Munitions Empire

Looking at the indigenous people of Zheng Country whose clothes were still patched despite living within the city, Tagg knitted his brows and turned to the Corps Commander, "Are they truly poor, or is it the war that has brought them to this state?"

"I’ve asked. They’ve really been exploited to this extent. The officials of Zheng Country treat them very poorly, squeezing them mercilessly.... After the people from Sheng Country arrived, it was the same, they didn’t even consider them human," the Corps Commander said. "There are thousands of mass graves outside the city, everywhere you can see the bodies of the people of Zheng Country."

"That’s why we should come here." Tagg took off his wide-brimmed hat and scratched his head, "The focus is on the port. We need to improve the throughput as fast as possible, it’s the key to speeding up."

How could living conditions be improved? Goods! Having goods was the key! Bringing more goods to Dongwan Island was the start of all development.

Only with development, letting the locals feel the improvement of their quality of life, truly seeing hope, could their enthusiasm be mobilized.

If the various goods produced in other areas by the Great Tang Group were all converged on Dongwan Island, the speed of construction on Dongwan Island could be increased exponentially!

When constructing Dragon Island, it started with the construction of the port; this was Tagg’s experience and why Tang Mo had sent him to Dongwan Island to take charge.

In fact, the Great Tang Group had already dispatched a civil official to Dongwan Island, though young, his credentials were already quite high.

He was Dino, one of the three greats of the first intake at the Great Tang Group’s Military Academy, known alongside Yulin and Galsa.

All three of them were class leaders among the first intake of students and were also old hands who followed Tang Mo, learning by his side from the early days.

Dino had always majored in military command, but he had not yet held a military rank when Tang Mo temporarily employed him and arranged for him to manage civil affairs on Dongwan Island.

Assisting him was a retired old man, an amiable fellow, the former Minister of Construction of the Leite Kingdom, Baus, a man with a stout figure.

This ambitionless and not particularly skilled chubby man might not have had much of his own opinion, but he was reliable in his work. Because he had early ties with Tang Mo, he resigned from his position as the Leite Kingdom’s Minister of Construction and took up a job with the Great Tang Group.

In short, he was a good-natured man, doing whatever was asked of him, fitting to assist Dino as a errand runner.

The main reason Tang Mo sent him to Dongwan Island was to alleviate some of Dino’s workload, as Dino was also responsible for the construction and arrangement of military facilities on the island, with a heavy workload in the early stages, thus he needed help.

But Tang Mo really couldn’t find an experienced and stable person to go to Dongwan Island — surely he couldn’t rely on a group of students around 20 years old? He couldn’t be at ease....

"Welcome to Dongwan Island." Dino, who had arrived here first, extended his hand to Tagg upon seeing him, saluting, "General!"

Although his current identity wasn’t that of a soldier, he was a student of the Great Tang Group’s Military Academy and was likely to become a commander in his own right someday, so he still maintained all the habits he had in school. ŕÁℕốΒƐṦ

"You look much better than I do," Tagg also returned a military salute, and the two walked into the Governor’s Mansion, which the Sheng Country people had rebuilt on the foundation of the Zheng Country’s officials’ complex.

To be frank, the place was grand, but the degree of modernization was very poor, as was the practicality.

Unfortunately, there was no choice, because other facilities needed to be built urgently, so here they could only make do and continue using it.

"You also look much better than the people from the Third Corps." Dino said smilingly to Tagg, his teacher. He was only willing to call Tang Mo a teacher, as if the word only belonged to Tang Mo in his heart.

"I have, after all, taken a ship to Dragon Island... I have some experience, at least." Tagg noticed the map on the wall and was taken aback for a moment.

"I often swim in Brunas and even served an internship on a Navy warship," Dino explained why he looked in good shape.

He was somewhat adapted to a life at sea, so he looked a bit healthier than the others. Not just him, those students from the Great Tang Military Academy actually all had experience with naval internships, making them look much better than the rest.

Experience tales with empire

Several workers were delineating various lines on a canvas that resembled a sail, and a rough outline had already been drawn.

Tagg knew this was a map of Dongwan Island, or rather, the first detailed modern map of Dongwan Island in this world.

It already depicted Dongwan City and the port in great detail. Since the canvas was large, many areas in the middle of the islands were still blank.

"This is indeed a big project." Tagg stood in front of the map, looking at the yet-to-be-completed work, and exclaimed.

Dino stood with hands behind his back, looking up at the huge map, agreeing with Tagg, "Indeed, we dispatched dozens of surveying teams, but up til now, we’ve only completed this little bit."

"That’s not bad at all! You’ve only been here for a few days." Tagg smiled, and then continued walking forward. The telegraph room had started operating, and many rooms already had electricity and were fitted with electric lights.

