Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 854: Chapter 331: Zhu Shun and Huang Tianxi, the 3rd Year Cold Yuan Banquet of Great Xia, and Xia Yuzong (Part 5)

The children immediately lowered their heads in fear, Huang Tianxi was one of them.

Next to him, Li Xuanling, apparently seeing Xia Hong showing such a childlike side for the first time, had a somewhat strange expression.

“No need for too much formality, just relax and sit down!”

Pa…

Many adults, after standing up, immediately turned to correct their own children.

Clearly, they also knew about the kids sneaking peeks at the lord just now.

“Hahaha, everyone sit down!”

Seeing many children pouting after being scolded, Xia Hong couldn’t help but laugh, and after signaling everyone to sit down, his expression slightly turned serious:

“According to the usual customs, we should be talking about the changes in Great Xia over the past year, and the situations within each of your Six Ministries. However, times are different now. Great Xia’s population has become vast, and the number of people and matters you manage have multiplied several times compared to before. If we discuss each item one by one, I fear the banquet tonight won’t happen. It’s fine for adults to go hungry for a bit, but if the children were to get hungry, they might blame me, the lord, for inadequate hospitality!”

“Hahaha…”

Xia Hong’s joke made everyone laugh uncontrollably.

The straightforward Yuan Cheng directly lifted his less-than-one-year-old son up and laughed, “No worries, my lord. If my Shao’er dares to blame you, let’s see if I don’t spank him!”

“Yuan Cheng, your child can’t even talk yet. Who could he blame?”

“Heh heh, don’t underestimate him. Although my son is young, he’s got quite a temper! Last time the Minister came to pick him up, this kid dared to pee on the Minister!”

“Hahahaha…”

The banter between Qiu Peng and Yuan Cheng made the atmosphere in the hall even more joyous.

Xia Hong looked at the infant in Yuan Cheng’s arms, with a slight smile emerging in his eyes.

The bold name Yuan Shao was naturally chosen by him for Yuan Cheng.

“Alright, let’s keep it simple this year. Let Xia Chuan give a brief overview!”

As soon as Xia Hong spoke, everyone immediately quieted down.

Xia Chuan nodded, stood up, and faced the crowd, speaking slowly:

“I won’t go into detail about the territorial expansion of Great Xia, as everyone present who contributed to the unification of Longyou knows well. I’ll focus on the current population, cultivation, and the general situation of the Seven Departments, followed by Yuwen Sizheng discussing the Hunting Team. How does that sound?”

Beside him, Yuwen Dao nodded immediately, indicating agreement.

“As of the first day of the new year, the total population of Great Xia has officially surpassed 420,000, with 87,241 households. Among them, 225 are at the Cold Resistance Level, with a total of 46,921 in the Earth-digging Realm, including 2,623 at the Earth-digging Realm Limit. There are 168,251 in the Logging Realm, and the latter two numbers are increasing by three digits daily.

Additionally, the Seven Departments have established subordinate agencies in the Outer City Four Districts, Long Mountain, Wuyuan, and Hanqiong. The Seven Departments in the Outer City East, South, West, and North Districts have begun operations. Once the Cold Element Festival is over, personnel at the other three locations will set off to assume their positions, enabling Great Xia’s governance to extend to all territories.”

Wow…

The crowd was just about to express amazement when Yuwen Dao had already stood up to continue.

“The Hunting Department currently oversees 11 Advanced Hunting Teams: Cloud Jiao, Long Wu, Tulong, Tiger Leopard, Longyuan, Hunting Eagle, Steel Mane, Xuanwu, Beizhao, Xiong Wu, and Divine Martial. There are 521 Intermediate Hunting Teams and 1,262 Low-level Hunting Teams.”

…

The entire hall instantly fell silent, not only the adults but even the children were dead silent, clearly aware of how astonishing these numbers were.

Only Xia Hong’s face showed no surprise at all; he was well aware of the population cultivation and the Hunting Team situation in his heart.

Originally, Great Xia’s Advanced Hunting Teams included only Cloud Jiao and Long Wu, but a great Cold Beast battle in the Yanglu Realm directly brought out nine more.

The names alone reveal that the Longyuan team was established by Li Tiancheng and Li Xuanling, while Beizhao was led by Hou Jing. Both teams have the Cold Resistance Level as their foundation, which naturally allowed them to advance faster than other teams.

This time, so many at the Cold Resistance Level have come from Longyou. Not only Li Tiancheng and Hou Jing, but many others have established new Hunting Teams. Xia Hong anticipates that many more Advanced Teams will emerge following this.

“Very well, you may sit down. The progress over the year is indeed significant.”

After indicating for both to sit down, Xia Hong first expressed his appreciation and then smiled as he continued, seeing the silent crowd: “Before the banquet starts tonight, I have one more appointment to announce. The newly established seventh department, the Prison Department Director, will be held by Li Tiancheng!”

Those attending the banquet in the Political Hall tonight were all nobles, so Li Tiancheng was not present. The adults present, hearing this appointment, nodded slightly and then glanced unintentionally at the lady sitting beside Xia Hong, Li Xuanling.

“The Long Mountain system seems to be rising to power!”

The expressions on the faces of Yuwen Dao, Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, Xiao Kangcheng, Zhu Shun, and other Cold Resistance Level individuals were evidently subtle.

Sitting next to Xia Hong, Li Xuanling, upon hearing this appointment, was initially stunned, evidently unaware of it.

She then turned to look at Xia Hong, her expression a mix of joy and complexity.

Appointing her second uncle as the Director, and in charge of Great Xia’s prison laws, was surely Xia Hong’s way of fully accepting her as his wife and recognizing the Long Mountain system.

In this way, it seems she’s truly ascended in status through her child…

“Alright, Li Tiancheng’s appointment will be formally notified by Xia Chuan after the banquet. Let’s start the banquet and dig in, everyone. At the beginning of this new year, may the Cold Yuan bring well-being!”