Munitions Empire

In this world, there's only one Rolls-Royce, which was handcrafted by Mathews and his team. This car's performance outclasses all other cars of its era, as there are only two types of cars in this world right now.

One is called Rolls-Royce, which is exclusive to Tang Mo, and the other is known as the Model T, a vehicle that many middle-class people can afford.

The recent talk of the entire Leite Kingdom has been focused on the Model T. If a noble does not buy a Model T, it seems as though they have been left behind by the times.

The brand-new Model T is very exquisite, and if one wishes to have it customized, then the price of a luxury Model T could skyrocket to 100 or even 150 Gold Coins.

Just think, Baron Stela only received a benefit of 100 Gold Coins per year from the Shireck Consortium, so this sum of money is definitely not insignificant.

Don't be misled by the Great Tang Group's expenditures of tens or hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins at a time; the world has not yet begun to experience inflation. Elsewhere, the purchasing power of a single Gold Coin remains quite astonishing.

In the past six months, the Great Tang Group has been largely engaging in barter, receiving much fewer Gold Coins than what has been heard.

It's possible that in one transaction, the Great Tang Group made a profit of 100,000 Gold Coins, but of this amount, the portion paid directly in Gold Coins might not even amount to 20,000, with most of the rest settled in hard currency.

These hard currencies include, but are not limited to, foodstuffs, steel, copper ingots, saltpeter for gunpowder, chemical materials, and even the population itself.

Moreover, some have come to trade with all manner of bizarre items, quite a few of which are laughable. For example, some merchants wished to settle accounts with gems, some with kerosene, and others with ships and similar products.

Of course, in addition to these, there are also horses, cattle, sheep, pork... as well as carriages, porcelain, tea leaves... In short, it's a hodgepodge, with a bit of everything.

Among these traded goods, the most welcomed by Brunas is the population! Tang Mo needs a large population to support his industrialization, specifically a useful workforce.

Thus, other merchants also know Tang Mo's needs and try to send as many freemen as possible to Brunas.

They describe Brunas as a city of gold, where anyone arriving can earn a large number of Gold Coins. Those gold prospectors in foreign lands simply cannot resist the temptation and end up being sent to Brunas in large numbers.

This is also why the population of Brunas was able to reach nearly one million in such a short time, and its growth has left the surrounding areas barren.

The siphon effect has turned Brunas into a gigantic leech, absorbing all the surrounding population into itself and turning once thriving villages into desolate ruins.

If it weren't for Tang Mo's arrangements, the chaos in the surrounding areas would have long since enraged the upper echelons of the Leite Kingdom. It was Tang Mo who pacified the local people and raised the local food purchase prices, which caused some locals to give up the absurd idea of going to Brunas to strike it rich.

The market economy is not a panacea; it often has its own limitations and lagging effects.

Relying solely on market self-regulation can easily lead to serious problems, and the emergence of these problems is often a delayed, inevitable outcome, not allowing the rulers to respond in time.

Conversely, a planned economy can actually be very advanced and stable in certain specific situations. But it has many issues as well, and a lot of them can't be improved.

Frankly, if a management system operates well and ensures no problems arise, then a planned economy is clearly more straightforward and easier to implement than a market economy.

Unfortunately, from any angle, it is impossible for the management to guarantee complete error-free operation. This means that a planned economy cannot function perfectly on its own.

On the other hand, relying entirely on a market economy can lead to sporadic growth pains during development, making an otherwise straightforward process absurd.

For example, Brunas currently cannot regulate itself using a market economy; it completely lacks the conditions to do so.

Firstly, the development of Brunas is fundamentally uneven, and many aspects are "special." These peculiarities decide that it lacks the economic structure needed for self-repair.

In one month, Brunas might gain 30,000 migrant workers, who certainly won't be bringing a month's supply of food with them to Brunas. They need to consume locally.

No one can precisely predict the population growth of Brunas for the month. Therefore, it's obviously impossible to expect merchants to transport food themselves to solve Brunas' food crisis.

By the time they realize food prices are rising and then start looking for food to transport to Brunas to make a profit, it would be too late to remedy the situation.

