Wu Feng has held a meeting of important ministers for the third time in half a month. The three meetings have only one topic, which is how to speed up the development of the empire's economy to cope with the ever-changing development situation of the entire continent, especially the challenges from the Western Continent. , under the influence of this issue, even the conquests against Kaman and Heathrow seemed to be placed in the second place. This also made the various ministers of the empire realize that His Majesty the Emperor was concerned about this matter. Things matter.
The cause of the matter is very simple. It stems from a comprehensive intelligence document submitted to His Majesty the Emperor by the Imperial Intelligence Service. This intelligence document contains nearly 100,000 words. It lists a large number of figures and detailed information, and provides imperial intelligence. The General Administration's comprehensive analysis and this information made Wu Feng, who had just had time to relax, once again realize the new pressure that the empire was about to face.
The intelligence information submitted by the Imperial Intelligence Service is actually a comprehensive report on the economic development of the powerful countries in the entire Western Continent in the past few years. Among them, the Kingdom of Leeds, the Famini Empire, the Kingdom of Barotse, and Augus The top five are the Fort Empire and the Hansen Alliance.
It can be said that this intelligence gave Wu Feng a real understanding of the development of the powerful powers in the Western Continent. The original intelligence was more about collecting political intelligence about the powerful powers, but this time it was a comprehensive analysis report. , especially a relatively detailed introduction to the economic development status of various countries, which made Wu Feng feel tremendous pressure for the first time.
The pressure comes from the development speed of the powers in the Western Continent. The General Intelligence Agency ranks the Kingdom of Leeds and the Famini Empire as the first-class powers. Although the military strength of the two countries is far from comparable to the huge imperial power, However, the military quality of the two armies and the average development capacity of military industry have surpassed that of the empire. This is also the conclusion Wu Feng came to after carefully comparing the comprehensive military capabilities of the empire and the two countries. The fire guns and thunderbolts that the empire has just begun to install have also been installed in the armies of the two countries. This alone makes Wu Feng fearful. Judging from the time, the two countries should have developed fire guns earlier than the empire, but the empire is more sensitive on this point. Because the war was still ongoing, we tried our best to translate this result into practical application.
The Leeds Kingdom's superiority at sea has been fully demonstrated. The Leeds Navy has spread its tentacles all over the west coast of the New World, and continues to extend to the south and east. Its super naval strength has forced all the powerful countries in the Western Continent to face it alone. Staying away, the naval strength of the Kingdom of Leeds is not only reflected in the fact that they have installed Hongtian Lei (called artillery in the Western Continent) on ships and used it in actual combat. Rockets and boarding warfare have taken a back seat, especially traditional Rocket attacks tend to be completely eliminated, and fire guns (called muskets by Western mainlanders) have also begun to be equipped on navy sailors. It is obvious that they have solved the waterproof and moisture-proof problem of fire guns very well. The use of thunder and fire guns in the navy is an issue that the Imperial Navy has just had time to consider. The Leeds people have successfully done this. According to intelligence responses, both the Famini and Barotse navies are catching up. They never wanted to see the Leeds Navy dominate the Ocean of Storms, but this gap even tended to widen.
If the Kingdom of Leeds is dominant in the navy, then the Famini Empire is dominant in the army. Although in the early sea battle, Famini Empire's navy was defeated by the strength of the Leeds Navy. But when the Kingdom of Leeds thought that it could overwhelm Famini in terms of army, this illusion was completely shattered by the Famini Army. Their battle in the Dunkel area finally made the people of Leeds understand that in order to win in the West Dominate the continent. They still had to ask the Famini people if they agreed.
The competition between the two countries for the western and northern colonies in the New World is also becoming increasingly fierce. This has also led to the two countries' increasing investment in military affairs, and military needs have also led to the rapid development of the real estate industries related to military industry in both countries. When the Tang Empire had just made a breakthrough in steelmaking technology, the Kingdom of Leeds, the Famini Empire, and the Augsburg Empire had begun to widely promote the use of the converter steelmaking method, which was regarded as a breakthrough technology by the Tang Empire, in the steelmaking industry. , this piece of information was undoubtedly a blow to Wu Feng’s head, which made Wu Feng dizzy.
Just when Wu Feng was depressed about this, the General Intelligence Agency also mentioned that the steel-making companies in the Kingdom of Leeds seemed to be seeking breakthroughs in fuel. Traditional coal-based steel-making was becoming increasingly unsuitable for the needs of various industries for steel. This also forces steel companies to hope for technological breakthroughs. The new technology just developed by the Imperial Science and Technology Development Department - coke steelmaking seems to have made a breakthrough in the Kingdom of Leeds. This has made Wu Feng feel great pressure. Everyone knows what steel output and quality mean to a country. The need for fire guns (muskets) and Hongtianleiyue (artillery) is an astronomical figure.
