In the first half of his life, which had lasted for several decades, this was the first time he had seen an earl at such a close distance, holding a stone and preparing to chase and hit two princes.

"Ahem... Thomas is here, sit down."

Alan threw the stone in his hand away as if nothing had happened.

…

"Sir, do you have anything to say?"

Alan watched William run away before he sat down again and said, "Do you know the Cardiff?"

"The Cardiff?"

Thomas was stunned for a few seconds before he suddenly realized that this should be referring to the destroyer named after Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

It seems that the gentleman in front of us was serving on that warship at that time.

This ship is said to be a new Type 42 destroyer, but because it is the first batch built, the overall design seems to have some flaws, and the protective armor is a little bit weak. It seems that in order to cram in more weapons, certain compromises were made on the armor.

But this does not affect the fact that it is still a relatively advanced destroyer. Just one ship can control several shipping routes in West Africa. It also often participates in escort missions and is one of the warships well-known to the general public.

"I know, but why are you suddenly concerned about the Cardiff?"

…

Alan picked up the fishing rod and cast the bait again before he whispered, "I'll be able to go to the House of Lords next year. It's only a few months away."

It is already August, and there is only more than half a year left starting from March next year.

"???"

Thomas didn't quite understand what Allen meant.

Ordinary children in Britain become adults at the age of 16, but he knew that among the aristocracy, the age of adulthood is 21.

Before the age of 21, although one can inherit the title under special circumstances, theoretically, only at the age of 21 can one be considered a formal and legal aristocrat, and only at this age can aristocrats have the status of members of the House of Lords.

Everyone knows that Mr. Allen will be 21 years old at the beginning of next year. Some time ago, he was deliberately building up momentum for this and was preparing to submit several major proposals to boost his presence in Congress.

But what does going to Parliament have to do with the Cardiff right now?

Thomas felt that he was dull-witted and for a moment he could not understand what the Earl meant.

…

“Tsk…”

Alan looked at Thomas with disappointment, this guy is steady but his ideological awareness is not high. Although he didn't make a big fuss about his plan to get a yacht, but you could find out about it with a little inquiry. Now he looks confused.

"The Cardiff has been in service for more than ten years. As the representative of Wales, don't you think it is a little unworthy?"

"ah?"

This made Thomas even more confused. Is this worthy?

It has only been in service for more than ten years, so it is still early to replace the ship.

"You said there should be a new look. Yesterday I visited the Plymouth Shipyard and saw the newly built frigate in their dock. The hull... I thought at the time, how great it would be if this could represent Wales?!"

"!!!"

After hearing what Allen said, Thomas finally remembered.

What are you doing going to Plymouth Dockyard for no reason?!

He had heard that the Earl was looking to buy a yacht recently. Now that they had contacted each other, could it be that the Earl was planning to buy the Cardiff?

As for the nonsense about how great it would be if the new warships in the dock could represent Wales, just listen to it and don't take it seriously!

…

"Yes! Your Excellency, I also think that the Cardiff is a bit old. I wonder what you mean now?"

Although he still didn't understand what the Cardiff was used for, this didn't stop Thomas from changing his tone and continuing along the lines of this person.

"Well... this is what I think. You, please contact someone to write a proposal, saying that the Cardiff is too old and damages the image of Wales, and then suggest replacing it with a new ship. As for the old Cardiff... suggest that it be sealed up."

“…”

Thomas looked as if he had suddenly realized something. As expected...

Your Excellency does have some ideas about the Cardiff, but he has no control over that. He just needs to obey orders.

"Sir, can I make it more public, like organize a public petition or something?"

"Need not!"

Allen waved his hand and said, "Just make a normal proposal, get more congressmen to sign, don't involve the public, don't worry about the rest, after you make the proposal, submit it after the second half of October when the Congress begins."

"OK!"

Thomas quickly stood up and made a serious promise.

"Okay, that's all. Go do it."

"Well, then... Your Excellency, I will leave first?"

"Go ahead."

…

Alan watched Thomas walk away before he put the fishing rod down again, crossed his legs and leaned back in the recliner.

