The Two Envoys Return to Report
More than a month later, Hu Yi and Hu Zhua returned to the Tiger Tribe dock at the same time. The two fleets docked one after the other, and Hu Yi and Hu Zhua stepped off the gangplank almost simultaneously. The two met face to face. Hu Yi nodded to Hu Zhua, and Hu Zhua raised his hand to Hu Yi. Neither of them said much. Each of them had their own thoughts on their minds. They walked quickly and hurriedly, side by side, toward the council hall.
The people at the docks had already sent word, and the Tiger Tribe's leaders had also gathered in the council hall. The hall was packed, with chairs on both sides of the long table occupied. Hu Zheng sat at the head of the table, several wooden tablets laid out in front of him, his fingers tracing the edges of the tablets, his brow slightly furrowed. Tongding sat to his right, his hands resting on the table, his fingers interlaced. Hu Bashan sat to his left, his broadsword resting against the stool, his hands on his knees. Hu Zhenshan and Hu Dingshan sat on either side of him. Tong Dachui sat next to Tongding, clutching a ceramic bowl in his hand; the water in the bowl had already cooled. The council hall was quiet; no one spoke, only the occasional cough and the sound of chairs shifting.
As soon as Hu Yi and Hu Zhua entered, Hu Zheng raised his head, withdrew his hand from the wooden tablet, placed it on the table, and then spoke. His voice was not loud but very clear, and his speech was a beat faster than usual. His face showed the eagerness of someone who had been suppressing news for a long time. "Hu Yi Leader, Hu Zhua Claw Leader, how did you two fare on this trip? Tell everyone in detail. Should you report the good news first or the bad news first? One at a time."
As soon as Hu Zheng finished speaking, Hu Yi spoke first. He took a step forward, stood in front of the table, clasped his hands in a salute, then straightened up, lowered his hands to his sides, and said, "Chief, my trip to the Western Shu Tribe went smoothly. They not only agreed to supply our Tiger Tribe with enough food for 200,000 people for a year, but also agreed to send 20,000 troops to assist us in dealing with the Fire Tribe. The Western Shu Tribe's leader, Can Cong, approved it on the spot. We didn't lose out, and they also thought it was a good deal. Can Cong said they have plenty of food; the fields along the Shu River yield two harvests a year, and the granaries are full. They can even provide enough food for 200,000 people for a year. They also asked if we have enough boats; if not, they can lend us some to transport."
He paused, tapped his fingers lightly on his side, and then continued, his voice lower than before. "Now all we need to do is organize a fleet to trade grain with the Western Shu Western Shu Tribe. The first batch can be shipped next month. Can Ge, the second son of Can Cong and the strongest warrior, is coming with 20,000 troops to help us. We'll inform the Fire Tribe in advance when we deal with them, so they can send troops. They'll advance towards the Fish River from the west. Of course, I've already promised them the territory we agreed to. We'll return the territory we originally occupied to them first, and after we defeat the Fire Tribe, we'll give them another piece of land of equal size."
As soon as Hu Yi finished speaking, Hu Bashan spoke up. He pulled his hand from his knees, pressed it on the table, and said, "We can't hold onto those territories anyway. We need to withdraw our forces to the east and west, and there's no way we can defend them. Giving them to them won't matter. On the other hand, your gains this time were indeed quite good. I've dealt with that Can Cong guy before; he's very shrewd. He won't act until he sees a benefit. The fact that he was willing to lend troops and sell grain this time shows that he's sure our Tiger Tribe still has a foundation and won't collapse, which is why he's willing to bet on us." He paused, shifting his gaze from Hu Yi's face to Hu Zheng's, and then continued, his voice a little louder than before, "Chief, with the grain and 20,000 troops from the Western Shu Tribe, as long as the Fire Tribe doesn't send out all its forces, they can't do anything to us for the time being. We can take this opportunity to recover our strength, train new recruits, repair the boats, and reinforce the fortress walls. Once we've recovered, we can settle accounts with the Fire Tribe."
