The Fire Tribe's Grand Plan

On the day Yan and Dali returned, in the Fire Tribe's council hall, the firewood in the hearth burned brightly, the charcoal crackled, and sparks flew, tracing brief arcs in the dim room. The firelight illuminated the faces of the dozen or so people sitting around, revealing expressions of excitement mixed with contemplation.

Jianshi sat in the main seat, with Qingye on his left and Yan on his right. Below them sat Jianya, Dali, Dabang, Jijiao, Jia Li, Cangbo Wu Xiong, Wu Xiong, Muye, as well as leaders such as Binmao, Wenshi, and Lu Ming.

Half a month ago, Jianya transported the last 1.5 million catties of grain ordered by the Fire Tribe this year from the Valley Tribe! Today, Yan and Dali brought back the last batch of new tribesmen from the west bank of the upper reaches of the Fish River. Jianshi summoned all the high-ranking personnel at the Fire Tribe headquarters to discuss the future of the Fire Tribe with everyone.

"Yan, Dali," Jianshi began, his voice Chenwen and powerful, "You spent about a month traveling to the west bank of the upper reaches of the Fish River. Tell me the details."

Yan stood up and walked to the center of the room.

"Father, esteemed leaders," his voice was clear and articulate, "This trip to the west bank of the upper reaches of the Fish River has gone even more smoothly than anticipated."

He paused for a moment, then began to give a detailed report.

"The five tributaries— the Peach River, the Grass River, the Ash River, the Red Leaf River, and the Little Water River —each have a population of approximately 13,000."

A low gasp rippled through the room: thirteen thousand people!

"The fact that this went so smoothly," Yan continued, "Is largely thanks to the testimonies of the tribesmen who joined us earlier on the west bank of the upper reaches of the Fish River, and the help of our two leaders, Feiyu and Bailin. Feiyu and Bailin know the leaders of those tribes, and they helped with communication and coordination, which built up mutual trust and saved us a lot of trouble this time."

He looked at Jianshi: "Father, I've done the statistics. Among these five tributaries, the people of the Little Water River and Red Leaf River are the most in need. We've basically brought over all the people from these two tributaries this time. Adding the people from the other three tributaries who are in need, there are about six thousand in total."

"The remaining seven thousand or so people are scattered along the Ash River, Grass River, and Peach River basins. Although they also wanted to join, the situation wasn't that urgent. I promised them I would go and fetch them next spring. Before leaving, I also left some food and supplies behind."

After Yan finished speaking, he returned to his seat. The council chamber was quiet for a moment, then erupted into a heated discussion.

"Six thousand people have been brought back this time!"

"Thirteen thousand people on the west bank of the upper reaches of the Fish River are all going to join us?"

"The Fire Tribe's population is about to exceed 70,000!"

Jianshi raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

He looked at Yan and asked, "Including the six thousand people from the west bank of the upper reaches of the Fish River, how many people do we have now?"

Yan thought for a moment and said, "Father, we previously had about 54,000 people, plus nearly 6,000 people from the four tribes of Pottery and Salt, Beast Taming, Shuize, and Hundred Crafts, plus more than 4,000 people from the Fish Tribe, plus the 6,000 people from the west bank this time..."

He paused for a moment, silently calculating in his mind.

"A total of... approximately 70,700 people."

Seventy thousand seven hundred!

This number is like a Jushi thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples everywhere.

"Seventy thousand!" Dali slapped his thigh, his face flushed with excitement. "How many people did we have at this time last year?"

Dabang nodded repeatedly. "It's only been a year, and it's increased so much!"

Jianya couldn't help but exclaim, "The Fire Tribe has truly risen!"

Jianshi shook his head.

"Not only that," he said, "Don't forget those eight thousand-plus laborers."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

Yes, and there were also the more than eight thousand Wolf Tribe prisoners.

"Including them," Jianshi said, "The actual population we have to support exceeds seventy-eight thousand."

He paused, then continued, "Next spring, we'll have to go and fetch those seven thousand people from the west bank, making a total of eighty-five thousand."

Eighty-five thousand! This number made everyone present gasp.

Jianshi looked at the crowd and slowly said, "Eighty-five thousand people, only fifteen thousand short of one hundred thousand. A few years ago, this would have been unthinkable."

He looked at Yan, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

"Yan, Dali, you did a great job this time. You not only picked up the person, but you also thought of everything very carefully."

Yan and Dali nodded without saying a word.

Jianshi then asked, "Have all the supplies been brought back for those who were brought over?"

Yan shook his head. "No, they have too much miscellaneous stuff to transport all at once. We'll have to send another ship on the way. On the way, we can also bring some food and supplies, and send some to those people on the west bank who haven't come yet, so they can have an easier winter."