His method of operation this time was more covert, involving a method that seemed to be aboveboard but was actually a bit dirty.

This thing is called - sealing.

What is sealing?

When a warship is in good condition, it is not yet at the stage of decommissioning and scrapping. Instead, it is sailed to a specific port, sealed up and no longer used!

It is said that it can be pulled out and used again in wartime or critical periods.

It can also be understood as a disguised form of retirement, which is a better way of saying it than retirement.

Americans are very good at this trick.

On their side, if the military-industrial complex wants to do business and make money, it has to consume a large amount of armaments, whether it is to use them in their own wars or to sell them, they have to ship large quantities.

The design life of warships is generally several decades long. Twenty to thirty years is very common, and there are also many ships that are forty to fifty years old.

But with such a long service life, what happens after building a ship?

How to make money in the future?

Even if only six or more than ten ships are built in a batch, the military-industrial complex has to make money.

So, later on, the method of sealing was invented.

The warship was in good condition, not broken or scrapped, and had a long lifespan, but time was needed to build a new ship, so it had to be sealed up.

In this way, you can earn extra maintenance fees and then buy new ships, killing two birds with one stone!

As for whether the old warship was finally sealed and whether the things inside were dismantled, it is the navy's business anyway. It is not retired. This involves certain confidentiality procedures and ordinary people cannot see it.

…

Alan is now preparing to use this operation method.

The Cardiff is a new ship that has only been in service for a dozen years, but some of its equipment is already a bit old and there are certain design flaws.

Its same type and batch of ships, Sheffield and Coventry, participated in the Falklands Campaign, and then...

Was hit hard!

This is an old ship with certain defects and has been in service for more than ten years. It is also named after the capital of Wales. If the Welsh Parliament proposes and strongly demands a new ship, as long as the Admiralty is informed in advance, and considering the current economic environment, it is not impossible to replace it.

Theoretically, sealing up old ships could save a lot of money.

Then build new types of warships, which will drive the development of the shipyard. If you try to find connections with the Navy Department, you can get benefits from the big guys.

The probability of the proposal being passed is basically certain.

The sealed-up Cardiff only needed to be towed to the shipyard for inspection.

Won't you just make up an excuse when the time comes?

The hull has hidden damage and metal fatigue, so it is not suitable for storage. It should be scrapped on the spot!

The superstructure of this destroyer, which is basically less than half of its service life, can be dismantled and sold as scrap metal. Alan can still keep some of the weapon system for his own use, and the rest can be sold to people with connections.

He can use the remaining hull to convert it into a yacht.

…

What about the Cardiff that had suffered an unprovoked disaster for no reason?

The Cardiff was the destroyer where Alan served. He had a pretty good relationship with the captain, so he could just poach the captain and give him a new yacht.

Not only the captain, but also the more than 300 officers and soldiers on the Cardiff, Alan plans to recruit half of them. Someone has to drive the new yacht. Is there anyone who is more familiar with Master Alan's new yacht than them?

This is the crew ready made!

In the past, even if the old earl tried to fleece the sheep, he would only take some "small things" at most. But this time, Allen went straight for the big stuff.

Enter the village quietly, without firing a gun.

After completing all the formalities, leave the necessary relationships to the people below.

After all the operations, the new yacht has its hull and crew, and a lot of money can be saved.

…

This kind of operation is basically risk-free, but the means are a little dirty. However, our Great Britain is now prosperous and strong. What does it matter if we temporarily lose an old destroyer and half a ship of officers and soldiers?

It doesn't matter at all!

The Navy Department is eager to have new warships commissioned, as the bigwigs within it will get benefits as well. This kind of thing has been done before.

Besides, Wales is usually very honest, and it finally has a request, which is just to replace a new warship. How can the MPs in London not agree?

The market is currently depressed due to the financial crisis. Spending money on building warships can stimulate the economy, which is a good thing!

Everyone from top to bottom has a good excuse, just waiting for everyone to take advantage of them.

…

At lunch time.

Alan looked at the pizza in front of him, then looked at William who had a face full of cheese.

William wanted to eat pizza today and asked the kitchen to make it specially for him. Alan had a poor appetite recently, so he just followed suit and ate with them.

