Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 688: Chapter 286: Zhou Yuan’s Dilemma, Changbai Gully

East of Long Mountain, western border of Changning

The convoy transporting supplies was advancing through the snow against the biting wind.

”Speed up, get a move on! You’ve run out of energy after just two hours?”

”Stop dragging your feet, it’s just the last twenty kilometers, we’re almost there.”

”Speed up, speed up, all of you!”

...

Since entering Changning’s territory, Commanding Officer Zhou Yuan’s urging had been unceasing. It seemed like his nerves were too tense, as he was constantly pushing the army forward, ignoring the morale of his men.

”Commandant, we’ve covered twelve kilometers in two hours. The troop’s speed is already at its maximum, it can’t go any faster.”

Following Zhou Yuan at the rear, the Second Battalion Commanding Captain Cheng He noticed many soldiers panting heavily and couldn’t help but speak up on their behalf.

First Battalion Commanding Captain Song Ning added, ”Commandant, Changning is now under Long Mountain’s jurisdiction, we are quite familiar with the conditions here, and the roads ahead have been cleared in advance, there’s no need to rush so much.”

The two battalion commanding captains, Li Yuankai and Li Yuanqing, although silent, nodded in agreement with the others.

The snowfield presented complex conditions, and without any aids, the marching speed of the Longyou Army was about five to six kilometers per hour. This newly formed military unit might be slower by two or three tenths.

Marching speed is inherently slow, and with ten massive four-wheel vehicles, it’s naturally even slower.

Thankfully, a few days ago, the Changning garrison had cleared a marching route in advance; otherwise, they couldn’t have covered twelve kilometers in two hours.

The current marching speed was already ridiculously fast.

After the upheaval in Longyou in April, Yucheng, Changning, and Song Yuan were all annexed by Long Mountain, and naturally, their territories became Long Mountain’s.

The garrison of the three families now all had some Long Mountain personnel, stepping into Changning’s territory felt like home. To the people involved, Zhou Yuan seemed overly tense.

Yet, upon hearing Cheng He and Song Ning, Zhou Yuan showed no restraint and continued urging before turning to the duo with a somber tone:

”The new unit is newly formed, and this is our first expedition. I don’t ask for merit, but I do ask for no failures; everything must be handled cautiously, yourself included.”

Upon hearing these words, Cheng He, Song Ning, Li Yuankai, and Li Yuanqing all exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat odd, but they said nothing, nodding gently.

Zhou Yuan, being advanced in age, naturally saw that the four hadn’t truly listened, a hint of anger on his face. But looking at their youthful faces, he said nothing further and merely ordered: ”There are still about twenty kilometers to the destination, an estimated three hours journey. You four go ahead and scout the path to avoid any special situations!”

The four exchanged looks, showing signs of reluctance, but seeing Zhou Yuan’s angry face, dared not refuse, they bowed and complied, pairing up in groups of two, running towards the distant east.

Zhou Yuan, hanging on the army’s flank, watched the four leave. As his anger subsided, he sighed slightly:

”They say they handed the newly created army completely to me, yet inserted these four nails, with two commanding captains being from their own, showing their distrust towards me, an outsider. Leader, alas...”

Long Mountain had a large enterprise, hence heavy regulation, the control of the army always held by the Li Family. Li Xuanling, holding the leadership position, controlled two Commander’s Seals, and she alone could mobilize all three Longyou Army units in the camp.

The Li Family was inherently the ruler of Long Mountain, so holding military power was understandable.

The problem was, the Li Family’s actions were somewhat exaggerated!

Long Mountain had three thousand-men armies, now separately commanded by Li Xuanyan, Li Xuantiang, and Li Xuandu.

The three large armies collectively had twelve Colonels, eleven of whom bore the surname Li. The only exception, Yang Zhi, wasn’t Li by name, but was actually Li Tiancheng’s grandson.

To outsiders, this felt somewhat excessive.

Not that outsiders wanted to meddle with the camp’s military power, but everyone requires room to grow, especially for them at the Cold Resistance Level. Positions like Colonel and Commandant aren’t merely symbols of status; they come with substantial allocation of cultivation resources.

More crucially, it’s about whether the Li Family completely trusts outsiders like them.

Zhou Yuan, being a direct subordinate of the former leader Li Tianhua, one of the Longshan Eight Great Vajra, and one of the Council Elders of Long Mountain, needed no testament to his loyalty to the Li Family. But that didn’t mean he lacked the desire to cultivate and strengthen himself, elevate his power and status.

The issue of outsiders holding positions in the military was something Li Tianhua proposed for reform two years ago, but since his departure, none spoke of it again, remaining a sensitive topic in Long Mountain since.

Up until last month, end of May, after meeting Hou Hu, Li Xuanling proposed during a council to establish a new military unit, appointing outsiders to Commandant roles, sparking a huge controversy.

No exceptions, Li family members almost universally opposed;

while all outsiders at the Cold Resistance Level, including Zhou Yuan, unanimously supported.

Ultimately, Li Xuanling overcame the opposition and chose him to be the New Army Captain; Zhou Yuan was so moved he nearly wept with joy.

Recalling years of diligent service under Li Tianhua, loyalty to the Li Family finally paid off. He swore internally to lead the new army well, achieve greatness for Long Mountain, to repay the trust of two consecutive leaders.