Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 501 Ice Abyss Rations, Northern Shuo Deployment, Xia Army Movements
Most camps in Ice Abyss have a very obvious weakness.

That means our grain reserves are not high!
The harsh environment dictates that most camps cannot have much food reserves. This has nothing to do with strength or weakness. Stronger camps have more people and naturally consume more food, while weaker camps have fewer people, consume less, and have less ability to obtain food, so they are even less likely to have more.

Taking the Xia Dynasty as an example, the Xia people's staple food at that time was roughly of two types:
One type is natural fruits such as crystal fruit, aged fruit, and fragrant fruit.

In the early days of the Great Xia Dynasty, when there was no hunting ability, crystal fruits were the only staple food. These fruits did not have the effect of improving qi and blood, and were not cultivation resources. They were a helpless choice when the camp was weak.

As the Great Xia Dynasty grew stronger, it soon discovered that these natural fruits, including the Crystal Fruit, did not have the effect of improving blood and qi. Not to mention the Cold Resistance level, even the Earth Digging Realm would suffer from weak blood and qi if they were used as food. If this continued for a long time, it would even cause the flesh and blood to deteriorate and the basic strength to weaken rapidly.

This alone determines that these natural fruits can only be used as food for children under six years old, and then for brewing wine and making medicine. At most, they can be used for emergencies and unforeseen needs. It is definitely out of the question to use them as the main food for camps.

Speaking of this, we must mention the second staple food, or rather, the only staple food, for the humans of the Great Xia and the entire southern foothills region: animal meat.
It's not surprising that meat became a staple food.

First, the number of cold beasts in the Ice Abyss is simply too vast, seemingly inexhaustible in hunting and killing.
Secondly, there's its function. Beast meat is not only the most basic cultivation resource for humans, but it also has the effect of maintaining qi and blood. Not to mention the Earth-Digging Realm and the Cold-Resistant Realm, even the Manifestation Realm cannot do without it.

However, the drawback of using animal meat as the sole staple food is also very obvious: the amount of reserves cannot be too large.

In an environment like the Ice Abyss, storage is naturally not a problem. There are two reasons why the food reserves cannot be too large: first, the hunting capabilities of all camps are limited, so it is impossible to stockpile a large amount; second, no matter how strong the hunting capabilities of a single camp are, they cannot keep up with the consumption.

Take the Great Xia as an example. Although the number of hunting teams is astonishing, coupled with the system of combining soldiers and hunters, and the fact that the army occasionally goes out to clear out beast tides and obtain beast meat, it can be said that no other place in the southern foothills can compare.

Even so, the increasing population of the Great Xia Dynasty and the ever-increasing consumption of meat were still a testament to this. The Ministry of Supply and Marketing repeatedly raised the price of meat to maintain a normal supply.

最早大夏的兽肉价格，是1点贡献值2斤；大夏二年与陇右交战之初，价格直接暴涨到5点贡献值1斤；到交战中期降低到1点贡献值1斤；待陇右之战结束，才又恢复到了1点2斤……

After that, there were countless changes until July of the year before last, when the Great Xia issued a hunting order in the name of the alliance, which enabled the towns in the southern foothills to initially share resources. After that, the Great Xia's meat imports increased, and the price continued to decline, eventually recovering to 1 jin.

The frequent fluctuations in the price of animal meat are a direct result of low reserves, indicating that the camp's ability to withstand risks is too weak. Therefore, at the slightest sign of trouble, they immediately tighten their grip on this crucial resource.

………………

On December 28th, in the 136th year of the Mo'ao calendar, as darkness fell...
"The Great Xia has only been in charge of Dongchuan for two years. How much beast meat can they possibly have in reserve? The spies in the city already found out at the beginning of the month. The total beast meat reserve in the entire Dongchuan city is no more than 11 million catties. Xia Chuan has 30,000 allied troops, which is not enough. They also temporarily conscripted 30,000 cold-resistant troops, making a total of 60,000 troops. Even if they use all 11 million catties of beast meat as military rations, it will only last for two months at most. They think they can defeat my Beishuo Town in two months? How arrogant! The Great Xia is truly arrogant to the extreme!"

