Chapter Summaries

Xueya led a thousand Wolf Tribe cavalrymen southwest to attack the Great Boulder Tribe’s subordinate tribes, while Duzhu stayed behind to defend and develop the Stone Ridge Mountain camp. He explained that the campaign would build the Wolf Tribe’s strength, seize supplies, spread fear, and test Great Boulder’s power, beginning with the Green Bamboo Tribe.

• Xueya left Duzhu two hundred warriors and eight hundred women to guard Stone Ridge Mountain and build up the camp.
• Xueya set out with a thousand cavalrymen and told Xueshou and Yexiao that the Wolf Tribe would avoid a direct fight with Great Boulder’s larger forces.
• Xueya outlined four goals for the campaign: expand the Wolf Tribe’s forces, gather supplies, establish a fearsome reputation, and assess Great Boulder’s strength.
• Xueya chose the Green Bamboo Tribe, a small and weak settlement, as the army’s first target.
• Xueshou urged the minor leaders to keep up as the excited cavalry column raced toward the Green Bamboo Tribe.

Xueya led a thousand cavalrymen in a dawn sneak attack on the Green Bamboo Tribe, ordering the massacre of its people and the capture of its young women. After taking the camp and its supplies, he prepared to move on to the next tribe.

• Xueya halted his cavalry outside the Green Bamboo Tribe at night and ordered them to hide, rest, and attack just before dawn.
• At dawn, Xueshou and Yexiao led eight hundred cavalrymen through the camp while Xueya encircled it with the remaining two hundred.
• The cavalry killed the tribe’s able-bodied men and overran its defenses as Xueya ordered that the old and weak be killed too.
• Xueshou’s men captured fifty-eight young women, and the remaining captives were killed.
• Xueshou reported the captured women and supplies to Xueya, who ordered the warriors to rest and leave that afternoon for the next tribe.

After destroying the Green Bamboo Tribe, Xueya planned to build the Wolf Tribe’s forces by conquering nearby tribes before Great Rock could respond. He forced the Abundant Grain Tribe to join him and led his enlarged column toward the Sweet Fruit Tribe.

• Xueya, Xueshou, and Yexiao discussed exploiting rewards and scarcity to spur Wolf Tribe warriors to fight harder, then planned to expand their force to two thousand.
• Xueya left Balian and twenty men at the Green Bamboo camp to guard the spoils and await the logistics team, then rode toward the Abundant Grain Tribe with more than nine hundred cavalry.
• Xueya’s cavalry surrounded the Abundant Grain Tribe, and its chief, Fengshou, agreed to follow the Wolf Tribe rather than risk his people being killed.
• Xueya ordered Fengshou’s people to provide grain and a feast, then warned him that obedience would bring rewards and disobedience would bring consequences.
• The next morning, Xueya marched out with more than a thousand people, including the Abundant Grain Tribe’s able-bodied members, toward the Sweet Fruit Tribe.

Xueya’s forces coerced the Sweet Fruit, White Bone, Little Star, and Full Moon Tribes into joining the Wolf Tribe, swelling their ranks by five hundred. He planned to take the new recruits to the Yellow Stone Tribe next so they would shed blood and become loyal fighters.

• Xueshou and Yexiao surrounded the Sweet Fruit Tribe, and Xueya forced Chief Tiantou to agree to join the Wolf Tribe.
• Tiantou and Fengshou persuaded Baichi to surrender the White Bone Tribe, which then hosted a feast for the Wolf Tribe.
• Xueya’s forces subdued the Little Star Tribe and the Full Moon Tribe over the next two days, adding five hundred people to their ranks.
• Yexiao told Xueya their force was approaching two thousand, and Xueya said the new recruits needed to fight and shed blood.
• Xueya ordered the force to set out for the Yellow Stone Tribe the next morning so the recruits could prove themselves in battle.

Xueya led the Wolf Tribe in a massacre of the Yellow Stone Tribe, forcing five newly submitted chiefs and their recruits to take part so they would be bound to the Wolf Tribe against the Great Boulder Tribe. After recruiting more neighboring tribes and growing his force to two thousand, he planned to attack Great Rock’s vassal tribes, but the chapter ended before he named the first target.

