembered something, looked up, and said, "Is it Jiang Fan's relative, the retainer who joined the manor in May of this year and makes a living as a merchant?"

Ji Hong quickly nodded and said, "That's right. Brother Jiang is Senior Jiang's grandson. He is a generous and open-hearted person. I hit it off with him immediately and we get along very well."

Chen Tianhong remained silent, simply waiting for him to continue.

"Senior Jiang returned from his business trip at the beginning of the month. I had prepared a banquet at Shigui Restaurant, originally intending to entertain Jiang Kang alone. However, since Senior Jiang's entire family was present, I decided to invite them all as well."

"Well, then what?"

"Then I met a very interesting young man at the banquet. He looked about the same age as me, maybe in his early thirties, but I couldn't see through his strength. Afterwards, I asked Jiang Kang about it, and Jiang Kang said that he was his older brother Jiang Hong, who was at the Cold Resistance level."

"You can't see through my Cold Resistance level cultivation?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Tianhong immediately asked a question, his face showing surprise.

His youngest disciple's talent is beyond question, coupled with his relentless diligence, he has already reached the strength of 59 hairs. There are not many Cold-Resistant level cultivators whose strength he cannot fathom.

Although Jiang Fan has the cultivation level of Xianyang, he only has a little over 3 jun of strength. He must have just broken through. It is a joyous occasion that he can have such an outstanding grandson.

He was just a Cold-Resistant level cultivator whose strength was hard to fathom, so there was no need for Ji Hong to come and report to him. Therefore, there must be more to come. With this in mind, he continued to look at Ji Hong and waited for him to finish speaking.

"The situation got a little strange after that. A few days later, I met with Jiang Kang and found that he looked very unwell. As a friend, I asked him what was wrong, but he wouldn't say no matter what. In the end, I had no choice but to go to Senior Jiang on my own to find out the truth."

At first, Senior Jiang was unwilling to speak, but I told him that no matter what, he was a guest of the Chen family. If he really had any difficulties, his master would not sit idly by. Even if his master couldn't help, there was still the Prefectural Governor's Office. In such a large place as Chencang, surely there was someone who could help him?
After all this trouble, Senior Jiang finally agreed to talk.

At this point, Ji Hong paused, then a look of surprise appeared in his pupils as he continued, "Senior Jiang said that since returning to the Chen residence on the fifth day of the lunar new year, his eldest grandson's behavior has been very strange. He seems to have become much more distant from his family, and sometimes the aura he exudes is incredibly powerful, so much so that even he can't see through it. Therefore, he suspects that the eldest grandson he brought back from outside may have been switched with another person!"

Ji Hong's face showed a look of horror at the right moment. He swallowed and then continued, "But he didn't dare to ask, for fear that if he exposed it, his whole family would die. So the Chen family was in a state of anxiety all day long."

Was it switched?
Sometimes, the aura he exudes is so strong that even he can't see through it.
"Is it a ghost?"

"It shouldn't be. According to Senior Jiang, Jiang Hong has no aversion to silver at all. Even when he brought a high-grade ghost-detecting stone to his side, he didn't react at all."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tianhong's brows immediately furrowed.

"Go and take Jiang Fan away now..."

Halfway through his sentence, Chen Tianhong suddenly stopped, then stood up from his seat, looked up at the dark sky outside, and shook his head, saying, "Jiang Fan is a new guest of the manor. We must take such a big matter seriously. If something really goes wrong, it will be bad if word gets out. I'll go to the Jiang residence now. You wait for me here."

"Disciple obey!"

Ji Hong nodded immediately, and after watching Chen Tianhong leave, a dark look flashed in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)