In the main hall of Beishuo Town, Yang Zun sat at the head of the table.

The speaker was standing to his left; it was Yang Jian, his third brother, who looked most like him and had been in charge of Beishuo for many years.

When Yang Jian spoke the last sentence, his face was full of disbelief, clearly showing that he was both angry and shocked by the Great Xia's move to mobilize troops.

There were certainly more than two people inside the hall. To the right of Yang Zun was an old man dressed in white brocade robes. The old man's face was bloodless and pale, and his breathing was somewhat disordered. His arms were hanging in the air. He was none other than Chen Cang Chu Xuan Kong, who had almost kidnapped Xia Yu Sheng two days ago.

Behind Chu Xuankong stood five or six middle-aged men, who, judging from their attire, were clearly people he had brought from Chencang.

Dozens of people stood on either side of the main hall, while Yang Ying, the son of Yang Zun, stood in the very center, having just returned from the Dongchuan camp to report the news.

Why did Yang Jian express such astonishment? It was because Yang Ying had just brought back news that Mu Longhe, the governor of Dongchuan, had led an army of 10,000 and captured the Dongchuan camp.

After the Great Xia started the war, the first step was definitely to take Dongchuan. This was not unexpected by the Northern Shuo. Yang Jian's shock and anger at this moment stemmed from the fact that the Great Xia had indeed started the war so directly and brutally!

There was no preparation whatsoever; the fight just started.

On what grounds? On what grounds does Great Xia have?
"Arrogant? They just have the power to back it up..."

Yang Zun, who was at the head of the table, suddenly spoke, then sneered, "Four armies have moved out at the same time. Yuan Cheng is leading the rear army to keep an eye on Yangqu; Luo Yuan is leading the central army to keep an eye on Longgu; Yuwen Tao's 50,000 rear army took over the entire Yinhe Valley yesterday, and is now splitting into two routes. One route, 40,000 strong, is heading east towards Xiyuan, and it seems they are going straight for Jinshan Town. The other route is heading west out of Yinhe Valley, approaching Wuchuan East Valley, and is coming this way..."

As Yang Zun spoke, five soldiers carried out a huge map from inside the hall. The map depicted the entire three towns of the North.

If we simply and crudely arrange the three towns in the north from north to south, they would be Beishuo, Wuchuan, and Jinshan. However, the actual territories of the three towns are not like that.

Of the three towns, Jinshan has the largest territory, with a total of nine districts. Its territory is mostly located to the east, and a large part of it is embedded inside the Mo'ao Mountain.

Wuchuan, sandwiched in the middle, has the smallest territory among the three towns, with only six districts under its jurisdiction. The easternmost district, Donggu, is bordered by Muyin Fushan to the south and Yinhegu of Jinshan Town to the east.
Next is Beishuo, which is in the middle of the three towns in terms of area. To the south are Kuling and Jingxi, which are adjacent to Donggu and Huayang districts of Wuchuan Town, respectively.

As soon as the map was taken out, and combined with what Yang Zun had just said, many people in the hall noticed something amiss, and their expressions became slightly tense.

"Lord Chu Qinghe just said that Luo Yuan's central army in Muyin Town has already deployed 30,000 troops in Fushan. It seems they are going to cooperate with Yuwen Tao's 10,000-strong right flank army to first capture Wuchuan East Valley. Once the two forces join forces, they can head north and directly attack Kuling..."

Having ruled Beishuo for many years, Yang Jian naturally had a good grasp of the overall situation. After finishing a section, he walked to the edge of the map, pointed to the location of the Dongchuan camp in the north, and continued: "Mu Longhe's 10,000 troops have already taken this place. He is not moving for the time being, probably waiting for the follow-up troops. Xia Chuan's next step should be to continue south to attack Baimu, echoing the Luo Yuan and Yuwen Tao forces in the south, and at the same time advancing on Kuling."

"It's probably not that far from reaching the town, but as long as we can open up the four places of Donggu, Kuling, Baimu, and Dongchuan, then Muyin's military supplies can flow continuously through Donggu, or go north to support Xiachuan's troops, or go east to support Yuwen Tao's troops..."

