Munitions Empire

"Prime Minister will understand Your Majesty’s painstaking efforts," Nangong Hong said to Tang Mo after watching the room door close behind Roger.

Tang Mo placed a cigarette in his mouth, took a deep drag, then exhaled a plume of white smoke, his eyes nearly closed, "He will definitely support me, no matter what I do."

Looking at the confident Tang Mo, Nangong Hong felt a tinge of envy. He had read through historical records and had never encountered such a deep trust between a ruler and his minister.

Several days ago, Tang Mo finally decided to rename the former King City of Zheng Country as Chang’an. He hesitated over this name for a long time, eventually giving up the "Western name" and following the local naming tradition, renaming the King City to Chang’an.

The name signified "long-term stability and peace," and was as elegant and solemn as the name of the ancient capital Tang Mo was familiar with. This newly renamed city would become the new capital of the Great Tang Kingdom.

Originally, many of the old followers who came with Tang Mo hoped to set the capital of the kingdom in Dragon City since Dragon Island was after all, the most thoroughly industrialized area of the Great Tang Kingdom.

However, after considering a series of issues, Tang Mo decided to make Chang’an the capital and elevate Dragon City to a secondary capital.

The Dragon’s Den in Dragon City was designated as an imperial lodge, and the Great Tang Kingdom would build a Royal Palace in Chang’an as Tang Mo’s new home. This huge castle, which combined styles from both east and west, was temporarily named Dragon Nest.

The brand-new King City of Chang’an was undergoing modernization. It wasn’t just going to construct the world’s most modern electricity and water supply and drainage systems, it was also going to build the world’s first subway.

At the same time, Chang’an Train Station would also be built into the world’s largest and most luxurious train station. Moreover, Chang’an would construct the world’s first civilian airport!

No matter from which perspective, the scale of Chang’an’s construction was going to be world-leading. According to plans, the future population here might exceed ten million!

Roger headed to Chang’an to oversee the work; Tang Mo’s Princess, Yulin, was in command in Linshui; Parker had been ordered to Tongcheng; Redman and Tagg, two of Tang Mo’s trusted generals, were also there.

Just looking at the distribution of management personnel, it was clear that the center of gravity of the Great Tang Kingdom had already shifted towards the Western Continent. It was only that Tang Mo continued to preside over the overall situation from Dragon Island to stabilize the eastern regions.

With such a posture of not looking back, the Great Tang Kingdom made the surrounding states feel at ease.

Nations that had already begun to distance themselves from the war were revitalizing their economies, while those still embroiled in conflict also breathed a sigh of relief.

The envoy sent to Brunas from the Laines Empire returned disappointed, as his request to purchase Tanks from the Great Tang Group was rejected.

The reason given was very sufficient: The orders for tanks from the Empire of Nanla and the Suthers Kingdom had already been signed ten days prior, and lined up behind them were the Gales, Songmu, and Poplar Kingdoms!

The possibility of buying from existing stock was virtually zero, and the earliest delivery times were three to even five months away.

Such delivery times naturally dissatisfied the Laines Empire since they were in a hurry to buy tanks for a surprise attack on the Dorne Kingdom.

The reality, however, was cruel, as even if they paid now, by the time they received the tanks, the war would likely have ended.

The envoys from the Dorne Kingdom arrived in Brunas around the same time, also looking to purchase a batch of tanks to counter Gobur and Laines.

The answer they got was much the same: It was impossible to get tanks from existing stock, with the fastest delivery time being about five months.

The Dorne envoy was of course unhappy, but he had no choice. He later learned some good news: The Laines Empire had also failed to purchase the tanks they wanted.

After a final futile struggle, both nations calmed down.

Under pressure, the Laines Empire finally chose to accept the ceasefire proposal made by the Great Tang Kingdom. The Laines Empire made peace with the Dorne Kingdom and also halted hostilities with the Empire of Nanla.

With this, the internal conflict within the trade alliance came to a complete end. Aside from the ongoing war between Dorne and Gobur, the entire Eastern Continent seemed to have restored peace.

...

"Mr. Liu has really been a busy man lately," outside Chang’an City, in a factory, a visitor came in with a smile and took out a cigarette to put in his mouth.

The man called Mr. Liu laughed heartily, his triumphant expression impossible to conceal. Lately, he could say he had struck it big, laughing incessantly even in his dreams.

Ever since accepting the terms from the Great Tang Group, his business had truly taken off, almost no different from printing money.

His factory produced day and night, yet the parts they manufactured couldn’t satisfy the orders. It seemed no matter how many components he produced, they could all be sold without a single piece left.

