Chapter 279: Combining soldiers and hunters, military system, roll call hunting

Great Xia Year 2, the fourth day of the sixth month.

At dawn, in the top-floor hall, Great Xia's Cold-Resisting level members gathered together.

Xia Chuan, Yu Wendao, Chen Yingyuan, Peng Bo, Yuan Cheng—the rewards for the top five rankings in the Cold-Resisting level grouping martial arts tournament, as well as the Yang Origin Pills for Chen Yingba and others, had all been distributed.

Xia Hong scanned the people below and finally fixed his gaze on Xia Chuan and the heads of the six departments behind him.

"Xia Chuan, tell me, how many Earth-Digging Realm limits does the camp currently have?"

The martial arts tournament ended, and the next step was the specific matters of building the army.

Everyone's expression stirred, and they pricked up their ears, listening attentively.

Xia Chuan's expression was solemn, and he bowed, saying, "Reporting to the Leader, there are 782 people."

The inference when Qiu Peng reported the day before yesterday was that there would be over six hundred people at the Earth-Digging Realm limit after the martial arts tournament. Clearly, it was still a bit of an underestimate of the cultivation situation of the current population in the camp.

"782 people. According to the formation regulations of Longshan and Zhaoyang, our numbers are still insufficient. But right now, Longyou is in urgent need of people and cannot be delayed any longer. We can only make an exception first. Draw 218 Earth-Digging Realm members with the highest cultivation to make up the formation regulations of the Cloud Dragon Army first."

Everyone nodded upon hearing this, except for Yu Wendao, whose face showed difficulty. He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Reporting to the Leader, this subordinate has something to say......"

"You want to say that these 1,000 people are all elite backbone personnel of the teams under the Hunting Department. Once they are drawn away, the Hunting Department's strength will be greatly reduced, hunting revenue will drop sharply, affecting the camp's meat supply. Am I right?"

Yu Wendao nodded, and the expressions of all the Cold-Resisting level members also changed slightly.

Indeed!

782 Earth-Digging Realm limits, plus 218 Earth-Digging Realm members with the highest cultivation—there was no need to think to know that these people were either captains of hunting teams or backbone personnel of intermediate hunting teams. If this part of the people were drawn away, it would indeed greatly affect the camp's hunting ability.

Once hunting revenue decreased, the impact would be huge. Camp Needs, Craftsmen, Logging, and even Jurisdiction and Livelihood—almost all the other five departments would be affected.

Qiu Peng, Yuan Cheng, Mu Dong, and the other heads of the five departments all reacted.

"Rest assured, I have long thought about it!"

Xia Hong smiled slightly. Building the army was not a whim; he had already been brewing it a year ago, so he was naturally confident at this moment.

"At the current stage, Great Xia still has to rely on gathering and hunting to survive. Especially hunting, which concerns everyone's cultivation resources, is even more of a top priority. So even if it is an army, it still has to hunt. In a sense, the army gathers the strongest batch of people in the camp, so their hunting tasks are even more arduous than those of the hunting teams......"

What military system should Great Xia apply?

This question was something Xia Hong had been thinking about before building the army.

Given the cruelty of the Frozen Abyss World, when encountering a crisis of survival for the camp, there is no doubt that everyone would be mobilized for battle, but when the camp is normal, there is no need for that.

Conscription system, Fubing system, military household system, united soldiers, combining soldiers and farmers, militia, recruitment system, guard station......

In Xia Hong's mind, there were a bunch of military systems, but it had to be said that there really wasn't one applicable to Great Xia's current situation.

First, Great Xia's total population was only over 110,000, which could rule out many types; second, selecting soldiers had cultivation standards, and the high standard of Earth-Digging Realm limit ruled out a large batch of systems;

Finally, it was even more impossible to base it on household registration. Looking at the characteristic that cultivation determines everything in the Frozen Abyss, systems like Fubing and military households would inevitably cultivate an incomparably terrifying special interest group, which would evolve into something similar to the elite system of the Hive before, which was even more impossible.

Xia Hong thought about it and finally decided to combine it with the actual situation of the camp.

The purpose of an army is nothing more than expanding territory and defending the country.

In fact, to summarize, it is just one sentence: while maintaining one's own inherent territory, acquire more new territory.

And territory, to put it bluntly, is resources.

Once this was clarified, Xia Hong's train of thought was very clear.

