Warhammer

He can be a little flattering, "please" the dwarves, make friends with the dwarves, and bring his own dry food to help others fight, but he cannot talk about money or feelings. After I have feelings for you, I can ask you for loans and investment with a clear conscience - but I cannot hire you as a mercenary.

And one of the important reasons why he supports the dwarves is:

Internationalism in its purest form!

Crusaders of Order!

Only the imperial big brother has its own national conditions.

In the early days, the dwarves did not care too much about this kind of transaction. They just paid the money and that was it. As a result, the official mercenaries from the empire were not ugly at all, they were still usable, but their equipment was all tattered, forcing the dwarves to open several production lines to specially create standard weapons for the mercenaries.

Later it was discovered that the dwarves had sent over 100,000 soldiers, and the Empire collected taxes on the money and then distributed it down layer by layer. In the end, for example, three out of ten of the pensions went to the families of the mercenaries who died in the battle, and it was considered qualified. The resettlement expenses were cut in half in some places, and in some places the nobles and bureaucrats directly deceived the villagers, stuffed them into cars and sent them to the dwarves without spending a penny.

These farmers who were sent to Eternal Peak as mercenaries without knowing it and who had never even touched a sword made the dwarves so angry that they even wanted to record this matter in the Book of Hatred.

They were not targeting the innocent people who were not treated as human beings by their rulers, but the imperial dignitaries who were not treated as human beings.

This was the reason why the Dwarves later clamored to take control of the economy, preferring to do more paperwork, hire more people, and deliver the ledgers to the court of Altdorf on a regular basis, rather than allow the Imperial bureaucracy to interfere.

......

After a battle, the Empire's grand "Chivalrous Expedition" activity finally came to an end with the Battle of Black Rock Castle.

It was just a friendly guest appearance.

Four thousand people are better than nothing.

Before the victory of the war and the recovery of Black Rock, Aiur had a very detailed exchange with the High King, who strongly agreed with the dwarves' long-standing strategy of "steady and steady", praising it as "an effective, current and wise strategic policy that suits the dwarven national conditions."

And: "After defeating the enemy at Black Rock Castle, we will use this as a base to advance both east and west, control the Death Pass, reopen trade routes, and enrich the national treasury; at the same time, block the enemy from the South Mountain from harassing the north, and isolate the enemy and ourselves. If we can recuperate and do our best to clear the north of Black Rock Castle, while preparing our troops, we will have nothing to worry about when we march south in the future. Secondly, the newly recovered land has been cultivated for a long time, so there is no need to worry about supporting a large army..."

The implication is to tactfully advise the dwarf:

Click till.

You can stop now.

The Battle of Black Rock Castle consumed a large amount of supplies that the dwarves had stockpiled on the front lines. It took a lot of effort for the dwarves to transport these supplies from Eternal Peak - Thunder Castle - Black Rock Castle. It is not easy to accumulate the resources to launch such a war.

Taking over Black Rock Hold does not mean that Death Pass will fall into the hands of the dwarves. There are still two lost fortresses, Bone Mine and Bonebreaker Peak, to the east that need to be recaptured by the dwarves. Eight Peaks Mountain is not so easy to conquer either - or it can be taken, but it is difficult to hold it.

The dwarves will have to invest much more to completely stabilize the extensive underground tunnels, restore their operational functions, and protect them from being destroyed by the enemy.

Out of a cautious mentality, Al did not want the dwarves to rush to recapture the mountain hub just because they had won consecutive victories.

If the dwarves suffered a bloody defeat in the Eight Peaks Mountain, just like Ethiopia to Italy, where they spent a lot of effort to conquer it, and a lot of manpower and material resources to build and develop it, but the final output was far less than the investment - World War II broke out.

Ethiopia was occupied by the Allies, and the Italians' seizure of it was a completely unprofitable business.

