Munitions Empire

Within the walls of Chang'an City, there were many institutions, but one from the very beginning emanated an uncomfortable air. It was always somewhat cold, reminiscent of the chill in a morgue.

The entrance to this place was small, as was the courtyard, and it was rare to see people coming and going. The sign hanging at the door was also small, with the name "National Data Statistics Bureau" inscribed on it.

In fact, quite a few people knew that this was actually the intelligence department of the Great Tang Kingdom, officially known as the separate intelligence agency of the military, "Great Tang National Defense Army Intelligence Bureau."

Rising through the ranks on a trail of corpses and bloodshed, Bai Fei was now a Major General of the Great Tang Security Bureau. He was currently sitting in his office, discussing a case he was investigating with a colleague from the Security Bureau, "How is the investigation going?"

In reality, the Great Tang Kingdom had two, or even three distinct intelligence systems, each operating independently. One was the military's "National Defense Army Intelligence Bureau," another was "Security Bureau" under Li'ao's command, and another was "Ministry of Internal Affairs Security Bureau" led by Yulin, not to mention the "Special Protection Troops" under Wes's control.

In terms of roles, the first three were large intelligence institutions, while Wes's intelligence network was more inclined towards investigating intelligence related to Tang Mo's security, a smaller organization dedicated to Tang Mo's guard.

The inter-agency competition and mutual oversight ensured the efficiency of Tang Country's intelligence agencies, not overly worried about a leader's betrayal or hoarding secrets.

Bai Fei, a general forged as a sharp blade for Tang Mo, was especially active in the intelligence forefront—his nickname, "Blood Hand," was well-earned.

The expert seconded from the Security Bureau on economic issues placed a stack of documents on Bai Fei's desk, "Just as we estimated, Shireck's wealth is indeed shrinking significantly. Many of their industries have been sold off, and the value of others needs to be reassessed."

The military was tasked with investigating this case mainly because Li'ao's intelligence department was short-staffed and unable to monitor all of Shireck's movements, thus necessitating cooperation with the military.

Both sides shared outcomes and cross-verified each other's investigative data, aiming for more accurate reports and data for Tang Mo.

The expert opened the file, flipped to the corresponding page, and continued, "Many second-tier workshops, the outdated assets they were unwilling to improve themselves, have been disposed of. Due to the failure in the war, some treatments became very hasty."

Bai Fei glanced at a few sensitive figures on the document, then asked, "So, have we figured out how much money it is?"

The expert shook his head with difficulty, "It's hard to tell, it could be as much as two to three hundred million Gold Coins. It's difficult to estimate because many accounts are unclear, and we don't have access to all of Shireck's accounts. Analyzing and summarizing parts of the accounts individually results in a large variance in figures."

"Shireck Consortium is indeed too massive and too corrupt; there's great potential for manipulation," explained the expert familiar with such tactics, "It's very possible they're also seizing the opportunity to sort out their assets and wealth, attributing some of the deficits to this fluctuation to minimize their losses."

"Fake accounts?" Bai Fei instinctively felt the matter shouldn't be so simple, recalling how the landlords he killed also tried every means to hide private property in hopes of a comeback.

Sure enough, the expert from the Security Bureau shook his head, "Not just fake accounts, but many things that never actually existed. For example, a design department long deserted, flintlock gun workshops obsolete for decades—the books claim they have a dozen production lines, but in reality, they are all furnaces from the last century. How much do you think they're worth?"

"What a disgrace, have they decayed to this extent?" Bai Fei scoffed, forgetting that he once was a part of such decay.

He had forgotten his past self; now, he was the King's mad dog, the maddest dog who bit the hardest. And as a mad dog of the new world, he considered himself at least one belonging to this new world...

Indeed, he now felt he no longer belonged to the old world; Tang Country had shown him a brand new future and introduced him to something truly worth his loyalty.

The economic expert thought it was necessary to give a lesson to the brute from the military, "If Shireck had continued to prosper, these paper accounts could all be money-making chips. Don't underestimate their intelligence; they're greedy, not foolish."

Bai Fei disagreed, "But facts have proven that they have failed, and all these have become their burden..."

Seeing Bai Fei not grasping the deeper implication, the expert elaborated, "I actually think it may not be the case... What if I told you, of these cut down, lost under our watch—factories... talent... Gold Coins... how much is a real burden, and how much are quality projects?"

