Benjamin felt his head explode, as if it was about to explode.
Create a new one? What a joke! How much will that cost? The shipyard will definitely not provide this money. They will apply for expenses from the above. If the above does not allocate funds to them, then they will fail. But where is that much money now?
Due to overspending on engines, they have decided to cut off two engines to reduce costs. At this time, how can they pay for such construction mistakes?
It doesn’t matter which shipyard built the section that has problems. What matters is how to find a sum of money to fill the hole!
He tried to control his thoughts and recalled the exchange just now.
It may be a construction error, or it may be a lifting error! The crane used for lifting is produced by Dongfang!
Thinking of this, he finally had an idea: "The error this time was caused by the lifting."
Hearing Benjamin's words, Lambert immediately stopped: "No, no, there is no problem with our lifting. Moreover, it's just that the keel is not aligned. The outside is normal. It means that the error was not controlled during construction." .This was not caused by lifting at all.”
The deformation caused by lifting must be that everything is deformed. Now it is just the keel being misaligned, which has nothing to do with lifting.
"When I say it's a lifting problem, it's a lifting problem!" Benjamin raised his voice: "Don't try to argue with me. This is not a problem with your Rosyth Shipyard. It's a problem with the gantry crane produced by Dongfang! This production accident was caused by The responsibility belongs to the East, so we must seek compensation from the Orientals!"
Lambert has already reacted, but he is still a little dissatisfied: "Orientals are not vegetarians, so how can they obediently pay us compensation?"
"If they do not compensate us for our losses, then their port aircraft will no longer be able to enter our British ports. We will also call on other European countries to boycott their gantry cranes!" Benjamin said: "We have lost our European market. Let’s see where they can sell Dongfang’s port machines! We will work with the EU to investigate Dongfang’s port machines and find serious flaws in their port machines.”
“We alone cannot complete this task of claiming compensation. Mr. Benjamin, can you go to the East with us?” Lambert did not want to shoulder this responsibility alone.
"Okay, I'll go with you. This is related to the construction of our aircraft carrier. We must let the Easterners spit out this money for us!"
Dongfang, Zhenhua Heavy Industries.
A new office building has been built here. From the tall conference room of the office building, you can overlook the entire ZPMC. There are huge factories, their own port, and various vehicles for transporting materials. It looks very busy. .
Guan Tong sat on the chair in the conference room and said to Yang Dawei, who came to coordinate: "Mr. Yang, you can rest assured. We will definitely complete the processing of the parts ordered by your Mingzhou Group on time and ensure the quality and quantity. We Zhenhua Heavy Industry will never forget that when our business was just starting, it was your Mingzhou Group that took us through the first difficult years. Without you, we, Zhenhua Heavy Industries, would not be where we are today."
Yang Dawei smiled: "Old manager, I'm not here to rush you. Since the last order was handed over to you, we are completely relieved. We are just waiting for you to deliver the parts. You have always been ahead of schedule and never delayed. .I came here this time because I have a new order.”
“Oh? What order?”
“Currently, the development direction of our group has been shifting to Africa. If we want to transport a large amount of mineral resources from Mozambique, we need to renovate their ports, especially the transportation of bulk carriers, which requires specialized port machines. , so we plan to order another batch."
"Okay." Guan Tong smiled: "We are sitting at home, and there are orders coming to our door. This is pie in the sky. If you Mingzhou Group orders, we will quote the cost price!"
"No, you also want to develop, just use normal prices. Anyway, the purchaser is Mozambique, and they use minerals to pay off debts." Yang Dawei said: "We, the Mingzhou Group, don't like these three melons and two jujubes."
Guan Tong had a complicated expression on his face. How much profit had he given up? In the eyes of Mingzhou Group, that is actually three melons and two dates? Mingzhou Group is so wealthy that it can never be compared to them.
At this moment, the phone rang suddenly. Guan Tong took the call and his face suddenly changed: "What? Are they coming to claim compensation? Have these British people lost their minds? What does it have to do with us?"
“Old manager, what happened?”
"Alas, the British bought a gantry crane from us with a lifting capacity of over 10,000 tons and went back to build an aircraft carrier. After lifting it for the first time, they found that it could not be connected. It was obviously a construction quality problem and they actually blamed our gantry crane." Guan Tong was a little speechless: "This is obviously an accident in the construction that caused the project to overrun, and they want to extort a sum of money from us. Huh, we are not Tang Monk meat!"
