Munitions Empire-Chapter 961 - 884 suddenly realized something

Chapter 961: 884 suddenly realized something Chapter 961: 884 suddenly realized something “Our intelligence officers are quite capable after all,” Tang Mo praised with a smile, looking at the report in his hand while sitting in the brightly lit Forbidden City.

He set aside the report and turned to Li’ao, who had come to deliver the message, and continued with his orders, “Tell them to adapt as necessary! And prioritize safety.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I will bear your kindness in mind,” Li’ao responded gratefully, bowing his head.

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“Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs get involved too,” Tang Mo then turned to Prime Minister Roger. “Shout it from the rooftops a couple of times, lest they forget we are not to be trifled with.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Roger nodded slightly.

“Also, get the military moving a bit, flex their muscles, but keep it subtle to a certain extent. We wouldn’t want to scare Zhao Kai completely back into his shell; it becomes much harder to take a bite then,” Tang Mo looked once more in the direction of Luff, who stood beside Roger.

Chief of Staff Luff stood at attention and saluted, “Yes, Your Majesty!”

...

“Then it’s settled,” Tang Mo smiled. “Operation Balance is officially underway. All departments start working around Operation Balance. It’s been too peaceful for too long; one gets unaccustomed to the lack of gunfire.”

…

Lately, Royal Family members Zhao Chen and Zhao Jie frequently visited the Imperial Palace, and with Zhao Ji joining them, the atmosphere in the court suddenly became tense.

There were no changes on Zhao Yu’s side except for officials in certain regions telephoning the Imperial Court, complaining that the Great Tang Empire’s merchants were slowing investments in their jurisdictions.

With the changing winds in the Imperial Court, it was natural for merchants to be cautious. However, the subsequent developments exceeded Zhao Kai’s expectations.

As the Great Tang Empire’s vocal vanguard that never failed to stir up trouble, the Great Tang Empire’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was evidently the quickest to act.

They immediately announced the postponement of a diplomatic corps networking event that was to be held in the Dahua Empire and had the Great Tang’s Ambassador to the Dahua Empire deliver an inquiry letter to Jiang Run, hoping for clarification on the specifics of the situation.

Minister of Rites Jiang Run naturally denied any intentions of the Dahua Empire to change its diplomatic stance towards the Great Tang Empire, assuring their foreign affairs department that cooperation between the two nations continued to be in their best interest.

In addition, Jiang Run conveyed to the Great Tang Empire’s foreign affairs department that the Dahua Empire would guarantee all the legal rights and interests of Tang merchants, urging the Great Tang to have peace of mind.

As for whether the Great Tang Empire believed this, or if they had other plans, that was beyond the control of a Minister like Jiang Run.

Entering the Imperial Palace once more, Zhao Chen was actually quite worried because he had always assisted Zhao Kai in managing the Dahua Empire’s military, at least a part of it.

Replacing General Feng Kezhi in managing at least half the military power, he was the one directly facing the military pressure from the Great Tang Empire.

In recent days, he kept receiving reports from the eastern border where the Great Tang Empire had begun some unusual and frequent troop movements.

Most basic intelligence agents also provided a wealth of information, which rendered Prince Zhao Chen of the Dahua Empire restless.

Intelligence indicated that the number of military trains headed for the border in the Great Tang Empire was increasing. These additional trains were transporting either munitions or various supplies.

This suggested that the Great Tang Empire was perhaps ramping up its state of readiness along the border, reinforcing the troops deployed there—a far from ideal sign for the Dahua Empire.

To be on the safe side, Zhao Chen was also actively increasing military strength in the border regions, but this was undoubtedly a provocation to the Great Tang Empire and not a wise move.

Therefore, these past days, Zhao Chen had been trying to persuade Zhao Kai to reconsider the series of actions against his son, Zhao Yu.

But such advice failed to move Zhao Kai, who needed a solution to end the current unfavorable situation, not just to give up on the offensive.

There was a distinct difference, for if Zhao Kai easily gave up on the actions against Zhao Yu this time, the balance of power between them next time would only be more disparate.

If he couldn’t handle Zhao Yu now, then next year he would have even less chance! Zhao Kai didn’t understand how the situation got so complicated, but he was clear that this was his only opportunity.

“Who could have expected that Zhao Yu’s reaction would be so intense… It was initially just a plan to investigate Bao Changshi, but then Minister of Personnel Zhou Qiang started to impeach Bao Changshi for embezzlement, bribery, and misleading the Crown Prince,” lamented the Minister of Justice, with an embarrassed bow, exacerbating the fury of the sitting Zhao Kai.

Zhao Kai had merely sent out a signal, but who would have thought it would set off a beacon fire? One thing led to another as if orchestrated by someone, and the situation quickly evolved into a major showdown between the forces of Zhao Kai and Zhao Yu.

“How is the situation on the border?” Zhao Kai asked immediately upon seeing Zhao Chen enter. His greatest fear was a problem at the frontier, for if Great Tang didn’t get involved, he could still suppress everything.

