Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

Chapter 489 One should always keep a low profile.
Wang Yaotang immediately took a liking to the Type 05H1 frigate, NATO designation: Jianghu 2, which is China's second-generation missile frigate.

The ship is 103.22 meters long, 10.8 meters wide, has a standard displacement of 1565 tons, a full load displacement of 1960 tons, a crew of 200, an endurance of 15 days and nights, a wind resistance of force 12, a maximum speed of 25.5 knots (47 km/h), a cruising speed of 18 knots (33 km/h), and a range of 7200 km (at 18 knots).

Weapon systems:

Anti-ship: Two twin-mounted YJ-8 missiles, with a range of 85 kilometers, carrying 4 missiles, active radar guidance, and sea-skimming attack mode.

主炮：2座79式双管 100毫米半自动舰炮，射程22.5公里，备弹量400发，343型火控雷达。

副炮：4座76式双管 37毫米半自动舰炮，射程：3.5公里，备弹量： 8000发，341型火控雷达。

Radar and electronic warfare systems:

Two sets of American MK-36 RBOC type 6-tube passive jamming rocket launchers, capable of launching chaff/infrared decoys.

Type 922 radar reconnaissance and alarm receiver.

The British CTC-1629 simplified intelligence center can achieve target data fusion.

H/LJQ-354 Sea/Low-Altitude Search Radar: Sea detection range 70 km (non-stealth targets), air detection range 100 km (RCS=10㎡ target).
Type 517 long-range air surveillance radar: detection range of 300 kilometers, capable of tracking 500 targets simultaneously.

The addition of NJ-5 anti-roll fins significantly improves stability in high sea states in the South China Sea. It has also undergone automation upgrades and is equipped with the ZKJ-3 combat information and command system to achieve automated target allocation and fire control.

What he values ​​is the Jianghu-2's long-range combat capabilities, radar capabilities, and intelligence center capabilities. These combined can form the core of a fleet. With the addition of supply ships and 0, it would be a fleet capable of carrying out independent combat missions in the South China Sea!

Of course, air defense capabilities are still relatively lacking, and there's not much that can be done in the short term.

There are some things to be dissatisfied with, though. The investment in anti-ship capabilities is too large, taking up more than half of the design, which is really…

However, there's not much that can be done. The biggest threat currently facing China is the various submarines and underwater probes from the United States.

“I want one too.” The Governor of the South China Sea smiled and glanced at Wang Yaotang. “Only 10 of these were ever built.”

"Why not build more?" Wang Yaotang wanted to ask if it was because of poverty.

The Governor of the South China Sea pursed his lips and remained silent. The high cost was only one aspect; what was truly unbearable was the maintenance cost, which was one-tenth of the annual construction cost.

That means the maintenance costs over ten years are enough to build a new one.

How much is the military budget in a year? It's impossible for them to spend it all at sea.

Unrealistic.

"What if I wanted to commission the construction of one?" Wang Yaotang said, winking. "No, I mean, Somalia wants to import one? Would they only be able to order a special export model?"

The governor chuckled, “There isn’t that much need for secrecy. The technology of warships is still in the process of catching up and exploring. To be honest, it is indeed lagging behind Western technology in all aspects.”

"Ordering it won't be cheap."

"Money is no problem!" Wang Yaotang waved his hand generously.

Faced with this blatant display of arrogance, the governor shook his head with a hint of resentment. "How are you going to maintain this? This isn't like 0; ordinary shipyards can't maintain all the radar and electronic equipment."

"How about I entrust it to you?"

"It's not that it's impossible, but why are you making so many warships? Is it necessary?" the governor asked with a smile. "For an individual, 0 is enough. There's no pirate we can't defeat."

"It's for Somalia, cough cough. It's not that I really intend to use it against anyone. Steel and cannons are the true romance of men. Besides, Hong Kong was forcibly taken away by giant ships and cannons back then. As a Hong Konger, I never thought of it and I felt indignant."

The governor looked at Wang Yaotang with considerable surprise; the reason... was quite convincing.

