Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 338 Songyang Ridge, Seven Families Submit, First Batch of Silver Arrives

It was the eighth day of the eighth month in the third year of the Great Xia Dynasty, at night.

It is located on the north bank of the Xinghe River, more than 20 kilometers east of Wuyuan Mountain.

A group of more than 300 people is slowly making its way north through the snowy forest.

The vast majority of the group were dressed in high-grade Thunder Kui Golden Armor, carrying a thirty-stone strong bow on their backs and wielding various weapons. Only the dozen or so leaders were dressed in the everyday clothes of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Although the rear of the group remained mostly quiet, the dozen or so people at the head of the group chatted casually as they walked, looking unusually relaxed, clearly not on a hunting trip.

"Judging from the direction of the Xing River, the terrain along both sides of the river should rise continuously from west to east. The Pingxi Plain where we live is located either in the middle or lower reaches of the Xing River."

"The mountain walls of Shuanglong Mountain stretch for hundreds of kilometers from north to south, with the lowest point of the mountain walls being more than two thousand meters high. The valley area through which the Xing River flows is its only fault zone. If you want to make a normal journey to Pingxi Plain, you must pass through the slopes on both sides."

"I'm not sure about the south bank. As for our north bank, it looks like it's only five kilometers wide at most. So far, Songyang Ridge is the only exception. I wonder if there are any other wider areas to the east. If we can discover a few more new resource points, then Wuyuan can gain even more face in front of the lord!"

"Haha, Lord Zhao is quite ambitious. It's already good that we Wuyuan were able to discover Songyang Ridge and have the qualifications to compete with Longshan. If we can swallow up all seven camps in one fell swoop, it will be an even greater achievement. In the year-end assessment, we may not even lose to Longshan. If we discover other new resource points, Wuyuan's limelight will be too overwhelming."

"Hahaha, you're right!"

………………

Hearing the jokes from Lin Kai, Zhao Bao, Yu Bin, and others behind him, and recalling the recent sensations Wuyuan had caused in Xia City, Xu Ning, who was at the front, also smiled. However, as he looked up at the northern shore in front of him, he had more to think about than just that.

He took a slight breath and said in a deep voice:

"The lord named this place Xinggu Pass, meaning the only pass connecting Pingxi Plain with the outside world. Such an important pass, our Great Xia naturally must firmly hold its entire territory in our hands. Songyang Ridge is just the beginning. After dealing with those seven camps, we will immediately begin to explore Songyang Ridge and head east to make the entire north bank of Xinggu Pass our territory!"

He paused for a moment, then continued, "In this way, our Great Xia can take advantage of the situation to expand eastward, extending our territory to the east of Pingxi Plain, and even take over the entire Shuanglong Mountain, to compete with the legendary Mo'ao Nine Towns!"

Lin Kai, Zhao Bao, Yu Bin, Lin Ye, Xu Shicheng, and other officials from the Five Plains Seven Offices, all became slightly more solemn upon hearing these grand and powerful words.

Among them, only Lin Kai knew about Xinggu Pass; the others were hearing about it for the first time from Xu Ning, and only then did they realize how crucial Wuyuan's geographical location was.

"No wonder the lord set up seven departments in Wuyuan, now I understand!"

"I knew it. Five Ape Mountain is not a big place and doesn't have many resources. There's no need to set up seven offices. It seems I was short-sighted."

"Your Excellency's foresight is truly remarkable; I am completely convinced!"

………………

Upon hearing Yu Bin's last words, Xu Ning turned to look at him, a slight look of satisfaction appearing on her face.

Yu Bin is the leader of the Xianxi Ridge camp. It has been less than a year since Longyou was incorporated into Daxia. Because of the assassination of the lord in Longshan last year, Xia Chuan has a very bad impression of him.

Of course, Xu Ning is the same.

But to be fair, Yu Bin's performance after joining Da Xia was indeed quite good.

Last July, when he was still in Longshan, he gathered two cold-resistant level hunters, Yu Cheng and Long Mu, from the original Xiling, and formed the Lingyuan Squad. With a foundation, Lingyuan was promoted to a high-level hunting team at the beginning of the year during the Cold Yuan Festival.

