Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1797: Chapter 573: Factional Strife, Unlucky Hou Tong (2)

The development of Great Xia has reached the point where Lord Xia Hong’s style of governance has steadily solidified. To sum it up in one phrase: he only focuses on major decisions and does not involve himself in daily management. He is even willing to delegate some major decisions to others, such as during the past three years when Xia Hong traveled far to Moao River.

When there’s a power vacuum, it will inevitably be filled by someone else, especially since Xia Hong intentionally delegated his authority.

Where there are people, there is a society. Moreover, Great Xia today is overwhelmingly vast, and the current top-tier power structure of Xia City can largely be divided into two factions: Madam Li Xuanling and Minister Xia Chuan.

To forcefully call them two factions is somewhat tenuous. After all, Madam Li Xuanling oversees Xia Palace, while Minister Xia Chuan manages the Eight Departments. The interactions between them are scant, let alone any conflicts or frictions.

However, with the passing of former Prison Department Director Li Tiancheng two years ago, and the subsequent appointment of Xiang Fuhai as Director on Madam Li Xuanling’s recommendation, the situation has gradually begun to change.

Xiang Fuhai, in return for the favor, shows a noticeable inclination in handling the affairs of the Prison Department. He even seeks Madam Li Xuanling’s opinion before enacting major rules and regulations, and only then reports to the Minister.

After the major case in Milk Tiger Forest last year, it only took a word from Madam to make Murong Ping, the Deputy Director, unable to continue, proving the depth of her control over the Prison Department.

Following the Prison Department, the Forestry Department Director Cheng Feng and Craftsmanship Department Director Mu Dong also gradually drew closer to Madam. Now, these three departments have basically become obedient to Li Xuanling, even making certain key decisions that override the Minister’s influence.

“It’s clear from the Longyou period that Madam is not someone who is content with mediocrity. Previously, she was restrained by the Lord, but since the Lord’s absence for just three years, she has allied with three out of the Eight Departments. Considering the people in Xia Palace and the Longshan System, her power seems to be subtly surpassing the Minister’s. The key is, the Lord has yet to express any stance…”

Luo Yuan pondered for a moment, his eyes glimmering.

He is also one of the Directors overseeing the Hunting Department, managing tens of thousands of hunting teams. Having been in a high position for many years, he is naturally well-versed in the operations of power.

He does not believe that the Lord, having returned so many days, is completely unaware of the current division into two factions among the top tiers. The lack of any action can only signify that Xia Hong tacitly approves of this situation.

Power is ultimately the art of balance. As a Lord, he is naturally pleased to see his subordinates vie for control. Luo Yuan, being a head of one department himself, can clearly see through this dynamic.

Of the Eight Departments, the Madam has acquired the Prison, Forestry, and Craftsmanship Departments; among the remaining five, Governance and Camp Needs Departments are staunch Minister’s Faction members. Zou Yuankai informed me that Zhu Yuan has recently seized the opportunity to reorganize the household registrations of the Northern Five Towns and begun to lean towards the Minister;

Presently, the only ones not aligned are Yuwen Dao’s Military Department and his own Hunting Department.

The Military Department, overseeing Xia Army, is under the sole authority of the Lord, with neither the Madam nor the Minister daring to intervene casually. Yuwen Dao is very wise, directly ignoring the struggle between the two major factions at the top and focusing solely on leading the troops, keeping his distance from everyone.

Thus, fundamentally, the only department left unaligned is the Hunting Department.

Luo Yuan thought of this, his expression becoming somewhat bitter.

He indeed wishes to emulate Yuwen Dao’s detachment, but the problem is that the Hunting Department does not hold as high a status as the Military Department, and he does not have the privilege of remaining independent.

The Madam and Minister wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for him, but these past three years during the end-of-year evaluations of the Eight Departments, including regular appointments and removals of officials, he has noticeably felt that the Hunting Department is not as prioritized as before.

Previously, when Great Xia wasn’t this immense, a department being less prioritized didn’t matter much, but now, what is the scale of Great Xia?

No need to mention end-of-year evaluations and official appointments and removals; simply a commonplace high-level meeting result, given Great Xia’s current scale, is enough to affect hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

A lack of prioritization for the Hunting Department directly manifests in his lack of authority as a Director, where he cannot strive for additional benefits for himself and his subordinates in situations of scarcity.

“I can’t hesitate any longer. Nowadays, Great Xia has more and more rising stars. Although Qin Feng was killed in the Jinyang battle, his sons Qin He and Qin Shan remain, and many high-level figures in Wuchuan are still around. Shangguan Yang was saved by the Lord, and high-levels from Jinshan Town will all soon turn to Great Xia. Plus, Li Yangtian from Dragon Valley—Xianyang Level is soon to be of no consequence in Great Xia!

Continuing in indecision, if the Madam and Minister set their sights on someone else, maintaining my position as Director in the future could become a problem.

Moreover, Qiu Peng has independently promised the Lord to agree to marry Cai Qiu, which may not be an attempt to slight the Madam. Since the conflict is now out in the open, with no remarks from the Lord, what should I fear…”

Thus, Luo Yuan’s thoughts became completely clear, and the look of struggle on his face vanished entirely, his gaze continuing to focus northward.

“It should be about time, Hou Tong, you handle your business! I can wait for the Madam alone.”

The news that the Madam wanted to bring the two young masters back to Xia City was revealed to him by his son Luo An. Luo Yuan calculated the time to come here in advance, and indeed the time is near.

Upon hearing Luo Yuan asking him to leave, Hou Tong felt a bit reluctant. He planned to show his face in front of the Madam by providing advice to Luo Yuan. However, since Luo Yuan had spoken, it was naturally impossible for him to remain, so he could only bow and nod, saying, “Then I’ll take my leave first!”