De La Torre heard Fang Lang suddenly change the topic to Argentina. Although he felt a little strange, he still nodded honestly and said:
"Of course, Argentina has been following us very closely in the past two years and has shown some signs of being different in many areas."
Hearing this, Fang Lang picked up the teacup and took a sip, then smiled and nodded:
"Argentina doesn't just want to compete with us. What they really want is to become the leader of South America. According to the intelligence I received, their president, Mr. Perón, believes that the United States and the Soviet Union will have a war sooner or later.
Once this war breaks out, it will definitely be the Third World War. What they want to do is to take advantage of the war between the two superpowers, or the two poles of the world, to reap the benefits.
To this end, they have been quietly expanding their armaments.”
This news was obviously something De La Torre had never heard of. After thinking carefully, he couldn't help but frowned and said:
"If a war breaks out between the United States and the Soviet Union, it will become World War III, I have no doubt about that. But Argentina wants to take advantage of the situation and dominate the situation in South America. Isn't that a bit unrealistic?"
In response, Fang Lang just smiled slightly. Living in that era, he understood people's pessimism about US-Soviet relations very well.
...
...
If he had not come from later times, he probably would not have imagined that the United States and the Soviet Union would engage in a protracted struggle for hegemony in the form of the Cold War, and that even in the end, no direct war broke out until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Therefore, it was not surprising at all that De La Torre believed that the Third World War would break out between the United States and the Soviet Union. Even he could see that Argentina's idea was a fantasy, which made Fang Lang feel very relieved.
However, he had seriously thought about why Argentina had such an idea, so he picked up the teacup, took a sip, and slowly said:
"It's not surprising that they have such thoughts. You know, we are now a staunch ally of the United States. If a war breaks out between the United States and the Soviet Union, in their opinion, the possibility of us being involved is as high as 80%.
What would happen if we were dragged into World War III?"
"You mean, they'll wait until we're badly damaged in World War III and then take advantage of the opportunity to attack us?"
At this time, De La Torre no longer understood what Fang Lang meant. He spoke directly with a look of surprise.
Seeing that De La Torre understood what he meant, Fang Lang nodded with relief.
"According to the intelligence I received, Argentina has been quietly recruiting soldiers and is also deploying elite troops to our border.
Their Admiralty has also arranged for someone to quietly go to the UK to inspect the situation of the Giant-class aircraft carrier. Do you understand what I mean?"
"What do you mean? Argentina wants to start an arms race with us?"
“It’s not that I want to, but it’s already started.”
Fang Lang's words made De La Torre fall into deep thought. After a long while, he raised his head and looked at Fang Lang and said:
"So, are you going to join the Navy as Deputy Chief of Staff while building a new aircraft carrier fleet in Rio Grande do Sul to confront Argentina?"
Fang Lang was stunned when he heard this. It was obvious that De La Torre had misunderstood his purpose of asking him to succeed him as the commander of the Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier battle group.
"Don't worry! Even if Argentina wants to start an arms race with us, it won't be that easy. With Argentina's strength, it will take at least ten years for the country to truly achieve industrialization.
What they are doing now, engaging in an arms race with us by purchasing weapons and equipment, is simply courting death.
You have to know that national defense cannot be bought. Only by having a complete national defense industrial system can one be qualified to participate in an arms race. Judging from the current situation in Argentina, the so-called arms race is simply a joke. "
Fang Lang was able to say this because he had his own confidence. First of all, with his participation, Brazil now had its own light and heavy weapons production and research and development capabilities.
At the same time, Brazil has also begun its own research and development of high-tech equipment such as fighter jets, warships and missiles, which are beyond the reach of Argentina.
Of course, this does not mean that Argentina is on the wrong path. At least, these military-industrial enterprises in Argentina are all in the form of state-owned industries, which makes it easy to form the advantage of concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks.
However, the same corruption problems in Argentina and Brazil mean that it is difficult for state-owned capital to achieve the results they expect.
