Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1528: Chapter 478: Ten Years of Reform, Xue Zijing from the State, the Divide Between Dragon and Mang (Part 3)

In theory, the number three hundred was actually a slightly bold guess he made after careful observation, but looking at Ji Hong’s current reaction, it’s clearly far from sufficient.

Considering Ji Hong has stayed in Chen Cang for more than three years and he just said he visited the Chen Cang Mansion, Xia Hong immediately overturned his own speculation, and then watched with both a solemn and curious expression waiting for his answer.

“Five hundred, definitely not less than five hundred…”

Ji Hong first gave his assessment, then after pondering for a moment, continued: “Regarding Cai Qiu’s situation, I don’t understand much, so saying three hundred might not be wrong, but here in Chen Cang, it’s absolutely impossible!

Putting other matters aside, I’ve learned from my mentor… from Chen Yuanhong’s mouth that under Landgrave Chu’s command, apart from the Red Dragon Army, there’s also a unit of Mystic Divine Guards, reportedly with a total of 200 people, all of Xianyang Level cultivation.”

Upon hearing that Chen Cang also had a 200-person Xianyang Level army, Xia Hong’s expression instantly became incomparably solemn.

This is an army, not those high-ranking core members of Chen Cang.

Taking a moment for introspection, to build an army of Xianyang Level, even if there are only 200 people, from Xia Hong’s personal viewpoint, Great Xia would need at least a thousand Xianyang Level, likely even more.

And Ji Hong’s basis for estimation is not only this.

“Putting aside the Mystic Divine Guards, you should know, Lord, that all four vassals of Moao River practice the Six-class System; those who can be registered generally either have or their ancestors have Xianyang Level cultivation. The top noble families even have Tribulation Body Realm powerhouses sitting in command.

Chen Cang has an unwritten rule: to be considered a noble family, the tribe must have at least more than ten Xianyang Level powerhouses, and such families, there are 32 in total in Chen Cang, with top noble families possessing Tribulation Body Realm powerhouses sitting in command; besides the lineages of the two main Landgrave families, there are the Wu, He, Wang, Lu, and Gongsun clans.

The clan leaders of Wu, He, and Wang clans, I mentioned before, are disciples of Chu Longteng and Chen Liwu. The remaining Lu Family and Gongsun Family, one is by Pingyang Lake, the other is north of Heyang by Changping Mountain, are noble families with legacies of over two hundred years, submitted under Chen Cang for less than a century, can be said they were conquered by Landgrave Chu Longteng, one by one…”

Only now did Xia Hong realize why Ji Hong would say Tribulation Body Realm powerhouses were under the Chen Cang Mansion.

Indeed, Chen Cang also had Tribulation Body Realms operating outside the mansion.

Lu Family and Gongsun Family, these are at least two, possibly even more!

“These two families…”

Before Xia Hong could finish his sentence, Ji Hong already knew what he wanted to ask, and promptly replied, “The clan leaders of both families don’t hold positions in the mansion, but obey Landgrave Chu Longteng’s orders, and many of the Xianyang Level members of these two families are key military and political figures under the mansion.”

Thus, while Chen Cang bears the name of a Feudal Town, it’s actually a community blended with multiple forces, at the top are the Chu Family and Chen Family, followed by the Lu Family, Gongsun Family, Wu, He, and Wang clans, although having deep connections with the Chu Family and Chen Family, internally they might not lack personal ambitions.

“By these measures, Chu Longteng can be considered a significant figure…”

Chu Longteng’s personal strength might be the first in the Feudal Town, but it shouldn’t be enough to be unrivaled. At least the Chen Family has someone to spar with him, under such circumstances, to merge so many noble families into one Feudal Town, having strength and strategies alone might not suffice.

This more resembles weaving a meticulous political tapestry, where each thread represents a family’s lineage, interests, and pride; a slight mismanagement could lead to a deadlock, escalating to a complete rupture, and even turning against oneself.

Personal charm, ability to command respect, balance artistry, authority, fairness—almost every leadership quality Xia Hong could think of was now attributed to Chu Longteng.

Thus, his expression naturally became even more solemn.

From the map and various pieces of information provided by Ji Hong, he could practically reconstruct in his mind the pre-Feudal Town situation of the entire Chen Cang, and Xia Hong believed that if he were placed in Chu Longteng’s position, he certainly couldn’t achieve the same level of perfection.

And Great Xia is about to encounter such an opponent…

Looking at Xia Hong’s somber expression, Ji Hong seemed to foresee what he was thinking, showing a hint of hesitation before speaking gravely: “To be honest, during these three years, as I’ve deepened my contact with Chen Cang and learned more, I increasingly feel that our Great Xia, at the moment, compared to Chen Cang, is like the difference between a dragon and a lesser dragon.”

