Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1220: Chapter 408: The Aged Li Tiancheng, a Powerful Foundation, Hidden Motives, and the Merger of the Three Towns (Part 4)

Xia Hong’s questioning gaze was so blatant that Xiang Fuhai, Xiahou Zhang, and Murong Chui naturally noticed it immediately.

“Greetings to the Lord, greetings to the Lady, greetings to Your Highnesses!”

Xiang Fuhai was the first to stand up, his face even carrying a trace of unease and apprehension, clearly realizing he had just made a taboo mistake. He quickly bent over and saluted Xia Hong.

But after he lowered his head, Xia Hong still did not speak, so he, like the other six hundred people in the grand hall, continued to bow with his head down.

The entire grand hall had only Xiahou Zhang and Murong Chui left.

They had long noticed Xia Hong’s gaze, and their pupils still carried a trace of dissatisfaction. Seeing Xia Hong remain silent for so long and the six hundred people in the hall all frozen in place, they exchanged a glance, and eventually their faces showed a hint of helplessness. Then they simultaneously rose from their chairs and bowed to Xia Hong:

“Greetings to the Great Xia Lord, greetings to the Lady, greetings to Your Highnesses!”

Upon hearing their address, Xia Hong shook his head slightly, but ultimately said nothing. With a smile, he waved his hand and said, “No need for such formalities, all of you, rise!”

Clang…

The more than six hundred people finally stood upright.

As Xiang Fuhai, Xiahou Zhang, and Murong Chui stood up again, they turned to look at the chairs behind them but ultimately did not have the courage to sit down again.

“Since the new policies at Long Mountain, our people of Great Xia have not gathered like this for a long time. In the past, the most you could do was lead a hunting team, but in the blink of an eye, six years have passed. Now, some of you govern a department, some administer a region, while others command a camp or an army. Even at the very least, you hold important positions in the Eight Departments, which accounts for your high status and authority…”

As Xia Hong suddenly spoke these words with a tone of emotion, the crowd showed a few more signs of reminiscence on their faces. Seeing their expressions, he paused and then continued with a smile, “Speaking of which, you more than six hundred people, some are from the Mud Slope period of Great Xia, others from Redwood Ridge, Wuyuan, Northern Mountain, Longyou, Beiyuan… Some came willingly and integrated into Great Xia, others joined after their camps lost, and some were even forced to join by Great Xia. In summary, your origins vary greatly.”

Upon hearing Xia Hong talk about this, the expressions of the more than six hundred people in the hall slightly changed, especially those like Hou Ming, Hou Quan, Hou Tong, Wang Tao, Wang Lie, who joined after the families in Longyou were defeated, even showing some tension.

“The last major population expansion should be counted as the second year of Great Xia, during that time in Longyou. If I remember correctly, the population suddenly increased from 140,000 to over 400,000. Among you more than six hundred people, at least half should have joined Great Xia at that time, right?”

“Correct, subordinate Li Tiancheng joined Great Xia during that round!”

Li Tiancheng, the oldest one, could see the situation most clearly. He seemed to have already sensed Xia Hong’s intention and directly cupped his hands in response to Xia Hong.

“Subordinate Hou Quan also joined Great Xia that year.”

“Subordinate Hou Tong as well.”

“Subordinate Peng Bo as well.”

“Subordinate Chen Yingyuan as well.”

“Subordinate…”

In an instant, voices rose and fell throughout the hall. In over twenty breaths, at least more than three hundred voices sounded one after another.

Xia Hong did not interrupt them, only waited for the voices to gradually fade before slowly asking, “Let me ask you three hundred people, having joined Great Xia for six years, have you ever regretted?”

“Never regret, if not for joining Great Xia, subordinate Hou Quan could never have broken through to Cold Resistance Level in this lifetime, let alone have the current strength of 25 Zong!”

“Not to mention my cultivation, if not for the Lord, my entire family would have died in Hanqiong Gourd Valley six years ago. My eight family members never forget the Lord’s great kindness, why would there be regret?”

“Never regret, if not for joining Great Xia, I might be living day by day without certainty now, and who knows if I would have lived to this age!”

“Never regret!”

“Never regret.”

“Subordinate never regrets.”

……

Everyone has a scale in their heart; whether life is improving, whether the quality of life is rising, you can see and feel it. As long as you ask yourself, you immediately have the answer. Even if you say you don’t care about these, you should at least care about whether your strength is improving.

The six hundred people present are the most powerful group in Great Xia right now. Among the nearly two million people in Great Xia, they are the ones who have benefited the most.

Thus, facing Xia Hong’s question, their responses are only natural.

In the front, Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yuwen Dao, and others showed no surprise on their faces, evidently considering it as expected.

But the expressions of Xiang Fuhai, Xiahou Zhang, and Murong Chui were different.

They didn’t understand Great Xia’s situation as well. When the people in the grand hall were speaking one after another, their faces showed shock. Later, hearing people shout “never regret” with excitement, their pupils revealed more complexity.

Not only did they possess Xianyang Level cultivation, but they were also quite old; the youngest of them, Xiahou Zhang, was nearly 100 years old.

Age signifies experience, and simultaneously signifies a robust ability to discern. They could hear the intense gratitude and relief contained within those voices.

Of course, more importantly, they clearly understood that Xia Hong’s current arrangement in the grand hall targeted precisely the three of them.

Or rather, the two of them, only Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang.