Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 554 The Annexation of Beining Village: Chu Tianming's Scheme
On the second day of the first month of the thirteenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, at the break of dawn.

Just as tens of thousands of laborers in Changqing Valley and Chihu Ridge launched an uprising, Chen Cang's 100,000-strong army also passed through the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor and arrived at Danxue Peak.

Roughly calculating based on one square meter of space per person, even a team of 100,000 ordinary people would occupy 100,000 square meters, enough to form a square formation with sides of more than 300 meters in an open area.

But an army cannot actually be arranged in such a simple square formation.

Beining Village is located at the foot of Danxue Peak.

The 100,000-strong army in Chencang had obviously arrived some time ago. The abandoned houses in the village had been cleared out, and the soldiers were busy patrolling and carrying supplies.

Dozens of watchtowers and sentry towers were built around the village, with banners fluttering in the cold wind. Soldiers under the banners were intently observing their surroundings, not missing the slightest movement.

On the ruins in the very center of the village, a brand new wooden building was quietly erected. On the top of the building, a gold and white flag was fluttering in the wind. Judging from the flag's high status and the soldiers' strong morale surrounding the building, it was easy to see that this was the main camp of the Chencang army.

“Three years ago, there was an internal strife in Chuishan Town in the southern foothills. It was a great opportunity for Chencang to intervene in the southern foothills, but for some reason, the third brother only sent a young girl. As a result, not only was he humiliated by the Great Xia, but he also gained no benefits. He completely disgraced Chencang…”

Inside the main tent, Commander-in-Chief Chu Tianming sat at the head of the table, while his deputy, Chu Tianhe, spoke eloquently below him.

Besides them, there were dozens of armored generals inside the tent.

What Chu Tianhe was talking about was the Chuishan upheaval in the tenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty. At that time, Chu Yan'er and Cai Shiqi, as representatives of Chencang and Caiqiu respectively, competed with Li Xuanling for control of Chuishan. The final result is self-evident.

There's actually more to that story!
After returning to Chencang, Chu Yan'er told her grandfather, Chu Tianxu, the whole story. At that time, Chu Tianxu did not take Da Xia seriously and only sent three Xianyang-level soldiers south to teach Da Xia a lesson. The leader of them was Chen Yuanbai, who had previously ventured into the southern foothills area many times.

After mocking his third brother, Chu Tianxu, Chu Tianhe's expression turned slightly serious when he mentioned Chen Yuanbai. He continued, "Those three, Chen Yuanbai, before they even reached the Great Xia Dynasty, encountered that Xuanbing Dao Beast in Beining Village..."

Upon hearing the words "Mysterious Ice Dao Deception," all the generals in the tent, including Chu Tianming in the main seat, tensed up and perked up their ears to listen attentively.

Although the strange forces of the Blood Miasma Plains have not yet been fully known in Mo'aochuan, they are not a secret among the high-ranking officials of the four vassal states. The people sitting in the tent at this moment are all military commanders, so they are naturally aware of them.

So far, three monsters have appeared in the Blood Miasma Plains: Thousand Faces of the Manluo Flower Sea, Xuanbing in the Blood Miasma Plains Trial, and Black Wind General of Caiqiu Bone-Eroding Path. All three have the strength of the Tribulation Realm and have mastered extremely powerful trickery abilities.

Previously, Chen Cang hadn't connected General Black Wind with the Blood Miasma Plain, but as the warlords clashed with the Great Xia, the demonic winds of the Bone-Eating Path and the miasma of the Blood Miasma Plain contracted in sync, and they gradually came to understand.

The contraction of the miasma in the Blood Miasma Plains was clearly a deliberate act by the monsters, who wanted to incite Chen Cang to fight against the Great Xia. The contraction of the demonic wind in the Bone-Eating Path at this critical juncture was also a trick by the monsters, who wanted to make Cai Qiu fight against the Great Xia as well.

The fact that these three have appeared does not mean that there are only these three monsters in the Blood Miasma Plains. At the very least, they know that there is another powerful monster that has mastered the ability to change the flow of time and is in the process of reviving.

At the end of last year, Fang Bochu Longteng relayed the news of the reviving monster in the Blood Miasma Plain to the other three vassal states. It can be said that the biggest threat to the entire Mo'ao River region right now is this reviving monster in the Blood Miasma Plain.

Although everyone's thoughts were wandering, they were also listening to what Chu Tianhe was saying. As Chu Tianhe finished speaking, they all understood what had happened in Beining Village three years ago.

In short, Chen Yuanbai and his two companions were incredibly unlucky. They came down from Danxue Peak intending to rest in Beining Village, but instead ran into the Xuanbing Dao Gui and were killed instantly, without even managing to send a message back.

Chu Tianxu waited a long time for a reply from Chen Yuanbai and the other two. He originally thought that the three had been killed by Da Xia, so he sent people south to investigate. As a result, they found the three frozen corpses in Beining Village.

Chu Tianxu was initially unaware of the cause of death for the three men. It was only after the Blood Miasma Plains trial began and the Xuanbing Daogui appeared that he discovered the three men's deaths were exactly the same as those of the disciples who had died in the trial, thus solving the case.

"Then these three are simply unlucky. After the Xuanbing Dao Ghost killed a large number of talented students from the two towns during the Blood Miasma Plains trial, it has not shown itself again. Now that the miasma in the Blood Miasma Plains has receded, all those monsters have gone into hiding. I estimate that they won't show themselves until we fight the Great Xia to the death!"

The leading general below slowly spoke, and the others nodded in agreement.

Chu Tianming, seated at the head of the table, nodded, then took out a jet-black jade from his robes, examined it, and shook his head with a smile, saying, "I've been following the army since they marched south from Yanling County. The Detecting Jade hasn't reacted at all, so the monsters shouldn't be coming anytime soon, so there's no need to worry. But what I'm most curious about right now isn't this..."

At this point, Chu Tianming paused slightly, then pointed to the map on the left side of the tent and continued, "The scouts of the vanguard have already discovered that there are a large number of spies in the Blood Corridor, including below Danxue Peak. It can be basically confirmed that they are all from the Great Xia. In other words, they have long been on guard against our Chencang army moving south. If that's the case, why don't they deploy their troops at the exit of the Blood Corridor? Gentlemen, do you have any thoughts?"

Upon hearing this, the generals inside the tent immediately looked at the map, their expressions slightly tense.

Chu Tianming's question hit the nail on the head.

They had been thinking about this issue ever since the Blood Corridor incident, but they had been discussing it in secret without reaching any conclusion. Now that Chu Tianming had brought the issue to the forefront, it was clear that he wanted to gather everyone's wisdom and have them give their opinions.

The exit of the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor is very narrow, only fifty or sixty meters wide. If the Great Xia had guessed that the Chencang army was going to go south, it should have transferred the entire army there. Wouldn't it have been more convenient to block the exit than to let them set up their formation and fight?
"Could it be that the Great Xia is so arrogant that they don't take our Chencang army seriously at all, and therefore deliberately let us out?"

Soon, someone inside the tent spoke up first.

This answer did prompt some people to think, but most people shook their heads repeatedly, clearly disagreeing.

Chu Tianming did the same, shaking his head as well.

War is a matter of great importance to the state. Judging from the initial intelligence gathered in Chencang, the Great Xia has grown from a small camp to its current size in less than twenty years. This alone proves that Xia Hong is no simple character and could not possibly be so frivolous.

"It's unlikely. News from the Bone-Eating Path has already come back. The Xia army has blocked the exit of the Bone-Eating Path. Judging by the time, Cai Qiu's 200,000 troops should have entered the Bone-Eating Path by now. It's just unknown whether the two sides have officially started the war. If the Great Xia knows to block the exit of the Bone-Eating Path, then there's no reason why they wouldn't know to block the exit of the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor. If they don't do this, it can only mean that they have ulterior motives. It's better to be cautious!"

Although Chu Tianhe had a bad temper, he wasn't stupid. He directly refuted the words of the previous general, and then, as if he had thought of something, he turned to look at his elder brother Chu Tianming and said, "The width of the exit of the Bone-Eroding Path is about the same as that of the Blood Corridor, only about fifty meters. It's not something that can be broken through by a lot of people. The Great Xia has so many Beast King-level puppets. Unless Cai Qianshan is determined to use all his resources to fight the Great Xia, it will be very difficult to break through."

"Brother, if we act now, we'll be helping Cai Qiu. Why not send a messenger first? We should at least get some benefits out of them. We can't just help them without understanding why!"

Beining Village is about 40 kilometers away from Dongchuan City. Cai Qiu's army set off earlier than Chencang, so they would inevitably encounter Xia's army first. There is only half an hour left until dawn. Although the scouts have not sent back any messages, it can be reasonably assumed that Cai Qiu's army has already entered the Bone-Eating Passage and may be almost at the southern exit.

Given Cai Qianshan's immense loss of face in Jinyang City, it's not impossible that he might have been enraged and immediately engaged the Xia army upon their arrival.

After visiting Danxue Peak, the eldest brother Chu Tianhe did not rush to attack Dongchuan City. Instead, he ordered the army to garrison in Beining Village. Chu Tianhe speculated that this was because he did not want to needlessly tie down the Xia army for Cai Qiu.

It's not surprising that Chu Tianhe had this idea; not only him, but most of the generals in the tent were thinking the same thing at this moment.

The reason is simple: compared to the newly emerging and relatively weak neighbor, Da Xia, Cai Qiu is a much greater threat to Chen Cang. Furthermore, Chen Cang has no need to rush into a campaign, as it won't be a drain on its own resources, since it can simply watch Cai Qiu and Da Xia fight each other. However, the most important reason for his elder brother's southward expedition is to deal with Da Xia, as it concerns the succession to the position of Fangbo. Therefore, Chu Tianhe proposed sending envoys to Cai Qiu to demand benefits before launching an attack on Dongchuan City, thus maximizing their gains.

However, Chu Tianming clearly did not agree with this idea.

But he didn't refuse. Instead, his eyes flickered slightly as he said, "You haven't answered the question I just asked yet."

Everyone was taken aback by the sound, and then looked at each other in bewilderment.

