Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 485 Appeasement, the Prefect's Whereabouts, Ji Hong's Instructions, Gaining Trust

December 5th, 291st year of the Chencang calendar

That is, ten days after Ji Hong reported the strange events at Jiang Mansion to Chen Tianhong.

On the top floor of the main building of the Jiang residence, Xia Hong looked at Ji Hong, whom he had not seen for a month. After listening to his explanation, he smiled and asked, "So you came here on Chu Xuanfeng's orders, risking your life to spy on me?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Hong immediately nodded and said softly, "Ten days ago, Chen Tianhong must have been frightened by the lord. After returning to his residence in a panic, he immediately took me and Deputy Chief Jiang to the Prefect's Mansion to see the eldest son, Chu Xuanfeng..."

Without needing Ji Hong to explain what happened next, Xia Hong could roughly analyze the situation from the increasing number of Yang-level auras around the Jiang residence recently.

Clearly, the prefectural governor's office has concluded that his identity is questionable.

After Ji Hong finished speaking, Xia Hong raised an eyebrow and asked, "Since Chu Tianxu is not here, is the eldest son, Chu Xuanfeng, currently in charge of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion?"

Seeing Ji Hong nod, Xia Hong showed no surprise.

A powerful expert at the Body Tribulation Realm typically doesn't stay in one place for long, especially in crowded areas.

He lived in the Lin Chu County Prefectural Governor's Mansion in Caiqiu for almost half a year, but he never even saw the Prefect Cai Qiuyang. The person in charge of the Lin Chu County Prefectural Governor's Mansion was usually the eldest son, Cai Yunlan.

Clearly, the situation is the same at the Yanling Prefectural Government.

However, Ji Hong nodded for a short while, then seemed to remember something, shook his head and frowned slightly, asking, "Not necessarily. On the fifth day of last month, the lord ran into Chen Cang Taiyi Xue Zijing at the Shi Gui Restaurant. You should remember, right?"

Xia Hong nodded immediately. Jiang Xinfan's investigation into Xue Zijing's identity was most likely done through Ji Hong, so it's not surprising that Ji Hong knew about it.

"Xue Zijing stayed at the prefectural governor's residence for a month before officially taking up his post at the Yanling Ministry of Personnel at the beginning of this month, where he began to oversee the six ministries and carry out a comprehensive reform..."

Upon hearing Ji Hong mention the restructuring, a glint of light flashed in Xia Hong's eyes.

[Use Yanling as a pilot area for reform, with a ten-year period. Once the reform proves to be feasible and can strengthen Chencang, it will be promoted throughout the entire domain after ten years.]

Ji Hong had already conveyed the news of the restructuring to Xia Hong through Jiang Xinfan on November 30th, so Xia Hong was aware of it.

Ji Hong brought this up now, clearly to set the stage for what he would say later.

"At the end of October, the Luhe Valley rebellion led to the burning of all the millet fields within a hundred miles, and nearly four thousand soldiers were killed in the Luhe camp. In the chaos, most of this year's millet harvest was looted by the rebel army from sixteen slave villages. Of the 31 catties of millet that were originally expected to be harvested, only 14 catties remained, less than half."

All of this enraged the prefect and the heads of the Six Ministries. Starting from the beginning of last month, the Six Ministries dispatched people to the Luhe Valley area to thoroughly investigate the rebellion. By the end of last month, the Six Ministries had killed nearly two thousand people and successfully identified four branch leaders. The investigation is still ongoing, and they seem determined not to stop until all those involved in the rebellion are brought to justice…”

The Luhe Valley incident was bound to come to light eventually.

Xia Hong had expected this, so he wasn't surprised. However, when he heard that the Six Divisions had killed nearly two thousand people but only managed to capture four branch leaders, he was still somewhat surprised.

"None of the twelve branch leaders have been found. The people of this slave village may not be strong, but they still have some backbone!"

Xia Hong witnessed the entire rebellion in Luhe Valley. Taking Qingwu Village as an example, he believed that the sixteen leaders of the branch were unlikely to escape the pursuit of the Six Divisions of the County City, whether they stayed in the village or fled.

