Volume 9: Home Chapter 304 "Preparing for War"
In the Far East, in the Doshi Mountains of the Tea Bear Territory, there is the mountain town of Aalborg.
After sending off the Black Bear Clan's envoy, the elderly Tea Bear Clan leader Okur staggered back to the Elders' Hall, supported his fat body with his arms, and slowly sat cross-legged on the blanket given by the Snow Wolf Man. He glanced at the elders in the hall and said in a deep voice, "What do you think of the Black Bear Clan's intention this time?"
The elders looked at each other, and finally focused their attention on Elder Kuku.
Elder Kuku was still furious, and he slapped his thigh angrily, "The condensed milk distiller was sent to us by our grassland friends who braved the heavy snow and crossed the York Mountains in the winter two years ago. Not to mention a set of equipment, even a single part is extremely precious and we must not give it to them!"
The three sets of vacuum distillation equipment that the grassland people had transported to the Far East with great effort were sold at cost price to the Tea Bears and Lions who were jointly engaged in the milk tea industry, and even the shipping fees were not charged. The two tribes had been operating for less than two years before they made a small profit. The black bear then set his eyes on this equipment that could turn fresh milk, which was difficult to preserve, into condensed milk, and came to ask for it without any hesitation. No matter how good-tempered these fat guys were, they could not tolerate it.
"That's right, we can't give it to them!" Another elder said, "This thing doesn't belong to us Tea Bears alone. If they want it, they need to get the Lion Clan to give in first!"
As soon as these words came out, the tea bear elders from various villages in the elders' hall nodded in unison... The lion tribe is so stingy and greedy, unless the Beast King personally leads the troops to the Golden Plains, those guys will never give up even a grain of wheat that belongs to them~!
A younger elder laughed, his round eyes on his honest face showing a shrewd look: "If the Bear King is really willing to lead his troops to fight the Lion Tribe at this time, it will be fun to watch."
"Isn't it? The elephant tribe is still worried about not being able to reach an agreement with the lion tribe! If the lion tribe is also willing to stand with the elephant tribe, how many people in the Imperial Elders Council will be shaken?"
"That's right. The apes are even more interesting. They might just occupy the wetlands south of the sea. The apes are definitely capable of doing this."
"Why don't we contact the elephant tribe first..."
"Not right, the wind direction is still unclear..."
The elders of the tea bears had no scruples in their internal discussions, and their simple-minded nature was fully exposed. The tea bears, who had been doing business closely with the grassland people, had not joined the anti-bear king hegemony alliance of various tribes that had begun last year...
The tea bear chief, who was too old and had been staying in bear form to maintain his spirit, raised a paw, and the elders who were talking in a loud voice immediately stopped.
"We must not get involved in the factional disputes among the elders in the upper house." The chief of the Tea Bear tribe, Okur, made the final decision first, paused, and then said, "As long as the Bear King is still alive, the Black Bear tribe will always be the largest tribe in the Far East. It is not wise to openly oppose him."
The older elders like Elder Kuku all nodded their heads in agreement, but the younger ones were not convinced. The young elder who spoke first said indignantly: "The Moon Bears lost many soldiers and generals in the Cursed Land, and even lost their generals. This time the Bear King did not use the white bears from the north to recruit soldiers, which means that the white bears may not agree with the Bear King's decision. If the Elephant Tribe can win over the Lion Tribe, why can't they compete with the Black Bears?"
Tea Bear Chief Okur shook his head slowly: "The Elephant Tribe has won over the elders of the Wing Tribe, Fox Tribe, Pika Tribe, Ape Tribe and other upper houses. It seems that they have a large number of people, but it is just an appearance. The only ones who can really fight are the Elephant Tribe and the Ape Tribe. Don't forget that big tribes like the Dog Man Tribe have chosen to wait and see."
After a pause, Okur narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Besides, if the Lion Clan joins and the Elephant Clan is qualified to compete with the Black Bear Clan, who can guarantee that the Elephant Clan will not become the next Black Bear Clan?"
"But...aren't there so many problems in our Far East right now because the Bear King is the only one who has the final say?" The young Tea Bear Elder still couldn't accept it.
Okur smiled and looked at the young man kindly. "That's what the grassland people and snow elves did so loudly in order to undermine the prestige of the Bear King. Not to mention Far East, even if we are a small tea bear tribe, if we can't follow the same will and a bunch of people keep quarreling, then we will be in chaos. The elves only respect the will of the Elf King. The grassland people obey the will of the King of Fire City, which is no different from Far East obeying the will of the Bear King."
The young elder was completely stunned...
"Of course, the elephant tribe can make the bear king worry, which is not a bad thing for weak races like us, so we tea bears will go with the flow and help the grassland people and snow elves. But limiting the power of the bear king is not the same as overthrowing the bear king. If the bear king falls, it will only transfer the supreme imperial will from one big tribe to another , which will not benefit small tribes like us. As a challenger, it is best for the elephant tribe to be just a challenger for a long period of time, and we should try our best to fight for the interests we deserve during the period of competition between these two heroes."
Okul taught the young elders slowly. His tone was still slow, but none of the young elders dared to interrupt him. They all listened very carefully and with a very honest attitude.
