The snow in October is becoming heavier, and this year's winter seems colder than last year's. Although the waters of the Heilongjiang River are still turbulent, no one knows if a cold wave from the far north will freeze it after moving south. Therefore, the kingdom's longships must return.

The kingdom's "Blood Oath" and "marriage alliance" with the Maha tribe have established the first local tribal ally downstream of the Great River, and an even closer benefit would be the complementary military provisions and strong men trade between the two parties.

"Aguda, my brother-in-law, my good brother! You've checked, we've basically left all the supplies on the ship. There are a total of a hundred iron spears, ten bundles of iron arrows, ten iron axes, ten iron pots, ten bushels of rice, ten boxes of liquor, and ten bags of salt... enough to arm your tribe and get through this winter!"

"Apart from this, I've also left you four sets of cloth heavy armor! You can always wear them when going to war... and the Chief Divine's amulet, to have the Chief Divine's blessing. It will surely bring you victory in a hundred battles and safe return!…"

Zuwaro looked sincere, grasping the arm of Maha Agudah tightly. Agudah nodded, showing joy and approval on his face.

"Zu, my brother-in-law, my good brother! These forty-four tribespeople, four large horses, and that pile of excess hides saved by the tribe, are all yours!…"

"Among these forty-four people, Hu Nu is the strongest! He is born with divine power, and with training, his bravery should not be inferior to Xiong Da, perhaps even fiercer! ... The three cavalry are skilled in horseback archery. But you must temper them, don't let them escape with horses... Twenty tribal war slaves, all strong warrior candidates, also need their temperament honed before you can use them safely…"

"As for the last twenty elderlies, though not very useful, they can train dogs, raise horses, and make leather and bows. Since you are keeping them, let them work well! … The dense forest and Great River lands never keep idle men, and the too old ones won't survive…"

Having said this, Maha Agudah gestured for his sister Mao Henü to come over. In front of Zuwaro, he sternly reprimanded her.

"Henü! Zu is my brother, your husband, and more importantly the Shaman Chieftain of the tribe! You must respect him, especially when in front of their tribal warriors! When you come over next year, if I find out that you allowed Zu to be wronged, I'll hammer you with the big hammer, let you know what's good!…"

"... Big brother, I understand!…"

In front of her brother Agudah, Henü finally lowered her head obediently and stopped speaking. The corner of Zuwaro's mouth twitched as he glanced at the big hammer tightly gripped by Agudah, deliberately aimed at him, knowing these words were said for his sake.

"Agudah, brother-in-law! Rest assured! I'll take good care of Henü, like the wind and snow taking care of the mountain forest!…"

"What a strange metaphor? … Go! See you next year! Next year, we will annex more small tribes, capture more tribe slaves, and obtain more horses! … I'll be waiting for your longships, bringing new supplies!…"

"Good! It's a deal! Next year, we'll come a bit earlier, bringing more supplies!…"

Zuwaro grinned broadly, watching the tribal warriors boarding the ship, and the tall Fish-Skin tribe slaves, feeling full of confidence and excitement.

This journey, the kingdom gained twenty-four competent Fish-Skin Warriors, each at the level of warriors from the kingdom's main force, and three... no, four tribal cavalry skilled in archery and cavalry charge! All used for exchange with just half of what was traded for with the Japanese Clan, merely a few pieces of gold talisman for initiation…

"From the Japanese exchange for supplies, livestock, craftsmen, and farmers… then transport the supplies to the Great River downstream, trading for warriors, cavalry, and horses from the Maha tribe… Finally, transport all people and livestock to the Kutadai Port, developing the kingdom's western sea stronghold, expanding broader potato fields and millet fields!…"

"This is the Great Chief God's spirit, the flow of trade and faith, the cycle of wealth and people!… As long as the kingdom's port grows in strength, mobilizing more warriors, more value from the 'Gold' can be realized, leading to faster growth!…"

"Then, raise horses in Southern Kutadai, waiting for the new batch of support from the kingdom's Eastern Sea, and bring these hard-earned Japanese craftsmen back! That's right!…"

Zuwaro got all his thoughts straight, holding onto Mao Henü's hand. Mao Henü leapt nimbly, pulling Zuwaro, and both jumped onto the riverbank's longship. Hand in hand, they waved to Maha Agudah, and then the longship raised a half sail, pulled up the heavy stone anchor, and started rowing swiftly towards the river mouth, twice the speed of their arrival!

