Munitions Empire

The new train employed new carriages, and General Feng Kezhi, along with the deputy who accompanied him for a leisurely stroll, only purchased the top and bottom bunks; on the other side, the top and bottom bunks were occupied by two other passengers.

General Feng Kezhi and his companion were the first to board the train, as they were, after all, military personnel, and thus had priority access through the ticket checkpoint.

As the two stuffed their luggage under the lower bunk, two other passengers, one after the other, boarded the train. Judging by their attire, both appeared to be businessmen, one seemingly more successful than the other.

The fastest way to travel would have been by plane, but General Feng Kezhi did not opt for this. Partly, he wanted to enjoy some scenery along the way, and partly because Tang Country had relevant safety regulations.

Given that the current rate of airplane malfunctions was still high, senior officers could choose not to fly.

Although General Feng Kezhi had chosen to travel by train, he did not deliberately inconvenience himself; he opted for a soft sleeper, the most expensive type of train ticket in Tang Country.

The hard sleeper had no compartment door and featured three bunks on one side—top, middle, and bottom—this is an old traditional design copied from Huaxia trains by Tang Country.

In contrast, the environment in a soft sleeper was much better, with only two bunks on one side, significantly more vertical space, thicker mattresses, and more comfort when lying down—this is the origin of the name "soft sleeper."

Soft sleepers also have a compartment door, meaning four bunks share one door, which can be closed during sleep to increase safety.

As the two businessmen entered the bunk room and saw General Feng Kezhi and his deputy, they faltered for a moment and then began to awkwardly arrange their luggage.

Indeed, encountering Tang Country military officers on a train isn't a pleasant affair; senior officers' deputies are entitled to carry firearms on trains, which can indeed be nerve-wracking.

After all, besides the military, there is a gun prohibition in Tang Country, and ordinary citizens do not have the privilege to carry firearms.

Seeing these two businessmen, General Feng Kezhi's deputy also felt uneasy; he had initially wanted to remove his weapon belt to relax, but now that was no longer an option, and even while sleeping, he'd likely have to keep one eye open.

General Feng Kezhi, however, did not mind; sitting on the lower bunk, he struck up a conversation with the two unfamiliar travelers. From the wealthier businessman, he learned many pieces of information.

For instance, Tang Country was constructing a brand new railway, so the northern city of Beiyuan was about to boom. If one wanted to invest, they could consider buying land in Beiyuan.

Real estate had been quite a hot industry these years. Unlike the type that involved buying land to build houses, the Great Tang's property speculators were keen on acquiring land to hold and wait for its value to increase.

This was essentially exploiting a loophole in the law; these individuals bought promising lands, held onto them, and waited for the government's requisition to make substantial profits through land acquisition differentials.

Those operating in this manner often possessed exceptional judgment, or had insiders at high levels tipping them off. In essence, they made money quickly and even developed a certain level of cooperation.

After picking up insider tips, they'd band together and stockpile vast amounts of land in areas expected to rise in value, nearly encircling cities with their purchased plots.

When the Great Tang Group was ready to develop these cities, short-term speculators, after mutual agreement, reduced their prices first, allowing the Great Tang Group to prioritize purchasing the land.

Then, the surrounding lands would decrease in price sequentially, reducing less and less until, ultimately, the remaining areas, generally held by well-capitalized consortiums, patiently waited for their land to skyrocket in value due to urban development before selling.

In the early stages of development, Tang Mo encouraged such investments. He even participated, buying some land to make a profit to supplement his additional expenses.

However, as Tang Country developed continuously, such speculative practices increased and severely impacted the urban development of Tang Country.

Therefore, Tang Mo found an excuse to punish a portion of these property speculators, curbing the trend—however, from overt to covert, these capitalists still engaged in similar dealings, just more discreetly.

Tang Mo was aware; he was merely adopting a "lenient" approach, allowing these individuals to "sip the soup." He was accumulating wealth and hoped the wealth could circulate; this was a necessary choice.

Upon hearing the news of Beiyuan's large-scale construction, General Feng Kezhi realized that Tang Mo seemed to have designs on the Mirage Country to the north.

If it were purely commercial transport, expanding the northern city of Beiyuan was undoubtedly not a good choice. Clearly, weighing cost-effectiveness and functionality, Beiyuan's importance wasn't that high; Linshui could easily replace it.

Thus, the expansion of Beiyuan was clearly not a commercial necessity. As a military man, General Feng Kezhi quickly thought of a possibility: in the future, Beiyuan City would become an important supply base for the Tang Country Navy.

