Perhaps war will bring crises to some companies, but it will also bring opportunities. The only question is how to seize the opportunities.

In fact, after the outbreak of the war, although the production of some enterprises was affected, for the vast majority of enterprises in the empire, the war was an opportunity. As long as they seized the opportunity, a medium-sized enterprise would quickly develop into a large enterprise.

Linhai, Taichang Shipyard.

Since the outbreak of the war, the noise of the shipyard has never stopped, and military orders that were once out of reach have been pouring in. Faced with the surge in orders, the size of the shipyard has more than doubled in just one year, not only adding shipbuilding slipways and docks, but also increasing the number of workers to tens of thousands. Even now, there are recruitment information for Taichang Shipyard in employment agencies across the country, and a quarter of them are long-term employment positions.

The war stimulated the development of industry and brought more jobs. For the shipyard, the war was an opportunity for development. It was not only the scale of the factory that was expanded, but also the technology.

"Is this the aircraft carrier you were talking about?"

Wang Pengju would occasionally look through the model brought by engineer Wu Kai, and listen to the clanging sound of the air hammer hitting the rivets outside.

After the war broke out, he had been looking for something.

Looking for Something?

Of course, we are looking for new business opportunities.

Although the orders from the army have exceeded Taichang's production capacity, Wang Pengju is not satisfied with this and he desires more.

What kind of desire?

Wang Pengju had already planned for the future of Taichang - the largest private shipyard in the empire!

Taichang is now the largest private shipyard on the west coast, and only the Nanhua Shipyard on the east coast can compare with it.

Nanhua...Is that a private shipyard?

It’s clearly royal property!

However, there is also a Guangxing Shipyard on the east coast, which is as large as Taichang. They have a good relationship with the military and have even received orders for combat ships.

Although the two shipyards are of similar size, Guangxing Shipyard is the second largest shipyard in the industry because their technology is not inferior to Nanhua Shipyard and far ahead of Taichang.

For a shipyard, hardware facilities are important, but technology is more important. What is the most technologically advanced thing in the shipbuilding industry? Of course, warships.

"Yes, boss. The orders we received from the military are either transport ships or landing ships. At most, they are cruisers of several thousand tons or escort ships of about one thousand tons. What we need to build are large warships, but this does not seem realistic. The military has their choice..."

Although Taichang is included in the military procurement unit, the military still prefers to assign orders to shipyards that have a certain relationship with the military. They have been cooperating for many years. Especially in the construction of main warships, the military is very cautious. Compared with Taichang, they prefer the past cooperative shipyards.

What's this?

The Ming Dynasty has its own national conditions. Of course, on the other hand, the old partners in the past had more mature technology, and the military still did not trust other factories in terms of technology.

"Really? Don't they know that we at Taichang can also build battleships?"

Wang Pengju complained and pointed at the aircraft carrier model.

"And this?"

This is definitely not Wu Kai's design, after all, the factory does not have this project. And this is not something he can accomplish alone. This is also the reason why the development of Taichang Shipyard has been restricted, because he does not have his own warship design team and can only build warships step by step according to the drawings provided by the military.

Without their own design team, they could not participate in the military's bidding, and in many cases they lost the initiative.

However, such a team cannot be established by a private shipyard alone, after all, it involves talents from all walks of life.

There is only one Nanhua Shipyard in the entire Ming Dynasty that has a similar team.

"Boss, this is an aircraft carrier designed by the Tang Empire Navy's Shipbuilding Headquarters. Its overall structure is based on our "Shenzhou-class Immigration Ship", but the structure adopts military standards, with armored steel on the side, more watertight compartments, and higher damage resistance. Its survivability far exceeds that of an aircraft carrier improved from the "Shenzhou-class Immigration Ship"..."

aircraft carrier!

Ever since the Empire used aircraft carriers to launch a surprise attack on Hampton Roads, countries around the world have been researching aircraft carriers, almost all of which are based on the "Shenzhou-class Immigration Ship". The Tang Dynasty was no exception and also designed aircraft carriers to ensure that its navy did not lag behind other countries.

Explaining the origin of this model, Wu Kai added.

"Its designer is my college classmate. He is now a technical director of the Shipbuilding Headquarters. You know, although the Tang Dynasty seems to have the ability to build large ships, they are limited by their technical capabilities. They hope to have the Empire's shipyards build them, but now the Empire's shipyards have long been saturated with orders. Although their ambassador persuaded the Empire to agree to build aircraft carriers for them, if they were to place an order with the shipyard, it would take who knows when. So, he found me and hoped to give the order to us, and they would send technical experts to participate in the construction."

The Chief Engineer is the highest technical officer in the Naval Administration Headquarters, equivalent to the chief engineer of the Imperial Navy's Naval Administration Department. Most of the technical personnel in the Tang Dynasty have studied abroad in the Ming Dynasty. When they encounter problems in the Ming Dynasty, they will naturally find their former classmates as soon as possible.

After being approached by his old classmate, Wu Kai naturally reported the matter to his employer as soon as possible.

"Leave it to us? And send technical experts to participate in the construction."

Looking at the model of the aircraft carrier, Wang Pengju thought for a while and said.

"I'm afraid they don't just want to hand it over to us."

Everyone is new to building aircraft carriers. Taichang has no problem with its equipment and shipbuilding level, and Datang's technical experts have no problem with technical guidance. For Taichang, this order can not only make money, but also help it master the technology of building aircraft carriers. It is definitely good for the development of the shipyard.

But things are definitely not that simple. After all, no one would be willing to do something that has no benefits.

"Yes, they put forward two conditions. First, after the contract is signed, we must start cutting materials within one month, and the construction period must not exceed 30 months. Second, of the two ships stipulated in the contract, one will be built by Taichang, and the other will be processed by Taichang. Technical personnel will be sent to guide the corresponding shipyard of Datang to assemble and build it."

Wu Kai's answer made Wang Pengju laugh.

"They are really calculating. They want to learn from us the experience and technology of building aircraft carriers and improve their own shipbuilding level. Although we can benefit from it, they will benefit more. These technical officials of the Tang Dynasty are really talented students who once studied in the empire."

As a businessman, Wang Pengju naturally knew what the technical officials of Datang wanted to get from this contract. They did not want an aircraft carrier, but shipbuilding technology. He was not opposed to this. After all, for the shipyard, it would also improve its own shipbuilding level in the process of completing the order.

While shaking his head and sighing, Wang Pengju said with some regret.

"It's a pity that the high-ranking officials of the Tang Dynasty...are all a bunch of good-for-nothings. What a pity..."

Even as a bystander, Wang Pengju knew that the various problems that existed in the Tang Dynasty, especially the conservatism and corruption of its ruling class, were well known. Only these technical elites were true patriots, but their talents could not be fully utilized in such a country.

"Why……"

Sighing, Wang Pengju carefully looked at the model of the aircraft carrier for a while, and then said.

"Wu Gong, I will send Vice President Sun to negotiate with them for the order to build an aircraft carrier. When the time comes, you can also participate..."

The old group is down, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.