Munitions Empire

Military matters were reported by Luff, who continued with a report on the recent dynamics of Zheng Country's troops, "On Li Jun's side, our control is also declining, as he has realized the danger and has already moved his most trusted troops to guard crucial positions within Zheng Country."

"The basic intelligence of these rulers is still there—they'll accept bribes and eagerly intensify their actions without a moment's hesitation. However, when it comes to actually selling off their power, they become reluctant," Nangong Hong lamented.

Li'ao passed a new intelligence report to the center of the table, "Yes. There is intelligence indicating that the higher-ups in Zheng Country have begun to consider plundering nationwide by expropriating all factories and seizing the fruits of industrial victory."

"Once Zheng Tong takes action, our losses will increase and our efforts to manage Zheng Country's entire territory will be affected," Parker reminded with concern, responsible for overseeing industrial development.

The Great Tang Group's investment in Zheng Country has been staggeringly large, including roads as well as factories and schools, among other things. If Zheng Tong were to preemptively grab these assets, recapturing them would inevitably involve some losses.

Retrieving even half would be considered very fortunate. This is something the industry-rich Great Tang Group was unwilling to try lightly.

"What is the Staff Department's opinion?" Tang Mo looked at the map hanging on the wall, followed the progress bar with magnetic cursors, and finally turned to look at Luff before asking.

In fact, he already had his own answer and was only hoping to hear suggestions from his subordinates.

Everyone present knew the answer because, during the discussion, everyone's leanings were quite clear.

Indeed, Luff provided the reply Tang Mo expected, "Start acting in advance, implement 'Dragon Plan' before Zheng Tong makes his move."

"Now?" Tang Mo's gaze swept across every person seated on both sides of the table.

"Now!" Luff continued to nod, once again giving a definitive answer.

Tang Mo saw the resolute look in everyone's eyes, nodded, and then said, "Alright, I will sign the order. Let Tagg take command of the front lines."

After speaking, he added, "The naval fleet will proceed as planned, head to Chen Country and exhibit deterrence! Tell them, if they dare to poach during our conquest of Zheng Country, I will bundle them together with Zheng Country for cleanup!"

"Yes!" Luff stood up and saluted.

Tang Mo also stood up, bringing the emergency combat meeting to a close, "Send a telegram to Tagg, begin implementing 'Dragon Plan'! The starting time... is the moment the telegram is sent."

"For the victory of Great Tang!" Nangong Hong, unable to contain his excitement, quickly stood up and exclaimed loudly. Due to his vigorous movement, his chair scraped the floor, making a piercing noise.

Following that, the scraping sounds of chairs on the floor erupted in succession as everyone stood up, their chins raised and voices loudly chanting in unison, "For the victory of Great Tang!"

...

"A top-secret telegram. From Dragon Island," a female officer walked into Tagg's office on Dongwan Island, handing him the telegram from Dragon Island while he was engaged in military affairs.

Tagg took the telegram, glanced at it briefly, and his eyes immediately sharpened.

He grabbed the phone in front of him, turned the crank, "Connect me to the 1st Infantry Division headquarters!... This is Tagg! 'Dragon Plan' has begun! Assemble the troops, embark within 10 hours!"

"Yes!" After a firm response from the other end of the line, Tagg hung up the phone.

Meanwhile, at the Navy Command, Bernard was also issuing embarkation orders to the 1st Marine Division.

After hanging up the phone, he continued to issue commands, "Assemble the fleet! The Dongwan Island detachment will cover the troop landings, while the main fleet will accompany me northward to pay Chen Country a visit."

"Doesn't that mean we'll miss the landing battle?" The aide-de-camp asked with some regret, looking at his commanding officer.

"There won't be any decent sea battles..." lamented Bernard, the commander of the world's strongest fleet: "Jade City No. 2 will arrive tomorrow, and we will rendezvous with it at sea."

"Being invincible... sometimes gets boring," the aide-de-camp also sighed, having already witnessed the grandeur of the Jade City No. 1 Battleship. Now, they had two of such warships!

Linshui City was almost defenseless, and Zheng Country's naval fleet was practically a paper tiger. Even if they learned the full scope of 'Dragon Plan' in advance, they wouldn't have the strength to stop what was about to happen.

The Great Tang Group's first wave of landing troops would most likely be transported directly to the port docks for unloading. The Zheng Country troops in Linshui City wouldn't even put up any resistance.

According to the plans, this wasn't really a landing battle at all, but more akin to a routine operation of troop rotation. By the time divisions of troops had spread out in the heartland of Zheng Country, King Zheng Tong would find the enemy at his doorstep.

Along with the sound of whistles, soldiers started preparing their gear in the densely-packed barracks on Dongwan Island.

Counting soldiers conscripted from Northern Ridge and other areas, the troop presence of the Great Tang Group on Dongwan Island had grown to a formidable force nearing 160,000 after such accumulation over time. Your journey continues on empire

Although mostly light infantry divisions according to standard, their combat power was still not something traditional troops could compare with.