Munitions Empire-Chapter 935 - A call from an old friend at 858

Chapter 935: A call from an old friend at 858 Chapter 935: A call from an old friend at 858 “What? My son fainted at school? Didn’t I send someone to follow him? How could he faint?” The Marquise was furious when she first heard that her son had fainted at school.

Who does she think she is? Back in Dorne, she was from a distinguished family, and her own family was a well-known great nobility of the locale.

Being able to marry into the Bailu Family was indeed a match of equals, and it was only because the Marquis of Bailu’s status had soared with the Great Tang Group in recent years that she seemed somewhat out of her league.

If we were to go back ten years or so, it would still be unclear who would have the final say in this household! Indignant, she slapped the table, deciding to go to the school and demand justice.

It was just a broken school, after all. If they didn’t give the Bailu Marquisate an explanation, she would have her husband overturn their tables!

Even if her husband did not care about this matter, she herself was not without her own influence. After all, lately, he had been quite close to the Prime Minister’s delicate wife.

This Roger, the current Prime Minister, held a lofty status, and even His Majesty The Emperor held him in high esteem. This man, who had always been by the side of His Majesty The Emperor, had never married, and now that he had finally settled down, the young delicate wife he brought into the Prime Minister’s residence naturally held an extraordinary status.

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Speaking of which, that young lady was quite charming, and no one knew how she had caught the eye of Prime Minister Roger. Coming from a background with no family name to speak of, she was a common girl who suddenly rose to phoenix-like heights.

Not wanting to embarrass her husband, this wife of the Prime Minister sought out the Marquise after meeting her to learn court etiquette, hoping to not disgrace her husband at banquets and similar events.

The two of them gradually became best friends, and if you were to say that within the Great Tang Empire, there was something Prime Minister Roger couldn’t handle, the Marquise would not believe it.

It was precisely because of these many relationships that the Marquise felt so fearless. Besides, this time it was her son who had been wronged at school – it was the Bailu Marquisate that suffered the slight. For a great noble like her, it was already good enough that she did not bully others. Now being bullied herself made her feel that she was even more in the right, able to take advantage of the situation.

Isn’t the facade of nobility and the awe of privilege built in this way? Seizing every opportunity to display one’s power, ultimately establishing one’s status above all others.

Previously, the Great Tang Empire had always been trying hard to prevent the nobility from coming into prominence, but now it was time to remind those despicable commoners what it meant to be high nobility.

The Royal Family itself was the greatest nobility, so how could they just turn a blind eye and watch the nobility that supported them crumble into dust?

The more she thought about it, the more the Marquise felt she was in the right, and she was even ready to pick up the phone and have a nice chat with her little confidante, to touch base and with shared indignation, confront the school.

On the other hand, the Marquis of Bailu was discussing cotton-related business with several merchants in the Bailu Group office in Chang’an.

Guangmian of Qin Country was an excellent place for growing cotton, and hence it got its name. It was Harry’s new task given to him – to try by all means to get cotton from there, including the cotton from the Orc regions, to Great Tang Empire.

Do not be fooled by the glamour the Marquis of Bailu outwardly displayed. For many who wished to meet any high official of the Great Tang Empire, the most convenient method was through the Marquis of Bailu.

But as the adage goes, one knows best oneself whether they feel warm or cold. The vast estates and businesses of the Marquis of Bailu depended on their association with the Great Tang Group, and only by playing the role of toady had he gained his status.

That awe-inspiring amount of Gold Coins was nothing but a drop in the bucket, the tip of the iceberg for the backstage Great Tang Group. He exhausted his wits to manage the Bailu Group in the harsh world of business, where any decision could mean life or death.

Rubbing his sore shoulders, the Marquis of Bailu finally ended the meeting and was about to instruct his secretary to get him a cup of tea when he received a call from the school.

“Lord Marquis,” said the department head who called, speaking quite politely, “your son has fainted during physical education class. It may be that our school’s physical training is somewhat too rigorous, and your son’s physical constitution couldn’t keep up with the requirements.”

To be honest, when he first heard that his son had encountered a problem at school, the Marquis of Bailu was very displeased—he had donated more than 1.5 million Gold Coins and even sought the favor of His Majesty The Emperor. To have an incident occur on just the first day he sent his child to them, they were taking his status as Marquis too lightly.

At first, he was worried that his son was causing trouble at school, but now hearing that his child had fainted, he instinctively felt uneasy.

However, out of respect for the face of this royal technological university, he still managed to steady his emotions, maintaining the dignity of a qualified noble patriarch: “It’s true that the child lacks physical exercise; your school’s strict requirements are right, but he has been coddled from a young age… He still needs your special attention.”

