Chapter 1725 - 547: Red Tiger Ridge, Zhang Yiqing’s Unease

Chapter 1725: Chapter 547: Red Tiger Ridge, Zhang Yiqing’s Unease

Evergreen Valley, bordered by Moao Mountain to the south, stretches in a north-south direction, spanning a depth of more than 200 kilometers with an average width of over 40 kilometers from east to west.

Qinghua City is located at the northern mouth of the valley, while the Bone-Eroding Path lies at the southernmost part, sandwiching the entire Evergreen Valley region in between.

This time, Cai Qiu sent out a total of 200,000 troops. Qinghua City alone certainly can’t produce that many people, so they must mobilize from the Four Great Commanderies and even multiple areas in Cai Qiu Town.

The 200,000 soldiers gathered from all directions, first assembled in Qinghua City, and then proceeded south into Evergreen Valley, heading all the way down to the Bone-Eroding Path, ultimately crossing it to reach the Southern Slope Territory, before the official engagement with the Xia Army could begin.

The pace of the army’s march is influenced by many factors, such as the size of the army, the environment, the climate, the quality of the roads, whether there are deceptions applied, the planning skills of the commanding generals, and whether the soldiers have been trained in this aspect, etc...

Among numerous factors affecting the marching speed, roads are undoubtedly the most significant one.

With Cold Resistance Level strength, most road surfaces in the Ice Abyss could be traversed even without any adjustments, but the army is a collective organization, unlike individuals. You can’t just let all soldiers run wild like untamed horses.

Moreover, when marching, it’s not just the people moving; the logistics such as provisions and equipment, those are the real big deals, and these things, to some extent, are more important than the soldiers. If any issue arises, it’s a major problem, so there’s no room for negligence.

And military logistics are generally loaded on manpower carts, which demands higher road conditions.

However, within Evergreen Valley, it happens to be the area Cai Qiu least prioritizes. Except for a small area near Qinghua City in the north where roads were built and maintained with care, the road conditions elsewhere are simply appalling.

Poor roads naturally make it difficult to achieve fast marching speeds.

...

In the central region of Evergreen Valley, there is a mountain ridge running north-south. To the north, a large oval peak rises high, resembling a tiger’s head; in the middle, it’s undulating and stretches for over twenty li, resembling a slightly arched tiger’s back; the southern end has a long winding gully, appearing like a long tail, hence the name Red Tiger Ridge.

Red Tiger Ridge is located in the central region of Evergreen Valley and is naturally not famous. There are five villages, Tiger Head, Iron Hill, Central Valley, Lower Hill, and Tiger Tail, distributed on the western side of the ridge.

The most known fact about Red Tiger Ridge is probably that when Qinghua City initially planned and built the official road in Evergreen Valley, the endpoint happened to be set here.

The road Qinghua City was willing to deploy labor to build was of exceptional specifications. Without even mentioning the various wood, stone, and iron resources consumed during construction, it is regularly maintained by the County Guard Army, with substantial investment.

The investment is for returns. Ultimately, Qinghua City builds roads primarily to harvest resources. Typically, wherever a road is constructed represents where the jurisdiction of Feudal Town extends.

Although Red Tiger Ridge only has five villages, it unexpectedly became the trading hub for all villages in the southern region of Evergreen Valley because it is located at the endpoint of the official road. Thus, it’s not very famous in the north, but in the south, it is well-known.

Especially the southernmost Tiger Tail Village, where any village in the south that wants to acquire quality cultivation resources or barter goods usually comes here.

Villages in the southern part of Evergreen Valley aren’t given much attention by Qinghua City; they are weak in strength and have nothing rare to offer. Coming to Tiger Tail Village, to put it nicely, is called trading; frankly, it’s begging.

Those who come to Tiger Tail Village are seeking help, so naturally, the status of Tiger Tail Village rises accordingly. They may not be much in the north or even ignored by Qinghua City, but in the eyes of several southern villages, they are the undisputed overlords.

In such a scenario, as the leader of Tiger Tail Village, Zhang Yiqing is living a very comfortable life.

Tiger Tail Village has a population of 80,000, and in terms of population size, it is indeed one of the largest villages in Evergreen Valley. The dominant surnames in the village are Hu and Zhang.

Originally, the Hu family was more powerful than the Zhang family. The previous leader was a Hu, but ten years ago, when the head of the Zhang Family, Zhang Kuang, became the Vice Commander in the County Guard Army of Qinghua City, the situation changed entirely.

In the military system of Cai Qiu, a Commander leads an army of 2,000 men, divided into four battalions: front, central, left, and right, each with 500 men. The front and left battalions are led by three Colonels respectively. The central battalion is the most unique, nominally under the direct control of the Commander, but as the head of an army, the Commander naturally can’t spend too much effort leading it, so it’s usually managed by the Vice Commander.

Zhang Kuang’s story is nothing short of legendary; his deeds are well-known in Tiger Tail Village, and even in the other four villages of Red Tiger Ridge, quite a few have heard of him.

He became famous young, breaking through to the Cold Resistance Level at eighteen, with a high martial arts talent and ambitious aspirations. He went to Qinghua City early on to make a living and was noticed by a noble family in his early twenties, becoming their servant.

It was rumored that Zhang Kuang served diligently for more than ten years in the Noble Mansion. Seeing his steadfastness and loyalty, the noble gave him an opportunity to participate in the Qinghua City County Guard Army selection.

When the opportunity came, Zhang Kuang seized it. At thirty-four, not only did he pass the selection successfully, but he also ranked in the top ten, starting his military career as a team leader.