Munitions Empire

Zheng Tong was the ruler of Zheng Country, and less than half a year ago, his kingdom encountered an unprecedented setback. The Shireck Country brazenly declared war on Zheng Country and then easily defeated Zheng Country’s military.

The enemy used advanced bolt-action rifles, which had a faster firing rate and more powerful firepower. His infantry lost 10,000 men within a single day, and the 70,000-strong army collapsed after only three days.

The subsequent naval battle was even more tragic for Zheng Country. Although Zheng Country’s navy was also very powerful, its fleet of 40 sailboats was ambushed by 20 Ming Wheel Ships from the Shireck navy, resulting in the annihilation of the entire force and the loss of control over the seas.

After successive setbacks, Zheng Country had no choice but to bow its head and seek peace, because the neighboring Qi Country and Chu Country were also coveting its territory. Losing Dongwan Island wasn’t the end of the world; at least it was better than losing King City.

The string of problems that followed left the ruling class of Zheng Country breathless, as the barely maintained state of governance was rapidly crumbling.

The administrative system that just about made do during peacetime could no longer revitalize the spirit after the defeat; despite Zheng Tong’s continuous efforts to patch things up, in the end, he could only struggle on.

However, in the past two months, it seemed that the kingdom had regained some vitality, and the coastal areas appeared to have caught their breath.

This brought a hint of relief to Zheng Tong. His efforts had finally paid off, and those good-for-nothing scoundrels knew to some extent to prioritize the nation.

In moments of crisis, these corrupt officials, who were rapacious in ordinary times, at least knew to share the nation’s worries, which showed that they still had a sense of shame.

It was not in vain that he had always treated people with leniency for many years, as it seemed he had indeed accumulated some goodwill for Zheng Country. Heaven bless Zheng Country; this time, they had pulled through.

The coastal region, which was thought to have no further developments, actually paid part of the taxes last month. Although the local officials had various reasons for withholding about one-fifth of them, the remaining four-fifths were still promptly deposited into the treasury.

This greatly alleviated Zheng Country’s economic pressure and also gave Zheng Tong the means to stabilize the border military. After receiving a large sum of military pay, Qi Country and Chu Country lost any thoughts of taking advantage of the situation by force, and the situation was once again under control.

Since the danger of national extinction was no longer present, the big shots in the court naturally drank as usual and danced as usual, forcibly contriving a peaceful and prosperous scene reminiscent of the times of Emperors Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang.

If those dwarves from Shireck Country couldn’t invade, then everyone might as well continue their embezzlement and forming of factions as usual. Losing Dongwan Island did not affect their serious business of competing for power and status, nor did it affect their daily lives of receiving salaries and tributes.

Didn’t you see? Even Zheng Tong, seated on the throne, truly believed he was a sovereign of revitalization, so why would others not cooperate with His Majesty, the capable king?

The Prime Minister of Zheng Country was named Zhang Ming, the head of the Zhang Family, and he was the grandfather of that Zhang Family Young Master who was preparing to forcefully take Yue’er in Brunas Street.

That Zhang Family Young Master originally planned to lure Tang Mo back to Zheng Country to make his demands, but in the end, due to his incompetence, he did virtually nothing and returned to Zheng Country.

When he returned, Zheng Country was being beaten up, which scared the Zhang Family Young Master into taking a big detour, but he fortunately made it back home.

Now, this Young Master is also among the ministers, because he has been to Brunas and was summoned by Zheng Tong for inquiries. Then he was given an official position to facilitate his solicitation of opinions regarding the Great Tang Group.

Read new adventures at empire

And indeed, this young master lived up to expectations by denigrating Brunas on account of his bad impression, becoming a commendable and glorious comrade of the free War Information Bureau.

The Great General of Zheng Country was named Li Jun, also the head of the prestigious Li Family. He was in charge of Zheng Country’s military, and lately, his fortunes have been quite volatile and hard to gauge.

This General first lost the land battle for Dongwan Island to Shireck Country and even sent the navy out to give away a wave of heads, leaving everyone in Zheng Country almost wetting their pants.

But more than two months earlier, news came from the troops of the Great General of Zheng Country that they had recovered lost territory and reclaimed all islands except for Dongwan Island. ṛＡ𐌽ȏ฿Êṥ

These islands were not snatched back from the hands of the Shireck people—Zheng Country didn’t have the courage to go to war with Shireck again, but to have reclaimed them was a fact (probably).

With the tax revenue from these islands, though not much, Zheng Tong managed to live a little more comfortably.

Therefore, despite bearing the responsibility for the defeat, Li Jun still sat in the position of the Great General, and the Li Family remained the most significant force second only to the Zhang Family.

Zheng Tong sat on the throne, patiently listening to the squabbles of his subordinates below. The core of the argument was centered around the Great Tang Group.

The emissary sent to Brunas to demand Dongwan Island had sent back a message that the spokesperson of the Great Tang Group had no intentions of returning the island.

This was an outcome anyone could have predicted—if territories could be recovered with just a few words, then what was the point of having a military?

So it was that the Ministers had this debate, some thinking that Zheng Country should ready its forces for war and regain its former glory. At the very least, they should defeat Shen Country to maintain their dignity.

