Chapter 453

In the tenth year of Great Xia, the tenth day of the eighth month.

Just as the Xia Huiwu competition was reaching its peak.

At the far western edge of Jinshan Town, within the Yinhe Valley jurisdiction—more precisely, at its northernmost point, closest to the Shigudao—Jinyang Village also underwent a earth-shattering transformation.

Ding ding… clang clang…

It was nighttime, and the entire Jinyang Village blazed with firelight.

A quick glance revealed at least a hundred massive coal furnaces scattered across the village, all operating at full capacity; a few without smelting pots sent flames soaring over ten meters into the air, testifying to their ferocity.

Around these massive furnaces, iron ore piled like mountains, and tens of thousands of bare-chested, muscular men moved among them, hammering, melting iron, shaping molds… busily at work, the whole village filled with the clanging of pile-driving and forging.

“Furnace No. 7’s molten iron is ready—bring the pile molds quickly!”

“The barracks iron plates are done—send men to carry them away, hurry!”

“The northern wall needs only twenty more iron piles—don’t slack off, brothers, push harder—we’ll finish in no more than five days.”

…………

About five kilometers north of Jinyang Village, a colossal wall composed of twenty-meter-high iron piles stretched east to west for fifteen kilometers, nearly complete—only a two-hundred-meter gap in the center remained to be sealed.

Tens of thousands of craftsmen were scattered along the wall, some hauling massive stones to fill gaps, others pouring molten iron to shape forms, others transporting equipment to reinforce structures, others wielding giant hammers to drive piles, still others pulling iron cables to erect piles; through their coordinated, expert labor, the wall’s form grew ever more complete, taking on a mighty, imposing presence.

Not far south of the wall, an old man led six middle-aged men and over a dozen young men and women, all gazing up at the towering wall before them, their pupils filled with shock and unfamiliarity.

“How long has it been? Less than two months, and the wall’s almost done?”

“Look at how many people are involved—twenty-three village camps across Yinhe Valley, seventy-two large and medium-sized camps, over forty thousand Earth-Digging cultivators, plus over two thousand Cold-Resistant craftsmen transferred from the Nine Towns, plus fifteen thousand Alliance soldiers assisting, and over a hundred thousand more from the Nine Towns dedicated solely to transporting iron ore—total manpower and resources mobilized exceed two hundred thousand. Divided into two shifts, working day and night without pause, two months to build it isn’t even excessive!”

“Since early June, over thirty thousand Cold-Resistant cultivators have trickled into Jinyang Village—I’ve never seen so many in my entire life!”

“To build such a mighty city in such a short time—only the united Nine Towns could have done it in the Southern Slopes region.”

“Jinyang is really becoming a city? I feel like I’m dreaming.”

…………

“It’s real, it’s real—our Han family is truly going to prosper, ha ha!”

The lead elder wore a yellow summer robe—he was Han Peng, the former leader of Jinyang Village. Hearing the explanations from his eldest son Han Qi and second son Han Fu, he could no longer suppress the wild joy in his eyes and burst out laughing, cutting them off.

Their clothing showed clear distinctions: Han Qi and Han Fu wore blue cotton robes, clearly of Jinshan Town style; Han Peng and the others wore summer robes of superior fabric and craftsmanship.

The reason was simple: Han Qi and Han Fu had stayed in Jinyang Village for the past two months, while Han Peng and the second- and third-generation family members had just returned from Xia Cheng.

The clothes they wore were clearly bought in Xia Cheng.

“Father, when you say we’re going to prosper, what do you mean?”

The six middle-aged men present were all second-generation Han family members—four were Han Peng’s sons, the other two his nephews, ranked from eldest to youngest: Han Qi, Han Fu, Han Chao, Han Yue, Han Gan, Han Jiu.

Upon hearing Han Peng say the Han family would prosper, Han Qi and Han Fu, who had stayed in Jinyang for two months, immediately understood, their expressions brightening slightly;

but Han Chao and the others who had just returned with Han Peng from Xia Cheng looked confused—Han Chao, the third son, even blurted out a question.

A young man in black summer robe, handsome and striking, stepped forward immediately—he radiated strong confidence and smiled at Han Chao: “Father, Jinyang’s city establishment is under Alliance control; from now on, it will be a public territory of the Nine Towns. All camp residents within Yinhe Valley will gradually relocate here.

Our Jinyang Village’s sixty to seventy thousand people are the city’s first residents, and the Han clan has long been subjects of Great Xia. The Alliance will inevitably rely on us Han. Perhaps we’ll even get a share in governing Jinyang City. Grandfather’s ‘prosperity’ means this, right?”

The black-robed young man was none other than Han Li, the most outstanding third-generation Han family member—the second disciple of Lu Yang, Eastern Ridge Garrison Commander.

