Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely-Chapter 1245 - 413: The Truth, Shifting Blame to Cai Qiu, Hongmen Affair Concluded (Part 3)
"I, Long, feel the same way. If this is indeed an incitement by Outer Realm forces, then the incident in Hongmen City last month was the fault of our Dragon Valley Town. Minister Xia Chuan, rest assured, once our Lord is informed, Great Xia will receive a satisfactory response!"
Long Wenbai also spoke up. Now only Yang Rong was left among the Three Towns. The relationship between Beishuo and Great Xia was the worst at the moment, so his expression was obviously a bit conflicted. But the truth was right there, and everyone’s eyes in the hall were focused on him. He held on for a while, but eventually, he spoke up.
"I, Yang, will also inform our Lord of this matter!"
Seeing Yang Rong’s face full of reluctance, Xia Chuan frowned slightly, recalling what Xia Hong had told him before leaving Hongmen last month—there was a high possibility that Yang Zhun knew the identity of the real mastermind behind the scenes—and a chill flashed in his eyes.
However, he quickly concealed the chill in his eyes, then looked at everyone with a smile and said, "With the words of the three of you, this minister can rest easy. The Nine Towns share the same region and should work hand in hand to build a home in the Moao South Slope. How can we let the Outer Realm scoundrels sabotage our relationships?
Though those who died this time were from the Three Towns Chamber of Commerce, Great Xia will not stand idly by against such malicious people with wolf-like ambitions. I propose that we do not make today’s affairs public for now to avoid alerting the enemy ("stirring the grass to scare the snake") and to ease our subsequent efforts to capture this person. What do you all think?"
Everyone understood immediately, and some even showed some gratitude on their faces.
The deaths of the people from the Three Towns Chamber of Commerce had nothing to do with Great Xia. Previously, the Six Towns had even united to cause trouble at Hongmen over this matter. Now, not only had Great Xia uncovered the truth, but it also bore no grudges and was willing to help them capture the real culprit.
With this in mind, everyone started to speak up one after another:
"Minister Xia’s insight is commendable, I, Long, agree!"
"I, Cao, also agree."
"Minister Xia is so noble, Muyin Town pledges to cooperate fully!"
"Jiangxia is willing to join Great Xia in capturing this person."
......
"Beishuo will naturally capture the real culprit, but Minister Xia is right. It is indeed not appropriate to disclose this matter at this time, I, Yang, also agree!"
Even Yang Rong, the Beishuo Institute Chief, was pressured by the Seven Towns Institute Chiefs. If he didn’t speak up, he would practically sever ties with the Moao South Slope Territory.
Hearing the statements of the Eight Towns Institute Chiefs, Xia Chuan nodded slightly at first, then hesitated in his tone as he slowly spoke, "To be honest, there’s actually..."
As he said this, he showed a hint of hesitation, as if considering whether to speak or not.
This piqued the curiosity of everyone from the Eight Towns as they all turned their heads, full of interest in looking at him.
"Forget it, I’ll just tell you all directly!"
Xia Chuan pondered for a moment and finally decided to continue speaking, "As for the real culprit, Great Xia already has some clues. To be precise, we’ve identified an Outer Realm force."
Great Xia has already identified the Outer Realm force?
Upon hearing this, the Eight Towns Institute Chiefs were all taken aback.
Seeing everyone’s reaction, Xia Chuan was not surprised at all.
Among the Eight Town Lords, some surely knew information about the Outer Realm forces. Xia Chuan could almost be certain of this. At the very least, according to Xia Hong’s analysis, the Northern Three Towns Lords definitely knew.
But just because the Lords knew did not mean everyone else did.
For Great Xia to raise the alert of the entire Eight Towns against the Outer Realm forces, it was essential to fully reveal the existence of these Outer Realm forces.
And now, this was the first step.
Seeing all the curious eyes, Xia Chuan did not keep them in suspense and directly said, "Great Xia has currently confirmed with 100% certainty that there is a feudal town-level power to the north, named Cai Qiu, that is eyeing our Moao South Slope Territory. This minister can also basically ascertain that the deaths of people from the Three Towns Chamber of Commerce this time were orchestrated by the Cai Qiu Feudal Town. You can relay this information to your respective Lords when you return.
Great Xia has only been east of the Xing River for over four months, and we’ve already discovered several Cai Qiu Feudal Town spies within our borders. If this minister’s guess is correct, it’s likely that many Cai Qiu spies have long been lurking within your Eight Towns. Not only has Cai Qiu sent people to infiltrate the Nine Towns Territory, but they are also attempting to incite conflicts among the Nine Towns. Their malicious intentions are already glaringly obvious, and I hope the Eight Towns will take these matters seriously soon, or else you will have regrets if things truly go awry later..."
These last words from Xia Chuan were like a bomb dropped on the hearts of everyone from the Eight Towns. They didn’t understand what the words Cai Qiu Feudal Town truly represented, but as long as they connected these words to the Outer Realm forces and thought about the murder case involving the Three Towns Chamber of Commerce, as well as the middle-aged man in black with over 50 prowess who had memory-altering abilities, it was enough.
Some things are best left unsaid; speaking too much can lead to issues.
Xia Chuan naturally understood this principle, so after pointing out the matter of Cai Qiu Feudal Town, he did not continue to elaborate further.
The moment the Eight Towns Institute Chiefs heard about Cai Qiu Feudal Town, they naturally became eager to return, so without Xia Chuan’s urging, they began instructing their subordinates to collect the bodies on the ground and then bid farewell to Xia Chuan.
Xia Chuan naturally agreed one by one. After watching the people from the Eight Towns leave one after another, he then had the Cloud Dragon Army soldiers resume their duties, while he took Yuwen Dao, Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Xu Ning, and Lin Kai upstairs together.
As soon as he entered the top floor meeting room of the Ministry Building, Yuan Cheng could no longer hold back his puzzlement and asked Xia Chuan, "Minister, we can’t confirm that person’s identity yet, so why did you directly say it was done by Cai Qiu Feudal Town?"
Xia Chuan didn’t speak, but Yuwen Dao had obviously guessed, and a faint smile appeared on his face as he said, "As long as we can confirm it’s the work of the Outer Realm people and raise the Eight Towns’ vigilance against the Outer Realm forces, what’s the harm if it’s Cai Qiu Feudal Town or not..."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "If it’s truly Cai Qiu’s doing, then we’re not wronging them. If it isn’t Cai Qiu’s doing, then it proves there’s a second Outer Realm force targeting the Nine Towns. Tell me, if in the future both Outer Realm forces take action against the Nine Towns, how would Cai Qiu feel knowing they got unjustly blamed so heavily before even getting involved?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Cheng was dumbfounded, and it was not just him; Qiu Peng, Xu Ning, and Lin Kai clearly hadn’t thought of this angle either, and their expressions suddenly brightened.
"Hahaha, brilliant! Minister, your move is admirable, I am impressed."
"Right! If there are indeed two Outer Realm forces, our framing strategy might prove to be incredibly effective in the future, hahaha..."
"The Minister is indeed formidable, I am truly impressed!"
Upon hearing their praises, Xia Chuan immediately waved his hand with a smile and said, "This wasn’t my idea. It was left to me by our Lord before leaving Hongmen last month."
The Lord’s plan, no wonder!
Upon learning it was Xia Hong’s plan, the look of amazement on everyone’s faces immediately vanished, replaced by a look of calmness. They clearly weren’t surprised at all that Xia Hong could come up with such a clever tactic.
"Awareness of Cai Qiu Feudal Town needs to extend beyond those present; next, we must leverage the spies to spread the negative rumors about Cai Qiu Feudal Town throughout the Eight Towns. We must ensure everyone knows there’s a powerful Outer Realm force eyeing the Nine Towns and has infiltrated many spies to incite a civil war, with the ultimate goal of destroying the Nine Towns and annexing the entire Moao South Slope Territory!"
"Understood, minister!"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Peng and the others nodded gravely.
Suddenly remembered something, Xia Chuan asked Lin Kai, "By the way, are all the people from Bashang relocated back?"
Lin Kai immediately nodded, "They set off from Hongmen the night before last, personally escorted by the Fei Peng and Beizhao armies. By now, they must have reached Xia City."
The migration of the Bashang population was finally completed!
Xia Chuan’s expression slightly lifted, and he continued, "I and Qiu Peng need to return to Xia City first to report to the Lord. As for things in Hongmen City..."
He paused slightly, turned to look at Yuwen Dao, pondered for a moment, then said, "With Hou Quan leading the Dragon Martial Army, Yuwen Dao, I want you stationed in Hongmen City going forward. I’m still somewhat uneasy with only Lin Kai here."
"Yes, Minister!"
Hearing Xia Chuan’s distrust, Lin Kai’s face flushed slightly with embarrassment while also feeling a sense of urgency. Back during the Great Xia Slope period, among the five people who received beast meat early, his strength was the weakest. Now he couldn’t even manage Hongmen City alone, indeed a bit of a burden.
"I must quickly enhance my strength!"
"Alright, Qiu Peng and I will return to Xia City first. Xu Ning, continue to oversee Bashang, Yuwen Dao and Lin Kai, you two keep a close watch over Hongmen City, and should there be any anomalies, dispatch someone to relay a message back to Xia City immediately."
"Understood, Minister!"
