Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1054: Chapter 372: Chen Hua and Kong Xiu, Muyin in Chaos, Bashang’s Defeat (2)

When they first arrived, they were extremely cautious and directly infiltrated a not-so-strong village-level camp, intending to slowly gather information about Muyin.

But they had stayed at that camp for less than two months when the town started recruiting Cold Resistance Level and Earth-digging Realm Limit individuals from each village. They weren’t sure of the exact reason, but it was such a rare opportunity that they didn’t want to miss out, so they accepted the recruitment and entered the town.

Now they’ve been in the town for more than two months, not only having understood the reason for that recruitment but also having gathered a large amount of intelligence about the town.

”Murong Yan is now practically being led by the nose by his wife Shangguan Hong. The recruitment two months ago was likely her idea, bringing all the Cold Resistance Level and Earth-digging Realm Limit individuals from village-level camps into the town. On the surface, it was to increase the town’s strength and fortify the defenses, but secretly it was to strengthen the power of the main branch of the Murong Family, the co-lord’s line, to compete with the second branch.”

Upon hearing Kong Xiu’s words, Chen Hua laughed and said, ”That Murong Chui is overly indecisive. His second branch clearly has the power to take the lordship from Murong Yan, yet he cherishes his feathers, always deferring to this grandson. Now it’s gotten out of hand, difficult to fix, and I bet this Muyin Town will end up benefiting Jinshan Town.”

The Murong Family has only two branches.

The main branch is led by the former lord Murong Ding. This branch has few people, with Murong Ding’s three sons not living past fifty, leaving only a dozen or so grandchildren. The most talented among them is Murong Yan, the current lord of Muyin Town;

The second branch is led by the Town Chief Murong Chui. Compared to his brother Murong Ding’s branch, the second branch is much more populated, with Murong Chui having five offspring all alive and over thirty in the grandchildren’s line.

Murong Chui and Murong Ding, the brothers, had a great relationship. While Murong Ding was lord, the two brothers reigned, and there was basically no conflict between the branches. But ever since Murong Ding’s death four years ago, with the lordship falling to his grandson Murong Yan, the conflict between the branches could no longer be suppressed.

According to the long-standing tacit rules of the Nine Towns, the positions of Army Chief and Town Chief could be held by Cold Resistance Level individuals, but the lordship required a Xianyang Level expert. It’s unclear how Murong Ding arranged it when he passed away, not transferring the lordship to Murong Chui but rather skipping a generation to his grandson Murong Yan.

Murong Chui had no objections, but the juniors in the second branch were in an uproar.

The main branch was already sparse in numbers, and with not even one Xianyang Level, Murong Yan, apart from the title of lord, fell short of any real benefits. The town’s actual power was fundamentally controlled by his uncle Murong Chui. How could he be content?

Originally, no matter how discontent, Murong Yan had no way out; after all, Murong Chui was the town’s only Xianyang Level. It was fortunate enough for him to become lord, so what else could he do?

But three years ago, Jinshan Town’s Town Chief Shangguan Yan suddenly came knocking with a marriage contract personally signed by Murong Ding before his death. The contract recorded two names, Murong Yan and his granddaughter Shangguan Hong.

Coming with a marriage contract at this time, and aiming to ally with the lord, an old man like Murong Chui could clearly see Jinshan Town’s sinister intentions. He repeatedly refused, even at the risk of offending Shangguan Yan, preferring to offer compensation in gold and silver to cancel the marriage contract.

But Murong Yan agreed!

With the parties involved consenting, what could granduncle Murong Chui say?

And so, three years ago, Shangguan Hong successfully married into Muyin Town.

This became the origin of all conflicts.

With Shangguan Hong as the Lord Lady, Jinshan Town began to recklessly insert people into Muyin Town, openly placing two to three hundred Cold Resistance Level individuals, with no telling how many secretly.

Meanwhile, with his father-in-law and the entire Jinshan Town as his backing and his wife offering strategies, Murong Yan began attempting to reclaim his lordship powers, starting to challenge his granduncle Murong Chui.

Chen Hua and Kong Xiu had been in the town for over two months, thus grasping quite an understanding. At first, Jinshan Town acted moderately, inserting people secretly, a group of three to five at a time. But it became increasingly excessive, with a batch of over thirty Cold Resistance Level individuals sent just three days ago.

”They made the reasons seamless, supposedly forming a personal guard for the lord, grandiosely claiming they were recruited from outside, using the summoning of Cold Resistance Level individuals from villages as a cover. Who doesn’t know they’re all from Jinshan Town?

The entire Muyin Town only has slightly over three thousand Cold Resistance Level individuals, and publicly Jinshan Town has placed over five hundred, with the number secretly inserted unknown.

If Murong Chui had tried to manage the situation from the start, it wouldn’t matter as much, though it would take more effort. But now it’s probably too late; of the over three thousand Cold Resistance Level in town, at least a third are loyal to Murong Yan, and with Jinshan Town’s people, both sides are essentially balanced in power. Additionally, with Jinshan Town watching closely, even if Murong Chui wants to intervene now, he can’t anymore.”

Hearing Kong Xiu’s words, Chen Hua frowned, responding, ”In recent times, the town’s defenses have been far too lax. Even we, who are not from the Nine Towns, could easily slip in, let alone those from the Nine Towns. Not to mention the rest of the Five Towns in the Central South, Beishuo and Wuchuan surely have people who have sneaked in.”

Kong Xiu’s expression froze momentarily at these words, and after a brief reflection, a serious look immediately appeared on his face as he nodded and said, ”Certainly. The first to want to act against Muyin was Wuchuan Town, and it was only after the other seven towns exerted pressure that Wuchuan finally gave up.