No Room for Complacency

In the Fire Tribe's council hall, the firewood in the hearth burned brightly, and the firelight illuminated everyone's faces, revealing expressions of solemnity, contemplation, or determination. The leaders of the four tribes had already left to assist the Fire Tribe in settling their people. Now, those sitting in the room were the core members of the Fire Tribe — Jianshi, Qingye, Dali, Dali, Dabang, Dabang, Jijiao Binmao, and others. Jianshi sat in the main seat, his gaze slowly sweeping over each person.

"Those words were addressed to the leaders of the four tribes that recently joined the Fire Tribe." His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried weight. "Now, let's, the elders of our own tribes, speak our own words."

He paused, then continued, "This great victory over the Wolf Tribe and the successful annihilation of their stronghold has indeed relieved us of a major worry. Although the Wolf Tribe was not strong, they had been entrenched in High Pointed Mountain, harassing us from time to time, like a thorn in our side. Now that this thorn has been removed, the threat from the north has been basically eliminated."

He looked at Yan: "Yan, you guys said Xueya ran north?"

Yan nodded. "Yes, they fled north with about a hundred men."

Jianshi was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Let them run away. A hundred or so people can't cause much trouble. But the other thing you mentioned is what we should really worry about."

Yan looked at him without speaking. He knew what his father was referring to: bronze weapons. In order to reduce casualties and increase the intensity of the attack during the extermination of the Wolf Tribe, the warriors of the Fire Tribe used a large number of bronze weapons. Those sharp swords and spears, and those powerful bows and arrows, all played a huge role in the battle.

But this also completely exposed the Fire Tribe's secret of making bronze. Xueya ran north, and he would take this news to the north, where there were Horse Tribe and even more distant Plain Tribe.

But what truly worries the rest of the Yan and Fire Tribe is not the north, but the Tiger Tribe at the very bottom of the Fish River.

" With Xueya gone," Yan said slowly, "Our secret of making bronze artifacts won't be kept for long. The Tiger Tribe downstream of the Fish River Fish River might soon find out that there's a tribe upstream that can make bronze artifacts."

The council chamber fell silent.

Dali frowned. "Tiger Tribe? They're far away from us, what's there to be afraid of?"

Jianya shook his head and took over the conversation.

"Dali, the Tiger Tribe is far from us, but they are powerful, with a population of over 100,000 and countless warships. If they know we can make bronze, they will definitely have other ideas."

Dabang clenched his fist. "They wouldn't dare! We have over 60,000 people now, are we afraid of the Tiger Tribe?"

Jianshi raised his hand, signaling him to be quiet.

"Dabang, you're right. We're not afraid of them now, but we can't let our guard down." He looked at Yan, "Yan, continue."

Yan nodded.

"The Tiger Tribe is indeed powerful, but it is not invincible. They are constantly fighting internally and also have conflicts with other large tribes. In the short term, they will not be able to spare any resources to deal with us."

He paused, his tone becoming firm. "But we must use this time to rapidly develop the Fire Tribe Fire Tribe and strengthen its power. By the time the Tiger Tribe and the others are free to act, our Fire Tribe will be strong enough."

Dali slapped his thigh. "That's right! If we become strong, we won't be afraid of any Tiger Tribe!"

Jianshi nodded and looked at the crowd.

"Yan is right. Although we wiped out the Wolf Tribe this time, about 10,000 more people joined us, bringing the Fire Tribe's population to over 64,000. Adding the more than 8,000 captured laborers, we actually control over 70,000 people."

He looked around at everyone, his tone becoming serious.

"However, seventy thousand is still far from enough to face the Tiger Tribe's hundreds of thousands. We need more people, more food, more large ships, and more bronze weapons."

He stood up and walked to the center of the council chamber.

"We cannot become complacent because of a small victory. If our Fire Tribe lacks a sense of crisis, we will have no means of defense when we truly face a crisis."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"The leader is right!"

We cannot let our guard down!

"The Fire Tribe must continue to develop!"

Jianshi nodded in satisfaction at everyone's attitude, walked back to his seat, and looked at Dabang.

"Dabang, with the Wolf Tribe wiped out and the threat from the north eliminated, I'm transferring you back to the Fire Tribe headquarters to continue overseeing the various workshops. Tell everyone about the current situation in each of our workshops."

Dabang stood up, cleared his throat, and began his report.

"Let's start with the pottery workshop," he said in a loud voice. "Pottery production has increased significantly. At this rate, it will be more than enough to meet the Valley Tribe's demand for 20 million catties of grain next year, and we'll even have a large surplus."

Jianshi Stone nodded, signaling him to continue.

