Reborn in Brazil As a Plutocrat

  Chapter 428 Intention to order new destroyers

  Fang Lang's technique of changing the subject is not clever at all, but General Leta also understands what the other party means, and doesn't want to say too much about the business of the military contracting company.

   Fortunately, General Leta was just purely curious about Fang Lang's military contract. Now that he knows a general situation, there is no need to get to the bottom of it.

   Smiling and followed Fang Lang into the conference room, the staff of Fangyuan Shipyard had already arranged the venue, and even put nameplates, drinking water and fruits on the conference table.

   Seeing this situation, General Leta smiled and patted Fang Lang's arm and said:

   "Then let's take a look at your company's products."

   As he spoke, he pointed to the situation in the meeting room, and said with a smile:

   "We are our own people, there is no need to engage in these formalisms."

  Hearing the words, Fang Lang smiled and said:

   "I know that we are our own people, but this is a business, and I certainly can't make it difficult for you. Follow the formal process and it will save you a lot of trouble, won't it?"

   Speaking, Fang Lang also pointed to the logistics officers who came with General Leta.

   Knowing that Fang Lang was thinking about him, he didn't say any more. After all, his position is too sensitive, and many people want to sit in this lucrative position.

  So, he can't guarantee how many of his subordinates will be completely loyal to him.

   "Okay! I heard that you participated in the design of this product?"

   "What? Don't trust my level?"

   Fang Lang asked jokingly.

  General Leta repeatedly waved his hands and said:

   "Of course not, what I mean is, you are our admiral, and with the products you participated in designing, we don't need to investigate at all.

   After all, you are our authority! "

  Hearing this, Fang Lang laughed loudly, and while sitting side by side with General Leta at the conference table, he said with a smile:

   "This won't work, a program is a program. Although, I think these two products are very suitable for us. But the actual user is not me. You still need to be confirmed by professionals in the logistics department who are responsible for equipment procurement."

  While the two were talking, the staff from the logistics department who came in with them and the staff from the Fangyuan Shipyard all took their seats according to their numbers.

  Seeing this scene, General Leta shrugged and said:

   "Okay! I listen to you, let's get started!"

  Fang Lang nodded, and winked at the general manager of the shipyard, Osman Aragon, who nodded knowingly.

   Soon, a professional technician stood up and hung a rendering of a 500-ton inland river patrol boat on the wall. Then the explanation began, and everyone's eyes were quickly attracted by the patrol boat in the painting.

They all listened carefully to the technician's explanation. When he heard that the autonomy rate of this inland patrol boat reached 90%, General Leta couldn't sit still anymore, turned his head to Fang Lang beside him, and lowered his head. The voice asked:

   "Is the ninety percent autonomy rate serious?"

  Hearing the words, Fang Lang nodded with a smile and said in a low voice:

   "Except for the radar, most of the other parts are produced in our own factory in Brazil. Even the machine tools for processing these parts come from our own factory in Brazil."

  General Letta, who received an affirmative answer, looked at Fang Lang in surprise, and was speechless for a while. According to this situation, the process of the autonomy of Brazil's military industry will be greatly accelerated!

  In the future, maybe all the weapons will be completely domestically produced in Brazil. Just as General Leta knows now, there are artillery and firearms that can be produced locally.

  In addition, the Air Force and Naval Aviation have entrusted the Fangyuan Group's aircraft manufacturing company to start developing their own trainer aircraft. Once successful, it is believed that this Air Force equipment also has independent production capabilities.

   According to the current situation, the Fangyuan Group Shipyard is fully capable of manufacturing naval ships!

   This made him have to look at Fang Lang differently, because he knew very well in his heart that these industries were under the control of the other party. It can be said that Fang Lang is the actual Minister of Equipment of the Brazilian Ministry of Defense.

  The quality of the Brazilian army's equipment is completely in the hands of the opponent. Even, based on the relationship between the other party and the Secretary of Defense and Mr. President, it is not difficult at all to push a product into the procurement list of the National Defense Forces.

  But if someone wants to replace the opponent's position, it is not so easy. First of all, the opponent itself is the real power of the navy, holding more than half of the navy's military power.

   Coupled with the close relationship between the other party and the United States, no one can easily move the other party. And if the other party's position in Brazil is shaken in the capital market now, it will be even more unlikely.

As far as General Letta knows, the influence of the three major joint venture automobile brands and supporting industries in Brazil cannot be easily shaken by everyone, let alone Nice, which has actually controlled the entire process of production and sales of Brazilian farmers and herdsmen. company.

And with the help of some companies that export commodities abroad through the US Global Import and Export Corporation, they have gradually grown and grown through the support of the Brazilian Development Bank. A force that cannot be ignored.

   Just the industries that General Letta said he knew, have already turned the Fang family into a consortium like a Brazilian giant. It is almost impossible to shake their position in Brazil.

   It was not until this moment that General Leta realized that the young man sitting beside him was already an existence he could only look up to.

  The explanation in the conference room was still going on, and General Keleta's mind was no longer focused on the specific information of those products. He thought a lot in a mess in his heart, and he didn't know how long it took until he suddenly woke up when he heard warm applause from everyone in the conference room.

  Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, obviously waiting for him to speak, he coughed twice to drive away the messy thoughts in his mind, and said in a brisk tone:

   "Very good, let me say that the products of Fangyuan Group will not let us down!"

   As he spoke, he turned to look at Fang Lang beside him and asked:

   "I heard that the product has been produced, I wonder if you can show us the real thing!"

  Hearing the words, Fang Lang glanced at the expectant eyes of everyone in the conference room, nodded with a smile and said:

   "Of course, yes, the ship is now able to sail normally except that the radar has not been installed in place. It is now undergoing sailing tests. It happens to be fine. Let everyone check and accept it."

  General Leta heard the words, got up and said:

   "Then what are you waiting for, let's go see the real thing together."

   Everyone left the company's meeting room in a mighty manner, and when they arrived at the pier, they saw two patrol boats, one large and one small, parked on the pier. Needless to say, Osman Aragon, the general manager of the shipyard, has already begun to take the personnel of the military logistics department to visit.

   After seeing the two warships on the pier, General Leta was completely relieved. He didn't get on the boat to check carefully, but stood by the pier with Fang Lang, waiting for the report from his subordinates.

   Turned his head and took a look. After the calm Fang Lang glanced, General Leta asked softly:

   "Fang, I don't know if your shipyard has any idea of ​​building a larger first-class warship!"

   Fang Lang on the side heard the words, his eyes moved, and he looked at General Leta with a smile and said:

   "Of course, General Letta, the reason why he established this shipyard at the beginning was entrusted by Marshal Morais, hoping to build his own warship for the Brazilian army one day.

  The current two inland river patrol boats can only be regarded as a small test, and they have initially met the expectations of Marshal Morais.

   Our next step is to develop our own destroyer in Brazil by referring to the US Fletcher-class destroyer currently in service and combining the latest development direction of military equipment. "

  As the logistics minister, General Letta was obviously very interested in this project, and asked quickly:

   "Oh! I don't know what you mean by the development direction of military equipment?"

  This question stopped Fang Lang. When it comes to producing destroyers, Fang Lang certainly does not want to continue to produce the current traditional destroyers equipped with artillery.

  What he wants to produce is a destroyer equipped with brand-new anti-ship missiles, but the development of missiles in Brazil has not yet started, and it is impossible to launch a real guided missile destroyer so quickly.

  Even if the United States and the Soviet Communist Party have not started research on this kind of project, if they take the lead in opening history, it might attract the attention of the whole world. This is not what he wants to see.

   But he couldn't prevaricate the inquiry from the Minister of Logistics of the Brazilian National Defense Forces. He could only say after careful consideration:

   "I don't know if General Letta has heard of the HS-292 anti-ship missile invented by the Germans at the end of World War II?"

   This question obviously touched the knowledge blind spot of General Letta, the Minister of Logistics. After all, the other party is not a professional naval officer. He has heard of missiles, but he has never heard of anti-ship missiles.

  So, he shook his head in embarrassment and said:

   "I've heard of the V-2 missile, but I haven't heard of this HS-292 anti-ship missile, but what does this have to do with the destroyer you want to build?"

Obviously, General Letta doesn't know much about missiles. After all, as a general who has not participated in World War II and belongs to the logistics position, in his opinion, maybe all missiles should be launched on land like V-2 out.

  It seems that it will take some time for the other party to fully understand the missiles, let alone directly manufacture guided missile destroyers. This makes Fang Lang hesitate, after all, everyone has not yet determined the future development direction of warships.

  Even the United States had to wait until 1950s to start the development of the first-generation guided missile destroyer. It seems that its own pace cannot be sold too much! Otherwise, everyone will think that he is a lunatic.

  So, after thinking about it again, he slowly said:

   "Uh! How should I put it? These are just some of my own personal opinions! At the end of World War II, the Germans used HS-292 anti-ship missiles to destroy many Allied transport ships.

   This is a brand new way of fighting, which is completely different from the current way of attacking after the artillery torpedo is launched and only depends on luck. I feel like this might be the future of naval warfare.

  Think about it, if these anti-ship missiles are put on a warship, after the missiles are launched, they can complete their own steering under the guidance of radio or radar, and lock the attack target.

  Even if the enemy warship evades, the missile can still lock the enemy ship by adjusting its flight attitude, then the enemy will be unavoidable, as long as it is locked, it must be the fate of being destroyed.

  Under such circumstances, our current warships will be quickly eliminated, and warships capable of launching missiles will become the future.

  So, my thinking is, in the future we need to be able to build these guided missile destroyers. "

  As soon as he finished saying this, Fang Lang regretted a little. Isn't this ruining your own business?

  If General Layta really listened to his advice and agreed to build guided missile destroyers only after the related technology of guided missile destroyers matured, wouldn’t his own shipyard lose a large order?

   However, in fact, Fang Lang obviously worried too much. General Leta didn't know whether it was because he was older or because his term of office was about to end. He didn't want to consider too far away issues.

