What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 702 Eating the Sugar Coating
"Americans even sell reactors?"

Old Zhang couldn't help but exclaim in surprise after hearing Taylor's terms, but Tang Wen dropped an even more bombshell:

"Not only can we sell them, but we can also help design the flight deck and hangar section of the Paradise City."

"Oh?"

Old Zhang immediately sensed something was wrong, and after exchanging a glance with Tang Wen, he immediately thought of a possibility:
"They wouldn't be suggesting they use the cruise ship as an aircraft carrier, would they?"

"exactly."

Tang Wen nodded:
"Although my design for the Paradise City only has one straight angled deck, its total area is as high as 53,000 square meters, which is three times that of the Nimitz-class's 18,000 square meters. Such a large area and super long runway are enough to make up for the disadvantages in other aspects. If it is properly operated and combined with regular aircraft carrier combat effectiveness, it will be amazing."

Furthermore, this angled deck is wide enough to accommodate a secondary angled deck, the rationale being that it allows for the takeoff and landing of small aircraft without affecting the main runway. Additionally, they have proposed designing the forward section of the deck as a ski-jump ramp, theoretically allowing fully loaded An-12 or C-130 transport aircraft to take off.

Old Zhang: "If we do this, this cruise ship will become a potential supercarrier... at least it can play a significant role in critical moments of the war. Such a supercarrier empire cannot trust us to control it, so... I understand, the reactor is a chain."

"A luxury dog ​​leash."

Tang Wen made no attempt to hide his feelings; although the metaphor was crude, it was indeed very vivid:
"Reactor maintenance is highly specialized, and no one but the Empire dares to guarantee that they can complete it alone. No one dares to take any risks for this precious super cruise ship. If you have control of the reactor, the Paradise City must listen to the Empire and assist in the battle."

They can even remotely control the reactor using GPS devices, and at critical moments, they can reduce its power or even shut it down.

But the advantages are also significant: using a high-power reactor greatly reduces the space required, provides stable power, and significantly reduces fuel consumption… It seems perfect.

"Gaijin could never agree to such conditions."

Old Zhang didn't believe Tang Wen would accept such a frustrating hidden condition, but the latter's answer surprised him greatly:

"No, I agree, on the condition that the goods must be delivered within one year and at cost price."

"Huh? You're willing to turn the Paradise City into..."

Old Zhang was struck dumb, but he didn't believe Tang Wen was the type to compromise. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a subtle expression on Tang Wen's face, a half-smile that seemed to be playing on words.
"If I got the reactor, wouldn't I be free from all constraints?"

"Don't joke around. Once you swallow this sugar-coated bullet, you can't spit it out. If the reactor has an accident, it will be a terrible thing."

Seeing the still bewildered Old Zhang, Tang Wenqing cleared his throat and then smiled mysteriously:
"The Navy certainly doesn't want to purchase a second Super United States, but what if it were a Super Nimitz?"

"...!!"

Old Zhang was terrified, but remained calm:

"how you said that?"

"The Nimitz is, after all, a product of twenty years ago. Even if we rely on piecemeal data collection, we can get our hands on it. We can also gather some retired employees from the military-industrial complex to do some side jobs. The reactor prototype has been successfully replicated and tested. As for the maintenance of the Mi-type reactor, that's a piece of cake."

You're saying, "If the A4W reactor is installed on the United States of America, isn't that just Nimitz?"

"..."

Old Zhang thought of the highly enriched uranium that the Empire had salvaged from the U-boat in Kachi Bay. Producing so much would require a massive amount of electricity, necessitating a power reactor.

So, did these technologies originate from the empire?

Empires, oh empires, you are the ones who have been infiltrated like sieves!

Just as Old Zhang was about to start contemplating life, Tang Wen patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Don't overthink it, what matters is getting your hands on it."

He doesn't actually have any reactor technology, but don't forget it's already mid-September, three months before Christmas.

The countdown to the big event has begun. He has already determined that he will accumulate enough experience to upgrade the shipyard to LV3 within this year, and releasing the news of the flying saucer is already a warm-up.

Upgrade to LV3, and Nimitz will be a piece of cake.
……

Natuna Island
Looking at the bustling construction team on the island, Wang Wu felt as if the past year had been a dream.

I thought that driving destroyers around the South China Sea with impunity had reached its limit, but everything changed after the Nanyang Express Operation.

With lightning speed, the long-awaited maritime hub of Natuna was acquired effortlessly by the big brother of Southeast Asia, and then a frenzied construction began.

During the period when construction was suspended in Nansha, the construction team arrived in the calm and peaceful Natuna and displayed an almost insane infrastructure construction capability as if a seal had been broken.

