Munitions Empire-Chapter 920 - The thorn in the flesh 843

Chapter 920: The thorn in the flesh 843 Chapter 920: The thorn in the flesh 843 Zhao Ji, carrying Zhao Kai’s opinions, stepped out of the Imperial Palace the next day, and the Dahua Empire began yet another round of debates. This time, the arguments concerned whether His Majesty The Emperor indeed had the capacity to ensure the continuation of the Dahua Empire.

This kind of discussion deeply worried Zhao Ji, yet he felt powerless, for he too realized that without change, it would be difficult for the Dahua Empire to survive between Qin Country and Tang Country.

But if he did not consider his father’s feelings, he, as Crown Prince, doubted he would ever reach the day where he could ascend to rule.

Zhao Ji could still distinguish what was more important, and ultimately decided to respect Zhao Kai’s opinions, merely making minor adjustments instead of adopting comprehensive pro-Tang policies.

His decision disappointed many Ministers, who had hoped the Crown Prince would demonstrate a more mature and decisive side. Yet, Crown Prince Zhao Ji ultimately sided with his father, standing against the court officials.

The situation promptly grew complicated. A few days later, a name that Zhao Kai had never paid much attention to caught his eye: another son of his, Zhao Yu.

This Prince, who usually showed no remarkable traits and had a disagreeable disposition, being greedy and lustful without any firm opinions, transformed overnight into a cultured and strategic charming young man.

...

For a time, Zhao Kai could not distinguish whether his son had formerly concealed his talents or now suddenly possessed exceptional acting ability.

But before he could figure it out, Zhao Ning demonstrated an astonishing political acumen, urging that the Dahua Empire should adopt the right mindset and learn from Tang Country—to enrich the nation and strengthen the military!

What worried Zhao Ji even more and puzzled Zhao Kai were the merchants who, backed by Zhao Yu, initiated a vigorous “Tang Endeavor Movement” within the Dahua Empire.

Although those who supported Zhao Yu were just small fry, such matters, once started, tended to become increasingly uncontrollable.

Many praised Prince Zhao Yu for his wisdom, which exerted tremendous pressure on Zhao Ji as he faced a direct challenge from his brother for the first time.

In this matter, Zhao Kai was forced to adopt a certain openness: he had to encourage some degree of healthy competition among his sons, as it was a necessary means to ensure that the heir to the throne gained ample experience in strife.

However, his temporary neutrality in this affair caused Zhao Ji even greater panic and allowed Zhao Yu more time to expand his influence.

Different voices started appearing in the courts of the Dahua Empire, but this in turn alleviated Zhao Kai’s pressure—such matters, once experienced, were addictive. Zhao Kai was no exception; he relished the feeling of overseeing the court officials’ infighting and controlling the outcome.

Therefore, he hesitated once more on suppressing Zhao Yu, deciding to wait and let Zhao Yu divert some of the court officials’ attention.

This selfish idea made Zhao Ji even more worried, and that fairly healthy Crown Prince fell seriously ill.

It was only then that His Majesty The Emperor, Zhao Kai, remembered his Crown Prince. He personally visited the ailing Crown Prince, offering his encouragement.

After all, the Crown Prince was very much to Zhao Kai’s liking, and he had never considered replacing him. He assured his son that as long as he performed well, there would be no issues.

Subsequently, to appease Crown Prince Zhao Ji, Zhao Kai summoned the recently active Prince Zhao Yu, chastising this imprudent son in person and conveying His Majesty The Emperor’s displeasure.

Yet, what should have been a minor domestic incident within the Emperor’s family sparked court officials’ concerns about changes in the Dahua Empire’s policies toward Tang.

Manipulated by some, many Ministers began to petition, urging His Majesty The Emperor to reconsider carefully.

It was at this point that Zhao Kai realized that, somewhat inexplicably, Prince Zhao Yu had become tied to the Dahua Empire’s policies toward Tang.

The mere thought that any minor incident involving Zhao Yu could lead court officials to speculate about policies toward Tang Country was frustrating for Zhao Kai.

Because if Zhao Kai wanted to live a peaceful day and keep the loudmouths in court quiet, he would have to exercise restraint in handling the situation with Zhao Yu.

Crown Prince Zhao Ji was naturally unable to hide the court’s reaction and now felt genuine fear: if he lost the support of the court officials, how long could he sit as Crown Prince?

Relying solely on his father’s trust was relatively too risky. Should things turn sour, his father might also compromise, leaving him deposed and with nothing to do but await death.