Thus, Brunas can only rely on the management to calculate in advance, make decisions, and adopt something akin to a planned economy to determine how much food and meat to import, even down to how much sugar, salt, and daily necessities and consumables to produce.

Because without timely replenishment of these items, chaos can easily erupt, which is an outcome the rapidly developing Brunas does not wish to see.

That is also why Tang Mo has been so busy lately, so busy that aside from preparing a portrait of himself, he essentially has no time to rest.

The affairs he is currently dealing with are as numerous as cow hair, including many plans involving the development of Dragon Island, all of which he must personally draft.

Now, every person he meets and every matter he discusses each day is important, none can be easily deferred.

"My lord." Just as Tang Mo relaxed his posture and walked up to his portrait to admire his dashing appearance, the door was once again pushed open from the outside.

A servant approached him, bowed slightly, and reported, "The envoy from Dorne has been waiting in the reception room."

"Let's go and see." Tang Mo's eyes did not leave his painting, as he was obviously very satisfied with it.

After all, this painter is also one of Dorne's most famous artists; he has the talent, just lacking the chance to become world-renowned.

Tang Mo gave him that opportunity, because his paintings would soon be operated by others, and his rise to the world's number one artist was nearly a certainty.

Art, when it comes to ranking first and second, is actually quite hard to determine, in the end it often boils down to a game supported by capital from behind the scenes.

"Thank you!" Tang Mo smiled at the painter and expressed his gratitude. In the painter's astonished gaze, Tang Mo turned and walked out of the room.

The painter stood there, petrified, his heart filled with that smile, the young man's smile like a spring breeze, enveloping his entire being.

Suddenly, he felt that the portrait in front of him was not perfect, and the painting he had outlined with all his skill and effort might not represent the pinnacle of his artistry.

He stood there motionless for a long time.

Then, he reached out his hand, dipped his fingernail into the pigment on his palette as if pouring out all his life's work, and gently added a short stroke to the corner of Tang Mo's painted mouth.

In a moment, the painting seemed to come to life, Tang Mo stood there, disregarding everything, overlooking everything, mocking everything...

The painter did not yet know that with this divine stroke, he had created the greatest painting in the world: "God's Smile."

Years later, that painting remains recognized as the foremost portrait in the world, and no other artist, including himself, had ever managed to surpass that portrait.

Tang Mo was unaware that his portrait had been altered at that very moment; he walked with Wes through the corridor to the reception room.

When the attendant helped him open the door, all the men wearing the black Brunas suits inside stood up and nodded slightly in respect to Tang Mo.

"Welcome to Brunas," Tang Mo greeted with a smile and then walked straight to the liquor cabinet, took out a bottle of "Dorne 171," and shook it, "Who wants a drink?"

Without waiting for the envoys from Dorne to speak, he ordered, "Wes, pour everyone a glass."

He handed the bottle to Wes and then walked over to his host's sofa and sat down with a plop, "I hear you've resolved to expand south?

"Yes, my lord! His Majesty hopes that you and the Leite Kingdom can support our Dorne in obtaining a southern seaport..." the leading envoy from Dorne did not sit down but stood there speaking to Tang Mo.

Tang Mo stretched out his hand and pressed down, signaling for the others to relax. Once everyone sat back down on the sofa, he spoke, "The world has its limits, and Dorne's expansion is already causing unease."

"Actually, the southern kingdoms are loyal to the Shireck Consortium, and they are also your enemies, my lord. Our annexation of them would extend your influence to those territories," the Dorne envoy immediately explained on behalf of his country.

"Let's talk specifics, we're all adults here. It's rather dull to use tactics meant for fooling children," Tang Mo took the glass from Wes's hand and spoke while looking at the others.

"Hotwind Port." The envoy from Dorne fell silent for a few seconds, then lifted his head to meet Tang Mo's gaze, offering Dorne's conditions, "It's yours."

"Additionally, we will consider extraterritorial rights for the Great Tang Group in Dorne. Your people will be protected by legal rights, and in case of crimes, they could only be extradited back to Brunas or Dragon Island for trial, how about that?" Seeing Tang Mo remain silent, the envoy continued.

"I will consider it." Tang Mo put down the glass, didn't even take a sip of the drink, and headed towards the door.