Munitions Empire

Forgetfulness is a virtue, and also a means of self-protection.

At this time, a minister in charge of governing a portion of Taren Kingdom's terrestrial territory suddenly spoke up with concern, "What worries me is whether the Dorne Kingdom will launch an assault on us from the land."

You see, Taren Kingdom's problem right now isn't just that their entire navy fleet has been annihilated. Their not-so-outstanding army has also just collapsed, hasn't it...

Compared to the construction of their navy, the land forces of Taren Kingdom, which had always prospered by the sea, did not seem to be as brave and adept in battle.

This body of troops, aside from the 30,000-strong main contingent sent to attack Dorne, mostly hasn't been re-equipped yet, their hands still grasping the thoroughly outdated Shireck Flintlock Guns.

Similarly, Taren Kingdom, always proud of its formidable navy, didn't actually have strong coastal defenses either.

All their batteries were equipped with outdated muzzle-loaded cannons; some were even decades-old equipment that hadn't been replaced at all.

The hundred or so breech-loading cannons recently assisted by Shireck had been taken by the land forces to put on a show of strength in the attack against the Dorne Kingdom.

They had initially planned to test the power of these breech-loading cannons, thinking if they worked well, they'd purchase more. But those advanced new-style cannons were all recklessly left on the battlefield in Dorne.

Sometimes things are so fantastically ironic: they had hoped that after their victory, they could use the plundered resources to thoroughly update their military equipment, yet they ended up losing the battle.

Hearing the minister speak up, the King of Taren froze, then related that he had just remembered his land forces were also doomed.

So he looked at the minister, muttering subconsciously, "You mean ..."

The minister didn't wait for the King of Taren to finish and replied, "Yes! Once they launch an attack, our already defeated troops definitely won't be able to hold the line, and by then... we will have lost the hard-won lands we've been expanding and occupying for decades..."

These lands were hard-won and greatly alleviated the problem of Taren Kingdom's insufficient territory and weak national power.

If these inland territories are lost, then it would be wildly unrealistic for Taren Kingdom to maintain a fleet of the former scale.

Chapter Continue:

"Damn it, we've never encountered such a situation before... We've never lost so many warships in a single naval battle..." After a brief silence, the ministers started complaining again.

There was no way around it; they were incapable of saving the situation at this time, but joining in the lamentation was something they could still do.

Consequently, one heard others nodding in agreement, "Yes, we lost the sea battle, and now on land as well... This, this is really ..."

The entire hall was noisy and clamorous; the topic had once again gone off course, and they began to argue, to blame each other.

You said a few words, he said a few words, and after a long time, not a single constructive suggestion had been made, infuriating the King of Taren to the point of a heart attack.

Finally, a minister who seemed to have some insight spoke up, offering his opinion, "As for Shireck, we must make things clear with them! They led us to provoke such an adversary, shouldn't they make compensation?"

While his motive was to kick others while they were down due to differing political views with those ministers backed by the Shireck Consortium, he had still made a couple of actionable suggestions.

Hence, his words immediately gained the approval of some ministers, "Exactly! Those workshops, ports, and mines belonging to Shireck, we need to take them back! To compensate for our losses!"

On the other hand, those ministers who had cozied up to Shireck and received many benefits from them had become as quiet as cicadas in winter, basically not daring to speak up.

The war had started because of their advocacy, and now that they had lost, even shaking the foundations of the nation, they naturally didn't dare to spout nonsense anymore.

Just as Sofia had thought, Shireck had used up too much of the connections and influence it had accumulated, as well as a considerable amount of its reserves, virtually losing its influence over all participating nations overnight.

Although Shireck was yet reaping war profits, after this conflict, they would be bitten by the cost, inevitably forced to swallow the bitter fruits of their own doing.

When those ministers who had been close to, or rather had sided with Shireck fell silent, the voices of the other ministers seemed particularly harsh.

Immediately, a minister started clamoring for Shireck to make reparations, "Let Shireck clarify! They've sent us off to die! We're in dire need of warships, they must compensate! Warships! At least 30... no, 50 warships as compensation!"

His thinking was good: if Shireck immediately compensated Taren Kingdom with a fleet, then at least at sea, Taren Kingdom could maintain the situation.

Alas, he failed to consider, if Taren Kingdom's own fleet of 70 warships could be so mysteriously sunk, how long could another 50 similar warships hold on?

