Doubts and Plans
Lu Ming, the leader of the Deer Tribe, sat in his wooden hut covered with thick deer hides, his brow furrowed. He had just seen off the third wave of envoys sent by the Bison Tribe. The envoys were earnest and repeatedly emphasized that the Wolf Tribe still posed a threat, and that the four tribes were interdependent and must form an alliance to protect themselves.
Lu Ming still wore a gentle but slightly distant smile, and once again brushed the other party off with the excuse that "this matter is of great importance and needs to be discussed with the elders and clansmen."
As the envoy walked away, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by deep wariness and a hint of disdain.
"An alliance? Hmph!" Lu Ming muttered to himself, his tone icy. "Do they really think our Deer Tribe are fools?"
He picked up the rough wooden bowl and took a sip of warm water, his mind racing. He knew all too well what kind of person Jijiao, the leader of the Bison Tribe, was after dealing with him for so many years. He was brave and strong, but not particularly magnanimous, and harbored considerable ambition. This time, the Wolf Tribe's attack had easily extorted the Bison Tribe, causing them heavy losses and a complete loss of face. And now he wanted to pull in several tribes to form some kind of "alliance"?
Lu Ming saw it clearly. In this so-called alliance, the Bison Tribe was the strongest, followed by the White Pig Tribe, while his Deer Tribe and Green Sheep Tribe were the weakest. Once formed, the Bison Tribe would naturally hold the power, and his Deer Tribe and Green Sheep Tribe would likely only be reduced to obedient "henchmen" and "vassals," charging ahead on the front lines. In the end, they might not get much benefit, but they would have to bear the risks and casualties first. If the Wolf Tribe came again, would the Bison push them out to be the ones to take the lead? Lu Ming dared not gamble.
As for that Zongmao from the White Pig Tribe ... Lu Ming curled his lip in disdain. He was a typical overly "shrewd" leader, lacking both responsibility and courage. He was adept at scheming and accustomed to sacrificing the interests of smaller tribes to protect himself. This time, when the Wolf Tribe extorted him, he quickly compromised, and afterwards even turned around and exploited the smaller tribes that depended on him, displaying an extremely ugly attitude. Being tied to such an "ally" meant being prepared to be betrayed and used as cannon fodder at any time.
"You're trying to negotiate with a tiger for its skin, but you also have to be wary of a pig stabbing you in the back..." Lu Ming shook his head, already condemning the alliance proposed by the Bison and the White Pig to death. His ambiguous refusal on the surface was merely to maintain a shred of face, not wanting to tear off the mask now.
So, it seemed there was only one path left—join the Fire Tribe. This thought had been swirling in Lu Ming's mind for a long time. Especially after witnessing (though only hearing about it from afar) the Fire Tribe's swift and decisive victory over the Wolf Tribe, this idea became even stronger.
The Fire Tribe displayed a completely different aura and power. Powerful, yet not as ferocious and tyrannical as the Wolf Tribe; wealthy, yet not as aloof and calculating as the Fish Tribe (at least according to rumors). Even more remarkably, the Fire Tribe seemed to treat all tribes that joined them equally; as long as they followed the rules and worked hard, they would receive food and protection. This was partially confirmed by feedback from members of the smaller tribes who had joined earlier. However... whenever Lu Ming leaned towards making a decision, several weathered and conservative elders in the tribe would anxiously step forward to dissuade him.
"Chief, the Fire Tribe... they've taken too big a step, too fast!" An elder with a white beard and a face etched with the marks of time said in a hoarse voice, "Just two years ago, weren't they just like us, worrying about feeding two hundred people? How long has it been? How many small tribes have they swallowed up? We've inquired, and counting those who recently joined them, their population... is probably three thousand!"
Three thousand people! This number was like a Jushi, making Lu Ming feel breathless. He couldn't imagine how to manage such a large population, or how to feed these three thousand mouths that needed to be eaten every day.
Another old man chimed in, his wrinkled face etched with worry. "Yes, Chief. Our Deer Tribe, with only about two hundred people, guards this forest, carefully tending to the reindeer, and we barely scrape by. We depend on the weather for our livelihood, and we have to be wary of wild animals and outsiders. The Fire Tribe has over three thousand people... How will they survive? Even if they know how to make pottery, can pottery be eaten? Can it be turned into food, into meat, immediately?"
"The Fish Tribe has been operating along the river for generations, with boats and nets, able to catch fish from the great river and trade goods with the distant Valley Tribe, yet they only have less than two thousand people! How can the Fire Tribe support more than three thousand? They may have cultivated a lot of land, but farming takes time and depends on the weather! What if... what if they're only superficially prosperous, and their food supply is already running low? If we lead our entire tribe there now, wouldn't we be jumping into a fire pit?"
"This mountain forest left by our ancestors, our skill in raising deer... are we just going to lose it all like this?"
The elders' concerns were all reasonable and hit the nail on the head. The Fire Tribe's rise had indeed exceeded all expectations, and its food supply and internal stability were the biggest mysteries and hidden dangers. As the head of the tribe, Lu Ming's decisions concerned the life and death of hundreds of people in the Deer Tribe; how could he not be extremely cautious?
He stood up, walked to the door of the cabin, looked at the lush forests outside the camp, and at the herd of reindeer leisurely grazing on the tender grass nearby, his heart filled with contradictions and struggles.
On the one hand, he was wary of and rejected the "alliance" between the Bison and the White Pig, which was clearly tinged with calculation and potential oppression. On the other hand, he hesitated to join the Fire Tribe, a seemingly bright path, due to the enormous uncertainty.
"Very well..." Lu Ming sighed deeply, having made up his mind.
The tribe still has some food reserves, enough to last until autumn. The Wolf Tribe, having suffered such a heavy blow, will certainly not dare to show its face again anytime soon. Time is still on their side.
"I'll wait until the autumn market," Lu Ming said to himself.
Autumn is the season when various tribes conduct their annual large-scale trade after the harvest. As a newly emerging and powerful force, the Fire Tribe will certainly participate, and may even be one of the leaders.
"After the market day, I'll personally visit the Fire Tribe," Lu Ming said with a determined look. "I'll bring our best deerskins, under the guise of visiting relatives and seeing my daughter. I want to see for myself whether the Fire Tribe's valley is as prosperous as the rumors say, whether their granaries are truly overflowing with grain, and whether their people are truly well-fed and clothed, and whether their morale is high."
He wanted to ask the Jianshi Chief himself how the Fire Tribe could support so many people and what their future plans were. If he answered honestly, he might be trustworthy. If he was evasive... then Lu Ming would naturally make his own judgment.
"After all, my daughter is also in the Fire Tribe, and Chief Jianshi... he shouldn't be lying to me, right?" Lu Ming held a sliver of hope and expectation in his heart.
But in any case, he would never make a decision rashly before seeing and hearing it with his own eyes and ears. Caution was not only a responsibility to himself, but also a responsibility to the lives of hundreds of his entire clan.
The same dilemma and plans were also playing out in the mind of Wenshi, the leader of the Green Sheep Tribe. He was even more wary of the Bison and the White Pig, and his longing and doubts about the Fire Tribe were equally strong. The two tribal leaders, who were in the same boat, turned their attention to the approaching autumn and to the legendary Fire Tribe Valley.