Chen Nian rested at home for more than two weeks in total, during which no one came to disturb him, and he could be regarded as the easiest period of the four years.

However, while he was enjoying his vacation, the international situation was becoming more and more serious by the day.

In the African region, the conflict in Darfur is intensifying, the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, is in danger, the military port of Djibouti is blocked by the Fifth Fleet, and two Type 052B destroyers in Guangzhou and Wuhan are facing off with several Burke-class destroyers and an aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt.

At the same time, due to the impact of the war in Sudan, many neighboring countries, including Egypt and Ethiopia, are ready to move, if it were not for China's repeated voices and investment in Ethiopia as a deterrent, Ethiopia would almost have taken the opportunity to show troops on the border and seize the actual control of the Blue Nile.

This is chaotic in North Africa, and so is it in southern Africa.

Although the Gauteng high-speed rail project went smoothly, due to the aftermath of Mandela's series of stupid policies, South Africa's economy continued to deteriorate, partisanship became more serious, and even the capital Cape Town was in large-scale unrest.

And, after seeing the "demonstration effect" in Darfur, the opposition has stepped up its ties with the United States in an attempt to overthrow black rule and re-establish white order.

Under such circumstances, it is almost impossible for society to maintain basic stability.

If it weren't for South Africa's own strong economy, I am afraid that the tragedy in Rwanda would have been repeated.

——

In fact, such an incident has already begun to emerge.

Congo, Gabon, Angola, Zambia, and Guinea have uniformly appeared in large-scale tribal armed conflicts, and if no one among them is contributing to the troubles, I am afraid that even Lao Mei himself does not believe it.

This is true in Africa, not to mention the Middle East.

The dispute over oil is intensifying day by day, especially after the Fifth Fleet has strengthened, and tensions in the Persian Gulf have returned to their peak in nearly two decades, second only to the eve of the two wars.

Under such circumstances, several oil-producing countries, which are already contradictory, will naturally not miss the opportunity to use weapons of mass destruction, dirty bombs, poison gas bombs, and nuclear weapons for a while

All kinds of news are flying all over the sky, and it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false.

Compared with these two regions at the center of the conflict, the situation in Europe and the Americas is relatively stable, but the economic fluctuations are still fierce.

The aftermath of the economic crisis has not yet dissipated, and what has made the European and American markets even worse is that the Chinese are coming.

In the European market, wrapped in the thunderous power of the "moving mountain" project, Huaxia heavy machinery almost swept the entire European market, and the local traditional machinery manufacturing companies all the white flags overnight, leaving only a few old-fashioned enterprises with technical accumulation in finishing to encourage maintenance.

But how long they will last, who knows?

As far as the United States is concerned, the impact mainly comes from the fields of daily necessities and consumer goods.

Due to the explosive breakthrough of China's civil technology, the entire industrial structure has undergone a major transformation.

Now the most profitable thing is no longer to export primary products and handicraft products, but to export refined end products after winning technology.

This led to a rapid accumulation of funds, and the US side soon discovered that they had many things that they could not buy.

This can be said to be harmless in the short term, but in the foreseeable future, if consumer goods continue to be out of stock, it will also be a major blow to the industrial development of the United States.

More crucially, the US side was surprised to find that 555 Fulton, which had first entered the country before the financial crisis, had actually gained a foothold and began to play its role as a "comprador".

Real estate, which has only experienced a round of plummeting, has inadvertently risen again.

——

It seems that these people feel that they didn't smash hard enough last time, and they have to pull it up and smash it again.

All in all, East Asia has become the only island.

While everyone is struggling to survive, the rabbits are wondering how to sweep the world.

in one room.

The Secretary of the meeting reported on the situation.

So that's the way it is."

"Although they have paid a huge price, the situation in Africa has really been disrupted, and it has also caused some disruption to our investment in the region."

"At the moment, this interference is fairly limited."

"And, as our forces in Djibouti are put in place, the unrest will be further suppressed."

