Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 340 Major Changes in Xia City, the Richest Man in All of Great Xia
The fifth day of the ninth month in the third year of the Great Xia Dynasty

"Hiss... This must be the lord's doing."

Lu Yang, who had just returned from Hanqiong, dusted off the snowflakes on his hat brim, looked up at the magnificent city gate that was more than 30 meters high, and then turned to look at the endless black iron city walls that stretched to the north and south. He couldn't help but gasp, and then immediately realized that this change could only have been done by the lord.

He returned to Xia City once in early July, and things weren't like this then.

He had already tested the city wall on the north side. With a basic strength of over eight manes, it could only leave some dents. In just two months, it was impossible for Xia City's current manpower to do so. There was only one explanation: Xia Hong had once again used his miraculous abilities.

Besides this, Lu Yang couldn't think of any other possibility.

As he had expected, Hong Yu, the city gate commander on duty that night, nodded and said, "It could only be the lord's doing. On the tenth of last month, the Minister of Justice announced the expansion plan for Xia City. The next day, the eleventh, we saw the changes to the city walls as soon as we came out at night. We old folks were fine, but last year, there were two groups of newcomers from Longyou and Songyang Ridge who thought it was a divine intervention and immediately knelt down to worship!"

When the night of the 11th was mentioned, there was an undisguised shock deep in Hong Yu's eyes. Clearly, his psychological fluctuations at that time were no less than those of the two new groups who had come from Longyou and Songyangling.

"The western city wall stretches twenty kilometers from north to south, while the northern and southern walls are each fifteen kilometers long, extending ten kilometers into Hongmuling. The southern city wall is only three kilometers away from the Xinghe River, and the northern wall directly encompasses part of the Arrow Bamboo Forest. The expanded Xia City is extremely magnificent. I predict that even the legendary Mo'ao Nine Towns cannot compare to it!"

When Lu Yang returned from the Hanqiong outpost in the north, he saw the city wall before even leaving the arrow bamboo forest, so he already had a sense of the city wall's scale. Therefore, he was not surprised to hear Hong Yu's explanation.

However, upon hearing Hong Yu's last sentence, he raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of excitement appearing on his face, and said, "No need to estimate, the scale of the nine towns of Mo'ao Mountain is definitely not as large as our Xia City!"

Hearing Lu Yang's certainty, Hong Yu's face showed a hint of confusion.

Lu Yang, however, clearly did not want to say more. He looked up at the newly added tower above the city wall, then looked at the hundred or so golden-armored soldiers below the city gate, and said to Hong Yu with a smile, "Your position as the city gate commander is now more prestigious than that of the captain of the high-level hunting team. I heard that the position of city gate commander will be classified as a rank next year. I think it will be at least a sixth-rank, and maybe even more!"

"Is what you said true, sir?"

Hong Yu was clearly unaware of this news, and his expression froze.

Lu Yang smiled and nodded, saying, "It's not a big secret. Just ask your father when you get back. During the martial arts competition in June, the Director mentioned that another batch of positions should be ranked. Xia City now has more than 500,000 people, and the duties of the city gatekeepers are becoming increasingly important. There's definitely no problem with them being ranked..."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Strictly speaking, you city guards are also part of the military. The position of city gate commander should be placed under the newly established military department."

The lord once said that the Military Department would be formally established once the Great Xia had five armies of a thousand men each. Currently, there are already three armies: Yun Jiao, Long Wu, and Tu Long, so only two more are needed. Given the current rate of development of the Great Xia, the establishment of the Military Department next year should be a certainty.

Therefore, it shouldn't be a big problem for the city gate commander to be affiliated with the Ministry of War and included in the official ranks of the Great Xia.

"Great!"

Upon receiving confirmation from Lu Yang, Hong Yu's expression immediately brightened with excitement.

Seeing Hong Yu so excited, Lu Yang smiled, his face full of understanding.

For everyone in the Great Xia Dynasty, there are three most important things: cultivation, attaining rank, and being granted a noble title.

Cultivation aside, in the Ice Abyss, strength is fundamental for survival;

Entering the ranks signifies becoming a true member of the Great Xia's management team;
Conferring a title means ascending to the top echelons of the Great Xia Dynasty. The clothing, accessories, travel, residence, and even the furnishings of a home are completely different from those of ordinary people. Furthermore, during the annual Cold Yuan Festival, they can be invited by the lord to attend a banquet in the Hall of State Affairs with their entire family. This honor alone is enough to make everyone flock to it.

Unfortunately, the difficulty of these three things increases with each one.

