What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 362 Still Can Fight
Tang Wen spent three days thoroughly taking stock of the assets of the three factories in Shanghai and discovered that he had truly struck gold.

These three factories not only have advanced integrated circuit production lines of varying sizes, but more importantly, they have a large number of systematic and experienced engineers.

However, due to severe patent restrictions and the lack of support from domestic microcomputer brands, it almost starved to death.

Of course, Tang Wen still made some sweeping adjustments:

Like aircraft manufacturing plants, Shanghai's semiconductor industry also needs to be "downsized".

All the service companies, shops, and other unrelated industries affiliated with them were stripped away, and they were all given money to get rid of them, leaving only the factories and canteens.

Following the system later adopted by foreign companies, the canteen regularly rotated among factory employees to supervise the canteen's procurement and hygiene quality.

Among the management, whether they were brought in through nepotism or parachuted in, no one cared about past issues; they all happily left with 2N compensation.

The research departments of all three factories were centralized, and a separate research institute was established in the empty factory building of Component Factory No. 5, evolving from business indicators to an independent research institute.

The integrated semiconductor company also restructured its operations, with Component Factory No. 5, Electron Tube Factory, and Radio Factory No. 14 becoming three branch factories of Shanghai Semiconductor:

Factory 1 mainly focuses on advanced chips with advanced manufacturing processes, Factory 2 began to research TFT and LCD screens and driver chips, and Factory 3 focuses on industrial control, automotive chips, and other microelectronic devices.

With the reputation of the Gaijin Fleet, the elimination of almost all useless factors in one fell swoop, and the allocation of 5 million yuan in expansion funds, Shanghai Semiconductor immediately began to operate at an unimaginable speed.

Inquiries, purchase requests, and a constant stream of phone calls, letters, and emails are flying into the upstream supply chain, heralding the arrival of a new player in the microelectronics industry.

After gathering all the management and technical personnel and vividly recounting how poor performance would lead to being sent to the South China Sea to inspect oil wells and to the Arctic to fish for seafood, Tang Wencai hurriedly booked a plane ticket to Beijing.

Just as boarding time was approaching, he took a step back in response to the flight attendant's urging.

It is United Airlines' Tu-154.

"Dear Mr. Tang, as a business class passenger, you have priority boarding."

"No, no, I suddenly remembered I have something to do here."

Although he could teleport without dying, Tang Wen still really didn't want to fly on this thing, so he immediately changed his ticket to an A320.

……

Beijing.

"Old Zhao, I've come to see you!"

Zhao Hande pushed open the door and saw Tang Wen and a beautiful foreign woman, with Tang Feng following behind, his hands almost overflowing with suitcases.

"Come in quickly, you're already here, why did you bring..."

As Tang Feng put down the pile of gift boxes, Zhao Hande's expression froze:
Brain Gold, Brain Platinum, and Malted Milk Powder—ten boxes in total!
Wait, why does this look so familiar?

This looks like the pile I saw at Tang Wen's house during the Chinese New Year.
"Don't be shy, these are all nutritional supplements, feel free to take them and drink them."

Tang Wen lay on the sofa without any hesitation. He had been worried about crashing the plane the whole way here and needed to rest in the arms of the ship girl.

"you……"

Zhao Hande was somewhat amused and exasperated, so he could only ask:

"What trouble has the Tang Giant gotten himself into by condescending to come to my humble temple?"

“What caused this trouble… I need someone, Ni Zhenhai.”

"Who? That's an academician, you think you can just ask for him like that?"

"Don't think I don't know. Right now, he's even thinking about sitting on the sidelines. He might as well come and use his talents here."

Seeing that Tang Wen had come fully prepared, Zhao Hande asked seriously:

What do you want with him?

"Domestic chips, microcomputers, and besides, isn't there a Professor Xu at Tsinghua University? Help me get in touch with him; I'd like to invest a few hundred million in him, and..."

Tang Wen rattled off a long list of names, all obtained from Su Huisheng. Those from within the university were to be invested in to set up laboratories, while those from enterprises were to be acquired or poached—the arrangements were crystal clear.

This kind of "trying to devour a lion in one bite" attitude made Zhao Hande rub his forehead, saying with a headache:
"These companies and individuals are important national assets. How can we easily give them to you? Many of them hold important positions..."

