Chapter Summaries

After suffering heavy losses near the Pottery Salt Tribe, Xueya redirected the Wolf Tribe toward easier targets and coerced the Green Grain Tribe and Marsh Tribe into surrendering grain. The Wolf Tribe returned toward High Pointed Mountain with plunder, while the affected tribes sought help from the Fish Tribe.

• Xueya concluded that the Fish Tribe could be challenged and led the Wolf Tribe toward the Green Grain Tribe and Marsh Tribe instead of returning empty-handed.
• Xueya left about fifty severely wounded people behind and led nearly three hundred fighters toward the Green Grain Tribe, raiding and burning two small tribes along the way.
• Xueya threatened Uncle Sui with force and claimed the Fish Tribe had been driven off, causing the Green Grain Tribe to surrender a third of its grain.
• Xueya used the same threat to make the Marsh Tribe hand over grain, then led his force toward High Pointed Mountain with its spoils.
• The Qinghe and Shuize tribes went together to the Fish Tribe to complain after learning that the Wolf Tribe had extorted them.

After the Wolf Tribe devastated the Pottery Salt Tribe, Jia Li went to the Fire Tribe to arrange the overdue pony trade and seek help. Jianshi and Yan agreed to escort the trade, extend goods on credit, and support the downstream tribes against future attacks.

• Jianshi and Yan strengthened the Fire Tribe’s patrols after receiving reports of fighting downstream.
• Jia Li counted the Pottery Salt Tribe’s casualties and losses, then sent Biaotou to oversee recovery while he traveled to the Fire Tribe.
• Jia Li told Jianshi and Yan how the Wolf Tribe attacked, the Hundred Crafts Tribe and Beast Taming Tribe helped, and the Fish Tribe exploited the crisis for supplies.
• Jia Li asked the Fire Tribe to escort the agreed trade of two hundred ponies and provide pottery and linen on favorable terms.
• Jianshi and Yan promised a hundred cavalrymen and two hundred mounted warriors for the escort, offered goods on credit, and pledged support against the Wolf Tribe.

Jianshi and Yan organized the Fire Tribe’s harvest, defenses, expansion, and trade plans, then led a large fleet downstream to seek grain from the Valley Tribe. The fleet passed the Pottery Salt Tribe and continued toward the Fish Tribe, where Yan hoped Canglan’s people would join them for the unfamiliar journey ahead.

• Yan proposed strengthening northern patrols against the Wolf Tribe and sending two thousand people to Small Gathering Valley to clear fields and build a stronghold, and Jianshi approved.
• Jianya proposed a flotilla to trade with tribes along three upstream rivers and seek new members, while Yan urged the tribe to trade for grain from the Valley Tribe soon.
• Yan proposed clearing six thousand mu of paddy fields and expanding vegetable plots and dry fields, and Jianshi approved the plan.
• Jianshi assigned Jianya to trade for the remaining ponies, Binmao and Dabang to explore and trade along the small rivers, and Dali and Dazhuang to oversee the harvest, fields, mining, and defenses.
• Jianya departed with warriors for the Horse Tribe, and Binmao and Dabang set out with a trade fleet.
• Jianshi and Yan led the largest voyage in Fire Tribe history, stopped at the Pottery Salt Tribe to deliver trade supplies, and sailed onward toward the Fish Tribe and Valley Tribe.

After learning that the Wolf Tribe had used the Fish Tribe’s name to extort grain from the Green Grain and Marsh tribes, Canglan convened his leaders to debate how to respond. He left the meeting with his troop expansion proposal postponed and a possible plan to buy three large boats awaiting further discussion.

• Uncle Sui and Cangbo told Canglan how Xueya had taken grain from their tribes, and Canglan showed them Wolf Tribe equipment to prove that Xueya had lied about defeating the Fish Tribe.
• Canglan summoned the Fish Tribe’s leaders and described the Wolf Tribe’s actions, prompting arguments over war, aid, and whether to demand supplies from the smaller tribes.
• Canglan proposed increasing the Fish Tribe’s population from three thousand to four thousand and its warriors from six hundred to eight hundred, but the leaders objected to the cost.
• Canglan set aside the population and troop increase proposal and suggested using the tribe’s reserves to order three large boats from the Valley Tribe.
• Canglan dismissed the meeting and asked the leaders to consider the boat purchase before they discussed it again the next day.