Take the most difficult title conferment as an example. In the absence of war, the possibility of making enough contributions to be granted a title is extremely small. So far this year, only three people have been newly granted titles, which is enough to prove this point.

Finding silver mines, finding frost apple trees, and annexing other camps—these three things sound easy, but you only realize how difficult they are when you actually do them.

At the beginning of the year, Yu Bin's Lingyuan team sacrificed one Cold Resistance level expert and four Earth Digging Realm limit experts, but still failed to locate the silver mine. In the end, it was Hou Jing who led the Beizhao team to risk their lives to find it, which proves the point.

Getting into the top ranks is no easy feat either.

The number of people with official ranks in the Great Xia Dynasty can be counted.

The chief and deputy chiefs of the seven departments; the chief and deputy chiefs of the seven major outposts in the four districts of the outer city, Longshan, Hanqiong, and Wuyuan; the garrison commanders of ten smaller outposts such as Jinggu and Fengchao; and the military ranks of the three major armies of Yunjiao, Longwu, and Tulong, namely, fourth-rank captains and fifth-rank commanders.

Excluding those with overlapping positions, the total number is 153.

It should be noted that the number of people in the Great Xia Dynasty at the Cold Protection level has already exceeded 300, which means that half of the Cold Protection level people have not yet been classified into grades.

Therefore, it's not surprising that Hong Yu, who is currently at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, would be so excited to hear that his position as the City Gate Commander is going to be ranked.

"By the way, aren't there two city gate tokens? Where is Zhu Kang?"

The Great Xia currently has ten city gate tokens, each in pairs. Lu Yang was quite familiar with Hong Yu and Zhu Kang's pair. After looking around the city gates and not finding Zhu Kang, he asked him out of curiosity.

When Lu Yang asked about Zhu Kang, Hong Yu's expression darkened slightly. "He has been on leave for seven days in a row, locking himself in the Martial Arts Pavilion to cultivate. He is probably too eager to break through. He can't even call out to his second uncle."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang's expression darkened slightly, and he gently shook his head.

Zhu Kang's father, Zhu Ling, was one of the three Cold-resistant-level soldiers who died in the Battle of the Hive last year. Although he was posthumously granted the title of Ninth-Rank Xuanling Viscount, it will not be so easy for Zhu Kang to successfully inherit his father's title.

One-third of the battlefield merits required killing 166 enemies, not 166 ordinary people, but real soldiers with the ultimate cultivation level of the Earth-Digging Realm.

Even if there were a war in the Great Xia Dynasty, given Zhu Kang's current cultivation level at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, it would be virtually impossible for him to accumulate so many military merits in a short period of time.

Of course, if the path of military merit is blocked, he can still look for silver mines, find the Cold Apple Tree, or annex other camps. Unfortunately, with Zhu Kang's current cultivation level, achieving any of these three things is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Zhu Kang was clearly eager to improve his strength and inherit his father's ninth-rank Xuanling title as soon as possible; otherwise, he wouldn't have spent seven consecutive days...

Lu Yang suddenly realized the loophole in Hong Yu's words and immediately asked, "Wait, how can Zhu Kang train at the Martial Arts Academy for seven consecutive days? Does he have that many slots available? Won't the others have objections?"

The Martial Arts Academy has quotas, and can only accommodate a maximum of 200 people per day. It is considered one of the most precious cultivation resources in the Great Xia Dynasty. Although the Logistics Department has raised the usage price several times, everyone is still scrambling to get in. Except for certain special periods, Lu Yang has never heard of anyone being able to cultivate there for seven consecutive days.

"Sir, it's not the Martial Arts Academy, it's the Martial Arts Pavilion..."

Hong Yu first corrected Lu Yang's mistake, then smiled and said, "No wonder, it's normal that the adults haven't been back for more than two months. The recent changes in Xia City are not limited to this city wall."

He seemed to be looking forward to Lu Yang's reaction after entering the city, and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "It just so happens that I need to go back to the inner city. Let me show you the changes in the city!"

Lu Yang nodded and followed Hong Yu through the city gate, his eyes full of anticipation.

Upon entering the city gate, a 20-meter-wide main road came into view, with snow-covered forests on both sides. Lu Yang immediately recognized this as the scenery that was originally within the territory of Hongmuling. Considering that the city walls on both the north and south sides had extended 15 kilometers to the west, he immediately understood.

