I'm involved in poverty alleviation in a primitive tribe.

Chapter 453 Negotiation

“You help one tribe, but you might inflict a heavy blow on another. You save one group of people, but you might push another group into a desperate situation. Do you understand?”

"The world is never black and white. Goodwill must be built on the foundation of strength."

"Only when you have enough strength will your goodwill be seen as goodwill, rather than weakness and flattery."

Jiang Ning raised her head and looked at Qi Wu with a complicated expression: "Of course I know, but the Jiang tribe has now reached the position of the Zhong tribe. Perhaps soon we will face the same situation as the Zhong tribe back then. I can't help but worry."

Qi Wu was taken aback: "Are you worried that the Fish Tribe will attack the Jiang Tribe?"

Jiang Ning shook his head: "The Fish Tribe has helped me a lot, so they still trust me. If you wanted to harm me, you would have had countless opportunities to do so long ago. Why wait until today?"

Qi Wu frowned: "What exactly do you want to say? Given our relationship, you might as well speak your mind."

Jiang Ning sighed, "Compared to the Zhong tribe, the Jiang tribe's territory is closer to the Yu tribe's territory. I don't want our two tribes to end up as enemies because of these things."

She paused, then looked intently at Qiwu: "Therefore, I hope to join forces with the Fish Tribe and the Elephant Tribe to attack the Tao Tribe. After that, the Jiang Tribe will gradually migrate to the north and will not affect your territory."

She had already investigated carefully, and found that apart from some extreme areas, such as the perpetually snow-covered icy wastelands and storm-ravaged rift valleys, most of the northern region was quite habitable.

However, the area is blocked by endless snow-capped mountains, and few people are willing to risk crossing it.

Once you cross over, you'll find lush forests, clear rivers, and vast grasslands, enough to support a large tribe.

Otherwise, the Tao tribe would not have been able to withstand the combined attack of the Fish and Elephant tribes after suffering heavy losses on their migration route, and eventually gain a foothold in the central region.

Although Jiang's current territory is not bad, bordering the East Sea and backed by the Nu River, it is clearly not enough to support a large tribe. For the long term, they should find a new territory as soon as possible.

Although the north is farther away, it is a vast area with abundant resources and is far from the sphere of influence of the fish tribe and the elephant tribe.

Most importantly, there are snow caves there, leading to another continent, so the Jiang tribe will never lack prey again.

Qi Wu was silent for a moment, his gaze scrutinizing her: "You want the Snow Cave?"

Jiang Ning remained calm and composed: "That's right."

Qi Wu frowned, leaning forward slightly: "Jiang Wu, aren't you too confident in the strength of the Jiang tribe? Even my Fish Tribe has to pay a huge price every year to protect the sea eye, and you?"

"Why do you think the four tribes haven't actually fought and annexed each other? Is the Tao tribe really so busy that it can't spare the manpower to deal with you?"

"No, that's because they don't dare to truly break off relations." Qi Wu's eyes were sharp as a hawk's as he stared directly at the young man in front of him: "If they were to attack you, the three major tribes would immediately descend into chaos. They would never truly attack you until they are absolutely certain of victory. What happened before was nothing more than minor skirmishes."

"You think your current strength is enough? You think you can gain a foothold on this land with just tens of thousands of people? Jiang Wu, you are too naive. Not to mention anything else, if the nearby medium-sized tribes unite, they will keep you busy dealing with them."

"We didn't take action, not only to keep each other in check, but more importantly because it wouldn't be worth the risk. Once we occupied their territory, we would have to take on the responsibility of guarding the passage, and no tribe would dare to say that they have the ability to guard two passages at the same time."

“Forcing us to do this will only drag our tribe toward its doom. Even we, with our current strength, cannot withstand such losses, let alone you. With the Jiang tribe’s current strength, even if you were given another ten years…” Qi Wu shook his head, his eyes full of disapproval.

Jiang Ning smiled and finally revealed the secret: "Do you know why the Tao tribe suddenly started plundering other tribes?"

Qi Wu, who was speaking eloquently, suddenly deflated, seemingly not expecting her to ask this question. He paused and replied, "Improve your strength."

Jiang Ning then asked, "Whose strength should be improved?"

Qi Wu was somewhat puzzled: "Naturally, it's to enhance the strength of the Tao tribe,"

Jiang Ning shook her head, not giving a direct answer, but instead, like Qi Wu had done earlier, she changed the subject: "There's something I've always wanted to ask, but I don't know if it's convenient."

Qi Wu found Jiang Ning's pretentious act somewhat amusing, but being an extremely patient person, he did not interrupt Jiang Ning's performance.

He raised an eyebrow, sat back down, and casually fiddled with the porcelain cup on the table: "You ask first, and I'll see if I can answer."

"Both the Tao tribe and the Yu tribe are large tribes. The shaman disciples of the Yu tribe are celestial shamans, so why are the shaman disciples of the Tao tribe only terrestrial shamans?"

Like the shamans themselves, the disciples of the shamans can also break through their own limits by relying on the strength of their tribesmen. The Fish Tribe and the Pottery Tribe are both large tribes, so it doesn't make sense that the disciples of the shamans are so different in strength.

This is no secret; many in the Fish Tribe know it. Qi Wu thought for a moment and replied, "Ever since my talent for witchcraft was discovered, I have been by the witch's side, along with many others. The witch has nurtured and patiently taught us, nourishing our bodies with the best things. After I was chosen, I have been able to use the tribe's resources at will."

"You are also familiar with the Tao tribe's method of training shaman disciples. It is different from the Yu tribe. In your Jiang tribe's terms, it is survival of the fittest."

"This method can naturally select the best successor, but it also has a huge drawback: their witch disciples will devote a lot of energy to fighting for power and profit, so their strength is naturally inferior to mine."

Qi Wu's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had thought of something. He slowly said, "The shaman disciples of the Tao tribe have long since abandoned the interests of the tribe in their struggle for the right of succession. They scheme against each other, even at the cost of sacrificing the interests of their people, just to win in this cruel competition."

"This is why my Fish Tribe is currently holding a slight advantage in its competition with the Pottery Tribe. Their internal strife has given me far too many opportunities. Moreover, the pottery shamans chosen in this way are also..."

Jiang Ning understood, and she continued Qi Wu's words: "Your temperament will also be affected, right? A witch who grows up in struggle will inevitably become cold, suspicious, and even unscrupulous in order to gain power."