Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1556: Chapter 488: Red Flame Vermilion Bird, Grand Setting and Departure (2)

As for the Second Prince Xia Yusheng’s exclusive carriage, it was named the Red Flame Vermilion Bird. Since the Second Prince often sent the carriage out to pick up and drop off his companions, the people of the Inner City could basically recognize it at a glance.

At this very moment, this carriage named the Red Flame Vermilion Bird was being drawn by five Dragon Forbidden Captains clad in Mystic Light Scale Armor. Flanked on both sides by nearly three hundred Dragon Forbidden Captain guards, it was slowly heading toward the Inner City gate.

As the name implied, the main body of the Red Flame Vermilion Bird was red, but not an ordinary red; it was a bright hue that closely resembled flames. Both sides of the carriage were adorned with many decorations of various colors; a ring of silver bells hung from the eaves of the carriage, tinkling crisply as the airflow generated by its movement blew past them;

On the front top of the carriage, there was a statue of a Vermilion Bird. The bird’s wings were fully spread, its sharp beak stretched forward in a swooping posture, and its pair of silver-white pupils glared fiercely, looking vivid to the extreme.

At the center of the Vermilion Bird’s brow, there was also a palm-sized golden Token, on which were engraved the two scarlet characters “Great Xia,” incomparably clear.

“Is that…the Second Prince’s carriage?”

“Of course it is! Hasn’t it come out often before?”

“No wonder they sealed off the main road of the Inner City today, even the carriages from the carriage firms aren’t allowed on it.”

“Is the Second Prince going to pick up friends to go play in the Xia Palace again?”

“To pick people up, do you need this many Dragon Forbidden Captains?”

“Exactly! The Second Prince, is he going out of the city this time?”

“Madam has finally relented. The Second Prince must have been stifled badly.”

“Hahaha, I’ve long heard that the Second Prince kept clamoring to go out, but Madam just wouldn’t allow it. This time he finally succeeded.”

“I’ve heard my boy talk about it too, hahaha!”

………

After expansion, the Great Xia Inner City now covered a total area of 35 square kilometers, seven kilometers from east to west in depth and five kilometers in width from north to south. The main avenue of the Inner City started from the gate of the Xia Palace and ran straight west to the Inner City gate, a total length of just four kilometers. Those who could live along this four-kilometer stretch were naturally all the elites and powerful of Great Xia.

These people could of course recognize the Red Flame Vermilion Bird and the Dragon Forbidden Captains at a glance, and quickly deduced that it was the Second Prince going out of the city. While their faces showed surprise, they couldn’t help recalling the amusing story of Xia Yusheng being confined in the Xia Palace by Madam Li Xuanling, and thus began talking and laughing among themselves.

“Ahem…Auntie, has the Inner City changed this much already?”

Inside the carriage, Xia Yusheng had been in high spirits, lifting the curtain and curiously taking in the dazzling array of shops on both sides of the main avenue. When he heard the pedestrians’ discussions, he immediately felt he had lost face, hastily lowered the curtain and coughed twice. Seeing Han Yue looking at him with a mischievous gaze, he quickly feigned calm and tried to divert the topic by asking a question.

Han Yue naturally saw through his intent. Suppressing her smile, she glanced at the shops lining both sides of the street, then nodded and said, “Last year the Camp Supply Department borrowed the carriage firms’ method to gradually open up many trades and industries, and then began the monetary reform. Now, apart from Cultivation Resources and special materials, many common folk no longer need to go to the Camp Supply Department to exchange; they can directly spend Silver Tael to buy things…”

The monetary reform in Great Xia had officially begun last year.

Because Han Yue lived in the Star-picking Hall, her information was more well-informed than most people. She had heard that the monetary reform was inspired by the Feudal Towns and was proposed jointly by the Minister and the Camp Supply Department Director Qiu Peng.

The monetary reform did not mean abolishing Contribution Value. At present, Great Xia used both in parallel, and since Great Xia’s Cultivation Resources and the most precious various materials could still only be exchanged with Contribution Value, silver and Cast Iron Currency were only used for the circulation of ordinary daily goods.

The ratio between Contribution Value and silver was still 10 points for 1 tael. However, Great Xia’s control over silver remained very strict. Each person’s annual quota for converting Contribution Value into current silver was fixed according to their status, cultivation, and noble title. If they wanted more, they had to earn it themselves.

Civilian exchange between the two had already been completely liberalized, but since the total accounts of Contribution Value were all recorded in the Camp Supply Department and the Camp Supply Department of each district, any large exchange records were basically within the scope of monitoring.

