Munitions Empire

"But you are the Minister of Finance! And moreover... others may not know, but Woodrow, Woodrow is your..." The woman wept so pitifully that even the old minister felt a twinge of compassion.

People always have their collections. For a man who is successful in business and wealthy, collecting things destined to be out of the reach of others gives them a sense of accomplishment.

And thus, he took a fancy to a pair of twins, identical twin sisters, and quite beautiful at that. First, he married the older sister to make her his wife, then he used every trick in the book to keep the younger sister on the side as his mistress.

At his proudest moment, he even indulged in the outrageous act of having both sisters share his bed at the same time, and they each bore him children. To his slight regret, his wife gave birth to two daughters, while his mistress, the younger sister, gave birth to a son!

This matter was no longer a secret in the nobility circle; many were aware that the Minister of Finance had an illegitimate son.

At that time, the Minister of Finance was an important pawn bought by the Shireck Consortium, and he was also on good terms with Xiuyi Jisi. His deep affiliation with Shireck Consortium was well known; naturally, he was one of the Kingdom's key supporters of the Consortium.

Unfortunately, his recent days had not been too good, as Shireck Consortium's influence within the Leite Kingdom had fallen to dangerously low levels.

Initially, it was he and Gis who spearheaded the failed plan to betray Northern Ridge, resulting in significant losses for the Kingdom, and the King started to grow annoyed with him.

Whilst riding on Shireck's influence, even if the King was displeased with him, it wouldn't have been too dangerous, but then Shireck gave away nearly half the Kingdom's interests in a feigned cooperation with the Great Tang Group.

This further diminished Shireck Consortium's influence within the Kingdom to the point where his position as Minister of Finance began to waver.

Over the past week, he'd fallen completely on the defensive. He heard that Shireck's private army had been defeated in Brunas, losing tens of thousands of men.

Shireck's power within the Leite Kingdom had been nearly swept clean, and he, who had ascended to the position of Minister of Finance by relying on Shireck, had naturally become precarious.

If it weren't for anything special, he had been exceptionally cautious lately, fearing the King would make a move against him.

But when it rains, it pours; just when he least wanted trouble and was intent on laying low, his illegitimate son was slaughtered...

Within King City, who wouldn't give the Minister of Finance some respect? Who would dare touch Woodrow?

Since he had only that one son, the old Minister of Finance, in such a time, wrote to the City Defense Forces, demanding that the murderer be severely punished.

What infuriated him was that he knew very well that the murderer hadn't even been caught yet, he was still out there, living in comfort...

"Enough! You're not unaware that I'm in a precarious position myself, struggling for my own safety. There's nothing I can do about it," the Minister of Finance said wearily.

"But you are the Minister of Finance! How dare they treat you this way..." The woman still felt indignant and spoke resentfully.

The child that had died was hers; as only an unrecognized mistress, she had put all her hopes on her son.

Moreover, this son was filial and capable, running many businesses behind the scenes and bringing her a hefty sum of money each month.

Now, her wonderful son had been killed so abruptly; how could she let this matter rest so easily?

As a mother, or rather as a beneficiary, she swore in secret that she would have the damned murderer, or rather the one who had ruined her cash card, torn into pieces!

"Cough, cough, cough!" The Minister of Finance, overwhelmed by anger, began to cough violently. It took a while before he finally managed to soothe the itch in his throat and steady his breath, then he said, "Think about it! Why would they dare to make a move against Woodrow?! Would they have dared when I was at the peak of my power?

It's only because my position in the Kingdom is wavering that they started by targeting Woodrow, trying to drag me down with him."

"This..." The woman was still not content. In her view, she had righteousness on her side and should be able to seek justice anywhere.

She wouldn't consider that those common folks and minor officials who had been harmed by her son also had no avenue to seek justice. Now that it was her turn, she started to talk about fairness.

"What 'this'? Even if today the King were to announce my dismissal as Minister of Finance, it wouldn't be surprising at all!" The voice of the old Minister of Finance turned cold, signaling his great displeasure.

