Munitions Empire

Chapter 11: Happy cooperation

"After-sales service? That's a new term...but very accurate. I need you to provide more services after selling these weapons." Seeing Tang Mo agree to this request, the Earl's mood seemed to improve. He handed the weapon in his hand to an officer named Tagg, then gestured for Tang Mo to walk with him.

So, shoulder to shoulder, the two of them walked in the courtyard. Tagg, holding the K1 Quick Gun, couldn't help admiring it while following closely behind the Earl. And Wes, behind Tang Mo, followed him every step of the way.

As they walked, the Earl said to Tang Mo, "You're a smart man, and it saves trouble to talk to a smart person. In fact, we both need support—the support of each other! This collaboration is actually comprehensive for both of us."

He pointed at Tang Mo, "You need the coal and iron mines of Northern Ridge to expand your production scale, and you also need Northern Ridge's military to purchase the weapons you produce."

Then he pointed at himself, "And I, on the other hand, need your new weapons to help me win victories on the battlefield and secure my title and territory."

"Similarly, your support could grant me more than I've dared to dream of, such as honor and status previously unimaginable." Then he continued, pointing at himself.

Next, he pointed at Tang Mo, "And in return, you...after being fully exposed to the Shireck Consortium, also need an ally, one to support and protect you from being devoured by the behemoth..."

After finishing, he stopped walking, looked at Tang Mo, and asked, "Right?"

"Your analysis is thorough, I have nothing to add, Lord Earl," Tang Mo nodded, feeling that working with a smart person was indeed a very pleasant thing.

He didn't need to say much; the other party could figure out many things on their own, making the collaboration very stable and everything under control.

The smarter the person, the easier it is to predict their actions, allowing a basic judgment of both sides' reactions. This provides a sense of security for everyone, and it's also in everyone's best interest.

The Earl obviously was also very pleased with Tang Mo, his new business partner, so he extended his hand and said, "Then...I hope we can support each other and work together happily."

"Pleasure to collaborate!" Tang Mo reached out his hand and shook hands with the Earl.

"I will return to Brunas today and then start to work on expanding production, but I need to take back an advance to maintain the normal operation of my workshop." Tang Mo felt there was no need to stay for lunch.

Count Fisheo also felt it was better to get on with the matter at hand sooner rather than later. He nodded and said to Tagg, "Lead 30 soldiers and accompany Mr. Tang Mo back to Brunas...ensure production, and if there are any troubles, help him solve them. I'll write a personal letter for you in a bit, show it to anyone who causes trouble, and they will have to give me some face."

"By your command, Lord!" Tagg placed his palm on his chest, solemnly promising, "I will do my utmost to bring back the new guns for you!"

"I happen to know an old Dwarf, who is the best craftsman I have ever met." Then, Lord Earl turned to Tang Mo, "I will go and find him shortly, and then for the remaining personnel, I'll select the best from those who repair firearms."

After finishing, he made a welcoming gesture, "Let's go back inside. I will take out all the Gold Coins from the Lord's Mansion, around 450...I'll get the rest ready as soon as possible and have it sent to you."

"As for food and vegetables, that's easy to manage. I have some reserves here, and I'll allocate a batch to you for now." He pointed towards the distant granary then looked at Tang Mo again, "It's not that I'm stingy with a meal, but our time...is very precious."

"Indeed! We need to fix the roof before the storm hits, and have the hunting guns ready before the wolves break into the yard..." Tang Mo said with an implication, "Since Mr. Tagg will join us on our return, I think the three K1 Quick Guns I brought can be left behind."

"You can use them to let your personal guards familiarize themselves with this kind of weapon." Tang Mo followed the Earl inside, then saw several soldiers ordered to leave and fetch the Gold Coins from the cellar.

The collaboration was going very smoothly. While waiting for the Earl to allocate resources and select artisans, Tang Mo drafted a contract. Both parties signed their names on two identical contracts, then they even had a bit of barley wine.

Yet, in his heart, Tang Mo was constantly thinking about his next series of work: now that he had agreed on the collaboration with the Earl, he needed to supply the requested armaments within the agreed timeframe.

This was his devotion as an arms dealer, or rather, his return to his first client who was willing to trust him.

