Munitions Empire

As Toby hammered away, dreaming of a future where his child could stand out, some soldiers carrying rifles walked over.

They warned everyone to clear the way, and then Toby watched in shock as a strange, smoke-belching machine trudged along the road he had laid out.

It was built by Tang Mo's factory, the first locomotive in human history—a perfect and mature design, unlike anything on Earth, thanks to the blueprints.

A mature design brought many benefits, such as improved reliability and maintainability, allowing the product to be put into immediate use.

Moreover, a mature design also provided greater pulling power, enabling practical application ahead of time without the need for testing and refinement, which saved a lot of time.

With the combined efforts of Mathews, Parker, Tang Mo, and Roger, this strictly confidential locomotive had been manufactured in the newest factory.

The design of this train used an 1880s steam locomotive concept, which appeared rather primitive, but it indeed was the most advanced locomotive that Tang Mo could produce at the time.

Furthermore, this unique locomotive in the world could pull seven carriages at its birth, which exceeded everyone's imagination.

The fact that a single train could pull seven carriages amazed everyone, including Mathews.

After all, this was no horse-drawn carriage; it was designed to work day and night, and of course, the quantity of material it could pull was beyond comparison.

The seven carriages on the train weren't just for show but were real, strictly-defined carriages.

One passenger carriage could seat seventy people, or transport an entire company of soldiers if the situation was urgent.

The other six freight carriages could be fully loaded with goods, carrying over 15 tons of cargo—this capacity was terrifying compared to horse-drawn carriages.

In other words, the just-laid railway by Tang Mo could transport nearly a hundred people and over 80 tons of cargo in one trip, which was simply perfect!

Now, this train was ready to add its bricks and mortar to the construction of its own dedicated railway with astonishing efficiency.

It was currently transporting 40 tons of steel rails and over 20 tons of sleepers, following the railway construction crew, heading toward the forest.

"Hiss..." Accompanied by a hissing release of pressure, the train spouted white steam from both sides, startling everyone.

Then, astounded roadway workers saw people continuously carrying various construction materials down from the carriages.

One sleeper after another was delivered to the railway bed already paved with gravel ahead of the train, where workers competently laid them down along the direction of the roadway's extension.

The construction speed visibly picked up, and everyone discussed the giant black monster.

Some workers who had seen steam engines before began to explain to those around them that the white smoke wasn't some sort of monster's breath...

"An 11-kilometer distance doesn't seem like anything now," Mathews proudly said to Tang Mo, standing by his side, as the fifth kilometer of the railway was almost complete.

"It's best if it can be put to use by April," Tang Mo said, rubbing his nose, feeling that the air quality in Brunas was getting worse.

There was no helping it, he was the instigator of this problem. Just by looking at the smokestack of the train in front of him, belching black smoke, he knew that Brunas's air quality wouldn't improve for a while.

That was also because it was coastal here, and the sea breeze carried away some of the pollution; otherwise, the environment would be even worse.

As soon as the train was put into use, meaning the Brunas station to the Group's second factory station became operational, the construction speed of Tang Mo's second factory would increase exponentially.

The raw materials produced in Brunas would be continuously transported deep into the Vicious Forest, thus thoroughly solving the issue of material shortages.

The rest was even simpler—Tang Mo just needed to continue opening up the Vicious Forest and extend the railway all the way to the Northern Ridge to accelerate the flow of goods.

By that time, the ore mined from the Northern Ridge would be continuously arriving at the Great Tang Group's second factory, where it would be turned into the finest munitions, then shipped to Brunas and sold all over the world.

"I estimate that in another seven or eight days' time, we can begin testing," Mathews said with certainty, "The key is that this train we've got... it's just... so magnificent!"

"It changed the transportation of this world! My goodness, I don't even know how to describe it." Mathews looked at Tang Mo excitedly, a look that had become quite common on his face lately.

After all, Tang Mo had shown him repeating weapons and even more advanced machinery—and all of this had been achieved in less than a year.