Originally, when the seven departments were established on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the position of the Logging Department's Medicine Master was vacant. The Director intended to let others compete for the position. Unexpectedly, not long after the Cold Spring Festival, Yu Bin made great contributions in Beiman Mountain.

Hou Jing was granted a title at the beginning of the year because he found a silver mine in Beiman Mountain. The clue to this silver mine was discovered by the Lingyuan team stationed in Zhaoyang at the time.

Yu Bin was unlucky. He found several red honeysuckle trees at the foot of the mountain, estimating that they were only two or three kilometers away from the silver mine. He had already led his men to start excavating into the mountain when they were discovered by the nine-headed high-level giant fire lizard.

Not only did five members of the Lingyuan squad die, but Yu Bin himself was also seriously injured.

Left with no other choice, he had to report the clues. At that time, the strongest hunting team in the north of Longyou was Hou Jing's Beizhao Squad. It was in this way that Hou Jing was later granted a title.

Of course, Yu Bin did not determine the location of the silver mine, but his contribution was significant, so Xia Chuan gave him the position of Yao Bo of Wuyuan Logging Division.

Since taking office as the Medicine Master of the Wuyuan Logging Division, Yu Bin has indeed done a good job. Not only has he been extremely cooperative with his daily work as a righteous official, but after discovering Songyang Ridge in June, he personally led a team to investigate and discovered more than ten new species, including golden pine cones, white jade hazelnuts, and blue mulberry trees. His contribution was considerable.

Moreover, his usual words and actions show that his respect for Lord Xia Hong is growing deeper and deeper, and he is indeed integrating into the Great Xia at an extremely fast pace.

"My lord, we have arrived at Songyang Ridge!"

Xu Ning's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sound from behind. He looked up and realized that the group had already left the snow forest and arrived at the southern end of a mountain ridge.

The name Songyangling was not given by Xu Ning. He only learned about it after leading his team through the snow forest in May and talking to the locals.

It is called Songyang Ridge for two reasons: first, the terrain is relatively high; and second, the largest proportion of all the vegetation on the ridge is a tree called Yusongying.

This jade pine has a unique growth pattern. Its main trunk grows upwards in a crooked and twisted manner, reaching a maximum height of only about 20 meters. It looks malnourished, but the leaves on its branches are extremely lush.

Moreover, its leaves are transparent and extremely smooth, like transparent glass. Because snow does not accumulate on them, the entire ridge reflects extremely strong light when the sun shines on it during the day, making it impossible to look directly at the sky.

Of course, it was nighttime, so this special sight was not visible.

"Sir, they're here!"

Hearing his younger brother Xu An's reminder, Xu Ning nodded slightly. He could already see a dozen people approaching him from about a mile to the west.

There were a total of sixteen people coming from the west. They discovered that there were more than twenty powerful auras from the Great Xia side, as well as more than three hundred people wearing golden armor and carrying strong bows. Their pace became noticeably slower, but under the leadership of the middle-aged man, they still slowly walked over.

"Sixteen people, only two of whom are at the Earth-Digging Realm. It seems that all seven families have reached the Cold-Resistance Realm. The results will be available tonight."

"Those two Earth Digging Realm cultivators are women, and they're so young! Could it be that they're planning to..."

…………

As the other party observes them, Xu Ning and the others will naturally observe the other party as well.

Xu Ning discovered Songyang Ridge in May. In the three months prior, he had secretly sent people to thoroughly investigate the situation of the seven families in Songyang Ridge. Therefore, he knew very well that each of the seven families only had two Cold Resistance level experts. Today, it was obvious that all of them had come.

Yu Bin, being an old and shrewd man, immediately realized something when he saw the two young girls who were only at the Earth Digging Realm, and his face was full of smiles.

Although he hadn't finished speaking, the others immediately understood and a slight smile appeared on their faces.

Only Xu Shicheng, the prison warden, did not laugh. Instead, his brows furrowed, and his gaze toward the sixteen people opposite him became much more somber.

