Munitions Empire

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What was bothering Tang Mo now? There were far too many new weapons already designed on paper, but he lacked the production capacity and a sufficiently large market to digest these weapons.

He was unable to immediately produce the K3 rifles to sell to Fisheo, and in fact, Fisheo already lacked the funds to support the immediate re-equipment of its troops with newer weapons.

The Earl from Northern Ridge might purchase a large batch of hand grenades, or even some additional C64 grenade launchers, but he genuinely didn't have the funds to replace all of his K1 Quick Guns with the cutting-edge K3 rifles.

And Tang Mo himself actually had plenty of problems on his end. He couldn't complete the upgrade and development of his equipment right away because he had run out of spare technical workers to fill the new factories.

All he could do now was to honestly and steadily develop, produce more equipment, train more workers, and bring his factory into the next round of expansion.

These were unavoidable circumstances; all he could do was to wait and proceed slowly and surely.

The good news was that training his workers was much simpler than raising a craftsman with Gold Coins had been in the past, for these workers only needed to operate machines without fully understanding the significance of the processes.

All these workers had to do was to repeat the same procedure day after day, memorize each step, and execute them properly, and they would be qualified!

And the less educated and less understanding of complex operations the apprentice workers were, the greater their reverence for the miraculous machines. They would dutifully follow the rules and regulations when operating machinery, meticulously and rarely slacking off.

After all, it was a simple era where people toiled tirelessly just for a meal. No one complained about overtime, nor did anyone yearn for rest… and all this was to Tang Mo's advantage.

Another bottleneck in development was the shortage of raw materials—Tang Mo only had a very limited stockpile of metals, and other materials were pitifully scarce.

Despite his best efforts to gather these items, in the end he could only acquire barely enough resources to support his current development.

The only things he had in abundance were leather and some sea salt; the rest were in short supply.

Due to a sudden increase in population, the previously sufficient supply of food was starting to run thin. After all, feeding 5,000 people was by no means a small number.

While there was a bit of a reserve of copper ingots, they would soon be depleted by the production of steam engines, trains, and ammunition.

The situation with iron ingots was even direr. Once smelted into steel, they were rapidly consumed in the production of lathes and machinery, to the point where even the production of rails was becoming uncertain.

In such circumstances, no matter how actively Tang Mo expanded his production capacity, he truly couldn't mass-produce the brand new K3 rifles in a short period.

Even the Maxim machine guns, which he could have made easily due to sufficient production capacity, had to be abandoned because of insufficient material supply and the inability to produce enough bullets for immediate production; just thinking about it made Tang Mo's heart ache.

There was no way around it; Tang Mo had to wait three weeks before he could start up a new production line. This line he could only plan to produce hand grenades, which might be the only new product he could still rapidly introduce to production.

After all, handgrenades used very little iron, and wood was another material he had in greater abundance.

After sorting through such a pile of issues in his mind, Tang Mo finally felt the carriage come to a halt. Sure enough, his carriage door was soon opened by Wes, and an attractive Elf stood not far away, his face etched with fatigue.

"Ah, John! My best friend! You truly are a man of honor," Tang Mo jumped out of the carriage and went over to embrace John, "Have you brought the repayment you owed me?"

John, who had just arrived in Brunas, awkwardly embraced Tang Mo and then replied with a face full of apology, "I'm afraid I'm about to disappoint you, my friend! I have not been able to keep my promise, and this brings me great shame."

"Oh? What exactly is going on here?" Tang Mo feigned surprise for a moment, because as soon as he knew that only one warship had docked at the port of Brunas, he'd confirmed that the Elves were indeed planning to default on their debt.

If they were willing to continue the trade, they would have certainly brought more ships. Everyone needed to save time, so they would undoubtedly try to cut down on time wherever possible.

If the Elf Race was willing to deliver 100,000 Gold Coins and a title of Nobility, then they would definitely purchase more machinery and equipment from Tang Mo again, which would be in the Elves' best interest.

But now that only one warship was docked at the port, it signified that the Elves did not intend to pay the remaining money.

As expected, John also put on a crestfallen look and began to explain, "I returned to the Augustin Clan and presented those treasures, but... my father is a stingy and shortsighted noble; he refused to pay the remaining amount."

