The Voyage Home and the Council

Early the next morning, before dawn, the Fire Tribe's temporary camp was already bustling with activity. The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and a thin layer of it floated on the surface of the Fish River like a light veil. Torches lit up the dock at the Valley Tribe Tribe's headquarters, and figures moved about. The sounds of footsteps, shouts, and the movement of supplies blended together.

Yan had been up for a while and was directing the soldiers to pack up the camp. Tents were being dismantled one by one, folded, tied securely, and carried onto the boat. Animal hides were rolled up, tied tightly with hemp rope, and stacked together. Pots and pans were being packed into wooden boxes, making a clanging sound. The fire in the kitchen had already gone out, but the ashes were still smoldering. Several soldiers were covering them with sand to make sure no embers remained.

"Young Chief, our men are almost all packed." Jia Li walked over, holding a wooden plaque with numbers written on it. "The tents have been dismantled, the supplies loaded onto the ship, and everyone is here. We're just waiting for Chief Daiyue of the Valley Tribe to see us off before we set off."

Yan nodded and waited at the dock of the Valley Tribe's headquarters. After a while, Daiyue led the seven elders over. The eldest elder, Yaoshan, walked in front, his hands behind his back, his steps slow, as if he were taking a stroll. The second elder Jin Ye Hefeng, followed behind him, holding a half-eaten cake in his hand, nibbling on it as he walked. The third elder, Jin Ye, stood ramrod straight, his eyes sharp, as if inspecting troops. The fourth elder, Lin Feng, the fifth elder Shuize, the sixth elder, and the seventh elder followed behind, walking in twos and threes, talking in hushed tones.

Yan quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Chief Daiyue, elders, thank you for coming to see me off."

Daiyue grasped his hand and shook it vigorously, saying, "It's only right. This time, I'll still have Fengren lead the boats to assist you in transporting grain. If anything happens along the way, you can discuss and handle it yourselves." He turned to look at Fengren behind him, Fengren stepped forward and nodded to Yan.

Yan also nodded to Fengren and said, "Daiyue, Chief Daiyue."

After exchanging a few more polite words, Daiyue looked at the sky. The sun had already peeked over the mountains in the east, the morning mist was dissipating, and golden light was shining on the river, making it sparkle.

"It's getting late, you should set off soon. Boating upstream is slow, the earlier you leave, the more distance you can cover before dark."

Yan nodded, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Daiyue and the elders, and said, "Chief Daiyue, elders, you may return now; there's no need to see us off."

His gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Qingsui, who was standing to the side. She was wearing a light-colored linen dress, her hair tied in a simple bun, and she was quietly looking at him. The two looked at each other, and Yan nodded to her. Qingsui also nodded, her lips slightly upturned, but the reluctance in her eyes could not be hidden.

Yan turned around and led Jia Li, Binmao, Feiyu, Bailin, Shibang, Yingmu, and others onto the largest ship of the Fire Tribe. Soon, the sound of Niujiao horns rang out, deep and long, echoing on the Fish River in the early morning. The combined fleet slowly started up, left the dock, and headed upstream. The oars cut through the water, making a splashing sound, and the sails were filled with the morning wind. The entire fleet was like a giant dragon, slowly swimming in the morning mist.

On the dock, Daiyue stood there with the seven elders, watching the fleet sail away until the last ship disappeared into the morning mist. Only then did he turn around and lead the others away. Qingsui stood there, looking in the direction the fleet had disappeared, without moving for a long time. The morning breeze blew by, ruffling her hair, but she paid no attention to it.

An attendant approached and softly urged, "Miss, we should go back now." She nodded, looked around for a while longer, and then turned to leave, her steps much slower than usual.

The joint grain transport fleet sailed upstream along the Fish River. Yan stood at the Chuantou, watching the scenery on both banks slowly recede. He wasn't in a hurry. Now that the grain was in hand, it didn't matter whether they arrived at the Fire Tribe a day or a day later. The safety of the fleet was the most important thing. The fleet continued on its way, and twenty-six days later, the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost finally came into Yan's view.

