Because Fang Lang was not clear about the current situation in the UK, after hearing Fit Henderson's words, he thought that the other party did not want him to visit the British shipyard.
Therefore, he seemed a little frustrated. However, in his heart, he did not blame the other party. After all, this kind of thing is not about personal relationships, but national interests.
The other party is the Chief of Staff of the British Royal Navy. If he directly agrees to this request because of Fang Lang's casual words, it would seem too frivolous.
Therefore, Fang Lang quickly adjusted his mentality.
Sitting next to Fang Lang, Reinhardt saw Fang Lang's expression and realized that Fang Lang might have misunderstood his father's meaning. He coughed and said:
“If you want to visit a shipyard, you can just visit the UK branch of Universal Shipbuilding, which is a joint venture with us.
Our shipyard was originally a British naval shipyard that once built battleships and aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy!
Unfortunately, due to the war, the shipyard was bombed and severely damaged. Now that the war has just ended, the Royal Navy has no new shipbuilding plans. If it had not been for the cooperation with Global Shipbuilding to undertake the container ship manufacturing business, the shipyard would have closed down long ago. "
Fang Lang glanced at Reinhardt beside him and quickly grasped the key point of his words. The shipyard was severely damaged and the British Navy had no new shipbuilding plans.
...
...
If what Reinhardt said is true, the British Navy is having a hard time now! So what Fit Henderson said might not be perfunctory to herself.
But the real thoughts in the other person's heart.
After figuring this out in his mind, Fang Lang immediately spoke directly:
"That's good too. There's a place to visit and I can just do my job!"
Fit Henderson also heard what his son said, but he didn't say much. These words were indeed not suitable for him to say, but it didn't matter if Reinhardt said them.
After hearing Fang Lang's words, he still couldn't help but speak:
"Fang, you just said that Brazil is planning to build destroyers independently. Is this an isolated case or will it be the same in the future?"
He seemed to be a little worried that Fang Lang might not understand what he meant, so he quickly added:
"I mean, does your shipyard build other warships besides destroyers?"
The more Fang Lang listened to Fit Henderson's words, the more he felt that the other party just wanted to sell warships to him. He couldn't help but wonder in his heart, is the British Navy now so difficult that it has to rely on selling warships to maintain the operation of the Navy?
"Our shipyards are not yet mature and can only produce container ships and some inland patrol ships for the time being.
The independent construction of the destroyer is also a bold attempt.
We would certainly like to build more of the other ships if possible.”
Hearing Fang Lang say that he wanted to build other warships, Fate Henderson's expression changed, and he coughed lightly and said:
"Oh! You want to build other warships. Does that mean your navy is still short of other warships?"
This statement had already made his purpose clear, and Fang Lang could no longer play dumb. He looked at the other party in surprise, as if he had just realized it, and said:
"Ah! I see. Uncle Henderson wants to sell warships to the Brazilian Navy?"
When Fit Henderson saw Fang Lang took the initiative to bring up the topic, he stopped hiding it and said frankly:
"You guessed right, Fang. You and Reinhardt are brothers. I won't hide it from you. The war is over. During the war, we took over a large number of warships from the United States through the Lend-Lease Act.
But now, continuing to maintain such a large fleet is also a very heavy burden for the British Empire.
Therefore, the Navy plans to eliminate some of its warships, so I would like to ask if the Brazilian Navy needs them.”
Hearing this, Fang Lang did not answer the other party's question immediately. Instead, he touched his beard-covered chin. After thinking for a while, he slowly spoke:
"As far as I know, wasn't the British Empire still short of warships when it participated in the Pacific War last time? Even if the war is over, there is no need to continue to maintain a large fleet.
But the British Empire also has a large number of colonies and dominions around the world, so there shouldn't be a problem of warships being unable to digest them!"
Fang Lang's words made Fit Henderson look embarrassed. After looking at his son and wife, he slowly spoke:
"The British Empire and its dominions are now in economic slump due to the war, and it is already difficult for them to maintain such a large fleet in a non-wartime state.
Most of the British Empire's colonies around the world were in a state of chaos. Even India, the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, was seeking independence.
It is no longer possible to absorb these warships within the British Empire system.”
Hearing this, Fang Lang vaguely understood what the other party meant. Obviously, Britain is now preparing to start shrinking its own strength and no longer try to maintain the dignity of the British Empire by suffering for the sake of face.
Fang Lang couldn't remember exactly when India became independent, but it seemed that after World War II, tens of thousands of Indian naval soldiers launched an anti-British uprising.
In addition, Britain's act of ceding South Vietnam to France does show that Britain at that time might have become a mere facade with a strong exterior but a weak interior.
Despite this, Fang Lang did not dare to underestimate the declining British Empire. At least it was the sovereign of many countries in the world and had a strong influence in the international community.
But as far as he knew, Brazil had no intention of continuing to expand its naval fleet. So even though he knew that Britain was in trouble and he could take the opportunity to exchange for some good things, he had to give up.
"But Uncle Henderson, our Brazilian navy has no plans to expand further, so I'm afraid we can't help you absorb some of the warships!"
