Chapter 347: Mirror Valley Council, strength surges, Great Awakening Temple, Eight Camps

As the first stop in Great Xia's expansion, Mirror Valley's status is actually quite significant.

It is the first transit point for Great Xia heading north into Longyou. Any outpost in Longyou, if one wishes to take the direct route, must pass through here. Not to mention the personnel moving between Xia City and Longyou, even the main army, whenever mobilized toward Longyou, must pass through this place.

"Like other outposts, Mirror Valley hasn't changed much in the past few years. It's still that small basin of five or six miles in radius. However, because it is frequently used as a transit point for the main army, half the area has been specifically designated as a military camp."

Not far outside the southern exit of Mirror Valley, Xia Hong, accompanied by Xia Chuan, Director Yu Wen Tao, and the commanders of the other four armies, swept rapidly into the outpost. Seeing him staring at a large expanse of buildings on the left side of the outpost, Xia Chuan immediately spoke up to explain.

So it had been designated as a military camp; no wonder everyone in the outpost was gathered on the right side, while there wasn't a soul on the left.

While still several hundred paces from the entrance, Xia Hong saw over twenty figures already waiting at the entrance. He asked with a smile, "I recall the Garrison Commander of Mirror Valley is Li Longkai, am I correct?"

Xia Chuan was stunned at these words. Remembering that Xia Hong had been in seclusion for the past three years, he immediately explained with a smile, "That's old news. Last year, Li Longkai was promoted to Deputy Military Supplies Officer of the Eastern Eighth District's Camp Supplies Division. The current Garrison Commander of Mirror Valley is Luo Ming!"

Xia Hong's speed was not slow at this moment. In fact, before Xia Chuan had even finished speaking, he had already seen the appearance of the twenty-plus people waiting outside the entrance, and naturally, he had also seen the person at the very front: it was indeed Luo Ming.

"Mirror Valley Garrison Commander Luo Ming, leading the entire Luo Yang squad, pays respects to the Lord, the Chief Administrator, Chief Justice Director Yu Wen, and the four Commanders!"

"Pay respects to the Lord, the Chief Administrator, Chief Justice Director Yu Wen, and the four Commanders!"

Xia Hong walked to the entrance. When he was only five or six meters away from Luo Ming, he subconsciously wanted to shout "Brother Luo." However, before he could speak, Luo Ming and the others had already bowed and saluted loudly.

Thinking that calling him Brother Luo now was indeed a bit inappropriate, Xia Hong shook his head and chuckled, "Luo Ming, from today on, there will finally be a countermeasure for the beast tides in the Arrow Bamboo Forest. As the Garrison Commander of Mirror Valley, you should have something to look forward to now, right?"

Xia Hong was well aware that when Li Longkai was the Garrison Commander, Mirror Valley's total annual profit contribution value was always ranked very low due to the impact of the three rounds of beast tides.

The annual ranking of the total profit contribution value of all outposts is related to the performance evaluation of the persons in charge of these outposts, affecting their promotion and treatment. Naturally, these people would rack their brains to find ways to improve.

Affected by the three rounds of beast tides every year, Mirror Valley's profit contribution ranking had always been very low. When Li Longkai was the Garrison Commander a few years ago, he had suffered many headaches.

Since Luo Ming was newly appointed last year, he must be troubled by this matter just like Li Longkai, which is why he teased him like this.

He did not notice that when he called out Luo Ming's name, Luo Ming himself, including the twenty-plus people behind him, clearly became excited.

"Guarding a region is to share the Lord's worries. This subordinate only knows how to do his best to transport as many supplies as possible to Xia City; I dare not speak of what to look forward to!"

Luo Ming clearly did not expect that Xia Hong would actually still remember him; his voice carried a very obvious tremor.

Hearing such an official answer, Xia Hong felt bored. But thinking of the huge gap in their status and position today, he could understand Luo Ming's mindset. Just as he was about to continue walking inside, he suddenly thought of something and asked with a smile, "I remember you have a son named Luo Cheng, whose talent in spear techniques is quite good. He should be an adult by now, right? Is he in Mirror Valley?"

Hearing Xia Hong ask about his son Luo Cheng, Luo Ming became even more excited, and for a moment, he even forgot to reply.

"What, is he not here?"

It was not until Xia Hong asked a second time that Luo Ming came back to his senses and hurriedly bowed to answer, "I didn't expect the Lord to still remember my son. This subordinate has lost his composure; I hope the Lord will forgive me!"

Seeing Xia Hong wave his hand to signal, Luo Ming continued to answer, "My son will not turn fifteen until December, so he has not yet held the capping ceremony. Last month, Lord Lu from Dongling sent a letter saying they needed five Earth-Digging Realm cultivators under the age of fifteen. My son happened to meet the criteria and was selected to go there."

Great Xia stipulates that one becomes an adult at fifteen. The so-called capping ceremony for adulthood refers to the ability to wear a hair-binding crown, which is generally held by the family itself.

"Dongling, what does Lu Yang need Earth-Digging Realm cultivators under fifteen for?"

