Munitions Empire

"If they plagiarize the easy-to-copy technologies we've developed, then we just won't sell them the truly advanced technologies that they can't copy!" Halis pondered for a moment and laid out the approach he had been considering.

His suggestion met with approval from Mathews, Parker, and others. Wes was indifferent, standing behind Tang Mo with his mind wandering.

Tang Mo, however, was not too enthusiastic about this punitive measure, only saying, "That's one approach, but it could only be used occasionally. After all, most things can be plagiarized..."

Having said that, he proposed his own idea, "So, what we need to work on next is the protection of technology patents worldwide. Only with global patent protection can we maintain a leading edge in technological development. If someone plagiarizes, violates the law, we will go straight to their doorstep and make them pay!"

After finishing, he knew that it was not realistic to implement this at the moment, so he could only laugh at himself, "However, that is still a distant plan, and there is no way to implement it right now."

Halis changed the subject, bringing up another matter, "Another issue is that the King of Leite would like us to transfer a few sets of wireless telegraph machines. He hopes to establish his own information transmission network."

There are many who wish to purchase wireless telegraph machines, but Halis singled out the request from the King of Leite, obviously implying special significance.
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The upper echelons of the Leite Kingdom explicitly wish that the Great Tang Group could provide an independent wireless telegraph communication to ensure the Kingdom possesses an independent intelligence transmission capability.

No country wants its communications to be entirely in the hands of a third party, even when those channels of information transmission are neutral and reliable most of the time.

Therefore, the King of Leite's request was in a way sending a signal to Tang Mo, suggesting that he make concessions on the telegraph system and hand over the operational rights to the Kingdom of Leite.

Or to put it another way, at least under the condition of allowing Tang Mo to retain the operational rights of the civilian telegraph, they hoped Tang Mo would make concessions to allow, or rather support the official establishment of another independent telegraph communication system.

After Halis elaborated on the intricacies involved, Parker, who was in charge of production, expressed his worries, "If the telegraph machines are not in our hands, it would be easy for them to replicate... Once we sell these technologies, it would be easy for the King of Leite to produce similar products."

"But if we keep withholding such technology, these countries will all be wary of our corresponding intelligence gathering capabilities..." Halis also articulated his view from another aspect.

"The pressure is a bit high; if all the countries are wary of us, it will affect our expansion speed," Li'ao added his opinion as well.

If everyone feels that the Great Tang Group has a monopoly on technology and is arbitrarily controlling the lifeblood of nations, this would impact their reputation and credit.

And if everyone starts feeling that the Great Tang Group is more dangerous than Shireck, then they will unite with Shireck against the Great Tang Group, which would be an even more passive situation.

Loss outweighing the gain is something Tang Mo would not do. He was, of course, aware that sometimes it's necessary to let go of some benefits to solidify one's position, so he was already prepared to concede the telegraph technology.

"The Great Tang Group has only one type of product it does not sell, but it is not the wireless radio." Tang Mo spoke, setting the tone for the entire meeting, "As long as they are willing to pay, I will sell the technology!"

"So, how do we price it?" Halis asked.

"We calculate a price by allocating our research and development costs, manufacturing expenses, and the costs of the production lines for the telegraph machines, topped with a reasonable profit," Tang Mo handled the matter pragmatically.

"50,000 Gold Coins per unit?" Mathews looked at Parker beside him.

Parker thought for a moment, then said, "60,000 Gold Coins is also not impossible, after all, we decide the cost of this thing."

"Once we lift the restrictions and start selling telegraph machine equipment in large quantities, Shireck will certainly follow suit and replicate," Mathews expressed his concerns to Tang Mo.

Halis thought even more comprehensively for Tang Mo, "This must be carefully calculated. On the one hand, many factories, including Shireck, will replicate production, and on the other hand, there are also losses in terms of intelligence."

"Replication of production is actually predictable; they will definitely do it. As long as we lower the prices, we can still profit from the civilian telegraph," Tang Mo pondered for a while and reassured everyone.

Mathews reluctantly said, "But we'll lose some of the costs invested in the earlier noble telegraph office. If we held out for another two months..."

