Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 555 Chu Tianming's Methods to Break the Stalemate: Forming Alliances and Strategies

"Reporting to the Chief Clerk, all the people in the city have left, and the 14 troops are lined up outside the South Gate, ready to leave at any time upon the Chief Clerk's order!"

It was the third day of the first month of the thirteenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, just as dawn was breaking.

In the main hall on the top floor of the Siya Building in Dongchuan City, Liu Yuan, the commander of the Yunjiao Army, strode in and reported directly to Xia Chuan above.

Xia Chuan sat in the main seat, with more than ten military commanders, including Yue Feng, Zhou Yuan, Meng Yi, Mu Longhe, and Mu Qinghe, standing on either side below.

Upon hearing Liu Yuan's report, everyone immediately turned to look at Xia Chuan.

"Good, immediately issue the order for the entire army to retreat to the Dongchuan camp. Have scouts stationed around Dongchuan City and report any unusual movements by the Chencang army immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

Xia Chuan immediately stood up and gave the order. Liu Yuan bowed and quickly left the hall to relay the order to the army to retreat.

As soon as Liu Yuan left, the crowd below immediately started talking.

"This Chu Tianming is quite a formidable character. He can tell from the fact that our Great Xia has no intention of fighting him that we are not deploying troops at the Blood Corridor Pass!"

"That Fang Tianqing is no simple man either! He stormed the camp alone and dared to be so arrogant as to tell us to withdraw. Chu Tianming asked him to deliver a message that Chencang only occupies Dongchuan and will not invade the rest of the Great Xia territory. I'm afraid that this message is only three-tenths true at most."

"Three parts truth? You're being too simplistic. In my opinion, there's not a single part truth. Right now, Chu Tianming is eyeing the position of Junior Governor. Once he seizes Dongchuan City, pleases Chu Longteng, and becomes Junior Governor, he will inevitably lead his troops south to continue conquering cities and seizing territory from our Great Xia!"

"It can't be that simple, can it? Chu Longteng isn't that petty. Does Chu Tianming think he's completed the test just because he took over Dongchuan City?"

"It's unlikely. But logically, Chu Tianming wouldn't need to send anyone to negotiate with us. The southern border is full of scouts from the vassal states. The lord is locked in a stalemate with Caiqiu in Jinyang. He must know that we have 100,000 troops and 200 Xianyang-level soldiers. Dongchuan isn't a fortified city. Surely we can fight them?"

………………

Hearing the discussion among the generals below, Xia Chuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he turned his head to look at the map on the shelf on the left side of the hall.

It was a giant map covering the four vassal states and the southern foothills. All the major cities, camps, villages, and official roads connecting these settlements in the four vassal states were clearly marked, and even the topographical features of all areas were clearly visible.

"According to the message sent back by Jiang Xinfan..."

Xia Chuan suddenly interrupted the generals' discussion. After everyone's attention turned to him, he continued, "Chu Longteng set up this test most likely to discourage Chu Tianming from seizing the throne. Chu Tianming himself knows this very well. Given Chu Longteng's absolute power in Chencang, changing his mind is probably hopeless. If Chu Tianming wants to save himself, he can only win the support of the vast majority of people in Chencang, except for his father..."

As Xia Chuan meticulously unraveled the mystery, everyone's brows furrowed slightly as they began to ponder how Chu Tianming could win the support of the vast majority of people in Chencang.

"Although the lord is not in Dongchuan, no one in Chencang knows whether the Beast King-level puppet is there or not. With the 100,000 troops that Chu Tianming has brought, unless Chu Longteng and all the experts in Chencang come out, how can they be so sure that they can defeat us?"

Yue Feng seemed to have realized something. He stared at the map in front of Xia Chuan for a while, vaguely grasping something, and asked, "Does the Chief Minister mean that Chu Tianming also knows that he cannot defeat our Great Xia on his own, so he can only find a way to complete this test set up by Chu Longteng from other places?"

It is currently known that Chu Tianming's southward march was a test set up by Chu Longteng. Although it is unclear what the final standard for success in this test is, it is easy to guess that the mobilization of 100,000 troops is definitely to seize benefits for Chencang, and winning the battle is absolutely the minimum requirement.

Chu Longteng knew very well that Chu Tianming was no match for the Great Xia, so this test would most likely end in Chu Tianming's defeat, a fact that Chu Tianming was also well aware of.

Right now, he's trying to find a way to break the deadlock.

What he wanted was not just to win battles, but to produce results that would be recognized by his father, Uncle Chu Longteng, and even more broadly, to gain the approval of the entire Chencang region.

Taking Dongchuan City is far from enough to accomplish this.

"Sending Fang Tianqing, our advisor, to appease our retreat is precisely to avoid a direct conflict with the Great Xia. Chu Tianming is well aware that our Xia army is currently locked in a stalemate with Cai Qiu at the Bone-Eating Path. Could it be..."

As soon as Yue Feng finished speaking, everyone in the tent reacted instantly, their eyes snapping to the map, all focusing on the heart of Mo'aochuan, the location of Caiqiu.

To be precise, it is the western border of Caiqiu, bordering Chu County!
"That's right! Brother Yue's words have awakened me. The three vassal states of Mo'aochuan all regard Chencang as a monstrous flood, so there is absolutely no possibility of them joining forces with Chencang. This is also the reason why the lord dares to confront Caiqiu head-on this time. In that case, instead of attacking us and indirectly relieving Caiqiu's predicament, why not take advantage of the great opportunity of Cai Qianshan being restrained by us and take a piece of flesh from Caiqiu!"

In truth, Mu Longhe is old enough to be Yue Feng's great-grandfather, but given Yue Feng's current status and strength, he can only address him as Brother Yue.

Mu Longhe's words completely exposed Chu Tianming's intentions, and all the generals in the hall instantly realized what was going on.

"I see. So, this Chu Tianming is quite a figure!"

"It's just a desperate measure to break the deadlock. If Chu Longteng hadn't created this test, and he had really been determined to bring 100,000 troops to attack, our Great Xia would have suffered serious damage."

“Chencang has the bearing of a state, and today’s governor is very likely to be the future ruler. Chu Tianming has many supporters, so how could he not have any ambition for the governorship?”

"Speaking of which, it was Chu Longteng who brought this trouble upon himself. According to the information Jiang Xinfan gathered, Chu Longteng had intended to make his eldest son the heir in his early years, but who would have thought he would change his mind later? How could Chu Tianming be willing to accept that?"

………………

Hearing the crowd's words, Xia Chuan's lips curled into a slight smile as he said slowly, "I'm just afraid he's not a problem. Since there's a turmoil over the succession in Chencang, that's an opportunity for our Great Xia. Chu Longteng wants to use us to help him resolve the succession issue, but we'll deliberately defy his wishes. What's a mere Dongchuan City? If we can add fuel to the fire and give up the entire Dongchuan territory, I, the Chief Minister, would be willing!"

Everyone was slightly startled by Xia Chuan's determination.

Now, all seven districts of Beishuo have been handed over to Daxia. Xia Chuan not only gave up Dongchuan City, but was also willing to hand over the entire Dongchuan district. This kind of courage is truly astonishing.

However, after their initial shock, everyone quickly came to their senses.

Xia Chuan was willing to hand over the territory he had just acquired, partly to fuel the chaos of the succession struggle in Chencang, and partly because it was probably the best option for Great Xia at the moment.

The Great Xia currently lacks the capacity to wage war against both major vassal states simultaneously, even considering the lords' beast-king level puppets, which is an undeniable fact.

Giving up Dongchuan City, which has already been emptied out, would both fuel the chaos of the succession struggle in Chencang and avoid a direct war with Chencang. Why not do it?
Once we've dealt with Cai Qiu's offensive, it will be much easier to focus our efforts on Chen Cang.

As for Xia Chuan, his opinion differed from the others.

He was willing to give up the entire Dongchuan jurisdiction, but that was his honest opinion.

According to the information sent back by Jiang Xinfan, if the reform of Yanling County is successful, it is very likely to greatly increase the strength of Chencang. Correspondingly, Chu Tianxu will be able to take over. Therefore, it is inevitable that Daxia will join forces with Chu Tianming to find ways to undermine Chu Tianxu.

It now seems that Chu Tianming taking over is in the best interests of Great Xia!
"Minister Si, not only did we let Chen Cang's 100,000 troops leave the Blood Corridor, but we also gave Dongchuan City to them. We gave away one-seventh of the entire Beishuo territory that we fought so hard to conquer. It won't be so easy to take it back in the future." Xia Chuan raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing this and looked at Mu Qinghe, who was speaking. A look of appreciation immediately appeared on his face.

Fang Tianqing, the advisor sent by Chu Tianming, made it very clear that the 100,000 troops in Chencang would only take Dongchuan City and would not continue south.

In other words, Chen Cang's 100,000-strong army is very likely to stay in Dongchuan City from now on. In other words, although Chu Tianming's intention was Caiqiu, he still interfered in the southern part of the region.

Moreover, this tactic is actually quite vicious.

The key pass for Chencang's southward advance was the Blood Corridor of Nine Bends. The 100,000-strong army emerged from the Blood Corridor, occupied a territory 50 kilometers south of Danxue Peak, and also seized Dongchuan City, which the Great Xia had painstakingly built over several years. From then on, they firmly drove a thorn into the southern territory. After this war ended, it would be much easier for Chencang to wage war against the Great Xia in the future.

On the contrary, since the Great Xia has ceded Dongchuan City this time, it will be difficult to take it back later, and the possibility of cutting off Chencang's outstretched hand is even more remote.

Xia Chuan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "This is probably the biggest hidden danger we left behind this time. However, we don't need to worry too much. Times have changed. Even if Chu Tianming can't take over the entire Linchu County this time, he can still make Cai Qiu lose a lot of territory. At that time, Cai Qianshan will definitely be more wary of Chencang. We can then extend an olive branch at the right time and join forces with them to deal with Chencang."

Everyone was stunned when they heard Xia Chuan's words.

It's not entirely their fault. Xia Jun's withdrawal from Dongchuan City was actually a collaboration with Chen Cang to deal with Cai Qiu. According to Xia Chuan, once this collaboration ended and their war with Cai Qiu came to a close, they would immediately begin to cooperate with Cai Qiu to deal with Chen Cang.

"This... hasn't our Great Xia become a fence-sitter?"

"That's a bit embarrassing!"

"After all, they are regional military governors. It's understandable that they need to be humble and flexible."

………………

Hearing everyone's words, Xia Chuan smiled slightly. Remembering his elder brother's message to Xu Ning, he shook his head slightly and addressed the crowd:
"When people cooperate, they should of course be honest and trustworthy. But this is not the case between towns. Whether it is my Great Xia, or Chencang and Caiqiu, they all have vast territories and millions of people under their command. A single action can determine the life and death of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people. How can we act on emotion so easily?"
"If you are strong today, I will cooperate with you against others; if you are weak tomorrow, I will naturally cooperate with others against you. This principle of alliances and counter-alliances has always been applied to the foreign affairs of major powers. You are now all in command of armies; if you cannot even understand this simple principle, how can you expect to fight for the Great Xia in the future?"

Everyone was jolted by these words.

It was as if some secret had been unlocked in their minds; their eyes shone brighter, and their gazes toward Xia Chuan became filled with utmost reverence.

Xia Chuan never missed an opportunity to establish Xia Hong's authority. Seeing the looks in everyone's eyes, he immediately said, "Don't look at me like that. These are the Lord's words. Keep them in mind. You'll need them sooner or later!"

"This is truly enlightening! The lord is indeed a celestial being. If our Great Xia can follow this principle in its future dealings with foreign vassals, not to mention the mere southern foothills, even the entire Mo'ao River will surely be within our grasp!"

Among the generals present, Mu Longhe was probably the one who understood the situation the most. After all, Chuishan had slowly perished in the cracks between the nine towns. Looking back now, if Duan Hong had followed Xia Chuan's words, Chuishan would never have perished so quickly.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded slightly, repeatedly reciting Xia Chuan's words in their minds, and secretly resolved that they must strictly adhere to this principle when dealing with foreign vassals in the future.

"Alright, enough said, it's time to go!"

Xia Chuan didn't say anything more. It was already dawn, and since he had agreed to leave, he naturally wouldn't stay any longer.

Chu Tianming may have said nice things, but if he really had the chance to take action against the Great Xia, he probably wouldn't hold back. On paper, Chen Cang's 100,000 troops were enough to crush the 140,000 Xia troops. If you take into account Chen Cang's mysterious and unpredictable tricks, then it goes without saying.

The reason why Chu Tianming was intimidated and turned his attention to Cai Qiu was ultimately because he was intimidated by the fourteen Beast King-level puppets of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Others may not know, but Xia Chuan knows perfectly well.

Those fourteen Beast King-level puppets have a usage restriction: they must be within the illumination range of the Sacred Cauldron.

Only he and Li Xuanling knew about this matter in the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

Chen Cang and Cai Qiu have only recently come into contact with the Great Xia, and they certainly won't be able to figure this out in a short time, so for now, the problem isn't too big.

"If we can fool Chen Cang, then we just need to wait for our elder brother to defeat Cai Qiu's army. Changqing Valley's backup plan should also be starting to move. Cai Qiu has suffered a big setback this time, so he should be more obedient from now on!"

Xia Chuan watched all the generals in the hall leave, pondered for a moment, and then got up and walked out of the hall, preparing to retreat with the army.

However, just as he stepped outside the hall, a figure sped in from the southeast and quickly approached the main building.

"It's me, don't be nervous!"

The generals who had just stepped out of the main hall immediately became alert and prepared to take to the air to stop the newcomer. However, before they could take flight, the man spoke.

"It's Xu Ning!"

"They've returned from Jinyang. Could it be good news?"

"Judging from his expression, it must be good news!"

………………

Seeing that Xu Ning was indeed smiling, Xia Chuan felt much more relaxed.

Last night, after he finished talking with Fang Tianqing, he immediately sent Xu Ning to inform his elder brother Xia Hong in Jinyang. Xu Ning returned so quickly, and with a smile on his face, that there must be some good news.

"Minister Si, just now, Cai Qiu's 200,000-strong army arrived. Cai Qianshan personally blasted open the exit of the Bone-Eating Path, expanding it to three times its original size. All the experts from Cai Qiu's domain came out, but they were unable to break through. The lord displayed great power, successively killing more than 20 Cai Qiu experts, including one at the Tribulation Realm. When the lord sent me to report the news, Cai Qiu's army had already begun to retreat!"

As expected, Xia Jun won the Bone-Corroding Path.

Moreover, it was a resounding victory!

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

Xia Chuan laughed loudly and said "good" three times in a row.

The generals below, including Yue Feng, also became incredibly excited.

(End of this chapter)