Chapter Summaries

Xueya led four thousand Wolf Tribe warriors to join Xiong Lie’s Bear Tribe forces for an attack on the Valley Tribe’s Little Valley Camp Outpost. After the Wolf Tribe arrived, the allied forces set out immediately while the Tiger Tribe’s army was expected in two days.

• Xueya assigned Duzhu and Xueshou to guard the Wolf Tribe’s camps while he and Yexiao marched against the Valley Tribe’s Little Valley Camp Outpost.
• Xiong Lie left Xiong Pan in charge of the Bear Tribe’s camp and prepared to lead about four thousand troops to war.
• A messenger reported that Xueya’s four thousand Wolf Tribe warriors had reached the Bear Tribe’s camp.
• Xiong Lie and Xiong Pan went to greet Xueya, who reported that the Wolf Tribe had encountered no trouble on the road.
• Xueya and Xiong Lie joined their forces and set out for the Valley Tribe’s Little Valley Camp Outpost.

Xueya and Xiong Lie led a night assault on the Valley Tribe's Little Valley Camp Outpost, catching Daiyan's forces off guard and capturing the camp. By morning, Daiyan was imprisoned while the allied troops secured supplies and guarded the captives.

• Xueya proposed a three-sided night attack on Little Valley Camp Outpost, and Xiong Lie agreed to the plan.
• Xueya's cavalry moved to block the roads while ships approached along the river to seal off the dock.
• Daiyan dismissed his aide's worries about missing scouts as the allied troops surrounded the camp.
• Daiyan ordered his warriors to defend the gates, but Xueya's forces broke through both entrances and overran the outpost.
• Xueya's warriors captured Daiyan and took control of the camp, where they gathered supplies and confined the Valley Tribe captives.
• At daybreak, Daiyan remained locked in a farming-tools hut as Bear Tribe warriors sharpened their blades nearby.

After the Wolf and Bear Tribes captured the Little Valley Camp Outpost, Daiyue ordered the Valley Tribe to defend its main camp and seek allies. At the outpost, Xueya and Xiong Lie confronted their wounded captive Daiyan and revealed that the Tiger Tribe was joining the attack, leaving the Valley Tribe facing imminent defeat.

• Quyong reported that the Wolf and Bear Tribes had overrun the Little Valley Camp Outpost, sunk four boats, and captured its people, while nearly all two thousand Valley Tribe warriors had been killed.
• Daiyue ordered the Valley Tribe to fortify its main camp, urgently contact the Fire Tribe, summon help from the Bean Tribe, and have Quyong watch the enemy fleet.
• Xueya and Yexiao counted the captured supplies and prepared to divide them with the Bear Tribe while Xiong Lie's people buried the fallen.
• Xueya and Xiong Lie had the wounded Daiyan brought into their tent, where he cursed them and warned that the Fire Tribe would send reinforcements.
• Xueya told Daiyan that the Tiger Tribe's main force would arrive within days and that the Valley Tribe's main camp would fall before the Fire Tribe could help.

Tong Dachui received confirmation that the Wolf Tribe and Bear Tribe had captured the Little Valley Camp Outpost and ordered the allied forces to attack the Valley Tribe headquarters. As the armies crossed the river, Daiyue prepared the headquarters for a desperate defense.

• Tong Dachui learned that the Wolf Tribe and Bear Tribe had captured the Little Valley Camp Outpost in a night raid, sinking four Valley Tribe ships with few casualties.
• Tong Dachui rejected a second night raid and planned a frontal assault, using the Wolf Tribe and Bear Tribe to wear down the defenders while his forces arrived.
• Tong Dachui ordered the Tiger Tribe fleet to hurry to the Valley Tribe and told Hu Ya to bring the land army behind it for a final attack.
• Tong Dachui met Xueya and Xiong Lie at the outpost, praised their capture, and offered them its supplies before ordering them to help attack the headquarters.
• The Wolf Tribe and Bear Tribe armies began crossing the river aboard the Tiger Tribe fleet and assembling on the far bank.
• Daiyue ordered the Valley Tribe to reinforce its camp wall, organize three guard shifts, gather arrows, and prepare to fight to the death.

The Wolf Tribe and Bear Tribe besieged the Valley Tribe’s main camp while the Tiger Tribe blockaded its eastern dock, and Daiyue’s forces fought to hold the walls. After three days of attacks and heavy losses on both sides, Daiyue urged Fengren to keep the defenders steady and wait for the Fire Tribe’s reinforcements.