The fleet slowly approached the shore. The Fire Tribe's giant ship with a carrying capacity of 50,000 catties was too deep to enter the Fire Creek River. It could only stop at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost dock to unload the grain. Ships with a carrying capacity of less than 50,000 catties continued to sail upstream along the Fire Creek River towards the Fire Tribe's main dock.

Soon, they arrived at the dock of the Fire Tribe headquarters. Yan jumped off the ship and strode towards Jianshi with a smile on his face and light steps, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Father!" He walked up to Jianshi, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, "Our grain transport to the Valley Tribe this time went very smoothly. We brought back over four million catties of grain, and the twenty million catties of grain we ordered from the Gu Valley Tribe this year have all been transported back!" He paused, his voice tinged with excitement, "The twenty million catties of grain we ordered from the Valley Tribe next year will also be no problem. We can just go and transport it directly next spring."

Jianshi nodded, patted him on the shoulder, his eyes full of satisfaction, and said, "Good, you did a good job this time. Now that the grain has arrived at the tribe, the people will feel more at ease." He paused, looking at Yan's somewhat tired face, "You've all had a long journey."

Yan shook his head and said with a smile, "It's not hard work. Seeing the tribe getting better and stronger, everyone is full of energy, so it's all worth it, no matter how tired I am."

As the two were talking, the chief of the Valley Tribe, Fengren, also came over. He had arranged for the unloading of grain at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost. He had a smile on his face, but there was a trace of fatigue in his eyes, which showed that the journey had not been easy.

Jianshi stepped forward, grasped Fengren's hand, and said, "Chief Fengren, you must be tired from your journey. Please come to the council hall of our Fire Tribe headquarters to have something to eat and rest. I have already had wine and food prepared."

Fengren smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Chief Jianshi Shi."

The group headed towards the council hall. Inside the Fire Tribe headquarters, the fire pit was burning brightly, making it warm and cozy. A long table was already set with food and drinks—roasted mutton, stewed pork, fresh fish soup, rice, and several jars of fruit wine. Fengren didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to eat. He ate with gusto, his mouth greasy, praising the food endlessly. While eating, he chatted with Jianshi, talking about his experiences on the road. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant.

When they had almost finished eating, someone came to report, "Chief, the grain on the large ship of the Valley Tribe has been unloaded."

Fengren put down his chopsticks, stood up, and said goodbye, "Jianshi Jian Shi, the grain has been unloaded, and I should go back now. There are still matters to be dealt with in the tribe."

Jianshi also stood up and said, "Then I'll see you off."

Jianshi Fengren led the group to the dock, where a small boat was waiting for him. Fengren boarded the boat, glanced back at the Fire Tribe's main valley, then turned around. The small boat slowly left the dock and headed downstream.

After seeing Fengren off, Jianshi led everyone back to the council hall. Everyone took their seats, and the flames in the fire pit flickered, illuminating everyone's faces in a red glow. Jianshi sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Yan.

"Yan, you've brought back the grain this time. With this grain, the tribespeople feel more secure." He paused, his tone becoming serious. "What happened when you went to the Valley Tribe? Tell everyone about it."

Yan stood up and walked to the center of the council hall. His gaze swept over everyone present— Jianshi, Qingye, Dabang, Canglan, Jia Li, Jijiao, Binmao, Wu Xiong, Muye, Shuize... One familiar face after another was waiting for him to speak.

"During my trip to the Valley Tribe, I learned that the Tiger Tribe, located at the very bottom of the Fish River, has already imposed sanctions on the Valley Tribe." His voice was clear and articulate. "Pottery will become increasingly difficult to sell in the lower reaches of the Fish River. The large tribes in the lower reaches of the Fish River have been intimidated by the Tiger Tribe, and none of them dare to openly buy pottery from the Valley Tribe anymore. However, Chief Daiyue had already purchased a large amount of grain in the lower reaches of the Fish River, so the 20 million catties of grain trade between the Valley Tribe and our Fire Tribe next year will not be affected."

