Munitions Empire

Brunas, within the spacious reception room, Harry rubbed his temples wearily. He was now responsible for the operation of Brunas city and had to work late into the night every day.

Although the financial center was shifting towards Dragon City, Brunas remained one of the most important cities controlled by the Great Tang Group, and there were countless affairs to manage.

Every day he had to handle a plethora of matters, including measures to respond to the flu outbreak, updating sewers and laying telephone lines, maintenance of electric lines...

Plus the repair of roads, expansion of railways, construction of military airfields, and planning of civilian airports...

These infrastructural developments alone were enough to cause him immense stress, and he still had to represent the Great Tang Group in Brunas, receiving envoys from all over the world.

There was no helping it. Even though Tang Mo had now gone to Dragon Island, Brunas, being the most famous city controlled by the Great Tang Group, still attracted many envoys from various regions.

At the moment, there was a Dwarf from the Northern Region, incessantly clamoring in front of Harry: "Everything that Ice Kingdom can give you, we can too! If you are willing to support the Western Dwarf Kingdom, we are prepared to pay any price!"

The support from the Great Tang Group brought tremendous changes to the Ice Cold Kingdom; the war that annihilated the northern Dwarf Empire made the Ice Cold Kingdom renowned in the Northern Region.

Many Dwarf Kingdoms had no choice but to acknowledge the threat of the Ice Cold Kingdom; many spies sent back secrets of the Ice Cold Kingdom to their homelands, and then these Dwarf Kingdoms sent envoys to Brunas seeking assistance.

Their demands were simple: whatever Ice Kingdom had, they wanted too! Whether it was cannons or rifles, steam engines or railway trains, they wouldn't accept one item less! For this, they were also prepared to offer their mineral resources, to hand over their tariffs, and even more, to cede cities or provide a large number of slaves.

"Unfortunately, we cannot betray our allies, so... credibility stays credibility, business stays business. If you are willing, we can transfer civil technologies, including agricultural planting, which can effectively improve your living conditions," Harry yawned, speaking in a bored tone the routine platitudes.

The external policy of the Great Tang Group was set in stone, and he had no power to change it. The other party had no relationship with the Great Tang Group, and Tang Mo surely wouldn't change the cooperative stance with the Ice Cold Kingdom for something like the Western Dwarf Empire.

There was no sense to be argued here; it was simply a matter of first come, first served.

Sometimes love is like that too—there isn't any special reason; it's just that someone arrived first, and those who come later miss their chance—although chances do exist, they only start from the number three on the path of upgrading.

Clearly, the Great Tang Group wasn't a scoundrel, nor did they plan to easily shake the foundation of their cooperation with the Ice Cold Kingdom, so Harry had no reason to change his position.

Therefore, the Great Tang Group could offer all kinds of assistance to these later Dwarf Kingdoms, except for substantial help.

Or rather, the Great Tang Group was at least more humane than the United States—they were willing to provide agricultural technology, fertilizers, and other materials, providing that the Dwarf Kingdoms were willing to pay for them.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Even more, as long as they paid enough money, the Great Tang Group was willing to sell expensive new medications, willing to sell civilian light industrial machinery.

As long as these kingdoms had some ability to develop themselves, these civilian machines could indeed make them prosperous to some extent, accumulating some capital more or less.

But clearly, the other party was not willing to wait, or rather, they no longer had the time to undergo the slow development process.

"But we need rifles! Cannons!" Thus, the Dwarf Envoy from the Western Dwarf Kingdom insisted, speaking earnestly.

Harry continued to reply with routine responses: "Unfortunately, our agreement with the Ice Cold Kingdom contains clear clauses..."

"Then tear it up! We can give you everything! As long as you..." The envoy from the Western Dwarf Kingdom stood up anxiously, as if wanting to rush up to Harry.

Harry kept repeating himself like an endlessly rotating wheel: "Unfortunately, we..."

The Great Tang Group was not Shireck, and Tang Mo had no intention of tearing up any signed contracts. He needed to maintain the Group's credibility because, on the other hand, he had to uphold his own financial and monetary system.

A good reputation is worth more than many advantages. At critical moments, credibility can be as powerful as a superweapon.

Breaking promises for short-term enormous benefits can lead to more complex issues and potentially backfire, causing the promise breaker to pay a higher price.

In fact, in the real world, the collapse of the Western credibility system has been more direct and more fatal than the collapse of their hegemony.

This has led them to lose credibility in the arena of public opinion and consequently, their power to persuade. This collapse is more fatal than any battlefield defeat.

