Chapter 254: Understanding, Winning Hearts First, Next Step

The Fire-Condensing Oil was distributed in an orderly manner. Of the seventeen thousand plus people rescued from Gourd Valley, only four hundred plus died from dew explosions; everyone else was successfully saved.

At the same time, dawn broke.

Before dawn, Qiu Peng led people to settle the people from the three families into all the houses within the Wu Shuang settlement.

Unsurprisingly, during this process, all fifteen thousand plus people from the Han Qiong camp expressed their intention to join the Great Xia camp;

Among the sixteen hundred plus Earth-Digging Realm cultivators from Longshan and Zhaoyang, those who wanted to change their allegiance were minimal, totaling only twenty-something.

When Qiu Peng returned to the main building to report this number to Xia Hong, there was an undisguised disappointment in his tone; he was clearly still a bit unwilling.

In the top-floor hall of the Wu Shuang main building, Qiu Peng sat down after finishing his report.

On both sides of the hall sat Great Xia's twelve Cold-Resisting level experts: Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, Hong Guang, Hong Tian, Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, Zhao Bao, Zhu Yuan, Lin Kai, Lu Yang, Hong Gang, and Huang Yong. They all looked up at the head of the table, waiting for Xia Hong to speak.

Chen Yingyuan, Chen Yingba, Wu Tianxing, and Peng Bo sat in the rearmost positions. They first looked up at Xia Hong above, then scanned the people sitting upright on both sides of the hall, their faces almost all carrying a look of shock.

Having constantly traveled between Beehive and Wu Shuang earlier, this was the first time the four of them had so intuitively seen Great Xia's Cold-Resisting level experts gathered together.

"There are thirteen just here. I remember there's one named Meng Yi in Beehive, and Yuan Cheng and Director Yu Wen who are recovering from injuries. That means Great Xia has at least sixteen Cold-Resisting level experts!"

"It's impossible for the settlement not to leave anyone behind, so there must be more than sixteen. There are over 1400 Earth-Digging Realm cultivators here, and Beehive has 1000 people, totaling over 2400. Same as the Cold-Resisting level experts, they must have some left behind in their settlements. Conservatively, the number of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators is at least over 3000. Great Xia's strength is simply too strong!"

"Of course, the most important thing is... his strength!"

Chen Yingyuan sat in his chair, seemingly expressionless, but after carefully calculating Great Xia's strength, he kept exclaiming in his heart. Especially when he finally looked at Xia Hong at the head of the table, there was an undisguised shock in the depths of his eyes.

Having just followed Xia Chuan to Gourd Valley to save Xia Hong, although he had appeared calm and relaxed throughout, only he knew how shocked he was inside.

Li Ying Xuan Ling, Li Xuandu, and Li Ying Xuan Yan, the three young masters of Longshan; Meng Ying and Zhou Yuan, two of the Eight Vajras; plus Yang Fengping, a master archer whose strength was second only to Li Tianhua and Li Tiancheng. Excluding Li Tiancheng, these six were almost the strongest Cold-Resisting level experts in Longshan at present.

In Chen Yingyuan's view, these six people, plus a thousand Longyou troops, could kill anyone in Longyou except Li Tianhua. Even if Li Tianhua's younger brother Li Tiancheng came, it would be a dead end.

Yet they had failed to kill Xia Hong!

Regardless of whether it was because Xia Chuan brought people to arrive in time later, the result was that Xia Hong didn't die. Not only did he not die, but apart from being shot in the face by an arrow from Yang Fengping and the few harmless arrows stuck in his body, he didn't even have any fatal wounds.

Chen Yingyuan dared not be sure if Xia Hong was as powerful as Li Tianhua.

But he could be certain that he was definitely above Li Tiancheng and Hou Hu!

A leader with strength enough to look down upon Longyou; at least twenty or more people at the Frigid-Resistant level; a force of over three thousand Earth-Digging Realm members...

Excluding the Longyou Army and the Blood Guard Army, just these three items alone meant Great Xia was not far behind the Longshan and Zhaoyang families, not to mention that these were just his conservative guesses.

"Not only that, I've seen before that the pale gold armor worn by those Great Xia soldiers, including the weapons they use, although they are only ten-forged level, are enough to rival the hundred-forged level here. This proves that Great Xia's forging craftsmanship is far superior to Longyou's; and the clothes they wear, the pills they use..."

