Munitions Empire

People are incredibly prone to corruption; they crave happiness yet cannot clearly comprehend what true happiness is. Materially, it only requires one indulgent generation to set the social mores off on a wild, uncontrollable sprint across a thousand miles.

At seven or eight, we could only sip on domestically produced sodas, drooling over the orange-yellow drinks packed with spice colorants and additives. But by thirty, we insist on some fancy nonsense like adding Alpine pink coarse salt to our meals for health and purity.

In merely fifty years, the diligent, intelligent, and frugal people of Huaxia went from filling their bellies to carelessly discarding bowls of rice and noodles. If it were anyone else, this pace would only be quicker.

Back then, strapping a beeper to our hips had us walking tall and proud. In less than twenty-five years, we've reached a point where we're not hip until every necklace, bracelet, watch, and phone we wear is internet-connected.

In Tang Mo's era on Earth, the youngsters of Huaxia drove imported cars—wheels were aplenty in the streets; they wielded smartphones, shopping and paying online with a few taps; they sported waterproof, breathable tech-material jackets and limited-edition sneakers endorsed by stars. Yet, these very people proclaimed their lack of freedom, their discontent with joy and happiness...

Reason suggests they should be as hard-working as their predecessors, and what they've obtained is countless times better, so why bemoan a lack of joy and happiness?

Browsing short videos, gaming, clubbing at tourist spots, skiing, surfing... Aren't these more fun and interesting than playing marbles, listening to the radio, or playing cards?

Television ceaselessly peddles anxiety, stirs opposition, and markets a deadly doctrine of entertainment. It seems as if women must possess a designer bag to justify their existence, and men must sport a luxury watch to be deemed successful.

What Tang Mo urgently needed to do was to fully tap into the potential of these people, who don't even know what happiness is before they become irrevocably corrupted by materialism. He planned to help them create wealth sufficient for their own squandering.

He wasn't a good person—or rather, he was the kind of real good person, the devil that should be overthrown by the revolution. He exploited his workers in a more covert and efficient manner and even intended to make these workers feel indebted to him.

He knew well that, with time, the days when feeding people could buy their loyalty would vanish. People who are not hungry begin to pursue more, and Tang Mo had seen too many whose greed could never be satisfied.

Improving people's living standards has to be a gradual process, in line with the country's overall economic and technological levels, and should rely on actual industry as much as possible. Relying on finance is tantamount to disabling oneself.

Even in real estate, after the waves recede, some ruins might remain—at least there would be some remnants, like dilapidated buildings, still standing.

But if it's finance we're dealing with, a rise and fall could evaporate a country's wealth accumulated over decades in an instant—evaporate, understand? Evaporation means nothing gets left behind.

So the reconstructed stock exchange in Chang'an City is actually quite small, and Tang Mo's Great Tang Group really doesn't need to raise capital or borrow money to expand. It is already massive enough; world-renowned giant corporations seem insignificant in comparison.

Companies like Apple Inc. and Samsung are merely little brothers in front of the Great Tang Group, whose reach and status in its fields are beyond even what Tang Mo could imagine.

"I don't have time to waste on those bastards," said Tang Mo as he looked towards Nangong Hong, tossing his napkin aside, "Soon, production costs, especially labor, will surge."

"I must establish an industrial advantage before that happens and keep the technology firmly in my hands," he clenched his fist as if truly grasping something, "If these people don't perish, we are doomed beyond redemption!"

"I understand, Your Majesty," nodded Nangong Hong. He had been successfully indoctrinated by Tang Mo, or perhaps he had long accepted the reality that his interests were tied to Tang Mo's.

It was just that as a member of the old forces, he sometimes harbored a sense of pity for all that was once familiar.

But when Tang Mo reminded him, he would instantly readjust his stance, discard those faint feelings of pity, and firmly side with Tang Mo.

"Bai Fei and Lu Qianshan are indeed talented. I hear they've been on a killing spree, each more zealous than the other," mentioned Nangong Hong, referring to the recent sensational homicides.

"Bai Fei is now known as 'Bloody Hand'; rumor has it he has to consume three children at night just to sleep," Tang Mo snorted in disdain and pulled out a newspaper from the bottom of the pile, placing it on top as he tapped it with his finger.

He continued, "Lu Qianshan isn't much better. He's earned the moniker 'Man-Eater Shark' along the eastern coast. The petitions decrying his aberrant brutality could stack up high," said Tang Mo, then looked toward Nangong Hong.

"Nevertheless, both of them do get things done. Despite the high body count, all their actions are justified, and the Security Bureau hasn't found anything irregular about their conduct," Tang Mo concluded, fixing his gaze on Nangong Hong.

Nangong Hong directly said, "Since they've done nothing wrong, there's no need to pay attention to those rumors and slanders. As a minister, I've seen plenty of it. People rely on such methods to discredit those who threaten their interests, flaring up public opinion to pressure the monarch into compromise."

"They underestimate me! Rather than compromising, I prefer slaughter!" Tang Mo scratched his head, "That's why I like making weapons. Guns give me a sense of security."

"Your Majesty is certainly different," Nangong Hong also thought that he was following an extraordinary ruler. This monarch didn't play by the usual rules or, to put it another way, he had more cards in his hand than Nangong Hong could ever guess.

Past monarchs all relied on the nobility, bureaucrats, and landlords to control their countries. Anyone who came along couldn't escape this cycle.

Now, Tang Mo had shown many monarchs an alternative path, a mature management system for a modernized state. This system was more advanced and efficient, with every detail refined beyond the previous one.

Therefore, old powers like the Dahua Empire and the Laines Empire viewed Great Tang with hostility, because fundamentally, there are only two types of countries in this world: Great Tang and all the others!

If Great Tang were allowed to develop smoothly, soon others would follow suit, quickly shaking the foundation of other countries' rule.

This is the very reason other countries view Great Tang as an enemy, a force to be reckoned with! "Different paths do not lead to shared plans!"

What the other countries feared and dreaded most was that Tang Mo's approach was already proving to be effective, and the vitality displayed by Tang Country was something those decayed empires could not compare to.

Thus, these countries banded together and, along with Shireck, targeted Tang Country. They knew all too well that Shireck was technologically backward but had no other choice. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

It wasn't that they chose Shireck and, deceived, came to oppose Tang Country upon believing Shireck's nonsense—it was their own opposition to Tang Country and their determination not to rest until its defeat that made them stand with Shireck.

Shireck felt the same; the emergence of the Great Tang Group had changed the competitive landscape, introducing this new pattern straight into the industrial sector.

The conservative Shireck was forced into battle, but retreating every step of the way for not being able to adapt to the new competitive model was like desecrating the graves of old financial tycoons like Sofia.

If it were another old consortium rising to power, Shireck Consortium might not even resist so resolutely. After all, if the other side won, the game would still be played the same way, and the table would remain the same.

But if Great Tang Group won, it would mean a change in the rules and a new way of playing the game, or rather, it would be like flipping the table...

This is why Shireck went to such lengths to prevent the rise of Great Tang Kingdom, and why there is an irreconcilable conflict between them.

"The two of them have done very well, even better than I expected," Tang Mo affirmed their achievements: "I don't care whether they are bloodthirsty butchers as long as they do the right thing, I will not interfere."

"Although it seems a bit inappropriate to say this now, as your minister, I still need to remind Your Majesty that ruthless officials are like axes and saws; after use, it's safer to put them away," Nangong Hong weighed his words, then cautiously advised.

Tang Mo nodded slightly, "Thank you for reminding me at a time like this. In fact, I have already prepared a way out for the two of them."

Throwing the tabloid that described how Bai Fei would eat babies alive in the night into the trash bin at his feet, Tang Mo clapped his hands as if despising the newspaper for being dirty: "Bai Fei will eventually join the Army's Staff Department. Lu Qianshan will be handed over to the Navy to Bernard…"

"In short, they will fade from the public eye and continue to serve me in the military," Tang Mo changed his tone and continued, "Of course, the premise is that they both stay on the right path!"

Nangong Hong knew that these two were always under Tang Mo's surveillance; Tang Mo would not allow them to do anything that might endanger the rule of the Great Tang Kingdom.

But what he didn't expect was that Tang Mo had actually planned a retreat for the two: in the past, when a monarch made use of such people, they would eventually be killed to appease public anger.

There's nothing surprising about that," as if seeing the astonishment on Nangong Hong's face, Tang Mo didn't pretend to be profound but explained directly: "I won't treat anyone who works hard unfairly, and I won't let down those who are loyal to me!"

He sneered, casting a glance at the newspaper in the trash bin: "The most important thing is, I don't think there is any public anger that needs to be appeased. Once all those who spread rumors are gone, you'll find that the people will be as calm as a lake, without a single ripple."