The expansion of a nation always causes tension among its neighboring countries, even if there are no tangible sanctions, it still makes the neighboring states wary.
This state of vigilance and preparedness persists until either a war breaks out between the parties, or the expanding nation halts its expansionist steps and goes to great lengths to rebuild its international reputation.
Of course, rebuilding an international reputation is a very lengthy process, which can only be achieved by honest and methodical persistence, one step at a time.
The Bai Kingdom refused the alliance request from the Poplar Kingdom, which was expected to some extent, but Poplar XI didn't expect the rejection to be so straightforward.
"The influence of the Shireck side, and possibly the participation of other powers too." He quickly realized that not everyone wanted to see the Poplar Kingdom grow too powerful alone.
In the end, the King of the Poplar Kingdom lay down in defeat: "Now, it all depends on whether Marquis Augustine can turn the situation around at Southwater Port."
In Brunas, within the newly constructed port by the Great Tang Group, Tang Mo was presiding over the launching ceremony for two warships simultaneously hitting the water.
The main focus of the Great Tang Group had been on developing Black Dragon Island recently, so the speed of warship construction was remarkably fast.
Tang Mo, standing on the dock between the two warships, announced loudly to the observing crowd: "Today is a special day! The 5th and 6th warships of our Great Tang Group are being launched! Gentlemen! The sea belongs to us! From today onwards, we will have enough forces to deal with all schemings against the Great Tang Group at sea!"
He waved his fist, instilling tremendous confidence in all Great Tang Group personnel: "Before absolute power! No one can shake our position!"
The applause was long-lasting because everyone knew these warships were nearly invincible at sea, and the Great Tang Group was set to control the ocean and acquire astonishing wealth in the future.
After the event ended, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, who had traveled a long way to support Tang Mo, walked shoulder to shoulder with Tang Mo on the dock.
People passing by nodded to them in greeting but dared not disturb their conversation.
The old Prime Minister started praising: "Mr. Tang, today is truly an eye-opener for me! I've come to realize how powerful ironclad warships are, even capable of overturning the entire maritime hegemony."
Tang Mo laughed heartily, responding modestly: "You're too kind, sir, but really this is just a minor event, a minor event, hahaha."
In fact, compared to the next generation of warships he was preparing to build, these first-generation Brunas-class ironclads were indeed just a minor show.
The secretly built second-generation warships in another drydock adopted a completely new hull design and utilized the latest power systems, enhancing speed, armor protection, and firepower significantly.
This more advanced warship adopted the classic high-proportion shape of a cruiser, emphasizing speed, and with an improved power system, the new warship's speed reached a remarkable 28 knots—over 50 kilometers per hour!
To accommodate more boilers, this warship had four funnels, a more elongated hull, and increased tonnage up to 4000 tons, measuring a full 140 meters in length and 14 meters in width!
It was outfitted with eight single-mounted 150mm caliber naval guns, completely abandoning other armaments. Although it had fewer guns than the Brunas-class ironclad, the caliber was significantly larger.
But one should not underestimate such a weapon choice, because of the uniform caliber, the ship used two sets of fully matched new optical aiming devices, unifying the command of the ship's guns, which increased the accuracy of fire.
Additionally, the new-type warship's armor protection had slightly improved, and it markedly increased its sustainability and cruising capacity.
This warship was exactly what Tang Mo required—it could maneuver quickly at sea, covering a wider maritime area, and protecting Tang Mo's sea traffic lines.
The new guns on the new warship also used entirely new technology; plainly speaking, this was the first recoil-operated gun produced by Tang Mo.
With a recoil device, the gun's firing became much faster, and aiming far more convenient—a true innovation.
With the addition of a simple loading machine, the new warship, although only equipped with eight guns, could at most concentrate five on one side, but actually, the firepower density had increased a bit.
At the same time, the ship's communication telegraph system was retained, and more lighting devices were added, making the interior of the entire warship brighter.
Since the power system's output was increased, the power generator was also more powerful, and the ship's electricity was more stable overall.
More interestingly, this new warship was expected to have a telephone system installed to enhance internal communication efficiency.
This was a revolutionary invention, making command of the entire warship more convenient and faster, and similarly improving the warship's efficiency.
After all, Tang Mo had already created the first telephone device in this world. The experiment was complete; he could pick up the telephone in his office and call Matthews or Parker, who were working in the factory halls.
