Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1408 - 452: Continuous Arrivals, Chui Mountain Affairs Settled, Master of Nine Towns, Alliance Agreement Finalized

The mutiny was quelled quickly, but the aftermath was not resolved as swiftly.

The remnants of Beishuo’s forces needed to be detained; the core members of the Duan Family had to be dealt with; the property of the Duan Family needed to be seized; the resources and industries of Chui Mountain Town and the entire region had to be inventoried; all those involved in the mutiny with the Mu Family, living ones needed rewards, and fallen ones needed compensation...

Of course, the most important task was forming an alliance!

Establishing an alliance treaty cannot be done with mere words.

An alliance is tantamount to a political entity, discussing its purpose; what concrete actions it will take; who will be the Alliance Hierarch; the extent of the Hierarch’s powers; which orders the towns must obey, which they may not; and the consequences of ignoring mandatory orders...

There were countless details to be settled!

The Chui Mountain summit began on the night of May 16th and lasted over half a month until early June when results finally emerged.

Moao Calendar Year 134, June 3rd

In the Lord’s Hall of Chui Mountain, the main seat was the former seat of Duan Hong, surrounded by eight other seats for the Eight Town Lords, each with a golden beast skin document before them.

The main seat was empty, evidently reserved for the absent Xia Hong. Li Xuanling set up an additional desk ahead of the main seat for herself, with a similar golden beast skin document placed upon it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final draft of the alliance document. Today, I will read aloud the five most critical articles..."

Li Xuanling paused briefly and then spoke loudly:

"In Moao’s Southern Slope, Mountain River Demarcated, the Nine Towns Starry Array, they are meant to be interdependent.

Now, with foreign fiefs coveting, the Nine Towns here unite in blood oath, establish treaty of gold and stone, proclaim to the Southern Slope’s populace: from the date of treaty, the Nine Towns are as one body, sharing joys and sorrows, life and death.

The treaty as follows:

Firstly, shall all pledge allegiance to the Alliance Hierarch. The Nine Towns Alliance initiated by Great Xia shall naturally be led by Great Xia, with the Hierarch assumed by our Great Xia Lord Xia Hong. The Eight Town Lords encompassing their citizens shall henceforth regard Xia Hong as the Hierarch. Regarding Outer Domain matters, any orders from the Hierarch that are not complied by the towns, Great Xia along with other towns shall jointly censure;

Secondly, united under one banner, from today onwards, a permanent allied military force shall be established, approximately three thousand in number, tasked with controlling the borders of the alliance to thwart foreign adversaries. The military budget shall be apportioned based on personnel from Nine Towns, furthermore in Southern Slope’s four realms, during any conflicts, each town must allocate no less than seventy percent of genuine combat forces to expand allied military size. Concealment of forces shall lead to joint censure by Great Xia and the towns;

Thirdly, a strong person and a strong military, as per the Hierarch’s word, foreign fiefs are powerful. Currently, Nine Towns’ strength is inadequate for confrontation, enhancing strength is urgent. Great Xia’s cultivation resources, both quality and quantity, exceed the Eight Towns and should naturally be shared with all citizens; similarly, Nine Towns’ resources should be exchanged mutually, thus enabling rapid strengthening of people and military.

From next month onwards, all resource sites in Southern Slope, any Advanced Hunting Team holding alliance-issued tokens shall have free passage, towns shall have no obstruction; additionally, Great Xia starting next month shall successively establish Ten Thousand Treasures Sub-buildings in Jin Mountain, Wuchuan, Beishuo, Yangqu, Dragon Valley, Chui Mountain Six Towns, alongside Eight Towns, comprehensively supply cultivation resources to enhance the average strength of Nine Towns;

Fourthly, together defend against foreign fiefs, the immediate priority for the alliance is preventing the southward advance of Chen Cang and Cai Qiu’s two vassal towns. It is believed the two fiefdoms’ access points into our Nine Towns lie north of Beishuo Dongchuan jurisdiction and Jinshan Yinhe Valley region. Beishuo Jin Mountain’s Lords, by July, must delineate these regions as jointly governed lands for the alliance, managed by the alliance to guard against foreign fief infiltration;

Fifthly, pledge oath eternally firm: each year on January 15th, Eight Town Lords shall visit Xia City for an allegiance reaffirmation. Any breach of alliance or broken promise shall result in permanent cultivation stagnation, Eight Towns shall jointly censure, failure to assist in crisis shall lead to revocation of alliance status as sworn enemies!"

Upon Li Xuanling’s words, the expressions of the Eight Town Lords slightly stiffened.

After half a month’s discussion, they fully understood.

This alliance, Great Xia evidently hadn’t just planned for a day or two.

These were merely the five most crucial articles; the details within the treaty, collectively add up to at least dozens.

These five articles were precisely the primary reasons for their acceptance of this treaty.

Especially the last article, wagering cultivation as a curse oath, undoubtedly added an extremely robust guarantee to this treaty.

Everyone here was a seasoned strategist, surely they saw through Great Xia’s intentions.

The issue is the greed of the two vassal towns, which genuinely frightened them!

If Great Xia could truly lead the Eight Towns to resist fief invasions, they were wholeheartedly willing.

Compared to the aggressive seizure by the fiefdoms, Great Xia’s mild form of influence was obviously more acceptable.

Moreover, future events are ever uncertain, isn’t that right?

As long as the present crisis is resolved, whether Great Xia swallows them or vice versa in the future, who could offer a definitive answer?

"Ladies and gentlemen, make the treaty!"

Li Xuanling presented a small bowl and a dagger, smiling as she spoke to everyone present.