Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 547 News from Chencang, Xia Chuan's Deployment
Just as things were about to settle down in Jinyang.

Outside Wuchuan City, Xia Chuan had not yet received news of the victory in Jinyang, but instead received the latest news about the Chencang army from the north.

"Reporting to the Chief Clerk, the 100,000-strong army from Chencang just left Yanling County before dawn. Although they are numerous, with the aid of cunning techniques, their marching speed is extremely fast, covering 150 kilometers in an hour!"

Chen Yingba, who had rushed over and was covered in dust, didn't even have time to drink a sip of water before bursting into the main tent. Upon seeing Xia Chuan, he immediately bowed and reported.

"Show us the map of Chencang!"

Xia Chuan, sitting in the main seat of the military tent, frowned deeply upon hearing the sound. After the soldiers placed the map of Chencang on the side, he walked directly to the map.

Ji Hong had been in Chencang for almost four years and had thoroughly investigated all aspects of Chencang. Since Jiang Xinfan went to Yanling last year, he had re-established contact with Daxia and sent back a lot of information about Chencang, including a map of the entire territory of Chencang.

"The entrance to the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor is located at the southernmost tip of Yanling County, only 220 kilometers from the county seat. An hour's march covers 150 kilometers, which means they have most likely already entered the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor and should be able to cross Danxue Peak and head south to Dongchuan City by the first half of the night at the latest..."

If Chen Yingba had told Xia Chuan about marching 150 kilometers in an hour yesterday, Xia Chuan would never have believed it. However, after experiencing the events of Donggu City last night with Qin Feng's 50,000-strong army, he had gained some understanding of the tricks and methods of the regional military governors, so he was able to accept it quickly.

"No, Cai Qiu is also planning to march south, but according to the latest intelligence reports, their army is still in the assembly stage and will not be able to cross the Bone-Eating Road until the night of the 3rd at the latest. How could Chencang be so fast?"

Mobilizing a large army is no child's play. Putting aside the allocation of all military supplies, just mobilizing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers is no simple matter. There is also the planning and clearing of the marching route, the selection and appointment of the commanding generals, and the overall coordination and cooperation among various regions within the territory...

Moreover, like Caiqiu, Chencang was engaged in cross-regional warfare, so it must have done thorough preliminary investigation and planning. It was impossible for them to send a large army south without careful consideration. Chencang's speed was somewhat illogical.

"It was indeed surprisingly fast, but Lord Jiang and Brother Ji Hong have already investigated the situation thoroughly..."

Having finally caught his breath, Chen Yingba heard the confusion in Xia Chuan's tone and showed a hint of admiration on his face before continuing to speak.

"The commander of Chen Cang's army heading south this time is Chu Tianming, the governor of Heyang County. According to the information Ji Hong found out, the 100,000 troops were all drawn from the Heyang County Garrison Army. Their strength was all above 10, and there were 200 Xianyang level commanders. In addition to Chu Tianming, the commander-in-chief, there were two deputy commanders in the Tribulation Realm: Chu Tianhe, the governor of Xichuan County, and Chen Tianyang, the lord of Pingyang City."
The information Ji Hong had gathered indicated that the Chencang army's southward march seemed to be related to the succession of the regional governorship, and was a test for Chu Longteng's eldest son, Chu Tianming. The whole of Chencang was buzzing with the news…

After Chen Yingba explained, Xia Chuan finally understood.

The reason why the Chencang army marched south so quickly was fundamentally because there were too many people working hard throughout Chencang.

Like the Great Xia and many other camps in the Ice Abyss, Chencang also has a system of succession by the eldest son. Chu Tianming is Chu Longteng's eldest son, and naturally has a group of supporters in Chencang. Although Chu Longteng said in advance that the entire southward march of the Chencang army would be handled by the Heyang prefecture, how could Chu Tianming's supporters really ignore it?

Chen Liwu, the magistrate of Chencang, was Chu Tianming's biggest supporter. He was in charge of the military affairs of the vassal state. With just a small word, almost all the troops in the entire vassal state gave Chu Tianming the green light, ordering people to clear the snow-covered marching roads in advance, giving priority to the distribution of military supplies to a battalion, and even selecting the most elite soldiers from the garrison troops of various counties and towns to send to the south for military affairs...

In this way, Chu Tianming's army's southward march this time enjoyed Chencang's top-notch resources, the most elite garrison soldiers, the most outstanding Xianyang-level experts, and the best and fastest resource supply... Chencang's overall strength was already stronger than Caiqiu's, and with so many advantages, the efficiency of Chencang's southward army far exceeded that of Caiqiu.

What interested Xia Chuan the most was Chen Yingba's last sentence.

"The so-called test of Fangbo was probably deliberately leaked by Chu Tianming in order to gain more support within the vassal state. And things developed just as he expected. The entire Chencang, from the Commander Chen Liwu to the ordinary soldiers in the army, spared no effort to support him. The army marching south even shouted slogans, claiming that they would wipe out Nanlu, destroy Daxia, and capture Xia Hong alive within a month!"