The Fire Tribe arrived at the Fish Tribe with twenty new giant ships and fifty large dugout canoes, shocking Canglan and his leaders with the scale of its strength. Fearing the consequences if the Fire Tribe faced a grain shortage, Canglan chose cooperation and prepared to welcome Jianshi and Yan for talks.

• Canglan learned that Jianshi and Yan were arriving ahead of schedule with a large fleet and ordered Julang to watch for them.
• Julang saw twenty giant ships and fifty large dugout canoes approaching, then hurried to report the fleet’s size to Canglan.
• Canglan and the Fish Tribe leaders confirmed the Fire Tribe’s naval strength and considered the danger it could pose if it needed grain and could not buy any.
• Canglan rejected confrontation and proposed that the Fish Tribe help arrange grain trade with the Valley Tribe in exchange for stronger ties and security.
• Canglan ordered Julang and the leaders to welcome Jianshi and Yan warmly as they headed to meet him.

Jianshi and Yan negotiated with Canglan, whose Fish Tribe was impressed by the Fire Tribe’s growing fleet and agreed to accompany them downstream to buy grain. The two tribes arranged to leave for the Valley Tribe in three days, with the Fish Tribe receiving compensation for its help.

• Canglan warmly welcomed Jianshi and Yan, and the Fire Tribe presented gifts that the Fish Tribe leaders gladly accepted.
• Yan revealed that the Fire Tribe planned to have at least fifty large ships by year’s end, shocking Canglan and the other leaders.
• Canglan asked to buy large ships, but Jianshi refused to sell them and offered two-thousand-jin dugout canoes instead.
• Jianshi and Yan explained that they were traveling to the Valley Tribe to purchase grain and invited the Fish Tribe to guide and accompany them for compensation.
• Canglan agreed to accompany the Fire Tribe, and Jianshi accepted his plan to leave for the Valley Tribe in three days.

Jianshi, Yan, and Canglan led their combined fleets downstream to the Valley Tribe to buy grain, learning about the region’s powerful tribes and the Valley Tribe’s enormous ships along the way. After Daiyan greeted them with a display of strength, he allowed the fleet to proceed to the Valley Tribe’s headquarters dock, where Daiyue would receive them.

• Jianshi warned Yan that the Fish Tribe’s cooperation with the Fire Tribe depended on mutual interests, while Canglan prepared ten ships to join their journey.
• The Fire Tribe’s twenty large ships and fifty smaller vessels set sail with the Fish Tribe’s fleet, and Canglan told Jianshi and Yan about the downstream tribes and the Valley Tribe’s power.
• The fleet passed the Horse Tribe’s territory and reached the Valley Tribe’s eastern outpost, where Jianshi and Yan saw the Valley Tribe’s vast farmland and fifty-thousand-jin ships.
• After receiving Canglan’s gifts, Daiyan boarded a giant ship and sailed out to meet the fleet, displaying the Valley Tribe’s strength.
• Daiyan welcomed Canglan, learned the Fire Tribe had come to buy grain, and directed the combined fleet to the Valley Tribe’s headquarters dock.

Jianshi and Yan arrived at the Valley Tribe’s prosperous main settlement and learned about its wealth, bronze trade, and alliance of tribes. After Yan saved Qingsui, Chief Daiyue’s only daughter, from a runaway horse, Fengren led the party toward Daiyue’s residence and council hall.

• Jianshi and Yan saw the Valley Tribe’s extensive fields, busy river traffic, and bronze-armed guards as their fleet reached the dock.
• Canglan explained that the Valley Tribe had grown through trade with the Tiger Tribe and the addition of seven allied tribes.
• A frightened horse bolted toward the dock crowd, and Yan grabbed its reins and pulled Qingsui from its back, injuring his palm.
• Fengren identified Qingsui as Daiyue’s only daughter and thanked Yan for saving her life.
• Fengren led Jianshi, Yan, and Canglan toward Daiyue’s residence, while Qingsui stole glances at Yan.

Chief Daiyue welcomed Chief Canglan and the newly arrived Fire Tribe, whose impressive fleet and fine gifts revealed their strength. After learning that Yan had saved Qingsui from a runaway horse, Daiyue thanked him and hosted the guests, while warning Qingsui that he would discipline her after the meeting.

• A messenger told Daiyue that Canglan had arrived with the Fire Tribe, whose fleet included twenty large boats for trading grain.
• Daiyue learned that Qingsui had secretly ridden his horse and that Yan had saved her when it bolted toward the docks.
• Daiyue composed himself and welcomed Canglan, Jianshi, Yan, and the seven elders to the council house.
• Jianshi presented fine pottery and hemp cloth, while Canglan praised Yan and revealed that he led more than a thousand youngsters.
• Daiyue ordered Qingsui to sit near the door and warned her that he would settle accounts with her after the guests left.
• Daiyue raised goat's milk in a welcome toast, and the gathering grew lively.

At the feast, Canglan explained the Fire Tribe’s growth and pottery production, leading Daiyue to recognize a profitable opportunity to trade grain for pottery. Jianshi and Daiyue agreed to exchange three million jin of grain in three batches, and their fleets prepared to carry the first shipment south in three days.

• Canglan told Daiyue and the elders that the Fire Tribe had grown to more than ten thousand people and made pottery under Yan’s direction.
• Daiyue recognized that the Valley Tribe could trade its surplus grain for the Fire Tribe’s pottery and resell it for profit.
• Jianshi agreed to buy the Valley Tribe’s three million jin of surplus grain in three batches at Daiyue’s low price.
• Jianshi and Daiyue arranged for their boats to carry the first shipment, with pottery paying for the grain and remaining pottery held as a deposit.
• The Valley Tribe began preparing grain and the Fire Tribe began unloading pottery ahead of their fleets’ departure in three days.

After Jianshi and his party left, Daiyue’s elders debated the Fire Tribe’s strength, the pottery trade, and whether to seize Yan’s technique; Daiyue rejected that idea and appointed Fengren to lead a grain shipment. The elders then clashed over how to spend the pottery profits, and Daiyue postponed the decision as he reflected on the threats and divisions facing the Valley Tribe.

• Daiyue reprimanded Qingsui, then joined the elders to discuss the Fire Tribe’s large population, grain shortage, and valuable pottery.
• Yaoshan hinted that the Valley Tribe should gain control of Yan and his pottery technique, but Zhiyun objected and Daiyue ruled out the idea.
• Daiyue appointed Fengren to lead the grain shipment and investigate the Fire Tribe’s location, strength, and internal situation.
• Jin Ye argued for spending pottery profits on bronze weapons and tools, while Lin Feng and Yaoshan opposed the purchase.
• Daiyue stopped the argument and postponed the decision about allocating the profits.
• Alone outside the council house, Daiyue considered the Valley Tribe’s divisions and threats and concluded that it needed greater strength.

Daiyue scolded Qingsui for risking a dangerous horse ride, then told her to give Chasing Wind and Treading Clouds to the Fire Tribe youth who had saved her. At the camp, Jianshi and Yan assessed the Valley Tribe’s potential threat and planned to explore and trade for more of its resources and knowledge.

• Daiyue sternly reprimanded Qingsui for approaching the dangerous horse and putting herself and others at risk.
• Qingsui admitted she was wrong, and Daiyue told her to take his horses Chasing Wind and Treading Clouds to the Fire Tribe youth who had rescued her.
• Jianshi and Yan agreed that Yaoshan’s reaction to the pottery technique suggested he might covet it, but Daiyue seemed unlikely to act rashly.
• Jianshi reassured Yan that the Fire Tribe’s armed warriors could defend themselves and that Daiyue faced other pressing concerns.
• Yan proposed seeking more trade and learning from the Valley Tribe, and Jianshi approved an accompanied visit beginning the next day.

Qingsui brought Chasing Wind and Treading Clouds to Yan as thanks for saving her, and he accepted the horses after promising to care for them. Fengren asked Qingsui to show Yan around the Valley Tribe, and she began the tour with him.

• Qingsui groomed Chasing Wind and Treading Clouds and spent the night thinking about Yan before dressing carefully to meet him.
• Qingsui encountered her cousins Daishi and Daisha on the way to the docks, where Daisha complimented her appearance.
• Qingsui presented Chasing Wind and Treading Clouds to Yan, who admired the horses and accepted them after she insisted they were a gift from her father.
• Fengren asked Qingsui to show Yan around the Valley Tribe, warning her to avoid the workshops and the elders' private storerooms.
• Qingsui and Yan left the handover bustle with their companions and began touring the Valley Tribe's main settlement.

Yan and Qingsui grew closer during meals, conversations, and gentle rides while Yan completed the grain handover at the Valley Tribe. When Yan’s fleet departed for home, Qingsui watched it leave, while Daiyue worried about what her growing attachment to Yan could mean for her and the Valley Tribe.

• Yan invited Qingsui to eat at the Fire Tribe camp, where she delighted in his carefully prepared meal.
• Yan and Qingsui rode Chasing Wind and Treading Clouds slowly across the grassland, and Qingsui explained her history with the horses and her love of riding.
• Over the next two days, Qingsui visited Yan at the dock, helped him obtain crop seeds, and grew familiar with him as they talked and sometimes rode together.
• On the third morning, Yan told Qingsui that he was leaving and invited her to visit the Fire Tribe; she promised she would come if she could.
• Daiyue watched Qingsui and Yan’s farewell and worried about the possibility of her marrying into the Fire Tribe and the consequences for his daughter and the Valley Tribe.
• Yan’s fleet set off along the Fish River, and Qingsui waved from the bank until the ships disappeared.

Daiyue managed the Valley Tribe’s pottery reserves and strengthened its defenses while Qingsui struggled with Yan’s departure. After a twenty-six-day voyage, Yan and Jianshi brought the grain fleet to Fire Creek Mouth and invited Canglan and Fengren to visit the Fire Tribe.

• Daiyue refused requests to distribute the pottery and ordered heightened patrols while the fleet was away.
• Qingsui watched Yan’s fleet disappear and returned to her room feeling despondent, while Yan set aside his feelings for her and resolved to strengthen the Fire Tribe’s agriculture.
• Yan and Jianshi repeatedly visited Fengren aboard the voyage, and the three leaders developed mutual respect.
• After about twenty-six days, the combined fleet reached Fire Creek Mouth, where the giant ships anchored and workers prepared to transfer the grain.
• Jianshi and Yan invited Canglan and Fengren ashore, and both leaders accepted and surveyed the Fire Tribe.

Canglan and Fengren saw the Fire Tribe’s prosperity and strength firsthand, leaving Canglan resolved to deepen the Fish Tribe’s alliance with it. After the Valley Tribe’s grain was unloaded, Fengren departed to return home and report to Daiyue.

• Canglan surveyed the Fire Tribe’s boats, population, fields, livestock, and warriors, and realized it had become a powerful, self-sufficient tribe.
• Canglan resolved to preserve and deepen the Fish Tribe’s cooperation with the Fire Tribe, while Fengren was impressed by its rapid rise.
• Jianshi and Yan welcomed Canglan and Fengren at the Fire Tribe’s hall, where Qingye spoke with her brother and the leaders shared food and conversation.
• A messenger reported that the 850,000 jin of Valley Tribe grain had been unloaded, and Fengren said he needed to return because his tribe’s defenses were thin.
• Jianshi and Yan thanked Fengren, gave him gifts, and watched as he led the Valley Tribe’s fleet north toward home.