If Tang Country wants to plot against Gobur, Dorne, Laines, and other empires, then shifting the naval supply focus to Dragon Island is the best choice. And if they wanted to bolster commercial transport, Linshui Dongwan is the preferred choice...

With such an elimination, only Mirage Country remains a target.

Thinking this, Feng Ke smiled to himself: his new Emperor really was an interesting person with a vengeance mindset. Mirage Country indeed had been hopping around annoyingly in the past few wars.

He liked this style and very much wished to possess such power: the approach of a gentleman taking revenge directly, far more effective than the nonsense of waiting ten years.

Thinking this, he chatted with a wealthy merchant about the expansion plans of Beiyuan City. Although the merchant was reluctant to say much to Feng Ke, he still revealed a lot of information.

Another merchant, who appeared less wealthy, sat quietly on the side, listening and occasionally interjecting, showing quite some insight.

Later, Feng Ke learned that this slightly less impressive-looking merchant was not simple either; he owned a sizable shipyard.

This time, he had come to Tang Country to purchase blueprints; he was preparing to produce a fishing ship over one thousand tons in displacement, to meet the production needs of deep-sea fishermen.

His shipyard was in Winterless Port, originally a shipbuilding dock left behind by the Great Tang Group. The infrastructure was somewhat aged but still usable.

The merchant planned to first make some money off the fishing ship blueprints, then invest back into improving the shipyard's equipment, aiming to acquire the production capability for liberty ships within two years.

Feng Ke casually inquired about the performance of the liberty ships, shocked to discover that Tang Country had, years ago, possessed giant ships capable of transporting two billion bullets in one go.

When he heard that the number of liberty ships sailing on the Endless Sea was nearing a thousand, he was stunned by the Great Tang Group's capacity to change the world.

What was more intriguing, the shipyard owner began to share amusing maritime tales, captivatively drawing both Feng Ke and the wealthy merchant's focus away from discussions about Beiyuan City; both listened intently to his stories about submarines.

He vividly described submarines dashing across the ocean, recounting how a 4,000-ton freighter he produced was effortlessly sunk by a torpedo launched by a Tang Country submarine.

Feng Ke had previously heard about submarines, but hearing a civilian share their perspective on submarine warfare in the ocean was still intriguing.

So, he listened quietly, absorbed by those distant and exhilarating stories.

For a moment, Feng Ke even felt that it would have been good if he had been part of those stories.

The thought flashed by, leaving him feeling somewhat dazed. Although he had already decided to stay, the emergence of such a thought signaled subtle changes within his heart.

Having such thoughts indicated that subconsciously, he had already accepted the Great Tang Empire, already considering the Great Tang Empire as the entity he would serve.

Just as Feng Ke was astonished by how quickly he had internally resonated with Tang Country, the wealthy merchant picked up the conversation, lowering his voice, and "leaked" to the few people in the carriage: "I heard that during the battle at Fengjiang... the Great General of the Dahua Empire, Feng Ke... actually! Didn't die!"

Hearing his name unexpectedly made Feng Ke glance towards the speaker, and then he heard the merchant soberly start describing how his friend's younger brother's uncle's granny's granddaughter, a nurse at a field hospital in Fengjiang, had seen him.

He solemnly described Feng Ke's appearance, continuing that Feng Ke was injured and not dead! He spoke of Feng Ke losing an arm and a leg, having six or seven or eight holes in his body, yet was miraculously saved…

Feng Ke's eyes widened as he listened to others recount his own legend, unsure how to react.

Later, hearing the wealthy merchant begin to describe a heartbreaking romance between General Feng Ke and a female head nurse of the Great Tang Empire, Feng Ke felt his old face might melt in embarrassment.

What ultimately crushed him was that later, the tycoon even spilled national secrets of the Dahua Empire: apparently, Zhao Kai was infertile, and none of those Princes were his.

"You… should stop talking… Feng Ke is indeed dead," Feng Ke embarrassingly interrupted the other's wild claims.

"Oh? General, do you have some insider information?" Hearing Feng Ke's words, the two merchants immediately perked up, gossiping together.

Feng Ke was caught off guard and then had to muster up a lie: "He really is dead, we have internal news... shot twice, once here, once in the stomach, someone saw the body."

He gestured below his collarbone and near his stomach wound, earnestly stating: "No arms or legs were broken… really."