Chapter 260: Building the Xia Zhi Road: The Meat Problem

The boundary of a day in Bingyuan is defined by sunrise.

When the Yugu Great Medicine was forged, it was already daylight; strictly speaking, it was the twenty-ninth day of the fourth month of Great Xia Year Two.

Xia Hong stored the Hanxu Ding in his system, then raced southeast at high speed, passing the Beehive without entering, heading straight south toward Jinggu Valley.

Between the Beehive and Jinggu Valley, over ten kilometers, traces of human activity were everywhere, and some marks were clearly left not long before dawn.

"The Beehive has roughly thirty thousand ordinary people; according to their relocation plan, over four nights, an estimated twenty thousand have passed through Jinggu Valley back to Xia Cheng. No one must slip through—first return to Xia Cheng, screen that group, then bring the Hanxu Ding to Jinggu Valley."

Xia Hong traveled alone, moving at incredible speed, and arrived at Jinggu Valley in mere moments.

It was daytime now, so Jinggu Valley was silent; no one was visible outside the outpost, but all forty orderly wooden huts glowed with firelight, clearly occupied by many.

Xia Hong walked directly toward the central main building, recently repaired.

"Someone's here?"

"Who can be outside during the day? Must be a Yuhán-level expert."

"Look at his clothes—same material as Commander Yue Feng's last night. Probably also a Great Xia Yuhán-level expert."

………………

The residents inside the huts were all those relocated from the Beehive; likely still adjusting to the new environment, many hadn't slept, and upon seeing Xia Hong walking down the corridor through the windows, they murmured curiously.

"Yue Feng bows before the leader!"

Xia Hong strode in boldly; before he even neared the main building, Yue Feng rushed out from inside, stepped forward, and bowed deeply.

Yue Feng had likely already learned from Meng Yi that Xia Hong had returned to camp, so though his expression was excited, he showed no surprise.

"Rise. How many people are currently in Jinggu Valley? And how many have you sent to Xia Cheng? You should have exact figures."

Yue Feng immediately nodded and replied: "Over the past four nights, 19,284 people arrived from the Beehive; 15,242 have returned to Xia Cheng via Xia Zhi Road, leaving 4,042 still stranded in Jinggu Valley—including Wu Shuang and 1,014 captives from the Beehive."

Almost exactly as predicted!

Though the distance from the Beehive to Jinggu Valley is only a few dozen kilometers, moving over five thousand people in one night is already at maximum capacity; once they reach Jinggu Valley, returning to Xia Cheng via the direct route is highly efficient.

"Of these 1,014 captives, how many are Juedi-level?"

Great Xia had fought two battles in Longyou; Xia Hong knew this, but he didn't know the exact number of captives, so he asked curiously.

Yue Feng's face lit up with excitement: "466 Juedi-level, 548 Famu-level—both from Zhao Yang and Wu Shuang. Jinggu Valley's two iron mines were just short on laborers, so we kept them all here. I've recorded them under the squads that captured them, as Deputy Director instructed, so their mining output can directly count toward their squads' quotas."

Xia Hong paused, then chuckled softly.

He'd nearly forgotten Great Xia's captive regulations.

Under those rules, these thousand-plus captives all fought directly against Great Xia on the battlefield and must serve at least three years of corvée labor; the coal and iron ore they mine during service can offset the mining quotas of hunting squads.

"Xia Chuan told me all thirty-two intermediate hunting squads were deployed there. Your squad must've captured quite a few, right?"

Yue Feng grinned. "No choice—the Deputy Director ordered me to hold Jinggu Valley, so Shanhe Squad was led by Liu Liu Yuan Kun. That kid's good—he captured 82 captives total, 24 of them Juedi-level, ranking sixth among the thirty-two intermediate squads."

"You're sixth. Who are the top five?"

Xia Hong asked with interest. Though Xia Chuan had told him about the Beehive and Wu Shuang, he didn't know the battle details—he only knew the Beehive had taken advantage of Zhao Yang unscathed, and twenty-eight died fighting Wu Shuang.

"Yunjiao, Hubao, Lieying, Gangzong, Xuanwu."

Xia Chuan, Luo Liu Liu Yuan, Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, Hong Guang—Xia Hong immediately recalled the squad leaders' names, eyebrows slightly raised.

Brother Brother Director Yu Wen Tao and Liu Liu Yuan Cheng must've been delayed at Yangyuan Peak and missed the Wu Shuang battle, so Long Wu and Tu Long squads didn't make the top five.

"Xuanwu Squad made the top five too—Hong Guang performed well this time!"

Earlier, Hong Guang had erred in Wuyuan; Xia Hong had disbanded Xuanwu Squad. After his breakthrough to Yuhán-level, Xuanwu was rebuilt. Making the top five proves Hong Guang's growth—Xia Hong felt a flicker of satisfaction.

"This round brings many new people to the camp; over forty thousand more will arrive later. You'll still be busy. The Longyou situation is just stabilizing—I've ordered Xia Chuan to recall 1,800 men. Your Shanhe Squad should be among them. You won't lack manpower, but during population relocation, prioritize safety—send more patrols along the route."

