Chapter Summaries

Yan and his fleet reached the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost, where they saw the Fire Tribe’s newly built fifty-thousand-jin ship and met Dali, who had returned too late to witness its water trial. Yan promised Dali a chance to oversee the planned hundred-thousand-jin ship’s trial and proposed strengthening the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost; the fleet then continued upstream toward the Fire Tribe’s main settlement.

• Shibang, Bailin, and Yan spotted the Fire Tribe’s new fifty-thousand-jin ship moored at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost.
• Yan recognized Dali aboard the giant ship and learned that Dali had missed its water trial while working at the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost.
• Yan told Dali that the Fire Tribe was building a hundred-thousand-jin ship and offered to recommend him to oversee its water trial.
• Yan promised to suggest stationing a fifty-thousand-jin ship at the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost, and Dali agreed to help enforce a planned blockade on the Fish River.
• Yan led the fleet upstream without the giant ship, which could not enter the Fire Creek River at the low water level, and reached the Fire Tribe’s main settlement toward evening.

Yan returned to the Fire Tribe with nearly ten thousand people, bringing its population to about 110,000. The tribe celebrated its growing fleet and planned to build far larger ships, while Yan prepared to collect the year's remaining grain from the Valley Tribe.

• Yan arrived at the Fire Tribe headquarters and arranged for the newcomers to be settled and the small-tribe chiefs to tour the granaries and livestock areas.
• Jianshi welcomed Yan and said the Fire Tribe's population had reached about 110,000, with the prospect of growing to 150,000 as more northern tribes joined.
• Jianshi told Yan that the Fire Tribe had completed a ship with a 50,000-jin capacity and ten ships with a 20,000-jin capacity.
• Dabang announced plans to build fifty 20,000-jin ships and forty-nine 50,000-jin ships the following year, while the Fire Tribe researched a 100,000-jin ship.
• Jianshi ordered Yan to take the fleet to the Valley Tribe in two days and bring back the remaining four million-plus jin of grain for the year.

Yan led the Fire Tribe’s final large grain-hauling fleet of the year toward the Valley Tribe aboard its new fifty-thousand-jin-capacity ship, while Jianshi urged him to pursue military cooperation carefully amid pressure from the Tiger Tribe. After stopping at the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost, Yan continued the journey, leaving Dali delighted by the ship and the promise of another one for the outpost.

• Jianshi warned Yan to keep the Fire Tribe’s new ship and growing strength low-profile, and discussed offering the Valley Tribe bronze goods if it agreed to military mutual aid against the Tiger Tribe’s pressure.
• Yan departed with the fleet, regrouped at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost, and led the giant ship downstream along the Fish River.
• Yan reached the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost, where Dali eagerly inspected the fifty-thousand-jin-capacity ship and praised its construction.
• Yan introduced the skilled cook Shixiang to Dali and promised that the outpost would receive a fifty-thousand-jin-capacity ship once another was built.
• Yan set off again the next morning, and Dali watched the fleet disappear into the mist before returning to camp.

Yan led the Fire Tribe fleet downstream toward the Valley Tribe to transport grain, bringing its new fifty-thousand-jin ship to Little Valley Camp Outpost. As the fleet approached, Yan ordered the ships to slow and form up before entering the outpost.

• Yan and the crew joked about Dali’s fascination with ships as the fleet sailed away from the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost.
• The fleet passed the Fire Tribe’s Little Fish River Mouth Outpost and continued downstream past several tributaries and the fishermen on the Big Horse River.
• Feiyu and Bailin anticipated Daiyan’s reaction to seeing the Fire Tribe’s fifty-thousand-jin ship, and Yan listened without joining their speculation.
• The fleet sighted the Valley Tribe’s Little Valley Camp Outpost, where several large ships were moored.
• Yan ordered the fleet to slow down and form up neatly as it entered the Valley Tribe’s territory.

