Chapter Summaries

After learning that Xueya and the Wolf Tribe were forcibly absorbing nearby tribes, Jia Li prepared the Pottery Salt Tribe for an expected attack and appealed to its allies for help. When Tujiu’s cavalry arrived and drew Biaotou’s force into a standoff near Wolf Fang Valley, Jia Li sent urgent requests for reinforcements as the tribe braced for the Wolf Tribe’s main army.

• Pottery Salt Tribe scouts found the ruined White Stone Tribe camp and reported the Wolf Tribe’s violence to Jia Li.
• Jia Li warned the Beast Taming, Hundred Crafts, Fish, and Fire tribes, then took in fleeing people until the Pottery Salt Tribe reached fifteen hundred residents and about three hundred warriors.
• Tujiu led fifty Wolf Tribe cavalrymen in raids around the Pottery Salt Tribe’s outskirts, prompting Jia Li to send Biaotou with the tribe’s riders and two hundred warriors to drive them away.
• Biaotou pursued Tujiu toward Wolf Fang Valley, where the Wolf Tribe cavalry harassed the Pottery Salt Tribe force and the two sides formed a standoff.
• Jia Li sent more messengers to the allied tribes requesting urgent reinforcements while the Pottery Salt Tribe strengthened its defenses and moved vulnerable residents to safety.

Muye prepared the Beast Taming Tribe for war after learning that the Wolf Tribe had massacred resisting tribes and amassed a large force. He withheld immediate reinforcements from the Pottery Salt Tribe while the enemy's main force remained unlocated, but reaffirmed their mutual defense agreement.

• Muye tightened patrols and restricted travel after the Pottery Salt Tribe warned him of the Wolf Tribe's renewed offensive.
• Liequan reported that Xueya had forcibly recruited warriors, exterminated resisting tribes, and possibly gathered over a thousand people with many horses.
• Muye ordered Shouqun to accept selected refugees until the tribe's population reached around twelve hundred and send potential fighters to Jiangsheng for training.
• Muye assigned Liequan to track the Wolf Tribe and ordered Jiangsheng to strengthen fortifications, prepare weapons, and train recruits.
• A Pottery Salt Tribe messenger requested immediate reinforcements after around fifty Wolf Tribe cavalrymen appeared outside the settlement.
• Muye refused to send warriors before the Wolf Tribe's main force was located, promised aid if it attacked the Pottery Salt Tribe, and reminded Jia Li of the reciprocal obligation.

Wu Xiong learned that the Wolf Tribe had grown into a large, mobile force and was threatening the Pottery Salt Tribe, but he refused to send reinforcements until the Wolf Tribe’s main force revealed its intentions. He left the Hundred Crafts Tribe preparing for war by recruiting newcomers, training fighters, strengthening defenses, and tracking the enemy.

• Wu Xiong ordered Lieying to intensify scouting and increase the Hundred Crafts Tribe’s guards after learning that Xueya’s forces were growing more dangerous.
• Refugees reported that the Wolf Tribe was coercing and killing other tribes, and its force may have reached a thousand people with many horses.
• A messenger told Wu Xiong that around fifty Wolf Tribe riders had appeared outside the Pottery Salt Tribe and requested urgent reinforcements.
• Lieying warned Wu Xiong that the Wolf Tribe’s main force might be heading toward the Marsh Tribe and could be larger than expected, so Wu Xiong declined to send warriors until the threat to the Pottery Salt Tribe became clear.
• Wu Xiong summoned his leaders and ordered Ruimu to recruit five or six hundred newcomers, Shifu to train able-bodied recruits, Kaishan to fortify the tribe, and Lieying to track the Wolf Tribe’s movements.

Canglan responded to the Wolf Tribe’s expansion by preparing the Fish Tribe’s defenses and deciding which refugees and neighboring tribes to support. After learning that Xueya’s main force was moving toward the Marsh and Green Grain Tribes, Canglan ordered a force of seven hundred men to march to the Marsh Tribe’s aid.

• A messenger warned Canglan that the Wolf Tribe had attacked the White Stone Tribe, and Canglan ordered Shentan to improve surveillance while Julang prepared the warriors.
• Shentan reported that Xueya had forced men from more than ten small tribes into his army, prompting the Fish Tribe’s leaders to debate refugee intake and the threat to their trade.
• Canglan decided to absorb around a thousand refugees and disperse others among dependent tribes to strengthen a buffer around Fish Tribe territory.
• After Shentan reported that the Wolf Tribe’s main force was near Marsh and Green Grain, Canglan told a Pottery Salt Tribe messenger to prepare defenses and promised aid if the tribe was attacked.
• Canglan ordered Julang and Powang to lead four hundred Fish Tribe warriors and three hundred conscripted men to the Marsh Tribe, while Laoduo and Xieqian guarded the Fish Tribe.

Yan welcomed five northern tribes fleeing the Wolf Tribe’s attacks into the Fire Tribe and learned that his father, Jianshi, was mobilizing a major force to confront Xueya. The chapter ended with Yan preparing the Small Gathering Valley Outpost for the arriving troops and sending scouts north to locate the Wolf Tribe’s main force.

• Five tribal chiefs told Yan that Xueya had destroyed the White Stone Tribe and forced nearby tribes into his expanding raids.
• Yan welcomed the five tribes and led their roughly six hundred people to the Small Gathering Valley Outpost for shelter and food.
• A messenger told Yan and Dazhuang that Jianshi planned to lead three hundred elite warriors north and send Dabang and Jijiao with seven hundred more and supplies.
• Yan ordered the messenger to report that the outpost was ready to receive Jianshi and said he would send mounted scouts north to track the Wolf Tribe.

Jianshi brought Fire Tribe reinforcements to Little Gathering Valley and organized a rapid response to the Wolf Tribe’s expansion. He and Yan reached the Pottery Salt Tribe, where Jia Li welcomed them and the tribespeople greeted the fleet with cheers.

• Jianshi arrived at Little Gathering Valley, heard Yan’s report on the new tribespeople and the Wolf Tribe’s attacks, and ordered defenses strengthened.
• Jianshi assigned Yan to join the river expedition, Yingmu to lead cavalry by land, Shimao and Liebao to escort supplies, and Dazhuang to oversee the outpost.
• Jianshi and Yan sailed downstream with three hundred elite warriors the next morning, while the other groups prepared to reinforce the Pottery Salt Tribe by land.
• A Pottery Salt Tribe messenger told Jianshi that fifty Wolf Tribe cavalrymen had arrived and that Jia Li was seeking aid.
• Jianshi’s fleet reached the creek near the Pottery Salt Tribe on the second evening, where Jia Li welcomed him and Yan.
• The fleet entered the Pottery Salt Tribe’s creek as the tribespeople cheered the arriving reinforcements.

Jianshi and Yan helped the Pottery Salt Tribe prepare for the Wolf Tribe’s expected attack, then joined its forces in defeating Tujiu’s raiding cavalry outside Wolf Fang Valley. The captured Wolf Tribe riders began revealing where Xueya’s main force had gone and what he planned.

• Jia Li told Jianshi and Yan that Tujiu’s fifty cavalrymen were harassing the Pottery Salt Tribe, and Yan suspected Xueya’s main force had targeted the Marsh Tribe or the Green Grain Tribe instead.
• Jianshi said two hundred Fire Tribe cavalrymen were on their way and ordered the fleet to collect the remaining troops and supplies; he and Yan later scouted Wolf Fang Valley and found no sign of Xueya’s main force.
• Jia Li learned from Canglan that Xueya was moving near the Marsh Tribe and the Green Grain Tribe, while Yingmu’s two hundred cavalrymen arrived near the valley on the third day.
• Biaotou and Yingmu attacked Tujiu’s cavalry from opposite directions, but Tujiu escaped; the allied forces killed twelve Wolf Tribe riders and captured four.
• Yan questioned the bound captives about Xueya’s main force and plans, and they began telling him what they knew.

Cangbo organized the Marsh Tribe’s defense against Yexiao’s cavalry, then led his people to escape through the marsh before Xueya’s main force arrived. The Wolf Tribe seized the abandoned supplies and planned to plunder the Green Grain Tribe next.

• After a scout warned that at least forty Wolf Tribe cavalrymen were approaching, Cangbo ordered the men to defend the camp while the women fled through the back gate.
• Yexiao reached the camp, found its defenders ready, and sent a rider to tell Xueya that the Marsh Tribe might already be escaping.
• Cangbo led the warriors in a controlled retreat into the marsh, where the terrain stopped Yexiao’s cavalry from pursuing them safely.
• Xueya arrived with the main force, seized the remaining grain and furs, and distributed less valuable goods to the vassal troops.
• Xueya decided to leave the Marsh Tribe’s homes and fields intact so the Wolf Tribe could plunder them again after the next harvest.
• Xueya ordered Yexiao to lead the cavalry toward the Green Grain Tribe and prevent its people from escaping.

Uncle Sui strengthened the Green Grain Tribe by sheltering fleeing tribespeople and prepared to resist Xueya’s approaching army. The Wolf Tribe surrounded the defended camp, and Xueya weighed his options without yet ordering an attack.

• Uncle Sui welcomed fleeing tribespeople, raising the Green Grain Tribe’s population to fifteen hundred and its fighting-age men to around three hundred.
• After scouts warned that Xueya was approaching with over a thousand people, Uncle Sui’s leaders urged resistance and reminded him that the Fish Tribe had promised help.
• Uncle Sui ordered Shinian, Gucang, Wotu, and Chutou to prepare the warriors, weapons, camp defenses, and other residents for a siege.
• Xueya sent Yexiao’s cavalry ahead, and Yexiao found the Green Grain Tribe’s camp fortified and defended by about six hundred able-bodied people.
• Xueya arrived with more than eight hundred troops and, after Yexiao warned of possible losses and Fish Tribe reinforcements, considered his next move instead of attacking immediately.

Xueya used a fire attack to break into the Green Grain Tribe’s camp and ordered his cavalry to ambush those fleeing through the back gate. The Wolf Tribe captured the camp and its stores, while Uncle Sui’s people were scattered and slaughtered.

• Xueya ordered Yexiao to ambush the Green Grain Tribe’s back gate while Shichui and Duyan gathered firewood and straw for an attack.
• The Wolf Tribe set fire to the camp’s palisade and thatched houses, forcing Uncle Sui to send the tribe’s leaders and vulnerable people fleeing through the back gate.
• Uncle Sui stayed behind as the Green Grain Tribe’s leaders led warriors, elders, women, and children out of the burning camp.
• Xueya led the Wolf Tribe through the collapsed main gate and pursued the fleeing Green Grain Tribe people, while Yexiao’s cavalry trapped and scattered their warriors.
• The Wolf Tribe killed or captured many fugitives, seized grain and valuables, and returned to the camp as night fell.
• Xueya ordered the camp gates shut and gave his warriors leave to celebrate with the spoils and captives.

Julang led Fish Tribe reinforcements toward the Marsh Tribe, but learned that Xueya's Wolf Tribe had captured both the Marsh Tribe and Green Grain Tribe camps. He redirected his army toward the Green Grain Tribe, determined to confront Xueya at dawn.

• Shentan reported that the Marsh Tribe's people had fled, and Julang ordered his force to hurry toward their camp.
• Cangbo told Julang that the Wolf Tribe had taken the Marsh Tribe camp, and Julang persuaded him to head for the Green Grain Tribe instead of trying to reclaim it.
• At dawn, Julang and Powang joined forces with Changgāo and a hundred Marsh Tribe warriors and marched toward the Green Grain Tribe.
• Shentan reported that Xueya had used fire and an ambush to capture the Green Grain Tribe camp and seize its supplies.
• Julang ordered Shentan to find Green Grain Tribe survivors and learn the Wolf Tribe's whereabouts, then ordered his army to march at dawn and pursue Xueya.

Julang led the Fish Tribe against Xueya's Wolf Tribe forces at the Green Grain Tribe camp, where both sides prepared for battle. Xueya led his warriors and vassal troops out to face Julang in the wilderness, and the armies drew near as the fight was about to begin.

• Julang led eight hundred Fish Tribe troops toward the Green Grain Tribe camp after Shentan reported that Wolf Tribe sentries had spotted them.
• Xueya learned the Fish Tribe had arrived and ordered his warriors to arm and assemble at the camp gate.
• Julang taunted Xueya into leaving the camp, then withdrew his forces to an open area two li away.
• Xueya arranged for Yexiao to harass the Fish Tribe's flanks and threatened the vassal troops with the fate of the White Stone Tribe if they fled.
• Xueya led three hundred elite Wolf Tribe warriors and five hundred vassal troops out of the camp as the two armies approached each other.

Xueya led the Wolf Tribe to a decisive victory over Julang and the Fish Tribe in the wilderness, routing their conscripted vanguard and overwhelming their elites. Julang escaped, but the Wolf Tribe seized the battlefield and prepared to consolidate its power and take the Green Grain Tribe’s fertile land.

• Xueya ordered Shichui’s vassal troops to charge the Fish Tribe’s hastily assembled vanguard while Yexiao’s cavalry harassed the flanks and rear.
• The Fish Tribe’s vanguard panicked and fled into its elites, throwing Julang’s formation into chaos as the Wolf Tribe attacked.
• Xueya and Duyan led the Wolf Tribe elites into the fight, and Xueya battled Julang until Shentan arrived and carried Julang away during the retreat.
• Yexiao pursued the fleeing Fish Tribe warriors, and the battle ended with more than two hundred Fish Tribe elites and at least three hundred conscripts dead, alongside over two hundred Wolf Tribe and vassal casualties.
• Xueya ordered his forces to collect weapons and supplies and told Shichui to finish off the wounded before leading the Wolf Tribe back to camp to celebrate.

After defeating the Fish Tribe, Xueya celebrated the Wolf Tribe’s victory and assessed its spoils and losses. He decided to raid nearby small tribes to strengthen his forces before confronting the region’s stronger tribes next year.

• Xueya returned to camp, celebrated the victory, and joined the Wolf Tribe’s revelry as its warriors divided the spoils and captives.
• Yexiao reported that the battlefield yielded hundreds of sets of armor and many weapons, while the chiefs boasted about defeating the Fish Tribe.
• Xueya and Yexiao estimated that only a little over four hundred Wolf Tribe fighters remained ready for battle, so Xueya rejected an immediate attack on the Fish Tribe’s camp and nearby allied tribes.
• Xueya ordered Duyan to escort the wounded, supplies, and captives back to camp, while he led the remaining fighters to raid small tribes and Yexiao recalled Tujiu and his cavalry.
• Xueya declared that the Wolf Tribe would force the region’s tribes to submit or die, then sat by the fire planning the next day’s actions.

After defeating the Fish Tribe, Xueya led his forces to subdue nearby small tribes, but found them fleeing in fear. When Tujiu reported that the Fire Tribe had arrived with at least two hundred cavalry, Xueya abandoned the campaign and ordered a retreat.

• Xueya sent Duyan back with the wounded, supplies, and captives, then led Yexiao, Shichui, and about four hundred troops toward the small tribes.
• Yexiao found the Little Leaf Tribe deserted, and Xueya’s troops found no food when they searched its camp.
• Julang and Shentan encountered small tribes fleeing toward the Fish Tribe after learning of its defeat, and Shentan urged Julang to return and strengthen the Fish Tribe’s defenses.
• Xueya found the next two small tribes deserted as well, while more tribes fled in fear of the Wolf Tribe.
• Tujiu arrived with his surviving cavalry and reported that at least two hundred Fire Tribe cavalrymen had attacked them near the Pottery Salt Tribe.
• Xueya ordered his forces to retreat and sent two cavalrymen to warn Duyan to hurry and stay alert.

Jianshi and Yan rallied the Pottery Salt Tribe and pursued Xueya’s Wolf Tribe forces after they defeated the Fish Tribe near the Green Grain Tribe. The Fire Tribe cavalry trapped Xueya inside the Little Leaf Tribe’s camp and waited for infantry and allied reinforcements before attacking.

• Jianshi and Yan persuaded Jia Li to have the Pottery Salt Tribe join the campaign against the Wolf Tribe, and Jia Li committed one hundred infantrymen and twenty cavalrymen.
• Jianshi led the cavalry toward the Green Grain Tribe, where they found the camp burned and learned that the Fish Tribe’s reinforcements had been defeated; the Wolf Tribe’s main force had gone toward the Fish Tribe.
• Jianshi pursued the Wolf Tribe and caught up with its retreating main force after Tujiu’s scouts spotted the cavalry.
• Jianshi ordered Yingmu’s five cavalry squads to harass the Wolf Tribe as it retreated toward the Little Leaf Tribe’s camp, inflicting more than thirty casualties.
• Xueya’s forces fortified themselves inside the Little Leaf Tribe’s camp, while Jianshi surrounded it and sent messengers to hurry the Fish Tribe and the approaching Fire Tribe infantry.