"What's this?" Tang Mo grinned, pointing toward the sea, "Have you ever thought about the day when we could mount steam engines on ships, allowing them to sail without the aid of the wind?"

"…" Mathews' eyes widened in an instant. He had been immersed in the research of steam trains lately, and it was only after Tang Mo spoke that he realized the potential uses for steam engines could be far too numerous to count.

Once more looking at Tang Mo seriously, he asked, "My lord, can you tell me the truth? Are you truly the god of craftsmen, descended to guide the direction of the entire world?"

"Quit it, Mathews. You watched this train being made, and there are over a hundred parts inside that you crafted with your own hands..." Tang Mo couldn't help but laugh heartily, pointing at the train not far away as he spoke to Mathews.

"Being able to follow you is the greatest fortune of my life," Mathews said earnestly to Tang Mo, "I truly hope to always be by your side and listen to your teachings."

"As long as you maintain your loyalty, Mathews, of course, you can stay by my side," Tang Mo said, amused by the Dwarf's antics. He patted Mathews on the shoulder and smiled at the old man.

"Sir... Sir, could you, could you name my child?" Just as Tang Mo and Mathews were chatting and laughing, a worker approached timidly, stopped by several guards at a distance, and called out to Tang Mo.

"Why not? I think Frank is a good name," Tang Mo said with a smile to the worker, "I hope he grows up to be healthy and wise, shining like the stars."

"Thank you! Thank you, sir! Bless you! Frank will become your most loyal servant someday! Thank you! Thank you!" The worker, completely content, was pulled back to the construction site by his foreman.

Despite the distance, the worker's voice thanking Tang Mo could still be heard.

Indeed, this kind of occurrence was not uncommon to Tang Mo. Many of the workers and soldiers who worked for him, upon having children, hoped that Tang Mo would name them.

In their eyes, Tang Mo was more than just their boss or their lord; he was the god of wisdom in this world. Being blessed by a deity was considered a matter of pride that one could boast about for life.

"How's the dockside?" Lately, Tang Mo had become a madman of infrastructure, constantly expanding his territory.

He was constructing his own railway on this side, and on the other side, he was expanding the port of Brunas. He had a port expansion plan of his own, and now that Brunas had been upgraded to a city, his expansion of the port suddenly became a great foresight of premeditated planning.

Having assured the newly appointed Mayor that his goods would use his new port in the future, hence not consuming the throughput of the old Brunas port, the former town mayor immediately reciprocated Tang Mo's generosity with concrete actions.

He granted Tang Mo the right to recommend candidates and insert his own forces into the City Defense Forces, allowing Bernard, Luff, Wes, Tagg, and Redman to have official positions.

This clearly violated the kingdom's rules, but under-the-table dealings always existed. With so many positions drawing pay without doing the work, appointing a few people as team captains wasn't difficult at all.

As the nominal commanding officer of the City Defense Forces, Sheriff Solon, who had long been exchanging glances with Tang Mo, obviously would not interfere in such matters, but rather tacitly approved of them.

Simon, the tax officer who had pledged allegiance to Tang Mo, was a wise man. He immediately appointed his most loyal subordinate to oversee tax surveillance at Tang Mo's newly constructed port.

The maneuver was incredibly slick; as a result, how much tax Tang Mo's port would pay each year was entirely up to him.

If he didn't want to pay, he could fabricate a reason, stating that he had lost tens of thousands of Gold Coins, and there would be no evidence left anyway...

"The No. 1 dry dock you asked for is almost completed. We've used a lot of cement and prepared many sediments in advance, which has multiplied the speed of construction," Mathews replied to Tang Mo's question promptly, "One wharf is almost ready for use, and four others are under construction."

"What about the No. 2 dry dock?" Tang Mo asked further.

"The No. 2 dry dock is also being constructed, but due to a shortage of workers, the progress is a bit slower," answered Mathews, continuing, "Soon, we'll be able to repair our own ships, saving quite a bit of money."

"Saving money isn't the goal; building our own ships, that's the objective," Tang Mo nodded in satisfaction before turning his gaze back to the rail tracks being laid out, "Everything is going to get better."