The Advancing Horde
The Quilboar were certainly not fools, which is why Zul'ra solemnly instructed Thrall to choose a clever spy to understand the Quilboar's situation before acting as a formal diplomat. The spy would also need to prepare gifts and make the whole thing seem convincing to fool the Quilboar.
The plan was somewhat despicable and utterly deceptive, but after listening to it and considering its possibilities, Thrall said he would support it. As for whether the honor of the Orcs supported it, he wasn't raised with traditional Orcs education, so his decision was not about honor, and besides, it wasn't a duel, so honor was irrelevant.
After finalizing the general plan, Thrall went to find suitable candidates, while Zul'ra went to handle his own affairs after handing over Gorehowl to him. He also had a bet with Cairne Bloodhoof, and during the few days he spent at Poison Mist Peak, a lot of information came from the Eastern Kingdoms.
The second batch of 6,000 Amani immigrants has arrived in Orgrimmar by ferry. Most of these immigrants are family members and relatives of the first batch of immigrants, and they are now being arranged to travel to Ashenvale to reunite with their families.
Besides the immigrants, Broken-Tooth also sent a letter saying that Amani is now accepting refugees from Zuldrak, initially taking in three thousand Ice Trolls, and the number is constantly increasing.
Zul'ra had already discussed the matter of the Ice Trolls refugees with Broken-Tooth earlier, but after receiving the letter, she still wrote back to her, asking her to properly handle the refugees and preferably disperse them to live together and completely assimilate them.
Zul'ra accepted the Ice Trolls refugees not to feed Zuldrak, but to increase the population of Amani. As time goes on, the need for manpower will increase. He not only wants to take over Zuldrak, but also Zandalar. However, there are too many things to do right now, so he should deal with the current population first.
After replying to Broken-Tooth, Zul'ra went to Amani Apprentice in Orgrimmar and asked him to forge an empty steel box according to her requirements: the box should be large enough in capacity and volume, and the walls should be thin and tough enough.
Under numerous demands, the Amani apprentice in charge of smelting produced a qualified product: an iron box resembling an old-fashioned aluminum lunchbox. After secretly testing it, Zul'ra prepared to take this empty steel box to slap Cairne Bloodhoof in the face, but was thwarted by Lirath and Hamuul Runetotem.
Lirath and Hamuul Runetotem traveled to Mulgore to negotiate with the Venture Company there. The Goblins mining teams had been illegally mining in Mulgore without proper notification and had also hired people to poach the Kodo of Mulgore, for which they were punished by the Horde.
Deprived of supplies, the Venture Company mining team surrendered before collapsing. Thrall sent Lirath and Hamuul Runetotem over to try and secure some benefits. The Horde didn't intend to become mortal enemies with this emerging Goblins force, but the other side clearly harbored resentment.
Fizzprock, the Venture Company's director in Mulgore, was unwilling to accept any conditions and claimed that their mining was completely legal because the land was unclaimed, but this claim was clearly incorrect.
Ultimately, no agreement was reached. Fizzprock was expelled alone, all his mining team's supplies and machinery were confiscated, and the slaves in the mining team were freed. Some of the Goblins and even Centaur decided to join the Horde, which was also recruiting Order races at Horde time.
Because of the lack of population, when Zul'ra first discussed matters with Cairne Bloodhoof, she decided to recruit those of the Order races into the Horde. The Horde would be a diverse group, and Cairne Bloodhoof clearly succeeded in doing so, having the Guides Association publicize the Horde's policies, which attracted many Goblins goblin citizens.
As mentioned before, the Goblins race is a large commercial group with very heavy exploitation and oppression within them. Not everyone can become a tycoon. Many Goblins are forced to sell themselves into slavery to make a living, such as Korgar, the shipbuilder under Zul'ra.
Faced with immense life pressures, when the Horde offered a more promising future, many Goblins citizens were naturally attracted. Not every Goblins was willing to become a merchant; becoming a farmer with land or a worker with a decent salary was also a good option.
While the Horde's population policy was also yielding results, Zul'ra, in front of everyone, challenged Cairne Bloodhoof to their previous bet. After dismissing all bystanders, she placed the iron box in the bucket.
"How is it?" Zul'ra looked at the metal box floating on the bucket, her gaze towards Cairne Bloodhoof filled with smugness.
"How is this possible?" Old Niu stared wide-eyed at the iron box floating on the water. Vol'jin, Hamuul Runetotem, and the others beside him were also astonished. They had previously confirmed that the object was made of steel, and although it was a bit thin, it was still quite amazing that it was floating like this.
"Actually, it's not too surprising, since it's hollow." Lirath looked at the iron box bobbing in the bucket, slightly surprised. The Sin'dorei weren't as backward and ignorant as Shu'halo and the Orcs. They could understand the reason for floating, but not very clearly, and they had never thought of using steel to build ships.
"Indeed, that's right, hollow, but the ship is also hollow. It proves that my idea is feasible," Zul'ra said with satisfaction.
"No, that doesn't mean shipbuilding is feasible, Zul'ra Jin. Forgive my bluntness, but shipbuilding is a very delicate process, quite different from making an iron box." Lirath shook his head repeatedly, refuting Zul'ra's words with his own reason.
"Furthermore, what do you intend to use to propel this ship? Steel vessels are no more agile than wooden boats, and where are we going to get so much steel? I think even building a single ship would be difficult given the Horde's current steel production."
"I've already thought things through regarding propulsion and shipbuilding. I've figured out the principle of levitation, and the power source can use steam and electricity. We're not going to build those all-steel warships from the start; instead, we'll try arming our wooden ships with steel first. Our fleet is far behind the Alliance's, so we need some technological advantage," Zul'ra explained to everyone.
"What about steel?" Lirath asked persistently. He hadn't seen Zul'ra's industrial plan yet, but he could tell from the steel shipbuilding project that once the steel shipbuilding industry opened, the Horde's demand for steel would increase significantly, putting the Horde under financial strain.
"I already have a plan. With our goals in place, the demand for steel is increasing, and I want to build a separate steel smelter using new technological processes. As for the steel raw materials, I think with enough money, the Goblins or the Alliance can supply us," Zul'ra said, outlining his vision.