…………

Soon, the sixteen people on the west side walked up to Xu Ning.

It was clear that all sixteen men were filled with intense fear, especially when their gazes fell on the three hundred fully armed men behind Xu Ning, several of them swallowing hard.

"Wanlong Jiyang, along with six families from Songyang Ridge, pays his respects to Lord Xu!"

Despite having dealt with Xu Ning many times in the previous three months, Ji Yang still couldn't help but feel a deep sense of horror after carefully examining the more than three hundred people Xu Ning brought tonight.

Of the twenty-seven Cold Resistance level cultivators, the remaining two hundred-plus were all at the limit of the Earth Digging Realm, and it was obvious that they had begun to reshape their skin membranes. There were also dozens whose auras were not very stable, clearly on the verge of a breakthrough.

Is this Great Xia really that powerful?
Xu Ning had previously given him many good things from Great Xia, such as top-quality cotton cloth, refined salt, beast spirit pills, and blood essence pills. From those things, Ji Yang could already sense the power of Great Xia, which is why he strongly advocated that the other six families of Songyang Ridge join Great Xia along with Wanlong Camp.

"As Xu Ning said, Wuyuan is just an external outpost of the Great Xia. His position as the Wuyuan Garrison Commander is a fourth-rank official, which ranks second to last in the Great Xia. Even so, he can easily pull out more than twenty Cold-Resistant level officials and three hundred Earth-Digging Realm limit experts. Then the third, second, and first-rank officials above him must be..."

Thinking about the information he had previously learned about the Great Xia Dynasty, Ji Yang felt completely numb.

It has become so powerful that it has far exceeded his comprehension.

"Brother Ji, won't you introduce these gentlemen?"

Hearing Xu Ning's words in a daze, Ji Yang immediately came back to his senses and hurriedly said to the six people beside him, "Lord Xu is the envoy of the Five Plains of the Great Xia Dynasty. Since this is the first time you have met him, please introduce yourself. I will not say anything more!"

The six men immediately nodded and stepped forward, bowing to Xu Ning one after another and speaking:
"Songhu Wang He pays his respects to Lord Xu."

"Zhao Lu Nie Zichuan pays his respects to Lord Xu."

"Songbei Heqing greets Lord Xu."

"Zhu Ziyang of Tiegu pays his respects to Lord Xu."

"Binhe Weidong pays his respects to Lord Xu."

"Qingsong Chai Biao greets Lord Xu."

Songyang Ridge's strength is indeed not very good. Of the seven leaders at the Cold Resistance level, the strongest, Ji Yang and Nie Zichuan, only have a base strength of six manes. Judging from their skin condition, they are both at the late Cold Resistance level, and their talent is obviously not good either. The other five leaders are even weaker, with strength between three and five manes.

The remaining seven Cold-resistant level individuals are even weaker, ranging from one to three manes.

Xu Ning glanced at the six people, nodded slightly and smiled, "None of you have entered the Great Xia yet, so calling me 'sir' is an honor. You're too kind!"

Upon hearing Xu Ning say that they had not yet entered the Great Xia Dynasty, the expressions of Ji Yang and the other six changed slightly, and they were clearly somewhat moved.

Xu Ning clearly noticed the subtle changes in the expressions of the seven people, and a strange light rose in his eyes as he said, "Although this is the first time I have met the six of you, I believe Brother Ji has already conveyed the message of Great Xia to you all. Since you are all here today, you must already have your answers in your hearts. Please speak frankly!"

Ji Yang clearly hadn't expected Xu Ning to be so direct. He turned and exchanged glances with the six leaders beside him for a moment before finally stepping forward, bowing somewhat nervously, and said, "Since Great Xia intends to take us in, we certainly won't be ungrateful. But Lord Xu, please forgive my bluntness, the seven families of Songyang Ridge have a total population of over 114,000, which is quite a lot. If Great Xia isn't willing to offer any conditions, we..."

"It seems you all came prepared today. Brother Ji, please speak frankly. As I said before, feel free to make any requests. As long as they are within my authority and do not violate the current rules and regulations of our Great Xia, I can make a decision and grant them!"

