Chapter Summaries

Yan led the Fire Tribe’s enormous fleet to the Valley Tribe headquarters to deliver grain and trade goods, astonishing the Valley Tribe with its growth. After arranging the fleet’s arrival and setting up camp, Yan accepted Qingsui and Fengren’s invitation to a banquet and headed to the council hall with gifts and trusted attendants.

• The Fire Tribe’s fleet of more than six hundred boats, including ten fifty-thousand-jin vessels, arrived at the Valley Tribe dock and stunned Quyong and the onlookers.
• Quyong ordered his men to clear the largest berths and help moor the fleet, then welcomed Yan and heard about the Fire Tribe’s transport plans and shipbuilding progress.
• Yan, Jia Li, Yingmu, and Shibang began setting up the temporary camp while Feiyu and Bailin supervised docking and the next day’s deliveries.
• Qingsui and Fengren invited Yan to a banquet, and Yan gathered trusted attendants and gifts before following them to the Valley Tribe council hall.
• Valley Tribe members watched Yan’s group pass and whispered about the Fire Tribe’s size and generosity.

Yan presented gifts and negotiated secret bronze-weapon and boat trades with Daiyue, while warning him about the Wolf Tribe and possible danger from the Bear Tribe. As Yan left, Qingsui went with him to arrange the details of the secret handover.

• Yan arrived at the Valley Tribe’s council hall, where Daiyue and the seven great elders welcomed him and hosted a private meal.
• Yan presented pottery, coarse salt, hemp cloth, and bronze weapons from the Fire Tribe, impressing Daiyue and the elders.
• Yan and Daiyue agreed to trade bronze weapons secretly at night and discussed selling smaller boats to the Valley Tribe.
• Yan warned Daiyue that the Wolf Tribe might threaten the Great Boulder Tribe and later join the Bear Tribe against the Valley Tribe’s Little Valley Camp Outpost.
• After the gathering, Qingsui offered to escort Yan and discuss the time, place, and manpower for the bronze handover.

Yan and Qingsui discussed the Fire Tribe’s trade, bronze production, and plans while preparing for another handover between the tribes. After sharing a meal and completing the nighttime transfer of bronze weapons, Qingsui left to report to her father and planned to visit Yan again the next afternoon.

• Yan told Qingsui that the Fire Tribe would exchange coarse salt and bronze wares for grain over two days, and that its bronze production could supply far more than the Valley Tribe needed.
• Yan gave Qingsui a large bag of spices, and they agreed she would visit the next evening to eat his cooking and oversee the nighttime handover of bronze weapons.
• Hefeng and Fengren arrived early, and the Fire Tribe and Valley Tribe completed the coarse-salt handover and loaded more than two million jin of grain onto the boats.
• Qingsui arrived at Yan’s camp for dinner, then summoned Daiyue’s trusted aides to count, crate, and transport the bronze weapons.
• Yan and Qingsui signed copies of the handover record, and Qingsui left to report to her father before arranging to see Yan the next afternoon.

Yan finished loading the Valley Tribe's grain and spent a moonlit evening with Qingsui before the Fire Tribe's fleet departed for home. He warned her about threats to the Valley Tribe, promised the Fire Tribe would keep buying its grain, and left with the tribes' friendship intact but the couple facing another separation.

• Yan divided his people into five groups, and they counted and loaded more than two million jin of grain onto the boats.
• Yan and Qingsui walked beside the Fish River, discussed the Fire Tribe's growth and their hopes of seeing each other more often, and Yan warned her about the Wolf and Bear Tribes threatening the Valley Tribe.
• The next morning, Daiyue and the seven great elders saw Yan off, and Yan promised the Fire Tribe would buy the Valley Tribe's surplus grain again next year.
• Yan boarded the largest boat, and the fleet of more than six hundred boats sailed upstream as Qingsui watched until it disappeared.

