RBCT Chapter 3355 Mr. Peng, do you want an aircraft carrier?
Chapter 3355 Mr. Peng, do you want an aircraft carrier?
Chapter 3355 Mr. Peng, do you want an aircraft carrier?
The signing ceremony between the three countries proceeded smoothly, and everything was carried out according to plan.
After the signing was completed, Yang Xiaotao chatted with Li Yunlong and the others for a long time, asking them if they wanted to return to China. All three gave the same answer: they would go back if needed, and stay if not.
Ding Wei's words were even more direct: staying here would allow him to do what he could for the country, while returning to China would be nothing more than eating, drinking, and waiting to die.
Yang Xiaotao had no other opinions on this. As long as the three of them had something to do, it was a way of doing justice to the original novel they had read in their previous lives.
It's quite fulfilling to change the fate of the three of them!
He chatted with the three men about the current situation in Persia.
Li Yunlong and Kong Jie didn't feel much about this.
On the contrary, Ding Wei was very worried. In his view, such a regime that concentrates all power in one person is very unstable. Once Mosidov runs into trouble, the current situation may collapse. Such things have happened many times before.
Fortunately, Mosidov now has a successor, and Albert is also building his own team. If everything goes smoothly, there is still hope for the future.
Yang Xiaotao largely agreed with Ding Wei's assessment.
Of course, Mosidov was aware of this and was making preparations for it.
Yang Xiaotao then talked to Ding Wei about Protestantism.
In retrospect, he underestimated the power of the little red book.
Ding Wei was very pleased with this, and at the same time assured Yang Xiaotao that as long as Mosidov did not betray the revolution, the Protestant Church would continue to support him.
After all, Mosidov is very important to the country, so it's a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Subsequently, Yang Xiaotao met with Mosidov and Mingasov for two more days, while also communicating with the domestic authorities to finalize the matter.
Ultimately, Mingasov, representing Turkmenistan, agreed to the satellite network, marking another step forward.
Like in Persia, it was carried out in secret, without being publicized.
The trip ended two days later.
After leaving Ningka town, Yang Xiaotao did not return to China directly, but instead took a plane directly to the desert.
There was another meeting there that required his attendance, also concerning satellite networking.
When Yang Xiaotao, Liu Lixue, Yu Zecheng, and others arrived, Faisal, as their envoy, greeted them at the airport.
"Yang, I was so excited when I heard you were coming that I couldn't sleep all night."
Faisal took Yang Xiaotao's hand and warmly welcomed him.
Yang Xiaotao was already used to this kind of thing, as long as they didn't do cheek kisses.
"His Highness is on a state visit to France and is unable to attend in person, which I apologize for."
Yang Xiaotao shook his head indifferently, "Your Highness is too kind. I'm just here for a visit. State affairs are of utmost importance."
In recent years, the old king's health has been declining, and now the prince is handling all the government affairs in the desert, which is also to facilitate the transition of power.
Faisal nodded and led Yang Xiaotao to his residence.
The two sides did not rush to communicate, but took a break instead.
The next morning, Yang Xiaotao finally had a formal meeting with Faisal.
Faisal's expression changed as soon as Yang Xiaotao brought up the topic of satellite networking.
He clearly understands the deeper implications behind satellite networking.
Once agreed, it would mean a close alliance with China, which would inevitably attract the attention of other countries.
Faisal knew the seriousness of the matter and did not give a direct answer. Instead, he wanted to communicate with His Highness the Prince before making a decision.
Yang Xiaotao simply said what needed to be said and then waited patiently.
A day later, just as Yang Xiaotao was enjoying the desert scenery, he received news from Faisal, and the two met again.
“Yang, His Highness the Prince and I agree in principle. But as I told you, this matter must be kept secret from the outside world. Otherwise, as you can see, our current situation is not very good.”
Yang Xiaotao crossed his legs and smiled at Faisal, "We had already considered this when we made this decision. We won't make a big fuss about it, and we don't need to publicize it."
"This will bring us closer together and further develop cooperation in business and economics!"
Upon hearing this, Faisal nodded happily, "In that case, we are very happy and willing."
"Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation in the future."
Yang Xiaotao felt relieved. "That's natural. In the future, we will launch more satellites and form more networks."
As he spoke, Yang Xiaotao gestured above his head, "You have to understand, this sky is very vast, and more and more satellites will only make our lives more convenient. For example, a satellite phone, just like you said, changes the distance between people."
Yang Xiaotao smiled and, after the official confirmation, the two chatted casually.
“Your computers are fantastic. But I know your new computer program is about to be released, right?” Faisal’s eyes lit up as he brought up the topic of computers.
In response, Yang Xiaotao stated frankly, "We have upgraded the computers, and the new computers may be launched next year."
Faisal wore a smile; as a businessman, pursuing profit was in his nature.
With the advancement of computers, they have made a fortune in this region through the Sun75, and the emergence of new computers will only make these profits even greater.
So when he heard that a new computer was being launched in China, he immediately contacted the foreign trade department.
Unfortunately, the response from the foreign trade department was very official.
Moreover, he didn't know much about computers, and now that the computer's developer was right in front of him, he naturally had to ask him questions carefully.
Upon hearing Faisal's question, Yang Xiaotao became interested and asked a car outside, "Is your car a 4-cylinder diesel engine?"
Faisal nodded. He didn't have high demands for cars; they were just a means of transportation. However, sometimes when attending events, a car was a symbol of status.
After Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, he immediately laughed and said, "If you replaced the engine of your car with an 8-cylinder engine, what do you think the car would be like?"
Faisal's eyes lit up. "So, the performance will be greatly improved?"
Yang Xiaotao nodded. "That's the difference between new and old computers; the new ones will always be better than the old ones."
When Faisal finally asked when the purchase could be made, Yang Xiaotao didn't rush to answer. Instead, he thought for a moment before saying, "We're still producing the new computers, and the output isn't very high. But as a friend, I can get a special approval from the foreign trade department for a batch of 10 units. How about that?"
Faisal clasped his hands together, looking very pleased.
One hundred thousand units would be enough for him to make a fortune in the desert.
The next day, Yang Xiaotao prepared to return to China.
However, just as Yang Xiaotao was about to leave, Faisal quietly found Yang Xiaotao and called him to his residence.
"Yang, there's something I feel I should tell you."
Yang Xiaotao was a little confused by the other person's behavior, feeling as if they were secretly doing something bad.
“Faisal, we’ve known each other for a long time, so please speak frankly.”
Yang Xiaotao also looked around and told Xiao Wei to fly out to check if there were any other people around.
Xiao Wei replied that there was no one else; there were only two people present.
Yang Xiaotao became even more curious about Faisal's affairs.
Faisal walked over and pulled Yang Xiaotao to sit down. "Yang, as you know, I have some business dealings with France, so I know a little more about some things."
As he spoke, he held up a finger, gesturing with just a tiny bit. Yang Xiaotao smiled, "You're a world-renowned businessman, that's not just a tiny bit."
Moreover, he remembered that when he came a few days ago, the prince was in France.
Faisal was pleased, but he put on a humble face and said, "No, no, I just make a little money."
Then he added, "Yang, I won't go into details about our relationship. There's something I need to tell you."
Yang Xiaotao also straightened his expression and listened attentively.
Faisal then spoke up, "There's a decommissioned aircraft carrier in France. I wonder if you'd be interested?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Xiaotao's heart tightened.
The recent news about India's purchase of the aircraft carrier "Vikrant" caused quite a stir around the world, and Yang Xiaotao naturally paid some attention to it as well.
In fact, this was not the first time India had purchased an aircraft carrier. Back in 1954, it had bought one from Britain, which was a source of pride for India.
Now they've bought another one, which has truly surprised the world.
Imagine if India had two aircraft carriers, wouldn't it be incredibly arrogant?
Given the current situation, all countries regard aircraft carriers as important strategic resources and will not sell them off easily, especially to countries with uncertain relationships.
The United States currently possesses the most aircraft carriers, but it never sells them to other countries. Their aircraft carriers contain a wealth of technology, and if sold, it would be learned by others. Therefore, the United States only scraps and dismantles its aircraft carriers and will not sell them to anyone.
As for the Alliance, they don't even have a single official aircraft carrier yet, let alone one they'd sell.
Only a somewhat outdated old empire like Britain, with a bunch of aircraft carriers that are now just scrap metal, would selectively take action.
Even so, not everyone can afford it.
