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Volume IV Boom 38 The Washington Conference Arrived as Scheduled

San Francisco Bay Area.

The noisy shipyard was much quieter, and several battleships with their keels had just been laid lying limply on the slipway, like abandoned old women.

This is the Francisco shipyard, which bears the same name as the city and is the pride of the city. Because it once produced American battleships, it is the shipbuilding center of the West Coast of the United States.

Situ Nan proudly looked at the steel world in front of him, while Francisco, the general manager of the shipbuilding company who followed him, was not so happy, but looked at the slipway with a sad face.

There is also a big man around them, that is, Eugene, the president of Bethlehem United Steel Company and the head of the largest arms dealers organization in the United States? Gifford Grace. He followed behind, frowning at the somewhat quiet slipway, as if he had encountered something difficult.

Their feelings were all influenced by the great power conference that was being held in Washington.

"Although there is no final conclusion yet, the final news is certainly not good for us, the military-industrial complex." Eugene sighed.

"This is really not good, maybe in a few days the order for the warship that we have managed to win will be canceled." Francisco nodded, looking at Situ Nan with some expectation, hoping that this magical young man would have some magic to change the upcoming "Great Depression of the Military Industry".

"Isn't that expected?" Situ Nan smiled, he was very optimistic.

Just after the end of World War I, the British finally defeated the Germans, who were bent on building ships with them, and looked back at the Americans on the other side of the ocean, but they were building a large number of warships, and they had already caught up with the Royal Navy in numbers.

In the Far East Pacific, the former younger brother of the Japanese was desperately building ships, and the Japanese proposed to build the 88th Fleet plan, but they were crazy, cut back on food and clothing, and invested most of the country's finances in the navy.

How does this keep the British from worrying? The navy is the foundation of the empire's global hegemony, and now it has just emerged from the world war and has to face new challenges.

Build it! Before the wounds of the war were fully healed, the British took the plunge and joined the new arms race provoked by the Americans. To maintain superiority over the US Navy, as they say.

To the nerve-wracking of the British, the French were not willing to be lonely and joined the race. But they don't build warships, they learn from German man-made submarines!

France and England are across the sea, a short English Channel can be heard almost after a sneeze, and the French submarine is almost like a poison needle under the testicles of the British!

There are also Italians who are obviously incompetent, but they are self-righteous everywhere and they are not making some small moves. The story of the great country is endless, and every moment is wonderful.

From 1918 to 1921, several major countries in the world were noisy for several years in this delicate climate, but they had just finished the world war, and they were unable to provoke a new world war. I really don't know how the Germans felt when they saw this situation.

"Harding is still wise, although we have provoked this race, we have achieved the same strong naval status as the British, and we should take it as soon as we see it. There's no point in fighting any longer. Situ Nan analyzed.

Both Francisco and Eugene know this.

"Alas, it's just a pain for us people. The battleship is okay, it is still on the drawings, and the one in front of it is just out of keel, and it can be dismantled or rebuilt into a merchant ship, but there are a few built destroyers and torpedo ships that are a little troublesome to deal with. ”

Francisco said with some distress.

Situ Nan once warned him not to move too much, but he was carried away by the hot warship competition in the past two days, and built a lot of warships.

Situ Nan didn't stop him at that time. Now looking at Francis's somewhat annoyed look, he smiled in his heart. "Now that it's done, don't tear it down yet. U.S. Navy don't, I want it! ”

Situ Nan said with a smile.

"You?" Francisco looked at Situ Nan in surprise.

"There's been a bit of business with South American countries lately, you know, they can't afford to play the big guys, but it's also a good choice to have a couple of small rushing facades." Situ Nan explained.

Recently, the Anglo-Dutch Shell oil company has made a lot of small moves in Venezuela, and the contact with Gomez is somewhat frequent, so Situ Nan has to comfort the Venezuelans with those things.

Besides, Venezuela only got some of these warships, and more of them were just sent to the South Seas through a formality. However, Situ Nan did not want to explain the matter to Francisco and Eugene.

Small Latin American countries have always had a tradition of being second-hand dealers, and it was natural for Situ Nan to find them. Over the years, a group of naval officers and men painstakingly cultivated by the Zhi Gong Party and the US-China Company have been serving in the United States, Venezuela, and other places.

Can those rookies deal with the declining coachman?

Situ Nan had some expectations in his heart, thinking about providing more chips for the Nanyang side. The Francisco Yard is just a shipyard owned by the United Steel Company of Bethlehem, and through Guò Eugene, Stuart Nan has taken several warships that have been scrapped and dismantled by the U.S. Navy on paper.

Of course, these are small ships, which have been slightly modified according to Situ Nan's requirements, and look more harmonious.

Sure enough, when Situ Nan was still in the Francisco shipyard, news came from the east.

Situ Nan heard on the San Francisco radio that Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy had signed the "Washington Naval Treaty," which limited the tonnage of capital ships (35,000 tons) and the caliber of main guns (not exceeding 16 inches), and stipulated that the total tonnage ratio of capital ships (battleships and battle cruisers) of the navies of the United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy was 10:10:6:3.5:3.5. In addition, the total tonnage of aircraft carriers, standard displacement, artillery caliber of the contracting parties are specified.

This is the result of a mutual compromise. Flipping through the newspaper, there is a more detailed report on it.

"Well, that's a good saying. The Navy's holiday is coming. Francisco, it's time to make a decision. Situ Nan said with a smile.

"Yay, damn it. The Americans won, but my shipyard lost. It's been a long naval vacation, and it seems that it won't work if it doesn't change. Francisco sighed.

The transfer of military industry to civilian use is not so simple, the loss of naval orders in the future in the commercial shipbuilding industry competition will become more and more intense, that is to say, the money is not so easy to make, especially in the face of Japan, Britain shipbuilding competition.

"Isn't that what you expected?" Situ Nan smiled and turned to Eugene, the man at the helm of his arms empire.

"It's not that bad. At least for Bethlehem, I believe he will be even more brilliant in the future. I have seen the significance of Bethlehem in the rise of industries such as automobiles and construction. Eugene laughed.

In addition to shipbuilding, Bethlehem United Steel has two major businesses, arms manufacturing and steel production. The arms manufacturing business has shrunk to the extreme, and in addition to large-caliber cannons, other factories such as pistols, machine guns, and mortars have either closed down and converted to civilian production.

"Just think about it." Situ Nan looked at Eugene, who had a clear face, and said, "How about the construction steel?" I'm going to build a skyscraper in New York, 50 floors. How about the name Bethlehem Tower? ”

"Nice idea. I like it. Eugene and Situ Nan smiled at each other's acquaintances, and each thought of using a skyscraper to show off the strength of the Bethlehem Company. And construction steel and automotive steel are the projects they are optimistic about.

"By the way, whether you are interested in opening a factory in China, I have something to do with there. There is a large market of hundreds of millions of people, and although the per capita consumption is low, as long as everyone buys one of our iron nails, it is enough for us to make a lot of money. I hope Bethlehem will be more proactive in this regard.

You know, we're going to be retiring a lot of equipment in the future, and what's obsolete here might be good elsewhere. There's nothing more wonderful than getting a market out of something you don't use. Situ Nan flickered.

Then he introduced the construction of Wuhan Iron and Steel Company and Liangguang to Eugene, hoping to promote the cooperation between Bethlehem and Meihua.

Although Situ Nan holds nearly one-third of the shares of Bethlehem, he rarely interferes in the specific operation of the company, and often discusses it with Eugene.

Eugene's eyes lit up as he listened. Not only the steel company, but also the Bethlehem company can resell the obsolete weapons production lines to China. In addition, this matter is guaranteed by Situ Nan, and the partner is a well-known Meihua company in the Far East, where does Eugene not agree?

This is not the first time that Meihua and Bethlehem have collaborated. But it's the biggest one. After Bethlehem fully shifted to the civilian market, the equipment and production lines transferred to China were even larger, amounting to 40 million US dollars, which lasted for a total of five years.

After meeting with Eugene, Stuart Nan rushed east, and before arriving in New York, he made a special trip to Washington.

On a secret occasion, he met with Gu Weijun of the Chinese delegation and Wu Chaoshu, a representative of the Guangzhou government. Since the Guangzhou government had not yet revoked its independence, Guangzhou, like the Paris Peace Conference, sent diplomatic representatives.

When we met again, the atmosphere was much more relaxed.

The Washington conference had a favorable impact on China, and Gu Weijun and others made an impassioned speech in Washington after a lapse of three years, reclaiming most of Shandong's sovereignty with the support of Britain and the United States, and returning the sovereignty of the Jiaoji Railway to the Chinese government. The fly in the ointment is that the Japanese also retain many interests and privileges.

"It's a good thing, and when I think about it in Paris, I almost didn't have the shame to go back home." Gu Weijun said, with a sigh in his heart.

As a key member of the delegation, he bears the expectations of hundreds of millions of people behind him, and the slightest mistake will leave a stench for 10,000 years. Fortunately, although the meeting in Washington was not perfect, it was worthy of the country.

"Speaking of which, I have to thank Mr. Situ, thank you." Gu Weijun looked at Situ Nan gratefully, from Paris to Washington, thanks to the help of this special person.

"It's just a little bit of a thought. Congratulations. Situ Nan praised. But there is not much excitement in my heart, when China can become a part of the spoils, that is worthy of real joy.

After spending some time in Washington, Situ Nan rushed to New York to pay for the Shandong issue on behalf of the William consortium and use the money to buy off the Japanese he hated.

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