• Xueya led more than a thousand Wolf Tribe warriors to the Yellow Stone Tribe and ordered them to attack at dawn.
• Xueshou and Yexiao’s cavalry stormed the camp, killed its people, seized supplies and captives, and brought chief Huang Da before Xueya.
• Xueya made the five newly submitted chiefs kill Huang Da, then ordered their recruits to kill captives, binding them to the Wolf Tribe through their crimes.
• Xueya, Xueshou, and Yexiao split up to recruit nearby small tribes, adding five hundred people and raising their force to two thousand within days.
• Xueya gathered the force at the Abundant Grain Tribe and said they would attack Great Rock’s vassal tribes, but the chapter ended as he began to identify their first target.

Xueya led the Wolf Tribe in a series of raids that bloodied its recruits and seized supplies from Great Rock’s smaller subordinate tribes. After the attacks on the Stone Disc, Blue Stone, Pine Needle, and Earth Root Tribes, he chose the Great Black Stone Tribe as their next target.

• Xueya ordered Xueshou and Yexiao to prepare an attack on the Stone Disc Tribe, and two thousand Wolf Tribe warriors set out at dawn.
• Xueshou and Yexiao led veterans into the Stone Disc camp while Xueya made the recruits kill captives, binding them to the Wolf Tribe through bloodshed.
• Xueya planned further raids to train recruits, gather supplies for winter, and weaken Great Rock before confronting its core tribes.
• Xueya led surprise attacks that wiped out the Blue Stone, Pine Needle, and Earth Root Tribes, and the recruits grew accustomed to the Wolf Tribe’s violence.
• At the Earth Root Tribe, Xueya selected the Great Black Stone Tribe, Great Rock’s largest subordinate tribe, as their next target and ordered preparations for the following morning.

Xueya led the Wolf Tribe in a surprise attack that destroyed the Great Black Stone Tribe and captured its supplies. After ordering the captives abused and the remaining goods burned, he planned to attack the Black Wood Tribe the next morning.

• Xueya led nearly two thousand people toward the Great Black Stone Tribe and planned a dawn attack to prevent anyone escaping.
• Xueshou and Yexiao led attacks from both sides while Xueya encircled the camp with the remaining warriors.
• Zhuangshi fought fiercely until Xueshou wounded and captured him, and the Wolf Tribe killed the defenders without letting anyone escape.
• Xueshou presented Zhuangshi's bronze saber to Xueya, who returned it to him, while Yexiao reported the captured weapons, animals, and supplies.
• Xueya ordered the recruits to kill the old and weak, the warriors to abuse the young women, and the goods they could not carry to be burned.
• Xueya planned to keep a few captives, burn the Great Black Stone Tribe's camp, and attack the Black Wood Tribe the next morning.

Xueya led the Wolf Tribe in a dawn attack on the Black Wood Tribe, killing its warriors and seizing supplies, horses, and weapons. After ordering the camp plundered and burned, he planned to rest for a day and withdraw before the Great Boulder Tribe could counterattack.

• Xueya ordered Batou to take supplies and prisoners from the Great Black Stone Tribe camp, burn what they could not carry, and follow the main force toward the Black Wood Tribe.
• Xueya halted his riders outside the Black Wood Tribe at dusk and ordered them to rest in hiding before attacking at dawn.
• Xueshou and Yexiao led the cavalry into the sleeping camp, defeated its defenders, and brought chief Migen before Xueya.
• Migen spat on Xueya and threatened revenge from Great Rock, so Xueya ordered Yexiao to torture him before he was killed by men he had wounded.
• Xueshou reported that the Wolf Tribe had seized bronze weapons and more than three hundred horses, while Xueya ordered rewards for warriors who had earned merit.
• Xueya, Xueshou, and Yexiao assessed the threat of a Great Boulder Tribe counterattack, then Xueya ordered the warriors to rest and prepare to withdraw the next morning.

The Great Boulder Tribe discussed the Wolf Tribe’s suspicious retreat to Stone Ridge Mountain and prepared to defend their affiliated tribes from possible raids. Chief Dashi ordered more scouts and weapons readied, while the elders warned that the Wolf Tribe was a dangerous enemy.

