Chapter 256: Five-Year Plan

"The first phase of the grand plan is complete; the second phase is about to begin."

Sobering up from several days of feasting, Sinuoli sat in his office and resumed work. When he first transmigrated, the goal he set for himself was to first secure a territory, develop it well once he had one, and wait until he had accumulated enough strength before going to reclaim Karak Eight Peaks and the surrounding cluster of fortresses.

After that, he would resolve the threat of the Skaven through several major battles, push back into the Chaos Wastes before Archaon the Everchosen marched south, close the Chaos Portals at the poles, and save this world from the clutches of the Chaos Gods.

"The first step of the second major phase—what do I need to do?"

Sinuoli flicked his pen, sat up straight, and began writing on the draft paper on his desk. He suspected this seat was the predecessor to the Throne of Power; the stone-carved chair was uncomfortable to sit on, and the fixed distance from the desk forced him to keep his body upright.

"Population—I want everything. Dwarfs, Humans, and the indigenous people of the Southlands; those Pygmies must also be mobilized. At the very least, we must achieve self-sufficiency."

Sinuoli muttered as he wrote. He felt it necessary to set a deadline for his plan; this deadline could be neither too long nor too short.

Five years seemed just right. His country in his previous life and many similar works would choose five years as a planning cycle.

"In the first five years, I want to move as many people as possible into the Nan Shijie Bianyuan Shanmai, while simultaneously achieving self-sufficiency in food."

Currently, everyone under his command was a warrior; aside from external shipments, food relied purely on hunting and gathering. Once the connection was cut, they would immediately fall into a state of everyone hunting rabbits. Any lord with ideas and a desire to accomplish something could not accept this.

"I also need to build roads in these five years, from Gaoyuanbao to Red Cloud Mountain, plus that stretch of desert from Red Cloud Mountain to Quata," Sinuoli continued writing.

"If you want to be rich, build roads first" was also a truth from his previous life. Convenient transportation was a necessary condition for wealth and could drive the prosperity of other industries. The influx of population and the export of goods were all closely related to transportation.

More important than these was security. If Red Cloud Mountain were attacked and Master Nathan sent a distress signal to Sinuoli, but reinforcements had to force-march for a month to arrive, that would undoubtedly be a terrifying thing.

"What should I build?"

Sinuoli tugged at his beard. According to Dwarf tradition, it would undoubtedly be to renovate the Earth Vein Network. But he was clearly not a traditional Dwarf, and the Earth Vein Network was also traversed on foot; it was just relatively easier to walk.

"I should build a railway instead. Although the cost is high, the merit lies in the present, and the benefits will last for a thousand years." Sinuoli calculated. In fact, he had always felt that Dwarfs could build subways; the Earth Vein Network was built wide enough that laying tracks would be more than enough.

But the distances between Everpeak and the surrounding large fortresses—Jiliuguan, Haimenguan, and Slayer Keep—were all within an acceptable range for walking, and those were the heartland of the Mountain Kingdom where conservative forces were strongest; these all increased the resistance to building a railway.

Another key point about building tracks on this route was that the original mountain range had been destroyed into the Lost Plateau during the great earthquake, and the Earth Vein Network within it had naturally disintegrated. Compared to re-excavating tunnels, laying tracks on the surface was undoubtedly less engineering work.

"Since I'm building it anyway, a little extra distance from Red Cloud Mountain to Quata won't hurt. But the difficulty of this section isn't the distance; it's clearing out the ownerless Undead within Coffin Canyon. These can be left to the adventurers to do; it would also serve as an opportunity to attract population."

Sinuoli said, changing a sheet of paper to continue writing down the key points of the first five-year plan.

"The issue of population influx: if I want the people of all races in the Old World to travel thousands of miles to come here to pioneer, there must be policies with enough appeal."

He felt this was like issuing commandments after controlling an entire province in a game. The commandments Dwarfs could choose in the game included Lord of Iron and Stone—reducing construction and recruitment costs; Ancestor Worship—increasing public order and reducing corruption; High King's Tribute—increasing lord income; and Guild Authorization—increasing development and trade volume.

But it was clear that reality was not as simple and direct as in a game; issuing decrees with one click was not realistic. Sinuoli analyzed that there were three main factors affecting population influx.

First is the natural environment factor. Climate, fresh water, soil, mineral deposits, natural disasters, etc. —almost no one would choose to move to a place that was not habitable. In this regard, the Nan Shijie Bianyuan Shanmai had not suffered much damage over thousands of years and could be called quite advantageous.

Secondly, economic factors. In most cases, population migration is to pursue better economic income, thereby having a better standard of living. Sinuoli's territory had vast arable land and many mineral deposits that were easy to develop.

In most of the Dwarf Karaks in the Old World, after thousands of years of intensive development, workers had to go deep underground to an unacceptable distance to find decent ore, or else they had to leave the fortress and risk danger to explore outside.

Sinuoli believed that as long as they were willing to come and could accept the growing pains of the initial stage where supporting facilities were not keeping up, their economic income would definitely increase significantly.

To encourage more population migration, Sinuoli and his staff needed to draft preferential policies and promote them widely in the Old World. Sinuoli decided to discuss this part in the meeting later, because "degree" was very important.

Although his reputation had reached its peak among the Dwarf Realms, and many people in the Knight Kingdom of Bretonnia also sang stories of him, what lord with a brain didn't know the importance of population?

Once the preferential treatment Sinuoli offered was excessive, it would inevitably arouse the resentment of other lords. If they not only refused to cooperate with the publicity but also obstructed those who wanted to migrate, it would become very difficult to bring in population.

Even if they really didn't care, if the influx of population was excessive, Sinuoli's logistical pressure would surge before they could become self-sufficient. If this problem was not handled well, a sharp drop in reputation would be the least of his worries.

"Send word down: convene a civil official meeting!"

Sinuoli shouted toward the outside of the office. There was no set of communication buttons like in Thorgrim's office here; he still had to convey his orders using traditional methods.

Soon, Balin and several of his subordinates arrived at the office. In appointing officials, Sinuoli followed the traditions of this world, simply dividing them into civil and military classes, and then handling specific matters specifically. Dwarf society had a smaller population, and there was no need—nor could they afford—to support a complex staff.

Specific matters in various industries such as forging, masonry, and agricultural production would be handled by the heads of the guilds. And a Dwarf lord generally served as both the main general and a judge; in Sinuoli's current situation, the role of Priest was undoubtedly also held by him.