The Orange River and Red Flower River Pledge Allegiance

Yan looked at the representatives kneeling on the ground and quickly stepped forward to help up Huaguo and Dajutou, who were at the front.

"Get up, get up!" he shouted as he helped the person up. "Our Fire Tribe welcomes everyone to join us. Please get up first!"

Huaguo was helped up, his face still streaked with tears of excitement. The representatives behind him also stood up, some wiping away tears, some brushing the dirt off their knees, and some staring blankly around.

Jianshi stepped forward with a broad smile and said, "Everyone has come from afar and must be tired from your journey. Please don't kneel yet; our Fire Tribe doesn't observe that custom."

He turned to the people behind him and instructed, "I will take you distinguished guests to see our granaries, livestock pens, and warehouses. You may make preparations!"

Several leaders of the Fire Tribe immediately led their men to make arrangements, with Yan and Jianshi walking in front, followed by a large, dark crowd.

Their first stop was the granary. The Fire Tribe's granary was built in the center of the camp. Rows of huge wooden houses were neatly arranged, with warriors standing guard at the door, holding spears and looking solemn. A leader in front pushed open a large door, which was filled with sacks, stacked neatly from the floor to the roof.

"This is one of our Fire Tribe's granaries!" the chieftain introduced. "It's full of grains—rice, soybeans, everything imaginable."

The delegates crowded at the doorway, staring wide-eyed as they peered inside.

"So much grain..." someone murmured.

"Is this just one room?" Huaguo asked.

The leader smiled and said, "We have dozens of granaries like this."

Dozens of such large grain silos! The delegates gasped in astonishment.

The second stop was the livestock pen. The Fire Tribe's livestock pen was located on the outskirts of the camp, covering a vast area. Inside the concentric fences, herds of cattle and sheep were kept, while chickens and ducks roamed the hillsides, and fat pigs grunted and squealed in the pigsty.

The chieftain introduced, "Our Fire Tribe headquarters has several thousand sheep, several thousand pigs, and countless chickens, ducks, and rabbits."

Hongmao's eyes widened. "So many livestock?"

He thought of his tribe; all their possessions combined didn't amount to much.

Honglian was stunned, muttering, "So many livestock, how much grass and food must they eat..."

The delegates were all dumbfounded.

The third stop was the residential area, where the wooden houses of the Fire Tribe stood in neat rows and columns. Each house was sturdy and solid, with thick thatched roofs and walls made of whole logs. The area in front of and behind the houses was clean and tidy.

"We have over four thousand of these wooden houses," the leader said. "Every family can have one."

Dajutou touched the wooden walls, his eyes filled with envy.

"This house... is really sturdy."

Xiaojutou nodded repeatedly, "It's much better than where we live."

The fourth stop was the warehouse, a place to store supplies: pottery, coarse salt, linen, straw sandals, tools... all neatly categorized and stacked.

"Tens of thousands of pieces of pottery!" the leader exclaimed. "Hundreds of thousands of pounds of coarse salt! And countless bolts of linen and straw sandals!"

The delegates stared wide-eyed at the mountains of supplies. Huaguo picked up a ceramic bowl and examined it closely. The pottery was exquisitely crafted, better than any he had ever seen before.

"This stuff... you just leave it piled up like this here?"

The chieftain laughed, "This is all to be exchanged for grain. Our Fire Tribe has been buying 20 million catties of grain from the Valley Tribe every year for the past two years."

Huaguo gasped in astonishment—20 million jin of grain! After the tour, it was almost noon, Jianshi had someone arrange for the representatives to have lunch.

The dining area was the Fire Tribe's communal canteen, with long wooden tables and benches neatly arranged. The tables were laden with food—roasted mutton, stewed pork, fresh fish soup, rice, wild vegetables, and several jars of fruit wine.

"Please have a seat, everyone!" Jianshi invited. "Try the food from our Fire Tribe!"

The delegates sat down and began to eat. The moment the Hongmao man took a bite of meat, his eyes lit up.

"This meat... it's so delicious!"

The Honglian nodded repeatedly, "It's even better than what we eat during festivals!"

Huaguo picked up a piece of fish, put it in her mouth, and found it tender, smooth, and melt-in-your-mouth.

"Delicious! So delicious!"

He looked at the Jianshi, his eyes filled with emotion.

"Chief of the Jianshi, do the people of your Fire Tribe eat this every day?"

Jianshi laughed, "It's not like we eat it every day. We can have a good meal every few days, but we're definitely full."

The delegates nodded in agreement and ate even more heartily. After the meal, the delegates were arranged to rest. The five leaders, Huaguo, Dajutou, Xiaojutou, Hongmao, Honglian, were invited into the council hall. The fire in the hearth was burning brightly, and the room was warm and cozy. Jianshi sat in the main seat, with Yan on his left and Qingye on his right. Below them sat Dabang, Dali, Jijiao, and others. The five leaders sat opposite him, all looking somewhat nervous.

Jianshi looked at them with a gentle smile, "Chiefs, you've taken your look around the Fire Tribe. What do you think?"

Huaguo stood up and said respectfully, "Chief Jianshi, our representatives from the Red Flower River basin have discussed the matter and decided to join the Fire Tribe."

Dajutou also stood up and nodded repeatedly, saying, "In our Orange River region, everyone is willing to join the Fire Tribe."

Jianshi Stone nodded, waiting for them to continue.

Huaguo paused for a moment, then said, "However, some of the larger tribes on our side are about to harvest their crops. We want to wait until the harvest is complete before joining the Fire Tribe with all our belongings."

