Urgent Deliberations in the Tiger's Den

Four days after Yan led his men to capture the Willow Vine Tribe and Great Luwei Tribe, news reached the Tiger Tribe. The messenger rushed back from the mouth of the Willow Vine Tribe River Mouth by small boat. As soon as he reached the dock, he ran to the council hall. His lips were cracked and dry. He tripped on the threshold at the entrance of the council hall, stumbled, and fell in, kneeling on one knee and panting as he shouted, "Chief! The Fire Tribe has occupied both the Willow Vine Tribe and Great Luwei Tribe! The seven thousand defenders are either dead or have surrendered, and the navy is completely wiped out!"

The Tiger Tribe's council hall quickly filled with people. The chairs on both sides of the long table were full, as were the low stools against the wall. Several young leaders stood at the door. Hu Zheng sat at the head of the table. He hadn't finished flipping through the wooden tablet in front of him. He put the bone needle in his hand on the table, raised his head, and his expression tightened for a moment before slowly darkening.

Before he could speak, Elder Tongding shouted urgently, his voice hoarse with the fury of someone who had just lost a piece of their flesh. His speech was faster than usual, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth. The wrinkles on his face deepened, and the lines around his eyes intensified. He slammed his hand heavily on the table, causing the earthenware bowl on it to bounce. "Gentlemen! The Fire Tribe has seized two strongholds of our Tiger Tribe: the Willow Vine Tribe and the Great Luwei Tribe. Those two territories were under the control of our Elder's faction. They had grain, land, and manpower, and accounted for a large portion of the annual grain and cloth tribute to the tribe. Now they're all in the Fire Tribe's hands. They could attack our main camp at any moment. I suggest we quickly gather all the tribe's forces to counterattack the Fire Tribe! Mobilize all available personnel and ships, and before the Fire Tribe can establish a foothold there, we must strike back in one fell swoop!"

No sooner had the Grand Elder finished speaking than Hu Bashan spoke up. He sat in the first seat to Hu Zheng's left, pulled his hand from the table, slapped it on his knee with a short, muffled thud, and then spoke. His voice was loud and clear, tinged with the anger of someone who had been offended. He spoke faster than usual, his voice so loud it shook some dust off the roof: "Where do we have any troops left to send? We need to station five thousand men on the Long River. Although relations with the Western Shu Tribe have improved considerably, we still have to be wary. The Shu Tribe has over a hundred thousand people and a considerable number of bronze weapons; they also have five thousand troops stationed there. Not to mention the Wuyue Tribe to the east; they are constantly..." "You want to fight our Tiger Tribe? Our old chief died at the hands of the Wuyue Tribe last time. The 10,000 troops stationed there are in dire straits. If Wuyue finds out about our troubles in the south, they might take the opportunity to press in from the east, and none of those 10,000 will dare to move. Our Tiger Tribe headquarters also needs to reserve 10,000 troops to protect our main camp. We've already sent 30,000 troops here. You lost a lot of men in your two previous battles with the Fire Tribe, and now you've lost another 7,000 there. Our Tiger Tribe headquarters only has a little over 40,000 left. Where can we spare any extra troops to launch a proactive attack on the Fire Tribe? I advise you to abandon those two territories and focus on defending the main camp with the rest of your men, just make sure the Fire Tribe doesn't attack."

Upon hearing this, the Grand Elder immediately became anxious. His brows furrowed, the lines around his eyes tightened, and he tapped his fingers heavily on the table, the knuckles making a thud on the wooden board. Then he spoke, his voice slightly louder than before: "If you hadn't disagreed with sending more mobile troops over there, how could we have been so easily defeated by the Fire Tribe this time? The previous times, it was your fault for holding us back that caused such heavy losses. This time, when the Fire Tribe attacked Willow Vine Tribe and Great Luwei, our men defended the camp, and as soon as the Fire Tribe arrived, they couldn't hold out. Seven thousand men were either killed or surrendered. If you..." "If only you had listened to me and moved all the mobile forces to the south, how could this have happened?" He paused, tapping his finger on the table again. "Now the Tiger Tribe's territory has been taken over by the Fire Tribe. If we don't do something, what will we do if the Fire Tribe attacks our base? If the Fire Tribe completely absorbs those two territories, they'll have over 50,000 more people and two more territories, while we'll have over 50,000 fewer people and two less territories. With this rise and fall, the gap will narrow, and then our Tiger Tribe will truly be unable to fight against the Fire Tribe!"

After listening, Hu Bashan slammed his palm on the table, making an even louder thud, and then spoke, his voice rising a notch, so loud that it made the ears of the person sitting next to him ring. "You can't even fight your own wars, and you're blaming us? Those two territories are controlled by your elder's faction, the garrison is your men, the leaders are yours, the fortifications are yours, and you couldn't hold them off when the Fire Tribe came. How can you blame us? Our tribe's soldiers are on the Long River, on the border of Western Shu, and on the border of Eastern Wuyue. Aren't they guarding the tribe's gates in every direction?"

The argument between the two factions escalated. Tong Dachui stood up, slammed the ceramic bowl he was holding onto the table, making a crisp sound as it hit the bottom, and then spoke, his voice booming with the anger that only comes from being offended. "Back then, how many of you lost when you led your men to fight the Wuyue Tribe? If it weren't for my father supplying you with copper and food from the rear, you wouldn't even be able to hold a sword! And now you're blaming us!"

Hu Zhenshan also stood up. His face was round and fat, and the skin on his cheekbones shone with oil. When he spoke, his voice was not loud but very high-pitched. "Tong Dachui, what you said is wrong. The matter on the Long River is a major matter for the tribe, not just our family's business. Your Great Elder's faction manages the bronze workshop and the shipbuilding workshop. You have money, grain, and manpower. Why don't you send more people to guard the south?"

Seeing the argument escalating, Hu Zheng repeatedly tried to stop it. He first slapped his palm on the table twice, making the ceramic bowl on it jump, and then said, "Everyone, stop arguing! What good will arguing do? Now that the Fire Tribe has seized our territory, we really need to make some preparations. We need to build a defense; we can't let the Fire Tribe's army reach our Tiger Tribe's main camp."

He paused, his gaze falling on the Tongding's face, then spoke, his voice lower than before. "Elder, you still have about ten thousand troops in the south, plus the mobile forces I assigned you last time. I'll also transfer another ten thousand, led by the Hu Bashan chief, to cooperate with you, making a total of twenty thousand. Go south together to find an opportunity. You must not let the Fire Tribe's forces reach the Tiger Tribe's main camp. Once you arrive in the south, first find out about the Fire Tribe's fleet and their troop deployment. If you find an opportunity, attack them. If you can't win, defend. If you can't hold, retreat. Don't fight head-on. Protect your troops and defend the main camp."

Faced with this arrangement, the Grand Elder and Tiger Tribe Hu Bashan had no choice but to compromise. Tongding withdrew his hands from the table, placed them on his knees, tapped them lightly with his fingers, and then said, "Twenty thousand it is. The matter in the south cannot be delayed; the longer it is delayed, the more passive we will become. I will make arrangements tomorrow to prepare enough boats. Once Hu Bashan's men arrive, we will advance south together."

Hu Bashan also withdrew his hand from the table, patted his belt, and then said, "I've mustered ten thousand men in the next few days. Once we get to the south, I'll be at your command. But there's one condition: don't use my men to fill a bottomless pit. When it's time to retreat, you must retreat."

Soon, people began to leave one after another.