Chapter 927: The Three-Legged Stool (Part 1)

Baifeng looked at Baoxi, whom he hadn't seen for many years and who now looked somewhat more weathered than himself, and said, "Then, regarding the future, what plans do you have?"

"Plans?" Baoxi was very puzzled. "What other plans could there be? I try my best to have my tribesmen hunt more, gather more, obtain more food, and support more tribesmen; isn't that enough? My tribe will become strong again. Right now, we of the Suiren Clan are also a powerful tribe on this land."

Baifeng revealed a very intriguing smile: "Baoxi, have you not had enough contact and communication with the outside world for many years? Do you have contact with the Xuanyuan Tribe? Do you know what this world has become now?"

This sentence made Baoxi grow wary: "Baifeng, what kind of relationship do you Huaxia have with the Xuanyuan Tribe now? Are you still trading as closely as before?"

"No, it's more than just trading; we have formed an alliance. We share our technology, and even our population. Do you know how many people the Xuanyuan Tribe sent to work in our Huaxia this year?"

"Work?" Baoxi was very surprised. "How could Xuanyuan let his tribesmen come to work for you Huaxia? We know better than anyone how much food a person can obtain for their own tribe every day. It is impossible to send one's own tribesmen to work for another tribe; this is an impossible thing!"

Baifeng took a sip of tea, glanced at Zhigui, and asked Baoxi with confusion: "I should have arranged for Zhigui to tell you about this matter before, right? Employment—that is, I use grain to exchange for your labor. But you didn't agree at the time; that is how Zhigui reported back to me."

Zhigui's heart tightened. He had indeed said it. Baoxi must not forget and say he hadn't; wouldn't that be inviting trouble for himself? If he really said that, it would be a pure, unprovoked disaster.

Fortunately, after Baoxi raised his head and thought for a while, he said: "Oh, this. He did indeed tell me about this, but it has been too long, and I don't remember it very clearly."

Baifeng and Zhigui both breathed a sigh of relief. Baifeng did not want Huaxia to have people who were dishonest in their work, and Zhigui did not want to ruin his future because of a word from Baoxi—let alone the future, he might even be punished for this matter.

"At the time, I felt it was unreliable, and we didn't have that many tribesmen, so I didn't agree to it. Now you and the Xuanyuan Tribe are still trading like this? Then this year, how many tribesmen did they send?"

Baifeng held up one finger: "Ten thousand. Almost ten thousand people. You have to know, these ten thousand people can accomplish great things in our Huaxia, and these ten thousand people can take away a lot of grain from Huaxia."

"Now, our relationship with the Xuanyuan Tribe has reached this level, and the annual trade of various products is also constantly increasing in quantity."

Baoxi's heart was a bit panicked. Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe had actually grown to such a scale?

"Then, then you just rely on grain and population to maintain your relationship? But this is just normal trade, isn't it? It's just relatively large. If our tribe also had enough tribesmen, it wouldn't be impossible to trade with you."

Baifeng shook his head again: "No, Baoxi, I said it's not just that. They send people to learn our construction, planting, writing, and so on, and we also go to learn their things. Therefore, the relationship between our two tribes is now extremely close; one could say we are brothers."

"Do you think, with two such powerful tribes as ours united, what should we do next?"

Baoxi only thought for two seconds, then stood up in extreme terror, slapped the table, and said: "War! What, are your two tribes preparing to unite and attack us of the Suiren Clan?"

Baifeng hurriedly told him to sit down and not be nervous: "There is war, but the target is not your Suiren Clan."

Baoxi had just sat down and wanted to drink some tea to calm himself, but he was shocked by this news again. Was there a bit too much information being conveyed all at once?

"Which tribe? There are no tribes nearby that can withstand the combined attack of your two tribes, right? No, even if you went to fight as a single tribe, no tribe could withstand it."

"The Shennong Clan," Baifeng said with a smile. "You might not know yet, but this generation's Shennong is muddled and incompetent, with a violent temper, so their tribesmen have begun to resist his rule. There is internal division and mutual conflict."

"Several of their tribes have united to oppose the Shennong Clan, but their strength is insufficient, so they went to the Xuanyuan Tribe for help."

"Xuanyuan felt this was a good opportunity, but the Shennong Clan is, after all, the largest tribe in this world, and Xuanyuan was not certain of success, so he came to unite with our Huaxia."

"Counting the time now, the soldiers of the Xuanyuan Tribe have already arrived at the territory of the Shennong Clan, and our Huaxia soldiers are also on the way. Do you think the Shennong Clan has a chance of winning? Can he withstand the combined attack of our two tribes?"

Baoxi's eyes were a bit unfocused. He picked up his teacup and took a slow sip. He didn't speak for a long while, and Baifeng waited for him.

"If your soldiers, even without city walls, have such powerful combat strength—no, you also have that kind of thunder."

Baoxi shook his head repeatedly, as if he had thought of something very terrifying: "The Shennong Clan cannot win; they definitely cannot beat you. So you intend to completely defeat the Shennong Clan and then occupy everything they have, right?"

"Hmm, if that can happen, it would be best," Baifeng said lightly and naturally, but in Baoxi's eyes, it was a bit terrifying.

"Then the next one, is it us, the Suiren Clan?"

Baifeng really wanted to show Baoxi a map, but he didn't have one at hand, and Baoxi might not be able to understand it, so he just said it directly: "I have no intention of attacking your Suiren Clan, because you are too far from Huaxia City and too close to the Xuanyuan Tribe and the Jiuli. Even if we conquered you, there would be no benefit to our Huaxia."

"If possible, I would rather your tribe be even stronger, preferably strong enough that the Xuanyuan Tribe would not dare to attack you."

"Why?" Baoxi was very puzzled.

Baifeng patiently explained to him: "The current Xuanyuan Tribe is developing faster and faster. Because they have also learned to plant, they are no longer lacking in grain."

"They have developed for long enough, have a large enough population, and a large enough territory, so their development will be even faster. Our Huaxia is only wealthy now; to say we are powerful, we might not necessarily be able to beat the Xuanyuan Tribe."

"The current Xuanyuan has people, grain, and weapons, so naturally, they want to expand rapidly. Defeating the Shennong Clan this time will be able to add more strength to them, but even if I want the fruits of the victory over the Shennong Clan to be put to use in our Huaxia, it will take a few years."