Telegraph Machine

One more thing?

Tang Hao thought for a moment. Other than Qing Guan Quan, what else could there be?

Could it be...

"Your Excellency, at daybreak, the commander of an infantry regiment came to seek an audience with you."

"He said that he had gone all out on the matter you assigned and would complete it within the day, and that he wished to see you."

"But since Your Excellency had not said you would receive him, I had him wait outside for the time being."

"Your Excellency, would you like to see him now?"

Ye Xilan asked softly.

"Yes."

Tang Hao nodded. After hearing Ye Xilan's words, he already knew who wanted to see him outside.

That fat regiment commander.

Still, he had acted quickly.

Tang Hao had thought it would take at least several days to finish all this.

After all, when he had kept vigil in the past, it had taken two days. Only after those two days would he return to work.

Thinking of the soldiers' deaths and what he had experienced in his previous life, Tang Hao rose and went to the main hall.

Before long, the fat regiment commander was brought in as well.

"Count Leal, Ji Maoyan, commander of the Second Legion's Third Infantry Regiment, pays his respects to Your Excellency."

The fat regiment commander knelt on the ground, clearly intending to pay homage with a military salute.

Unfortunately,

Tang Hao looked at his plump figure, speechless. He nodded. "Mm, get up. No need to keep kneeling."

Tang Hao then settled himself and asked the fat regiment commander about the burial arrangements for the fallen soldiers.

He had no interest in which legion this fat regiment commander belonged to or what unit he commanded.

He only knew that, as a regiment commander in charge of twelve hundred soldiers, the man could certainly handle the fallen soldiers' affairs better than he could.

Moreover, as they talked, Tang Hao was surprised to discover that the other man had considered even more than he had.

Street vendors, repairs to the city gates, the potholes on the main roads caused by their battle...

He had thought of all of it, even drawing up plans for each project, listing the expenses, and assigning manpower.

Such rapid mobilization made Tang Hao look at him in a new light.

If a talent like this had been placed in Tang Hao's previous life, he would have been a true jack-of-all-trades corporate slave.

The kind of beast many bosses loved to exploit most.

If they tied him down with things like a house and family, he would work even harder.

So, out of sympathy for a fellow worker, Tang Hao remembered the man's name.

Ji Maoyan.

When the fat regiment commander saw the admiration in Clear Sky Douluo's gaze, he finally let out a huge breath of relief.

Luckily, after hearing what his adjutant Iron Rod said, he had given the matter more thought.

Otherwise, he might not have been praised today. He might have ended up in prison instead.

If he misunderstood a Titled Douluo's intentions, then even if he did not go to prison, others could still trample on him to curry favor with the Titled Douluo.

However, when he thought of the order the imperial family had given him before he came, the fat regiment commander's heart tightened.

He hurriedly took advantage of Clear Sky Douluo's good mood to relay the Fourth Prince's order.

If he did not say it now, he feared that Clear Sky Your Excellency might chop him down later when he was in a bad mood.

Serving a ruler was like serving a tiger, but serving a Titled Douluo was no different.

"Your Excellency, there is one more matter. After the Fourth Prince learned that you were here, he greatly wished to meet you."

"If he had not been tied up with official business, the Fourth Prince would certainly have rushed here overnight to pay you a visit."

"However, although the Fourth Prince cannot come because he is occupied, he has also issued us an order. He said that our infantry regiment is to obey Your Excellency's commands completely from now on."

"Your Excellency's orders are the direction we soldiers shall follow!"

As he spoke, the fat regiment commander gave a military salute and hurriedly lowered his head, his heart full of unease.

He did not know whether Clear Sky Your Excellency would be willing to accept their infantry regiment.

The Fourth Prince?

Sitting in the main hall, Tang Hao thought back. Wasn't he the Transmigrator whom Dugu Bo had invited him to deal with at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?

And he was desperate to meet him.

A hometown fellow meeting another hometown fellow?