• The Wolf Tribe surrounded the north gate, the Bear Tribe surrounded the south gate, and the Tiger Tribe blockaded the eastern dock while cavalry watched the west gate.
• Daiyue and Fengren discussed the camp’s defenses, the two thousand warriors sent by the Bean Tribe, the safety of Quyong’s fleet, and the need to hold out for the Fire Tribe.
• The Wolf Tribe and Bear Tribe launched a probing attack, then began larger assaults with scaling ladders and a battering ram, but the Valley Tribe held the walls.
• After three days of fighting, the Wolf Tribe and Bear Tribe had suffered more than two thousand casualties, while the Valley Tribe had lost a thousand people and many more were wounded.
• Fengren warned Daiyue that the siege was disrupting planting and threatening the autumn harvest, and Daiyue told him to reassure the people and keep resisting until reinforcements arrived.

On the fifth day of the siege, Xueya grew wary of the costly assault and the approaching Fire Tribe, while Xiong Lie struggled to keep the Bear Tribe committed despite its heavy losses. Daiyue and Qingsui prepared the Valley Tribe’s women to fight, and the chapter ended with Bear Tribe troops and wounded secretly changing places across the river as Xueya watched the boats.

• Yexiao reported that the Valley Tribe’s defenses remained strong, and Xueya ordered the Wolf Tribe to conserve its strength and prepare for the Fire Tribe’s arrival.
• Xiong Chi told Xiong Lie that the Bear Tribe had lost half its warriors and could no longer take the camp alone; Xiong Lie insisted they continue, expecting Tiger Tribe reinforcements.
• Daiyue heard that Qingsui had organized three thousand women into a fighting force and asked how long the camp could hold; Qingsui said they could still resist.
• After nightfall, Bear Tribe wounded were ferried to Little Valley Camp while about a thousand warriors crossed back to join the siege.
• Xueya watched the boats shuttle across the river before returning to his tent.

The Tiger Tribe took over the Wolf Tribe’s position and joined the Bear Tribe in intensifying the assault on the Valley Tribe’s main camp. As the defenders weakened, Tong Dachui demanded Daiyue surrender and claimed Qingsui as his concubine; Daiyue refused, and Tong Dachui prepared an all-out attack for the next day.

• Xueya asked Tong Dachui to let the Wolf Tribe withdraw to rest, and Tong Dachui agreed after requiring them to fight one more battle.
• The Wolf Tribe attacked, then crossed the river, while the Tiger Tribe took over its camp and Tong Dachui ordered an afternoon assault.
• The Tiger Tribe and Bear Tribe attacked the Valley Tribe’s camp, damaging its gate and defenses and leaving fewer than three thousand warriors able to fight.
• Qingsui and the women soldiers took positions along the wall as the Valley Tribe prepared to defend the weakened camp.
• Tong Dachui demanded that Daiyue surrender and join the Tiger Tribe, then said Qingsui would become his concubine; Daiyue angrily refused.
• Tong Dachui ordered Hu Wei to feed and rest the warriors before launching an all-out attack the next day.

Yan and Dazhuang organized a Fire Tribe relief force after spotting the Valley Tribe’s beacon and sent it downstream toward the Valley Tribe. As Tong Dachui’s final assault faltered under news of approaching warships, he ordered his forces to withdraw and prepare for battle.

• Yan saw the Valley Tribe’s beacon smoke and told Dazhuang that the Wolf Tribe and Bear Tribe were likely attacking the Little Valley Camp.
• Yan and Dazhuang assembled a relief force of around fifteen thousand warriors, with cavalry traveling by land and Yan’s fleet traveling by river.
• Yan’s fleet sailed downstream along the Fish River toward the Valley Tribe.
• On the eighth day of the attack, Tong Dachui ordered a final assault on the Valley Tribe’s main camp, where only around two thousand defenders remained.
• Daiyue searched the river for Fire Tribe boats while Qingsui helped organize the camp’s defenses.
• After a scout reported dozens of warships approaching upstream, Tong Dachui stopped the assault and ordered his forces to withdraw into the camp and prepare the fleet for battle.

Fire Tribe reinforcements arrived by river and land, and Yan’s fleet shattered the Tiger Tribe navy while Daiyue prepared the Valley Tribe’s cavalry to strike the Bear Tribe. The Tiger Tribe ships escaped downstream, while the Fire Tribe recaptured the Little Valley Camp Outpost and secured its remaining Bear Tribe soldiers.

