Munitions Empire

The thing that amazed Tang Mo the most was the country of Shu Country in the southwest of the Dahua Empire, which astonishingly had no monarch but operated under a parliamentary system.

However, this parliamentary system did not rely on elections or so-called "underworld cooking"; it was controlled by local nobility, and decisions were made entirely by a nobility committee.

When Tang Mo first learned of the system in place in Shu Country, he was surprised for a moment, and during the times when Tang Country was targeted by many countries, he wondered why Shu Country's system was not opposed by other nations.

He later discovered that this nobility-controlled parliament actually still operated under the feudal system, but had eliminated the role of the king or emperor. Everyone was afraid to assume absolute power, fearing they too might be eliminated, thus this system emerged.

The operating model of Shu Country was quite simple; a group of bigshots discussed matters and implemented the most feasible solutions, thus avoiding some decision-making errors to a certain extent.

Of course, many problems inevitably arose during its implementation, the biggest being the sluggish response of the entire nation when a large group could not produce a viable plan.

The invention of the radio in Tang Country brought a wave of benefits to Shu Country—this communication convenience gave new vitality to the nobility committee, speeding up communications and compensating for some deficiencies.

In the wave of reforms initiated by Tang Country's victory, Shu Country indeed took a leading position. Although their nobility members were as corrupt as ministers from other countries, they also had their advanced aspects.

These nobles were usually also businessmen, engaging in commerce or fostering merchants; their close relationship with business made them more sensitive.

They were the first to adopt Tang Country's advanced technology, allowing them to earn more money. In this process, they wisely developed some capitalist laws.

The main reason for drafting these laws was to protect their private properties, but the laws also indirectly encouraged production and granted workers some "benefits."

So when news of Shu Country's fervent reforms reached Tang Country, Tang Mo nearly thought he was witnessing the birth of another capitalist nation.

Shu Country was not only a major grain producer but also rich in mineral resources. This was unsurprising, given its terrain connected to the southern part of Chu Country and was mountainous.

With mountains and rivers, naturally, there were abundant mineral deposits. Additionally, Shu Country was an exporter of timber, medicinal plants, tea, among others, and also had a vast plain in the southern part of their country.

This plain, far from Dahua Empire and Chu Country, equated to a very safe rear area. This was also the foundation of Shu Country's resilience, allowing it to stand firm.

Governed by merchants, the country transformed quickly. Driven by money, their efficiency was not low, making Shu Country one of the nations at the forefront of the change initiated by Tang Country.

Another country that caught Tang Mo's attention was Qin Country, which had always lived under pressure, and its king's enlightenment truly exceeded Tang Mo's expectations.

The day after the ceasefire began, he sent a special envoy to Tang Country to purchase a series of weapons and equipment.

They wanted everything, including submachine guns, semi-automatic rifles, machine guns, and armored vehicles. If Tang Mo was willing to sell them, they were even ready to buy tanks and advanced fighter jets.

From the attitude of the other side, one could not tell at all that they had recently clashed with Tang Country, even fighting fiercely over some positions.

Besides purchasing weapons and equipment, Qin Country was also highly interested in Tang Country's system, for even though Qin Country's King had brainstormed a merit-based military system that had strengthened their military force, he was unable to rejuvenate Qin Country's economy.

Therefore, Qin Country sent envoys to Tang Country to learn, planning to introduce Tang Country's advanced technology to develop their domestic mines and oil fields.

Their land was rich in natural gas and also possessed massive quantities of rare minerals, and due to their climate, they also produced cotton.

With Tang Country's technological support, people in Qin Country believed they could lead a prosperous life. With advanced weapons from Tang Country, they believed they could defeat the Western Orc tribes and further expand their territory.

Besides importing advanced technology, Qin Country also hoped to examine Tang Country's political system. They desired anything advanced because they were terrified of poverty and had an unmatched drive for strength.

However, it was unfortunate that they truly didn't have much money; Qin Country's economy was far behind that of the Dahua Empire. Otherwise, they wouldn't have become a vassal state to the Dahua Empire, serving as its pawn.

Although the impoverished and militaristic Qin Country was willing to share their mining resources with Tang Country, this sharing was not safe due to Dahua Empire lying in between.

Therefore, Qin Country could only pay in cash to purchase everything they wanted from Tang Country, which indeed delayed the speed of Qin Country's self-strengthening.

However, soon both parties found a project to cooperate on: Qin Country bought a batch of arms from Tang Country, and then they used Orc slaves to repay the money.

