Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

It seems to be in response to the decrease in population that there are far fewer houses within the garrison, leaving only around fifty buildings, most of which are still made of iron, surrounding the central main building as before.

"Greetings, Minister!"

"Find him a place to stay."

Xia Chuan led Xue Ping all the way to the bottom of the main building. After instructing his subordinate, he turned to Xue Ping and said, "You will stay here for the time being, do not go anywhere. Once this matter is settled, I will let you return."

Xue Ping said nothing, nodding in agreement as he followed the person downstairs.

Xia Chuan then made his way to the top floor of the main building. Seeing the empty main seat at the back of the great hall, his expression slightly darkened.

"Isn't the Minister training troops in the mountains? Why has he returned?"

Lin Kai, upon learning of Xia Chuan's return, hurried over. Seeing the heaviness on Xia Chuan's face, he quickly asked out of curiosity.

Xia Chuan lifted his head. Seeing no reason to hide it from Lin Kai, he disclosed all the information Xue Ping had brought, without omission.

"800 sets of Hundred-Forged Weapons and War Armor delivered from Long Mountain to Baiyuan Camp, how is this possible? Are you sure, sir, that there is no issue with Xue Ping?"

After listening, Lin Kai was filled with disbelief and instinctively doubted Xue Ping, suspecting that he might have brought false news.

But he immediately realized that Xia Chuan wouldn't be so easily deceived, and it was likely that he had confidence in Xue Ping's information before bringing it back.

"What could Zhaoyang possibly offer that would make Long Mountain willing to pay such a hefty price for 800 sets of finished Hundred-Forged Weapons and War Armor? Not to mention the tremendous time and effort expended by the craftsmen, just the iron ore alone is in the billions of pounds..."

Lin Kai paused for a moment and continued, "Moreover, wasn't Zhaoyang trying to challenge Long Mountain's hegemonic status before? Weren't their relations supposed to be very poor? Sending so many weapons and war armor over is a blatant act of aiding the enemy, and could those people from Long Mountain be so foolish?"

"The key is, Long Mountain has just established a new army. Even if Long Mountain's treasury is full and can produce so many weapons and war armor after equipping the new army, there's no need to squander it all by selling them to Zhaoyang, right?"

Upon hearing Lin Kai's words, Xia Chuan's expression slightly tightened as he asked, "Why are you so sure that the relationship between Long Mountain and Zhaoyang is poor?"

Lin Kai was momentarily stunned, looking at Xia Chuan with some confusion.

Xia Chuan spoke quietly, "That poor relationship was in the past, before the Great Xia intervened in Longyou. Indeed, their relations were poor, but now?"

Lin Kai's expression changed dramatically, realizing the implication of Xia Chuan's words:

"Are you saying that the two are collaborating against us?"

"Besides this reason, I can't think of any other explanation for why Long Mountain would willingly deliver 800 sets of Hundred-Forged Weapons and War Armor into Hou Hu's hands."

Lin Kai's body shook, finally understanding the cause of Xia Chuan's grave demeanor.

"How many days has it been since the leader last returned?"

Lin Kai quickly replied, "Today is the third day."

After arriving at Wushuang on the ninth day of June, Xia Hong had secluded himself for thirteen consecutive days. It wasn't until three days ago that he emerged, immediately taking Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo to scout the situation at Yanglu Camp, and he has yet to return.

Seeing the worry on Xia Chuan's face, Lin Kai tried to console him, "The leader is so powerful, he won't be in trouble. Don't worry, Minister."

Xia Chuan shook his head slightly and said, "Of course, there won't be any problem with the leader. I am worried about whether Long Mountain and Zhaoyang have really merged. If that's the case, the Great Xia's future situation will be troublesome, and whether those 800 sets of weapons and war armor should be smoothly handed over to Zhaoyang by Long Mountain is another issue!"

"Of course not..."

Lin Kai spoke instinctively, but he stopped himself before finishing his sentence, showing a trace of difficulty on his face, unwilling to continue further.

The importance of those 800 sets of weapons and war armor was clear to them.

Wouldn't Long Mountain and Zhaoyang also understand?

In Wushuang, besides the 1000 Cloud Dragon Army, there are, including Xia Hong and their seven Cold Resistance Levels in total.

With Xia Hong and the other two absent, only four Cold Resistance Levels remain.

The Cloud Dragon Army is indeed formidable, but the Longyou Army and Blood Guard Army are not weak either.

Given their strength, trying to seize that batch of supplies might be...

Long Mountain has already established a new army, and Zhaoyang likely wants this batch of weapons and war armor to form a new army as well. If nothing is done now, the Great Xia's troubles will only grow in the future.

Moreover, this batch of weapons and war armor is highly coveted by the Cloud Dragon Army!

Xia Chuan's thoughts gradually became clearer. He decisively instructed Lin Kai, "You go back to Xia City. If there's no one, then send someone over. We can't let Long Mountain simply deliver these items into Hou Hu's hands."

"Understood!"

Lin Kai bowed and immediately turned to leave.

"There are still five days left. It's possible my brother will return in the meantime. Besides, the Cloud Dragon Army has been honing its skills against the beast tide during this period. How they will perform on the actual battlefield remains uncertain, so taking them out to engage directly with the Longyou Army and Blood Guard Army is beneficial!"

Of course, even if it's a trial, preparations must be thoroughly made.

After all, the newly established Cloud Dragon Army is precious to Xia Chuan; otherwise, he wouldn't personally train troops in the mountains. The fact that not a single soldier has been lost in the past half month is proof enough.

"The route for Long Mountain's transport of supplies, the potential reception points for Zhaoyang, as well as the meeting locations between both parties, all factors have to be considered. The clash should only be with one of the parties, and a retreat route also needs to be taken into account..."

Xia Chuan took out the Geomancy Map from his bosom and found a place to sit in the hall, proceeding to study it intently.