Ai'er's suggestion is that the dwarves should temporarily stop along the Death Pass, and go east to recapture the enemy's weak mines and Bonebreaker Peak. Then, they can use this as a base, set up more outposts, deploy rangers, keep the mountains of the northern world as stable as possible, and basically eliminate the influence of the greenskins.

In this way, the dwarves occupied a basic base that could be regarded as a great power in terms of both output and depth. No matter whether the Chaos Yankees in the north rebelled or the Greenskins in the south rebelled, they could respond with strong cities and powerful troops.

After all, considering the average lifespan of dwarves, there is nothing wrong with being a little more stable. With their current development speed, if they continue to develop for a few decades, there will be a lot more young men with mustaches and more sophisticated weapons, not to mention the second group of humans introduced into the country to reproduce and thrive.

At that time, we will form a large army and march south and be well prepared. The distance from Black Crag to Eight Peaks is about the same as that from Thunderhold to Black Crag. But if we completely wipe out the greenskins in the mountains of the North World, we can declare that the dwarves north of Eight Peaks have returned to the golden age, and it will be much easier to attack Eight Peaks at that time.

The High King also agreed with Al's suggestion. Aladdin admitted to Al that it was a bit frivolous to set the goal of going south to recapture the Eight Peaks Mountain at the beginning of this war to recover the lost territory, which was a problem of exaggeration.

The main reason was that the dwarves had just won a series of victories in the north, regained a large amount of lost territory, and basically eliminated the greenskin forces from the north, so they were very confident.

But due to some historical reasons, the strength of the greenskins in the north is much weaker than that in the south, and the preparations for this southern expedition are not sufficient.

198: Long live unity!

The dwarves' great campaign to conquer and recover lost territory had to come to a temporary halt here.

At the celebration party, the High King paid high tribute in the name of the country and himself to the Alliance who came from afar to support the dwarves in the war out of "pure chivalry and friendship."

Although the Alliance repeatedly declined the large "rewards" offered by the dwarves, they would not reject all of the "state gifts" of pure diplomatic etiquette, and the High King also announced in due course that the Alliance would be regarded as the Eternal Peak:

"Warm, reliable, trusted ally."

We will work hard to promote a series of cooperation between the country and the alliance, strengthen bilateral relations, and enhance the common development of the two powers in the south and the east of the old world, and advance in parallel...

Al responded by saying:

The dwarves are the leaders of the world. Together with the Zhendan Dynasty, they are the first to rise in the east and west of the old world. They are the oldest and have created the most prosperous elder civilization. Over the long years, whether it is to fight against the Chaos God's covetousness of the material world, or when the world faces threats from barbarians (greenskins) and filthy rats (Skaven), they always charge forward! Fighting on the front line against evil and defending the mortal world! Every dwarf is undoubtedly a wise man, a warrior, a reliable teammate, and a solid shield as long as he insists on the faith of the ancestral gods... (Omitted a few hundred words of sincere and moving essay)

As a latecomer on the world stage, the Alliance must fully develop the first of the eight virtues of order and civilization: "humility"! Actively learn from advanced civilizations and pay the highest respect to the ancient defenders! Learning from the development experience of the Dwarf Kingdom and the excellent qualities of the Dwarves is an important national policy for the Alliance as an emerging country to enter the world, integrate into the world, and develop the world!

.......

Here, we pay our highest respects to the ancients who have been fighting on the front lines against evil, resisting barbarism, and dispelling darkness for countless years!

Long live the Alliance! Long live the people of the Alliance! Long live the Dwarven Kingdom! Long live the Dwarven people!

Long live the unbreakable friendship between the two countries! Long live the great unity of the nations of the world!

As for the Empire, which only played a minor role, Al mentioned it in passing:

Thanks to the chivalrous knights sent by the big brother of the empire - they are not Knight Titans, four thousand people just say a word to you and show their faces.

After a few years of deepening his understanding of the behemoth in the north, the "shield" (mainly beaten) big brother of the medieval order, Aiur is no longer as afraid of the "royal army's expedition" and "heavenly soldiers and generals" as he was when he was fighting with the greenskins in Estalia and at the same time cleaning up the Estalia ruling class in the captured territory.