Daiyan learned that the Fire Tribe had built a fifty-thousand-jin ship and was rapidly expanding its fleet and population, leaving him stunned by its growing strength. Yan raised the possibility of joining forces against the Tiger Tribe, and the fleet continued toward the Valley Tribe headquarters so their leaders could discuss it.

• A Fire Tribe messenger told Daiyan that the tribe had brought a fifty-thousand-jin ship and a large fleet to carry home the grain it had ordered.
• Daiyan took three Valley Tribe ships upstream to verify the claim and saw the Fire Tribe's enormous new vessel arrive.
• Yan told Daiyan that the Fire Tribe planned to build fifty fifty-thousand-jin ships by next year and was developing a hundred-thousand-jin ship.
• Yan revealed that the Fire Tribe had a population of 110,000, and Daiyan realized how much its strength had grown.
• Daiyan complained that the Tiger Tribe was restricting the Valley Tribe's trade, and Yan suggested the tribes join forces against it.
• Daiyan directed Yan's fleet toward the Valley Tribe headquarters dock so Yan could discuss the alliance with Daiyue and the elders.

The Fire Tribe's huge fleet arrived at the Valley Tribe headquarters dock, astonishing Quyong with a 50,000-jin ship and Yan's plan to build fifty more next year. After welcoming Yan and his people, Quyong directed them to a temporary camp and remained troubled by the Fire Tribe's growing strength.

• Quyong saw the Fire Tribe's fleet approaching and ordered his subordinates to clear berths and prepare mooring ropes.
• The Fire Tribe docked its 50,000-jin ship and hundreds of other vessels, filling the Valley Tribe headquarters dock as onlookers gathered.
• Yan and the Fire Tribe delegation disembarked, and Quyong welcomed them before asking whether they had built the giant ship themselves.
• Yan confirmed the ship was their own and said the Fire Tribe planned to build fifty such ships next year to transport grain.
• Quyong acknowledged the threat posed by the Tiger Tribe and directed Yan's group to a prepared temporary camp beside the dock.
• After Yan left, Quyong stared at the giant ship, then returned to his duties with heavy steps.

Daiyue learned that the Fire Tribe had arrived with a fifty-thousand-jin ship and planned to build many more, prompting him to recognize the tribe’s growing strength and seek closer ties. Yan accepted Daiyue’s welcome at the council hall, where the leaders began a meal together.

• A warrior reported to Daiyue that the Fire Tribe’s fleet had arrived with a fifty-thousand-jin ship, and that the Fire Tribe planned to build fifty of them next year.
• Daiyue, Fengren, and Qingsui discussed the Fire Tribe’s skills and strength, and Daiyue decided their friendship would benefit the Valley Tribe against the Tiger Tribe.
• Daiyue sent Qingsui to summon the seven great elders and asked Fengren to invite Yan to lunch.
• Yan directed his people as they set up camp at the docks, then accepted Fengren’s invitation and assigned his companions to oversee the fleet and supplies.
• Daiyue welcomed Yan at the council hall, where Yan’s attendants presented gifts and the gathered leaders began eating and drinking.

Yan negotiated the Fire Tribe’s grain pickup and next year’s trade with Daiyue and the Valley Tribe elders. After the banquet, Qingsui walked with Yan toward the docks, where he said he would stay at least two days until the handover was complete.

• Yan told Daiyue and the elders that the Fire Tribe’s fleet could carry over four million jin of grain and asked the Valley Tribe to help transport the remainder.
• Daiyue agreed to have Fengren help with this shipment and assigned Hefeng and Fengren to manage the two-day grain handover.
• Yan revealed that the Fire Tribe planned to build fifty ships with a capacity of fifty thousand jin each and a hundred-thousand-jin ship, prompting concern about the Tiger Tribe.
• Yan delivered pottery as advance payment for next year’s twenty-million-jin grain deal, and Daiyue confirmed the deal would proceed despite the Tiger Tribe’s sanctions.
• Daiyue requested coarse salt instead of pottery for next year’s trade, and Yan agreed that the Fire Tribe could supply it.
• After the banquet, Qingsui escorted Yan toward the docks, and Yan told her he would stay at least two days to finish the grain handover.

