Munitions Empire

"Do you really intend to keep him?" Roger asked with some unease, watching John caressing a newly produced C64 field gun in the distance.

"I suppose so, at least he's here to hedge his bets. Since I'm more optimistic about my side, he can still be of use," Tang Mo mused as he watched John's figure from afar.

Roger, somewhat worried, reminded Tang Mo, "We're now short of 100,000 Gold Coins, and it seems we'll have to find another way to fund our subsequent procurement plans."

"In fact, our investments in other workshops have been hugely successful. Thanks to the refining methods you provided, Brunas' glass workshop has turned around, and their glass has opened up quite a few markets." Speaking of which, Roger started to tease Tang Mo.

In his view, this might be a great irony for Tang Mo: aside from the most profitable arms trade, Tang Mo's other investments were also yielding profits.

And it's very possible that, in the upcoming period, Tang Mo would have to rely on these civilian daily use workshops to subsidize and sustain his military industry enterprise.

So, he couldn't help but laugh as he said, "The cement factory also landed a big contract, supplying materials for Brunas' wall and housing repair projects... Although it's just a word from the mayor, it truly netted you a hefty profit."

Seeing Tang Mo a bit embarrassed, Roger became even happier, "At the cloth workshop, the new dyeing method you've invested in has also been markedly effective. They're preparing to buy two steam engines to drive their looms to increase production."

When he finished, he patted Tang Mo on the shoulder, "Salt and other trades have brought you dividends well over thirty Gold Coins, but... obviously, for you now, these can only be considered small profits."

"No matter how small, it's still money! I'm quite in need of money right now! I don't have too many good solutions either. The Earl ordered three thousand grenades. If he starts training with these weapons, he will order at least another three thousand. This might be our biggest order recently," Tang Mo replied with a laugh, then twisted his neck.

The weather was no longer so cold, so he no longer needed to wear that very high-quality fur coat.

However, the considerate Miss of the Ronin Family had someone send over a scarf, which looked a bit uneven in the stitching. It was somewhat prickly around Tang Mo's neck.

He adjusted it to make his neck more comfortable, then changed the topic and asked Li'ao on the other side, "How are things in Brunas' official circles?"

"Things are going quite smoothly. With our support, Brunas' tax collection has been flawless for the past three years. Those fat emissaries couldn't possibly find any issues," Li'ao reported with satisfaction.

In this regard, he was truly a professional. The whole operation was arranged in a way that made Brunas seem impeccable.

He recounted confidently all the measures in place, "You know, we've reassigned over a hundred soldiers to fill gaps in the city defense force, assumingly replacing others to help the Solon Sheriff plug the holes. The arsenal's counts of flintlock guns are accurate, every Longsword refurbished."

"Brunas' population growth is among the top, the market order is good, and all industries are booming..." As he spoke, he even sounded amused, "You can't see a beggar on the streets, hooligans and bullies are nowhere to be found. It might be safer here than in the King City."

"If the officials here are not competent, then there can't be competent officials anywhere within the Kingdom," he concluded, then looked at Tang Mo, awaiting his response.

Tang Mo burst into laughter, very satisfied with his work, "Hahaha, I think the mayor and Solon and the others ought to thank me."

"Indeed they should thank you. You even helped them get a bribe of 200 Gold Coins... The emissary is almost blind to it now, feasting for free in the brothels daily, he's nearly slept with all the girls there," Roger snorted with disdain, clearly looking down on such corrupt officials.

Tang Mo, however, didn't mind and to a large extent even preferred these kinds of officials, "That's good news, isn't it? If he'd like to walk around more, I'd indeed be afraid that he'd see the continuous stream of chimneys here."

"Shireck is too corrupt, entrusting such people to take the lead, is just giving me more time to develop," Tang Mo said, and then he added to both, "We must eliminate such corruption, otherwise, no matter how powerful, it will eventually collapse thunderously, turning into a pile of ruins..."

As he spoke, John walked back from the distance. He looked a bit pale, as he had truly seen Tang Mo's new weapons.

Upon seeing the new breech-loading cannons, he knew his father might have miscalculated. Offending a weapons merchant with numerous new weapons was clearly not a rational act.

