After leaving this luxurious manor, Fang Lang separated from Mr. Radya Redondo because he had made an appointment to have lunch with Major General Friedrich Crook, Chief of Staff of the Naval General Staff.
Fang Lang didn't know any good restaurants in Rio, but he had dinner with General Leta at the Olime Restaurant last time and it was pretty good, so he decided to go there this time.
As a subordinate, Fang Lang didn't have to wait long in the restaurant. General Crook soon arrived at the restaurant door under the escort of the guards.
"General Crook, it is a great honor to invite you to lunch. Please come in."
General Crook was wearing plain clothes today, and the gold-rimmed glasses he wore were the same pair Fang Lang saw last time. Perhaps because of the plain clothes, Fang Lang felt that General Crook looked much more casual today.
He had an unlit cigar in his mouth, as if he was chewing it. This was in stark contrast to his gentle appearance, and for a moment Fang Lang was a little dazed.
However, Fang Lang always remembered what Colonel Parisi had told him: General Crook was a man who attached great importance to military appearance and discipline.
So even though Fang Lang was wearing casual clothes at this moment, he still stood very straight and dressed himself very neatly.
This obviously made General Crook very satisfied. He smiled and patted Fang Lang on the shoulder and said:
...
...
"Okay, no need to be so formal. We are in a private setting now. Everyone should wear casual clothes. Don't let others know your identity at a glance."
Seeing General Crook's look, Fang Lang didn't dare to completely relax. Although Fang Lang didn't like this state, since his superiors liked it, he had to behave himself.
After all, he and General Crook were not actually familiar with each other, and this was only their second meeting.
After listening to General Moraes' words yesterday, Fang Lang thought that since he was in Rio, he should also build relationships with his superiors, so he invited General Crook to dinner.
Unexpectedly, the other party agreed without hesitation, which was beyond Fang Lang's expectations.
Since the leader has accepted your invitation to dinner, it means that the relationship between the two of you is likely to become closer. Fang Lang is of course very happy about this.
Soon the two men came to the box and sat down, while the guards were eating in the hall outside the box.
Before Fang Lang could open his mouth to find a topic, General Crook took the initiative to speak:
"This time your family's automotive industry investment promotion has made a big splash! I heard a lot of people discussing it yesterday!"
When Fang Lang heard General Crook bring up the automobile industry, he thought, could it be that the general wants to get involved?
However, this is normal. No one grew up drinking dew, and it is a good thing to have needs.
"Oh! Has someone from the General's family also joined the company? Please tell me who it is and I will arrange shares for him right away."
General Crook was also stunned when he heard Fang Lang's words. Is it so blatant?
When I asked for a bribe?
Fearing that Fang Lang might misunderstand, he shook his head and said:
“Fang, you misunderstood. My family has always made a living by running shrimp boats, but we don’t have the ability to invest in such an industry on the shore.
So, I heard the news at the dinner yesterday and asked you about the situation."
General Crook's words reminded Fang Lang of something very interesting: a shrimp boat catching lobsters.
Brazil almost had a war with France over lobster fishing. Although the war did not break out in the end, this incident directly led to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982.
The story began in 1961, when a group of French fishermen came to the waters of northeastern Brazil to catch lobsters, which made the Brazilian fishermen very unhappy.
Seeing the lobsters being taken away by the French, the Brazilian fishermen quickly reported the incident to the authorities. When the leaders of the Brazilian Navy heard about it, they were shocked.
Two warships were immediately sent over to warn the French fishermen. The French were not happy. How come only Brazil has warships but we don't?
So, in February 1962, France sent the destroyer Tartu to the northeast coast of Brazil. As a result, the French destroyer was discovered and tracked by the Brazilian Air Force just 100 nautical miles into the disputed waters.
After receiving the intelligence, the Brazilian Navy immediately dispatched the Minas Gerais aircraft carrier, a light cruiser, a destroyer detachment, a submarine and a patrol ship to the waters where the French warships were located.
The two navies stared at each other for several hours, and finally the French destroyer got scared and turned around and left the disputed waters.
In order to save face, France sent a task force to Brazil at the end of February, including an aircraft carrier, an anti-aircraft cruiser, two destroyers, five frigates and a supply ship.
Faced with the tense situation, the Brazilian military took further action and several flight squadrons equipped with B17 bombers were urgently dispatched to Recife Airport in northeastern Brazil to stand by.
Brazil's navy also conducted large-scale exercises near the northeastern coast for several consecutive days, and even the Brazilian army was urgently mobilized to the border of French Guiana on standby.
They were prepared to march directly into French Guia once the fighting broke out. Fortunately, the leaders of the two countries later calmed down and there was no actual accidental firing of guns. The lawsuit was simply moved to the international court.
The end result is that Brazil expanded its exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles, while France's 26 fishing boats can continue to fish in the original area for five years.