“No need to be so polite, the difference between a dragon and a python is more accurate; even comparing us to an ant against a tree wouldn’t be an exaggeration!”

For Xia Hong to personally say such words as the Lord, is undoubtedly not easy.

But he said it nonetheless, and after expressing it, he released a long breath.

It wasn’t just Ji Hong in the room, upon hearing Xia Hong’s words, Jiang Xinfan, Luo Ming, and several others’ expressions slightly changed.

“Lord need not be like this; Moao River’s four vassals have histories of three hundred years each, while our Great Xia has risen from Mud Slope to the present day, a mere fifteen years, to have such success is already astonishing; hidden dragon in the abyss will surely have its day of ascension; a mere Chen Cang, in front of us, how dare it claim to be the True Dragon?”

“Indeed, even though I am a relative newcomer, I heard the Lord is only thirty-two years old this year; by age alone, Landgrave Chu Longteng of Chen Cang has lived nearly ten times longer than the Lord, if he has slightly greater skills, it’s understandable; the Lord, as a latecomer, only needs time, so why be inferior?”

“Our Great Xia, from those initial hundred people at Mud Slope to now owning vast territories and three million citizens, all achieved in just fifteen years; once you return to Xia City and unify the Southern Slope Territory, our Great Xia’s domain will be able to rival the Four Vassals, and with millions behind us, under your leadership, it won’t take many years before we can compete with them!”

“Not to mention, my father once said, with the Lord’s talent and insight, if not for originating from the Southern Slope Territory, obtaining a Vassal Governor’s position, would be easy; without the Lord, for Great Xia to achieve today’s vision might take another hundred years, accomplishing what you’ve done in fifteen years from a hundred people to millions, who dare say, in another fifteen years, our Great Xia couldn’t surpass the Four Vassals?”

………

“Hahaha, you’re all comforting me now…”

Listening to Luo Ming, Jiang Xinfan, Chen Hua, Hong Yu, and seeing others wanting to speak one after another, Xia Hong suddenly laughed while waving his hand to interrupt them; after laughing, his eyes revealed a gleam of determination and he said: “Great Xia’s journey until today, the one thing I lack the least as the Lord is confidence!

I use dragon and python, ant and tree, to describe Great Xia and Chen Cang, to admonish myself, while also telling you to recognize the reality, accept the differences with others; after all, you are all currently undercover in Chen Cang, if you can’t recognize this, your actions might deviate.

No need to speak of Chen Cang alone, even the entire Moao River’s Four Vassals, I never truly hold them in regard?

Times change, who dares to assert Great Xia will always be a python, and it, Chen Cang, will eternally be a dragon?

Even if that’s the case, I must act to devour the dragon with a python, allowing Great Xia to shed its python skin, transform into the True Dragon, soar to the peak, dominate Moao Mountain, and leap into the Nine Heavens of Ice Abyss!”

Upon hearing these words from Xia Hong, Jiang Xinfan and the ten from Great Xia all showed a sudden jolt in their expressions, and then their demeanor became extraordinarily enthusiastic, directly bowing in unison, speaking in a solemn tone: “Lord, for ten thousand years, Great Xia, for ten thousand years!”

Not only them, Su Xing’er, Su Jing, Liu Biao, Wang Feng, and Zhang Yuchuan, after listening for so long, basically guessed Xia Hong’s identity; the former two siblings are inclined towards Xia Hong, needless to say, the latter three are fiercely loyal to Ji Hong, so their attitudes naturally follow his.

Therefore, they followed suit, immediately bowing towards Xia Hong, speaking in a extremely respectful tone: “Lord, for ten thousand years, Great Xia, for ten thousand years!”

“Alright, we’ve stayed here long enough today, any longer might draw suspicion, we’ll leave with Jiang Xinfan later, others should disperse according to the initial plan, oh yes…”

Xia Hong suddenly remembered something, reached into the Yellow Rank Bag, quickly retrieved a round leather pouch, and directly tossed it to Ji Hong:

“You’re currently pursuing the 60 mane level, what’s inside the bag should be useful.”

Ji Hong took the bag, opened it to see inside, with blood-red beads, his expression instantly froze for a moment, then upon noticing crystal-like objects within the beads, his pupils contracted, his face full of ecstatic delight.

“Seems you recognize the Blood Jade Crystal too, after breaking through the 60 mane level to Xianyang Level, you can use it to compensate for bone deficiencies, it should raise your bone appearance quality higher…”

Before Xia Hong could finish speaking, he noticed everyone else, including Jiang Xinfan, staring intently at the bag in Ji Hong’s hand, immediately chuckled out loud, shook his head, and continued: “Don’t worry, when we return, everyone will get a share!”

Everyone, upon hearing this, their expressions became intensely fiery.