Now he has a clearer understanding of its internal struggles. After all, when Al was in the Human League, he was a "retro enthusiast". Although he is very familiar with some historical knowledge of the beginning of this century and the century before last, he has also been exposed to a lot and absorbed a lot of analysis.

The education of the People's Federation has always attached great importance to history. "There is nothing new under the sun" and "The only lesson mankind has learned from history is that it never learns lessons." The great men who ended, or broke and stepped out of the cycle attached great importance to, or "disliked" these two sentences. They created a great, beautiful era that cannot be described in detail by anything that mankind has imagined, and tried their best to prove that these two sentences would be wrong through their own efforts.

"I hope that when you make mistakes in the future, you will try to make some 'fresh' mistakes that can provide experience for future generations instead of following the old path we have taken."

Al predicted that there would be trouble in the empire.

Corruption, high pressure, feudal fiefdoms, collusion among the rich, erosion of public power, extravagant aristocratic families, monopoly of large trusts, religious "superstition", factional struggles, over-expanding population, rapidly growing economy and seriously unbalanced social structure...

There is no need to wait until the tide of chaos rises again. Perhaps this prosperous and powerful mortal empire in the eyes of the world will be set off by a spark, causing a domino effect and leading to earth-shaking changes.

Just the fact that the expeditionary army went into the evil under the banner of supporting the dwarves but ended up with a rather anticlimactic effect shows that Big Brother is somewhat...

For the time being, Al could only watch from the sidelines while gathering strength.

The Grand Sister and the group of combat nuns under her command have an almost "semi-independent" status in the alliance. El has specially designated an area for them as farmland and pasture for the "great experiment". They will gain enough experience from a series of events such as setbacks, failures, and starting over, and develop a firm and powerful force that can set off a prairie fire at any time.

The fire that Aiur brought would, at some point in the future, ignite the increasingly corrupt empire, burning rotten flesh, poisonous insects, and decay.

She will bring new life and hope.

I have never thought of being an enemy of the Empire, but Big Brother has betrayed my trust - if the Empire cannot stand firm in the Chaos Storm and protect its people, then let me (the Sister) do it!

This is roughly Al's attitude towards the empire now. He watches him build tall buildings, entertain guests, and then he watches his buildings collapse.

.......

After the speech, there was thunderous applause. The whole audience was moved to tears by the outstanding, moving and flattering speech of such a legendary leader of the new faction.

A king.

A king who ruled two kingdoms.

The king of an alliance whose main ethnic groups are Beastmen and Southerners.

In the homeland that the dwarves have just recovered, on the ruins of the fortress that is waiting to be rebuilt, what kind of spirit is it to shout "Pay tribute to the ancients, learn from the advanced", "Long live the dwarf kingdom", and "Long live the dwarf race"!

If there were no "Trisolarians" in this medieval world - Chaos demons that were a common threat to the whole world, and if the dwarves had not indeed been the mainstay of order over the long years and made huge contributions, in the original timeline, even if their homes were completely destroyed, their refugees and remnants would have run to the Empire with their families and participated in the final battle against Chaos.

It is impossible for Al's behavior not to be dubbed as a "filial son and virtuous grandson" or "a filial and generous person".

Half of what he said was out of emotion, but the other half was truly from the heart, so it can be described as "sincere"!

Even the Dwarf King, who was always known for his "calmness and wisdom" and was an "outlier" among the dwarf community and one of the few who would not dwell on unsettled hatreds, excitedly patted his breastplate and raised his glass to drink after listening to Ai'er's "Speech in Front of the Kingdom of the Mountains, My Spiritual Homeland."

If the age gap wasn't so huge, one would be pale, beardless and look like a sissy, while the other is calm, steady and solid as a rock.

