This Is My Primitive Tribe
Chapter 271 - 174: The 1st Subordinate Tribe

Chapter 271: Chapter 174: The 1st Subordinate Tribe

After finishing the two skewers of mushroom meat, Huo Meng still felt unsatisfied and could only wait for the new mushroom skewers to be grilled.

Jiang Xuan quickly finished the mushroom skewer in his hand as well. While continuing to grill new mushroom skewers, he asked, "Chief Huo Meng, your Frog Tribe has just migrated over, did you encounter any difficulties?"

Huo Meng hesitated for a moment, finally gritted his teeth, and said, "Indeed, we have encountered some difficulties."

Then, Huo Meng revealed the situation of the Frog Tribe after migration: with a population of less than two hundred and only twenty or thirty giant frogs left, they could only reside in a remote area.

Huo Meng said bitterly, "Although the Frog Tribe has migrated to the Southern Wilderness, it has come at a great cost. The current Frog Tribe is already very weak."

After listening, Jiang Xuan asked calmly, "So what are your plans?"

Huo Meng looked at Jiang Xuan and finally revealed his true thoughts.

"Chief Xuan, there are too many tribes migrating from the Western Wilderness. It’s very difficult for the Frog Tribe to survive among their conflicts."

"So..." Huo Meng took a deep breath and said, "I request that Chief Xuan accepts the Frog Tribe to become a subordinate tribe of the Vine Tribe, allowing the Frog Tribe to continue surviving under the protection of the Vine Tribe."

After speaking, Huo Meng felt more at ease. He looked at Jiang Xuan hoping to get a positive answer from him.

The Frog Tribe wants to become a subordinate tribe of the Vine Tribe?

Jiang Xuan did not expect that Huo Meng came to him for this reason.

He had heard of subordinate tribes but had never seen them himself, as it requires at least a relatively powerful medium-sized tribe to have the qualification to provide protection to and thus annex weaker small tribes.

Moreover, not every small tribe is willing to become a subordinate tribe.

Because in becoming a subordinate tribe, a great price must be paid, and independence will be lost.

Firstly, subordinate tribes need to pay at least a tenth of their harvest to the Sovereign Tribe, effectively protection money.

Bear in mind, primitive tribes are generally extremely poor, with their own people unable to eat enough or keep warm. To pay more than a tenth of their harvest to the Sovereign Tribe, the consequences are imaginable.

Secondly, once a war breaks out between the Sovereign Tribe and another tribe, as a subordinate tribe, they are bound to join the battle and are very possibly used as cannon fodder.

Finally, there is the issue of independence.

Becoming a subordinate tribe means that many matters are dictated by the Sovereign Tribe, and the leader and the witch of the tribe could very likely become puppets without real power.

This is also the most unbearable part for many.

Therefore, unless forced into a corner with no other options, tribes would never willingly become subordinate tribes.

The Frog Tribe’s situation places them in such desperation.

If no relatively powerful tribe provides them with protection, any small tribe could easily wipe them out.

Moreover, as more tribes migrate to the Southern Wilderness, the land where the Frog Tribe currently resides will soon catch the eye of others.

Once targeted by other tribes, the Frog Tribe could be annihilated at any moment.

Jiang Xuan thought for a while and said, "This matter is too significant; I need to discuss it with the tribe’s members first, Chief Huo Meng, please sit here for a while."

Huo Meng nodded and then watched Jiang Xuan leave the room, summoning a warrior to accompany him.

Huo Meng had no other choice but to wait patiently.

The other Frog Tribe warriors, residing in the living area outside the bamboo grove, as ordinary warriors, were unaware of the Frog Tribe’s imminent status as a subordinate tribe.

As they ate the food provided by the Vine Tribe, they marveled at the strength of the Vine Tribe, feeling relatively joyful.

...

In Chi Shao’s yard, Jiang Xuan gathered the leaders of the Vine Tribe to discuss matters concerning the Frog Tribe.

Jiang Xuan first briefed everyone on the situation of the Frog Tribe and then expressed his opinion.

"The Frog Tribe currently doesn’t have a Guardian God nor strong warriors, and they have no enemies in the Southern Wilderness. In my view, accepting them as a subordinate tribe is a good thing."

"If anyone has opinions, feel free to speak."

Everyone exchanged glances, and finally, Jing Jie stood up and asked, "Chief, since the Frog Tribe is so weak, why don’t we just annex them directly?"

"That’s a good question."

Jiang Xuan expected someone to raise this question, for which he had already prepared an answer.

"Direct annexation is indeed an option, but it would bring a lot of trouble later on."

Jiang Xuan looked at everyone and said, "Our Vine Tribe doesn’t lack population, and we still have many captives who haven’t been assimilated into true members of the Vine Tribe."

"If we also annex the Frog Tribe at this time, we would face even more captives harboring hostility towards us."

"We’d need a lot of food to sustain them, provide them with clothes, build houses for them, and constantly watch over them to prevent any harmful actions against the tribe."

Pausing there, Jiang Xuan saw expressions of understanding on everyone’s faces; clearly, they understood the truths he spoke of.

Jiang Xuan continued, "On the contrary, having them as a subordinate tribe prevents such problems."

"We wouldn’t need to worry about their food, clothing, and shelter. We only need to provide them with some protection, and they’ll give us a tenth of their harvest. Be it food or other resources, it’s a definite gain for us."