What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 681 Paid Assistance
Throughout June, the Empire held the upper hand in the Western Pacific.

Aside from the differences in the quantity and quality of equipment, the biggest difference lies in the increasingly severe floods and severe weather along the entire coastal area of ​​China, which makes it impossible for the air force to fly.

The expensive and advanced Su-27 fighter jet cannot be allowed to break down by taking off and landing in bad weather, while other slightly less advanced aircraft are not up to the task.

The navy remained almost entirely out of the loop, as the newly commissioned warships had not yet achieved combat capability and could not offer any assistance; they could only stay in port and take notes in their notebooks.

Domestically, it is clear that the empire's ultimate attitude is merely to raise the issue high and then let it fall gently, so the main focus remains on disaster relief and prevention, and the country is temporarily swallowing its anger.

But Tang Wen couldn't sit still any longer.

The Pacific Fleet first swaggered around with its aircraft for a few days, and then the 98 Rim of the Pacific Exercise was coming, with the exercise area quite close to the Spratly Islands.

Ultimately, the Prism Building did not remove the University of Tokyo Navy from the exercise; instead, it downgraded the University of Tokyo Navy from a participant to an observer.

Tang Wen then came up with another indirect solution to save the country, deciding to divert the empire's attention once again.

There is nowhere more suitable than the Balkan Peninsula.

He had carefully studied Miler Savage's predicament, which was currently facing numerous problems such as fuel shortages, coal shortages, food gaps, and insufficient equipment, but the most critical issue was undoubtedly food.

As long as there is food, Miler Savage can hold out a little longer, and the Empire will naturally notice the abnormality and quickly devote its main efforts to the Mediterranean.

According to the data he obtained, the current overall food supply rate of the Southern Union is only 50%, and with the influence of the black market, it has reached the point of famine. To ensure that people have enough to eat, at least an additional 5 tons of flour would be needed every month.

At current prices, 5 tons of flour would cost nearly $600 million, which Gaikin could afford.

He easily purchased 5000 tons of flour through grain merchants, which happened to be the amount on a grain transport ship in Goose City Port.

The only way to transport so much flour to the Balkan Peninsula was by submarine; using U-boats would have been incredibly troublesome.

Fortunately, many U-boats have sunk around the bay on the Balkan Peninsula. They can find a deserted spot at night to dock and build a rudimentary port as a temporary teleportation point, which gives them room to maneuver.

Tang Wen manufactured several ultra-large cylindrical storage tanks with internal compartments at the LV2 shipyard. After transferring flour from the cargo ship into the storage tanks, the pre-reserved cavities allowed the tanks to float below the sea level.

Installing several small electric propulsion systems around the storage tanks would allow them to move slowly at 2 to 3 knots in calm waters, and successfully led to the tanks being identified as submarines.

The five thousand tons of grain were divided into five storage tanks. Under the cover of night, Tang Wen controlled the U-boat to surface a few nautical miles off the coast of the Balgan Peninsula. He silently built a rudimentary port, transferred the storage tanks there, and then quickly dismantled it to restore the original state. The five thousand tons of grain were immediately transferred to a place tens of thousands of kilometers away.

……

Belgrade
"The people are protesting, our people are starving... Arcana, is there really no more food?"

Millersavich rubbed his white hair, looking hopefully at his confidant Arcana, but the answer still disappointed him:
"No, we have to feed the soldiers first, but they are barely getting enough to eat. Ordinary people can only get this much from the supplies. Otherwise, we will face an even more severe famine."

"This is terrible..."

Miler Savage had already sought help from many sources, and many were willing to provide food and other necessities, but unfortunately, the coast was blocked and supplies couldn't be delivered at all.

No matter how determined he is, he absolutely cannot persevere if he cannot even feed people.

Although the Atlantic Treaty tightened its controls after the Lost Empire made contact with him, he knew it wouldn't have much of an impact, since no one could support them anymore.

What would happen if he actually accepted the Lost Empire's aid?
There seems to be no way to get what they need; they can't provide it for them.

Miler Savage closed his eyes to try and stop himself from thinking about the hungry crowds outside, but a sound of footsteps interrupted him; it was his most loyal bodyguard, Larov.

"Sir, sir, that thing moved!"

Millersavich hadn't thrown away the model ship given to him by the Lost Empire, but he'd simply tossed it into the storage room as a nice decoration, and nothing had ever happened to it. But just now, the cleaning staff noticed the model ship's rudder was shaking while dusting it and immediately reported it to Larov.

"After repeated recording, we found that the swings were regular. When translated into Morse code, they turned out to be two sets of numbers: time and coordinates. It seemed that they wanted us to go there at night, to the bay not far from where we last met them."

Oh, right, there's one more word.

Millersavich took the note and saw that it read "Grain".

food?!
Although he had many questions, this word forced him to take a risk.

……

Even though preparations had been made beforehand, Millersavich still felt a sense of unreality as the soldiers bravely climbed onto those enormous, dark tanks and searched for the hatches with flashlights.

After a long search, someone finally found the hatch and gave him a letter.

Millersavich opened the letter and quickly read the text by the car headlights, but hesitated to close it.

"What is it?"

Arcana leaned closer to examine it, and Millersavich simply handed it to him.

“5万吨面粉、1万吨航空煤油和汽油，2000枚AIM-9L响尾蛇和1000枚海麻雀以及地面发射装置……好大的手笔！”

Akana couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. The mere mention of 50,000 tons of flour excited him, while the supply of fuel and weapons left him speechless.

2000 Imperial air-to-air missiles?

AIM-9 and AIM-7 can indeed be modified for ground-launched air defense, but they can only be used at low and medium altitudes and are not as effective as dedicated surface-to-air missiles. However, 2000 missiles is simply an exaggeration.

With 2000 anti-aircraft missiles deployed at the position, even if only 1 out of 10 hits the target, it can still confuse NATO aircraft and at least create an absolute no-go zone at low and medium altitudes!
This is a truly extravagant undertaking, even more astonishing than the amount of flour and fuel used.

However, Millersavich showed no excitement, and simply said coldly:
"It's just money to buy lives. Look at the terms. Once we accept the goods, we have to take the initiative to attack."

Arcana's eyes darted around:
"Since they have a way to bring things in, I'll just accept the supplies. Whether or not to launch an attack is not your concern. Just stall for time."

Millersavich gestured with his chin towards the soldiers who were happily circling the storage tanks:

"Do you think the lost empire that can so easily deliver five thousand tons of flour to us is weak and vulnerable? Or do you think we can withstand an attack like the Christmas campaign? Even one-tenth of its intensity?"

Arcana shuddered. The Lost Empire's methods were mysterious and unpredictable; even the Empire couldn't do anything to them. His earlier thoughts were indeed somewhat naive.

That's an organization that even has enriched uranium; it's best not to think about provoking them.

"Then we should..."

"Let's give the children some bread first."

Millersavich stood up, facing the boundless darkness:

"Five thousand tons of grain can alleviate the supply shortage for at least three days... This is life-saving grain, and it must not be allowed to flow into the black market, otherwise I will not show any mercy!"

"Yes!"

Arcana quickly agreed. Although he did do some less-than-honorable things in private, he knew what was important and wouldn't sabotage Millersevich at a crucial moment.

(End of this chapter)