This time back, he had to do more than produce rifles; he also needed to produce the bullets for the rifles, including the soldiers' ammunition belts, corresponding bayonets for the rifles, and tools for firearm maintenance, among other things.

First, to maintain and clean the bores and barrels of guns, one needs brushes made from pig bristles—these are not easy to come by, as they require a large amount of pig bristles as raw material.

During World War II, Huaxia, as a producer of pig bristles, provided a large quantity to allies like the United States, and in exchange received a massive amount of weapons and ammunition, highlighting the significant role of pig bristles in modern warfare.

It wasn't until synthetic brushes began to be widely adopted that pig bristles gradually started to phase out from the military supplies scene. And even by 2021, this replacement process was still ongoing.

Fortunately, the demand for pig bristles in this world was not so great, so acquiring some was not such a difficult task.

Tang Mo was quite confident he could at least equip 500 rifles with brushes and other maintenance tools. So he simply made a mental note of this detail, planning to hurry back and set up a pig farm to store some pig bristles for future use.

Of course, he also needed to improve the furnaces in his workshop and add some equipment, which would increase the speed of metal smelting to keep up with subsequent firearm production.

Thinking of this, he could not help pinching the bridge of his nose—the plethora of troubles really gave him a headache.

Besides, he needed to prepare a large amount of leather, whether for the holsters and weapon belts of the handgun series he planned to develop, or for the rifle accoutrements and ammo pouches, all requiring a lot of leather to make.

He had no intention of rolling out metal-jacketed bullets directly, nor did he have the capital and financial resources to do so; he had to honestly start with paper cartridges to make do.

These bullets were obviously very fragile and not easy to store. It was fine in the rear ammunition boxes, but especially on the battlefield, where the fighting was fierce and the environment was harsh, protecting these paper cartridges relied on durable and sturdy ammo pouches.

Making ammo pouches that could be strung along a belt also required workers, but Tang Mo felt that this kind of manual labor was actually easy to find workers for; the women of the era were very idle, and as long as there was a wage, they were willing to offer their diligent hands.

Everything depended on the steam engine he had to come up with himself. This was the most crucial; as long as he had it, all subsequent challenges seemed solvable.

Moreover, he could also start with a generator; this was not much more difficult to produce than a steam engine, as long as he had the appropriate blueprints and theory.

The technical difficulty of the two was roughly equivalent, so it was very possible that Tang Mo's workshop might have electrical facilities within a month.

With electricity, he could produce more metals familiar to him, including electrolytic aluminum. It was only a pity that Tang Mo did not need these for the time being, as he was trying to figure out how to produce breechloading guns and corresponding paper cartridges.

As Tang Mo was considering which part of the steam engine to draw first, the door was pushed open again. A burly man of about one and a half meters strolled into the Earl's dining hall.

He wore a thick beard, looking just like the dwarves Tang Mo had seen in the movies. The burly man approached the table, pulled out a chair himself, and hopped up to sit down on it with a plop.

"Lord Earl, I heard someone is looking for Northern Ridge's finest craftsman?" he asked, grabbing a wooden cup, pouring it full of ale, and surveying Tang Mo and Wes with a resounding voice.

"Yes, old fellow, I need your help," Count Fisheo nodded and then introduced Tang Mo, "This is Mr. Tang Mo, who has come up with a weapon even better than the Shireck Flintlock Gun."

"Huh..." After gulping down a large swig of ale, the dwarf whom the Lord Earl had called an old fellow let out a breath of beer, blowing his thick beard aside, and said, "I am really curious to see what the design that surpasses the Shireck Flintlock Gun looks like..."

"Hahaha! You'll see it soon enough!" Count Fisheo laughed heartily, then pointed to the old dwarf, introducing him to Tang Mo, "This is the finest craftsman from Northern Ridge, Mr. Mathews."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Mathews!" Tang Mo nodded in greeting, then raised his glass, "We are returning to Brunas this afternoon, you should get ready."

"Old man, I have nothing to prepare, just a set of tools I'm used to," Mathews took another big sip of ale, then wiped the froth from his beard and said.

Tang Mo quite liked Mathews's straightforward nature, as the easier Mathews was to serve, the easier it was for him to entertain. So he said with a smile, "Then please wait a moment, Mr. Mathews, we will be setting out shortly."