As for France, Yang Xiaotao hadn't heard anything about them having any intention of selling.
France has only a few aircraft carriers these days, maybe one or two at most. The key point is that both of these carriers are in service, meaning they are currently its main strategic assets and cannot be sold to foreign countries.
This left Yang Xiaotao somewhat puzzled.
Seeing Faisal's mysterious expression, Yang Xiaotao suspected that the guy might be secretly smuggling.
"A decommissioned aircraft carrier? You must be joking with me. I know the situation with French aircraft carriers very well, and I've never heard of any decommissioned ones."
Yang Xiaotao spoke earnestly, while Faisal smiled smugly, "Hehe, that's because you don't understand, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
At this point, Yang Xiaotao also became interested and waited for Faisal to continue explaining.
Upon hearing this, Faisal immediately said, "The aircraft carrier I'm talking about was actually bought by France from Britain!"
"This might be a long time ago!"
Faisal then briefly explained the situation.
It turns out that in 1946, France leased a Colossus-class aircraft carrier from Britain, named HMS Elephant!
Later, finding it unsuitable for use, they bought it in 1951 and renamed it "Arromanche".
It was used until 1974, when it was finally retired.
Even after its decommissioning, the Arromanche continued to shine, becoming an important transport vessel for France.
Now, France wants to sell it while it still has value.
Regardless, this is an aircraft carrier, which is definitely much more expensive than selling a cargo ship.
If we can't sell them, we can only sell them as scrap metal, which definitely won't make us any money.
If you don't make money, then you're losing money!
So they started thinking about finding another job.
Initially, their plan was to sell it to India.
After all, India is known for its shopping spree, wanting to buy every kind of weapon imaginable.
However, when they made contact with India, they were surprised to find that India was not foolish this time. Instead of taking a liking to the old aircraft carrier, they had already set their sights on Britain.
Therefore, the matter was temporarily put on hold.
But maintaining and repairing this old aircraft carrier is simply a matter of throwing money into it.
In the past two years, we haven't transported much cargo, but the maintenance costs are almost enough to build a destroyer.
After much deliberation, Fanlanxi still wanted to sell it.
So they turned their attention to China.
From the French perspective, the relationship between China and India was not very good!
Not to mention the long ago when China utterly thrashed India, nearly destroying the country—that's the deep-seated hatred.
During that period of time in Tibet, the Indians did not gain any advantage; instead, they were ambushed.
It was both shameful and disgraceful.
In addition, there was the matter of India's involvement with computers last time.
The hostility shown towards China.
India is about to have two aircraft carriers, but China has none. China must be anxious about that.
So, after some discussion, the task was assigned to China.
With the prince's help, Faisal became an intermediary.
Of course, if this deal goes through successfully, he will definitely take a cut, but the exact amount is unclear.
At this moment, Yang Xiaotao had a sudden thought.
According to Faisal's explanation.
Although this aircraft carrier is a light carrier, its performance is significantly inferior to that of current aircraft carriers.
However, this aircraft carrier has all the advanced equipment that should be present, such as steam catapults and arresting gear.
Simple short-range takeoff and landing operations for carrier-based aircraft should be no problem, and they can even be lifted off the ground. Helicopters are used for anti-submarine missions.
Most importantly, the French Navy can use this aircraft carrier to train, adapt, and gain experience in aircraft carrier operations.
Then China can naturally learn from this.
Otherwise, it would be most tragic if an aircraft carrier were built but no one operated it.
Seeing Yang Xiaotao deep in thought, Faisal did not rush to urge him, but simply waited quietly by his side.
After a long while, Yang Xiaotao finally looked at the other person. "Old Fei, wait a moment. We might need to consider this matter. It can't be resolved in just a few words."
"Yang. You know, as a friend, I would never lie to a friend."
Faisal smiled smugly.
Back at their lodgings, Yang Xiaotao told Liu Lixue to go outside and keep watch, then immediately picked up the phone and dialed back home. The phone rang for a while before finally connecting, revealing Peng's strong and energetic voice.
"Which one?"
Yang Xiaotao roused himself and said, "President Peng, it's me, Yang Xiaotao."
Upon hearing this, a "hmm" came from the other end.
Yang Xiaotao composed himself, then asked in a low voice, "President Peng, do you want an aircraft carrier?"