"I want to customize it to improve the living conditions of the crew, add air conditioning, cold storage and kitchen system, reduce anti-submarine capabilities, add a helicopter deck, and strengthen air defense capabilities, such as ship-to-air missiles."

The governor's lips twitched. "Adding air conditioning to the whole thing... is this really a rich man's toy?"
Hearing that air defense capabilities would be increased made him even more outspoken. "I must point out that the current ship-to-air missiles are basically just for show."

Wang Yaotang laughed. "On May 4, 1982, the Argentine Air Force's Super Etendard first flew at an extremely low altitude of 30 meters to evade radar scanning. When it was 46 kilometers away from the British ship, it quickly climbed to 150 meters, briefly turned on its radar to locate the British warship, and after the target data was input into the onboard Exocet computer program system, it started flying at low altitude again and launched a missile at a distance of about 40 kilometers."

"At this distance, the H/LJQ-354 radar would most likely be unable to detect the other party, and even if it did, it would be of little use. The HQ-6's range is only 10 kilometers, which is not even enough to reach the other party."

"It's like a ship-launched anti-ship missile. In reality, it's impossible for it to actually be launched to hit people. Its purpose is to scare people. I would point to the anti-aircraft missile launcher and tell others, 'Look, even if you fly over here, I will shoot you down. You all better behave yourselves.' Besides, it's enough to threaten some helicopters."

The governor nodded slightly; this explanation made sense.

"Furthermore, I'm confident that my design for warships will be well-received in the international market," Wang Yaotang said with a confident expression.

The governor didn't speak, but smiled and looked at the people around him. One of them, who was around 40 years old, frowned and asked, "Why? These warships are completely impractical. Why spend so much money to buy them? Are they crazy?"

“Hey, you’re right, they’re crazy.” Wang Yaotang laughed. “Different systems mean that not all countries think practically. I can describe to you the scene when they were discussing the purchase of warships.”

"In the conference room, a group of politicians and high-ranking military officials looked at the pictures, specifications, and prices of the warships in their hands. Then someone would say, 'This is good, its performance is comprehensive.' Another person would say, 'This is good, its radar is advanced.' And yet another person would say, 'This is good, its displacement is large enough...'"

“These figures on paper are more important to them because they can be used to tell the people, ‘Look, your taxes have not been wasted. We have bought the newest and most powerful warships, which will surely protect our sea borders.’”

"Ordinary people don't consider performance balance. They only look at whether the caliber of the artillery is large enough, whether there are enough artillery pieces, whether it can launch missiles, and whether it can shoot down aircraft. They don't consider other things like anti-submarine warfare, range, wind and waves resistance, and armor thickness. They don't understand them."

"These countries don't actually engage in any naval battles. Occasional skirmishes are like Hong Kong's underground forces showing off their fleets. They might fire a few shots at each other at sea, and then go back to publicize their victory."

So Hong Kong films, no matter what they're about, always seem like gang fights, yet they're still popular in overseas markets...

"Remember, it's important to publicize your victories; that's called the science of winning!"

Everyone looked on in disbelief. Wasn't this just playing with the country's interests?

The governor watched with a smile, thinking it was a good thing to let his men hear what others were thinking and broaden their political horizons. As their superior, his words were useless; it was up to the people outside to speak for themselves.

"Don't believe me?" Wang Yaotang was so happy he almost choked. He had done plenty of things to show off in front of people, but this might be his only chance to show off in front of these future pillars of society!

"At first I didn't believe it either. How could the top leaders of a country be so stupid? Even a hoodlum like me who didn't finish junior high school knows that before going out to fight, you should tie a few magazines to your arm to check if the machete is sturdy enough. How could they be so stupid?"

"But later, as I got to know him better, I realized that they understood everything. Siam, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar—they never thought their countries would become world powers or regional hegemons, because it was simply impossible. They didn't have the capability, you know?"

