"I support the relocation of the tribes of Budocaribas and Xisaites to the Sava River!" Alxipengpas said loudly, raising his right hand high.
Alxipengpas held great prestige among the various tribes in the western mountains, and his statement prompted the other five elders from the western mountains to follow suit.
Cleobrotas looked at the twenty-five raised right hands in the hall and became nervous. He tried to make a last effort, so he loudly advised, "Everyone, our ancestors have lived here for hundreds of years, and it is from here that the name Aldeans is derived. If we leave here, can we still be called Aldeans? Please think carefully, don’t make a hasty decision—"
"Cleobrotas, stop dragging things out, just announce the voting result!" Xisaites urged impatiently.
"Yes, announce it quickly! We’ve made up our minds long ago and won’t change our decision!" The other elders who raised their hands also expressed their stance one after another.
Even so, Cleobrotas stalled for a while longer and, seeing that the number of hands raised remained the same, reluctantly announced, "There are 48 participants in this tribal meeting, and 25 elders agreed with Xisaites and Budocaribas leading the people to relocate to the Sava River, which exceeds the majority. According to the tribe’s regulations... this request... is approved."
Crowd cheers instantly erupted in the hall, and Xisaites and Budocaribas even hugged each other in excitement.
Budocaribas whispered, "You always like to act recklessly, and this time it seems you gambled right."
"What do you mean ’gambled right’? Once you’re prepared, you must act early! If you worry about this and that like you do, it only delays things!" Xisaites countered with a smile.
Alistacas bit his lip, resisting the urge to shout, "I disagree!"
He now only hated himself for not being the real Aldean Great Chief; otherwise, during the vote, the Great Chief alone would count as five votes, and Xisaites and the others wouldn’t have had the majority!
Now he understood: why did Xisaites propose such a request at the start of the meeting? It was clearly to exploit the opportunity when the tribe had not yet established a Great Chief to secure benefits for himself!
Damn Xisaites! Damn Budocaribas! And damn Alxipengpas!... Alistacas cursed inwardly.
"I want to ask what you plan to do with the iron ore after relocating your people to the Sava River?" Ambrosius suddenly asked loudly.
"The iron ore is located in the western mountains, belonging to the tribes there originally. After we leave, it naturally belongs to Alxipengpas and them!" Budocaribas answered without hesitation.
"No! No!" Ambrosius shook his head repeatedly, "The tribes of the western mountains abandoned that iron ore long ago. It’s been deserted for years; only last year did the Great Chief take it back to the entire tribe, having our tribes along the Murenica River contribute manpower and resources to rebuild it. It was only temporarily managed by you to improve your living conditions.
But you’ve truly regarded the iron ore as your own and want to hand it over to others when you leave with your people. Do you still have any shame?"
"Ambrosius, damn it!" Xisaites cursed angrily.
"Who’s the one talking nonsense?" Ambrosius frowned and said loudly, "The iron ore must be handed over to us, who have contributed greatly to it! Elder Cleobratos, don’t you agree?"
"Budocaribas, you indeed don’t have the right to privately transfer the iron ore," Cleobratos said solemnly, "This matter should be decided by our tribal meeting."
"Let’s vote then," Xisaites said once again.
"I do not agree to vote!" Alistacas refused without hesitation. He spoke decisively, "The iron ore must be managed by the tribes along the Murenica River and Kolana River!"
"If this matter is also put to a vote, we will withdraw from this tribal meeting!" Ambrosius stood firm because he saw that Budocaribas, Xisaites, and Alxipengpas had already allied together, so the result of a vote would be no different from earlier.
The elders from the tribes along the Murenica and Kolana Rivers also expressed their decision to stand with Ambrosius, and these more than twenty elders refused to vote, making it impossible to conduct the voting.
Just as the two sides were about to reach a stalemate, Alxipengpas directly addressed Alistacas, "Let’s make a deal. We handle the iron ore of the western mountain tribes, and you become the Aldean Great Chief!"
Alistacas immediately retorted, "Nonsense! The position of the Great Chief is already mine—"
Ambrosius coughed vigorously, awakening Alistacas to the realization that during the election for the Great Chief, if Xisaites, Budocaribas, and Alxipengpas opposed it, whether he could become the Great Chief would indeed be questionable!
