What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 29 Deafened by the Sound of Cannons

Although he had great doubts about the stability of the power supply, Tang Wen still agreed to use the most expensive transformer.

The power bureau was also very happy to get rid of that Siemens machine. In the end, the whole package was quoted at just over 20,000 yuan, and priority power supply was guaranteed.

In the next few days, the power bureau was busy erecting electric poles, and the line would be put into use in about a week.

During this time, Tang Yi had almost finished checking all the technical information.

……

"The good news is that there are many shipwrecks around us. The bad news is that most of them cannot be salvaged."

A large nautical chart was hung on the wall, and Tang Yi used nails of different colors to insert them at the location of the shipwreck.

Tang Yi: "Based solely on the information we already have, we can confirm the locations of sixteen shipwrecks.

It includes 7 warships and 9 cargo ships with a total tonnage of more than 15 tons.

Ten of them are in the high seas, at depths of more than 10 meters, and the other three are stranded near the coast. Normally, they should have been discovered and dealt with long ago."

"So besides the one on Crescent Island, there are these two places."

Following the movement of Tang Yi's finger, two red thumbtacks came into Tang Wen's field of vision.

One is off the coast of Quanzhou, and the other is at the southernmost tip of the South China Sea near Luzon.

There is no need to consider Luzon, as it has already entered the territorial waters of Luzon and the distance is beyond the range of the yacht.

The sea off Quanzhou...it's almost 1000 nautical miles along the coastline, and the time spent on the road alone is too long.

Of course, Quanzhou is much safer than Dongsha, and you can dock for supplies along the way.

There are still two sunken ships there. They are two gunboats left behind by the bald man when he retreated. Their total weight is about 2,000 tons.

However, compared with the Oak in Dongsha, it is still far inferior. It has a long distance and less steel. Its only advantage is that there is almost no risk.

Do you want to take a risk for 10,000 tons of steel?

Since we already know that the Formosa Marine Police will be patrolling Dongsha, the probability of being discovered and expelled will be very high. Tang Wen asked Tang Yi:

"How soon can we find the Oak?"

"There's a way to speed things up – use towed sonars. Place a few more in the suspected waters, and you can search the entire surrounding area in five hours at most. If you pair it with a metal detector, you'll get results within a day."

Tang Yi's confidence came from the fact that the relevant information about the Oak was very complete. The book recorded the route of the operation, and the sinking location was almost certain.

He can pinpoint the shipwreck location to a 3-kilometer sea area, so the search shouldn't be difficult.

Tang Wen: "If we take the risk, we will almost certainly encounter the Marine Police. The Y1 yacht can run at over 30 knots, so it should be easy to escape, but it may interfere with the search process."

Unlike fishing boats, the speed of the Y1 yacht is fully capable of supporting a safe escape. The water police will not follow it too far and will give up after running for a while.

Tang Yi didn't say anything, just stared at Tang Wen.

It wasn't until he felt uncomfortable being looked at that Tang Wen finally said the second half of his sentence:

"Maybe...we could install a little self-defense firepower."

"The first-tier battleships contain guns of varying calibers, ranging from 102mm to 152mm, and a large number of machine guns."

Tang Yi added quickly.

After saying this, he picked up the hand-drawn blueprint of the Y1 yacht, pointed at the long, pointed head of the deck and said:

"Below the deck is a huge living cabin that can be used as a liftable storage structure.

The Y1 is not small in size, so I suggest using the single 152mm MK17 main gun from the Lake Erie. It is very light in weight and size, requires almost no balancing, and does not affect any performance.

It is also very convenient to place a 40mm Vickers dual-purpose anti-aircraft gun on each side of the bridge."

"Of course, if you're still not satisfied, you can try installing a gun at the stern, but the firing range might not be very good."

Tang Wen looked at the several positions on the design drawing and touched his chin. Why did it feel like the positions had been reserved long ago?
But this was exactly what he wanted. After all, the commander did not need the assistance of the crew when operating personally, and he could control all the weapons by himself.

A 152mm main gun and two 40mm machine guns should be able to meet the self-defense needs, right?
"How long will it take to add weapons?"

"One day at most. These weapons don't have any additional structures and are not very heavy."

Tang Wen thought for a moment and made up his mind:
"Then prepare to salvage the Oak. Safety is paramount. If we fail, give up and head north to Quanzhou!"

……

three days later.

Construction Progress: 100%

Standing in the dock that was almost three stories high, Tang Wen looked up at the Y1 yacht that had just been painted.

Unlike the previous pure void shipbuilding, actual equipment and workers were involved in the construction of Y1. However, if you look closely, you will still find many magical things, such as the small bug that "materials grow by themselves".

