Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

In four years of governance, whether in terms of vision or scale, Xia Chuan has improved far beyond the Earth Mound Period. His ability to propose the reform of the Six Ministries last time already surprised him considerably. At this moment, to say these words proves that the reform was not a sudden inspiration, but rather the result of years of accumulated governance experience.

Appointing Xia Chuan as the Governor of the camp in the past, looking back now, was undoubtedly the most correct move Xia Hong ever made.

"Lu Yang, do you know how far is it from Hanqiong to the North Bank of Xing River?"

"From Hanqiong southward to Beehive is twenty-seven kilometers; from Beehive to Mirror Valley is twenty-nine kilometers; from Mirror Valley to Xia City is thirty-one kilometers, and from Xia City to the North Bank of Xing River is seventeen kilometers in total, adding up to one hundred and four kilometers."

Upon hearing the sound, Lu Yang immediately responded, then looked up at the Map of the Great Xia behind Xia Hong and instantly realized something, his expression suddenly freezing.

"Do you understand now? The eastern advance of Great Xia is not only through Xing Valley Pass, the secret passage you've cleared at Hanqiong is just inconvenient compared to Xing Valley Pass, and it is easily destroyed. But if it is well protected and utilized, it becomes an excellent secret eastern route, allowing Great Xia to extend its reach into the Moao Nine Towns without them noticing."

"Understood, Lord!"

Xia Chuan obviously understood Xia Hong's intention earlier than Lu Yang. Instead of answering aloud, he said gravely, "Then the Hanqiong outpost becomes very important, as does the exit of that secret passage, and even the people in those seven large camps on the northern outskirts of Beining Mountain. We must keep a close watch on them, not allowing them to detect any problems."

After hearing these words and realizing the importance of the Hanqiong outpost, Lu Yang displayed a look of both happiness and anxiety, deeply conflicted internally.

The Hanqiong outpost, under his governance, had now become so important, ensuring more attention from the Lord and the Minister, which is naturally a good thing;

But the problem is, it's too important, directly linked to Great Xia's future major eastern expansion. His current strength isn't that strong, and he naturally worries that a misstep on his part might ruin the Lord's grand plans.

Xia Hong, however, did not concern himself with Lu Yang's thoughts. After pondering for a moment, he asked Xia Chuan, "At Wuyuan on the North Bank of Xing River, Xia Chuan, what do you think should be done?"

The elder brother is obviously testing him, Xia Chuan could see it clearly. Instead of rushing to answer, he thought carefully before finally bowing and saying:

"I believe we can let Xu Ning continue to explore, but we need to appropriately slow down the pace of annexation and expansion, trying to avoid contact with the Nine Towns for a while. Once contact with the Nine Towns is truly made, expansion must stop immediately to prevent the Nine Towns from detecting Great Xia's eastern intentions. At least, this should be done until we ascertain the specific strengths of the Nine Towns."

"Well said!"

Xia Hong directly commended, then continued gravely, "Proceed as you suggested. Great Xia advances eastward on two fronts: the Xing Valley Pass line, which I'll entrust to you. You must personally oversee the actions at Wuyuan; if problems arise, you'll be held accountable."

"Rest assured, Lord, I'll ensure it is done well!"

"Lu Yang, your Hanqiong outpost isn't resource-rich, is it? Starting today, Hanqiong will be downgraded to a regular outpost, only setting up a garrison."

"Huh?"

Lu Yang's expression immediately went blank upon hearing this decision.

Why is it being revoked, and now I'm being downgraded to garrison?

"Hahaha, don't worry, I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Seeing his bewilderment, Xia Hong laughed heartily a few times, then a gleam flashed in his eyes as he continued gravely, "You, along with Zhao Hu, Zhu Shun, He Xing, He Ning, Lin Fan, and Wang Tao, are to select five hundred elite from Xia City and set up a new outpost at the north exit of Beining Mountain. Internally, that's what it'll be called; externally, your outpost is to be a new camp with a leader, a hunting team, a logging team, and ordinary people."

Lu Yang immediately understood, his eyes lighting up.

Clearly, Xia Hong was having him secure a foothold at Beining Mountain, establishing formal contact with the seven camps to the north, and then find opportunities to gather information about Moao Nine Towns.

Of course, most importantly, he had to guard the secret passage, ensuring no one else discovered it.

But after thinking carefully, he looked troubled.

"Lord, suddenly setting up a new camp with only elites, avoiding suspicion from the seven camps and Beishuo Town isn't possible. But if I take ordinary people over, I'm afraid no one in Xia City would be willing..."

Hearing this, Xia Hong shook his head, about to speak, when Xia Chuan interjected to assist Lu Yang, smiling:

"Who said you need to take ordinary people? Just select the elites. Didn't you engage with several large camps over there recently? With the six of you at Cold Resistance Level plus five hundred elite, find a way to annex them easily. If not, Xia City can still send people to assist. What are you afraid of?"

Upon hearing these words, Lu Yang immediately understood, cursing himself for his foolishness, and quickly bowed to Xia Chuan and Xia Hong, saying, "I understand!"

If they were only disguised as a new camp, they couldn't fool others. But if they annexed some large camps under a guise, they'd naturally have ordinary people, logging realms, and Earth-digging realms, making them like a normal large camp.