Chapter 385 Ship Collision at Xi'an Bay
There are very few flights to Bandar Abbas Port. Most of the flights land in the capital of Parthia, and this flight from the Land of Abundance is no exception.
The journey was long, but Ye Xiaoqian was beside her, chattering all the time. It must be said that she was still very capable in social interaction. After talking like this, Qin Tao didn't feel how long the journey was. lonely.
However, Qin Tao knew in his heart that no matter how beautiful and passionate this woman was on the surface, she was like a poisonous scorpion on the inside. As long as she was not careful, she would become her delicious meal.
Qin Tao doesn’t want to be someone else’s food.
Finally, the passenger plane is about to land.
"Mr. Qin, where do you plan to live next?" Ye Xiaoqian had a smile on her face and seemed to be asking casually, but in fact she had other intentions.
As long as Qin Tao tells the hotel where he is staying, Ye Xiaoqian will definitely say, what a coincidence, we are staying there too, maybe the rooms are next to each other.
“Well, I’m not sure about this either.” Qin Tao said, “Where we live depends entirely on our employer’s arrangements.”
Sure enough, after Qin Tao and Xu Zhengyang got off the plane, a car drove directly to the airport. They didn't even have to enter the terminal building and exit the airport. The car took Qin Tao and Xu Zhengyang away.
Ye Xiaoqian and Song Jie put on their headscarves and wrapped themselves tightly, leaving only their eyes exposed, and their eyes were full of unwillingness.
We just got off the plane, and we separated again. The other person even ran away in a car. What should we do next?
They have no intelligence power here!
“Let’s go to the hotel first and listen to the news. If they go to Abbas Shipyard, we can follow them.” Ye Xiaoqian said.
Mingzhou Group’s business here is the Abbas Shipyard, so the other party will most likely go there.
Song Jie nodded.
In the car, Qin Tao was still reminiscing with old friends.
“Husseini, I really didn’t expect that you would come to pick us up.”
"I heard you were coming, so I came here specially. Qin, when we purchased the MiG-29, our project went very smoothly and the superiors were very satisfied." Husseini said, "We hope you will come this time. Cooperation with each other will reach a higher level.”
“I am also here for mutual cooperation.” Qin Tao said: “I have brought a batch of information, and I hope I can introduce it to your superiors.”
Hosseini’s eyes sparkled.
"However, we encountered some accidents on the way here." Qin Tao said.
Suddenly, Husseini became serious: "What accident?"
"There were two women sitting next to us. They had been communicating with us. From their words, I could feel that they were deliberately or unintentionally taking my words and wanted to find out the true situation of my coming here. I I think they may have other agendas."
Husseini's face immediately showed an angry expression: "Huh, then they must be sent by the Kingdom of David. Over the years, the Kingdom of David has been doing intelligence work against us, and they have also tried to assassinate our Leader, please rest assured, Mr. Qin, we will make them disappear completely here."
With just a few words, Ye Xiaoqian and Song Jie were settled. Mr. Qin's trick of killing someone with a borrowed knife was so smooth that Xu Zhengyang on the side was very emotional.
"However, it may be that we made a mistake. In short, let's arrest them first, and then see what valuable information we can get. How to deal with it in the end is up to you," Qin Tao said.
Hosseini nodded.
The car did not drive into the city, but entered a suburban manor. Here, Qin Tao saw a few bearded men, some of whom even looked like those who often appeared on TV.
“Mr. Qin, you are our best friend.” The leader shook hands with Qin Tao: “You helped us build a modern shipyard, and then helped us update our fighter jets. We are very grateful to you.”
"Well, that's what we should do." Qin Tao said politely: "You have black liquid gold at your feet. This is your honor and your misfortune. It is precisely because of these things that you will Being targeted by the money wolf.”
“Yes.” After hearing Qin Tao’s conclusion, they agreed very much.
“We have noticed that the competition in the sky has entered the era of stealth machines, and the future will inevitably be dominated by stealth machines. We have a design plan for an advanced stealth machine, and I wonder if you are interested.”
“Mr. Qin, please speak.”
Everyone just hit it off!
So, Qin Tao came up with the design plan.
"First of all, the appearance of the stealth aircraft is very different from that of ordinary aircraft. However, if you want the aircraft to have combat capabilities, you cannot completely compromise for stealth like the F-117. The current appearance is what we have gone through. After careful study, the best solution was made, which can provide the best compromise between stealth and mobility."
