1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3950

However, Li Yuande immediately raised a new problem that urgently needed to be solved: "Father, I only have one boat to go north to Hangzhou this time. If there are a large number of people and goods that need to be transported to Fubo Port, then we will have to arrange another fleet as soon as possible."

Li Fa nodded and said, "When you leave Hangzhou, a fleet will accompany you back to Fubo Port."

Li Yuande cautioned, "The journey to Fubo Port is long and the sea conditions along the way are complex. Ordinary coastal merchant ships that operate in Hangzhou Bay and the Yangtze River estuary may encounter problems en route. It would be best to arrange for a large ship capable of completing ocean voyages."

Li Fa replied, "Don't worry, the fleet has already assembled at Dinghai Port in Zhoushan. They are all large ships of military standard, so they can reach even Fubo Port, which is far away."

Li Yuande sensed something unusual in those words and quickly pressed for an answer: "Was it a supply ship that Commander Shi ordered from the East China Sea Fleet?"

Li Fa shook his head and said, "You're wrong! The fleet that's going to travel with you is coming from the north."

"The North Sea Fleet?" Li Yuande reacted quickly, and the answer immediately came out.

Li Fa nodded and said, "Chen Pingliao came to Hangzhou a few days ago. Commander Chen in the north should have already reached an agreement with Commander Qian to provide some assistance to the Special Forces Division."

Having served under Qian Tiandun for several years, Li Yuande naturally understood the special relationship between the Special Operations Division and the Northern Region. It's no exaggeration to say that a significant portion of the Northern Region's territory was conquered by the Special Operations Division in its early years. Chen Yixin, now stationed in the North, was also a capable subordinate personally trained by Qian Tiandun; the two shared a close, mentor-student relationship.

Although Qian Tiandun had been away from the Northern Region for several years, the two sides had not lost contact, and the Northern Region continued to provide support to the Special Operations Division in various aspects.

In particular, regarding financial resources, as far as Li Yuande knew, a large sum of money was transferred from the Northern Region to the Special Operations Division's account every year, and this money was said to come from the properties under Qian Tiandun's name. These funds from the Northern Region had always been one of the important sources of military funding needed for the Special Operations Division's overseas development.

However, the fact that Chen Pingliao led a fleet south to Hangzhou this time may indicate that this aid may not only be economic, but may also include material and even personnel support.

Li Yuande said, "Then I will arrange a meeting with Chen Pingliao as soon as possible to see if there are any matters that need to be handed over."

Li Fa said, "There's no need to rush to see Chen Pingliao. He's currently undergoing training at the National Defense University and will probably be out in another ten days or so. You can take care of other things first."

Before Chen Pingliao went to the National Defense University to report for duty, he met with Li Fa. The main purpose of the meeting was to ask Li Fa to arrange navigation personnel to the special operations division's jurisdiction.

The sailors most familiar with the waters west of the Strait of Malacca, besides the naval forces under the Special Operations Division, are the trading fleet under the name of Fu Ruifeng, commanded by Li Yuande. The fleet belonging to the Northern Region would certainly need Fu Ruifeng's assistance to reach the distant port of Fubo.

However, Li Fa was in charge of business in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas and didn't have such personnel under him, while the ships running the Middle East route were almost all in southern ports. If Li Yuande didn't come to Hangzhou, he could only have the fleet from the northern region go to the Pearl River Estuary or Sanya Port first, and then arrange for a navigator from Furui Feng to meet them.

Upon hearing that Chen Pingliao was training at the National Defense University, Li Yuande immediately thought of the hot air balloon he had seen on the Qiantang River that day, which seemed to be in the direction of the National Defense University. He then asked Li Fa about it. Li Fa replied with a smug look, "Speaking of hot air balloons, they really do have some connection with us. General Xiao Shi used one when he led his army to attack Nanchang. And it was our Furui Feng fleet that transported these balloons from Zhoushan to the front lines in Jiangxi."

Li Yuande asked, "Was this hot air balloon built in Zhoushan?"

Li Fa shook his head and said, "No, I heard it was made in Sanya and transported to Zhoushan by government ships, and then handed over to us for transshipment. I even made a special trip to Zhoushan just to take over this item on site."

Li Yuande continued, "Father, have you seen the real thing? Just how big is it?"

Li Fa replied, “When we handed over the cargo in Zhoushan, there were three full Class A standard containers. But those containers were all sealed, and we were not allowed to open them for inspection. There were soldiers guarding the entire process, and no unauthorized personnel could get close. I only went to check the seals, then signed and sealed the handover documents, and watched as those containers were hoisted onto our ship.”

"When I signed the document, I saw that it said 'hot air balloon,' but I had no idea what it was. Later, I read in the newspaper that it was the latest siege weapon. As for the actual object, well, just like you, I only saw it today."

Haihan began promoting standardized containers in maritime transport thirty years ago to facilitate loading, unloading, and the calculation of shipping capacity and freight rates, thereby improving logistics efficiency. Large commercial organizations like Qionglianfa and Furuifeng, which are backed by Haihan, have also been building ships and arranging shipping capacity in accordance with the corresponding standards for some time.

A standard Class A shipping container is already quite large, but Li Fa had no idea how many hot air balloons were in these three containers, let alone how they were assembled.

Li Yuande was slightly disappointed after hearing this, but he did not give up and continued to ask, "Does Father have any connections to find out more details about this hot air balloon?"

Li Fa immediately knew what he was thinking and smiled slightly, saying, "You want to get a few back for Commander Qian?"

Li Yuande said, "I don't have that kind of face. I just hope I can help Commander Qian find out more information. When Commander Qian applies to the Ministry of National Defense for this new equipment, it should be a little easier."

The moment Li Yuande saw the hot air balloon, he immediately realized that it would be of great use to the special operations division, so naturally he wanted to do everything he could to help the special operations division acquire this new equipment.

As for how much effort his father would put into this matter, Li Yuande wasn't worried at all. Li Fa had always tried his best to meet any of his needs since he was a child. Even his seemingly absurd idea of ​​going abroad to join Qian Tiandun was met with Li Fa's full support.

As expected, after a moment of contemplation, Li Fa gave Li Yuande the answer he wanted: "Finding information about the hot air balloon may take some time and effort. You should take care of your business for the next few days, and I will let you know when I have any news."

Li Yuande quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "On behalf of all the soldiers of the Special Forces Division, I thank you, Father."

Li Fa pointed at Li Yuande and laughed, "Don't try to intimidate me with your special forces division! Back when I was drinking and chatting with Commander Qian, you weren't even born yet!"

(End of this chapter)