Going to the Valley Tribe Headquarters Dock

The joint fleet of the Fire Tribe and the Fish Tribe, guided by small boats sent by Daiyan, slowly left the Fish River Little Valley Camp Outpost dock. From the east bank to the west bank of the Fish River, there were sentry posts of the Valley Tribe on both banks. On the Fish River, there were two large boats weighing 50,000 jin each and some medium-sized boats weighing 5,000 jin each, slowly patrolling the waterway. The Valley Tribe warriors on the boats held long spears and scanned the river surface with vigilant eyes.

Yan's gaze fell on those large ships. The giant ships weighing 50,000 jin were much larger than the Fire Tribe's 10,000-jin ships. The ships were tall, with thick planks, and the key parts of the bow were covered with bronze, making them look both majestic and sturdy.

"The blockade line..." Yan murmured.

He finally understood why the Valley Tribe had gone to such lengths to establish a stronghold at Little Valley Camp and why they had sent boats to patrol this section of the river—not to collect tolls, but to block the Fish River and its banks. With these large boats patrolling the river, even if the tribes in the middle and upper reaches of the Fish River secretly went downstream and crossed the blockade, they would not be able to escape the Valley Tribe's interception when they went upstream.

Meanwhile, the Little Valley Camp on the east bank of the Fish River and the Gu Valley Tribe on the west bank of the Fish River also set up special outposts at both ends of the narrowest part of the Fish River, with troops stationed there, effectively blocking this section of the river.

In addition, there are the boats patrolling the river...

Yan took a deep breath. The Valley Tribe's naval strength was far greater than he had imagined. Although the Fire Tribe currently had many boats—two hundred weighing two thousand catties, one hundred and eighty weighing five thousand catties, and forty weighing ten thousand catties—they were still too small in the face of truly giant ships. Each of those fifty thousand catty ships could be equivalent to five of the Fire Tribe's ten thousand catty ships. Moreover, the large ships had a huge advantage in battle—they were tall and had thick planks. If they collided with a small boat, it would either be destroyed or severely damaged.

"No wonder the Valley Tribe has been able to blockade the Fish River for so many years," Yan thought to himself. "With these large ships, the tribes in the upper and middle reaches of the Fish River would never be able to get through."

He then looked at the Valley Tribe on both sides of the river. The Gu tribe's Little Valley Camp had only been built a little over a decade ago, it was still quite large and could easily house 10,000 people. With the Valley Tribe attacking from both sides and blocking the river, Valley Tribe control over this section of the Fish River was now watertight.

"Even if we form a military alliance with the Valley Tribe in the future, they won't allow the Fire Tribe's fleet to pass freely through this blockade," Yan thought. "Unless..."

Unless the Fire Tribe can also build ships weighing 50,000 jin or even larger, at which point their naval strength surpasses that of the Fire Tribe Valley Tribe, they will be qualified to discuss "free trade" with them.

As for traveling by land...

Yan shook his head. Land travel was too slow. How much could a horse carry? Two hundred jin at most. A boat carrying ten thousand jin could hold ten thousand jin, equivalent to fifty horses. Besides, land travel was too risky. The tribes downstream of the Fish River were all quite powerful. The Bear Tribe alone was said to have nearly ten thousand people. If the Fire Tribe's trade caravan passed through their territory, what if they were robbed...?

"We still need to rely on boats," Yan thought. "We need to build a boat weighing 50,000 jin as soon as possible."

He took a deep breath and turned his gaze away from the large ships. Now was not the time to think about such things. He needed to get the grain back first, develop the tribe, and then think about other things. The fleet continued on its way, and soon the Valley Tribe's main dock came into view.

On the dock, a group of people were already waiting. Leading them was a strong middle-aged man. He was burly, with dark skin, sharp and piercing eyes, and wore exquisite leather armor with a bronze sword at his waist. He was clearly an important figure in the Valley Tribe.

"It's Chief Quyong," Feiyu whispered to Yan, "He's the defense chief of the Valley Tribe's dock, specifically in charge of dock affairs. He's the nephew of the Fifth Elder, Shuize, and he's very influential in the Valley Tribe."

Yan nodded. He was familiar with this leader, but he only just learned about his relationship with the fifth elder of the Valley Tribe.

The fleet slowly approached the shore, and Yan jumped off the ship, striding towards Quyong.

"Chief Quyong!" 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!"

Quyong greeted him with a smile, shaking Yan's hand. "Young Chief Yan, you're too kind! How could I not come to welcome friends from your Fire Tribe?"

He glanced at the fleet behind Yan, a look of shock flashing in his eyes. When the Fire Tribe came last year, they mainly brought ships weighing five thousand catties each. In less than a year, they already had forty ships weighing ten thousand catties each!

"The speed of shipbuilding is too fast!" Quyong felt a complex mix of emotions. As the leader in charge of dock affairs, he was most sensitive to the ships. The Fire Tribe's fleet had a total transport capacity of at least 1.7 million catties. And that was just the Fire Tribe's own ships. Adding the Fish Tribe's ships, the transport capacity was over 1.8 million catties.

That's almost two million catties of grain! The Valley Tribe itself couldn't transport that much in one trip.

"The Fire Tribe's naval strength is growing too fast," Quyong thought to himself. "At this rate, it won't be long before their naval strength catches up with the Valley Tribe."

He recalled that Elder Shuize had mentioned before that the Fire Tribe's population was approaching 40,000, almost 40,000! The Valley Tribe had been developing for decades, and even with the population absorbed this year, it only had a little over 20,000 people. The Fire Tribe only had 200 people a few years ago. How could it have grown to this size in just a few years?

"Our land strength has already surpassed that of the Valley Tribe," Quyong thought to himself. "If our water strength catches up... then, when the Fire Tribe wants to trade downstream of the Fish River on its own, will the Valley Tribe still be able to blockade them?"

A sense of vigilance welled up within him, but he quickly suppressed it. The higher-ups of the Valley Tribe were now only thinking about doing grain business with the Fire Tribe. The huge orders for over 20 million catties over the next two years were incredibly profitable, and the elders were all green with envy. Quyong had tentatively mentioned that the Fire Tribe was developing too rapidly and that they should be wary, but the elders immediately dismissed his suggestion.

"What are we wary of? They buy our grain, we earn their pottery—it's a fair trade!"

"No matter how strong the Fire Tribe is, can they possibly get past us? The downstream area is our Valley Tribe's territory!"

"Let's finish the grain transactions for the next two years first, and talk about the rest later!"

Quyong knew that nothing he said would make a difference.

He took a deep breath, put on a smile, and strode towards Yan.

"Young Master Yan!" he said warmly, "You must be tired from your journey! I've already had a clearing prepared for you to set up a temporary camp next to the dock. Come, let me show you!"

Yan smiled and nodded, "Thank you very much, Chief Quyong! I'm so sorry to trouble you every time I come."

He took a bundle from the person behind him and handed it to Quyong with both hands.

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

Quyong took the bundle, opened it, and saw that inside were several exquisite pottery pieces, finely crafted and brightly colored, clearly top-quality.

"This..." Quyong waved his hands repeatedly, "It's too valuable, I can't accept it!"

Yan insisted on handing it over. "Chief Quyong, please don't be so polite. We've dealt with each other so many times. If you don't accept this small token, I'll be too embarrassed to bother you again in the future."

Quyong declined a few times, but finally accepted it. The smile on his face was a bit more sincere than before.

"Young Master Yan, you're too kind." He handed the bundle to his subordinate behind him. "Come on, come on, I'll take you to see the camp!"

The two walked side by side toward the open space next to the dock.

Along the way, Quyong couldn't help but ask, "Chief Yan, the speed at which your Fire Tribe ships is truly astounding! In less than a year, you've already built forty ships weighing ten thousand jin each."

Yan smiled modestly, "There's nothing we can do about it. We have a grain trade agreement with your tribe for 20 million catties next year. If we don't build more ships, we won't be able to transport them all."

Quyong nodded, indicating his understanding.

But he wondered to himself: Did the Fire Tribe really build so many ships just to transport grain?

The two quickly arrived at the open space, a leveled piece of land next to the dock and close to the water source. Several thatched huts had already been set up on the open space, along with some Mucai and hay.

"This is it," Quyong said. "If you need anything, just send someone to find me anytime."

Yan looked around and nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent! Leader Quyong, thank you so much!"

Quyong waved his hand. "No need to thank me, it's nothing."

He chatted with Yan for a few more minutes, then said he had official business to attend to and took his leave. Yan stood in the open space, watching Quyong's departing figure, lost in thought. This Quyong seemed enthusiastic, but the occasional flash of wariness in his eyes did not escape his notice.

"Not everyone in the Valley Tribe trusts the Fire Tribe as much as Daiyue did," Yan thought to himself. "I'll have to be more careful when dealing with them in the future."

He turned around and began arranging for people to set up camp. Dali and Bailin were still at the dock in charge of the fleet and couldn't come over for the time being. The Feiyu leader of the Fish Tribe came over to help Yan with the command.

Daya was there too. This kid had gone to great lengths to get into the Valley Tribe this time. He had to ask his father, Jianya, and his uncle, Jianshi, and beg for a long time before he was finally allowed to come along for "training."

Although he is not yet fifteen years old, Daya has already developed his skills in managing and training people in the Youth Team over the past few years. Standing next to Yan, he directed people to move supplies and set up tents in a very professional manner. His serious demeanor already showed some resemblance to his father, Jianya.

"Daya," Yan patted him on the shoulder, "You keep an eye on things here, I have something to take care of."

Daya nodded. "Don't worry, Brother Yan, leave it to me!"

Just as Yan was about to leave, he saw a familiar figure running towards him from a distance. It was a young girl wearing a light blue linen dress, her hair simply tied up with a wooden hairpin, and a bright smile on her face. Qingsui, the only daughter of Daiyue, the chief of the Valley Tribe. Yan's eyes lit up.

"Qingsui!"

He strode up to meet her. Qingsui was a little out of breath, her cheeks slightly flushed. When she saw Yan, her smile became even brighter.

"Yan!" She ran up to Yan, stopped, and looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes. "You're finally here! I've been waiting for so many days!"

Yan looked at her, a warm feeling welling up in his heart. He hadn't seen her for several months, and she seemed to have grown a little taller. Her eyes were still so bright, and her smile was still so beautiful.

"I'm here," Yan said softly.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then naturally embraced, without any awkwardness or shyness. In this era, men and women are just this frank and natural; if you like someone, you like them; if you miss someone, you miss them.

Qingsui buried her head in Yan's shoulder and whispered, "I go to the dock every day when I have time to see if your ship has arrived yet."

Yan gently patted her back. "We were delayed for a few days on the road, otherwise we could have arrived sooner."

Qingsui looked up at him, her eyes full of smiles.

"It's alright, it's good that you're here."

The two let go of each other's hands and strolled slowly along the riverbank. The river was quiet, with only the sound of water and the occasional birdsong. The setting sun was turning the river surface into a golden-red hue.

"How have you been these past few months?" Yan asked.

Qingsui nodded. "It's good. My father is letting me learn to manage some things in the tribe. Although it's a bit tiring, it's very interesting."

She paused, then looked at Yan: "And you? How's your tribe?"

Yan smiled and said, "That's good. The population has increased quite a bit, and food is starting to get a little tight. This time, we're here to transport another batch of grain back."

Qingsui gave a soft "Mmm".

The two continued walking, their hands naturally clasped together. Qingsui's hands were a little cool, but very soft. Yan held her hand, feeling a warmth in his heart.

"Qingsui," Yan suddenly said, "Next year, when our tribe's ships are built a bit bigger, I'll take you to see our side."

Qingsui's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Of course it's true," Yan said earnestly. "We have a huge expanse of paddy fields, lots and lots of wooden houses, and Youth Team... When you come, I'll show you around."

Qingsui smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

"Okay, I'll definitely go then."

The two walked along the riverbank for a long time, talking about many things: the events of the past few months, the changes in their respective tribes, and what they wanted to do in the future, as the setting sun slowly sank into the river.