In fact, these people have already seen the press conference in the Land of Abundance and seen this model. However, seeing it on TV and newspapers is absolutely different from seeing it in person.
What Qin Tao introduced was actually at the level of military fans, but in the eyes of these people, it was like opening a new door.
"Mr. Qin, your introduction is great!" The people present immediately agreed: "We need such an advanced fighter jet, but... are you sure you will deliver this fighter jet to us?"
“Why not? Didn’t we sell you a lot of weapons back then? Take your Air Force as an example. Weren’t those J-7 fighters purchased from us?”
“However, times have changed, and the international situation is also changing!”
"Yes, what you said is a problem." Qin Tao said: "So, just in case, at the appropriate time, you can announce to the outside world that you are also developing a new stealth aircraft."
The eyes of everyone present brightened.
Qin Tao secretly laughed in his heart, wondering how Lockheed would feel. The tall stealth machine has actually become a waste on the street.
The Kingdom of Tianfu has one, the Kingdom of Parthia has one, and some countries will have one in the future. Everyone is building stealth machines. For a while, it seems that this thing is easy to build.
Whether the outside world believes it or not, just build momentum.
“From now on, you can openly say that these stealth machines were produced by you yourself.”
“But how are you going to deliver it to us?”
Everyone knows that the so-called self-production is just a cover-up. In the end, we will definitely have to accept Eastern fighters, but how?
“Of course I’m flying here.”
"But our territories are not contiguous! Either we pass through the Imperial Cemetery or Laoba. If we secretly ask them to open their airspace to us, once the secret is leaked, it will arouse suspicion from the outside world."
"Everyone, don't forget, we are a stealth aircraft!" Qin Tao said: "As long as the pilot is not careless and does not turn off the navigation lights, how can he be discovered by the poor air defense forces in the Imperial Cemetery?"
Everyone suddenly realized.
Yeah, what are you afraid of? Our plane is a stealth aircraft. Even if it flies through the other side's airspace, the other side won't know. What else is there to be afraid of?
"Then, there is only one final question left. Do you want to invest one billion US dollars and become our largest foreign customer in this project? You can enjoy the priority to obtain the aircraft, and you can also produce some parts of the aircraft. , your purchase price must also be the lowest.”
As long as Parthia invests one billion US dollars, this project will definitely succeed even without financial support from other countries.
J-10 only cost 4 billion yuan. According to the current exchange rate, this is 8.7 billion yuan, more than double.
Before 1994, the exchange rate was a dual-track system. The exchange rate at the beginning of 1994 was 5.7. However, except for people on business, it was impossible to exchange for US dollars at this exchange rate. The exchange rate on the black market was the real reaction. By mid-1994, the merger was carried out, and the exchange rate soared to 8.7. However, the economy did not fluctuate much. In this way, the exchange rate was adjusted.
For people like Qin Tao who earn US dollars, it is of course beneficial.
In the past, if they could earn back US dollars, they could only get very low RMB according to the domestic exchange rate. Now, they can exchange for a large amount of RMB, which is also very beneficial to their exports.
Qin Tao has already put forward his opinion, it depends on how the other party reacts.
“Mr. Qin, I’m afraid it’s still a bit difficult for us to come up with one billion US dollars to support this project.”
They want to obtain an advanced fourth-generation aircraft. They see that their old enemy who has been fighting for eight years next door has no power to fight back in front of the F-117, but they also have to consider their own reality. What a situation!
In recent years, Parthia's economy has continued to decline. In 1990, there were still more than 120 billion in chicken farts, but by 1993, there were only more than 60 billion left.
At the highest level, defense spending accounts for 3% of the country’s total, which is about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.
The Parthian State has purchased Dongfang's missile and other production lines and purchased MiG-29 fighter jets. These all cost money. Therefore, it is impossible for the Parthian State to devote one billion US dollars to the J-31A project.
Even, this project is still risky. After all, everything is said by Qin Tao. None of them know the specific performance. But just relying on Qin Tao's words, they will spend a billion dollars?
So now, the drama of crying poor has begun.
Of course Qin Tao knows that it will be difficult for them to come up with one billion US dollars just based on the current preparations. However, this is not a one-time payment. They can get 100 million first, 200 million next year, and 300 million the year after that. In this way, the water will flow steadily and the pain will not be felt. However, before he could say anything, someone came in and whispered something in Husseini's ear.
Hosseini’s face was stunned at first, and then he was happy.
"Mr. Qin, the two women you mentioned in the car have been controlled by us." Husseini said: "These two people have recruited everything they know."
"So fast?"
Hosseini had a smile on his face. In their country, there are many ways to pry someone's mouth open.
“They are not sent from the kingdom of David, but from the people across from you.”
“How to be sure?”
Qin Tao knew that Husseini and the others were most worried about the spies sent by the Kingdom of David, so they would inevitably torture the two women with all kinds of unimaginable cruel punishments. The two women had to prove that they were not from the Kingdom of David. , you have to tell some valuable information.
"They provided a lot of information, one of which may be of interest to you." Husseini said: "From the port of Marseille, France, a freighter named Maersk sailed out. On this freighter, ten Mirage 2000 fighter jet.”
Phantom 2000? Qin Tao's eyes also flickered.
Qin Tao has no control over aviation matters, but since Qin Tao knows about it, he must do something.
How can we inspire these people in front of us?
Qin Tao's mind was thinking rapidly and he spoke quickly.
"These two women have been following me, how could they know such irrelevant things? Could it be false information?"
"They didn't know it originally, but they were coming to Parthia, so their superiors assigned them a new task to secretly supervise the Maersk cargo ship, because this freighter would turn into Parthia on the way. Come to the Gulf and unload some cargo in several nearby countries."
A cargo ship has to carry a lot of cargo. It would be a waste if it could only carry ten Mirage 2000s.
Moreover, if there are not enough goods at the destination, they will be shipped to other ports. A trip to Xi'an Bay is a route chosen by many cargo ships. After all, the customers here are rich.
Qin Tao's eyes sparkled.
As for how to deal with this freighter, his first thought was to find an island in Somalia, so that he could quietly hijack the freighter and then demand a high ransom.
However, this will set a bad precedent. Qin Tao does not want to show the Somali natives how to rely on the mountains to rely on the mountains and the sea to rely on the sea. The motherland's navy is not strong enough to patrol the Gulf of Aden.
Now I didn’t expect that the other party would actually come to Xi’an Bay. Since they are here, there will be more room for maneuver!
Qin Tao's eyes were shining with light.
A bold plan was quickly taking shape in Qin Tao's mind.
“Aren’t you worried about one billion dollars? I have a plan that can help you get one billion dollars. Even if you can’t get one billion, you can still get 500 million.”
After hearing Qin Tao's plan, everyone's eyes lit up.
Xu Zhengyang listened with disgust. Mr. Qin, if you give them advice like this, aren't you afraid that the news will be leaked and become the public enemy of the world?
However, this is a really good idea!
Now, let’s see if the Parthian people in front of us have the courage.
Qin Tao has nothing to worry about. The people of Parthia have no reason to refuse such a good thing.
Sure enough, the person opposite nodded.
The Maersk cargo ship is a multi-purpose dry cargo ship. This type of ship was most famous during World War II, such as the "Liberty Ship" with a load capacity of 10,800 tons. More than 2,500 ships were built successively, and there are also other ships with a load capacity of 10,000 tons. "Victory Ship", more than 600 ships were built. For a long time, this kind of ship was the main force of maritime transportation.
But later, world shipping has undergone great changes. More and more ships are proficient in professional fields, such as oil tankers, container ships, bulk carriers, etc. These have become the main force, and the proportion of multi-purpose dry cargo ships has Fewer and fewer.
However, when sea transportation is uneconomical, the advantages of this multi-purpose ship come into play. It is not picky and can haul anything. This results in its high operating efficiency, so it has never been eliminated.
At this time, the freighter Maersk carried roughly three types of cargo.
At the front of its deck, it is loaded with high-end cars produced in Europe. In order to load more cars, it has specially built a roll-off rack, which can be placed on two floors. These cars with protective films on the surface are all transport vehicles. For those rich in oil areas, you can even see luxury sports cars such as Porsches.
In the back of these vehicles, there are some bulk cargoes, such as some wood, oil drums, square equipment boxes, etc., which are messy and disorderly.
At the back of the vehicle, there are neatly stacked containers, about two hundred of them, densely packed.
However, this is only the equipment on the first deck. In order to better load cargo, this multi-purpose cargo ship has two decks. On the lower deck, there are some things covered with camouflage nets. If you look closely, It can be seen that part of it is elongated and part is triangular.
