Munitions Empire

"It’s spectacular! Absolutely shocking!" As they gazed up at the Hardshell Airship parked on the ground, the envoys from Dorne Kingdom didn’t know what to say.

They had never imagined that one day human war machines could grow to such a massive scale, nor had they envisioned that the sky would become a part of warfare.

Using hot air balloons for reconnaissance of enemy positions was nothing new, but due to issues with propulsion and safety, hot air balloons had always been nothing more than auxiliary military equipment.

But now, a new kind of weapon, seemingly capable of changing the pattern of war, appeared before everyone present.

This was the world’s first weapon that could attack from the sky and genuinely threaten the enemy! It was a weapon that overturned people’s understanding and was the "ultimate weapon" that everyone longed for!

Every time the Great Tang Group introduced new weapons, it was enough to change the rules of war, evoking both love and hatred—love for how more powerful weapons could make victories in war come easier, hatred because it meant dipping into their coffers for these advanced weapons once again.

"The process for producing the filling gas is still immature, so the cost of utilizing this equipment is very expensive," Tang Mo said in front of the airship, complaining to all who had come to this exhibition: "Every weapon has its flaws, doesn’t it?"

After saying this, he spread his hands and continued, "However, it’s worth paying a bit more for a powerful bombing machine capable of directly attacking the enemy’s hinterland and destroying their industrial system."

He was right, and each country’s delegates were pondering whether equipping themselves with such a weapon was indeed worthwhile.

But there is reason behind the cost! As long as one purchased advanced weapons from the Great Tang Group, victory was assured—a fact that went unquestioned.

Just like this time, the airship could carry a large number of bombs, head straight to the enemy’s strategic locations, and attack decisively—an impact that could be the final blow.

Currently, every nation in the world was striving to complete their industrialization, a result in part of the Great Tang Group’s efforts.

All countries were building their steel factories, establishing their own heavy industrial bases, locations which were also often pivotal junctions for railways and maritime transport.

In some cases, these densely populated cities, home to most of the precious technical talent, were even more important than the King City.

Once such strategic locations and heavy industrial bases, the core factories that produced arms and ammunition, were destroyed, a country’s strategic potential would also wither.

Therefore, the airship offered a choice to end the war quickly with the smallest cost, using the fastest means possible!

Those who waged war were all gamblers, and with a high-stakes lottery at hand, how could they not be tempted?

Imagine dozens of airships flying over the enemy’s heavy industry zones, dropping bombs. Then, the enemy’s factories would shut down for several weeks, with ammunition supplies, weapons production, and materials replenishment all at a standstill.

If such delay tactics succeeded, they could decide the outcome of the front lines! And defeating an industrialized nation would reap far greater profits than defeating a traditional, underdeveloped agrarian kingdom! ȐÅꞐồ฿ĘS

Now, everyone understood the boost that industrial zones gave to national power. Once you could capture the enemy’s industrial zones, you could instantly weaken the enemy and strengthen yourself at the same time!

Thus, once a decisive battle between two industrial nations ended, the victor would exponentially increase their strength, perhaps even seizing the chance to rule the world!

No one wanted to lose such an opportunity. Compared to such a enticing prospect, tens of millions of Gold Coins seemed trivial.

"So, Mr. Tang, how much exactly does your... Kirov Airship... cost?" The envoy from Suthers Kingdom stutteringly asked.

He didn’t know why Tang Mo would name this kind of airship a "Kirov Airship," a name that was a mouthful and not very catchy.

In his view, this kind of bombing airship could be called Flying Shark—a name that instantly conveyed dominance! Just look at the gaping jaws and those intimidating eyes! It was simply the perfect aerial weapon!

Of course, if the giant dragon head emblem at the center of the airship were replaced with the flag of Suthers Kingdom, it would be even more perfect.

"Constructing such an airship is quite troublesome, its structure is extremely complex. It requires precision equipment and consumes expensive new materials..." Tang Mo boastfully bluffed, knowing that soon all nations would begin producing their own airships; this equipment wasn’t actually that complicated.

However, Tang Mo could provide some of the airships on the spot, and indeed, Tang Mo’s airships were more advanced in structural design and power systems, a fact other countries couldn’t dispute.

Therefore, Tang Mo could offer a price that made people wince, yet he didn’t have to worry about no one paying for his airships, "Thus, an airship costs 300,000 Gold Coins."

