Munitions Empire

Shireck is now a mess, and the most valuable thing Tang Mo could get from investing his money and efforts is nothing but the framework of Shireck itself.

Actually, this framework contains many things that Tang Mo had desired before but couldn't obtain: such as human resources, mineral resources, and sales channels.

However, although these things look good, Tang Mo might not be able to fully utilize them: could he really take these things and use them completely as his own?

Everything within Great Tang Group is his alone, the people are his people, and the possessions are his possessions, so he can direct them as easily as moving his arm, doing as he pleases.

But it's completely different with Shireck. For Tang Mo to have a firm grip on Shireck and to be the one calling the shots inside Shireck is somewhat difficult.

Just look at Sofia, even after she really had become the chairman of Shireck, wasn't she still squeezed out by others?

Just one failure is enough for everyone to express their dissatisfaction with you, and the subsequent matters become utterly ruleless—this is also a cruel portrayal of the internal struggle within the Shireck Consortium.

Sure enough, after Tang Mo asked this question, the representative from Shireck began to illustrate the benefits that Tang Mo could have predicted himself, "Your Majesty, you can obtain Shireck's human resources, we have a massive workforce, experienced and compliant workers! They can be immediately put to work without a waiting period for you."

"In addition, we have countless mineral resources, iron mines, copper mines, oil fields... Whatever you need, we can find it for you! You don't need to worry at all, everything is ready and directly at your service." He spoke as if all these resources were truly laid out before him.

Truthfully, these things are indeed exciting: just think about it, if Saudi were to say they're selling all their oil fields to you, wouldn't you feel an inexplicable surge of excitement?

But in reality, a person with the wealth to buy all those oil fields considers many more issues; they wouldn't hastily think of it as a great investment deal, they would think, weigh the options, and judge carefully.

Tang Mo is the same. He is now a billionaire and doesn't need any gilding on the lily, so he just listened quietly, to the explanations from the other side.

The Shireck representative kept talking non-stop, showcasing the benefits of acquiring Shireck, "Should you be willing to join, then Shireck's influence will also become your influence around the world. You could influence the decision-making of some countries and secure many projects and orders previously unimaginable..."

"What you've mentioned, I'm actually quite interested in, but... do these benefits really exist?" Tang Mo asked, after waiting for the other party to finish speaking, posing a question that baffled the representative.

"What do you mean? I don't quite understand," the Shireck representative was somewhat at a loss, stuttering as he spoke.

"Firstly, I'm not very familiar with the internal workings of Shireck, I don't know by what methods you effortlessly stripped away so many of Sofia's shares... however, since controlling shares doesn't allow one to rest easy with control over Shireck, then what use would buying these shares be to me?"

"You could kick Sofia out of the game and deliver her life to my hands. Then someday, you might also kick me out of the game... right?" Tang Mo's pointed question left the other party unsure how to answer.

"As far as I know, many of your shareholders have bought shares in several companies within the Great Tang Kingdom and thus made a tidy profit. You dare to do this because you know that our laws protect your rights, and we never encroach on anyone's private property." Tang Mo smiled, as if mocking his opponent, "But you are different, you act without law or rules, you often betray and sell out... committing fratricide. How can I... trust you?"

"Your so-called industries are spread across the entire world, and the massive workforce you speak of is also scattered across the globe, how can I utilize such dispersed production capacity? I can only leak my technology; I would have to hand over my technology to these factories scattered around the world for these production capacities to be of any use," Tang Mo finished saying and looked at the other party before continuing on.

"But what happens after the technology leaks? You start to disobey my orders, begin using my technology to make money; what can I do about it then? Sofia took away quite a bit of my technology, initially cooperated with me, as you all know, but later she still initiated the anti-Tang war, still betrayed the covenant. This... is a fact," he said, pausing for a bit, as if waiting for an explanation from the other side. But without getting a response, he continued the conversation himself.

"Moreover, this resource issue you mentioned is even more ludicrous. Hasn't Great Tang Kingdom, Great Tang Group... suffered enough on this resource issue already?"

He sneered and then asked with full sarcasm, "Do you know how much Gold Coin we were owed before this war broke out? Countless iron mines they owe us, tens of millions of tons of oil! But they are all fantasizing about using a war to weasel out of these debts!"

