Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

In mid-January 1955, in Beiping, three days after the transfer orders for Xiang Liuying and Zhu Hui were issued and they were exchanged for 10 frigates, the system finally gave them the news.

[Please specify the naval port. The escort ship will arrive precisely 24 hours after the anchorage is confirmed.]

So Zhao Pingan picked up the phone and dialed a number.

The call was answered very quickly.

"Commander Xiao, this is Zhao Ping'an."

"Comrade Ping'an?" Commander Xiao's voice came from the other end of the phone. "Is there something you need?"

Zhao Pingan paused for a moment.

"Commander Xiao, I have communicated the situation of our navy with the relevant channels."

There happens to be a batch of test ships on the other side that we can provide—10 warships, delivered all at once.

The price is 20 tons of gold.

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Commander Xiao's voice suddenly rose eight octaves: "20 tons? One ship?"

"No, 10 ships."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

This time, the quiet lasted even longer.

Zhao Pingan could hear heavy breathing coming from the receiver.

"Then... what about the technical level?" Commander Xiao's voice was a little tense.

Zhao Ping'an said, "It's more advanced than any warship in the current Red Empire."

After a few seconds of silence

Commander Xiao's voice came through, trembling slightly: "Really? Comrade Ping An, you can't lie to me. Our navy has been waiting for too long..."

He paused, his voice lowering before rising again: "A 20-ton ship is also possible!"

Zhao Ping'an could tell the weight of those words.

"Commander Xiao, it really is a ship weighing 2 tons of gold. The technology on the other side is more advanced than ours, and they have invested a lot in supporting our country's development. This price is their cost price."

On the other end of the phone, Commander Xiao took a deep breath.

"That's great! Comrade Ping An..."

He paused, then asked, "When will you arrive?"

"Around the 15th of this month."

"Okay, okay..." Commander Xiao said "okay" twice.

Zhao Ping'an continued, "By the way, Commander Xiao, these warships are far more advanced than the Red Empire's current main warships. Once deployed, there's a high risk of technology leaks. We need to choose a naval port with good security."

Commander Xiao pondered for a moment: "In the north, besides Lushun, there is only Qingdao that is an ice-free port."

"What about Dalian?"

"Dalian is our territory, but the Red Empire's army is still stationed there, so the port's secrecy cannot be guaranteed. Lushun won't be handed over until April. You just said that our batch of ships will arrive in mid-January, so we can only ship them in Qingdao."

Zhao Pingan thought for a moment.

"Then let's go to Qingdao. We'll move them to Qingdao first, and then transfer them in batches once Lushun is taken back."

Commander Xiao said, "Okay. I'll arrange it right away. When can you come over?"

"I'll be leaving in the next couple of days. See you in Qingdao."

Okay. See you in Qingdao.

The phone hangs up.

Two days later, Zhao Ping'an and Commander Xiao met at Beiping Railway Station and boarded the special train bound for Qingdao together.

Inside the carriage, Commander Xiao kept looking out the window and didn't say much.

Zhao Ping'an knew what he was thinking.

After waiting for five years, this day has finally come.

After a long while, Commander Xiao suddenly spoke.

"Comrade Ping An, how big is that ship?"

"Around three thousand tons."

"A size larger than the Anshan-class?"

"A whole size bigger, and several generations stronger."

Commander Xiao nodded and then asked, "What about firepower?"

Zhao Pingan thought for a moment.

"To put it another way, this kind of frigate is called the C28A frigate. One of its firepower is equivalent to an entire destroyer squadron of the Red Empire right now."

Commander Xiao paused for a moment, then turned to look at him.

"real?"

"You'll see for yourself. After all, I don't understand the technical aspects very well, and for us in the navy, seeing is believing."

Commander Xiao didn't ask any more questions and turned to look out the window again.

But Zhao Pingan saw that his hands were gripping the handrail so tightly they turned white.

By the time the special train arrived in Qingdao, it was already dusk the next day. Zhao Ping'an had already pre-booked the delivery location, and Commander Xiao had also arranged the corresponding troops well in advance.

Commander Xiao went directly to the dock. Zhao Ping'an dropped off his luggage at the guesthouse and followed him.

When it was completely dark, there was a sudden movement on the sea.

Three large tugboats, towing a huge black shadow, slowly sailed toward the dock.

Commander Xiao stood motionless on the dock, staring at the approaching dark figure.

The tugboat has come to a stop. Mooring operations have begun.