Yang Dawei also frowned: "These people are really shameless, but this kind of matter really needs to be handled well. Old manager, why don't you tell Mr. Qin about this matter? Let Mr. Qin give you some advice?"
"No, Qin always wants to do big things. There is no need to bother Mr. Qin with small things like ours. Our 002 aircraft carrier is about to be launched recently. Mr. Qin must be busy there. Anyway, we didn't do anything wrong. They want to If they want to throw dirty water on us, there’s no way! After all, it’s the gantry crane business. If they keep pushing, we will lock the gantry crane remotely and turn the gantry crane into scrap metal!”
“What’s the trouble? Just use your mobile phone to make a video connection.” Yang Dawei said, took out his mobile phone, opened ICQ, and then started the video connection application.
A few seconds later, Qin Tao's figure appeared on the mobile phone screen. At this time, he was standing on the island of the aircraft carrier, and he could see other staff behind him.
“Yang Gong, what’s going on?”
“Mr. Qin, the British aircraft carrier cannot be docked after welding the segments. Instead, they blame Zhenhua Heavy Industries’ gantry crane and want to claim compensation. What should we do?”
"Okay, you can claim compensation." Qin Tao immediately replied: "Ask them to hand us the detailed drawings of the aircraft carrier construction, and let us analyze how to lift the problem. If it is really our problem, Then we’ll pay.”
Need aircraft carrier drawings? Yang Dawei's eyes suddenly lit up: "Yes, Mr. Qin is right. We are being reasonable. We have to study their drawings to see if it is a lifting problem! Mr. Qin, please continue your work without interrupting. "
Solved it in a few clicks!
When he heard this plan, Guan Tong's eyes also lit up. Yes, if we keep denying it, the other party will be aggressive, and what is reasonable will become unreasonable. It is better to just go with the flow.
Soon, Benjamin led Lambert and Carol into the conference room angrily.
"The gantry crane you built has a big problem. During the lifting process, it will cause the deformation of our ship's hull and cause huge problems to our docking." Benjamin complained first: "Now, we require you to compensate us for our losses. ! Including financial and time costs, you need to compensate us one billion pounds!"
The cost of building a Queen-class aircraft carrier is only 3.2 billion pounds. The other party asked for compensation of 1 billion pounds. That is to use Zhenhua Heavy Industry’s money to build the aircraft carrier. It is a beautiful idea.
"If you don't compensate us for our losses, then your port aircraft will never be able to enter the market of any country in the EU. Moreover, the EU is also starting an investigation process, and may issue higher fines to you by then. As long as you now Compensate our losses and the EU investigation will be terminated."
With a fine of one billion pounds, the other party will not pay it normally, so we must put pressure on the other party and let the other party know the consequences of not paying the fine.
Benjamin is qualified enough to say this, he is threatening the other party now.
“Okay, we can compensate.” Guan Tong said calmly.
compensation? Did the other party give in so quickly? The three of them were immediately surprised. Many of the rhetoric they had originally prepared were useless, as if they were punched in cotton.
"Okay, then you will pay us compensation immediately." Benjamin said quickly. What they lack most in the construction of aircraft carriers now is money. With this money, they can not only rebuild a segment, but also replace the engine. Four units.
"Don't worry about this. We have to investigate. It is indeed a problem with our gantry crane." Guan Tong said: "You need to give us the segmented drawings of the aircraft carrier, as well as the lifting method at that time, and each lifting steel cable. As for the hanging position, we need to make detailed calculations to see if it is a lifting problem or a construction problem."
The people on the other side were immediately dumbfounded.
“You’re kidding, how can we hand over this precious blueprint to you? It’s related to the secret of our aircraft carrier. Besides, I’m giving it to you, do you understand?”
Of course, the drawings cannot be leaked to others. If you know where the aircraft carrier is weak, then when you attack in the future, you will definitely target the weak areas. If you hit the right place, maybe a flying fish can sink it. .
"Everyone, let me introduce to you. The person next to me is Yang Gong, the head of the design department of Mingzhou Group. His men have designed multiple aircraft carriers with various displacements and various take-off and landing methods. They also use We have adopted the segmented construction method and have never had any problems. Therefore, we have obtained your drawings and will entrust Mingzhou Group to review them to determine whether it is a lifting problem."
People from Mingzhou Group!
If Zhenhua Heavy Industries said it would conduct its own inspection, they could still refuse. This is not to be both an athlete and a referee, a criminal suspect and a policeman. But now, they have brought in a third party!
Mingzhou Group has built so many aircraft carriers and has rich experience. It is still built in sections. Mingzhou Group also has a gantry crane with more than 10,000 tons on the dock. It is the most authoritative to be the judge.