He loathed the way women clung to him incessantly, and in this household, he was the ultimate authority, with women serving merely as ornaments. They were like vases, mere decorations in a room.

Moreover, there was something he hadn't voiced: Just a few days ago, news came from Brunas that Xiuyi Jisi, the Shireck Consortium's representative within the Leite Kingdom, had been killed by the Great Tang Group!

This news was like a bolt from the blue, silencing the old Minister of Finance in an instant.

He owed his position to the support of the Shireck Consortium, but now it was clear that his backing had collapsed.

As a crafty old fox, he naturally wanted to find another protector, but he couldn't find a way to ally with the Great Tang Group on such short notice.

Yesterday, after the meeting, he had a brief chat with the King, hinting in his words that he was willing to serve the King.

But chillingly for him, the King simply wouldn't pick up the cue. Either the King wasn't interested in his allegiance, or he had already made other plans.

The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward, and the woman could only stifle her sobs, cautious not to defy her man. After all, this man was one of the most powerful figures in the Kingdom.

Or at least, he once was… one of the Kingdom's most powerful figures. Even now, if he were to fall, a camel starved still dwarfs a horse—he remained a force she dared not provoke.

And as he listened to her restrained weeping, the Minister of Finance grew increasingly irritated. He wanted to scold her, yet he didn't know where to start.

After all, that was his son, and his only son at that! Even though the boy was illegitimate, his death pained him deeply.

In normal times, he would have been furious, seeking the murderers, demanding Shireck track down the scoundrels responsible and ensuring their entire families paid dearly.

But now, the Shireck forces within King City were too preoccupied to care, and he himself was like a clay Buddha crossing a river—hardly able to save himself, much less deal with matters concerning Woodrow.

Just then, the door was pushed open from outside, and an old butler entered, bowed slightly and reported, "Master… The Prime Minister is here to see you."

"Quick! Please bring him in!" The Minister of Finance stood up excitedly, a smile spreading across his face. He knew that the Prime Minister and the King were aligned. The Prime Minister's visit was clearly a sign of the King's will.

After saying this, he turned to his mistress and said, "Once I've sorted things out here, dealing with Woodrow's affair will be simple! As long as my position is secure, I won't let any of those bastards who touched Woodrow off hook!"

The woman, still in tears, finally managed to compose herself somewhat, looking at the Minister of Finance with tearful eyes. She wanted to speak but hesitated, ultimately leaving the reception room through another door.

Not long after she left, the Prime Minister and a middle-aged man came in. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two of them took their seats.

Both seasoned and shrewd, they started with a whole lot of meaningless small talk, even touching upon the tax reforms in the Suthers Kingdom.

Beaten in war, the Suthers Kingdom began reforming itself, buying advanced weapons from the Great Tang Group for their military and instructing Sir Romel, a rising star of the Kingdom, to train new troops; while internally, they reformed their governance and tax laws, launching a series of development plans with the support of the Prime Minister.

As a neighboring state, the Leite Kingdom was watching closely, and lately, Leite VII had been frequently summoning ministers, hoping to find a response of their own.

In the course of the conversation, the Prime Minister brought up a person. This individual played a crucial role in the reforms of the Suthers Kingdom and was exceptionally young—a young prodigy so fresh that there was scarcely any information about him in the Leite Kingdom.

To the Leite Kingdom, it seemed as though this young man had descended out of nowhere into the Suthers Kingdom; in just over a month, he had gained remarkable momentum, almost ready to move from general to chancellor.

Moreover, there were rumors that this young man had formed a romantic relationship with the granddaughter of the Suthers Prime Minister, even engaging in talks of marriage.

The Suthers Prime Minister was very fond of this young man and supported him politically, grooming him as his successor…

Suddenly, the old Prime Minister even began to lament, mentioning how the Leite Kingdom had a young man named Tang Mo, while Suthers had its own promising youth. It seemed to him that he, an old man, could no longer keep up with the times.

The Minister of Finance also sighed and then offered words of comfort. The two men, far from young, together bore a sense of being left behind by the times.

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Yesterday was supposed to be four updates, but again it didn't pass the review... The description of the ballroom went overboard... Hahaha