Shoring Up the Foundations
The following morning, the newly leveled, enormous training ground in the center of the Fire Tribe Valley was bustling with activity. All male tribesmen aged 15 to 40, without any obvious physical disabilities and capable of wielding weapons, had been summoned there.
A dense, dark mass of people thronged the area. Among them were veteran hunters from the Fire Tribe, early recruits who had already received basic training, and a large number of newcomers whose faces still held a hint of bewilderment and curiosity. They stood in formation, not quite perfectly aligned, but the powerful aura they exuded was enough to awe any onlooker.
Jianshi stood on the makeshift wooden platform, his gaze sharp as he slowly swept over the more than seven hundred strong men below. These were his warriors, the most solid pillars of the Fire Tribe! Wang Yan, Jianya, Dali, Dazhuang, and other core members stood behind him, their hearts pounding with emotion.
After a preliminary count, there are more than 700 people who meet the criteria.
"Good!" Jian Shi's voice boomed Jianshi, silencing the clamor in the arena. "You've all seen it! Our Fire Tribe now has so many men who can take up arms! This is our strength, and it is our responsibility!"
He pointed to the walls surrounding the valley, the farmland in the distance, and the newly built houses. "Our homes, our food, our parents, wives, and children—all need us to Shouhu! Before, perhaps some thought that following the Fire Tribe was just for a meal. But from today onward, I want you to understand that you are warriors of the Fire Tribe! You are the masters of this land!"
"Roar!" A mixed but passionate roar erupted from the crowd below, especially from the veteran team members and those who had experienced the Battle of Wild Boar Gully, who shouted the loudest.
"But!" Jian Shi's tone shifted Jianshi, "A soldier isn't just about brute strength! He needs discipline! He needs teamwork! He needs to obey orders! He needs to train hard day and night!"
He looked at Jianya and Dali: "From today onwards, all new brothers who haven't received systematic training will be assigned to the ' Hunting Reserve Team '! Jianya will be in charge of their management and training! Dali, you will select a group of the best core members from the old Hunting Team to assist in the training!"
"Yes!" Jianya and Dali responded with a resounding roar.
"The reserve team's mission is to spend the next few months eating well, recovering their strength, learning the rules of our Fire Tribe, and mastering basic weapon handling and combat skills! Before spring, I want to see a team that can be deployed and fight effectively!" Jianshi's gaze swept over the new faces, seeing the fighting spirit and sense of belonging gradually igniting in their eyes. "At that time, the best among you will be officially added to the Hunting Team, becoming the true elite warriors of the Fire Tribe! Do you understand?"
"Understood!" The responses were much more synchronized this time.
"The Youth Team will be expanded as well! All boys aged eight to fifteen must participate in basic training! Shibang and Yingmu, you're in charge of that!"
"Yes, Chief!" Shibang and Yingmu stood tall and proud.
A large-scale reorganization and training program was thus launched. The training atmosphere throughout the valley suddenly intensified. The bugle calls at dawn, the drill commands during the day, and the evening review sessions became the new daily rhythm.
With such a large-scale expansion of population and military power, the food issue naturally became the most crucial consideration. However, when Wang Yan and the people in charge of agriculture presented the latest statistics and forecasts, all the high-ranking officials, including Jianshi, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Father, uncles," Wang Yan said, pointing to a simple chart drawn on animal hide, "The two thousand mu of paddy fields we planted this summer are growing very well. As long as we don't encounter any major disasters, we expect to harvest more than 400,000 jin of rice this autumn."
Four hundred thousand jin! This number made everyone present's eyes light up.
"And this is just rice," Wang Yan continued. "We also have a large amount of dry land planted with beans, hemp, and various vegetables. Forest gathering, livestock kept in enclosures, regular hunting... all of these combined are more than enough to support more than three thousand people through the winter and the following spring, and there will even be a considerable surplus."
Jianya twirled his beard, his eyes gleaming. "Moreover, we'll have even more land next year. Yan, your previous land reclamation plan..."
"Yes," Wang Yan nodded, "Next spring, we plan to cultivate another 1,000 mu of paddy fields in the gentler areas downstream of the stream. If manpower and irrigation conditions permit in the summer, we can try to cultivate another 1,000 mu. This way, by next summer's harvest, we should have at least 600,000 jin of rice. And by next autumn's harvest... if everything goes smoothly, the total harvest might exceed 800,000 jin!"
800,000 catties of grain! Not only is it enough to feed the current population, but it also provides a large strategic reserve! With enough grain, people's hearts will be at peace, and the tribe's development will have the most solid backing.
"How about the beans?" Jianshi asked. He remembered his son saying that beans were a good thing.
"The area planted with beans this year is small, and the autumn harvest is estimated at around 5,000 jin," Wang Yan replied. "Next year, we will significantly expand bean cultivation. Beans are not only edible and nutritious, but they also fertilize the fields. Moreover..." He lowered his voice, "We have already mastered the process of processing coarse salt from beans to refine fine salt. Currently, the fine salt produced is not much, only enough for the core of the tribe and the wounded. It is estimated that by next year or the year after, as bean production increases, everyone in our tribe will be able to eat clean fine salt."
The mention of salt immediately brought a serious expression to everyone's faces. Salt was their lifeline and a source of immense profit. The salt-making technology currently possessed by the Fire Tribe was kept strictly secret. To the outside world, they only sold pottery, and at most, some cured meat products made with coarse salt. Salt was one of the Fire Tribe's most prized possessions, and it would never be easily revealed until they possessed overwhelming power and were fearless against any external covetousness or challenge.
"The matter of salt must be kept strictly confidential," Jianshi said in a deep voice. "For now, pottery is enough for us to earn what we need."
When talking about pottery, trade is naturally an essential topic. The Fire Tribe now has a strong demand for the Bison Tribe's "cattle," frequently exchanging surplus pigs, pottery, or grain for them. This has caused Jijiao, the Bison Tribe's leader, considerable distress—the nearby Bison are a vital resource for their tribe, and they dare not overhunt them for fear of triggering a large-scale migration. Yet, they dare not outright refuse the now-powerful Fire Tribe, resulting in their own tribe having almost all their cattle traded away, leaving them truly frustrated.
In contrast, the livestock industry within the Fire Tribe was thriving. Domesticated pigs, newly introduced and breeding sheep, domesticated deer, and large-scale breeding of rabbits, chickens, and ducks provided a stable source of meat, eggs, and fur, greatly enriching the tribe's diet and reserves.
On the hillside, the newly planned vegetable gardens and transplanted wild fruit trees are thriving, providing the tribe with more fruits and vegetables. At the foot of the mountain, more semi-subterranean wooden houses and earthen and timber-framed houses are under construction to cope with the potential for a continued increase in population (especially in case smaller tribes come to seek refuge in the winter). The women's clothing-making teams are also working day and night to make linen clothes and tanned animal skin clothing to ensure that everyone has clothes to wear in the winter.
The kilns burned day and night, not only to meet the tribe's own needs and for large-scale transactions with the Pottery Salt Tribe, but also to accumulate inventory for future trade.
The entire Fire Tribe is like a well-designed, well-fueled, and tightly integrated machine. After defeating powerful enemies and gaining a huge demographic dividend, it did not fall into chaos due to its sudden expansion. Instead, it unleashed an even stronger and more orderly driving force for development.