Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1794: Chapter 572: Unexpected Terms, Qiu Peng Is Overwhelmed, Yanze Lake Stirs_2

A day is certainly not enough to discuss only five conditions, there must be many details in between. When Qiu Peng came to meet him, he surely picked the most important points to discuss, so Xia Hong was not surprised.

After Qiu Peng gradually stated the last two points, Xia Hong understood what he and Liang Hengzhang had been discussing all day yesterday.

The Great Xia Territory will not yield an inch. For Great Xia and Cai Qiu, Guangning Mountain will serve as the boundary, with Cai Qiu’s trading port being Qinghua City, and Great Xia’s being the newly established Guangning City.

All of Cai Qiu’s prisoners of war will be handed over at a minimum price of 1,000 silver taels each, 2,000 taels for those with strength above 10 bristles, 5,000 taels for those above 20 bristles, 12,000 taels for those above 30 bristles; 20,000 taels for those above 40 bristles; and all those above 50 bristles will be calculated at 50,000 taels each.

When Xia Hong heard the earlier part, he said nothing, but upon hearing the price for the prisoners, even he couldn’t help showing a hint of surprise on his face, and asked, “We have more than a hundred thousand of Cai Qiu’s prisoners in hand, right?”

Qiu Peng nodded strongly, his expression excited as he said, “As of now, there are a total of 114,592 people. I have already ordered Hou Bing to conduct a count overnight. Cold Resistance Level below 10 bristles accounts for sixty percent, roughly 75,000. According to the price agreed upon with Liang Hengzhang, to redeem these prisoners, Cai Qiu will have to produce 470 million silver taels, making the Camp Supply Department somewhat profitable!”

Not just a little profit, this counts as a considerable windfall.

Xia Hong calculated in his mind for a moment and couldn’t help feeling somewhat excited inside.

470 million silver taels may not seem like much at first glance, but considering that Great Xia has now annexed the Northern Five Towns, unifying the Southern Slope, with others yet to be calculated, the silver in the Five Towns Treasury, no single count is likely to be less than this amount.

But the account isn’t calculated this way; the silver in the Five Towns Treasury is an accumulation of over a hundred years. Great Xia swallowed the five towns in one go, and such a large harvest is quite normal.

Normally, there’s only one way to obtain silver, which is to mine it from silver mines. Here are two difficulties: first, silver mines are hard to find; second, mining silver is challenging, with the Earth-digging Realm limit producing normally 100 pounds a day, equivalent to 1,000 taels.

It has been a long time since Xia Hong returned to Xia City. He remembers very clearly that four years ago, when Great Xia Territory discovered a total of just 19 silver mines. At that time, its territory exceeded 20,000 square kilometers, which by itself shows that silver mines are not that easy to find.

In Moao South Slope, each township has existed for over a hundred years, and each one’s territorial expansion is limited by the environment and has long reached a limit. The silver mines controlled by each hand are not many; even if there are a few, the number available for mining is minimal.

These 470 million taels from Cai Qiu are all current silver, disregarding their intrinsic value for the moment, just mining this batch of silver would consume extremely terrifying manpower and resources.

“470 million current silver taels, coupled with the silver seized from the Five Towns Treasury, could help alleviate the fiscal pressure brought on by this rapid population expansion. Trade with Cai Qiu is just the beginning; the other Three Vassals should soon request to trade with us as well. Building a car behind closed doors is unwise, communication with them is inevitable, it is imperative to stabilize prices and beware of any ulterior motives!”

Upon hearing Xia Hong’s reminder, Qiu Peng immediately nodded vigorously and said, “Rest assured, Lord! Subordinate has already dispatched a large number of spies to the Treasure Pavilion in each major city of the Four Vassals to gather price information. Additionally, a letter has been sent to notify Xia City, instructing Mu Sizheng to prepare in advance to withstand the price impact from the Four Vassals. With the resources of the entire Southern Slope Territory as a foundation, the subordinate is confident to ensure nothing goes wrong!”

Hearing this solid guarantee, Xia Hong was completely relieved and nodded to ask, “Are the contracts prepared?”

The lords of the two towns, swearing by blood, if any goes against it, they will perish under the Five Elements Tribulation. Such a contract is highly binding; at least at the current stage, Xia Hong absolutely does not dare to violate it wantonly.

Qiu Peng shook his head and said, “The contracts are in two copies and must be signed face-to-face. We have tentatively scheduled to hold the alliance meeting on March 15th in Guangning City this year.”

Xia Hong slightly raised his eyebrows, looking toward Qiu Peng.

Qiu Peng naturally knew what he was thinking, his eyes flashed as he said, “Although Cai Qianshan was rescued by Li Gangfeng, his injuries should not be light, currently, the war in Lin Chu County is being hosted by Commander Zhong Feihu. Subordinate suspects that by March, Cai Qianshan might not be able to come out.”

At this critical moment, Cai Qianshan’s severe injury negatively impacts Cai Qiu quite significantly. If it is true as Qiu Peng said, and Cai Qianshan cannot smoothly return by March, with Wei Bo and Hezang not providing actual support, then Chen Cang’s subsequent attacks might become even fiercer.

Since it’s decided to sign a cease-fire agreement with Cai Qiu, Xia Hong has no intention of breaking the contract. However, if Cai Qiu fails, and changes occur in the whole Moao River situation, adjustments made by Great Xia would be normal.

“Let’s not think too much for now, Cai Qiu is currently highly cautious, Cai Qianshan’s injury situation is difficult to inquire about. The cease-fire is of great benefit to us; it’s harmless. Since Liang Hengzhang is confident to schedule the alliance meeting for March 15th, let’s believe him for now. It’s only a little over two months, and we’ll know by March 15th.”

After Xia Hong finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something and curiously asked Qiu Peng, “Liang Hengzhang mentioned five conditions. You’ve just said four, what’s the last one you haven’t mentioned?”

Upon hearing this, Qiu Peng’s expression visibly stiffened, his demeanor evidently became a bit uneasy, and under Xia Hong’s direct gaze, he finally spoke in a nervous tone:

“Pardon me, Lord. Liang Hengzhang proposed five conditions; the first four are not considered stringent, and subordinate has mostly bargained over them. But for this final one, Liang Hengzhang was exceptionally adamant; no matter how subordinate said, he was unwilling to budge. Subordinate weighed carefully and ultimately agreed.”