Chapter 54

Gao Yang also understood that to become a strong country, a powerful navy was indispensable. Gao Yang's original plan was to occupy the city of Moudou after the main highways in Wan and Su provinces were completed, and then start the naval ship procurement process once he had a large seaport.

However, after General Lu was assassinated, Gao Yang decided to greatly accelerate all plans. Lu Xiaojia was skilled in drinking, gambling, and patronizing actors, but he lacked the ability to take over as the military governor of Zhejiang and continue his father's work. The military leaders under his father would not submit to him! The Zhejiang army would soon fall apart.

After the Zhejiang army's internal strife, Gao Yang's task would be simple: under the guise of being part of the Wan clique, he would use his powerful strength to annex the legacy left by General Lu. In short, it would be like picking ripe fruit; he would just need to give them more money, and Gao Yang was not short of money.

This plan would take about two months. If the ship procurement plan was advanced, the negotiations should be completed by the time Moudou was occupied, and then the purchased warships could be directly sailed to Moudou.

After making up his mind, Gao Yang lightly rubbed his temples, paused for a moment, and wrote on the application: "Proposed approval, instruct the Yangtze River Fleet to send key personnel to negotiate ship purchases with Britain, with a provisional total procurement amount of..." He stopped, pondering again, "How many ships should I buy?"

Certainly, he couldn't buy too many, as a powerful navy couldn't be built solely by purchasing ships; they could only be used for temporary emergencies and training. The scale should be enough to make the Japanese feel threatened, ideally forcing them to increase their military spending and suffer more in the subsequent economic crisis.

"Yuan Dian, can you go online now?"

"......If you can find a network port in this era, I can go online!"

"Oh, then let's go back. I want to look up some information."

"No need for that. When I was in the modern era, I downloaded a lot of information through the internet. What do you want to know? I'll check if I have it stored."

"Help me look up the current status and fate of the British Navy's ships."

After consulting Yuan Dian, Gao Yang focused on the British Navy's King George V-class battleships. According to Yuan Dian's information, due to the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, the British Navy planned to scrap all three remaining King George V-class battleships next year to make room for the upcoming Nelson-class battleships. Buying these three ships at this time would be like sending coal to Newcastle for the British Navy, a win-win choice.

Gao Yang had reasons for choosing the King George V-class. First, the British Navy intended to scrap them, and Gao Yang's offer to buy them would be mutually beneficial. Second, these battleships had been in service for over a decade, and their performance and technical specifications were outdated, reducing the resistance to the purchase. Lastly, their average construction cost was 1.94 million pounds about a decade ago, and with the restoration of the gold standard, the price would be much cheaper, possibly half. The remaining budget could be used to buy some auxiliary ships. In 1920, the British sold the battleship HMS Canada to Chile for only 1 million pounds.

For the British Navy, the King George V-class battleships were outdated and ready for scrapping, but for the Chinese Navy, they were a national treasure that would make one drool in their dreams!

The King George V-class battleships had a standard displacement of 23,300 tons and a full load displacement of 25,700 tons. They were 169 meters long, 27 meters wide, and had a draft of 9 meters. They were equipped with 18 coal-fired boilers and 4 steam turbines, with a total output of 27,000 shaft horsepower, achieving a maximum speed of 21 knots and a range of 6,730 nautical miles at 10 knots. The ship was armed with 5 twin-mounted MK5 45-caliber 343mm main guns, 16 102mm 50-caliber secondary guns on the sides, and 3 533mm underwater torpedo tubes. The main armor belt was 305mm to 203mm thick, and the bridge armor was 280mm thick.

These performance specifications were certainly not enough to defeat the Nagato, but Gao Yang's main goal was to make Japan feel threatened, enhance his reputation, train the navy, and boost national confidence. Better warships would come in the future.

After a moment of thought, Gao Yang wrote, "Within 20 million dollars." After the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty, Britain, which needed to reduce its huge military budget, was in dire need of large sums of money. In May, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill had restored the gold standard for the pound, making it a good time to buy old ships from Britain.

Most of Gao Yang's deposits in Citibank were in dollars. At the current exchange rate of 1 pound to 4.86 dollars, the budget for this ship purchase would exceed 4 million pounds! This deal would help ease the cold relationship between the two sides. Gao Yang had been getting along well with the United States but had little trade with Britain, and the British were already dissatisfied with him, as they were still the world's leading power at the time.

After writing down his thoughts, Gao Yang put down his pen, rubbed his sore neck, and stretched, smiling to himself with a touch of self-mockery, "How long has it been since I studied so seriously after the college entrance exam?"

Looking at the wall clock, he realized several hours had passed. He quickly organized the documents and locked them in the safe, planning to distribute them to the relevant departments the next day.

After returning to the modern era, Gao Yang thought about calling Chae Soo-jung before taking a shower, "I wonder if Soo-jung has finished her filming." He took out his phone and dialed. The call connected, but no one answered, indicating the filming was still ongoing.

"Really hardworking." Gao Yang shook his head. Everyone had their own choices, and he had no intention of interfering with Chae Soo-jung's life. He took out his change of clothes and headed to the bathroom. When he returned, he found a message from Chae Soo-jung: "OPPA, I'm recording a program, it will be over soon, wait for me." He smiled and put away his phone, heading downstairs to the living room.

Mr. Governor was already waiting for him. "Have all the targets been eliminated?" Gao Yang walked to the bar and poured himself a glass of whiskey.

"Yes." A low, mechanical voice responded. Holding his glass, Gao Yang walked over to Mr. Governor, who was taller and more intimidating than him. Gao Yang smirked and asked, "Would you like a drink?" Mr. Governor didn't answer, turned to Gao Yang, and suddenly grabbed the glass, drinking it in one gulp.

"Drinking isn't a problem; advanced robots aren't as fragile as the electronic devices you humans make." Yuan Dian's voice sounded.

"Oh, really? Actually..." Gao Yang was about to say something when his phone rang. It was Chae Soo-jung. When he answered, her cheerful voice rang out, "OPPA, do you miss your most beautiful Soo-jung?"

Hearing her joyful voice, Gao Yang relaxed and said softly, "I think of you every day."

"Since you miss me, when will you come to see me?" Chae Soo-jung asked, slightly pouting.

"I really want to be with you right now. I'll go to Korea to see you before your debut anniversary. Wait for me. How do you feel after such a long break and then returning to filming? Take care of yourself." Gao Yang said gently.

"Okay, I will." Chae Soo-jung replied softly. They chatted sweetly for nearly an hour until it was past midnight before hanging up.

Holding his slightly warm phone, Gao Yang leaned back on the sofa, thinking, "Being apart for so long isn't good."

The next morning, after washing up, Gao Yang called the general manager of the mine and instructed him to expedite the completion of the mine's subsequent work, strengthen security, and suppress any troublemakers.

He then drove to Libreville, boarded a plane, and flew to Bern to visit his parents. That evening, Gao Yang returned to the villa in Bern.

After entering the living room and throwing his coat, phone, and wallet on the coffee table, Gao Yang dramatically exclaimed, "Ah—so tired, I've been traveling all day, my legs are about to fall off." His mother came over and patted him on the back. "Get up, you're a grown man, not a child. Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."

"Okay." Gao Yang obediently got up, washed up, and prepared for dinner.

After dinner, the family gathered around the TV to watch domestic satellite TV. Gao Yang wasn't interested in the TV and left the living room to find Butler Stock.

"Have you taken care of the matter we discussed on the phone?" Gao Yang asked directly when he saw Stock.

Stock smiled and said, "Sir, I have placed an order for the latest Gulfstream G650 twin-engine business jet on your behalf. Gulfstream's quoted price is 65 million dollars."

"Money is not a problem. I'll leave a check for you tomorrow. How long will it take to deliver?" Gao Yang continued to ask.

"Gulfstream hopes to consult you on interior decoration and other issues and invites you to visit their company," Stock said, bowing slightly.

"Use their standard configuration for the interior decoration. I won't go. You can represent me when you have time. Also, how long will it take to deliver?" Gao Yang's tone showed a hint of impatience.

Stock bowed slightly. "I apologize, sir. Gulfstream says a new custom-built plane will take a year. However, they have reserve planes that are almost complete. If the customer is in a hurry, it will take only 3 months to modify and deliver, with an additional 1.9 million dollars for the work."

"Alright, handle this matter as soon as possible. I hope to see my plane in 3 months." Gao Yang relaxed, and this news improved his mood. The various troubles of flying commercial flights had made him decide to buy his own private plane.

"By the way, I have one more question. If I want to buy a yacht, which company's products are the best?" Gao Yang suddenly remembered and asked.