For a while, he sat stiffly, unable to say harsh words again nor willing to back down, only signaling to Ambrosius with his eyes.
"Alistacas is the son of Great Chief Acoupaigos and a hero who recovered lost lands along the Kolana River and helped exiled tribes rebuild their homes. His succession as the Great Chief is the hope of all Aldean tribesmen!" Ambrosius said with a serious expression. "Of course, the living conditions on the western mountains are indeed challenging. Having Alxipengpas manage the iron ore may improve their lives, which I think is worth considering.
However, not all the profits from the iron ore should go to the western mountain tribes. As you all have seen these past few days, the tribes along the Kolana River have suffered great losses and need a portion of the profits from the iron ore to aid them. What do you think, Alxipengpas?"
Alxipengpas responded, "This time, the tribes along the Kolana River encountered disasters, and we should certainly provide assistance by allocating some profits from the sale of iron ore to them. But I believe this should only be temporary. Once life for the tribesmen along the Kolana River returns to normal, there should be no more profit sharing from the iron ore! Besides the land’s yield, they also have salt mine profits, right?"
Alxipengpas and Ambrosius exchanged a glance, and Ambrosius turned his head to look at Alistacas with a deliberately respectful demeanor and asked, "Do you think this proposal is acceptable?"
"Let’s go with it," Alistacas replied hastily. He just wanted this matter concluded quickly, as the compromise under Alxipengpas’s threat left him feeling humiliated.
Ultimately, the result of this Aldean tribal meeting: The various Aldean tribes that lost land in the war with the Pannonians and later signed an agreement with the Nix Tribe will collectively relocate to the Sava River. The iron ore will be managed by the Aldean tribes of the western mountains, with 30% of its profits allocated over two years to aid the Kolana River tribes in their renowned home reconstruction;
Alistacas took over as the Great Chief of the Aldean Tribe; the ashes of former Great Chief Acoupaigos and the tribe’s memorial ceremonies will be held grandly in four days. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel⸺fire.net
Acoupaigos died in shock and anger during the invasion of the Pannonian army. Still, at that time, the whole tribe faced life and death, and the leaders were busy organizing troops. Even after the crisis was resolved, they had to focus on recovering lost lands and resettling exiled tribesmen, leaving no time to handle his funeral, resulting in a substantial delay, with the preserved body having started to decay, necessitating cremation first.
Now the tribe is finally recuperating, and Alistacas has succeeded in becoming the Great Chief. He wished to take advantage of the elders’ presence at the Main Camp to seamlessly conduct both his father’s burial and memorial ceremony and his Great Chief inauguration under the elders’ attention.
As the leaders of each tribe still gathered at the Main Camp, the food supply was tight, and the ceremony would be delayed for four days due to Ambrosius’s reminder to Alistacas that the Great Chief inauguration needed to be grand to enhance his prestige among the tribesmen, which required time to prepare; more importantly, Alistacas had to send people to inform the Nix Tribe and invite Leader Maximus to attend, which took some time.
Since the Nix was Alde’s ally, and Maximus was even related to Alistacas by marriage, it was expected that even if Maximus couldn’t come, he would definitely send a prominent figure from the Nicos Tribe to attend.
Two years ago, when the Nix Tribe arrived, it was dependent on the Aldeans’ help to establish itself along the Kupa River. In just over a year, the roles reversed dramatically, with the Nix Tribe becoming the powerful ally that saved the Aldean Tribe. If Nix officials attended Alistacas’s inauguration as Great Chief, it would signify their recognition of him, providing reassurance to the Aldean tribesmen and significantly increasing his prestige.
Although Alistacas felt somewhat aggrieved, this was the reality. The Nix Tribe’s continuous victories had earned them their current standing among the Aldean tribesmen.
The meeting concluded, the crowd dispersed, and Alistacas sat in place, stunned.
The recent resettlement of Kolana River refugees had already troubled him greatly, but today’s meeting left him utterly exhausted.
He used to think his father was not decisive enough in handling matters, but now, sitting in this position himself, he realized how difficult it is to do a good job. He even doubted whether he could be a competent Great Chief.