Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 532 Deterioration, Wishful Thinking, Cai Qianshan's Personal Visit
"Tell me how you intend to protect Jinshan and Wuchuan!"

Xia Hong's straightforward words made Cai Qiuhu's face stiffen slightly.

He dared to take the initiative to visit and lead his men into the Xia army's main tent in a grand manner, which meant he had something to rely on. In his opinion, the brief interaction he had with Xia Hong in Beishuo City last night was not a formal meeting between the two.

Although he brought so many Xianyang-level soldiers today, he did not barge into Xia's camp or presumptuously call out Xia Hong. Instead, he obediently found the people outside the camp and asked them to announce his arrival before entering.

The reason he adopted this stance was that he was elevating this second meeting with Xia Hong to the first official meeting between the Cai Qiu and Da Xia families.

But Xia Hong didn't seem to want to accept this favor!
From the moment they entered the tent, Xia Hongyi neither offered them seats nor showed them any courtesy, and he didn't even stand up from his seat from beginning to end.

Cai Qiuhu's unrestrained gaze was actually a retaliation against Xia Hong's rudeness, and Xia Hong's subsequent question about why he had come to visit again today when they had just met last night was a form of sarcasm.

Cai Qiuhu knew very well why he was there, and Xia Hong must know it too. He had just pleaded with Xia Hong for Yang Qu last night, and now he was here to speak up for Jin Shan and Wu Chuan, which was clearly inappropriate.

Xia Hong's sarcasm effectively shut him down, leaving him speechless with his prepared remarks.

Cai Shiqi harbored too much hatred for the Great Xia and directly accused them. Although he managed to save face for himself, the pretense and evasion between the two sides set an unpleasant tone for the conversation.

Logically speaking, in a meeting between two parties, the one that is aggressive and domineering must be the weaker party. Therefore, Cai Shiqi's unauthorized decision made Cai Qiuhu somewhat displeased. However, considering that Cai Shiqi's starting point was to maintain his own dignity, he naturally did not say anything.

Xia Hong ignored Cai Shiqi's accusations and instead asked him directly how he wanted to protect Jinshan and Wuchuan, which angered Cai Qiuhu.

Because of the posture Xia Hong was adopting at this moment, it gave the impression that the Great Xia was the real warlord, while Caiqiu was merely a town-level camp.

Why should Xia Hong rely on those two Five Elements Realm Beast King Puppets?
Cai Qiuhu's anger rose, but he did not show it on his face. He calmly said, "Lord Xia, although I pleaded for Lord Cao last night, I also indirectly allowed the Xia army to take Yangqu Town without bloodshed. I, Cai Qiuhu, have shown such goodwill. Lord Xia, do you really not appreciate it?"

"So, it turns out that yesterday it wasn't me giving face to Lord Cai, but rather Cai Qiu giving me face? Should I then prepare a generous gift and go to Cai Qiu to express my gratitude to Lord Cai?"

Cai Qiuhu's words actually make some sense.

Xia Hong agreed to release Cao Qianyang and his men, indeed intending to take Yangqu Town without bloodshed.

But this meaning should only be his own thought, and should not be spoken by Cai Qiuhu, who then used it as a pretext to say that Cai Qiu was showing goodwill to Da Xia.

Whether Cao Qianyang is released or not, the fate of Yangqu Town will not change; the only difference will be that the process will be more complicated. But conversely, if the process is too complicated, the fate of Cao Qianyang and the Cao family will undoubtedly be much more tragic.

Cao Qianyang was unwilling to surrender to Da Xia and wanted to seek refuge with Cai Qiu. Cai Qiuhu, taking advantage of the life-saving grace, took in the Cao family, which could be considered as adding bricks and tiles to Cai Qiu. Xia Hong went with the flow and released the Cao family to Cai Qiuhu, allowing Da Xia to take Yangqu Town without bloodshed.

Both sides got what they wanted, so it was a fair trade, not, as Cai Qiuhu claimed, Cai Qiu's attempt to curry favor with Da Xia.

However, this is under the condition that the two companies are evenly matched.

In Xia Hong's mind, Da Xia and Cai Qiu were of course equal;

But Cai Qiuhu clearly didn't think so!
"Lord Xia, do you really think we can't protect Yangqu Town?"

Hearing the strong confidence in Cai Qiuhu's tone, Xia Hong raised an eyebrow.

He knew that the strength of the regional military governors was definitely not limited to what he saw, but the strength of the Great Xia Dynasty was far more than what Cai Qiuhu had seen.

Xia Hong suddenly lost interest in continuing the conversation and waved his hand, saying, "Uncle Cai, I won't waste any more words with you. Just say what you have to say!"

“Let Wu Chuan’s 50,000 troops return to the town, and let the Great Xia withdraw its troops. Let Jinshan and Wu Chuan continue to exist on the southern slope. I, Cai Qiu, am willing to write a letter to the Great Xia to establish friendly relations and jointly deal with Chencang.”

"What's the reason?"

