Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1785: Chapter 569: Cai Qiu’s Internal Affairs, Using Stillness to Counter Movement_2

“This is our duty, Lord, you overpraise us…”

Although Qiu Peng was modest, a hint of a smile appeared on his face, evidently pleased with Xia Hong’s praise. However, he did not forget the main business of today’s gathering. He shifted the topic and said, “At present, Cai Qianshan is severely injured and unable to take charge, and Lu Yang has already sent back news that the battle in Lin Chu County is currently being overseen by Commander Yizhong Feihu. The Wei Bo and Hezang factions are both sending envoys and gathering large armies at the border, seemingly to pressure Chu Longteng and compel Chen Cang to retreat from Lin Chu.

The Caiqiu Mansion’s hundred thousand Silver Scale Guards have been dispatched, and the remaining three counties have assembled a force of four hundred thousand troops, currently heading towards Lin Chu County, vowing to retake Lin Chu County City.

As for Qinghua City, they only stationed fifteen thousand County Guard Army there, with no other movements within Evergreen Valley. After Cai Yunzhou’s defeat last night, he fled to Red Tiger Ridge, where another fifty thousand troops of Caiqiu reside. They have secured the surrounding area, and judging from the terrain of Red Tiger Ridge, it seems they intend to use it as a fortress to resist us.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Hong raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “A hundred thousand Silver Scale Guards? It seems Chen Cang is serious this time, and Caiqiu is desperate. Unless Wei Bo and Hezang both send troops to assist, retaking Lin Chu County is definitely out of the question. It’s probably because Chen Cang’s progress is too fast, making Caiqiu worried that the war might spread to Bai Shui County, hence their vigorous efforts!”

The Silver Scale Guards are Caiqiu’s most elite troops, with soldiers all at least at a level 20 mane, and there are only a hundred thousand in total. For Caiqiu to bring them all out at once shows how much they value Chen Cang.

Qiu Peng nodded, cupped his hands, and said, “Lord, your strategic foresight is admirable. According to people Lu Yang just sent back, Chen Cang’s army captured eight major camps in Lin Chu in one day yesterday, and including earlier conquests, three-quarters of Lin Chu is already in their hands. They’re accelerating their eastern advance, and if Caiqiu reacts any slower, I’m afraid all of Lin Chu would have already fallen.”

Lu Yang has been hiding in Lin Chu County, observing the battle situation, and promptly sends someone back with any new information. Jiang Xinfan and Ji Hong also relay real-time updates on Chen Cang back to Southern Slope, and as soon as Xia Chuan receives the report, someone is immediately sent to notify. Therefore, the current war situation between the two powers is practically in the palm of Great Xia’s hands.

“Caiqiu only stationed fifteen thousand troops in Qinghua City, and with the fifty thousand at Red Tiger Ridge, it’s a total of only twenty thousand. It seems Caiqiu has also investigated our Great Xia’s military strength!”

At this moment, Yuan Cheng also spoke up from the back, clearly focusing not on Lin Chu but on Qinghua City. He quickly pinpointed the key from Caiqiu’s troop deployment.

Xia Hong nodded without the slightest surprise on his face.

Before this northern expedition, Great Xia could mobilize 270,000 troops, and considering the current battle losses, the realistically deployable forces are estimated at around 230,000.

Indeed, Great Xia has incorporated the Northern Five Towns into its territory, and if you include the forces from these towns, it certainly exceeds that number. The issue is, the Cold Resistance level soldiers of the Five Towns, first of all, are not part of the same system as the Xia Army and have not undergone Great Xia’s battle array training. Even if forcibly brought onto the battlefield, their combat effectiveness would be extremely limited. Secondly, they are newly incorporated, with a mindset that is difficult to gauge, especially as rebel activities in the Five Towns still occur frequently. Xia Chuan is currently working on appeasement and suppression, so how could Great Xia bring them onto the harsh battlefield?

With 230,000 troops, Great Xia still needs to reserve a significant portion to guard against Chen Cang’s hundred thousand troops in East River City, making it impossible to commit them all to Evergreen Valley. Therefore, if Caiqiu considers Qinghua City as the northern advance’s boundary for Great Xia, then stationing fifteen thousand troops is absolutely sufficient.

“Lord, if Caiqiu has set Qinghua City as their boundary, then all of Evergreen Valley is ours. Why not immediately deploy troops to Red Tiger Ridge, defeat those fifty thousand Caiqiu troops, and then take all of Evergreen Valley, establishing Qinghua City as the boundary with Caiqiu, mutually…”

Yuan Cheng’s first sentence was evidently a prelude to his true intention, as Caiqiu has already revealed their boundary line, so Great Xia can naturally act accordingly.

Evergreen Valley covers 8,000 square kilometers, of which they currently occupy only around two-fifths at Guangning Mountain. If we can seize the entire territory at once, Great Xia’s domain can expand substantially once more.

Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately tempted.

“Not advisable…”

Yuwen Dao, who had remained silent all along, expressed a different opinion at this moment. Seeing everyone look toward him with a hint of disapproval, his expression remained unchanged as he turned to Xia Hong, cupped his hands, and said, “Lord, with Cai Qianshan severely injured and the Silver Scale Guards fully deployed, it is evident that Caiqiu has been pushed to the brink by Chen Cang. Additionally, it can be seen that the support from Wei Bo and Hezang is likely not strong. If we press further at this moment, it would only force Caiqiu into a dead end. This would neither be in our interest nor yield a favorable outcome…”

With these words, Yuwen Dao paused briefly, organizing his thoughts before continuing to speak to the assembled crowd, “If we continue our northward assault, we can at most reach Qinghua City, but this would indirectly further weaken Caiqiu, benefiting Chen Cang. Let us not forget that the Hezang and Wei Bo factions will not idly watch Caiqiu be overrun by Chen Cang. Since Caiqiu is aware of our Great Xia’s military situation, the same can be said for the Three Vassals.

Our ability to capture these territories in Evergreen Valley ultimately stems from Caiqiu not viewing us as their primary enemy, and the same goes for Hezang and Wei Bo. If we do not stop in time and provoke the other two vassals, once they dispatch troops, leaving aside whether we can reach Qinghua City, the territories we’ve acquired so far might even have to be relinquished.”