The brand-new warship was named after a wolf by Tang Mo, which also followed his tradition of naming different classes of warships after cities.
"If, if the Leite Kingdom wanted to purchase such a warship, would the Great Tang Group be willing to sell?" The old Prime Minister, observing the ironclad warship docked at the pier and being refueled with fresh water and coal, suddenly asked Tang Mo.
"Why not?" Tang Mo answered with a smile.
The Prime Minister was taken aback, obviously surprised by the response; he looked at Tang Mo, his eyes filled with incredulity.
After all, in his view, Tang Mo almost seemed to control the entire ocean by now; if he did not sell such warships to outsiders, he could maintain his throne as the supreme overlord of the sea for a long time.
So, somewhat puzzled, he continued, "Such... things are for sale?"
With an expression suggesting it was the most natural thing in the world, Tang Mo replied, "Of course. Aren't we developing these weapons to sell them?"
Control the ocean with these outdated, slow-moving first-generation ironclads with limited endurance? Was Tang Mo out of his mind?
The vastness of this world's oceans might even be larger than the world Tang Mo had lived in before, and even to this day, there were unexplored areas.
Such a vast territory and vast interests could not possibly be monopolized and controlled by Tang Mo alone.
Moreover, if the habit of hogging all the profits appeared, the whole world would see him as enemy number one. Rather than becoming the world's public enemy, he much preferred the feeling of manipulating everything from the shadows.
After thinking for a moment, the Prime Minister asked a question that he was very interested in, "Do you really have no ambition to dominate the world?"
Tang Mo replied to the Prime Minister's question with a mixture of seriousness and jest, "Prime Minister, in fact, I have no wish to waste my energy on such mundane matters. Isn't it better to enjoy listening to music, chatting with beauties over wine, and refining one's taste at a gambling house?"
In reality, such casual remarks, not even promises or formal statements, could not possibly be taken seriously.
So, the Prime Minister shifted the topic and asked another question that interested him, "Then, have you ever considered becoming a true noble?"
"Hm? Am I not already a Viscount?" Tang Mo had been made a Viscount by Leite VII, which was also a recent occurrence.
The current Tang Mo was an emerging hotshot among the Kingdom's nobility; even many established nobility began to fawn over this young Viscount.
Interestingly, as Shireck suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Brunas, Baron Stela, who once bore a grudge against Tang Mo, got so frightened that he fled abroad without ever looking back, seeking asylum with the Shireck Consortium.
And Qiumuluo, who held a blood feud with Northern Ridge, also disappeared without a trace after the Battle of Brunas, as if evaporated from the earth.
However, eyewitnesses from the battle that day confirmed that Qiumuluo had his arm blown off by a bullet; after returning to the camp, he underwent surgery to amputate his left arm.
The current Qiumuluo was a one-armed man, which lent him another distinguishing feature, boosting Tang Mo's confidence in locating him.
The Prime Minister immediately started speaking to Tang Mo, "A Viscount bestowed by a Kingdom's King is hardly a true noble."
"What do you mean?" Tang Mo looked at the Prime Minister, as if asking knowingly.
True to form, the Prime Minister laid bare his true thoughts, "If you are willing to support the Leite Kingdom... to become the Leite Empire, then His Majesty Leite VII would not be stingy. I would very much like to address you as Duke."
He hoped that Tang Mo would support the expansion of the Leite Kingdom and ultimately transform it into a new empire. He also hoped that Tang Mo would help elevate Leite VII to the throne of Emperor, making him the revered founding monarch of the Leite Empire, as the esteemed Emperor Leite I.
Tang Mo did not take a position; instead, he shook his head and said, "I will continue to support His Majesty the King as I always have... But as you know... I'm actually not that interested in titles either."
The Prime Minister felt Tang Mo was like a cunning little fox, with deeper schemes than other 20-year-olds, crafty and wary, making him hard to tackle.
He sighed inwardly, aware that Tang Mo was now beyond his influence, and thus he held back his ulterior motives, asking curiously in casual conversation, "So what are you interested in?"
"Money!" Tang Mo answered directly without hesitation, "I am very interested in money."
"You truly have taste," the Prime Minister nodded, agreeing with Tang Mo's facetious response.
"Hahaha!" Tang Mo was in high spirits and laughed heartily. On the dock, many people looked this way, seeing the uninhibited laughter of Tang Mo.