"You mean?" Bai Fei frowned. He was a soldier, once a useless one, now a "military dog," and truly had no time for the kind of thinking typical of businessmen.

"Take a look at this." The economic expert from the Security Bureau turned the document to another page.

"Sofia committed suicide?" Bai Fei raised an eyebrow; this intelligence was the responsibility of the Security Bureau, and he would know a little later through his channels.

"Yes. Shireck's men and ours had her under control, but she hid a handgun and shot herself in the head..." said the economic expert.

"Are you sure she's dead?" Bai Fei instinctively glanced at him.

"We're certain... However, what we at the Security Bureau can affirm is that the 'Sofia' under the control of our dispatched personnel is dead!" The expert stressed his words, prompting Bai Fei to catch the subtlety.

"Do you suspect that she was a fake?" he naturally inquired.

The expert flipped through the documents in front of Bai Fei: "It's not suspicion, it's extreme doubt. We're trying to gain control of Sofia's original assets, but the whole process has been extremely difficult."

"Some of Sofia's followers are trying to embezzle those assets, and we can only compete with them. Although we have seized the lion's share, many assets have been whisked away by certain people," he continued, pointing to several figures on the documents.

What he didn't say was that because Sofia's death was too convenient, too abrupt, Li'ao and the bartender, among others, seriously doubted that the Sofia who died in their hands was the real Sofia.

Their reasoning was that the woman who once controlled the Shireck Consortium and had battled them for so long shouldn't exit the stage in such a simplistic manner.

"That's quite normal, isn't it?" Bai Fei said, drawing on his extensive experience with seizing landowner gentry's assets and somewhat understanding the insights here.

Those people would always hide some money. Even in death, with hidden money never seeing the light of day again, they would still tuck some away.

The economic expert nodded in agreement with Bai Fei's observation. However, he also offered his view: "Right! Indeed, it's very typical, but we can't ignore the impact of even common occurrences."

"There are records indicating that around 70 million Gold Coins in assets, and cash... vanished right under our noses. The whereabouts unknown, squandered, taken by others, diminished after failures... Sofia even sold her Flame Castle to one of her mistresses for just 10 Gold Coins—before we got there," he explained, flipping to the relevant document to show Bai Fei.

Bai Fei saw those figures, the kind that could drive a person mad: "That's no small sum."

The expert sighed in agreement: "Yes, it's certainly not a small sum. I'm all too familiar with such operations; even if only half of that 70 million were to be utilized without our knowledge, it would turn into a hundred million, maybe even two hundred million in a few years!"

"Is there any way to stop this?" Bai Fei asked curiously.

While speaking, he shook his head helplessly: "There's no way to stop it; we're also tracking the whereabouts of these unclaimed funds, but it's really not easy."

In this era, there were neither computers nor networks, making the accounting process very troublesome and loophole-prone. To trace the destination of every single transaction was truly an insurmountable task. Furthermore, when there are people deliberately concealing the money trail, it becomes even harder to find.

Having said this, the expert immediately added, "But no matter how difficult it is to find, we can be sure of one thing."

"What's that?" Bai Fei continued to inquire.

The Security Bureau's economic expert bluntly replied, "Someone is walking around with a huge amount of money, and they probably have ill intentions toward us."

Bai Fei nodded in agreement with his analysis: "You make a good point. Is this one of the significant reasons why you believe Sofia might not be dead?"

The expert expressed his opinion: "Personally, I feel whether she's dead or not is irrelevant. The important thing is, a force opposing us has not perished! They are hiding in the shadows, still watching us, with enough money in hand to buy a kingdom..."

"It sounds as if they are harder to deal with than before?" Bai Fei felt that such an enemy, lurking in the shadows, was more formidable than the forthright Shireck Consortium.

The expert nodded vehemently in agreement: "Yes, indeed. However, don't worry; I believe we will eventually root them out one by one and bury them in the ground."

"You're right! I will bury them all! If necessary, I'll do it with my own hands," Bai Fei, who had some experience with burial, confidently stated.

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Dragon Spirit Knight bids everyone a Happy New Year, wishing all the readers good health, immunity to all poisons, abundant wealth, and good fortune in the New Year!