Munitions Empire

His words reminded Tang Mo of the United States, of the five magnanimous people—in another world with which Tang Mo was familiar, the world's most overbearing five arms dealers were also five nations!

They were nations, yet it had no impact whatsoever on their arms sales. Therefore, even though Nangong Hong's words lacked evidence, Tang Mo knew he was right.

"Similarly, although the Great Tang Group appears to be thriving, it is actually surrounded by crises! With such immense power, how could others not envy and fear it?" Nangong Hong then posed a question to Tang Mo in return.

To strengthen his persuasion, he even quoted some verses: "Even though the elephant is low-key and cautious, how could it possibly hide behind a tree without being noticed? When the fierce tiger merely passes by, how can the mice and rabbits not tremble with fear?"

Tang Mo had also realized that, with the continuous expansion of the Great Tang Group, being low-profile could not completely counterbalance the influence of the group anymore.

In all fields, the Great Tang Group had absolute control; if Tang Mo desired, he could effortlessly destroy a kingdom within the range of the Great Tang Group's influence.

This destruction would be economic, political, and even military—all at the same time. He understood this deterrence clearly, and the kings and ministers of those kingdoms could not possibly be completely unaware either.

Even if they could not see the whole picture, they could still discern clues from the details. Just like Nangong Hong said, an elephant cannot hide behind a small tree.

"The Great Tang Group has grown so large that its power is strong enough to overturn any kingdom," Nangong Hong firmly believed this after just a few days of observation.

In fact, many people could see that with just the prosperity of Brunas alone, the Great Tang Group had the capital to wage a war of annihilation.

However, for various reasons, these people pretended not to know or chose to keep silent even if they were aware.

Some were blinded by the benefits they received from Tang Mo, becoming willingly ignorant. Others had already boarded Tang Mo's great ship, just waiting for Tang Mo to set sail.

In essence, it wasn't that there were no wise people in the world; it's just that everyone's intelligence was being used in different ways.

While Tang Mo was still pondering these things, Nangong Hong already continued with a new question: "Then... Mr. Tang, if you were a king of a kingdom or an emperor of an empire, what would you think in the face of such a massive entity?"

"..." Tang Mo didn't speak because from some perspectives, he simply didn't care what these people thought.

The thoughts of the kings and ministers of these kingdoms were of no concern to him! He only needed to wait for the other side to make a choice and show their hand; then, he could counter accordingly.

"They will be sleepless at night, tossing and turning, guessing at your intentions! Holding such immense power, yet showing not the slightest ambition... You clutch their purses, control their military, and dominate their people, yet no one knows what you want to do. Do you think this is a good or bad thing?" Nangong Hong didn't wait for Tang Mo's answer and answered his own question.

Following that, he said, "People will suspect and fear you, and sometimes, they may be forced to take action, to remove you as an unknown threat. Sometimes, forcing you to erupt is actually comforting for many people."

Nangong Hong continued to inquire: "You possess power that can intimidate an empire, yet you hold back from unleashing it. It's like hanging a sharp sword over everyone's head, not knowing when it will fall. Do you think... is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

"You continue speaking," Tang Mo responded without any intention of answering; he simply let Nangong Hong go on. He knew this was Nangong Hong's question, but it was also a problem Nangong Hong had to solve.

Tang Mo was now the boss, and Nangong Hong was the one applying for the job. Just raising questions was not enough to earn Tang Mo's good salary and treatment; Nangong Hong needed to have the ability to solve problems for Tang Mo before he could secure the position he desired.

In other words, Nangong Hong's relentless questioning here was not really asking Tang Mo, but rather testing himself.

Only if he could answer these questions to Tang Mo's satisfaction would he have a chance of staying at the Great Tang Group...

"On the other hand, if you simply reveal your intentions, it would put most people at ease, as long as your intentions do not conflict with their interests, they're less inclined to have destructive thoughts," Nangong Hong indeed continued.

"As for the issues you mentioned earlier, they are actually quite easy to resolve... After all, becoming an emperor is not something that can be achieved overnight... It requires planning, waiting, gathering strength, emphasizing a natural progression..." First, Nangong Hong offered a basic solution to Tang Mo's concerns.

The strategy was simple, to delay—wait until Tang Mo had progressed enough with his current affairs, then look back at pursuing the matter of becoming an emperor.

