Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 596 The Gradual Differentiation of Social Classes, Xiang Yan's Setback
"Da Yan Coal Company, you're Xiang Zhangxing's younger brother, right?"

Today, the officer on duty at the city gate was Luo Cheng, the commander of the Seventh Battalion of the Imperial Guard. After carefully examining Xiang Yan and confirming that he was indeed there, he took back the gate pass and then asked a question with a smile.

Xiang Yan felt honored and bowed, saying, "Does Your Excellency know my elder brother?"

Luo Cheng was only a year younger than him, and they were both from noble families in the inner city. They should have known each other, but in reality, they had never met before and had never even spoken to each other.

Despite this, Xiang Yan was extremely familiar with this genius of the same age.

He has made it into the top ten in several martial arts competitions, possesses top-grade battle physique, and became the commander of the Ninth Battalion of the Dragon Guard at a young age. He has peak cold-resistant cultivation, and it is rumored that his strength is close to 50. Looking at the new generation of the Great Xia Dynasty, he is definitely one of the most dazzling people.

Crucially, Luo Cheng's family background is also not simple. His father, Luo Ming, was the former leader of the Rogge camp who ceded Shuanglong Valley to Daxia. He not only had a past relationship with Lord Xia Hong, but also had close ties with the three Zhao brothers, Cheng Feng, Mu Dong, and a large number of other core high-ranking officials of Daxia.

In the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty, Longyou was pacified, and Luo Ming returned to the lord's command.

He worked diligently as the garrison commander of Jinggu for several years before being recommended by the Zhao brothers and coming into the view of Yuwen Sizheng. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the expansion of the Great Xia army in recent years, he formed the Luoyang Army, one of the thirty numbered armies in the Great Xia. He was then promoted to the Military Affairs Commissioner of the Sixth District of the Outer City. Later, he was noticed by Jiang Xinfan, the deputy director of the Military Affairs Department, and was directly transferred to the Military Affairs Department of the Inner City.

There is currently a rumor about Luo Ming, which says that Yuwen Sizheng ordered Jiang Xinfan, the deputy director, to lead the formation of a secret department specifically responsible for gathering intelligence on the outer vassal states. Luo Ming has been the leader for many years, is experienced and steady in his actions, and is highly appreciated by Jiang Xinfan. He also went undercover in the outer vassal states with Jiang Xinfan.

Luo Ming's strength was already quite good. He was appreciated by a deputy director and had connections with so many core high-ranking officials. As long as his cultivation didn't fall behind and he continued to progress step by step, it was only a matter of time before he was valued by the lord.

These were the exact words of his elder brother, Xiang Liang, which Xiang Yan remembered very clearly.

Although Luo Ming has been out of the public eye in recent years, his son Luo Cheng's growth trajectory reveals some clues. While Luo Cheng's top-grade battle physique is indeed excellent, his growth rate could not have been so fast without the corresponding resources. Where do these resources come from? Aren't they all obtained by his father Luo Ming?
Furthermore, in March of this year, Luo Cheng married Zhao Yuanwu, a daughter of the Zhao family. The Zhao family is one of the top powerful families in the Great Xia Dynasty. In terms of population size, no other family can surpass them. Ordinary families would hardly be able to catch the eye of the Zhao family. Being able to form a marriage alliance with the Zhao family is itself proof of their family's status and strength.

Since the lord of the Great Xia established the ancestral temple and founded the clan in the seventh year, the concept of clan in the Great Xia has gradually begun to rise. With the fermentation of so many years thereafter, the word "clan" has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of the Great Xia.

The status of the main Xia clan needs no further explanation. Any family that is qualified to enter the ancestral temple and establish a lineage is considered a minor clan. They must acknowledge the Xia clan as their master and recognize Xia Hong, the clan leader and lord, as their clan head.

Of course, the competition among clans only occurred at the level of the minor branches.

Currently in the Great Xia Dynasty, although there is no public distinction between the strengths and weaknesses of various clans, some busybodies have already made a ranking in private, and have subdivided them into four levels: powerful clans, prominent families, famous families, and noble families.

