"You're talking about building railways and mechanized ports?"
Muradin smacked his lips, his thick beard still dripping with ale. Dwarves, well, the men all liked to grow beards; it made them look more mature.
"Yes, building railways. Road construction is very difficult right now, and the cost of land transportation is extremely high.
Relying on horse-drawn carts is very restrictive. For every hundred pounds of grain, half or even more is consumed on the road. If it rains, it's even more troublesome; all the grain will get wet and spoil."
What Arthas really wanted were dwarven and gnomish artisans. The Dwarves were more inclined toward crafting objects; give them a blueprint, and they could create an identical item.
Gnomes, on the other hand, were more inclined toward invention, perhaps due to their connection with Mimiron, the Grand Architect.
The development of the tech tree was still very important; a volley from ten thousand cannons could still blast a huge number of hero units to death. While improving one's personal strength was crucial, so was technological invention.
Unless one reached the level of a Titan, a volley of ten thousand cannons, or even a star-destroying cannon, would probably feel like nothing more than a tickle.
But for the present and the future, the power of technology still held the mainstream. The two power systems did not interfere with each other. Technology not only enhanced military firepower but also aided in the development of a domain.
The more technologically advanced a domain was, the more developed it would be compared to a more primitive one.
The Eastern Kingdoms of Azeroth were currently still in a medieval period, relying on roads and carriages for transportation, which was exceptionally inefficient.
"Hmm, let me introduce you to someone." Muradin walked into the ranks, found a silent Gnome, and brought him over.
"This is Sicco Thermaplugg, a renowned tinker from Gnomeregan. Sicco, this is Prince Arthas of Lordaeron." Muradin made the introductions to facilitate their conversation.
Arthas extended a hand and fluently spoke in Gnomish, "A pleasure to meet you, High Tinker Sicco."
"Oh, no, no, no, I'm not the High Tinker. The High Tinker is Gelbin Mekkatorque." Sicco was not yet as crazed as he would be later, but the desire for the position of High Tinker still flickered in his eyes.
In that instant, Arthas felt he could use this man. He didn't care about the life or death of the Gnomes; he only wanted their talent.
"You're a talent recommended by Muradin, and I believe you will become the High Tinker in the future. By the way, I have an idea. See if you can make it a reality."
In the future, Sicco Thermaplugg would become a villain to the Gnomes. His talent was slightly inferior to High Tinker Mekkatorque's, but not by much.
After the Gnomes suffered heavy losses from the trogg invasion, his desire for the High Tinker position grew ever stronger. He thus resolved to obtain it, developing a poison gas and falsifying data which he then presented to Mekkatorque.
He claimed the gas could kill the troggs and that filtration nets could be used to block it, ensuring the Gnomes in the city would be unharmed.
The reality, however, was that the troggs were not killed by the gas but were instead strengthened, becoming more furious.
They broke through the filtration nets and killed a large number of Gnomes who couldn't react in time. This battle cost the Gnomes nearly 80% of their population, almost driving them to extinction, and they never recovered.
Sicco Thermaplugg's conspiracy was eventually discovered. His plan had been to make the remaining Gnomes resent and turn against the High Tinker, overthrow Mekkatorque's rule, and become the High Tinker himself.
Blinded by power—a classic case.
But Arthas cared for none of this. Such a person was, on the contrary, easy to win over. It wasn't a problem if someone had flaws; the real problem was if they had no weaknesses.
"That's a wonderful idea. In fact, we achieved mechanization in Gnomeregan long ago. If Your Highness wishes to build railways and mechanized ports, I would be more than happy to help."
Tinker Sicco had a very favorable impression of Arthas, mainly because Arthas's charisma worked on all living beings. Men who saw him wanted to befriend him, and women who saw him wanted to mate with him.
"Alright, for now, let's start with some simple tasks. If Master Sicco is interested, I would like to hire you as the director of my research institute, responsible for developing technology and all sorts of useful inventions.
In my domain, you will be the High Tinker. All who aspire to learn engineering will have to call you Headmaster. If you have time to teach them a class, that would be even better."
Arthas promised all sorts of benefits, painting a beautiful picture of his domain. It was currently waiting to be rebuilt, and many agricultural, civilian, and military products had yet to be invented.
Listening to Arthas's plans and promises, Tinker Sicco's eyes grew brighter and brighter, but he still wanted to become the High Tinker, not work for someone else. "May I have some time to consider it?"
"Of course." Arthas didn't press the matter further. He could see that the man was already tempted, but poaching him for the long term would require a bit more planning and detail.
Before long, someone came to call Sicco away. They still had to deal with issues with their Gyrocopters.
The Gnomes had already invented these flying machines at this point, but they were unstable and could only carry Gnomes or Dwarves. Arthas had seen them; they were clearly the human faction's flying machines from Warcraft, simple aircraft with a strong steampunk style.
In reality, they had many unstable factors, like suddenly losing power and crashing. When it came to dicing with death, the Dwarves and Gnomes were no less daring than the Goblins. Or rather, all who loved to invent were like this.
"He's always aimed to be the High Tinker," Muradin suddenly reminded him. After saying this, he let out a drunken burp and began to doze off.
"Thanks." Arthas nodded. He might know what to do now, but he wasn't certain yet.
Returning to his tent, Arthas summoned Marlene, Brigitte, and Alleria to discuss his plan.
Alleria wasn't very familiar with Gnomes, so she didn't speak. Marlene, however, narrowed her eyes. "From the looks of it, to recruit Sicco, we have to start with his desire to become the High Tinker."
"Help him become the High Tinker? That's impossible. Besides, once he becomes the High Tinker, he'll be even less likely to come help you." Brigitte felt it was unfeasible. Recruiting such a tinker was indeed difficult.
"Why not recruit other Gnomes? When their numbers grow, they will naturally need a position like a High Tinker to lead them. At the same time, make Sicco hit a wall in Gnomeregan.
Let him know it's impossible. He will naturally seek another solution, and coming to serve under you would then be his best choice."
Nalice, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke, her words a mix of overt and covert scheming.