Chapter 887: Taking the Test While Looking at the Answer Key

Qibo's words perfectly matched Xuanyuan's intentions. At the same time, Dahong, Limu, and the others all unanimously agreed that it was necessary to participate in this war. The Xuanyuan Tribe needed to develop, and taking down the Shennong Clan was the best opportunity. As long as they succeeded, the Xuanyuan Tribe would find no rivals under Heaven; even Huaxia would not be worth considering.

However, Xuanyuan also voiced his own considerations: "I agree with attacking the Shennong Clan, but there are many issues within this that we still need to discuss together."

"First, how much force should we mobilize to attack them? Second, how should we consider Huaxia and the Suiren Clan? Those two tribes won't necessarily remain stable. After all, with such a good opportunity, even if they cannot attack the Shennong Clan, they could take advantage of our insufficient strength to seize our territory. They also need to grow, and they certainly would not be willing to watch our tribe become powerful rapidly."

Xuanyuan looked at Dahong: "Dahong, you speak first. How much grain does our tribe have that can be set aside for war, and how many Soldiers can it support?"

Dahong did not have the habit of recording things on paper, and he lacked the ability to do so; everything was kept in his mind.

"Tribal Chief, our current grain reserves are enough for everyone to eat until this Winter. Now, it is not very far from the harvest season. In less than a hundred days, our Wheat will be ready to harvest, and at that time, there will be enough grain for more than a year."

"I think this surplus grain is enough for about ten thousand people to participate in the war. As long as our Autumn Harvest does not have any problems, then we will certainly be able to pass through this year safely and smoothly."

"Moreover, we can continue to hire out our idle manpower to Huaxia. The grain Huaxia can provide at one time is enough for several thousand people to eat for dozens of days. We can completely use the grain traded from the Laborers hired out to support our expeditionary Soldiers. One Laborer supporting one Soldier, I think this is no problem."

"The biggest difficulty is that we are a bit far from the Shennong Clan. The place where they are warring should be even further from our Qingqiu City, right? How to transport so much grain there is a problem. And once it is sent there, won't we need even more Soldiers to protect our grain?"

Xuanyuan raised his hand to interrupt Dahong, saying with a worried expression: "Everyone is very clear about these considerations of yours. The biggest problem is how to replenish the grain for our Soldiers. If only we had roads like Huaxia, though now we also have carts, which will be more convenient than before."

"Anyway, according to what you said, our grain is enough to support ten thousand people. If we account for transporting the grain and some losses, even if we calculate based on the minimum, five or six thousand people should still be no problem."

Dahong answered very firmly: "Tribal Chief, this is absolutely no problem. Our grain is completely sufficient now. I think that although the Shennong Clan is larger than us, their grain supply should be a big problem. If their grain had not had problems, those tribes would not have gone to oppose Shennong."

"Hmm, I think so too," Xuanyuan nodded: "The Shennong Clan's current advantage is that they have more Soldiers, it is easier for them to transport grain, and they are more familiar with the battlefield. However, they have no way to support too many Soldiers to fight continuously. For them, Soldiers are hunters; without hunters, the food of their own tribe will have problems."

"Considering this point, we hold a great advantage. Then, what do you think about Huaxia and the Suiren Clan?"

Cangjie stroked his long beard. The eye-shaped tattoos on his face and his wide-open eyes looked very resolute, but he asked Xuanyuan first: "Tribal Chief, you should be clearer about this. Not to mention the Suiren Clan, let's just talk about Huaxia. Do you think Huaxia will take advantage of us attacking the Shennong Clan to attack us?"

Xuanyuan had an answer in his heart, but he was not very certain. To let everyone discuss it together, he still said: "I don't think they will. Huaxia is currently focused on building their own tribe. Their Weaponry is powerful, and they even have specialized Soldiers, but they have too few people; they don't have enough people to attack other tribes."

"If they were to come and attack our tribe, based on Baifeng's personality, he probably wouldn't take this risk unless he had twenty thousand Soldiers. However, I guess Huaxia doesn't have that many Soldiers right now. I estimate a few thousand is already the limit for Huaxia. They have a very clear division of labor; Soldiers are Soldiers, and other men will only do what they are supposed to do."

"And look at now, they spent such a great price to build an Embassy and sent so many people to our tribe. Unless Baifeng suddenly takes them all back, he would be reluctant to part with the talent he cultivated. Besides, I also like these people he sent; if they could stay in our tribe, they could definitely play a big role."

Qibo smiled and said: "Then the Tribal Chief's meaning is that it is impossible for Huaxia to come and attack our tribe, but you considered Huaxia because you want to pull them in together to attack the Shennong Clan to increase our chances of winning and reduce our losses, right?"

Xuanyuan's expression remained serious: "Yes, that is exactly what I think. Even if Huaxia doesn't provide men, as long as they can provide their Weaponry, I am willing to propose conditions to trade with them. As long as we have those better Weaponry from Huaxia, we will have a better chance of winning when facing the Shennong Clan."

"Then what conditions do you plan to use to exchange for Huaxia's support?" Dahong counted on his fingers: "Population? Slaves? Expanding trade, or perhaps using the spoils of war?"

"I think all of them are needed." Xuanyuan hammered the ground hard and said: "I know Baifeng's personality; he prefers benefits that can be seen immediately. Even for future benefits, he must have everything set in stone right now. Using the Shennong Clan's land and population to trade, Baifeng might not agree, because for this war, Baifeng might not have much confidence in us. Even I, before hearing those few envoys speak, or rather, before seeing it for myself, did not think the Shennong Clan had become that weak."

"Huaxia probably knows nothing about the Shennong Clan, but for us, the Xuanyuan Tribe, and a group of the Tribal Alliance to attack the largest tribe, Baifeng probably won't believe we can succeed."

But in reality, based on Xuanyuan's inexplicable words and the current flow of time, Baifeng guessed that the Xuanyuan Tribe might be going to war with the Shennong Clan, and that in the final Banquan Battle, the Xuanyuan Tribe would achieve a complete victory.

If he were to participate in the war now, it would be too far away, and there would be no reason to snatch this piece of the cake; after all, besides population, he wouldn't get much else. But if Xuanyuan took the initiative to seek cooperation and negotiate terms, Baifeng would have absolutely no problem with it, because he knew that the Xuanyuan Tribe would definitely win. He was essentially taking a test while looking at the answer key; how could he possibly be wrong?