"From now on, Great Xia will adopt the military system of combining soldiers and hunters."

Combining soldiers and hunters!

This was the system that Great Xia's army would have to abide by from now on. Everyone present, hearing these four words, immediately pricked up their ears to listen to what followed.

"Combining soldiers and hunters, to put it bluntly, means soldiers and hunting personnel are common. The army not only has to be responsible for patrolling Great Xia's territory and fighting externally, but at the same time, it cannot put down hunting.

To summarize, it is the following three points:

First, from now on, all members under the Hunting Department are equivalent to the army's reserve force, and all personnel are available for the army to select;

Second, the army's biggest task is combat, so it cannot waste time in mines, so it doesn't need to bear the quota of ore handover. But in the absence of external war, hunting tasks will be heavier;

Third, the two are nominally common, but compared to the Hunting Department, the army's tasks are clearly heavier, so soldiers cannot be as lazy and free to come and go as they were in the Hunting Department. Currently, only Xia Chuan has the qualification to lead the army. I won't go into detail about the specific governance of the army; we will discuss it privately."

No benefits?

The three points Xia Hong said were just expounding on the characteristics of combining soldiers and hunters.

Canceling the coal and iron handover quota and transferring it to cold beasts meant that, overall, it was about the same; and the third point clearly emphasized that after joining the army, one's personal freedom wouldn't be so great, which was clearly a disadvantage.

Breaking through to the 30,000-jin limit to join the army—it couldn't be that the stronger the strength, the worse the treatment in the camp, right?

Knowing that Xia Hong still had more to say, everyone didn't show any reaction and just waited quietly for him to continue.

"Of course, the army's tasks are heavier, so the treatment is naturally better. Below, I will focus on the treatment after entering the army......"

What Xia Hong said next was what everyone was most interested in.

"First, from now on, all hunting gains of the army only need to hand over half, and the remaining part can be distributed by themselves; second, the weapons, armor, and healing pills used by the army do not need to be borne by individuals and will be uniformly distributed by the Camp Needs Department; finally, all soldiers will receive 1,000 contribution points, 3 Blood Origin Pills, and 50 jin of beast blood every month. This is the fixed military reward."

After these three treatments were stated, the breathing of everyone below quickened a bit.

A set of hundred-forged armor is currently priced at 3,500 points in the Camp Needs Department;

Hundred-forged weapons are cheaper, 2,000 points;

Blood Sore Pill is an upgraded version of Gold Sore Powder. Strictly speaking, it is a healing pill for the Cold-Resisting level. For the Earth-Digging Realm, it is a healing holy product, currently priced at 200 points per pill in the Camp Needs Department;

Blood Origin Pill is a cultivation pill for the Earth-Digging Realm limit, 700 points per pill;

One jin of beast blood is 20 contribution points, so 50 jin is 1,000 points.

Not mentioning consumable items like armor, weapons, and healing pills, the fixed monthly military reward alone is equivalent to a total value of 4,100 points.

As long as one becomes a member of the Cloud Dragon Army, one gets so many contribution points every month!

"Don't get excited, I haven't finished yet......"

Seeing the excitement on everyone's faces, Xia Hong smiled and continued, "After every battle, there will also be rewards based on individual performance on the battlefield. Of course, the specific amount of contribution points rewarded will depend on the actual situation of the war."

Besides that fixed reward, there will also be rewards based on battlefield performance!

Hearing this sentence, almost over 90% of the Cold-Resisting level members present had their hearts start pounding.

The war in Longyou in April—the Cold-Resisting level members present today, except for Xu Ning, Watching Yue Feng, and Zhu Ling who didn't go, the rest, even the four newly joined members like Chen Yingyuan, had all participated personally.

How many contribution points could be obtained after a war, they all knew very well.

"What I said was just the treatment for ordinary soldiers in the army. Xia Chuan, tell everyone about the specific military system!"

Xia Chuan's expression stirred upon hearing this, and he immediately nodded and stood out.

He was determined to build the army. Ever since Xia Hong told him about this, he had already considered it in Wu Shuang, and after the martial arts tournament ended last night, he had reported it to Xia Hong.

Xia Hong letting him speak at this moment clearly meant he agreed with his opinion and let him speak it out for everyone to consider.

"According to the Leader's meaning, it should actually be to develop hunting teams first. At the very least, wait until the hunting teams are promoted to advanced before forming an army. But the current situation is special, so we can only draw people from all hunting teams to build the Cloud Dragon Army first, and then consider others.