Daiyue and the Valley Tribe’s elders debated how to use the Fire Tribe’s pottery advance payment amid Tiger Tribe sanctions, then considered the Fire Tribe’s growing power and the danger of a conflict between the two major tribes. Daiyue decided to reward the people, trade the remaining pottery for supplies, secretly seek bronze weapons from the Fire Tribe, and begin increasing the Valley Tribe’s population.

• Daiyue proposed giving half of the Fire Tribe’s pottery advance to the Valley Tribe’s people as a reward and trading the rest for needed supplies.
• Yaoshan reasoned that the Fire Tribe must be manufacturing its own bronze ware because its shipbuilding had accelerated despite the Valley Tribe’s blockade.
• Daiyue agreed that the Tiger Tribe would treat the Fire Tribe’s bronze technology as a threat and warned that the Valley Tribe could be caught between them in a major war.
• Daiyue and the elders agreed that the Valley Tribe needed to strengthen itself and considered secretly arranging military assistance and purchasing bronze weapons from the Fire Tribe.
• Daiyue decided to recruit five thousand people from nearby small tribes and discuss buying bronze weapons with Young Chief Yan in the next few days.

Yan and Qingsui walked together from the meeting hall to the Fire Tribe’s temporary camp, discussing their busy duties and the growing distance between their tribes. They parted agreeing to meet again the afternoon after tomorrow, once Yan finished overseeing the grain handover.

• Qingsui expressed disappointment that Yan had not visited the Valley Tribe for months, and Yan explained the Fire Tribe’s recent growth and demanding work.
• Yan told Qingsui that the Fire Tribe might move its administrative center to the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost next year, bringing them closer by boat.
• Qingsui explained that Daiyue was teaching her to manage the Valley Tribe and that she could not visit the Fire Tribe for now.
• Yan and Qingsui discussed the Tiger Tribe’s strength and the need for the Fire Tribe to prepare against it.
• Qingsui said she would find Yan the afternoon after tomorrow, after he finished counting more than four million jin of grain and the pottery.
• Qingsui left for the Valley Tribe, and Yan watched her go before returning to the Fire Tribe’s camp.

Daiyue asked Qingsui to help prepare for the Valley Tribe’s plans to reward its people and take in five thousand newcomers, then sought her assessment of whether the Fire Tribe had bronze tools. After the grain-and-pottery exchange was completed, Yan’s companions urged him to visit Qingsui, leaving him to head back to the camp.

• Daiyue told Qingsui that the Valley Tribe would distribute half the Fire Tribe’s grain deposit as rewards and use the rest to buy supplies, while preparing to take in five thousand people from nearby tribes.
• Daiyue asked Qingsui whether Yan had revealed that the Fire Tribe possessed bronze tools, and she judged that it probably did based on its calmness around the Tiger Tribe and its well-made ships.
• Daiyue asked Qingsui to invite Yan for a serious discussion about trading for bronze tools once his work was finished.
• Yingmu and Shibang teased Yan about his visit with Qingsui, then fled when he threatened to arrange matches for them.
• Yan checked the Fire Tribe camp, ate, and went to sleep while his companions kept the camp in order.
• Yan and the Valley Tribe’s Hefeng and Fengren oversaw the grain and pottery handover, which was completed by the following afternoon; Jia Li, Shibang, and Yingmu encouraged Yan to return to camp and visit Qingsui.

Yan welcomed Qingsui to the Fire Tribe camp and gave her a large bag of spices before agreeing to meet Chief Daiyue. On the way to the council hall, Yan confirmed that the Fire Tribe could make bronze tools and said he was willing to trade them with the Valley Tribe.