Like most cargo ships, its bridge is set at the stern, and the top windows are just higher than the containers in front. In this way, although there is no problem when looking far away, it is difficult to see up close. Things that are very close will be blocked from view.
Captain Peter is in his forties. He has more than 20 years of sailing experience and is very rich. At this time, Peter's face was full of envy. He glanced at the navigation clock. It was exactly six o'clock in the morning.
“The people here are very happy, because the ground under their feet is flowing with black gold. They don’t have to do anything. As long as they pull up the gold, they can get huge wealth.”
Different places of birth make such huge differences!
Peter thought of the last time he docked and went to a client's house. He was extremely envious when he saw the splendid building and so many wives. This is a man's paradise!
咣!
At this moment, a sound suddenly came from the hull, and it quickly spread along the metal hull to the bridge.
"What's going on? Have we hit a rock?" Peter immediately became nervous.
He has been traveling on this route for more than ten years and it is absolutely safe. However, the sound now sounds so much like running aground on a rock.
“No. Our hull is intact.”
"That is how the matter?"
“Oh, damn, when did that fishing boat come?”
At this time, they could see from the side that a ship had been knocked over. It was a small ship of less than 100 tons. It was inconspicuous in front of their 10,000-ton ship. Who would have thought that it would actually rush up? Die!
“I guess they’re here for a fight,” Captain Peter said angrily.
“Captain, are we going to stop and save people?”
“No, this is the busiest seaway. What if we stop to rescue people and are hit by other ships? A tanker of hundreds of thousands of tons can easily sink us!”
“What about the people at sea?”
At this time, you can see that several people have fallen into the water and are struggling there, not knowing what to say.
“Throw them a few lifebuoys and God will bless them.”
Peter did not stop to save people. On the one hand, it was indeed busy here, but the more important reason was that he knew that his ship contained special things and it was not appropriate to cause trouble.
However, he didn't know that his operation completely left others with clues.
They had just moved forward less than three nautical miles when a roar came from the sky in the distance.
“Helicopters, what are they going to do?”
At this time, the crew members already had an ominous premonition in their hearts.
The helicopter roared over, flew dangerously over their ship's bridge, and then landed on top of a cluster of containers in front of them.
Armed men came down one after another and pointed their cold guns at the people inside the bridge.
“Damn it, what are you doing? This is piracy!” Peter cursed loudly.
"When you were passing through the strait, you maliciously rammed and sank one of our normally operating fishing boats. Moreover, after the ramming and sinking, you did not stop at all. You continued to move forward and tried to leave the scene of the accident. Your behavior... It has seriously violated relevant international standards. Now, I am announcing that your ship will be temporarily detained until the incident is handled!"
Several speedboats were also roaring in, and more armed personnel boarded the Maersk cargo ship.
The seizure of the Maersk cargo ship, which shocked the entire Gulf of Sabbath, happened like this.
In Bandar Abbas Port, a spokesman spoke to reporters from various countries, his tone full of anger.
"Just two hours ago, Rezai, a fisherman on our Qeshm Island who has been fishing for a living for generations, took his two sons out to sea to fish, but they were rudely hit by the Maersk cargo ship. The fishing boat was Among the three people who crashed and sank, only his youngest son was alive, and the other two were killed. What makes us most angry is that after the accident, the Maersk freighter did not stop for rescue, but chose to escape!"
“Now, let’s release this video and let the ship owners see how these so-called cargo ships from the civilized world use barbaric and rude methods and blatantly violate basic international navigation norms!”
The evidence is conclusive, they have video, and it was taken from the sky, it is quite clear.
Of course, conspiracy theorists will definitely find a lot of questions, such as how this kind of thing could be videotaped and clearly recorded. After all, this is not an era when everyone has a mobile phone!
But, no matter what, the image is proof that the huge cargo ship crashed directly into the fishing boat without stopping at all!
“Could it be that they didn’t know there was an impact?”
“That’s a good question. Even if they didn’t know there was a collision, they should be punished accordingly. The fact that they threw several lifebuoys into the sea shows that they knew they were in trouble!”
This time, the evidence is even more conclusive.
There is no one who is floating on the sea without being stabbed. When encountering a storm, life or death is a matter of fate. If you are hit, it is a man-made accident. But if you run after hitting someone, is this a loss of morality or a distortion of human nature?
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(End of this chapter)