Jianshi gathered a large allied army to destroy the Wolf Tribe after its failed attempt to break out of the Little Leaf Tribe's camp. The allies surrounded the camp, and Jianshi called the tribal leaders to plan an all-out attack.

• Wu Xiong sent Shifu and Kaishan with troops from the Hundred Crafts Tribe to join Jianshi, while Muye dispatched Liequan and Jiangsheng from the Beast Taming Tribe.
• After learning of the alliance, Canglan sent Julang and Shentan with 150 Fish Tribe warriors and recruits, ordering them to follow Jianshi's commands.
• Xueya led the Wolf Tribe out of the camp, but Fire Tribe cavalry harassed its flanks as Julang's force arrived, forcing the Wolf Tribe to retreat behind the gates.
• Jianshi and Yan stopped Julang from attacking the camp, and Julang agreed that the Fish Tribe would follow Jianshi's command.
• The allied forces assembled, totaling more than 900 people, and Jianshi told Yan to summon the tribal leaders to discuss the attack plan.

The allied tribes launched a fire attack on the Little Leaf Tribe camp, forcing Xueya and the Wolf Tribe to break out before nightfall. The allies destroyed the Wolf Tribe’s main force, but Xueya escaped into the northeastern forest with a few leaders.

• Xueya decided the Wolf Tribe would break out northeast after dark, while Jianshi and the allied leaders planned to burn the camp and intercept them.
• Huangye agreed to let the Little Leaf Tribe camp burn after the allied leaders promised to help rebuild it, and Jianshi assigned forces to surround the Wolf Tribe.
• When the fires started on three sides, Xueya led the cavalry out through the main gate, where the Fire Tribe’s infantry attacked the Wolf Tribe’s infantry.
• Yan pursued Xueya and defeated Tujiu’s rearguard, while Yingmu’s cavalry blocked the route to the wooded mountains and harassed the fleeing riders.
• Xueya, Yexiao, Shichui, and a handful of survivors abandoned their exhausted horses and escaped into the forest; the allied forces returned to find the Wolf Tribe’s main force defeated.
• Yan told Jianshi that Xueya had escaped, and Jianshi recognized the allied victory while remaining wary of the surviving Wolf Tribe chief.

After the allied tribes defeated the Wolf Tribe, the Fire Tribe shared most of the spoils and welcomed the Green Grain and Little Leaf tribes as new members. Jianshi and Yan set out for the Fish Tribe to discuss the refugees displaced by the Wolf Tribe’s destruction.

• Jianshi gave most of the captured horses, weapons, and armor to the allied tribes and ordered a feast from the remaining food.
• Shinian asked Yan whether the Green Grain Tribe could join the Fire Tribe, and Yan welcomed the idea.
• Huangye asked Jianshi to take in the Little Leaf Tribe, and Jianshi welcomed both it and the Green Grain Tribe into the Fire Tribe.
• Julang and Shentan invited Jianshi and Yan to the Fish Tribe to discuss the aftermath of the Wolf Tribe’s destruction, including the refugees gathered nearby.
• The allied forces departed the next morning, and Jianshi and Yan led the Fire Tribe and Fish Tribe contingents toward the Fish Tribe’s camp.

After the Fire Tribe’s victory over the Wolf Tribe, Shentan reported the news to Canglan, who weighed the Fish Tribe’s losses and security needs. Jianshi and Yan arrived at the Fish Tribe, where Canglan welcomed them and arranged for the Fire Tribe to take in refugees and hire the Fish Tribe’s fleet for its next grain journey.

• Shentan returned to the Fish Tribe and told Canglan that the allied forces had destroyed the Wolf Tribe’s main force, while Xueya escaped into the mountains.
• Canglan’s leaders debated how to rebuild the Fish Tribe’s forces, then agreed to accept five hundred refugees and strengthen mutual defenses with nearby tribes.
• Jianshi and Yan arrived with two hundred cavalrymen and three hundred infantrymen, and Canglan welcomed the Fire Tribe with a banquet.
• Canglan offered the Fire Tribe more than two thousand refugees, and Jianshi agreed to consider taking them in.
• Canglan offered the Fish Tribe’s fleet for the Fire Tribe’s grain transport next spring, and Yan promised advance payment and extra compensation.