"Let's go! Set sail! I can't wait to return to Divine Kutadai Port, to check out the kingdom's future stronghold!…"

"Let's go! Zu! I also can't wait to see your other wives, to compare and find out who truly is the mother tigress!"

"Uh… Henü, probably none of them can compare to you… I think, Suona can compete with you in archery. Perhaps she's better at training dogs, but she doesn't ride horses…"

"... Suona?!…"

"...!…"

The heavy snow fell from the deep sky, laying down a silver-white curtain, covering the endless forest swamp. In the distance, the Buddhist temples and earthen houses blurred in the snow, becoming smaller and smaller, just like the silhouettes on the shore.

Priest Kui Huo waved his hand, watching the kingdom's longship moving farther away, then turned a bend, disappearing behind the river bay of the Great River. After that, Maha Agudah turned around, looking at the left-behind "ship priest," like a fierce tiger glaring at a prey sent to him.

"Hey! You, who can't fight, what's your name, 'Burning Fire Bird'?…"

"Respected Aguda Chieftain, my surname 'Kui' means 'Eagle,' and my name is 'Huo'... Well, never mind, you can call me 'Fire Bird'!…"

Priest Kui Huo chuckled, bowing courteously to Agudah. Then he pointed at his own not-so-strong arm and the Nava hairstyle on his head, seriously saying.

"Aguda Chieftain, I really can't fight. You are the strong Tiger King, not lacking in warriors who can fight. What you need is a wise head, a fox that can assist you! No matter how fierce a tiger, it cannot avoid the hunter's traps, and in the trap, the tiger's bravery cannot be exercised. But a fox can help a tiger, with minimal force, to catch the largest prey, avoiding other hunters or tiger competition…"

"…"

"More specifically, I will assist you in calculating the tribe's material reserves, how many can be supplied for how long. I'll arrange for the perishable food to be consumed first, calculating how many horses and dogs should be raised. Once I'm familiar with the surrounding hunting grounds and fisheries, I can help organize the hunters' hunting sequences and weave more effective fishing nets… Oh, if someone gets hurt while hunting, I'll disinfect and bandage them, all skills learned at Divine Power University of Chief Divine!…"

"…"

"Of course, besides these, my most important assist is establishing a true altar for you to ignite the flame of Chief Divine's faith and then lead your tribes in prayers to the flame, while advocating your divinity and bravery!…"

"…"

Maha Agudah blinked, looking at the earnest and seemingly somewhat capable Priest Kui Huo. After a while, he thumped his Stone Hammer heavily, laughing heartily like a tiger.

"Haha! This chattering… seems like you're a clever little fox! Too bad… your tribal language is too poor, I can't understand a thing!…"

"Let's go! Come back with me! I'll find you a wife to teach you tribal language well… From now on, you're part of the Maha tribe!…"

"Mountain God's blessing! Chief Divine's blessing! Hahaha!…"

The wind and snow grew heavier, obscuring the sight. Carrying a Stone Hammer, the Great Chief dragged the Feather Crown-wearing Priest away, quickly disappearing along the Huntong River. The Maha tribe's bonfires ignited in the snow, ushering in a new order amidst the flames! 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

This will truly stimulate the tribe's potential, leading them from unorganized strong individuals, to unite more scattered small tribes, moving towards a cohesive Great Alliance! Subsequently, Fire Bird's order will expand along the Great River until encountering other formidable tribal opponents!

These opponents might be the Wuliangha Mongolian Tribes to the west, or the Shushu Jurchen Tribes to the south, but most likely, first facing other powerful southern migrating Shengshu Jurchen Big Tribes… and all this, all requires time, the long time of a tree growing, to become a birch beside the Huntong River~