Munitions Empire

They are killing machines, formidable weapons for rapid assaults, but certainly not crafted for the comfort of their occupants.

Despite a series of modifications to Tang Mo\'s cabin, life aboard such a vessel was still not an easy affair.

However, for Tang Mo\'s safety, the higher-ups of the Great Tang Group had rejected plans for him to travel on a luxurious sailboat or the alternate option of a Freedom-class liner.

In the eyes of the leadership of the Great Tang Group, sailboats—outdated, slow and unsafe—were utterly unsuitable for someone like Tang Mo.

As for the Freedom-class liner, which came with a myriad of labels from the outset, it was even more out of the question for such an important individual as Tang Mo.

After all, its slow speed and the significant skimping in its design, where safety requirements had been sacrificed for budget, resulted in a barely functional piece of junk.

Thus, the final decision was for Tang Mo to travel to Dragon Island on a warship, and the main leadership of the Great Tang Group would relocate to Dragon Island along with him.

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Tang Mo finally departed from Brunas. The moment he boarded the ship, it seemed as though the city lost its luster.

All those in the know understood that Dragon City would become the new core city of the Great Tang Group, no longer the once dazzling Brunas.

"Principal! Dragon Island is within sight! Ahead lies a steel transport fleet from Dorne," a navy officer approached, stood at attention, saluted, and proudly reported.

"You\'ve worked hard," Tang Mo gathered his thoughts and smiled at the officer. Typically, one could discern the relationship between Tang Mo and the speaker based on the form of address used.

Those close to him often called him "Master," others preferred "Teacher," while those who addressed him as "Principal" or "Mr." suggested a certain distance.

On the distant seas, indeed, there was a vast fleet of sailboats, which had also spotted the Wolf 2 cruiser maintaining its course.

What surprised these sailors, frequent voyagers on the Dragon Island route, was their first sight of a Wolf-class cruiser; since Wolf 1 had previously been committed to missions in Winterless City, the security of the passages was ensured by Brunas-class ironclad warships.

"Look! A new warship! It\'s not a Brunas-class!" Those sailors, used to hauling bricks to Dragon Island, were quite familiar with the designations of the older generation of Great Tang Group warships.

"That\'s a new warship, longer… and it looks prettier too," another sailor said enviously as they gazed at the distant vessel.

Indeed, they envied it—for they had drunk with the sailors from the Brunas-class warships in the bars on Dragon Island, having learned of the impressive amount those men earned.

"Two more Brunas-class warships?... What\'s the joke... such a large fleet. Has something happened on Dragon Island?" The first mate became anxious upon seeing an entire fleet of the Great Tang Group.

He thought of the iron ingots piled in his cabin—their key to wealth on this trip. Nothing could go wrong!

The captain came over at that moment, squinted towards the Wolf-class cruiser and after a careful look, he said, "Doesn\'t seem like something\'s happened. Besides... what could possibly trouble a Brunas-class warship? The navy of Zheng Country? Don\'t be foolish. Even if all the sail-powered warships of the Endless Sea were to converge on Dragon Island, it would be to seek their own demise."

After finishing his words, he took out a cigarette, lit it with a match and contentedly started smoking before nonchalantly tossing the match into the sea—only he had the privilege to smoke onboard, a captain\'s prerogative.

This brand of cigarette, hailing from Brunas, was highly popular in Hotwind Port; many of the wealthy enjoyed purchasing packs because they\'d heard that these were the very same brand favored by the God of Wealth.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette before continuing, "See that flag? It\'s somewhat different from the usual Dragon Banner of the Great Tang Group..."

The first mate looked carefully before noticing the subtle difference, "Two flags... The red Dragon Banner is up, but that golden Dragon Banner… Hisss… surely not? Is that a family crest?"

The captain nodded slightly, his expression inscrutable, "Hmm, might be some important personage from the Great Tang Group heading to Dragon Island..."

The first mate was taken aback, then speculated, "Maybe that gentleman... is on board the ship."

"Very likely! Hoist the signal flags, let the signalman send out greetings and signals of respect! Have the fleet reduce speed and yield the way," the captain ordered with a nod.

Atop the mast of the leading armed merchant vessel, the signalman began manipulating the small red and blue flags in his hands, sending a message in semaphore to the smoke-emitting warship in the distance.

This semaphore communication code had been standardized by the Great Tang Group; it was increasingly being accepted by maritime transport fleets, with everyone starting to use this "universal flag signal" code.

