Chapter 565
Fanyang's Envy: A City is to be Built in the River Valley
Chapter 565 Fanyang's Envy: A City is to be Built in the River Valley
Caiqiu's jurisdiction over Changqing Valley only extended to Chihu Ridge, which is the middle section of Changqing Valley. Caiqiu did not set up any military camps in the southern half of Changqing Valley.
The so-called Qingyugou Camp is actually the river valley village at the northernmost side of Qingyugou. The Xia army wanted to garrison here, and for convenience, they gave it this name according to the rules of the southern foothills.
To be fair, although last night's rebellion was large in scale, it did not have any impact on the villages around Qingyugou.
The reason is simple: the great battle took place at the northern entrance of the Bone-Eating Road, while Qingyugou, even the southernmost village of Qingtan, was ten kilometers away from the northern entrance of the Bone-Eating Road. Being so far away, it was naturally not affected.
Cai Qiu's army was not completely annihilated; more than 50,000 people escaped from the north entrance. However, these people had long since scattered and were already in a state of panic. The defeated soldiers were already like frightened birds, and they also had to guard against the Xia army pursuing them from the rear. Changqing Valley was full of rebels, and they were only thinking about escaping, so of course they dared not enter the villages indiscriminately.
Although the village was not affected by the war and no defeated troops came to cause trouble, the villagers of Hegu Village, who had been on edge all night, still did not dare to close their eyes at dawn. It was not until the village chief, Fan Kong, returned with a definite message that their hearts finally settled down.
Village chief Fan Kong not only brought back the good news of the successful uprising, but also a large number of unfamiliar golden-armored soldiers.
Not far from the main building of Hegu Village, in front of a slightly lower house, nineteen-year-old Fan Yang was leading five or six people of the same age to start a fire. After the fire rose, he turned to look at the hundreds of golden-armored soldiers around the main building, his eyes filled with reverence and longing.
However, his strength was too weak, and his direct spying quickly attracted the attention of the golden-armored soldiers. Faced with the soldiers' sharp gazes, Fan Yang felt guilty even though he knew he had not done anything wrong, and quickly looked away.
He turned around and whispered to a group of his peers, “Those golden-armored soldiers are really impressive! I heard from Grandpa that last night in the south, they routed Cai Qiu’s 150,000-strong army, and even the young governor Cai Qiuhu was almost killed.”
Fan Kong, the village chief of Hegu Village, was his grandfather and one of the rebel leaders who had been heavily involved in last night's battle. When his grandfather Fan Kong returned at dawn, he immediately gathered his entire family and told them about the battle that night.
Fan Yang was present at the time, so he heard quite a bit.
"Who is Cai Qiuhu, the Junior Prefect?"
His boasting, however, did not amaze his peers. After exchanging glances, they asked a question instead.
Fan Yang was taken aback, but immediately realized that Hegu Village was too remote. Most of the villagers only knew the name Cai Qiu, and had no idea what titles like Fang Bo and Xiao Fang Bo meant.
After thinking for a moment, he explained, "You know Qinghua City, right?"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately nodded.
Not only in River Valley Village, but for the more than one million people of Changqing Valley, Qinghua City is a place they dream of living in. They've heard that it's overflowing with silver; elixirs, divine weapons, martial arts techniques... everything is available there, and you can buy anything; the city has so much beast meat and blood that they can't possibly eat it all, and they even have to throw some away every day...
"The city lord of Qinghua City is Xiao Fangbo's subordinate, and he's actually one of the lower-ranking subordinates, meaning he's not a very important one!"
Fan Yang's next sentence stunned everyone.
They stood frozen for a full five or six breaths before suddenly looking up at Fan Yang, their pupils filled with disbelief.
Although they didn't speak, the expressions on their faces said it all.
How... is this possible?
In the minds of these teenagers, the city lord of Qinghua City was already a god-like figure. But now Fan Yang was telling them that he was just a subordinate of this little Fangbo, and not even a very important one.
And this young Fangbo almost died at the hands of the army in front of him last night?
All six of them turned to look at the group of golden-armored soldiers outside the main building, their eyes filled with indescribable shock and horror.
The six men were only at the Woodcutter Realm level, and they didn't leave their homes until nightfall. When they came out, the golden-armored army had already entered the village.
The six knew very little about the battle in the south last night, only vaguely knowing that something major had happened. Furthermore, their cultivation level determined their perspective, so they couldn't discern the strength of these soldiers at all.
Only after hearing Fan Yang's explanation did they realize what was going on.
“You didn’t go to the cellar south of the village. There are many prisoners of war in Caiqiu, at least fifty or sixty thousand. I heard from Grandpa that all those soldiers are at the Cold Resistance level, and none of them are weaker than him.”
Driven by his youthful impetuosity, Fan Yang couldn't help but say one more thing.