Why the Great Xia did not deploy troops at the Blood Corridor Pass is indeed a difficult question to explain.

"Did the Great Xia know that it was impossible to fight against both major warlords at the same time, so it simply gave up on being our enemy and focused on dealing with Cai Qiu?"

"Why does Great Xia still leave 140,000 troops in Dongchuan City? Does Xia Chuan think that our 100,000 troops marching south from Chencang will only take this mere 50 kilometers south of Danxue Peak?"

Chu Tianming directly countered with a question, thus refuting the general's argument once again.

The generals inside the tent were now even more confused.

Chu Tianming shook his head, a hint of speculation in his eyes, and said, "In short, one thing is certain: Great Xia deliberately let us pass through the Blood Corridor. We just can't figure out their intentions, however..."

"Reporting to the Prefect, Lord Fang requests an audience!"

Chu Tianming was interrupted by a report from outside the tent before he could finish speaking.

"Let him in quickly!"

Upon hearing the words "Lord Fang," Chu Tianming's face clearly showed excitement, and he quickly gestured for someone to come in.

Upon hearing this, the generals inside the tent all had a slight change in their gaze.

There is only one person whose surname is Fang, and who can elicit such a reaction from Chu Tianming: Fang Tianqing, a staff member of the Prefectural Governor's Office of Heyang.

In Mo'aochuan, the term "staff officer" is actually quite sensitive, because this position is usually only set up by the shogunate of the regional military governor. In other words, only the governor of the province could set up the position of staff officer.

Chu Tianming is not a regional governor, not even a junior regional governor, so normally he wouldn't have any advisors.

Speaking of this, we must mention an event from the early days of the Chu family in Chencang.

Chu Longteng was particularly concerned about seniority and hierarchy. As early as the Chuqiu era, he established the primogeniture system. When he set this system, in order to set an example for everyone else in the town, although he did not directly appoint his eldest son Chu Tianxu as a minor governor, he did give him the right to establish a powerful family.

Therefore, among the five prefectures of Chencang, Heyang was the most unique. It not only had a staff to lead the government and manage the six ministries, but also a military commander to lead the troops and oversee all military affairs of the prefecture.

In fact, this was a statement made by Chu Longteng in his early years, indicating that he intended to pass on the position of Fangbo to his eldest son, Chu Tianming.

However, as time passed, Chu Longteng's strength grew and his status rose, and Chencang gradually gained the momentum to unify Mo'aochuan. Naturally, many ideas began to change. Many people in Chencang noticed this and began to intentionally or unintentionally downplay the influence of Heyang County and Chu Tianming.

The generals who remained in the tent today were all from Heyang County, and were naturally Chu Tianming's confidants. They were quite familiar with Fang Tianqing.

Logically, since Chu Tianming was leading his troops into battle, Fang Tianqing, as his advisor, should have stayed in the prefecture to handle local affairs and ensure the army's logistical support. After all, there were quite a few people in Chencang who wanted to trip up Chu Tianming, and it wouldn't do if no one was keeping an eye on things.

Why is Fang Tianqing here at this time?

As everyone pondered, Fang Tianqing walked in from outside the tent.

As the name suggests, a staff member is a strategist in the shogunate, and Fang Tianqing's overall image is extremely gentle in keeping with this title.

He had a handsome face and wore a yellow cap. He looked to be a middle-aged man in his early forties. His black brocade robe accentuated his slender figure, making him appear both refined and composed. A long sword hung at his waist, adding a touch of sharpness to his refined demeanor.

"Tianqing pays his respects to the Prefect!"

Fang Tianqing was very polite, keeping his eyes straight ahead as he entered the room. When he reached the center, he bowed respectfully to Chu Tianming, who was in the main seat.

"Tianqing, why are you being so formal with me! Someone, bring some tea."

Chu Tianming's closeness to Fang Tianqing was clearly extraordinary. He stepped down from the main seat, helped Fang Tianqing up with a reproachful expression, signaled a servant to bring tea, and then personally handed it to him.

"Have a sip of water first!"

Fang Tianqing accepted the tea, a touch of emotion appearing on his face. After all, a staff member is just a close advisor, and it is truly rare and precious to receive such courtesy from Chu Tianming, their master.

The generals inside the tent were filled with envy upon seeing this.

Having served in the army for a long time, they had long heard that Fang Tianqing, their advisor, was highly regarded by the prefect. Now it seems that what he said was true!
Fang Tianqing, naturally not wanting to be taken advantage of the host's hospitality, took a sip of tea and immediately smiled, cupping his hands to look at Chu Tianming and said, "Prefect, I have lived up to your expectations. I have already reached an agreement with Da Xia. They will withdraw from Dongchuan City at dawn, and there is a very high probability that Cai Qiu's 200,000 troops will not be able to return. We can start making moves in Lin Chu County!"

As soon as Fang Tianqing finished speaking, the tent fell into a deathly silence.

All the generals trembled violently, their pupils dilated, and then they looked up at Chu Tianming and Fang Tianqing with horror on their faces.

"Hahahaha, good, good, good..."

Chu Tianming, on the other hand, burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)