Fang Lang was also very happy about General Morais' appreciation. After all, if the army's highest commander appreciated him, it would not be too easy for his future.
“Recently, the Navy Department has indeed been striving to have its own aircraft carrier fleet, but it has not yet been approved at the meeting. Purchasing an aircraft carrier is not a small amount of money.
We need to think carefully about this. After all, the war is over now, and there is not much military pressure around us. If we over-expand our armaments at this time, the impact will not be very good. "
Fang Lang fully agreed with General Moraes' statement that there was not much military pressure around Brazil. After all, it was indeed true.
The entire Americas are now under the hegemony of the United States. Apart from the pressure from the United States, there is really no other military pressure on them.
However, in Fang Lang's impression, Brazil still attaches great importance to the navy. After all, Brazil was originally a colony of Portugal, and Portugal was once a naval power.
Nowadays, most of the big farmers and capitalists in Brazil are of Portuguese descent, so according to tradition, it is necessary to attach importance to naval construction.
Besides, the current Brazilian government is actually very rich, because during World War II, Brazil's iron ore and a series of basic natural resources were continuously supplied to the United States.
In exchange for a large amount of US dollar reserves, based on Fang Lang's understanding of history, these reserves will sooner or later be exchanged for Brazilian military equipment.
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After all, the new president is a military man, and this background determines that he will always focus on the development and construction of the military.
Once they pay attention, they will notice the difference between themselves and other excellent countries, and inevitably, they will invest heavily in military construction.
This is inevitable. Of course, Fang Lang is happy to see it happen. Otherwise, who would his arms company sell its weapons to?
What Fang Lang is most concerned about now is, if Brazil buys an aircraft carrier, which country will it buy it from? Will it buy it from the UK according to historical inertia?
If that happens, his Shata company in the United States will lose a big order!
"General, has the Navy found a suitable target? I mean, which country and which type of aircraft carrier do you want to buy?"
"Of course not! The plan hasn't even been approved yet.
However, I think it is only a matter of time before it is approved. Don’t you have connections in the US and the UK?
You can explore the way ahead of time to see if there are suitable opportunities or suitable models. If you can convince the United States and Britain to agree to sell a new type of aircraft carrier to us, I think there is no reason for the Ministry of Defense to give up the opportunity. "
For some reason, Fang Lang smelled a familiar scent, as if he had eaten the same recipe somewhere before!
Fang Lang reacted quickly. Damn! The old guy in front of me has no moral principles! He's still using this trick.
However, this time, Fang Lang thought about it and did not refuse. After all, this was a business, and it could be his own business, so there was no reason for him to refuse.
As long as it can be confirmed that the aircraft carrier can be used by him, the state will pay to purchase the aircraft carrier from his own company for his own use.
It's a good deal no matter how you look at it!
"Are you serious, General? If you can promise that the aircraft carrier will be used by our First Fleet after it returns home, then I am willing to use my connections to lobby the US government to agree to sell us the aircraft carrier."
General Morais was visibly stunned after hearing Fang Lang's statement. He knew that Fang Lang had connections in the US Navy, otherwise the transport ship would not have been directly assigned to him by the Americans, and the same was true for the captain of the destroyer that followed.
He also knew that Fang Lang had a cooperative relationship with Shata, an American arms trading company. However, he did not expect Fang Lang to dare to lobby the US government to sell aircraft carriers to Brazil.
It seems that Fang Lang’s connections in the United States are deeper than he thought!
In fact, General Morais was overthinking. What Fang Lang said about lobbying the US government was actually just an excuse, and he didn't need to really come forward to lobby the US government.
This kind of thing is exactly what Shata Company does. If an American commercial company wants to sell some sensitive equipment abroad, of course it needs to take the initiative to lobby the government!
If Fang Lang can't even do this, why would he give up 75% of Shata Company's shares?
Fang Lang doesn't care who holds these shares. However, if you hold these shares, you must demonstrate your value.
As for the expenses of lobbying the government, they must be added to the sales expenses!
In the end, the wool comes from the sheep, and the Brazilian government pays the bill.
Another reason is that Fang Lang knew that a historical military mutual assistance treaty on the Americas was about to be signed. Once this treaty was signed, Brazil and the United States would be equivalent to allies with an agreement.
The content of this treaty is very simple: an armed attack by any country on another country in America shall be deemed an armed attack on all American countries; countries shall defend themselves individually or collectively and assist each other.
The signing of this agreement is equivalent to the entire America becoming a military alliance. If any country attacks any country in America, other American countries must help this American country.
Of course, this agreement has no actual practical significance, but it is a gesture that shows that American countries are willing to accept your leadership of the United States.
