Munitions Empire

"Perhaps you don't understand this statement yet! But soon you will remember it firmly." Tang Mo raised his wine glass, "To...to this world that is destined to become ever more splendid!"

"To this world!" Everyone present followed Tang Mo in raising their glasses, and with some anxiety, they drank the fine wine in their cups.

To be frank, they indeed found the wine in their glasses quite good, tasty, and with a lingering aroma... It's just that each time they remembered they had just drunk something worth an engine of a T-model car, they felt a somewhat inexplicable sense of heartache.

This war seemed to have no impact on Great Tang Group at all, or it could be said that it seemed to have no impact on the regions controlled by Great Tang Group.

The civilian sailing ships at Osa Port were still being produced non-stop, with no intention of switching to warship production at all.

Even the fort at the port showed no signs of expansion, after all, the Brunas-class warship moored outside the harbor was more intimidating than any artillery battery.

The muzzle-loading cannons originally deployed at Osa Port had been dismantled, and the local equipment was put into new production.

According to the arrangements of Great Tang Group, there was a light industrial layout here, with chemical plants and the textile industry being the main focuses.

The situation at Hotwind Port was similar; in line with the plans of Great Tang Group, this place was set to become an important shipbuilding and ship maintenance base in the southern part of the Endless Sea.

Here, they planned to build oil depots and coal yards to facilitate maritime transportation throughout the southern part of the Endless Sea. In the future, it would also have the ability to repair large civilian vessels.

Compared to that, Brunas's port was more versatile, capable of repairing civilian ships as well as building and repairing military warships.

The focus over at Dragon Island leaned towards constructing warships, with the construction of the port's shipyards also centering around the production of large warships.

Brunas remained peaceful and joyous, and except for what was reported in the newspapers, there seemed to be no effect from the war at all. As the saying goes, people sang as usual, drank as usual, and danced as usual. Everything here seemed unrelated to the outside world.

One of the reasons Tang Mo had convened these envoys was to tell everyone that he had already won this war and had become an existence of the same caliber as the Shireck Consortium.

Soon, the envoy from Leite Kingdom approached Tang Mo, looking around before speaking, "Mr. Tang, dealing with a King of a Kingdom is a very taboo matter... It will make Great Tang Group pay a considerable price in its interactions with other countries."

"After all, no royal family would wish to deal with someone who has executed members of another royal family, which would cause Great Tang Group to meet resistance and obstruction in expanding its business." The envoy tried to express this as tactfully as possible, while still making the stakes clear.

Seeing Tang Mo simply smiling without speaking, the envoy continued to offer his suggestion, "What the King of Leite means is, he can help handle it, the King of Germelin could be sent to Laines..."

"Laines?" Tang Mo swirled the liquid in his glass, glanced at the envoy from Leite Kingdom, and shifted the topic slightly with a smile, "Has His Majesty already decided...to select that place as the new King City?"

"Yes, His Majesty and the Prime Minister have settled on Laines, which is situated in the plains with developed transportation and rivers..." The envoy, who had been thinking about the matter of the King of Germelin, was caught off guard by Tang Mo's change of subject and felt somewhat unaccustomed.

"Laines... is a fine place." Tang Mo reached out, put his arm around the Leite envoy's shoulder, and gently patted twice, "How is the preparation for the victory parade coming along?"

"Uh... this..." The envoy no longer knew how to respond to Tang Mo's abrupt questions.

"What do you think, 100 cars pulling 100 heavy guns; 400 warhorses dragging another 100 big guns; then another 100 vehicles loaded with fully armed soldiers...passing by His Majesty's reviewing stand...will the scene be spectacular?" Tang Mo continued to swirl his wine and talk about something that seemed completely unrelated.

The Leite envoy swallowed hard, imagined the magnificent scene for a moment, and was momentarily in a daze.

If Leite VII could truly witness such a powerful military parade passing by the reviewing stand, it might be the pinnacle moment of his life like never before.

"I might help a bit more by inviting representatives from the nearby Empire of Nanla and the surrounding Kingdoms, who are within easy reach, to attend the parade... What do you think?" Tang Mo continued to ask with a pleasant demeanor.

"That, that would be...more than wonderful." The envoy certainly didn't think Tang Mo would help in such a manner unconditionally, so he grew even more nervous.

"In fact, after completely controlling both banks of the Germelin River and annexing the Kingdom of Germelin, His Majesty has already become the sovereign of three and a half Kingdoms," Tang Mo continued to speak to the envoy, "Expansive territory, formidable military forces..."

