In early February 1950, after a month of sailing, the Brazilian Navy Visiting Port City Fleet led by Fang Lang finally returned to the long-awaited Natal Naval Base in Brazil.

Returning home with them were four passenger ships of the Global Shipping Company, which were carrying the last batch of workers and immigrants from the port city to Brazil.

Because of the stability of the situation in his hometown and the rapid growth of the Chinese population in Brazil, Fang Lang is also ready to end his immigration from his hometown to Brazil.

We are prepared to devote our whole heart to running our business in Brazil and further enhance the status of Chinese people in Brazil.

The welcoming ceremony for Fang Lang's return at the Natal Naval Base was very simple and there was no grand ceremony. The officers and soldiers of the Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier battle group lined up at the dock to greet them and expressed their warm welcome for the return of their commander.

"Boss, you are finally back. Recently, I have heard some unusual noises coming from the Ministry of National Defense. I think there are some problems here. You may want to pay attention to them."

Not long after returning to Natal, Fang Lang had just organized a meeting of senior officers of the fleet when Chief of Staff Dela Torre walked directly behind Fang Lang and into his office.

Seeing that it was his Chief of Staff De La Torre, Fang Lang smiled and patted his arm, pointing to the tea table that had not been used for a long time and said:

"Haha... Don't worry, my brother. You came at the right time. I collected a lot of good teas when I went to Hong Kong this time. Let's try them today to see if there is anything you like. Then we can take two boxes back."

...

...

Seeing Fang Lang's calm look, De La Torre quickly adjusted his mentality, nodded to Fang Lang, took off his military cap, put it on the sofa in the office, turned around and pulled out the mahogany armchair on the tea table and sat on it.

"Okay! This matter is indeed not urgent, let's sit down and talk slowly!

I knew that the boss would bring back a lot of good things when he went to Hong Kong. That’s why I came here early to report on my work.”

Fang Lang smiled and hung his military cap on the coat rack in the office. He then slowly placed the meeting documents in his hand behind his desk. Then he turned around, took out two boxes of beautifully packaged tea from the cabinet next to his desk, and sat down at the main seat at the tea table.

He casually handed one of the boxes to De La Torre and said with a smile:

"Let me tell you, this is truly a rare tea. Less than five kilograms can be put on the market each year. This time I spent a lot of effort to get just this little bit. Take this box home and drink it slowly. Don't waste it. You don't know when you'll be able to get it next time."

De La Torre and Fang Lang naturally have a very close relationship now. Hearing Fang Lang describe the tea as so precious, he couldn't help but take a few more glances and found that although the tea packaging box was exquisite, it did not have any extra text description.

But the more this happened, the more precious it felt to him. Just think about it, what could be something that didn't need to bear his own name and still allow him to package it with such a beautiful appearance?

Reaching out his hands and respectfully taking the box of tea from Fang Lang, De La Torre said with a smile:

"It's a gift from the boss, so I won't be polite. Don't worry, boss. I'll lock it in the safe when I get home, and no one can ask me to take this tea out."

Hearing this, Fang Lang couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"It's okay. Just keep it. But let's make a deal first! If I sit in your office, you have to give it to me."

As Fang Lang spoke, he unpacked the box of tea in his hand, called out to Qi Qingshan outside, and asked the guards to light the small red clay stove and send it in.

Hearing Fang Lang's call, Qi Qingshan asked a guard to push in the small red clay stove that had been prepared long ago. Fang Lang was now very particular about drinking tea. Not only did he have someone specially transport high-quality natural mineral water from a distant mountain spring every day.

Even the charcoal used to boil water in the small red clay stove is professional olive-pit charcoal. Of course, the reason for this is also thanks to Fang Lang's housekeeper Fu Bo in the Chinese-style villa in Rio de Janeiro.

De La Torre watched the guard push in the small red clay stove that was already boiling water, and smiled at him and said:

"Of course, the good tea sent by the boss should be shared with the boss.

But boss, you know, although I have good tea, I don’t have good water and charcoal like you do, do you think you can… hehe…”

Upon hearing this, Fang Lang couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Good for you, De La Torre. I never realized that your brother has this side of him!"