The top powerful families were mainly composed of six people from six families who followed Xia Hong during the earliest Tupo period: Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Lu Yang, Xu Ning, Yue Feng, and Lin Kai. If you include the Yuwen family, the Luoyuan family, and the Zhaolong family, there are a total of nine families.

This basically shows that to become a top-tier power, one must have a clean background, secondly, one's clan must have a Xianyang-level member, and finally, one must hold a core high-level position in the Great Xia Dynasty. These three points are indispensable to truly be called a top-tier power.

The second-tier noble families were a bit more numerous, such as the Mu family, where Mu Dong, the head of the Craftsmen's Department, belonged; the Cheng family, where Cheng Feng, the head of the Logging Department, belonged; and the Li, Zou, Bai, and other families in the Hongmuling lineage, numbering more than a dozen. There were also the Meng, Hong, and Zhu families in the Jinggu lineage; the Xiang family of Bashang; the Jiang and Xiahou families of Jiangxia; the Murong family of Muyin; the Mu family of Chuishan; the five major lord families among the towns on the southern slopes who were the first to surrender to the Great Xia; and more than a dozen families such as the Li, Chen, Peng, Hou, and Wang families of Longyou. All in all, there were probably fifty or sixty families.

The requirements for prominent families are lower than those for powerful clans, but reaching the Xianyang level is still the minimum requirement. They do not need to be among the core high-ranking members, but they must at least have a certain degree of influence in the eight tribes of the Great Xia.
The third-tier noble families are mainly composed of military generals and local officials. Most of them are leaders of various camps that have been incorporated into the Great Xia in the past ten years or so. These people have many followers, can be called upon by many, and have considerable strength and achievements. They are considered the backbone of the Great Xia at present. There are more than two hundred families in total.
As for the final noble residence, also known as a noble family, there are only two requirements: first, it must be a family of meritorious officials who have been granted a title; second, it must hold an official position.

Neither of these demands is excessive. Especially in March of this year, with the end of the war with the vassal states, the Northern Expeditionary Army began to reward its soldiers for their merits. A large number of military achievements were rewarded, which led to the creation of many more nobles. Now, the total number of nobles in the Great Xia Dynasty has exceeded 1500. Excluding those of the same clan and surname, the number of noble families is at least over a thousand.

To put it bluntly, although the Xiang family is only a noble family, they are definitely among the top in the world, because his elder brother, Xiang Liang, is one of the few noble families in the Great Xia Dynasty to hold the eighth-rank Chixiao title.

Indeed, his elder brother Xiang Liang has been promoted to a noble rank thanks to his military achievements at the beginning of the year in Changqing Valley of Mo'aochuan.

Even so, Xiang Yan had to admit that compared to the Luo family behind Luo Cheng, his own family still lacked a certain foundation.

Leaving aside Luo Cheng's father Luo Ming's connections, he became the garrison commander of Jinggu in the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty and was granted a title in the sixth year. Not to mention that he has now gained the appreciation of Jiang Xinfan, the deputy director of the Ministry of War, and is currently carrying out a top-secret mission to infiltrate a regional military governorship. Although he is currently only a ninth-rank Xuanling viscount, things will be completely different when he returns after his mission is over.

As for Luo Cheng, although he participated in the entire Northern Expedition, he was surprisingly not granted a title when rewards were distributed at the beginning of this year. However, Xiang Yan found out the reason from his elder brother Xiang Liang.

It turns out that not only Luo Cheng, but also all the thousand members of the Imperial Guards were not granted titles at the beginning of the year when rewards were distributed. This was because at the end of last year, the Imperial Guards failed to handle the robbery case targeting the Second Prince's Lunch Tiger Forest effectively, and all of them were punished. The Director personally ordered them to make amends by launching a northern expedition, which is why none of them were granted titles.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yan was astonished by the strictness of the Imperial Guard Commander in disciplining his troops.

