Munitions Empire

Tang Mo merely nodded at these reports; such matters were routine, parallel to weekly briefings. He was there to attend the meeting, yet the content was for the other participants of equal rank.

The point of such meetings was to let unrelated individuals grasp an overview of their colleagues' departmental progress, which somewhat helped in assessing the current situation.

"Next, we'll move on to the war report." Soon after the production heads had finished speaking, it was Chief of Staff Luff from the seemingly triumphant military's turn to take the floor.

Hearing Harry call his name, Luff didn't hesitate. He stood up, walked to the map, pointed at the southern waters, and then gestured to the south side of the Endless Sea: "Bernard's fleet has begun moving south on your orders and should reach Taren within the next couple of days! The war could very well be over by the end of this month."

Li'ao, who had been watching the deposed Germelin closely, chimed in, "Leite VII didn't obstruct our convoy while escorting King Germelin. The convoy has now reached King City and will soon be here."

Tang Mo would have liked to appoint a general, someone suitable to take over, but after some thought, he realized he lacked legal talent.

Therefore, he bit the bullet and chose someone he considered mature and reliable: "Very well! The trial will be handled by… let's give it to Li'ao. We don't have a Justice Department yet."

There was no way around it; the military folks were just too young, with most around their thirties. They were capable on the battlefield, but to judge a man was another matter entirely.

"What a pity, I should have established such a department. After all, our Great Tang Group should truly be the Nanshan's invincible Pizza Hut of this world," Tang Mo lamented inwardly with a hint of regret.

...

"No news yet? How is there still no news?" The current monarch of Taren Kingdom was King of Taren X; his reign had not been brief.

He was ambitious, hoping to continue expanding the boundaries of Taren Kingdom during his rule—and indeed, prior expansions had gone smoothly.

His kingdom had previously defeated Gobur Kingdom, acquiring a portion of its northern territory, a successful landfall that evolved Taren Kingdom from an island nation to one possessing mainland territory.

This victory made him somewhat overconfident, and in a moment of forgetfulness, he heeded Shireck's goading and ordered his fleet to challenge… the Great Tang Group, an entity they should have never provoked.

Initially, everything seemed to be going well: 70 warships headed north toward Hotwind Port, and the army crushed Dorne's defenses with unstoppable momentum…

Yet this streak of good luck came to an abrupt end.

"Your Majesty! Given the distance to Hotwind Port, even if there is news, we will have to wait longer…" the Prime Minister of Taren Kingdom quickly intervened, trying to comfort the king.

"Wait! How can I wait? It's been more than ten days! More than ten days without a single word! How can my mind be at ease!" King of Taren X paced before his throne, unable to calm down.

What they did not know was that the diplomats they had sent never delivered the messages to Dorne; they were killed en route.

The envoys sailing toward Hotwind Port on a warship were sunk halfway there—unlucky enough to encounter the Great Tang Group's fleet sailing south. They didn't even have a chance to reveal their identities before being sunk.

The non-swimming envoys fed the sharks, not even given the opportunity to display their silver tongues.

The envoy traveling by land had even worse luck; he was robbed by the deserting soldiers of his own kingdom while following the main road.

Intending to reproach them with an official air, he was instead shot dead by these bandits, who lacked the courage to face Dorne's troops but not the gall to plunder under the guise of opposing Dorne.

Consequently, the chance for negotiation or even surrender was lost—unbeknownst to anyone.

"My fleet is suffering massive losses! My soldiers are retreating! The enemy's Longsword hangs over my head! And you ask me to wait for news?... How can I possibly wait calmly for news?" The voice of King of Taren X boomed fractiously, reverberating throughout the grand hall.

"Send someone again! To propose peace! To propose peace! Say that I will compensate for their losses! Say that I will also pay an extra 100,000 Gold Coins…" The utterly distraught King of Taren could only grasp at straws in his desperation.

The Prime Minister knew he had to give his monarch something to do to avoid worsening his frantic state, so he quickly signaled a minister with his eyes.

Understanding the cue, the minister stepped forward and suggested, "Your Majesty is absolutely right! Why not select new envoys, send them by both sea and land, and make another attempt at peace?"

As expected, hearing support for his mad decision made the King of Taren look significantly relieved. He slumped into his chair with a gesture of reassurance, "You handle it! Go on, handle it! Choose the smartest! Dispatch immediately! Immediately!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The minister bowed slightly, exchanged another look with the Prime Minister, and then left the grand hall.