Hearing Fang Lang's joke, De La Torre smiled.

"Haha... Did the boss just realize it now?"

The two of them chatted and joked, and the long separation did not make them feel strange. After Fang Lang made some tea and handed a cup to De La Torre, he said:

"You just mentioned that there were unusual voices in the Ministry of National Defense. Are you referring to the proposal that I be appointed as the Deputy Chief of the Navy's General Staff?"

De La Torre didn't find it strange at all that Fang Lang received this news. He took a sip of tea from the cup and nodded seriously.

"Yes, Boss. With your ability and qualifications, you are more than qualified to be the Deputy Chief of the Navy. But I feel that someone making this suggestion at this time of the presidential transition may have ill intentions."

Hearing this, Fang Lang smiled and nodded, took the tea and took a sip before saying:

“Hehe… I already know what’s going on. Someone knows that Mercury Scalia, who has the best chance of becoming the new president, has a good relationship with me. He wants to use the name of promotion as a covert promotion to take the Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier battle group away from me!

The idea was good. He could sell himself well in front of the president and transfer me away. Unfortunately, he made a wrong calculation.

After hearing Fang Lang's words, De La Torre knew that Fang Lang had already received the news, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He knew very well in his heart that the reason why the current Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier battle group has its current scale and combat effectiveness is all due to Fang Lang's heavy investment.

This huge investment did not come from the Brazilian government, but from Fang Lang's private pocket. It can be said that the current Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier battle group is actually Fang Lang's private army.

Once Fang Lang leaves the fleet, there will be no one else who can take control of the fleet, not to mention having to come up with such a large amount of funds to continue the welfare of the original crew members and ensure the stability of the military morale.

The fact that the current army was not as corrupt as other armies alone could make all officers and soldiers feel out of tune with the new commander. If the new commander treated the fleet according to the habits he had developed in other armies, it might cause a mutiny.

In particular, if someone dared to take action against the military pay, the entire fleet might just rebel. It could be said that in the entire Brazil, except for Fang Lang, no one could manage this fleet.

He himself could only have his current position under Fang Lang, and he naturally had a clear understanding of this. It's not that no one had come to him during this period, but he rejected them all directly, not even giving others a chance to meet.

Now that Fang Lang was already prepared for this, he certainly didn't say anything more.

"It's good that the boss knows what's going on. It's not easy for us to achieve what we have today. We must not give those villains an opportunity to take advantage of us."

Hearing this, Fang Lang laughed and filled De La Torre's cup of tea.

"Haha... Actually, I don't mind being promoted to the position of Deputy Chief of the Navy's General Staff."

De La Torre, who had just felt relieved, suddenly became nervous when he heard this. He quickly put down his teacup and looked at Fang Lang with a worried look on his face.

"Boss, don't be fooled! This deputy chief of the navy's general staff is just a nominal position and doesn't have much real power. You just said that their goal is to take away our fleet, so don't be fooled!"

Seeing De La Torre's anxious face, Fang Lang smiled and stretched out his hand to press down, signaling him not to get excited. After he calmed down, he slowly spoke:

"Of course I know that this deputy chief of staff is a nominal position, but I can't just stay in the position of fleet commander forever! If I do that, not only will we not move for a few years, but even the soldiers under our command will have no chance of promotion, right?

This won’t do, it will make the soldiers lose their motivation.”

After hearing this, De La Torre was also stunned. He knew very well that soldiers are for food and everyone wants to go further. As the saying goes, a soldier who does not want to be a general is not a good soldier.

It may be difficult to get promoted in their fleet, but they must not lose the promotion channel, otherwise the soldiers will lose the motivation to make progress. He is already satisfied with his current achievements at his age, but the soldiers under his command will not be so easily satisfied.

After realizing this, he couldn't help but look at Fang Lang with some worry.

"But if you leave, they will definitely attack our fleet, and then the fleet you worked so hard to build will be in the hands of someone else."