At this moment, looking at the astonishing number of Cold-Resisting level experts from Great Xia before him, combined with what he had seen and heard over the past few days, Chen Yingyuan felt increasingly shocked by Great Xia's strength. At the same time, he turned to look at Chen Yingba beside him and couldn't help but sigh slightly.

After all, Beehive existed in name only, and he had to start thinking about the future path for himself and his brother.

"Great Xia seems to be a pretty good place to go!"

"There are 23 people who want to defect to Great Xia; that's not bad!"

Chen Yingyuan was thinking about joining Great Xia, which Xia Hong naturally didn't know. Hearing Qiu Peng say that 23 Earth-Digging Realm cultivators wanted to defect to Great Xia, he was clearly very surprised and showed a look of great interest.

But soon, noticing the unwillingness on the faces of Qiu Peng and the others, and knowing that they still hadn't figured out his intentions, he shook his head helplessly.

"Let me ask you a question!"

After thinking for a moment, Xia Hong spoke slowly. After attracting everyone's attention, he continued to ask: "Suppose, suppose Great Xia loses a battle in the future, and you are captured by the enemy. If they ask you to leave Great Xia and join their camp, would you be willing?"

"Of course not!"

"Impossible."

"I, Luo Yuan, am a person of Great Xia in life and a ghost of Great Xia in death. I will never join any other camp."

Hearing this question, except for Chen Yingyuan and the other three, everyone in Great Xia answered almost without thinking. Many even had anger on their faces, clearly thinking that Xia Hong's question was somewhat insulting to them.

As for Xia Chuan, he didn't even open his mouth, just lowered his brow slightly, thinking about Xia Hong's intentions first.

Xia Hong showed a trace of satisfaction and smiled as he continued to ask: "Since none of you are willing, why do you think others would be willing?"

"I understand the leader's meaning. I didn't originally intend to..."

Qiu Peng just wanted to retort, but was interrupted by Xia Hong raising his hand.

"Whether it's coercing them to join Great Xia or forcibly taking them back as mine slaves, the final result is nothing more than one thing: these people's resistance to Great Xia will grow stronger and stronger, and they might even find an opportunity to rebel at any time and flee back to their original camp. Do you admit it?"

Seeing everyone lower their heads in thought, Xia Hong didn't wait for them to answer and continued: "You don't have to think about it. When I infiltrated the Beehive camp before, I stayed in the mining area and had contact with those mine slaves. I know very well that even if you don't believe me, there is one person you should believe..."

Xia Hong's gaze shifted slightly to Chen Yingyuan in the back row on the left below, showing a smile: "Beehive has captured mine slaves for so many years. Leader Chen should understand the psychology of those mine slaves best. Why don't you tell us about it?"

Suddenly called out, Chen Yingyuan was slightly hurried. He immediately stood up, bowed to Xia Hong, and then said helplessly: "I dare not accept the title of leader. If the leader doesn't mind, you can just call me by my name."

This Chen Yingyuan is quite sensible!

Xia Hong smiled and nodded. He knew very well that unlike Peng Bo's active joining, Chen Yingyuan, his brother, and Wu Tianxing were obedient to Great Xia because all their family members were currently in Xia City.

Controlling three Cold-Resisting level experts in this way was not a long-term solution. Xia Hong naturally understood this, but in the short term, he couldn't find any other way to subdue the three of them, so he could only do this for now.

"Good, then I won't be polite. Chen Yingyuan, tell them!"

Hearing this, Chen Yingyuan's expression relaxed a lot, and he began to tell Xia Chuan and the others about the mine slaves in Beehive.

"To tell you the truth, all the mine slaves in Beehive were basically obtained when we destroyed other camps, so these people, almost without exception, hate Beehive to the bone. Even if a few finally joined Beehive, these people have no feelings for the camp. As soon as there is another good way out, they leave immediately. This is still the better situation. Before..."

Chen Yingyuan had also been a leader, and he could roughly see Xia Hong's intention, so he quickly explained the matter of the Beehive mine slaves clearly.

Just as Xia Hong guessed, anyone who was captured and used as a mine slave had a twisted psychology and hated Beehive to the bone. As Chen Yingyuan said, those who finally ran away were the lucky ones.

Beehive had previously experienced a mine slave riot, which even killed and injured many people. Since that incident, Beehive had to forge more iron shackles to control the mine slaves, and Chen Yingyuan even had to send a large number of people to guard the mining area, always on guard against them rioting again.