"The shipbuilding workshop," Dabang said with a smile, "Has already exceeded its shipbuilding target for this year. The workshop is currently developing a large ship with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin (approximately 10,000 kg). Based on the progress, it's highly likely it will be completed by next spring."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, our manufacturing capacity will be greatly improved next year. I estimate that, if everything goes smoothly, we can build 150 ships with a deadweight of 10,000 jin and 50 ships with a deadweight of 20,000 jin next year."

Everyone's eyes lit up: 150 ships with a capacity of 10,000 jin each! 50 ships with a capacity of 20,000 jin each! What does that mean? The Fire Tribe already has 50 ships with a capacity of 10,000 jin each. If they add that many more next year, the Fire Tribe's naval strength will be greatly enhanced!

Dabang continued, "For the rest of the year, the workshop plans to manufacture more wooden tools and farm implements to meet the needs of our tribe's land reclamation and manufacturing."

He looked at Jianshi: "The bronze workshop is also producing well. Now that the war is over, the workshop is Dali to manufacture bronze farm tools and implements to meet the needs of our tribe for land reclamation and manufacturing."

"The textile workshops," he continued, "Have had a good cotton and wool harvest this year, with a significant increase in production. Besides meeting the tribe's needs, there's a large surplus."

"The salt-making workshops," he concluded, "Have seen a good soybean harvest this year, leading to a significant increase in fine salt production. Even if we could meet the annual needs of 100,000 people, there would still be a surplus."

After Dabang finished speaking, he looked at Jianshi. Everyone smiled as they listened to the reports. Dabang's last sentence reassured them all. Even if the fine salt was enough to meet the needs of 100,000 people, there would still be some left over. This meant that the Fire Tribe's food and material reserves were sufficient to support the Fire Tribe's further expansion. Jianshi nodded in satisfaction.

"Good job, Dabang, the workshop did a great job."

He stood up and walked over to the Dabang.

"For the Fire Tribe to rapidly increase its strength, it needs to continue to absorb a large number of people. With a large number of people, there will be a need for sufficient food and supplies. As we cultivate a large amount of land ourselves, we will need even more people, more farming tools, and more equipment."

He looked at the Dabang and said seriously, "The output of the bronze workshop must be maintained, and if necessary, production should be increased to ensure the supply of materials to the Fire Tribe. Our large-scale grain trade with the Valley Tribe must continue, and the production of pottery must be guaranteed."

He patted Dabang on the shoulder. "The other workshops also need to adjust their production according to the needs of the tribe. You need to coordinate these things well."

Dabang puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, Chief! I'll make sure everything is arranged perfectly!"

Jianshi nodded, gesturing for him to sit down. He then returned to the main seat and looked at everyone.

"There's another piece of news," he said, "Some tribes on the west bank of the upper reaches of the Fish River have recently sent people to contact us, wanting to join our Fire Tribe."

Yan raised his head. "The tribes on the west bank of the upper reaches of the Fish River?"

Jianshi nodded. "Yes, their harvest wasn't good this year, and they're afraid they won't survive the winter. They heard that the people from the west bank of the upper reaches of the Fish River whom we took in earlier are doing well in the Fire Tribe, and they want to come and join us!"

Jianshi paused for a moment, then continued, "Winter is just around the corner, and they are indeed facing difficulties. What I mean is, we should harvest what we can."

Yan asked, "Approximately how many people are there over there?"

Jianshi thought for a moment, "According to the scouts, there are about five or six thousand people on the west bank of the Fish River who are definitely going to join us."

Five or six thousand men, plus the previous ten thousand, plus the eight thousand prisoners, plus the original sixty-four thousand...

The population of the Fire Tribe is approaching 80,000. Yan took a deep breath and looked at the Jianshi.

"Father, do we have enough food?"

Jianshi smiled.

"This year's harvest is good, and we've obtained a lot of grain from the Valley Tribe. We could easily absorb ten thousand people!"

Yan nodded, feeling much more at ease.

Jianshi looked at Yan and Dali and said, "Yan, Dali, after the leaders and key members of the Fish Tribe arrive, take them with you. Some of the people from the Fish Tribe are familiar with the people upstream of the Fish River. Also, have those who joined us earlier on the west bank of the Fish River go back and help persuade them."

Yan nodded. "Okay."

Dali nodded. "No problem."

Jianshi then looked at the crowd.

"I've already relocated some people from headquarters to other outposts. Now there's plenty of space at headquarters, enough to absorb another five or six thousand people."

He looked around at everyone, his tone becoming serious.

"Alright, that concludes today's meeting. Everyone, please fulfill your duties and don't slack off. The development of the Fire Tribe depends on each and every one of you."

The crowd responded in unison, "Yes!"

They all got up and left one after another.