Chapter 458 Where should the future of the dwarves go?
"There's no need to go have a meal. We're not used to eating human food." Another dwarf was called to take over. Kelgen wiped the sweat from his face with his apron, then he pulled a wooden block and sat down. "If you have anything to say, just say it here."
"You just heard what I said about the confusion caused by weights and measures." Horn didn't pay much attention to it and casually moved another wooden block. sit down.
"I know, but your method can easily leak the dwarf craftsmanship. I don't want to be a sinner."
Due to the glorious deeds of the empire stealing dwarf craftsmanship many times, They have pathological defensiveness and post-traumatic stress about humans stealing technology.
Horn immediately shook his head and said: "You are wrong. Let me ask you, why are you afraid that the craftsmanship will be stolen?"
Since it was approaching noon, several dwarves were resting. The big shot in Sogoken was chatting with his old uncle Kelgen, so they naturally gathered around him.
Kelgen did not drive away the dwarves, but said with a straight face: "You humans will forget the master once you learn the skills and take away the dwarves' jobs.
Originally, we dwarves are all Rich man, you can have enough food and clothing by relying on the craftsmanship of forged iron. It is you humans who have caused us to live in the mountains and be so poor."
Horn slowly shook his head: "There are some of those human craftsmanship. How many were invented by dwarves?
You know, some skills can be learned over time.
Many times, some crafts are discovered and summarized by humans themselves, not by dwarves.
In human craftsmanship, although the technology stolen from the dwarves is crucial, it is not impossible without the dwarves. Humans can develop it even if it takes another hundred years.
As for what you said about learning a disciple and starving the master to death, wouldn't it happen among dwarves?
I have heard Hal Jin say a lot of such things, such as your brother Bojia. ”
"Why does this Jiba kid tell anyone about everything..." Kelgen's old face seemed a little confused and he muttered.
This Boga is Kelgen's younger brother, Halkin's second cousin. Kelgen's father should have only passed down the family's craftsmanship to Kelgen.
But because of Bojia’s hard work and filial piety, his old father was soft-hearted and eventually passed on part of his core skills to Bojia.
Then Boga took these technologies and defected to the Franks, causing Kelgen's family to lose face among the dwarves in the Wyrmrest Mountains, and the old father died in depression.
"So what? What do you want to prove?" A young dwarf who couldn't stand it stood up and asked.
Horn shrugged: "If nothing else, we can conclude that when it comes to greed and betrayal, humans and dwarves are the same, there is no difference.
As for leaks, it is almost impossible for the dwarves to avoid it by themselves, Kai Master Ergen, do you agree?”
“Bring me a glass of mead,” Kelgen said sadly to the young apprentice beside him, “Nevertheless, we must try to put the dwarven skills on hold. Loss."
"Okay, let me ask you another question, how far are the dwarves' craftsmanship ahead of humans?" Horn asked the dwarves present.
“Two hundred years.”
"Three hundred years."
"Five hundred years, at least five hundred years."
The dwarves present shouted confidently, shouting out numbers one after another.
Only in antiquity and craftsmanship do they currently have the upper hand over the humans of the Empire.
"Master, what do you think?" Horn still wore a confident smile.
"Less than a hundred years." After drinking a full sip of mead, Kelgen was silent for a long time before replying with a thick tongue.
The shouts that were coming one after another stopped for an instant, and the dwarves were all stunned. They did not expect that these words would actually come out of Kelgen's mouth.
A dwarf walked forward slowly, stretched out his stubby hand and touched Kelgen's head.
Kelgen kicked out like lightning, knocking over the young dwarf in front of him.
The dwarf rolled on the ground and stood up again, and said with a smile: "I thought you were infected with the cold."
"On a hot day, who would be infected by the wind and cold?" Seeing the puzzled expressions of the dwarves around him, Kelgen sighed and explained, "I didn't say that, it was Elder Dunak who said that."< br>
“Grand Master Dunak?!”