Xu Ning's straightforward attitude made Ji Yang even more uneasy. He exchanged glances with the six people around him for a moment before slowly speaking and proposing a total of five conditions.

"First, we will distribute all the supplies that our seven families have previously stockpiled to everyone. The Great Xia must ensure that these assets are not violated in any way."

Secondly, we seven hope to sell our own iron and coal mines to Da Xia in exchange for the contribution points mentioned by Lord Xu. Of course, we will still distribute these contribution points to our subordinates so that they will have time to adapt after arriving in Da Xia.

Third, our 14 Cold Resistance level cultivators each received 10 Yang Yuan Pills, and our 129 Earth Digging Realm Limit cultivators each received 100 jin of beast blood.

Fourth, now that we 14 have chosen to join, we naturally hope to make a difference in the Great Xia. Therefore, we earnestly request that the Lord grant us seven a minor official position within the camp. Of course, we dare not dream of a high-ranking position like Lord Xu's; a lower-ranking position would be acceptable.

As for the fifth point, it is…

When he got to the fifth point, Ji Yang suddenly stopped.

It wasn't because of any reaction from the people of Daxia; Xu Ning and the others listened quietly the whole time, their expressions remaining completely unchanged.

"Ji Yun, Nie Rou, come to the front!"

The two girls from the Earth Digging Realm who had been behind them slowly walked forward.

Both girls were around fifteen or sixteen years old, and their looks were indeed excellent. It was also clear that they had dressed up deliberately. However, the conditions in Songyang Ridge were really limited. They wore light red cotton clothes with snow-white fur-lined jackets. Their advantage was their youth. In addition, they must have applied something to their faces, as their skin was not as dull as that of ordinary people. This did make Xu Ning and the others' eyes light up a little.

"This is my daughter Ji Yun, and Chief Nie's daughter Nie Rou. I, Ji, would like to humbly propose marriage on their behalf, so that they may marry..."

"Be bold!"

Before Ji Yang could finish speaking, he was interrupted sharply by Xu Shicheng, who was to Xu Ning's left.

Xu Shicheng was clearly speaking with anger. With his late-stage Cold-Controlling cultivation and a base strength of eight, his aura exploded, startling all the Cold-Controlling level cultivators in Songyang Ridge. The two girls turned pale and trembled slightly.

Ji Yang didn't understand why Xu Shicheng was so angry, but seeing that Xu Ning didn't say anything, he realized that Xu Shicheng's identity was not simple either, and his heart skipped a beat, feeling somewhat regretful.

Of course, there was more confusion than anything else.

The first four conditions were all requests for things, but this last condition is different. It's like they're giving something to the Great Xia as a pledge of allegiance. Why would this person react so strongly?

“Lord Xu, our Great Xia expands outward through conquest, not through marriage alliances. For a figure like the lord, there will inevitably be more and more camps wanting to send women to him in the future. If we accept them one by one, it will be difficult to keep the inner palace safe and sound, and the lady will probably be unhappy. I think we should waive this fifth condition!”

………………

This Xu Shicheng must be someone from the lord's wife's side.

Ji Yang immediately understood, but after exchanging a glance with Nie Zichuan beside him, he gritted his teeth and continued speaking to Xu Ning:

“Xu Shouzhen, although the Great Xia is strong, the seven families of Songyang Ridge have been doing quite well here. If you, sir, are unwilling to agree to these five conditions, our seven families will not be incorporated into the Great Xia…”

"hehe!"

Swish...

Xu Shicheng sneered twice. The two people standing behind him, along with more than forty elite members of the Qingmang Hunting Team, immediately drew their weapons and stared menacingly at Ji Yang and the other fourteen.

"It's fine if you don't agree. I'll just take care of you all now and save a lot of cultivation resources!"

"Lord Xu, please calm down!"

As Ji Yang and the others were filled with shock and anger, Xu Ning finally spoke.

