Munitions Empire

"Yes, Master!" Li'ao lowered his head, "There's one more thing. Those we've placed inside Shireck via the dandelion connection, as well as the overt routes through Sofia, have started to make an impact."

He mentioned the production of two types of weapons, "The opposition is currently focusing on improving their production lines and are manufacturing the Shireck Type 1 rifle we provided them with. Also, the Shireck Type 1 pistol has already begun mass production."

"As they should, if they didn't make use of it, then they wouldn't deserve to continue existing," Tang Mo sneered coldly.

In fact, compared to what Tang Mo provided to the other Shireck council members, he had given even more to Sofia. It's just that these secret aids had not yet unleashed their true power.

Once Sofia is somewhat prepared and begins to exploit these technologies fully, she will become the savior of Shireck. By then, the Great Tang Group's Shireck subsidiary would truly be established successfully.

Li'ao bowed slightly and continued where Tang Mo left off, "They are currently upgrading their private army and I believe that many of the countries under their control will soon be equipped with these."

"That's to be expected, after all, the Shireck Type 1 pistol is very useful, isn't it?" Tang Mo continued nodding, his laughter growing even more cheerful, "Just that, when they encounter Thomson, they better not be too surprised."

...

"Do you think I might die this time..." Standing on the lengthy runway, an engineer with a pale face looked at the huge machine in front of him, somewhat nervous.

"If you're really scared, then let me do it!" Another engineer standing by his side said disdainfully, with contempt.

"Then why did you take my 10 Gold Coins and give me your place..." the frightened engineer complained discontentedly.

The engineer who had taken the money and was now feeling some regret decided to rectify his mistake, "If you regret it, take your money back!"

He now felt that selling his chance to be on the world's first passenger plane flight for just 10 Gold Coins really was a bit cheap.

Indeed, seeing his colleague regretting, the engineer who was now less regretful waved his hand, "I don't regret it, I just feel... this thing looks... not so, not so safe..."

This airplane was actually a modification of an old World War I bomber, as Tang Mo was in dire need of saving his own time.

Although he couldn't travel back and forth between Brunas and Dragon Island in such a backward, unsafe plane, for important documents and items needing rapid transport, using a plane was obviously more convenient.

And for the transportation of key personnel, using a plane was naturally faster, hence the manned experiment this time.

Before this manned experiment, this modified transport plane had already flown twice, once unmanned and once filled to capacity with heavy cargo.

Both flight tests had been successful, so this time an experimental internal flight was organized. 10 engineers were to board the plane, taking off from a secret airfield near Dragon City and flying to Weigang.
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Although the distance was not far, it was indeed a monumental feat.

The engineer who had sold his first flight experience spoke resentfully, "I've said it already, if you think it's unreliable, you can let me do it."

"Are you regretting giving me this chance?" asked the engineer who had bought the opportunity but was now somewhat too scared to try, still tense.

"Yes, I regret it!" Finally, the engineer who had sold the flight opportunity broke down, admitting his regret, "Can I have my money back?"

"But, but I feel that this is a great moment, I, I should be such a person." The engineer too afraid to board the plane grew a bit more determined...

"Then just shut up!" the despairing engineer who had sold his opportunity said with a voice full of resentment.

"But I'm so nervous! Can this thing really take off?" the engineer too afraid to fly still went on incessantly.

The engineer who had sold his opportunity covered his face, crying out in helpless frustration, "Damn it!"

All of this was merely the innate apprehension humans felt when facing flight for the first time. To ensure safety, three engines were installed on the plane.

One was mounted on the spine of the aircraft, right above the pilot. The other two engines were symmetrically installed on either side, nestled between the wings.

The two pilots could independently control the plane, and there was an additional reserve pilot on board who could continue flying the plane if anything happened to the other two.

The design was such to guarantee the absolute safety of the aircraft. It could be said to be the safest aircraft of its time.

Parachuting, as an escape method for those who hadn't undergone rigorous training, remained a highly dangerous option, so this plane could perform a forced landing if necessary.

Because the aircraft of the era were slow, forced landing was a very safe emergency measure. The actual cruising speed of this aircraft was only 160 kilometers per hour, which was already quite slow.