Jianshi settled the Fish Tribe’s expenses for helping with the Valley Tribe trade by giving Canglan ten large dugout canoes and pottery as an advance for future transport work. After the Fish Tribe departed satisfied, Jianshi gathered the Fire Tribe’s senior members to report that the Valley Tribe was stronger than they had expected.

• Canglan asked Jianshi to settle the Fish Tribe’s expenses for transporting and guiding the Fire Tribe’s delegation to the Valley Tribe.
• Jianshi offered Canglan ten older two-thousand-jin dugout canoes to cover the Fish Tribe’s expenses, and Canglan eagerly accepted.
• Jianshi agreed to provide pottery at the Valley Tribe’s price as an advance payment for the Fish Tribe’s help on a future grain shipment.
• Canglan and the Fish Tribe took possession of the boats and pottery and sailed away, pleased with the trade.
• Jianshi told Yan to summon the Fire Tribe’s senior members, then informed the gathered leaders that the Valley Tribe was stronger than they had expected.

Jianshi warned the Fire Tribe’s leaders that stronger tribes threatened their security and urged them to expand their strength. The meeting ended with plans to increase farming, trade, migration, shipbuilding, and defenses at Small Gathering Valley.

• Jianshi and Yan described the Valley Tribe’s wealth and the much larger, powerful Tiger Tribe, prompting Jianshi to warn that the Fire Tribe must not grow complacent.
• Jianya reported returning with all two hundred horses and news from Xiao Matou, then agreed to trade pottery to the Wolf Tribe-ravaged Pottery Salt Tribe.
• Qingye and the Manufacturing Group reported progress on new fields, livestock, and boats, while Jianshi ordered the Fire Tribe to accelerate farming and shipbuilding.
• Binmao and Dabang reported that about three thousand people across the Water River, Forest River, and Stone River wanted to join the Fire Tribe, and Jianshi ordered them to escort willing newcomers back.
• Jianshi assigned Jianya to lead two thousand people to build and defend an outpost at Small Gathering Valley, protect the Deer Tribe’s ore route, and watch for Wolf Tribe movements.
• After the meeting, Yan acknowledged Jianshi’s warning, and Jianshi said leaders had to look beyond immediate comforts to threats beyond the forest.

Yan toured the Fire Tribe’s workshops, checked production and security, and planned improvements to pottery, ships, bronze, cloth, and salt. He ended the day reflecting on how these industries had built the tribe’s strength as it prepared for future challenges.

• Yan inspected the pottery workshop and told his three aunts to prioritize the tribe’s needs while selling only a few glazed pots to outsiders.
• Yan discussed next year’s ten-thousand-jin ship plans with Fumu, who said the tribe had timber but would need to test the larger vessel’s design.
• Yan visited the bronze workshop, where Tongchui reported enough weapons to equip more than 2,400 people, and Yan considered moving smelting closer to the Deer Tribe’s former camp.
• Yan saw the clothing workshop’s improved linen production and visited the guarded salt workshop, where the tribe kept its limited salt production secret.
• Yan looked over the busy valley at sunset and returned home, reflecting on the industries that had helped the Fire Tribe grow.

Yan reflected on the Fire Tribe’s growth as its fields and housing expanded, while the tribe prepared to bring home three thousand people from the Fish River’s upper tributaries. After a large fleet departed, Jianya sent workers and warriors to establish an outpost in the Small Gathering Valley and secure the northern frontier.

• Yan rode Chasing Wind and Treading Clouds across the grassland, taking a brief respite from his concerns about the tribe’s expansion.
• The Fire Tribe expanded its paddies and replaced thatched huts with wooden homes in preparation for its growing population.
• Jianya returned from the Pottery Salt Tribe, and Binmao and Dabang departed with a large fleet to bring back three thousand tribespeople.
• Jianya sent two thousand people, including four hundred warriors, to build an outpost in the Small Gathering Valley, reclaim farmland, and protect the Deer Tribe’s mining area from the Wolf Tribe.
• The Fire Tribe built beacon towers along the route to the outpost, while Jianshi watched the northern mountains and prepared for possible threats.