But not being granted a title now doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. The Dragon Guards are the close guards of the Summer Palace, the group of people in the entire Great Xia who are closest to the lord. They will have plenty of opportunities to be granted titles in the future. Besides, being selected as a Dragon Guard is the strongest proof of a clean background and top-notch qualifications. How could such a person be afraid of not having the opportunity to be granted a title?
Putting everything else aside, you should know that his elder brother Xiang Liang's strength is only 52, just 2 to 3 more than Luo Cheng. The problem is that Luo Cheng is only 21 this year, a full 7 years younger than his elder brother. Is that what you call a gap? It's only a matter of time before Luo Cheng surpasses his elder brother.

Xiang Yan's excessive understanding of Luo Cheng stemmed from his deep-seated resentment. If it weren't for his limited abilities, how could he have been content to be just a businessman?
After working as a coal merchant for several months, he realized more and more that, let alone a small official-merchant like himself, even a giant official-merchant who monopolizes a type of commodity and operates on a huge scale is still not respectable in the eyes of officials of some rank in the Great Xia Dynasty.

To give a simple example, he had been a coal merchant for half a year and the highest-ranking official he had come into contact with was the steward of the coal depot in the sixth district of the outer city. As the name suggests, the coal depot was one of the warehouses under the jurisdiction of the Supply and Demand Department, and it was not a very important one.

The coal depot in the Southern Sixth District has five stewards, who are unranked and not considered officials, but rather clerks. Their superior, the head of the coal depot, is a ninth-rank official; above the head of the coal depot is the deputy chief manager of the warehouse, who holds an eighth-rank title; above that is the chief manager of the warehouse, who holds a seventh-rank title; the four chief managers of the warehouse, dispatching, escorting, and accounting are ranked equally, above them is the deputy military commissioner of the Southern Sixth District Supply Department, who holds a sixth-rank title; above that is the military commissioner of the Southern Sixth District, who holds a fifth-rank title.
Thus, the coal depot steward of the South Sixth District, a minor official without any official rank, was initially indifferent when he went to pick up the goods. If he hadn't inadvertently revealed his elder brother Xiang Liang's background later, his coal business probably wouldn't have been as smooth as it is now.

If a lowly official is treated this way, one can only imagine how it is for officials of higher rank.

Xiang Yan was originally a resident of the inner city, and with his elder brother Xiang Liang around, he was very familiar with the organizational structure of the Great Xia Dynasty. As far as he knew, the Dragon Guards were close attendants of the Xia Palace, and their rank and treatment were above those of the regular army. Even ordinary Dragon Guards soldiers received the honorary title of the ninth rank.

The Imperial Guards were a thousand-man unit. Above the ordinary soldiers were captains, and above the captains were commanders. In other words, Luo Cheng, as the commander of the Ninth Battalion, should have held the rank of a seventh-grade official.

His elder brother, Xiang Liang, was the Chief Prisoner of Hongmen City, holding a fifth-rank title, two ranks higher than Luo Cheng. However, there was a saying among the Xia people: "A ninth-rank official in the capital is three ranks higher than a sixth-rank official outside." This meant that a ninth-rank official in the capital was roughly equivalent to a sixth-rank official outside. Thinking about it, it made sense. Leaving aside the difference in treatment, life in Xia City was far superior to outside. If one could stay in Xia City, who would willingly go out to suffer hardship and take risks?

Moreover, staying in the capital city means that once you catch the eye of a powerful figure, your future will be limitless, which is much faster than working hard and achieving results elsewhere to get promoted.

For these reasons, Xiang Yan knew that Luo Cheng was superior to his elder brother Xiang Liang in terms of qualifications, family background, and status. Moreover, the two families had never had any contact before, so it was normal for him not to know his elder brother Xiang Liang.

"Does Your Excellency know my elder brother?"

Therefore, when he heard Luo Cheng call out his elder brother's official name and recognize him, he felt honored and couldn't help but ask a question out of curiosity.

Luo Cheng, of course, had no idea that just one sentence from him had made Xiang Yan think so much in such a short time. He noticed that the other party was a little nervous, so he raised his hand and smiled, "I met your elder brother a few times at the beginning of the year in Changqing Valley. I guessed that you look a bit like Xiang Zhangxing and that you share the same surname!"

