A Visit to the Little Valley Camp Outpost

After leaving the territory of the Horse Tribe, the fleet continued downstream along the Fish River. The weather was fine, with gentle breezes and sunshine. With favorable winds and currents, the fleet sailed on the wide Fish River, and the scenery on both banks kept changing—sometimes dense forests, sometimes open grasslands, and sometimes steep cliffs.

These days, Feiyu and Bailin have been coming to Yan's boat almost every day. The two leaders of the Fish Tribe have become very familiar with Yan and Dali. They eat fish together, chat together, and enjoy the scenery at the bow of the Chuantou. Sometimes they get so engrossed in their conversation that they forget to eat.

"Young Chief Yan," Feiyu approached again that noon, lowering his voice to ask, "Is it true that the Fire Tribe can make salt?"

Yan nodded with a smile, "Of course it's true, otherwise where do you think we got all that salted meat we used to barter for supplies?"

Feiyu gasped. Although he had guessed it before, he was still shocked to hear Yan confirm it with his own ears. Salt making! This was a technology even rarer than pottery making. In the entire Fish River Basin, the Tiger Tribe at the very bottom of the Fish River was one of the tribes that could make salt. The others... seemed to be none.

The Fire Tribe can do that too!

Bailin leaned closer and whispered, "Then... pottery? Do you know how to make the finest pottery?"

Yan nodded. "Yes, and we can also make glazed pottery, although production is still small, but we can already do it."

Feiyu and Bailin exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. Glazed pottery! That's dozens of times more valuable than ordinary pottery! The Fire Tribe actually makes it!

"And that's not all," Yan continued, "We also weave hemp cloth and make hemp clothing. Now, almost everyone in the Fire Tribe wears hemp clothing. Animal hides are saved for winter warmth."

Feiyu swallowed hard. He looked at his own leather armor and then at Yan's fine linen clothes, and a feeling of envy welled up in his heart.

"And... what about shipbuilding?" Feiyu asked, "What's the largest ship you have right now, weighing how much?"

"Ten thousand jin," Yan said. "But we're already developing a twenty thousand jin vessel; if all goes well, it can be launched next year."

Feiyu gasped. Twenty thousand catties! That's only slightly smaller than the Valley Tribe's large ship with a carrying capacity of 50,000 catties!

"And there's grain..." Yan continued, "Our Fire Tribe's grain production this year will exceed ten million catties, and next year, we'll strive to exceed twenty million catties."

Ten million jin! Twenty million jin! Feiyu and Bailin were completely speechless. They stared blankly at Yan, as if he were a monster.

"Young Chief Yan," Feiyu finally managed to speak after a long pause, "How many people does your Fire Tribe have right now?"

Yan thought for a moment, "A little over fifty thousand, I guess. I'll have to wait until we get back to find out the exact number."

More than 50,000! Flying Feiyu gasped. The Fish Tribe only had a little over 4,000 people, while the Fire Tribe's population was more than ten times that!

"No wonder..." Bailin murmured, "No wonder you've developed so quickly, with so many people and so much technology. It's impossible for you not to be strong..."

Feiyu snapped out of his daze, tugged at Yan's sleeve, and said earnestly, "Young Chief Yan, I, Feiyu, am making this clear today—given the chance, I will definitely join the Fire Tribe! If the elders disagree, that's their problem! I don't want to miss this opportunity!"

Bailin nodded in agreement. "Yes! I'll join too! The sooner I join, the better, the sooner I can use my skills!"

Yan chuckled and patted them on the shoulder, "Good! I'll remember your good intentions. When the time is right, I'll definitely bring you over. You're all very capable, and you'll be well-treated when you join the Fire Tribe! But I'd prefer that your entire Fish Tribe join the Fire Tribe together."

Feiyu and Bailin nodded repeatedly. In the following days, the two leaders became even more enthusiastic, taking the initiative to tell Yan about the situation along the Fish River, telling him which places were deep, which places had reefs, which tribes had docks where one could moor, and which tribes were difficult to deal with...

Yan memorized all this information; these were valuable experiences that would be useful in the future. Ten days after leaving the Horse Tribe's territory, the fleet finally saw their destination. In the distance, on the west bank of the Fish River, they could vaguely see clusters of wooden houses and wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys—that was the headquarters of the Valley Tribe. On the east bank of the Fish River, there was also a sizable camp— the Little Valley Camp Outpost.