"One month? What a boastful tone!"

Xia Chuan was certainly not just interested. When he heard Chen Yingba recite the slogans shouted by the army marching south from Chencang, he sneered twice and then lowered his head to think.

"I remember at the end of last year, Jiang Xinfan sent back a message that Chu Longteng was trying to reform the system by following the advice of Taiyi Xue Zijing. Since only his third son, Chu Tianxu, supported him in the whole of Chencang, he could only use Yanling County as a pilot project, with a ten-year period to observe the results."

So, it seems he should be more inclined to appoint Chu Tianxu as the Junior Regional Governor. Now, he's testing his eldest son with the southward journey and proposing to make him the Junior Regional Governor. What does this mean?

Xia Chuan had actually grasped some clues, but since he had never been to Chencang in person, he couldn't deduce much based solely on the information Chen Yingba brought back.

"My lord is indeed formidable. What I am about to tell you is the most important of all the information Lord Jiang asked me to bring back..."

Chen Yingba's face was full of admiration, clearly somewhat shocked by Xia Chuan's keen insight. After pausing for a moment, he continued in a deep voice, "According to Lord Jiang and Brother Ji Hong's speculation, Chu Longteng does not think highly of his eldest son, Chu Tianming. However, due to the system of succession based on seniority, he cannot openly deprive Chu Tianming of his right to inherit. It is highly likely that he has already realized that going south will not end well, so he deliberately uses us to dispel his eldest son Chu Tianming's idea of ​​succession, and then rightfully establish his third son, Chu Tianxu, as the Junior Governor."

Upon hearing this, Xia Chuan's expression immediately hardened.

This speculation is, to be honest, a bit too bold.

Chu Longteng is at the fourth level of the Tribulation Body Realm. There are even rumors that he is the strongest in Mo Aochuan. Moreover, Chencang, which he leads, is recognized as the strongest among the four vassal states. Given the current strength of the Great Xia, how could Chu Longteng conclude that a large-scale southward invasion of the army would not end well?

Following this line of thought, Xia Chuan's expression quickly turned strange.

You know what, it's actually quite possible!
If Chu Longteng witnessed the entire confrontation between Da Xia and Cai Qiu, then it is indeed possible.

In the battle of Beishuo City, the eldest brother Xia Hong only brought out two Beast King puppets, but in the subsequent battle at the pass, he brought out a total of fourteen.

Putting aside the issue of troop strength, Xia Jun's current strength is unlikely to be enough to make Chen Cang feel much apprehensive. However, the Beast King-level puppets are different. The most ordinary single-line Beast King puppet can be equivalent to two or three First-Revolutionary Body Transformation Realm cultivators, not to mention that the elder brother also has several double-line or even triple-line Beast King puppets.

Moreover, the fact that the eldest brother only took out fourteen Beast King puppets does not mean that he only has that many.

It's no exaggeration to say that, given the strength that Great Xia has shown so far, unless Chen Cang concentrates all his forces to wage a full-scale war against Great Xia, there is absolutely no way he can be defeated.

The problem is, if Chencang concentrates all its forces to deal with Daxia, will the other three vassal states just sit idly by?
Therefore, destroying the Great Xia Dynasty is no longer an option. "If Chu Longteng truly intends to use the Great Xia to resolve the power struggle within its domains, then he certainly has some ambition. In that case, this matter needs careful consideration..."

According to the information sent back by Jiang Xinfan, Xia Chuan had a vague impression of Chen Cang and was able to deduce quite a few things about him.

Chencang appears powerful, but it harbors many hidden dangers.

Chu Longteng and Chen Liwu are like two suns hanging in the sky. The Chu and Chen families have not fully integrated and have their own disagreements. All the top families in the domain are gathered around these two families. When things are peaceful, everyone is on good terms with each other, but once something happens, it is difficult to maintain unity.
The powerful and wealthy families at the top control the six ministries of the city, and the five prefectures and two lakes are also occupied by the sons of the Chu and Chen families. The six-class system of household registration has become too big to be controlled, and the proportion of slaves and lowly people is completely unbalanced. There is a lot of resentment among the people in various places of the vassal states. Although it is still within a controllable range, considering that the Chen family is supporting the Frost Ash Society, the future development is hard to say.

Of course, the other three fiefdoms of Mo'aochuan also had these problems, and Chencang even had the fewest problems compared to the other three fiefdoms. But who could blame them when Chu Longteng had the ambition to unify Mo'aochuan?

The other three regional governors might not be unaware of their own problems, but they lacked both the ambition and the energy.

Since Chu Longteng has this ambition, he naturally has to take the lead in facing the problem and show the courage to reform and restructure, which is probably the best proof of his ambition.

Behind Chu Tianxu should be the reform faction in Chencang. This group is the most ambitious and also the most supportive of Chu Longteng's unification of Mo'aochuan. Whether Chencang can make further progress depends on whether the ten-year reform in Yanling can succeed. As long as Chu Longteng is ambitious, the position of Junior Governor can only belong to Chu Tianxu. If he really appoints Chu Tianming as Junior Governor, it would be tantamount to bowing down to the conservatives in Chencang, and the reform would have no way to continue.