After Yang Jian finished speaking, even those in the hall who didn't understand before suddenly understood.

Why did Yang Jian feel both alarmed and furious when the Great Xia rashly launched a war?
The biggest reason is that Yang Jian knew that although the 60,000 elite Xia troops in the north were very strong, they had a fatal weakness: their military supplies were not comparable to those of the three major towns.

War isn't just about a bunch of people rushing in and risking their lives. Weapons, armor, medicine, and most importantly, food are all indispensable.

No matter how strong or resourceful the Great Xia Dynasty is, it cannot change the fact that Dongchuan and Jinyang were only established as cities for two years. No matter how much the Great Xia Dynasty is willing to invest, it cannot compare with these three major towns.

Food supplies are already precious in the Ice Abyss. Once a large-scale war like this breaks out, all gathering and hunting will have to stop, and then it will be all about reserves.

The rules of the Ice Abyss dictate that food reserves will not be too large, especially important staple foods such as beast meat. Take Beishuo as an example. After so many years of management, once the hunting in the town completely stops, the beast meat reserves in the town will only be enough for about six months at most.

As Yang Jian just said, Dongchuan City's meat reserves, under extreme circumstances, would only last for two months at most. Considering it's been over two years, the fact that the Great Xia Dynasty could keep Dongchuan City's treasury so full is already quite alarming. But even that's alarming, it's useless!
With only two months' worth of food reserves, the 30,000 elite Xia troops in Dongchuan City, plus the 30,000 Yuhan-class soldiers hastily assembled by Xiachuan, wanting to conquer Beishuo is pure wishful thinking.

Not to mention that food is only one aspect. Whether weapons can be replaced in time, whether armor can be repaired in time, whether there are enough medicines and other elixirs for healing and battlefield use, etc., all these issues related to military supplies can determine the outcome of the battle.

Beishuo Town is right here, while Daxia only has Dongchuan City, which has been under its control for more than two years. What makes them so special?
The most important factor in determining the outcome of a war is logistical support; with this alone, the Northern Frontier can remain invincible.

In terms of troop strength, Great Xia has 30,000 elite troops, plus 30,000 hastily assembled ragtag troops; Northern Shuo has 20,000 elite Northern Shuo troops, plus 50,000 hastily assembled ragtag troops. In a direct comparison, Northern Shuo is indeed inferior, but it is not to the point of being crushed.

Of course, the Great Xia had more than just the 60,000 troops in Dongchuan in the north. Yuwen Tao also raised 50,000 troops in Jinyang, bringing the total to 110,000 troops.

The problem is, this time it's not just Beishuo fighting against Daxia.

Chu Renjie and Chu Qinghe, who were sent as envoys to Yangqu and Longgu respectively last night, have already brought back the messages from Cao Qianyang and Long Mingyuan. Right now, the Great Xia is facing the allied forces of the five northern towns.

The combined forces of the five towns number 24, enough to not be afraid of even facing the entire Great Xia, let alone the mere 11 troops in the North.

"Trying to open up a military supply line is wishful thinking..."

Yang Zun, who was at the head of the table, finally spoke. Clearly, he also agreed with what his third brother Yang Jian had just said. He paused, then looked up and said in a deep voice, "Giving up the Dongchuan camp to them was a last resort, but we can't give up Baimu. Third brother, you take 10,000 elite Beishuo troops and 10,000 Zhenyu troops and immediately move into Baimu. Add to the 5,000 troops that Baimu already has, that's a total of 25,000 men. Is that enough to hold off Xia Chuan's first wave of attacks?"

"Don't worry, brother. Unless I die, the Great Xia will never be able to touch Bai Mu."

Yang Jian gave the answer almost without hesitation.

Unlike attackers, defenders can fight even with a tenfold or twentyfold difference in troop strength if the city's defenses are strong enough.

Of course, Baimu Camp was just a small town with a side length of less than two kilometers, not as fortified as a town, but even so, he was confident.

Even if Xia Chuan brought all 60,000 troops from the entire Dongchuan City, the force would only be slightly more than twice his. If he couldn't hold the position, then Yang Jian would have lived for nothing for over a hundred years.