"This main road was cleared temporarily for the convenience of entering the city. The expansion of the city wall was rushed, and large areas inside the outer city have not yet been cleared. As you can see, there are many people logging in the snow forest on both sides, and a few scattered cold beasts even appeared a few days ago. Of course, none of them will cause any major trouble. Based on the progress I have seen these past few days, I estimate that the entire outer city area will be completely cleared by the end of this month at the latest."

Hearing the sounds coming from the snow-covered forest on both sides, Lu Yang nodded and continued to follow Hong Yu eastward. After walking for about ten kilometers, he finally saw a large cluster of buildings in the distance, which was the familiar outer city scene he remembered.

The two continued walking eastward for a while and soon arrived at the high-rise building that was originally the jurisdiction of the Seven Offices in the western district of the outer city. However, unlike before, the four characters "Western District Administration" on the plaque of the high-rise building had been replaced with the five characters "Eastern Fourth District Administration".

"The expanded Xia City, like before, is still divided into four districts: east, west, south, and north. The four outer city districts have all been incorporated into the East District, but the four administrative centers within the original districts remain unchanged, only numbered. My father told me that the Minister of Justice plans to divide the East City into eighteen districts, each capable of accommodating around 100,000 people. In this way, the East City alone can accommodate nearly two million people, and the population carrying capacity of the entire Xia City will be even more enormous."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang showed surprise on his face, but after a moment's thought, he immediately understood.

Originally, the four outer city districts were planned to have a population carrying capacity of 400,000, which was just enough to divide them into the four districts of the east, west, south and north. Now, the expanded Xia City is 25 times the size of the original city, and its population carrying capacity should theoretically be in the tens of millions. Xia Chuan is currently planned to have a population of more than 7 million, which is also reasonable.

Lu Yang noticed Hong Yu's expression, which was even more excited than his own. At first, he was a little puzzled, but he quickly realized: "Eighteen districts, that's equivalent to adding fourteen new administrative centers. No wonder this kid is so excited!"

Last year, when Xia Chuan was reorganized, it was said that as long as the population of a region reached 100,000, it would meet the conditions for establishing a seven-district administrative office. Therefore, in the future, as long as the population conditions are met, all the districts of Xia City will have a seven-district administrative office.

This means that as the population of Xia City increases in the future, there will be a continuous stream of vacant official positions with ranks, which is indeed the best news for young people like Hong Yu who currently do not have any official positions with ranks.

"Why are there so many people crammed into the administrative office?"

Lu Yang continued walking east along the main road. When he passed the entrance of the high-rise building of the East Fourth District government office, he found that there were thousands of people crowded inside. He was curious and asked about it.

"They're all scrambling to buy land and build houses!"

Upon hearing this answer, Lu Yang immediately smiled and nodded.

He was aware of this matter. With the outer city overcrowded and land scarce, the Fourth District Supply Bureau had raised land prices to reduce land use. Now that Xia City had expanded, land prices would naturally decrease, and more people would be able to afford to buy.

Soon, the two passed through the East Fourth District and saw the Great Xia military camp, which was originally located in the very center of the outer city.

"Is no one in the military camp?"

"My lord, you don't know yet, but Chen Ying discovered a silver mine last month. There was only a group of more than two thousand rodents inhabiting the mine. Yun Jiao, Long Wu, and Tu Long's three armies went there and wiped out the rodents. They are all staying there to mine the silver!"

Lu Yang was genuinely unaware of this matter, and his face showed surprise. However, he immediately recalled Xia Hong's previous actions of having them frantically mine resources, and instantly realized that the recent changes in Xia City were likely related to this silver mine.

"Chen Ying, is that the Chen Ying from the Chenye camp at Hongmuling? I remember he made quite a few military achievements in Longyou last year. I'm afraid he'll be able to be ennobled this time?"

Lu Yang immediately remembered who Chen Ying was. He had discovered a silver mine, and the mining difficulty was so low. His luck was just too good.

Upon hearing this, Hong Yu's face immediately lit up with envy. "He was granted a title last month, and I heard that the lord himself personally issued the investiture document. He's much more prestigious than Elder Li, Elder Hou, and Zhou Yuan!" Hearing that Xia Hong had personally intervened, Lu Yang's face also showed surprise.

Li Tiancheng, Hou Jing, and Zhou Yuan were considered special in Daxia, but their investiture ceremonies in the first half of the year were only presided over by Xia Chuan, the Director of the Imperial Secretariat.

The fact that Xia Hong personally intervened speaks volumes about the significance of that silver mine!
The two bypassed the military camp and soon arrived at East District 1.