The Frostfire Society's branch members often number in the thousands or even tens of thousands. As long as the higher-ups sow discord and instigate a few names, it shouldn't be too difficult to trace the mastermind.

However, a month has passed and only four branch leaders have been identified, a situation that was indeed beyond Xia Hong's expectations.

"It's not surprising. The people of Nuji Village have been oppressed and exploited for a long time. Most of them hate the Six Offices of the County City more than they fear them. The uprising at the end of October probably gave them hope of resistance. So they did show a lot of courage when facing the investigation by the Six Offices this time."

However, what I want to talk about is not them…

That concludes the preamble. Ji Hong paused for a moment, then his expression suddenly turned serious before he continued, "At the beginning of this month, the first thing Xue Zijing did upon entering the Yanling Ministry was to halt the Six Departments' thorough investigation into the Luhe Valley rebellion. At the same time, he recalled all the people sent down by the Six Departments, not only pardoning the four branch leaders who had been exposed but also appointing them as the chief stewards of their respective villages."

This means they're going to adopt a policy of appeasement towards those slave villages!
Xia Hong's gaze sharpened slightly as he continued to look at Ji Hong, waiting for him to continue.

"After the four branch leaders became the chief administrators, they immediately betrayed the organization and implicated more than 30,000 members. The branch leaders of six slave villages also betrayed the organization and surrendered themselves to the Ministry of Justice. After deducting the two branch leaders who escaped, the Frost Ashes Society only had four branches left in Luhe Valley, and these four were also in a precarious situation. The Yanling headquarters wanted to abandon them, so I took the initiative to increase investment to save those four branches."

It's better to guide than to block; this has been the principle since ancient times!

The county town doesn't need to do anything; simply giving them the position of chief steward is enough to elevate these branch leaders to the top in one step. It's only natural that the Frost Ash Society would fall apart as a result.

This Xue Zijing is quite shrewd!
"The chief steward of Nuji Village is considered a lucrative position, yet the Six Ministries officials just let Xue Zijing do such things without doing anything?"

The six chief clerks were of a lower rank than Chu Tianxu, the governor of Yanling County, but in terms of job level, they were equal. The six chief clerks only needed to obey the orders of the six superiors of the town and city, and had no subordinate relationship with the governor. Moreover, given the multi-ethnic alliance of Chencang, those who could become chief clerks of the six departments must have had strong backgrounds and abilities.

Although Xue Zijing was the Taiyi, he was still an outsider. Moreover, there was an unspoken rule in Chencang that the two Taiyi had to be experts in the Tribulation Realm. Therefore, Xue Zijing's appointment as Taiyi was actually an overreach of the rules, and the higher-ups of the vassal state were already dissatisfied with him.

Allowing him to treat Nuji Village in this way is at most a matter of saving face. However, appointing the four branch leaders as the chief stewards of Nuji Village is a matter of their vital interests, and the heads of the six departments cannot possibly remain completely indifferent.

It goes without saying that there are plenty of opportunities in Nuji Village. The chief steward in charge of all management within the village is naturally a very lucrative position. It would be fine if Xue Zijing distributed the favors equally among the six ministries. But to directly appoint four rebel leaders to the position is really going too far. Even if the heads of the six ministries dare not rebel due to Xue Zijing's status as the Grand Minister, they cannot simply do nothing.

Just as Xia Hong guessed, Ji Hong shook his head and replied, "Of course not. The heads of the six departments questioned Xue Zijing immediately, believing that his actions were inappropriate. However, Xue Zijing did not say anything or explain. He simply took out the Taiyi Token and forcibly suppressed the heads of the six departments."

The heads of the six ministries were dissatisfied and submitted memorials to the General Commander of Zhencheng. Chu Baihe, the head of the Ministry of War, even submitted a memorial to Commander Chen Liwu, arguing that nearly four thousand soldiers had been killed in the Luhe camp, and that without a thorough investigation of the traitors, it would be difficult to appease the four thousand innocent souls of the camp, and the morale of the Chencang army would also be damaged.

