Idle Talk and Daiyan's Shock
After leaving the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost, the fleet continued downstream along the Fish River. The river was quite high in spring, and the trees on both banks had sprouted new leaves, tender and green, shimmering in the sunlight. Yan stood at the Chuantou, looking ahead, the sunlight warm on him. The scenery on both banks slowly receded. Feiyu walked over and stood beside him, also looking at the scenery on both banks.
"Young leader, we've arrived at the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost." Feiyu pointed ahead.
Yan followed his finger and saw a sizable stronghold in the distance.
"The Little Fish River Mouth Outpost has grown considerably in size," Feiyu remarked, his voice tinged with admiration. "The docks have been expanded, the camps have been enlarged, and even more farmland has been reclaimed."
Yan nodded and said, "Yes, Uncle Dazhuang has worked hard these past few days, day and night. He knew that our Fire Tribe was going to move its management center here, so he made preparations in advance. The docks, camps, warehouses, and roads have all been expanded ahead of time."
Bailin also came over and asked, "Young Chief, shall we stop here for a while? Shall we go down and see Chief Dazhuang, have a drink of water, and then continue our journey?"
Yan shook his head and said, "No need. We'll rest here a bit after we transport the grain back from the Valley Tribe, and then we'll go see Uncle Dazhuang. Right now, we should hurry to the Valley Tribe to transport the grain. The sooner the grain arrives at the tribe, the more at ease everyone will feel."
Jia Li walked over, stroking his beard, and slowly said, "If all the tribes south of the Little Horse River join our Fire Tribe this time, our Fire Tribe's sphere of influence will soon extend from the east bank of the Fish River to the Little Horse River basin. In that case, our sphere of influence will border the Horse Tribe's, and the people of the Horse Tribe will be our Fire Tribe's neighbors."
Yan nodded and said, "Yes, after this population absorption, our Fire Tribe's population will reach 120,000. 120,000, that's an enormous number. And that doesn't even include the population growth our tribe has seen recently. The number of newborns is increasing year by year, otherwise our Fire Tribe's population would be even greater. Moreover, our sphere of influence is also expanding."
He paused, then continued, "In the future, if we want to absorb people, we can only look to the Horse Tribe Clothing Tribe. There are many small, scattered tribes on the outskirts of their territories that we can absorb. There are also many independent small tribes near the Big Horse River Basin that do not belong to any large tribe, and they are also potential targets for our Fire Tribe to absorb in the future."
Everyone nodded in agreement and said no more. It would take more than ten days to travel from the Fire Tribe down the Fish River to the Valley Tribe. The journey by water was long and could not be completed in just one or two days. Yan and his companions usually ate some good food, looked at the scenery on both banks, and chatted about various things, such as this year's spring planting, the new members of the tribe, and the big and small events in the tribe. The two boys, Shibang and Yingmu, liked to gather around Yan and listen to him talk about how to the Wolf Tribe and how to do business with the Valley Tribe. Flying Feiyu and Bailin would sometimes join in as well, and the atmosphere was very lively.
As the fleet passed through the Little Horse River basin, the river widened and the current slowed down. Occasionally, a few farmers could be seen working in the fields along the Fish River. When they saw the huge fleet, they stopped what they were doing, straightened their backs, craned their necks, and watched curiously.
As the fleet passed through the Big Horse River Basin, the river widened, the current slowed, the mountains on both banks decreased, and there was more flat land. Occasionally, a few tribes could be seen. These tribes lived slightly better than the smaller tribes upstream, but not by much.
A few days later, the fleet arrived not far from the Little Valley Camp Outpost of the Valley Tribe. Yan had already sent someone by boat to the Little Valley Camp Outpost to report. When Daiyan heard the news from the Fire Tribe's messenger, he lost interest in looking at the Fire Tribe's gifts.
He hurriedly led his men onto the 50,000-jin (25,000 kg) capacity ship at the dock to verify the information reported by the Fire Tribe. He couldn't believe that the Fire Tribe actually had ten 50,000-jin capacity ships so quickly. The last time the Fire Tribe came, they only had one ship, but this time they had ten? The speed of shipbuilding was too fast.