For self-preservation, Zhao Ji was forced to visit several supporting Ministers, covertly revealing some of his own stances: actually, he said, as Crown Prince, I’m very supportive of friendly relations with Tang Country… There’s completely no need for you to support Zhao Yu, supporting me would yield the same…

Alas, this time, the Dahua Empire’s dismally blind and deaf intelligence agency suddenly became clear-sighted and keen—after all, some people were funded, while others truly had no money to give.

On the day after Zhao Ji met with his confidant, the loyal intelligence agency of the Dahua Empire submitted a detailed report to Zhao Kai, recounting the entire blustering process of Zhao Ji to His Majesty The Emperor.

At this very moment, Zhao Kai felt as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly. He was extremely disappointed in his two sons but couldn’t find a suitable replacement for them at the time.

After all, his other sons were either too foolish or too young, and currently, they were not presentable. However, only he knew that at this moment he indeed entertained certain thoughts, and once such thoughts arose, they became difficult to erase.

They were like thorns embedded in the flesh, causing pain at certain moments and sudden discomfort.

…

Tang Country continued to develop at a high speed, laying more expressways and building more secure underground cable systems.

These projects were carried out regardless of the costs, with countless goblins and orcs shedding their blood for the enduring projects of the Tang Empire.

The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

It is no exaggeration, according to official statistics of the Great Tang Empire: within one year, approximately 10,000 orcs died in the Great Tang, and at the same time, 110,000 goblins died on the land of Tang Country.

So many lives were lost just for the sake of connecting the north to the south, and east to the west with an efficient pipeline system that bordered on exaggeration within the Great Tang Empire.

The entire project laid a massive network of pipelines along highways and railways to ensure most of the electrical wires and future optic fibers and other facilities were safely buried underground.

Besides these expensive underground pipelines, the Great Tang Empire also built a large number of power plants and constructed water treatment plants in every town or populous area.

Every city was constructing water supply and drainage systems, and cities with a population exceeding 50,000 had to build hospitals and allocate medical teams of over 20 members for consultation.

Thanks to the existence of the Great Tang Group, Tang Country’s supply of medications was absolutely the most abundant in the world. A large amount of medication was produced and transported to various cities, saving hundreds and thousands of lives.

This massive social welfare system, previously unimaginable, supported Tang Country’s rapid development and made it unstoppable.

Not surprisingly, the average life expectancy in Tang Country was increasing, and those over sixty years old, who had become rare in other countries, were now quite common in Tang Country.

It was a very simple cause and effect; if social welfare could not improve the average lifespan, that would be astounding.

But this did not mean the population structure of Tang Country was changing, it was merely a pure increase in population—the number of newborns in Tang Country was growing at an alarming rate.

Everyone considered living in the blissful Great Tang Empire to be fortunate, so they hoped their descendants could enjoy all of this.

Compared to hospitals, the number of schools was truly astonishing. The Great Tang Empire built countless primary and secondary schools and set up various colleges and universities in densely populated areas.

The royal family directly supported more than ten higher education institutions, and ninety percent of the world’s scientists were serving the Tang Empire.

The vast majority of these scientists were educated within the Tang Empire, trained by the various colleges and universities of Tang.

The remaining few came from all over the world, attracted by the experimental environments that the Tang Empire could offer, the corresponding experimental data it could provide, and the experimental equipment they desired to create.

Like Lighthouse Country in bygone years, which attracted talent from all over the world, this place provided the most generous living conditions, the most enviable welfare benefits, the most cutting-edge experimental teams, the most efficient experimental bases, and the most satisfactory experimental results.

What was most appealing was that there was an experienced, clear-minded, and greatest mentor here—he was the guiding light for all scientific and technological personnel and a deity in their eyes.

Yes, the presence of Tang Mo was the main reason these scientists flocked to Tang Country, willing to dedicate their lives to service there.

Nowhere else could one find such a mentor who could give you direction when lost or provide all the support you needed when helpless.

Indeed, all sorts of support: if you lacked inspiration, Tang Mo would provide it; if you lacked funding, Tang Mo could offer virtually limitless funds.

If you encountered a challenge for which even the experimental equipment of Tang Country was insufficient, you would not find a better alternative anywhere else in the world.

A similar saying was popular in many places: If you’re looking for a job, you can go anywhere; if you want to be an engineer, then go to the Great Tang.

——-

Today’s jet lag has set in, Dragon Spirit is going to sleep for a while, the rest of the updates will be written in the morning, so don’t wait up.