What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 124 Dongjiang Fleet
“It’s calculated based on one fishing cycle.”

Tang Wen already had a plan:

"One escort vessel can protect up to four fishing boats at a time, with each trip lasting 4 to 15 days. The entire trip costs only 30 yuan. We take care of all their food, fuel, and maintenance, and we can also help carry some of the catch to a limited extent."

"What about the escort range?"

"We'll follow you wherever you go. If you get attacked and damaged, Gaijin will compensate you."

Tang Wen spoke with confidence. The operating radius of these fishing boats was very small, far less than the endurance of warships.

The separate operating ranges of the four fishing boats are also the coverage limit of the escort ship, enabling them to respond and provide support relatively quickly.

As soon as the words fell, the members immediately started arguing again, comparing the pros and cons in their minds.

The average cost of a boat is 7.5 yuan, which is actually not much.

In the distant oceans with rich fishery resources, one net can cost tens of thousands, which is why many fishermen are willing to take the risk and go there.

Gaijin only charges a fixed fee, so the bigger the boat, the more cost-effective it is, and the longer the detention, the more cost-effective it is.

If stable operation can be guaranteed, this amount of money is just a matter of casting a few nets.

Not to mention that it can also help load part of the fish, at least dozens of tons of fish.

"I paid the money!"

The self-employed person who just spoke raised his hand and continued to ask:
"How many ships can be deployed now?"

"One more thing. The Civilization's sister ship, the Friendship, won't be able to put to sea for about three days."

When planning to form a joint defense fleet, Tang Wen began the construction of the second Civilization ship, which had basically the same parameters and was code-named "Friendship".

The self-employed person's eyes lit up and he immediately said:

"I'm also going out to sea in three days, planning to go to Nansha. Is there anyone who can get four?"

The others reacted immediately, and immediately the owner of a fishing company shouted:

"I want all three remaining spots!"

"Bullshit, shut up!"

"I want two places, I can offer 200,000!"

“Why are you bringing up the price?”

"..."

"stop!"

Tang Wen quickly stopped him. This wasn't an auction, and it would be no fun to get stuck in a vicious cycle of bidding up prices.

"Everyone, don't be anxious, come in order."

Immediately someone shouted:
"There are only two escort ships. We have at least 15 ships that can go out to sea. That's not enough!"

"That's right. If they take turns coming every month, we'll need at least three escort ships."

Gao Yuliang also felt that it was difficult to deal with this situation. Escorting was a good thing, but how many escort ships could Gaijin have?

With safety guaranteed, people's willingness to work in the distant seas is increasing, and the limited escort force is simply not enough.

He thought for a moment, looked at Tang Wen and asked:
"Is there any other way? We can only protect four ships at most."

Tang Wen: "Each fishing boat has a large operating area. Even if four boats are spread out, they still cover a large area. If something large were to happen, it would be difficult to get to it in time."

Gao Yuliang: "Don't you have a plane? Can you use it?"

Tang Wen shook his head and explained, "Launching and recovering a seaplane is quite troublesome. It's not as easy as you might think. Besides, time is very short. A destroyer can only operate one seaplane at most."

Seaplanes can indeed expand the surveillance range, but their endurance is not long, and flying for several hours is definitely a torture, and you can even get hemorrhoids on your buttocks from sitting so much.

Although warships also have radars, the old radars based on World War II technology have poor search capabilities for small targets such as fishing boats, and often miss or misjudge them.

Unless... Tang Wen suddenly thought of the port. A basic port only costs 1000 silver coins, which is like a welfare benefit.

If a port is built in the Nansha Islands, it will be much easier to dock warships and seaplanes, and the cost will be really low.

1000 silver coins are less than 5 yuan. If you add a few Type 7000 large boats, the cruising range of this seaplane is more than kilometers, which can definitely ensure the ability to reconnaissance the surrounding sea area of ​​hundreds of kilometers.

After discovering the target, it is much more efficient to directly notify the destroyer by radio.

The cost of building a port, deploying aircraft, and operating it is estimated to be less than 300,000 yuan, which is extremely convenient.

Moreover, setting up a port has completed the mission of the naval base. We can ignore the qualifications for oil extraction and simply rent it for fishing purposes, and then slowly extract oil.

What’s even better is that the Nansha Islands are far away, so we can be much more assured if we can directly station warships in the port there in the future.

While he was thinking, Lao Gao also began to appease the fishermen and directly scolded the person who had just spoken:

"The Maritime Defense Fleet is a benefit. Three hundred thousand doesn't even cover the cost. If it weren't for the Joint Defense Fleet, would you dare go out? Do you know how much a ship costs?"

The few people who had been shouting the loudest just now all lowered their heads. They were all experienced boat drivers and certainly knew how much it cost to operate a large ship, not to mention having to repair the ship in the event of a collision.

Lao Gao: "For these four spots, I think we'll just roll the Holy Grail, eighteen times per person, and the top four with the most will go to sea!"

Throwing the Holy Grail is a coastal custom, also known as throwing divination blocks. Two divination blocks with two sides are thrown at the same time, and the opinions of the gods are sought through the results of the throws. If one is positive and the other is negative, it represents the Holy Grail, which means agreement. The more times it happens, the more auspicious it is.

After hearing the decision of tossing the Holy Grail, everyone had no objections and there was no room for maneuver.

After Lao Gao sent the members away, he said to Tang Wen:

"I don't think this maritime joint defense team is too domineering. I think the Dongjiang Maritime Joint Defense Fleet sounds better, and it also fits the historical origins of Goose City."

Dongjiang River is one of the Pearl River water systems. In the past, there was a guerrilla team named after it in Echeng. It can be seen that Lao Gao has put a lot of thought into the name.

Tang Wen had no objection, and then expressed his thoughts:
"It's rather troublesome to acquire new ships for the Joint Defense Fleet. There probably won't be many in the short term, and it's too far to sail from Echeng each time. I want to lease an island reef in the Nansha Islands and build a permanent base.

Placing seaplanes and warships in this base will facilitate support and save fuel. Could you give me some advice?"

Lao Gao:......

His face was filled with the words "Are you sick?", and he almost suspected that Tang Wen had gone insane.

Although there are many islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands, there are no large islands. The area of ​​many islands and reefs exposed above the water is only a few square meters, making it extremely difficult to ensure living conditions.

Not to mention the fishermen, even the navy couldn't do it. They could only build stilt houses on a few nearby islands and reefs - small houses supported by wood on the water, only a dozen square meters, and even guard duty had to be soaked in water.

The sentries guarding the territory up there only have to wait for supplies once a month. Their skin ulcerates due to the heat and humidity. They have no internet, no entertainment, no space to move around, and their food and living conditions are even worse than those in prison.

In order to entertain the sentries, dogs were sent up there. However, the dogs couldn't stand it anymore and jumped into the sea on their own initiative.

In a place where even dogs can't live, Gaijin wants to set up a permanent base?

Lao Gao was about to say it was difficult, but then he thought that Tang Wen couldn't be unaware of how bad the conditions there were, so why would he want to build a permanent base?
An organization he had overheard suddenly appeared in his mind, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

If it's that organization, maybe...

Gaijin is developing so rapidly, expanding like a balloon. It turns out that there is support behind the scenes, so this is also one of the reasons?
Lao Gao swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and nodded calmly:

"Okay, I'll ask about this for you, but I don't think it's difficult."

(End of this chapter)