But, can Mingzhou Group be allowed to review it?
"No, of course this won't work. The aircraft carrier blueprints are related to our biggest secret. How can we hand them over to you!" Benjamin immediately denied: "Since we said it was a lifting problem, it is a lifting problem. Is there any doubt about this? ?”
"You? Have you ever used a 10,000-ton gantry crane before? Is this the first time?" Yang Dawei said: "How can you be so sure? The same gantry crane in our shipyard has been transported many times. , there has never been a problem that caused the hull to deform. Is it a problem with the gantry crane or a problem with experience? Needless to say? Besides, if you want to be divided into many shipyards to build together, you will definitely still have to use gantry cranes to transport and dock. This time When you move something deformed, you come here to make a claim. Is it important to make a claim? The important thing is to solve the problem! Otherwise, you will still have the deformation the next time you move it! Can you solve the problem yourself? Now, our Mingzhou Group can help, free of charge. Accept, it will be of great help to your aircraft carrier construction, but you still can’t figure out which one is lighter and which one is heavier?”
Yang Dawei's words were like a barrage of cannons, blasting at the people on the opposite side: "Give us the drawings, and we will help you analyze the problem, avoid accidents in the subsequent lifting of several sections, and allow your aircraft carrier to close normally. Otherwise, you will All segments must be scrapped, and the original tower construction method must be used! You will also waste the construction funds for the first aircraft carrier, and become a joke to the whole world!"
“We can solve it ourselves!” Benjamin gritted his teeth and said, “Now, we are here to claim compensation!”
"This makes me curious. For any shipyard, if a production accident occurs, the cause of the accident should be investigated first to avoid a similar situation from happening again, right? Why do you only know about claiming compensation? Don't use the EU to scare us. We will send people to the European Union to sue you. You slandered Zhenhua Heavy Industries’ products and caused reputational damage to Zhenhua Heavy Industries. You have to compensate for the reputational damage! Let’s just set it at one billion pounds. We will provide a lot of evidence to prove that Zhenhua Heavy Industries has lost its reputation. Hua Heavy Industry's gantry cranes are operating well in our Mingzhou Group without any accidents," Yang Dawei continued.
Benjamin stood up: "Okay, let's see you in court! Humph, you ZPMC's port machinery, don't even think about selling one in the European market in the future!"
"Mr. Lambert, please stay." Guan Tong said: "You purchased the port machine by installment payment. Today is the repayment day. If you don't transfer the money to your account, then this gantry crane will be lost." It will be locked and cannot be used anymore. When you want to unlock it in the future, you will not only have to pay off the debt, but also pay relevant liquidated damages."
The British man who had just planned to start a crime was dumbfounded.
They came here because they wanted to take advantage of the Eastern people. After all, in their eyes, the East was humble and easy to take control of. However, they did not expect to encounter such strong resistance from the other party. Moreover, that was not to mention, the other party He actually wants to rebel against an army!
Of course, Rosyth Shipyard does not have enough funds to pay the full price of the 10,000-ton gantry crane. It can only pay in installments, and the more installments, the better. As long as it can wait until the aircraft carrier is completed, it can sell the gantry crane. .
Who would have thought that there was a problem with the construction? Now that they are busy dealing with construction matters, who would have thought that the new payment has not yet been paid.
Lambert's face was very ugly, and Benjamin was completely annoyed: "Do you want to threaten us in this way?"
“Repaying debts is a matter of course. Our contract states it clearly. We are not threatening you in this way. No matter where we go to litigate, I don’t think it is reasonable not to pay back the money you owe.”
“You have blocked the gantry crane, delayed our use, and delayed the subsequent construction of our Queen-class aircraft carrier. You must bear this responsibility!”
"It was the failure of Rosyth Shipyard to repay the money that it owed, which caused the gantry crane to be locked and the construction of the Queen-class aircraft carrier to be delayed. It has nothing to do with us." Guan Tong said: "Have you always been so messy? If so, then If you are on our blacklist, we will demand full payment for all the port aircraft you order from us, and we will treat you the same as Asan."
Benjamin was surprised: “We also ordered a port machine from you?”
"That's right, your ports have ordered twelve port machines from us. They have not yet been delivered, and only one-third of the payment has been paid. In order to avoid subsequent problems, we decided to ask your port for the full payment. .”
“Do we still have orders?”
Benjamin’s mind was spinning rapidly. He had already paid one-third of the payment for the goods. He could not threaten the other party. Instead, he would be exploited by the other party. Only those potential orders that had not been paid could manipulate the other party.
