Munitions Empire

It was only known to him that Nangong Hong and Roger had both secretly participated in the hype of this matter. The voices within the military hoping for Tang Mo to become Emperor had grown so loud they couldn't be contained.

Even many generals had discussed this openly, and they all tacitly referred to Tang Mo only as "Your Majesty," deliberately avoiding the use of the phrase "Your Majesty the King."

Nowadays, in the charges, soldiers were no longer encouraged to shout "Long live His Majesty the King;" instead, everyone uniformly cried out "Long live His Majesty" or "Long live Great Tang..."

With almost everyone's encouragement, the higher-ups of Great Tang began to consider the prospects of their current royal positions as they transitioned into imperial ones.

Sometimes, just a change in title could instantly excite people, like, for example, when a woman suddenly shouts "husband" in bed one day...

In fact, on a macro level, the Great Tang Kingdom had already become the world's largest by territory, strongest by economic strength, and most populous kingdom.

In terms of overall strength, Tang Country had long possessed the scale of an empire, yet it had always refrained from pursuing the goal that many rulers aspire to their entire lives.

Logically speaking, after Tang Country occupied Zheng Country, swallowed up Qi Country, seized the northern part of Chu Country, and carved out a large chunk of Dahua Empire's territory, it had become a colossal entity comparable to the Dahua Empire.

Meanwhile, with the support of the Great Tang Group, the economy and industry of the entire empire had achieved remarkable accomplishments, modestly speaking, they were world-leading.

In such an environment, who wouldn't want their country to become the newly rising empire, and who wouldn't want the wise and valiant King to become a genuine Emperor?

Of course, after the King became Emperor, it would certainly be cause for happiness if their positions as Prime Minister and Minister could evolve into those of an Imperial Prime Minister and Imperial Minister.

"I don't care. If becoming Emperor means we can send 3,000 more tons of food to the front lines each month, I can ascend the throne and proclaim myself Emperor right away," Tang Mo said helplessly to his subordinates.

"But the problem is that a title, whether imperial or otherwise, is just a superficial name. It can't bring us any real benefits, so I don't think it's a good idea to rush into becoming an Emperor," he continued, spreading his hands to explain to his ministers.

"Your Majesty, when the time is ripe, we should seize the opportunity," Nangong Hong cautiously advised. "Your ascension to Emperor will also support and encourage the work of your subordinates afterward."

"Indeed, if we don't show our firm stance, the enemy will take us even less seriously," Prime Minister Roger agreed.

In truth, it wasn't that they were obsessively fixated on the title for the sake of it; rather, there were indeed benefits to proclaiming oneself Emperor in certain aspects.

For instance, when Tang Country faced the Dahua Empire, they were nominally inferior to the Dahua Empire. That's the protocol, the "rule" upheld in international relations.

Although there have been instances when kingdoms have ignored protocols and broken rules due to their power, rules are rules, and protocols are protocols.

The Leite Kingdom, eager to become the Laines Empire, actually valued similar benefits: on the international stage, an Empire's words carry a weight that a Kingdom's words cannot match.

Though Great Tang Kingdom could demonstrate an attitude as firm as an Empire's based on its strength, at the end of the day, the name of an Empire is far more appealing than that of a Kingdom.

The most crucial issue is… why not?

Just as Nangong Hong said, when the time is right, there's no advantage to stubbornly refusing to proclaim oneself Emperor. No matter how low-key Tang Mo is, he can't change the fact that he is disliked by certain people.

These people, specifically the old nobility, old businessmen, landlords... in short, the beneficiaries of the old world order, dislike him, resent him, even to the point where they would be happy to see him dead. Even if Tang Mo abdicated and stopped being King, it's unlikely it would change their views of him.

So, why not become Emperor?

"Alright, since you've already taken things this far, let's proceed as you wish," Tang Mo gave in, going with the flow.

Despite everyone's urgency, there are still established procedures to follow. The first is to seek the approval thrice, demonstrating that Tang Mo's becoming Emperor was the will of the people.

Emperors in this world are not like those on Earth who need divine rights or to call themselves the Son of Heaven. To put it plainly, their thrones are won by force, needing no one's conferment.

However, on the other hand, since these emperors are made by force, they require recognition from foreign states: if you haven't subdued your neighbors, even if you proclaim yourself Emperor, it won't be acknowledged by everyone.

This was why the Laines Empire, when proclaiming their empire, needed the support of Tang Mo, ensuring that the surrounding countries influenced by the Great Tang Group would nod in acknowledgment.