"Hiss…" Even though the war had brought huge benefits, many envoys were still frightened by this price.

Even for the financially robust Empire of Nanla, it was not easy to come up with millions of Gold Coins at once to purchase airships.

What’s more, the Great Tang Group’s weapons lineup was a bit too extensive. They had previously been desperate to procure Brunas class Ironclad Warships, so where would they find the extra money to buy airships now?

Fortunately, the Shen Country was due to pay some war indemnities, which just about equaled the price of one airship. Adding to that the money and goods seized from their convoy and a bit extra, it wasn’t so painful to buy a few more airships when they thought about it.

After all, hadn’t they just "won" a war? Didn’t they all reap some benefits? And yet... the money hadn’t even settled in their pockets before it had to be dished out to the Great Tang Group.

Thinking about it was quite frustrating; every victory in war resulted in profits for the Great Tang Group, while they were continually spending on upgrading their weapons...

In the end, they hadn’t saved much gold, but had managed to upgrade from flintlock guns to Mauser 98Ks. They didn’t have money to repair their own palaces, but were keen on railroads, promptly constructing hundreds of kilometers!

"If you buy more, I can make it cheaper. Let’s say… 290,000!" Tang Mo declared generously, conceding a huge profit margin: "Don’t think I’ve earned a lot. This is almost like giving it away for free."

"To enable buyers to use these advanced weapons independently, we will help set up production facilities for the filling gas, transfer the technology, provide production processes for compatible bombs, assist with factory construction, select locations for airship bases, and train pilots and commanders...

Including research and development costs, I might even lose money..." He enumerated his costs earnestly, helping many understand why these new weapons were so expensive.

Indeed, compared to a warship, it might not seem to have much substance. In reality, isn’t an iPhone much less substantial than a van, but an iPhone is more expensive and easier to break?

Apart from the airships already flown to Dongwan Island, there were dozens of such massive monsters on Dragon Island—Tang Mo could deliver immediately as long as the buyer paid up.

Producing these seemingly huge but actually insubstantial airships was not difficult, at least not as difficult as making something as solid as a Jade City class Battleship.

Hearing Tang Mo’s "generosity," the envoys had no choice but to honestly pay up.

The most proactive this time, unexpectedly, was the envoy from Suthers Kingdom. Having exerted the least effort in the previous war and having saved money by not buying naval warships, they were very generous.

They saw these new-style weapons as their chance to catch up with other countries! Suthers Kingdom had no maritime borders, so their Air Force would become their "second navy," their trump card for overpowering the enemy!

"We, the Suthers Kingdom, wish to purchase 35 airships… at a total of 10.15 million Gold Coins…" The Suthers envoy opened with a bid that shocked everyone: "We hope Mr. Tang can give us a better price… perhaps, round it up?"

"Certainly, 10 million Gold Coins!" Tang Mo boldly conceded 150,000 Gold Coins—a few years ago, his entire workshop could not have sold for that "loose change".

When one person possesses an offensive weapon that others can’t defend against, the rest of the countries obviously can’t sit still.

"Dorne Kingdom wishes to purchase 20 such Kirov Airships... Can we get them as ready stock?" The Dorne envoy asked eagerly. Discover exclusive content at empire

He did not even haggle, focusing instead on the delivery of the airships—As is well-known, the delivery time for the Tang Group’s Ironclad Warships is a wait of a year or even two years; many countries have paid, but the Ironclads are yet to be seen...

With much chatter, the envoys started outbidding each other. The atmosphere suddenly became lively, and Tang Mo casually delegated the work to Harry standing beside him.

Business matters did not concern him as much anymore; he was more focused on a terrifying entity that might become known as the Great Tang Empire in the future.

Soon, the Empire of Nanla ordered 15 airships, Dorne Kingdom ordered 20, Suthers purchased 35, Poplar Kingdom bought 10, Songmu Kingdom purchased 10, and the Dwarves of Ice Cold Kingdom bought 20.

This time, Leite Kingdom really couldn’t come up with that much money, so they had to content themselves with symbolically purchasing 5 airships, barely making an appearance.

The reason was that their naval operations overlapped mostly with that of Brunas’ Great Tang Group Navy, so they didn’t plunder many of Shen Country’s transport ships, and they had already incurred too much debt from previous developments, leaving Leite VII truly unable to follow through with the money.

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