Since it is based on hunting teams, the military system naturally has to revolve around hunting teams.

I propose that in the army, twenty people form a team, with one captain; five teams form a battalion, with one commander; nine battalions plus one elite scout battalion can form an army, with one general. According to my preliminary idea, all commanders should be held by Cold-Resisting level members, but the current camp strength doesn't allow it, so we can only settle for the next best thing. Except for the scout battalion commander who requires Cold-Resisting level cultivation, all other military positions will be competed for by strength."

Xia Chuan's proposal was clearly thought through seriously.

The smallest unit in the army is a team, with 20 people, which just happens to correspond to the personnel regulations of low-level hunting teams;

According to the promotion rules for hunting teams formulated by Yu Wendao back then, the personnel regulation for advanced hunting teams is 100, which just happens to correspond to the battalion unit.

In the crisis-ridden environment of the Frozen Abyss, when it comes to the real battlefield, a scout who is familiar with the environment or good at detecting the environment is often the key to victory. The configuration of nine combat battalions plus one elite scout battalion is naturally the most reasonable.

The scout battalion commander must have Cold-Resisting level cultivation. This requirement is also quite reasonable. After all, you can't count on a scout who can only go out at night to spy on enemy situations and the environment.

"Very reasonable, I agree with the Secretary's proposal!"

"I also agree. This military system conforms to our previous combat habits in hunting teams, and it won't affect combat effectiveness after forming an army."

"I agree."

"In favor!"

Slap!

Xia Hong stood up directly from his chair and smiled, "Alright, the matter of building the army ends here. What I said is just to give you a preliminary impression. For subsequent details, Xia Chuan will lead the heads of the six departments to discuss together. After the regulations are out, show them to me. From tonight on, after announcing the military system, the Cloud Dragon Army can draw personnel from the Hunting Department."

"This subordinate obeys!"

Xia Chuan led the heads of the six departments and bowed and saluted together.

"In addition, there is one more thing. On the ninth of last month, I said that with a period of one month, I would let you eight people compete for the garrison commander positions of the three outposts: Wu Shuang, Han Qiong, and the Hive. Today is already the fourth, and there are only five days left. You should grasp it well yourselves. After five days, a resolution must be made to change people to go to Longyou for garrison duty."

The eight people competing for the three outpost garrison commander positions last month were Meng Yi, Zhu Ling, Lin Kai, Lu Yang, Huang Yong, Hong Gang, Chen Yingyuan, and Peng Bo.

Xia Hong had said at the time that with a period of one month, the three people who obtained the highest contribution points would be able to serve as garrison commanders of these three outposts.

There were only five days left. From the reactions of the eight people, one could see some clues.

Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo came late, so their hopes were clearly not high. Among the remaining six, Meng Yi and Lu Yang had a posture of being determined to win, so they should be stable. The other four had nervous expressions, clearly still in a competitive state.

What Xia Hong cared about was quickly selecting the three garrison commanders. He really didn't care much about who went to garrison. Noticing that Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan had somewhat low expressions, he pondered for a moment, smiled, and opened his mouth to say:

"The Cloud Dragon Army has already emptied the current Earth-Digging Realm limits of the camp, and the matching weapons and armor are not yet settled. I estimate that forming a second army will probably not be on the agenda until a long time later, but I can set the qualification requirements for forming an army for you first......"

To gain a foothold and develop in the Frozen Abyss, Great Xia naturally couldn't have only one army.

The qualification requirements for forming an army mean that whoever meets the requirements will have the qualification to form a second army!

Everyone heard Xia Hong's words, and their eyes suddenly brightened.

Especially Yu Wendao, who had just lost to Xia Chuan, gripped his fists tightly and looked at Xia Hong, his eyes full of expectation.

"Xia Chuan was right just now. According to the normal development trajectory, it should be that you hunting teams have to be promoted to advanced before you have the qualification to form an army. Now that Cloud Dragon is only an intermediate hunting team and has formed an army, it is considered an exception. From now on, there will be no such thing.

So next, among the hunting teams under the Hunting Department, whoever is promoted to advanced first will form the second army."

Advanced hunting team!

The Cold-Resisting level members present cast their gazes toward Yu Wendao for the first time.

Yu Wendao knew what everyone meant and immediately said, "The assessment method for intermediate teams to be promoted to advanced has long been formulated by me. As long as you hunt three different varieties of advanced cold beasts within a single month, you will succeed!"

