"If it's not someone from our tribe, then it can only be someone from the Jiangyuan tribe." Ji You said.
Yu lowered his head and didn't dare to say a word.
He knew that Queen Jiang Mei was the daughter of the leader of the Jiangyuan tribe. He suspected that the slag was stolen by the Jiangyuan tribe. Only the king could say this. If his subordinate said it, Jiang Mei would definitely retaliate against him.
That woman is very powerful.
But he couldn't remain silent either. If he really investigated the Jiangyuan tribe and Jiang Mei got wind of this, she would definitely take her anger out on him.
He said, "Could it be Yue and those escaped slaves who did it? They are from the Water Tribe, and it is in their custom to transport the waste ore to the river."
"Impossible." Ji You shook his head, flatly denying this speculation. "There were only six or seven slaves who escaped, and some of them were seriously injured. They had been hungry all day when they escaped. Even if they escaped, they wouldn't have survived. Even if they survived, there were only six or seven of them. How could they have the ability to transport so much waste ore? What could they use to transport it? Besides, why would they steal this waste ore? What's the point?"
These circumstances were clearly reported to him on the day Yue escaped. He did not send anyone to hunt them down because he was sure they would not survive even if they escaped.
Yu stopped talking.
What he said was enough to make his attitude clear. It was none of his business if the king wanted to investigate the Jiangyuan tribe.
"Go to the river first and see if there are any abandoned mines under the river. If not, the people from the Water Tribe can be ruled out directly. Only the Jiangyuan Tribe is the most suspicious. Go check the Jiangyuan Tribe." Ji You ordered, "Be careful and don't let others find out."
Jiang Mei had been married to him for twelve years, seemingly gentle and kind on the surface, but secretly she had bribed countless people and planted countless pawns around him. This was also why Ji You, knowing that she had angered Ji Zhan's mother to death and now making a fuss about the Feng incident, dared not easily touch her even though he had secured the throne. This was also the reason why he had allowed the Jiang Yuan tribe to exist.
Ji You and Yu both understood that if the news of the investigation into the Jiang Yuan tribe was leaked, they would not be able to find out whether the Jiang Yuan tribe did it or not. Jiang Mei might even make a fuss about it and make a big fuss in front of Ji You to ask for benefits.
Ji You cast a suspicious eye on the Jiangyuan tribe, suspecting they would be unwilling to become subordinates to the Sifang tribe. Perhaps they had discovered some secret in the abandoned mines and were hoping to forge a weapon more powerful than the bronze swords, thereby suppressing the Sifang tribe.
Thinking of this, Ji You secretly made up his mind that he would never let Jiang Mei live again. Although the death of Ji Zhan's mother and Feng's death were not caused by Jiang Mei herself, she had contributed to the situation behind the scenes.
Putting aside other matters, the bronze sword in Yue's hand was definitely not something Feng could have gotten. Even if she could have gotten it, she couldn't have handed it to Yue without alerting others. Jiang Mei must have been involved. And Ji Er, angered by Yue, had to trade her away, which was definitely Jiang Mei's doing.
In addition, Ji You suspected that the news of Feng's son's death was also revealed to Feng by Jiang Mei's people. Knowing that his son was dead and that his sister had escaped, how could Feng, who had already made up his mind to die, continue to live?
Ji You believed that if Ji Zhan hadn't been there, and the people of the four tribes wouldn't have listened to her and her young son's orders, Jiang Mei would have already attacked him. Such a scheming and ruthless person couldn't be kept any longer.
"Yes." Yu said, and walked out.
He picked his men Yong and Jian, as well as Dashi and Wu who knew the inside story, and went to the Jiangyuan tribe together.
Ten days later, he returned to report to Ji You: "Everything is normal in the Jiangyuan tribe, and I haven't noticed anything unusual. I carefully observed the people in their tribe and found that no one was missing. They were all hunting, planting, and gathering as usual. I checked the area around their tribe and found nothing unusual. I also sent Jian's woman back to the tribe to investigate, but she didn't find anything either."
After saying that, he added, "Jian's woman is from the Jiangyuan tribe."
"Keep sending people to observe their movements. Ideally, have Jian's woman go back and bribe a few people to help us keep an eye on them," Ji You said. "Also, strengthen the defenses of the smelting site and the mine, and don't dump the slag outside. Expand the smelting site a bit, and dump the slag inside the wall."
"Yes." Yuya knew that this was the only way.
After Yu left, Ji You called Ji Zhan in and said, "Ask Wu Zhi to get some poison."
Ji Zhan suddenly raised his head: "Father..."
Ji You half-closed his eyes and said, "It's time to avenge your Amu."
Twelve years ago, the Jiangyuan tribe presented Jiang Mei to him as a sign of submission, offering him abundant gifts every year. At the time, the Sifang tribe seemed powerful, but in reality, they were deeply divided. If they deployed their forces, their rear would inevitably be in turmoil, and someone would seize the opportunity to kill him and seize power.
He had no choice but to accept Jiang Mei and use the power of the Jiangyuan tribe to eliminate dissidents in the tribe and consolidate his own regime.
Now that he had secured his throne, Jiang Mei repeatedly offended him. Regardless of whether the slag had been stolen by the Jiang Yuan tribe, Jiang Mei could no longer be kept. If the Jiang Yuan tribe rebelled, he might as well make them his slaves.
Ji Zhan opened his eyes wide, and after a long time, tears slowly rolled down from his eyes.
He choked up and said, "I thought... I thought you, Father... only loved Jiang Mei and had long been tired of my mother."
For years, he'd lived a life worse than a steward's. It wasn't until his father fell ill and Wu Zhi healed him with herbs that his father began to treat him better. With Jiang Mei and her son around, he didn't know how long he could live. He had no aspirations of ascending the throne.
He never expected that there would be a day when his father would personally kill Jiang Mei.
…
At this time, Qiao Yu and his group had approached the Dragon Tribe after a long journey.
Looking at the increasingly familiar scenery on both sides of the river, Shu walked over to Qiao Yu and asked quietly, "Yu, how many iron tools can we make after moving all this slag back? Do you think I can join you in the ironwork?"
With Shu Zaishan's reminder, he finally understood the tribe's current development. As the breeding and planting industries improved, the tribe would no longer rely on hunting for survival, but on breeding and planting.
Mang, a disabled man, has become an indispensable figure in the tribe because he serves as the leader of the animal husbandry team. As animal husbandry plays an increasingly important role in the tribe, his status will also become higher and higher.
Others like Wu, Shi, Xiaoxi from the pottery team, and even the people chosen by Qiao Yu to follow her in blacksmithing, will become irreplaceable figures in the tribe.
Shu had good overall abilities, but his intelligence and strength weren't particularly strong. There were plenty of people like him in the tribe. If he was content with just being a team leader, he'd eventually lose his place in the tribe.
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