Xiang Yan was naturally thrilled to be able to talk to a top genius like Luo Cheng. He quickly ordered his subordinates to push the cart away first, while he himself went up to Luo Cheng to continue the conversation, taking the opportunity to inquire about his elder brother Xiang Liang's situation in the north.

"Your elder brother's strength has increased rapidly in the north. I remember when he came back at the beginning of the year, he already had a strength of 57. Guangning City is a trading port between our Great Xia and Caiqiu, and there are many good things there. If all goes well, he might already be trying to break through to the Xianyang level. Yuwen Si is personally overseeing Guangning Mountain, so there's no need to worry about his safety..."

Luo Cheng immediately noticed that Xiang Yan was worried about Xiang Liang, and smiled to comfort her.

Little did he know that his words stunned Xiang Yan, especially the last sentence, "If things had gone smoothly, he might be trying to break through to the Manifestation Yang level right now." This made his face flush and his emotions become obviously excited.

"Thank you, sir..."

"Who goes there!"

Just as Xiang Yan was about to express her gratitude, Luo Cheng suddenly sensed something, his eyes sharpened, and he turned to shout at the palace gate.

The dozens of soldiers on duty at the palace gate moved at the sound. A surge of heat and blood rose into the sky. Xiang Yan, whose strength was only a little over 5, could not withstand it. He was immediately shaken and almost fell to the ground.

“These ordinary soldiers of the Dragon Guard must all be at least 30 years old in terms of basic strength. I’m about the same age as them, yet the difference in strength is so great. No wonder my elder brother said I’m only suited for business…”

Xiang Yan realized the huge gap between himself and his peers like Long Jinwei. The excitement he had felt from being spoken to by Luo Cheng vanished instantly, leaving only a deep sense of frustration and powerlessness. He sighed inwardly.

"it's me!"

Leaving aside his inner frustration, the figure rushing towards him outside the palace gates quickly drew closer.

"Greetings, Attendant Sun!"

As the man approached, Luo Cheng was taken aback when he saw his appearance. He then quickly bowed and saluted, and the other soldiers followed suit.

"The Six Attendants of the Summer Palace are specifically responsible for protecting the two princes. One of them is surnamed Sun, and he is Lord Sun Yansun, the Second Prince's attendant. He is a Xianyang-level expert!"

A Xianyang-level expert, still a top figure in the Great Xia Dynasty, was someone Xiang Yan was seeing for the first time, so he couldn't help but look at Sun Yan with curiosity.

Although Sun Yan was a Xianyang-level expert, he still had to remove his weapons and undergo the screening of fire oil by Luo Cheng and others before entering the Summer Palace. Fortunately, he was well-behaved and seemed a little anxious at the moment. He quickly stepped forward, took off the long sword from his waist, and then called on Luo Cheng and the others to check him quickly.

"Didn't the lord go north on business? Is there good news?"

Luo Cheng and Sun Yan were obviously very familiar with each other. While checking, he noticed the excitement on Sun Yan's face and couldn't help but ask a question.

Without hesitation, Sun Yan nodded and smiled, "Chen Cang has already withdrawn his troops during the day. All 100,000 troops have been withdrawn without leaving a single one behind. Our army has recaptured Dongchuan City without bloodshed and has driven Chen Cang's army into the Blood Corridor."

Upon hearing this, Luo Cheng paused for a moment, then his expression suddenly brightened.

"I need to report to Madam. I can't waste any more time with you!"

He was about to say something more, but Sun Yan, seeing that the inspection was over, didn't linger at all and rushed into the palace gates, heading towards the Lord's Hall.

"The retreat from Chencang means that the last trick left by the vassal states has been cut off. From now on, only our Great Xia will remain in the southern border region!"

Xiang Yan's expression also became excited at this moment.

Although he held no official position and was not in the military, he still had a certain understanding of the current situation facing the Great Xia Dynasty.

Therefore, he knew how important the news Sun Yan just mentioned was.

With the retreat of Chencang, the entire southern foothills region was now truly under the control of the Great Xia. Without the threat of the regional warlords, the Great Xia could finally begin its development in peace.

(End of this chapter)