Jianya Goes to the Valley Tribe to Transport Grain

Before the morning mist had completely dissipated, the Fire Creek Wharf at the Fire Tribe headquarters was already bustling with activity. Jianya stood at the Chuantou of the largest ship, a 20,000-jin (10,000 kg) vessel, gazing at the massive fleet before him: twenty 20,000-jin (10,000 kg) vessels, one hundred and forty 10,000-jin (5,000 kg) vessels, two hundred 5,000-jin (2,000 kg) vessels, and two hundred large Muzhou with a 2,000-jin (1,000 kg) capacity—a total of five hundred and sixty ships, densely packed on the surface of the Fire Creek River, like a floating forest.

The Fire Tribe's boats were loaded with supplies: grain, coarse salt, pottery, linen, tools... every item was urgently needed by the Fire Tribe's outposts along the way. This time, on their trip to the Valley Tribe, they not only had to transport grain, but also deliver these supplies to the Fire Tribe's various river mouth outposts.

"Jianya Leader," Binmao stepped forward and stood beside him, "Our fleet is ready and can depart at any time."

Jianya nodded and looked towards the dock of the Fire Tribe headquarters. On the dock, Jianshi, Qingye, Flame, Dabang and others stood there, waving to them. Jianya waved back.

"Let's go!" he shouted the order.

As the horn sounded, the Fire Tribe's more than 500 boats slowly started and sailed downstream along the Fire Creek River. On the shore, Jianshi and the others watched the Fire Tribe's fleet depart. The fleet sailed downstream at a fast speed and soon arrived at their Fire Creek River Middle Outpost. Jianya stood at the bow of the Chuantou, looking at the camp on the shore. This stronghold was much larger than the last time they came. Rows of new wooden houses had been erected, and the fields had also expanded considerably.

"Stop the ship!" he ordered.

Several ships of the Fire Tribe docked, unloading their grain and tools. People on the shore cheered and rushed over, hurriedly carrying the goods off the shore.

"Jianya Leader, thank you very much!" The leader of the stronghold said with a big smile.

Jianya waved his hand. "It's nothing, do a good job, I'll come again next time."

The Fire Tribe's fleet continued its journey, arriving at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost. Jianya had a batch of supplies unloaded. At each of the other strongholds— Little Gathering River Mouth Outpost, Stone Creek River Mouth Outpost, and Pottery Salt River Mouth Outpost — Jianya had supplies unloaded. The people on the shore were as happy as if it were a festival, as these supplies were exactly what they desperately needed.

The Fire Tribe fleet continued sailing downstream. They arrived at the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost. From afar, Jianya could see several people standing on the shore, led by Dali. The Fire Tribe fleet docked, and Dali jumped aboard.

"Jianya- dong!"

Jianya chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, "Dali, how's the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost coming along?"

Dali grinned and said, "It's great! We've built over a thousand houses and cleared several hundred acres of land. Next year, we'll be able to grow at least five thousand acres of rice."

Jianya nodded and ordered his men to unload the supplies: grain, tools, salt, cloth... one load and one bag at a time, carried off the ship.

"That's enough, that's enough!" Dali said quickly, "This will last us a long time."

Jianya chuckled and said, "It's never wrong to prepare more for you."

Dali nodded, no longer refusing. The Fire Tribe's fleet continued onward. They arrived at the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost. This was the original territory of the Fish Tribe. Now, the Fire Tribe had also built an outpost on the original site. Dazhuang and a few others waited at the dock.

"Jianya- ge!" Dazhuang greeted him, "You must be tired from your journey!"

Jianya greeted Dazhuang with a smile and had the supplies unloaded: grain, salt, pottery, cloth... all urgently needed by the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost. Dazhuang was very happy to see the supplies.

"Jianya, with these supplies, our efficiency will improve significantly!"

Jianya nodded and said, "You must do a good job here. This place is very important to our Fire Tribe!"

Dazhuang nodded repeatedly. The Fire Tribe's fleet continued sailing downstream along the Fish River. The supplies were all unloaded, leaving only pottery and coarse salt to be exchanged for grain with the Valley Tribe. The Fire Tribe's coarse salt was now very popular in the Valley Tribe. The Fire Tribe's coarse salt was of good quality, cheap, and delivered to their door. The Valley Tribe used it to resell to tribes a little downstream, making a considerable profit. Ten days later, Jianya stood at the bow of the Chuantou, looking ahead. The Valley Tribe was almost there.

At the Little Valley Camp Outpost, Daiyan sat in the council hall, holding a beautiful piece of pottery from the Fire Tribe. He examined it closely, turning it over and over. It was a gift that the Fire Tribe had just sent, and its craftsmanship was exquisite, better than any pottery he had ever seen before.

"Chief Daiyan," a subordinate entered, "the Fire Tribe's fleet is almost at the Little Valley Camp Outpost."

Daiyan put down the pottery, stood up, and said, "Let's go take a look."

