Chapter 908: The Current Situation of the Shennong Clan

Qibo, who had just trekked to the Tribal Alliance, naturally did not know about the great change that had just occurred in the Xuanyuan Tribe. He was now single-mindedly focused on this impending great war; he wanted to secure sufficient benefits for the Xuanyuan Tribe and bring back sufficiently detailed intelligence.

The entire Tribal Alliance received Qibo and his party with great enthusiasm. They had not expected the surprise to come so quickly; they had only just sent Qing'e out when they encountered people from the Xuanyuan Tribe.

However, in Qibo's view, their method of reception was too boring and barbaric. They could not compare to Huaxia or the Xuanyuan Tribe. No wonder Huaxia was always talking about things like civilization.

Qibo knew that time was extremely tight, so he was unwilling to engage in excessive small talk. He steered the topic directly onto the right track: "Tell me the truth, how many Soldiers can your Tribal Alliance send out? Also, with your current capabilities, how many Soldiers can you support in year-round combat?"

The leader of this Tribal Alliance was named She. She knew that he certainly could not deceive Qibo, but he still wanted to exaggerate slightly so as to obtain the maximum support from the Xuanyuan Tribe. Thus, he said: "Our tribe could potentially mobilize over ten thousand Soldiers, but while guaranteeing food at all times, we can only support about three thousand."

Qibo sneered. It was just as he thought. How could a tribe maintain a full-scale war of ten or twenty thousand people without comprehensive farming and relying only on gathering, fishing, and hunting? Never mind them; even the Xuanyuan Tribe would not dare to say such a thing. The further the front line was stretched, the less confident they felt. Even Huaxia, he reckoned, would not dare to say this; after all, the greatest difficulty lay in logistical support.

"Fine, then tell me, what is the current situation of the Shennong Clan?"

She pointed into the distance and said: "What we are currently facing is the Fengbo Tribe. It is said that their tribe can control the wind. Along with them is the Yushi Tribe, but up until now, we have not discovered them blowing wind toward us, nor have there been any large-scale battles."

Usually, it is just small-scale fighting of a few dozen people, or even just for the sake of snatching prey, rather than coming to attack our territory here.

Their tribe, I estimate, should have a total of thirty or forty thousand people, but those who can come to attack us are only one or two thousand. It is precisely because food cannot keep up and cannot be guaranteed that they dare not come over. However, our people discovered that they seem to have sent envoys to the east.

That is the direction of the Dongyi, Sanmiao, and Jiuli tribes. I just don't know who they went to find."

Qibo was greatly alarmed, because if these large tribes also joined the war, never mind the Xuanyuan Tribe, even if you added Huaxia, he reckoned they would have no way to win; they would definitely be defeated. If that were the case, they could say they had no reason to join the war.

She realized he might have spoken wrongly and hurriedly added: "This certainly is not Shennong's intention. If Shennong wanted those tribes to join the war as well, he certainly would not have sent only those few people, and had them sneak through our territory at that."

"Moreover, the Sanmiao and Dongyi were formerly subordinate tribes of the Shennong Clan, but they are more powerful now, and they are too far away. Plus, given the conflict between Shennong and the Ge-Ba-Ga back then, they have long since broken away from the Shennong Clan."

"Given the arrogant personality of this generation's Shennong, he certainly would not go to beg for aid. Even if he went to those tribes, it would definitely be to order those tribes to join the war. But Qibo, do you think they would come? Without promising sufficient benefits and having a better attitude, which tribe would cross such a long distance and be willing to exhaust their own clansmen?"

Qibo did not reach a conclusion for the moment, but instead pondered for a while before asking: "Is this generation's Shennong already like this? Then what do you say those people who were sent out were for? Was it just something the Fengbo Tribe did on their own?"

She nodded: "I believe that is the case. The Tribal Chief of the Fengbo Tribe, Feilian, previously held immense power in the Shennong Clan, but now he is not valued and was sent here to attack us without even being given enough supplies. He himself must be quite dissatisfied, but he probably does not trust us tribes, which is why he wouldn't think of rebelling together."

"I guess it is more likely that he wants to break away from the Shennong Clan and flee to those tribes in the east. After all, he has so many people; as long as he is willing to go over, he could certainly obtain a status no worse than his current one."

Regarding this, Qibo had his own considerations. If he wanted to know the truth, couldn't he just send someone to ask the Jiuli? She did not know, but the Xuanyuan Tribe, which had long been trading with Chiyou, knew that those tribes in the east had already completely formed a tribal alliance headed by Chiyou, and it was even more powerful than the Xuanyuan Tribe.

It was just that they still relied mainly on fishing, hunting, and gathering, so they did not have the ability to wage war in places too far away. They could only slowly encroach upon the surrounding small tribes first. Chiyou had no intention of attacking large tribes like the Xuanyuan Tribe either.

If he knew that the Xuanyuan Tribe was coming to attack the Shennong Clan, he should not come to interfere, because just like Huaxia, their tribal alliance was too far from the Shennong Clan. Coming to attack would yield no benefits at all.

If they were still in the same camp as Shennong, it was even more impossible. The Shennong Clan would not offer a price that would make Chiyou's heart beat faster; it was impossible for him to waste his own clansmen and the great opportunities he had discovered.

"Alright, tell me about the other situations of the Shennong Clan now."

She felt that Qibo's tone suggested there was a great opportunity, so he could only speak truthfully now, because if he said too little and the Xuanyuan Tribe sent fewer Soldiers, it would be of no benefit to either of them.

"Currently, the largest tribes of the Shennong Clan are the Fengbo Tribe, the Yushi Tribe, the Xingtian Tribe, and then Yanju, Jiebing, Xiqi, Zhurong, and Gonggong. At present, Xingtian is the most highly regarded. The population he leads has already exceeded one hundred thousand, and he can supply seven or eight thousand people for battle."

"Right now, Xingtian is just going everywhere to attack those small tribes, as is the Rain Count, Chisongzi. As for the remaining tribes, they are all near Changyang Mountain. They and Shennong are all one family. Shennong and Ting'ao gave birth to Yanju, then Yanju gave birth to Jiebing, Jiebing gave birth to Xiqi, Xiqi gave birth to Zhurong, and Zhurong gave birth to Gonggong."

"Each generation inherits a tribe. Although I don't know which generation of Shennong gave birth to Yanju, in any case, these tribes will certainly protect the Shennong Clan with their lives; it is impossible for them to let the Shennong Clan perish."

"Adding all these tribes together, and looking at the current situation of the Shennong Clan, I think they can at least guarantee twenty thousand people who can fight continuously. As for the population, I can no longer imagine it; it is too numerous to count. I can only judge the number of Soldiers because we have been fighting for so long."