From troll tribes to elf empires

Chapter 30 Expansion Policy

"Okay, then I'll talk about it."

"First of all, the tribe must continue to grow. This must be everyone's long-cherished wish."

All the trolls nodded in approval, everyone didn't want this.

"However, even if there is no concrete evidence for the 'Revenge of the Will of the Black Forest', the precedents of the ancient overlords tell us that there are indeed powerful tribes that were destroyed by the beast tide."

"I would rather believe that something exists than something that doesn't exist."

"So, linear growth step by step is not advisable, because we can't be sure whether the 'revenge' when we cross the line will really come."

"Under this premise, our strength must be leaping and hidden. How can we continue to be strong while maintaining ourselves within a certain limit? This will be a new thinking we are facing."

"So, expansion is definitely necessary, but because of the various reasons mentioned above, this expansion cannot rely solely on force, at least in the later stages."

"How should we do it? I have a few ideas. You can listen to them first, and then we can discuss whether they are feasible or not."

"First, annex several neighboring tribes to enrich the tribe's population base. This is to allow us to obtain basic deterrence visible to the naked eye, as well as the foundation needed for our own development."

"Taking a step back, the prerequisite for having this kind of 'attraction' is that our own civilization has reached a certain height."

The meeting continues, and what has been set before is just the tone. The development of 'culture' and the development of civilization are not simple things. There are more things that need to be discussed and slowly explored in practice.

"I define it as three aspects: combat effectiveness, resources, and technical capabilities."

Blade Ya turned his attention to the questioner, nodded and responded,

"It's good to have questions, but you have to think about it first. So, before I tell you my answer, would you like to share your guess?"

Even with today's level of trust, the trolls present are still doubtful about this concept, and there is even more of a 'doubt' element in it.

Secondly, there was the voice of the great witch doctor that sounded worried but seemed to be somewhat relieved.

".I don't like war, but as the tribe grows, the eyes of the younger generations will one day move to the outside world. Now that there is a softer plan, so be it."

As a result, the trolls relaxed their expressions and turned to look at the other three witch doctors at the top, except for Blade Ya.

"What would that be like? In this way, we can maintain the strength of our headquarters within a certain limit and at the same time spread the power out unintentionally."

“If we were to embody the power of tribes, I would divide it into two aspects: ‘hard power’ and ‘soft power’.”

Blade Ya stroked the old witch doctor's back to relieve the pain caused by coughing, and said softly,

"How could that be? You are just trying to be lazy and leave everything to us."

"The 'chief' is essentially the leader of the warriors, but now in addition to the warriors, there are also young people who yearn to become warriors, or elderly trolls who were once warriors."

"As for soft power, I propose a new concept here - 'culture'."

There is no way, no matter how smart they are, limitations in their knowledge are inevitable.

"It's easy to say now, but what if one day in the future, the 'ambition' of the 'chief' position will also increase with the influence?"

"To put it harshly, should 'wisdom' let 'brute force' stand on its head? What's more, we not only have 'wisdom', we have power, so we will inevitably resist. What do you think? If we resist, what will happen to the tribe?

What will the impact be like?”

"Can this really be done?"

"Blade Tooth Witch Doctor, what is soft power?" A young man asked.

“That is the sum of our inner spirit’s existence, inheritance, creation, and development.”

"I'm almost dead. The future is yours."

"What we think is 'beautiful and ugly', what we think is 'right and wrong', the language we use, and our systems, everything including these must be recognized by other tribes from the bottom of their hearts and emerge naturally.

Longing for.”

"And developing civilization, isn't it our original plan? On this basis, no matter what new purpose is injected, as long as it does not violate the 'development' itself, it can be tried."

"These are all classified into the category of 'hard power'."

"In terms of hard power, Ye Ya's previous guess was partly correct."

"Let us imagine: when one day we raise our arms, all the trolls, even if their rulers have objections, will voluntarily become one of us; when we designate their rulers as 'evil', they

Willing to overthrow it immediately; they feel the same when we are threatened and are willing to fight for us spontaneously."

Banya, who has already entered his prime, has an extremely oppressive figure. In addition, the people sitting here are all "cultured people", so they have a deeper understanding of the contribution he has made to the tribe.

Feeling the gaze, the three witch doctors, the elder, the eldest, and the middle one looked at each other, and they understood that it was time to express their stance.

"This situation has allowed the influence of the 'chief' to be expanded infinitely."

"Secondly, we must carefully build our soft power."

However, perhaps it is the unparalleled future possibility that Blade Tooth talks about;

Or, the plan itself will indeed not cause fundamental damage to the tribe.

The trolls had solemn expressions and pondered in silence for a long time.

"Well, very good. No matter whether it is right or wrong, questions can be valuable after careful consideration. The same should be true for you and other little guys."

"The so-called soft power is the attraction that comes from it."

"I think that's okay."

Finally, the old witch doctor made an unusually simple speech:

"Respectively, they point to: the number of warriors, whether they are strong or not; the size of the occupied hunting and gathering grounds, whether the food is sufficient; our research on runes, and the various applications derived from them."

The young man scratched his protruding fangs and answered cautiously after a moment,

"Well, since it is 'soft', it should be the counterpart of 'hard'. If hard power can be extended to the number of warriors, the power of witch doctors, and the number of tribes, then soft power means words, technology, etc.?"

"Haha! Okay, okay. Ahem, old man, I'll hold on."

"What do you think?"

"First of all, it is the construction of the system. The current ruling model of the tribe has great hidden dangers."

Therefore, his words are very effective. Whether it is a new witch doctor or a young apprentice, they all nod in agreement at this time.

The youngest and most radical among the old witch doctors, the Chinese witch doctor spoke first,

"Although I think it's best to push ahead, the beast tide is indeed a factor that has to be considered. So, I agree."

The witch doctors and witch doctor apprentices, after hearing the series of speeches made by Blade Ya, couldn't help but think about their inevitable reactions in that situation, as well as the possible consequences.

In the end, the expressions of almost all the spell casters became solemn involuntarily.

"Blade Tooth Witch Doctor, does the 'Chief' really dare? Knowing full well how much power we have."

The great witch doctor asked doubtfully, which was also the thought in the minds of many trolls present.

"Great Witch Doctor, power is a breeding ground for ambition and blindness. I don't want to bet the future of the tribe on whether other trolls are 'wise'. What do you think?"

(End of chapter)