Yan arrived at Little Fish River Mouth Outpost with a fleet carrying five million jin of grain, met with Dazhuang, and discussed the outposts and the Fire Tribe’s expansion. After learning that over four thousand people from small tribes were ready to join, Yan planned to return with ships to collect them before sailing on toward the main camp.

• Yan brought ten large grain ships to Little Fish River Mouth Outpost, where Dazhuang guided them to the expanded dock.
• Yan and Dazhuang discussed preparations for the Fire Tribe’s administrative center to move to the outpost and plans to assign it a large ship.
• Yan asked about the small tribes near the Little Horse River, and Dazhuang said over four thousand people from more than ten tribes were ready to join the Fire Tribe.
• Yan planned to return within twenty days to collect the newcomers and discussed the Fire Tribe’s growing border with the Horse Tribe.
• After resting overnight, Yan led the grain fleet away from Little Fish River Mouth Outpost and upstream toward the Fire Tribe’s main camp.

Yan returned to the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost with a fleet carrying five million jin of grain, and Jianshi welcomed him home before hearing his report. The leaders discussed the Valley Tribe’s growing conflict with the Bear Tribe and the Wolf Tribe’s expansion, then resolved to strengthen the Fire Tribe while keeping watch.

• Jianshi and the chiefs welcomed Yan’s fleet at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost, where the largest ships unloaded while smaller boats continued upstream.
• Yan reported that the voyage and trade with the Valley Tribe had gone smoothly and that the fleet had brought back five million jin of grain.
• Yan told the leaders that the Valley Tribe and Bear Tribe were preparing for conflict, while Dabang and Jijiao said supporting the Valley Tribe helped protect the Fire Tribe.
• Yan estimated the Valley Tribe could hold out for a year or two without Tiger Tribe support, and Jianshi urged the Fire Tribe to build ships, open fields, recruit people, and forge weapons.
• Yan reported that the Wolf Tribe had grown to more than two thousand cavalry and was defeating the Great Boulder Tribe, so Jianshi ordered people to watch them.

Yan prepared to sail to the Red Flower River Mouth and Little Fish River Mouth Outposts to bring about ten thousand people back to the Fire Tribe. He led a fleet of seventy ships and hundreds of small boats downstream, leaving the outposts behind as the fleet headed toward its destination.

• Jianshi told Yan that the Fire Tribe had twenty ships with a capacity of fifty thousand jin and asked him to bring back the people waiting at the two river-mouth outposts.
• Yan agreed to collect everyone in one trip and chose the ships and crew he needed for the journey.
• Two days later, Yan said farewell to Jianshi and Qingye at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost and departed with the fleet.
• Shibang and Yingmu praised the fleet’s capacity, and Yan said the Fire Tribe would build even larger ships in the future.
• The fleet sailed downstream past the Fire Tribe’s growing outposts.

Yan brought nearly ten thousand newcomers from the Red Flower River Mouth and Little Fish River Mouth outposts back to the Fire Tribe headquarters, where they settled in and saw the tribe’s abundant supplies. At a council meeting, Yan reported the tribe’s growth and expansion, while Jianshi planned further recruitment and the recovery of grain from the Valley Tribe.

• Yan met Dali at Red Flower River Mouth, where Dali admired the fleet’s twenty giant ships and took one out for a trial voyage.
• Shibang and Feiyu sailed to Little Fish River Mouth to collect its newcomers while Yan loaded people and belongings at Red Flower River Mouth.
• The fleet returned with nearly ten thousand newcomers, and Yan accompanied them upstream to the Fire Tribe headquarters.
• Jianshi’s leaders welcomed the newcomers, arranged their supplies and accommodations, and showed the small-tribe chiefs the tribe’s well-stocked warehouse.
• Yan reported that the Fire Tribe’s population had reached 120,000 and described its expanded territory and potential areas for further recruitment.
• Jianshi approved plans to absorb more people, noted that the tribe now had twenty-five large ships, and said Jianya would soon lead a fleet to retrieve grain from the Valley Tribe.