Yue Feng nodded. Though he hadn't been to Longyou, through the past few nights' population handovers, he'd learned much about Longyou and knew more people were coming.

But seeing Xia Hong prepare to leave, he quickly spoke: "Leader, the Famu-level captives can't mine either—they're useless just sitting there. I discussed with Qiu Peng and decided to send them out at night to cut timber and build the direct road. It's still a form of service. Qiu Peng suggested allocating a fixed portion of meat each month as reward for the diligent ones, giving them incentive. If they break through to Juedi-level, they can be transferred to the mines…"

Hearing this, Xia Hong's eyes instantly brightened.

"You've not only put the Famu-level captives to use, but also motivated them to serve—and built the direct road along the way. That's a smart idea."

Hearing Xia Hong's praise, Yue Feng smiled broadly.

The idea was his and Qiu Peng's joint creation.

The inspiration came from the past four nights of population relocation.

Each day, over five thousand people left the Beehive, heading south toward Jinggu Valley. Though only a few dozen kilometers away, the procession moved painfully slowly.

The reasons: weather, terrain, and occasional cold beasts along the route.

The best solution? Build a direct road linking the Beehive and Jinggu Valley—not just for this relocation, but also to connect all outposts as Great Xia's territory expands into Longyou.

Building the Xia Zhi Road isn't easy.

Large quantities of timber are secondary; sourcing locally isn't hard.

The hardest part is construction.

The snow depth across Bingyuan's wilderness is well known; clearing it alone is an enormous, tedious task—but this phase can involve Famu-level laborers.

Worse still, driving foundation piles can only be done by Juedi-level workers. Given the road's length—over ten kilometers—you'll need at least hundreds, even over a thousand Juedi-level laborers. Even then, the project will take at least a month.

Then come tunnel installation, torch and coal furnace setup, post-construction maintenance, and dedicated patrols to clear surrounding cold beasts—so many details to manage.

"Currently, Great Xia has five Xia Zhi Roads: three to coal and iron mines in Seeing Hong Mu Ridge, one to Wuyuan, one to Jinggu Valley. I originally estimated three months to complete the Jinggu-to-Beehive road. But now that you've recalled 1,800 men, the timeline can be halved—likely ready by June. Then transporting goods and people will become much easier."

Xia Hong nodded, his face filled with approval.

The iron and coal mines under the Beehive, Wu Shuang, and Hanqiong are numerous. Last night, we finalized the fire-oil deal with Longshan and Zhao Yang. With this Xia Zhi Road, Longyou's resources can be efficiently and continuously shipped back to Xia Cheng—this will greatly benefit Great Xia.

As for personnel movement, even more so!

"Using Famu-level captives to build the road—good idea. Report it to Xia Chuan later. Add it to the captive rules. Credit you and Qiu Peng."

Hearing Xia Hong's praise, Yue Feng hesitated slightly. "Leader, I don't need credit. I have a request—please grant it."

That was unusual—Yue Feng was voluntarily asking for something.

Xia Hong grew curious. "What request?"

Yue Feng paused, then bowed. "During this Longyou expansion, I've stayed behind at Jinggu Valley, accomplishing nothing. I'm going mad from inaction. Please replace me as Jinggu Valley Garrison Commander and transfer me to Longyou!"

"Hahaha…………"

Xia Hong burst into laughter. He'd thought it was some serious request—turns out Yue Feng was just bored.

Not surprising. In this Longyou campaign, nearly all Great Xia's Yuhán-level experts were deployed. Only Yue Feng, Xu Ning, and Zhu Ling stayed behind. Watching others earn glory while he could only watch—his impatience was understandable.

But Xia Hong glanced at the orderly Jinggu Valley and shook his head, declining the request.

Seeing Xia Hong shake his head, Yue Feng's face fell with disappointment.

Xia Hong smiled. "Don't rush. Being a Garrison Commander doesn't conflict with field combat. If you train someone who can hold Jinggu Valley well in your absence, won't you be free then?"

Hearing this, Yue Feng's eyes lit up.

Of course!

Just like his Shanhe Squad—during this Longyou campaign, he didn't go, yet Li Li Li Yuankun led the squad brilliantly.

"Alright, think it over yourself. I'm heading back to Xia Cheng."

"Honor the Leader's departure!"

Xia Hong didn't wait for Yue Feng to bow—he vanished in a gust of wind, heading south toward Xia Cheng.

………………

Xia Cheng's Nei Valley, Main Building

On the second floor, the Supply Department saw constant comings and goings.

Qiu Peng was inspecting the Supply Department's warehouse, while a young man spoke rapidly behind him.

"On the twenty-sixth, after the Deputy Director's order, we immediately raised meat prices tenfold—now five contribution points per jin. Many in the camp realized meat would soon be scarce, so a run on the supply occurred that same day."

"Didn't you take measures?"