In short, for buying and selling ordinary daily goods, the Camp Supply Department basically no longer imposed any restrictions, but so long as it involved materials related to Cultivation, control remained extremely strict. If anything was discovered without prior reporting, it was a serious crime. At the lightest, one could be punished with six months to a year of corvée labor; at worst, prison time that would affect the ennoblement of one’s descendants. In the most serious cases, such as a Noble who knowingly broke the law, their noble title would be stripped and they would be demoted to commoner status.

These regulations had all been clearly stipulated in the Xia Law. It had to be said that Great Xia’s cohesion was indeed quite good now. More than a year had passed since the monetary reform, and so far not a single person had dared to violate this decree.

The monetary reform rose in step with the flourishing of the various trades and industries. This was easy to understand: as more trades appeared, a sufficient flow of currency was naturally needed to sustain them; relying solely on Contribution Value would certainly not do.

Han Yue suddenly thought of something. Looking at Xia Yusheng, she said with a hint of mischievous amusement, “Second Prince, the street-front shops in the Inner City are basically opened for Nobles and the families of officials from the Eight Departments. They sell all sorts of rare and precious items—quality over quantity. Once we pass through the Inner City gate and reach the Outer City, that’s when it truly becomes lively, especially the North City…”

In just four kilometers of the Inner City, there were nearly five to six hundred shops lining the streets!

Auntie Han Yue actually said this was ‘quality over quantity’ and still counted as few?

Xia Yusheng, who had been confined in the Xia Palace for four years, was stunned the moment he heard this. He then lifted the carriage curtain and saw the Inner City gate just ahead, so close at hand. His eyes were full of excitement and curiosity.

Seeing Xia Yusheng like this, Han Yue couldn’t help but feel another pang of heartache. She hurried to patiently tell him about the Outer City.

The opportunity created by Madam finally relenting was too rare. The Second Prince had managed to come out with great difficulty; she could not waste this chance and had to properly tell him all about the Inner City and Outer City.

“The Outer City of Daxia is divided into four cities: east, south, west, and north. The East City and North City are already full, each with 18 districts. At present, expansion has extended into the South City up to District 4. Once we pass through the Inner City gate, we’ll be in the East City, and then the Dragon Forbidden Captains will escort us toward the North City. Following the main road, we’ll be able to see all eighteen districts of the North City…”

Xia Yusheng listened to Han Yue’s explanation while lifting the curtain to look at the world outside, his eyes brimming with curiosity and restless excitement. He even couldn’t help wanting to get off the carriage several times, which showed just how stirred he was inside.

The Dragon Forbidden Captains had sealed off the road in advance today, but not entirely; they only closed the necessary route for the carriage, and restored traffic as soon as it passed, which showed that the management of the various districts of Xia City was already quite well developed.

Of course, what they called road closure referred to shutting down the carriage lane; pedestrians along the street were not restricted. The Dragon Forbidden Captains escorted the carriage northward all the way, and many people could see it clearly.

With the appearance of the Red Flame Vermilion Bird, plus the reputation of the Dragon Forbidden Captains, even if many people in the Outer City didn’t know who was seated inside the carriage, they could at least judge that it belonged to someone either rich or noble.

Some sharper ones could actually guess it with ease.

When the carriage passed through the North Fifth District—the area Great Xia used to settle outsiders—it immediately caused quite a stir.

“Whose carriage is that? So ostentatious!”

“The Dragon Forbidden Captains escorting it—that’s what you call ostentatious. What do you know?”

“Even the Director didn’t have such a lineup when he went out last time! This is really terrifying.”

“Could it be the two Princes?”

“Most likely. Other than them, no one else ranks for this kind of arrangement.”

“The Dragon Forbidden Captains are the Lord’s Close Attendants! What are you lot even thinking?”

“It must be a Prince. I’ve heard that the Second Prince Xia Yusheng’s carriage is called the Red Flame Vermilion Bird; this must be that carriage.”

“Where is this headed?”

“Judging by the direction, the Milk Tiger Forest!”

“The Second Prince is going out for a trial.”

“Wasn’t it said that the Second Prince is only a little over nine years old?”

“Can you compare him to ordinary people?”

………

In a corner off the main road of the North Fifth District, a black-clad man heard the crowd’s discussion up ahead. Looking at the Red Flame Vermilion Bird and the three hundred Dragon Forbidden Captains around it, a glint of cold light flashed in his pupils, and he quickly retreated toward the rear.