Munitions Empire

"Your Majesty, what Minister Xu has said makes perfect sense. I second his opinion!" Another official stepped out of line, bowed, and loudly addressed Zhao Kai, seated high before him.

Unlike the previous occasions, this time during the grand court meeting, the so-called "pro-war faction" of the military had not yet begun to stir the waters when the bureaucratic system had already started to sing a dissenting tune.

It seemed that as the reputation and pain of Zheng Country's demise gradually faded, it had now become a situation where everyone was reluctant to go to war.

However, for Zhao Kai, there was no need for him to rush to make a stance yet, since none of the ministers or the Prime Minister had spoken out yet. What was the hurry for him as the Emperor?

So, the Emperor continued to sit on his throne with an air of feigned ignorance, while the senior officials below remained in their designated places, daydreaming, allowing the less significant figures to showcase themselves.

By the standards of the efficiency of Great Tang Group's meetings, such an important grand court meeting was simply held in vain.

Tang Mo had always believed that meetings which gathered heads of all departments were meant to be coordinating meetings that required the mobilization of every department's abilities, where there was no need for discussion—only for assigning tasks and distributing roles.

As for those wrangling meetings where everyone had opinions to voice and difficulties to raise, the person in charge should go back to their own department to hold them, and after concluding, submit a report, then proceed with amendments and auditing.

There was no need for performance or dragging in irrelevant matters. Everyone should speak frankly; what was the point of adopting a performative personality... Every single person acting inscrutably - who are they trying to impress...

Therefore, he was quite averse to such a drawn-out meeting process and often reminded his subordinates not to put on airs before him, but to focus on efficient work.

Moreover, since the Tang Group was ruled by the word of Tang Mo, everyone trusted Tang Mo's decisions, thus the efficiency of the meetings was naturally exceptionally high.

Many matters didn't require discussion at all; they just needed Tang Mo to give orders, and the others would carry them out. Moreover, most of the time, no one would cut corners during execution.

Finally, when the expendable frontline forces had nearly dwindled, and enough pawns had made their positions clear with growing momentum, the primary players began to step in.

General Feng Kezhi, assuming his natural role as a member of the pro-war faction, continued to uphold his unyielding hawkish image.

But anyone with a keen eye knew that he was, in fact, the least willing to fight, merely helping the Emperor to display a tough stance.

If everyone were to suddenly keep quiet now and uniformly start to support the declaration of war, that would make for an interesting scene. The Emperor Zhao Kai's expression while sitting on the throne would then be quite a sight.

But everyone knew that was not how to play the game, not how things were done. Hence, the Minister of Works and heavyweight Chen Jing stepped out of line, bowing his head to rescue Feng Kezhi from his tough spot, "Your Majesty! I believe now is not the right time to go to war!"

At last, someone of significance had spoken, and the meeting officially kicked off! The drowsy Prime Minister Chu Muzhou opened his eyes, and Emperor Zhao Kai on his throne finally showed some interest.

After several rounds of confrontation, another Chief of Staff took the stage. The Minister of Revenue, Wang Yucái, bowed and came forward to declare his stance: "What Minister Chen has said is absolutely correct! I concur!"

Zhao Kai heaved a sigh of relief. The effect he wanted was now in place. As the Minister of Revenue in charge of finance, if Wang Yucái was set against war, then this battle was very likely not going to happen.

So he began his own performance, both expressing his determination to help Zheng Country regain its nationhood and fiercely denouncing Tang Country for usurping power and being deplorable.

Many ministers also followed suit, grinding their teeth in anger. Who wouldn't want to leave a good impression in front of the Emperor as 'one of us'?

Then came the Minister of Personnel Zhou Qiang, who stood up to powerfully argue against war at this time, his words resonating deeply.

His speech hit the heart of the Military Department and Zhao Kai, and together they began to perform the play of harmony between sovereign and subjects.

On one side were the veteran ministers shedding tears and the capable ones wringing their hands, and on the other, the Emperor choked with emotion, sighing with his hand on his forehead... The scene just lacked a host, a couple of award presenters, and a few golden statues...

If this were in a theatre, all the masters present, without exception, would definitely have a spot on the payroll—no doubt about it!