"How many years has it been since the Brunas incident? Have you already forgotten? We had mines in the Laines Empire and in the Suthers Empire, we were living well in Brunas, but soon we were driven out, our mines, our wealth were all taken…"

He fired off these questions in a row, not looking for an answer, so he didn't wait for the other party to speak before continuing on.

The representative of Shireck kept wiping his sweat non-stop. After wiping it, he hadn't even managed to put his handkerchief back in his pocket when he felt liquid beginning to slide down his forehead again.

Talking about this made Tang Mo very pleased! He was originally the creditor, and now he finally saw the debtor.

So, he looked at the sweat-wiping counterpart and said non-stop, "Even now, you haven't paid off your debts, yet you plan to sell me the mines and ports, which you can take away at any moment, as resources again? And you also boast to me that these resources are what I desperately want…"

"Exactly, they are what I have always wanted! But now, aside from the mud pressed under the tracks of Great Tang tanks, which grain of sand belongs to me?" He gestured to the floor below and said, "Only here, is mine! I'm pretty sure no one can take it away…"

"So, instead of buying them and then waiting for you to turn your face and snatch them from me, isn't it better to wait for my million elite soldiers to take them themselves? Isn't that the rationale?" he asked, unable to suppress a laugh himself.

A well-fed army, advanced weaponry—it seems being a world superpower is really exhilarating. He could now relate to the attitude of Americans in '92.

Without waiting for a reply, Tang Mo brought up the third point: "As for Shireck's connections, how many do you have left that can be of use to me?"

When it came to this, Tang Mo was even more confident, "I'm not boasting, but because of the anti-Tang war you launched, your influence in the Western Continent has already plummeted, your influence in the Dahua Empire is almost gone, and Shu Country and Qin Country were never your main areas of operation anyway."

Now, in the Western Continent, Shireck's influence has indeed collapsed. The several Chinese countries were originally not infiltrated by Shireck, and now after a big defeat, they're even less likely to be influenced by Shireck.

Therefore, Tang Mo was very composed, "Chu Country is now my little brother, and the barbaric lands south of Chu Country are also out of your reach... Eastern Continent... Well, the emperors of the few empires who are preparing to pay reparations hate you to the bone, and the few remaining Dingzi on their royal courts are now living with their tails between their legs, right? Influence? Don't make me laugh..."

"On the contrary, by joining Shireck, I would encounter problems that originally did not belong to Great Tang Group." Tang Mo continued, seemingly not content until he had entirely disparaged Shireck's worth.

He spoke at length, causing the person across from him to sweat profusely, "Your reputation among the working class is already bad, you exploit workers, mistreat engineers, and recklessly kill innocent people. By acquiring Shireck, I might even inherit all this hatred..."

Wes, who was standing by, couldn't help but smile upon hearing this; he had experienced this oppression with Tang Mo. Back then, he was a Ranger, and Tang Mo was just a nobody. They struggled together under the shadow of Shireck, and nearly lost their lives in a war initiated by Shireck.

"You also haven't left a good impression on the ruling classes in various countries, meddling with imperial authority and infiltrating noble circles, making every country smoke-filled and chaotic, with many righteous ministers wanting to kill you sooner rather than later…" Tang Mo said as he gestured for Wes to pour him a glass of fine wine. After talking for so long, he was a bit thirsty.

While Wes was pouring wine, Tang Mo continued, "The mines you have scattered around the world generally follow traditional development patterns, requiring bribes to local dignitaries, exploitation of locals, backward technology and low productivity... I might even lose money first to upgrade production technology when taking over these places..."

The more he spoke, the more he felt as though Shireck was a giant pit: "My heavens, I don't even need an actuary to do the math, just thinking about it... Shireck is like a liability. Even if you offered it to me for free, I'd have to think twice..."

In fact, the Shireck representative sitting opposite him was also having deep doubts: Could it be... that Shireck's value had plummeted this much? Really, nobody would want it even for free?

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Yesterday's chapter was a 6000-word double chapter, Dragon Spirit didn't slack off... How unjust! Dear readers!