"So, we don't think we've been affected by our strategic presence in Africa at the moment."

"At the same time, the global economy is in turmoil due to their irrational actions in Africa, and this is a great opportunity for us."

"In the next stage, we should still advance the original plan step by step, deepen the resource strategy, and obtain the most fundamental underlying advantages."

"On the one hand, we must step up the development of various mineral resources in Africa, especially iron ore resources, and strive to reduce our dependence on the four major international miners in the short term."

"On the one hand, we need to speed up the process of technological development, exchange technology for resources, and reverse the scissors difference."

"According to the preliminary plan, we need to complete the development of the African region within the next five years and completely solve the domestic resource dilemma."

Hearing this, the old man raised his hand to signal the secretary to pause, and then he spoke:

"Don't repeat things that are too macroscopic, everyone knows it in their hearts."

"You mainly talk about the preparation of several key conditions under these macro strategies, and you are specific to the matter!"

The secretary paused and replied:

"Matter-wise, the first condition is the establishment of African influence, that is, the need to compete with the Fifth Fleet and expand the power presence of the Djibouti military port."

"In this regard, the Spark team has entered the sprint stage, and it is expected that it will take about a year to a year and a half, and after the 055 and 001 ships are launched, they will be immediately sent to Djibouti to form a confrontation."

"The military also gave advice on the handling of the power vacuum period of this year and a half, and it is still temporarily filled by the Air Force."

"At present, the construction of Djibouti airport has been completed, which can take off and land large transport aircraft and bombers."

"Understood."

The old man nodded.

The so-called "can take off and land" means "will not actually take off and land"; in the future, the fighters represented by the Jian-22 and Jian-20 should still be the main combat strength of the Djibouti base.

But as long as the airport is there, it's a serious deterrent, and it means that we have the ability to use last resort if things get out of hand.

"Aside from Djibouti, how is Guinea's layout?"

"Negotiations are underway, but at present, the situation on the west coast of Africa is extremely volatile, and Guinea's official control is declining, and if you want to open up the situation, you still have to rely on the completion of the Djibouti base."

The old man's brows furrowed slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he spoke:

"Guinea is the most critical source of iron ore for us in the future, and whether we can break the monopoly of Australian iron ore depends on our operation in Guinea."

"Notice, increase the financial budget of the Spark team in the third and fourth quarters, speed up the research and development of technology and equipment, and seize the opportunity at any cost."

"We have to make those 'friends' across the sea understand that the days when a few warships alone could force us to not move are over."

"They think whoever has the biggest fist can speak, so let's show them who has the biggest fist!"

"Understood!"

The secretary nodded solemnly and wrote down the old man's plan on a piece of paper.

"At the next week's meeting, we'll set the agenda, discuss your proposal, and once it's passed, we'll implement it as soon as possible."

"Not as soon as possible, as fast as possible."

The old man sighed softly and continued:

"We don't have much time, every minute and every second, we have to hurry"

Two weeks later, the Spark team's budget supplement plan was approved, and under Chen Guo's operation, this "windfall" was quickly allocated to several key projects of the Spark team.

Among them, the Deep Blue 16 project and the 055 project took the lion's share of the supplementary budget.

According to Chen Guo's estimate, with the blessing of additional funds, the construction period of these two projects can be shortened by at least 20%.

In other words, by January 2008 at the latest, the first aircraft carrier and the first fourth-generation ship should be on the sea

In the office, Chen Nian, who had just returned to Xi'an University of Technology, sat opposite Chen Guo, listening to his budget arrangements for the Spark team.

In fact, such a budget report had already been made once at the beginning of the year, but due to budget changes, Chen Guo made a report to Chen Nian again.

So basically, so far, the budget completion of the Spark team will be controlled at about 80% according to your requirements, and the remaining 20% is the risk margin."

"But I really don't understand, what are you going to do with this 20 percent budget?"

"Metallic hydrogen batteries? At the current pace, you can't spend that much money in the short term, right? ”

"You know, our current annual budget is 220 billion, and 20 percent is more than 40 billion.

"If it really doesn't work, let's vote for the army, and their equipment should indeed be replaced."

Hearing this, Chen Nian shook his head firmly.

"No, the 20 percent budget must not be moved."

"Not to mention that I can't move, even the extra money I gave to Xinghuo before, I was going to cut it off."

"40 billion seems like a lot, but in reality, it's not enough for what we have to do."

Chen Guo looked at Chen Nian suspiciously, and after sensing the heaviness in the other party's expression, his heart suddenly jumped.

"Something big is going to happen?"

Chen Guo subconsciously lowered his voice and asked.

He had long accepted the ability that Chen Nian showed from time to time beyond ordinary people's comprehension, and before that, he had accurately predicted the economic crisis and a sabotage event that could have a major impact on China.

That this time. What did he see again?

Chen Nian raised his head and looked at Chen Guo, and after hesitating for a long time, he said:

"If I say that in 2008 we may face the worst natural disaster since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the impact of which will not be completely eliminated even for more than a decade, affecting more than 10 million people. What do you think? ”

"Do you think I'm crazy, or"

"Tell me about the specifics."

Chen Guo immediately interrupted Chen Nian's words, and his expression became nervous.

The worst natural disasters.

If someone else said this kind of thing in front of him, then Chen Guo would definitely think that he must have watched too many disaster movies and saw that paranoia was coming.

But now, it was Chen Nian who spoke.

Then no matter how ridiculous it sounds, he has to take it seriously.

Because, most likely, that's true.

Chen Nian took a deep breath, he knew that what he was going to say next might have a significant impact on his fate.

Their identity will become more elusive, and official attitudes may change subtly.

Whether it is a pro or a con, he does not know and cannot define.

But he couldn't help but say.

Because in his opinion, it is a responsibility that he cannot escape.

For such a responsibility, even if you go to the soup and fire, you will not shirk it.

It's May and it's time for a showdown.

So, he spoke:

"Earthquake."

"In 2008, an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher will occur in Sichuan, and the scope of damage will be huge, and the damage caused will be immeasurable."

"How many months?"

Chen Guo spoke again.

There was no trace of hesitation or doubt in his voice, only a firm "trust" and an "urgency" to solve the problem.

"May."

Chen Nian replied.

Chen Guo breathed a sigh of relief, he subconsciously looked at the calendar on the side, and after determining the current month, he said:

"That's okay, a year of preparation, it's enough anyway."

Do you have more details? For example, the exact location, the main form of the disaster, and the precise time. With this information, we can make plans as accurately as possible. ”

"I've got it all."

"I'll take me. Write down the information I get as comprehensively as possible, and then, I hope you can give it to your superiors. ”

"Moreover, I ask my superiors to act as soon as possible and mobilize all the forces that can be mobilized to prepare for this event."

"Understood."

Chen Guo nodded solemnly, and then, he stood up and picked up the phone, called the logistics team, and issued a notice to convene an emergency meeting of the core members of the Spark team.

"I will immediately report this matter to my superiors, and at the same time, we will have a round of discussions within Xinghuo at the same time to output a preliminary response plan."

"You shouldn't have a specific response plan, otherwise, it wouldn't be this expression."

Speaking of this, a reassuring smile appeared on Chen Guo's face.

Then, he patted Chen Nian on the shoulder and said:

"Don't worry."

"The scariest thing about earthquakes is that they are unpredictable."

"Now that we have information about this possible earthquake, it won't be too much of a problem to deal with it."

"You've done so many things in the past four years, and this country is no longer the same country as it was in 2003."

"If you take 10,000 steps back, it's a big deal to use the stupidest way to directly evacuate all the residents in the disaster area."

"At most, isn't the economic loss a little bigger? Isn't it just spending money? ”

"Money, what we have."

"Even if it's not enough, we can. Go grab it. ”

"The money that was 'robbed' back should be regarded as our disaster relief fund."

(End of chapter)