"There's no way to rise up. Their social standing has already been predetermined by the great powers. They're already at their peak. Their top leaders just want to smooth over domestic conflicts, develop the economy, and earn more economic and political capital for their families. And that's it." "The difference between people is greater than the difference between people and dogs. Qian Xuesen said: 'No matter how stupid a person is, can't they learn calculus by the age of fourteen?' For the old man, that's unimaginable, but how many of you can learn it? I certainly can't!"

Everyone: I think you're making things difficult for Fat Tiger!

"Everything can lie to you, but math won't. If you don't know it, you just don't know it!"

The group of people who had started at the second-rate level all shook their heads and laughed, and the governor also laughed so hard he clutched his stomach.

"The same principle applies between countries. As people from our country, you can hardly imagine how much they are just sitting on the ground. Only we in the world shout 'surpass Britain and catch up with America,' and from top to bottom, we think about the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties when all nations paid tribute to us, and we keep talking about the sleeping giant of the East."

"What is the history of these countries around us? They were barbarians, vassal states, and colonies. No matter who is powerful in this world, they will never be able to get ahead. Ordinary people may be misled by propaganda, but the higher up in society, the more pessimistic they are."

"Let me tell you about a phenomenon that's completely different both domestically and internationally," Wang Yaotang said, getting excited.

Young people are full of longing for women and talk about them a little more, but after they gain a little more life experience... then they really can only comment on big and small matters!

"Ahem." The governor coughed lightly.

“Oh, I meant ‘scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.’ Merchants are at the bottom. But if they could become officials, many people would rather give up their vast wealth. This is also true in Taiwan. Even some underground forces, after they grow strong, will try every means to run for office and enter the political arena.” Wang Yaotang said without any sense of embarrassment.

If he's not embarrassed, then no one else needs to be.

"But did you know that in Southeast Asia, 60% of the circulation economy is controlled by Chinese people, and 75% of the domestic economy is controlled by Chinese people? The rich lists of various countries are almost all Chinese people, but they hardly participate in politics now. This is also the case in Europe and America. They are all focused on making money and stay away from politics."

"They are all Chinese, from the same culture, so why do they change so drastically once they leave China? Is it a change in their thinking? Let me tell you, no. If they had the chance to return to China and become officials, do you think they would be willing to abandon their families and come back?"

"This has been the case for over a thousand years. People in ancient times would rather be a down-on-his-luck scholar in their own country than become an official in a small foreign country. They simply did not believe that there was any future in being an official in these tiny overseas countries. It was better to be a wealthy merchant and pass on the family business."

“A county magistrate here is a powerful figure, but what about those county magistrates outside? The area they govern isn’t even as big as a village. Take Siam for example, it’s mostly mountainous, similar to the terrain of Sichuan, and the area is about the same, divided into 77 provinces.” Wang Yaotang chuckled.

"For a country to become a great power, it needs a large land area, a large population, a good geographical location, abundant resources, and a rich culture. I think everyone agrees on that."

Everyone nodded.

"Based on land area and population, we can exclude 99% of the world's countries, leaving only China, the US, and the Soviet Union. But Russia is cold, mostly permafrost, and the US doesn't have abundant natural resources..."

"No, wait, isn't America rich in resources?" someone immediately asked.

"You wouldn't believe it, would you?" Wang Yaotang laughed. "Take iron ore as an example. The US reserves only account for 4% of the world's total, ranking eighth globally, and the grade is relatively low. In the past two years, I've been in the mining business and spent a lot of money to obtain internal data from relevant departments in various countries. Among manganese, chromium, vanadium, titanium, copper, tin, zinc, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, and molybdenum, only vanadium and molybdenum resources are relatively abundant, ranking among the top three in the world. The others don't even make it into the top ten. Tin ore, which is indispensable for the development of the electronics industry, is completely scarce in the US, and the US relies entirely on imports."

These figures left a group of people dazzled, even the Grand Commander was unaware of them and had never considered such things.

Wang Yaotang said with great pride, "I have two super-large tin mines in Myanmar. This year's output will account for 13% of the global output. In South Asia, I can dictate the price of tin ore."

In short, everyone remembered that this young man was an extremely wealthy man; no wonder he dared to make warships his personal hobby…

"And what about our mineral reserves?" the governor asked somewhat anxiously.

Wang Yaotang pursed his lips, looking at the governor with a wry smile, "These data are all internal information that I secretly bought from relevant departments in various countries. How could I possibly know our reserves!"

The governor frowned and looked over, his eyes flickering.

"No, why are you looking at me like that?" Wang Yaotang spread his hands, his eyes wide with a wronged expression. "You have to believe me, I, Wang Yaotang, am a patriot. How could I possibly steal state secrets!"

“The systems at home and abroad are different. Their exploration and mining are all done by private companies, and the data is semi-public and not really confidential. Can we be the same?”

The governor laughed and said, "How could I doubt you? I was just thinking that we should use foreign mines first, and leave our own mines for future generations."

Wang Yaotang's lips twitched. You better be telling the truth!

One should never be complacent or arrogant; one must always keep a low profile!

In the context of minerals, Wang Yaotang then launched into a lengthy discussion of the economic, political, cultural, and ethnic issues of Southeast Asian countries, which the South China Sea leaders listened to with great interest.

Wang Yaotang, who lives outside the country, has a clearer perspective on issues, and his insights are completely different. He mentioned Annam and the Philippines, who have been causing trouble in the South China Sea, saying, "The top leader can't do anything about this, so naturally the lower-level branches have to step in to solve the problem. It's just a minor itch. Once I get the Type 2 Jianghu, I can build a fleet and deal with them myself!"

“怎么不信？”王耀堂挑了挑眉头，“安南1985年GDP150亿美元，菲律宾年349亿美元，85年我名下服装业一年流水4、各地夜店业30亿、音像制品15亿、酒店业8亿、酒业食品18亿、矿业65亿、码头12、电力70亿，芭提雅、普吉岛旅游业13亿，商贸展销8亿，所有公司年流水243亿港币，折合32亿美元！”

Everyone, including the governor, gasped in shock!
In 85, the national military expenditure was only 191 billion...

At this moment, Wang Yaotang raised his head slightly, his eyes burning, and the sunlight shining down from the side made his whole body shimmer with golden light!

At this moment, everyone in the South China Sea truly understood just how rich this tycoon was!
What does it mean to be richer than a country?
This is despite Wang Yaotang not paying much attention to his businesses over the past year, allowing them to develop naturally, especially the garment industry, which is the largest export industry in Hong Kong and has great potential.

Another industry is food. Hong Kong has a population of 500 million, and the market size of grains, oils and non-staple foods is as high as 600 billion. Rice alone costs 10 billion!

Previously, we had allowed Sheng Yi to ship goods from the mainland, but now that he has such influence, he can openly intervene in the grain, oil and non-staple food market. Even if he only occupies 10%, that's still 60 billion yuan in revenue!
"How much do they spend on military spending each year? Moreover, the majority of that goes to the army. How much is left for the navy? And how much can the navy spend on causing trouble in the South China Sea?" Wang Yaotang's lips curled into a contemptuous smile. "I don't mean to look down on them, but the fact is they are really incompetent. I could crush them with money."

"What I lack is not money, but warships and logistical maintenance."

"Do you really have that much money?" the governor asked, still somewhat incredulous.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask China Resources. This is only because I haven't managed it much in the past two years. As my influence in Southeast Asian countries increases, we will soon usher in a period of explosive growth. In three years at most, I will break the $70 billion mark!"

"Fine!" The governor stomped his foot with a determined look. "Wait for my call, then go to the Shanghai shipyard."

"All done!" Wang Yaotang waved his hand. "Leave those little bastards to me. Watch me deal with them!"

The governor gave a thumbs up, "Then let's talk about cooperation. Hainan is really poor; we can't even afford the fuel for our voyages..."

Wang Yaotang nodded repeatedly as he listened. "I know the difficulties faced by the Governor and all the comrades. Considering our status, we can't do everything. Before I came, I thought about it and suggested that we could cooperate in the fisheries sector."

"Fisheries?"

"Yes, it would also solve the employment problem for veterans. Let's go big..."

(End of this chapter)