Hearing this, Fang Lang smiled indifferently.

"Do you think that if the current Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier battle group is replaced by a commander who I don't approve of, will it be able to gain a foothold in our fleet?"

Upon hearing this, De La Torre shook his head firmly. He knew very well in his mind that this fleet was Fang Lang's private army. Without Fang Lang's nod, no one in this army could command a single soldier.

"If they can't, why should I worry? They think that just because I got promoted, they can come and reap the benefits. They don't even see how our fleet was built up bit by bit.

And with my connections in the Navy Department, even if I leave, the new fleet commander can only be appointed by me. It is pure daydreaming for them to interfere."

In fact, Fang Lang had never thought of leaving the fleet he had built so early, but the speed of their business development in recent years had far exceeded his expectations.

At the same time, Xin Shiliang's investment in the political field has also yielded results. It can be said that he no longer needs to hide in remote Natal and bide his time.

Therefore, after hearing the Intelligence Bureau's report on the matter, he seriously thought about what his next step should be.

At this moment, even if De La Torre was slow-witted, he could hear that Fang Lang was indeed thinking about leaving the Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier battle group.

This made him very nervous. He had wasted many years in the Navy Department. If it weren't for Fang Lang's appreciation and support, he might have retired and returned home long ago. He would not have had the chance to have the life he has now.

If Fang Lang really left, he would really feel a little confused. However, he soon understood Fang Lang's other meaning, and his expression was shocked. He couldn't help but look at Fang Lang in surprise and said:

"Boss, if you really want to leave, please don't abandon me. You must take me with you."

Seeing De La Torre's expression, Fang Lang realized that De La Torre understood his other meaning. He was a little surprised and puzzled and said:

"Why? You don't want to stay and serve as fleet commander?"

As soon as Fang Lang finished speaking, De La Torre shook his head and said:

"No, I know my own strengths and weaknesses very well. If you ask me for advice, I will have no problem giving you some advice.

However, if I need to make a decision directly in a war, I don’t have the ability to make such decisions.”

Hearing this, Fang Lang couldn't help but frown slightly, and looked De La Torre up and down with some surprise. Fang Lang didn't believe that De La Torre was not capable of serving as the chief officer of the army. After all, he had served as a chief officer before.

Besides, even if you have never served in this position, you can learn slowly! Who doesn't grow up slowly like this? The reason why I say this now is probably more because I am worried about causing Fang Lang's suspicion.

Thinking of this, Fang Lang shook his head helplessly, and did not continue to dwell on this topic, but slowly said:

"Have you paid attention to the situation between us and Argentina in the past two years?"

As soldiers, although the imaginary enemy of the Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier battle group is not Argentina, they must of course always pay attention to this neighboring country that is bent on competing with their country for dominance in South America.

Especially in recent years, with the rise of Juan Perón, the situation in Argentina has undergone major changes. First, like Brazil, Argentina took advantage of the favorable opportunity of World War II and greatly improved its economic situation by exporting agricultural products and meat.

Secondly, Juan Perón launched a five-year plan to carry out industrialization reforms in Argentina, which has initially achieved certain results.

Again, after the end of World War II, many participating countries disarmed, and a lot of high-quality and low-cost military equipment appeared on the market, allowing Argentina to update the equipment of its entire army. Of course, Fang Lang's Shata Company made a lot of money.

Finally, although Juan Perón was an Argentine, he was a descendant of Italian immigrants. During World War II, he went to Italy to join the army as an Italian, was baptized by fascist ideas, and participated in several wars with the Italian army.

Therefore, they highly recognized the fascist system. Not only did they learn from its policies of governance, but they even sheltered a large number of war criminals who had escaped from Germany.

Although these people provided some help to Argentina's industrialization, they also brought some dross to his political thinking.

This is different from Fang Lang. Although Fang Lang also recruits talents from Germany, Fang Lang is looking for technical talents. This is exactly the same as the practices of the United States and the Soviet Union, and no one will say anything about it.

But Argentina is not picky at all, and even welcomes fascist officers who have committed numerous crimes to seek political asylum there.