Fang Lang, who was performing an impromptu performance in the office, inadvertently glanced at General Crook's reaction and saw that his expression kept changing, and finally his face turned red with excitement.
Fang Lang knew that his performance was not in vain. He couldn't help but smile and performed even harder.
With an excited look on his face, he quickly walked up to General Crook, grabbed his right hand, shook it hard, and said incoherently:
"General, your vision and wisdom are truly admirable. I believe your future is limitless."
General Crook, who was also in an excited state, gladly accepted Fang Lang's compliment. He pretended to be calm and nonchalant, patted the back of Fang Lang's right hand, and said with a smile on his face:
"That's right. It means 'one generation in service, one generation in development, one generation in pre-research, and one generation in exploration.'"
In this way, our weapons and equipment will never lag behind, and our national defense strength will surely improve steadily.
Wait a minute, I will write this down. I will highlight it at the next national defense meeting and make sure this rule becomes the guiding ideology of our "National Defense Equipment Development White Paper."
As he spoke, he let go of Fang Lang's hand, walked quickly to the desk, picked up a black notebook from the upper left corner, and opened a blank page. His right hand fumbled around his body, but he couldn't find a pen.
...
...
At this time, Fang Lang took out a pen from the pen holder on the desk, unscrewed the pen cap, and handed the pen to General Crook.
General Crook, who was looking for a pen everywhere, snatched it away without hesitation and quickly wrote a line of Portuguese on the white paper, which contained the "Four Generations".
Seeing this scene, Fang Lang showed a knowing smile on his face.
General Crook looked like he was appreciating a fine piece of calligraphy. He stared at the line of words on the notebook without blinking, with an indescribable satisfaction on his face.
At this time, Fang Lang naturally would not say anything to interrupt General Crook's self-indulgence. He quietly put down the pen cap in his hand, tiptoed back to the sofa in the reception area and sat down, continuing to smoke his cigar, hiding his achievements and fame.
But General Crook was obviously not a stupid man. After experiencing the sudden excitement, his brain gradually regained its rationality and he slowly tasted some of the flavor.
He looked up at Fang Lang and said with a smile:
"Okay! I almost fell into your trap.
This is not some rule I figured out! You forced it on me!
Tell me! What do you mean, what do you want to do? "
Upon hearing this, Fang Lang looked at General Crook in confusion.
"What do you mean? General, what are you talking about?"
Seeing Fang Lang's refusal to admit it, General Crook glared at him fiercely, put the pen back into its cap, looked at the handwriting on the notebook again, and then slowly walked to the sofa in the reception area and sat down.
He picked up his cigar from the ashtray, put it to his lips and took a deep puff. After a while, he exhaled the smoke with a satisfied look on his face.
"Okay, stop pretending, kid.
You know very well what kind of person I am, so let's not play these games between us.
I'm not a fool. Don't I know whether I have said such words or not?
I have to say that the equipment development rules you summarized are very constructive. I think it is also a very good suggestion to include them in the "White Paper on National Defense Equipment Development".
But it is totally unnecessary to force the credit on me.”
Seeing this, Fang Lang knew that General Crook had reacted. There was no fool in the world who could be the Secretary of the Navy. If there was, it could only be someone who was pretending to be a fool, and the other party was obviously not the kind of person who would pretend to be a fool.
He shook his head helplessly and said:
“General, it doesn’t matter who proposed this law of development. What matters is whether this law can be implemented.
You also know that Fangyuan Group is behind me. If I announce to the public that this law was discovered and proposed by me, what do you think everyone will think?
Do you think that I proposed this idea just to enable Fangyuan Group to obtain more R&D funds from the government?
Will this cause many people to stand up and oppose our inclusion of this law in the "White Paper on National Defense Equipment Development"? Will this cause unnecessary trouble to our Brazilian national defense development?
But if you bring it up, there will be no concerns at all in this regard.
Not only can it gain the recognition of the majority of people, but it can also enable this development idea that is beneficial to the country to be smoothly implemented. At the same time, it can also enable you to achieve greater political achievements and have the opportunity to move into higher positions in the future.
With wise leadership like yours, it is unlikely that our defense industry will not develop rapidly.
Are you right? "
General Crook listened to Fang Lang's words, puffing on his cigar. He was obviously thinking seriously about the meaning of Fang Lang's words. After a long while, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and said:
"So, you want to get more research and development funds from the government, right?"
Fang Lang's expression froze instantly when he heard this. He looked at General Crook in disbelief. It took him a long while to react. He held his forehead with one hand and sighed helplessly:
"General, what about the trust between people?
Let’s put aside the issue of R&D funding for now and just tell me, is this law of development wrong?
If we continue to develop in this way, can our national defense industry become stronger? "
As a result, General Crook still didn't speak, but just looked at Fang Lang seriously, as if he wanted to analyze whether what he said was true or false from his expression.
Fang Lang was really helpless at this point, and finally he could only say frankly:
“Yes, I do want more research funding from the government. But is that a problem?
Is there a problem with the government funding the R&D investment in the defense industry?
Besides, what we proposed is just a development idea, not to allocate funds directly to our Fangyuan Group.
If there are other companies that have the capabilities and can take on certain projects, we will have no objection if the government allocates funds to them!
The ultimate goal of this development strategy is to enable us to have a strong national defense industrial system.”
Seeing Fang Lang's furious look and frankly speaking out his inner thoughts, General Crook could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.
While laughing, he pointed at Fang Lang and said:
"Hahaha... I knew you were going to use me as a pawn.
Look, I guessed it right now!"
After laughing for a while, his expression gradually calmed down, and he nodded seriously and continued:
“However, what you said does make some sense.
If, as you said, someone raised objections because of your identity and this excellent development idea was buried, it would be a pity.
But, considering the relationship between us, wouldn't it be easy for people to associate it if I bring it up?"
He understood that General Crook said this because he was embarrassed to claim Fang Lang's research results as his own. Fang Lang knew that if he gave the other party a chance, this matter might be resolved. He didn't understand what he should do.
He immediately looked at General Crook seriously and said:
"General, this was the inspiration we came up with during our discussion on the independent design and construction of destroyers. Although this idea was proposed by me.
But you are also one of the participants in this idea! Since it is not suitable for me to propose it, then of course you should propose it!
More importantly, only with your identity and by proposing such a development idea can the military pay attention to it and make it possible for this idea to be truly implemented.
Ultimately, our country's defense industry can become truly strong.
As for me personally, if this idea can be implemented, our Fangyuan Group will definitely be able to profit from it.
This is a win-win situation for both of us, don’t you think?”
General Crook, who was stared at by Fang Lang with an earnest look on his face, did not answer Fang Lang's question immediately. Instead, he sat in his seat, smoking a cigar, obviously thinking seriously about what Fang Lang said.
Fang Lang did not urge the other party. He understood that General Crook was trying to convince him to take this idea for himself. From this, Fang Lang could be sure that the other party's character was absolutely fine.
Time slipped away quietly. About five or six minutes later, General Crook suddenly put out his cigar in the ashtray, raised his head and met Fang Lang's gaze seriously, nodded fiercely and said:
“Okay, this time I’ll shamelessly take advantage of the younger generation.
Don't worry, I will do my best to promote this development idea, which has guiding significance for the defense industry, in the Ministry of National Defense.
As for the order to build destroyers, it must belong to your Fangyuan Group.
At the same time, I will also propose to start our country's independent missile development plan, and strive to have this project entrusted to your Fangyuan Group."
Fang Lang understood that this was the same principle as that of Western capitalists who donated campaign funds to politicians in exchange for sufficient commercial benefits after the politicians were elected.
However, what Fang Lang provided was not campaign funds, but a development idea for the national defense industry. For a businessman, this deal was indeed a good deal.
Although he is also a soldier, he does not want to be a senior general far away from real power. Instead, being a powerful leader who controls a large number of troops and possesses enough real power is more in line with his position.
He is neither too prominent nor too invisible to be easily acted upon, yet he possesses enough influence over both the National Defense Forces and the political arena.
Such a positioning will allow him to be at ease in both the military and political circles. In the military, people don't have to worry about him competing with them for promotion opportunities, and they can become friends with him.
In the political circle, as long as he makes it clear that he does not want to go into politics, he will be the target that all politicians must win over. After all, the Social Democratic Party is now basically under the control of their family.
Of course, some people may think that if he continues to occupy this position, it may create obstacles for the promotion of his subordinates.
However, Fang Lang did not think so, because with his influence in the military, he had long wanted to recommend his loyal subordinates to other positions of power, and slowly, a powerful military group with him as the core would be formed.
By then, his connections in the military will become intricate and his influence will become extremely strong. He is even looking for opportunities to extend his reach to the Air Force and the Army.
Among them, the Aviation School was an important direction for him to infiltrate the Air Force.
Seeing that his goal today had been achieved, Fang Lang stood up with a smile on his face, saluted General Crook and said:
"Thank you, General."
Seeing this, General Crook quickly stood up and saluted Fang Lang seriously.
"I should be the one thanking you."
The two shook hands tacitly, and everything was said without words.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
