AWB Chapter 127 Money? No problem
Chapter 127 Money? No problem
"I'll take care of the money," Chen Feng said calmly. "You just need to answer me—if the money, materials, and workers are in place, will these ships be able to launch by the end of 1914?"
Liu Yongfu looked at the engineering team around him. The group discussed in hushed tones for a few minutes, then nodded in unison.
"Yes," Liu Yongfu said, "but there are conditions."
"explain."
"First, priorities. We must proceed in phases, building what is most urgently needed first."
"Agreed. Which stage should we build first?"
Liu Yongfu walked back to the podium and picked up the chalk.
"The first phase, from January 1911 to June 1912," he wrote on the blackboard. "Concentrate our efforts on building two battleships and twenty submarines. Because the battleships have the longest construction period, and the submarines have the latest technology, both require time to be integrated and refined."
"The second phase, from July 1912 to December 1913, involved the construction of the remaining two battleships, five cruisers, twenty destroyers, and sixty submarines."
"Why divide it like this?"
"Because we need time to refine the technology," Liu Yongfu said. "These 22 ships in the first phase are actually 'prototype ships.' Once they are built, the problems will be exposed, and the technology will be mature, then the second phase can proceed rapidly."
Chen Feng thought for a few seconds and nodded: "That makes sense. Are there any other conditions?"
"Secondly, the technical problem-solving team," Liu Yongfu said. "I will draw the best engineers from various factories to form three task forces: the hull group, the propulsion group, and the weapons group. For the next three years, they will do nothing but study these blueprints and solve technical problems."
"Approved. You'll have fifty people in each group, and more if needed."
"Third, and most importantly—" Liu Yongfu took a deep breath, "President, you have to tell me, why 1914?"
The room fell silent again.
Everyone was looking at Chen Feng.
Chen Feng walked to the window and looked out at the bustling Dubai Port. Cranes swung back and forth under the blue sky, cargo ships came and went, and further away, sparks from welding in the docks flashed like fireworks.
"Because in 1914, the world will change." He didn't look back. "It will change so drastically that if we're not prepared before then, we'll lose our chance forever."
"What opportunity?"
"A chance to go home," Chen Feng turned around, "is also a chance to survive."
The meeting entered its substantive phase.
Chen Feng instructed his staff to distribute the prepared project proposals. Each person received a copy, a sixteen-page format, with a kraft paper cover and the words "1911-1914: Lanfang Naval Expansion Plan (Top Secret)" printed in red on the title page.
"Turn to page three," Chen Feng said. "This is the timeline."
Wang Wenwu took the proposal and quickly skimmed through it. His eyebrows rose higher and higher.
"President... this intensity... the workers will be exhausted to death."
"Therefore, we need to manage scientifically," Chen Feng said. "Eight-hour workdays, three shifts. Overtime is voluntary, with double pay. Nutritious meals are provided, and there is one day off every ten days. Work-related injuries are fully covered, and medical care is free."
"That's still..." Wang Wenwu flipped to the budget section, "Good heavens, the first phase alone is twelve million pounds?"
"This is just the cost of the ship itself," Chen Feng said. "The supporting dock renovation, equipment procurement, and technology import will require another eight million. The first phase will cost a total of twenty million."
"Where does the money come from?"
"Loans, exports, trade," Chen Feng said succinctly. "Minister Wang, that's your business. I want to see five million pounds in my account within three months."
Wang Wenwu smiled wryly: "I've tried my best."
"It's not just about trying, it's about having to." Chen Feng looked at the others. "Gentlemen, I know this plan sounds crazy. Four battleships, five cruisers, twenty destroyers, and eighty submarines—that's the size of the world's third-largest navy. And right now, we can't even make the top ten."
He paused.
"But this must be done. Because—" Chen Feng tapped the submarine blueprints on the table, "These submarines aren't for naval warfare. They're for blocking shipping lanes."
Li Te abruptly looked up: "Whose shipping lanes are being blocked?"
"All the shipping lanes of hostile countries," Chen Feng said. "If eighty submarines were deployed in key straits, they could simultaneously cut off twelve major shipping routes. No merchant ships would dare to sail, and no supplies could be transported. A country would collapse in three months."
The temperature in the venue seemed to have dropped a few degrees.
"Commander-in-Chief," a young naval officer stood up, "who... are we going to war with?"
"It's not that we want to go to war with anyone," Chen Feng said. "It's that someone wants to go to war with us. And when that day comes, we must be able to tell them—you can't afford the price of war."
He walked up to the world map and traced several red lines with his finger.
"The Strait of Malacca, the Sunda Strait, the Lombok Strait, the Taiwan Strait... and also the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Suez Canal. These places are the world's throats. And submarines are the thorns stuck in those throats."
Liu Yongfu murmured, "So that's why you're in such a hurry for a submarine..."
"Yes. Battleships are for deterrence, submarines are for killing." Chen Feng's voice was cold. "I want the whole world to know that Lanfang's submarines can sink any ship, anytime, anywhere. That way, they'll think twice before they try to attack us."
Leeteuk stood up: "President, I have a question."
"explain."
"Are these submarines...complex to operate? How many crew members do we need to train?"
"Each submarine needs forty people. Eighty submarines would require three thousand two hundred people." Chen Feng was well-prepared. "Therefore, starting next month, the navy will establish a submarine school. The teaching materials are already being compiled, and the instructors will be brought in from Germany—we have already contacted retired officers from the submarine force." (The Germans already have submarines, but they haven't yet reached a large scale.)
"Will the Germans teach us?"
"They'll do it if you pay them," Chen Feng said. "It's five hundred pounds a month for each person, with a two-year contract. They teach the techniques, and we learn the skills; it's very fair."
The meeting lasted another hour. Each department received its assigned task:
Steel mills are required to double their special steel production capacity within six months.
The shipyard was to convert two large dry docks into dedicated battleship construction sites.
The machinery factory needs to develop large gantry cranes and modular transport vehicles;
The training school plans to expand its enrollment by 5,000 students;
The logistics department needs to stockpile 300,000 tons of high-quality coal and 100,000 tons of fuel oil...
By the time the last task was assigned, it was already 12:30 pm.
Chen Feng glanced at his pocket watch: "Let's eat first. We'll continue our discussion on the army and immigration issues at 2 PM."
People gradually stood up, but no one left the meeting room. They gathered in small groups, pointing at the blueprints and discussing them intensely. Liu Yongfu was surrounded by several engineers, and the group was arguing endlessly about the design drawings for the submarine's pressure hull.