That is the only grand master among the dragon worshiping dwarves. One person invented dozens of new crafts, which expanded the scope of the dragon worshiping dwarves. A market for tens of thousands of gold pounds. "Boys, the development speed of mortals' crafts is the same as that of dwarves, or even slightly faster." After wiping the wine foam on his beard with a handkerchief, Kelgen thought for a moment and said, "With the current situation, after another one In a hundred years, dwarves will have no advantage other than being heavy-armored mercenaries."
This heavy topic immediately suppressed the hot atmosphere at the scene. The dwarves hadn't even woken up from their trance.
If Kelgen had said it, it might have been a drunken complaint, but coming from the mouth of Dunak, the top dwarf craftsman, the credibility was different.
Have times changed? Is the glory of the dwarves about to disappear? How is this possible? How could the dwarves, who had been inherited for thousands of years, die out?
"Master Kelgen, is this true?"
"Then what should we dwarves do? My child is only five years old. When it comes to my grandson's generation, isn't it true? Want..."
"Master, please say something."
"All the pure-blood Aiel people of the same generation as the dwarves died, so why wouldn't the dwarves suffer the same fate?" Kelgen lowered his head and looked at himself in the mead, the confusion in his eyes clearly visible.
“Why do you think the elders want to cooperate with the tall woman? Isn’t it because she promised to let the dwarves come down to settle down and monopolize the steel industry in a region?”
With the dwarves of the Furnace Plateau The difference is that they still have volcanoes and mineral veins to rely on, and if they can't, they can still go back to their hometown.
It is impossible for humans to move volcanoes and mineral veins home.
But the Dragon Worshiping Dwarves are different. They are a heretical group expelled by the Forge Dwarves.
If all their skills were lost and they were not allowed to settle and buy land in the plains, they might have to be trapped in the mountains to die, or even be captured as slaves.
How could the elders of the Dragon Worship Sect cooperate with the Grand Duke just because of a few hostages? The hostages only introduced the environment for meeting the elders.
The real cooperation is that Meliati gave the dwarves a chance.
An opportunity to integrate into human society, an opportunity that the dwarves once did not bother to do.
But the current situation really forces them to bow their heads.
"So we have two conclusions. First, your skills can be stolen by dwarves as much as by humans. Second, even if you don't steal, the dwarves' technological advantages are slowly shrinking, right?" Sitting opposite Kelgen, Horn He looked at the dwarf mead in Kelgen's hand with some greed.
"...Yes."
"Can I make a few comments?"
Kelgen didn't say anything, and Horn took it as his acquiescence: " The first problem is that thieves exist in all ethnic groups, and they have a very mature way of dealing with them, which is to send people to punish them.
Of course they may not be caught, but they can prevent such incidents from happening. The possibility is minimized. The reason why the dwarves cannot implement it is because the human kingdom is on the side of the thief.
The dwarf kingdom is no match for the human kingdom in terms of force, so it can only sit back and watch it being stolen. In your dwarf kingdom, there are also many kinship connections, so it is impossible to effectively punish it.
A thief who steals something will be severely beaten unless he is caught by the owner. If he runs far away and the owner cannot catch him, there is nothing he can do. "
Kelgen was still feeling sorry for himself at first, but after listening, he raised his head and stared at Horn.
This is indeed to the point, the dwarf is right The reason why stealing crafts is helpless is that there is no effective punishment.
Because everyone covets their skills, and the dwarves have bad tempers, and almost no one is willing to speak for them.
"The second question is that it is inevitable that the skills of dwarves will be overtaken by humans, unless you are as capable as humans.
Otherwise, with the current level of human civilization and population, a sufficient number of craftsmen and geniuses will not be born. It's not a problem.
Talent is the main factor in advancing technology. Humans are not much stupider than dwarves, they just lack the time to ferment civilization into skills.
Unless the ancient dragon you worship comes to the world. , otherwise, I think it can’t be solved.”
“You can’t solve both problems. What do you think?”
"I haven't finished speaking yet." Horn nodded to the young dwarf who spoke, and turned to Kelgen, whose face was getting serious. "Do you have time to listen now?"
"Tell me, I am today I'll have time all afternoon." Rubbing his knees, Kelgen leaned forward slightly and answered seriously.
(End of this chapter)