"East District 1 is the original East District of the outer city. It was originally the most expensive land there. After the recent expansion of the city wall, many people realized that East District 1 would definitely become the best location in the outer city in the future. So they all rushed to buy land. In order to deal with the scramble, Shou Zheng Ying Yi of East District raised the land price directly to 18,000, but it was still sold out within ten days."

Hearing this amusing story, Lu Yang shook his head and chuckled, but a sense of pride couldn't help but rise within him.

It's no secret that everyone in Xia City wants their residences to be close to the inner city; the closer to the central government, the safer one is, which is common sense.

As a long-time member of the Great Xia Dynasty, Lu Yang's residence was at No. 18 in the inner city, only a little over 300 meters away from the main building, so he certainly had reason to be proud.

The two quickly passed through the East District 1 and entered the inner city through the city gate.

"Lord Lu is back!"

"Greetings, Lord Lu."

"Isn't Lord Lu stationed in Hanqiong? How come you have time to come back?"

………………

As soon as he entered the main road of the inner city, he encountered many familiar faces. People greeted him everywhere, and Lu Yang returned their greetings with a cupped hand. However, he only said a few words before indicating that he had urgent business and quickly walked towards the main building.

But the further he went in, the stranger his expression became.

Finally, after walking for about a mile, just as they were about to see the main building, he couldn't help but ask Hong Yu beside him, "Aren't there a lot of people breaking through recently?"

Lu Yang is now at the mid-stage of the Cold Resistance realm. Those people on the street whose auras are slightly disordered can be seen as having recently broken through to a higher level, but they can't hide it from his eyes.

The key issue is that there are far too many of these people.

Within this short distance of one mile, he saw at least three or four hundred people, including more than a dozen at the Cold Resistance level, which was simply astonishing.

"I was just about to say something, Lord Lu, look up and see what's ahead!"

Upon hearing Hong Yu's signal, Lu Yang quickly looked up and his expression immediately froze.

Behind the main building, there are four buildings in total. The most eye-catching one is, of course, the Lord's residence, the Star-Picking Hall, which is suspended in mid-air. The remaining three buildings are the Alchemy Workshop, the Weapon Forging Workshop, and the Martial Arts Academy, respectively.

The three buildings behind are not tall, so they are usually blocked by the main building and cannot be seen from the west side.

But now when he looked up, the three buildings were already taller than the main building, and the three plaques on top of them, namely the Martial Arts Pavilion, the Medicine Refining Pavilion, and the Weapon Refining Pavilion, were clearly visible at a glance.

"The Martial Arts Pavilion can now accommodate a thousand people to cultivate at the same time, and it currently has fifty Frost Beast Training Grounds, all of which can simulate quasi-Beast King level Frost Beasts. I heard that it will be expanded in a while. Lord Lu, do you now understand why there are so many people on the street who have just broken through to higher levels of cultivation?"

A thousand people.

And it will be expanded in a while!
Lu Yang's face was filled with horror, which was followed by ecstatic joy.

He was also someone who frequently entered the Martial Arts Academy to cultivate, so he knew very well how powerful the Martial Arts Academy was. He understood better than Hong Yu, who was beside him, what it meant for Great Xia to increase the number of people in the Martial Arts Pavilion from two hundred to one thousand.

"The Alchemy Pavilion has also changed a lot. I went there a few days ago. Behind the pavilion is a large medicinal field of 500 meters. Cheng Sizheng has been leading people to transplant various precious medicinal herbs recently. I heard that he also sent people from the logging department to Longshan to try to transplant that nearly dead Cold Apple tree."

During this period, new pills were produced every day in the Alchemy Pavilion. Deputy Director Bai divided all the pills into six grades and created a corresponding six-level alchemist system. I heard that alchemist assessments will be implemented in the future.

And then there's the Weapon Forging Hall. They can forge dozens of thousand-forged weapons every day, and the production of ten-thousand-forged weapons is also increasing. I heard that Mu Sizheng is currently leading craftsmen to forge a weapon of the hundred-thousand-forged level for the lord. Just the silver alone will cost tens of thousands of catties. Tsk tsk..."

Having listened to Hong Yu talk the whole way, Lu Yang had already reached the foot of the main building.

After learning about the many major changes in Xia City, Lu Yang's face was naturally filled with undisguised surprise, but this surprise slowly dissipated the moment he saw the main building.

A hint of excitement rose in his eyes, clearly indicating that he was looking forward to what he was about to do.

Hong Yu had already noticed the excitement on Lu Yang's face, and immediately asked curiously:
"By the way, Lord Lu, is there anything urgent that brings you back from Hanqiong?"