"The black bear wants the condensed milk distiller, so we'll give it to them." Chief Okur smiled kindly and said forcefully, "Of course, we have our own difficulties. The three sets of equipment are shared by the Lion Tribe and our tribe. Our tribe can only donate one set at most, but we can help convince the Lion Tribe to give up one set as well... When we come to the grassland people's land with money, won't we be able to buy several sets of the same equipment? Why add to the trouble when money can solve the problem? "
The elders nodded one after another, and Elder Kuku, who was reluctant at first, also accepted the patriarch's wishes.
"Don't feel unwilling, everyone. They still need our tea. The price they paid will be earned back sooner or later. Well, this matter is over. What do you think about the selection of people to go to the grassland?"
"I want to send some studious young people to learn the knowledge of the grassland people." Elder Kuku said quickly, "I asked Mr. Primo about the grain production of the grassland people. Their wheat can produce more than 500 kilograms of wheat ears per acre. The reason is that they use two things we don't know, one is called 'fertilizer' and the other is called 'pesticide'. I want to let the young people go and see if they can learn from them."
Another elder who had also dealt with the "merchant" Primo said: "That's exactly what they should do. They can grow potatoes twice a year just like us, but their annual yield per acre is more than 5,000 kilograms, which is twice as much as ours."
The eyes of the village elders who were not on Primo's "trading" route were wide open, and they all rushed to say: "Let the young people in our village go with them. They are all very hardworking and will not eat the grassland people's food for nothing. They will work hard to grow their own food during their studies."
The chief of the Tea Bear tribe, Okur, smiled and nodded: "Let's send a few young men from each village. Even if some can't learn, there will always be others who can. The Bear King asked us to send troops, but he didn't ask for all the warriors. Apart from the two hundred warriors, everyone can discuss the other candidates."
Each of them was smiling happily, counting on their fingers how many "soldiers" they would send out...
In the Lion City on the Golden Plains, the elders of the Lion Clan are discussing this "dispatch of troops"... Of course, the style of the Lion Clan is fundamentally different from that of the Tea Bear.
"At least three thousand people are needed? That's too much trouble. They have to walk such a long way!"
"That's right. Primo also brought a message saying that we have to work to earn food while we are there. Our people have to support themselves after traveling thousands of miles. Who would be willing to go?"
"Why not let the single male lions go? They have nothing to do just lying around every day anyway."
"How many people do we need to ensure that those guys walk to the destination obediently?"
"What a nuisance! What's wrong with the Bear King that he would throw such a thing upon us?!"
"Ah, I heard about this from the elders of the upper house. Originally, the Bear King wanted the Elephant Tribe to send troops, but the elders of the upper house of the Elephant Tribe refused. So the Bear King chose our small tribe that is close to the grassland people..."
"The Bear King and the Elephant Clan's elders should just go and have a fight. Whoever loses will send out the troops. It's none of our business!"
These male lion elders, who couldn't even sit properly when discussing business in the elders' meeting room and were full of complaints, successfully angered the lion clan leader, lioness Natalie, who was sitting at the top.
"Everyone, sit up straight and talk properly!" Chief Natalie roared, "If anyone complains again, next month's special supply of Miaoxian Juice will be gone!"
The male lion elders who were lying on the ground had to get up lazily and sit cross-legged.
Patriarch Natalie was also used to seeing the character of her own family members. After scolding everyone until they sat up straight, she turned her head and looked at Elder Xiu, who had just taken office a few years ago: "Xiu, what do you think?"
In the Council of Elders of the Lion Clan, there are more female lions than male lions. There is nothing that can be done about it… This is the racial characteristic of the Lion Clan. Male lions are like born lazy. Male lions who can serve as elders are at least willing to come to the council hall to discuss things. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably just find a place facing the sun on the way to the council hall to lie down and bask in the sun.
Mrs. Xiu, who had only been an elder for a few years, was not used to such formal occasions. She said a little stiffly: "We can't go against the Bear King, so we must send people. But I don't think it's necessary to send all the warriors. Two or three hundred will be enough to protect the team on the way. Uh... or we can wait for the Tea Bears to set off. Their people can cook for us on the way."
Mrs. Xiu's last words touched the heart of Chief Natalie. The older lioness looked at Mrs. Xiu with a much gentler look...
"That's right. Who knows what evil ideas the Bear King will come up with after our warriors leave? We only need to send a hundred warriors!" Chief Natalie slapped her thigh and said, "We can capture the insufficient number from the single lions in the outer city. Tell them that as long as they reach Fire City, they can eat food made by the Snow Wolf People for two or three years! As for working to earn food, let's not talk about it for now. Anyway, if they refuse to move when they get there, the Snow Wolf People won't give them food. Suffering a little more outside may make them more diligent."
The male lion elders were all stunned...
Mrs. Xiu's eyes lit up when she heard Chief Natalie's last words: "Good idea, let Rex go too! I heard that the people on the grassland are very hardworking, let Rex learn from their strengths."
Mrs. Xiu's dissatisfaction with her husband has really been going on for a long time! It is the result of years of accumulated frustration!
Chief Natalie had an expression that said "Why didn't I think of this trick?" and immediately looked at a male lion elder with a sharp gaze.
The chief's husband, a male lion of similar age, shuddered subconsciously.
