Daiyue's Shock and Plans

When the Fire Tribe's grain transport fleet arrived at the Valley Tribe's Little Valley Camp dock, the news quickly reached Daiyue's ears at the Little Valley Camp Outpost Valley Tribe headquarters. A warrior ran in from the corridor outside the council hall, almost tripping over the threshold in his haste. He knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in salute, his forehead covered in sweat, and panted, "Chief! News has come from Little Valley Camp that the Fire Tribe has brought a large ship with a carrying capacity of 100,000 jin to our Valley Tribe to transport grain! Chief Daiyan saw it with his own eyes, it's absolutely true!"

In the council hall of the Valley Tribe headquarters, Daiyue was sitting in the main seat, with several animal skin maps spread out in front of him, densely depicting the Valley Tribe's fields and strongholds. He was holding a charcoal pencil and drawing something on the map, his brows slightly furrowed, very focused. Upon hearing this news, the charcoal pencil in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud" and rolled to the corner of the wall.

Daiyue suddenly raised his head, his eyes wide open, his mouth agape, unable to close for a long time, as if frozen in place. After a while, he finally came to his senses, his voice trembling slightly as he said, "What did you say? The Fire Tribe brought a huge ship with a carrying capacity of 100,000 jin to our Valley Tribe to transport grain? Are you sure you didn't mishear? It's a ship with a carrying capacity of 100,000 jin, not a ship with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin?"

The guard nodded, his tone certain. "Chief, it's absolutely true. Chief Daiyan saw it with his own eyes; he couldn't be mistaken. He said that ship is bigger than all the ships in our Valley Tribe, and not much smaller than the largest ship in the Tiger Tribe. The Fire Tribe's fleet has already arrived at the Little Valley Camp and is heading towards our Valley Tribe's main dock. It should be arriving at our Valley Tribe's main dock soon!"

Daiyue slowly sat back down. He remained silent for a while, then murmured, "The Fire Tribe's strength has grown so fast... I underestimated Fire Tribe manufacturing capabilities. Last time, they said they were confident they could build a ship with a Fire Tribe capacity of 100,000 jin by the end of the year. I thought they Fire Tribe just talking. I didn't expect that Fire Tribe not only built it, but also so far ahead of schedule. Our Valley Tribe hasn't been able to build a ship with a carrying capacity of 100,000 jin in decades."

Soon, more accurate news reached the council hall of the Valley Tribe headquarters. Quyong, the dockworker, sent someone over—another soldier, sweating profusely, panting as he reported to Daiyue, "Chief! The Fire Tribe has brought one large ship with a carrying capacity of 100,000 jin, forty ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin, and many more ships with carrying capacities of 20,000 jin and 10,000 jin—hundreds of ships of all sizes! The largest one is bigger than all the ships in our tribe; it's like a Little Mountain! Everyone at the dock is stunned. Chief Quyong told me to come and report immediately!"

Daiyue gasped, his eyes glazed over, and murmured, "Forty ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin each... and one ship with a carrying capacity of 100,000 jin each... how long has it been? The Fire Tribe's shipbuilding speed is too fast! Our Valley Tribe has only managed to build ten ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin each over several decades, and they're all old now, some of the planks are even rotten. The Fire Tribe has forty ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin each in just a few years, and now they even have one ship with a carrying capacity of 100,000 jin each. The difference is incredible..."

Qingsui put down the wooden board she was holding and stood up. She was tidying up the accounts. She was wearing a light-colored linen dress with a few Little Flower embroidered on the hem. The petals were pink and the leaves were green. Her hair was tied into a simple bun and held in place with a wooden hairpin. A few strands of hair fell down beside her ears.

"Father, the Fire Tribe is inherently powerful, but they've always kept a low Fire Tribe. Actually, when they first came to our Fire Tribe Valley Tribe, they were already capable of manufacturing bronze weapons. At that time, their Fire Tribe -based strength already surpassed our Valley Tribe's, but we didn't know it, we didn't realize it. The Fire Tribe suddenly appeared in our Valley Tribe's sights. From the beginning, we held onto our preconceived notions, looking down on the tribes upstream of the Fish River, thinking them small and poor, barely able to feed themselves. By the time our Valley Tribe realized what was happening, the Fire Tribe had already become a behemoth."

Daiyue nodded in agreement with Qingsui's words, saying, "Yes, the Fire Tribe Fire Tribe very strong from the beginning, but we were too blind to see it. Their strategy was also very successful, and their methods were very clever. They quietly and rapidly increased their strength. Now, even the Tiger Tribe can't do anything to the Fire Tribe Fire Tribe unless they use all their strength to deal with them. The Tiger Tribe is tied up by the two large tribes to the east and west, and they can't spare any attention. How can they exert their full strength? Now, the Fire Tribe not only has more and more ships, and they are getting bigger and bigger, but I also heard from the Clothing Tribe that the Fire Tribe has been recruiting people on a large scale on the Clothing River South Bank recently. Small tribes on the Clothing River South Bank are joining the Fire Tribe one after another. Now the Fire Tribe's population is probably even greater."

Qingsui spoke in a clear, melodious voice, like a silver bell. "Chief Yan told me that the Fire Tribe wants to increase its population to 150,000 as soon as possible. With their massive recruitment efforts, they'll probably reach that goal soon."

Daiyue nodded, his brows furrowing slightly, and said, "Yes, those small tribes on the Clothing River South Bank are not affiliated with the Clothing Tribe and do not obey the Clothing Tribe's orders. Now that the Fire Tribe is so powerful, our Valley Tribe can't really manage them."

Then Daiyue spoke up, his gaze becoming serious. "Qingsui, I have a feeling that if the Fire Tribe continues to develop like this, its strength may soon surpass that of the Tiger Tribe. At that time, these two major tribes, one in the south and one in the north, one upstream and one downstream, one at the river mouth and the other upstream, will inevitably clash. Our Valley Tribe is caught in the middle, so we also need to improve our strength. We can't just watch; we need to prepare. We can't be caught off guard when the time comes."

Qingsui asked, "Father, should our Valley Tribe continue to absorb people to increase its strength?"

Daiyue nodded and said, "Yes, we also need to recruit more people. We can't just watch others grow stronger. This year, we should strive to increase the population of our Valley Tribe to around 40,000. This way, our Valley Tribe can face the Bear Tribe's provocations with much more ease, without being as flustered as before. With more people in our Valley Tribe, we can cultivate more land, harvest more grain, and exchange it for more bronze weapons. The Fire Tribe's bronze weapons are cheap and good; exchanging them is a win-win situation."

Then Daiyue instructed Qingsui to prepare the banquet, saying urgently, "Go to our kitchen and keep an eye on things. Tell them to cook more dishes and bring out the best wine. The Fire Tribe has come all this way; we can't let them think our Valley Tribe is stingy. The banquet should include chicken, duck, fish, and meat—the more the better."

Daiyan then turned to Fengren, raising his voice slightly, and said, "Fengren, get ready to invite Yan and the others to the council hall for the banquet. Go personally; we must be courteous and not give the impression that our Valley Tribe is ignorant of etiquette."

Qingsui nodded, turned and walked out of the council hall with light steps. Fengren also clasped his hands in a salute, turned and strode away.