Chapter 404: The Progress Association

The threat of the Chaos forces is an important medium for the alliance between Dwarfs and Humans; did the first Human Emperor Sigmar and High King Ku'ergan-Tiexu not form their bond and receive Gaiermulazi precisely because of the Greenskins?

In relatively more peaceful eras, a friendship as close as brothers was not always the main theme of the relationship between the two races. Setting aside the old, dusty matters in the Book of Grudges of various Shanbao, Dieter IV coveting the wealth of the Empire Dwarfs and persecuting them, even betraying the ancient alliance, can also be considered the catalyst for Sinuoli's transmigration.

If the Dwarf Realms are to revive, even if they do not need additional living space, they are bound to have friction with the Human forces below the mountains in terms of economy and resources. As a transmigrator, Sinuoli knows the severity of bloodless conflicts like trade wars.

Beyond the grand competition between races, Sinuoli's personal needs will sooner or later become a fuse for conflict. He can work closely with the Lady of the Lake Cult and the Sigmar Cult now, but what about when it comes time to prepare for godhood?

The Dwarf population is already small, and their faith has been carved up to exhaustion; Sinuoli can only cast his gaze toward the Humans below the mountains. People fight for a breath of air, gods fight for a stick of incense; how could the gods of the Old World sit by and watch a Dwarf harvest their leeks? Persuading his master Kelage to go down the mountain was precisely to probe their reactions.

Although he was once a Human, he has now completely accepted his identity as a Dwarf—being accepted by Chaos is easier than being accepted by Humans; from the perspective of the Dwarf Realms, if things continue to develop this way, something will go wrong sooner or later!

"Andemuge, tell the Humans and the Pygmy King that I am tired and will see them tomorrow. Then summon the members of the Progress Association in Gaoyuanbao to come here."

Very quickly, a small group of relatively young Dwarfs appeared in the conference room; the oldest among them only had a few streaks of gray in their beards. Judging by their attire, these people came from all walks of life, but most had a certain status and position.

"Recover the lost Shanbao, retrieve the missing Artifacts, and restore the glory of the Qunshan!"

Balin stood at the very front, leading the recitation. This organization called the "Progress Association" was established by him under Sinuoli's instruction, with the purpose of absorbing open-minded young people from the Southlands and even the entire Old World to push for reform and develop strength.

"Pass these out for everyone to read, and tell me your thoughts."

Sinuoli handed a stack of documents recording birth data from various fortresses to Balin for distribution, then leaned forward, resting his arms as he sized up the progressive youth in this room of Dwarfs.

"Respected Ancestor Chosen, I suggest increasing the number of sacrifices to the Mother Goddess beyond the existing holidays. With her grace and your guidance, let alone Human brats, even surpassing rats is a small matter!"

Almost the moment he received the document, a strangely dressed fellow stepped out from the crowd and shouted. The robe on his body was a combination of traditional Dwarf style and that of a Priest of Sigmar, which looked incongruous when paired with his thick beard and hair.

This person was named Kafeipu, born of a fallen royal family; he originally relied on a few books passed down by his family and his natural eloquence to travel between taverns in various settlements to make a living by storytelling.

After Sinuoli rose to power, Kafeipu saw an opportunity and switched to becoming a professional priest—in the previous thousands of years, because the Ancestor Gods had not responded for too long, many rituals had been lost, and the clansmen did not know how to begin restoring the sacrifices.

After accumulating a certain reputation in the Black Mountains, he dared to come to the Southlands to see the Ancestor Chosen. Sinuoli was very satisfied with this rare religious fanatic among the Dwarfs, so he gladly took him under his command.

"Hmm, what about the others?"

Sinuoli nodded noncommittally; he knew best whether the sacrifices were useful or not, and he would only be able to further improve things once he completed the Ultimate Valaya Ritual. He never expected the religious fanatic to provide a reliable method for this matter anyway.

"They have too many children? Then just kill them."

"Pierson, stop right there! Do not speak words that are detrimental to unity!"

The second fellow to speak was even more eccentric; he had shaved his Slayer crest but was wearing the work clothes of the Engineers. He was originally an Empire Dwarf living in Nuln, and his ancestors for several generations had been engineers at the gunnery range in Nuln.

Dieter IV had falsely imprisoned Pierson's parents, but before they could be interrogated and sentenced, the Greenskins arrived. Nuln was reduced to ruins, and he was the only one in his family to escape with his life.

Pierson had no ability to take revenge on the Human Emperor, and shame and grief drove him to take the Slayer Oath. After Sinuoli toppled Dieter IV, he came to Gaoyuanbao to serve, and by virtue of skills different from those of the Qunshan Dwarfs, he stood out among the Engineers.

Sinuoli knew what he wanted to say; this guy's radicalism once made him a key target of the Western Depot. With Chaos at the doorstep, Sinuoli could not take extreme measures, and furthermore, the honeymoon period between the Southlands and the Human forces had not ended; holding this meeting was just a precaution.

"My King, I have an immature idea, I do not know if I should speak it or not."

"Speak freely; isn't the reason Balin organized you all to offer suggestions for the development of the Qunshan?"

For a time, no one else put forward any hot-headed ideas. After about half an hour of discussion, a civil official named Noli walked to Sinuoli's desk. He had served as a telegraph operator when Sinuoli was on his expedition to the Southlands, and thanks to his outstanding performance in that position, Noli was quickly promoted.

"Those Humans can herd sheep and gather firewood seven or eight years after they are born, start doing some farm work in their early teens, and by the time they are fifteen or sixteen, they can take a wife and reproduce another generation; this process is really too fast, perhaps we can try to delay it a bit."

"How to do it? Limit the minimum marriage age? I'm afraid there will be resistance to that." Sinuoli stroked his beard and nodded.

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"Perhaps we can promote schools and require Humans to study for a certain number of years. This is also good for them, and the resistance should be smaller."

"Nine-year compulsory education? In this world, it doesn't even need nine years; five or six years would be enough. Supporting students to study full-time will also increase the cost of reproduction to a certain extent, suppressing population expansion from another angle."

Sinuoli muttered; this had already been proven to have a certain effect in his previous life. Although it was still treating the symptoms rather than the root cause, it could buy a buffer period for treating the root cause.

"Widely solicit opinions, and after detailed discussion, give me a proposal. I'm afraid we still need to cooperate with those two major cults to carry out the initial promotion, so how to compile the textbooks will have to be carefully considered."

Once Sinuoli made the decision, the conference room immediately fell into intense discussion. Every Dwarf realized that this would be a huge project on the same level as the railway, and if they could play a relatively important role in it, it would be of great benefit to future development.

"Report! A pointed-ear has arrived outside the fortress and requests an audience!"

Sinuoli also knew that promoting compulsory education was a big project, and he did not expect to reach a result in one afternoon, but just as he announced the end of the meeting, there was a knock at the door.