And the combined age of Al's two lives is less than a fraction of the age of the Supreme King Aladdin Whitebeard. Anyway, two altars must be built on the spot, one with the shrine of the Four Mothers, and the other with the statues of the ancestors and gods. They will chop off the chicken heads and swear brotherhood, and from then on they will become brothers of different surnames and races, not asking for the same year and month...

In addition to the celebration, the two sides also had many private exchanges. The High King agreed very much with Ai'er's euphemistic "proposal" and said that he would temporarily stop fighting and try to push the Mountain Assembly to shift the national policy to recuperation.

As an "outsider", it is difficult for Al to say anything at this time. He has already helped a lot and his attitude has been very good. If he says anything more, it would be like going too far, or being too loyal but appearing to be treacherous, or being too honest but appearing to be fake.

So I gave a subtle hint:

"If our dwarven friends attempt to go south through Death Pass, retake the leyline hub, and completely clear the mountains in the future, the Alliance will provide any assistance within its capabilities."

It’s not a direct commitment to send troops, but it’s close.

199. Border Issues

As an "ally" who has not yet concluded a formal alliance treaty at the national level, Al is unable to make long-term commitments because he cannot predict what will happen in the future. Solemn words spoken too easily would seem frivolous, and there is no guarantee that they can be fulfilled in the future.

The dwarves have recaptured the lost territory of Black Crag and can try to isolate themselves from the infiltration of the greenskins in the south, thereby slowly clearing the north of the Endless Mountains and making their vast territory stable and peaceful; the newly born Southern Alliance has used an expedition to gain a friend on the international stage of the Old World with whom their relationship continues to improve.

It opens the door to “integrating into the world”.

Even the greenskins got a "big battle", and the Empire, which had been doing little to help, at least "showed up and did some work".

It’s a win-win situation.

Al did not plan to stay in Black Rock Castle for long. For the past week, the dwarves had been busy cleaning the "room" and repairing the fortress that had been occupied for too long and had been destroyed by the greenskins. He brought the legion to help the dwarves and clear out some greenskins that were still active in the surrounding areas.

There is basically nothing to do.

The High King cordially invited Aiur to visit the Eternal Peak. He would be the first foreign monarch invited to visit the Eternal Peak in nearly a hundred years. The dwarves would hold a mountain meeting to welcome Aiur with a grand ceremony, but he politely postponed it to after next year due to military issues. He would wait until the situation in the Alliance (surrounding areas) stabilized, and the area from the Endless Mountains to the south of the Old World was basically stable without the threat of war.

The main reason why Al is not going to Eternal Peak for the time being is:

He now has to go back to deal with the troubles in his "old home".

According to intelligence from the rear, after the Matoka rebelled and the Empire was invited to intervene, the target of the Great Crusade was temporarily changed from the Endless Mountains to the Border Prince Territory. Then, the Vanguard of Evil, led by Celestine Julius, the biological mother of El, and Rhine Julius, a pair of cousins ​​chosen by the two gods, went to liberate the Matoka people and protect the Empire's "territory".

But their actions also aroused the strong dissatisfaction of the green-skinned warlord, the legendary returning Gao Maoliang Feilong.

I've used my reputation to talk to those guys and other people. If they call me "WaaaaghBOSS", they will open the city and live, and hand over the supplies.

If you don’t surrender, you will be slaughtered!

Don’t leave a single shrimp!

It relied on the steel knife in its hand and the "gentle words" of intimidation, and it did not take much effort along the way:

"The New World Book·War Volume·Border Prince Territory" "Countless people surrendered at the sight of the enemy. The greenskins advanced a thousand miles in ten days and captured dozens of cities!"

Gao Maoliang's war gang, which bypassed Haimen Pass and broke into the border prince's territory, not only suffered no losses, but expanded like a snowball, attracting those greenskins hiding in various places in the border areas, and even some brainless beastmen to join its war gang. Not only did the scale of the war gang grow, but it also received a large amount of supplies and weapons donated by those border forces who chose to "temporarily surrender" to the tyranny of the warlords for the sake of preservation. This allowed Gao Maoliang's war gang to upgrade from many greenskins who were still fighting with weapons made of stone and bones to an "elite" group of greenskins whose big guys were basically equipped with all iron weapons.