• The Fire Tribe fleet reached the Valley Tribe’s main camp, and Daiyue ordered most of his cavalry to ride out and attack the Bear Tribe alongside Fire Tribe cavalry.
• Yan coordinated with Quyong, then led the Fire Tribe navy into the Tiger Tribe fleet and sank or disabled many ships.
• Tong Dachui ordered the surviving Tiger Tribe ships to break out downstream, and Yan chose to secure the captured vessels rather than pursue them.
• As the Tiger Tribe navy collapsed, Xueya ordered the Wolf Tribe to take valuables and supplies from the Little Valley Camp Outpost and kill Daiyan before fleeing.
• Shibang arrived at the outpost with two thousand cavalry, disarmed and detained the remaining wounded Bear Tribe soldiers, and secured the camp.

Yingmu and Fengren routed the Bear Tribe force outside the Valley Tribe’s main camp, killed Xiong Lie, and pursued the retreating Tiger Tribe troops. After learning how badly the Valley Tribe had been weakened, Daiyue decided that joining the Fire Tribe was its best chance of survival and called for the seven great elders to discuss the decision.

• Yingmu and Fengren defeated the Bear Tribe force at the south gate, killed Xiong Lie, and pursued the fleeing Tiger Tribe troops, killing more than a thousand.
• Yan asked Shibang about the Fire Tribe’s casualties and learned that fewer than two hundred cavalry had fallen and Little Valley Camp Outpost was under guard.
• Fengren and Quyong told Daiyue that fewer than three thousand Valley Tribe warriors remained, with fewer than two thousand ready to fight, and that Little Valley Camp’s defenses had been destroyed.
• Daiyue proposed that the Valley Tribe join the Fire Tribe, and Fengren and Quyong supported the plan as the best way to protect their people.
• Daiyue ordered Fengren to summon all seven great elders so they could discuss the major decision together.

Daiyue and the Valley Tribe’s elders assessed the damage from the battle and agreed that the weakened tribe should join the Fire Tribe. Daiyue laid out a phased relocation and defense plan, then arranged to discuss the details with Young Chief Yan.

• Daiyue told the council that the Valley Tribe had suffered heavy losses and had fewer than three thousand warriors available after the battle.
• Yaoshan, Hefeng, Jin Ye, and the other elders raised concerns about the Tiger Tribe, dwindling supplies, damaged defenses, and the Valley Tribe’s losses.
• Daiyue proposed that the Valley Tribe join the Fire Tribe to escape the front line and recover under its protection, and the elders agreed.
• Daiyue planned to request Fire Tribe warriors to remain temporarily, plant what they could, pursue the Bear Tribe and Wolf Tribe, relocate the Valley Tribe in stages, and approach the Greater Qing Tribe and Willow Vine Tribe.
• Daiyue asked Fengren to invite Young Chief Yan to discuss the Valley Tribe joining the Fire Tribe the next morning, and Fengren agreed.

Yan and Daiyue agreed that the weakened Valley Tribe would join the Fire Tribe in stages while receiving help with farming and defense. Yan then ordered preparations to destroy the Bear Tribe the next morning and assigned others to support the Valley Tribe.

• Daiyue told Yan that the Valley Tribe had suffered severe losses and decided its people would join the Fire Tribe in stages after the autumn harvest and the following spring.
• Yan agreed to welcome the Valley Tribe, promised to help its people settle, and pledged to destroy the Bear Tribe before it could recover.
• Yan told Jia Li, Bailin, Feiyu, Shibang, and Yingmu about the Valley Tribe's decision and ordered Feiyu and Yingmu to prepare ships and five thousand people for a dawn attack on the Bear Tribe.
• Yan assigned Jia Li, Bailin, and Shibang to remain with the Valley Tribe's warriors and help them plant grain.

After a crushing defeat by the Fire Tribe, Tong Dachui led the Tiger Tribe remnants toward home while Xueya’s Wolf Tribe withdrew with captured supplies. Xueya decided to exploit the Bear Tribe’s losses by attacking its vulnerable home, leaving his warriors preparing for the strike.

• Hu Wei reported that the Tiger Tribe had lost most of its ships and warriors, and Tong Dachui worried that his faction would face blame and lose influence at home.
• Tong Dachui ordered the land forces to retreat along the east bank and the naval forces to sail back to the Tiger Tribe.
• Xueya told Yexiao that the Wolf Tribe had gained supplies despite losing warriors and that the Fire Tribe’s growing strength made preparation essential.
• Xueya concluded that the Bear Tribe’s home was vulnerable after its heavy losses and proposed seizing its remaining supplies.
• Xueya ordered the Wolf Tribe to prepare for a single-strike attack on the Bear Tribe.

