Munitions Empire-Chapter 1046: Expensive Intelligence Service 968
Chapter 1046: Expensive Intelligence Service 968
A black sedan wobbled to a stop in front of an unremarkable courtyard on the outskirts of Chang’an. These cars, all new models introduced by the Great Tang Group’s automotive division.
These sleekly designed sedans boast impressively exaggerated speeds and designs appealing enough to clearly distinguish them from military vehicles.
In the Great Tang Empire, the past state of interchangeability between military and civilian vehicles is no longer present; military cars excel in performance within their specialized domains, while civilian cars have shifted to prioritize comfort.
After all, with the Great Tang Empire’s extensive network of highways, the military vehicles, designed for off-roading with their high fuel consumption, no longer fit the civilian market.
The car door was opened by a Sentinel standing guard outside, and out climbed one Dwarf after another. They were dressed in smart suits, politely greeting the man who welcomed them: “Hello!”
This place is not an official industry of the Great Tang Empire but a private property of the Great Tang Group. Nonetheless, the security level here is quite high, with barbed wire and corner tower sentry posts visible all around.
The Great Tang Group official who came to greet them was also very courteous, confirming once again: “Hello! Sir, does your country really intend to spend 30 million Gold Coins to purchase our military intelligence on the Poplar Empire?”
The Great Tang Group has always covertly listed the intelligence of other countries for sale; for anyone willing to pay, there is no such thing as a secret in the world outside of the Great Tang Empire.
The lead Dwarf nodded, his signature robust beard trembling slightly as he spoke: “Yes, we have brought enough Gold; we’re paying in cash this time.”
Following his words, the Dwarfs pulled out heavy briefcases from the trunk of the car. These briefcases contained pure Gold.
Without even checking, the lead official of the Great Tang Group nodded and the men in black suits standing behind him stepped forward to take over the heavy briefcases.
The person in charge of verification opened the briefcases, saw the rows of neatly stacked gold bars inside, and nodded to the leading official to confirm.
“That’s really great, pleasure doing business. Gentlemen, please come with me,” the young official of the Great Tang Group gestured invitingly, clearing the way for the Dwarfs.
“We hope your intelligence won’t disappoint us,” said the second-in-command of the Dwarf intelligence department, stepping forward as he spoke.
“Don’t worry! The products sold by the Great Tang Group are always worth more than their price,” replied the young man from the Great Tang Group with a smile.
The group walked into a room, where the table in the center was piled with photographs and maps. Except for the absence of people, everything here was arranged according to the standards of a qualified intelligence office, with every detail meticulously considered.
Upon entering the room, all the intelligence personnel from the Ice Cold Empire were astonished; they had never seen such a professional intelligence analysis room, nor witnessed so much intelligence from the Poplar Empire.
The intelligence Dwarfs from the Ice Cold Empire, who had spent their lifetimes in espionage, were involuntarily drawn to the map of the Poplar Empire hanging on the wall, looking at the various annotations in disbelief.
It almost comprehensively marked the locations of four-fifths of the Poplar Empire’s Troops, their personnel structure, weapon allocations, and training statuses.
To be honest, the deputy minister of the Dwarf intelligence department leading them, which is their second in command, felt that the map alone was almost worth the price of admission.
After marveling for a while, the Dwarfs turned their attention to a stack of aerial photographs on the table. Although they didn’t know where these aerial photographs came from, their content was indeed shocking.
Like a guide, the young official from the Great Tang Group began to explain the content of the photos: “This is the defensive position built by the Poplar Empire on the border. Do you see these lines? Three solid lines of steel-reinforced concrete trenches, and these black dots, are bunker constructions in progress.”
“They are building a large number of defense fortifications on the northern border. It seems they hope to repel a potential southern offensive from the Ice Cold Empire using these defenses,” he described as he handed the photos over to the Dwarfs.
The photos were even conveniently annotated with a scale, roughly describing the length and thickness of the trenches and even suggesting the caliber of artillery required for destruction.
Taking another photo, he passed it to a Dwarf beside him: “We have found Poplar Kingdom’s military airfields at these locations, here and here. See these small crosses? All are mass-produced Butcher Fighter Jets.”
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All the Dwarfs didn’t dare to speak; they felt that their previous work should not be called intelligence work. Their previous efforts in intelligence reconnaissance seemed almost child’s play.
