Chapter 1837 - 588: The Great Xia’s 7 Counties—Xia Envoy Doesn’t Come, Chickening Out? (Part 3)
Chapter 1837: Chapter 588: The Great Xia’s 7 Counties—Xia Envoy Doesn’t Come, Chickening Out? (Part 3)
At this point, Great Xia’s intentions are quite clear.
Evidently, the war between the two vassals in Moao River is known to Great Xia. They are unwilling to make Chen Cang their wedding dress, which is why they ceased hostilities with Cai Qiu and returned all prisoners.
This was merely Great Xia’s intention at the beginning of March.
In March, less than a month after Great Xia signed a ceasefire agreement with Cai Qiu, on the ninth of April, they sent an envoy to East River City.
Two words: Withdraw troops.
"The entire Southern Slope Territory belongs to Great Xia. East River City is a city that Great Xia painstakingly built over the years and does not belong to Chen Cang. Chen Cang is given a deadline to withdraw north of Danxue Peak within a month."
The notice from Great Xia was so overbearing that it left people somewhat stunned.
Stationed in East River City, Chu Tianhe, who had been promoted to the commander, was furious on the spot and almost killed Zhao Long, the Xia envoy, if it weren’t for Fang Tianqing’s strong persuasion.
How could Chen Cang possibly retreat?
The Jiuqu Blood Corridor is even more difficult to traverse than the Bone-Eroding Path. If Chen Cang withdraws, as long as Great Xia stations a large army north of Danxue Peak, at the southern exit of the Jiuqu Blood Corridor, it would be as difficult as reaching the sky for Chen Cang to move south from there again.
So, no surprise, by the end of April, the Chen Cang army hadn’t moved at all.
And upon learning that the Xia army had no movements either, Chu Tianhe became even more dismissive, believing that Great Xia was merely bluffing and that Xia Hong didn’t have the courage for a full-scale war with Chen Cang.
On the ninth of May, Great Xia’s second ultimatum arrived.
With the same wording, withdraw troops within a month, without any harsh words, and the envoy was still Zhao Long.
This time, Chu Tianhe didn’t even meet him, instead having his subordinates dismiss Zhao Long.
And today is the ninth of June.
Fang Tianqing now sits in the grand hall, seemingly discussing Great Xia’s latest measures for setting up prefectures with Commander Chu Tianhe and the generals, but actually wanting to see if Great Xia would send a third envoy today.
But as it was nearing dusk, no one came.
No surprise, it seemed they wouldn’t come.
Fang Tianqing felt slightly relieved, surveying Chu Tianhe on the head seat and the generals on both sides, noticing their continued dismissiveness after the discussion and frowned slightly.
"Hmph! Imitating the Four Vassals to set up prefectures, parroting without knowing their measure, there’s no need to compare them to Chen Cang. The other three vassals in Moao River, whenever they set up a prefecture, the area is no less than 20,000 square kilometers. Great Xia’s seven prefectures, the largest is only 16,000 square kilometers, and the smallest is just 7,500. Aren’t they afraid of being laughed at?"
"Such a small vassal, only showing off in small places like the Southern Slope, what nonsense Seven Prefectures! Once the Landgrave wipes out Cai Qiu and marches south, the entire Southern Slope Territory will become Chen Cang’s land!"
"Though Great Xia is a small vassal, their territory is indeed quite sizeable. Adding up all the Seven Prefectures, it’s almost 80,000 square kilometers. From the Moao Mountain Southern Slope, Beining Mountain, along the entire Xing River, Redwood Ridge, Arrow Bamboo Forest, and other more than ten resource areas, all valuable..."
"It won’t be long before it’s all Chen Cang’s meat in the bowl!"
"Hahahahaha..."
The generals in the hall laughed non-stop. Hearing the last few words, their gazes shifted to the South Slope Map in front of Fang Tianqing, and their expressions became noticeably more excited.
With territorial expansion and the increase in resource areas, the benefits eventually fall into the hands of these feudal town leaders, so they are naturally excited.
However, the response of the generals caused Fang Tianqing to furrow his brows immediately. After a moment of thought, he said in a deep voice, "It seems everyone regards Great Xia as meat on a chopping board. I just mentioned the territory, but haven’t talked about Great Xia’s overall strength. Please listen further..."
Heyang, the only one of Chen Cang’s Five Prefectures to establish the Overlord Mansion, which means setting everything to the Government specifications. Not only did they establish a government to govern the Six Ministries, but they also had a Commander to lead troops. The wealth and resources produced in a prefecture, aside from the portion that must be submitted to the government, are all under the autonomous control of Prefectural Governor Chu Tianming, essentially equivalent to an independent Town-level Camp.
Fang Tianqing has enormous power, and as soon as the Chen Cang army entered East River City, he sent a large number of spies into Great Xia to gather intelligence. It’s been half a year now, so he naturally knows more than anyone present.
"I just introduced Great Xia’s city, town, and village-level systems, plus the newly established Seven Prefectures structure. According to confirmed information from spies, outside the capital, Great Xia has 372 locations under its jurisdiction, consisting of 7 prefectural capitals, 17 major cities, 95 towns, and 253 villages.
After incorporating the Northern Five Towns into their territory, Great Xia dispersed the population of the original Five Towns into all these locations. Those with a clean background and possessing cultivation were approved to migrate to Xia City. Currently, the total population within their territory is estimated conservatively from intelligence reports to be no less than 16 million."
million!
Upon hearing this number, not only the generals in the hall but even Chu Tianhe, sitting atop, couldn’t remain calm. However, he held himself together, though his pupils flickered with a hint of astonishment, and then he spoke in a deep voice, "16 million, which is almost half of the registered population of Chen Cang. It seems this time, Great Xia truly profited!"
Fang Tianqing nodded and continued, "Great Xia may have many people, but since they rose quickly, the cultivation levels among the population vary. I don’t have precise sources at hand, but based on various city reports from the spies, it can roughly be deduced that the total Cold Resistance Level population in Great Xia should not exceed 600,000, and among these 600,000, more than 40% are newly received from the Northern Five Towns, with 80% of them being surrendered soldiers..."