Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1585: Chapter 498: Ice Abyss Rations, Beishuo Deployment, Xia Army Movements

Most camps in Ice Abyss have a very obvious shortcoming.

That is the lack of food reserves!

The harsh environment has determined that most camps cannot have much reserve grain. This has nothing to do with strength or weakness. Strong camps have more population, so the food consumption is naturally greater. Weak camps have fewer people, so the consumption is low, but their ability to obtain food is poor, so it is even more impossible to have more.

Take the Great Xia as an example, the current staple food of the Xia people is roughly two kinds:

One is natural fruits like Crystal Fruit, Cheng Guo, and Cold Fragrant Fruit.

In the early days when Great Xia had no hunting ability, Crystal Fruit was the only staple food. These fruits do not enhance blood energy and are not cultivation resources, considered a helpless choice during the weak times of the camp.

As Great Xia gradually grew stronger, it soon discovered that these natural fruits, including Crystal Fruit, because they don’t enhance blood energy, not to mention Cold Resistance Level, even the Earth-digging Realm, if used as food, the blood energy will inevitably wilt. If this continues for a long time, it could even lead to the decline of flesh and blood and a rapid weakening of basic strength.

This alone has determined that these natural fruits can only be used as food for children under six years old and can be used to make wine, medicine, or at most, to respond to emergencies, for use in unforeseen circumstances. To think of using it as the main food for the camp is definitely unrealistic.

Speaking of this, one cannot but mention the current second type of food for Great Xia and the entire Southern Slope Territory of humanity, or rather their only staple food: Beast Meat

It is not surprising that Beast Meat becomes the staple food.

First, the number of Cold Beasts in Ice Abyss is too large, seemingly never depleted, hunted but never exhausted;

Second is its function, Beast Meat is not only the most basic cultivation resource for humans but also has the effect of maintaining blood energy, not to mention Earth-digging Realm and Cold Resistance Level, even Xianyang Level cannot do without it.

Yet, as the sole staple food, Beast Meat also has very obvious defects, namely, the reserve quantity cannot be too large.

In an environment like Ice Abyss, storage is not a problem, the reason why reserve food cannot be large is twofold: first, the hunting ability of all camps is limited, it cannot be hoarded in large quantities; second, even if a single camp’s hunting ability is strong, it cannot withstand consumption.

Take Great Xia as an example, now the number of Hunting Teams is astonishing, plus with the soldiers-hunters unified system, the army also occasionally goes to clear Beast Tides, the ability to obtain Beast Meat, it can be said that none can compare in the dialect of the Southern Slope.

Yet even so, it cannot withstand the growing population of Great Xia and the increasing daily consumption, the Camp Supply Department raises the price of Beast Meat repeatedly to maintain a normal supply, which is evidence.

Initially, the price of Beast Meat in Great Xia was 2 jin for 1 Contribution Value; at the beginning of the second year of Great Xia’s war with Longyou, the price skyrocketed directly to 5 jin for 1 Contribution Value; during the mid-stage of the war, it dropped to 1 jin for 1 Contribution Value; after the end of the Longyou war, it returned to 2 jin for 1 Contribution Value…

Later, countless changes occurred until July of the previous year when Great Xia, in the name of an alliance, issued a Hunting Order, enabling resource sharing among towns in the entire Southern Slope, and after Great Xia’s Beast Meat income increased, its price steadily declined, finally returning to 2 jin for 1 Contribution Value.

The frequent changes in Beast Meat price actually reflect the low reserve quantity specifically; the camp’s risk resistance ability is too weak, so whenever there is any disturbance, there is an immediate tightening of such a key resource.

……

On December 28, Moao Calendar Year 136, as the sky darkened

“Great Xia has only been managing Dongchuan for two years. How much Beast Meat can they have in reserve? The city’s spies have already gathered this information at the beginning of the month. The entire East River City’s Beast Meat reserve is at most no more than 11 million jin. Xia Chuan has three thousand allies, which is not enough, and has temporarily recruited thirty thousand Cold Resistance Level troops, sixty thousand total soldiers. Even if all 11 million jin of Beast Meat were used as military food, it would only last for two months. Two months to defeat our Beishuo Town, how arrogant, Great Xia is indeed extremely arrogant!”

Inside the Lord’s Hall of Beishuo Town, Yang Zhun sat at the head.

The speaker stood on his left side, looking just like him and also overseeing Beishuo over the years, his third brother Yang Jian.

When Yang Jian said the last sentence, his face was full of disbelief, apparently both angry and surprised at this move initiated by Great Xia.

Of course, there weren’t only two people in the hall, on the right side below Yang Zhun sat an old man in a white brocade robe, his face pale and colorless, breathing somewhat irregularly, with his arms conspicuously empty, none other than Chu Xuan Kong from Chen Cang who almost abducted Xia Yusheng two days ago.

Five or six middle-aged men stood behind Chu Xuan Kong, judging by their attire, they were evidently people brought from Chen Cang.

Below the hall, divided by left and right, stood dozens of people, and in the middle stood Yang Ying, Yang Zhun’s son, who had just returned from Dongchuan Camp with news.

Why did Yang Jian exclaim in such surprise, only because of the news just brought back by Yang Ying, stating that Dongchuan Governor Mu Longhe had led ten thousand troops to capture Dongchuan Camp.

When Great Xia started the war, the first step was definitely to capture Dongchuan, which did not go beyond Beishuo’s expectations. Yang Jian’s astonishment at this moment stemmed from Great Xia truly starting the war so directly and violently!

Without any preparation, they just began.

For what? How can Great Xia be so bold?

“Arrogant? They just have the strength…”

Yang Zhun at the top suddenly spoke, followed by a cold laugh: “Four armies moving simultaneously, Yuan Cheng leading the rear troops to watch Yangqu; Luo Yuan commanding the central army to watch Dragon Valley; Yuwen Dao’s fifty thousand rear troops captured the entire Yinhe Valley yesterday, now advancing in two directions, one four thousand eastward towards West Yuan, seemingly planning to charge directly at Jinshan Town, another westward out of Yinhe Valley, approaching Wuchuan East Valley, heading towards us…”