Xueya tricked Xiong Pan into leaving the Bear Tribe camp, then seized it with the Wolf Tribe and killed the returning Bear Tribe cavalry. The next morning, Xueya ordered his warriors to take the camp’s valuables and most of its grain while leaving the people to tend the fields for a later harvest.

• Xiong Pan worried about his father Xiong Lie after the Tiger Tribe’s defeated forces passed the Bear Tribe camp, and Xueya arrived with five hundred Wolf Tribe survivors.
• Xueya falsely told Xiong Pan that Xiong Lie was surrounded by the Fire Tribe and persuaded him to ride out with twelve hundred cavalry, while Yexiao guided them away from camp.
• After Xiong Pan left, Xueya signaled the Wolf Tribe warriors to seize the Bear Tribe camp, overwhelm its eight hundred guards, and prepare traps at the gates.
• Xiong Pan returned after failing to find his father, charged into the trapped camp, and was killed with all twelve hundred cavalry as Xueya’s archers and troops attacked.
• The Wolf Tribe celebrated its victory through the night, and Xueya ordered the warriors to take valuable supplies, most of the grain, and young women while leaving the remaining people to tend the fields.

The Fire Tribe reached the Bear Tribe’s camp after the Wolf Tribe fled with Xueya and its forces, leaving supplies and more than twenty thousand people behind. Yan decided to secure the camp, settle the people at northern outposts, and leave Yingmu in charge until the autumn harvest while he led a fleet upstream.

• Yexiao ordered the Fire Tribe’s ships to cast off immediately, abandoning supplies at the dock as the pursuit fleet approached.
• After learning that the Fire Tribe was nearby, Xueya ordered the Wolf Tribe to leave most supplies behind and flee north with its people, cattle, and horses.
• Yan landed two thousand naval troops and entered the abandoned Bear Tribe camp without pursuing Xueya’s retreating force.
• Feiyu reported that more than twenty thousand low-status Bear Tribe members remained, and he proposed resettling them at the Fire Tribe’s northern outposts.
• Yingmu reported that most grain and bulky supplies remained, while Yan assigned him four thousand people to defend the camp until the autumn harvest.
• Yan planned to take ten thousand people upstream the next morning, while Feiyu returned to the Big Horse River Mouth Outpost and later assisted Yingmu.

Yan returned from the Bear Tribe with ten thousand people and made plans with Daiyue and Shunian for the Bear, Valley, and Bean Tribes to join the Fire Tribe. After promising Qingsui he would formally raise their relationship with their fathers, Yan continued upriver to settle the Bear Tribe people at several outposts, then headed for the Fire Tribe’s administrative center to report to his father.

• Yan brought ten thousand people from the Bear Tribe to the Valley Tribe camp and explained that the Wolf Tribe had killed the Bear Tribe’s warriors and leaders; Daiyue agreed the survivors should not be blamed.
• Daiyue introduced Shunian, who confirmed that the Bean Tribe would join the Fire Tribe, and Yan discussed protecting and settling their people and camps.
• Yan proposed moving the Fire Tribe’s administrative center to the Valley Tribe and developing river-mouth outposts; Daiyue agreed and promised to seek the Greater Qing Tribe’s and Willow Vine Tribe’s allegiance.
• Qingsui walked Yan to the dock, and Yan promised to speak to his father about formally raising the matter of their relationship with her father on his next visit.
• Yan left three thousand Bear Tribe people with Feiyu at the Big Horse River Mouth Outpost and three thousand with Dazhuang at the Clothing River Mouth Outpost, then settled the remaining four thousand at the Green Leaf River Mouth Outpost.
• Dazhuang told Yan that his father had praised his actions and asked him to report the details; Yan set off with the fleet for the Fire Tribe’s administrative center.

Yan returned to the Fire Tribe’s administrative center after defeating the Tiger Tribe’s forces, helping the Valley Tribe and Bean Tribe join the Fire Tribe, and bringing Bear Tribe people back for settlement. The leaders celebrated the gains but agreed to keep preparing for the Tiger Tribe and to strengthen the Fire Tribe.