• Shishan reported that the Wolf Tribe had stopped confronting Great Boulder scouts and might be preparing to raid nearby tribes for grain.
• Dashi recounted the Wolf Tribe’s flight from the south and its rapid growth to more than a thousand people.
• Shishan and other leaders called for vigilance and vowed to protect affiliated tribes and avenge those the Wolf Tribe had killed.
• The grand elder and Shi Ji cautioned the tribe not to underestimate the Wolf Tribe, while Shi Feng declared they would fight any attackers.
• Dashi ordered Shishan to send more mounted scouts and directed the others to organize their forces and prepare for battle.

After the Wolf Tribe destroyed several subordinate tribes, Dashi ordered Shishan to lead the Great Boulder Tribe’s warriors in pursuit toward Stone Ridge Mountain. Shishan set out with fifteen hundred men, while Dashi planned to send reinforcements to trap and destroy the Wolf Tribe.

• Shishan reported that the Wolf Tribe had wiped out the Yellow Stone Tribe, and the Great Boulder Tribe’s leaders debated how to respond.
• A scout announced that the Great Black Stone Tribe had also been massacred, prompting Dashi to order warnings sent to the other core subordinate tribes and assemble forces.
• Dashi ordered the five core subordinate tribes to contribute two hundred men each, bringing the planned force against the Wolf Tribe to twenty-five hundred.
• The next day, a scout reported that the Black Wood Tribe had been destroyed and that the Wolf Tribe had retreated toward Stone Ridge Mountain.
• Dashi ordered Shishan to pursue with fifteen hundred warriors while another eight hundred men gathered as reinforcements.
• That evening, Shishan led the fifteen hundred warriors out toward Stone Ridge Mountain to pursue the Wolf Tribe.

Xueya set an ambush at Great Cliff Ridge to delay the Great Boulder Tribe’s pursuers while his supplies and captives traveled toward Stone Ridge Mountain. After the Wolf Tribe devastated Shi Ya’s advance force, both tribes took positions around the ridge and faced a standoff.

• Xueya sent the supplies and captives toward Stone Ridge Mountain and assigned Yexiao’s six hundred men to prepare boulders and rolling logs above Great Cliff Ridge while he and Xueshou waited with twelve hundred cavalry at the exit.
• Shi Ya led five hundred cavalry into the narrow pass despite warnings from Shi Ya and Shizhua, and the Wolf Tribe sounded its ox horn to begin the ambush.
• Yexiao’s men rained stones and logs onto the Great Boulder Tribe riders, while Shishan halted his main force after realizing the pass was trapped.
• Shi Ya led about three hundred survivors toward the exit, where Xueya and Xueshou’s cavalry surrounded and defeated them; Shi Ya was captured and taken away for torture.
• Xueya’s men collected weapons, armor, and horses, and the Wolf Tribe and Great Boulder Tribe then occupied opposing positions at Great Cliff Ridge.

Xueya stalled Shishan’s growing forces at Great Cliff Ridge, then withdrew the Wolf Tribe to Stone Ridge Mountain and prepared its defenses. After failed assaults and dwindling supplies, Shishan led the Great Boulder Tribe away, while Xueya watched from the mountain.

• Xueya provoked the Great Boulder Tribe at Great Cliff Ridge while Shizhua restrained Shishan from charging into a trap.
• Shishan’s reinforcements and vassal tribes arrived, swelling Great Rock’s forces to more than two thousand as the Wolf Tribe secretly withdrew its main force under Yexiao.
• Shishan attacked the clifftop, but Xueya and Xueshou escaped under cover of darkness and retreated toward Stone Ridge Mountain.
• Xueya fortified Stone Ridge Mountain with traps, barriers, and lookouts, while Shishan’s assaults were repelled and his troops failed to find the Wolf Tribe’s escaped vassal tribes.
• Shizhua persuaded Shishan to retreat because supplies were running low, and Shishan led about four thousand men away as Xueya watched from the mountain.

After driving off Shishan’s force, Xueya celebrated the Wolf Tribe’s growing strength but warned that the Great Boulder Tribe could recover before next year’s campaign. He planned to train and expand his forces, then conquer the Great Boulder Tribe’s territory and move subordinate tribes to Stone Ridge Mountain.