On the side of the Great Tang Kingdom, things were also by the book: remember when Tang destroyed Zheng, it was recognized by Zheng Country's suzerain, the Dahua Empire, and Tang Mo paid a certain "price" for it.

After Tang had defeated Qi and vanquished Shenguo, it already possessed the capital to become an empire. However, Tang Mo, choosing to remain low-key, had forsaken the opportunity to ascend directly to imperial status at that time.

Until today, Tang Country had become the mightiest nation on the East Coast of the Western Continent, and the elephant could no longer hide behind the mouse with its low profile.

Therefore, it was time to start organizing the preparations for the King's coronation as Emperor at the very least, forming a preparatory department to start researching the details...

Simultaneously, the Foreign Affairs department also needed to start preparing. After the war had been decided, or more precisely, after Tang Country's great victory, they had to figure out how to dispatch diplomats to make other countries submit and recognize the existence of the Great Tang Empire.

On the other hand, it was necessary to win over the populace as much as possible, incorporating the newly occupied territories into the empire, and find every way to get the people from these regions to support their new King's rise to Emperor.

In short, this matter could be as significant or as minor, the work as extensive or as limited, as one planned for it to be. There was no hurry, nor could there be because hastiness in claiming an imperial title was not a good omen, true in the world of Earth as it was in this one.

"Your subject understands!" Roger's face broke into a smile upon hearing that Tang Mo had agreed to the matter. His greatest wish was finally going to be put on the agenda.

In his younger days, he had a close friendship with Tang Mo's father, Tang Qi, always considering himself as half a senior to Tang Mo: his greatest wish, after the establishment of Tang Country, was to one day personally elevate Tang Mo to the throne, achieving immortality!

Even though all these were the results of Tang Mo's own efforts, being able to play a role, to help his old friend's son become an Emperor that he dared not even dream of, indeed was his dream.

Nangong Hong also let out a sigh of relief: he was genuinely concerned that Tang Mo might once again veto the suggestion of becoming Emperor. He had always dreamt of assisting a wise ruler to achieve an everlasting golden age, and now being able to push this wise sovereign even further certainly brought his dream one step closer.

...

Along the winding roads, there were railroad tracks stretching as far as the eye could see, with trucks moving on the roadway, alongside a slow-moving train.

The soldiers on the trucks curiously watched the train passing by, observing the flatbed rail cars covered with tarpaulins.

Based on the silhouettes, everyone could guess that these tarped weapons and equipment were tanks. They were larger than the assault guns they had seen and also sported a long, imposing barrel.

From some details, these were new-model tanks they had never seen before, as the parts exposed were completely different from the No. 4 tanks they were used to seeing.

The new tanks had interleaved road wheels, wider and more sturdy tracks, and an interesting slanted front armor plate.

These were the so-called No. 5 tanks, or mass-produced Panther Tanks, which were being sent to the front line along with the Armored Corps.

Following the train pushing towards the front line, the trucks were towing towed howitzers. These 105mm caliber howitzers were manned by gunners, jostling along on the dusty roads.

It was by no means a comfortable affair, as the number of advancing troops kicked up such an amount of dust that it obscured the sky, compelling people to wrap scarves around their noses and mouths.

However, compared to the infantrymen marching on the road beds, the gunners who had seats and didn't need to walk were already very fortunate.

The foot soldiers who didn't even have the luxury of a road had not only to endure the dust kicked up by the trucks, but also the long journey's toll on their legs.

The two divisions of the Tang Army encountered each other on their journey, exchanging glances and forming a magnificent spectacle.

In the sky, dozens of Stuka Dive Bombers, having just completed their bombing missions at the front, were returning to base. They clearly observed the friendly forces marching on the ground below.

Even without descending, they could easily discern the moving troops of over ten thousand men simply by the conspicuous dust on the ground.

Following the No. 4 assault guns belonging to the infantry were various types of armored vehicles, including armored personnel carriers transporting infantry, self-propelled guns, and Bofors Anti-Aircraft Guns being towed for air defense.

The command vehicles, much larger than ordinary vehicles, were very easy to recognize even from the air. These special vehicles were modified from oversized trucks.

They were bigger than the trucks, had a more enclosed cabin, steering mechanisms were specially designed, able to carry four radios, and had their own independent generator equipment.

More impressively, it featured a dedicated resting room for the commander: though small, it housed a field bed.

These command vehicles became very popular once mass-produced, and were already widespread down to the divisional level in combat units. During transit, the thick radio antennas wobbled back and forth with the vehicle's jostling, visible from a distance.

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The next update will be slightly late, you can view it tomorrow morning.