However, one could still see candle holders on the walls of the hall, as well as the blackened traces where smoke had left its mark.

Upon entering the office, Dino moved aside some documents and briefed Tagg on the situation of the island, "Now, what the stationed troops need to do most is to eliminate all resistance forces on this island—not just the Shen Country military but also Zheng Country’s!"

"What? There’s Zheng Country’s military too?" Tagg, not particularly informed about the situation, looked toward the Corps Commander of the 1st Corps.

The commander of the 1st Corps hurried to explain, "Due to Shen Country’s brutal rule, many people from Zheng have spontaneously formed a resistance, similar to the guerrilla units described in textbooks, but their combat strength is rather weak…"

Tagg looked at Dino, as if there was also a sense of examination in his gaze, "What’s your opinion?"

"Rely on the locals and find ways to deal with these scattered fighters. Those who can be assimilated shall be assimilated, and those who can’t should be sent to the mines for reformation," Dino replied without a second thought.

Clearly, during the few days he arrived beforehand, he had been contemplating this issue and had thought of ways to solve it.

"It’s a plan," Tagg said with a smile and a nod after hearing his answer, quite satisfied with Dino, his half-student.

Then, without asking Dino, he added, "The remnants of Shen Country’s troops are easy to deal with. Eliminate those who resist and arrange for labor for those who surrender."

"We must ensure the safety of every road construction team, every surveying team, every patrol, every highway, every railway… otherwise, deploying troops for protection, enduring losses and harassment, would be too costly," Dino emphasized the importance of security, "We have many confidential tasks to complete later on, and if we don’t solve these problems, we can’t proceed with subsequent work."

"Agreed," Tagg concurred with Dino’s view.

"Are the locals cooperative?" He then continued to inquire.

Dino nodded, expressing his great satisfaction with the locals’ numb acquiescence to cooperation, "For now, it looks fine. I’ve set up some distribution points in certain areas, and the indigenous people in the wilderness are very cooperative. Attacks are extremely rare isolated incidents."

Hearing that the overall situation was not bad, Tagg also felt relieved. As long as there wasn’t strong resistance, he was confident in stabilizing the situation.

As he contemplated how to deploy his troops, he heard Dino continue, "Additionally, General… I need more manpower…"

"You sly boy, are you eyeing my soldiers?" Tagg was taken aback for a moment before laughing and tapping Dino with his finger.

Dino immediately assumed an appearance of having no other choice, "I have no choice. If I had a source for manpower, I wouldn’t dare to ask you."

"The 3rd Corps?" Tagg was ready to push out the recently arrived troops still suffering from seasickness, who were temporarily of no use, as a bargaining chip.

"The 1st Corps… The 3rd Corps just disembarked, let them rest a few days. They can help out with the construction of the iron factory," Dino shrewdly insisted, refusing to be tricked.

Tagg didn’t struggle further and agreed directly to Dino’s idea, "You rascal! Alright! Let the 1st Corps get some exercise."

"General, your arrival has brought us a big project," the commander of the 1st Corps said beside him, pretending to complain.

Tagg also pretended to rebuke seriously, "Stop complaining and carry out the orders!"

"But our Corps’s Rangers are out on search and clearance missions…" The commander of the 1st Corps thought of a problem.

"Indeed, these Rangers are doing very well. The matter about the locals offering women was first reported by a Ranger named Cao Fei from the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Corps," Dino said, quickly explaining as he caught Tagg’s glance.

Tagg nodded, "Then let the Rangers continue their mission. The remaining officers and soldiers of the 1st Corps will hand over the defense to the 2nd Corps… Anyway, the barracks within the city are nothing special, go ahead and switch defense. Any difficulties?"

"None!" Lifting his chin, the commander of the 1st Corps stood at attention and responded. His 1st Corps was the main force among the main forces, and if one day it expanded into the 1st Division, he would be the Division Commander. What significance did these little tasks hold for him? They’re not going to battle, and they would probably get wilderness garrison subsidies.

Plus, the city barracks were nothing great. Where else could he pick up such a bargain?

Very soon, the already chaotic Dongwan City stirred again with bustling activity as the 1st Battalion of the 1st Corps moved out of the army camp and the 2nd Corps began to take over the defense.

For a time, the roads were crowded with various vehicles and horses, and the indigenous people looked on curiously at these big-headed soldiers who had only recently arrived, yet were stirring up trouble once more.

What was different this time was that these soldiers who had come from afar, claiming to be the Great Tang Group military, did not disturb the locals. They did not harass local women or rob and take things at will.

In their eyes, this was already tremendously good news. This was also the reason why they were so cooperative: they had never seen such "easy marks" who would give them money to work!

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