Tang Hao was speechless, but he had a decent impression of this Transmigrator hometown fellow for directly handing him command of an army.

Military authority, given away just like that.

Tang Hao marveled inwardly. He grew even more curious about this Transmigrator hometown fellow and wanted to know what the man had done before.

To possess such boldness and decisiveness.

After nodding and accepting the army, Tang Hao suddenly remembered something while sitting in the main hall.

This place was at least three or four days' travel from Heaven Dou City, wasn't it?

A round trip would take half a month.

But how had the other side learned about what happened at Begonia Pavilion on the very same day?

And issued orders in such a short time?

The same went for Spirit Hall. Their speed in transmitting information was far too fast, too fast for this era.

Was it a Transmigrator's Golden Finger?

"Reporting to Your Excellency, it was the Telegraph Machine."

Although the fat regiment commander found it strange that Clear Sky Douluo did not know about the greatest invention of the last six years,

when it first appeared, it had caused a sensation across the entire Douluo Continent.

Whether it was the imperial families of the empires or the Pope of Spirit Hall, they had all spoken out immediately.

But since the man had asked, he would answer.

Mm, if His Excellency wanted to know what a Telegraph Machine looked like next, he would bribe... contribute the one in the military camp.

With that gift as proof, when he asked his superiors for military funding in the future, he could demand more with complete confidence.

No, ten times more!

One little scheme after another surfaced in the fat regiment commander's mind, though he stood at the side with an exceptionally respectful expression.

Yet after waiting for a while, he still did not hear Tang Hao say anything else.

He only saw Clear Sky Your Excellency sitting there with a grim expression, seemingly lost in thought.

After a long while, Tang Hao sighed inwardly. He glanced at the still-standing fat regiment commander and waved a hand, telling him to continue overseeing the soldiers' burials and the repairs to the city gates.

There was no need for him to stand around here.

A Telegraph Machine.

He... did not know how to make one.

But he knew what it meant once such a thing had been created.

It meant this world was about to enter the age of the Industrial Revolution.

He thought of the headline report in the Martial Soul Report that he had seen in Nuoding City over a month ago.

Gunpowder.

Wasn't that clearly the beginning of the Industrial Revolution?

But these Transmigrators were causing far too much trouble.

Tang Hao smiled bitterly. He wondered whether, in the future, he would say that he possessed martial arts, that his divine arts had reached great completion,

only for the other party to pull out a Maxim Machine Gun and laugh wildly as he said:

"Sir, the times have changed!"

Tang Hao was speechless. These Transmigrators' Golden Fingers were fucking ridiculous.

Too fucking ridiculous.

Just which bastard had made this thing?

"Xilan, do you know who made the Telegraph Machine?"

Ye Xilan shook her head. "Reporting to Your Excellency, this humble woman does not know. I only know that Telegraph Machines suddenly appeared among all the major powers and imperial families."

"The Heaven Dou Xue Family, the Star Luo Dai Family, and the Pope of Spirit Hall all announced at the same time that they had invented this era-defining machine, the Telegraph Machine."

"Then, over the next six years, they spread it throughout every military force and Martial Soul Hall Branch."

"By now, every auction house, even our Begonia Pavilion, can purchase a Telegraph Machine for daily communication."

They had already become common enough for everyday communication?

Would telephones appear next?

Tang Hao's cheek twitched slightly, but...

"The Star Luo Dai Family, are you certain about that, Xilan?"

Ye Xilan nodded lightly. "Yes, Your Excellency."

"At that time, the imperial families and Pope of the three major powers all appeared to announce their claim to the Telegraph Machine's invention."

"And there is one more thing. After the Telegraph Machine appeared, Sea God Island, the holy land of sea soul masters, also announced to the entire continent that they had invented the Telegraph Machine."

Sea God Island...

Tang Hao smiled bitterly, nearly wanting to rub his brow.

How many Transmigrators were there on this fucking Douluo Continent?!

Why did it feel like every major power had a Transmigrator hidden within it?