The six were already somewhat numb. The shock that Xiao Fangbo had brought them had not yet ended, and Fan Yang had thrown out such astonishing words.
Village Chief Fan Kong is the most recognized strongest person in the Qingyugou area. He has the cultivation level of the Cold Resistance level, the strength of the 9th level, and commands 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers. No one is weaker than him. What does that mean?
In fact, Fan Yang only had a superficial understanding of the higher-ups in Caiqiu. He only vaguely remembered his grandfather saying that Fang Bo was the most supreme being in Caiqiu and also the strongest person in Caiqiu. If that was the case, then Xiao Fang Bo should be the number one person below Fang Bo.
Caiqiu has four prefectures, two lakes, and one valley. Ranked by importance, Qinghua City is at the bottom. Therefore, Cai Yunzhou, the city lord of Qinghua City, is obviously just a subordinate of the other party, and not a very important one at that.
"Brother Yang, look! The village chief and the others are coming out of the main building!"
As Fan Yang was pondering, someone suddenly pointed in the direction of the main building and spoke.
He quickly turned his head and saw that his grandfather Fan Kong and father Fan Hong, along with more than a dozen villagers, were coming out of the main building. Their expressions were very excited, obviously because they had something happy to say.
"Grandpa, Father, Uncles, have you seen the Governor of Great Xia?"
Fan Yang immediately went to greet them, bowed to everyone, and eagerly began to ask questions.
What he's most curious about right now is that Grand Duke of Daxia.
To command such a powerful army, defeat Cai Qiu's 200,000-strong army, and almost kill Cai Qiu's minor governor, how terrifying must the power of the Great Xia governor be?
From the moment he stepped out of the house after dark, he had been wanting to go inside the main building, but unfortunately the main building was heavily guarded by those golden-armored soldiers, and any unauthorized personnel would be reprimanded if they even approached, so he naturally dared not go.
He assumed that since his grandfather, father, and the others had come out of the main building, they must have already met that Lord Fangbo. Driven by curiosity, he asked about it.
However, when he asked this question, Fan Kong, Fan Hong, and the dozen or so people in Hegu Village who were at the Cold Resistance level immediately looked a little embarrassed.
"Hey, Yang'er, what do you take your grandpa for? Seeing Fang Bo? What a joke! I can't even get into the main hall of the main building. I'm already lucky to be able to see Deputy Commander Yuan!"
Fan Yang was taken aback when he heard this, and then he realized that behind his grandfather and the others was a young general wearing armor.
Upon seeing the black armor worn by the general, Fan Yang's face immediately showed a hint of envy. Then, he looked up slightly to see the general's appearance clearly, and was instantly stunned.
"This general looks about my age..." The general looked so young, no more than twenty years old, and his skin was in much better condition than his. Standing next to his grandfather Fan Kong and the others, he could easily be believed to be only sixteen or seventeen.
Although the opponent's armor was predominantly black, many of the cleaved parts revealed a silver sheen. Fan Yang had handled silver before and could tell at a glance that those parts were made of pure silver. Moreover, judging from the dense forging patterns on it, there were probably no fewer than ten thousand.
The source of the mysterious light emanating from the armor was likely the largest part, the breastplate. The breastplate was shiny black and exuded an extremely terrifying aura of a cold beast, clearly indicating that it was no ordinary object.
"Elder Fan, you flatter me. The lord is currently discussing with the other officials how to deal with the army from Guangning Mountain, so he naturally cannot spare the time to meet with you. As for the resettlement of Hegu Village, Lord Qiu has already provided a solution. You just need to follow it. The craftsmen from Daxia will arrive here soon. You should first inform the other villages in Qingyugou so that they can prepare in advance. Lord Qiu also said that if you have any further matters, you can come directly to me. I can handle small matters, and I will seek instructions for you on important matters. If there is nothing else, please do not come to the main building!"
The young general was Yuan Bai, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard.
Yuan Bai had tried his best to be polite, but his strength far surpassed that of Fan Kong and the others. In addition, the breastplate made of dragon scales occasionally emitted a terrifying aura. As soon as he spoke, the majesty in his tone made Fan Kong and the others tense up immediately.
"Thank you for your concern, sir. I will make the arrangements immediately. I will not go near the main building unless necessary. If you need my help, please feel free to send someone to let me know!"
Fan Kong, being over seventy years old, steadied himself and quickly replied to Yuan Bai.
Yuan Bai nodded, glanced at Fan Yang and the others, and continued, "Then I'll head back first. Also, since the lord dislikes noise, please move everyone around the main building away."
"Little man obeys!"
Fan Kong immediately bowed and accepted the order. Then, he and the others watched Yuan Bai walk towards the main building. Only after Yuan Bai entered the main building did he turn around to look at his son and the others, his wrinkled face full of excitement.