The previous telegraph offices charged a lofty price for sending telegrams, costing one Gold Coin per word. It was not something ordinary people could afford; thus, this pricing was essentially targeted at the nobility.

The nobility who sent telegrams were greeted by special personnel, and the telegraph office was lavishly decorated; all these were initial investments, which now seemed to be going down the drain.

There was no helping it, as when the telegraph office was set up, it targeted those nobles who could afford it and naturally took the high-end route. Now that it had to shift to a more common folk approach, of course there was going to be significant wastage.

This was why Mathews was somewhat reluctant, hoping the operation of the telegraph office could be extended for another two months.

But the situation was beyond control, and Harry had to remind Mathews, "To persist for another two months, many countries would likely grow bitter towards us."

"It doesn't matter anymore, just package and sell the telegraph office directly to those who want to buy the telegraph machines. We can then start a new telegraph office targeting the common folk and avoid the losses," Tang Mo said.

"That's a solution! This way, our preliminary investments can all be liquidated back into our financial income!" Realization dawned on Harry, and his mood immediately lifted; it seemed these financial losses could be avoided after all.

"The loss in terms of intelligence is severe. Currently, with the coverage of the telegraph, we get at least half of our intelligence for free. But if there's a parallel telegraph system, then the loss of intelligence would increase by at least half," Li'ao followed up on the losses regarding intelligence.

He was in charge of the peripheral intelligence network, and most intelligence gathering was done through telegraph.

If the other party didn't utilize their telegraph network anymore, the efficiency of intelligence collection would definitely plummet.

So he also expressed his frustration to Tang Mo, "In terms of valuable intelligence, the loss could even exceed three-quarters! Even more! After the sale of the telegraph machines, we would basically have no control over the communications among the high-level officials of several kingdoms."

"Many who have become accustomed to the telegraph are already using their proprietary codebooks. If they have their own telegraph systems, it will be even harder for us to decrypt their messages," he said, concerned about the loss of these sources of intelligence, which could cause problems for Great Tang Group's formidable intelligence system.

"Deciphering codes is a complex and tedious job, but we are still doing it. If we can't grasp the content of the opposing side's messages, even we would not be able to trace anything," Li'ao concluded in the end.

"No worries, since Halis is no longer an option, we should just honestly continue developing our intelligence network step by step," Tang Mo comforted Li'ao.

Just at that moment, a naval officer in white uniform walked in, holding a telegram from the sea: "Master, Mr. Harry! This is a telegram from a warship of the Brunas class off the coast of Southwater Port."

"Read," Tang Mo ordered directly.

The officer unfolded the telegram and began to read, "Aside from the codewords, this Marquis Leibart agrees to pay the debt of 14 million Gold Coins. However, he instructs his confidants to use land and goods for repayment... He also wishes his confidants to bargain as much as possible."

This officer, reading the telegram word by word, was shocked by the content halfway through: "The other party is prepared to use Osa Port, a large copper mine, a gold mine... to pay the debt of 14 million Gold Coins."

"A gold mine... that's quite the generous offer," Tang Mo revealed a smile upon hearing this. The people of this world attached even greater importance to gold mines than to the more practical iron and copper mines.

Gold was, in a way, a symbol of wealth, the basis of currency, the raw material for minting money.

Having a gold mine was akin to possessing equivalent wealth—as long as a gold mine kept producing, the owner could remain wealthy indefinitely.

Even when Shireck's influence was at its peak, they rarely meddled with a kingdom's gold mine. To do so was essentially to tamper with the ruling class's interests, which would certainly be met with substantial resistance.

For Poplar Kingdom to be willing to offer a gold mine to settle their debts showed that there were definitely other motives at play.

Sure enough, the naval officer continued, "According to the telegram, they want wireless telegraph equipment... and all of the latest technological devices..."

Tang Mo scoffed, "They sure do want a lot."

"They probably don't even know that we actually have other new products like automobiles and brand-new artillery..." Harry took the telegram from the officer and looked it over again before speaking.

"Hand over the original telegram to the envoy of Poplar Kingdom! Then prepare to start a new round of negotiations with them! Since they are so generous, they can't blame me for being unreserved," Tang Mo looked at Harry and gave the order.