It seems they're really going to have a showdown!

Chu Baihe's reasoning, upon closer examination, is actually quite reasonable.

From an omniscient perspective, Xue Zijing's approach had many advantages: it dealt a heavy blow to the Frostfire Party, reduced the governance costs of the slave villages, and alleviated the slaves' rebellious sentiments towards the upper echelons of the vassal states, among others.

However, from the perspective of all the military households and middle and high-ranking personnel in Chencang, it was a completely different story.

Instead of punishing or killing those who rebel, you offer them high positions, even lucrative ones like the position of chief administrator. Regardless of how beneficial these measures may be to the regional military governors in the future, for now, it is perfectly justifiable and reasonable to easily pin the charge of failing to distinguish between reward and punishment on you.

However, the reform is inherently a short-term pain with long-term benefits. Everyone may see this, but self-interest determines one's perspective, and protecting one's own interests is a self-evident and timeless truth.

Xue Zijing's approach was clever, but his methods were too crude, which is not surprising as it would provoke opposition from the heads of the six ministries.

Xia Hong lowered his head and pondered for a moment before continuing to ask, "Ten years is too short, so Xue Zijing is planning to take drastic measures and forcefully push forward the reform of Yanling. With the support of Fang Bo, he is probably not afraid of these people complaining to the town. And then what happened?"

"Fang Bo should not be in the town. The Six Ministries did not react at all. Only the Commander Chen Liwu sent a letter on the fourth day of the month, which was yesterday. The heads of the Six Ministries in the county were all dumbfounded after reading it."

The letter stated that for the next ten years, all actions of the six ministries of Yanling, including the appointment and dismissal of officials, would be primarily the responsibility of Prefect Chu Tianxu.

It was not Taiyi Xue Zijing who was in charge, but Prefect Chu Tianxu who was in charge!

Xia Hong keenly caught this point from Ji Hong's words, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"The lord probably understands that from Chen Liwu's letter, it can be seen that many things in Chencang are not decided by Chu Longteng alone. The influence of the Chen family in Chencang is extremely terrifying, to the point that even the governor has to be wary."

The fact that the Six Ministries complained to the governor of the city about Xue Zijing, the chief minister, but the reply came not from the governor, but from Chen Liwu, the military commander, was somewhat unusual.

Chu Longteng fully supports the reform. The idea of ​​using Yanling as a pilot project was decided by him despite opposition. According to this reasoning, in the next ten years, the six ministries of Yanling should be led by Xue Zijing, the Grand Preceptor.

Therefore, Chen Liwu's letter could not have been the intention of Fang Bo Chu Longteng. In other words, it gave Chen Liwu the ability to act against Fang Bo's will.

"It doesn't completely go against Chu Longteng's wishes. After all, Chu Tianxu is the only one among Chen Cang's senior management who supports the reform. As long as he cooperates fully, Xue Zijing can still carry out the reform smoothly."

Not handing over all six ministries of Yanling to Xue Zijing was, at most, just adding a hindrance and more variables to the reform.

Xia Hong lowered his head and pondered for a moment, a smile flashing in his eyes.

Even the best system ultimately depends on people to implement it. Xue Zijing's reform has touched the interests of too many high-ranking officials in Chencang, making it difficult and fraught with uncertainties. Now, even Chen Lixin, the Prefect of the State, whose status is comparable to that of the Governor of Chu, has made his move.

The difficulty of successfully implementing the new system in Yanling County over the next ten years is self-evident.

Without even joking, Xia Hong can now predict that Xue Zijing's reform has a 90% or higher chance of failure.

The situation in Chencang is far too complicated.

Xia Hong temporarily put those thoughts aside, looked up and asked with a smile, "So, is this the new information you brought me today?"

"Yes and no. The lord just said that Prefect Chu Tianxu is not in the city. The Prefect's Mansion is currently managed by the eldest son, Chu Xuanfeng. I said it might not be so. The reason is that after the letter from Commander Chen Liwu was sent to Yanling County last night, I heard a rumor that Xue Zijing and seven other officials from the six ministries were summoned to the Prefect's Mansion for a meeting that very night."