In fact, when the Falklands War broke out between Britain and Argentina, according to the agreement, the United States should have declared war on Britain.
But the fact is that the United States did not even express support for Argentina, but instead joined the arms embargo against Argentina.
From here we can see the role of this agreement.
However, the existence of this agreement gives Fang Lang an opportunity, no matter how the US government views it.
An opportunity to obtain military equipment or technology from the United States.
Even in Fang Lang's opinion, this agreement has more advantages than disadvantages, although the subsequent US-Soviet relations were very tense, which once made American countries very worried.
However, Fang Lang knew that there was actually no real war between the United States and the Soviet Union. In this case, Brazil could actually use this agreement to gain some greater benefits from the United States.
Of course, many other countries in the Americas also have similar considerations. After all, the United States has promised to provide assistance to American countries.
General Morais certainly didn't know what Fang Lang was thinking. He just felt that Fang Lang must have a considerable backing in the United States to dare to say such a thing.
If General Morais is an anti-American general, then Fang Lang will be in big trouble.
But now in Brazil, whether it is the president, the defense minister, or even the military generals, almost all of them are pro-American.
Therefore, Fang Lang dared to reveal to the military the image that he had a close relationship with the Americans.
After hearing Fang Lang's words, General Morais laughed heartily and said:
"Colonel Fang, please rest assured that if you can really convince the US government to sell us aircraft carriers, then I will unwaveringly support you as the commander of Brazil's first aircraft carrier fleet."
In the current Brazilian Navy, there is indeed no one more suitable for this position than Fang Lang.
Despite his young age, he had distinguished himself in battle and was the only admiral to have experienced carrier combat.
Originally, his First Fleet was built to support the aircraft carrier formation. If he was not assigned to be the commander of this fleet and another person was replaced, it might be restricted in every way.
However, this does not mean that Fang Lang can become the commander of this fleet 100%.
As far as General Morais knows, there is an officer in the Navy Department who is eyeing the position of aircraft carrier captain and is moving around to pave the way for himself. As for whether he has the idea of becoming a fleet commander, that is still uncertain.
However, I definitely cannot tell Fang Lang about this kind of thing myself.
However, from his personal point of view, he supports Fang Lang to take up this position.
After all, we are colleagues in the expeditionary force and there is a natural sense of closeness.
Unlike the other person, who has typical old-school thinking, he probably doesn't even know how an aircraft carrier fights.
Today's statement also reflects his true feelings.
"Good! With the support of General Morais, I believe I will succeed."
Seeing Fang Lang's excited expression, he obviously didn't hear the rumors, so he smiled and said:
“However, such a big thing cannot rely on my support alone. You should also communicate more with your colleagues in the Navy Staff.
Otherwise, I won’t even be able to report your name, and my support will be useless, do you understand? "
Fang Lang heard this and thought it was General Morais reminding him that according to the procedure, he had to get the nomination from the Naval General Staff before he could approve it.
I didn't think about other aspects.
However, this time the communication with General Morais was obviously much more relaxed and pleasant than before.
I don’t know if it’s because they’ve been away from the battlefield, but General Morais’s men have become much more easy-going.
Or is it because my current military rank and position have been significantly improved.
General Morais didn't care whether Fang Lang understood what he said, but continued to bring the topic back to the aviation industry.
"It is remarkable that you can think of paving the way for the aviation industry by introducing the automobile industry system.
However, simply setting up a modification factory to convert military transport aircraft into civilian passenger aircraft is far from enough.
Our future in Brazil depends on our ability to design and manufacture our own jet fighters.
But I agree with your idea. It is no problem to start from scratch and modify it. If your company is established, please let me know. I want to go and see it. "
General Morais expressed his desire to visit his company, and Fang Lang was of course very welcoming. This was equivalent to the Minister of Defense endorsing his aircraft manufacturing plant.
"General, please rest assured! I have already made detailed plans for the development of the airline.
I plan to start by modifying American transport aircraft and learn from the construction experience of advanced aircraft.
Then, they started by making simple agricultural propeller aircraft, and after thoroughly mastering the aircraft manufacturing capabilities, they began to try to make two-seat trainer aircraft for the Air Force.
If possible, I would like to enter the civil aviation field, ensure the company's profits by manufacturing and selling civil aviation aircraft, and then develop our own jet fighter in Brazil."
After hearing Fang Lang's clear thoughts, General Morais became even happier. He picked up the coffee on the table and took a big sip.
"Good, very good, it's really great."
It was as if the content in the cup was not coffee but wine, which made him feel dizzy, as if he was drunk.
"Tell me what kind of help you need from me. Don't worry, I will fully support you as long as I can do it."
Perhaps he realized that he had expressed his full support too many times today, and continuing to express it verbally seemed a bit too dry.
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