Jianshi nodded. "Of course. Those who didn't come are already our people; we can't mistreat them."

He looked at Dali: "Dali, you're in charge of this. Take the fleet there in a couple of days, bring back the remaining supplies, and send some grain and salt to the people on the west bank while you're there."

Nodding Dali: "Okay!"

Jianshi looked at Jianya again.

"Jianya, how did your trip to the Valley Tribe go? Tell everyone about it."

Jianya stood up, a smile on his face.

"Brother, everything went smoothly on this trip to the Valley Tribe."

He explained in detail, "I brought a hundred boats carrying 5,000 catties each and fifty boats carrying 10,000 catties each, and transported the last 1.5 million catties of grain back this year. When the Valley Tribe saw that we had prepaid for the equivalent of 5 million catties of grain in pottery, they were incredibly enthusiastic. Chief Daiyue and the seven elders all patted their chests and guaranteed that there would be absolutely no problem with 20 million catties of grain next year!"

He paused, then continued, "When I was in the Valley Tribe, I specifically went to see their fields. The Valley Tribe headquarters and the Little Valley Camp on the opposite bank have indeed increased the area of paddy field cultivation. As long as nothing unexpected happens, supplying us with 20 million catties of grain next year should not be a problem."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Twenty million catties of grain—enough to feed so many people! Jianshi smiled, but quickly became serious again.

"It's good that the Valley Tribe can supply a large amount of food, but we can't rely entirely on them for transportation."

He looked at everyone and said seriously, "If the Valley Tribe and the Bear Tribe go to war, they will have to use their own fleet, and we will have to rely entirely on ourselves for food transportation. Therefore, we must improve our transportation capacity."

He looked at the Dabang.

"Dabang, we need to ramp up our shipbuilding plans next year."

Dabang stood up. "Chief, you speak."

Jianshi said, "Next year, we plan to build another 150 ships weighing 10,000 jin each, and 50 large ships weighing 20,000 jin each. If we can build them, we should try to build at least 200. Is this plan feasible?"

Dabang thought for a moment and said, "Chief, as long as we have enough manpower, this goal shouldn't be a problem."

Jianshi laughed, "Don't worry about manpower, I'll definitely provide you with enough."

He paused, then added, "We also need to increase the production of bronze weapons, farm tools, and other implements. With more people, we'll need more supplies."

Dabang nodded. "Understood!"

After Jianshi finished speaking, he looked at Yan.

"Yan, you once said that the Fire Tribe should cultivate more land and take control of its food supply. That's a good idea. Could you explain it to everyone in more detail?"

Yan stood up and walked to the huge animal hide map hanging on the wall. It was a map of the Fire Tribe's territory, covered with dense markings in charcoal—rivers, mountains, strongholds, fields...

Yan pointed to the Fire Creek River on the map.

"Father, fellow chieftains, look, the Fire Tribe's main valley has indeed been almost fully developed; 20,000 mu of high-quality paddy fields is our limit."

He paused, then moved his finger downstream along the Fire Creek River.

"But looking outwards, the Fire Creek River Middle Outpost, the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost, the Little Gathering River Mouth, the Stone Creek River Mouth, the Pottery Salt River Mouth, the Little Fish River Mouth of the Fish Tribe... these are all good places."

He pointed to the marked points and explained them one by one.

"The Fire Creek River Middle Outpost has convenient transportation, abundant water resources, and flat land, making it suitable for cultivating large areas of paddy fields."

"The location at the Fire Creek River Mouth is even better, at the confluence of the Fish River and the Fire Creek River, with convenient waterways in all directions. A large city of 30,000 to 50,000 people can be built there in the future."

"Little Gathering River Mouth is close to headquarters, making development easier."

"There are over eight thousand laborers at the Stone Creek River Mouth, which will come in handy."

"The Pottery Salt River Mouth has fertile land, suitable for growing grain."

"Little Fish River Mouth, the territory of the Fish Tribe, has a good foundation and can be used directly."

He turned around and looked at the crowd.

"These places have huge potential if they are properly developed. As the population grows, they can all be developed into cities. Each city can house 30,000 to 50,000 people, and ten cities would house 300,000 to 500,000 people."

The room was completely silent; everyone was awestruck by Yan's blueprint.

Three to five hundred thousand people...

What a massive tribe that was! Jianshi was stunned. He knew Yan had some ideas, but he hadn't expected him to think so far ahead.

"Good!" He slapped his thigh. "Well said!"

He stood up and walked to the map.

"Yan is right. These are all good places. As our population grows, we'll have to expand outwards."