Upon hearing this news, Xia Hong's gaze turned slightly serious.

He summoned Taiyi Xue Zijing and the heads of the six ministries to the prefectural governor's mansion overnight. The eldest son, Chu Xuanfeng, was not qualified to do so.

Therefore, what Ji Hong was trying to say was that Chu Tianxu was most likely in the county city at this very moment!
"What, are you worried about my safety?" Xia Hong was sitting cross-legged on the Enlightenment Lotus Platform at the moment. He looked down and saw the worry on Ji Hong's face, and immediately asked with a smile.

Ji Hong nodded directly, a solemn expression on his face, and said, "Qingyanlong Chu Tianxu has been in the second stage of the Tribulation Realm for more than 20 years. Chu Fangbo has five sons, only two of whom have reached the second stage of the Tribulation Realm. Chu Tianxu broke through the earliest and should be the strongest. Lord, you must not be careless!"

All the publicly known thieves in the four domains have nicknames.

Xia Hong had heard of Cai Qiuyang, the governor of Linchu County, whose nickname was Zhenshanyue, while Chu Tianxu's nickname was Qingyanlong.

Recalling the azure and crimson divine light emanating from Chu Tianxu's body and the fierce azure vortex behind him when he made his move in the Blood Mist Plains in early August, a strange light flashed in Xia Hong's pupils before he smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Don't worry about me, Chu Tianxu's strength..."

He paused, then a confident look appeared on his face as he said, "At most, they can only threaten me!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Hong looked up at Xia Hong, his face instantly filled with astonishment.

If these words hadn't come from Xia Hong, but from any other Xianyang-level cultivator, no matter who they were, even if they were the top of the Heavenly Ranking...

Ji Hong's thoughts came to an abrupt end there, simply because he suddenly realized that the top spot on the Heavenly Ranking had just been taken by Xia Hong himself.

Once he realized what was happening, the worry on his face vanished instantly, and he bowed with a mixture of excitement and delight, saying, "I was overthinking it!"

The lord's strength can no longer be judged by his realm. Chen Tianhong had told him before that those who can rank in the top five of the Heavenly Ranking at the Manifestation Yang level are basically able to compete with those at the Tribulation Body Realm, not to mention that the lord is the top of the Heavenly Ranking.

"Now that I've helped you establish a foothold in Chencang tonight, it's time for me to prepare to return to Daxia. You should be able to break through to level 60 by the beginning of next year. Are you planning to break through to Xianyang then?"

Although he had already learned from Jiang Xinfan that Xia Hong was leaving, Ji Hong still felt a little sad when he heard the lord say that he would be leaving tonight.

During the chaos of the wooden puppets, he was only fourteen years old. He had followed Xia Hong for twelve years. Like many of his peers in the camp, Xia Hong was his lord, his elder brother, his totem, and the spiritual pillar that helped him fight against the Ice Abyss World.

Especially after his younger sister Ji Jiang passed away, Xia Hong, as his pillar of support, became even more important.

Having been in Chencang for three years, Ji Hong was finally able to reunite with the lord, and this was only their second meeting before they had to part again. Naturally, Ji Hong felt a little reluctant to leave.

However, he was not one to be pretentious. He quickly composed himself and nodded in reply, "Of the 200 high-quality blood jade beads the lord gave me, I have used 30 so far, which only increased my strength by 1 point. It seems that my subordinates' potential is limited, and it will become increasingly difficult to improve them. I estimate that 60 points may be the limit. If I cannot continue to improve them at that point, I will have no choice but to break through."

"Does Chencang also have pills for breaking through to the Manifestation Yang Realm? What are the prices?"

"Yes, it's called the Breaking Yang Pill, and the price is 120 million taels."