"We did. That day we capped daily exchanges: 100 jin for Yuhán-level, 10 jin for Juedi-level, 5 jin for Famu-level. Even so, on the twenty-seventh, meat consumption hit a staggering 118,250 jin. The next two days hovered around 110,000 jin daily. Our reserves dropped from over 1.2 million jin to 910,000 jin in three days."

"110,000 jin? How was that exchanged? So many Yuhán and Juedi-level went to Longyou—did they exchange too?"

Hearing the number, Qiu Peng looked utterly confused.

The young man sighed. "Deputy Director, they exchanged their contribution rights with their families before leaving."

That made sense!

Qiu Peng shook his head, finally understanding.

Those deployed were serving the camp—they giving their contribution points to family was perfectly reasonable. He couldn't object.

When reporting to Xia Hong at the beginning of the year during Han Liu Liu Yuan Festival, the camp had 2,192 Juedi-level and 11,924 Famu-level. Four months later, these numbers had changed drastically.

"3,282, 16,293."

Qiu Peng opened his Supply Department ledger, saw the new figures, and his expression tightened—then showed mixed joy and worry.

Joy, of course, came from Great Xia's explosive growth in Juedi and Famu-level numbers.

Worry came from the terrifying rise in meat consumption.

With 3,282 Juedi-level and 16,293 Famu-level, combined with the daily exchange caps just reported—if everyone exchanged at maximum—the Supply Department's daily meat consumption would be exactly 110,000 jin.

"Last December, the Hunting Department alone delivered 2.1 million jin of meat. Normally, this consumption wouldn't trouble us—but now…"

Qiu Peng waved his hand, stopping the young man.

He understood the situation had changed.

Last December's 2.1 million jin—he'd personally reported that number to Xia Hong in the great hall. He remembered clearly.

The problem? Back then, the entire Hunting Department was fully committed to hunting cold beasts. Now? Over 2,600 Juedi-level have gone to Longyou—including all thirty-two intermediate hunting squads.

"We had 1.2 million jin in reserve. Over the past three days, 110,000 jin were exchanged daily. Today, only 910,000 jin remain. So the Hunting Department delivered only 40,000 jin total these three days?"

As soon as Qiu Peng asked, the young man nodded, grimacing:

"Exactly. Xia Cheng currently has only ten low-level hunting squads, three of them newly formed. Their hunting capacity is poor. Fortunately, Commander Zhu Ling leads them personally—each night they bring back about 20,000 jin. Add another 20,000 jin from Jinggu Valley and Wuyuan combined, and we barely reach 40,000 jin."

Qiu Peng shook his head. Even if Zhu Ling had Cold-Resistant Realm cultivation, with those low-level squads in tow, he could only hunt low-grade cold beasts—otherwise, he couldn't possibly kill twenty or thirty in a single night.

Yue Feng from Jinggu and Xu Ning from Wuyuan were likely doing the same—leading their hundred-odd Earth-Digging Realm retainers out to hunt low-grade cold beasts to supplement the camp's supplies.

"My lord, shouldn't we halt the reserve force's meat rations for now? These people consume thirty to forty thousand catties daily. Even if they break through, they're still Wood-Chopping Realm. As you said, we need to prioritize cultivating some Earth-Digging Realm cultivators—so we should stop their meat supply first. That way, we can save some meat for others…"

"No need. I forgot to tell you—the leader has recalled troops. Over the next few days, eighteen hundred men will gradually return to Xia Cheng, many of them mid-level hunting squads. At that point, our meat reserves won't be an issue at all!"

Qiu Peng had been occupied with other matters since returning last night—he clearly hadn't yet shared this news.

Upon hearing this, the young man's expression instantly lightened.

"Eighteen hundred men, and many mid-level hunting squads? That's no problem at all. Should we lower the meat prices again?"

Given the current situation, the camp was already receiving forty thousand catties of meat daily. Once the eighteen hundred returned from Longyou, the camp's meat shortage would vanish instantly. Thinking of the vast stockpile still in storage, the young man immediately asked Qiu Peng whether to lower prices.

Qiu Peng immediately shook his head: "Not yet. The population surge this round will be staggering. Let's first observe the actual meat consumption. We'll decide on pricing once things stabilize."

A population surge this staggering?

The young man clearly knew nothing of Longyou's situation and asked curiously:

"Fifteen thousand people have already arrived over the past three nights. Are you saying more will come?"

Qiu Peng suddenly lifted his head and looked toward the rooftop.

The young man thought he hadn't heard clearly and opened his mouth to speak again.

"Another forty thousand or so will gradually arrive. I'll go upstairs to see the leader. Wait here—I'll be right back."

Go upstairs to see the leader?

The leader has returned…

"Yes, my lord!"

The young man's expression turned solemn. He respectfully looked up toward the rooftop.

Forty thousand more!

Only after Qiu Peng left did the young man realize what he'd just heard.

"Did I hear that right? My lord just said another forty thousand will arrive? The camp already has so many people—adding forty thousand more…?"

His face froze in shock, then filled with astonishment.

(End of Chapter)