Imperial Elite

Chapter 100 Go south, go south!
Joe hesitated for a few seconds before issuing the order.

After all, once the commando team started their operation, no one was able to stop it.

The endless cycle of hatred will not stop until it devours the last person.

However, Joe only hesitated for a few seconds before issuing the order for the assault team to be deployed.

These volunteers on Emerald Island were already capable of attacking each other, which clearly indicated that the matter had reached a point where it could not be resolved without bloodshed.

So Joe would rather have others bleed than have his own people bleed.

After the order was given, Joe suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.

With all the preliminary preparations completed, and everything Joe could do on Emerald Island, all that was left to do was wait.

Of course, it can't be said that there's absolutely nothing to do.

After all, Joe was not only the governor of Emerald Isle, but also the chief armored officer of Britannia, the head of Wagner, the NATO commander-in-chief, and a businessman.

Although the matter of Emerald Island has temporarily come to an end, the work that Joe has been given under his other identities has not decreased in the slightest.

In addition to keeping up with the development of the next generation of tanks, Joe also had to pay attention to the changes in the East.

After the Battle of Tsaritsyn, as the Luzanian military government rapidly advanced northward, Joe advised the Bonitania Foreign Ministry to find an excuse to temporarily suspend military aid to the Luzanian military government.

Joe also began to think about how he could help the Lucia left-wing government.

Joe even considered hiring a few agents and using excuses like being lost in a storm or experiencing mechanical failure to send a ship full of equipment to the vicinity of St. Petersburg.

However, although the cabinet agreed to send a ship of weapons to allow the Lucian left wing to fight longer, they were unable to bring the ship back.

A ship is far more valuable than weapons and equipment, and a single shipload of weapons cannot effectively change the course of the battle. Furthermore, this method of aid is unsustainable, so it was ultimately abandoned.

So, since the situation on Emerald Isle only needed to develop, and he figured he might as well go back to London since he was waiting no matter where he was, he might as well wait there.

On the one hand, the public broadcasting test was very successful. Now, with just a little work, we can start selling radios publicly, allowing human civilization to enter the broadcasting era in terms of information access.

Joe was also able to make a little money and, incidentally, venture into the media industry.

Because the newsreel about Joe's assassination sold very well, Joe thought that he could also get a little involved in the film industry.

Modern movies are filmed with fixed camera positions that don't follow the actors.

Joe could revolutionize the film industry simply by attaching a few wheels to the camera's mount, allowing the camera to move with the actors and become a tracking shot.

Of course, compared to these small inventions and creations, Qiao felt that venturing into the media industry was the key thing he should focus on next.

The broadcasting industry is an untapped blue ocean market. If I don't hurry up and get in and make some money, what will I do when I need money later?
Joe had already noticed a small problem when he was privately supplying equipment to the commando team.

That was the Bunitania Army. As a third-class force in the Bunitania military system, it was already quite good if it could maintain its size and heavy equipment.

There simply weren't enough extra funds to replace the massive stockpile of light weapons accumulated during the war.

However, the Bonitania Army is not in a hurry to replace its army equipment, while Joe Wagner and NATO have a strong need for it.

Even during the war, Joe had already discovered that the army's need for close-range rapid-fire weapons was as endless as his own need for a vacation.

However, if the Bunitania Army is not prepared to equip Wagner, then Joe will have to pay for it himself first.

Furthermore, given the current trend, if Joe doesn't want to spend his entire life using bolt-action rifles, he will need to raise funds to independently develop and equip himself with small arms.

However, Joe was well aware of the risks of self-funding equipment research and development, which was essentially a form of paid employment. He knew that he was able to develop Wagner entirely because His Majesty trusted him, and no matter how powerful Wagner became, he would still need Bonitania to provide weapons and equipment for Wagner and the three NATO countries.

As long as they can control their logistics, Buntania can be relatively at ease with Wagner.

However, now that he wants to enter the military manufacturing industry and do some military work outside of the equipment system of Britannia, that's a bit too much.

It's easy for people to think that he might have some bad intentions, so before such a misunderstanding arises, Joe decided to communicate with the Cabinet and His Majesty first.

Of course, more importantly, given what is about to happen, Joe's absence from Emerald Isle is a better option for both his plans and his reputation.

So one morning, Joe, along with his secretariat and the newly arrived guard known as the "Northern Guard," made a grand trip to London.

The reason it was described as a grand display was that Qiao originally didn't want to be too ostentatious. After all, if it seemed too deliberate, it would give the impression of trying too hard to hide something.

However, the members of the Northern Guard were simply too conspicuous. A group of tall, beautiful women dressed in full military uniforms and armed with weapons would attract attention wherever they went.

On Emerald Island, naturally only one person receives this treatment.

The news of Joe's appearance at the dock quickly attracted the attention of some reporters.