He pointed to the marked points on the map and began assigning tasks.

"Our goal for next year is this: --"

His finger Fire Creek River Middle Outpost.

"Fire Creek River Middle Outpost, where 10,000 mu of paddy fields were reclaimed."

The point is at the Fire Creek River Mouth.

" At the Fire Creek River Mouth, 20,000 mu of paddy fields have been reclaimed."

The point is at the Little Gathering River Mouth.

" At the Little Gathering River Mouth, 10,000 mu of paddy fields will be reclaimed."

The point is at the Stone Creek River Mouth.

" At the Stone Creek River Mouth, 10,000 mu of paddy fields will be reclaimed, and those 8,000-plus laborers will be put to good use."

The point is at the Pottery Salt River Mouth.

" At the Pottery Salt River Mouth, 10,000 mu of paddy fields will be reclaimed."

The point is at the Little Fish River Mouth in the Fish Tribe.

" At Little Fish River Mouth, 20,000 mu of paddy fields have been reclaimed."

He paused, then continued moving his fingers.

"The original Green Grain Tribe Camp, Marsh Tribe Camp, Beast Taming Tribe Camp, Hundred Crafts Tribe Camp, Little Gathering Valley Camp, Bison Tribe Camp, White Pig Tribe Camp, Green Sheep Tribe Camp, and Deer Tribe Camp—these places will maintain a planting area of 5,000 mu of paddy fields next year. If needed, we will find suitable places to increase the planting area later."

Finally, his finger pointed to the High Pointed Mountain.

"At the foot of High Pointed Mountain, we will also cultivate 10,000 mu of paddy fields. Between High Pointed Mountain and the Fish Tribe, we will build another stronghold with 5,000 mu of paddy fields. Although there is no immediate threat from the north, this will strengthen our control over the territory."

He lowered his hand and looked at the crowd.

"How many acres of paddy fields are there in total?"

Everyone was silently calculating in their minds.

Ten thousand mu plus twenty thousand mu equals thirty thousand mu. Add another ten thousand mu, and it becomes forty thousand mu. Add another ten thousand mu, and it becomes fifty thousand mu. Add another ten thousand mu, and it becomes sixty thousand mu. Add another twenty thousand mu, and it becomes eighty thousand mu.

Add to that the nine outposts, each covering 5,000 mu, that's 45,000 mu.

Eighty thousand plus forty-five thousand equals one hundred and twenty-five thousand mu.

There are also 10,000 mu of High Pointed Mountain, which makes a total of 135,000 mu.

In addition, there are 5,000 acres of land at that new outpost...

"140,000 mu!" someone blurted out.

Jianshi nodded. "Yes, 140,000 mu, plus the 20,000 mu of paddy fields from the Fire Tribe headquarters, that makes 160,000 mu!"

He looked at the crowd, his eyes shining.

"With 160,000 mu of paddy fields, even without buying grain from outside, it's more than enough to feed 160,000 people."

A deafening cheer erupted in the council chamber.

"Good!"

"Very good!"

Jianshi raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

"This is just the goal for next year," he said. "It will be challenging, and we may not be able to achieve it all, but we'll do our best."

He looked at Jianya.

"Jianya, to cultivate so much land, we need plenty of oxen. Although the Horse Tribe said they can buy a large quantity next year, time waits for no one. You need to prepare in the next couple of days, take the fleet to the Horse Tribe, and buy as many oxen as you can, and also buy some ponies."

Jianya stood up. "Yes!"

Jianshi looked at Dabang.

"Dabang, keep an eye on the workshop. Make sure there's a sufficient supply of pottery, bronze, textiles, shipbuilding materials, and so on."

Dabang nodded. "Understood!"

Jianshi looked at Flame one last time.

"Yan, you'll continue to oversee the training and integration of the Youth Team. Also, make sure to keep an eye on the workshop area."

Yan nodded. "Okay!"

Jianshi then looked at the crowd.

"At the Stone Creek River Mouth, I've sent someone to inform Dazhuang that the five tribes— Pottery and Salt, Hundred Crafts, Beast Taming, Shuize, and Qinghe —as well as the Dazhuang Fish Tribe, will be in charge of the land reclamation and various constructions there."

"I will personally oversee the affairs of these outposts: the Fire Creek River Mouth, the Middle Fire Creek River, the Little Gathering River Mouth, the Little Gathering Valley, and the Deer Tribe Mining Area Bison, White Pig, Green Sheep, and Deer Tribes. The leaders present here whom I have named will assist me."

The leaders whose names were called responded in unison, "Yes!"

Jianshi concluded, "Alright, that's all for today. Everyone, go and do your jobs."

Everyone got up and left one after another.