In the boundless Pacific Ocean, a small fleet of three warships was sailing westwards through the waves. The fleet consisted of a Cleveland-class cruiser and two Fletcher-class destroyers.
At this moment, on the bridge of the flagship Cleveland-class cruiser, Fang Lang was chatting with several naval officers in the cool breeze.
"The cold wind in the North Pacific is really biting! I heard that many officers and soldiers in the fleet are sick?"
Fang Lang asked the captain of the Cleveland-class cruiser beside him.
"Yes, Boss! Our fleet has been stationed in tropical waters for a long time, and it is difficult for the officers and soldiers to adapt to this severe cold weather for a while."
"That won't do. It seems that our navy needs to strengthen combat training in severe cold environments in the future. After all, we are a navy that participated in the Pacific War. It's only been four years, and you are already not used to the severe cold climate."
Several officers standing by lowered their heads in shame after hearing Fang Lang's words.
“Yes, Boss!
When we return, we will incorporate combat training in severe cold conditions into our training syllabus to ensure that our fleet can still have strong combat effectiveness in all weather conditions."
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...
"Well! It's not too late to mend the fold.
This time we are invited by the British Navy's Far East Fleet to visit the port city. You must show enough professionalism and not embarrass the Brazilian Navy. Do you understand?"
"Yes, please rest assured, Boss! We will definitely show our best side to the other party."
That’s right, this is how Fang Lang avoided the domestic vortex. Through Reinhardt’s relationship, he asked the British Navy to invite the Brazilian Navy to visit.
As for why they visited Hong Kong City, the reason was very simple. The army from their hometown was about to liberate the entire country, and this was the time when the British troops in Hong Kong City were most confused.
The British Far East Fleet had just been severely beaten by the army artillery on the Yangtze River, which showed them the determination of the army to liberate the country. As a result, most officials in the British government were pessimistic about the future of the port city.
Therefore, the entire British Far East Fleet was gathering in Hong Kong City. On the one hand, of course, it was to intimidate its hometown, and on the other hand, it was to be ready to cover the British government in Hong Kong City's retreat to Australia.
The reason for the British pessimism was very simple. Chiang Kai-shek's millions of troops had been wiped out, and the British garrison in the port city was not enough to fill the gaps in others' teeth!
In addition, the port city is a tiny place with no strategic depth. If a war really breaks out, the British army can be driven into the sea by the enemy. The only means of counterattack for the British army is naval guns.
But the British Navy, which had just been taught a lesson by the land-based artillery of its home army on the Yangtze River, did not think that others would be afraid of their naval guns.
If we don’t use the navy, we can only use the air force, but now my hometown is not without an air force. After all, the transport captain left a lot of good things for my hometown.
This series of factors combined has made the entire British government pessimistic about the prospects of the port city.
So, when Fang Lang expressed his intention to come out for a visit, both General Henderson, the Chief of Staff of the British Royal Navy, and Reinhardt saw it as Fang Lang coming out to support them, and they certainly could not refuse such a request.
The Brazilian government certainly would not refuse to arrange for several warships to visit the port city in the name of supporting their British allies.
Fang Lang was not worried at all whether the government of his hometown would change its established strategy because of the appearance of these three warships in the port city. After all, retaking the port city has never been a military issue, but a political issue.
In the short term, it is much wiser to keep a place like Hong Kong as a window than to cut off contact with the outside world directly. You know, my hometown has suffered from the isolation of the country. If Hong Kong is really recovered, my hometown will completely cut off the channel of communication with the West, which is a result that an excellent politician absolutely does not want to see.
Therefore, Fang Lang has absolute confidence in his hometown, and the appearance of his fleet in the port city at this time can only be regarded as harmless to his hometown.
More importantly, Fang Lang's visit to Hong Kong was not really for a visit, nor was it simply to avoid the gossip in Brazil. He had an appointment with an old friend in Hong Kong.
After returning to his room on the warship, Fang Lang said to Qi Qingshan:
"Have you made an appointment with them?"
When Qi Qingshan heard Fang Lang's words, he glanced outside the room. After making sure it was safe, he lowered his voice and said:
"It has been arranged. The other party said that he will come to Hong Kong to meet you in person."
Hearing this, Fang Lang looked at Qi Qingshan in surprise and said:
"Meet me in Hong Kong? That's British territory. Is his safety guaranteed?"
"Yes, I have mentioned it to the other party. We can take a seaplane to Shanghai to meet with the other party. But the other party said that Shanghai is not very safe now, and there are many spies of Chiang Kai-shek operating in Shanghai.
If they find us in Shanghai, it will be difficult for us to explain when the Americans hold us accountable."
Fang Lang sighed softly, not because he was sad, on the contrary, he was somewhat moved.
"Ah! I have to say that my friends back home are really good friends. They would rather take risks themselves than let me take risks.
I am not afraid of the Americans’ accountability. I am a Brazilian general, not an American general. Why should they hold me accountable? I don’t believe that anyone in Brazil dares to stand up and hold me accountable at this time.”
"Then should we talk to each other again and meet directly in Shanghai?"
Fang Lang hesitated for a moment before saying:
"Forget it! We should still accept the kindness of others. Since we have decided to meet in Hong Kong City, we must ensure the absolute safety of the other party in Hong Kong City.
Later, you can send a telegram to my uncle Fang Xinshui and ask him to prepare some absolutely safe and hidden places for us in Gangcheng.
Those who have lived in Hong Kong for a long time should not believe it too much, including Bai Cunbao, the leader of Hongmen Dashengtang in Hong Kong. Don’t believe it either. Let our group’s investigation department in Hong Kong arrange this matter directly.”
From Fang Lang's words, Qi Qingshan could hear how much importance he attached to this matter, and he certainly did not dare to neglect it.
He nodded with a serious expression:
"Yes, sir! I'll go over and send the telegram myself right away."
"There is no rush for this matter. We are not that close to reaching Hong Kong yet. You should not send this telegram on the warship. Although I believe in the loyalty of our fleet officers and men, there is no guarantee that there will not be Americans who want to get information from them.
We will arrive in Japan tomorrow at noon. You can send them a telegram from the Japanese branch of Fangyuan Group. This will be more covert."
Upon hearing this, Qi Qingshan quickly nodded in agreement.
Yes, Fang Lang’s itinerary for visiting Hong Kong this time will certainly not be a direct trip to Hong Kong. He also plans to stay in Japan to exchange feelings with his good friends and discuss business.
The Far East will soon become bustling. As a time traveler who knows the future situation clearly, Fang Lang must of course make plans early.
A year ago, JP Morgan Bank quietly opened its first bank in Tokyo, Japan, followed by JP Morgan Global and Fangyuan Group also quietly opening branches in Japan.
Because the Japanese economy was in a very difficult situation during this period, about 7.6 million demobilized soldiers, about 1.5 million overseas officials and their families, and about 4 million workers in military-industrial enterprises were unemployed. These unemployed people placed a very heavy burden on the Japanese economy.
In the original history, during this period, many Japanese chose to leave their homes and immigrate to Brazil, but because of the appearance of Fang Lang, history has undergone major changes in this time and space. Now Brazilians are very disgusted with the Japanese.
Coupled with the influx of a large number of Chinese, Brazil's population demand was eased, so that Brazil no longer needed the Japanese population. Instead, many Japanese in Brazil were repatriated to Japan, further aggravating Japan's unemployment pressure.
Except for those organizations engaged in the gray industry that would find some young and beautiful girls from Japan and smuggle them to Brazil or other countries to work in the entertainment industry, there is very little population outflow from Japan, which makes the current unemployment pressure in Japan far greater than in history.
In addition to the pressure of unemployment, Japan also has a series of economic problems such as shortage of supplies and severe inflation. This makes Japan in dire straits.
Therefore, at this time, when JP Morgan Bank, Global Group and Fangyuan Group came to Japan to invest, they were naturally warmly welcomed by the Japanese authorities.
So why did Fang Lang arrange for his group company to enter the Japanese market at this time?
The reason, of course, is that he knows history and that the upcoming Peninsula War and the subsequent Vietnam War will allow Japan's economy to develop rapidly, allowing the Japanese who should have been punished to be easily relieved. This is not what Fang Lang wants to see.
He knew that he was powerless to stop this situation, but being powerless did not mean that he could not steal the fruit.
Therefore, as early as last year, he had quietly begun to arrange for his industries to come to Japan for layout. His purpose was very simple, that is, to curb Japan's development in many ways.
