Munitions Empire-Chapter 958 - 881 self-researched

Chapter 958: 881 self-researched Chapter 958: 881 self-researched Minister of Revenue Wang Yucái rubbed his sore eyes and set aside the financial documents in his hands. His recent work had been going smoothly, since at least from the accounts, the financial revenue of the Dahua Empire was on the rise.

The previously unsatisfactory fiscal situation was improving, and many subsidies that were once unaffordable could now be considered.

For an official in charge of finances, this was definitely good news, and for an empire, it was undoubtedly a positive sign.

The sources of income were varied, and these past few days, Wang had been tirelessly organizing the ledgers, attempting to analyze and deduce some trends. To his relief, he truly had discovered some notable points.

The largest increase in revenues came from the prosperity of industry: in the past two years, the Dahua Empire had added a significant number of factories, which, along with their corresponding commercial operations, brought in a substantial amount of tax revenue for the Empire.

The next major increase came from agriculture because the Dahua Empire had introduced superior varieties from the Great Tang Empire and had utilized pesticides and fertilizers, resulting in a bumper harvest this year. As Dahua primarily relied on agriculture for its main source of income, it naturally gained a substantial amount of revenue from this bountiful harvest.

The third source of income was from tariffs. Fengjiang, as a major port of trade, had become the wealthiest city in the Dahua Empire. Countless goods settled customs fees there, and the income of Fengjiang City was almost higher than that of the entire Southern Region of the Empire.

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Not only was trade tax revenue between the Great Tang Empire and the Dahua Empire massively increasing, but goods transiting through Dahua from Qin Country to be sold to the Great Tang Empire also had to pay transit fees.

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These consistent annual revenues allowed Minister Wang to breathe a sigh of relief, and his words carried much more weight during the court meetings.

Unfortunately, with the increase in revenue, Wang found that the speed at which various departments spent money was also rapidly increasing. No matter how it was curtailed, the expenses of the Dahua Empire for the past two years had been skyrocketing.

Investments in road construction began to surge due to the need for better transportation capabilities to support busy commercial activity and production. This expenditure was unanimously agreed upon, as everyone was demanding improvements to the transportation infrastructure.

Conversely, maintaining and managing these roads and railways required money and personnel.

As the economic situation improved, His Majesty The Emperor of the Dahua Empire raised the salaries and stipends of everyone, to consolidate his position and to soothe his ministers and lower officials.

This heart-winning move, under the premise that the treasury was flush with money, became perfectly justified, so Wang had no choice but to agree to the pay raise plan. After all, in the past two-plus years, these ministers had indeed made significant contributions to the stability of Dahua.

Finally, the greatest increase was seen in national defense spending. Shortly after its financial recovery, the Dahua Empire had increased its defense budget.

There was no alternative, as it was now wedged between Qin Country and the Great Tang Empire, facing immense security pressure. Therefore, Dahua had to enhance its military capabilities to be ready for a potential crisis of war on two fronts.

Curiously, the Dahua Empire was not willing to purchase advanced weapons and equipment sold by the Great Tang Group; they insisted on “self-reliance in weapon development” and invested heavily in this approach.

Although this strategy might not necessarily be wrong and the outcomes could potentially be beneficial, it was arguably irrational to hastily develop more advanced weapons without fully understanding the leading-edge technology.

Surprisingly, in the end, they were successful. Based on their domestically produced Dahua Type 1 Fighter Jet, the Dahua Empire carried out a series of enhancements and ultimately designed the Dahua Type 2 Fighter Jet.

With the support of Prince Zhao Yu and his backing forces, the Dahua Empire’s technicians designed the Dahua Type-2 Fighter Jet to look almost exactly like the Italian G50 Fighter. It goes without saying that the credit belongs to Zhao Yu, which made Zhao Ji increasingly anxious.

The so-called new fighter jet of Dahua was essentially the G50, but with an enclosed cockpit added, and its subpar engine performance was slightly enhanced, allowing the aircraft to barely reach a speed of 500 kilometers per hour.

Its overall performance was on par with Qin Country’s Gale Fighter but still lagged behind the Butcher Fighter, which the Great Tang Empire was in the process of phasing out.

As a result, this rebranded self-developed advanced fighter instantly received orders, as the Dahua Empire sought to replace its old fighter jets and promptly purchased 1,000 units.

The Dahua Empire had no other choice, for its western neighbor Qin Country had already begun mass production of the Gale Type-2 Fighters. If the Dahua Empire didn’t keep up, it risked being surpassed by its neighbor.

Furthermore, the Dahua Empire improved its tanks and began manufacturing the Type-3 Tank, based on the foundation of the Type-2.

The new tank’s performance largely caught up with that of Great Tang’s Type-4 Tank, as vehicle-mounted radios were no longer considered top-secret technology.

Even though the military of the Dahua Empire was well aware that their tanks were inferior to the Great Tang’s Panther Tanks, they still purchased a large number of these tanks.

They didn’t need to surpass the Great Tang Empire; they only had to be a bit more advanced than Qin Country on the other side: Qin hadn’t yet equipped its forces with a large number of tanks, and the economically better-off Dahua Empire clearly had the upper hand in the arms race.

A fundamental shift in the Dahua Empire’s Air Force strategy became evident from the aircraft purchases.

They didn’t rush to deploy new bombers but instead focused their funds on purchasing a large number of fighter jets. This showed that the Dahua Empire’s Air Force focus was primarily defensive, completely unlike the majority of countries on the eastern continent.

This was also a decision shaped by the unique national circumstances of the Dahua Empire: their opponents were too strong, and they didn’t believe their Air Force could control the skies in the presence of the Great Tang Empire Air Force, so they weren’t prepared to waste valuable funds on offensive bombers.

Equipping a large number of Armored Corps indicated the Dahua Empire’s emphasis on ground forces: they hoped their Troops could withstand enemy attacks and have the capability to counterattack when necessary.

It had to be said, Shen Chuan, the Minister of War, did have some level of competence. After summarizing the lessons from the previous war’s defeat, he formulated a relatively feasible military strengthening plan.

Regarding the Great Tang Empire, prioritize defense and good relations, avoiding war as much as possible, and relying mainly on permanent defensive fortifications to counter any potential offensives launched by the Tang Army. Even concerning technological equipment, they took a laid-back approach, conceding that if they could not catch up, then they wouldn’t chase, saving both money and effort.

Towards the western neighbor Qin Country, the Dahua Empire took a deterrence approach, deploying a large number of Armored Corps, projecting a stance ready for combat with Qin. Relying on sufficient funds, the Dahua Empire’s troops on the western front indeed put enormous pressure on Qin, forcing it to temporarily shelve its ambitions against Dahua.

Coupled with diplomatic maneuvers, in these two years, they had essentially stabilized Dahua’s external situation and even faintly began overshadowing Qin Country. However, all this seemed to hinge on the assumption that the Great Tang Empire had no intention of expanding westward.

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Today, something came up at home so I can only post one update. I will make up for it tomorrow, my apologies.