Giant Ships and Bringing People Back

The day after returning from transporting grain from the Valley Tribe, Yan woke up just as dawn was breaking. It was still a hazy gray outside, the distant mountains shrouded in morning mist. Birdsong drifted in from outside, chirping and twittering. He sat up, dressed, and stepped out of the wooden hut. The cool morning breeze felt pleasant on his face. He took a deep breath; the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees, the moist aroma of the river, and the fragrance of the soil from the distant fields.

While washing up, he drew water from the well; it was a bit cold, making him shiver, but it immediately made him more awake. He scooped up some water and splashed it on his face, rubbed his face and neck, and then dried himself with a burlap towel. He had just finished eating and put down his bowl when a soldier ran over, panting, and said, "Young Chief, the Chief requests your presence in the council chamber."

Yan nodded, stood up, straightened his clothes, and strode towards the council hall.

In the council hall, Jianshi sat in the main seat, with several animal skin maps spread out in front of him, densely depicting the distribution of the Fire Tribe's various strongholds and fields. Dabang sat below him, holding a wooden board with numbers written on it.

When Jianshi saw Yan enter, he stood up and waved, saying, "Yan, come and sit down."

Yan nodded and walked over to sit down. Jianshi also sat down, looking at Yan and saying, "Yan, this time you brought back five million catties of grain. Our Fire Tribe has more food supplies now, the tribespeople feel more at ease, and they can sleep more soundly at night."

He paused, his gaze turning serious, and said, "You know why I called you here, right?"

Yan nodded and said, "Yes, the people from the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost and Little Fish River Mouth Outpost haven't been brought back yet. Those who want to join our Fire Tribe are still waiting. Father called me here so I could go there to pick them up, right?"

Jianshi nodded and said, "Yes, the people over there should have almost all gathered. Dazhuang and Dali have both sent people to report that everyone is here and just waiting for our ship. You should prepare in the next couple of days and go to bring the people back. The Fire Tribe has already moved out those who were going to migrate to the outer strongholds, and the houses at headquarters are all empty, just waiting for people to move in. Once you bring the people back, you can arrange for them to move in directly."

Yan nodded, silently calculating the distance and time in his mind, and said, "Okay, Father, there are only about 10,000 people over there. I can bring them back in one trip with the fleet."

Jianshi nodded and said, "That would be best. It'll be done in one trip, saving time and effort, and avoiding the hassle of going back and forth. During this period, our Fire Tribe has successfully launched ten more ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 catties each. Now our Fire Tribe has twenty ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 catties each. Twenty ships, ten more than the Valley Tribe."

Yan's eyes lit up, and his voice was filled with surprise and excitement as he said, "That's wonderful! With so many large ships, our Fire Tribe's naval strength has increased significantly, and our transportation capacity has also improved a lot. We can carry more grain and more people at once."

Jianshi Shi said, "Yes, we plan to finish building the 50,000-jin carrying capacity ships we planned for this year first. That way, even if we don't manage to develop and build 100,000-jin carrying capacity ships by the end of the year, we'll still have plenty of 50,000-jin carrying capacity ships. We can continue to build more of these ships. As long as we have enough ships, we're not afraid of the Tiger Tribe's big ships. If they send one, we'll send ten to surround it and see who's stronger."

Dabang said, "Rest assured, Chief, we will definitely build a ship with a carrying capacity of 100,000 jin by the end of the year. We mean what we say!"

Jianshi nodded, his eyes filled with trust and expectation, and said, "With your words, I feel more confident. Yan, everything's alright, go and make the preparations. You can take all the boats with you, and you can choose whoever you want to take. Don't be polite with me, and don't ask for my permission."

Yan nodded, stood up, clasped his hands in a salute, and said crisply, "Yes, Father, I will go and prepare now. We will depart in two days."

Two days later, early in the morning, before dawn, the dock at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost was already bustling with activity. The morning mist hadn't yet dissipated, a thin layer floating on the river. The torchlight flickered in the mist, casting indistinct shadows. The air was crisp and cool, carrying the damp scent of the river, along with the fragrance of soil and grass from the distant fields, mingled with the smell of tung oil and the pungent odor of livestock. Several early birds chirped in the trees along the riverbank, their clear voices drifting on the morning breeze.

Only Jianshi and Qingye came to see him off at the Jianshi. Jian Shi wore a long linen robe, the blue color of which shimmered softly in the morning light. Qingye stood beside him, wearing a light-colored linen skirt, her hair neatly combed and held up with a wooden hairpin, a few stray strands falling beside her ears, glistening in the morning light. She wore a faint smile, her eyes sparkling. This time, Yan was only going to pick someone up; there was no need for such a grand send-off as last time, with a large group of people coming to see him off.

Yan stood at the Chuantou of the largest ship, looking at his father and mother on the shore. A warm feeling welled up in his heart. He waved to them, and they waved back.

Jianshi walked to the dock, looked up at Yan, and said in a low voice, "Yan, Dali and Dazhuang will handle everything at the mouths of Red Flower River Mouth and Little Fish River Mouth. There won't be any problems. Take the boat there, pick them up, and come back. Don't delay."

Yan nodded, feeling a warmth in his heart, and said, "Okay, Father, don't worry, I'll be careful, nothing will happen."

Qingye stepped forward and said, "Don't tire yourself out on the way. Take a rest if you're tired."

Yan nodded, smiled at his mother, and said, "Don't worry, Mother, I'm fine. I'll be back in about ten days, very soon."

Jianshi glanced at the sky; the sun had already peeked over the eastern mountains. He said, "Alright, it's getting late. Go early and come back early, don't delay."

Yan nodded and said, "Let's get ready to go!"

A moment later, the sound of the ox horn rang out, startling a flock of birds that fluttered into the sky, circling and calling out.

Twenty giant ships, each with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin, led the way. The fleet slowly started up, left the dock, and sailed downstream along the Fish River. The oars cut through the water, making a splashing sound. The entire fleet was like a giant dragon, slowly swimming in the morning mist, heading majestically into the distance.

On the shore, Jianshi and Qingye stood there, watching the fleet sail away until the last ship disappeared into the morning mist before they turned and left.

Standing beside Yan, Shibang looked at the massive fleet and said, "Boss, we've basically brought all the tribe's ships this time—twenty 50,000-jin ships, fifty 20,000-jin ships, and hundreds of smaller boats. We can take everyone back to the Fire Tribe headquarters in one trip, saving us so much trouble."

Yingmu walked over, his voice tinged with pride and boasting, "Yes, more people means more strength, more ships mean more cargo. Apart from the large items, we can help them transport all the smaller items back."

Yan nodded and said, "Yes, that's the advantage of having more and bigger boats. They can carry a lot at once, and one trip is equivalent to several trips, saving time and effort. In the future, our Fire Tribe will have more and more boats, and they will become bigger and bigger. We can even build boats with a carrying capacity of 50,000 catties, 100,000 catties, and 200,000 catties! Then our transportation will be much more convenient. We can go wherever we want and carry as much as we want."

The fleet sailed downstream at a fast pace, and the scenery on both banks slowly receded. The outposts outside the Fire Tribe passed by one by one. Those outposts were larger in scale, with more wooden houses, more fields, and more people.