"Your Majesty, you can relax now... The emissary will set off soon, and the situation has not deteriorated to an uncontrollable extent," the Prime Minister finally spoke up to offer some comfort.

King of Tarran, who felt he had accomplished something, waved his hand tiredly this time, "There's no need to comfort me... How is the coastal defense preparation going?"

The Navy of the Tarran Kingdom was very strong, so coastal defense had always been a neglected aspect. Now, with the Navy defeated, coastal defense was in complete disarray, forcing the King to personally inquire about the preparations.

"Shirek has newly manufactured 20 muzzle-loaded cannons, which have been equipped on the battery... The port should be safe, but what I'm worried about is the enemy's occupation of other islands..." The Prime Minister was not supposed to meddle in military affairs, but the chaotic situation led him to be directly involved in city defense matters.

"If it comes to it, pulling the troops back from the mainland is also a good solution..." The Prime Minister offered his opinion.

Now facing a shortage of manpower while still needing to defend the vast lands of the Tarran Kingdom was undoubtedly asking for trouble.

If they could pull back the 20,000 soldiers stationed on the mainland, the defense of the King City and the surrounding islands could be somewhat more assured.

Unfortunately, the King clearly had no intentions of giving up the territories he had conquered, or rather, his achievements.

The King rejected the notion impatiently, "That is the territory I conquered! If it is lost, how can I face my ancestors? Don't bring this up again, didn't you say the situation hasn't crumbled to a point of no return?"

The Prime Minister had prepared a very good strategy to present, but hearing the King say this, he could only obediently close his mouth.

Previously, he planned to return all the northern territories occupied by the Gobur Kingdom. If the Dorne Kingdom's counterattacking troops continued their advance, it would mean they were waging war in the northern territories of Gobur Kingdom.

At that time, if they retreated, the land threats would vanish; if Dorne did not retreat and continued to fight, Gobur Kingdom might be dragged into the conflict and possibly declare war on Dorne Kingdom.

That would be tantamount to gaining an ally for themselves out of thin air, or at least creating a barrier—no matter how you looked at it, it was a good strategy.

Meanwhile, the troops withdrawn from the mainland could bolster the defense of the islands, and the returning population could offset the demographic loss brought on by the defeat...

In short, this was a master plan that could kill three, even four birds with one stone—sadly, King of Tarran had no intention of considering it.

It was unfortunate that the hastily conscripted soldiers still needed training and lacked any combat effectiveness; they might not even be capable of defending the King City...

The Prime Minister shook his head regretfully and sighed as a reminder, "Your Majesty! Relying on those thousands of conscripted peasants and fishermen, we can't defend the city walls!"

"Then recruit another 3,000! If 8,000 isn't enough, make it 10,000! I refuse to believe they can endure a prolonged siege here after coming from afar!" the King of Tarran roared in frustration.

The Prime Minister bowed his head and stayed silent. The atmosphere turned awkward, and the King of Tarran could hardly bear it, muttering impatiently, "They haven't attacked yet! They haven't attacked yet!"

...

What the King didn't know was that a fleet consisting of a cruiser and four Ironclad Warships were making their way toward Tarran along the sea lanes and had already entered Tarran's near seas.

Ominous black smoke rolled across the horizon as five warships, accompanied by a supply ship, boldly approached the coastal waters of the Tarran Kingdom.

A 1st-rate sailing warship out on patrol caught sight of the daunting black smoke in the distance and quickly turned around to escape.

However, the commanders on this warship soon realized in horror that their sailing vessel couldn't even reach half the speed of the enemy ships.

The distance between the two parties rapidly closed, and then without any hesitation, the enemy opened fire.

The warship, its stern blown off by the barrage, immediately raised the white flag, but the enemy showed no signs of sparing them.

Like demonic machines spewing black smoke, the fearsome Ironclad Warships drew closer with their mechanical clamor and opened fire repeatedly until the sailing ship was blasted into fragmented bits and pieces.

All around, the sea was littered with broken wooden deck planks, with masts set amongst sails soaked in seawater.

Amid the wreckage of these warships, some bodies dotted the water's surface. The warship that was supposed to be on alert was sunk before it could send back even a single message, now lying in ruins off the coast.