Cai Qiuhu was taken aback upon hearing this, and looked up at Xia Hong with a puzzled expression.

Xia Hong shook his head: "Lord Cai, there are four vassal states in Mo'aochuan. As far as I know, your situation, Cai Qiu, is not good. Putting aside the trouble in Chencang, my Great Xia is capable of handling it on its own. In any interaction between two families, the custom is that whoever takes the initiative must first show some sincerity. You, Cai Qiu, say you want to be on good terms with Great Xia, but you haven't offered any real benefits. Instead, you've made Great Xia suffer such a great loss. Do you think I can agree to this?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Qiuhu's expression immediately darkened. He stared at Xia Hong for four or five breaths before finally asking with a hint of doubt, "Lord Xia, if I understand correctly, you are placing Great Xia on the same level as me, Cai Qiuhu?"

"if not?"

Xia Hong's direct and unambiguous question froze Cai Qiuhu's expression. His face stiffened slightly, then his anger surged rapidly. Finally, he took a deep breath and couldn't help but laugh.

"Lord Xia has probably been to the vassal states, and may even have set foot in my Caiqiu territory. He thinks he has a good understanding of the strength of my Caiqiu, right?"

Cai Qiuhu was probably too angry. Before Xia Hong could answer, he continued, "There shouldn't be any war at Aikou City in the short term. I've already heard about the situation at Donggu City. I suppose Lord Xia thinks that Wuchuan Town is already within our grasp..."

He paused, a smile appearing on his face, and continued, "It seems I was too hasty today, coming to talk to Lord Xia before I was ready. Lord Xia, you might as well take a look first and see if the Xia army can take Wuchuan Town. I will come again another day. I hope Lord Xia will still be so confident then."

He threatened himself.

This means that Cai Qiu will not abandon Wuchuan, so there must be more to Qin Feng's 50,000-strong army that left the city.

"Lord Xia, then I shall take my leave!"

"and many more……"

Xia Hong frowned. When he saw Cai Qiuhu bowing and taking his leave, he interrupted him and pointed to Cai Shiqi behind him.

When Cai Qiuhu was stopped, his face was already gloomy. When he saw Xia Hong pointing at Cai Shiqi, his expression became even more unpleasant.

"Everyone else can leave, but his life belongs to our Great Xia!"

Cai Shiqi was called out by Xia Hong, but instead of showing any fear, his face turned red with anger. Clearly, he had no concern for his own safety, only the humiliation of being called out by Xia Hong in front of so many people.

"Lord Xia, are you truly going to break ties with Cai?"

Cai Qiuhu's tone was extremely low and angry.

Even if Cai Shiqi were a descendant of the Fangbo lineage, and even if Xia Hong had only selected an ordinary Xianyang-level person today, he would not have kept the person in front of so many people.

Xia Hong was essentially making him an impossible request, so he directly asked Xia Hong if he wanted to break ties with Cai Qiu. "Break ties?"

Xia Hongxian asked in a low voice, then sneered twice, his tone suddenly turning serious as he said, "Little Cai Fangbo, you must know the direct reason why our Great Xia launched this great war, right?"

The core reason for the Great Xia's launch of this Northern Expedition was, of course, expansion, but the direct cause was that on the night of the 26th, Yang Jian led more than twenty Xianyang-level troops from the two major vassal states to attempt to kidnap Xia Yu Sheng outside Xia City.

Everyone in the tent knew the reason, and immediately turned their gazes to Li Xuanling and her two children beside Xia Hong, and finally their gazes settled on Xia Yusheng.

Despite being watched by so many people, Xia Yusheng remained calm and composed. His composure at such a young age impressed Xia Hong, who looked at his youngest son with new respect.

Seeing that Cai Qiuhu remained silent for a while, Xia Hong pointed at Cai Shiqi and continued, "As far as I know, six people escaped from the looting that night, and this Cai Shiqi was one of them..."

Xia Hong paused for a moment, then sneered, "Staring at a child who is not even ten years old, Cai Qiu, a powerful military governor, is actually capable of such despicable acts. I originally intended to capture this person after breaking through Aikou City and then personally skin him alive. Since the young Cai governor has brought him here, I will be magnanimous this time and treat his foolish deeds as his personal actions, unrelated to Cai Qiu."

Cai Qiuhu's face instantly turned extremely ugly.

Not only him, but most of the fifty Xianyang-level people that Cai Qiu came with also had rather unpleasant expressions.

Due to the harsh environment of the Ice Abyss, early humans had to cooperate to survive, which led to the formation of numerous camps. Because of this cooperation, all the humans in the camps had a very strong sense of community.

Any organization that grows larger will find its members placing greater importance on its reputation. When it comes to the organization's reputation, everyone will spontaneously strive to maintain it, leaving no room for carelessness.

It's not that Cai Qiu wouldn't do such a despicable and underhanded thing as harming a child; in a world like Ice Abyss where civilization has fallen, there are far too many instances of people resorting to any means to achieve their goals.