“Third son, you’re past your prime and still can’t see as clearly as Li’er…”

Hearing his grandson’s words, Han Peng’s face beamed with approval. He scolded Han Chao first, then nodded and continued: “On the sixth day of the eighth month, just before leaving Xia Cheng, Commander Liu summoned me alone. He personally assured me that Jinyang’s city establishment won’t touch a single thing in our village—no matter how the city changes in the future, our Han family’s land, houses, and all private property, along with everyone else’s in the village, will remain ours forever!”

“Commander Liu? Father, you mean Liu Yuan, the Commander of the Great Xia Yunjiao Army, one of the Six Alliance Commanders?”

Han Qi, who had stayed in Jinyang for two months, immediately asked for confirmation upon hearing “Commander Liu.” When his father nodded, his expression subtly shifted.

Han Fu, who had also stayed in Jinyang, couldn’t help but exclaim excitedly: “The overall commander of Jinyang’s city construction is Commander Liu himself—if he promised it, it’s definitely true…”

He paused, turned to look back at the village, and continued: “After expansion, Jinyang’s total area will be 150 square kilometers. Our village occupies roughly 15 square kilometers—that means one-tenth of the entire city will belong to our sixty-thousand-plus villagers!”

The simple phrase “prosperity” carried far less impact than concrete numbers. When Han Fu mentioned “fifteen square kilometers, one-tenth of the city,” every member of the Han clan instantly grasped the implications, their faces flushed with excitement.

“Yinhe Valley alone has over four hundred thousand people—this is essentially Jinyang City’s final population. With such a massive city, our Han family owning one-tenth of the land—no matter what business we pursue, we’ll easily become wealthy. Wonderful, wonderful, ha ha…”

Han Peng’s voice grew increasingly emotional as he spoke.

He was already eighty-three, with only 18 Pung strength—he had no hope of reaching Xianyang level. Even with good fortune, he might live another ten years at most.

For a man halfway to the grave, leaving behind such immense wealth for his descendants was a dream that could make him laugh awake.

Of course, whether the family could endure long in Binghe depended not just on wealth, but crucially on whether there were worthy successors.

Thinking of this, he turned to look at his grandson Han Li, his expression even more uplifted.

His grandson Han Li was under twenty-five, yet already at 17 Pung strength—far surpassing the second-generation’s average of just over 10 Pung, nearly catching up to his grandfather himself. Moreover, he had placed 79th in the recent Nine Towns Huiwu, rising twenty ranks from last year.

Such a gifted grandson far exceeded the definition of “worthy successor”—even “surpassing the master” fell short. Han Li’s future ceiling was vastly higher than Han Peng’s or any second-generation member’s.

Precisely because of this, Han Peng foresaw that once Han Li matured and inherited the family headship, the Han clan would surely shake the Southern Slopes and rise among Great Xia’s distinguished families.

“Grandfather, we still have matters—we can’t delay too long.”

Han Peng’s reverie was cut short by his grandson’s words. He instantly snapped back, nodded to the group: “Alright, since you’re all back, go help in the village. I need to take Li’er to visit Commander Liu. Qi, lead the way—the rest of you, disperse!”

They had just returned from Xia Cheng, and Han Qi had immediately notified them that Liu Yuan wished to meet them—they’d already wasted too much time at the northern wall.

Jinyang’s expansion had altered nearly all surrounding terrain; the grandfather and grandson couldn’t even recognize the paths anymore, let alone locate the military camp—they had to rely on Han Qi to guide them.

Han Qi, who had stayed in Jinyang, knew the way well. He led them northward through the village, explaining as they walked:

“The Alliance troops began arriving in late June, totaling fifteen thousand. Thanks to their help in July, construction efficiency skyrocketed—but ten days ago, they were reassigned and now camp near Shigudao.”

In truth, Han Peng and Han Li already knew much about the Alliance from Xia Cheng, but since Han Qi had direct contact with them, the two listened without interrupting.

After the Chuishan Alliance, the Nine Towns jointly formed a thirty-thousand-strong alliance army, known simply as the Nine Towns Alliance Army.

The Alliance Army was divided into six battalions, each of five thousand men, each with one Commander and two Deputy Commanders, responsible for daily troop command and vigilance—primarily against the Two Fanzhen and all outsiders.

Battalions One through Three were stationed in Jinshan Town’s Yinhe Valley—right here;

Battalions Four through Six were stationed in Beishuo Town’s Dongchuan jurisdiction.

“Battalion One Commander: Liu Yuan; Deputy Commanders: Hou Quan, Yuwen the Solemn. Battalion Two Commander: Huang Lin of Beishuo; Deputy Commanders: Shangguan Yan of Jinshan, Cao Tiancheng of Yangqu. Battalion Three Commander: Shangguan Ning of Jinshan; Deputy Commanders: Ye Yiping of Wuchuan, Long Wenyuan of Longgu.”