"We're going to be rich! We're really going to be rich this time! A city is going to be built in the valley! A city is going to be built in the valley! Hahahaha..."
Fan Kong let out a hearty laugh, and his son Fan Hong, along with more than a dozen other Cold-Resistant level cultivators, also became extremely excited.
Last night's battle ended, and just like in Qingtan Village, the joy of victory didn't last long before Fan Kong began to worry about the resettlement of Hegu Village.
The Great Xia only defeated Cai Qiu's army at the valley entrance. The two vassal states will definitely continue to fight. The 70,000 troops of Qinghua City are currently stationed in the Guangning Mountain area north of Hegu Village.
During the day, Xia Jun escorted all the prisoners of war from Caiqiu to Hegu Village. As tens of thousands of Xia soldiers moved in one after another, Fan Kong realized that Xia Jun intended to use Hegu Village as an outpost to resist Caiqiu's army.
In other words, the two factions are very likely to clash at River Valley Village next.
River Valley Village has a total population of over 20,000. Originally, there were 26 people at the Cold Resistance level, but 9 of them died in the battle last night, leaving only 17. The rest are mainly at the Lumbering level, with only about 2000 at the Digging level.
With such limited strength, if the village were to become a battlefield between the two factions, their fate would be predictable.
Therefore, during the day when he was at the valley entrance, Fan Kong tried every means to meet with the higher-ups of the Great Xia Dynasty, hoping to find a way out for Hegu Village.
Unfortunately, he was too weak, so weak that any soldier in the Xia army could stop him. He had actually seen Xia Hong from afar during the day and had mustered up the courage to shout, trying to attract the other party's attention.
He had barely uttered a shout when he was immediately met with the gazes of countless Xia soldiers. These soldiers had just finished a bloody battle with Cai Qiu's army, and their eyes were filled with ferocity. Although they didn't say anything, he was still frightened into shutting his mouth.
With no other option, he could only return to Hegu Village with Xia Jun.
Fortunately, he was the village chief of Hegu Village. When it came to his familiarity with the village and the surrounding terrain, no one dared to claim to be second to none. Xia Jun needed to find a place to hold prisoners of war and needed to survey the surrounding terrain, so he was the first person Xia Jun thought of.
The person who contacted him at that time was Yuan Bai.
Fan Kong still didn't know exactly how important the position of Deputy Commander of the Dragon Guard was, but after doing his best to help Yuan Bai with everything, he mustered up the courage to ask Xia Hong to see him.
Unsurprisingly, Yuan Bai rejected him outright.
"To see the lord?"
Yuan Bai only said those three words, in a rhetorical question tone, with a look of utter disbelief in his eyes.
Fan Kong, being quite experienced, quickly realized that his needs, from the other party's perspective, were indeed somewhat absurd.
This is just like when he went to Qinghua City and asked to see the city lord Cai Yunzhou. Everyone would probably think he had gone mad, and no one would pay any attention to him.
Moreover, that was just Cai Yunzhou, while this lord of Daxia was a figure of the same caliber as Fangbo Cai Qianshan.
Given his status, power, and position, what right does he have to meet me?
Having clarified this point, Fan Kong stopped talking about requesting an audience with the lord. Instead, he directly expressed his concerns about the more than 20,000 people in Hegu Village, pleading with Yuan Bai to speak to the higher-ups of the Great Xia Dynasty, considering how diligently he had served him.
When Yuan Bai heard that he was trying to find a way out for the more than 20,000 people in Hegu Village, his expression immediately softened. He even took him directly to the main building, saying that he would take him to see some officials.
Although he couldn't enter the main hall, Fan Kong could sense the powerful aura of the dozens of people inside when he was at the entrance. Combined with the Xia soldiers patrolling around the main building, he instantly realized how outrageous his request to see the Great Xia lord was.
This is similar to when he gathers everyone in the village for a meeting, and suddenly a three- or four-year-old child comes in, saying he has something to ask to see him. The guard at the gate probably won't even ask why, and will just kick the child out.
Although it's a bit absurd, the situation is actually quite similar. In front of these Xia Juns, he's no different from a three- or four-year-old child.
The main hall of the building had clearly been blocked by some means. Although he was standing at the door, he couldn't hear a single word that the adults said.
Finally, after the meeting concluded, Yuan Bai brought him good news.
"The Great Xia Dynasty intends to bring Qingyugou under its control, so it will not engage in battle with Cai Qiu's army here. The terrain of Hegu Village is quite good, and Lord Qiu proposed to the lord that a city be built here, which the lord has agreed to..."
River Valley Village will not become a battlefield, and the Great Xia Dynasty intends to build a city here!
Leaving aside Yuan Bai's subsequent explanation, Fan Kong was overjoyed upon understanding these two meanings, and almost shouted it out.
River Valley Village is going to be developed into a city!
(End of this chapter)