Jianya led the Fire Tribe’s grain fleet downstream to bring back supplies before the conflict between the Valley Tribe and Bear Tribe worsened. At the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost, he gave Dali a new 50,000-jin ship before continuing toward the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost.

• Jianshi entrusted Jianya with bringing the grain back safely and warned him to watch the situation near the lower Fish River and the Wolf Tribe.
• Jianya ordered more than seven hundred vessels to depart the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost and sail downstream along the Fish River.
• Jianya arrived at the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost, where Dali eagerly welcomed him and admired the fleet’s large ships.
• Jianya gave Dali a new 50,000-jin ship to help him guard and develop the outpost, and Dali accepted it.
• Jianya declined Dali’s offer of a meal and continued with the fleet toward the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost, where Dazhuang was waiting.

Jianya brought the Fire Tribe’s grain fleet to Little Fish River Mouth Outpost, left a large ship there, and continued downriver toward the Valley Tribe. After ten days, he reached Little Valley Camp, where Daiyan saw the Fire Tribe’s growing fleet and guided it toward the headquarters docks to begin the grain exchange.

• Jianya arrived at Little Fish River Mouth Outpost, where Dazhuang welcomed him and learned that the Fire Tribe had twenty-five fifty-thousand-jin ships.
• Jianya left a fifty-thousand-jin ship with Dazhuang and ordered him to guard and develop the outpost, then refused a meal and resumed the journey.
• Jianya sailed downstream for ten days and arrived at Little Valley Camp Outpost with more than twenty large ships.
• Daiyan counted twenty-three fifty-thousand-jin ships in Jianya’s fleet and reflected on the Valley Tribe’s need for the Fire Tribe’s weapons and support.
• Daiyan directed Jianya’s fleet toward the Valley Tribe headquarters docks, where Chief Daiyue awaited the grain exchange.

Jianya brought the Fire Tribe’s enlarged fleet to the Valley Tribe, where he met with Daiyue to exchange gifts and discuss trade and security. Daiyue requested this year’s bronze weapons early, and Jianya promised to raise the request with his tribe before returning for the grain handover.

• Quyong saw the Fire Tribe’s fleet of twenty-three fifty-thousand-jin ships arrive and ordered his men to prepare berths and notify Daiyue.
• Jianya arranged for his men to guard the fleet and prepare for the handover, then followed Fengren to the council hall with gifts for Daiyue.
• Jianya presented pottery, coarse salt, and bronze weapons, which Daiyue and the seven great elders praised during the banquet.
• Daiyue asked to receive the year’s bronze weapons early because the Bear Tribe was growing stronger with secret support from the Tiger Tribe, and Jianya agreed to discuss it with his tribe.
• Daiyue promised that the conflict with the Bear Tribe would not disrupt the grain trade and guaranteed at least twenty million jin of grain next year.
• Jianya and Daiyue settled the trade details and discussed the Bear Tribe’s scouts near Little Valley Camp Outpost and the Wolf Tribe’s activity near Great Rock before Jianya left.

Daiyue and the Valley Tribe’s elders discussed the Fire Tribe’s growing naval strength, threats from the Bear and Wolf Tribes, and plans to strengthen their own defenses and population. The meeting ended with the Valley Tribe preparing for conflict while Daiyue left for the night.

• Daiyue told the elders that the Fire Tribe was rapidly building large boats and could soon have fifty, far surpassing the Valley Tribe’s fleet.
• Hefeng and Lin Feng discussed the Fire Tribe’s growing power and the techniques that had helped it develop.
• Jin Ye asked how to distribute the bronze weapons, and Daiyue assigned them all to Little Valley Camp because of rising clashes with the Bear Tribe.
• Daiyue urged the Valley Tribe to recruit discreetly and grow its population to thirty thousand, despite Hefeng’s concern about provoking the Tiger Tribe.
• Daiyue predicted that the Wolf Tribe would raid again after its supplies ran low, but said it would first have to contend with the Great Boulder Tribe.
• After the elders departed, Qingsui told Daiyue to rest, and he left the meeting hall.