At least, Fang Lang had never heard of Argentina in the world military market. Even when Argentina dared to go to war with the British, the weapons and equipment they used were all purchased from abroad.
For example, the Exocet missile that achieved victory came from France. Later, the British put pressure on France and cut off their source of missiles, which directly put Argentina to bed.
Of course, under the leadership of Juan Perón, Argentina did not achieve nothing. For example, Professor Kurt Tank, who now works for Fang Lang, went to Argentina in history to continue his work on jet aircraft development.
He successfully developed the Arrow jet fighter, but with the resignation of Juan Perón, all his projects were scrapped, and Argentina's military industry naturally followed suit and disappeared into obscurity.
Although it is unknown whether Argentina in this life will experience any unpredictable changes due to Fang Lang's existence, Fang Lang is not panicked at all, because Brazil in this life is no longer the same as in the previous life because of his joining.
At least, in the field of military industry, Brazil is now absolutely the leader in South America.
What Fang Lang is worried about now is whether the equipment developed by his company can successfully enter the international market. You know, when arms are circulated internationally, sometimes what matters is not the quality of the product, but the strength of the country behind the arms group.
When selling arms, what is often sold is not the weapons and equipment themselves, but security, which is the ability to ensure that the country or region using one's equipment will not be threatened by force from other forces.
Of course, the best players are the United States and the Soviet Union. But there is still room for survival for others. For example, the Gallic chickens have successfully survived in this gap.
And they are doing very well. Of course, this is due to the support of the European Union and the fact that the United States is also a NATO member state, so it must leave living space for its allies.
From the very beginning, Fang Lang never thought about becoming an industry leader like the United States and the Soviet Union. His goal has always been to learn from the Gallic rooster and occupy his own share of the world arms market.
De La Torre certainly didn't know this. After hearing Fang Lang's words, he was obviously stunned. He looked at Fang Lang with some confusion and said:
"In that case, why do you still care about Argentina?"
Seeing De La Torre's puzzled expression, Fang Lang smiled and added tea to his cup while saying:
"Although Argentina cannot possibly compete with us, since they have initiated an arms race, we naturally have to respond.
We have an absolute advantage in this regard, because we now have a completely independent military industry.
Moreover, I have never said that if they asked me to be the Deputy Chief of the Navy's General Staff, I would obey their arrangements and become the Deputy Chief of the General Staff!
If one wants to lead the arms race with Argentina, the position of Deputy Chief of the Navy's General Staff alone will not be of any use.
What I have to do this time is to take advantage of the situation and seek a more influential position."
Fang Lang had come up with this idea after careful consideration. You know, according to his original plan, he was prepared to stay in Natal and rely on the fleet in his hands to protect his own industry.
However, with the rapid expansion of Fangyuan Group and Global Group around the world in recent years, Fang Lang's original plan seemed a bit out of date and obviously too conservative.
Especially this time, the strong influence demonstrated by Xin Shiliang's office on the Brazilian presidential election made him realize that he should step out and further expand his influence in the military.
If the current situation continues, perhaps with his strength and that of more than 10 million Chinese people, Brazil's original history can be changed, and the political ecology will no longer be overly influenced by the United States. There must be no military coup to overthrow the democratic government.
At this time, De La Torre knew that Fang Lang had made up his mind and it would be difficult to change his mind no matter how much he persuaded him. He could only sigh and looked at Fang Lang seriously for a long time before saying:
"I understand. Boss, you want me to help you keep the Rio de Janeiro aircraft carrier battle group firmly in your hands and prevent those guys from coming to pick peaches, right?"
After hearing what De La Torre said, Fang Lang understood that the other party had agreed with his idea and was willing to become the fleet commander. This made him smile with satisfaction.
“Yes, I built the Rio de Janeiro Carrier Strike Group, and I certainly can’t let it go back to the old path of other Brazilian armies.
Only you old people can lead our fleet to continue to grow stronger, until one day Brazil can become a world naval power.
