Planning and Expansion

In the Fire Tribe's council hall, Jianshi sat in the main seat with a rare smile on his face. To his left sat Qingye, and to his right were, in order, Jianya, Dabang, Dali, Dazhuang, and Flame. Below them were leaders such as Binmao, Jijiao, Wenshi, and Lu Ming. The room was packed with people.

Jianshi cleared his throat, and the council hall immediately fell silent.

"The day before yesterday," he began, his voice low but clear to everyone, "Jianya led a fleet that brought back another 1.5 million catties of grain from the Valley Tribe."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "Including the batch that Yan Yun brought back before, of the eight million catties of grain we agreed upon with the Valley Tribe this year, three million catties have already been transported back from the Valley Tribe."

As soon as he finished speaking, an uncontrollable cheer erupted in the council chamber.

He slapped his thigh Dali, almost breaking the low table next to him. "Great! Excellent!"

Dabang grinned from ear to ear, Jianya repeatedly. Fang, on the other hand, remained calm, merely smiling slightly. He had only been back a short while, his face still bearing the marks of travel, but his eyes gleamed with smugness.

Jianshi raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and continued, "This isn't over yet. According to the agreement with the Valley Tribe, another five million catties of grain need to be transported back this year. Jianya is back this time to replenish supplies and replace manpower. He will go again in a couple of days."

He looked at Jianya: "Jianya, you tell us about the situation over there."

Jianya stood up, nodded to Jianshi, and then clasped his hands in a fist salute to everyone present.

"Brothers," his voice boomed, "Everything is going smoothly at the Valley Tribe. Chief Daiyue has been very courteous to us, and Miss Qingsui has asked me to give her regards to Yan."

Yan was slightly taken aback, then smiled and shook his head.

Jianya continued, "Our fleet performed very well this time, especially that huge ship weighing ten thousand catties. It sailed steadily the whole way, which greatly surprised the people of the Valley Tribe. Chief Fengren even went aboard for a tour and praised our shipbuilding skills repeatedly."

Upon hearing this, Dabang straightened his back even more.

"The grain has been stored away," Jianya said finally. "In a couple of days, I'll take the fleet back again. We'll try to bring back the remaining five million catties before winter."

Jianshi nodded, gesturing for him to sit down.

"There's one more thing," Jianshi's voice rose slightly, "Yesterday, we received over four thousand new tribespeople."

Another commotion erupted in the council chamber.

Yan continued, "The Wolf Tribe is again raiding and plundering smaller tribes in the north, terrifying the dozen or so vassal tribes of the Fish Tribe. Those tribes went to seek refuge with the Fish Tribe, but the Fish Tribe couldn't accept them, so they headed south and found us."

Binmao clicked twice. "The Fish Tribe's luck... they can't even get their hands on the fat meat that's already in their mouths."

"It's not that they can't eat," Jianya shook his head, "It's that they can't eat. Canglan told me that they suffered huge losses in the war last year and haven't recovered yet. The little profit they made from helping us transport grain was all used to cover their losses. How could they have the spare capacity to recruit people?"

Jijiao nodded. "We're different. We have the grain from the Valley Tribe to feed us; we can support another ten thousand people."

"Yes," Jianshi continued, "Our Fire Tribe now has a total population of over 41,000, with more than 8,000 warriors."

More than eight thousand warriors!

This number made everyone present gasp. At this time last year, the Fire Tribe's strength had increased again.

"And another thing," Dabang couldn't help but say, his face full of pride, "Our shipbuilding workshop has been working day and night lately, and has built another forty 5,000-jin ships and twenty 10,000-jin ships!"

"So many?" Dali jumped up. "How many ships do we have now?"

Dabang counted on his fingers. "There are over two hundred small boats weighing five hundred catties each, two hundred large boats weighing two thousand catties each, one hundred and forty large boats weighing five thousand catties each, and twenty-one large boats weighing ten thousand catties each."

He paused, then added, "These ships combined can transport over a million catties of grain at a time."

A deafening cheer erupted in the council chamber.

Dali over and grabbed Dabang, almost choking him until he couldn't breathe. "Good job! Dabang, you're something else!" He gave him a thumbs up.

Dabang's face turned red from being squeezed so tightly. He slapped Big Stick's arm hard, yelling, "Let go... let go!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

After the laughter subsided slightly, Jianshi spoke again.

"I'm happy as I am," he said Chenwen, "But there are some things we need to think through beforehand."

The council chamber fell silent.

"You've all heard about the Wolf Tribe," Jianshi said, looking at everyone.

Everyone nodded.

"Xueya led his men to seize more than a dozen tribes in the north, slaughtering several disobedient ones. The Horse Tribe chased after them but fell into an ambush and suffered heavy losses."

He paused, then continued, "Finally, Xueya swore an oath never to venture north into the Horse Tribe's territory again, and the Horse Tribe withdrew."

Yan sneered, "Swear an oath? Can you believe an oath sworn by someone like Xueya?"

"We can't trust it," Jianshi shook his head. "That's why we need to prepare in advance."

He stood up and walked to the huge animal skin map hanging on the wall. Everyone else stood up and gathered around. Jianshi's finger landed on a spot on the map—that was High Pointed Mountain.

"The Wolf Tribe's stronghold is here," he said. "To the north lies the Horse Tribe's territory, to the west the Fish Tribe and Pottery Salt Tribe, and to the south is our territory."

He pointed south. "We're not too far from them. It'll take about ten days on foot, and about five days by horse."

He turned around and looked at everyone. "Xueya has plundered enough in the north this time, so he won't come out for the time being. But once he has raised his young men to adulthood and trained his cavalry, he will definitely come out to raid again."

"Where to?" Dali asked.

Jianshi pointed to three places on the map. "North, he swore he wouldn't go there anytime soon; west, the Fish Tribe and the Pottery Salt Tribe fought him last year, they have a grudge; south, we fought him too, he hates us even more."

His gaze swept over the crowd. "Who do you think he'll attack first?"

Everyone remained silent for a moment.

Yan spoke up, "The west."

"Why?"

"Pick the softest persimmons," Yan said. "The Fish Tribe suffered heavy losses last year and hasn't recovered yet. The Pottery Salt Tribe and other tribes aren't very strong, so we can still get some benefits from them. If I were Xueya, I would also attack the west first."

Jianshi Stone nodded. "That's what I think too."

He pointed to another location on the map. "So, I plan to build a new outpost here—at Stone Creek Mouth."

Stone Creek Mouth is a key location between Small Gathering Valley Outpost and Pottery Salt Tribe. A few days further northeast lies the activity range of the Wolf Tribe.

"Relocate two thousand people there," Jianshi said. "While cultivating the land, keep an eye on the Wolf Tribe's movements. If they make any moves, immediately light a fire to signal them."

Binmao ' eyes lit up. "That's great! With eyes right under their noses, they won't be able to sneak around and cause trouble!"

Jianshi nodded. "That's exactly what I mean."

He paused, then added, "Furthermore, our main valley is already too crowded. I plan to relocate another two thousand people to White Pig to alleviate the pressure here."

The former site of the White Pig Tribe has now developed into a sizable stronghold, with open terrain, abundant water resources, and fertile land, making it suitable for living and farming.

"I'll take care of this," Binmao volunteered.

Jianshi Stone nodded, then looked at Dabang.

"Dabang, over at the workshop, production needs to be increased appropriately, especially bronze tools and farm implements—the more the better. We're about to start large-scale land reclamation, and we'll need a lot of things."

Dabang patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I'll arrange it when I get back. Three shifts, the workshop will stay open even when people are resting."

Jianshi nodded in satisfaction and then looked at Jianya.

"Jianya, rest for two more days. After that, take all our 5,000-jin and 10,000-jin boats and go to the Valley Tribe to transport grain. We'll try to bring back the remaining 5 million jin before winter."

Jianya stood up. "Understood!"

Just then, Yan spoke.

"Father, I have something to report."

Jianshi looked at him. "Speak."

"Upstream of the Fish River," Yan said, "Many small tribes have contacted our people. They're struggling financially and want to join the Fire Tribe."

Jianshi's eyes lit up. "How many people?"

"In total, there are probably five or six thousand people."

Jianshi thought for a moment, then looked at Dali: "Dali, I'll leave this to you and Yan. Take the remaining ships of the Fire Tribe and go bring them back."

Dali grinned Dali: "Alright!"

Yan nodded.

Jianshi then looked at everyone and raised his voice slightly. "There's one more thing I want to discuss with you all."

The crowd fell silent.

"Our Fire Tribe is growing rapidly, and our main valley is already overflowing. I plan to reclaim wasteland on a large scale and establish new settlements along the lower reaches of the Fire Creek River."

He walked to the map and pointed his finger down the Fire Creek River.

"Look, there are vast tracts of fertile land on both sides of the Fire Creek River. If they can be cultivated, it would be enough to feed 100,000 people."

He pointed to two locations. "I plan to do two things first. First, relocate another 5,000 people to Fire Creek Mouth to expand the scale of the stronghold there. Second, build another stronghold between Fire Creek Mouth and the main valley, and relocate another 5,000 people there."

He drew a line on the map with his finger. "Then, using these three points as centers, we'll gradually cultivate the land along both banks of the Fire Creek River. In just a few years, the entire Fire Creek River will be our granary."

The council chamber was completely silent; everyone was stunned by the plan.

To cultivate land along the entire Fire Creek River... how vast would that be? How many people could it support?

100,000? 200,000?

Jianshi smiled slightly as he looked at everyone's expressions.

"This isn't urgent, we can take our time, but we need to decide on the direction first."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "What do you all think?"

After a few moments of silence, Jianya was the first to speak, "Big brother, this plan... is too ambitious, but I think it can succeed!"

Dali realized what was happening and slapped his thigh. "Let's do it! This is how our Fire Tribe should do it!"

Binmao nodded repeatedly. "The soil along the Fire Creek River is incredibly fertile! Everything grows there!"

Jijiao chimed in, "That's right, once we open it up, we'll have more food than we can eat!"

The council hall was bustling with excitement as everyone discussed the plan and envisioned the future of the Fire Tribe. Yan stood outside the crowd, watching this scene, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart. He remembered a few years ago Fire Tribe had only two hundred people and they worried about having enough to eat every day.

Now, there are over 40,000 people, more than 8,000 soldiers, a large number of ships, and the entire Fire Creek River waiting for them to cultivate. The changes are happening so fast that sometimes it feels unreal to him, but he knows that it is all real.

The Fire Tribe is rising at an astonishing pace. The discussions in the council hall continue, with Jianshi's voice ringing out from time to time as he arranges various affairs. Dabang reports on the workshop's production capacity, Jianya estimates the supplies to be carried on the next grain transport, and Binmao and Jijiao discuss the resettlement plan for the White Pig Outpost.

Yan stood to the side, listening quietly. He remembered his father's words—"Keep your eyes right under the noses of the Wolf Tribe." Yes, keep an eye on them. Not only keep an eye on them, but also unite all the forces you can: the Fish Tribe, the Pottery Salt Tribe, the Horse Tribe...

Only by uniting can we completely eliminate the threat of the Wolf Tribe. By the time the meeting ended, it was already dark, and everyone gradually dispersed to make arrangements for their own tasks.