"So, the loss of the labor force is mainly directed towards the colonies, or heading into the cities to become apprentices and try their luck."
"The mainstream population in rural areas remains freeholders or tenant farmers. The prominent figures are local magistrates, wealthy merchants, and small-to-medium landlords who rose from the freeholder class."
"Landlords instinctively seek to annex land. Even though there are gods and magical powers here, this annexation is relatively milder—more subtly affectionate—compared to ancient Earth or the Bretonnian serfs before the End Times, but it still inevitably causes a continuous decline in the number of freeholders."
"Farmers who lose their land, along with bankrupt artisans and small merchants hit by the influx of Empire and Bretonnian goods, mostly choose to board colonial ships to pioneer the New World, or break free from the land to enter the cities and factories."
"At the same time, due to the climate and the influence of supernatural powers, unless it's a special period, there is basically no food shortage."
"Because of the Estalians' habit of valuing wealth over land, the nouveau riche and the bourgeoisie can gain respect and noble status much easier than in the Empire or Bretonnia. The conflict over power distribution between the bourgeoisie and the traditional powers is also somewhat internalized as a domestic dispute."
"Because there are multiple ways out—entering factories, going to the city to learn a trade, and especially the overseas colonies constantly absorbing and consuming the population while returning dividends to the homeland—the overall contradictions haven't reached an irreconcilable point."
"There is no potential for a class struggle where one side must completely fall. Which means..."
Al took off his helmet, sitting and muttering to himself, with several sheets of paper and a pen resting on the chair.
"The path of seizing and redistributing resources by purging specific classes to gain the support of the commoner majority—that road won't work well here."
"On the contrary, because Beastmen are an alien faction and have a reputation for excessive slaughter, it could provoke hostility and containment from multiple sides. Therefore, to conquer the Kingdom of Estalia, I first need sufficient power. Then, I need a legitimate title that can be begrudgingly accepted by the majority. After that, I need absolute military superiority to swiftly crush any potential opposition to establish deterrence."
"Most importantly: I must establish cooperation with various classes and systems, gradually and subtly making them accept my rule and coexistence with the Beastmen."
"And the absolute most important thing: who are our ene... I mean, identifying our enemies and the forces we can win over."
"From a purely military standpoint, without a doubt, the main enemy right now is the Greenskins. The long-term enemy will inevitably be the human opposition."
Al paused, tapped the tip of his pen on the paper, and finally concluded:
"But looking at it from another angle, the Greenskins are actually our assistants. They have destroyed the old systems, smashed the kingdom to pieces, and heavily crippled the Estalians."
"So, caught between savage destroyers and an alien ruler, survival pressure becomes the main issue facing the Estalians. Thus, the possibility of them submitting to my rule exists, but it is not solid."
"If Bretonnia and the Empire send massive expeditionary forces, or if the Estalians pull themselves together... After driving out the Greenskins, if their own strength is sufficiently preserved, they will inevitably clash and fight with my side. This requires using the 'Military' -> 'Legitimacy' -> 'Collaborator' framework I just outlined to win over more forces to my side, or at least ensure a portion of them remain neutral in that future war."
"Therefore, as long as it remains within my control and victory is assured, the more fiercely the Greenskins and Estalians fight, the better. But at the same time, the future construction of my faction relies on the integration of Beastmen and Estalians as its core base, so the losses cannot be too great, otherwise I'll just be taking over a barren wasteland."
"So, the Greenskins' destruction is best confined to the battlefields. We must try to concentrate their forces to attack major human cities, forcing the human legions into decisive pitched battles with them."
"We cannot allow them to scatter into massive numbers of Greenskin mob warbands, ravaging and slaughtering everywhere like locusts."
Al drew a dot to end the sentence, then picked up his pen and continued writing:
"To spread the faith of the New Four Gods in the Southern Realms, the Church of the Goddess of War is an absolute must-strike target."
"At the same time, the Church of War commands massive armed forces. If they aren't weakened, they will become the core strength of the opposition camp later on..."
"..."
"So, my primary goal right now is, first, to establish contact with humanity and make the Estalians acknowledge the legitimacy and righteousness of the tribe's military intervention."
"Then, I must urgently utilize human means of production and establish stable channels for mutual benefit and cooperation, testing methods for ruling Beastmen and humans in coexistence."
"Finally, I need to accelerate the tribe's expansion speed, convert more Beastmen, and tame more monsters... To forge iron, one must be strong themselves."
Al exhaled a breath of stale air, stretched lazily, and stood up from the ground, filled with emotion.
A grand blueprint, crafted by my own hands!
Today's chapter should be called the Estalia Investigation or the Analysis of the Social Classes in Estalia!
Al found a grassy slope and lay down, feeling the warm sunlight on his face, squinting comfortably.
He had originally planned to just roughly imitate his past teachers, but as he wrote, he couldn't help but genuinely use his brain and think about his future plans.
There are too many reckless brutes in this world... As long as I layer plan upon plan, I will always have a backup!
The final victory will definitely belong to me, the Everchosen!
Al dozed for a bit, then got up and called over a few werewolf-kin, "You lot, take this to Misha... to the First Legion. Let her read it. After she's done, have someone deliver it to Simon and tell him to think deeply about it."
What's the point of writing all this if I don't let others see it?
Al patted his armor and led his guard back toward the forest.
Although he really wanted to try out what sleeping in a human house felt like—after all, he had been living tribal life for nearly a year, and while the Beastlord's grand tent was fine and great for hosting orgies, it was still a tent.
But Alina and the others were still waiting in the dense forest. As their primary combat force, Al believed it was necessary to keep the centaur girl hidden. While the element of a sudden surprise attack might only work once, it was still a net positive.
Speaking of which, marching these past few days, in order to warn himself not to indulge in the "soft township" and due to the inconveniences of travel, he hadn't cuddled with the goat girls for days.
Now that they were finally garrisoned...
Two hooded men lay prone behind a dirt mound, using the terrain for cover as they gazed at the small town of Samana from afar.
"Let's head back first?"
One of them shrank down and suggested.
"The message has already been sent back anyway. Waiting or leaving now makes no difference."
"Maybe it's just passing mercenaries or a routed army. It's just a few Greenskin corpses, how many have we burned already? You're too tense..."
"Enough!" His companion scolded him in a low voice, "I already told you, those corpses were different!"
"They were caught and killed from behind while fleeing, and the wounds were caused by unconventional weapons... There was a Greenskin Shaman among those bodies. Do you know what that means?"
"It means they were a full-scale Greenskin warband of at least a few hundred, not just roaming mobs."
As the man spoke, a terrifying memory surfaced in his eyes.
"Whoever routed them must be a formidable group. We aren't Estalians; we have to be more vigilant."
"If you're scared, head back first. I'm going to keep watching this town."
"By Sigmar, you really are, damn it..."
His companion groaned and had no choice but to lie back on the slope and stare at the sky.
In the distant forest, several pairs of crimson eyes had already spotted these two voyeurs.