He walked out of the council hall and headed towards the dock of Little Valley Camp Outpost. There were already people waiting on the dock. Daiyan boarded his giant ship with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin. He stood at the Chuantou and the ship slowly sailed out of the dock toward the Fire Tribe fleet. In the distance, he could see the Fire Tribe fleet.

Twenty boats with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin, one hundred and forty boats with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin, two hundred boats with a carrying capacity of 5,000 jin, and two hundred large Muzhou with a carrying capacity of 2,000 jin, densely packed, covered the surface of the Fish River. Daiyan squinted at the boats of the Fire Tribe. There were more boats with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin! Last time he came, there were only ten boats, but now there are twenty.

The Fire Tribe's shipbuilding speed is too fast. He frowned. Although these ships are much smaller than the Valley Tribe's 50,000-jin carrying capacity ships, the Valley Tribe only has ten 50,000-jin carrying capacity ships. If the Fire Tribe's 20,000-jin carrying capacity ships develop to fifty, one hundred...

The Fish River blockade of the Valley Tribe was rendered useless! But then he thought that the Fire Tribe had always been friendly to the Valley Tribe, and the Fire Tribe was far away and would not clash with the Valley Tribe for the time being. He shook his head and put these thoughts out of his mind. His elder Daiyue must have also discovered these things, and they would naturally have a way to deal with them.

As the fleet drew closer, the Fire Tribe's fleet began to slow down and stop, lining up on the Fish River to wait. Daiyan's giant ship approached.

"Jianya Leader!" he shouted from the Chuantou, "You've come again! Welcome, welcome!"

Jianya stood at the Chuantou, smiling and clasping his hands in greeting, "Daiyan! Our Fire Tribe had a grain trade with the Valley Tribe this year involving 20 million catties, but we haven't even transported 10 million catties back yet. Our Fire Tribe needs grain, so we've come to the Valley Tribe to transport it again."

Daiyan nodded and said, "Our Valley Tribe also hopes to complete the trade with the Fire Tribe as soon as possible. My elder brother specifically instructed me that when your Fire Tribe's fleet arrives, I should send a ship directly to take you to the headquarters dock on the other side."

He turned and said a few words to his men, who immediately signaled towards the dock. Soon, several small boats sailed out from the Little Valley Camp Outpost to lead the way for the Fire Tribe's fleet.

"Jianya Leader, just follow the guide ship to the dock on the other side," Daiyan said.

Jianya bowed and said, "Thank you, Leader Daiyan!"

The Fire Tribe's fleet slowly started, following the guide ship from the Little Valley Camp Outpost, heading towards the Valley Tribe's main dock on the opposite bank. Daiyan stood on the giant ship, watching the Fire Tribe's fleet gradually disappear into the distance, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He was quite shocked to see the Fire Tribe's fleet with his own eyes. The Fire Tribe's fleet's current transport capacity probably far exceeded that of the Valley Tribe. He took a deep breath, turned around, and walked back to the cabin.

On the opposite bank, at the Valley Tribe's main dock, Chief Quyong stood on the dock, looking at the distant river. The Fire Tribe's fleet was slowly approaching: twenty boats with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin each, and one hundred and forty boats with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin each...

He was filled with emotion. The Fire Tribe was truly changing with each visit, their strength on the water visibly increasing. When the Fire Tribe first came to the Valley Tribe, they only had small boats with a carrying capacity of 5,000 jin. Later, they had boats with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin, then 20,000 jin, and now they had twenty boats with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin. Would they have boats with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin next time they came? He dared not think about it anymore. The Fire Tribe was now a major wealthy tribe in the Valley Tribe, and he dared not be negligent.

"Quickly, make the arrangements!" He turned to his men and said, "Clear the dock so the Fire Tribe's ships can dock!"

His subordinates hurriedly went to do so, and the Fire Tribe's fleet slowly approached the shore. Jianya jumped off the ship and strode towards Quyong.

"Chief Quyong! We meet again!"

Quyong greeted them with a smile, "Jianya Leader! You must be tired from your journey! Please come with me!"

As he spoke, he led Jianya towards an open space not far from the dock. Behind him, some warriors from the Fire Tribe followed. The dock of the Valley Tribe was bustling with people. Quyong led Jianya to the open space next to the dock.

"Jianya leader, set up camp here for now. If you need anything, come find me anytime."

Jianya nodded. "Thank you, Chief Quyong!"

Quyong waved his hand and turned to get busy. Jianya stood on the open ground not far from the dock, looking at the ships of the Fire Tribe that were docked on the dock. He silently calculated that it would take at least two days to load 3.5 million catties of grain. He took a deep breath and turned to make arrangements.

At the Valley Tribe's dock and in the nearby open space, the Fire Tribe's warriors were busy but orderly. Some were mooring boats, some were setting up tents, and others were starting fires to cook. Everything was in perfect order. On the Valley Tribe's dock, Quyong watched all this and secretly sighed in his heart, "The Fire Tribe is truly amazing."