It was this war caused by lobsters that eventually led to the establishment of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the concept of a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
When I heard that General Crook's family made a living by catching shrimps, I couldn't help but wonder, could it be because of you that the Brazilian Navy was so reckless as to go to war with France?
I like the personality. But the point is that it once again proves that the French are really cowards.
"Hey! General Crook, I didn't expect that your family also makes a living from fishing. That means we have more opportunities for cooperation.
Didn’t the former Brazilian Expeditionary Navy Commander Colonel Parisi retire?
Mr. Parisi and I have jointly opened a fishing company, which now has more than 40 fishing boats, all of which are the latest trawlers.
How about the three of us working together to become bigger and stronger?"
Originally, Fang Lang came to see General Crook today without any clear purpose. He just wanted to improve their relationship. He didn't expect that there would be an opportunity for cooperation!
How could he let it go? Wouldn't it be easier to deal with many things if he became a business partner with General Crook?
General Crook obviously did not expect Fang Lang to be so powerful, and he went straight to hitting the snake with the stick.
This step-by-step approach is a bit suffocating!
He coughed twice and changed the subject:
"Ahem, ahem. Fang, I don't manage the family business, and it's useless for you to talk to me.
I'm going out to dinner with you today! Mainly because General Morais told me at the dinner yesterday, do you have a way to convince the US Navy to sell us aircraft carriers? Are you sure? "
Haha, it doesn't matter if you don't care about the family business! This is even better. It seems that Colonel Parisi should visit General Crook's family.
I don't believe that I can't take your family. As long as I have a business partnership with the general's family, the rest of the things will be easy, right?
As for the aircraft carrier!
"General, if you want the United States to agree to sell us aircraft carriers, we may need to spend some money to convince the U.S. Congress, which may not be successful immediately.
But I heard today that someone in our Admiralty was able to get an aircraft carrier from the UK? Maybe that would cost us less. "
General Crook found these words unpleasant to hear.
He also knew that Fang Lang had apparently heard that someone was seeking the position of aircraft carrier captain, which was a bit of a provocation.
In fact, in General Crook's mind, Fang Lang is still very capable and has actual combat experience. His combat effectiveness has been verified in the world war. His biggest weakness is that he is too young. He is somewhat worried about whether it is appropriate to hand over Brazil's most powerful naval force to him.
Orlando is the exact opposite of Fang Lang. He is of the right age and has sufficient qualifications. He has been serving as a battleship captain in the Brazilian Navy. The only thing he lacks is practical combat experience.
It cannot be said that there is no actual combat experience at all, after all, escort is also an actual combat mission! Unfortunately, there is no experience in killing the enemy, and the combat effectiveness has not been verified.
This made General Crook unable to make up his mind who to support. Since one of them had taken the initiative to bring up the topic a few days ago, he didn't like to hide it, so he just laid it out and let this guy talk about it himself.
"You don't have to beat around the bush to test me. Someone has indeed proposed to seek an aircraft carrier from the UK and wants to serve as the commander of the aircraft carrier.
What? You don't agree?"
Hearing General Crook's direct and clear words, which were obviously meant to provoke him, Fang Lang smiled, realizing that General Crook had at least chosen a side.
At this time, he was no longer in a hurry. He slowly called the waiter to order food, and then handed the menu in his hand to General Crook and said:
"Come on, General, let's order first and talk while we eat."
This directly disrupted General Crook's rhythm, and the expression on General Crook's face changed again and again.
Then he started laughing, and there was actually admiration in his eyes when he looked at Fang Lang.
Good boy, neither humble nor arrogant, he has his own way of speaking and doing things, and he is a powerful person.
I didn't take it to heart and ordered the dishes with peace of mind.
After they both ordered their dishes, Fang Lang took a sip of red wine and said slowly:
"General, my First Fleet can be considered a task force. It has the Navy, the Marine Corps, and now we have reconnaissance aircraft assigned to cruisers. If we add aircraft carriers, we will have a real air force.
Do you think this is a task that a battleship captain with only naval service experience can handle?
Apart from anything else, I deeply experienced during the Pacific Battle how desperate the navy was when facing an enemy with air superiority.
To this end, I desperately learned aviation tactics from the Americans, learned how to fly a plane, how to maintain a plane, learned aircraft tactics, and learned aircraft scheduling.
I can now say that there is no one in Brazil better suited than me to command this task force.
I was born in the Army, so I know Army tactics, and even my Marine Corps training syllabus was written by me.
In the navy, I am the only naval commander in the entire Brazilian Navy with a record of sinking ships in actual combat.
I just said that I understand the tactics and command of the Air Force.
I don’t believe my competitors have the same strength as me.”
Sometimes, if you don’t fight for something, you’re giving up. Fang Lang is not a person who doesn’t fight. He is confident that he is better than Orlando, and there is no reason to let the other party steal the tower.
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