As far as he knew, Japan's exports in July 1950 alone increased by 18% compared with June, reaching 74 million US dollars, and about 100 billion to 150 billion yen worth of unsaleable goods were sold out.
The increase in exports also led to a rapid growth in Japan's foreign exchange reserves. At the end of June 1950, Japan's foreign exchange reserves were US$286 million. By May 1952, it had grown to US$1.2 billion, an increase of more than four times.
More importantly, Japan not only achieved rapid economic development, but also took the opportunity to acquire a large number of advanced technologies, laying the foundation for the subsequent economic take-off of Japan.
According to statistics, Japan introduced 446 advanced technologies such as transistors and electronic computers from Europe and the United States at that time, which stimulated the rapid development of all industries in Japan.
By 1953, Japan's total industrial output value had increased by 55 percent over the pre-war period, steel production had increased by 46 percent, the number of ships had increased by 47 percent, cement production had increased by 51 percent, electricity generation had doubled, and major industrial products had far exceeded pre-war levels.
The purpose of Fang Lang's early deployment in Japan was, of course, to seize the fruits of victory for himself. First of all, the Morgan Global Bank under Fang Lang established friendly cooperative relations with Japanese banks through financial means.
Although this bank with the Morgan name was low-key when it entered Japan, the Japanese at that time did not dare to neglect it at all. After all, not everyone can have the name Morgan. Therefore, Japanese government officials gave the green light to the entry of the Morgan Bank into the Japanese financial industry.
Soon, Morgan Stanley, which had a large number of financial talents, established a firm foothold in Japan and extended its tentacles into the local financial industry in Japan, acquiring some high-value companies at extremely low prices.
Soon after, Global Group entered Japan and acquired heavy industries such as steel, shipbuilding, and machinery manufacturing from some Japanese conglomerates such as Mitsubishi, and began to arrange a small number of order production tasks, allowing these companies to slowly resume operations.
Soon after, Fangyuan Group also began to enter the market in a low-key manner, quietly acquiring industries such as cement, textiles, food processing, automobile manufacturing, tobacco, medicine, and chemicals.
In order to appear low-key enough, Global Group and Fangyuan Group quietly entered Japan to invest by establishing some companies that seemed to have little connection with the two companies through branches in Europe and the United States.
From the beginning, Fang Lang had made up his mind that these factories in Japan only needed to become labor-intensive industries that provided labor. The real core technology must be in Fang Lang's own hands.
Although there was no technology embargo organization like the later Batumi during this period, Fang Lang was fully confident that he could impose a technological blockade on Japan through commercial means. After all, as a person from the future, he had learned a wealth of experience from the Americans.
Even if the Japanese government had any ideas, they couldn't do anything to him. After all, as a defeated country, Japan was naturally in an exploited position. No one could blame Fang Lang for this.
As for whether Fang Lang would be suspected of aiding and abetting the evil by doing this? Fang Lang also thought deeply about this question. It would definitely be wrong to say that there was no suspicion at all, but as long as he weighed it a little, he felt that he had to do this.
Because, even if he did not participate, this war could not be stopped. Since it was impossible to stop him from participating, history would return to its original track, allowing Japan to take the opportunity to rise rapidly.
Should we seize the opportunity that originally belonged to Japan and develop our own industry, or let Japan develop rapidly? This multiple-choice question is not difficult to answer.
And would his participation change the outcome of the war? Fang Lang believed that this was even less likely. After all, he would not give advice to the Americans. He simply provided them with whatever products they needed.
In this kind of thing, even if he doesn't get involved, the Americans will get these supplies from other places. It's better to let him make money than to let others make money.
In fact, Fang Lang thought that the leader of his hometown resolutely chose to fight this war under such difficult circumstances, which was an extremely wise decision.
This war not only demonstrated the military and national prestige, but also straightened the backbone of overseas Chinese, swept away the passive situation of repeated defeats in foreign wars since the Qing Dynasty, and made the new government in his hometown gain huge prestige in the international community.
It has greatly enhanced the Chinese people's national self-confidence and national pride, and cut off the rat-tails in many people's hearts.
This fully illustrates the saying "one strike is better than a hundred strikes". It also provides a peaceful development environment and opportunities for my hometown in the future.
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