But the workers involved were completely unaware of this. They ate, slept, and played basketball in the open space every day as if they had truly completed their work tasks.

The Y1 yacht was officially completed, and its armament modification was also carried out. It even had a launching ceremony with red decorations and colorful ribbons.

Although the displacement of 58 tons does not sound large, the Y20, which is actually more than 1 meters long, is already longer than a heavy truck, and the overall height of six or seven meters also looks very imposing.

Its upper part was painted with gray anti-rust paint, the front of the hull was a closed bow, and the superstructure was not high. Instead, it looked like... a torpedo boat?

Tang Wen suddenly thought of this word, and the more he looked at it, the more it looked like it. He simply asked Tang Yi, who was standing beside him with a beaming face:

"Why does this hull look like a torpedo boat to me?"

“Oh, its prototype is the MTB-1936 wooden torpedo boat developed by the Vosper Company for the Royal Navy in 102. I enlarged it and changed it to a steel structure, and slightly modified the lower hull.

Look at the space on both sides of the bridge. There's just enough space on each side for a 533mm torpedo tube. However, the level one battleship technology doesn't include torpedoes yet; that's only available on level two battleships."

"..."

Never mind, at least it's a yacht now.

Tang Wen took out a bottle of champagne (which was a naval supply) and threw it on the bow to break it, then he and everyone left the dock amid cheers, and then Tang Yi ordered water to be poured into the dock.

As the valve opened, seawater immediately poured into the dock, and Y1 began to shake just as it filled the bottom of the dock.

Its draft when empty was less than 1 meter. By the time the water level reached the sea level, Y1 had already been floating for quite some time.

Tang Wen, who had been prepared, walked up the gangway and entered the simple bridge, and saw that there was almost nothing on the crude control panel.

According to Tang Yi's introduction, the positions on the left are for the captain and the helmsman, the right side is the sonar monitor's work station, and the engine room... there is no engine room, and the 6 external motors are electrically started.

Tang Wen stood near the driving seat and grasped the rudder with both hands. Information immediately popped up in his mind:
[You are operating the warship: Y1 Yacht]

[Captain: Commander Tang Wen (LV0)]

Status: 3000/3000

【Defense (3): No protection】

【火力（5）：单装152毫米47倍径MK17*1座（射程9.1公里，装填时间6S），25毫米MK7维克斯机关炮*2】

【防空（4）：25毫米MK7维克斯机关炮*2（射程2.5公里）】

【Accuracy (50): No sighting equipment】

[Maneuverability (80): Maximum speed 34 knots] [Consumables: None]

[Flag: None]

Every piece of information about the Y1 yacht entered Tang Wen's mind in a digital way. His senses were spread throughout the entire boat, and he could perceive every corner at any time.

He could even clearly tell the length of a particular weld and could feel the splash of water hitting the boat.

At the same time, as he moved his mind, his vision suddenly flew into the air, overlooking Y1 like the third perspective in a game, and he could move freely within a certain range.

There is a console like a game interface below his field of vision, but with many more parameters.

Tang Wen just had an idea. The long rectangular cover in the center of the bow opened to both sides, and then a 152mm single-barreled gun rose up.

There was a crosshair in the center of his eyes, which randomly locked onto a distant target, and the artillery automatically rotated and aimed at the designated position.

The people standing in the bridge could clearly see that the single-barreled gun, which originally needed to be loaded and fired manually and moved, rotated and adjusted automatically, and then the breech block opened. A yellow cannonball was lifted by the Force and stuffed into the barrel, and then the breech block closed.

With a deafening bang, an HE high-explosive shell was fired, and the barrel retreated and recovered under the recoil.

The shell landed exactly where the crosshairs were pointing—15 meters to the side—and exploded, creating a large splash of water.

This is 50% accuracy.

Accuracy does not equal hit rate, but it is pretty good to be able to do this without any sighting equipment.

Tang Wen was very excited by the feeling of playing games in the real world. He wanted to try the power of the 25mm machine gun again, but suddenly he felt Tang Yi in the bridge shouting something desperately.

He immediately regained consciousness and as soon as he opened his eyes he saw Tang Yi rubbing his ears in pain.

The others were similar, and when they saw Tang Wen wake up, they quickly said:
“￥%@&…”

Why do you just open your mouth but don’t say anything?

Tang Wen looked confused, and then with a sharp ringing in his ears he realized that he had temporarily lost his hearing.

The 152mm 47-caliber gun is a small-caliber artillery in the navy, but on land it is already a division-level heavy firepower.

Army soldiers wear earmuffs and brace themselves for the sound waves of explosions when firing artillery.

When the warship fired, everyone hid in the cabin and made preparations in advance, so it was actually not a big deal.

But the Y1 yacht was too small and the bridge was too thin to provide much sound insulation. When Tang Wen fired the cannon, he and several others were shocked.

Even after getting off the boat and taking a break for more than half an hour, Tang Wen still felt his head buzzing, but he could finally hear things.

"Earmfists, where are the earmuffs?"

"The earmuffs weren't taken out!"

Tang Yi was also dizzy, but fortunately there was no bleeding in his ears, otherwise it would be considered an industrial injury.

"The bridge is open with no doors, and it's so thin it has almost no defense. Damn, we should at least put down layers of wood and fill them with cotton to reduce noise and sound insulation—why is my throat so dry?"

"Because we were all shouting, you see the phone was vibrating."

"Is that a call, Commander?"

Calling?
Tang Wen quickly shook his ears and then heard the landline ringing.

As soon as I picked up the microphone, I heard a deep voice:

"Is this the Gaijin Shipyard in Dawan Town? We are the Fudong Aquatic Products Company."

Fudong Aquatic Products Company?

Tang Wen looked puzzled, then asked:

"It's the Gaijin Shipyard. I'm the director, Tang Wen. How did you get the phone number?"

"It's in the Yellow Pages. I saw it and contacted you."

Tang Wen then remembered that when the post office came to install the phone that day, they mentioned it and asked if he wanted to write the number down in the Yellow Pages of Echeng.

The Yellow Pages is roughly equivalent to the portal websites before the Internet era. It collects the phone numbers of major governments and enterprises together, and people in need can directly look up the Yellow Pages and make a phone call.

The first business venture of a man named Ma was to try to turn the Yellow Pages into a website. When he went to Beijing to sell it, he was almost chased away as a scammer.

The Yellow Pages will also be updated. If a factory or unit subscribes, the post office will update and distribute it regularly.

But even so, Tang Wen was still a little surprised. After all, the Gaijin Shipyard had no reputation at all, and it was rare for it to be contacted on its own initiative.

At this time, the other party took the initiative to say:

"My name is Huang Dongfu, and I'm the owner of Fudong Aquatic Products. I heard your shipyard is newly opened and can build 200-ton ocean-going fishing vessels for 500 million yuan. Is that true?"

As soon as these words came out, Tang Wen immediately thought of the dark-skinned old village chief.

Praise the village chief, praise the patron saint of the villagers!
He just mentioned it casually, but the village chief actually found a way to get in touch with him.

He really made me cry to death.

However, Tang Wen, who had already understood the normal ship prices of the time, did not agree immediately, as this might backfire. Instead, he said:

"Two million is the price for the hull without any equipment, without the engine. Do you want it?"

"No engine? How can that be possible? And there's no sonar, fish finder, trawl net, or satellite communication either?"

"No."

"Then why buy something? No, no."

The male voice on the other end of the phone sounded very angry, and his tone seemed as if he was about to hang up.

But Tang Wen was not anxious, but waited quietly.

Sure enough, the man didn't hang up the phone. Instead, after a while, he asked casually:
"How much would it cost to equip it with all the equipment, including the motor?"

Tang Wen looked at Tang Yi, who made an OK gesture.

"Well, I'll have our shipyard's chief designer and COO talk to you."

Tang Yi picked up the phone and immediately said:
"Hello, I'm the COO and Chief Ship Designer of Gaijin Shipyard. If you have any questions, please feel free to tell me."

"C what?"

"COO, Chief Operating Officer, is responsible for managing the entire company in actual operations."

Huang Dongfu was stunned by the authentic Union Jack London accent. He didn't know whether he understood it or not, so he just repeated his request.

“您是要买远洋渔船是吗？我先给您推荐动力组合吧，我们有1000马力、1500马力和3300马力三种动力组合，分别适配500吨级到1000吨级不同大小的渔船。

A 1000-horsepower domestic power unit costs 30 yuan, and a 1500-horsepower imported power unit costs 60 yuan."

Tang Yi's quote was not blind. Both 1000 horsepower and 1500 horsepower require dedicated diesel engines, and external engines cannot be used.

The first is that the external gasoline motor cannot output high power for a long time, and the second is that the fuel consumption is also terrible, so only a high-horsepower diesel unit can be used.

As for the distinction between domestic and imported products, it is purely misleading. Don’t ask. If you ask, the answer is that imported products are better and more expensive.

These days, everyone really falls for this. Leading domestic diesel engine companies such as Weichai, Xichai, and Jichai have not yet grown up, and marine power is still dominated by international brands such as Steyr and Cummins.

(End of this chapter)