  After listening to Fang Lang's imagination about the future, he only looked at Fang Lang seriously for a while before slowly opening his mouth and saying:

   "Fang, how long do you expect these technologies to mature?"

   Fang Lang was taken aback when he heard the words, but he still thought about it in his heart before saying:

   "If it is pushed forward steadily, it is expected to be fully realized in about ten years."

  General Leta's expression was a bit intriguing, he looked at Fang Lang, and said seriously:

   "Then how many years do you think I can be the logistics minister?"

  Fang Lang didn't know how to answer this kind of question. After all, the opponent's position was too fat, and too many people wanted to replace it, so it was really hard to say how long the opponent could stay.

  But once the other party said this sentence, combined with the previous questions, Fang Lang somewhat understood what the other party meant. It seems that the other party wants to take advantage of the last term of office to make another fortune!

  Since this is the case, Fang Lang certainly would not refuse.

  General Leta, who had been staring at Fang Lang, noticed the change in the expression on Fang Lang's face, and realized that the other party already knew what he was thinking, and a smile appeared on his face again:

   "Since the purpose of Marshal Morais supporting you in building the shipyard was to build our own warships for the navy. Now that you have the strength to build warships, shouldn't you take action!

   You must know that our Brazilian Navy currently has a huge gap in warships. Should we still be allowed to purchase warships from abroad? "

  In fact, although Brazil has a long coastline, the environment in South America is relatively safe. Except for the impressive naval strength of Argentina and Chile, Brazil does not have many competitors and does not have much naval pressure.

  But as the owner of the shipyard, Fang Lang certainly hopes that the navy can order more warships. Only in this way can his shipyard have more business!

   More importantly, if the shipyard has the ability to build warships, as long as the warships produced can keep up with the times, they can sell their own warship products in the world in the future.

   This is the real big business for Fang Lang.

  Since Mr. Logistics Minister wants to make more money in his position, of course he has to purchase more equipment. With his good cooperative relationship with Fang Lang, now he definitely wants to start with the warship.

  The other party had already handed the words in front of him, and of course Fang Lang would not refuse such kindness.

  So, he said without hesitation:

   "General Letta, I understand! As long as it is necessary for national defense, our shipyard is obliged.

  We will immediately start organizing researchers to develop our own destroyer. "

  Hearing this, General Leta nodded in satisfaction, pointed Fang Lang with his finger and said:

"Haha Fang, your steps are still too small. What our Brazilian Navy needs are not only destroyers, but also higher-level cruisers, and even aircraft carriers. There are also submarines. These are what our navy urgently needs .”

  Fang Lang didn't expect General Leta's appetite to be so big. The current Fangyuan Shipyard certainly does not have such strength. According to Fang Lang's idea, the first step to start building must be destroyers and submarines.

  As for cruisers and aircraft carriers, they will definitely be built in the future, but now Fang Lang is not very interested in this project, especially the aircraft carriers built during this period are not actually the very professional aircraft carriers of later generations.

   and will be eliminated soon, there is no need to waste resources at all.

   In Fang Lang's heart, he didn't think that now was a good time for the expansion of the Brazilian Navy. Whether it was considering the quality of personnel or the economic environment, Brazil did not have the strength to own another aircraft carrier.

  So, he said truthfully:

  "The Brazilian navy really needs to expand its strength, but I don't think this kind of thing can be rushed. In the era of sailing battleships, there is a saying that is called ten years of army and century of navy.

  I think it still makes sense up to now, especially in the process of leading this aircraft carrier formation, I found that the gap in personnel quality is really serious.

   So far, my aircraft carrier formation has not really formed combat effectiveness, and it is only an existing fleet.

  If at this time, blindly expanding the size of the navy is really not a wise move, I think we can start with the construction of destroyers and submarines, and slowly move closer to the aircraft carrier. "

  General Leta obviously didn't expect that Fang Lang would look at this matter so rationally. He had no idea of ​​making money if he had money at all, so he couldn't help but looked at Fang Lang strangely and said:

   "Then how many destroyers and submarines do you think we should expand, which is more appropriate?"

Now Fang Lang is a little confused about General Leta's thoughts. According to his idea, he first produced inland river patrol boats to gain experience in manufacturing military ships, and then started to build destroyers, so that Fangyuan Shipyard could grow up little by little. .

  But now General Leta's words made Fang Lang feel that the other party was a little too hasty. Could it be that the other party's position is about to change? Or has the other party's appetite grown?

   For a while, Fang Lang didn't think clearly about the reason.

  Looked up and looked around, and found that no one was paying attention to the conversation between the two, he lowered his voice and asked:

   "General Leta, did something special happen?"

  Looking at Fang Lang who was looking at him with searching eyes, General Leta smiled and said:

  "The budget for the new year is about to start planning. As far as I know, the Minister of the Navy has submitted a naval expansion plan this time, hoping to further expand the strength of several other naval bases.

   This is an opportunity, isn't it? "

  Fang Lang was taken aback when he heard the words, and said hesitantly:

   "Can this pass?

  There are only so many military expenditures. If the navy’s military expenditures increase, the army and air force will be squeezed. Can the powerful army agree to this matter? "

  (end of this chapter)