novelAbuy Chapter 107 Expansion
Chapter 107 Expansion
This time, it was Togo's turn to fall silent. He looked at the young captain before him, at those clear yet resolute eyes, and suddenly remembered himself thirty years ago. The same confidence, the same fascination with technology and tactics, the same belief that the warships under his command could change the world.
"Thank you for your honesty, Captain Lin." Togo put on his straw hat. "I wish you a safe voyage."
"I wish you a safe journey."
The two nodded to each other. Lin Hai turned and walked towards the port office, his steps still light and quick. Dongxiang watched his departing figure until he disappeared around the corner of the warehouse.
"Your Excellency," Yoshimatsu Shigetaro said in a low voice, "this Lin Hai... is too young. He looks to be under thirty."
Dongxiang stared straight at Lin Hai's back and said, "Age doesn't matter. What matters is the ship beneath his feet and the rising nation behind him."
He took one last look at the "Restoration." The afternoon sun shone on the hull from the side, casting deep shadows on the armor plating. The sharp outlines of those shadows hinted at the power hidden beneath the steel plates.
"Let's go." Togo turned around. "Kasuga Maru must be getting impatient."
The three walked toward the passenger terminal. There, a transport boat arranged by Lanfang was docked, which would take them to the open sea to transfer to a Japanese mail ship.
Before boarding the ship, Togo took one last look back at Dubai Port. Cranes, warehouses, railways, factory chimneys emitting wisps of smoke, and the faint outline of new ships visible in the distant dock. All of this had risen from the desert in just three years, like magic.
But this is not magic.
This is the result of determination, planning, technology, and the tireless work of hundreds of thousands of people day and night. It is a declaration forged in steel by an exiled people: We want to go home, and this is our ticket home.
The transport boat's engine started, chugging away from the dock. Dongxiang stood at the stern, watching Dubai Port grow smaller and smaller until it became a gray shadow on the horizon.
"General," Yoshimatsu Shigetaro asked softly beside him, "how should we report back?"
Togo didn't answer immediately. He gazed at the increasingly blurry coastline, and after a long while, he spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"I have three things to report. First, Lanfang's industrial capacity far exceeds expectations, and it may become one of the world's top three shipbuilding nations within three years. Second, their leadership is young but extremely determined, and their hostility towards Japan is deeply rooted in history and cannot be resolved in the short term. Third—"
He paused for a moment, the sea breeze ruffling his gray hair:
"Third, we have a maximum of five years. Within five years, Japan must build warships capable of countering the 'Kōfu-class'. Otherwise, the balance of power in the entire Western Pacific will be completely shattered."
"Five years..." Yoshimatsu Shigetaro murmured, "Will it be enough time?"
"Even if it's too late, it's not too late." Togo's voice suddenly turned stern. "After I return, I will personally meet with Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyōe. The shipbuilding budget must be doubled, and technological development must be accelerated. If necessary... we can consider cooperating with Britain."
"With Britain?" Yoshimatsu Shigetaro asked in surprise. "Would the British give us their latest technology?"
"They wouldn't have before. But now that Lanfang is here, they'll reconsider." Togo took one last look at the now completely vanished coastline. "Faced with a common threat, enemies can temporarily become friends. That's politics."
The transport boat sailed into open water. In the distance, the smokestack of the "Kasuga Maru" was clearly visible.
Togo Heihachiro took off his straw hat, letting the sea breeze hit his face. The Persian Gulf in June was hot and humid, but his heart felt as if something had frozen over.
He recalled Lin Hai's words: "Technological progress is leapfrog."
Japan missed its first leap—from "pre-Dreadnought" to "Dreadnought." It cannot afford to miss a second one.
Otherwise, the next time we meet at sea, it won't just be a confrontation at the negotiating table.
4 PM, conference room on the top floor of the administration building.
When Chen Feng pushed open the door, everyone was already there. Wang Wenwu, Liu Yongfu, Zhou Nian, Uncle Wang, and Li Te sat on one side of the long table, notebooks and documents spread out in front of them. In the center of the table was a pot of strong tea—this time Yunnan Pu'er, the deep red tea soup swirling in the glass pot.
"Everyone's here." Chen Feng walked to the head seat and sat down. Without exchanging pleasantries, he said, "Let's begin."
Uncle Wang got up to pour him tea. The old man was wearing a new long gown today, but the cuffs were still worn white. He poured the tea with a steady hand, not spilling a single drop.
"Dongxiang left?" Wang Wenwu asked.
"They're gone. The transport boat will take them to the open sea to transfer to a Japanese cruise ship." Chen Feng picked up his teacup, blew on it to warm it, and said, "Before leaving, he ran into Lin Hai at the port. They chatted for a bit."
"What are you going to talk about?" Li Te asked immediately. As a veteran of the navy, he was very sensitive to any contact with foreign naval commanders.
"I asked a few technical questions, and Lin Hai handled them very well." Chen Feng took a sip of tea, the scalding hot tea invigorating him. "More importantly, Togo saw our port, the 'Kuangfu' ship, and how this city operates. He will take these back, turn them into a report, and put it on the desk of the Japanese Minister of the Navy."
"And then?" Liu Yongfu pushed up his glasses. The chief engineer looked exceptionally tired today, with deep bags under his eyes, clearly having stayed up all night again.
"Then Japan will do two things." Chen Feng put down his teacup and held up two fingers. "First, accelerate its own shipbuilding program. Second, do everything possible to delay or even prevent our growth. Diplomatic pressure, technological blockade, sowing discord among the great powers... they will use every means possible."
A few seconds of silence fell over the conference room. Only the low hum of the air conditioner could be heard—a new type of equipment imported from Germany, capable of keeping the room temperature at twenty-five degrees Celsius even in the sweltering summer. (Air conditioning has existed since 1902.)
"So we need to be faster," Zhou Nian began. The infrastructure manager's voice was hoarse; he had just returned from a railway construction site, his work clothes still covered in dust. "So fast they can't keep up."
"Yes." Chen Feng nodded. "That's why I've gathered everyone here today to officially launch the 'Rock Solid Project'."
He pulled a document from his briefcase and spread it out on the table. It was a huge blueprint, depicting the entirety of Dubai Port, covered with dense markings in red pen.
"The current eight large docks," Chen Feng said, tracing the eight rectangles on the blueprint, "we need to expand to ten. Each dock should have the same dimensions: 300 meters long, 50 meters wide, and 12 meters deep."
Liu Yongfu immediately took out his slide rule and quickly calculated on the paper. A few seconds later, he looked up:
"Your Excellency, this means that each dock will need to be equipped with at least four 100-ton gantry cranes, and the underwater construction depth will need to be increased by two meters. Moreover... the existing seven docks are already operating at full capacity, and the expansion project will seriously affect the progress of current orders."
"Then we'll do it in phases," Chen Feng said. "First, we'll expand the No. 8 dock, which isn't yet in use, and at the same time, we'll build the No. 9 and No. 10. After completing the current batch of orders, we'll renovate the existing docks one by one. The total construction period... I want to complete it within three years."
"Three years?" Zhou frowned. "The foundation work alone will take a year and a half. The foundation of a large shipyard needs to be piled at least fifteen meters deep, and seepage prevention treatment is also required. The geological conditions of the Persian Gulf..."
"I know it will be difficult," Chen Feng interrupted him, "but it has to be done. Uncle Wang, send the data to everyone."
Uncle Wang got up and handed out a form to everyone. The form listed all current orders: