What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 346 Unexpected Contact

It sounds like an extraordinary thing for an ordinary person to donate a warship to the country.

The joint statement issued by Geykin and the Naval Academy had a very significant impact on public opinion:

This is no exaggeration; according to reports, this cruiser will set sail within a few days!

This undoubtedly proves Tang Wen's strength. He can even donate a cruiser. Although it is a "shell" he built himself, it is still worth a lot of money!
On the other hand, this also confirms the strength of Gekin's relationship. After all, the fact that the Naval Academy accepted this matter is significant in itself, making many people need to re-examine Gekin's true strength.

Bai Hantao and his colleagues at the academy were also eagerly awaiting the delivery of the new ship, and taking the opportunity to show it off to the other schools.

But before he could act, his old comrade-in-arms from the Bengbu Naval Academy called first, and the first thing he said was:
"Ah Tao, you're really something, bringing back such a big boat."

"Haha, no problem, no problem at all. Let's train together in the future!"

"No, no, no, you can enjoy this kind of good stuff yourself. It's too complicated for us to understand."

Bai Hantao was immediately puzzled. What was so hard about a gunboat cruiser? Was this kid being sarcastic?
After rambling on for a few more minutes and hanging up, another call came in.

Upon checking the number, it turned out to be from the naval aviation academy next door—what's going on here now?
When I answered the phone, the person on the other end was very polite.
"Is this Instructor Bai? Oh, you guys are really thrifty! You even thought of our naval aviation. We're just about to set up a carrier-based aircraft training class, so please look forward to cooperating with us in the future!"

My husband sent over a few free-range chickens; I'll bring them over to you another day.

Bai Hantao was completely dumbfounded. That cruiser could only launch two seaplanes at most, which was far from being able to launch carrier-based aircraft, right?

"Wait a minute, isn't that inappropriate? Can cruisers train carrier-based aircraft?"

"Why not? Although the flight deck is a bit short, Gekkin Company has F4F, SBD, and TBD, so it's no problem for students to practice."

"By the way, who designed this aircraft-carrying cruiser? Why didn't they just fill in the gaps and turn it into a small aircraft carrier? Your sailors would have trained just the same way!"

"Aircraft-carrying cruiser?"

Bai Hantao finally realized something was wrong and quickly went to find the newspaper. Not long after, he saw a large picture in the latest edition.

[Hong Kong Express: Tang Wen's Golden Warship Deployed, Dazzling the Public!]

The color printing was fairly clear, thanks to the photographer's professional camera, which allowed them to see the golden exterior and... what kind of messy ship was this?

The first half looks comparable to a battleship, but the latter half looks like half an aircraft carrier was forcibly added, making it incongruous and uncomfortable to watch.

The colors in the whole image are a bit strange, and there's a line of small text at the bottom:
"Reporter's Note: Tang Sheng's golden warship has a highly reflective surface, which severely affects camera lenses. Therefore, the exposure and brightness have been reduced, and the colors may be distorted."

"..."

So what they received was this incredibly tacky, gold-colored, cobbled-together, gun-equipped aircraft carrier?!
Bai Hantao wanted to roar to the heavens, for he was now truly becoming a laughingstock both domestically and internationally.

Despite trying various methods on her phone, she still couldn't get through to Tang Wen!
Can I just not want it anymore?
……

Groningen.

In the dark night.

An unremarkable U-boat floated on the water. Wright, the cannon fodder captain recruited for 200 silver coins, stood outside the command tower, confirming with the small boat in the distance through light signals.

Although the US and other countries launched a frantic crackdown on U-boats after the sinking of the USS Clover, it had no real impact and even greatly enhanced their reputation.

Smugglers and parallel traders all over the world know that they specialize in losing money and don't care about losing money, which makes them highly sought after.

After all, those are professional naval and military submarine workers. They are not only highly qualified, but they have also successfully expanded their business scope several times over, so there are plenty of people who want to cooperate with them.

This time, however, Wright noticed something was wrong when the boat stopped:
They possess the same aura as me.

It's a trap!
Just as Wright was about to open the sea valve and sink, he heard the person on the small boat shout loudly:
"Don't drown yourself, we are one family!" This is a Han Chinese phrase.

Wright realized something was wrong and immediately reported it to the commander.

Tang Wen immediately activated remote control, taking the lead in the conversation from a third-person perspective in the air, only to discover that things had gone horribly wrong:

This is a group of Hans, and they call themselves the Hans Navy.

The leader removed his mask and introduced himself as Hammond, the son of Raeder's close friend, who now also held a high position.

Although Tang Wen couldn't recognize him, he felt that it was basically true.

But what do these people want to do?
Just as he was having a headache, Hammond carefully examined the familiar U-boat and Wright's uniform, and suddenly burst into tears:

"So...our...fleet...still exists, still fighting for the great...empire!"

The others who had come with Hammond also couldn't help but start sobbing, making Tang Wen's eyelids twitch in the void.

Oh no, the most ridiculous thing has happened.

Tang Wen was reluctant to associate with these guys, so he instructed Wright to say with a cold face:
"You're nothing but a bunch of cowards and wimps. The Second Fleet will accomplish its objective in its own way. You can leave now."

However, Hammond was not angry at all; instead, he nodded while wiping away his tears.

"Yes, you are the real heroes, willing to make huge sacrifices... I really don't know how you survived and thrived under such circumstances, especially without the knowledge of the locals."

Senior, I know you don't trust us and think we're IAA spies, but please give us a chance:
We're willing to do anything to help you preserve Hans's last vestiges of glory and iron will.

Tang Wen: "..."

Where did all these people come from, these delusional and immature old folks?
He was just thinking of diving down and escaping when he suddenly realized something:
Despite numerous restrictions, Hans still possesses unparalleled technological strength and precision manufacturing capabilities. Whether it's metallurgy, electrical engineering, plastics, high-speed rail, Zeiss optics, automobiles, or even Siemens' chip technology, they've done quite well. In a few years, they'll even create Infineon, another renowned chip giant.

Domestically, importing technology faces numerous obstacles, but if one requests it as part of the Second Fleet…

While I wouldn't say I'd give everything away without reservation, I'm sure many things will be readily available.

Tsk, tsk, tsk!
However, he quickly realized that the Hans' internal security system was so fragmented that the air force could have missiles stolen and only discover it a year later, and the army could have armored vehicles stolen without their knowledge. With such limited capabilities, if they were to actually transport any sensitive equipment, they would probably be wiped out by the IAA.

It's hard to say whether there were any informants involved in this meeting.

"I'm sorry, we can't accept it."

Wright refused again, but Hammond quickly realized the difference in her words.

It's "cannot," not "don't want to."

Hammond wasn't stupid; he quickly figured out the reason and immediately explained:

"Please trust us. We have the strictest confidentiality measures in the world, and no one will betray us."

Wright: "Although we've been hiding for many years, we've still been paying close attention to outside information."

Hammond's face immediately turned red, clearly realizing that Wright knew about the bizarre and shameful things Hans had revealed.

Thinking about it this way, he suddenly realized it wasn't very reliable.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment. Wright said he couldn't stay any longer and had to return to the submarine to leave.

Hammond quickly stopped him and asked if he could leave his contact information.

(End of this chapter)