Chapter 62: Council
The first day of the Dew Moon was the first entry in the clan's calendar that wasn't named after something edible. For once, the people could turn their attention from food to the crystal dewdrops on the grass. The dew was beautiful, even if it couldn't be eaten.
Chen Jian guessed that this day corresponded to the Mid-Autumn Festival of his past life. The weather had already turned a bit cold. By the time the sun had dried the last of the dew, the final invited tribe had arrived at the village.
With the ten visiting tribes, the two original tribes of the village, and the two rescued tribes, a total of fourteen tribes were now gathered. The population exceeded six hundred people, making the small village incredibly lively.
The captured prisoners were busy preparing for the day's banquet. Chen Jian had been back for four days, during which the prisoners had first built small huts for themselves, and then erected wooden fences around their quarters to prevent their own escape.
Chen Jian had divided the prisoners into five teams, housed far apart from one another to prevent them from conspiring. Each team was assigned different daily tasks, further minimizing their opportunities to gather.
Today was a special occasion, so they were spared hard labor and given only light tasks like carrying firewood and serving bowls. With hundreds of people gathered, the prisoners' unbound hair made them stand out. The cleanliness of the assembled tribespeople made the captives feel particularly ashamed of their own state.
Red Fish knew she was not allowed to eat the food being served; she could only swallow her saliva in secret. Stealing was out of the question. The girl named Yu Qian'er was fierce. Each group of prisoners was responsible for a different type of food, and if any was found missing, the entire group would be whipped with a cane.
Red Fish held a pot of sliced fish. The white flesh looked delicate, and next to it was a small bowl of sauce that gave off a strong, sour scent mixed with the smell of mustard seeds. She longed for a taste, not out of greed but curiosity, but she didn't dare. For some reason, she sensed that Yu Qian'er was particularly hostile toward the female prisoners, though she couldn't guess why.
After delivering the food, she turned to look for Chen Jian and saw him entering a hut with the leader of the last tribe to arrive. The hut was made of rammed earth, its thick walls blocking her sight and muffling all sound from within.
Inside the hut, the leaders of the ten visiting tribes, the old grandmother, Shi Tou, and Chen Jian—thirteen people in total—knelt in a circle on a large tiger skin, a spoil from a previous battle.
Whether by chance or design, Chen Jian sat on the part of the skin with the tiger's head. He had Yu Qian'er pour cloudy wine into the bowls placed before each leader.
"Have a taste," Chen Jian said. "It's wine."
The ten leaders picked up their bowls curiously. They licked the contents, finding the liquid sweet with a unique fragrance. After taking a proper sip, they praised it enthusiastically.
Of course, they knew Chen Jian hadn't summoned them just to taste wine, so they each took only a small sip and waited for him to continue.
Chen Jian produced a single twig, then a bundle of them. "A single twig is easily broken," he said, snapping the first one. He then held up the bundle. "But a bundle of twigs is strong and cannot be broken. Since we all come from the same ancestors, we should gather together like these branches. Don't you agree?"
The leaders nodded in agreement. One of them curiously picked up a twig from the bundle, recognizing it as the type of stick Chen Jian's tribe used for eating. He tried stirring his wine with it for a moment before setting it aside.
"As you know, our people came from the land where the sun rises. There is a tribe there, the Meteorite Tribe, that oppresses its neighbors and forces them to hand over food as tribute. One day, they will find their way here. Tell me, will we give them what they want?"
"Of course not!" a leader exclaimed.
Another leader added, "Not only will we not give them anything, we'll take from them! Just like we took all those sheep and horned deer from that other tribe!"
"Yes, Jian," a third one chimed in. "How will those things be divided? That tribe was no match for us."
Chen Jian waved his hand. "That's not the point. Their tribe may not be able to defeat our combined force, but what about your individual tribes? Which one of you, alone, could withstand their weapons that fall from the sky?"
The leaders lowered their heads in thought. Finally, one asked, "Then what should we do?"
"We are all branches from the same tree, born from the same root," Chen Jian said. "I have no intention of meddling in the internal affairs of your tribes. As I've said before, we share the same ancestors. As long as you honor those ancestors, our tribe will help you in your time of need. I have kept my word on this so far, have I not?"
"Yes, we trust your tribe."
"Yes, we believe in you."
Chen Jian nodded. "But this time, four tribes did not come. The ancestors protect us, but they will also punish those who break their oaths. Our ancestors cannot cross over from the other world to do it themselves. They need us, their children and grandchildren, to carry out the punishment. Am I wrong?"
"Yes, that's right," one leader agreed. "Like a child who has done wrong, they need their mother to teach them the right way."
"Exactly," Chen Jian said. "And you are all leaders of your tribes, like mothers to your children. We must decide together how to teach these disobedient children. With so many people gathered now, we can't possibly bring everyone together for a discussion. Nothing would get decided. Don't you agree?"
Hearing the noisy celebration outside, the leaders knew Chen Jian was right. The tribes had always used a council system for their own affairs, which worked well within a single clan. But now, with the clans growing closer, the noise and disagreements were also growing. Tribes along the same river were already having disputes over fishing rights, and these were matters that could no longer be resolved internally.
"So, from now on, let us—the leaders—meet like this to discuss important matters: disputes between our tribes, wars against outsiders, and negotiations. You can take the issues back to your own people, and then we will make the final decision here together. What do you think?"
The leaders whispered among themselves before nodding in agreement. They could all foresee more wars in the future, and they knew that conflicts between their own tribes would only increase. This seemed like a good solution.
"You know that even when wolves hunt, one wolf leads the pack," Chen Jian continued. "When we attacked that tribe, we killed more than thirty of their people with very few losses of our own. I will take command in all fights against foreign tribes. Do you agree?"