Jianya returned to the Fire Tribe with another five million jin of grain and reported that the Valley Tribe wanted its bronze weapons early as conflict with the Bear Tribe intensified. Jianshi agreed to send the weapons ahead, while the Fire Tribe celebrated its growing grain stores and shipbuilding fleet.

• Jianya arrived at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost with more than twenty ships carrying five million jin of grain, and Jianshi and the other Fire Tribe leaders welcomed him.
• Jianya told Jianshi that the Valley Tribe wanted to receive this year's bronze weapons early because its conflict with the Bear Tribe was worsening and the Tiger Tribe was supporting the Bear Tribe.
• Jianshi agreed to send all the Valley Tribe's bronze weapons in a couple of days, saying the Fire Tribe should support its ally.
• Jianshi told Jianya that the Fire Tribe had launched ten more fifty-thousand-jin ships, bringing its fleet to thirty-five, and was close to completing its first hundred-thousand-jin ship.
• Jianshi led Jianya and the others to the council hall, where they ate, drank, and discussed the Valley Tribe, the Bear Tribe, and the Fire Tribe's new ships.

Jianshi reported the Fire Tribe’s growing grain stores and planned to bring in more tribespeople, cattle, and horses. After Jianya sailed to collect grain from the Valley Tribe, Yan departed with a fleet to visit the Red Flower River Mouth and Little Fish River Mouth outposts.

• Jianshi said the Fire Tribe had brought back five million jin of grain from the Valley Tribe and expected an abundant early rice harvest.
• Jianshi told Yan to visit the Red Flower River Mouth and Little Fish River Mouth outposts after the harvest, recruit nearby tribes, and negotiate for cattle and horses with the Horse Tribe.
• Jianshi ordered Jianya to take another fleet to the Valley Tribe soon because its conflict with the Bear Tribe was worsening.
• Jianya sailed downstream with a large fleet to collect more grain from the Valley Tribe.
• The Fire Tribe harvested its early rice, and Yan worked in the fields alongside the people.
• Yan loaded ships with trade goods and departed downstream with Shibang, Yingmu, Feiyu, Bailin, and others to collect people from the outposts.

Yan visited the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost to learn about tribes seeking to join the Fire Tribe and gathered details for his report to his father. After agreeing to collect the Long Leaf and Short Leaf tribes and their subordinate tribes after the autumn harvest, he continued toward the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost and the Horse Tribe.

• Yan arrived at the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost, where Dali welcomed him and described his daily patrols aboard a fifty-thousand-jin ship.
• Yan told Dali that a hundred-thousand-jin ship might be ready for testing soon and promised the outpost would receive one in the future.
• Dali reported that the Long Leaf and Short Leaf tribes, along with their subordinate tribes, wanted to join the Fire Tribe after the autumn harvest and hoped to persuade nearby tribes to join them.
• Yan agreed with the tribes’ plan and said he would return with a fleet to transport them after visiting the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost and the Horse Tribe.
• Yan left the outpost by ship, and Dali watched the fleet sail down the Fish River.

Yan arrived at the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost, where Dazhuang briefed him on the outpost’s growth and the small tribes seeking to join the Fire Tribe. After breakfast the next morning, Yan led the fleet downstream toward the Horse Tribe.

• Yan brought the Fire Tribe fleet to Little Fish River Mouth, where Dazhuang welcomed him and hosted a meal.
• Yan told Dazhuang that the hundred-thousand-jin ship was nearly finished and that the Fire Tribe’s management center would move to the outpost.
• Dazhuang reported that about five thousand people from dozens of independent tribes on the north bank of the Little Horse River wanted to join the Fire Tribe.
• Yan planned to collect those people and about three thousand others from the west bank of the Fish River in one fleet trip.
• Dazhuang described the outpost’s expanded housing, dock, farmland, and management center as the Horse Tribe’s movements were discussed.
• Yan rested overnight, ate breakfast, and led the fleet downstream toward the Horse Tribe while Dazhuang watched from the dock.

