Chapter 554 Everyone gets the stolen goods
The salvage ship Malsen.
This is a large deep-sea salvage ship. The front end of its hull is somewhat similar to a cruise ship. It can accommodate a large number of people to live and work at the same time. The back half of it is on a platform. Above this huge platform, there are several A crane can pull things directly out of the seawater when needed.
At this time, on this platform, a somewhat obese middle-aged Western man stood there. He was wearing a baseball cap, a very ordinary T-shirt and jeans. He looked unattractive. He was holding a hand in his right hand. A plate and a vase in his left hand, all with exquisite sky blue patterns, a smile on his face.
"Oriental porcelain is so exquisite and intoxicating!" He said with emotion: "The expert appraisal results have come out. This batch of porcelain is all from the four major oriental kiln systems during the Kangxi period. Almost every piece of it is It’s top quality.”
“Then shall we take action today?” Captain Nigel asked him.
"That's right, we'll do it tonight! If we can tow the whole sunken ship away, that would be great. If it can't be towed away, we'll think of other ways." Mike Hatcher said calmly.
As the night gradually deepened, the Malsen set off again. The motor at its tail was roaring, driving the huge hull towards the sea area where the target was located. Almost every night, it would make such a journey.
Two hours later.
The Malsen once again came to the sea area that it visited every night. At the bow of the ship, several water ghosts put on their diving equipment and jumped off.
The sea where the sunken ship is located is not deep. After all, the sunken ship hit a reef and sank. The water where it is located is only more than thirty meters deep.
Mike Hatcher stood at the stern of the ship, watching the cables being thrown down, and then led by the water ghost to the place where the shipwreck was, and hooked each hook at the predetermined location of the shipwreck.
“Attention, prepare to salvage.” Mike Hatcher shouted loudly.
The cables of several cranes began to move. After slowly stretching out, even the Malsen began to shake slightly.
The water ghosts were swimming back and forth around the sunken ship, watching the lifting process. Suddenly, with a snap, a hook on the hull dragged by the cable fell off!
The water ghosts are all experienced and quickly dodge, watching the cable swing like a whip in the water. If they are hit, they will definitely die immediately.
“Let go of the rope, what’s going on?” Mike Hatcher asked angrily.
“The hull below has rotted and cannot withstand the force of our traction. We cannot lift it as a whole!” A water ghost showed his head and shouted to Mike Hatcher loudly.
Cannot be lifted as a whole!
Mike Hatcher's face darkened. He couldn't lift it as a whole, which meant that the work would become much more difficult!
“Get some goods out first.” Mike Hatcher said.
Those are all porcelain! Moreover, those who know about ancient cargo ships should know that porcelain is pressed at the bottom of the ship. At the bottom of the ship, two people used to carry sticks to lift the box in, and the water ghosts were required to lift the box out. It was simply It's just impossible.
However, experienced salvage boats also have their own methods. They hang a special grab on the rope at the end of the crane, and then, with the help of the water ghost, find a suitable position, directly grab the side of the hull, and then grab To store the goods inside, boxes of porcelain were hoisted up using the crane above.
Watching the porcelain being placed on the deck behind, Mike Hatcher was extremely excited. To him, these were all money!
Time passed slowly, and more and more porcelain was brought up. The water ghosts returned to the boat countless times, took a short rest, and then replaced the new gas cylinders. In the east, the fish belly white began to show slightly.
“Mike, it’s getting late, should we go?”
“No, let’s try again,” Mike Hatcher said. “If we can’t tow the boat away, then we’re going to put a heavy hammer on the crane and smash everything underneath.”
Smashed to pieces? Nigel looked at Mike Hatcher in surprise: "Why?"
“Because things are more valuable when they are scarce,” said Mike Hatcher.
There are hundreds of thousands of pieces of exquisite porcelain in this sunken ship. If all are salvaged, the number will be too much and they will definitely be worthless. He wants to take these porcelains to the auction, so it must be Create a situation where items are scarce.
How to create it?
Of course I smashed the ones that couldn’t be taken away!
Nigel felt a little sorry, but they had to listen to their boss Mike Hatcher.