He looked cautiously at the Jianshi and added, "The other smaller tribes are planning to join the Fire Tribe once they return."

Jianshi Shi understood that the larger tribes wanted to bring more supplies to the Fire Tribe so they would have more say in the Fire Tribe. The smaller tribes, on the other hand, didn't have enough food and naturally wanted to join immediately. This was good; it would be difficult to house all 15,000 people from the two river basins at the Fire Tribe headquarters. Splitting them up was exactly what he wanted.

"Alright," Jianshi nodded. "Our Fire Tribe's grain transport fleet will be back tomorrow. I'll have them go to your side first and bring over the people from those smaller tribes."

Huaguo's eyes lit up. "That's great! Those small tribes probably have around ten thousand people."

Jianshi nodded. "No problem. You can wait there until the crops are harvested before coming to the Fire Tribe. I'll have the fleet transport some food and supplies to you first."

Huaguo repeatedly expressed her gratitude. "Thank you, Chief Jianshi! Thank you!"

Jianshi waved his hand. "No need to thank me, you should rest for a while, I'll have someone take you back tomorrow."

The five leaders left, expressing their deepest gratitude, leaving only the Fire Tribe members in the council hall.

Jianshi looked at Yan, Feiyu, and Bailin with approval in his eyes and said, "You did a good job this time, helping the Fire Tribe absorb about 15,000 more people."

He paused, his eyes gleaming, and said, "With the addition of these people, the Fire Tribe's population has now exceeded 100,000. Once they are all brought back, I will reward you handsomely."

Yan stood up and said modestly, "Father, Feiyu and Bailin put in a lot of effort this time. The fact that it went so smoothly is all thanks to everyone."

Jianshi looked at Feiyu and Bailin and encouraged them, "You two did a great job this time. Keep up the good work!"

Feiyu and Bailin, their faces flushed with excitement, said in unison, "Don't worry, Leader! We will definitely continue to work hard!"

Jianshi Stone nodded. "You all go back and rest first. Tomorrow, after Jianya and the others return with the grain, we'll hold another meeting to discuss what's next."

The men accepted the order and left the council hall. The next day, around noon, Fire Creek Wharf became lively again. A huge fleet of boats was slowly approaching: one 20,000-jin boat, one hundred and ten 10,000-jin boats, two hundred 5,000-jin boats, and two hundred 2,000-jin large Muzhou —densely packed, covering the river surface, and the boats were loaded with grain.

"Jianya and the others are back!" someone cheered.

The grain convoy slowly approached the shore. Jianya jumped off the largest ship and strode towards the dock, where Jianshi and the high-ranking members of the Fire Tribe headquarters were waiting.

"Big Brother!" Fang said with Jianya smile, "We've brought back 2.8 million catties of grain this time!"

Jianshi patted him on the shoulder. "Good job! You've worked hard!"

Just as Jianya was about to speak, his gaze suddenly fell on the new ships moored at the Fire Tribe headquarters dock. Nine ships weighing 20,000 jin each and ten ships weighing 10,000 jin each were neatly moored. He was stunned.

"This... this is..."

Jianshi laughed, "In the month or so you were gone, we built nine more ships with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin each, and ten more ships with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin each."

Jianya gasped in shock. Nine ships, each with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin!

When he left, there was only one ship. Now there are ten!

"Furthermore," Jianshi continued, "Yan and his group recruited another 15,000 people on their trip to the west bank of the Fish River, bringing the total population of our Fire Tribe to over 100,000."

Jianya was completely stunned. They had absorbed another 15,000 people! A hundred thousand people! He had only been gone for a little over a month, and the Fire Tribe had already undergone such a huge change!

"Brother..." he murmured, "Our Fire Tribe is developing way too fast..."

Jianshi laughed, "Fast? I don't think it's fast enough."

As they were talking, the leader of the Valley Tribe, Fengren, also came over. He had just finished arranging the six massive ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin each and had come by small boat to meet with Jianshi. When he saw the new ships at the dock, he was stunned—nine ships with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin each! When he left last time, the Fire Tribe only had one, and now they had ten! The Fire Tribe's shipbuilding speed...

"Leader Fengren!" Jianshi greeted him warmly, "You must be tired from your journey! Please come to the council hall to rest; I've already had hot food prepared!"

Fengren snapped out of his daze and quickly returned the greeting.

"Chief of Jianshi, you're too kind!"

The group entered the council hall, and steaming hot food was quickly served. Everyone ate and chatted in a harmonious atmosphere.

When they had almost finished eating, Fengren put down his chopsticks and exclaimed, "Chief Jianshi Shi, your Fire Tribe's shipbuilding capabilities are truly impressive! In just over a month, you've added so many large ships! I'm truly impressed!"

Jianshi smiled and shook his head, saying, "We built this Dali to facilitate the transportation of grain. We heard that there are some conflicts Bear Tribe and the Valley Tribe, so we have to prepare for both possibilities."

Fengren nodded, understandingly saying, "Jianshi Jian Shi, rest assured, the friction between our two tribes is currently under control and will not affect our assistance to the Fire Tribe in transporting grain."

He paused, then said, "However, we understand your concerns."

Jianshi raised his wine bowl. "That's good! Come, Leader Fengren, I'll toast you with a bowl!"

The two drank their beverages in one gulp and chatted for a while longer when someone came to report from outside.

"Chief, the grain on the Valley Tribe's ships has been unloaded."

Fengren immediately stood up to take his leave, and Jianshi led the group to take him to the dock of the Fire Tribe headquarters.