It was like a noble who now decided to offend Shireck; everyone was well aware of what the outcome would be.

So, he approached Tang Mo and asked, "Master, I, I think I should write a letter to my father, to persuade him once more... to let him..."

"Sure!" Tang Mo nodded, agreeing to John's request, "But I truly don't have a ship to send your letter back, so... you might have to figure it out on your own."

"..." John felt he had sustained a critical hit of 9999 damage, and for a moment, he was in such pain that he couldn't utter a word.

He felt that if this kept up, he might just be choked to death by Tang Mo's words. So he decided to struggle one more time, gritting his teeth and forcing out, "I won't say anything I shouldn't, just plain advice, you can watch me write..."

"I've told you, writing a letter home is your freedom, I won't interfere," Tang Mo replied earnestly. "I really don't have a ship to send your letter back to the Poplar Kingdom."

He spread his hands, embodying a look of helplessness: "The next monsoon season, my fleet will set sail southwards with goods, taking my products to the great port of Vernaldo to be sold. Losing even a single ship could mean a loss of tens of thousands of Gold Coins."

"So, you can wait until the merchant fleet of the Poplar Kingdom arrives at Brunas and then ask someone to take your letter back. I think... that might be the fastest way," said Tang Mo. After finishing, he patted the stunned John on the back with a face saying "Bro, I've done all I can, I can only help you so much."

"..." John felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if a certain organ was beating a bit too fast. He touched his heart, struggling for a long while to suppress the urge to curse.

Whether the Poplar Kingdom's fleet would come back to Brunas or not was something he could not predict since that was nearly 10 months away.

If his letter took that long to reach the Poplar Kingdom and for his father to have a change of heart— that was about a 15-month wait. Who could wait that long?

Besides, now that his warship was seized, whether the fleet of the Poplar Kingdom would even dare to dock at Brunas was an entirely different question.

If after more than a year, they don't come, when would his letter finally reach his father's hands?

"You see, you should really think about how you can gain my trust, contribute your own strength. By doing that, you make yourself more valuable, you help the Augustin Family to better sit on the fence, and you might even save your father's life, which may be at risk!" Tang Mo switched tones, giving advice to John.

John was stunned for a moment, then he realized that he hadn't shifted his loyalties yet. He was supposed to be Tang Mo's staff officer now, and it seemed that he no longer needed to consider his own family.

Although still feeling unaccustomed, John thought there was some sense in Tang Mo's words; if he continued to be treated as an outsider here, what fence was there left for the Augustin Family to sit on?

Having understood the situation, he became despondent again. Theoretically, he was actually much stronger than other nobles, but at this moment, he realized he didn't seem to have any skills that could assist Tang Mo.

He was only an overseer of a ship when it came to navigation; he had some experience, but it was clear that Tang Mo was unlikely to entrust the fleet to his command.

After all, these ships, and most of the elves on board, were his old subordinates; under these circumstances, he was very likely to run off with Tang Mo's fleet.

When it came to combat skills, he had some prowess, but compared with Westag, he fell short. Obviously, Tang Mo wouldn't entrust his troops to him either.

He did have some knowledge about indulgence in food, women, gambling, and such, but clearly, these were not things that would impress Tang Mo.

Just then, Tang Mo's voice reached his ears: "Since you seem incapable of much else, help me manage the business of the gambling den."

"Ah?" John felt his brain was not quite up to the task.

"I'll give you some novel ideas, follow my instructions, set up casinos, clubs, bathhouses..." Tang Mo felt it was necessary to add some fresh, new elements to Brunas. Pai gow, mahjong, quadrille, dice, poker, baccarat... these games were also good channels for making money.

"..." John truly couldn't believe that, in the end, the thing that proved he was somewhat useful was precisely all the things he'd learned from his years of debauchery.

"Turn Brunas into a gold-digging pit, make it a place where people from all over the world can find what they want to play with!" Tang Mo spread his hands, seemingly very excited as he said, "How about it? Pretty good idea, right?"

"What you've got to do is act like a nobleman, promote these games, make everyone accept them!" Tang Mo patted John's shoulder, commanding.

"I am already a nobleman!" John objected weakly.