"Stop!" Tang Wen: "What do you mean you can't give it away easily? Rather than letting a foreigner kill you, you might as well sell it to me. No matter who asks, I won't haggle."

"It's more complicated than you think, well..."

"If you won't sell, I'll go find Old Mi or Hans. It'll only cost a few billion dollars."

"Sell."

Zhao Hande stood up decisively:

"Let's go, I'll take you to find someone now."

"The food is all ready, aren't you going to eat first?"

"Eat my ass! Treat me to Quanjude later!"

……

Los Angeles.

Tang Wen was busy trying to salvage the microcomputer and chip industry, while Calvin was also trying to save the USS Missouri.

To be precise, it was Puget Sound Shipyard that was trying to salvage the USS Missouri.

The four Iowa-class battleships missed their last chance for a decisive battle when they were born. They thought they would retire peacefully and become museum pieces, but who knew they would fight a life-or-death battle at the last moment.

The damage to the USS Wisconsin was not actually serious, but there was no need to repair the old ship, so it was salvaged and left in port. The USS Iowa was simply abandoned.

The USS New Jersey also suffered multiple damages, but fortunately, they were mostly superficial, and the hull was not seriously damaged. It was sent to the shipyard for repairs and has now been initially restored.

But in January, for reasons unknown, the Navy sent the USS Missouri, which was being kept in service on the West Coast, to Puget Sound Shipyard for repairs.

Perhaps due to the post-war buff, the shipyard put a lot of effort into giving the USS Missouri a major overhaul.

Calvin's appointment as deputy commander of the Antarctic task force has been announced. As he walked through the shipyard, he saw rows of no-longer-young men standing along the fence outside.

"who are they?"

"The crew of the USS Missouri."

Colonel A.L. Case said he was the last captain of the USS Missouri.

Calvin remained silent.

Case: "The USS Missouri can fight, and so can I, and many others."

"..."

The Antarctic task force has already been assembled, and its current composition is as follows:
One aircraft carrier: USS Enterprise;
One amphibious assault ship: USS Kearsarge
Two Ticonderoga-class destroyers: USS Valley Forge and USS Vincennes;
Two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers: USS Barry and USS Mitchell;
The four Perry-class destroyers are: HMS Wadsworth, HMS Phillips, HMS Morrison, and HMS Estorhinn.

Two Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines: USS Atlanta and USS Providence;
Large supply ships: 2, with other civilian vessels assisting.

The standard strike group lineup consists of the Enterprise, which primarily carries C2 transport aircraft, helicopters, and E2 early warning aircraft to provide information guidance, while the Kearsarge joins to provide support for the land search team.

The lineup seems impressive, but the problem is that sending it to Antarctica will present a thorny supply problem, requiring reliance on Argentina or Chile for resupply.

The so-called mid-May attack refers to a launch from the mainland, but it's hard to say when the attack will take place after the final resupply is completed in Chili.
Because they also have to be careful of floating ice and dark ice, the Empire is still trying to coordinate with the Russians to build icebreakers, otherwise they will be unable to move an inch.

However, from a tactical perspective, the fleet is still not safe enough:

The Second Fleet always has a few unpredictable tactics, and it turns out that once it gets close, the risk of being overturned increases dramatically. Considering this, you'll find that the fleet is almost entirely made of fragile sharks.

Its destructive power is undeniable, but its defensive capabilities are excessively weak. Those expensive Arleigh Burke-class destroyers would be lucky to escape exploding after taking a 380mm shell; even a scratch would be fatal.

Only battleships are the most resilient and can withstand a surprise attack for a while.

Apart from propeller planes like the E2 and C2 that can take off using long runways, the Empire's other fighters are limited by catapults and cannot operate. The F-14 formation that performed so well last time will be banned by Temperature, and Calvin doesn't dare to gamble on that possibility.

Moreover, the incident of the magical smoke interfering with missiles is still fresh in our minds. What if there are still some missiles that escaped after all the missiles have been fired?
Are we supposed to rely on C2 to launch kamikaze attacks?
The USS New Jersey can be put back into service after four months of expedited repairs, and the USS Missouri could theoretically be as well. However, for well-known reasons, ordering a warship with a distinguished service record and special significance to return to service carries a great risk.

(End of this chapter)