What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 228 Baking Pawn
Yamamoto flew directly to Quanzhou Port with the Type 2 large boat and crew, and the Fisheries Administration 302 finally arrived at the scene a few hours later.

According to the information they relayed, fishing boat No. 8101 has sunk, but a small amount of wreckage is floating, and the people on the fishery administration vessel have taken photos as evidence.

Only a very few people know the truth about the SBD's use of the auxiliary fuel tank. Everyone on board 302 believed that the two patrol boats had set 8101 on fire, and they were about to go up and fight to the death.

Uchimura Tomoda, who had stayed behind to explain how the plot had been thwarted, did not expect that the water cannon of No. 302 was so powerful that it shattered the patrol boat's glass and attempted to ram it at a high speed of 19 knots.

If it hadn't been so close to dark, there might have been a second accident.

Having driven away the two patrol boats, the No. 302 had no intention of returning. Instead, it deployed a 70-day patrol mission in the surrounding waters, intending to retaliate in kind.

However, the official announcement was not released immediately. Instead, there was an eerie silence until the next day when the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a public statement announcing that the Fukuyu 8101 fishing boat, which had intruded into the territorial waters, had been successfully persuaded to retreat, thus achieving a victory in protecting fishery interests.

After that, Tang Wencai learned from Lao Zhang that Uchimura Yuhong and Lao Deng were afraid of being dismissed for making a big fuss, so they used the machine tool as a bargaining chip.

Their own navy demanded that they dock within three days, or the "truth" would be revealed immediately. Uchimura Tomohiro had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.

The remaining components were quickly loaded onto the ship, and the data that was included in the prohibited scope was also airlifted over without restriction.

This is only what Tang Wen knows; he may have been extorted for other things in private.

A crisis may have been resolved peacefully on the surface, but in reality, the navy still profited, and even Shenyang Aircraft Corporation benefited.

That five-axis CNC milling machine can do more than just process propellers; it is needed for almost all large-scale engineering precision components. One machine is a national treasure.

Out of gratitude and as a reward to Geiger, the Navy allocated 100 million from its own budget as a bonus.

Tang Wen wasn't interested in the prize money, but he did fall into thought.

……

Early the next morning, Chen Haifu and Yamamoto flew to Dawan Port on a Type 2 large boat.

"Don!"

After getting off the plane, Chen Haifu made a move to kneel down before Tang Wen.

"No, no, no, we're all friends."

Tang Wen tried his best to catch him, but Chen Haifu still insisted:

"If it weren't for Boss Tang's chivalrous intervention, I might have been dragged to the Japanese authorities. You are my savior!"

Chen Haifu and Uchimura Yuta were locked in a stalemate for nearly 8 hours. He knew how dangerous the situation was, and that they could have been arrested and imprisoned, only to be released on bail.

Tang Wen was able to send a plane from a thousand kilometers away to save a life; there are probably very few people in the world who have received such treatment.

Although it was for the country, not for personal gain, Chen Haifu was still extremely grateful and rushed over to express his thanks.

Besides Chen Haifu, the ship captains from the Naval Academy and the local joint defense association were also present.

After learning that it was Gai Jin who sent the plane to rescue the man from the notebook, all the ship's crew members expressed great admiration and respect for Tang Wen.

Those who beg for food at sea value loyalty above all else. In their eyes, Tang Wen's act of helping them this time was an act of righteousness of the highest order, practically a living Guan Yu (a legendary figure known for his loyalty to Guan Yu).

Several local ship owners got together and even put together a plaque that read "Righteousness Reaching the Heavens" and sent it over.

Seeing that most people were present, Tang Wen simply held an incomplete joint defense team meeting at the hotel in Da Wan to discuss how to prevent this situation from happening again.

The shipowners immediately started talking:

"I think our boat was too slow. If it had been 15 knots, we would never have been caught up."

"If only I had known sooner, I could have avoided it."

"Give us some cannons, and let's blast them to smithereens."

"If cannons won't work, water cannons will too."

"..."

The conversation was getting increasingly off-topic, and Tang Wen couldn't help but interrupt: "Stop talking about useless things and say something meaningful."