The technological advantages achieved by the two major powers in the Western Continent in the most important industries made Wu Feng realize that if the Empire stepped up to catch up, the Empire would have to be at a very dangerous disadvantage in the future competition for the New Continent, especially It is the naval superiority of the Kingdom of Leeds that makes Wu Feng even more anxious. Once the Kingdom of Leeds really extends its tentacles to the Latin Ocean, not only will the empire's interests in the New World be threatened, but its status in the Latin Ocean and the Southern Ocean will also be threatened. Will be shaken.
Thinking of all this, Wu Feng became anxious. The countries in the Western Continent were far from being comparable to the Empire in terms of territory, and their populations were also very different. However, Wu Feng also knew that the Empire controlled a large empire with a mixture of ethnic groups, but the rule of many territories The power is quite weak, especially in the Central Continent. It relies entirely on military power and economic attraction to maintain. Once the people of all ethnic groups in these areas realize that the Tang Dynasty is not even comparable to the countries in the Western Continent. , the empire's control over them will be greatly weakened, and no one can predict what will happen by then.
And the intelligence from the General Intelligence Agency is not limited to these. Just when all walks of life in the empire are complacent about the huge development of the textile industry brought about by the rapid technological advancement of the textile industry in the Jiangnan region, the woolen industry of the Kingdom of Leeds and the Empire of Augsburg The textile industry in the south of the Yangtze River had already carried out a larger and more profound technological revolution, which directly led to the Kingdom of Leeds and the Empire of Augsburg's woolen products almost monopolizing the entire Western Continent, and woolen products continued to flow. Continuously exported to the Central Continent.
What shocked Wu Feng the most was that the Kingdom of Leeds began to widely use a type of water drainage called a steam engine in the mining industry. This machine is said to have a very good effect in mining drainage, and it is said that if this steam engine can be improved, it will There will be quite huge prospects, and it will even bring about unprecedented changes in power requirements. However, the General Intelligence Agency is not sure about the details. However, judging from the level of attention paid to this technology in the Kingdom of Leeds, it should be a considerable project. Important technological inventions.
The rapid development of the powerful powers in various industries in the Western Continent made the important ministers of the empire who circulated this economic intelligence summary feel heavy, especially Xiao Tang, Su Qin, and the empire's Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Ministry of Transportation, and Ministry of Construction. The officials were even more shocked. The achievements of the Western Continent in these aspects will soon be transformed into productivity, and the improvement of productivity will soon be reflected in the national strength of various countries. This will be a huge challenge for the empire.
The Kingdom of Leeds is undoubtedly the most obvious example. Its strong steelmaking capabilities have been transformed into military industry and shipbuilding capabilities, and these capabilities will also rapidly increase the military strength of these countries. It is said that in order to counter the threat of the Famini Empire starting to fully equip its warships with large-caliber artillery, the Kingdom of Leeds is advancing a plan to comprehensively install iron armor on Leeds Navy warships. This iron armor can fully cover the ship. on important parts, greatly reducing the damage caused by artillery to wooden ships.
"Everyone, you have finished reading this economic information summary. I have asked you to go back and think carefully in the past few days. I wonder if you have any ideas?" Wu Feng's eyes wandered over the faces of the courtiers. He could see that this This intelligence summary has made everyone here feel tremendous pressure. This is a good sign. If everyone is at a loss or feels indifferent, then it is a real crisis.
"Your Majesty, I have been reflecting carefully over the past few days as to why small border countries like the Kingdom of Leeds and the Famini Empire are developing so fast and their economic strength is also changing with each passing day. I think this is worthy of our careful consideration. The Empire In the past few years, military operations have been listed as the main goal, and brilliant achievements have indeed been made. However, looking at the areas controlled by the empire, we have to admit that the economic development of many areas of the empire and even some local areas is quite backward. The economic development of the empire is extremely uneven, especially in some newly occupied areas. The people's recognition of the empire is very weak. They now rely entirely on military and administrative means to maintain their rule. I believe that in order to strengthen control of these areas, in addition to strengthening cultural assimilation In addition, the more important point is to speed up the economic development of these areas so that the local people can feel the benefits brought to them by the prosperity of the empire, instead of blindly relying on military occupation and suppression to enhance the empire's prestige."
As the Prime Minister of the Imperial Council, Xiao Tang naturally had to stand up and express his thoughts. In fact, he was shocked by this intelligence summary. The economic development level of the small countries in the Western Continent actually surpassed the level of the most economically developed regions in the Empire. How could he not feel pressured by such a contrast.