Chapter 1761 - 560: Prisoners of War and Wrapping Up, Hou Bing’s Intentions_2
Chapter 1761: Chapter 560: Prisoners of War and Wrapping Up, Hou Bing’s Intentions_2
Though Li Tiancheng from the Long Mountain System passed away the year before last, his wife, Li Xuanling, still remains. Lord Xia Hong has only one wife, and the Li Family is the only external family in Great Xia, their status is unquestionable;
On the other hand, looking at the Longbei System, due to Hou Hu’s presence, they have always been somewhat suspected by Minister Xia Chuan. The faction leader, Hou Jing, is aging and has no hope of breaking through to the Xianyang Level. He resigned from the position of Deputy Director of the Hunting Department last year, so the highest-ranking individual in the faction now is Hou Bing.
Hou Bing’s current position is Commander of the Fei Peng Army. This position is not exactly low within Great Xia, but as a faction leader, it is indeed somewhat lacking.
Just look at the positions of other faction leaders.
Yuwen Dao is the Director of the Military Department;
Xiao Kangcheng was initially the Mountain Yu of the Bashang Hunting Bureau and concurrently served as He Yin Guard Commander. Last year, after breaking through to the Xianyang Level, Deputy Director of the Supervision Department Xu Ning was ready to let go of Bashang, so he got promoted to Bashang Guardian, cementing his status as a significant regional official;
The Long Mountain System is even more impressive. Not to mention Madam Li Xuanling, they have six close attendants of the palace who can enter and exit freely: Meng Ying, Jiang Ping, Yue Qian, Cheng Guang, Sun Yan, Song Kang. Moreover, there are people like Zhou Yuan in command of troops outside, along with Xu Shicheng, Zhang Jiuling, Yuan Shan, Yuan Ning, Lu Yushan, Wang Tao, and Liu Chang all guarding different regions.
As Commander of the Fei Peng Army, how much influence does the Longbei System truly have!
Actually, if the Longbei System were to truly consolidate, it could make a difference because there is another Commander Hou Quan of the Dragon Martial Army and Commander Hou Tong of the Beizhao Army. However, the former currently commands one of Great Xia’s most powerful armies, so avoiding suspicion is crucial; how could he dare to engage with him casually, and as for Hou Tong...
Thinking of Hou Tong, Hou Bing couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.
The Beizhao Army evolved from the Beizhao Squad, which was established when Hou Jing led people to defect to Great Xia, forming the Hunting Team. Hou Jing was the first captain.
The formation of the Beizhao Army was fought for by Hou Jing, but after the army was formed, he couldn’t join due to his position as Deputy Director of the Hunting Department, so he appointed Hou Tong as the Commander of the Beizhao Army.
Given their relationship, Hou Tong should undoubtedly be a member of the Longbei System and stand with them.
However, the actual situation is quite the opposite. Initially, for a few years after taking command, Hou Tong remained close to them, but as Hou Jing’s influence waned, especially after stepping down as Deputy Director of the Hunting Department last year, Hou Tong has essentially stopped associating with them, becoming closer to Luo Yuan.
The Redwood Ridge Faction has two camps: Mud Slope and Rogel, with Luo Yuan leading the Rogel camp. Hou Tong’s behavior clearly indicates a plan to defect to Luo Yuan’s camp.
As a member of the Hou Family, Hou Bing naturally disapproves of Hou Tong’s actions, but due to the Longbei System’s decline, he has no solution. Besides, Hou Tong has been in command longer than him, so he lacks the seniority to criticize him.
The decline of the Longbei System leaves Hou Bing anxious, especially as Great Xia has been expanding continuously over the past three years, integrating Bashang, Jiangxia, Chui Mountain, and Muyin. Several more factions have emerged within Xia City, and the Longbei System’s voice is growing increasingly faint within Great Xia.
Uniting as a group is the foundational logic for the Ice Abyss people forming camps, and the same logic applies within Xia City. Now that Great Xia has a population in the tens of millions, the lord cannot attend to everything, so the stronger the factions, the more people they gather, and the more resources they can secure, naturally increasing their influence in front of the lord.
Great Xia has already united the Southern Slope, and soon Dragon Valley, Jin Mountain, Beishuo, Wuchuan, and Yangqu will be incorporated. Great Xia’s top-tier power structure is bound to undergo a reshuffling, and if no action is taken, the Longbei System will likely be pushed into the corner, overlooked by all.
Lu Yin, an old acquaintance from Zhaoyang and a pillar of the Longbei System, now came forth to advise, suggesting Hou Bing proactively request a battle from Commander Yuwen Dao, evidently seeing the decline of the Longbei System and hoping for a change.
"Lord Xia Hong is in the army. If you do not show initiative now, there won’t be another opportunity later. Last night, it was clear that the lord intentionally let Cai Qiuhu and others go. Now there’s an order to station in Green Jade Valley, clearly indicating a halt to Northern advancement. Based on my guess, Great Xia will soon engage in talks with Cai Qiu. If you don’t seize this moment, opportunities won’t be as favorable later."
Upon Lu Yin’s further persuasion, Hou Bing felt a surge of motivation but seeing the surrounding army, there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, and he murmured:
"In last night’s battle, our losses were substantial; an estimated 90,000 remain. Yuwen Yong led a cleanup of scattered soldiers around and took 20,000; 50,000 troops are about to be stationed in Green Jade Valley to guard against the military force from Qinghua City under Cai Qiu. Lord Yuwen only left me with 20,000, specifically to manage the 50,000 prisoners. If I request a battle, would he allocate more troops for me?"
In the valley battle last night, the Xia Army won decisively but suffered nearly 10,000 casualties. Many soldiers from Cai Qiu were dispersed during the battle, now scattered along the valley line, and Yuwen Yong is leading forces to eliminate them one by one, taking 20,000 troops as justified. Furthermore, according to reconnaissance, the Cai Qiu reinforcements from Qinghua City, upon witnessing the valley defeat last night, hesitated to move further southward, instead stationing north of Green Jade Valley in Guangning Mountain, gathering defeated troops while monitoring the Xia Army’s actions, which is why Yuwen Dao ordered them to swiftly station in Green Jade Valley.
Speculations about Great Xia negotiating with Cai Qiu are not only Lu Yin’s thoughts—almost all commanders leading troops in the Xia Army share the same belief.
If Cai Qiu intended to continue fighting, the 70,000 soldiers from Qinghua City shouldn’t have stopped at Guangning Mountain but should have directly moved southward to occupy Green Jade Valley or even press against the Xia Army’s face. Great Xia has fought a bloody battle all night long, at which point attacking is most reasonable, yet they have not acted accordingly.
The reason lies in what Lord Xia Hong revealed during last night’s battle.
Cai Qiu faces not only Great Xia alone, as Chen Cang is attacking Lin Chu County. Judging by the halted movements of the Qinghua City army, something is likely happening in Lin Chu County, and Cai Qiu realizes he cannot fight on two fronts, hence the army has not advanced.
Considering all these factors, it leads to the speculation of Cai Qiu negotiating with Great Xia.
Negotiations imply a ceasefire, and once the conflict ends, there won’t be many opportunities to earn military merit.
Hou Bing seems to ask if Commander Yuwen Dao would allocate troops for him, but in truth, he implies that since the intention is to negotiate, the commander likely won’t initiate further conflict by allocating troops. Requesting a battle now is not ideal timing.
Lu Yin naturally picked up on the deeper meaning of Hou Bing’s words. Instead of responding outright, he contemplated for a moment before softly asking:
"Is your military merit sufficient for a title?"
"Of course, ever since the 26th where I followed the commander out of Jinyang, to seizing Yinhe Valley, West Yuan, Ice Peak, Hanzhao, Qing Valley without a fight, to the battle of Aikou where the Wuchuan and Jinshan Alliance Army was defeated, the Jinyang battle where the coalition forces were repelled, the South Side battle of Bone-Eroding Path last night, and the valley north side battle, I have participated in all. I just coordinated with the supervisor sent by the Camp Supply Department and confirmed that my military merit already stands at 720 points. Including my previous accumulated 230 points, my current military merit is 950 points, just short of achieving an eighth-rank marquis."
It’s a bit bittersweet; although Hou Bing reached the Xianyang Level last year, his military merit was always slightly off, thus he failed to earn a title.
In Great Xia, there are only about forty individuals at the Xianyang Level, making untitled ones rare, and Hou Bing has endured much ridicule over this matter.
With the conclusion of this battle, he can finally hold his head high.
"Are you really content with earning just a ninth-rank marquis? Since you’re only a step away from an eighth-rank marquis, why not proactively step forward? You’ve mentioned correctly that requesting a battle now would likely be denied by the commander, so why don’t we assemble personnel ourselves, claiming the purpose of clearing areas around the prisoner camps to hunt down remnants in Green Jade Valley. With this approach, wouldn’t gaining 50 more points in military merit be at hand? If luck favors us, and we encounter a large-scale group of Cai Qiu’s remnants, maybe you could directly advance to a seventh-rank Qingming Viscount!"
Upon hearing this, Hou Bing’s eyes instantly flared with excitement.
If he could directly advance to a seventh-rank marquis, the Longbei System would truly rise.
"Do you have any ideas? Speak!"