Fit Henderson looked at Fang Lang with some doubt after hearing this. He didn't know what he was thinking about. After hesitating for a while, he spoke:
"Is that so? But I heard that a Brazilian naval officer came to the UK to inspect the aircraft carrier last month?"
Fang Lang was also a little surprised. He looked at Fate Henderson in disbelief and said:
"Is Uncle Henderson serious?"
Seeing Fang Lang's expression, Fit Henderson didn't know whether Fang Lang really didn't know or was pretending not to know, but he still nodded seriously.
Seeing this, Fang Lang waved to Qi Qingshan behind him and said:
"Send a telegram to General Crook of the Ministry of Defense and ask whether our navy really has plans to purchase aircraft carriers?
At the same time, send a telegram to General Leta of the Logistics Department to inquire about the relevant situation."
Then he turned to look at Fit Henderson and said:
“Uncle Henderson, I came here this time purely because of Reinhardt’s invitation, so I am not aware of the Navy Department’s inspection of the aircraft carrier.
Now I will go to the telegram to inquire about the details. If it is true, I will definitely help to facilitate this transaction. "
Seeing Fit Henderson nodding seriously, Fang Lang felt that there must be something he didn't know. Either someone was acting on their own, or someone was worried that he would dominate the market, so they deliberately blocked him from receiving relevant information.
Of course, there is another possibility, that is, the Brazilian naval officers who inspected the aircraft carrier were liars. But this possibility is the smallest, because the British government is not stupid and still has this kind of discernment.
Fit Henderson also noticed some problems from Fang Lang's words and attitude.
It didn't make sense that the Brazilian Navy wanted to purchase new warships, but Fang Lang, the Brazilian Navy Rear Admiral, didn't get any wind of the matter. As a veteran, his first reaction was whether Fang Lang had been excluded.
As for whether there would be any adverse effects if he revealed the news of the Brazilian Navy's secret inspection of the aircraft carrier to the other party, he was not worried at all.
After all, purchasing an aircraft carrier is a big deal and cannot be done secretly.
It just so happens that I can use Fang Lang's hand to learn some real information from the Brazilian Navy. Don't be happy for nothing, or get cheated.
"If even you haven't heard of this news, we should also pay close attention to it. I think I'll have someone investigate it carefully tomorrow to make sure you don't get fooled."
This situation was obviously beyond the expectations of both Fang Lang and Fit Henderson. For a moment, both sides were a little absent-minded.
Mrs. Henderson, who was standing by, saw this and quickly smiled and said,
“This kind of big thing can’t be done quietly, so you don’t have to pay too much attention to it. When the investigation results come out, you’ll know what’s going on.
Compared to purchasing aircraft carriers, I am more interested in something else.
Fang, I heard some time ago that your Global Group cooperated with the Morgan Consortium to establish a Global Morgan Bank. Is that true?"
This news is not a secret. The Henderson family and Global Shipyard have a joint venture project, so it is not surprising that they received this news.
Fang Lang didn't intend to hide anything and nodded with a smile.
"Yes, Auntie! That's true!"
After receiving a positive answer, Mrs. Henderson looked at Fang Lang with shining eyes and a look of surprise:
“I didn’t expect Fang to have a connection with the Morgan family. This is really surprising.”
Fit Henderson and Reinhardt also looked at Fang Lang in surprise. They had heard this news from Mrs. Henderson before, but they had always been a little skeptical. But now that Fang Lang had confirmed it in person, they couldn't help but be surprised.
Fang Lang was not surprised by Mrs. Henderson's behavior. The current Morgan family does have a huge influence in the financial industry. It is really surprising that Fang Lang's Global Group, which was established not long ago, can establish connections with a company like the Morgan Consortium.
"It's not a particularly big connection. We have already cooperated with Morgan Stanley when global shipping was developing. The establishment of a bank together is also a later development need."
After hearing what Fang Lang said, Mrs. Henderson looked at Fang Lang expectantly and said:
"So you have a lot of connections with the big shots in the Morgan family!"
Fang Lang looked at Mrs. Henderson who was looking expectant, and suddenly realized that he was not invited here because of Reinhardt!
Alas! The adult world is indeed no longer innocent!
However, he had anticipated this, and he didn't think he could hide these things from others.
He smiled and nodded:
"Yes, I have a close relationship with several members of the Morgan family."
Fit Henderson at the side couldn't help but stare at Fang Lang with burning eyes and said:
"I heard that the United States established a pan-European highway management company some time ago, which is ready to manage and operate highway businesses throughout Europe. Moreover, this company has a strong background and was jointly established by the Morgan Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and a company called Global Group?
Moreover, a military contracting company called God’s Whip appeared during the U.S. military intervention in Türkiye and Greece some time ago.”
Seeing the burning eyes of several people looking at him, Fang Lang knew what they meant. He raised his head and glanced at everyone in the living room.
Seeing this, Fit Henderson very cleverly waved to the butler behind him. The butler looked at the young Fang Lang with some surprise, nodded politely, and waved to the people serving in the living room.
Everyone left in an orderly manner.
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