Others believed that they should curry favor with the Dahua Empire, have Dahua protect Zheng Country from the threat of war, and then recuperate and restore national strength.

Both sides seemed to have their own logic, and both spoke of national affairs, but to Zheng Tong’s ears, it all sounded like another large-scale factional struggle.

Indeed, factional struggle!

Those who wanted to ready the troops for war and revenge on Shen Country weren’t talking about reinforcing national defense and training the military. What they were actually talking about was buying guns and expanding the army, increasing the power of the military.

Those crying for recuperation and bearing the burden of humiliation weren’t talking about revitalizing the livelihood of the people and restoring national strength; what they were in fact talking about was appointing new officials and giving more authority to the civilian officials.

It looked like both sides were fighting for the nation’s fate, but in reality, they were still fighting over the size of the piece of cake in front of them. Zheng Tong didn’t really have a good solution, so he could only play by these rules.

Although he was the ruler of the country, he couldn’t afford to offend either side. At this moment, he could only sit obediently on his throne, serving as a totem, a symbol, a clay Bodhisattva.

He had previously made inquiries to the young master of the Zhang Family who had been to Brunas, and from the vivid details described by the other party, he understood a bit about Brunas.

The young master of the Zhang Family said it was a place of dazzling lights and extreme luxury. Taverns were everywhere, and women’s clothing barely covered their bodies, showing no sense of shame. Gambling dens and brothels were on every street corner, and the collapse of propriety and music was simply unbearable to witness.

Moreover, he said that the air in that place was suffocating to breathe, with chimneys outside the city constantly spewing smoke, passersby on the streets showed no respect for the nobility and had no regard for the law, and there were even women carrying handguns.

Every word he said was true, but when strung together, they seemed somehow off. Zheng Tong was swayed by his words for an entire afternoon, but he also felt it unlikely that such a magical city could exist, one that, in just a few short years, could amass the power to rival a country.

While Zheng Tong made assumptions, the general representing the military was still speaking. He spoke boldly and loudly in the great hall, explaining the reasons for purchasing weapons: "Shen Country defeated us before because our armaments were neglected and obsolete! If we don’t retrain our military and continually strengthen ourselves, we will incur losses again!"

"Incur losses? Now that there’s finally some money in the national treasury, you start clamoring to buy weapons and recruit soldiers. In my view, we should first revitalize the livelihood of the people and restore production! It is said that a wealthy country is a strong military, and the will of the people is the greatest weapon!" another Minister immediately retorted, not agreeing at all.

"The will of the people? Can you use the will of the people to break Shen Country’s ironclad warships? Can you use the will of the people to block Shen Country’s new rifles and cannons?" the general snorted coldly, immediately ridiculing with contempt: "Perhaps when the people of Shen Country come invading, your heart... may not be so loyal, eh?"

"Slandering! Utter nonsense! My loyalty is as clear as day and night! You’re the one who’s afraid of death, fearful of battle! When Shen Country took Dongwan Island, why did General Han die in battle while you happened to run back here? Hmm?" the Minister hit back unyieldingly.

The general, unable to maintain his composure, raised his voice several times higher, swearing coarsely, "Accusing me of being afraid of death? How dare you! If we weren’t here right now, I would chop you into pieces, you despicable and shameless scoundrel!"

"I’m a scoundrel? I have an iron spine and fear no authority! If you dare to chop me, then try it! If you don’t chop me, then you’re just this..." the so-called civilian official on the other side was no more elegant, clearly not of scholarly origin, with a mouth full of crude and offensive language.

Actually, Zheng Tong was in favor of purchasing some weapons, since the envoy and the young master of the Zhang Family had said that dealing with the Great Tang Group was not easy. Therefore, buying some of Shireck’s new weapons had become a matter of course.

Wasn’t it because Shen Country had bought a lot of Shireck’s new weapons that they had beaten down Zheng Country? Now if Zheng Country also bought some of Shireck’s weapons, couldn’t they then turn the tables?

This might be the simplest logical deduction: if everyone had the same weapons, then Zheng Country definitely would not have lost so miserably.

Therefore, Zheng Tong, along with Li Jun, had a secret military procurement plan underway, and this plan had already been set in motion.

Zheng Country had ordered a large batch of military supplies from Shireck, including rifles, cannons, Ming Wheel Ships, and more, all at a hefty price. This was also an action by Zheng Tong to support Li Jun in countering Zhang Ming.

For this matter, Zheng Tong had a disagreement with the Prime Minister, Zhang Ming, because Zhang Ming was strongly opposed to it.

The current argument was about whether to continue with a larger-scale procurement plan and, if so, where would the money come from?

According to the military’s view, within the next two years, the troops would switch to 100,000 bolt-action rifles, equip 400 advanced cannons, and purchase at least 50 Ming Wheel Ships.

Unfortunately, Zheng Country couldn’t afford such a massive procurement project. This was also why the officials from Zhang Ming’s faction were so strongly opposed to it now.

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Not feeling well today, writing very slowly. The second update will be very late, so everyone might as well read it tomorrow morning. I’ll postpone making up for the delayed updates, afraid I won’t be able to write anything.

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