Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1808: Chapter 578: Xiahou Yong and Jiang Yiqing, The New Officials Take Office

January 8th, midnight

Great Xia, Xing River North Bank

Great Xia’s eastward expansion has only been going on for five years, yet in this short span, they’ve taken over Bashang, annexed Jiangxia, controlled Muyin, began the Northern Campaign officially last year, captured Dragon Valley, surrounded Yangqu, eradicated Beishuo, defeated the Jinshan Wuchuan coalition, unified the Southern Slope region, and later won all three battles at Caiqiu, which shocked Moao River…

Great Xia has accomplished too much within these five years.

The rapid territorial expansion, the swift population growth, the visible rise in resources to overflowing levels… All of these, from a psychological standpoint, have indeed invigorated the Xia people, while practically, they have made the overall power of Xia people increasingly strong.

For the Ice Abyss, a land full of crises, strong power means fewer restrictions, especially spatial restrictions.

In the early Mud Slope days, even stepping out of the cave was a luxury for Xia people, whereas today, with the construction of Xia Straight Road, Xia people need not engage in cultivation. Even five or six-year-old children can roam freely across the vast territory of Great Xia, accompanied by their parents.

Of course, this freedom to roam comes with certain risks.

Although Xia Straight Road is regularly maintained by the local garrison, it is ultimately only a passage built from wood and iron beneath the snow. Small torches can ward off deceitful monsters, but their attraction to Cold Beasts necessitates that they can’t be widely laid out. Additionally, they are one of Great Xia’s significant resources, not infinite, and as Great Xia’s territory grows, the scale of straight roads becomes increasingly astonishing, making even abundant small torch production inadequate.

Though Great Xia has seen a strong momentum in recent years, the real rulers of Ice Abyss remain the Cold Beasts and deceitful monsters. While the straight road can ensure safe passage for Xia people, facing attacks from Cold Beasts and deceitful monsters can still result in perilous situations.

While the straight road still poses certain risks for Xia people, the various settlements connected by the road within Great Xia territory undoubtedly minimize such risks.

“In Great Xia, excluding the capital Xia City, all regions have 282 distributed settlements, which are further categorized into city, town, and village levels.

Each city’s population exceeds two hundred thousand, with twenty thousand Defensive Army stationed permanently. When the camps are peaceful, Numbered Army also takes turns stationed at major cities. Additionally, major cities are equipped with Eight Departments and Government Offices to govern surrounding towns and villages;

Each town’s population exceeds fifty thousand, with five thousand Defensive Army stationed permanently. Formerly called major settlements by Xia people, three years ago, the division within Chui Mountain led to the alliance of Nine Towns. After the alliance, Great Xia practically annexed Jiangxia, Chui Mountain, and Muyin’s Three Towns. At that time, the number of settlements within increased sharply, making staffing within the Eight Departments tight, unable to maintain their structure across major settlements. Considering functional needs, only Governance, Military, and Camp Needs offices were established, under the Three Departments of the town’s superior city;

As for the smallest villages, their population is generally over five thousand, with a stationed force of five hundred Defensive Army and a Defense Envoy responsible for village affairs…”

At the mid-section of Xing River North Bank, in Qinghe Town, a dirt-yellow carriage slowly entered through the front gate, filled with nine people inside, consisting of two young couples and five children surrounding them.

The five children are at most seven years old, and the youngest is only one or two, wrapped tightly in blankets and carried by two young women.

The young man on the left patiently explained the situation of Great Xia settlements to the three older children, but the children occasionally pulled open the carriage curtains to look outside, restless and inattentive, obviously not paying heed.

Seeing the three children’s distraction, the young man on the left was displeased and turned his gaze to the eldest, Xiahou Xuan, apparently about to reprimand him.

“Ah Yong, let it go. They are still young, teaching them now will have no effect…”

Seeing his nephew about to be scolded, Jiang Yiqing hurriedly stepped in to intervene, drawing Xiahou Yong’s attention while changing the topic, whispered: “Considering our strength is not outstanding and our experience shallow, we’ve only been training in the Garrison Department for a year before being exceptionally promoted to Defense Envoys of two villages of Jinbi Dragon River. It seems that Grandfather and Grand Uncle Xiahou made significant contributions in Chen Cang.”

Xiahou Yong nodded upon hearing this but then fell silent again.

Jiang Yiqing is a fifth-generation member of the Jiang Family. The grandfather he mentioned is the oldest second-generation ancestor in the Jiang Family, Jiang Xinfan, currently hiding in Chen Cang. And Grand Uncle Xiahou naturally refers to the ancestor of the Xiahou Family, Xiahou Zhang.

In fact, as early as the tenth year of Great Xia, before the alliance of Chui Mountain, Jiangxia had already preliminarily merged with Great Xia. The Jiang and Xiahou families, being the two pillar families in Jiangxia, naturally were among the first to move to Xia City. Xiahou Yong and his good brother Jiang Yiqing have been living in Xia City for almost three years now.

However, compared to the talented family members, they seem less impressive, always following procedure to cultivate and grow stronger. When their strength finally matched the standards, relying on family connections, they trained at the Eight Departments of Outer City for a while, endured until now, and finally have a chance to govern a region.

To say they endured is not accurate. As Jiang Yiqing said, without relying on relations with ancestors Xiahou Zhang and Jiang Xinfan, it’s likely not just them, but even the top talents within the families would find it exceedingly difficult to make a name for themselves.

Thinking that he is almost thirty-five years old this year and still relies on elders fighting outside to earn an opportunity to step forward, Xiahou Yong is full of shame, yet there is an indescribable sense of powerlessness.

In the current Great Xia, there are simply too many geniuses, and his qualifications are indeed too unimpressive. It’s not just when compared to the top prodigies in Xia City; even within the Xiahou Family, he does not stand out.