Hearing the price of 120 million taels, Xia Hong was slightly surprised, but considering that these were pills used to break through to a higher realm, he quickly understood and asked, "The batch of silver I left for Jiang Xinfan can be used to purchase cultivation resources or to develop the Frost Ash Society. In short, it can be used freely. When I return to Xia City this time, I will send someone to Chencang to contact you. You can send a message home anytime you need people or money."

Hearing the last sentence, "You can send a message home at any time," Ji Hong felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He bowed deeply, his expression deeply moved, and said, "Ji Hong will do anything, even risk his life, to betray the Lord's trust!"

Xia Hong suddenly felt like testing his teacher, and asked with a smile, "After I leave, what are your and Jiang Xinfan's next plans?"

Without any hesitation, Ji Hong said directly, "Lord Jiang has already told me about the Lord's advice. My idea is to take Yanling County as a base and take advantage of the wave of the Frost Ash Society's opposition to the reform to vigorously develop the members. With the Chen family as a protective shield, it is only natural for me and Lord Jiang to oppose the reform, and it will not arouse any suspicion at all."

The Chen family is most likely the backer of the Frostfire Society. Their subordinates secretly act in the name of the Frostfire Society's Little Dragon Leader, which is a great advantage. As long as they have the manpower and financial support of the Great Xia, it will not be difficult to develop the Yanling headquarters.

With the Blood Miasma Plains blocking our way, Chencang and our Great Xia will not engage in war in the short term. Given the lord's talent, Great Xia will surely have the strength to fight Chencang within a few years. By using the Frost Ashes Society as a springboard to infiltrate Yanling in advance, Great Xia can seize the initiative..."

After listening to Ji Hong's eloquent speech, Xia Hong's expression of admiration deepened, and his eyes were filled with surprise and delight as he looked at Ji Hong.

"They say setbacks make people grow, and that seems to be true. You've changed so much in just three short years!"

Ji Hong's growth was evident to the naked eye. In the past, receiving such praise from Xia Hong would have made him overjoyed. But now, his reaction was minimal. He simply cupped his hands and said in a deep voice, "Lord, you flatter me. It's just that I've learned from my mistakes. I have no other desires in this life, only two wishes..."

He paused, then his eyes flashed with overwhelming hatred, and he continued in a deep voice: "My first wish is to overthrow the Chencang vassal state, expand the territory of the Great Xia, and repay the lord; my second wish is to use the entire Chen family, young and old, to appease A-Jiang's wronged soul!"

Hearing the deep-seated hatred in Ji Hong's tone, Xia Hong frowned slightly and subconsciously wanted to speak up to persuade him, but he held back the words.

He had already tried it once on the fifth day of last month.

Ji Hong's inner conflict is now beyond repair!
According to Jiang Xinfan, Chen Yiqing has not broken through to the Xianyang level. Logically speaking, Ji Hong is now capable of killing him. Even if it is inconvenient, it would be easy for Jiang Xinfan, or even for him, the leader, to kill Chen Yiqing.

But Ji Hong consistently refused.

Clearly, he has transferred his hatred for Chen Yiqing to the entire Chen family. Or rather, simply killing Chen Yiqing is not a satisfactory way for him to take revenge. This shows that the hatred in his heart has reached an extremely extreme level.

It's true that hatred can drive rapid growth, but this kind of growth is extremely distorted, so Ji Hong's situation is definitely not a good thing.

The problem is that even he, as the lord, is now powerless to resolve it!
Who else could it be but myself?

Ji Hong had a close female friend in Daxia. Before Ji Jiang died, they were almost at the point of discussing marriage. I think her name was... Zeng Rou?
Xia Hong suddenly remembered a name Lin Kai had mentioned to him, and his mind stirred slightly. He looked at Ji Hong and asked softly, "I heard that after you left Da Xia three years ago, a girl named Zeng Rou has been waiting for you at Hongmen."

Upon hearing Zeng Rou's name, Ji Hong's expression froze instantly, as if he had remembered something, and a look of pain appeared on his face.

"Please trouble you to pass on a message to Zeng Rou when you return this time. She is a good girl, but I am not a suitable husband. Please ask her to find a good husband as soon as possible and not wait for me..."

Seeing the incredibly contorted and pained expression on Ji Hong's face as he uttered these words, Xia Hong immediately shook his head and said nothing, only addressing the doorway:

"come in!"

Two people soon walked in from outside the door; they were Jiang Xinfan and Zhu Kang, who had been waiting at the door.

"My lord, Chu Xuanfeng still doesn't dare to make the first move. He's letting me come in first to test your identity. It seems like there are more and more people around..."

"More than fifty, all of them are at the Manifestation Yang level!"

Xia Hong waved his hand to interrupt Jiang Xinfan, turned his head and looked around the Jiang residence, then smiled and continued, "They haven't even confirmed my identity yet, but they've already mobilized so many people to surround the Jiang residence. They're so prepared. It's highly likely that Xue Zijing has revealed my true strength to him."

Upon hearing that more than fifty Xianyang-level beings had arrived, Jiang Xinfan, Ji Hong, and Zhu Kang's expressions immediately became much more serious.

"Ji Hong and Zhu Kang, go down first. I've used my qi and blood to confuse the entire building, so they can't sense what's going on inside. When the time comes, you can just say that you didn't go up to the roof tonight and that you haven't seen me at all."

Xia Hong, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned. He put away the lotus platform, waved for Ji Hong and Zhu Kang to leave, then turned to Jiang Xinfan and smiled, "If you want to gain people's trust, you'll have to spend a bit more..."

Jiang Xinfan already knew his plan. After nodding, he said with a strong sense of curiosity, "Lord, just do what you think is best. I still have five Saint Vein Pills on me, and there are quite a few healing treasures in Chencang Treasure Pavilion as well."

Xia Hong noticed Jiang Xinfan's expression and knew that he was curious about his true strength. He couldn't help but smile and then quietly took out a pill that was radiating intense heat from his yellow mustard bag.

The pill was milky white inside, with a ring of magma-like patterns on the outside; it was none other than the Bone Burning Pill that Jiang Xinfan had bought earlier.

"It's the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. There are still twenty days until Liyang City opens. At ten times the flow rate, I can still spend two more days in the Blood Miasma Plain. I need to use these two days to thoroughly plunder the resources in the Blood Miasma Plain..."

After pondering for a moment, Xia Hong stuffed the Bone-Burning Pill directly into his mouth.

As the pill entered his stomach, Xia Hong felt his body's energy rise steadily. His heart was burning with excitement. In the first half month, after obtaining the second batch of Bone Burning Pills, he had already tested his physical body and discovered the time limit for taking Bone Burning Pills.

"Four months. My limit for taking the Bone-Burning Pill is four months. Compared to others' ten years, this is practically unlimited. So, as long as I control the timing properly, my strength..."

At this point, he suddenly paused, watching the intense light within his bones penetrate his flesh and skin, causing a layer of cracked light patterns to appear on the surface of his body. His brows furrowed slightly, and he suppressed his bones, making a slight adjustment.

Those cracks disappeared immediately after he made the adjustments.

"It can even conceal the intense light emanating from my bones. This Bone Burning Pill is practically tailor-made for me. I must figure out the formula for this pill!"

As his internal energy surged to its peak, Xia Hong felt his enhanced strength and a smile appeared on his face. He took out the Shattered Star Sword from his yellow mustard bag and looked at Jiang Xinfan.

Jiang Xinfan nodded, drew his blood-red longsword, and closed his eyes.

Pfft...

Xia Hong pierced Jiang Xinfan's shoulder with his sword, then, his face contorted with rage, kicked him in the chest.

boom…………

Jiang Xinfan coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his body, like a cannonball, crashed through the rooftop wall and flew dozens of meters away with a bang.

A vast and terrifying aura suddenly rose from the top floor of the Jiang residence, followed by a voice full of anger.

"It's a blessing you could never have in several lifetimes to borrow your place for a few days of seclusion. How dare you show your teeth and claws to this young master? I will kill you today. Even if Prefect Chu comes, he won't be able to save you!"

(End of this chapter)