The C28A frigate was slowly guided into its berth. Its 120-meter-long hull and 3000-ton displacement gleamed coldly under the dock lights.

Commander Xiao stood there, looking up at the ship.

From start to finish.

Then look from the tail to the head.

He suddenly asked, "Comrade Ping An, this ship... is it really ours?"

Zhao Ping'an nodded.

"It's ours."

Commander Xiao remained silent.

But Zhao Pingan noticed that his eyes were red.

After the first ship was in place, the second one was towed over.

Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth...

All night long.

Ten C28A frigates were towed into their berths one after another and moored neatly on the dock.

More and more people gathered on the dock. Many sailors who weren't on duty ran out of their dormitories and stood watching from a distance, no one speaking, just watching.

At dawn, ten warships lined up in the morning light, their silver-gray hulls gilded with a layer of gold.

Commander Xiao stood on the dock, looking at the ten ships for a long time.

Then he turned around and said to the staff officer behind him, "First batch of people, board the ship."

The first batch of sailors numbered over two hundred, divided into ten groups, each group responsible for one ship.

It involves preliminary inspections and the development of regulations.

Because most of our navy personnel are new recruits, we are afraid that too many people at once might cause misoperation and problems. Therefore, the ten groups that boarded the ship were all experienced veteran sailors and instructors.

They climbed the gangway and entered the ship's cabin.

Then everyone was stunned.

The fully enclosed bridge, the dense array of instrument panels, the large-screen displays, the automated control panel—it was completely different from what they had seen on older destroyers.

Some people reached out to touch the buttons on the control panel, but then pulled back, not daring to press them.

An old sailor whispered to the person next to him, "How...how do you open this?"

Zhao Ping'an was prepared. He had several machines brought over and placed in the ship's conference room.

The machine was like a projector, but it wasn't the same.

Once opened, a 3D image will appear in mid-air, which is a model of the entire ship.

It can be zoomed in, rotated, disassembled to see the structure of each part, and you can use your finger to swipe around and demonstrate how each system works.

The sailors formed a circle, staring wide-eyed at the 3D image.

"What...what is this?"

"A holographic projection demonstrator," Zhao Ping'an said. "Everything you need to learn is in here."

A young sailor couldn't resist reaching out to touch the three-dimensional ship model, but his fingers passed through the light and shadow and touched nothing.

He withdrew his hand, stunned, and said, "Goodness..."

Someone chuckled. But then fell silent again.

A demo device can demonstrate, but whether you can actually learn it is another matter.

An old sailor looked at the hundreds of buttons on the control panel and asked softly, "How long... how long will it take to learn all this?"

Commander Xiao stood to the side, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke to Zhao Ping'an.

"Most of these people are new recruits."

Zhao Ping'an nodded.

"Based on the Navy's experience," Commander Xiao said, "it takes two years to form basic combat capability, and three to four years to become fully operational."

Zhao Pingan said, "Once you've mastered the skills in the third or fourth year, it's the perfect time to start mentoring newcomers."

By the fifth year, a group of qualified naval personnel, some new and some old, will be ready to be trained. At that time, I will give you the second batch of frigates. However, this batch of frigates, which I sold and gave away at half price, has given me a problem. They require me to replicate 20 of them within 10 years... This has given me a big problem.”

Commander Xiao turned his head and looked at him.

"Hahaha, this is a big problem for Comrade Ping An, but a great thing for our navy. But Comrade Ping An, you've even figured this out?"

Zhao Ping'an nodded: "So, Commander Xiao, you'd better make our soldiers hurry up, otherwise the ship will be useless if the men can't keep up when it arrives."

The fifth year is a crucial time for our own shipbuilding; I anticipate that by then, at least five to eight domestically produced replicas will be delivered.

Commander Xiao thought for a moment, then continued to speak with a smile.

"Comrade Ping An, you're planning the navy like an industrial project. That does give us an idea for naval training. I assure you, it will definitely work."

Zhao Pingan suddenly lowered his voice secretly, "Commander Xiao, actually I hope you can get these ten frigates to basic combat capability within two years. At least we can use our technological advantage to prevent foreign troops from appearing in our territorial waters. You know we missed out on the south because of the Northern War, but once the navy is combat-ready..."

Zhao Ping'an didn't say anything more, but just looked at the ten imposing escort ships.

This will be the starting point for the Republic's Navy, and also the beginning of Li Jian's future in the south.

"Now it all depends on the Navy..."