Munitions Empire

Laines was originally a small town where everything was quite ordinary, except for its proximity to the Laines River, which made transportation relatively convenient by water.

However, the recent changes here have begun to baffle the generations that have lived in this place.

For they saw outside their city people constructing a large platform, about one meter high and flanked by a row of thick cement pillars.

Then, from these cement pillars, steel began to extend to both sides, and eventually, workers laid out a network of steel beams on these extensions and attached bricks and tiles to them.

It resembled a gigantic gazebo, connected to the original city by a wide concrete road.

Those familiar with all this knew that a railway station was being built, and it was going to be a very large one at that.

A railway would stretch westward from here all the way to the old Leite Royal City, now known as Jade City.

Soon, the railway network would be connected, with one route heading north to Ice Crystal City and then directly to Northern Ridge Wolf City, another heading west to Jade City and then continuing westward to Brunas.

Of course, another line was being built to the south; with Jade City as the transportation hub, it would connect to Dorne King City, completing the basic construction of an entire railway network.

All of this would take time to accumulate, with a kilometer by kilometer of railway track being diligently laid and built. This would require countless amounts of steel and the collective efforts of innumerable workers.

The Laines railway station, as a brand new rail link, would also begin to lay tracks, extending to both sides, one connecting to Jade City and the other to the Germelin region.

This magnificent station is a microcosm of the recent changes in Laines. Apart from the station, a huge waterworks is also under construction, with many roads in the city being dug up for the installation of water supply pipes.

At the same time, an entire city sewage system was being built, modeled after Brunas's design and considered one of the most advanced urban sewage systems in the world.

In addition, a palace was being constructed almost simultaneously, a truly luxurious palace for the Emperor to reside and work in.

There was also an accompanying power plant, factories for various industrial products, and workshops... The place was like a giant construction site, with frantic construction happening everywhere.

On the side of the city, a piece of land was being furiously worked upon; this would become the most luxurious shopping street in the new city.

According to Great Tang Group's construction plans, this would become an affluent district filled with shops and comprehensive infrastructure.

And the land price here would be frighteningly high, only the wealthiest imperial tycoons and nobles could afford to live in this area.

As the builder of this commercial district, Great Tang Group would rely on real estate to generate massive funds, evoking envy from all.

Becoming an empire was not a simple matter; recently, the ministers of Leite had countless issues to deal with, so they couldn't be bothered with trivial matters such as a consortium speculating on capital city real estate prices.

Besides, even if someone had noticed, nobody would concern themselves with such trifles. After all, Great Tang Group had given each of them an apartment, making them direct beneficiaries of the commercial district's development.

And as for Emperor Leines I, he would care even less about such matters since he had a palace under construction, making him the one who profited the most from this real estate development zone.

To highlight the grandeur of this new imperial capital, a very wide thoroughfare ran through the entire city.

Purchasing and transforming old residential buildings was completely impossible, so this thoroughfare that traversed the entire imperial capital actually marked the boundary between the old and new urban districts.

The old city district was basically undergoing renovations, which wouldn't start immediately, while the new city district including the palace, the affluent business district, the railway station, and the new docks...

Such a massive expansion project was actually more time and labor-efficient than building a new city from scratch.

On one hand, this was due to improved construction technology and the widespread use of concrete, and on the other, it was because the new imperial capital didn't consider building city walls.

After all, city walls could no longer serve a serious defense function in the face of ever-evolving weaponry.

75mm caliber howitzers, 80mm caliber mortars could actually damage city walls significantly.

If replaced with 105mm caliber howitzers or 120mm mortars, that kind of damage would be very effective.

The artillery could easily destroy the walls, and the defenders concentrated on them would become very obvious targets, which was not the outcome any city defense commander wanted to see.

As for the new methods of defending cities, they are still being explored. The more mainstream tactic is to eliminate enemies approaching the city in the field, rather than allowing them to fight inside the city.

However, within the Great Tang Military Academy, research groups have already begun studying urban warfare theory, but at least for the present, this strategy is really not mainstream.

Therefore, city walls now have only one use, which is to confine the civilians within the city, to restrain them and to raise their level of public order, and to make it easier to seal off a city.

But these functions, when compared to the cost of constructing walls, are really too trivial. The consensus now being accepted by many people is that city walls restrict the development of a city.

Don't you see, Brunas, as the largest city in the world, has long done away with such things as city walls.

The original, which did not seem very tall, has been completely demolished, not even leaving a trace behind.

Where the walls once stood, skyscrapers have been erected, which are much taller than the original city walls.

So, according to the plan, the old walls of Laines will also soon be demolished, and the stones from the walls will be used in the construction of new buildings like train stations and the Imperial Palace.

The residents of the former Laines even feel fear over this because they have lived under the protection of these walls for generations; losing this barrier suddenly has stripped them of a support, making them feel unsettled and anxious.

But all this is destined to be temporary, for soon they will find that without the constraints of city walls, their lives will become much more convenient.

In fact, Laines is not the only city dismantling its walls; Jade City and Wolf City are also taking down their walls, and as for Dragon City and Weigang, there was never any intention to build walls there.

And other things have already started to make their lives look completely different—for a small, ancient city like Laines, it had never seen a crane before.

Especially since this is a new type of device powered by an engine, a machine entirely made of steel with immense power.

The children of Laines most enjoy squatting nearby every day, watching the cranes fixed on the construction site lift loads that would take dozens of people to lift, hoisting them easily to great heights.

This is an unprecedented experience, especially therapeutic and stress-relieving…

Besides the cranes, the children have another interesting place to go, and that is the temporary camps outside the city to see those automobiles they have never seen before.

For these children, automobiles are definitely a novelty, able to move without being pulled by warhorses, a veritable miracle.

The military of the Leite Kingdom is equipped with hundreds of Model T automobiles, and many are improved versions of the Model T.

However, the staff of the Great Tang Group have a wide variety of automobiles at their disposal. Some managers have even replaced their cars with the latest luxury sedans.

The workers also have trucks that carry more and are easier to drive to choose from, and these vehicles, both in terms of appearance and actual functional performance, are somewhat higher grade than the more common Model T.

The development of the Great Tang Group has been so rapid that it has made this world look distorted and fantastical.

Now many places still have only horse-drawn carriages, yet in some extreme cases, automobiles from 1935, 1913, horse-drawn carriages, and even rickshaws can appear in the same scene.

Railroads have shown their unique role in the war, but in more parts of the world, there isn't even a proper dirt road…

Such is reality; Tang Mo is about to create the world's first airplane, yet some armies… or rather, the vast majority of armies in this world, are still using flintlock guns…

In Brunas, most people are accustomed to independent bathrooms and water supply systems, yet even in Jade City, these amenities are not fully popularized.

In Brunas, the electricity coverage rate has already exceeded 90%, but in other regions of the world, you might not even find a single electric wire.

In Brunas, many important departments have already started to equip telephones for real-time voice communication, but in cities other than this one, communication still largely relies on courier services.

In Brunas, gangsters might have various models of Left-Wheel Handguns, but in other cities, Rangers might still be wandering the streets with Longswords.

In Brunas, doctors have even begun to inject medicine to treat various diseases, while in other cities, bloodletting is still widely practiced, witch doctors are still a profession, and praying to deities is considered an "effective" medical approach…

Now, these changes are all about to come to Laines, and in the near future, this formerly obscure little city will become the capital of the Laines Empire, transforming into a new city that captivates the attention of the world.

Here, you can see… a glorious future.