• Yan’s fleet returned to the Little Fish River Mouth Outpost, where Jianshi and the other leaders welcomed him and praised his victory.
• Yan credited the fleet, Feiyu, Yingmu, and Uncle Dazhuang for the successful rescue, then joined the leaders for a meal.
• At Jianshi’s request, Yan recounted the battle: the Fire Tribe defeated the Tiger Tribe, Wolf Tribe, and Bear Tribe, while the Valley Tribe and Bean Tribe suffered heavy losses.
• Yan explained that the Valley Tribe and Bean Tribe had agreed to join the Fire Tribe, and that he had brought ten thousand Bear Tribe people back for settlement and training.
• Yan reported that the Greater Qing Tribe and Willow Vine Tribe might also join, potentially adding around one hundred and forty thousand people to the Fire Tribe.
• Jianshi and Yan warned that the Tiger Tribe would rebuild its strength and urged the leaders to keep building ships, training troops, and stockpiling grain.

Yan proposed moving the Fire Tribe’s management center north to the Valley Tribe to prepare for conflict with the Tiger Tribe, and the council agreed to a gradual relocation with new forward outposts. Jianshi also agreed to approach Chief Daiyue about Yan marrying Qingsui, while Yan prepared to lead settlers north after two days of rest.

• Jianshi reported that the Fire Tribe had expanded its boats and supplies and expected a strong autumn harvest.
• Yan proposed moving the management center to the Valley Tribe, keeping the Little Fish River Mouth and Fire Creek River Mouth as secondary centers, and establishing northern outposts.
• Jianshi and the council supported a gradual relocation and planned forward outposts at the Bean Tribe and Bear Tribe camps.
• Jianshi told Yan that ten thousand people had gathered at the Little Fish River Mouth and instructed him to take them and supplies north after resting for two days.
• Yan agreed to set out on the third morning, and Jianshi said he would accompany him to ask Chief Daiyue for Qingsui’s hand.
• Dabang, Wu Xiong, Canglan, and the other leaders congratulated Yan and discussed settling people, distributing supplies, and scheduling the fleet.

Jianshi accompanied Yan downstream to the Valley Tribe to negotiate its joining the Fire Tribe and announced plans to move the Fire Tribe’s administrative center there. The Valley Tribe’s leaders welcomed the proposed arrangements, and the meeting ended with Daiyue thanking Jianshi for the trust shown to the Valley Tribe and Bean Tribe.

• Yan and Jianshi discussed the Fire Tribe’s growth and Jianshi’s plan to share more responsibility with Yan as their generation prepared to hand over leadership.
• Jianshi and Yan visited several Fire Tribe river outposts before their fleet reached the Valley Tribe’s main camp after ten days.
• Daiyue welcomed Jianshi and Yan, and the Valley Tribe hosted a meal where Jianshi presented bronze knives as gifts.
• Jianshi said he had brought ten thousand people to settle at the Bear Tribe and Bean Tribe camps as forward outposts and planned to move the Fire Tribe’s administrative center to the Valley Tribe.
• Jianshi offered the Valley Tribe and Bean Tribe’s chiefs and elders leadership roles in the Fire Tribe, with their other leaders becoming reserve leaders.
• Daiyue accepted the proposed arrangements on behalf of both tribes and toasted Jianshi in gratitude.

Jianshi secured Daiyue’s agreement to Yan and Qingsui’s marriage, then led Yan and a fleet of tribespeople north to inspect the Bear Tribe and Bean Tribe outposts and arrange their settlement. After leaving Yingmu and Shibang in charge of the outposts, Jianshi and Yan sailed back toward the Valley Tribe.

• Jianshi asked Daiyue for Qingsui’s hand for Yan, and Qingsui agreed to leave the decision to her father before Daiyue accepted the match.
• Jianshi and Daiyue agreed to hold the wedding after spring, once the Valley Tribe had migrated and settled, and discussed the tribes’ future cooperation.
• After a messenger reported that ten thousand tribespeople were ready to sail, Jianshi departed with Yan to settle them at the Bear Tribe and Bean Tribe outposts.
• At the Bear Tribe, Jianshi and Yan inspected the camp, assigned Yingmu to oversee it and Shibang to oversee the Bean Tribe, and discussed how many people each outpost could accommodate.
• Jianshi instructed Yingmu to prepare winter firewood, maintain the watchtower torches, and reinforce the camp walls as the Bear Tribe’s people boarded ships for relocation.
• Jianshi and Yan briefly met Jiaonian and Shibang at the Bean Tribe before continuing upstream toward the Valley Tribe.