After Chen Yingyuan finished speaking, he said in a deep voice: "Looking back now, this mine slave system is indeed not good. Even if it is really adopted, the number of mine slaves must be strictly controlled. Once there are too many, it is a huge hidden danger. Not to mention wasting a lot of iron, coal, and even human resources, it doesn't bring any benefits.

Because these people were all captured, they don't work hard at mining, just thinking about doing things perfunctorily. In the end, the output is not good, and they cause a few riots from time to time, finally making the camp lose more than it gains!"

After he finished speaking, everyone else in the hall fell into thought.

Xia Hong looked at Chen Yingyuan, a trace of approval rising in his eyes. Being able to say these last words showed that Chen Yingyuan was not a foolish person, and he had also seriously thought about this mine slave system.

Giving everyone some time to think, seeing that many people had already come to their senses, Xia Hong continued: "I said yesterday in the Gourd Valley secret passage that letting all these people go back is the first step for Great Xia to take Longyou. It seems you still haven't figured it out. What do you think is the most important thing for us if we want to take Longyou?"

"Of course it's strength!"

Luo Yuan's answer won unanimous approval from everyone.

Xia Hong also nodded and continued to ask: "Then do you think Great Xia's current strength is enough?"

Hearing this, everyone's expressions froze, including Xia Chuan, who shook their heads at the same time.

Of course not enough!

First of all, regarding the number of Cold-Resisting level experts, Great Xia could at most rival Longshan and Zhaoyang, and there was no great advantage.

Then there was the number of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators. Xia Hong had already told them about Zhaoyang's situation: at least five thousand or more. Not to mention Longshan; their number of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators was only more than Zhaoyang's, not less.

Finally, not to mention these two items, before Great Xia established a formal army dedicated to attack, the Longyou Army and the Blood Guard Army were two mountains they could not cross. Xia Hong felt this especially deeply after being besieged in Gourd Valley.

Great Xia's productivity was indeed good, but this kind of productivity was far from enough to make up for the gap between them and the Longshan and Zhaoyang families.

Therefore, it was impossible for Great Xia to take Longyou by strength alone at present!

If strength is not enough, then we must think of other ways.

Xia Hong certainly wouldn't ask this for no reason. Everyone lowered their heads in thought, combined with his current behavior of letting this batch of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators from Longshan and Zhaoyang go, their expressions instantly froze, and they soon had the answer in their hearts.

"The leader means that if we can't win by strength, then we should win hearts first!"

After all, having been a leader, Chen Yingyuan pointed out Xia Hong's thoughts in one word.

"Not bad, it's winning hearts!"

Xia Hong showed a trace of approval and continued: "I already saved these people's lives in Gourd Valley. After returning to Wu Shuang, we used Fire-Condensing Oil to save them again. Two life-saving graces are enough to make these people feel good about Great Xia. Even if they return to their respective camps, as long as they fight against Great Xia in the future, they will naturally feel inferior in their hearts. And this emotion is very likely to spread to the rest of the people in Longshan and Zhaoyang along with their return."

Hearing these words, Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the others suddenly showed thoughtful expressions, as if they had vaguely perceived Xia Hong's intention.

"As far as Longyou is concerned, Great Xia has always been an outsider. We took Beehive, Wu Shuang, and Han Qiong by strength, and the Earth-Digging Realm cultivators of the three families are few, so we don't need to consider the resistance of these three families, but other camps won't work!"

Xia Hong paused, turned to look around the hall, and continued: "You must all remember that Great Xia's expansion is for territory, but even more for population. If everyone in Longyou hates us, then even if we occupy this place, can you live and hunt here with peace of mind in the future, and can you manage this area well?"

"Moreover, after taking Beehive, Wu Shuang, and Han Qiong, the camp's new population has accumulated to nearly seventy thousand. Bringing all these people back to Xia City is a huge project, not to mention the subsequent integration, which is another huge project that will consume a lot of manpower and material resources. If we cause more trouble because of these sixteen hundred plus Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, it will be a loss that outweighs the gain!"

"The biggest difficulty currently before us is the Longyou Army and the Blood Guard Army. If we really go to war with these two families, do you think the current Great Xia can win? Time, we need a lot of time. First, we need to digest this batch of new population well; second, we need to do our best to narrow the strength gap between us and the Longshan and Zhaoyang families!"