At this point, he paused, seeming hesitant. Eventually, he resumed speaking, uttering words that made the Leite envoy shiver involuntarily, "To be honest, I'm not very interested in constructing the King City of Laines. So why not just construct the Imperial City of Laines instead?"

"I think, on the day of the victory parade, the King of Leite should directly ascend to the throne and officially become Leines I... Mr. Envoy, do you think...is that good?" As the envoy was too shocked to speak, Tang Mo continued to blunt the edges of his words even more.

"First, sir... No, you're not joking, are you...?" The envoy finally regained his composure, unable to suppress the excitement within him, and stammered to confirm that everything he heard was indeed true.

"No joke," Tang Mo confirmed. "Great Tang Group has come this far and now requires the support of an empire for its own development..."

"I, I'll relay this great news to His Majesty immediately!" Having confirmed the news of Tang Mo's support for the King of Leite to proclaim himself Emperor, the envoy was eager to pass on the stunning news to the future Emperor.

"Don't rush... we should sit down and talk about terms, shouldn't we?" Tang Mo pressed down on the envoy, who was about to rise, pouring a bucket of cold water over his expectations.

"Tell me, if I support the Laines Empire, won't others think Tang Mo is just a dog raised by the Laines Empire?" Tang Mo asked while turning to the Leite envoy beside him.

The envoy swallowed hard, hurriedly shaking his head in denial: "How could that be! You and His Majesty are surely lifelong friends. No one would think that, that you are His Majesty's, his, his dog."

"I think so too." Tang Mo nodded, as if agreeing with the envoy's statement, but what he said next was about an entirely different matter: "I'm concerned that others might think this way, so I plan to clear up this misunderstanding in advance."

"What do you think would be an appropriate action?" The envoy, somewhat unclear about Tang Mo's line of reasoning, asked cautiously.

"Firstly, for Germelin's... former King... who killed my people, I hope I can strangle him in Brunas," said Tang Mo amiably. "Following a righteous trial, one that's announced to the world."

"I understand," the envoy hesitantly agreed, instinctively.

"In addition, Great Tang Group can support His Majesty's claim to the throne, but Great Tang's influence is ultimately limited. Whether the Laines Empire will be recognized by others in the foreseeable future is another matter," Tang Mo emphasized seriously.

"Understood, understood!" The Leite envoy also knew that it wasn't easy to be genuinely recognized as an empire; Great Tang Group's support for Leite VII was one thing, but others' recognition was another matter entirely.

"For the remaining terms, you can go back and tell His Majesty... to follow the last agreed upon conditions!" Tang Mo said to the busily nodding envoy.

After finishing his words, he paused for a few seconds before teasingly adding, "Tell me, why am I letting you deliver such favorable terms... what for?"

"Sir... I, I, I understand," the envoy quickly stated his position.

"Still calling me sir... so formal," Tang Mo said with a smile.

"Master..." The envoy knew which choice to make, or at least... following Tang Mo was the best future he could opt for.

Even just calculating the speed of property value appreciation in Brunas, his entire lifetime of hard work would barely match up.

"Well, go ahead! Share the good news with His Majesty, and don't forget he should be rewarded. Then remember to come back and visit the bartender, and sign a contract with him," Tang Mo nodded and released his hold on the Leite envoy.

The envoy stood up, bowed respectfully, and then cleared the place beside Tang Mo.

Soon after, an envoy from the Kingdom of Germelin, who had just received the news that their own sovereign was captured, hurried over.

Having no mood for drinking, he stood beside Tang Mo empty-handed and pleaded, "Sir... I just heard that you... seem to have captured our King?"

"There is such a matter," Tang Mo nodded, affirming.

Harry had been negotiating with this envoy for the past few days without any progress, merely stalling for time.

The other party, extremely anxious, lowered his head to beseech Tang Mo: "Sir, the incident where our military mistakenly injured your student was all a misunderstanding..."

"Saying such things now is pointless," Tang Mo glanced at the man and asked, "I quite admire your courage. So, how about it... willing to stay and work for me?"

"Sir! To kill a King..." The envoy felt it was his duty to advocate for his sovereign.

Tang Mo sighed and stood up to say, "Today, no matter who pleads for him, I am determined to execute him... unless he can bring my people back to life. I'll ask you one last time... will you join me, or refuse?"