"We're here." Feiyu pointed ahead. "The Little Valley Camp is just ahead, and the Valley Tribe's headquarters is right across from it."

Yan nodded, signaling the fleet to slow down. He had already sent someone to report to the Little Valley Camp in advance. This was the rule of the Valley Tribe: all fleets coming to the Valley Tribe had to report to the Little Valley Camp Outpost before they could go to the Valley Tribe headquarters on the west bank of the Fish River. The fleet slowly approached the dock of the Little Valley Camp. There were already people waiting on the dock. A burly middle-aged man stood there, followed by several warriors of the Valley Tribe. He wore an exquisite linen robe, a bronze short sword hung at his waist, and a faint smile on his face.

"I didn't expect that Daiyan, the person in charge of Little Valley Camp, would happen to be at the dock," Feiyu whispered to Yan. "Daiyan just loves to show off and has a big ego."

Yan nodded, jumped off the boat, and strode forward to meet him.

"Chief Daiyan!" He greeted him with a broad smile, clasping his hands in a fist salute. "We meet again! You must be tired from your journey; I'm so grateful for your personal visit!"

Daiyan smiled and waved his hand, "Young Chief Yan, you're too kind. Our Valley Tribe has always welcomed your Fire Tribe's fleet."

He glanced at the fleet behind Yan, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"You've brought quite a few more boats this time," he said. "There must be forty boats weighing 10,000 jin each, right?"

Yan nodded. "Daiyan has a good eye! Exactly forty ships."

Daiyan smiled and didn't say anything more. He had someone bring out the registration wooden plaque and handed it to Yan.

"This is your pass. Take this, and I'll send a boat to accompany you to the Fire Tribe. There are people there to make arrangements."

Yan took the wooden plaque and then had his men bring out several baskets of gifts.

"Chief Daiyan, this is a small token of our Fire Tribe's appreciation. Please accept it."

Daiyan glanced at the contents of the basket—fine pottery, exquisite linen, and some rare dried fruits—and his smile deepened.

"Young Master Yan, you're too kind." He waved his hand, signaling for the gifts to be carried away. "Then I'll accept them."

Yan exchanged a few more pleasantries with him before leading the fleet back to the dock of the Valley Tribe on the opposite bank. Watching the fleet depart, Daiyan's smile slowly faded.

"Forty ships weighing ten thousand catties each, one hundred and ninety ships weighing five thousand catties each..." he murmured, "The Fire Tribe's shipbuilding speed is really not slow."

A subordinate leaned over and whispered, "Chief, is the Fire Tribe worried that we won't be able to help them transport grain next year because they've got so many ships?"

Daiyan smiled dismissively, "Maybe so. They're afraid that if we fight the Bear Tribe, we won't have time to help them transport those 20 million catties of grain, so they're working hard to build ships themselves."

He paused, a hint of disdain in his voice. "But what's the use of them building so many small boats? The real fighting force on the water comes from our large ships, weighing 50,000 jin each. With these large ships in hand, the Valley Tribe can completely block off this section of the Fish River. No matter how many ships the Fire Tribe, they can only operate within the areas we allow."

The subordinate nodded repeatedly, "The leader is right."

Watching the fleet depart, Daiyan added, "However, the Fire Tribe's strength on land is indeed formidable. My brother said last time that their population is approaching 40,000. If they really do travel by land to the lower reaches of the Fish River, we really won't be able to stop them."

The subordinate asked, "Will they travel by land?"

Daiyan shook his head. "No, how much can you carry by land? How long does it take to go back and forth? The forces in the lower reaches of the Fish River are so complex. If we go there rashly, we might be targeted by other tribes. Unless it's absolutely necessary, who would take the land route?"

He turned and walked back. "Alright, stop worrying about it. The Fire Tribe always brings a lot of gifts when they come, and this time they brought a bunch of good stuff. I need to think about what rare items I can exchange them for..."

He walked back to the camp with light steps, clearly pleased with the gifts. Meanwhile, Yan's fleet had already left the Little Valley Camp dock and continued sailing towards the Valley Tribe's main dock on the opposite bank of the river. Not far ahead was the Valley Tribe's main dock, where their target—two million catties of grain—was located.