After Xia Hong finished these words, everyone, including Xia Chuan, showed a look of shame on their faces.

Over the past few days, Great Xia had been singing all the way, taking down three camps in succession. Such a smooth progress made them all start to feel a bit floaty, and they even started to not take the Longshan and Zhaoyang families seriously.

Waking up suddenly at this moment, Great Xia's strength was actually still inferior to the two families, and cold sweat instantly broke out on their backs.

Seeing the atmosphere in the hall gradually become solemn, knowing that everyone had sobered up, Xia Hong first felt a trace of satisfaction, then thought of something, a dark glint flashed in his eyes, and he said slowly: "Moreover, these 1600 plus Earth-Digging Realm cultivators were all people who had been abandoned by Li Ying Xuan Ling and Hou Tong once. Do you think they might have some grudges in their hearts?"

Xia Chuan and the others' eyes instantly lit up.

Chen Yingyuan and the other three at the back of the hall lowered their heads in thought for a while, then looked up at Xia Hong, and a trace of chill inexplicably rose in their hearts.

"Li Ying Xuan Ling and Hou Tong and those people should all be infected with dew. These two families should both have silver, but as far as I know, silver is scarce, and it's definitely impossible to use it for everyone. So the dew plague on many people still can't be solved. If we let all these 1600 plus people go back and let them bring the news of Fire-Condensing Oil back, guess, will they come to us then?"

Having said this much, Xia Chuan, Qiu Peng, Luo Yuan, and the others finally understood Xia Hong's intention completely, and their expressions immediately brightened.

Especially Qiu Peng, who was in charge of the camp supply department. Hearing the last part, his expression was incomparably excited. Remembering that he had actually questioned Xia Hong just now, his face was full of shame, and he walked directly to the middle of the hall and knelt down to Xia Hong.

"My vision was short-sighted, and I almost ruined the leader's great plan. Please forgive me, leader!"

Xia Hong shook his head. Not only would he not blame him, but he also appreciated Qiu Peng's courage to question him. After all, this meant that Qiu Peng had his own cognition and thoughts, rather than being a subordinate who only knew how to follow blindly.

Not to mention, among Great Xia's current Cold-Resisting level experts, there were not many people who possessed this quality. According to Xia Hong's observation, there were only four before: Xia Chuan, Yu Wentao, Watching Yue Feng, and Xu Ning.

With Xia Hong's supreme status in the hearts of Great Xia people, to truly possess this quality, courage, vision, and strength were indispensable. Therefore, in Xia Hong's view, people who possessed this quality were all existences who could stand on their own.

This was the reason why Watching Yue Feng and Xu Ning could serve as the Garrison Commanders of Jinggu and Wuyuan respectively.

Today there was one more Qiu Peng, which naturally made Xia Hong even happier, as it meant that more and more talents were emerging in Great Xia.

Xia Hong showed a smile, thought of something, and suddenly spoke to the people below:

"You can spend more effort on those 23 people who want to defect to Great Xia, and check clearly what is going on. Don't just take people in randomly. We want to find out about the situation in Longshan and Zhaoyang, but those two families might not necessarily not want to find out about our situation."

Hearing these words, everyone was stunned. After thinking for a moment, they understood Xia Hong's meaning, and then they all looked at Qiu Peng.

Qiu Peng, who had just brought the news of the 23 people's defection, changed his expression drastically after realizing it. A trace of lingering fear appeared on his face. He looked up at Xia Hong and was about to speak, but Xia Hong waved his hand directly.

"You handle the specific matters yourselves. I'm going to start practicing. If there are any special circumstances, come find me."

"Yes, leader!"

Everyone bowed and then exited the hall respectfully.

As soon as they left the hall, Qiu Peng immediately followed behind Xia Chuan.

"Deputy Si Zheng, did the leader mean just now that those 23 people are very likely to be feigning defection and came to find out Great Xia's news?"

Xia Chuan, who was walking in front, nodded slightly, a cold glint appearing in his eyes:

"Not necessarily all of them, but there's a high probability that a few are mixed in. That's why the leader told us to spend effort to check clearly. There are still more than two hours before dark. Call those 23 people separately to talk first. As it happens, I have an idea..."

Hearing Xia Chuan's later words, Qiu Peng's eyes became brighter and brighter, and a look of obvious admiration appeared on his face. It wasn't until Xia Chuan finished speaking that he said:

"I'll go handle it right away!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 255 =====