Recaps

Xueya expanded the Wolf Tribe’s power through northern raids, then withdrew to High Pointed Mountain after clashing with Junfeng. Meanwhile, Yan helped the Fire Tribe grow through migration, grain trade, and diplomacy, leaving a possible secret alliance with the Valley Tribe under discussion.

• Xueya captured several tribes, raided northern settlements, and led his force south with captives and plunder as Junfeng pursued him with Horse Tribe cavalry.
• Xueya ambushed Junfeng’s forces in Tiger and Leopard Valley, then traded captives and two thousand sheep for peace while Junfeng withdrew to conserve supplies.
• Junfeng began seeking allies against the Wolf Tribe, while Xueya trained captured recruits and prepared for another northern campaign.
• Yan and Jianshi welcomed thousands of refugees and planned new settlements, outposts, and boatbuilding as the Fire Tribe’s population and defenses grew.
• Yan led fleets to gather newcomers and grain, and secured commitments from four tribes to join the Fire Tribe after autumn.
• Yan negotiated a major grain trade with Daiyue, offering pottery in advance for twenty million jin of grain the following year.
• Yan proposed a mutual-aid alliance against the Tiger Tribe, and Daiyue agreed to keep considering it while delaying a decision until after the grain trade.
• Yan and Qingsui shared time together before she returned home, promising to visit the Fire Tribe in early spring.

Yan and the Fire Tribe led an alliance that drove Xueya’s Wolf Tribe from its stronghold and brought its neighboring tribes under Fire Tribe protection. The Fish Tribe agreed to join the Fire Tribe in spring, while nearly six thousand migrants from four tribes arrived and their chiefs pledged their service.

• Yan returned to the Fire Tribe with grain from the Valley Tribe as Xueya led the Wolf Tribe west to raid the Fish Tribe.
• Cangbo, Muye, Wu Xiong, and Canglan evacuated or fortified their tribes as the Wolf Tribe advanced, while Canglan warned nearby leaders and sought Fire Tribe aid.
• Xueya attacked the Fish Tribe, killing Laoduo and leaving more than three hundred Fish Tribe people dead, until Dazhuang arrived with Fire Tribe cavalry.
• Jianya and Yan joined the campaign, and Yan ambushed Xueya’s camp while Jianya attacked from the front, routing the Wolf Tribe and killing Shichui.
• Yan pursued Xueya’s fleeing forces, killed Duyan’s column, and joined Dali and allied leaders in blockading High Pointed Mountain.
• Xueya secretly abandoned the Wolf Tribe stronghold and fled north with veteran warriors, and Yan’s forces captured the stronghold and thousands of subordinate tribespeople.
• Yan arranged for the Fish, Pottery Salt, Marsh, Beast Taming, and Hundred Crafts Tribes to migrate toward the Fire Tribe, while Canglan agreed that the Fish Tribe would join in spring.
• Dali brought nearly six thousand migrants from four tribes to the Fire Tribe, where Jianshi appointed their chiefs as council leaders and they pledged their tribes’ service.

The Fire Tribe brought in thousands of migrants, expanded its farms and workshops, and secured grain and trade ties while preparing for future threats. Yan’s river journeys won commitments from the Orange River and Red Flower River tribes, pushing the Fire Tribe’s population above one hundred thousand.

• Jianshi organized the Fire Tribe’s production and grain supplies as Canglan and Fish Tribe leaders agreed to join, and Yan led a fleet to bring in more than six thousand people from the western tributaries.
• Jianshi set plans for farmland, boats, and outposts, while Yan oversaw workshop relocations and trained recruits, and the Fire Tribe later collected seven thousand more migrants and brought over four thousand Fish Tribe members.
• Yan led a fleet to trade with the Valley Tribe, negotiated twenty million jin of grain for the following year, warned Daiyue about Xueya’s surviving Wolf Tribe fighters, and discussed future growth and mutual military assistance.
• The Fire Tribe tested a twenty-thousand-jin ship, planned larger vessels, and sent Yan to build trade ties with the Orange River and Red Flower River tribes, while Jianya collected grain from the Valley Tribe.
• Yan traded with the Orange River, Red Flower River, Green Leaf River, Clothing River, and Big Horse River tribes, and learned that Xueya’s surviving fighters were hiding north of the Big Horse River.
• Representatives from the Orange River and Red Flower River visited the Fire Tribe, and Huaguo and Dajutou pledged that their peoples would join, bringing the tribe’s population above one hundred thousand.
• Jianya returned with 2.8 million jin of grain, and Fengren confirmed the Valley Tribe would continue helping transport grain despite tensions with the Bear Tribe.

The Fire Tribe reached one hundred thousand people, expanded its fleet and harvests, and brought in new communities through trade and resettlement. Meanwhile, Xueya rebuilt the Wolf Tribe through violent raids, leaving it poised for further conflict as Yan began gathering thousands of new arrivals.

• Jianshi sent Yan to bring back people from the Orange River and Red Flower River and establish an outpost, while Jianya began transporting grain from the Valley Tribe.
• Yan oversaw the return of thousands of people and announced that the Fire Tribe had reached one hundred thousand, as its outposts and workshops continued to grow.
• Xueya led the Wolf Tribe in repeated raids on small tribes, coercing survivors into joining and expanding his force to around twelve hundred warriors.
• Xueya chose Stone Ridge Mountain for a secure settlement, while the Great Boulder Tribe and other neighbors began investigating the massacres.
• Jianshi kept the Fire Tribe out of the growing tensions between the Bear Tribe and Great Boulder Tribe and prioritized grain gathering, trade, and development.
• Yan traded pottery and salt with tribes along several rivers, publicized the Fire Tribe’s prosperity, and learned that nearly ten thousand people wanted to join.
• Yan proposed moving the administrative center to Little Fish River Mouth Outpost, and Jianshi approved considering the move while arranging help for Dazhuang.
• Yan led a fleet to collect newcomers, with more than five thousand waiting at Red Flower River Mouth and more than four thousand at Little Fish River Mouth.