Munitions Empire

Chapter 18: 18 confidential

When Tang Mo saw Tagg again, the military officer dressed in bright yellow was somewhat shyly bowing his head as he admitted his mistake, "I have to admit, I misunderstood you; I'm sorry, Mr. Tang Mo, I'm here to apologize to you."

He was a confidant of Lord Earl Fisheo, so he had always stood from Lord Fisheo's perspective, monitoring Tang Mo's every move.

Previously, he didn't understand the technology at all, so even if he had doubted Tang Mo's actions, he didn't have a good way to deal with him.

Now, having witnessed with his own eyes how the enormous machine Tang Mo had created could indeed replace manual labor in drilling gun barrels, he realized he had misunderstood the young weapons manufacturer.

Tang Mo smiled and waved his hand, indicating it didn't matter to him, "That's nothing; you were just being loyal to your duty."

He actually really liked the soldier before him—loyal and honest; he was the perfect subordinate.

It was unfortunate that this subordinate belonged to Earl Fisheo; he could only admire him, but not possess him. However, Tang Mo still believed that one day he would have a group of subordinates as loyal as Tagg.

Tagg, looking at Tang Mo's smile, nodded slightly in gratitude, "Thank you for understanding, sir. I think with such... such a magnificent machine, you will definitely be able to fulfill your promise to the Earl."

The steam machine that was constantly operating had driven two machine tools, which had drilled two qualified gun barrels in the past day.

It should be noted that this was still the experimental stage; if the machine were to operate at full capacity, it was estimated that it could produce ten gun barrels a day.

However, there were also problems. The estimated smoke emissions were somewhat miscalculated, and the chimney had been built too short in the rush to finish, causing the entire factory to be filled with the strong smell of coal smoke.

Tang Mo pointed to the steam machine that was still working tirelessly nearby and said to Tagg, "Yes, I plan to continue manufacturing such machinery in the next half month, and then start producing the weapons that Lord Earl needs."

Tagg was taken aback as he had thought that as soon as Tang Mo had manufactured this machine, he would start building the weapons required by the Earl the next day.

But from Tang Mo's words, it seemed he planned to continue making similar machines before producing the weapons and equipment that the Earl needed.

This outcome almost made him want to say something, but looking at Tang Mo's face, he opened his mouth and ended up saying as if possessed, "Then, that's really great."

"I hope everything goes smoothly." Tang Mo saw that Tagg did not criticize his production plan, and the smile on his face grew even more.

He clapped Tagg on the shoulder and began to persuade gently, "I hope you can help me with some things, Tagg."

Tang Mo wanted to expand his factory, which required extensive land. He intended to build his own arsenal empire, thus needing a more complete industry chain.

According to Tang Mo's plan, his first step was to ensure safe passage between his location and the Northern Ridge, so he prepared to buy the needed land in the direction of the Northern Ridge.

On one hand, he required the port of Brunas to serve his needs—transporting and stocking up on more goods, including a considerable amount of steel from sea transport and fishery products.

On the other hand, he also planned to explore timber resources of the Vicious Forest. With this timber, he could further expand his production and build more factories.

Between these raw material sources and the port, he needed a lot of land to construct his industrial empire—including numerous dormitories, factory buildings, and agricultural lands.

He would plant cotton here; the climate was very suitable for it. Previously, due to the sparse population and the cost of cultivation, nobody supported the venture, but now he was ready to spare no expense to transform the place into a genuine utopian retreat.

These empty spaces would become pig bristle farms, large smelting centers, and factory areas with chimneys lined up in succession.

In the midst of these factories would be schools for cultivating talent, markets filled with stockpiled goods, and worker dormitories that were tidy and hygienically maintained.

He wanted to turn this place into an industrial base even more spectacular than Germany's Ruhr district, stretching north to Wolf City, south into the mountains, backed by the Endless Sea, and facing the vast Leite Plains.

Enveloped by Tang Mo's embrace and overwhelmed by his requests, Tagg responded subconsciously, "I think that could be possible."

"You had better come with me. The Sheriff and Mayor of Brunas may not be so easy to talk to," Tang Mo continued.

Tagg naturally nodded in agreement, "I will make them see reason."

"That would be most fortunate. Additionally, I need leather workers, pig bristle processors, and it would be best to have doctors...," Tang Mo spoke excitedly.

"Are you planning to build your own town, my lord?" Tagg felt he might have agreed to too much, giving Tang Mo an incorrect estimate of the Earl's support.

In fact, the Earl's influence really was quite limited beyond the Vicious Forest, so using his name might not carry much weight here.

Of course, he couldn't possibly tell Tang Mo that the Lord Earl's name essentially carried no weight here, and that it would be better to be forthright...

"Roughly speaking, I want my workers to be able to buy food and necessities in my factory, to see their wives, to raise their children..." Tang Mo felt Tagg was quite astute; he had even thought of a town.

At that point, Tang Mo paused abruptly, and then he found a new angle, "Speaking of children... I should build a school here. The children should learn to read; they should be educated. If you can find some teachers, that would be better yet."