The crane started working again, and the stern of the ship was sinking slightly. After being salvaged for porcelain for a night, the weight of the sunken ship was also reducing. Therefore, as the crane exerted its force, the sunken ship below slowly began to shake. Yes, it has been underwater for more than 180 years, and now it is about to see the light of day again!
Bang!
At this moment, another wire broke apart!
Nigel had a look of regret on his face: "It seems that the quality of that sunken ship is a bit poor."
“Hang up the lifting hammer and let’s smash it to pieces!” Mike Hatcher said: “When we’re done, we’ll head out to the high seas!”
At this time, the sky had begun to light up. A water ghost flapping his flippers swam back, but he found a companion swimming in the opposite direction.
So, he followed him curiously, wanting to see if this companion was planning to go to the sunken ship to get some good stuff. If he found any gold, silver and jewelry inside, he could hide it and take it back, and he would make a fortune. .
Even if the hammer is about to fall later, they will take the risk.
However, the companion did not go towards the sunken ship, but continued to swim forward. He was even more curious. He watched the companion continue to swim forward for a while, and then a small submersible appeared.
When he saw the submersible, he immediately reacted: No, there's something wrong!
He changed direction and swam back, wanting to go back and report the news, but unfortunately, it was too late.
This lonely water ghost got into the submersible.
“Well done, Zhengyang.” Qin Tao said, “We have already notified the superiors to close the net.”
The two lifting failures just now were not because the underwater shipwrecks of the past two hundred years have rotted, but because Xu Zhengyang had tampered with them! At night, of course, the sea water is also dark. The water ghosts rely on a lamp above their heads to illuminate their bodies, and are completely unaware of the existence of Xu Zhengyang, who is hidden in darkness.
The scuba tank can only last for about an hour. Xu Zhengyang went out three times. The first and third time he broke the lifting rope. The second time he went out, he brought a special machine with him. underwater camera.
At this time, on the water, the crane of the Maerssen was lifting a heavy hammer, and suddenly there was a buzzing sound on the sea in the distance. The sound was so loud that it made people feel chilly.
Mike Hatcher's face was gloomy. He looked at the three missile boats approaching at high speed, and suddenly thought of something: "Quick, throw everything we salvaged into the sea immediately, quick!"
The reason why they want to salvage at night is of course because they themselves are well aware of the law. No one will care if they salvage casually on the high seas. But if they go to the territorial waters of other countries to salvage, once they are caught, they will take the stolen goods. Gain!
However, the speed of those catamaran missile boats was too fast. One second, I just heard the roar of the opponent moving at full speed, and the next second, the opponent's missile boat was already approaching!
This kind of specialized salvage ship has a special gangway on the side to facilitate the launch of water ghosts. Therefore, the soldiers on the missile boat can easily climb up the ladder and rush straight to the rear cabin.
At this time, only three or five boxes were thrown down. After all, everyone was tired after working all night.
Mike Hatcher shouted loudly: "What are you doing? I am British! You boarding our ships at will is a violation of our British sovereignty! I am going to the International Court of Justice to sue you!"
While speaking, a beautiful small submersible floated up next to the salvage ship.
With the help of the soldiers on the deck, Qin Tao and others jumped onto the ship: "Mr. Mike Hatcher, since we have stepped aboard, of course we have evidence. Just wait to serve your sentence with us!"
Mike Hatcher’s expression changed drastically: “What evidence do you have? These boxes on my ship were salvaged from other places!”
“Really?” Where did you salvage it from other places? "Qin Tao's words contained ridicule.
“This is our trade secret!”
"Really? I have a video here, which shows you water ghosts cutting open the underwater sunken ship and then salvaging the box. Do you want to take a look?"
Although the water is dark at night, every water ghost will wear a light on his head, which can also form some bright spots under the water, especially during the process of salvage, the water ghosts are always next to them As you watch, the lights clearly illuminate the salvage process.
“Of course it was taken while you were working. Have you been tired all day long? We orientals are hospitable. Now, go to our base to rest.”
"Mr. Qin, will there be any disputes if we do this?" Xu Zhengyang was a little worried.
"In our territorial waters, thieves or even robbers have come in. Can't we deal with them? Of course we have to use our laws to judge them and make them compensate us a large sum of money." Qin Tao said: "Let this Mike Hatcher even spat out his profits!"