Xia Chuan cleared his mind, and his eyes slowly brightened.

"Minister Si, Lord Jiang and Brother Ji Hong both said that although the reform in Yanling has faced great resistance and suppressed the powerful, it has indeed benefited Chencang, giving more people the possibility of transcending social classes. Judging from the past few months, the reform has been very effective. Chu Tianxu's reputation is growing, and Yanling's status in the five counties and two lakes of Chencang is also rising. Many people from other counties have moved to Yanling County with their families."

If this continues, Chencang will indeed become increasingly prosperous, which is not in the interest of our Great Xia. Although Lord Jiang has done some things behind the scenes, he doesn't have many capable people under his command, and the regional military governors are truly powerful. With our small force, we can't make any waves. He asked me to pass a message to the Vice Minister: if we want to stop the reform of Chencang, we need to invest more."

Xia Chuan waved his hand upon hearing this, immediately understanding.

Last year, he sent Jiang Xinfan over there, and only gave him eight people in total: Chen Hua, Kong Xiu, Luo Ming, Hong Yu, Meng Ao, Zhu Kang, Chen Yingba, and Wu Ningyuan. Including Ji Hong who went there before, Da Xia only had ten spies in Chencang, of whom only Jiang Xinfan was a Xianyang-level spy.

With such a small number of people, let alone a regional military governor of Chencang, they wouldn't be able to cause any trouble in the Great Xia. If we want Jiang Xinfan to play a role, or even influence the reform process in Yanling, we must increase our investment.

But now, no!

The most urgent task at present is to deal with the armies of the two vassal states.

"Reporting to the Chief Clerk, Lord Xu has arrived!"

"Let him in quickly."

Just as Xia Chuan was about to speak, a messenger's voice suddenly came from outside the tent. Upon hearing that Xu Ning had arrived, he quickly sent someone in.

Seeing Xu Ning walk in with a face full of excitement, Xia Chuan felt completely relaxed before he could even speak.

"My lord, the great victory at Jinyang has been achieved. The allied forces of the two towns have all surrendered. Of the 153 Xianyang-level warriors in Caiqiu, a full 81 have been killed. Cai Qianshan is furious and led eight Jieshen-level warriors to attack the lord. The lord summoned fourteen Beast Emperor-level puppets, severely injuring four of them. Cai Qianshan has declared that his army will march south in three days and will slaughter the entire city of Jinyang, leaving no survivors!"

"Hahahahaha..."

Xia Chuan burst out laughing, turned to look at Chen Yingba and said with a smile, "Listen to these warlords, each one is more arrogant than the last. Chen Cang said he would wipe out Nanlu and destroy Great Xia within a month; Cai Qiu said he would slaughter Jinyang in three days and leave no survivors. It's a pity that Great Xia is only one family. Even if we really wash our necks clean, we don't know which family will be the one to behead us."

Xu Ning was taken aback. After Chen Yingba explained, he understood Xia Chuan's words and immediately sneered, "The people haven't even arrived yet, and you're already spouting threats..."

At this point, he paused slightly and continued, "The Nine-Bend Blood Corridor and the Bone-Eating Path are both formidable passes that are easy to defend but difficult to attack. No matter how strong their army is, what can they do if they can't take them down?"
The lord has already ordered Yuan Cheng and Luo Yuan to lead 100,000 troops to position themselves at the exit of the Bone-Eating Pass. Cai Qiumo said that only 200,000 troops have arrived; even a million troops would have no chance of breaking through the Bone-Eating Pass.

The name "Nine-Bend Blood Corridor" and "Bone-Eating Path" alone is enough to tell you what kind of place it is. This kind of narrow terrain cannot be broken through by sheer numbers.

"Now that the allied forces of the two towns have all surrendered, there is no need to continue the siege of Wuchuan City. Zhao Long, Hou Tong, I will leave 5,000 troops behind, and you will prepare to take over Wuchuan City."

Liu Yuan led the remaining 15,000 troops north to Dongchuan City to garrison.

"Things in Beishuo City should be almost settled. Zhou Yuan went to inform Yue Feng, instructing him to leave two thousand men to control Beishuo City, and the remaining eight thousand to return to Dongchuan City."

"I obey my orders!"

As soon as Xia Chuan issued the order, the expressions of the generals below all lifted slightly, and they immediately bowed and accepted the command.

With the combined forces of the two towns defeated and Cai Qiu fleeing, the southern foothills are now completely unified. Jinyang has a lord personally overseeing the area, along with the two large armies of Yuancheng and Luoyuan, which are sufficient to resist Cai Qiu. Xia Chuan is now diverting troops north to Huidongchuan City, naturally to resist Chencang.

Whether the Great Xia's unification of the southern foothills can be truly secured depends on the upcoming direct confrontation with the armies of Chencang and Caiqiu.

The time for recognizing and rewarding merit has not yet arrived.

Now comes the real test!

(End of this chapter)