"Ying'er, go to Wuchuan Town and deliver my order to Lord Qin Feng, instructing him to defend the Donggu camp at all costs. Of course, the situation can change in an instant. If we can defeat those 40,000 troops and launch a pincer attack on Jinshan Town, annihilating Yuwen Tao's entire right flank army, that would be even better..."

Yang Ying, who had just returned from Dongchuan, was ordered to go to Wuchuan Town again.

There's no other way. In such a large-scale battle, the most important thing is the timely transmission of information. The Cold-resistant class is too slow, and you never know what might happen along the way. If it's just being intercepted by the enemy, that's fine, but if they capture it and use some underhanded tricks, the consequences could be dire.

The Xianyang-class aircraft can fly, boasting incredible speed and, most importantly, safety. Furthermore, they can observe the movements of enemy forces along the way, making them ideal for transmitting information during peacetime.

No sooner had Yang Ying left than another figure suddenly flashed into the hall.

"Brother, Lu Yang of Dongling has already fallen into the trap..."

The person who came in was none other than Yang Fa, who had just returned from Dongling.

Upon hearing this, Yang Jian, who was seated at the head of the table, immediately had a glint in his eyes.

After entering the hall, Yang Fa said with a smile on his face, "That Lu Yang really has rebellious intentions. I promised him that as long as Dongling can join forces with Zhencheng to defeat Daxia this time, the entire Jingxi jurisdiction will belong to him in the future. He was hesitant at first, but he couldn't help but agree later."

Yang Zun didn't react much, but Yang Jian, the third brother who had been in charge of Beishuo for many years, suddenly revealed a cold glint in his eyes and snorted coldly, "When Daxia caused trouble in Dongling last year, we stepped in to help him out and invited him to take up a post in Zhencheng, but he refused. At that time, I could tell that this person had rebellious intentions, and it turned out to be true!"

Yang Fa was also one of the witnesses. After hearing his third brother's words, he immediately nodded, and a look of displeasure appeared on his face. But he quickly shook his head and said, "Now is the time to ask for help. It won't hurt to give him a sweet date."

After saying that, he looked at Yang Zun and continued, "Dongling's strength is indeed quite good. Lu Yang was able to produce more than 5,000 cold-resistant troops. I asked him to mobilize military supplies and transport them to Linya and Zhongyang. I also asked him to personally lead 5,000 troops to join our 5,000 garrison troops in Jingxi to jointly resist Daxia. He agreed to everything. When I returned, Dongling was already mobilizing troops."

The expressions of everyone in the hall brightened slightly; another five thousand troops had arrived.

However, Yang Fa had more to say. After finishing his account of the events at Dongling, he immediately continued, "When I returned, I specifically went to check on the situation in Dongchuan and discovered that the 10,000-strong army of the Mulong River tribe had already marched westward toward Zhongyang..."

Heading west to Zhongyang?

Yang Zun and Yang Jian, along with everyone else in the hall, looked down at the map and were instantly stunned.

They had just speculated that the Xia army in the Dongchuan camp would inevitably head south to attack Baimu, and cooperate with Luo Yuan and Yuwen Tao's forces to open up the supply lines.

Mu Longhe's 10,000-strong army did not head south, but instead went west to attack Zhongyang?

As soon as Yang Fa finished speaking, the confusion on everyone's faces vanished instantly, leaving them completely stunned.

"After the Mulong River tribe moved westward, Xia Chuan personally led 40,000 troops to garrison the Dongchuan camp, leaving only 10,000 garrison troops to guard the area. The other 30,000 troops had already moved south towards the Baimu camp."

"This...this..."

The old man inside the hall slowly recovered from his dazed look, then stared at the map with disbelief, stammering for a long time before finally managing to speak.

"This is outrageous! This is outrageous! Xia Chuan is simply outrageous! He really treats Bei Shuo as nothing, and even sent 10,000 troops westward to attack Zhongyang, and 30,000 allied troops to attack Bei Shuo Town. He is extremely arrogant! Extremely arrogant!"

Yang Jian stood up abruptly, his face full of anger, clearly feeling that he had been looked down upon.

Even Yang Zun, who was at the head of the table, suddenly became much more gloomy.

(End of this chapter)