Although this couldn't perfectly solve all problems, it could at least allow Tang Mo to temporarily and safely implement his currency replacement policy. At the same time, it would enable him to retain most of the military market: "Once Mr.

Tang overthrows the existing Gold Coin system in the economic field and promotes Brunas's paper currency, and once we stabilize the market and expand our influence to a point where it cannot be ignored by others, it would still be timely to declare oneself Emperor."

"...Build high walls, stockpile grain, and become King at leisure?" Tang Mo muttered an interesting allusion to himself.

"Hm?" Nangong Hong was taken aback upon hearing Tang Mo's summary—he was stunned by the precise culmination of Tang Mo's words.

He had thought that the plan he proposed was an ultimate solution that Tang Mo had never considered. But from Tang Mo's muttered words, he heard something different.

Clearly, Tang Mo had considered this aspect, which was why he could so accurately and succinctly produce such a wise summary.

Thus, Nangong had to recalibrate his understanding of Tang Mo and couldn't help but express his admiration: "Mr. Tang... such talent! In just nine words, you've summarized the essence. I am no match for Mr. Tang."

Tang Mo didn't take it to heart, because the phrase wasn't his own summary, so he felt no pride that it belonged to him—after all, that was Zhu Sheng's advice to Zhu Yuanzhang, and it had nothing to do with him!

Unfortunately, Nangong Hong wasn't aware of this, thinking Tang Mo already had a well-prepared plan, which led to his great admiration, and at that moment, he even felt a sense of kindred spirit.

While Nangong Hong was savoring those words, Tang Mo, out of curiosity, posed a question he was increasingly interested in: "So, as Mr. Nangong says, if I were inclined to be an Emperor... where would be a significant place to achieve this?"

Hearing his question, Yulin, who was standing behind him, tensed up for this was the first time she heard Tang Mo discuss the topic of becoming an Emperor.

This likely signified that the future development goals for the Great Tang Group might change, transforming from a business conglomerate to an Empire, into a ruling group of an Empire!

For other countries, this was definitely not good news. Because the Great Tang Group would become a powerful competitor for everyone.

Wes's complexion also underwent a slight change—for him personally, being the bodyguard of the boss of Great Tang Group, and the personal guard of an Emperor of a vast Empire, was somewhat different.

He swallowed, his mind already fantasizing about driving for an Emperor of an unprecedented great Empire, through a scene of millions of impressive soldiers.

It's no exaggeration to say that, for every person in the Great Tang Group, if Tang Mo truly entertained the notion of becoming an Emperor, it would be fantastic news.

It meant that they would all have an opportunity for promotion, a chance to rise like a dragon—if they seized this chance, they would become the masters of an Empire!

So, even Wes and Yulin couldn't help but be stirred at that moment. To become the consort of an Emperor, to become the most trusted guard of an Emperor—how could that leave them unmoved?

When Tang Mo asked such a question, Nangong Hong felt he had almost succeeded by a hefty margin.

Therefore, he became even more composed, and named a country: "Zheng Country!"

"Hm?" Tang Mo hadn't expected Nangong Hong to give such an interesting answer. Because this answer actually coincided with his next target. So he looked at Nangong Hong, waiting for him to provide an explanation.

"At the northernmost part of the Endless Sea, the Ice Cold Kingdom is barren. Although it has a large number of mines, it doesn't have suitable arable land, making it less advantageous to occupy! Moreover, the Ice Cold Kingdom and the Great Tang Group are allies, with a stable relationship in the short term, and suddenly making them an enemy would be unwise," Nangong Hong then started his analysis.

"Hmm," Tang Mo nodded, as a sign of approval.

"We should keep the Poplar Kingdom and the Elves as a northern barrier, to stop the Dwarf Kingdom from restoring its power and prevent them from moving southward with ease! Plus, this has traditionally been within the sphere of influence of the Great Tang Group. Claiming such a place would only bring trouble to ourselves…" Nangong Hong continued explaining.

"For the same reason, the southernmost Taren does not offer much room for development—simply a collection of islands, at best a producer of grain. There's nothing to agonize over there," since he didn't know about rubber and other industrial raw materials, Nangong Hong's conclusion was somewhat one-sided.

Of course, he was unaware of how crucial rubber and some other crops were for the modern industry.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

However, even such a one-sided conclusion was actually quite accurate. To establish a nation in Taren at that time would lead to direct economic conflicts with Dorne, something the Great Tang Group did not want to see.