Then these reporters, sniffing out news like flies to carrion, rushed to the dock at lightning speed, hoping to find out why Joe was there.

Although the appearance of these reporters was somewhat unexpected, it was easy for Joe to find a reason to return to London. He simply said that the last public broadcast was very successful, and he was going back to promote the construction of the public broadcasting project so that soon the whole country would be able to use public broadcasting.

Logically speaking, news like this, which features significant technological advancements that can change people's lives, would definitely be headline news the next day.

However, the situation has changed this time.

Enraged, Elena found the residence of the commander of the Emerald Isle volunteer guerrilla unit who had plotted to assassinate Joe.

Unlike most of the other captured volunteers on Emerald Island, this guerrilla commander had considerable business interests in the area and even had relatively good relations with government agencies.

That's how he was able to get journalist credentials for the two exceptionally talented assassins and also had the money to organize a guerrilla force.

Perhaps due to overconfidence, the Bunitarians did not suspect him, or believed that the two captured assassins would not speak.

In short, the guerrilla commander simply took the main members of the guerrilla team and hid in a villa in the countryside.

This would be tantamount to courting death.

A group of guerrillas, armed only with bolt-action rifles, old-fashioned shotguns, and pistols seized from the police, were completely unprepared for a surprise attack by a group of veterans from the Eastern Front who had been through the war and had received new training in a killing squad.

The result, of course, is something that must be discussed.

When the neighbors realized something was wrong and called the police, the officers who arrived at the scene vomited on the spot after seeing the state of the villa.

Because the Lucia are quite unrestrained in all aspects, the crime scene in the villa was also very unrestrained. Apart from the wall with the nailed face written in blood, "This is the fate of a traitor!" which was published in the newspaper, the entire villa was filled with such things.

The rest of the scenes left the reporters who rushed to the scene after receiving the news only able to take a few photos before hurriedly leaving, and then they began to have nightmares all night long.

Normally, such a serious incident would attract a lot of attention and put enormous pressure on the police department, and might even attract Scotland Yard personnel.

However, this time the situation was a little different, because right after this case occurred, before the police department could feel the pressure, a small problem arose within the Sinn Féin Party and the Emerald Island Volunteer Army.

The blood-written message on the wall, "This is the fate of traitors," pointed the finger at Sinn Féin and the Jade Island Volunteer Army, forcing the two parties, which had recently been embroiled in numerous disputes, to begin internal communication and a large-scale investigation to determine whether they were responsible for the crime.

Of course, some people suspect that Joe did it, but judging from past patterns, if Joe had done it, he wouldn't have needed to act so stealthily. He could have easily deployed the military and police to arrest these people and then publicly executed them.

So this doesn't seem like something Joe would do, since no one would believe that a millionaire would steal chewing gum from a store.

Unfortunately, due to the recent incident involving the United Agricultural Company, there has been some turmoil within Sinn Féin and the Emerald Island Volunteer Army. Coupled with the message left by the murderer at the scene, Sinn Féin and the Emerald Island Volunteer Army believe that there are clearly bad people inside.

Then, while Sinn Féin and the volunteers on Emerald Island were conducting internal investigations, a minor incident occurred in the South, where tensions were already high due to land allocation and water supply issues.

Several influential local figures have met with accidents.

Some people hanged themselves in their own bedrooms, some shot themselves, some drowned in the river, and some were even beaten to death after being put in sacks.

Suicides and homicides were not uncommon on Emerald Isle; any problems could be blamed on the Bunitarians.

However, the Buntanians were not present this time, and these people were not important figures; they were merely individuals who could speak slightly on matters of land distribution or water supply due to their past reputation.

Furthermore, this time there was no need for the police to investigate the scene. Anyone with a little common sense could tell that these people did not commit suicide. Judging from their bodies, it was definitely a case of murder disguised as suicide.

So, at this point in time, who would take action against these people?

The people of Emerald Island, who were already at odds over the land division issue, turned their attention to each other.

"Oh, I knew you weren't a good guy."

Although the other side had already made their move, the people of Emerald Island were still unprepared for an attack on their own people.

So while they were preparing their weapons, they also planned to have one last talk with those bastards.

Of course, while preparing for negotiations, they also began recalling the guerrillas who were ready to cause trouble for the Bunitania.

Don't even think about causing trouble for the Bunitanias! They're about to lose their homes!

Then, just when some places were preparing to resolve issues through negotiation, a small problem arose during the negotiations.

Some negotiators were killed on their way to the negotiations, while others were blown up by bombs after arriving at the negotiation site.

Even though things have developed to this point, the two sides still haven't gone to war, because there's one last safety net standing between them.

With civil war on the verge of breaking out, the church finally stepped forward to try to mediate the conflict.

But at this point, even if the church intervened, it would be useless, or rather, Joe wouldn't allow the church to have any influence.