This is a cause that our generation must strive to accomplish. We must not allow those bureaucrats and parasites to destroy the results of our hard work. "
Of course, Fang Lang's words may sound a bit exaggerated, but to De La Torre and the others, these are all facts, and they are willing to believe everything Fang Lang said.
Because they were not just listening to what Fang Lang said or looking at the pie in the sky that Fang Lang painted, but they actually saw the results. Many of them were transferred from the original Brazilian army and were very familiar with the original style of the Brazilian army.
Since they entered this fleet, it was like entering a melting pot, and they were slowly refined. They experienced the honor and responsibility that a soldier should have, and they would not be willing to return to their original muddle-headed days.
Now that Fang Lang has shown such righteousness to persuade De La Torre to take over as fleet commander, De La Torre will certainly not be able to continue to refuse.
De La Torre stood up with a serious expression, stood at attention opposite Fang Lang, and said in a firm tone:
"Thank you for your trust, boss. I understand your thoughts. You showed me the honor and responsibility of a soldier. Having experienced the light, I cannot accept to continue to endure the darkness!
Since you intend to bring light to the entire Brazilian army, I, De La Torre, am willing to lead the horse and stool for you and assist you wholeheartedly in controlling the Brazilian army! "
In fact, De La Torre had already pledged allegiance to Fang Lang a long time ago, and his loyalty had stood the test of time in recent years. According to intelligence from the Second Section of the Logistics Department, De La Torre's family had always been grateful to Fang Lang. Even De La Torre's children knew that everything they had was given by Fang Lang, and they wanted to repay Fang Lang with their lives and loyalty.
As the fleet commander, Fang Lang often acted as a hands-off manager. The daily management of the fleet was handled by De La Torre, who not only had no complaints, but was also grateful for Fang Lang's trust. He always considered Fang Lang's interests, promoted Fang Lang's greatness, and established Fang Lang's absolute authority in the fleet.
He never thought of taking the opportunity to win over his subordinates, build his own small circle, and cultivate his own power. This made Fang Lang very satisfied, so he always trusted De La Torre very much.
Fang Lang was stunned when he heard De La Torre say that he wanted to assist him and take control of the entire Brazilian army. To be honest, he had really thought about this, and everything he was doing now was moving in this direction.
But he had never brought it up before. Now that De La Torre took the initiative to bring it up, it was obvious that he had heard his intention from what he said today. This made him alert. Now he really had unparalleled influence in Brazil.
But if someone else heard about controlling the Brazilian army, it would cause big trouble. This kind of thing was obviously something that could only be done but not said, so Fang Lang quickly said:
"Everything we do is for the strength of the Brazilian army, and we have never intended to turn the entire army into a private force.
Therefore, please do not say these words that are not conducive to unity. Do you understand?"
De La Torre was an old man who had followed Fang Lang for a long time. He naturally understood the hidden meaning in Fang Lang's words, which made him unable to help but curl up the corners of his mouth slightly. He saluted Fang Lang seriously and said seriously:
"Yes, General, I will definitely pledge my loyalty to Brazil, the army, and General!"
Among them, the last sentence "loyalty to His Excellency the General" has a much stronger tone and its meaning is very clear.
Seeing this, Fang Lang couldn't help but nodded with a smile and said:
"Very good. We soldiers should be loyal to our country and our superiors."
After that, he waved to him again, motioning him to sit down and said:
"Okay, don't stand any more, let's sit down and drink and talk."
Hearing this, De La Torre also saluted with a smile and said:
"Yes, boss!"
After saying that, the two of them tacitly changed the topic and began to talk about other interesting things that happened in the fleet in the past three months.
Regarding the official work content, the heads of various departments of the fleet have already made detailed reports to Fang Lang at the meeting. Now, what De La Torre told Fang Lang were mostly some gossip or interesting stories about the fleet.
In the next few days, Fang Lang's main focus would naturally be on the management of the fleet. The turmoil in the outside world and the noise of the presidential election seemed to have nothing to do with him at all.
Everyone tacitly agreed not to disturb him.
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