Qin Tao’s words were resounding, and Yang Lin on the side also sighed with emotion, Mr. Qin said so well!
We have stood up long ago!
"Now, since we have this ship in hand, we can salvage the sunken ship below again. By the way, this trial can be placed in Sansha or Qiongzhou." Qin Tao said.
Since the ship has been impounded, of course it must be put into use. After all, this is a local case and can be handled directly by the local government.
Since no one was causing trouble, the whole sunken ship came out of the water that afternoon and was towed by a salvage ship toward Qiongzhou.
Yang Lin was extremely excited. This was the first time that an underwater sunken ship was successfully salvaged, and it was salvaged as a whole. It has more underwater archaeological value, especially the construction technology of ancient ships, etc., which is more valuable than these porcelains.
Looking at the wooden boat being dragged behind, Xu Zhengyang was a little curious: "Mr. Qin, how come this boat hasn't rotted after it has been underwater for so long?"
“Well, don’t ask me about this, you have to ask these archaeological experts.” Qin Tao said.
Yang Lin had a proud smile on his face: "This is the great invention of our ancient shipbuilding craftsmen. The wooden boats they made have advanced technology and are painted with various paints on the surface. They can be preserved for a long time under water without using It is said that it is two hundred years old, but the Nanjing No. 1 we discovered is already eight hundred years old and is still well preserved. Unfortunately, we are not able to salvage it. Once a special salvage ship is built this time, we can officially salvage it."
In the early 1980s, three team members from the British Ocean Exploration Company discovered in an old newspaper that in 1772, a ship named "Rheinburg" sank due to a typhoon in the Eastern Sea. The "Rheinburg" carried a large amount of cargo, including 6 boxes of silver and more than 300 tons of tin ingots.
Considering that the "Rheinburg" sank in the South China Sea, the British Ocean Exploration Company submitted an application to cooperate with China in salvage. It can be seen that this is a formal process. First of all, the ship must belong to its own country, and secondly, it must contact the country in the sea area where the sunken ship is located to salvage it openly.
In 1987, the cooperation was reached and the location of the sunken ship was found. Unfortunately, there was too much silt, so they used a grab bucket to grab it directly. As a result, they caught more than 200 treasures: copper, lacquer, iron, pottery and porcelain. After identification, , these treasures come from the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and come from different kiln sites such as JDZ and Longquan. Most of them can be designated as national first-class or second-class cultural relics.
Later analysis: This sunken ship must not be the "Rheinburg" that the British were looking for. The British were also very sensible and gave up after confirming it. Later, in order to salvage this sunken ship, from 1987 to 2001, the country invested several 100 million, and it was not until April 2001 that official salvage began.
In addition to cultivating underwater archaeological talents, these funds are used to build underwater archaeological equipment, especially a professional salvage ship!
This is the first time in the country, and all shipyards have no experience, so it is most suitable to hand it over to Mingzhou Group. Even without this operation, they would have ordered from Mingzhou Group, but with the participation of Mr. Qin , this matter was done beautifully.
At this time, when he heard Yang Lin talking about this matter, Qin Tao thought of something: "Then, when you salvage it, I'm afraid it won't be easy. After all, the ship is already in the mud and has passed by. With eight hundred years of history, if it were to be lifted directly, it would probably rot even if no one did anything."
“Yes, it is indeed a problem. If the whole thing cannot be lifted, we can only salvage it separately and then restore it.”
Qin Tao shook his head: "This won't work. Separating it first and then restoring it will greatly reduce the archaeological value. You have to lift it as a whole."
"How to lift it as a whole?" Yang Lin asked: "Mr. Qin, do you have any idea?"
“It’s very simple. When the time comes, make a special caisson, salvage the entire ship and the nearby sediment, and then clean it up slowly after returning.”
“Mr. Qin, it seems that I will have to help Mingzhou Group when the time comes!”
Mike Hatcher sank in the east, and was stolen while secretly salvaging the sunken ship. The news soon spread throughout the world, and everyone looked at it with surprised eyes.
How could Dongfang start so quickly?
"According to our cultural relics protection law, no so-called treasure hunters are welcome on the territory of our motherland. All cultural relics on our territory, whether on land or sea, belong to our country! Therefore, criminal suspects Mike Hatcher tried to salvage the sunken ship from our territorial waters and took a large number of precious cultural relics for himself, which is a serious illegal and criminal act!"
The trial of the case is also very fast and vigorous, just to shock those so-called treasure hunters and let them know that there is a price to pay for stealing in the eastern seas.
“Sentence the principal criminal, Mike Hatcher, to a fine of US$20 million and three years in prison!”
“Oh, no, you can’t do this, I am a British person! If you do this, my motherland will not let you go!”
In the courtroom, Mike Hatcher shouted.
"No matter where you are from, as long as you commit a crime in our country, you will be judged by our laws!"
Shuangsha Island.
Qin Tao was sitting on a lounge chair on the beach basking in the sun, holding a coconut in his arms and inserting a straw and coconut juice.
Beside him was Lin Liang, sitting on a small horse fanning Qin Tao.
“How about it, Mr. Qin, isn’t our resort nice?”
"Well, it's pretty good." Qin Tao nodded: "Next, we need to increase our publicity efforts, find some beautiful women, and shoot some promotional posters."
Hearing what Qin Tao said, Lin Liang was a little dumbfounded: "Mr. Qin, you mean that we have to rely on women to publicize? Rather than doing that, we would rather not publicize."
"Village Chief Lin, look, are you vulgar? Where did you want to go?" Qin Tao said: "Our place is not a place of prostitution. Of course we don't need to find that kind of woman. What we are looking for is a normal woman. Think about it. , any of you gentlemen want to go out on a trip when they have nothing to do, this is something only prodigal women would do, our publicity must impress their hearts."
Lin Liang thought about it seriously and then nodded. I have to say that what Mr. Qin said is really the truth!
According to their operations during this period, it can be found that women usually take the initiative to travel to the island, and the men are followers. They not only carry the women's bags, but also take photos.
While they were chatting, a soldier from the base got off a motorcycle and quickly ran to Qin Tao.
“Mr. Qin, I have a telegram for you!”
If you are on land, it will of course be very convenient to make phone calls, but it is different on an island.
If it is not too far from the mainland, it may be possible to lay a cable to get there, but for something like Shuangsha Island, which is thousands of kilometers away from the mainland, it is impossible to lay a cable at all.
Either use expensive satellite phones, or use the oldest telegraph method, and the telegraph can be kept confidential.
“Telegram?” Qin Tao picked it up curiously: “What’s the matter?”
Since he has come here, Qin Tao plans to relax and have a rest. It is indeed a pity that he did not bring his wife here, but he should live happily by himself.
I never thought that there are too many things to do and there is always no time to rest.
Qin Tao had already had a premonition of something, but when he picked it up, he was surprised.
“Sail training ship? What’s wrong with the Navy? You actually want to order a sail training ship from our Mingzhou Group?” Qin Tao was extremely curious.
Originally, he thought it would take a few years until the navy had sufficient funds before he could invest in building such a ship. After all, the navy's main warships were still waiting to be refitted, and he definitely did not have the luxury of getting a sail training ship.
“Mr. Qin, shall we go back?”
“Of course I’m going back,” Qin Tao said, “They came directly to the door and are waiting at the shipyard of our Mingzhou Group.”
Thus, Qin Tao ended his trip to Shuangsha Island. He could even imagine that the next time he comes back, this place will be built even better.
Hurrying back to Mingzhou Group, Qin Tao saw Zheng Ming with an expectant look on his face.
“Mr. Qin, this task is a bit difficult. I wonder if Mingzhou Group can build this sail training ship within three months.”
"Three months? Do you think you are building a toy boat?" Qin Tao immediately began to express his dissatisfaction: "Three months is enough time for our Mingzhou Group to design."
This is a sailing ship, a ship that has long been eliminated. No shipyard in the country has ever manufactured it. Just designing it takes a long time.
“Besides, this kind of ship is used to train students, so there is no need to rush the construction deadline.” Qin Tao continued.
"We have a special purpose." Zheng Ming said: "Mr. Qin, this project is of great importance. I hope you can complete this glorious and arduous task. The task requires that its collision angle must be strong."
Angle collision? Hearing Zheng Ming's words, Qin Tao opened his eyes wide: "Is this ship used for a special purpose of ramming enemies?"
(End of this chapter)