The key point is that Yang Jian's group failed to succeed and even lost a large number of people. This kind of failed attempt to steal a chicken and losing the rice instead is already upsetting, not to mention giving others ammunition to criticize them.

Xia Hong's words essentially pinned the blame directly on Cai Qiu.

Cai Qiu, a Xianyang-level expert, attacked a child under ten years old. If word gets out, will Cai Qiu's reputation be ruined? Will those who have antagonized Cai Qiu then be allowed to target the offspring of key figures?
Therefore, Cai Qiuhu had no choice but to take this matter seriously.

Of course, handing over Cai Shiqi is definitely impossible!
Cai Qiuhu glared at Cai Shiqi first, then turned to Xia Hong and said softly, "Abducting children was Cai Shiqi's fault. I am willing to apologize to Lord Xia on his behalf, but..."

"No need for further explanation. If you keep him, you can leave. If you don't, then you'll probably have to leave more than just him behind."

Interrupted, Cai Qiuhu looked up at Xia Hong, his expression slightly hardening.

The group of people following behind him also looked up at Xia Hong, their faces full of hostility and anger.

Tap tap tap...

As soon as the main tent fell silent, rustling footsteps could be heard outside.

Although Cai Qiuhu and the others did not speak, their expressions changed slightly.

They knew exactly what was going on.

It was clear that a large number of soldiers were marching towards the main tent.

Therefore, Xia Hong's meaning was very clear: if he did not hand over Cai Shiqi, he intended to leave tens of thousands of Xia soldiers here with his men.

"Lord Xia, you can't keep me here!"

"I didn't intend to keep you, but keeping the people behind you seems like a good idea. They're all here to help Jinshan Town defend the pass, right? Wiping them all out will save our Xia army some trouble in the subsequent siege!"

"Last night, Great Xia had already clashed with Chencang. Today, you have further offended me, Lord Caiqiu. Lord Xia, have you truly considered the consequences?"

Xia Hong did not answer Cai Qiuhu's question. Instead, he stood up from the chair and slowly walked forward while activating his skeletal strength.

As the three sacred markings between his brows slowly appeared, the temperature in the entire main tent, along with the surrounding three miles, suddenly rose.

"It's not that I want to antagonize Cai Qiu, but that you, Cai Qiu, colluded with Chencang and Beishuo, repeatedly showing disrespect to my Great Xia. Tens of thousands of my soldiers marched north with great difficulty, and so many lives were lost at the gates of Baimu City and Beishuo City. You came to my Great Xia's military camp with fifty Xianyang-level soldiers, trying to make me withdraw my troops with empty words. Such contempt for me and for my Great Xia, do you really think that the vassal states are the law, that the vassal states can do whatever they want, and that they don't care about anyone?"

Xia Hong deliberately raised his voice, so that it reached the ears of almost every soldier in the entire camp. The soldiers outside the main tent were clearly agitated, their blood surged, and the air above the camp was instantly filled with turbulent waves of blood and qi.

"You want my Great Xia army to withdraw? Wishful thinking, a pipe dream. Let alone you, a mere minor regional governor, even if you, Cai Qiu Regional Governor Cai Qianshan, were here in person today, my Xia army would surely break through the pass and seize Jinshan Town..."

After saying this, Xia Hong paused, completely ignoring the extremely ugly expressions on Cai Qiuhu and the others' faces, and continued angrily: "My Great Xia has military discipline. In war between two armies, envoys are not to be killed. Considering that you entered after being notified, and have at least followed some rules, this lord will not stoop to your level. Keep Cai Shiqi here, and the rest of you... get out!"

Xia Hong paused for a moment before emphasizing the last word, "get lost." The curtain of the main tent was suddenly blown open, and as the cold air rushed in, the blood energy of the soldiers outside the tent also surged in.

"Long live the Lord! Long live the Great Xia Dynasty!"

"Long live the Lord! Long live the Great Xia Dynasty!"

The emotions of tens of thousands of Xia soldiers were instantly stirred up. They roared in unison towards the main tent, expressing their fanaticism to Xia Hong without reservation, while also constantly threatening Cai Qiuhu and the other Cai Qiuxianyang-level soldiers.

Cai Qiuhu's expression froze. He sensed the tens of thousands of Xia soldiers all around him, and his face became extremely somber.

"Even if I were to come in person, you still have no intention of withdrawing your troops, Lord Xia Hong, you have quite the temper!"

A slightly angry, aged voice suddenly came from the sky, and the blood mist that had been swirling in the air was instantly dispelled by this one sentence.

Cai Qiu and his group instantly perked up, looking up at the sky with fervent eyes.

On the contrary, Cai Qiuhu's expression did not ease in the slightest; instead, it became even more somber because of the appearance of this voice.

Xia Hong looked up at the sky, his expression unchanged, but he was extremely surprised.

Cai Qiu Fangbo, Cai Qianshan, actually came directly!

He pondered for only a moment, then immediately understood something, and a slow smile appeared on his lips.

It seems that Cai Qiu's situation in Mo'aochuan is even worse than he had imagined!
(End of this chapter)