He first gestured for Xu Shicheng to calm down, then turned and glanced at the two girls before finally looking at Ji Yang and saying in a deep voice, "Brother Ji, we've known each other for three months. Songyang Ridge can't be delayed any longer. I won't hide it from you. Tonight, no matter what you seven families think, there's only one path you can take: merge into the Great Xia!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Yang and the others' expressions darkened slightly.

When they saw the more than 300 people from Da Xia fully armed, they already had a premonition, but Xu Ning's blunt statement made everyone feel a little heavier.

"You just mentioned five conditions. I can agree to the first three, but the fourth one is definitely not acceptable. To hold a position in the Great Xia, you either need to make contributions to the camp and achieve merit, or you need to be strong enough to earn the respect of the lord and the chief minister. Unfortunately, none of the fourteen of you from Songyang Ridge meet either of these criteria, so giving you a position is impossible."

As for this fifth one!

Xu Ning paused here, turned to look at Xu Shicheng, whose face was still somber, quickly thought for a moment, and continued:
"What Lord Xu just said is correct. If just anyone can be sent to the lord's side, we will also be held responsible if something goes wrong. How about this? I can send them to the madam for her to see. Whether they can stay and serve the lord depends entirely on the madam's decision. It all depends on whether you agree!" Marrying the lord and staying to serve the lord are completely different things. How could Ji Yang not understand Xu Ning's meaning?

He and Nie Xinchuan exchanged a glance, a hint of hesitation flashing in their eyes, before finally nodding helplessly.

"Ji Yang thanks Lord Xu!"

Xu Ning has already made his point so bluntly; if they still disagree, they would truly be ungrateful.

Xu Shicheng's words were not exaggerated at all. Of the more than 300 people from Great Xia who arrived tonight, taking them down would not be a problem at all.

“Good, Brother Ji is indeed straightforward. Without further ado, the seven families can go back now to count the number of people and pack their things. Also, please have each of you form a temporary guard team. Tonight, I will lead my men to camp at Wanlong Camp. Tomorrow night, I will join the guard teams to begin escorting you on your migration!”

After negotiating with the seven families of Songyangling for more than three months, we finally got it.

Xu Ning was incredibly excited, and his face was beaming with joy.

As long as it's a merger and expansion, whether it involves fighting or not, headquarters will reward military merits and contribution points. The key is that the Chief of Staff values ​​battle losses very much; the fewer the battle losses, the more rewards there will be. In this way, for them, completing mergers and expansions without fighting naturally maximizes their profits.

This is why Xu Ning is so excited at this moment.

Of course, not only Xu Ning, but also Lin Kai, Zhao Bao, Yu Bin, and even Xu Shicheng, who had just been furious, couldn't help but show joy on their faces. Not to mention the elite hunting team behind them.

Ji Yang, Nie Xinchuan, and the rest of the group from Songyang Ridge looked somewhat downcast and lost due to their uncertainty about the future.

Xu Ning saw this but didn't offer any words of comfort, because he knew that these people's current dejection and confusion would soon vanish as they arrived in Xia City and saw everything about Great Xia.

………………

The twelfth day of the eighth month in the third year of the Great Xia Dynasty

Just as Xu Ning had anticipated, when Ji Yang, Nie Xinchuan, Wang He, and the other fourteen people arrived in Xia City with the first group of migrants from Songyang Ridge, their expressions were instantly stunned.

Before they even entered the city, just seeing the magnificent city wall stretching for four kilometers, they were already filled with undisguised awe.

"Old Ji, look at that group of people under the city gate."

Upon hearing Nie Xinchuan's suggestion, Ji Yang hurriedly looked towards the city gate. What he saw added a touch of horror to his already shocked expression.

There were over a hundred men at the city gate, clearly soldiers guarding the gate. The problem was that their attire was exactly the same as the more than three hundred elite troops that Xu Ning had brought to Songyang Ridge this time.

The armor was forged to perfection, the weapons were all of the highest level, and all the soldiers were at the peak of the Earth-Digging Realm.

So the three hundred men Xu Ning took to Songyang Ridge four days ago weren't elite at all. Even the guards at the city gates of Great Xia had cultivation levels at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm.

"Hey, Xu Ning is back from Wuyuan!"

Just then, another group of people came out of the city.

The leader, dressed in the same crimson casual clothes as Xu Ning, saw Xu Ning from afar and immediately led the forty-odd men behind him over with a smile. He raised an eyebrow at Ji Yang and the others, and asked Xu Ning:

"Are these the people from Songyang Ridge?"

"Xu Ning pays his respects to the Deputy Director!"

The newcomer was Luo Yuan. Xu Ning first bowed and greeted him, then nodded, pointed at Luo Yuan, and introduced him to Ji Yang and the others: "This is Lord Luo Yuan, the Deputy Director of the Hunting Department of our Great Xia."

The fourteen people following Xu Ning, including Ji Yang and Nie Xinchuan, were already filled with astonishment. They couldn't sense Luo Yuan's strength at all. The problem was that among the fifty people behind Luo Yuan, there were thirteen with the aura of the Cold Resistance level.

Just how many levels of cold-resistant protection does this Great Xia have?

Ji Yang and the others were so shocked that they forgot to bow to Luo Yuan.

Luo Yuan wasn't too bothered. Looking at Ji Yang and the others, he suddenly remembered something, chuckled, and teased Xu Ning:

"So they're the ones who're sending women to the lord, right? I heard Xu Shicheng sent someone back the day before yesterday to tattle on it to the madam. Xu Ning, you're definitely going to get a scolding this time!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ning gave a wry smile. He had guessed that Xu Shicheng was going to come back to complain, but the speed was a bit unexpected.

"I didn't agree to that! I only agreed to send the two of them to Madam's side. If Madam doesn't like them, she can send them back."

"Haha, you're quite clever. But you've already sent the person over, can Madam really refuse? In my opinion, Madam definitely hates you this time. No matter what you do, you'll offend someone. Listen to me, if you encounter this again, just refuse, you can't go wrong."

Upon hearing from Luo Yuan that he had already been hated by the Madam, Xu Ning's expression immediately became uneasy, and his original high spirits of returning to Xia City with great merit faded considerably.

"Alright, I won't scare you anymore, haha, I'm going out hunting, see you later!"

Luo Yuan waved his hand and led everyone away, leaving Xu Ning standing there, feeling uneasy.

"Lord Xu, we are so sorry, we have caused you trouble!"

After listening for a while, Ji Yang was even more uneasy than Xu Ning. As soon as Luo Yuan left, he immediately took Nie Xinchuan and went up to apologize to Xu Ning.

"It's alright, let's go into the city first. It'll just be a few harsh words anyway!"

Xu Ning shook his head. Since he had already done it, he wouldn't regret it. Besides, he hadn't done anything too outrageous, so Li Xuanling shouldn't blame him too much.

The first group of people to migrate tonight were the core members of the seven families in Songyang Ridge, totaling more than 500 people. After being screened by the city gate token, they entered the city one after another.

The wide and spacious main road, the various precious trees transplanted along the street, the detached buildings on both sides of the street constructed of a mixture of wood, iron, and stone, and the occasional presence of warm air among the passersby...

The sights within the city left Ji Yang and his companions dazzled and astonished.

"Xia City seems quite crowded; it's probably not far from needing expansion!"

Xu Ning frowned slightly as he looked at the somewhat crowded houses in the western district. After a soft sigh, he led Ji Yang and the others forward. After walking about three hundred meters, they soon saw a tall building.

"The outer city is divided into four districts: east, south, west, and north. You five hundred people will be scattered and assigned to different districts according to your household registration. This tall building is the yamen of the western district. I have already sent someone to inform you in advance, and someone will come to pick you up soon. Once you are assigned to a district, you can go there on your own."

"After you've just arrived and been assigned to your respective districts, you'll likely be housed in temporary, uniform wooden huts. If you want to live in a detached wooden house like everyone else, you'll have to earn contribution points, buy land from the Logistics Department, and build your own house."

Seeing that Ji Yang and the others were staring at the detached houses on both sides of the street, Xu Ning knew exactly what they were thinking.

