Chapter 443: Confederation

Sinuoli had always pondered a question: what exactly is a ruler's power related to? Setting aside those mere rubber stamps who are completely sidelined, why do some decrees become distorted before they even leave the palace gates, while others carry the weight of divine mandate and can fully enforce their will?

"Preventing groups whose interests do not align with one's own from growing too large and strong to the greatest extent possible" was a small realization he had gained from history. Once interest groups hold sway over the court and the public, even if one retains the power of personnel appointments and can dismiss people at will, what change can be brought about when fifty ministers in a row are all the same?

Through a period of "laissez-faire," Sinuoli actively intensified the contradictions, allowing him to implement severe punishments once and for all; at the same time, he fished out more hidden dissenters, achieving the effect of scraping the bone to remove poison.

After a short period of turbulence, the Humans who have a sense of belonging to the Southlands and are willing to honor Sinuoli will step into grassroots leadership positions. No one will treat him as a "developer" anymore; the title of "King of the Southlands" will be well-deserved.

Previously, because Dwarfs did not manage villages in principle, development everywhere was uneven. After taking back grassroots administrative power, Sinuoli invested the confiscated assets into infrastructure and education; the tangible benefits that make the common people support his rule are far stronger than a few slogans.

After clearing away the various obstacles, the work of the Scholar Official Noli became busy. Grasping both ideological education and cultural construction ensured a constant stream of talent to aid development, and also ensured that this talent could be used for his own purposes.

"Stop the production of Rune Guardians, and shift the manpower to repairing the Colossus. With the previous technical reserves, it shouldn't be too difficult. Cancel those few new projects for you at the same time!"

Having eliminated internal hidden dangers, Sinuoli naturally wanted to fully unleash the development potential of the Southlands. Retaking Karaks-Eight Peaks, connecting the World's Edge Mountains, and awakening the sleeping Ancestor Gods to solve the population problem that restricts Dwarf development had been my work focus before I recovered the Southlands.

Before Sinuoli found the divine hammer, he had stayed in the Old World for nearly two years, and Snuori Ironhammer had not been idle. Having mastered three-dimensional strikes on land, underground, and in the air, and having become accustomed to fighting in coordination with Human cavalry, he finally walked out of the vicious cycle of attacking the enemy but having limited annihilation—relying on strongholds for tug-of-war—and being forced to withdraw because he could not sustain the consumption.

"King of the Belegar Clan is calling, asking if you have time to see him."

"We have discussed it with the seven Ancestor spirits, and we unanimously agree that we should learn from your advanced experience and introduce Human immigrants to develop the land together."

Sinuoli suspected that Lady Anya had prompted the Belegar Clan to make these decisions that followed the ancestors. The seven Ancestor spirits were a valuable asset, but they were also a form of restraint.

"Good, when Gaochuike comes back and finds out he's unemployed, he'll definitely be shocked!"

After arranging the localized improvement and production of the blueprints obtained from Ironhand, and just as he was preparing to go to his Forging Room to continue producing Colossus Cores, the Chief Civil Official Balin knocked and walked in.

Sinuoli's actual controlled territory had rapidly expanded from a single fortress into a province, but the newly acquired land did not have a single person who could be utilized; instead, he had to divert manpower and material resources to clean up the reproductive spores left behind by the Greenskins.

Sinuoli tapped the table lightly. Sinuoli did not lack a think tank; coming to find him meant there must be a preliminary plan.

"How should I put it, I am not particularly optimistic about this. On one hand, you, my lady, know the situation of the Humans there better than I do; many times, they consort with chaos. At the same time, the Dushuihe region's environment is also relatively poor, and it is time-consuming and laborious to transform it."

"Our main targets are the Border Prince Territory and the Tilea Federation. My maternal family has some influence in those two places and can provide some help to a certain extent."

"Thanks to you and Them, I have already retaken all the strongholds along the Dushuihe; there is no longer a trace of the stench of green mushrooms between Red Cloud Mountain and Ironpeak Fortress."

"As you judged, with such a large piece of land, my current manpower is stretched thin just holding it, and it is difficult to spare the strength to continue advancing toward Eight Peaks."

"So we also need your help, such as seconding some clansmen with rich experience in working with Humans to assist in management; or hiring the genius Engineers on your side to design and supervise environmental improvement projects."

"So what are your thoughts?"

This confederation is not a confederation with the Southlands or the Drazkrad Clan; it is limited to Sinuoli personally. Once he no longer stays in the Mortal World, the Belegar Clan will naturally regain its independence.

"Hmm..."

Their motives are very clear: first, retaking Eight Peaks requires Sinuoli's great effort; second, once Sinuoli sits on the Throne of Power, relying on his personal strength and the blessing of being the spokesperson for the gods, his control over the various states will be on par with the High King of the Golden Age, so why not submit early to exchange for something tangible?

A few days later, Sinuoli and his wife came to the door holding an infant. This was a little Prince, and Sinuoli named him Run VII—the same as the last King of Eight Peaks—entrusting the Clan's hope of carrying on the past and opening up the future.

The words spoken by Lady Anya were also within expectations; even the stubborn Ancestor spirits would make concessions to speed up the progress of retaking Eight Peaks. But the problem is that the Humans of the Old World are not infinite; the population with the intention of migrating over these years has already been mostly absorbed by the Southlands, and the Southlands are far from having a population wealthy enough to transfer outward.

This poor fellow was the only Dwarf Sinuoli had seen who had lost weight since retaking the Southlands, but fortunately, he relied on his own efforts to suppress the talents who coveted his position.

"This woman is not simple!"

"Of course there is, and I also welcome Lady Anya and our children to come together. I have yet to see the fresh blood of that ancient Clan!"

Sinuoli's territory is a long, narrow plateau between mountains, relatively safe and easy to develop. Dushuihe, as the name suggests, is not a good place; it flows west into the Acid Sea. Sinuoli had previously built the Jieshishan stronghold at the estuary, once wanting to develop it into a trading port, but it was shelved due to environmental limitations.

Sinuoli praised, as the line along Red Cloud Mountain-Keladeluomen-Ironpeak Fortress had previously only been dredged into a channel with limited safety—he even had to send his champion, Mr. Gao, to serve as a transport captain for armed escort.

"Accept it, you have affection and I have intent, it couldn't be better." Thinking this, Sinuoli nodded slightly.

"Hiss!"

"Ding, the Dwarf faction Belegar Clan applies for confederation, do you accept?" The prompt popped up by the system answered Sinuoli's question; a confederation, to put it plainly, is just establishing a vassal relationship.

Sinuoli took a sip of his refreshing drink, squinting his eyes as he sized up the couple in front of him. The Belegar Clan was already deeply bound to him militarily, and now they wanted to hand over a large amount of internal administrative power to him—what was the plan here?