• Qingsui visited Yan at the Fire Tribe camp after hearing that the pottery had been unloaded.
• Yan gave Qingsui a heavy bag of spices, which she gratefully accepted.
• Qingsui told Yan that Chief Daiyue wanted to see him, and Yan instructed a warrior to inform Jia Li before leaving with her.
• Qingsui asked whether the Fire Tribe could make bronze tools, and Yan confirmed that it could produce them in large quantities.
• Qingsui guessed that Chief Daiyue wanted to trade for bronze tools, and Yan agreed to discuss helping the Valley Tribe before they hurried to the council hall.

Yan and Chief Daiyue agreed to a private military mutual-assistance alliance, including secret bronze-tool trade between the Fire Tribe and Valley Tribe. After discussing the growing Wolf Tribe threat and revising next year’s grain deal, Yan left to prepare for his return home the next morning.

• Qingsui escorted Yan to the council hall, where Daiyue welcomed him and discussed the tribes’ trade and growing security concerns.
• Daiyue explained that the Tiger Tribe had cut off the Valley Tribe’s bronze supplies, and Yan revealed that the Fire Tribe could manufacture bronze tools and weapons.
• Yan and Daiyue agreed to develop a secret military mutual-assistance relationship and keep their bronze trade hidden from the Tiger Tribe.
• Daiyue warned Yan that the Wolf Tribe remnants had raided nearby tribes and grown to around a thousand people, and he promised to monitor them with scouts.
• Yan and Daiyue settled the alliance’s trade details and agreed that next year’s grain would be exchanged sixty percent for bronze implements and forty percent for coarse salt.
• Yan left the council hall, met Qingsui, and headed with her toward the docks before his departure the next morning.

Yan and Qingsui walked back to the Fire Tribe camp after Yan secured a military alliance and trade agreements with the Valley Tribe. After sharing a meal and a moonlit walk, they parted for the night, with Qingsui promising to see Yan off the next morning.

• Qingsui guessed that Yan's meeting with her father had gone well, and Yan confirmed that the Fire Tribe and Valley Tribe had become military allies.
• Yan told Qingsui the Fire Tribe would secretly supply the Valley Tribe with bronze wares and proposed that she manage the deliveries; she agreed to keep them secret.
• Yan cooked a meal at the temporary camp, and Qingsui praised his cooking and ate enthusiastically.
• Yan and Qingsui walked along the Fish River and discussed how their tribes' alliance could deter the Tiger Tribe.
• Yan urged Qingsui to return home and rest, and she promised to come see him off the next morning.

Yan returned to the Fire Tribe with the final shipment of this year’s grain and briefed Jianshi and the council on the Valley Tribe’s troubles, their military pact, and the Wolf Tribe’s renewed raids. The council agreed to watch events from afar rather than send troops against the Wolf Tribe.

• Yan and the Fire Tribe fleet left the Valley Tribe with Fengren’s ships, while Qingsui watched their departure from the dock.
• After twenty-six days, Yan arrived at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost with more than four million jin of grain, completing the year’s twenty-million-jin order.
• Jianshi welcomed Fengren, hosted him at the council hall, and saw him off after the grain was unloaded.
• Yan told the council that the Tiger Tribe had sanctioned the Valley Tribe, but Daiyue had secured enough grain to protect next year’s trade and agreed to a secret mutual military assistance pact with the Fire Tribe.
• Yan reported that Wolf Tribe remnants had grown to more than a thousand and were causing trouble again; after Dali and others urged an attack, Jianshi chose to let the Valley Tribe monitor them for now.

Yan reviewed the Fire Tribe’s shipbuilding and farming progress, visited the Youth Team and Hunting Team camps, and saw that their training was advancing. The chapter left him at the Hunting Team camp as Yingmu and Shibang reported on the warriors’ training.

