Munitions Empire

He was well aware that if he didn't show these people the full strength of the Great Tang Group, they wouldn't understand that the times had changed.

Not far away, the city's residents had also been gathered together, inexplicably standing on high ground, waiting for the grand "self-introduction" that was soon to come.

It would be a memorable bombardment feast, as well as the old Dongwan Port's final scene in this world.

After a moment's silence, rolling thunder began to sound from the sea. As the rich landlords standing behind Dino saw the entire battery being turned upside down, they were so frightened that they could hardly stand steady.

One by one, thin or fat, the old and middle-aged men were scared silly, collapsing to the ground to feel the tremors emanating from beneath them.

Before their eyes, the grand battery that had been painstakingly built over hundreds of years by ten generations of people was being demolished by cannon fire into a pile of ruins and rubble.

The massive explosions sent stones flying dozens of meters into the air, dust churned in the sky, and shockwaves carrying fine gravel swept everything around, followed by the rising plumes of black smoke.

"How about the Navy... of my Great Tang Group?" Dino didn't look at the scenes he had already seen but, with the explosion at his back, looked at the locals who were already terrified out of their wits and asked loudly.

As he asked his question, more artillery fire came, striking the battery, which could momentarily be seen only by the brief flashes of fire amidst the clouds and mist stirred by the explosion.

However, those local aborigines witnessing these explosions knew very well that if there were soldiers there, or rather, no matter how many soldiers were stationed there, they would be done for by now...

No wonder these foreigners wanted to dismantle the batteries, no wonder they didn't need batteries... because no one could breach such a navy and threaten the city from the sea! No one!

Just a few breaths later, the local aborigines witnessed the impressive sight of 155mm caliber cannons dismantling the city walls.

In the previous battles, two shots from 105mm cannon had brought down a section of the wall, and the local Shen country's Troops surrendered, so no one knew what was actually happening outside the city.

But now, everyone could see with their own eyes the Great Tang Group's artillery Troops were bombarding the walls with their cannons, each shot causing the walls to fracture and collapse amidst terrifying explosions and deafening roars. The war became tremendously alien to them.

Standing over there, the surrendering general of the Shen country, Shenwu Xiong, also witnessed this incredible scene. Only now did he finally realize just how thoroughly the Shen country had been defeated.

He even felt somewhat relieved, relieved that he had seen the situation clearly and surrendered early. Otherwise, in the face of such terrifying fire, his Troops would probably have disintegrated before they even had a chance to surrender.

Shen Wenmao, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief at Shenwu Xiong's side. Before, he feared that his and Shenwu Xiong's surrender would become the shame of the Shen country.

But now, it seemed... surrender might not be an unacceptable choice after all. If you surrendered too late, you probably wouldn't even get prison food, right?

Thinking of this, Shen Wenmao stealthily glanced at Shenwu Xiong, finding that they seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Thus, they exchanged a look of having survived a disaster, each sighing with relief, feeling unusually light-hearted.

"Now, do you think, city walls... batteries... are of any use?" Dino walked up to the local aborigines who had just gotten up from the ground and asked.

By now, the sound of the guns had receded, and he no longer needed to shout. Tagg had no interest in interfering with Dino's work, merely standing to the side watching.

"No, no use at all, Sir, you are right to demolish them..." The old man who had strongly opposed before quickly gestured with his hands, reasserting his position.

"Yes, yes! Sir is wise! Sir is wise!" The rest of them also nodded in quick succession, as if afraid of speaking too late and displeasing Dino.

"To benefit the community, care for the neighbors, cooperate with my work, obey my commands..." Dino reached out and patted the shoulder of the leading old man gently: "Don't give me an excuse. I am a new official taking office and will always need to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys... Who? Who wants to be that chicken?"

As he asked this question, his eyes swept over Shenwu Xiong Shen Wenmao and the other local landlords, magnates, and influential figures.

"My lord jests! Whatever your commands are, we will certainly cooperate. We are all willing to follow your dispatch," a group of people nodded and bowed, creating quite a lively scene.

"Dino's work in Dongwan is not bad," Tang Mo said while Yulin helped him sort out documents, his hands mischievously wrapping around the beauty's slim waist, his nose brushing against Yulin's hair strands, and he took the moment to praise his student.

"Hmm..." Yulin's response was somewhat soft, making it unclear whether she was enjoying Tang Mo's embrace or responding to his words.

"I heard that he has already caught over 200 literates there, and started to teach the locals to read and write?" Tang Mo's hands roamed over Yulin's body as he savored the intimacy, yet his words were work-related.

Yulin, who was used to this, continued to help Tang Mo organize the documents while she reported, "The latest telegram says they have caught 500 now, they only teach language, and don't learn anything else..."

"He's indeed caught on to the key point," Tang Mo said, also catching on to a key point, making Yulin let out a soft yelp and twist her supple body slightly.

"You always enjoy teasing people," Yulin, with her face blushing to the tips of her ears, turned around, her face blooming like a peach blossom and her eyes misty with spring, "You have a meeting in 15 minutes, will you make it?"

Tang Mo coughed. Although he was happy to take advantage, if he really caused a scene, he truly wouldn't have enough time...

So, he withdrew his hands, stepped back a bit with reluctance, and opened some distance between them: "I heard he's made a list?"

"Workers, training teachers, engineers, books, food, seeds, agricultural guidance... According to his demands, we might as well move to Dongwan Island," Yulin said as she straightened Tang Mo's disheveled clothes, her voice filled with a hint of exasperation.

"Ha, I still need to send soldiers, cannons, ammunition, steel, machine tools, generators, gantry cranes... to Dongwan Island. Transport capacity is indeed tight," Tang Mo sighed. He was really a bit troubled about how to quickly develop Dongwan Island.

You must know, according to Tang Mo's plan, at least 100,000 troops would be stationed there, and there had to be a production capacity for war equipment to supply 100,000 soldiers—probably not enough even in a year.

Or more precisely, far from enough! Even with the full support of the Great Tang Group, for Dongwan Island to catch up with Dragon Island's level of development within a year would be a pipe dream.

Don't assume Dragon Island was built so quickly because Brunas had a prior accumulation of population and technical personnel. Now, half of the dividends accrued by Brunas had been allocated to Dragon Island, and further dividing resources for Dongwan Island was obviously insufficient.

After all, Hotwind Port, Winterless City, Eternal Winter Port, and Osa were all eagerly waiting, hoping that the Great Tang Group could give them more technical talents and materials.

To support Dongwan Island, Tang Mo had pulled out all the stops, even leasing sailing fleets from other countries, desperately transporting materials to Dongwan Island.

But Dongwan Island was in desperate need of so many things. Having just gone through a war, agriculture was neglected, the population was dwindling, everything was in dire need of rebuilding.

Thinking of all this, Tang Mo felt immense pressure. He rubbed his forehead, turning to Yulin, "What about that bastard Nangong Hong? Thinks he can give me a bad idea and then go slack off in Hotwind Port? Call him back!"

"Hasn't he been there for just over ten days?" Yulin reminded with a smile.

"Consider it a vacation," Tang Mo raised an eyebrow, deciding that Nangong Hong should hurry back and offer him advice, "Send him a telegraph."

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I was originally free today, but my wife had some trouble at work, and we talked for a long time... Sorry, just one update today. I still owe everyone... well, it seems we're back to owing five updates...