Chapter 1784 - 569: Cai Qiu’s Inner Dynamics—Stability Through Inaction

Chapter 1784: Chapter 569: Cai Qiu’s Inner Dynamics—Stability Through Inaction

"Aside from the Landgrave’s lineage, Cai Qiu has six worldly families below, namely Fan, Liang, Zhu, He, Wu, and Zhong. Some enthusiasts further divide the six surnames into three upper and three lower families.

Among the four counties of Cai Qiu, East River County has long been controlled by the Fan Family. Since the establishment of Feudal Towns in Cai Qiu, they have consistently governed East River’s military and political affairs, acting on orders but not on declarations, a position seemingly even more exaggerated than Chen Family of Chen Cang.

The founding ancestor of the Liang Family, Liang Yuqing, was the sworn brother of Landgrave Cai Qianshan. Their relationship was immensely close, and they were also in-laws. Cai Qianshan had four sons, and except for his youngest, the Little Landgrave Cai Qiuhu, the wives of his other three sons were from the main lineage of the Liang Family. There were many intermarriages between the direct descendants of the Liang and Cai Families, making them the family closest to the Cai Family among the six surnames.

The four vassals of Moao River have identical governmental systems, and Cai Qiu is no exception. The Grand Master governs, the Commander oversees the military. Since the establishment of Feudal Towns in Cai Qiu, there have been three Grand Masters: the first was Liang Yuqing, the second was Liang Taiqiu, son of Liang Yuqing, and the third, the current one, is Liang Hengzhang, the second son of Liang Taiqiu. The Liang Family’s generation-spanning political governance illustrates their significant status.

The founding ancestor of the Zhong Family, Zhong Feihu, was Cai Qianshan’s primary adversary before Cai Qiu became a vassal territory. At that time, Qingcang County was the domain of the Zhong Family. After being defeated, Zhong Feihu led the Zhong Family into Cai Qiu and was appointed as Cai Qiu’s Commander. However, only a small part of the military power in Cai Qiu was in his hands. The true military commander was Deputy Commander Zhu Huorong."

At Guangning Mountain Camp, the battle has completely subsided. Tens of thousands of Cai Qiu soldiers, who have been stripped of their armor and weaponless, are being escorted by Xia Army toward the direction of River Valley Village. They all hang their heads dejectedly, faces full of despair and loss, clearly suffering from the aftereffects of being defeated by Xia Army.

In the main tent of the camp, Xia Hong sits at the head position, Li Xuanling with two children by his side. Below, a group of high-ranking individuals is divided on both sides. Qiu Peng stands in the middle, introducing the specific internal situation of Cai Qiu to Xia Hong and everyone else.

"The three upper families, namely Fan, Liang, and Zhong, can rival the Cai Family in terms of status. Especially in major matters of Cai Qiu, if the three families unite, the Cai Family can only compromise.

As for the three lower families, Zhu, He, and Wu each have a Tribulation Body Realm expert overseeing, strictly speaking, they are all vassals of the Cai Family.

The founding ancestor of the Zhu Family, Zhu Huorong, whom the Lord once met in the Southern Slope Territory, is Cai Qianshan’s top disciple and the current Deputy Commander of Cai Qiu. Judging from the position arrangement, Cai Qianshan intends to promote him to take over the current Commander, Zhong Feihu;

The founding ancestor of the He Family, He Yuankang, is Cai Qianshan’s son-in-law. Although he holds the title of Deputy Commander, he rarely participates in Cai Qiu’s major decisions, almost always following the orders of Landgrave Cai Qianshan;

The founding ancestor of the Wu Family, Wu Dingfeng, is a well-known martial enthusiast from Cai Qiu. He once apprenticed to Landgrave Li Gangfeng of Wei Bo, but due to limitations in talent, he only became a registered disciple. There are rumors that he has close ties with Li Gangfeng and is likely planted by Wei Bo as a spy within Cai Qiu. However, there is no substantial evidence, and observing his previous actions, he heavily supports Landgrave Cai Qianshan, not seeming like someone planted by Wei Bo."

Xia Hong sits idly at the head position, his attention mainly focused on the pair of children.

Having personally witnessed two battles between Great Xia and Feudal Towns, perhaps slightly provoked, Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng both broke through the Cold Resistance Level successively the previous night.

The first to break through was the eldest daughter Xia Yuyao, reaching an initial strength of 8.8 hair. Then followed Xia Yusheng, slightly weaker, achieving 8.6 hair.

"I used the highest quality Blood Jade Pearl for them, and although surpassing Xuanling, they still haven’t caught up with myself. Given the cultivation conditions in Great Xia now, along with their own talents, it shouldn’t be like this. This suggests that 9 hair is likely the limit for reshaping skin."

Everyone hopes for their children to succeed, and Xia Hong is no exception. It’s only natural to feel a bit disappointed that his children’s talents didn’t surpass his own. However, Xia Hong quickly reconciles this, as the cultivation resources available to them are essentially the best he can currently find. Further considering that they inherited the Water and Fire Dual-Action Mysterious Object from White Dew Monster, failing to reach 9 hair probably confirms that 9 hair is the limit.

At least within the Southern Slope Territory, including the Four Vassals, there are no talents surpassing 9 hair. Thinking this way, besides himself, they are essentially top-tier talents, so what more could he want?

Moreover, the Cold Resistance Level is strictly speaking just the starting point for humans in Ice Abyss cultivation. Determining if they can progress further hinges on subsequent cultivation.

"Lord, based on information Jiang Xinfan sent back, as well as various intelligence we’ve gathered recently, I’ve summarized the situation of Cai Qiu as described."

Soon, Qiu Peng finished the introduction.

Xia Hong’s thoughts returned, shifting his focus away from the two children, nodding while scanning the crowd, smiling: "Seems none of you have been idle. I’ve stayed in Moao River for three years, yet I understand Cai Qiu’s situation less than you all."

These words, of course, were intentionally spoken to encourage everyone.

In fact, the intelligence Qiu Peng conveyed had already been gathered by Xia Hong during his travels in Moao River, knowing even the more obscure details. However, due to the hasty return, he hadn’t had the chance to explain them in depth to everyone, so Qiu Peng’s comprehensive briefing saved him quite some effort.