“Your Majesty, the situation is not optimistic,” Zhao Chen shook his head and sighed, “The military of the Great Tang Empire is assembling. Even though they are keeping a low profile, they are indeed mobilizing frequently, and that’s not a good sign.”

“Although I have already ordered reinforcements to the border, if a conflict breaks out, we are clearly the weaker side,” he said, expressing his attitude as diplomatically as possible, “I will defend the Empire to the death, but whether it can be successful, I… have no certainty.”

“Can we lure Zhao Yu into the Imperial Palace and put him under house arrest…?” Zhao Ji proposed his strategy from the side, “As the saying goes, capture the ringleader to defeat the followers. If we control Zhao Yu, the other side will become scattered.”

“Your Highness, I’m afraid things are not as simple as you imagine,” the powerless Minister of Justice interjected, now feeling that he might have chosen the wrong side.

If Great Tang had risen a few years earlier, why would he have gotten involved with Zhao Ji? Now his department had already been penetrated like a sieve, and although he remained a trusted aide to Zhao Ji, he was no longer as capable as other Chief of Staffs in terms of action.

“What crimes shall we charge him with? House arresting a Prince, or even one allied with the Great Tang Empire, will only heighten border tensions!” Zhao Chen, afraid that Zhao Kai would act irrationally, took the opportunity to speak with Zhao Ji to offer a reminder.

“He’s conspiring with the enemy! He’s a traitor!” To everyone’s surprise, these words only agitated Zhao Kai further, causing him to explode in rage, “Just for that alone, killing him wouldn’t be an injustice! Not an injustice!”

Ignoring the gleeful Zhao Ji, Zhao Chen had to once again stiffly remind Zhao Kai, “Your Majesty! The situation is tense; if conflict truly breaks out, a collapse is imminent.”

What a joke, if Fengjiang, the tariff-heavy town, became the front line without revenue, and the consumption of hundreds of thousands of troops was enormous, what good was the little money that had been saved in the treasury for the past couple of years if war could drain it in two months?

Without trade, without investment, without tax revenue… even the Ministers’ salaries couldn’t be paid. How to wage war?

When the time comes, who will suffer on the front lines? Isn’t it Zhao Chen? Who will be responsible if we are defeated? Isn’t it Zhao Chen? Who will be cursed in history for losing the land? Isn’t it Zhao Chen?

Having calmed down, Zhao Kai also realized that now was not the time to use the evidence of Zhao Yu’s collusion with the enemy: because even though he thought of “the enemy Great Tang” in his heart, he couldn’t speak aloud of it.

Dare you say that being on good terms with Great Tang is treason? Good grief, the strategy of bolstering the east and suppressing Qin Country by being close to Great Tang is a fixed state policy, supported by eighty percent of the court ministers! You’re not trying to deal with Zhao Yu here; you’re looking to overturn the table, right?

At least on the surface, the Great Tang isn’t an enemy state, and in slogans, the Great Tang is also a friendly nation. So, Zhao Yu’s close relationship with Great Tang isn’t a crime… even if Zhao Kai thinks it is, it’s not!

“That unworthy son Zhao Yu! Bastard! And Great Tang for bullying us for its power… also bastards!” Zhao Kai, gritting his teeth, hammered the table and cursed.

But compared to his earlier hysteria, he was now cursing in a significantly calmer tone.

“Should we have the Ministry of Justice produce a report… to set the tone?” Seeing that Zhao Kai had somewhat stabilized, Zhao Chen tentatively asked.

That was basically inquiring whether they should step back, quiet down, and let this issue pass.

As long as the report controlled by Zhao Ji’s Ministry of Justice certified that Bao Changshi’s death was accidental, it was as if the crisis had abated, and it seemed like the issue would dissappear into thin air.

Unfortunately, this move wasn’t without a cost: such a choice would signal that Zhao Kai and Zhao Ji had chickened out, giving up on this round of confrontation.

The problem returned to the original point: to back down now was merely a temporary reprieve; even if the situation was stabilized, it would be nothing more than waiting for a slow death.

“Wait a moment!” Zhao Kai, feeling cornered into a seemingly hopeless situation, seemed to catch an important point and interrupted Zhao Chen, “Isn’t Zhao Yu tough to deal with because he has the support of the Great Tang Empire?”

His eyes lit up as he lifted his head, “As long as we offer something to satisfy Great Tang… to stop them from causing further trouble… then dealing with a single Zhao Yu would be like catching a fish in the palm of the hand, right?”

Having thought and spoken to this point, Zhao Kai’s thoughts seemed to clear up a lot, “If I send a special envoy… to Great Tang with some benefits for Tang Mo. If the Tang People see that I also am pro-Tang, what reason would they have to keep supporting Zhao Yu?”

“This…” For a moment, Zhao Chen was at a loss for words. He actually felt that this seemed like a good idea, except that it deviated slightly from the core interests of the Dahua Empire.

Your son Zhao Yu committed treason and obtained the support of Tang People… You are the Emperor after all, to personally sell out and collude… is that truly wise?