Chapter 447: Developing the Dushuihe

"Sigh, after being a king for so many years, I still have to groom my own beard myself, tsk!"

Standing before the mirror, Sinuoli smoothed out his beard, preparing to bind it with beard rings. The rushing about of these years had caused his black beard to grow from its original chest-length to above his navel; it was time to tidy it up.

Due to the gender imbalance, the Dwarf tradition was for male nobles to use male attendants, and only female nobles could use handmaidens. Although he had spent more years in this world than in his previous life, Sinuoli still felt that his daily life should not be attended to by barrel-chested men, and furthermore, being unsettled and harboring secrets, he had always done things himself.

Every time he attended the weddings or birth celebrations of his old subordinates, looking at the harmonious scene, Sinuoli could not help but wonder how the Longnü far away in Nangao was doing, but unfortunately, the matters at hand did not allow him to plan a long journey.

Belegar's immigration plan had, as expected, encountered a multitude of problems. Relying on his ability to view the control of his territory after the alliance, Sinuoli had intervened in advance several times, even going so far as to personally step out to suppress and coordinate, which allowed the banks of the Dushuihe to barely stabilize.

The desperate outlaws of the Border Prince Territory came with the idea of picking up money and getting rich, but upon arriving and seeing that they were reclaiming wasteland in poor mountains and treacherous waters, it was no longer a question of whether they had ideas, but whether they would take direct action.

Sinuoli cautiously controlled the ratio of carrots and sticks, building farms around several larger strongholds. After completing the production of the Broad-blade Musket, the Southlands Engineer Hanghui set about improving the Chaos Dwarf skull-crushing machines.

Recognizing the huge role of mechanical equipment in clearing land and dredging river channels, Sinuoli decisively ordered the suspension of weapon system assembly, named the experimental models that only possessed power "Tractors," and put them into the development of the Dushuihe.

When developing the Southlands, Sinuoli had intentionally lengthened the project duration and slowed the progress in order to create as many job positions as possible for the newly arrived immigrants. Upon reaching the Dushuihe, the main goal was to make the place "habitable" at the fastest possible speed.

In addition to the difficulties in internal development, the Dushuihe territory also faced external threats at all times. Which Greenskin Warlord in the Badlands didn't want to get their hands on some Dwarf-made choppas? Infiltration and sneak attacks in the form of small units were endless.

The Skaven under Eight Peaks were also restless. After expanding north from Keladeluomen, the strategic goal of the Angrund Clan became clear once again in the rat-eyes of the big boss Genuoduoer—Eight Peaks, it was still Eight Peaks; after thousands of years, the bearded things hadn't changed a bit!

Belegar's few years of dormancy and the defeat of Queek had caused the old rat to temporarily stop the plan to cut off the last bloodline of Eight Peaks, focusing its energy on driving out the Evil Moon Greenskins in the upper levels of the fortress. But in its rat-brain, it always understood who the greater threat was.

In the long struggle, the weight of the Evil Moon had been clearly measured; apart from popping out more pups in terms of numbers, there were no other trump cards, while it constantly imported more advanced technology and more ferocious war beasts from Skavenblight. As the enemy retreated and it advanced, there was nothing to worry about.

On the Dwarf side, that boy named Belegar was only limitedly smarter than his fathers and brothers who had died one after another here with their beards braided into carpets, but the Demigod Sinuoli, who stood behind him and dominated the Southlands, made the old rat unable to sleep or eat in peace.

Tiefengbao had reported abnormal movements of Clan Mors for several months, and there were also ships in the bay claiming to have sighted the Skaven's ferocious warships; perhaps they had already begun to seek help from the Old World.

The so-called "best military policy is to attack the enemy's strategy, the next is to attack their alliances," while attacking troops and sieging cities had to be ranked behind. A wise military commander could not just roll up their sleeves and charge whenever they encountered a problem; it was advisable to take some measures in advance to strengthen oneself and weaken the enemy.

Although he wanted to find some opponents to test his two newly acquired treasures, Sinuoli also knew that the war was not urgent at this moment. As long as it was clear that their own development speed was faster than the enemy's, then time was on his side.

"A unit of unusually strong Black Orcs clad in iron armor has appeared near Gangtieyan?"

The scout's news made Sinuoli frown. Grimgor Ironhide, the most Waaagh! Greenskin Warlord in history, had built that terrifying war fortress after unifying the Badlands and had set up "Dork Rock" as a symbol of his rule.

After that, Gangtieyan seemed to have become a holy land in the minds of the Greenskins; whoever possessed it might not be the most Waaagh!, but whoever wanted to become the most Waaagh! had to possess it. It was no surprise that Tiepi, as the chosen of Gork, wanted to take over Gangtieyan.

"The Badlands are about to become chaotic; this is at least not bad news."

Tiepi and his Immortal Guard, plus the equipment snatched from the Chaos Dwarfs, were destined to be a force not to be underestimated. As Gotrek was summoned, an interesting plan had already emerged in Sinuoli's mind.

"You take a team and set off from Keladeluomen to advance toward the Nagashi-Huangyuan. Remember, the momentum must be great, and the movement must be slow."

"Understood, er, why?"

The chosen of the God of War was not a pure brute; the pressure faced by the Dushuihe territory was clear to the upper echelons of the Southlands. Under these circumstances, not sending troops north to reinforce but instead splitting forces to march east was strange.

"What is there? Skaven, right. Although the depletion of Warpstone caused the main force of the clan to migrate, many branches still remain there. Several branches have seats on the Council of Thirteen."

The tasks of these guys included, but were not limited to, continuing to mine the remaining ore veins, exploring possible new ore veins, and simultaneously monitoring the movements of the Southlands, the Badlands, the Dark Lands, and the followers of Nagash.

"Those spineless rats cannot withstand us, so they will ask for reinforcements, right?"

"Hmm, go on, and then?"

Sinuoli was inspiring his champion. After the Dark Ages, the Dwarfs had always been in a state of contraction; it was good enough for the various lords to hold their fortresses. There were many talented generals skilled in defense, but no commanders with strategic vision emerged.

"Then, the Withered Swamp is a hundred thousand miles away; we will wait at our ease for the exhausted enemy, and once the reinforcements arrive, we will wipe them all out!"

"Sigh, think again. At such a long distance, besides coming themselves, do they have any other options? For instance, the Clan Mors of Eight Peaks or the Rictus Clan of Tuobeishan?"

"Hiss, will they listen? And what if they don't come to rescue but attack Belegar directly to force my route to return for reinforcements? I remember you taught me this strategy."

"Being able to ask this shows you have started to think. To tell the truth, I don't know either. Predicting the enemy's every move in advance is the ability of Kairos Fateweaver. If one strategy doesn't work, there is naturally a second one; you can go ahead and do it with confidence. King Kazador will cooperate with you to make this 'besiege a point to strike reinforcements' beautiful."

Sinuoli stroked his newly bound beard. He did not believe that Clan Mors could have much spare energy. The pestering Evil Moon Night Goblins would be more sensitive to the Skaven's army movements than he was; this time, perhaps he could probe the roots of the Rictus Clan.