Hearing his uncle list the commanders and deputy commanders of the three battalions, Han Li raised an eyebrow curiously: “Battalion One’s commander and deputies are all Great Xia? But Battalions Two and Three are mixed from various towns?”

By naming the origins of Battalion Two and Three’s commanders, Han Qi clearly intended to provoke—seeing his father Han Peng also look curious, he smiled: “Simply put, it’s because Great Xia is strong enough…”

Before forming the fixed Alliance Army, Great Xia had set clear rules: regardless of whether each town contributed regular soldiers, all must be at least Cold-Resistant cultivators.

Nine towns together contributed thirty thousand men—averaged equally, each town must supply over three thousand Cold-Resistant cultivators.

To say three thousand Cold-Resistant cultivators were hard to muster—even the stronger northern three towns struggled. How much harder for Jiangxia and Muyin, still recovering their qi, and Chuishan, just after its mutiny? These three towns had barely four thousand Cold-Resistant cultivators total—pulling out 80–90% to form the army would cripple their development.

So equal distribution was simply unrealistic.

“Of the thirty thousand Alliance soldiers, Great Xia directly contributed ten thousand; the northern three towns jointly provided ten thousand; the remaining ten thousand were split among the other five towns.”

Han Qi’s voice carried heavy awe—but when he finished, he noticed neither his father Han Peng nor his nephew Han Li showed the slightest surprise.

He paused, thought for a moment, then asked curiously: “Father, you stayed in Xia Cheng so long—have you estimated how many Cold-Resistant cultivators Great Xia has?”

At this question, Han Peng fell silent, then gave a faint, bitter smile: “Just this—daytime in Xia Cheng is as bustling as nighttime in Jinyang Village.”

“This…”

Han Peng’s simple description made Han Qi’s pupils contract sharply. After a moment’s mental processing, his expression went blank.

“Great Xia contributed ten thousand soldiers, so they formed two battalions entirely under their own command?”

Hearing Han Peng’s question, Han Qi snapped back to reality and shook his head: “No. In July, I personally organized food deliveries to the camp. Talking with the soldiers, I learned that each of the six battalions has a fixed number of troops from each town—almost evenly distributed across the nine towns.”

All mixed and reorganized, evenly distributed by town?

Han Peng fell into thought, sensing something hidden.

Han Li reacted even faster—his eyes brightened slightly. Seeing his grandfather still thinking, he murmured: “Evenly distributed by town is correct—but Great Xia has ten thousand soldiers, the largest base. Even spread across six battalions, each has over sixteen hundred Great Xia troops. That means, in all six battalions, Great Xia soldiers form the absolute majority.

Jiangxia, Muyin, and Chuishan now follow Great Xia’s lead. If we add their thousand troops dispersed among the battalions, each battalion has five thousand men, and Great Xia still holds over half. This means…”

“In all six battalions, regardless of who holds the commander or deputy commander title, in reality, Great Xia calls all the shots!”

Han Peng couldn’t fail to grasp it—he seized his grandson’s words, his expression sharply altered, his understanding of the Alliance now crystal clear. He shook his head repeatedly: “Not surprising—not surprising. Jiangxia, Muyin, and Chuishan aside—even the northern three towns, and Yangqu and Longgu—why did they agree to ally? Precisely because they wanted to rely on Great Xia to resist the Two Fanzhen. Even if they saw Great Xia’s strategy, they wouldn’t dare refuse.”

The problem was, once time passed, whose orders would these soldiers ultimately obey?

Han Li immediately saw his grandfather’s concern and shook his head: “Each town has many ways to control these soldiers—logistics, salaries, cultivation resources, or even holding their families hostage. Great Xia couldn’t easily turn them all against their home towns…”

He paused, then continued: “I think Great Xia’s intent isn’t to subvert the five towns’ soldiers—it’s to boost the Alliance Army’s combat effectiveness. Unified command unites morale, focuses effort. Besides, Great Xia is the Alliance’s leader. For the Alliance Army to be led by Great Xia is only natural.”

Hearing his grandson’s incisive words, Han Peng nodded repeatedly, his face filled with admiration—and a faint pang of aging.

Though old, in insight, he likely couldn’t match his grandson, who could freely enter and leave Xia Cheng.

“Father, we’re here—this is the camp!”

Though they’d been talking, their steps never stopped. At Han Qi’s warning, grandfather and grandson looked ahead—and their expressions grew solemn.

Several hundred meters north, south of the Shigudao entrance, fifteen black military tents, each a hundred meters in diameter, formed a ring, standing silently in the snow.

A wooden palisade encircled the camp, and patrols of soldiers circled constantly. The camp had only one entrance—directly ahead, to the south.