After listening, Hu Zheng nodded, withdrew his hand from the table, pressed it against his knee, and then spoke, his voice lower than before, but with a calculated certainty. "Yes, Chief Hu Yi did a good job this time. We've obtained both the food and reinforcements. Our Tiger Tribe can finally breathe a sigh of relief." He shifted his gaze from Hu Bashan's face to Hu Zhua's, and continued, his voice slightly higher, "Chief Hu Zhua, how was your harvest this time? What did the Wuyue Tribe say?"
Hu Zhua took a step forward, stopped in front of the table, clasped his hands in a salute, then straightened up, withdrew his hands from his front and let them hang at his sides, and said, "Chief, this time I went to invite the Wuyue Tribe to send troops to help us in the battle, but they refused. That Yue Kun is very shrewd. I offered him gifts and promised him territory, but he only accepted the gifts and did nothing. He said that the Wuyue Tribe would not interfere in our conflict with the Fire Tribe and that we should fight it ourselves. However, they accepted the territory we gave up and agreed to send someone to pick us up. They didn't say they would take the opportunity to attack us. When their first warrior Yue Jiao, met me at the dock, he was still barbed and asked if I had come to cause trouble. Yue Kun accepted the gifts in the council hall, but when it came to sending troops, he waved his hand and said, 'We don't want to get involved in your affairs.' It seems that they are determined to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight, waiting for us and the Fire Tribe to be exhausted so that they can reap the benefits."
After listening, Tongding withdrew his hand from the table, patted his knee, and then said, "The Wuyue Tribe and we have a long-standing feud. It's already a good result that they haven't taken the opportunity to attack us. On the contrary, we still need to be wary of them. Although our troops are preparing to withdraw entirely from the east, we still need to leave a small number of scouts to monitor them and see if they will try to take over our territory. If they obediently take over the territory and don't push forward, we'll ignore them for now and deal with the Fire Tribe before coming after them." He paused, tapped his fingers lightly on his knee, and then continued, his voice lower than before, "Yue Kun a man of few words. He accepted the gifts but didn't send troops, which means he's waiting for us to settle things with the Fire Tribe. When we fight the Fire Tribe again, we need to guard against him sneaking in from the east. Therefore, we can't withdraw all our troops from the east. We need to leave some scouts, anywhere from a few hundred to several dozen, to keep an eye on the border. If they dare to make a move, we'll know immediately."
After listening, Hu Zheng nodded, took his hand off his knee, pressed it on the table, and then spoke, his voice a little louder than before. "We still need to be careful with the Wuyue Tribe. We'll deal with the Fire Tribe first, then come after them. They occupy that territory in the east; we'll take it back sooner or later."
He paused, shifting his gaze from Tongding's face to Hu Bashan's, then to Hu Yi's, before continuing, his voice lower than before. "Now that we have food and reinforcements, let's first transport the grain from the Western Shu Tribe back, fill the granaries, train the troops, repair the ships, and reinforce the fortified walls. Next spring, if the Fire Tribe come again, with food, troops, and reinforcements, we won't be afraid of them. Hu Yi, you're in charge of arranging the fleet to transport grain to Western Shu, taking plenty of copper ingots and cloth, so they don't think we're breaking our word. Hu Zhua Zhao, you're in charge of arranging the evacuation to the east, bringing the troops back, but leaving some scouts on the border to keep an eye on the Wuyue Tribe ' movements."
Hu Yi and Hu Zhua nodded simultaneously. Hu Yi took the wooden tablet out of his pocket, made two marks on it with a bone needle to write down the details of transporting grain, then put it away and said, "Alright, I'll arrange the fleet tomorrow. I've already had the copper ingots and cloth prepared in the warehouse. We'll load them onto the ships and set off."
Hu Zhua also took the wooden tablet out of his pocket, glanced at it, and then put it back. He said, "I'll take men to handle the matter in the east tomorrow. Withdraw the troops, leave the scouts behind, and station a few people along the border at intervals. If they dare to make a move, we'll know immediately."
Then everyone discussed the specific arrangements for transporting grain and evacuating for a while. After everything that needed to be said was said, they all got up and left the council hall to make the arrangements.