Tang Country was desperately short of labor to build its vast territory, and under the circumstances where Goblin slaves were not sustainable, it indeed needed some cheap labor to supplement.

Tang Mo was not too keen on using those captives from the Dahua Empire as slaves, after all, they were humans, potentially part of the Great Tang Empire's population, and he did not want to waste them casually.

Moreover, mistreating captives indeed spoiled one's reputation, and there was a certain difference between mistreating Goblins and Orcs compared to mistreating humans. However, for those Orc slaves, the treatment of labor slaves in Tang Country might be better than their previous living conditions, so it might not necessarily be considered mistreatment...

Of course, Tang Mo would not let these Orcs sacrifice for nothing, he planned to transfer their jurisdiction to Yue'er, and allow these Orcs to become civilians of Tang Country after a few years, living equally on the land of Tang Country. It was a long process and also a test.

As long as these laborers from afar could help Tang Country through the most difficult initial construction period, Tang Mo did not mind seeing some green-skinned people on his territory.

After all, for ethnic minorities, there were also bonus points in exams. If a green Orc with long pointed teeth appeared in the military academy, that would certainly be an interesting sight.

The southern part of Chu Country, which had given in, also had some Orc tribes, and further south, there were even some Elves. If one wanted to engage in the slave trade, Chu Country could also give it a try.

However, Chu Country now had a cornucopia, its oil was itself a huge wealth, so the people of Chu Country no longer had the heart to engage in warfare.

Not long after the war had ended, Chu Country received assistance from Tang Country, including 2000 cars and 400 armored vehicles.

Under the guidance of Tang Country's engineers, Chu Country built 15 large airports in mountain hollows in one go and was also constructing a road between the new King City and the eastern ports.

The entire Chu Country, with the help of Tang Country, seemed like a massive construction site, showing a thriving scene everywhere.

Previously, the nobility of Chu Country looked down on the southern mountainous area because the living conditions there were poor and it produced little.

But now it was completely different; there was a substantial amount of oil resources and many conveniences that were not there before.

To prevent floods from happening again, Tang Country's engineering team entered Chu Country and began to build dams upstream on various rivers; these water projects could also generate a lot of electricity, providing ample energy for Chu Country's new cities.

With this energy, the modernization of Chu Country's cities faced no bottleneck, which also opened up possibilities for development. Used to luxurious life, the nobility of Chu Country suddenly discovered that life in the mountains wasn't as miserable as they had imagined, rather, it seemed to be trending towards a wealthy and influential status.

Because Chu Country had given in and become a vassal state of Tang Country, it enjoyed most-favored-nation treatment in many aspects, such as their airports being directly usable by Tang Country planes. Airline routes opened by Tang Country effectively put Chu Country's airports into use.

Thus, the DC-3 planes that Chu Country purchased could be used for domestic routes, thus instantly making up for the shortage.

Tang Mo hadn't expected that his exploitation of Chu Country would produce a group of Middle Eastern princes from another world. The King of Chu and the nobility below directly developed themselves into a model of "I'm the richest under the cloth on my head."

In Tang Mo's view, the countries within the Chinese circle, each rushing toward "parliamentary republic," "constitutional monarchy," and "wealthy big household" systems, formed a picture so beautiful he could hardly bear to look directly.

Aside from that, another relatively enlightened country was the Suthers Empire because this empire had previously been led by a "Dandelion" dispatched by Tang Mo, relying on reform to strengthen the nation.

Regrettably, the previous Prime Minister had died, and Dandelion, who had directed the reform, also returned to Tang Country, making the Suthers Empire somewhat clumsy in grasping the key points of this reform during this period.

There were also conservative countries, notably the Empire of Nanla, which was the furthest from the worldly war that embroiled much of the world; it had almost no change at all.

The Emperor of Nanla hardly cared whether the Great Tang Empire rising far away on the Western Continent mattered, his only concern was whether the Emperor of the Great Tang Empire was his son-in-law.

Thus, the Nanla Princess who had traveled far stayed in Chang'an and did not leave, frequently attending various high-society balls, displaying an attitude that if Tang Mo did not marry her, she would not leave.

Unfortunately, those familiar with Tang Country's elite circles knew well that Tang Mo, His Majesty The Emperor of Tang Country, never attended those dance parties or the like.

He did not have the time for that: you see, due to the complexity of the entire design, Tang Mo had recently been engaged in his "Global Nuclear Leveling" project, barely spending time with his two sons, let alone attending some damned gatherings.