The slow speed meant that the emergency landing was much like a drag race hitting a roadblock—as long as you buckled up, the chances of survival were quite high.

Soon, even if reluctant, these engineers still dedicated themselves to their great cause. They entered the cramped fuselage and, with the help of their colleagues, secured their seat belts.

The airplane took off quickly, gliding elegantly down the lengthy runway. Accompanied by turbulence in the airflow, its wheels lifted off the ground and the entire fuselage began to hover in the air.

Then the people on this plane experienced the convenience brought by the aviation revolution; they arrived at Weigang in less than an hour and landed at the experimental temporary airport there.

They finally realized the immense potential of the machine they had created, its emergence was enough to change the entire world!

...

Inside the steel plant in Dragon City, a huge metal framework had been completed and was to be transported to Dragon Harbor shipyard this afternoon.

This massive steel structure had a super large circular base—indeed, it was the steel frame of a turret.

Around this structure, a steel shell would be fixed, and then thick armored steel plates would be installed on the shell.

Because of the extensive use of riveted structures, the weight of this turret was incredibly heavy. It was entirely powered by electricity, could rotate rapidly, and point its two 305-millimeter caliber guns quickly at the target.

Within this structure, there was an automatic loading mechanism that extended downwards to the ammunition depot inside the hull. It could transport shells from below the deck to inside the turret and then load them into the cannons.

This system significantly increased the guns' rate of fire, ensuring that the staggering calibers of 305-millimeter heavy guns could fire at an acceptable speed continuously until they hit their target.

The Jade City-class battleship had five turrets, all in a classic twin-gun design, uniformly equipped with 305-millimeter caliber main guns, totaling 10 main guns on the ship. Its broadside could ensure maximum firepower, allowing eight main guns to fire simultaneously, with six guns' firing arc at the front and rear, also boasting formidable attack capabilities.

Without exaggeration, there was not a single warship in the world that could face such terrifying firepower, nor was there any that could threaten its thickest armor, which reached 280 millimeters.

It was an invincible entity, at least until the next generation of warships was commissioned, it was the invincible one!

Thanks to the use of a new type of power, even this super-battleship with a total displacement approaching 17,000 tons and armor weight exceeding 5,000 tons could reach a maximum speed of 41 kilometers per hour.

This was no joke, meaning it could even keep up with Wolf-class cruisers and, at least over short distances, could give chase.

It also meant that it could basically catch up with any ship in the world and tear it apart with its fearsome firepower.

"The third one! Just two more to go... Finally, we can take a break," said the chief engineer responsible for manufacturing the turrets of the Jade City-class battleship as he massaged his shoulders and sighed with relief.

"Yeah, we can rest for two days," his colleague standing next to him also remarked. These days, to ensure the production schedule, they had been working overtime day and night, and indeed they were a bit exhausted.

This wasn't about working 8 hours a day and then doing 2 hours of overtime. This was about working 10 hours a day, plus 3 hours of overtime!

In today's world, there was no such thing as labor law, nor any workers' rights. Tang Mo was already considered a decent capitalist because there were others far more excessive!

Now, the standard working hours were 12 hours! This applied to almost all industries! If they really pushed, then working 14 hours a day wasn't uncommon.

And that was without overtime pay! An employer like Tang Mo, who only required 10 hours of regular work and paid for overtime, was already the conscience among the conscientious...

"Are you perhaps thinking too much?" Parker walked over with a stack of documents and spoke up in the noisy workshop.

"What? More overtime?" The engineers looked shocked.

"Overtime! But this time, time is tight, and the task is heavy... Mr. Tang's meaning is... triple wages! Those unwilling can be replaced," Parker reassured them considerately.

"Ha! You're joking! I don't need rest, okay?" Money seemed to wake them up.

One by one, they energetically flexed their muscles: "Exactly! We don't need rest at all!"

"Then what was that complaint just now?" Parker smirked, exposing their act.

"What we mean is… we work so hard, we tire easily, so… pay us more!" Whether they were workers or engineers, technicians, everyone started to laugh.

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Another update is in order.