After Xia Chuan listened, he nodded, agreeing that having those currently stationed bring their families over is indeed the best disguise. As long as others don't actively become suspicious, there shouldn't be any problems.

"Will their families have safety concerns about going to Baiyang Station?"

Pinpointing the sole flaw in the plan, Xia Chuan pointed out directly, to which Chen Ying immediately nodded and said, "Minister, you hit the nail on the head. At first, they indeed hesitated, but I've decided to move my entire family of nine to Baiyang. They have no choice but to follow suit."

So that's how things are; with Chen Ying, the garrison leading by example, the others really have no choice.

Xia Chuan looked at Chen Ying, his eyes revealing a hint of approval as he said, "What you've done is commendable. Next, carry out what I said, avoid exposing any ties to Great Xia, just act like a regular village-level camp. If strangers, especially those from Qinghepu, discover Baiyang Station, be extremely cautious."

"Understood!"

"You may leave now...

Xia Chuan was ready to let him leave when something crossed his mind, causing his expression to harden slightly as he added, "Reassure them when you return that I guarantee Baiyang Station's safety won't be compromised."

"I shall take my leave!"

Upon hearing Xia Chuan's promise, Chen Ying's spirits lifted, he eagerly nodded in response, then turned and left the hall, returning to Baiyang.

"Is it news from Lower River Village?"

As soon as Chen Ying left, Xia Hong's voice came from the back of the hall.

"Greetings, Lord!

Xia Chuan turned around, first saluting Xia Hong, then handed over the letter, visibly excited.

Unlike the blood-written letter Xu Ning brought back earlier, this intelligence from Lower River Village was not only detailed but also clearly written.

[Leader Wang Chuan from Lower River Village has two sons, Wang Yuwen and Wang Yu'an, who were among the first children selected by Dajue Temple seven years ago in Qinghepu; Wang Yuwen serves as Zen Temple Steward with Three-maned strength, while Wang Yu'an's whereabouts remain unknown]

[On September 24th, agents of the Nine Towns set fire extensively in Qinghe Village, injuring many; Dajue Temple is enraged, has issued the Buddha's decree, demanding all camps of the Three Villages and Eighteen Families to dispatch half of their Earth-digging Realm and Cold Resistance Level to assemble at Qinghe Village; exact date unknown, suspected reprisal against Nine Towns]

After reading these two pieces of intelligence, Xia Hong's eyes immediately brightened with joy.

In contrast to him, Xia Chuan appeared visibly more agitated, showing little restraint before Xia Hong, he said with obvious delight:

"Brother, it all matches up perfectly. Yesterday, Lu Yang sent a message from East Ridge, saying Beishuo Town also issued a Zhenyu, requiring all village-level camps in the region to dispatch half of the Cold Resistance Level and thirty percent of the Earth-digging Realm per household, although not explicitly stating the purpose, it's largely connected to Dajue Temple."

It's more than just a match; Xu Ning's intelligence, coupled with Lu Yang's report from East Ridge yesterday, and combined with these two messages from Lower River Village, almost completely paint the picture.

Xia Chuan went ahead to voice his hypothesis:

"The Nine Towns have long known about Dajue Temple, but because Jiangxia Town is closest, only they truly care. The remaining Eight Towns likely harbor a mentality of reaping benefits, thus only dispatching spies to infiltrate Qinghe Village.

Dajue Temple has grown increasingly powerful over the years; the other Eight Towns might endure, but Jiangxia Town can't, leading Xiahou Zhang to personally intervene, wanting to ascertain Dajue Temple's true strength, yet he felt uneasy, opting for all spies to act, staging a fire in Qinghe Village, likely as a diversion to draw attention away, with another group solely tasked with exploring Dajue Temple on Chilong Lake.

As it stands, Jiangxia Town has failed; not only unable to discern Dajue Temple's reality, Xiahou Zhang suffered losses, with all Nine Towns' scouts obliterated, now facing Dajue Temple's retaliation."

Xia Chuan paused here, his pupils gleaming with interest:

"Given Dajue Temple's might, Jiangxia Town naturally wouldn't want to face it alone upfront, hence requesting the other Eight Towns for support; the specifics of the other Seven Towns remain uncertain. However, over at Beishuo Town, extracting personnel from village-level camps clearly indicates an unwillingness to sincerely assist."

If the most powerful Beishuo Town acts this way, the stance of the other Seven Towns need not be explained.

"Let the tiger and monk fight, have Dajue Temple clash with Nine Towns?"

With the entire situation laid bare, Xia Hong refrained from further commentary, seeing Xia Chuan's face aflood with excitement and instantly guessing his current thoughts.

"Naturally!"

Xia Chuan nodded decisively and continued, "Setting aside the Five Great Masters, considering only the five thousand Cold Resistance Level personnel with Three-maned strength and over eight hundred official bhikkhus with over twenty-maned strength, Dajue Temple's visible power, whether Nine Towns combined could rival it remains unknown. With both parties on the brink of war, not only should we observe the tiger-monks clash from the mountain, but if possible, exploit the opportunity for Lu Yang to fan the flames, ideally provoking Dajue Temple and Nine Towns to a fiercer conflict, once they're mutually exhausted, Great Xia fits to harvest…"

"Nine Towns are not Longyou!"

Before Xia Chuan could finish, Xia Hong interrupted him directly.

Seeing Xia Chuan confused and puzzled, Xia Hong shook his head, continuing: "Don't equate Nine Towns with Longyou; back then, Longyou seemingly consisted of twelve families, but essentially it's only the Long Mountain and Zhaoyang families in strife. As the third party, watching the tiger-monks clash and ultimately stepping in to reap the benefits was feasible.

Currently, our adversaries are nine town-level camps, each at least equal to Great Xia, if not superior. Attempting to replicate the affair five years back isn't as simple now?"

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