The boat slowly sailed out of the dock and went upstream along the Fish River. Daiyan stood at the Chuantou, squinting as Fish River looked upstream. Before long, he saw Yan leading the Fire Tribe's massive fleet slowly approaching. The fleet emerged from a bend in the river, one after another, like a giant dragon moving across the water. At the front were ten giant ships, lined up in a row, like ten Little Mountain or ten giant beasts. The ships were wide and long, with their Chuantou raised high, and the tung oil glistened in the sunlight.
Daiyan rubbed his eyes again at the Chuantou, looked again, rubbed his eyes, and rubbed them again, afraid that he might have seen wrong.
Indeed, there were ten large ships in front, each with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin (25,000 kg). They were all very new, clearly recently built, with smooth hulls and even new ropes. The Valley Tribe's ships were old and worn, incomparable to theirs.
Behind the ten large ships followed fifty ships with a carrying capacity of 20,000 jin each, densely packed together like a school of fish following a giant beast. Further back were ships with a carrying capacity of 10,000 jin, 5,000 jin, and 2,000 jin, large and small, hundreds of them, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Daiyan took a deep breath, his mind churning. The Fire Tribe's naval strength had improved too quickly, like a rocket. Last time they came, there was only one ship with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin, but this time there were ten. Would there be twenty next time? He heard that the Fire Tribe was also developing a ship with a carrying capacity of 100,000 jin, a large ship that only the Tiger Tribe possessed.
The Fire Tribe's rise has been too rapid, like magic; their target is already the Tiger Tribe! Big Brother's promise to secretly develop a military alliance with the Fire Tribe was very farsighted; otherwise, if the Fire Tribe turned around and attacked the Valley Tribe, how would the Valley Tribe defend itself?
However, the Fire Tribe is now not only an ally of the Valley Tribe, but also Valley Tribe benefactor. They are even preparing to sell a large quantity of bronze weapons to the Valley Tribe at half the price of the Tiger Tribe's —half the price! Half the price means how much grain, animal hides, and other supplies? With these bronze weapons, the Bear Tribe will have to think twice before attacking the Little Valley Camp Outpost. Although the Bear Tribe has the Tiger Tribe's covert support, they will still have to rely on themselves if a real battle breaks out.
With mixed emotions, Daiyan steered his boat closer to Yan's. The two boats stopped side by side. He stood at the Chuantou, looking at Yan, forcing a smile, but the smile was somewhat stiff, and the corners of his mouth were not quite natural.
"Chief Yan, the Fire Tribe's naval strength has grown remarkably fast! In such a short time, you've gone from one ship with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin to ten. One to ten, that's a tenfold increase!"
Yan smiled modestly, his smile gentle and sincere, and said, "We're doing this for the convenience of transporting the grain. Twenty million catties of grain is no small amount; without large ships, we'd have to make several trips!"
Daiyan nodded and said, "My elder brother has been waiting for you for a long time. He's been looking forward to your arrival. Just follow our guide ship to the main dock on the other side. Everything has been arranged there, and berths have been reserved for you."
Yan nodded, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, and said, "Thank you, Chief Daiyan. I'm so sorry to trouble you every time I come."
Daiyan waved his hand, turned around and returned to his own ship. He stood at the Chuantou, watching the Fire Tribe's fleet follow the guide ship and slowly sail towards the opposite shore. The ten giant ships grew farther and farther away, smaller and smaller, but Daiyan's gaze followed them as if glued to them. He looked at those brand-new giant ships, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart: envy, jealousy, admiration, and worry.
The Fire Tribe has so many skills—pottery, salt production, shipbuilding, and now they can even make bronze weapons! No wonder they've developed so quickly. The Tiger Tribe was known for their bronze weapon-making techniques, but the Fire Tribe does it too, and even makes them cheaper than the Tiger Tribe. How did they learn it? Where did they learn it? Did they figure it out themselves, or were they taught?
The Fire Tribe's eagerness to expand its power, absorb population, build large ships, and manufacture bronze weapons is likely due to their wariness of the Tiger Tribe. They know that once the Tiger Tribe discovers the Fire Tribe's ability to manufacture bronze, they will not let them off the Fire Tribe. Currently, whoever masters bronze technology is the Tiger Tribe's enemy, and the Tiger Tribe will not allow anyone to challenge their dominant position.