"May I ask, Lord Xu, how many contribution points are required for this plot of land in the western district?"

The more than 200,000 people from Longyou had been in Xiacheng for less than a year, and there were already many houses under construction in the city. Ji Yang and his group had already seen this when they entered the city, so they immediately inquired about the price of the land.

Xu Ning's family lived at number 15 in the inner city. He was clearly unfamiliar with the outer city and answered based on his memory: "I don't remember very clearly, but it should be around 7000 to 10000 points. There are three grades of craftsmen: upper, middle, and lower, with corresponding prices of 900, 600, and 300 respectively. The upper limit for materials is much higher. If you only use wood, it's probably less than 200 points. However, there are basically no pure wooden houses in Xia City now. They all need to be reinforced with iron mortar. For more advanced ones, they use bluestone transported from Beiman Mountain and iron mortar. A good house would probably cost tens of thousands of contribution points..."

"What Lord Xu said is all ancient history. The price of land in the western district has already risen to over 15,000!"

Xu Ning was suddenly interrupted. He turned his head and saw the person walking out of the high-rise building. A smile immediately appeared on his face.

The visitor was Tong Xinglong, who is now the Chief Civil Officer of the Western District of the Outer City. Xu Ning had just said that he had made prior arrangements to contact him.

Xu Ning was the head of the Wuyuan Guard. The head of the guard was a subordinate position under the jurisdiction of the guard department. According to the Daxia rank system, he was a fourth-rank official, and should be on the same level as the heads of the other six departments, namely the Medicine Earl, Mountain Guard, Military Equipment Officer, Penal Officer, Good Worker, and Chief Order Officer.

However, when Yue Feng proposed the establishment of the position of Shouzheng, he said that during wartime, the Shouzheng Commandery would have the authority to command the other six commanderies. Therefore, in reality, the Shouzheng Commandery had slightly more power than the other six commanderies.

Tong Xinglong clearly understood this principle, so he immediately bowed to Xu Ning.

Xu Ning, naturally not one to be presumptuous, quickly returned the greeting. Thinking of what Tong Xinglong had just said about the land prices in the western district exceeding 15,000, he immediately asked with a face full of curiosity, "The western district is closest to the city gate, how come it's so expensive?"

Xia City was built against the western side of the Shuanglong Mountain cliff, and the city gate was naturally located on the west side. As a result, the western district was closest to the city gate. By nature, everyone would feel that the closer to the inside, the safer it would be. Therefore, the eastern district, which was closest to the inner city, had the most expensive land, while the western district was relatively cheaper.

Tong Xinglong looked worried and shook his head, saying, "There's no way around it. Xia City has too many people. Last month, more than 80,000 people from Beiyuan moved in, and the city is clearly struggling to keep up. Without adjusting land prices, we simply can't meet the needs of so many people building houses. This time, you've brought in another 110,000 people, so land prices in our western district will definitely rise again. If we let all of them build houses, the city's area simply won't be enough."

That's it!

Recalling the overcrowded scene he saw when he first entered the city, Xu Ning immediately understood. Before Beiyuan was incorporated in July, Xia City had 420,000 people. After the incorporation, the population immediately exceeded 500,000. This time, he brought back 110,000 people from Songyangling, and Xia City's total population is now over 600,000.

"Xia City needs to be expanded; the lord should figure something out!"

Tong Xinglong, who had been staying in Xia City, was obviously more informed than Xu Ning. Upon hearing this, he immediately smiled and said, "There is already a plan. I heard from Si Cheng last time that the lord said that the expansion of the city will begin at the latest by the end of the year. I just don't know how big it will be."

How much expansion...?

Xu Ning smiled and said, "If you ask me, expanding it tenfold wouldn't be an exaggeration. The population of Xia City may exceed one million or even several million in the future. Expanding it all at once will save us trouble later."

Tong Xinglong nodded with a smile, his eyes full of agreement.

Ji Yang and the other people from Songyangling were already numb when they heard the conversation between the two. Millions of people, millions of people, this was indeed too far ahead of their time.

"Alright, you guys come with me..."