Moreover, since Catholicism is prevalent in the southern part of Emerald Isle, while Protestantism is the state religion of Buntania, the commandos had little to say about this.

The submachine guns, improvised explosive devices, and Molotov cocktails completely destroyed the rural church, the last bastion before the civil war.

With the priests who tried to mediate being killed in their church, and despite the other side swearing that they were not responsible, there was nothing more to say. The attacked side immediately made the choice that no one had ever considered before: "to go to war."

With the outbreak of this land war, the volunteer army on Emerald Island disintegrated at lightning speed. After all, it was originally a hastily assembled guerrilla force, and the only consensus of this unit was to drive out the Bunitania.

Now that driving out the Bunitanias is no longer the top priority, the disappearance of the Emerald Island volunteers is a matter of course.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin was also unable to stop the conflict, because it wasn't just a conflict between a particular farm or town; it had erupted across almost all twenty-six counties in the south. As Emerald Isle descended into this near-civil war, Joe's troops there strictly adhered to his orders to remain neutral.

While preventing anyone from crossing the blockade, it also prohibits anyone from using force within their restricted area.

This strict adherence to neutrality quickly led many who were at a disadvantage or defeated in the land conflict to flee to the restricted area to avoid revenge killings.

The horrific scenes south of Emerald Island deeply shocked many journalists who risked being beaten to death to get the news.

They could never have imagined that such a tragedy would break out on the Emerald Isle of Bonitania in the 20th century, that the malice between people could be so intense, that it would make one wonder if they were in the Old World or the Dark World.

Amidst this news, many people began to wonder what Joe, as the governor of Emerald Isle, was doing now, and what he should do.

While chaos reigned south of Emerald Isle, with several funerals taking place in a single village each day, Joe was in London on a blind date.

Unfortunately, for some reason, His Majesty George was extremely interested in who Joe married, so as soon as Joe returned to London, he arranged for Joe to come to the palace for a chat.

It would certainly be a good thing to be able to meet His Majesty. As for things like Joe wanting to develop small arms at his own expense, His Majesty only had one question: "Where do you want to set up the factory?"

After receiving Joe's reply, "I'm from York, and of course I want to set up the factory in York to give back to my hometown,"...

His Majesty George nodded. "Then go ahead and do it. If everyone did things like you, the Empire would be even greater."

Generally speaking, if His Majesty agrees, the matter should be settled.

However, this time the situation took a slight turn. The lady in the black dress sitting at the small round table spoke after His Majesty finished speaking.

"If it's just about producing experimental weapons and not deploying them on a large scale, why set up a new factory instead of conducting joint research and development with us and placing orders with us?"

Upon hearing this, Joe immediately turned his gaze to the woman.

Although Joe had become accustomed to the fact that every time he entered the palace to meet His Majesty, a lady would sit at the small round table where His Majesty received him.

But usually, after His Majesty and Joe exchanged a few words, the butler or male servant would come and tell His Majesty what matters needed to be addressed, and then His Majesty would leave, giving Joe and the lady some space.

But this time the situation was slightly different, because this time there were two ladies sitting at the small round table, not one.

A woman who looked a bit older was wearing a black dress and had her hair tied up in a high bun. Judging from her appearance and age, she should not be more than forty years old. She had a charming, aged air about her, like a bottle of fine wine.

The other one was wearing a white dress with her hair tied back, looking much younger. Judging from her youthful vibe, she was probably not even twenty years old.

This surprised Joe slightly, since meeting two people at once meant it wasn't a blind date but a bidding war.

It wasn't until His Majesty introduced the two ladies to Joe that Joe realized they were a mother and daughter. Since they were a mother and daughter, it was quite normal for them to appear together at the blind date.

“Ms. Galion, you are…”

Just call me Diane.

Diane put down her teacup and said to Joe.

"Although it's not a large company, my family runs a gun company, so it's considered to be of some size..."

Through Diane's account, Joe understood why the woman had brought her daughter there.

Like most Union Jack aristocratic families in old London, Diane's ancestors ran some small businesses after following Cromwell into the Central Plains, mainly providing the army with insignificant trinkets such as armor and muskets.

Then, like most aristocratic families, after Diane came of age, she married another nobleman at lightning speed. This nobleman also had some property, but he only ran a shipping company.

This combination was originally an extremely risk-resistant combination. If no war broke out, the shipping company could make a fortune; if war did break out, the gun company could make a fortune. It was like Qin Shi Huang pushing the millstone, winning in a roundabout way.

However, they did not expect the war to be so large, and that the nobleman's duty included serving the king.

As a result of a devastating battle, not only were the shipping company's original thirty ships reduced to only five, but the head of the household also never returned after entering the Somme River.

Meanwhile, the family's past network of relationships was also largely destroyed in this devastating war, and the business was on the verge of collapse.

Just then, the family's daughter was nearing adulthood, so Diane planned to resolve their current problem through a marriage alliance based on the traditional craftsmanship of the nobility.

Faced with such frankness from Diane, Joe felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, when he went on blind dates with these aristocratic women in the past, the back-and-forth tugging, which was almost like decoding a code, had annoyed him to no end.

At the same time, Joe was also very curious: "Why are you so honest and tell me everything?"

Diane shrugged.

“The social circle is only so big. If you are interested in my daughter, you can find out about our family situation with a little inquiry. So instead of finding out about us from other people, it’s better to be honest and tell us directly to avoid wasting everyone’s time.”

Hearing Diane say that, Joe turned his gaze to the girl sitting next to Diane.

As Diane spoke, she seemed unaccustomed to her family's current predicament of being on the verge of bankruptcy; the girl's face flushed red, and after feeling Joe's gaze, she lowered her head even further.

"Thank you for your honesty."

Joe turned his gaze back to Diane.

"That's right."

Diane picked up her teacup again, took a sip, and said to Joe.

"It's fine if you don't like my daughter, but you can reconsider the gun development and orders. I can say with certainty that you won't find a better gunsmith in Bonitania than me."

Hearing Diane say that, Joe became curious again.

"If you have the best gunsmiths, why are you in this situation now?"

Diane sighed.

"Shipping... those damned Teutonic submarines cost me a lot of money."

Upon hearing this, Joe nodded, then took out his business card and handed it to Diane.

"We can have a more in-depth discussion about gun development."

"It's my pleasure."

Diane took the business card from Joe.

After the brief meeting at the palace, Joe had other things to do.

Because the first broadcast experiment was so successful, even the cabinet, which now sees bills as if they've seen a demon, feels that for this blue ocean project, they should not only invest money, but a lot of money, to establish a national broadcast channel.

Of course, to do these things, standards need to be set. So, as the first person to propose public broadcasting and who managed to infiltrate the Radio Commission, Joe had to hold those seemingly endless meetings with the Bunitania bureaucracy in London about broadcasting.

During a break in the meeting, Joe also gave Diane the blueprints for the submachine gun, asking her to manufacture another batch of prototypes for him.

Joe planned to hand over these prototype guns to Wagner and NATO forces for testing.

After all, there are some differences in the needs between special operations forces and regular troops.

Aside from talking about work, Joe found Diane and her daughter Kate quite interesting.

Although nobles traditionally take pride in not working, in a family that has been manufacturing weapons for hundreds of years, both Diane and Kate can be considered half-engineers due to their upbringing.

Since they are both engineers, there are many topics they can talk about.

However, as the situation on Emerald Isle continued to deteriorate, even the gentlemen of London began to find it unbearable.

It's not that the gentlemen of London think the Emerald Isle is being fought too badly and that they have to intervene.

Rather, it was because as the land division conflict escalated, it not only showed no signs of ending, but instead began to intensify.

If this conflict doesn't end soon, then this year's winter wheat and barley planting will definitely be ruined.

Although if the Emerald Isle doesn't harvest wheat next summer, the gentlemen of London certainly won't go hungry.

But this food shortage needs to be filled with real money.

Even if we don't buy from the international market, but instead ship from our Eastern colonies, this still consumes precious shipping capacity to transport food instead of other more valuable goods, resulting in a loss of money in both directions.

The empire is now filled with places where money is needed, so the gentlemen of London would like to save as much as possible if they can.

Moreover, with the Emerald Isle already in such a mess, Joe's continued presence in London is not a good thing.

While Emerald Isle was already on the verge of bloodshed, the governor of Emerald Isle was still in London discussing the principles of radio broadcasting.

So Joe had to lead his team back to Emerald Isle before Diane could hand over the first prototype gun for testing.

However, because Joe and Diane had such a good chat, Catherine seemed a little resentful and resigned before Joe returned to Emerald Isle.

However, due to Joe's forceful suppression, Catherine's resignation attempt failed because Joe had silenced her.

Even while in London, Joe never let his guard down around Emerald Island. After returning to Emerald Island, he spoke with the commandos who had already retreated to the north, as well as the agents who were smuggling weapons to the south.

Joe realized that his plan was not only successful, but even too successful.

The entire south is now in complete chaos, with fierce battles erupting between almost every village and small town.

Furthermore, in some areas, some formidable individuals have emerged who have successfully taken control of the local areas through force. If Joe doesn't intervene soon, the Emerald Island battle royale might already have a winner.

For Joe, the emergence of a winner, even a regional one, is unacceptable.

Because this victor can truly challenge the rule of Bunitania, and now that everyone has fought a round and is in a fragmented state, it is in Bunitania's best interest.

After all, they can no longer unite to cause trouble, at least not for the foreseeable future.

So, three days after returning to Emerald Isle, Joe ordered his troops to head south.

(End of this chapter)