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Tang Mo shook his head as if he'd truly haemorrhaged 100,000 Gold Coins, his expression a painful blend of sorrow and regret. "Oh! John, that truly is distressing news."

Without his support, I couldn't raise the necessary amount of Gold Coins, which is why I had to come alone to express my apologies," said John, continuing his own performance. If there were an Oscar for best actor, he and Tang Mo would undoubtedly be the strongest contenders.

Tang Mo nodded, feigning reluctant agreement, "Well, I accept your apology, but I reserve the right to collect the debt, John."

He of course needed to reserve this right, as it would serve as an ideal excuse for future disruption.

The harbor's sea breeze was still very cold in February, and the two of them stood in the wind, improvising their performance.

John clearly hadn't expected Tang Mo to so bluntly declare his right to pursue the debt, because he didn't think someone would be so assertive when facing a nation and its nobility.

So, he hesitated, instinctively dragging out his words, "This..."

Tang Mo affirmed as a matter of course, "Yes, no one can owe me money and not pay it back, John! Even though you are my friend, there can be no exceptions."

Then, it was as if he suddenly remembered something, he looked at John and continued to inquire, "Do you recall the title of nobility from the Poplar Kingdom that you promised me? You're not going to deny it now, are you?"

John grew more embarrassed, now he wasn't entirely acting but truly felt somewhat ashamed.

People value face as trees value bark, and even the filthiest of nobility can be embarrassed when exposed and accused of being untrustworthy to their face.

So, John plucked up the courage to admit, "Yes, I did say that..."

"Did you bring the appointment letter?" Tang Mo immediately asked.

John was exceedingly ashamed as he shook his head, his voice beginning to stutter, "No, I didn't..."

"So, it seems, the Augustin Clan owes me more than just 100,000 Gold Coins. How much more? 150,000?" Tang Mo turned to Wes, instructing, "Remember, calculate it at the highest interest rate. By this time next year, it will be 300,000 Gold Coins!"

John was even more humiliated and quickly spoke up, revealing his purpose for the visit, "Tang Mo... my friend! Though I have not fulfilled my promise, I am willing to stay here and work for you! I hope I can use my actions to repay some of the debt I owe..."

"Oh?" Tang Mo was startled, then looked at John, as if he were scrutinizing him or pondering something. He didn't speak immediately but just stared at John, with only the whistling sea breeze between them.

"Hmm?" John too had not expected Tang Mo to suddenly fall silent and, after an awkward moment of confusion, also fell silent.

Silence persisted.

After a long while, Tang Mo seemed to come back to life. He extended a hand to pat John on the shoulder, then asked, "Let's be honest, John, the credibility of the Augustin Family is bankrupt in my eyes, right? You've betrayed my trust, took my things and didn't pay."

"But, but my personal...," John felt that his impression of Tang Mo had completely changed with this visit.

Previously he had thought Tang Mo to be somewhat arrogant, somewhat mad, but at heart just a profit-seeking merchant.

But now, Tang Mo seemed to have undergone some kind of change... how should he put it, more like... more like his father.

This sensation made him terribly uncomfortable, as if he were in his father's castle. Even the look in Tang Mo's eyes was intimidating, and he couldn't bring himself to meet Tang Mo's gaze.

"I've just about figured out your intentions. You don't plan on repaying the money, and you want to plant a spy here for free, a noble scion with dubious loyalty. Why should I harbour you?" Tang Mo, one hand on John's shoulder, asked with a cold smile.

"No, it's not like that, Tang Mo... I just..." John suddenly panicked, feeling exposed, and stammering an explanation in his guilt.

Tang Mo didn't listen to his explanation and cut him off to continue, "Let me guess... no, let me make a malicious guess... Augustine, an ancient family... hedging bets, sitting on the fence... very slick operations."

"..." John felt he might be confronting an entity more terrifying than his own father. He wanted to turn and run, but his feet wouldn't move, as if in the woods, he was the prey under a tiger's gaze.

He didn't dare to struggle, he even struggled to breathe, knowing he was afraid, yet no matter how much he tried, he couldn't step out of Tang Mo's shadow.