Suddenly hearing the news from Dongling, Xia Hong immediately turned his head to look at Xia Chuan. Seeing him nod to indicate that he also knew about this, he immediately waved his hand and said, "Don't stand here; we'll alarm the people in the outpost in a while. Let's go back to the military camp first!"

There were still thousands of people in the Mirror Valley outpost. If they knew he had come, they would probably all have to run out to salute.

Xia Chuan nodded upon hearing this and immediately led Director Yu Wen Tao and the four others behind him, walking toward the military camp on the left side of the outpost. However, after walking two steps, he thought of something and turned back to order Luo Ming:

"Luo Ming, it will be dawn soon. The main army should have finished cleaning up the prey by now and will be back soon. You can notify the people in the outpost to start the stoves first so they can eat as soon as the main army returns. Then, you will take over the prey they bring back and send it back to Xia City."

"This subordinate has already prepared!"

The Military Department has regulations: whichever outpost the main army is stationed at, the people of that outpost are responsible for the military's diet and the transport of military supplies. Luo Ming naturally understood this. After answering, he immediately led the people around him to continue to the entrance to welcome the main army.

Mirror Valley Main Camp, inside the council hall.

Xia Hong stepped into the hall and sat directly on the main seat, waving his hand to signal Xia Chuan.

In the previous three years, the number of times Xia Hong had left seclusion was not few. Except for the time in September last year when the regulations for Great Xia's founding and worship were established, he had only come out once in the middle. Therefore, his overall impression of Xia City was indeed still stuck in the fourth year of Great Xia.

Xia Chuan naturally understood this point, and he also knew what Xia Hong wanted to understand most at this moment, so he stood up and spoke directly:

"This subordinate will first talk about the situation of the Eight Departments! Three years ago, after the establishment of the Fifth Army, the Xuanwu Army, the Eighth Department, the Military Department, was also added. I transferred Director Yu Wen Tao to be the Chief of the Military Department, and the position of Deputy Chief is temporarily vacant. Luo Yuan was promoted to Chief of the Hunting Department, and the position of Deputy Chief of the Hunting Department is held by Hou Jing. Except for the changes in these two departments, the positions of the other six departments have not changed."

Xia Hong nodded upon hearing this. Promoting Hou Jing was the right thing to do. Counting those who were captured earlier, the number of Cold-Resisting Realm people from the original Zhaoyang was not small. It was only right to share some power to let these people integrate into Great Xia faster.

He had seen Hou Quan's performance on the battlefield just now. Not to mention the others, just looking at Hou Quan's changes now, Xia Chuan's move to promote Hou Jing was clearly well done.

"Next is the overall population and cultivation situation. As of the beginning of this month, Great Xia's total population is 821,746, including 5,054 in the Cold-Resisting Realm, 14,547 at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, 189,245 in the Earth-Digging Realm, and 425,827 in the Woodcutting Realm."

As soon as Xia Chuan said these five numbers, not to mention Xia Hong, even the five people including Director Yu Wen Tao and Yuan Cheng showed a trace of shock on their faces.

Clearly, although they had not been in long-term seclusion like Xia Hong, they were also not very clear about Great Xia's overall cultivation situation.

Over five thousand in the Cold-Resisting Realm, fourteen thousand five hundred at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm!

Xia Hong recited these two sets of data in his heart. Although he also showed some excitement on his face, after lowering his head and thinking for a moment, he just nodded gently.

This data growth was actually not exaggerated.

At the end of the second year of Great Xia, when dealing with the Yanglu Realm beast tide, the total number of Cold-Resisting Realm people in the camp was 214, which was not many at that time;

But after solving the White Dew Trickster, the overall environment stabilized. Coupled with the subsequent gradual digestion of the large piece of resource land in Longshan that had just been acquired, the supply of beast blood, blood spirit pills, jade bones, and other materials was abundant. The number of people breaking through immediately began to surge. By the third year of Great Xia, when Xia City was expanded and the buildings were upgraded, the number of Cold-Resisting Realm people had already doubled, to about 500;

Then, in the third year of Great Xia, the birth of his eldest daughter, Yu Yao, solved the shortage of Cold-Duckweed Jade Dew in one fell swoop. The camp's original Cold-Resisting Realm people had sufficient Yang Yuan Pills, and their strength began to surge. There were more and more high-level hunting teams, and the development speed of the three major resource lands accelerated. Finally, reflecting on the Camp Supplies Department, the beast blood reserves surged. Coupled with the increase in the quota of the Martial Arts Pavilion to 1000, the cultivation improvement speed naturally rose with the tide. In just one year, by the fourth year of Great Xia, which was when Xia Hong held the family banquet, the number of Cold-Resisting Realm people doubled again, breaking through one thousand;

According to the growth rate of the first two years, the growth rate from the fourth year of Great Xia to the seventh year of Great Xia clearly slowed down. However, this is understandable. This means that Great Xia has fully digested the benefits brought by the building upgrades, and the development progress of the three major resource lands has also begun to flatten. Therefore, the growth in the number of people breaking through to the Cold-Resisting Realm has also begun to return to a normal speed.

"Since Director Yu Wen Tao and Luo Yuan are both here, let them tell the Lord about the current situation of the Military and Hunting Departments!"

Xia Chuan pondered for a moment and turned to look at Director Yu Wen Tao and Luo Yuan. One was the Chief of the Military Department and the other was the Chief of the Hunting Department, so it was natural for them to speak.

Director Yu Wen Tao nodded, took the lead in standing up, and bowed, "Reporting to the Lord, the military currently has seven armies under its jurisdiction. According to the order of establishment, they are the Yunjiao, Long Wu, Tulong, Hubao, Xuanwu, Shenwu, and Longyuan. This time, in order to deal with the Arrow Bamboo Forest beast tide, all six armies came to the Mirror Valley main camp. Only the Longyuan Army, which was newly built last year, is stationed at Songyang Ridge."

"There are already over fourteen thousand at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, why were only seven armies built?"

Xia Hong immediately asked curiously. Currently, Great Xia only has one standard for selecting soldiers, which is the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm cultivation. It is impossible for all fourteen thousand people to be soldiers. Some must be left in the hunting teams and the eight departments. But even if 30% were left, there would still be over ten thousand people. It shouldn't be that only seven armies were built.

Hearing this question, Director Yu Wen Tao immediately turned to look at Xia Chuan.

Xia Chuan hurriedly stood up and said, "Lord, I made the decision on this matter. Great Xia currently has no external wars, and the environment within the territory is basically stable. Seven armies are actually a bit too many. Instead of incorporating them into the army, it is better to keep them in the hunting teams. Firstly, they can lead the younger generation and young people, and secondly, they can continue to seize various resources for the camp."

Xia Hong raised his eyebrows and instantly understood Xia Chuan's meaning.

This is because the finances are a bit tight!

Great Xia implements a system of combining soldiers and hunters.

According to the original regulations for establishing the Yunjiao Army: soldiers do not need to bear the indicator of handing over ore; hunting harvests only need to be handed over by half; the weapons, armor, and healing pills used by soldiers are all borne by the Camp Supplies Department; soldiers also have 1,000 contribution points, 3 Blood Yuan Pills, and 50 jin of beast blood as military salary every month...

Every time the camp adds an army, it means a large amount of precious resources must be invested, and the subsequent consumption will be endless.

Of course, the main army is more efficient at hunting Cold Beasts than the hunting teams, but considering they only need to hand over half of their earnings, it's a bit of a loss.

Moreover, there are not that many beast tides in the territory for the main army to kill!

Man-made beast tides created with small torches are for training soldiers, not for capturing prey. Moreover, every training session will result in the loss of personnel and weapons. It is not to say that it is a sure profit without loss. And for safety considerations, it cannot be done this way.

Therefore, under the current situation where Great Xia has no wars and no expansion, unlimited addition of armies will indeed cause a huge resource burden. Especially now that the population has exceeded 800,000, not to mention precious cultivation resources like beast blood and jade bones, even beast meat has begun to gradually become tight.

"The beast tide in the Arrow Bamboo Forest will still come once every four months. Judging from your performance today, this beast tide should not be a bad thing; it can slightly alleviate the camp's resource problem."

Hearing Xia Hong's words, Xia Chuan, Director Yu Wen Tao, and the other six were all stunned.

The beast tide was beaten like this today, and it will still come in the future?

Remembering that the six of them did not know the cause of the beast tide, Xia Hong immediately explained it once.

The beast tide was not attracted by something in the Arrow Bamboo Forest, but was scared out by something in the Red Wood Ridge. Hearing Xia Hong's explanation, Xia Chuan and the other six were suddenly frozen.

Being able to continuously scare out such a large-scale beast tide, and there is no lack of beast kings among them, how terrifying must the strength of the thing in the Red Wood Ridge be?

Seeing the expressions of the six, Xia Hong waved his hand slightly and said, "Don't worry. This beast tide has lasted for so many years, and I haven't seen anything come out, which proves that it has nothing to do with us in the short term. Maybe it's some kind of plant that restrains Cold Beasts, ripening once every four months? Since it poses no actual threat to us, there is no need to worry.

Since the main army has the strength to deal with the beast tide, the beast tide that occurs once every four months is a good opportunity for us to enrich the treasury. This can be considered turning a bad thing into a good thing after the strength has improved!"

Hearing this, the expressions of the six gradually stabilized.

In particular, Xia Chuan nodded heavily. What Xia Hong said at this moment coincided with his thoughts when he led the main army to slaughter Cold Beasts in the Arrow Bamboo Forest just now.

"Moreover, I have already left seclusion. Since the improvements brought by the Three Pavilions have been digested, and the development speed of the three major resource lands has stabilized, we must start thinking of ways to expand outward..."

Speaking of this, Xia Hong pondered for a moment.

And the six people below, hearing this, became excited one after another.

"Xia Chuan, this time when you return to Xia City, you can start to expand the army and add three more armies to make up a main army of ten thousand." ===== CHAPTER 348 =====