What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 244 Fate
Regardless of the era, travel is always an expensive hobby.

Of course, exile doesn't count, especially referring to activists who were sent from Europe to South America to serve their sentences.

Captain Barnes' father was a prisoner exiled to Ula Gui in the 30s. Before he had served his full term, he was caught by the gang and sent back to the trenches.

Just 38 days later, he was arrested by Hans again and imprisoned in the camp. He finally finished his imprisonment when the war ended, but the newly rebuilt authorities discovered that he still hadn't finished serving his sentence. He was imprisoned for six months before being granted amnesty.

Old Deng, who had been squatting there for over a decade without doing anything, left this sad place with tears in his eyes. He returned to where he first started squatting and went into business. In his old age, he made a fortune, bought a boat, and specialized in sending adventurers to Antarctica.

Barnes, like his father, thought that guys who went to the snowy wilderness to look for penguins were all a little crazy, just wasting money on jail time, but that didn't stop him from charging more for tickets.

To entice impulsive young men and women and adventurers, Barnes kept telling bizarre stories, such as Cyclops, traces of prehistoric humans, and the iceberg that the Titanic struck.

However, after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick published "The Man in the High Castle," coupled with the prevalence of conspiracy theories at the time and some unsubstantiated information, rumors circulated that there was a secret underground city built by the Roughs in Antarctica, as well as UFOs.

Barnes, of course, didn't believe it, but by collecting these unofficial histories and reading a lot of contemporary materials, he boasted about it everywhere and successfully made himself a local celebrity, attracting several times more tourists.

However, half an hour after the helicopter that was scouting the storm took off, a very shocking message came back.

Barnes recklessly rushed forward to observe, and through his binoculars he saw the black and red flag fluttering over the Hipper.

"Uncle, are you telling the truth!"

Behind him, a long-haired white man dressed in designer clothes and with an annoyingly smug look was incredibly excited.

This was one of the many idle rich kids the captain had who, after listening to Barnes, bought a VVVVIP ticket and enjoyed the privileges at the bow of the ship. He discovered this almost at the same time as Barnes.

He vigorously wiped the binoculars, blinked, and then picked them up to look in the direction he had just been. The heavy cruiser was still sailing at high speed, and a long black cloud was trailing out of its smokestack, indicating that the boilers were almost running at full capacity.

This money was well spent!!
"Quickly, take me there by helicopter, I want to see the warships!"

Barnes, the rich and immature young man, remained unmoved as he watched Barnes tear at his clothes, because his brain had already shut down.

A second look at the radar confirmed that the target was indeed displayed, proving it was real.

"Cruise ship ahead, please keep your distance from me, or you will be removed!"

A loud warning blared over the radio again, and then the people on the cruise ship saw two seaplanes take off from the cruiser and circle close to the Xia Vilia.

The helicopter that had been advancing was forced to descend, and the pilot stared in astonishment at the pilot of the Arado Ar.196 seaplane, which was only a few dozen meters away.

The Ar.196 reconnaissance aircraft is an open-top design. In the frigid temperatures near Antarctica, it's incredible that someone could withstand the biting cold winds and fly the plane. What kind of superhuman is that?

Barnes was already trying to steer, but the Xia Vilia was a very old cruise ship and reacted slowly. Seeing this, he quickly ordered the ship to stop to avoid angering the other party.

He wasn't afraid even if the US Navy's aircraft carrier was right in front of him, but he was truly terrified when he saw the ghostly USS Hipper.

However, at that moment, the reckless rich young man grabbed the radio and shouted:
"The Hipper sank in the Atlantic Ocean long ago. Are you ghost ships? Can't you fire a shot at us?"

"Bullshit, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Barnes quickly pushed him away, but the latter just grinned and said:

"This is the beautiful scenery you promised us, it's absolutely fantastic!"

Not only him, but all the decks on the ship were crowded with tourists who came out to see the spectacle, shouting and taking pictures despite the cold, marveling at this unimaginable strangeness.

Barnes was genuinely frightened and was about to apologize when he heard another heavily accented English voice: "We are the Second Fleet of the High Seas, the indomitable souls of the First Fleet, the heroic spirits who have come for revenge."

To the right rear of the Vilia, a truly colossal ship revealed itself amidst the storm.

The Bismarck and Tirpitz sailed past the cruise ship one after the other, like a moving hill. Passengers could clearly see the gun barrels on the heavy turrets and the sailors standing dutifully on the deck.

"Woo——"

Two 50,000-ton battleships sounded their horns, making the passengers on the cruise ship feel the deck shake, and they watched in disbelief as they departed.

Just minutes later, the battlecruiser HMS Gresenau came into view, gracefully passing in front of the cruise ship, at its closest point only a few hundred meters away.

The Scharnhorst could also be seen in the distance as all six warships passed by the Vilia.

Barnes was already deathly pale, quite certain that he had seen a ghost, perhaps having entered some kind of man-eating, distorted spacetime. He couldn't help but cover his face and burst into tears.

The rich young man next to him, oblivious to everything, celebrated wildly and excitedly dialed a satellite phone:
"Damn it, Randy, you have no idea what I saw in Antarctica!"

……

District of Columbia.

Tom and Brest walked out of the building together, discussing what had just happened at the meeting.

After achieving global dominance, the Imperial Navy believed itself to be invincible and had no worthy adversaries on the high seas. It then set its sights on land, preparing to compete with the third-rate powers for resources.

The next-generation DDG-1000 program, which will replace the capital ship Arleigh Burke, has shifted its focus from Aegis to a land-attack system consisting of two 155mm electromagnetic railguns.

The next generation to replace the Perry-class frigates is the LCS (Littoral Combat Ship), which will be responsible for multiple missions, including anti-submarine warfare, transporting supplies and personnel, and providing land support.

Even Tom Cruise's F-14 was ruthlessly dismissed because the Tomcat's purpose was interception, and the Navy believed that future fighters like the F-18 would be needed for ground attack.

Congress was obsessed with land support to the point that several Iowa-class battleships were repeatedly decommissioned. After all the Iowa-class battleships were decommissioned in 1995, it was ordered to retain at least two battleships for land support, so the USS New Jersey and USS Wisconsin, which had been decommissioned four times, were re-registered.

In short, the old navy man is going ashore!
The emergence of the Type 001 battleship and the Type 011 aircraft carrier has not changed this situation at all; on the contrary, it has accelerated this transformation.

DDG1000计划从原来的155毫米电磁炮，受到001战列舰在航天口大佬主导下，发展460毫米炮射火箭的刺激，已经在提交搭载305毫米电磁炮、2.5万吨大型巡洋舰方案。

The USS New Jersey and USS Wisconsin, which were originally scheduled to be decommissioned in 99, are now confirmed to be returning to service and being deployed to the Pacific Ocean, with their next decommissioning indefinitely postponed.

As a think tank observing the Western Pacific, both Tom and Brest expressed their approval of the last point.

The USS New Jersey was prepared for recovery as early as when the first battleship was built, and its basic maintenance was completed in advance at the Philadelphia Shipyard, while the USS Wisconsin was in slightly worse condition.

According to the plan, the USS New Jersey is expected to be deployed by February 1997, while the USS Wisconsin may be delayed until May or June.

Tom: "I never expected them to be serving as Yamato. I suspect the Japanese made a secret deal with them."

Brest: "This tendency must be strongly curbed."

Tom: "Let's see if New Jersey and Wisconsin can one day have a battle with their destined rivals that is half a century overdue."

(End of this chapter)