What's more interesting is that the Kingdom of Tarran lost not only 70 warships, but also 30,000 elite navy soldiers!

These sailors, commanders, captains, first mates, helmsmen, shipwrights, sail makers... how are they to be replenished?

It takes time to accumulate so many professionals, and even with cramming, it is impossible to train them in less than three months.

Therefore, the hope that Shireck would provide dozens of new warships to rebuild the navy of Tarran and repel the invading enemy was simply an unrealistic fantasy.

Yet even though it was an unrealistic fantasy, at this moment, the ministers who had lost all hope were willing to cling to anything to prevent being consumed by despair.

Placing their hopes on Shireck to make reparations and quickly restore some maritime power had become many people's life-saving straw.

Many were whispering and discussing fervently, thinking it was a viable plan, yet forgetting that Shireck itself was not an entity to be trifled with.

At this time, an army officer surveyed everyone and opened his mouth scoffingly, "Are you joking?"

"What's the matter?" a group of ministers engaged in wishful thinking looked at him dissatisfactorily.

After a cold laugh, the officer reminded everyone: "The person in charge of Shireck died amidst the chaos of war, he never returned, so now who do you expect to compensate for our losses?"

"..." Everyone was stunned, and then the whole hall became extremely quiet, and those who had just felt they had found a life-saving straw were once again crushed by cruel reality.

At this moment, an idea flashed through the Prime Minister's mind, and from the name Shireck, he thought of another arms dealer.

Thus, he turned to the King and said, "Your Majesty! Speaking of which, since the Great Tang Group manufactures arms, would it be possible for us to buy a batch of new warships from them?"

"This?" The King of Tarran was shocked by his Prime Minister's leap of imagination. After being stunned for a few seconds, he asked incredulously, "After fighting them for so long, will they still sell us their goods?"

"That's not the right way to think about it, we've been the ones being beaten all along, haven't we?" the Prime Minister of Tarran thought for the first time that being so thoroughly defeated might be a good thing.

"Can we really say that?" Immediately, a minister was startled by the Prime Minister's words, he seemed to see a brand-new door slowly opening before him, a blinding column of light shining right in his face, so bright he couldn't open his eyes.

The more the Prime Minister spoke, the more sense he felt it made, and he thought there might be a good basis to negotiate with the Great Tang Group: "Of course, those prisoners who were sent back didn't they say, we didn't even sink one of their warships..."

"So..." The King was also caught in the rhythm and spoke up, his eyes brightening.

The Prime Minister immediately nodded and expressed his thoughts: "So there isn't any deep-seated hatred between us, is there? Surely, proper communication, along with some compensation and an apology, will resolve things, won't it?"

Indeed, there was no deep-seated hatred between them, it was all Shireck fomenting discord. Perhaps by sitting down for a good talk, they could immediately reach a consensus...

Suddenly, a minister came to his senses, nodding and praising the idea: "It seems... the Prime Minister does have a point."

The Prime Minister's thoughts became more fluid, his ideas seemingly clear: "In any case, this is also a solution. Send an envoy immediately... No! Send two! One overland to Dorne, and another by sea to Hotwind Port! Let them seek peace!

Seek peace with the Great Tang Group! Seek peace with Dorne!"

"Additionally, let's try to gather as many warships as possible and ready ourselves for battle! At least, under the cover of our artillery, we can protect King City, right?" a navy officer added then.

"And we have to regroup the defeated troops on the borders... We must present a front that we will defend to the death. Only then can we gain more leverage at the negotiating table!" an army general also commented.

This supplementary advice appeared much more professional; a minister immediately suggested to urgently transport food, while another advised quickly mobilizing troops to guard the key ports.

"Furthermore, we must also proceed with pursuing debts from Shireck! Get back as much as we can! We're fighting their war! How can they not pay up when we're risking our lives?" the Prime Minister looked towards those ministers aligned with Shireck and added coldly.

At this point, obtaining a few thousand rifles would be good, and managing to get a couple more cannons would be beneficial, because... any bit more strength, even a little, was good.

"Also, send someone with my personal letter immediately to seek aid from the Kingdom of Xilun! Perhaps, over there... they won..." full of hope, the King also commanded.

In his view, maybe the Dorne Kingdom had concentrated their forces on attacking his side, and the Xilun Kingdom... might have already breached Dorne's King City...

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Today's update is a bit stuck, so there are only two releases. If I feel better tomorrow, I'll continue to provide more updates. Please be patient, everyone.