If it were the same as the traditional greenskin invasion, rushing forward and attacking the enemy and the city, not to mention the casualties, there would be a waste of time, and the Mirmidons would have more time to prepare, and it would be unknown who would win the battle on the Black Bay Peninsula.

By then, when they see that the Myrmidons have blocked the greenskins on their own, exposing the greenskins' illusion of being "invincible", those duchies and cities that have succumbed to the greenskins' power behind Mao Liang may also rebel. While the greenskins are being held back by the Myrmidons on the Black Bay Peninsula, they can take the opportunity to unite and form an army and march south.

But doing so certainly allowed the greenskins to advance rapidly in a short period of time. After thinking about it, every city they targeted felt that they did not have the strength to do so on their own, and after the Matoka took the lead, they had no reason to help others stop the greenskins, so they all "surrendered".

It also forced Mao Liang to fulfill his tough words and "promises" no matter how much effort and cost he had to pay at the border.

Since Mirmiden refused to surrender, Mao Liang could not just leave this border town alone and go south to cause trouble for the enemy alliance or simply go back and "establish a country" north of the Black Bay Peninsula to implement his idea of ​​a barbaric kingdom.

The border people would not really submit to a greenskin warlord who was more "kind" and "enlightened" than all the greenskin warlords in history, and who was most like a normal ruler who could be accepted by mortal races.

There are so many reasons.

First of all, it's green.

Secondly, it is a green-skinned creature.

Even if that's all.

So by then, local border people will revolt everywhere, and after completing military preparations, Mirmiden will inevitably "send troops to the north" and take the initiative to attack the greenskins. The dwarves who have freed up their hands will also attack it from the west from the Sea Gate. There is also a human empire in the north. With enemies on all sides, the greenskins will have no chance to realize their dream of becoming a warlord.

It must strengthen its own prestige by exterminating Mirmidon, intimidate the border areas that have surrendered to the big warlords, and achieve a kind of "unification of the border princely territories", conquer and eliminate all border forces. Without an independent flag, the resistance of the border people will be much weaker. This is the lesson it has learned from the series of consequences caused by its failure to conquer Bilbarri.

"Gao Ge Mao Ge once said: When you fight, you must beat your opponent to death. After you kill the one in front of you, you can find the next one."

In order to realize the warlord's dream of "building a country", he must first occupy the land of the border prince's territory and eliminate all those who dared to openly resist him on this land.

After Mirmiden was defeated by it - although the victory was not very complete, most of the Mirmiden people retreated to the Alliance via the dwarves and Alliance ships. The warlord did not want to touch this old rival for the time being, because it was not a normal greenskin and did not regard war and fighting as the meaning and purpose of everything.

So after some simple thinking, Mao Liang concluded that the Alliance must be stronger than the Mirmidons. After estimating the power ratio between them, he temporarily gave up the plan to go south.

As to whether this was influenced by the fact that Al originally sent an envoy to deliver a letter to Mao Liang and put forward a "suggestion", it is not known for the time being.

After that, it was obvious that Matoka, as the first greenskin to surrender and the first to take up the banner of opposition to the greenskins, became a thorn in Gao Maoliang's side.

It is the closest and most suitable target to the greenskins.

Regardless of whether Gao Maoliang was considering Al's proposal in his heart, he had to deal with the Matoka people who betrayed him.

If "rebellion" is not severely punished as claimed, then the existence of Matoka will destroy the authority of the "Three Articles of Law" established by the warlords in the border princes. People will no longer be afraid of the massacre of the greenskins, because they have seen the hope of defeating the greenskins. The arrival of the imperial reinforcements will greatly strengthen their confidence in resistance, even if this is what the Matoka people have gained by independence...