"Of course," a leader replied. "We have confidence in your ability to lead a battle. But the decision *to* fight must be made by all of us together."
"Absolutely," Chen Jian agreed. "I will only be in charge of the fighting itself; the decision to go to war belongs to this council. However, since the old grandmother is also our leader, our tribe will have two voices in these discussions. Furthermore, the two tribes we rescued have not yet elected new leaders. Once they do, they will also have a seat at this council."
Chen Jian finished speaking and looked at the others. They considered his proposal and, seeing no issue, all agreed. In this new council, Shi Tou and the old grandmother would certainly side with him. The two rescued tribes would also be dependent on his tribe for their survival. Thus, on a council of fifteen, Chen Jian could already control five votes. He would only need to persuade three more tribes to have a majority. On the surface, all tribes were equal, but in reality, the balance of power had already shifted.
He wanted to say more, to lay out a grander vision, but he knew now was not the time. He had to proceed step by step. To appease the leaders and solidify the new arrangement, Chen Jian proposed that their first order of business be the distribution of the spoils from their recent raid.
The leaders' faces lit up at the mention of dividing the loot. They took another sip of wine, their cheeks flushing as their tongues loosened.
"Why don't we divide it based on the number of men each tribe sent?" one suggested.
"No!" another retorted. "We lost two men, and their tribe lost none! Their warriors must have been hiding in the back during the fight!"
"Nonsense! It's because our men are stronger!"
The two leaders, whose tribes had already been arguing over fishing rights, stood up and looked ready to fight. Chen Jian tapped his bowl with a twig. "Enough," he said, his voice calm but firm. "I suggest we divide the spoils into two equal portions. Half will be distributed according to the number of warriors each tribe contributed. The other half will be distributed according to the number of men each tribe lost."
The leaders looked at one another and agreed to this fair solution. Some, however, secretly regretted not sending more men, realizing how easy the victory had been and how much loot there was to claim.
"Yu Qian'er, tell them the total count of what we have."
"Yes. There are one hundred and thirty sheep, thirty horned deer, two thousand *jin* of millet, one thousand *jin* of beans, and five hundred *jin* of dried fish."
The leaders glanced at one another. They understood "one hundred and thirty," but they were unfamiliar with terms like "thousand" and "jin."
Chen Jian explained that a "thousand" was ten "hundreds." Yu Qian'er then brought out a clay weight, passed it around, and explained that this was one *jin*. The leaders tried to calculate the shares on their fingers but were quickly overwhelmed. They looked at Chen Jian helplessly. "We trust you," one said. "You do the dividing this time."
"Very well, I will handle the division this time," Chen Jian agreed. "Now, for the second matter: what is to be done with those who betrayed their own tribe and killed their kin?"
The leaders murmured amongst themselves. The tribes that had arrived earlier already knew the story. Their first thought was that this was not their affair. But then they considered what they would do if it happened in their own tribe, and they knew they could not tolerate such a thing.
They all looked to Chen Jian. He remained silent, giving a subtle nudge to the old grandmother beside him.
She cleared her throat. "If you ask me, such people should be killed. Jian has argued for mercy, but this is not an internal clan matter, nor is it an act of war. It is something we must all decide together."
Shi Tou spoke up as well. "I agree. They should be killed. And while the two rescued tribes have not yet chosen new leaders, I think we can all guess what their decision would be."
The other leaders seemed relieved that someone else had said it first. They nodded in agreement. "They must be killed. Those who murder their own kin should not be allowed to live."
"That's right," another leader affirmed. "This isn't war. This is a matter for all of us. They abandoned their own clan, untying their hair and betraying their ancestors, and even killed their own families!"
The council voted. Twelve voices called for death. Chen Jian abstained. It was understood that the two rescued tribes, though leaderless, would have voted the same way.
Chen Jian clapped his hands. A few men entered carrying a large, wet clay slab. Yu Qian'er stood beside it, holding a sharpened stone.
"Since we are all in agreement," Chen Jian announced, "there is no need to debate this matter again in the future. Let us write it down, so this ruling will be followed from now on."
Using the sharp stone, Yu Qian'er etched a series of simple, archaic pictographs onto the clay. The images depicted that anyone who kills their own kin must be executed. She also drew a dewdrop and a full moon, symbolizing that the decision was made on the first day of the Dew Moon.
Chen Jian pressed his thumb firmly into the wet clay. With solemn expressions, the other leaders followed suit, each adding their own thumbprint to the tablet.
"Tell Acorn to fire this carefully so it doesn't crack," Chen Jian instructed. "After it is fired, hang it at the main gate of the village."
The tribesmen carefully carried the heavy clay tablet outside. The first law of the allied tribes was now established. More laws would be needed in the future, but it was pointless to create them all at once. When a new issue arose, the council would discuss it, and the decision would be engraved on a new clay tablet.
With those two matters settled, Song entered the hut and whispered in Chen Jian's ear. Chen Jian stood. "The food and wine are ready. Let us eat first. After we eat, we will carry out the execution, and then there are a few more things to discuss."
The leaders, thinking of the feast, rose to their feet with satisfaction. Just then, a thunderous drumbeat sounded from outside, followed by the unified shout of hundreds of voices. The sound was so powerful it made their bodies tremble.
Chen Jian smiled. "While we eat, you can watch how my tribe trains for war."
He was the first to push aside the fiber-cloth curtain of the doorway. In the open space beyond, a row of warriors stood at attention. They held stone spears and wore simple armor woven from wicker and deerskin. From a distance, they stood as straight and unyielding as pine trees in the forest.
Chen Jian looked back at the leaders, a thought crossing his mind. This was why it was important to eat and demonstrate strength before finishing their discussions. In the legends of his past life, the great emperor Yu had turned weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk, forging alliances through feasts. He was probably doing something very similar right now.
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