At that time, China's construction industry was not yet considered a construction powerhouse, especially in the field of research on highly corrosive marine environments, which was almost nonexistent. At the beginning, many mistakes were made in the Spratly Islands, resulting in the loss of a lot of expensive engineering equipment and even nearly causing deaths.

However, driven by Gaijin's funding, people in related fields naturally began to conduct research. By the time the first phase of the Nansha reclamation project was completed in 97, Huajian had caught up with the world's advanced level in the field of offshore construction, especially in adverse weather conditions. They had jointly developed a variety of specialized equipment with equipment manufacturers, published hundreds of patents, and mastered the key points of offshore construction.

So much so that the experience of Huajian Bureau and Chengtou Company was a great help when building offshore oil platforms near XSQD and Goose City.

Compared to the Nansha Islands, which experience a minor typhoon every month and a major rainstorm every three days, Natuna, located in the geographical center, has a peaceful climate that is almost like paradise. Its land resources are not so scarce, and it does not require land reclamation.

In June, due to the relocation of equipment and the gradual arrival of personnel, the developed area was only 1 kilometer, but by mid-September, the area of ​​buildings on the island that met the requirements had exceeded 5 square kilometers.

Although the Javanese were puzzled as to why Gekin was working so hard to build infrastructure on the island, they were happy to see it happen, thinking that they could develop some small industries after Gekin left.

These developed plots of land were built entirely according to the specifications for factory electricity/water use, and a coal-fired power plant (which, of course, burns oil) was also built on the side. As a result, officials from Riau Province, who originally brought reporters to the island to find incriminating evidence against Gaijin, were moved to tears and praised the great Tang Wen in front of the media for enhancing the local development potential—even though the locals had basically been cleared out.

During the construction period, Gaijin’s port and oil production base were also completed at the same time, but in order to keep a low profile, only a few thousand tons were produced each month to avoid trouble caused by an unstable foundation.

Meanwhile, the fleet led by the Kongo also remained in the South China Sea for long-term patrols, but due to the small number of personnel and the low morale of the crew, the deployment rate was not high.

Until the arrival of 700 trainees from the third phase and 500 trainee sailors under commissioned training.

In particular, the last 500 trainee crew members, apart from lacking practical experience, have a solid theoretical knowledge and can serve as the backbone to lead the third batch of trainees.

After these 1200 new recruits joined, the first thing the Maritime Joint Defense Force did was expand its organization. Wang Wu, due to his meritorious service in reconnaissance during the Nanyang Express, was transferred to the position of captain of the cruiser Liaoyue (Algeria), with a crew of 400. 100 new naval trainees and 300 third-term trainees were also added. If the previous captains didn't feel much difference due to the small number of personnel, Wang Wu's status was now quite high. As the captain of a cruiser in the Maritime Joint Defense Force, he would receive considerable courtesy when docking at any location within Java. Now, when he encountered other patrol boats at sea, they would greet him warmly, calling him "Respected Captain."

Before coming to Gaijin, he had only served as the deputy director of the Electromechanical Department of 051. The huge leap in status made him feel like he was in a dream.

Just as he was in a daze, two passing third-term trainees spotted him and immediately bowed:

"Hello, Captain!"

Humans are highly adaptable, especially under immense pressure.

These third-term trainees were initially quite resentful, but after being assigned to Natuna and seeing its location on the map, they immediately became obedient. Especially after realizing the importance of the Maritime Joint Defense Force, they trained exceptionally hard and diligently. Although it had been less than a month, they were already quite proficient, and sometimes they were indistinguishable from the trainee sailors sent by the Navy.

Of course, this is also related to Natuna's unique geographical advantages, where the training methods in vocational schools are much more rigorous than those in China.

For example, the recently popular "Green Bee No. 1" was directly manufactured and delivered by Tang Wen through the shipyard, with a thousand units provided for the trainees to practice on.

The flight instructors aboard the HMS Yorktown devised the "Natuna Flight Accelerated Training Method":

Subject 1: All trainees in all three phases will first undergo 50 hours of mandatory ground theory training and simulation practice, and then each person will have two opportunities to be led by an instructor for one hour each – the teaching ends here.

Subject 2: Students who have completed the course can directly board the aircraft and practice ground taxiing at a height of no more than 5 meters. During this time, a pin is used to block the throttle cable to simulate excessive power and direct flight. However, it is also allowed to hop around the ground for one or two meters, like a rabbit. After more than 30 hours of practice, students can continue to practice or apply to take Subject 3.

Subject 3: Once the student feels they have practiced enough, they are taken directly to the edge of a cliff, the throttle limit is removed, and they are ordered to fly out to sea. If they can fly for ten minutes without crashing into the sea, they pass the test.