"The Cloud Dragon Army is returning to camp! Everyone, make way! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"The Cloud Dragon Army is returning to camp! Everyone, make way! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

…………

Tong Xinglong was just about to lead Ji Yang and others into the civil affairs department to register when he was interrupted by a loud shout coming from the main road.

As the sound continued to ring out, pedestrians on the street dispersed to both sides, clearing the main road in the middle.

The high-rise buildings under the jurisdiction of the West District are located on the left side of the main road, so Ji Yang and more than 500 others are standing on the main road at this moment.

"Move to the side and make way for the army! Don't just stand there!"

"Brother Ji, quickly lead them away, the army is coming soon."

Upon hearing this, Tong Xinglong and Xu Ning quickly addressed the group from Songyang Ridge.

Ji Yang and his group were somewhat at a loss, but they quickly led more than 500 people to stand on both sides of the street and then looked curiously toward the west gate.

Upon seeing this, Ji Yang and the other 500-plus people were instantly shocked.

Tap tap tap...

A fully armed army of a thousand men marched in with heavy, orderly steps from the direction of the west city gate.

Like the soldiers Ji Yang and his group had seen at the city gate, these thousand men were also clad in light gold, high-grade armor. However, they were distinctly different from the soldiers. Each of them exuded a strong aura of malevolence, which, when gathered together, almost formed a dense, swirling mass.

Their armor and weapons were stained with large amounts of dark green or bright red blood, which clearly originated from the bodies of the cold beasts.

"They are all...they are all at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm!"

"What do you mean by the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm? Look at those hundred people in front of us, holding different weapons. One, two, three... thirty-nine, forty, thud..."

"Forty Cold-Resistant Level 3, this...this...how is this possible!"

"Almost everyone has started to remodel their skin membranes, this..."

"Look behind them, what are they carrying?"

"Gnawing rats, gnawing rats, high-grade gnawing rats, a full eighteen of them!"

"There are also many intermediate-level gnawing rats, almost a hundred or so."

"Look at that big truck in the middle, what's it loaded with? It's so shiny silver, it's not iron ore, it's..."

"Silver, it's silver! That whole cart is full of silver!"

........................

The first group to migrate to Xia City tonight were mostly core members of the seven families in Songyang Ridge. Compared to ordinary people, they were clearly more knowledgeable. Not only did they recognize the high-grade gnawing rats, but some of them also noticed that the carts escorted by the Yunjiao Army were loaded with silver.

Ji Yang and the other members of the Cold-Resistant level were all trembling in their voices at this moment.

Especially the question-and-answer session between Xu Ning and Tong Xinglong that followed sent a shiver down their spines.

"Silver? The Minister of Works has led his army to find a silver mine, and they've even started mining it?"

"No, it was seven days ago. Chen Ying found it on the north slope of the mountain. He was lucky. There was only one group of gnawing rats inhabiting that silver mine. The lord was overjoyed when he found out. He immediately recalled Yuwen Sizheng's Dragon Martial Army from Longshan, along with Sicheng's Cloud Flood Dragon Army and Yuan Sizheng's Dragon Slaying Army. The three armies went to wipe out that group of gnawing rats on the sixth day of the lunar month. They probably wiped them out a few days ago. This should be the first batch of silver mined. The Cloud Flood Dragon Army brought it back first, while the Dragon Martial Army and Dragon Slaying Army are still there."

The Great Xia actually has two such armies...

"Alright, Brother Ji, you can go in with Lord Li. I need to go to the main building to report back to the Chief Justice. Goodbye, Lord Li."

"Alright, see you later!"

Even after the entire army had passed by, Ji Yang and his more than 500 men were still in a daze for a long time. It was only when Xu Ning took his leave that they were brought back to their senses.

"Chief Ji, right? Come in with me!"

"Lord Li, please don't call me that. Just call me Ji Yang."

Ji Yang finally let go of his inner turmoil. Hearing Tong Xinglong address him, he was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, lowering his posture to the extreme.

The same applies to Nie Xinchuan and the other five camps' cold-resistant level.

(End of this chapter)