Hearing this requirement, everyone's expressions instantly became uneasy.

Only the four, including Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo, remained unchanged.

Clearly, these four had confidence.

This was not strange. Don't look at the fact that Great Xia now has quite a few Cold-Resisting level members, but they still haven't tried hunting advanced cold beasts. Even those who have seen advanced cold beasts with their own eyes are only Yu Wendao and Watching Yue Feng.

The two had seen them because of a beast tide in the Arrow Bamboo Forest earlier, where an advanced Snow Mane accidentally broke into Jinggu. That time, it caused quite a few deaths, and if it weren't for their timely arrival to stop it, the casualties would have been even greater.

Unlike these Cold-Resisting level members of Great Xia, Peng Bo, Chen Yingyuan, as well as Chen Yingba and Wu Tianxing, had not only seen them but should have also hunted advanced cold beasts. It was normal for the four to have confidence.

"Alright, Xia Chuan, stay in Xia City for the time being. I'll give you five days to handle all matters related to building the army with Qiu Peng and Mu Dong. After the Cloud Dragon Army's formation is complete, set off directly to replace the garrison in Wu Shuang. After that, just train the army and garrison in Longyou."

"This subordinate obeys!"

After Xia Hong finished giving instructions, he directly named them: "Yu Wendao, Chen Yingyuan, Chen Yingba, Peng Bo, Wu Tianxing, Luo Yuan, Xu Ning, Yuan Cheng, Watching Yue Feng—you nine, prepare after nightfall and come with me into Red Wood Ridge to hunt."

Go into Red Wood Ridge to hunt?

The four Chen Yingyuan members who were named had no reaction, while Yu Wendao and the five Luo Yuan members were stunned. After reacting, they were incomparably excited.

Lin Kai, Lu Yang, and the other Cold-Resisting level members who were not named showed disappointment on their faces; even Xia Chuan and Qiu Peng were the same.

The leader is going into the mountains to hunt again!

With Xia Hong's current strength, if he wants to go into the mountains to hunt, the target must be advanced cold beasts. Following Xia Hong, obtaining high contribution points is secondary; the key is being able to see him make a move with one's own eyes and appreciate the leader's true strength, which is also an incredible thing.

"Among those named, even the weakest, Watching Yue Feng, has the power of three Zong."

"It's still strength. Bringing us along won't be much help, so the leader......"

"Strength is still too weak!"

Lin Kai, Lu Yang, Zou Yuankai, and other people who had long wanted to go out hunting with Xia Hong all gripped their fists slightly, their expressions both disappointed and carrying some unwillingness.

Everyone's expressions were seen by Xia Hong. He naturally knew what these people were thinking in their hearts. Although he found it funny, he still comforted them:

"Alright, all of you, step up your cultivation. There will be plenty of opportunities to go out hunting with me in the future. I'm taking a team out tonight, firstly to expand the exploration range of Red Wood Ridge, and secondly, to take you to see advanced cold beasts so that you all have a bottom line in your hearts. In the future, when hunting them, there will be fewer casualties."

After Xia Hong finished speaking, he waved his hand, and everyone bowed and withdrew.

The matter of building the army could at most be considered as establishing the regulations.

Wanting to truly possess an official army like Longshan and Zhaoyang couldn't be achieved overnight. The most direct problem facing them right now was equipment.

Just for hundred-forged armor and weapons, wanting to gather a thousand sets was not an easy thing. Giving Xia Chuan five days, he could at most pull up the formation of the Cloud Dragon Army. Truly forming the army, it was certainly impossible.

"Not just armor and weapons, but also bows and arrows. The Longyou Army and the Blood Guard Army are all equipped with 30-stone strong bows. The Weapon Refining Workshop can make bows of this level, but a thousand of them is not such an easy thing."

Xia Hong frowned slightly. These were just the basics. If he remembered correctly, the armor worn and arrows used by the Blood Guard Army were blood-red in appearance, which proved that what they used were not simple hundred-forged iron weapons.

"Li Xuantian has about ten Zong of strength. Those blood-colored arrows were able to threaten him and the other four Cold-Resisting level members at the time......"

Forming the army was only the first step.

How to improve combat effectiveness was another huge problem!

Xia Hong turned around and looked at the Great Xia territory map behind the main seat, sighing slightly.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 280 =====