• Dabang told Yan that the Fire Tribe had finished its shipbuilding plan for the year and was preparing to maintain its boats and build more next year.
• Yan and Dabang discussed the tribe’s farmland, grain supply, and plans to rely less on the Valley Tribe for food and transport.
• Yan rode Chasing Wind and Treading Clouds across a meadow, then visited the Youth Team and praised Daya and Zhuangchai’s training work.
• Yan visited the Hunting Team camp, where Yingmu and Shibang reported that the warriors were training in fitness, combat, drills, and archery.
• Yan told Yingmu and Shibang to keep training and stayed to watch the warriors.

Jianshi convened the Fire Tribe's leaders to discuss Yan's proposal to move the administrative center from the overcrowded headquarters valley to the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost. The leaders' concerns were answered, and Jianshi set a plan to begin the move next spring and finish before the autumn harvest.

• Yan arrived late after checking on the Youth Team, and Jianshi introduced the meeting about relocating the administrative center.
• Yan argued that the Little Fish River Mouth offered better docks, a more central location, room for a larger settlement, and faster reinforcements if the Tiger Tribe attacked.
• Yan proposed turning the secure headquarters valley into a technical training and research center, reassuring Jijiao that its workshops would remain useful.
• Binmao asked when the move would happen, and Jianshi outlined a gradual relocation beginning next spring, with new branch workshops built before production shifted.
• Canglan asked how the newcomers would be housed and fed, and Jianshi explained that Dazhuang was overseeing new houses and fields at the outpost.
• Jianshi answered the leaders' remaining questions and directed them to prepare for the move, which was to be completed before next year's autumn harvest.

Newly joined tribespeople reflected on how their lives had improved since joining the Fire Tribe as they worked in the fields. Dajutou and Xiaojutou rested together, grateful for their secure new lives.

• Dajutou reassured his wife that the Fire Tribe would provide for them as long as they followed its rules and worked, and Xiaojutou said he planned to earn extra grain by working more.
• Huaguo watched his son leave for the Youth Team to learn new characters, then joined Hongmao and Honglian on their way to the fields.
• Huaguo, Hongmao, Honglian, Dajutou, Xiaojutou, and other tribespeople turned the soil with bronze hoes while women brought them honeysuckle tea.
• At midday, Dajutou reflected on how he no longer had to fear hunger and hardship, and Xiaojutou agreed with him that it was good to be alive.

Yan inspected the Youth Team, Hunting Team, and Fire Tribe workshops, finding their training and production progressing well. He warned the warriors that the powerful Tiger Tribe could threaten them, while the Fire Tribe continued to grow stronger.

• Yan visited the Youth Team camp, watched the youths train, and offered Daya and Zhuangchai suggestions.
• Yan inspected the Hunting Team's training and warned Shibang and Yingmu that the Fire Tribe had to prepare for conflict with the much larger Tiger Tribe.
• Shibang and Yingmu pledged to train their warriors, and Yan watched the fighters practice with weapons and bows.
• Yan toured the pottery, bronze, textile, and salt-making workshops and heard that production had increased and supplies were abundant.
• Yan visited Chuantou at the shipbuilding workshop and learned that ships were being built and repaired for the coming year.

Xueya and the Wolf Tribe leaders discussed their dwindling food supplies and planned a raid on the Great Boulder Tribe. Xueya ordered Duzhu to guard Stone Ridge Mountain while he, Xueshou, and Yexiao prepared to leave with a thousand cavalry at dawn.

• Xueshou praised Stone Ridge Mountain's defenses, and Xueya approved of the camp.
• Duzhu warned Xueya that the Wolf Tribe's grain would last only another month and urged a new raid before winter.
• Xueshou and Yexiao said the Wolf Tribe had recovered its strength and could muster more than a thousand cavalry.
• Xueya chose the Great Boulder Tribe as their target, judging it distant from the Tiger Tribe and vulnerable to a swift attack.
• Xueya assigned Duzhu two hundred people to guard the camp and ordered himself, Xueshou, and Yexiao to depart with a thousand cavalry at first light.