A month ago, he had just built a new workshop, and a few days ago this workshop started production. He originally thought it would meet the production needs, but in the last few days, the orders had doubled! Your next read is at

It wasn’t a joke—that was an actual doubling of orders! He had never dreamed that one day his products would truly be in such short supply!

Now, when hiring, he no longer differentiated between men and women; as long as someone had a diploma issued by Great Tang Education Group, he would recruit them, regardless of gender!

In fact, like him, many factories that had started hiring female workers, especially textile factories, were now almost entirely operated by women.

Only now did Mr. Liu truly understand what it meant to be a capitalist: female labor was cheaper, and labor-intensive factories naturally preferred to hire women.

Truth be told, if his own factory didn’t have higher technological demands, making hastily trained female workers unfit for the job, he too would have liked to hire more women to solve his labor shortage.

"Made a fair bit, haven’t you?" The visitor said with a smile while smoking, "I hear you’ve recently taken a young concubine too? A 16-year-old girl, you really have the nerve."

"Hardly... I’m just responding to the city hall’s call for more births," Mr. Liu’s smile faded, sensing that the young man in front of him meant trouble.

"I’m not here for the nonsense about you taking a concubine, that’s for the civil affairs bureau’s investigative department." The young man sneered before inhaling another drag of his cigarette, "I’m here about the issue of taxes."

Hearing the word "taxes," Mr. Liu’s expression changed slightly, then he put on a smile to explain, "Do not worry, sir, I, Mr. Liu, assure you that..."

"It’s pointless to tell me these things," the young man waved his hand to interrupt Mr. Liu, "As friends, my visit as a city official is just a reminder. Tax evasion can be a big or small matter, but if it really gets to the tax officials and goes through the process, I’m afraid your vast fortune will vanish like a cloud!"

"Sir..." Mr. Liu knew the young man in front of him was his benefactor. When Zheng Country had fallen, it was this man who had provided him with wealth, leading to his current prosperity.

But this young man was also incorruptible, refused all offers, and wouldn’t accept any advantages—completely impervious to bribes, Mr. Liu thought.

Which of the past officials hadn’t been corrupt, easily bought with a few hundred Gold Coins, pulled onto the corrupt boat and treated as one of them?

Yet this young man before him was exceptionally honest, sticking to the rules in every matter—easy to deal with but emotionally distant.

Since he had come today, Mr. Liu knew that there was no joke in the young man’s words.

However, he was meticulous in his tax evasion, with professional accountants faking the records and several minor officials bribed. He did not really expect to be caught.

So, he made up his mind that, for the sake of thousands of Gold Coins, he would take the risk no matter what.

"So obstinate! I’ve said all I had to say! Look after yourself!" The young man didn’t say more and just walked away decisively.

That threw Mr. Liu into a panic—if the young man had kept talking, he would have thought it was just a scare. But the young man’s brisk departure left Mr. Liu feeling guilty as if he was indeed the guilty party.

Almost without thinking, he called out to stop the man, "Sir! Wait, sir! Wait! I, Mr. Liu, was temporarily blinded by foolishness, by foolishness! Sir, is there any way to remedy this?"

The young city official tossed away his cigarette butt, crushed it with his foot, and turned back to stare at Mr. Liu, his eyes narrow: "Right now, take the money and the full penalty to the tax office and settle the account! Fool, if there’s a next time, that 16-year-old concubine of yours had better prepare for widowhood!"

Having said that, he headed towards the factory gate, seeming too weary to utter another word. Mr. Liu thought for a few seconds, steeled his heart, and immediately went home to get the full amount of money, making it to the tax office before the end of the workday.

After being scolded mercilessly, a sweat-drenched Mr. Liu finally returned home and explained the situation to his several wives.

While his first wife was furiously condemning him as a family ruiner, saying he had been frightened into surrendering all the family’s cash, the butler rushed in with urgent news.

As soon as he entered, the old servant shouted, "The Zhang Family, the Zhang Family’s property has been seized! It’s said that the Zhang Family’s son committed tax fraud and got caught, all their possessions confiscated and fined two hundred thousand, you can hear the cries from a street away, loud and clear..."

Hearing the butler’s words, the previously domineering first wife immediately lost her temper, and Mr. Liu rose like a phoenix from the ashes.

The guilty shrew of a wife had to swallow the resentment over her husband taking a concubine, and Mr. Liu’s status in the household rose by +1...

Only when Mr. Liu, carrying gifts, went to visit the esteemed city official, did he meet with a familiar rejection. This Mr. Liu, who had lived a good long life, felt increasingly confused, not understanding why his past experience no longer served him, leading to his current state of perplexity.

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