• The Wolf Tribe’s warriors cheered after Shishan retreated, and Xueya saw their fear of the Great Boulder Tribe give way to loyalty to the Wolf Tribe.
• Duzhu, Yexiao, and Xueshou reviewed the expedition’s gains: nearly two thousand warriors, more than three thousand horses, abundant supplies, and the destruction of Great Heishi and Black Wood.
• Xueya cautioned that the Great Boulder Tribe remained powerful and would rebuild its forces, so the Wolf Tribe should not assume its victory was assured.
• Xueya and Yexiao agreed that the Wolf Tribe needed to recruit and expand next year, while Xueshou dismissed the Great Boulder Tribe’s warriors as bullies of smaller tribes.
• Xueya ordered the warriors to recover and train, then planned a campaign to destroy the Great Boulder Tribe and occupy its fertile territory by year’s end.
• Xueya instructed the others to gradually move the Wolf Tribe’s subordinate tribes to the foot of Stone Ridge Mountain, and they agreed.

Shishan returned to the Great Boulder Tribe after a costly defeat, and Dashi rebuked him for losing nearly five hundred warriors. Shizhua proposed rebuilding and expanding the tribe, forging alliances, and harassing the Wolf Tribe’s supporters as Dashi prepared for next year’s conflict with Xueya.

• Shishan returned to camp with about a thousand people and reported that the Great Boulder Tribe had lost nearly five hundred warriors and failed to defeat the Wolf Tribe.
• Dashi angrily blamed Shishan for ignoring orders and rushing into battle, while Shishan argued that the Wolf Tribe had won through ambush and terrain.
• Shizhua explained how the Wolf Tribe had escaped and avoided battle, then warned that it would raid again once its supplies ran out.
• Shizhua urged the Great Boulder Tribe to recruit people, expand its forces, ally with the Great Luwei Tribe, buy bronze weapons, and coordinate more closely with its affiliated tribes.
• Shizhua proposed harassing tribes that had submitted to the Wolf Tribe to exhaust its food supplies, and Dashi said he would consider putting the plans into action.
• Dashi ordered Shishan to serve as Shi Ya’s deputy in the next campaign and redeem himself, and Shishan agreed.

After the Great Boulder Tribe’s messenger reported the Wolf Tribe’s rapid growth and devastating attacks, Lusheng agreed to join forces against them next year. He left the council hall with plans to expand the Great Luwei Tribe, strengthen its defenses, train its warriors, and buy bronze weapons.

• The Great Boulder Tribe’s messenger told Lusheng that the Wolf Tribe had grown to two thousand cavalry and destroyed two affiliated tribes, while inflicting heavy losses on Great Boulder.
• The messenger warned that the Wolf Tribe was sheltering at Stone Ridge Mountain and asked the Great Luwei Tribe to join a campaign next year.
• Lusheng promised to send troops with Great Boulder if the Wolf Tribe raided again, then summoned Lujian, the elders, and the leaders to discuss the threat.
• Lusheng and the council agreed the Wolf Tribe could threaten them next and approved a joint campaign with Great Boulder.
• Lujian volunteered to lead the troops against Xueya, and Lusheng ordered the Great Luwei Tribe to recruit more people, improve its watch and patrols, train warriors, and buy bronze weapons.

After learning that the Wolf Tribe had devastated Great Rock, Xiong Lie planned to exploit the northern turmoil to expand the Bear Tribe while preparing to attack the Valley Tribe’s Little Valley Camp Outpost. He ordered Xiong Zhang to investigate the Fire Tribe more thoroughly for the Tiger Tribe, whose demands for intelligence were growing urgent.

• A scout reported that the Wolf Tribe had grown to around two thousand cavalry and wiped out Great Heishi, the Black Wood Tribe, and nearly five hundred Great Rock pursuers, including Leader Shi Ya.
• Xiong Zhua urged Xiong Lie to absorb displaced tribes, and Xiong Lie outlined plans to grow the Bear Tribe’s population while taking advantage of the Wolf Tribe’s attacks and the Valley Tribe’s weakened market.
• Xiong Pan worried that the Wolf Tribe might expand toward Bear Tribe territory, but Xiong Lie and Xiong Zhua dismissed the threat and asserted that the Bear Tribe could defeat it.
• Xiong Lie ordered the Bear Tribe to monitor the Wolf Tribe and identified Little Valley Camp Outpost as the Bear Tribe’s target for expansion.
• Xiong Zhang admitted that the Bear Tribe’s investigation of the Fire Tribe had yielded only vague information, so Xiong Lie ordered him to lead a new mission and gather detailed intelligence for the Tiger Tribe.

Qingsui and Daiyue discussed the Wolf Tribe’s growing threat and the Valley Tribe’s plans to strengthen itself while avoiding war with the Tiger Tribe. Daiyue entrusted Qingsui with secretly overseeing the Fire Tribe’s next bronze delivery, and she left to cook for him.

• Qingsui reminded Daiyue that her warnings and the Valley Tribe’s swift response had helped drive the Wolf Tribe from the Big Horse River basin before it could settle there.
• Daiyue warned that the Wolf Tribe might be working with the Bear Tribe and ordered increased surveillance of both tribes.
• Qingsui and Daiyue discussed the Valley Tribe’s growth, its plans to take in five thousand more people, and the need to avoid a conflict with the stronger Tiger Tribe.
• Daiyue told Qingsui that Young Chief Yan had chosen her to oversee the Fire Tribe’s next bronze delivery and instructed her to keep it secret.
• Qingsui promised to be discreet, then left the council hall to prepare a meal for Daiyue.

At the Fire Tribe’s spring meeting, Jianshi organized grain procurement, shipbuilding, outpost management, and spring planting as the tribe prepared to feed its growing population. The meeting ended with plans to welcome thousands of new members and move the management center after the autumn harvest.

• Jianshi said the Fire Tribe would expand farming and trade for twenty million jin of grain from the Valley Tribe, while relying on its own ships for transport.
• Dabang announced plans to build forty-nine ships with fifty-thousand-jin capacities and fifty with twenty-thousand-jin capacities, with a hundred-thousand-jin ship planned by year’s end.
• Jianshi assigned Yan to lead the first grain delivery and promised Dali a large ship for the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost after the first trip.
• Dali and Dazhuang reported that their outposts were doing well, described the workload at Dazhuang’s outposts, and told Jianshi that thousands of people wanted to join the Fire Tribe.
• Jianshi agreed to accept the newcomers, planned to settle them at headquarters, and said the management center could move to the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost after the autumn harvest.
• Jianshi assigned planting responsibilities and schedules for spring plowing, and the leaders discussed and resolved further questions.

Yan led the Fire Tribe’s huge fleet downstream toward the Valley Tribe to trade coarse salt and bronze wares for grain, while keeping the secret of their bronze weapons and their growing strength in mind. After meeting Dali at the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost and learning that thousands of people might join the Fire Tribe, Yan resumed the journey.

• The Fire Tribe prepared its ships and loaded them with coarse salt and bronze wares, while Jianshi warned Yan to keep the bronze weapons trade discreet.
• Yan departed with the fleet after promising Jianshi and Qingye he would be careful, and he reminded his companions that the Valley Tribe was an ally, not an enemy.
• Several days later, Yan stopped at the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost, where Dali rode one of the large ships and praised its comfort.
• Dali told Yan that more than five thousand people from independent tribes in the Green Leaf River basin were preparing to join the Fire Tribe, while the Long Leaf and Short Leaf Tribes were still undecided.
• The fleet set off again before dawn, and Dali watched the ten fifty-thousand-jin ships sail away.

Yan led the Fire Tribe’s fleet downstream to collect grain from the Valley Tribe, while discussing the tribe’s growing population and future expansion. When Daiyan saw the fleet’s ten new 50,000-jin boats and learned of the Fire Tribe’s bronze weapons, he was impressed and worried about the Tiger Tribe’s response.

• Yan declined to stop at the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost, saying the fleet needed to reach the Valley Tribe quickly to transport grain.
• Yan discussed how the Fire Tribe’s population and territory were growing, and how it could later take in small tribes near the Horse Tribe, Clothing Tribe, and Big Horse River basin.
• The fleet traveled downstream for more than ten days, passing the Little Horse River basin and Big Horse River basin before approaching the Valley Tribe’s Little Valley Camp Outpost.
• After hearing that the Fire Tribe had ten boats capable of carrying 50,000 jin each, Daiyan sailed out to confirm the news and saw the enormous fleet for himself.
• Daiyan greeted Yan and directed the fleet to the main camp’s dock, then watched it depart while worrying about the Fire Tribe’s rise and the Tiger Tribe’s likely hostility toward its bronze-making capabilities.