Munitions Empire

"Ugh..." Zhao Kai was pale, leaning on the shoulder of an attendant, retching non-stop into a basin as if he wanted to vomit out everything in his stomach.

He had just made an unwise decision: he ordered the screening of a recorded footage from the frontline in his grand hall.

As Tang Country's film industry flourished, cameras were no longer a mystery, and many countries purchased these expensive devices to record various oddities.

For instance, such equipment would make an appearance during court banquets, where nobility used to show off their wealth by filming when film was still very expensive a few years ago.

The camera would capture those extravagant noble lives; in the silent films without sound, noblewomen curiously gazed at the lens, flaunting their lavish dresses.

These images were also precious, documenting the lifestyle of the nobility, reflecting the local customs and culture as well as the changes in fashion and makeup over the years.

It must be said that Tang Country's makeup and fashion had deeply influenced many countries, with Tang's dresses gradually becoming the mainstream attire for noblewomen abroad, differing only slightly in style according to regional trends.

At the same time, various countries were also vigorously forming their own film teams to shoot stories in order to counter the subtle cultural invasion from Tang Country.

For example, Tang Country exported more than thirty films to various countries each year before the war, most of which were very popular.

These films spread the ideology of Tang Country, featuring content that infuriated the old nobility.

For instance, the positive figures in Tang films were often charitable and morally upright new-style nobles, who were outstanding social elites. They appeared handsome and wealthy in films, punishing the uncharitable villains, and were warmly welcomed by audiences.

Among the most famous films was one called "Count of Kunlun Mountains," which told the story of a commoner whose wife was taken by the local old nobility, and himself pushed off a cliff, only to be saved by a captain of a Tang warship, who then took him to Dragon Island for advanced learning. Eventually, he skilled up, became a wealthy noble of Tang with a fortune, and then heroically rescued his wife and exacted his revenge.

Originally this story wasn't anything special, just an old-fashioned tale of revenge. But coupled with the backdrop of the rise of Tang Country, it became more convincing.

Many people made their first fortune in Brunas that year, and many changed their lives in Tang Country.

In Tang Country, indeed one could become an admired and beloved government official through learning, and one could realize one's political ambitions through hard work.

Thus, when a very realistic story about aspirations was presented to everyone, it had a profound and fascinating impact.

Consequently, many countries began to make their own films, telling their own stories—and with it, the method of recording images spread, quickly gaining popularity in a wider range of fields.

Later, upon discovering that cameras could record real situations from afar, shooting and bringing back these precious live images became an important use of cameras.

Shireck's engineers used this method to analyze the battlefield performance of weapon systems and often brought cameras to the frontline for use.

Following that, as Tang Country's new weapons were increasingly deployed on the battlefield, capturing footage of Tang Army's weapons also became an important part of recording and analyzing Tang's equipment and copying weapon designs.

This time, by chance, a camera had filmed the Tang Country's White Phosphorus Bomb raid on Fengjiang City, and Shireck sent the film back to the Imperial Capital of Dahua for processing and analysis as conditions there were better.

Having heard the news, Zhao Kai was very curious about the White Phosphorus Bombs, which even General Feng Kezhi had mentioned with caution in his report. He truly wanted to know how terrifying this weapon was that even Feng Kezhi feared it.

Therefore, Zhao Kai summoned the advisors from Shireck and ordered them to play the footage of the frontline attack by White Phosphorus Bombs in his palace.

Initially, Shireck's engineers refused, as they had seen the content and thought it was too horrific and not suitable for Zhao Kai to watch.

However, Zhao Kai insisted on seeing it for himself, and even called in Shen Chuan, Chu Muzhou, and Minister Chen Jing of the Ministry of Public Works, among other ministers.

In the end, the Shireck side agreed to Zhao Kai's request, thinking: If you want to see it, we'll show it to you, but don't blame us for not warning you if there are problems.

The result was that Zhao Kai saw on the big screen the attack of the White Phosphorus Bombs that burst open in the sky like thousands of meteors hitting the earth.

He saw with his own eyes soldiers smeared with burning white phosphorus writhing on the ground like eels, struggling incessantly.

In the footage, houses were on fire, and thick smoke billowed everywhere. Officers waved their arms helplessly while soldiers on fire screamed beside them.

Because there was no sound, Zhao Kai couldn't hear the tragic cries of the soldiers. But he could clearly see their open mouths, the hysterical despair so palpable that it could be felt through the screen.

The scene quickly became crowded with the injured, including soldiers whose arms had been burned away, amid ruins and barricades built from rubble and broken bricks.