"The other ship is slowing down to give way!" On board the Wolf-class cruiser, the captain set down his binoculars with adjustable focus and looked to Tang Mo, who had just entered the bridge command center.

Tang Mo was startled, then said, "Is there such a rule?"

"Generally speaking, civilian ships are supposed to give way to warships at sea," the captain explained.

Then, his executive officer grabbed the ringing telephone receiver in front of him and put it to his face, "This is the bridge! ...Understood, I\'ve got it."

After he hung up the phone, he walked over to Tang Mo and his captain, stood at attention, and saluted, "Report! The lookout at the mast has just confirmed that the other party has sent greetings through flag signals, expressing their respect to us."

"It might be that they saw your flag," the captain immediately thought of the problem, "And guessed something."

"Ah, money is indeed great, isn\'t it..." Tang Mo joked, "Then pass on my thanks to them."

"Yes, Principal!" The captain stood tall and proud, immediately responding.

...

"Attention!" At Dragon Harbor\'s port, on its largest dock, all the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment of the Great Tang Group\'s security troops stood at attention in the salty sea breeze, steel guns raised in their hands.

Tang Mo descended the gangway and saluted these military men, while Tagg, with his chin held high, accompanied Tang Mo, energetically walking past the troops on parade.

Now the Great Tang Group had three regiments of security troops in total, with one regiment stationed on Dragon Island, another regiment dispersed in Brunas, and the last one, just formed a few months ago, already deployed to Jade City.

"Seeing you all truly makes me happy," Tang Mo said as he walked forward, speaking to Roger and Tagg behind him.

These were the two men he trusted most; hence, he had stationed them on Dragon Island. Indeed, their character had proven to be solid, and they did not disappoint Tang Mo\'s expectations, transforming Dragon Island into a robust stronghold.

Dragon City was still not as large as Brunas—after all, as an island, its development could not match the rapid pace of land-based cities like Brunas.

But its advantage lay in being isolated and secure, and it was also suitable for Tang Mo to test a series of new weapons. Now that cars had been mass-produced, airplanes naturally appeared on Tang Mo\'s agenda.

And testing things like airplanes under others\' watchful eyes was somewhat unsafe, so Tang Mo had decided from the start to build an airplane testing facility on Dragon Island.

Between Weigang and Dragon City, there was a large expanse of jungle that could be utilized, where the land was either superior oil fields, very good farms, or at worst, forests rich in timber resources.

Establishing an airplane testing facility amongst these jungles could almost be said to be a piece of cake.

"After all, I have not let you down; when these old bones of mine return to the earth and I meet your parents, I\'ll have something to show for it," Roger, who now looked much older, said. Managing an entire island was obviously taxing for him, given his level and ability.

"You\'ve done very well," Tang Mo showed great respect for this elder, who had always been diligent by his side, "I am here now, you can take a break."

"That\'s great! My old bones—oh..." Roger\'s face wore a smile as he looked upon the city he had built from nothing, filled with a sense of pride.

"Your castle has been completed; it\'s been wired for electricity following your requests, with telephones and telegraph rooms, and all the servants have been personally selected by me," Roger said as he helped Tang Mo into the car.

"I am very assured," Tang Mo glanced at Tagg, and Tagg nodded slightly, then joined Roger in another car.

Three Rolls-Royces, with the rest being trucks responsible for security work. It was unlikely that large-scale enemies would appear on the island, so no military armored vehicles were arranged to escort them.

Still, five trucks, two in the front and three at the back, protected the vehicle carrying Tang Mo and his party, loaded with the fully-armed elite of a security troop platoon.

These elites had always been Tang Mo\'s personal guard, arriving together with the warship. This was also due to the considerations of security personnel from Brunas.

In any case, they trusted no one; if need be, they would suspect their own colleagues and devise security plans.

Along the bumpy ride, Tang Mo caught sight of Swan Castle… Now, it had a new name: "Dragon\'s Den."

In the future, as the most core stronghold of the Great Tang Group, this would be Tang Mo\'s home. It had the safest defense systems and was also equipped with the most modern and luxurious interior decorations, even featuring the world\'s most advanced technological equipment.

The entire castle was served by electricity, connected by telephones, equipped with independent backup generators, secret safe rooms, alternative escape tunnels, and an exclusive armory for Tang Mo…

In short, this place was perfect enough to make any sovereign drool with envy.