The Fish Tribe's Deliberations and Mobilization

The Fish Tribe leader, Canglan, was discussing this year's resource allocation and coarse salt trade with the tribe's high-ranking members when a messenger from the Pottery Salt Tribe arrived at the Fish Tribe with news of the Wolf Tribe's renewed rampage. This news instantly shattered the previously harmonious atmosphere in the council hall.

"The Wolf Tribe is causing trouble again? They even slaughtered the White Stone Tribe?" Julang was the first to jump up, his eyes wide, his face flushed red, and his furious roar almost lifted the roof off. "That bastard Xueya! Does he even respect our Fish Tribe? Chief, let me take men! This time, I'll knock his Langya off one by one!"

Julang's anger was not without reason. A few months ago, he led his men to support the Pottery Salt Tribe, but they were ambushed by Xueya and his men in Wolf Fang Valley. They suffered a minor loss, though not serious. For the proud Julang, it was a great humiliation. He had been holding his breath, wanting to get revenge. Now that the Wolf Tribe had jumped out again, it was exactly what he wanted.

Canglan's face was equally gloomy. He waved for the messenger to rest, his gaze sweeping over the assembled leaders before finally settling on Shentan, who was in charge of intelligence. His tone was clearly displeased. "How come the Pottery Salt Tribe knew the news before our Fish Tribe? When did our Fish Tribe become so blind?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across the Shentan Pool chieftain's face. He quickly explained, "Chieftain, Feiyu was in charge of gathering intelligence before. This time, he went with Jianya to transport grain to the Valley Tribe and left not long ago. I just took over, and we haven't fully deployed our forces yet. Besides... the Pottery Salt Tribe is terrified of the Wolf Tribe and is extremely vigilant. They've also bought over twenty ponies from the Horse Tribe, and their scouts are spread far and wide, so it's normal that they detected the anomaly faster than us. Our Fish Tribe's advantage is on the water, but our horses on land..." He glanced at the Julang, not finishing his sentence, but the meaning was clear— the Fish Tribe only had about ten ponies in total, and their mobility was indeed inferior to their opponents.

Canglan snorted coldly and did not pursue the matter further, but his displeasure was obvious. The rampant chaos of the Wolf Tribe was challenging the Fish Tribe's authority and influence in this area.

"The Wolf Tribe has really gone too far this time!" Canglan said in a deep voice. "We must teach them a lesson they won't forget, and let them know who's in charge in this area!"

He looked at the Shentan and ordered, "Shentan, gather all the ponies you have! Your mission this time is to keep a close watch on the Wolf Tribe! Find out everything about them, their movements, and everything in between! If you're slow to react again like this, I'll hold you responsible!"

"Yes, Chief!" Shentan solemnly accepted the order.

"Julang!" Canglan looked at the eager Julang again, "Don't rush out yet. Let the tribe's warriors prepare first. Once Shentan has a clear understanding of the Wolf Tribe's situation, you'll have your chance to vent your anger!"

Although Julang was anxious, he knew his leader was right, and nodded emphatically. "Don't worry, leader! I'll go and tell the brothers to get ready right away!"

Over the next few days, a barrage of bad news poured down on the Fish Tribe. Scouts sent by the Shentan ventured deep into the area and returned with even more alarming intelligence.

The Wolf Tribe's Xueya not only didn't stop, but intensified their actions. They combed through the area between the Wolf Tribe and the Pottery Salt Tribe like a comb, forcibly taking the able-bodied men of more than a dozen smaller tribes with bloody methods, increasing their vassal army by four or five hundred! Several smaller tribes that tried to resist or hesitated were directly slaughtered. Under the shadow of terror, the remaining smaller tribes that hadn't been taken over were completely terrified and began a large-scale exodus, mainly heading towards the relatively powerful Fish Tribe.

When Shentan informed Canglan and the high-ranking members of the Fish Tribe of this information, the atmosphere in the council hall became extremely tense.

"What is the Wolf Tribe trying to do? Are they trying to uproot our Fish Tribe?!" The leader of the Powang tribe erupted first, his beard trembling with rage. "Those small tribes are our best buyers of salt, pottery, fishing nets, and other supplies! With Xueya's wrath, some are dead, some have fled—who will be able to live and work in peace now? Who will we sell our goods to? The Fish Tribe's trade volume will drop by at least 30%!"

