Chapter 45

Lin Yuan continued, "Given the current difficulties we face, I believe that in future wars, we will not use aircraft carriers as direct offensive means. Instead, aircraft carriers will play more of a trump card role. Our next goal is to quickly learn how to use the warships we captured from the Japanese Combined Fleet. The recently concluded First Sino-Japanese War has taught us that a strong navy alone is not enough; we also need a strong army."

Su Zhengming asked, "Captain, what kind of weapons should our army be equipped with?"

Lin Yuan replied, "I have considered this. Given the limitations of the era, mechanization is impossible, and informatization is not even a thought. I plan to equip our army with semi-automatic rifles and grenades. We are currently poor and lack resources, so this is the best we can do."

Su Zhengming said, "Captain Lin, these are relatively easy to manufacture. In this regard, perhaps Mr. Liu can provide some insights."

Su Zhengming was very courteous to Mr. Liu, indicating that Mr. Liu's experience and capabilities were on par with his own. An elderly man in the crowd waved his hand and shook his head, indicating that he had nothing to say. Lin Yuan recognized that this Mr. Liu was named Liu Jinqiu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a renowned metallurgical industry expert.

Lin Yuan knew that Mr. Liu had a very gentle personality, almost the opposite of Su Zhengming. He smiled and said, "Mr. Liu, please share your thoughts."

Liu Jinqiu then stepped out of the crowd and said, "I just heard what Academician Su mentioned. Our biggest challenge right now is materials. Materials are the foundation of all industrial products. To manufacture army weapons, we need steel, which involves basic industries."

Liu Jinqiu continued, "Basic industries, in simple terms, are the industries that produce production materials, such as energy, mining, metallurgy, and mechanical processing. To make it clear, let's take steel production as an example. For mining, we need iron ore and fuel. To smelt iron, we must use coke. For energy, the most common method of steel production is blast furnace steelmaking. During blast furnace steelmaking, a blower is used to blow air into the furnace. What drives this blower? Currently, we can only use a steam engine. In metallurgy, we extract iron from iron ore."

"Having these basic industries is like having 0 and 1 in binary, which can form all other numbers. However, the problem we face is that we don't have any of these things," Liu Jinqiu said with a smile.

Lin Yuan said, "For coal and iron mines, I will try to purchase them from Taiwan. As for other equipment, we need to think creatively."

At this moment, someone reported, "A few British people want to meet the Ryukyu Emperor. Shang Tai hopes that Lin Yuan can help."

The meeting had already been going on for some time, so he asked the experts and professors to return and rest. The reception area was at the Japanese Navy Fleet Command in Naha, the only decent building in the Naha port.

There is an old Chinese saying: "To know someone's true thoughts, listen to what they say behind your back." Lin Yuan came to the reception room, borrowed a set of local clothes, and dressed as a janitor, covering his face with a large straw hat. He entered the room where the British people were.

This room was originally the meeting room of the Japanese Navy in Naha, and it was very clean. Four British people were sitting inside. When they saw Lin Yuan enter with a bucket and a cloth, one of them was surprised and said, "Such a young man should be working in a factory, not doing this kind of work."

The British people, assuming that Lin Yuan was a local and did not understand English, spoke freely in English.

Another said, "Mr. Green, you always meddle in other people's affairs. Why should we care about these things? What we should be concerned about is how much interest we will charge the Ryukyu people for our loans."

The man called Green said, "We shouldn't set the interest rate too high. When our bank tried to lend money to Lincoln in the United States, we proposed an interest rate of 35% to 45%, and Lincoln pointed to the door and said, 'Get out.'"

The four British people laughed. Lin Yuan thought, "They are here to offer us loans, which will certainly be secured by the Ryukyu Kingdom's fiscal revenue."

The man called Green continued, "Mr. James, I don't understand why Krupp Steel Company is here. This place is full of savages. Do they need steel for farming tools?"

The four people laughed again. James smiled and said, "We will help them establish a steel production line here."

As he said this, Lin Yuan was cleaning the window. Hearing this, he stopped and thought, "Why are they here to establish a steel production line? They must have some ulterior motive. However, establishing a steel production line means that the basic industrial layout is in place. With our technical capabilities, we will certainly create something that will shock the world!"

Soon, Shang Tai arrived with a few attendants, dressed simply and with the demeanor of an ancient sage. Lin Yuan quickly went to change his clothes. When he returned, the British people had already presented the contracts.

Shang Tai, who did not understand these matters, seemed to see a savior when he saw Lin Yuan. After a brief apology, Lin Yuan took the contracts. One contract was for a loan of one million pounds, secured by the Ryukyu Kingdom's fiscal revenue for five years. The other was for establishing a steel factory, including the introduction of a steel production line for two million pounds, which included a steam blower, a blast furnace, a Martin steelmaking furnace, a coke production line, a desulfurizer production line, a continuous casting machine, and a 2,000-ton hydraulic press, among other things.

Seeing the Martin steelmaking furnace, Lin Yuan thought, "This type of steelmaking furnace was later completely replaced by the converter." He said, "We also need a converter."

The British people were surprised that these uncivilized savages actually knew what they were talking about, but they still agreed.

The additional terms of the contract stated that the iron ore, coal for coke production, and desulfurizer raw materials for the Ryukyu steel plant must be imported from Britain, with the transportation costs borne by the Ryukyu Kingdom. The steel produced by the Ryukyu Kingdom could not be sold to third countries.

Lin Yuan thought, "These British people are like weasels wishing chickens a happy new year—they have no good intentions. They will transport the raw materials from their nearest colonies and tell us that they are from Britain, then charge us exorbitant prices."

Lin Yuan was not worried about this. He had his own ways to deal with them. He smiled and said, "We generally agree with the contract, but when we purchase iron ore, we need to test its quality. If it does not meet the required standards, we will not purchase it."

Lin Yuan added, "We not only need the equipment but also hope that the British side can provide personnel training and technical guidance, with generous salaries for the instructors."

James pointed to a young man beside him and said, "We have already considered this. This young man, named Will, is an excellent talent of the British Empire. He will stay to assist in the site selection for your steel plant and be responsible for training your personnel."

Lin Yuan glanced at the young man named Will. During the conversation, he had laughed the most, clearly looking down on the Ryukyu people and believing that they did not understand science. Lin Yuan smiled inwardly, and a funny phrase suddenly came to mind: "Pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger."