Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 499 Unwillingness and Determination: Dongchuan Mobilizes Troops
"...Beishuo has violated the alliance agreement. The alliance leader has decided to lead all the towns in the southern foothills to jointly attack them. Nianlong Valley is not strong enough. Lord Long is ordered to send 10000 troops to Qingyang Camp within two days for deployment!"

Just as Yang Qu received the proclamation from the Alliance Leader, the town of Longgu in the northwest also received it at almost the same time.

Above the main hall of the Dragon Valley Town lord, Murong Chui, the deputy marshal of the central army, threw down a proclamation and left with Hong Guang, the commander of the Divine Martial Army, without giving the people of Dragon Valley Town any chance to reply.

Lord Long Mingyuan of Longgu Town, Army Chief Li Yangtian, Town Chief Long Wenhai, and a group of core high-ranking officials watched the two people in the sky leave with extremely ugly expressions.

"Hmph! Let's go back to the hall and continue the discussion."

Similar to Yang Qu, Long Mingyuan and his core leadership were also suddenly interrupted by Murong Chui and Hong Guang during the meeting. Murong Chui was so disrespectful, behaving arrogantly towards him in front of everyone in the town, which naturally made Long Mingyuan lose face. After the two left, he snorted coldly and led his core members back to the main hall.

"The arrogance of the Great Xia Dynasty has reached such a level, will Lord Dragon continue to hesitate?"

Inside the main hall, a middle-aged man dressed in black saw everyone enter and spoke in a deep voice. Seeing that Long Mingyuan ignored him and continued walking towards the main seat, the middle-aged man's expression darkened slightly, and he continued, "Lord Long, the three northern towns began their deployment seven days ago: 7 from Beishuo, 6 from Jinshan, and 6 from Wuchuan, totaling 19 troops. Adding Longgu and Yangqu, the combined forces of the five towns have reached 24."

The Great Xia currently has a maximum of 30 troops, which is not much different from the other side. As long as the five northern towns work together, resisting the Great Xia's military might is not a problem!
Last night, the Great Xia severed my uncle Chu Xuankong's arms, killed nine of my men in Chencang, and eight of my men in Caiqiu. Lord Long thinks that the two vassal states will not let this go easily.
I, Chu, will not hide it from Lord Long. Before dawn this morning, I learned that the Xia army had made a large-scale mobilization. My uncle and Cai Qiu's heir, Cai Shiqi, have both sent people back to their respective fiefs to ask for help. Although our two fiefs cannot send a large army south at the moment, we have as many Xianyang-level experts as we can imagine.

"As long as the five northern garrisons can unite, and with the strong support of my two vassal states, the Great Xia's dream of unifying the southern foothills is nothing but a pipe dream..."

As Chu Renjie continued his eloquent speech, the hesitation on Long Mingyuan's face gradually disappeared. After Chu Renjie finished speaking, he turned to look at Li Yangtian, the military commander on his left, and asked in a deep voice, "Yangtian, what are your thoughts?"

"war!"

Li Yangtian gave a direct answer, then said in a deep voice, "How can we hand over the century-old legacy of Dragon Valley? Although the Great Xia army is powerful, the five towns united may not be afraid of it, not to mention the support of the Chencang and Caiqiu vassal states!"

Long Mingyuan did not show any surprise upon hearing his answer, and then looked down at the core members of Dragon Valley.

"War! Great Xia wants to annex us? Dream on!"

"War! Lord, my Dragon Valley has stood tall on the southern slopes for over a hundred years. How can we be intimidated by a nouveau riche like the Great Xia?"

"The combined forces of the five garrisons are not far behind those of the Great Xia. The strong support from the two vassal states can make up for it. Longgu Garrison will never bow down!"

"Fight! No matter how strong Great Xia is, it's only one family. We can't control whether Muyin, Jiangxia, and Chuishan are willing to be Xia Hong's dogs. But my Dragon Valley will never surrender!"

"Dragon Valley will never surrender!"

………………

"it is good!"

Long Mingyuan slammed his hand on the table and stood up. After letting out a deep breath, he was clearly determined. A cold glint appeared in his eyes as he said, "Didn't Xia Hong ask us to send 10,000 troops? We can take this opportunity to gather all the Cold-resistant soldiers in the town back to the city and form a coalition."

"I'll arrange it right away!"

Military leader Li Yangtian immediately stood up, bowed, and then led several deputies to make arrangements.

"Lord Chu, now that Dragon Valley has joined the allied forces, may I ask Brother Yang what specific arrangements have been made for this Great Xia offensive?"

From the moment Long Mingyuan made his decision, Chu Renjie's face was full of smiles. Hearing his question, he nodded and smiled, saying, "Lord Long's temporary task is to build a large army and raise all the necessary supplies. Great Xia has only made troop movements for now. We can respond when they actually take action. By the way..."

He paused slightly at this point, then continued, "As expected, Lord Yang Qu Cao should have made a decision as well. Now that the anti-Xia coalition of the five towns has taken shape, it is only natural to distinguish between the main and secondary forces. I would like to inform Lord Long in advance that the three towns have already discussed and agreed last night that Lord Yang Zun will be in charge of the unified command and dispatch of this anti-Xia coalition. Lord Long has no objections, right?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Long Mingyuan nodded.

Of the five northern towns, Beishuo Town was the strongest. Given that the relationship between Beishuo and Chencang was clearly extraordinary, the allied forces should naturally be led by Yang Zun.

"My lord, the Wanbao branch in the city..."

Suddenly, Long Mingyuan's nephew, Long Wending, the president of the Longgu Chamber of Commerce, seemed to remember something and looked up at Long Mingyuan at the head of the table, speaking to him.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall, including Long Mingyuan at the head of the table, had a slight change in expression.

Two years ago, Da Xia used the name of the alliance to open Wanbaolou in the five major towns in the north. Now that they are going to break ties with Da Xia, they can openly take action against Wanbaolou.

There are quite a few valuable resources inside Wanbaolou...

"late!"

Just as Long Mingyuan was about to give the order, a white-robed old man at the back of the hall suddenly spoke.

He is Li Zihe, the deputy commander of the army, who is in charge of the defense of the town. He is the son of Li Yangtian, the military commander.

Everyone turned to look at Li Zihe, their faces filled with confusion.

Li Zihe's expression was grim. He cupped his hands and said to Long Mingyuan, "Lord, last night, five large carts from Wanbaolou left the city. The leader was the lord, Zhang Fan, along with many high-ranking members from branch buildings. I was puzzled at the time, but now it seems they received advance notice."

They left ahead of time!

Upon hearing this, Long Mingyuan's expression darkened, and he immediately waved his hand, saying, "It's just a branch building, it's fine if it runs away. Zihe, you immediately seal off the town. From today onwards, no one is allowed to enter the town, and no one is allowed to leave. We must strictly prevent the Allied Forces' plans from being leaked."

"I obey my orders!"

Li Zihe quickly cupped her hands in greeting and went to make the arrangements.

"Lord Dragon's strategy is brilliant; it seems Dragon Valley is safe. I'll head back to Beishuo to report. If Lord Yang Zun issues any further military orders, I'll deliver them immediately. Farewell."

"Please take care, Lord Chu!"

Having achieved his goal, Chu Renjie saw no need to stay any longer. He bowed to Long Mingyuan to take his leave and then turned and departed.

Long Mingyuan then made arrangements for everyone in the hall, and finally dismissed them, leaving only his eldest son, Long Wenhai.

"Wenhai, how many men in my Dragon Valley are fit to fight?"

As the town's leader, Long Wenhai was naturally very familiar with the situation in the entire town. He immediately cupped his hands and replied, "Father, in the past two years, our Long Valley has developed rapidly. The town has a total of more than 24000 people at the Cold-resistant level, including 14000 combat soldiers, 13000 town guards, plus 1000 Iron Caltrops under Commander Li. Of the remaining 10000, 2000 are in the Allied Forces, 5000 are in the Hunting Teams, and 3000 are scattered in other towns."

Upon hearing this, Long Mingyuan frowned and said in a deep voice, "We can't count on the 2000 allied troops and the 3000 scattered in other towns. In other words, we only have a maximum of 19000 cold-resistant troops at our disposal."

Actually, compared to Dragon Valley four years ago, this number is already a world of difference. Long Mingyuan remembers very clearly that four years ago, the total number of people at the Cold Resistance level in the entire town of Dragon Valley was only a little over 6000.

Now, it has reached 24000, a fourfold increase.

A few years ago, he wouldn't have dared to even dream of this.

But at this moment, he was not happy at all. In fact, his expression was extremely solemn, and he felt quite frustrated. The reason was simple: he was well aware of the overall strength of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Of course, not only Long Mingyuan, but also his son Long Wenhai knew about it.

Seeing his father's expression, Long Wenhai immediately guessed what he was thinking. He cupped his hands and said in a deep voice, "Father, there's no need to worry. If it were just the Long Valley family against the Great Xia, it would be like an ant trying to shake a tree. But right now, it's a coalition of five towns. The three northern towns are much stronger than us, and we have the support of the two major warlords, Chencang and Caiqiu. Even if the sky were to fall, it wouldn't hit us..."

He paused slightly at this point, then continued, "My Dragon Valley Town has existed for over a hundred years, united as one, with a common hatred for the enemy. No matter how powerful the Great Xia army becomes, they will never be able to annex us!"

With strong external support and a united internal force, what is there to fear?

Long Mingyuan was over a hundred years old; how could he not understand what his son was saying?

His expression suddenly changed, which meant he had completely solidified his resolve to resist.

"Dragon Valley has been a stronghold for a hundred years, and it must not be destroyed in my hands. Even powerful vassal states are restricted from going south to annex us. The Great Xia has only been expanding eastward for less than five years. What right does Xia Hong have to ride on my head? I don't believe that Chencang and Caiqiu will sit idly by and watch him unify the southern foothills!"

Long Mingyuan's idea was not unreasonable. A lord who could develop his camp to the level of a town would naturally have some pride. In the early years, as he conquered east and west and gradually developed his camp, did he not have the idea that he was the chosen one?
Perhaps as time goes by and they grow old, they may lose their former vigor, but the pride deep in their hearts will always remain.

Moreover, the current situation in the southern foothills has not deteriorated to the point where they need to surrender to the Great Xia.

Leaving aside the three northern towns, the key is that there are two major vassal states backing them up. The five lords are all shrewd and experienced; how could they not understand this?
The two vassal states of Chencang and Caiqiu are unable to move south in the short term due to terrain limitations. If Xia Hong were to unify the southern foothills, given the current momentum of the Great Xia Dynasty, they would probably never have another chance to invade the southern foothills in a few years.

………………

December 28th, the twelfth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, during the day.
Beishuo Town, the northernmost city of Dongchuan

Dongchuan originally had no city; it was merely the northernmost of the seven districts under Beishuo. Two years ago, Daxia, under the pretext of resisting Chencang's infiltration, turned it into allied territory, and only then did a city build in the northernmost part of Dongchuan's territory, near Danxue Peak.

Dongchuan City is 15 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide, with four walls 20 meters high, all made of pentagonal iron piles cast from iron. The scale of the city shows that the Great Xia Dynasty did not set up the city here on a whim, but had a long-term plan.

As one of the seven jurisdictions of Beishuo, Dongchuan, like the towns on the southern slope, also has a large camp specifically for garrisoning troops, located in the very center of the jurisdiction.

Originally, large camps like this were the center of a jurisdiction, but unfortunately, the situation has completely changed since the alliance established a city in Dongchuan two years ago.

The Great Xia directly established the Wanbao branch in Dongchuan City, and then massively absorbed the population of village-level camps within the Dongchuan jurisdiction. Later, under the pretext of the Alliance Hunting Order, it continuously allowed Great Xia hunting teams to enter the city, until the beginning of last year, when it directly established the Eight Offices of Great Xia in the city...

With these measures, coupled with the overwhelming productivity of the Great Xia Dynasty and the massive investment of manpower and financial resources, Dongchuan City had long since replaced the Beishuo Camp in just two years, becoming the core area of ​​the entire Dongchuan, and its influence had also spread to the three surrounding jurisdictions of Zhongyang, Hegu, and Kuling.

As people from all the nearby village camps moved here, Dongchuan City even showed signs of replacing Beishuo Town as the number one city in the southern foothills and the far north region.

When choosing a place to settle, the Ice Abyss people prioritize two factors: safety and resources.

Safety goes without saying. Dongchuan City is garrisoned by 30,000 Allied troops. It was originally guarded by the Allied Commander Mu Longhe. In March of this year, Xia Chuan, the Grand Secretary of the Great Xia, personally came to oversee the city. Right now, there is probably no safer place in the entire northern region.
As for the second resource, the Great Xia's material resources far surpass those of the three northern towns. Not only does it offer several times more choices, but its prices are also cheaper. Furthermore, many of the regulations it has enacted in the city are much fairer than those in the three towns. For example, only 20% of the hunting spoils need to be handed over; trade in the city is free, and all buying and selling is entirely up to the individual; even the price of land acquired in the early days was much cheaper than in the three major towns...

With these two factors, it was almost only natural that Dongchuan City would replace Beishuo and even the three major towns as the core city of the northernmost region of the southern foothills.

Dongchuan City can be roughly divided into two parts, east and west. The east city is smaller, accounting for about one-third of the city. The Allied Army's headquarters, barracks, military supply depot, the Eight Offices of Daxia, Wanbaolou, and the residences of the Xia people are all located here. The west city, which occupies two-thirds of the city, is mainly inhabited by people who moved in from the north.

It was daytime, and apart from the soldiers on their daily patrols, there were only a few scattered people on the city streets, and most of the shops along the streets were closed.

call…………

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind swept in from mid-air, and the few pedestrians on the street below immediately looked up and saw a person wearing armor quickly land in an area of ​​the East City. Many people's expressions changed slightly.

"They went to the Allied headquarters again."

"It seems something really big is about to happen!"

"Brother, what's going on?"

“Since the night before last, there have been constant visits and departures of the Xianyang-class personnel to the Allied barracks. They are either quickly leaving the city or returning from outside the city. This has never happened before.”

"What's this? You don't know, do you? The night before last, there was a mutiny in the Allied barracks. I heard it was instigated by die-hard Northern Shuo loyalists. Governor Mu led the law enforcement team to personally suppress it, killing over a thousand soldiers!"

"Mutiny? How could that be?"

"Would I lie to you? My brother-in-law is from the Great Xia. Yesterday, I went to my brother-in-law's house in the East City for a banquet and saw with my own eyes the Allied army barracks collecting corpses. The ground was covered with a huge expanse of white cloth, all stained with blood!"

"What is Beishuo trying to do by instigating a mutiny among the Allied forces?"

"Something big is definitely going to happen. So many Xianyang-level beings flying around are obviously sending messages back and forth. I reckon the Great Xia is about to make a move!"

"If the Great Xia makes a move, the Nine Towns will immediately change. Just you wait and see!"

………………

"The rear army reports that Yangqu Cao Qianyang has decided to rebel against the alliance and is summoning all the towns to return to the city to cooperate with the three northern towns to form an anti-Xia coalition. Lord Yuan has led his troops to march on Yangqu."
The central army reports that Long Mingyuan of Longgu has also decided to rebel against the alliance. Longgu Town has been sealed off, and the Cold-resistant troops within its borders are rapidly gathering in the city. Military supplies are being procured within the city. Lord Luo has also led his troops into Longgu and has instructed me to deliver a message to Lord Sicheng, who says he can take Longgu Town in three days at most.

In the main hall of the Allied Forces headquarters in Dongchuan City, Xia Chuan sat at the head of the table, with Allied Forces Commander Mu Longhe sitting below him. Allied Forces commanders stood on either side of the hall.

Standing in the center of the main hall, Lin Kai excitedly recounted the situation of the Yuancheng and Luoyuan armies.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall had a slight tremor in their eyes.

Xia Chuan, who was at the head of the table, remained calm throughout. He first raised his hand to signal Lin Kai to step aside, and then stood up and said to everyone, "It seems that the Yang Qulong Valley and the Yang Qulong Valley are determined to go down this path to the bitter end. If that's the case, then there's nothing more to say!"

Li Xuanling said that the entire army would be assembled within three days, but in reality, all the Xia army was already ready before dawn on the 27th.

The laborers in various places had already begun to move. The central army in Luoyuan was backed by Muyin Town, and the rear army in Yuancheng was backed by Chuishan Town. All military supplies were not a problem at all.

With the Great Xia having already been in control of Dongchuan and Jinyang for two years, how could they not have prepared war supplies in advance?

Of course, this great battle looks like it will last for a while, and the two cities' current supplies are probably not enough to sustain them for long.

But once a fight breaks out, everything becomes much easier to discuss!
Xia Chuan turned his head to look at the map of the three northern towns behind him, then turned back to look at Mu Longhe not far below, and said in a deep voice: "Governor Mu, I hereby order you to lead 10,000 allied troops out of the city after nightfall, capture the Dongchuan camp, then change course to the west and capture Zhongyang and Linya. You are authorized to act as you see fit."

"Subordinates take orders!"

Mu Longhe glanced at the map and immediately understood, nodding emphatically.

(End of this chapter)