Because of the existence of nuclear weapons, wars of annihilation between major powers are not possible under the new world order, making the arena of public opinion and ideological core the center of warfare contention.

With credibility lost and the power to persuade gone, the Western world's losses are visible to the naked eye. Bankrupted in their credibility, they can no longer convince the kind people of Huaxia of the lies of those traitorous public intellectuals.

Confronted with their inability to truly engage in conflict and their lies exposed, the Western world had been toppled from its pedestal, transformed from a beacon of enlightenment into a messy local market.

That's why Tang Mo didn't want to play this way. He aimed to maintain his reputation as much as possible while leading the era.

At the very least, he planned to hold on to this fig leaf until he decided to tear it off and allow his reputation to go bankrupt!

"Please! We're even willing to hand over our customs and mines, just as long as you are willing to help us—like you did with the Ice Cold Kingdom..." The envoy from the Western Dwarf Kingdom was clearly trying to tempt Harry further, believing that more benefits would surely sway him.

Harry was indeed tempted, but he still cruelly declined, "I'm very sorry, but your meeting time is up. If you want to discuss civil technology cooperation with us, please make another reservation for next time..."

What a joke—if they fell out with the Ice Cold Kingdom, the Great Tang Group would lose the Eternal Winter Port base at the northernmost edge of the Endless Sea.

Without Eternal Winter Port, even if the Great Tang Group gained more mines in the north, how would they transport the resources back?

Without a railway extending to Osa Port in the far south through the lands of the dwarf kingdoms of the north, the Great Tang Group would not forgo the strategically important port of Eternal Winter Port in favor of distance over convenience.

"You will regret it, the bastards from the Ice Cold Kingdom are despicable and shameless! You'll regret it!" The envoy from the Western Dwarf Kingdom was still not giving up; unable to grab Harry by his collar, he could only bluff with empty threats.

Harry, of course, was unmoved. Even if the Ice Cold Kingdom were to betray them, the Great Tang Group had plenty of ways to take back whatever they wanted.

This deal had always been about the Dwarf Kingdom begging the Great Tang Group from the beginning to the end. Only by understanding this could one truly grasp who was in control of the negotiations.

"Show our guest out!" he ordered indifferently.

The guards at the sides pushed the doors open, signaling the end of this meeting.

The envoy from the Western Dwarf Kingdom left with his tail between his legs; despite his reluctance, without a port or navy, and not bordering the sphere of influence of the Great Tang Group, they indeed had no other options.

They couldn't threaten the Great Tang Group, nor could they solve their transportation problems, so even if they had better natural resources than the Ice Cold Kingdom, they lacked the leverage to sway the Great Tang Group.

...

The door was pushed open once more, and Harry instantly perked up. If he had only been at thirty percent while dealing with the envoy from the Western Dwarf Kingdom, now he was operating at two hundred percent.

Because this time, the one who came in was a woman.

Or rather, a girl.

Yulin had now matured into a beautiful young woman. She wasn't the kind of breathtaking beauty that struck one immediately, but she had a charm that grew on you the more you looked at her.

She was dressed in casual attire, loose and revealing not a hint of curve, with one hand in her pocket and the other carrying a travel bag.

This former female class monitor had good features, especially her eyes, which were as if they could speak, impressing anyone with just a glance.

"I've resigned, I'm off to Dragon Island." She said, tossing the Tang Group's exorbitantly priced travel bag onto the coffee table and casually sitting on the sofa like a lazy cat.

"Ah... boss lady... didn't the teacher say before he left... you'll return to Dragon City next year with the experimental project..." Harry felt more nervous negotiating with Yulin than speaking to an envoy of an empire.

"It's okay, I'm going so he can scold me." Yulin smiled, revealing two attractive dimples on her face, "Do you think, does he have the heart to hit me?"

"Gulp..." Harry swallowed nervously, his eyes darting elsewhere—please, if you're planning to have a flirty spat with the teacher, don't drag me into this mess.

Seeing him silent, Yulin twirled a strand of hair around her finger, "Arrange a ship for me! Otherwise, I'll be having dinner here with you."

"You might as well eat me..." Harry agonized as he shut his eyes tight and clenched his teeth, "I'll arrange the ship for you! Please, hurry on... If Galsa and Dino find out, I'll definitely be skinned alive..."

"Thanks a bunch!" Yulin stood up, grabbed the travel bag in front of her, and waved her hand, "I'm off! No need to see me out."

"Sigh..." Covering his face with his hands, Harry started fretting about how he was going to explain this matter to the principal.