World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

The inspection lasted until 4 p.m. Chen Feng inspected the drilling platform, the oil refining equipment, and the workers' dormitories and canteen. Before leaving, he said to the project manager:

"Build another school, from elementary to junior high. Build another clinic, staffed with two doctors and four nurses. The money will come from a special fund."

"yes!"

On the special train back, Chen Feng finally had time to deal with the backlog of telegrams. Uncle Wang handed him a folder, the top one marked "Urgent".

"It's from London," said Uncle Wang. "Admiral Berkeley Milne, Commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, will be visiting Dubai on July 6th."

Chen Feng raised an eyebrow: "An interview? Or pressure?"

"The telegram said 'friendly visit'... but the timing was very opportune."

"Where are the French?"

"A detachment of the French Indochina Fleet is en route from Saigon to Singapore. It is expected to arrive at the Strait of Malacca on July 7."

Chen Feng laughed: "Everyone's looking this way."

He opened the second telegram, which was the first report from U-3.

"At 3:00 AM today, we passed through the entrance to the Gulf of Aden. We observed a British cruiser (suspected to be a Banshee-class) heading northwest at a speed of 15 knots. We did not spot our own ships."

"At 10:00 AM today, while navigating at periscope depth in the central Red Sea, three French merchant ships were observed, all flying the Marseille port flag. No warships were observed."

The telegram concluded with: "All personnel are in good condition, and equipment is functioning normally. We are expected to enter the northern estuary of the Suez Canal early tomorrow morning."

Chen Feng handed the telegram to Liu Yongfu: "Our submarines are performing well."

After reading it, Liu Yongfu frowned: "President, sending a submarine through Suez is too risky. What if the British seize it..."

"That's why we used the Greek company's name," Chen Feng said. "And U-3 is taking the night route; I've already made arrangements with the canal authority. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will be in the Mediterranean Sea in 24 hours."

"What if there's an accident?"

Chen Feng looked out the window. The setting sun was sinking into the sand dunes, turning the sky blood red.

"Consider it tuition," he said. "But we can't hide in the Persian Gulf forever. One day, our ships will be sailing on all the world's oceans. If we can't even cross the Suez Canal, how can we talk about going home?"

Silence fell over the carriage. The only sound was the rhythmic, heavy clanging of the wheels against the rails, like the pendulum of a countdown clock.

On July 4, Chen Feng "returned" to Dubai.

However, instead of returning directly to the administration building, he went to the newly built third submarine base. This base is located in a secluded bay south of Muscat, which appears to be just a few ordinary fishing villages from the land, but in reality, underground storage facilities capable of accommodating twenty submarines have been excavated.

The base commander was Zhang Haitao, the former deputy captain of the "Guangfu" ship. He was thirty years old and an outstanding graduate of the first class of the Naval Academy. When he showed Chen Feng around, his tone was full of pride.

"The No. 1 silo is already in use and can maintain four submarines simultaneously. The No. 2 silo will be completed by the end of the month, and construction on the No. 3 silo will begin next month. Once all is completed, this will become the largest submarine base in the Persian Gulf."

Chen Feng entered the cavern. The interior was enormous, with a 20-meter-high concrete vaulted ceiling and rows of explosion-proof lights mounted on the walls. Six U-boats were moored side-by-side in their berths, and workers were replacing batteries on two of them.

"How's the battery life?" Chen Feng asked.

"The new lead-acid battery can support 60 hours of underwater navigation on a full charge. At an economical speed of four knots, it can travel 240 nautical miles," said Zhang Haitao. "We are currently developing a lighter silver-zinc battery, which, if successful, will double the range."

Chen Feng walked to a submarine and patted its cold steel hull.

"What about its quietness?"

"This is what we're most proud of." Zhang Haitao asked an engineer to bring him the test records. "Our U-3 only recorded 87 decibels in the last test."

Chen Feng nodded, then asked, "Where are the torpedoes?"

"The domestically developed 'Jiaolong-1' thermal-powered torpedo has a speed of 40 knots, a range of 8,000 meters, and a warhead of 200 kilograms of TNT. It is slightly inferior to the German G7, but it is sufficient."

After touring the cave, Chen Feng arrived at the command center. There was a huge Mediterranean nautical chart there, with the planned route of U-3 already marked on it.

"Breaking news," the communications officer reported, "U-3 passed through the southern section of the Suez Canal at 4:00 AM today without encountering any inspections. It is currently submerged in the middle of the canal and is expected to enter the Mediterranean Sea at 8:00 PM tonight."

"Didn't the canal authority have any suspicions?"

"No. Our cover identity was 'deep-sea exploration submarine of the Hellenic Institute of Oceanography,' and the voyage plan stated 'marine life survey from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.' Moreover…" the communications officer smiled, "we gave the canal director a private 'research sponsorship fee' of five thousand pounds."

Chen Feng laughed too: "Money can move mountains."

He walked to the nautical chart and stared at the small magnet that represented U-3. The magnet was slowly moving north, updating its position every four hours.

"Send it a telegram," Chen Feng said. "Once we enter the Mediterranean, carry out the reconnaissance mission as planned. Pay special attention to the movements of the British battleship HMS Dreadnought—intelligence suggests it may have already departed Portsmouth."

"yes!"

On July 5, tensions in Dubai reached their peak.

British Consul Howard visited three times in one day, while French Consul Dupont visited twice. The scene was quite awkward when the two bumped into each other in the reception room of the administration building.

"Mr. Howard, what a coincidence," DuPont said in French, his tone sarcastic.

"Mr. DuPont, are you here to gather information as well?" Howard's English was polite, but his eyes were sharp.

Wang Wenwu was in charge of receiving them, and he repeated the same thing each time: "The President is really on an inspection tour. There may be a technical problem with the oil pipeline, so he won't be back for a while."

"When will you be back?" DuPont pressed.

"As early as tomorrow, at the latest the day after tomorrow."

"We can't wait that long!" Howard unusually lost his composure. "London needs a clear answer—which side is Lanfang on?"

Wang Wenwu smiled and said, "Consul, Lanfang is a neutral country. We don't stand on either side; we only stand on our own side."

Chen Feng taught him to say that.

At 3 p.m., something even more dramatic happened. An envoy from the Ottoman Empire's governor-general in Baghdad suddenly arrived in Dubai. This envoy, Ali Pasha, was a Turkish man in his sixties who could speak a little English.

"We want to buy ships." He got straight to the point as soon as we met. "Two cruisers, the sooner the better."

Wang Wenwu invited him to the small conference room: "Mr. Pasha, what model do you want to buy?"

"The kind you sell to Chile, the Intrepid-class," Ali Pasha said. "But we don't need anything that big, something smaller, something that can operate in the Mediterranean and Black Sea."

Wang Wenwu's heart skipped a beat. The Ottoman Empire and Italy were locked in a standoff in North Africa (the Italo-Turkish War was about to break out in a few months), so buying warships at this time made his intentions very clear.