The Laoduo stroked his white beard, looking worried, and said, "Chief, we can't stand idly by this time. The Wolf Tribe has gathered a large number of people and has great ambitions. The tribes like Qinghe and Shuize, which they extorted before, will definitely be Wolf Tribe targets. If we let the Wolf Tribe continue to grow stronger, sooner or later they'll even dare to bite our Fish Tribe! I suggest that we take this opportunity to absorb some of the young men who have fled to strengthen our forces, just in case."

Langhua, the only female leader of the Fish Tribe, was a thoughtful woman. She raised a practical problem. "Laoduo is right, but our tribe's food reserves... are not plentiful. A few months ago, the Fire Tribe bought a large amount of grain from us; just after the autumn harvest, the Pottery Salt Tribe offered a high price and bought almost all of our remaining grain. Now, with such a sudden increase in population, the food supply will be very tight."

The Xieqian leader, however, was somewhat dismissive of the Wolf Tribe's "paper strength": "The Langhua Leader's concerns are valid. Besides, the vassal troops the Wolf Tribe has coerced are nothing more than a bunch of young men forced into battle. How much fighting power can they possibly have? Our Fish Tribe now has nearly six hundred rigorously trained and well-equipped warriors, as well as a fortified camp and the advantage of the water. Even if the Wolf Tribe had a slightly larger number of men, they might not be our match in a real fight! Even if we need to recruit, we must select the best and strongest, not just anyone."

Xieqian's words were immediately echoed by the other elders, most of whom came from established families within the Fish Tribe and controlled some of the tribe's resources and power. In previous expansions of the Fish Tribe, the recruitment of manpower from outside inevitably took away some of their original benefits. Now, hearing of another large-scale recruitment drive, especially given the tribe's food shortages and the uncertain threat from the Wolf Tribe, they were naturally unenthusiastic. More importantly, like Xieqian, they Wolf Tribe's hastily assembled vassal army in contempt.

"The Xieqian claw leader is right, the Wolf Tribe is nothing but a rabble!"

"One of our Fish Tribe warriors can take on three or four of them!"

"Let's see how things go first. There's no need to rush to take in too many people and increase the burden."

"Yes, it's not too late to talk about it when the Wolf Tribe actually attacks."

The council chamber was immediately filled with discussion, with voices of support and opposition mingling together.

Canglan frowned as he watched the arguing crowd. As the leader, he needed to weigh the pros and cons. The threat from the Wolf Tribe was real, but the opposition within the tribe couldn't be ignored. After a long discussion and deliberation, Canglan finally made a compromise: the Fish Tribe Fish Tribe would absorb about a thousand people from smaller tribes, keeping the total population below four thousand. This way, with training, they could add about two hundred warriors, bringing the Fish Tribe's standing army to around eight hundred. This size would strengthen their defenses without putting too much pressure on logistics.

Meanwhile, for the numerous small tribes that fled but were not directly absorbed by the Fish Tribe, the Fish Tribe also adopted a "divide" strategy. With the tacit approval or even guidance of the Fish Tribe, nearly half of these small tribes were dispersed and resettled among the smaller tribes that were dependent on the Fish Tribe, including the Qinghe, Shuize, Hundred Crafts, Beast Taming, and even Pottery Salt Tribe. These dozen or so small tribes, sandwiched between several medium-sized tribes and the Fish Tribe, expanded their manpower to protect themselves, quickly growing from small tribes of one or two hundred people to tribes of three or four hundred people. In this way, the pressure of refugee gathering was alleviated, and a buffer zone was formed around the Fish Tribe.

Of course, there are still about two or three thousand small tribes with nowhere to go, who can only linger temporarily in the gaps between several large tribes, waiting for the Wolf Tribe to leave before making other plans.

A few days later, the messenger from the Pottery Salt Tribe arrived at the Fish Tribe with an even more urgent message: Fifty cavalrymen from the Wolf Tribe had appeared on the outskirts of the Pottery Salt Tribe, and the main force would probably arrive soon. Chief Jia Li pleaded with the Fish Tribe to send reinforcements immediately!

However, at this time, Canglan had already obtained new information from the Shentan.

"Chief," Shentan whispered in Canglan's ear, "Our people have confirmed that the main force of the Wolf Tribe has been active near the Marsh Tribe and the Green Grain Tribe in recent days, and there are signs that they are moving towards those two tribes."

Canglan understood. He looked at the anxious messenger from the Pottery Salt Tribe and said, "Messenger brother, go back and tell Chief Jia Li that our Fish Tribe has learned of the Wolf Tribe's movements. According to our reconnaissance, the main force of the Wolf Tribe seems to have another target, and it may not necessarily be the Pottery Salt Tribe. Tell him to strengthen the defenses first and not to panic too much. If the main force of the Wolf Tribe does appear in the Pottery Salt Tribe and launch an attack, our Fish Tribe will not stand idly by and will definitely send troops to support us!"

After seeing off the skeptical messenger from the Pottery Salt Tribe, Canglan immediately summoned the core leaders for a final discussion.

To make up for the previous "loss" due to slow intelligence gathering, Shentan spoke first this time, offering a logical analysis. "According to multiple investigations, the main force of the Wolf Tribe's Xueya is currently concentrated in the area near the Shuize and Qinghe. Furthermore, the Wolf Tribe's Xueya failed to gain any advantage in their previous two attacks on the Pottery Salt Tribe, but easily extorted a large amount of supplies from the Shuize and Qinghe. Given Xueya's bullying nature, they will likely target these two tribes first this time. This way, they can replenish their supplies and use a relatively easy victory to train and deter their newly acquired vassal armies."

The leader of the Powang nodded in agreement. "The Shentan Pool leader's analysis makes a lot of sense. Xueya is a greedy yet cautious jackal, only biting those who are easy to prey on. Shuize and Qinghe are probably in danger this time."

The Xieqian claw leader said with dissatisfaction, "Hmph, the Pottery and Salt, Beast Taming, and Hundred Crafts tribes have become too powerful lately, paying less and less tribute to us, and secretly expanding their strength. I'm afraid they've long harbored disloyal intentions. I think even if the Wolf Tribe really goes to attack them, we don't need to be too anxious."

The leader of the Langhua tribe added, "Especially the Pottery Salt Tribe, they're getting closer and closer to the Fire Tribe. The pottery they've brought from the Fire Tribe is now taking up a lot of our profits. We really can't spoil them too much."

Listening to the discussions of his subordinates, Canglan quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind. The "disrespect" of the Pottery and Salt and other tribes did indeed displease him. However, the Shuize and Green Grain Tribe had always been respectful to the Fish Tribe and had never stopped paying tribute. More importantly, if the Wolf Tribe was allowed to easily annex or severely damage the Shuize and Qinghe, their power would directly expand to the doorstep of the Fish Tribe, and the threat would increase sharply.

"Alright!" Canglan raised his hand to stop the discussion and made a decision. "The Fire Tribe is currently powerful, and the Pottery and Salt and a few other tribes have some ambitions, which we can't control too much for now. However, the Shuize and Qinghe tribes are the shield for our Fish Tribe, and we can't ignore them!"

His gaze, sharp as lightning, swept over the crowd. "Julang! Powang!"

"Here!" The two leaders immediately straightened up.

"You two will lead a team of four hundred elite warriors from our Fish Tribe headquarters! Also, Shentan, you immediately send someone with my orders to the nearby small tribe that usually submits to us, and urgently conscript three hundred able-bodied men! Gather a force of seven hundred, and under the unified command of Julang, set off immediately to reinforce the Marsh Tribe!"

"Yes!" Julang and Powang answered in unison, their faces showing excitement, especially Julang, whose eyes burned with the flames of revenge.

"Laoduo! Xieqian!" Canglan continued to deploy.

"Exist!"

"You two are responsible for staying behind to guard the tribe and strengthen its defenses. There must be no loss!"

"Yes."

With the order given, a counterattack against the Wolf Tribe is about to begin.