Yan visited Chief Junfeng of the Horse Tribe to warn him about the Wolf Tribe and negotiate a cattle and horse purchase. Junfeng agreed to sell at the old price in exchange for the Fire Tribe’s future help, and Yan left with a deal for autumn delivery.

• Yan led the Fire Tribe fleet into Horse Tribe territory and traveled to Junfeng’s camp with gifts.
• Yan warned Junfeng that the Wolf Tribe might soon attack the Great Boulder Tribe and urged the Horse Tribe to prepare.
• Yan proposed buying cattle and horses at a higher price, but Junfeng offered the old price and asked the Fire Tribe to help the Horse Tribe in future crises.
• Yan agreed to help, and the two settled a deal for one thousand short-legged horses and one thousand cattle to be exchanged around the autumn harvest.
• Yan and his people returned toward the fleet the next morning with furs and mountain products from the Horse Tribe.

Yan returned to the Fire Tribe's main settlement and reported on his journey, including new arrivals waiting at two outposts and a successful cattle and horse trade with the Horse Tribe. Jianshi told Yan that the Fire Tribe's first one-hundred-thousand-jin ship would be tested the next morning.

• Yan reached the Fire Tribe's main settlement and told Jianshi that people at the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost and Little Fish River Mouth Outpost were ready to join the Fire Tribe.
• Yan explained that the Long Leaf Tribe and Short Leaf Tribe planned to arrive after the autumn harvest with supplies and help recruit more small tribes.
• Yan reported that he had ordered a thousand cattle and a thousand short-legged horses from Chief Junfeng, who agreed to the old prices and sought the Fire Tribe's support against the Wolf Tribe.
• Jianshi told Yan that the Fire Tribe's one-hundred-thousand-jin ship would be ready to launch the next morning, and that the tribe now had forty fifty-thousand-jin ships.
• Jianshi and Yan left the council hall to eat and rest before going to the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost to watch the ship's test.

Yan and Jianshi attended the maiden voyage of the Fire Tribe’s hundred-thousand-jin ship, which passed its inspections and sailed successfully on the Fish River. Jianshi celebrated the achievement, discussed expanding production and relocating the administrative center, then allowed Dali to stay two more days before returning to his outpost.

• Dali stayed overnight at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost to watch the ship’s final inspection, and Jianshi and Yan arrived there with the other leaders the next morning.
• Dabang oversaw the ship’s launch, and Dali inspected the hull and reported that it was balanced, stable, and free of leaks.
• Dali led the ship on a sailing test on the Fish River, and Jianshi and the leaders celebrated its successful maiden voyage.
• Dabang estimated that the Fire Tribe could build twenty or thirty ships of that size next year, while Jianshi urged the leaders to finish relocating the administrative center to the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost before the autumn harvest.
• Dali asked to stay aboard the ship, and Jianshi granted him two more days before he had to return to the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost.
• After the feast, Dali took the ship back onto the river while Jianshi and Yan returned upstream to headquarters.

Jianya returned to the Fire Tribe with a grain transport fleet and saw Dali testing the new 100,000-jin ship. After overseeing the unloading, Jianya reported to Jianshi that the Valley Tribe’s grain shipment had arrived safely, with one more trip needed to collect the rest.

• Jianya arrived at the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost with more than thirty large grain ships and met Dali aboard the 100,000-jin ship.
• Dali told Jianya the ship was steady and fast, and that Jianshi had promised the Red Flower River Mouth Outpost one next year.
• Jianya ordered Binmao to unload and safely store the grain before traveling upriver to the Fire Tribe’s main settlement.
• Jianya reported to Jianshi that the fleet had brought back five million jin, bringing the total to fifteen million jin, with five million jin still to collect.
• Jianshi discussed the grain, the Bear Tribe conflict, the Wolf Tribe, trade with the Horse Tribe, and the new ship with Jianya, then sent him to eat and rest.