"This matter is of great importance, and I cannot say more. I hope Brother Hong will understand!"

"It's alright, it's alright. In that case, Lord Lu, please go see the Vice Minister immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Yu was so frightened that he waved his hand.

If his father, Hong Tian, ​​knew that he called him "Brother Hong," he would probably get a scolding.

Although Lu Yang was only five years older than him, he far surpassed him in terms of status, position, and strength. He was clearly on par with his father, Hong Tian. It was already an honor for him to walk in with him through the city gate and talk with him all the way.

Hong Yu had clearly seen the envious glances that many people had cast at him on the main road.

Besides, since Lu Yang said it was a matter of great importance, it was definitely something I wasn't qualified to listen to. If I rashly inquired and offended someone, it would definitely be more trouble than good.

Lu Yang smiled and cupped his hands in greeting before quickly heading towards the top floor of the main building.

………………

The residence directly behind the Zhaixing Palace, in Li Xuanling's room.

Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng were lying on small rocking beds, fast asleep with their eyes closed. Li Xuanling sat in the middle, looking at one of them and then at the other, her face full of love.

She held a bone fan in her left hand, gently fanning Xia Yusheng, while her right hand occasionally adjusted Xia Yuyao's blanket, afraid that she would get cold.

“Madam, you’ve been fanning yourself for so long, let me do it. The dew by His Highness’s bedside has been collected, I’m fine now.”

Having just finished harvesting a batch of Jade Dew, Frost took Li Xuanling's fan and continued to fan Xia Yusheng. Then, looking at the fifteen drops of Frost Dew in her hand, she couldn't help but sigh, "I heard that one drop of Frost Dew can be exchanged for five thousand contribution points at the supply department. Your Highness can produce fifteen drops every night after sleeping. I'm afraid there's no one richer than her in the entire camp."

Seeing that what she said was funny, Li Xuanling immediately laughed.

Cold Apple Jade Dew is the main ingredient for refining Yang Yuan Pills. One drop can yield nine pills. Although it needs to be combined with other medicinal materials, it is still considered precious. The price of 5000 points set by the Department of Supply and Marketing is reasonable.

According to Han Shuang, the eldest daughter, Xia Yuyao, is indeed the richest person in the entire camp. Even if Xia Hong tried to earn more, he probably wouldn't be able to earn that much.

"The Second Prince is special too! Standing next to him, I don't feel cold at all. It's like a natural furnace. I love hugging him the most."

Nongying, who was on the other side of the rocking bed, also praised Xia Yusheng.

Li Xuanling nodded with a smile: "Indeed, compared to Yao'er, Sheng'er's physique seems to be more suitable for survival in the Ice Abyss. Moreover, he hasn't started cultivating yet. Once he starts cultivating, his physique will definitely undergo other changes."

"Once the two princes begin their cultivation, I estimate that all the geniuses in the entire Great Xia will pale in comparison."

"The entire Great Xia?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuanling raised an eyebrow slightly, then a hint of arrogance appeared on her face, clearly wanting to say something, but she held back.

"Mingyue greets the Madam and the two Princes!"

Suddenly, Mingyue strode in from outside, first bowing respectfully to Li Xuanling and her two children, before walking to Han Shuang's side and whispering:
"Sister Hanshuang, Si Cheng said there's an urgent matter and asked me to inform the lord. I've been looking for Sister Hanyue for a long time but couldn't find her, so I had to come to you."

Although Mingyue is a maid of the Zhaixing Palace, she often goes to the Council Hall. If someone is in a hurry to see the lord, they will ask her to come and inform him.

Xia Hong was in seclusion at the Star-Picking Platform, which only Han Yue and Han Shuang were qualified to visit. Clearly, Han Yue had gone to take care of something, which was why Ming Yue had come to Han Shuang's place.

"I know, I'll be there right away."

"Go and inform him, don't worry about me."

Li Xuanling gestured for Han Shuang to go and inform Xia Hong directly. After watching her leave, he turned to Mingyue and asked, "What is it? Do you know?"

"It seems that Han Qiong has brought back some important news from Lu Yang!"

Li Xuanling frowned slightly, then said softly, "Go to the Council Hall now and listen to what the news is, then come back and tell me."

Mingyue paused for a moment, but quickly nodded and walked in that direction.

It wasn't like she was asked to eavesdrop, and besides, she didn't have the ability to do so. With the lady's orders in place, even if the lord found out, he wouldn't blame her.

(End of this chapter)