"Not yet. All port aircraft ordered from us must pay a deposit within one week of signing the order contract." Guan Tong said: "And if you want our port aircraft to withdraw from the EU market, we will It doesn’t matter. The existing orders from non-European customers we have on hand can support the market for five years. You can definitely find other port machinery manufacturers. Oh, by the way, let us tell you in advance that our quotations are only for other port machinery. Eighty percent of the manufacturer.”
The initiative lies entirely with Zhenhua Heavy Industry!
Over the years, they have continued to grow and develop. With advanced technology and affordable prices, they have won the welcome of customers. They can also manufacture gantry cranes that other customers cannot manufacture. Several major gantry crane manufacturers in Europe have been beaten to the point where they can hardly breathe. Come.
If the British want to give up purchasing from Zhenhua Heavy Industries, they will have to spend more money to purchase from other suppliers and face the problem of not having corresponding models.
The whole world is using Zhenhua Port Machinery, but the British are actually out of their minds and want to come over and try Zhenhua Heavy Industry?
The worst that can happen is withdrawing from the European market, which will be a loss for the Europeans. Our President Qin will develop Africa next, and a large number of port aircraft will be needed there too!
During the whole process, Carol didn't say a word. He followed the others in arrogantly and left in a dejected manner, extremely embarrassed. When he left the office building, he turned around and took another look, and suddenly there was a surge in his heart. An idea: The East has risen, and it is doomed to be impossible for them to rely on the previous methods!
Back at the hotel, Benjamin looked gloomy all the time.
“Damn it, these Easterners have gone too far, they actually dare to threaten us!”
“You think, can we launch an anti-monopoly and anti-dumping investigation through the EU? The port machinery produced by Zhenhua Heavy Industries has obvious characteristics of monopoly and dumping!”
When he thought of this, Benjamin suddenly realized that he seemed to still have cards to play.
"This investigation is possible, but this kind of investigation is destined to be protracted." Lambert said: "The Orientals will try every means to delay time. Will our aircraft carrier continue to be built? If our Goliath gantry crane is locked If you want to reuse it in the future, it will cost a lot of money. We have to agree in advance that you will allocate this money to us."
"What's the lock? The technology of the Easterners is so powerful. If we crack their system, can't we continue to use it in the future? We won't pay them any subsequent debts!" Benjamin came up with an idea.
Lambert shook his head: "That's impossible. The mechanical system of the gantry crane is not the most important. The electronic control system is of great importance. The electronic system can monitor and adjust the tension of each sling at any time, especially for a 10,000-ton gantry crane. Relying on the electronic system, the Eastern system does not allow us to touch it at all. As long as we unscrew the screws of the electronic system casing without permission, the hard disk will be formatted internally. At that time, our gantry crane will become Into scrap metal.”
Benjamin doesn’t understand technology, but people like Lambert and Carroll do.
At this time, hearing what Lambert said was so wicked, Benjamin looked at Carol with doubts: "Is what he said true?"
"It's true. There is a shipyard in France that purchased a 1,000-ton gantry crane from Zhenhua Heavy Industries. They planned to take it apart for surveying and mapping and imitate it. As a result, the gantry crane turned into scrap metal and could no longer move. Later, after negotiation, they It cost another three million francs to invite technicians from Zhenhua Heavy Industry to come and unlock it.”
Benjamin felt a chill in his heart.
This Zhenhua Heavy Industries is really evil. Where did they get such advanced technology? In terms of electronic equipment, there is Loongson and SMIC in the East. They are really the strongest in the world and can make these things.
What should we do?
Gently admit defeat and give up the claim?
What about the money wasted on aircraft carriers? Congress will not continue to allocate funds! If that section is not rebuilt, how can the subsequent construction of the aircraft carrier proceed?
Go back and force the shipyard to admit defeat?
Portsmouth Shipyard is not an ordinary shipyard. It has connections with many important people. They will definitely come to ask for mercy when the time comes, and they will eventually have to come back in a circle.
His mind was in a mess and he didn't know what to do.
“Mingzhou Group has advanced shipbuilding technology, can we ask them to help us provide technical guidance?” Lambert said softly: “Maybe we don’t need to scrap that section, it can be used with a simple modification.”
Looking for help from Mingzhou Group?
Benjamin shook his head subconsciously, how can this be done? Mingzhou Group is our mortal enemy!
“Now, we still have to focus on the aircraft carrier.” Lambert said.