“Indeed, the physical education curriculum is a hard standard set by His Majesty The Emperor himself,” the department head explained, giving Marquis Bailu some face, “Due to his special status, your son was placed in the best class of this department, which naturally has higher requirements.”

What he meant to imply was a subtle reminder to Marquis Bailu that his son did receive preferential treatment at the school, and that the institution was also regretful that such an incident had occurred.

The other implication was: If your child can’t keep up with the school’s pace, then pack up and leave, and don’t cause trouble for both yourself and the school. We only train the elite here, trash please sort yourselves out!

Marquis Bailu was a clever and cunning man and could certainly read between the lines of the school’s message. His son had merely fainted, not died. Making a big fuss about it would do him no good.

Therefore, his instinct was to downplay the situation—handle things quietly; a low profile is the key to longevity. Surviving is what truly matters.

Seeing that Marquis Bailu was being understanding, and didn’t even inquire much about his child’s condition, the department head’s tone warmed up a bit. After a brief chat, he hung up the phone.

The foundation of the Great Tang’s establishment is the militarized management and education of its schools. All academies, including the Royal Academy of Arts, require paramilitary training.

All students must meet absolute physical fitness standards, train in stabbing and shooting, and be capable of joining the military and going to battle without any issues. It might be an exaggeration to say one student could take on ten thugs, but one to three is a high probability of success.

Furthermore, the Great Tang Military Academy, the predecessor of the ten royal academies, had a tradition of martial duels. Who would be the top of the grade was something that had to be fought for with fists. Even the teachers in the school were happy to see this develop and hardly ever intervened.

With such a glorious tradition, one can imagine what the physical education classes at the school were like: the bottom line was that as long as you weren’t beaten to death, you were fine.

Whether it was Harry, Galsa, Dino, or Yulin and Yue’er, they had all made a name for themselves through real combat in school. General Strauss of the military and Bolton, who used to be the ones getting thrashed, were juniors back then.

Therefore, in such an environment, a teacher hitting a student was simply not a big deal; it was actually more troubling if they couldn’t be bothered to hit you.

After hanging up the phone, Marquis Bailu didn’t see it as a problem. He would just go home in the evening, encourage his child, then spend some money on rewards, and have him continue his studies the next day.

What he didn’t expect was that just a few minutes later, the phone rang once again, and it was unexpectedly another acquaintance.

“Marquis, your fourth son is truly a talent,” the person on the other end didn’t bother to identify themselves, confident that Marquis Bailu would recognize his voice.

Bailu indeed recognized who it was, his laughter somewhat unnatural, “Director Li… what do you mean by this? What trouble has my fourth son caused that you’ve personally called me?”

A phone call from Li’ao, the Director of the Imperial Security Bureau, wouldn’t make anyone comfortable. This old man didn’t show up unless there was serious business, and his words always carried an unsettling chill.

“You’ll soon find out what he’s done, but are you prepared? Prepared to face an investigation by the Imperial Security Bureau?” Li’ao continued to ask in his unhurried manner.

“What? Director Li! …I wouldn’t dare joke about this! I, I… you… I mean, what on earth has my son done…” Marquis Bailu stammered upon hearing that the director of the recently officially renamed spy agency from the Security Bureau to the Imperial Security Bureau was going to investigate him.

After all, in the United States, how many have had a good outcome after being targeted by the FBI? Moreover, to this point, he had no idea why he was being targeted, which was the most terrifying part.

“I suspect you question the state policy of the Empire, obeying the Emperor’s orders in appearance but defying them in secret, and shaking the foundation of the state… However, there aren’t any precise accusations. As an old friend, I’m giving you a heads-up, urging you to not stray from the right path,” Li’ao’s tone remained as infuriating as ever, making Marquis Bailu tremble with fear.

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Li’ao knew about this matter very quickly because the Imperial Security Bureau had its agents placed within the school, and the few students who managed to sneak in through connections were also under his surveillance.

After the fourth son of the Bailu Family caused a disturbance, he received reports from his subordinates. There wasn’t anything special about the content, and it didn’t necessarily require his personal attention.

However, Marquis Bailu’s noble status was somewhat sensitive, and the whole incident revealed signs that were impossible to ignore.

On one hand, the status of the nobility in Tang Country had been weakened; Tang Mo had not bestowed any substantial power to the new nobles of the Empire, only giving them some opportunities to become wealthy.

This was completely different from the nobility in other countries: the nobility in Tang Country were severely suppressed, being “wealthy people” without much influence.