What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 421 Irregular Homework
The final proposal still has one problem to solve;
Whether it is equipped with nuclear power.

If it is conventionally powered, it is called DLG (short for missile cruiser); if it is nuclear-powered, it is called DLGN (N stands for nuclear).

With its massive 25,000-ton hull and modern weight-reduction technology, it is actually comparable to a warship of over 30,000 tons from World War II. Considering the extremely high power requirements of the electrical system, there is already reason to adopt nuclear power.

If such a large ship could operate without refueling, it would be a good thing to reduce the fleet's supply burden.

According to the preliminary budget estimate, if the construction plan is to build 30 ships, the conventionally powered version will cost approximately US$24 billion, while the nuclear-powered version will cost US$30 billion.

"What if this budget covers the cost of the first three ships?"

Johnson glanced at the budget sheet and knew something was amiss:
How could it be less than $30 billion?
He understands the intricacies of the situation all too well. Using nuclear power only increased the cost by 25%, which is incredibly generous, ridiculously so.

Of course, if 30 ships were built all at once, the number might be that high if the total was spread out. However, is it really possible to successfully build 30 2.5-ton DLG or DLGN ships?
Faced with his questioning, the shipyard representative stammered and held up one hand:
“The development cost of the new 285mm electromagnetic railgun will be much higher. In addition, both the MK57 and the dual-band radar are new products. If the early development costs are spread over the first three ships, it may cost around 130 billion to 150 billion US dollars.”

That's $50 billion per ship, or even more.

Such a high cost even exceeds that of the Nimitz-class.

However, Johnson was not surprised at all, and did not even object to the number:
"The figures reported to Congress cannot be so exaggerated; they should be 25% to 30% higher than the original 1.5-ton plan."

"..."

This shocked the others even more, and they finally understood what a minister was like.

Increasing the displacement by 1 tons only raises the budget by this small amount, which clearly indicates that they intend to fish for a long time.

Johnson: "According to the plan, the project should be approved and development work should begin this year. We should make a decision as soon as possible and then start construction in 2002."

……

Nansha Islands, Gongzhen Reef
Another storm.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the construction team, which had received the weather forecast in advance, stopped work. Within half an hour, the sky turned completely dark, and rain mixed with salt water and moisture poured down like a waterfall.

In such terrible weather, Ge Xuan's worries deepened.

"This plan is unacceptable!"

The middle-aged man next to me, speaking with an accent and wearing a blue hard hat, kept complaining while staring at the torrential rain outside the window:
“In this kind of environment, an electric drainage system is necessary to build a concave dam. If it gets blocked, the consequences would be unimaginable!”

"Look at this rain! If it rains continuously for just four hours, the area inside the dike will be completely flooded. Mr. Ge, how can this plan possibly be implemented? It won't be approved!"

Ge Xuan knew perfectly well, but he was helpless at this point. He silently dragged a small briefcase from under the bed, opened it, and revealed a patch of green that made the middle-aged man's eyes widen in astonishment:

"Just come up with the proposal, and it will be approved as long as you sign it. You can go anywhere with these Hong Kong dollars. Haven't you always wanted to take your son to Hong Kong? This money is enough for his tuition and for you to live comfortably."

"This...give me a few days."

"We won't wait until it expires, and time is of the essence for us!"

Just as Ge Xuan finished speaking, he saw lights appear on the distant sea, and then the satellite phone rang.

……

In the still-rainy port, six severely oversized cargo ships occupied the last bit of space.

Four of them were oil tankers that Tang Wen intended to use as cofferdams. However, because they were intended as consumables, only the main structure and an extremely stripped-down power system were built. The superstructure was flattened, the squareness coefficient was reduced to 0.82, and the whole thing was a crudely made iron box. The internal fuel compartments were also turned into large-volume cabins.

The empty weight was reduced to only 1.5 tons, yet it achieved an exaggerated size of 200 meters long and 40 meters wide, which shows how rudimentary it was.

And yet, this very thin-skinned dumpling was surrounded by an astonishing number of containers piled up densely on the deck:

It's not a standard international container with parts and full sizes, but a simplified 15x3x3 version, weighing 4 tons each, with only a simple door on the top for filling with mud or seawater.

One ship had an astonishing 15 layers of containers stacked on top of it, and with the number of holds, it carried 3000 containers. The other two were converted semi-submersible vessels of the same size, with the main hull cut off to directly carry a staggering 30 layers of containers, each carrying 6000 containers.

Even Ge Xuan was terrified when he saw how extremely tall the pile was. Wasn't it afraid that a gust of wind could capsize the ship if it were piled up like that?

He looked up in awe, wondering how the ship had managed to brave the incredible storm at night to get here; it was nothing short of a miracle.

If 2.4 shipping containers were laid out in one layer, they would be enough to cover an area of ​​1.1 square kilometers.

"Here, this is the first batch of ships and containers. I'll try to send a batch every two weeks from now on."

Tang Wen was soaked to the bone when he got off the cargo ship and landed on shore, but he didn't care.

These ships and containers were not built by the Grand Bay Shipyard, but were completed at a shipyard on an unnamed island in the South Pacific.

Previously, Fexin Island, which had been progressing relatively quickly, had taken advantage of the storm to use the Great Realistic Illusion to build a smaller port, which could be used as a teleportation coordinate to more conveniently transport the completed ships directly over.

But Ge Xuan wiped the rain off his face and murmured:

"They're piled up so high the crane can't reach them, how are we going to unload them from the ship?"

"It's that simple. First, sail the cargo ship to the place where it needs to sink, open the drain valve, and after the ship sinks, use a tugboat to remove the containers underneath and let it capsize."

At most, the box might be deformed and leak a little water, but it would be enough to fill the foundation.

Ge Xuan was speechless and could only express his awe with his eyes.

These six ships and 36,000 crates alone require 100,000 tons of steel, and the cost of materials alone is staggering.

This isn't just paved with steel, it's paved with money!
The middle-aged man who had followed him also recognized the sugar daddy and swallowed hard.

If they dare to use such a simple, brutal, and reckless method of unloading ships, then the water prison that disregards human life must also be their doing.

If I don't agree to this situation, I'm afraid I'll have to participate in the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Breath-Holding Challenge.
……

Tang Wen disappeared again quickly after sending the ship off. The weather along the mainland coast was also very bad today, and the Navy, in conjunction with the Fisheries Administration and the Shipping Bureau, issued another control order.

A few hours later, in the same place where Hanover had been, Yan Jian and his men boarded the Musashi again, as well as the Cheshire and Zara heavy cruisers whose superstructures had been removed, leaving only the chimneys.

Both ships were fully capable of sailing, but all armament and superstructure had been removed for modification.

After the Musashi was refitted at the shipyard, the main guns were retained, all unnecessary old parts were removed, the conning tower was slightly adjusted, and a helicopter landing pad was added to the tail. However, it still looks as imposing as ever.

After the navy took over the ship, it still sailed towards the Pearl River, but its destination was no longer the Huangpu Shipyard, where there was really no room for deception.

The ship welcoming the new vessel is a newly built branch of the Yangcheng Shipyard, which happens to have a dry dock that can barely accommodate the Yamato.

On the bridge of the Musashi, Yan Jian stared at Tang Wen, who was yawning incessantly, and asked:

"To be honest, how many battleships do you still have?"

Tang Wen looked up at the dark sky:
"We only have a few dozen in stock right now, but most of them are medium-sized warships of 30,000 to 40,000 tons. How about we buy a dozen? I'll give you a 20% discount if you order three or more?"

"Excuse me, I was just asking."

"30% off! 30% off!"

"I really won't buy it!"

"Here's what we'll do: buy five of them regardless of model and I'll give you a 50% discount—a clearance sale! I'll also throw in a few cruisers and destroyers to make a package, and I even have medium-sized aircraft carriers!"

"Stop nagging, Master Tang, we really can't afford it!"

(End of this chapter)