The scene fell silent for a long time before Chen Haifu sighed and said:
"Going out to sea is all about going it alone. Unless Boss Tang also has ships in the East China Sea with a joint defense team guarding them, but with so many ships scattered around, it's impossible to keep an eye on everything, right?"
Just like the Fisheries Administration's fisheries enforcement, it's certainly useful, but firstly, it's too late, and secondly, it's not cost-effective.

Huang Dongfu picked up the conversation:
“A good boat is useful. The Fudong I bought is fast and sturdy. When we go out to sea, it can outrun other boats. But it’s too expensive. Who would replace a fishing boat if it doesn’t last at least ten or eight years?”

Although Mr. Tang's boats are cheap, it still costs several million, which is more than half of that amount even with a bank loan.

The others nodded in agreement, saying that it was all about cost and that the company was inherently difficult to manage.

Moreover, they are rats, and the patrol boat is the cat. How can rats possibly fight against cats?
Even Chen Yonggui advised:

"That's how it is at sea. There are all sorts of natural and man-made disasters. We can't be afraid of these things when we're out here. Xiao Tang, you don't need to think too much. We're all very satisfied with things as they are now."

Everyone agreed that someone used to joke that Tang Wen could send planes to bomb people. Now we don’t know if he actually bombed people, but he really did rescue people. Who wouldn’t be satisfied?

The protection money they pay isn't even enough to repair the plane.

Chen Haifu said again:
"Boss Tang, I can't thank you enough. The boat was insured, and the Fisheries Bureau also gave me compensation. I'll buy my next boat from you."

"So, it would be great if everyone could have a big, fast, and sturdy ship, right?"

The ship owners all nodded; it was the simplest and most direct method, but no one could actually do it.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they operate old and dilapidated ships that are only a decade or two old. Ships are legitimate high-value heavy industrial materials, worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Who isn't a big boss?

But when it comes to actually buying a boat, every penny is an astronomical sum for ordinary people.

In an era when even a Volkswagen Santana was considered a treasure, changing boats was a very rare and unusual thing.

Even if Tang Wen sells his products at the best price-performance ratio, he has only received four or five legitimate fishing boat orders so far.

Tang Wen nodded, then adjourned the meeting and said to come back tomorrow.

……

That night, Tang Yi was forced to design fishing boats.

After a more detailed understanding, Tang Wen learned that the "Hashiritsu II" class, based on the Hashiritsu model, was a very practical and inexpensive deep-sea fishing vessel. The only problem was that its unloaded displacement was still a bit large.

Fishing boats do not need so many reinforcing structures; the cabin layout can be simplified, and the upper deck can even be laid with just steel pipes and replaced with textured light steel sheets.

The original sharp, high-speed bow is no longer needed; it can be shortened without affecting loading capacity, while effectively reducing weight.

Tang Yi then meticulously tailored the ship's hull, reducing the overall weight to 500 tons and the hull length from 80 meters to 75 meters. In contrast, the width increased from 9.6 meters to 10 meters, and the maximum displacement was reduced to 1100 tons.

Powered by two 850-horsepower diesel engines, the speed was slightly increased to 15 knots.

Although such a boat is less robust, it is still stronger and faster than an ordinary fishing boat.

In addition, Tang Yi installed a 90mm water cannon at the bow, which might be more appropriate to call a high-pressure water gun now. The outlet pressure is 100 MPa. After extreme weight reduction, the overall system weight increase is not significant.

[70 MPa single-barrel electric water cannon, range 100 meters, development: 35 experience]

Unnamed coastal defense gunboat:

Hull: 72 meters long, 10 meters wide, maximum draft 2.3 meters, standard displacement 620 tons, full load displacement 1100 tons;
Armament: 1 x 70 MPa single-barrel electric water cannon
Powertrain: Two 850hp diesel engines, single-shaft propulsion, maximum speed 15 knots

Range: 5000 nautical miles / 11 knots

[Direct crafting: 13500 silver coins/5 days]

[Processing with supplied materials: 550 tons of steel, 1.5 tons of petroleum, 30 tons of aluminum, 9 tons of copper, 4000 silver coins/5 days]

Tang Wen was very satisfied with the silver coins, which were just over ten thousand. This was exactly the general-purpose ocean-going fishing vessel he had been looking forward to.

If everyone used these kinds of fishing boats, they probably wouldn't be afraid of patrol boats anymore.

(End of this chapter)