Everyone nodded, their faces showing relief.

"That's good," Dabang said. "Food is a major issue; we can't afford any problems."

Canglan nodded and said, "Yes, our Fire Tribe has 110,000 people. How much food do we need to eat every day? Just thinking about it is scary. If we run out of food, we'll be in big trouble."

Yan continued, "Now that the Bear Tribe has received covert support from the Tiger Tribe, their strength is growing stronger, and their conflict with the Valley Tribe is becoming increasingly intense. This year, the Valley Tribe was able to assist us in transporting grain, but that may not be the case next year."

Dabang spoke up, his voice tinged with relief, "Luckily, our Fire Tribe built so many ships ourselves, otherwise we wouldn't be able to transport our grain back next year, and that would be a huge problem."

The others nodded in agreement. Yan paused, then raised his voice slightly, saying, "The Tiger Tribe is currently imposing sanctions on the Valley Tribe, and the Bear Tribe is pressing us further. After discussing with their elders, Chief Daiyue is willing to secretly develop a military cooperation relationship with our Fire Tribe." His gaze swept over the crowd. "They have also guessed that our Fire Tribe can manufacture bronze ware. They hope that next year's grain trade between our two tribes will consist of 40% coarse salt and 60% bronze ware. I have already agreed."

Jianshi Shi nodded and said, "They've been paying attention to the fact that we've built so many large ships in such a short time, and they'll figure it out." He paused, "Now we've secretly established a military cooperation relationship with the Valley Tribe, selling them some bronze artifacts. This was something we agreed upon beforehand. After all, the Valley Tribe stronger, which is very beneficial to our Fire Tribe. More friends mean more paths, more enemies mean more walls to block our way."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Jia Li said, "Although the Valley Tribe is not as large as ours, it's not small either. They have 20,000 people and ten ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin each. Forming an alliance with them would be very beneficial to our Fire Tribe."

Wu Xiong nodded and said, "That's right, the Tiger Tribe is not to be trifled with. We're not confident in dealing with them alone. Having a strong ally is better than nothing."

Yan continued, "The Valley Tribe is indeed preparing to strengthen its forces; they plan to increase their population by five thousand." He paused, his tone becoming serious. "Furthermore, I learned from Chief Daiyue that the hundred or so remnants of the Wolf Tribe caused trouble between the Great Luwei and Great Boulder Tribe downstream of the Fish River some time ago. Their numbers quickly grew to over a thousand, then subsided for a while, only to start causing trouble again after the autumn harvest."

Jianshi frowned and said, "Fortunately, thanks to repeated reminders from our Fire Tribe Valley Tribe, the remnants of the Wolf Tribe were driven away by the people from the Little Valley Camp just as they were causing trouble in the Big Horse River Basin."

He paused for a moment and then said, "Otherwise, if they establish a foothold in the Big Horse River Basin, our grain trade with the Valley Tribe will be affected. If that happens, the grain won't be able to be transported back, and that will be a huge problem."

Dali on the table, jumped up, his eyes wide, and shouted, "This Wolf Tribe is like an unkillable cockroach! They come back after we chase them away, they scatter after we disperse and they gather again!" His voice was like thunder, making dust fall from the roof beams. "I might as well take some men and wipe them out! That way they won't cause trouble every day!"

Others chimed in, some slamming their fists, some raising their fists, and some standing up to volunteer.

"Yes! Wipe them out!"

"We can't let them cause any more trouble!"

"If this continues, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later!"

Jianshi raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. Once the murmurs subsided, he spoke, his voice Chenwen: "It's too far. Our Fire Tribe's strength doesn't reach there yet. Sending troops rashly would be a waste of manpower and resources, and could easily lead to misunderstandings. Let the Valley Tribe keep an eye on things first. We'll discuss it further if there's any movement."

He looked at Yan and said, "Yan, you did a great job this time. You should rest for a few days; there's still work to be done."