As for the plane tumbling and crashing upon landing? No problem. These Blue Bee 1s are equipped with extension bars at the rear of the nose, mimicking the anti-rollover device of a racing car. Not to mention that trainees must wear windproof suits similar to motorcycle racing suits during flight practice. The cabin is also welded with roll cages because it only carries one person. At most, the worst that will happen is a fracture.

Subject 4: Complete a full takeoff, level flight, and landing to pass.

After completing all four stages of the course, Gaijin will issue an internal primary flight license, allowing him to freely use the "Blue Bee One" aircraft or enter the instructor team for formal training, choosing to learn seaplanes or more advanced carrier-based aircraft.

From a professional's perspective, this crash course, while controlling casualties, was still tantamount to disregarding human life—but no one cared. Gaijin's instructors and the first batch of trainees remained calm and considered it a blessing for the club's members.

Even the trainees in the third cohort didn't object. They went from being members of a shady organization to becoming pilots. What's a little injury compared to that?
Furthermore, Gekin Company stated that there is no limit to the number of aircraft and they will not be held responsible. If an aircraft crashes, they will simply report it and replace it with a new one, without even needing to provide an inspection report.

In this era, the spirit of adventure and wildness is the mainstream.

But in reality, no one knew that Tang Wen had secretly taken safety measures. All the Qingfeng No. 1s manufactured by the shipyard could be controlled at any time by a void pilot who did not manifest. He would intervene in time if the trainees did something stupid and caused a death. He was a truly caring 1-on-1 coach.

The two trainees who had just greeted Wang Wu were headed to the airport—dozens of flat dirt runways created by bulldozers were scattered across a plain of nearly 300 square kilometers. Nearly a hundred "Qingfeng No. 1" aircraft were practicing their second driving test and were flying around like dragonflies. Every now and then, you could see unlucky planes crashing. But what was amazing was that even in such chaos, there had never been any major problems.

"Hello, Chief."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Wang Wu knew it was a trainee sailor and immediately turned around helplessly.

"Xiao Zhao, I've told you many times, here you should address someone by their title, as captain."

"Little Zhao" chuckled twice, but his expression seemed to say, "You'll do it again next time."

After learning that Wang Wu was also a retired sailor, he was quickly approached and naturally obeyed by the trainee crew members. Xiao Zhao was slightly closer to him because they were from the same hometown.

"Captain, you're saying that Gekkin Company is sending so many young people to learn how to fly, and many of them can't even read properly. Aren't they afraid of people dying?"

"You don't know anything. There are different grades of airplanes. This little plane has fewer switches than a tractor. You could fly it even if you were in it. Besides, there are safety measures in place."

"I really want to drive it, but unfortunately I can't."

Hearing Xiao Zhao's感慨 (sentiments/remarks), Wang Wu was speechless.

This is certainly not discrimination; rather, it is a form of protection in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Of course, not all of the 500 trainees sent for training were new recruits. There were also about ten instructors whose identities were publicly known. They also did not approve of conducting flight training together, on the grounds that it was not within the normal training regulations.

However, his words were a bit hurtful, so after thinking for a moment, Wang Wu simply said:
"You're in the No. 2 turret crew, right? Go and gather everyone in the crew. I'll give you 200 rounds of ammunition to practice your gunnery. Don't think about anything else."

"200 rounds?!"

Xiao Zhao immediately wailed. Although the naval gun had mechanical assistance in loading, pushing the propellant charge and firing it still had to be done manually, and it also needed to be calibrated!

200 rounds averages out to 66 rounds per turret. You'd have to keep swinging them until your arms cramp up!

He still clung to a last glimmer of hope:
"Is it a reduced-charge training round?"

"Bullshit, where would we get training rounds for you? Half AP and half HE!"

Xiao Zhao went back with a long face. Not long after, the Liaoyue in the port sailed to the near sea, and the nine 203mm naval guns began to explode at the speed of firecrackers, shaking the sky and even clearing the clouds overhead.

Wang Wu had originally planned to try flying a couple of planes himself, but then his walkie-talkie started beeping:

"The joint defense team orders that the Kongo, Liaoyue, and Gongzheng ships depart immediately southwards, bound for Jataka. All ships must immediately form ranks and depart in 3 hours!"

Wang Wu hurriedly got into a jeep and sped towards the port, using a walkie-talkie to contact Captain Li Si of the Gongzheng ship to exchange information.

“I roughly know what’s going on. In three months, Shart will really be arrested and put on trial. Things are about to change. We were probably just there to keep things under control for someone.”

"Make sure the crew members are all on their best, don't embarrass yourselves on TV!"

"no problem!"

Wang Wu even felt a little excited. The Liaoyue was not short of people now. Just thinking about the decks on both sides of the bow filled with crew members... tsk.

……

(End of this chapter)