Following that, other ministers from various departments joined the fray, and the situation became temporarily tumultuous until, ultimately, the Emperor, for the greater good, decided to give up his personal desire for revenge.

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"Given the circumstances, issue a decree to admonish the leader of Tang Country, ordering him to fast and reflect, and to send envoys to the Dahua Empire to offer an apology," finally, out of sheer helplessness, Dragon Spirit, Emperor Zhao Kai, spoke up and settled the matter at hand.

As for whether Tang Mo would really fast for a few days for the destroyed Zheng Country or send emissaries to Dahua Empire to apologize… that was another matter entirely.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Hearing that the decision was finally set, Prime Minister Chu Muzhou, who had not yet spoken, immediately stepped forward and bowed in praise.

The old fox is finally on the move… Emperor Zhao Kai thought to himself with a sneer, and then began to enjoy the following tidal wave of compliments.

"Your Majesty is brilliant!" As expected, many Ministers followed suit, showering Emperor Zhao Kai on the throne with compliments.

Whether sincere or not, no matter how they were obtained, these sounds… were truly pleasant to Zhao Kai's ears.

He squinted his eyes indulgently, savoring the joy brought by power that others could never enjoy. He thought of the whispers of his concubines and the "insightful perspectives" of the inner servants, and he felt increasingly brilliant.

After all, being able to weigh pros and cons, stabilize all sides, and get every department to agree on a matter was an achievement in and of itself, wasn't it?

More voices began to join in the praise, with many Ministers escalating their acting skills and adding new flattery: "Long live the Emperor! This subject has met a wise ruler, and would die without regret!"

Then came the favorites from the Military Department, General Feng Kezhi and Shen Chuan, genuinely bowing and shouting: "Your Majesty is sagacious! Your humble servants cannot wait a moment longer!"

Zhou Qiang from the Ministry of Personnel was very proud; backed by investments from Great Tang Group, he could be provided with enough political contributions in the short term to help him more easily win over the neutral faction Ministers.

The old head of the Ministry of Works, Chen Jing, was also pleased. With the support of Great Tang Group, the railway he yearned for seemed hopeful, along with the construction of those factories, which were all sure to be political achievements. Before long, the Ministry of Works' influence within the six ministries was set to grow even stronger!

Shen Chuan of the Military Department breathed a sigh of relief, as his military reforms could continue for a longer duration. With no war on the horizon and no disturbances to contend with, he could significantly enhance the military's combat effectiveness within the year!

The other departments were also very satisfied with this outcome—they simply didn't want to go to war. Once a war broke out, amidst the chaos, how could they continue to engage in corruption or mix in society? How could they comfortably make money while lying flat in a time of war?

The concubines of the inner palace were very satisfied; with the matter resolved, the jewelry and gems they received no longer burned their hands. Read the latest on My Virtual Library Empire

The inner servants were also excited because they managed to receive a large sum of money just by casually saying a few ambiguous words—such a bargain was simply indescribably lucrative!

It seemed that, in a world where only the deceased Zheng Tong suffered, everything was settled.

...

Tang Mo, who was unaware that he was supposed to fast and apologize to a deceased person, was sitting in his office reading the report Luff had brought him.

Luff, who was now rightfully the Chief of Staff, reported, "The assessment results for the paratrooper experimental company are out."

As he spoke, he passed the list to Tang Mo: "Those without footprints on their behinds and without fractures upon landing, train them as company leaders. Those with footprints on their behinds but no fractures, and those with fractures but no footprints, train them as platoon leaders... the rest, after discharge if they dare to get on a plane again, promote them all to squad leaders…"

Tang Mo took the report and couldn't help but smile wryly, "...There's no helping it, there's a shortage of talent everywhere; we'll have to make do."

"..." Luff was silent for a few seconds, also sentimentally stating, "Indeed… we can only make do..."

These soldiers, who would be kings among soldiers elsewhere, here could barely earn a passing mark… Luff shook his head in a resignation that could not be wiped away: The competition was really too fierce.

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My stomach hasn't improved yet… It's been three days, and I've lost around 11 pounds… Dragon Spirit is too miserable, he dared not turn on the air conditioning for two days in the scorching heat...

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