They had been investigating the precise locations of the Poplar Empire’s main forces, and now, across the Endless Sea, the Great Tang Empire had already investigated this intelligence clearly.
“…” These dwarves were even at a loss for words, merely lowering their heads to gaze at the top-secret information obtained by who knows what means, their thoughts a jumbled mess without a clue on where to start organizing them.
“Everything here can be photographed.” The young Great Tang Group official said casually, “That includes the files in the cabinets at the corners of the room. Just don’t mess them up. If you do, an additional sorting fee of 300,000 Gold Coins will be charged.”
With his prompting, the dwarven intelligence officers finally remembered they seemed to have brought cameras—per the other party’s request. Before, they truly hadn’t anticipated there would be so much relevant material.
So, the next second, like pirates who had found treasure, they greedily rifled through the materials, ceaselessly snapping photos with their cameras, planning to take everything back for research.
Then they despairingly found out that they seemed to have brought too few cameras and film rolls.
“Um… could we, possibly…” The leader of the dwarves, a deputy minister, approached the young Great Tang Group official somewhat embarrassedly and tentatively spoke up.
“Looking to buy film rolls?” The Great Tang Group official was understanding.
“Uh-huh.” The Dwarf deputy minister hastily nodded.
“Want more cameras?” The young man continued to ask.
“Uh-huh!” The Dwarf deputy minister hurriedly kept nodding.
“One camera for 100,000, one film roll for 10,000…” The young man quoted a price: “We informed you before to bring cameras and film.”
You assholes never said there was this much information from the Poplar Empire! If you had said something earlier, I would have brought 300 cameras and 20,000 film rolls!
Alas, while cursing inwardly, the Deputy Minister’s face still bore a brilliant smile. He amiably nodded in agreement and said, “I will settle the account once I return to the embassy, please rest assured, sir.”
“How many will you need?” The young man pushed open the room’s door, and in walked one beauty after another, each carrying cameras and rolls of film.
“…” Feeling his heart might not be in good shape, distressed by the expense, the dwarf minister eventually made the bold decision: “Everything! We’ll take it all!”
After all, the intelligence here was a treasure not purchasable with Gold Coins! With this information, the Ice Cold Empire’s chances of successfully invading southwards into the Poplar Empire would greatly increase.
Those fortifications built with massive funds would become as fragile as paper, and the Ice Cold Empire’s Armored Corps would stride unobstructed deep into enemy territory!
By then, those detestable elves will taste defeat, and both the rich coastline and the vast industrial areas of the Poplar Empire will become the foundation stone for the rise of the Dwarf Empire!
With these places, food will be inexhaustible, and all the problems restraining the Dwarf Empire’s development will be solved! The entire northern part of the Eastern Continent will have only one Empire, Ice Cold, and the glory of Furnace Fortress will illuminate every corner of the north!
Thinking this, the intelligence deputy minister of the dwarves even felt a surge of lofty aspiration. He knew the ambitions of His Majesty The Emperor; the dwarves would rise and write the supreme glory of the Dwarf Empire’s past!
His subordinates weren’t idle either. Some were photographing various maps and datasets, while others began transcribing records onto sheets of paper already prepared for them.
The paper and pens were free, a testament to the conscience of the Great Tang Group: it seemed they were only kindly providing a higher quality service by selling the film and cameras.
“Oh, right, we have even more accurate maps of the Poplar Empire here, the latest version, just finished surveying and drawing up, and the Poplar Empire doesn’t even have it yet…” The receptive official from the Great Tang Group kindly reminded the knowledge-thirsty dwarves.
You know, a detailed map is an indispensable asset on the battlefield. In the past, drawing up a detailed map required a lot of time and manpower, and even then, the maps obtained were not precise.
“Don’t worry, it’s absolutely accurate and detailed. As you know, we’re honest with both young and old,” the young official pitched, “It’s value for money… 10 million.”
“…” The Dwarf intelligence deputy minister felt numb. He seemed to have guessed the outcome: today, if he didn’t leave behind 50 million Gold Coins, he probably wouldn’t be able to leave.
Then, he suddenly realized a serious problem: having spent so much here purchasing information about the Poplar Empire… wouldn’t the intelligence department of the Poplar Empire, which had always been neck and neck with his in the field of espionage, possibly come to the Great Tang Empire to buy intelligence about their Ice Cold Empire?
