Munitions Empire

"This time it's really not us..." Standing in front of Li'ao, the bartender lowered his head and explained the coup in the Gobur Kingdom: "By the time those fools over there realized something was wrong, Gobur XX was already dead..."

"Have our past victories made you all so complacent? Each of you claims to be some intelligence expert, unrivaled in wisdom! Nonsense! A kingdom caused such a huge mess, and you couldn't even investigate the cause properly!" Li'ao was furious when bringing up the matter.

In a previous meeting, he was personally criticized by the Emperor, saying their intelligence work on the Eastern Continent was poorly handled, which felt like a slap in the face for him!

What kind of meeting was that? That was the Grand Court Assembly! The Prime Minister, Vice Premier, Chief of Staff, and officers from each department were present... Being singled out for criticism at such a meeting was more painful for Li'ao than being shot in the leg.

The bartender also found the matter quite embarrassing, but it really couldn't be blamed on the Tang Empire's intelligence department.

The place was originally under the responsibility of the Shireck Consortium, and those intelligence personnel from Shireck were simply ineffective, yet they couldn't be replaced quickly and were only barely filling the numbers.

Among these people, there was a mix of various types, and some were simply Sofia's spies or double agents from other countries. Expecting them to accomplish anything was truly more difficult than ascending to heaven.

But the Tang Empire indeed had little reach over Gobur, and even Dorne, these Eastern Continent empires. The Tang Empire had always focused its main espionage network efforts on Dahua and another focus on the Laines Empire.

These were regions that the Tang Empire would inevitably engage with at a certain development stage and were, of course, areas of utmost concern for the Imperial Security Bureau.

As for Dorne and Gobur, these places were originally not priorities, so there was no corresponding sufficient investment.

Developing espionage, placing personnel, all require real gold and silver. It requires upfront investment and follow-up progress. Sometimes, to take a position, it often takes a year or even several years.

"Many over there have issues, I've already ordered an internal investigation..." the bartender continued.

"They should have been checked out long ago, these idiots!" Li'ao snorted discontentedly. After venting his frustration, his attitude somewhat softened: "Conduct a thorough investigation and remove our opponents' infiltrators!"

The intelligence network, while absorbing talent, inevitably faces infiltration from the other side. Everyone mixes in their operatives with the other's ranks, using our operatives to identify theirs...

In short, after repeated infiltration, everyone has bits of each other in their ranks. The only difference is how much of us is in you and how much of you is in us.

"If necessary, let Xu Guo handle it!" Li'ao thought of a trusted subordinate, which made him seem excited.

The bartender nodded slightly and said, "Yes! Director! Let Xu Guo handle it! Let those damn fools get a good look at the true tough guys from our Tang Empire."

"Be careful! Always remember, our people's safety is the priority! Do not take reckless risks!" Li'ao immediately added.

"Yes!" the bartender responded again.

...

The Shen Emperor never expected that there could be a country even faster than his Mirage Country. Learning about the Gobur Kingdom's situation while in the northern refuge manor lifted his spirits considerably.

He even requested more dried fish for dinner to celebrate the event. This kind of schadenfreude was one of the few entertainments left for the Shen Emperor.

The Shen Capital defense battle was still fiercely ongoing. Mid-December, Ben Island experienced its first snowfall, though the snow fell in the northern mountains.

This snow paused the Tang Army's bombings targeting the northern mountains, giving the Mirage Country a brief respite.

Without the bombing impact, hidden power plants in the northern mountains of Mirage Country could finally operate and generate electricity. Many factories finally received power, significantly boosting the production of Shen Army weapons and equipment.

These light weapons armed many civilians, who dug trenches in the mountainous region. The northern defense works gradually increased, making the Shen Emperor more at ease.

The plan was originally to delay the war by several months; now that snow had arrived, the Mirage Country's strategic objectives appeared to have been met.

Snow! It was good news for the Mirage Country; the Orcs would soon lose their enthusiasm for attacks, and the front lines would temporarily stabilize.

If they could seize the initiative before winter ended and sign a surrender treaty, perhaps the Goblin might have a glimmer of hope.

Unfortunately, that faint hope came at the cost of countless lives of Mirage Country's goblins fighting on the front line.

While the Shen Emperor enjoyed electric lighting and servant service in his small house, soldiers on the Mirage front line were in lethal combat with Orcs in the cold weather.

Though there was no snowfall, the temperature had already dropped. Wearing cotton-padded coats and boots, the Orc troops were still not well accustomed to such weather, pausing their offensives, providing a breather for the Shen Army.

Both sides' positions gradually solidified, and fights rarely broke out throughout the day. If not for the Orcs frequently launching Junker bombers, the goblins might almost forget they were at war with the Orcs.

As time passed, not only did the war in Mirage Country halt, but the conflict between Dwarves and Elves also came to a standstill.

Both sides were frantically fortifying positions, waiting for next spring's arrival when the weather improved to continue the battle.

Correspondingly, the warfare between Zhao Yu and Zhao Jie also had to stop: the climate in their region suddenly soured, the temperature dropped sharply, forcing both armies to abandon their original plans.

For all other countries' field armies besides the Tang Empire, wintering outdoors was far from easy.

Generally, the troops needed to construct sturdy camps and prepare ample fuel, a process that often spanned several weeks, which is why so many armies ceased military operations as winter approached.

Of course, sporadic skirmishes would persist; if logistics allowed, launching a limited-scale winter offensive wasn't impossible.

The Orcs were planning just that, equipped with supplies and provisions from the Tang Empire, clearly not treating this winter as a threat.

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The second update will be released tomorrow; there's no need to stay up late waiting.