After taking a sip of yogurt and putting down the cup, Alan kicked William's stool and said, "Do you want to watch the Olympics next month?"

"Hey? When?"

William didn't quite understand the significance of the Olympics yet, but it sounded like going out for fun, and he was more interested in anything that involved fun.

"Maybe in mid-September. Just tell me whether you want to go or not."

"Go, go!"

…

"I'm going too, cousin!"

Harry sat a little far away from Allen. He sat next to William. Seeing that Allen only asked William and not him, he became a little anxious.

"Go to hell! You're too young to go!"

Alan ruthlessly rejected Harry. Taking William with him was already his limit. If he took Harry with him, he would have no chance of success.

…

"Cousin, I'm not a two or three year old kid anymore!"

“Hehe…”

Alan squinted his eyes, glanced at Harry and said, "Well...you are four years old, right? Four years old is not okay! You should stay at home."

"Cousin, where is the Olympics?"

William didn't care about his younger brother at all, he only cared about where to go this time.

"South Korea!"

"Ah? There..."

William grinned, feeling a little uncomfortable.

He remembered that not long after he first met Alan at home when he was a child, a group of Koreans were arrested in London and were said to have done something bad. At least he heard his father talk about it at the dinner table.

This incident left a deep impression on him. Until now, whenever Allen mentioned South Korea, he instinctively felt that it was an unsafe place and that it was full of bad people.

…

"If you don't want to go, then you can go to school, and I will go by myself then."

Alan didn't care. This was a task assigned to him by Charles. He was not an official representative, but he would go there with a royal butler and be considered a member of the royal family.

The main reason was that Allen had a good image, so Charles sent him to show his face and keep the situation under control.

South Korea is a small place. They haven't established diplomatic relations with most of the countries yet, and many countries don't recognize them. It's not convenient for the royal family to send someone with too high a status to such a place. Being able to send an earl is already a great honor to them!

…

When William heard Alan say that he would go to school instead of going to Korea, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. No matter how bad it is outside, it is still more fun than going to school, right?

As for danger, what danger could there be if I follow my cousin?

"Well then... let's go to Korea."

"Well, call your mother in a few days and tell her."

Allen stuffed another piece of pizza into his mouth. Now the princess wanted to see William and Harry, which was more troublesome. She could only come to Allen's place to see them, but she couldn't take them away.

…

In early September, when Allen was looking at the rough cut in the editing room, old Carl returned from America with a bunch of information.

Putting aside what he was doing, Alan went to see old Carl first.

…

"Master, the situation has been a little tense recently. Have you read the news?"

Even old Carl, who always pays attention to his image, was wearing only a shirt with a small vest on the outside because it was so hot.

"What news? I don't have time to watch that. I'm busy making a movie lately."

Ever since asking Thomas to make the proposal, Alan has often gone to the editing room to watch the editor work. After getting the semi-finished product that was just made today, he couldn't wait to take a look at it.

…

"Last month... er, no, it was July. They sent warships to the Gulf to provide escort and even shot down an Iranian passenger plane."

"I have heard about this matter. Wasn't it said to be a misunderstanding?"

America drove its warships to the Gulf region to show off its military power.

During this period, Iran and Iraq in the Gulf region were fighting each other so hard that their brains were almost coming out of their chests. If they went there, they would only cause more trouble.

…

"What misunderstanding? The Americans just refuse to admit it. They did it on purpose!"

Old Carl glanced at Allen, chuckled, and mocked the Americans with an extremely contemptuous tone.

"This is too despicable..."

Alan, who originally didn't care much about such things, also felt that the methods used by these Americans were too dirty.

"Master... the data I have collected in the past six months shows that some small steel mills in America have been acquired or closed down one after another."

Old Carl then talked about a seemingly unrelated topic.

"Oh... Last time it was a chemical plant, this time it's a steel plant. Are these garbage speeding up?"

Alan raised his eyebrows. Combined with the news brought back by Old Carl, the situation was becoming more and more tense. It was not peaceful outside.

"Master, look at these bankrupt steel mills, should we get involved?"

"Steel mill?"