a certain port.
Feng Ping stood on the bow of the Chongren No. 1 semi-submersible barge, looking at the many ships sailing into the port from a distance with a leisurely expression.
And standing next to him is Feng Ru, the first mate he has brought out in recent years - or rather, his own son.
Just half a month ago, he received a mysterious phone call. The man on the other end of the phone made an appointment with him to meet at the Fisheries Bureau and conveyed an important task to him.
The content of the mission was very simple. It could even be said that before going to the Fisheries Bureau, he had already roughly guessed what they wanted him to do.
But what surprised him was that the mission lasted 18 months.
He was confused.
It's just building an island. It's not like I haven't done this before.
Does it really take that long?
Or to put it another way, if it takes so long, how big will the island I want to build this time be?
It can't be bigger than the Yongxia Island that was built before, right?
You know, more than ten years ago, when they built an 8,000-square-meter island on Yongxia Reef, it only took them 6 months.
And this time, 18 months?
He asked the man at the interface his question, but the latter did not answer him.
He just told Feng Ping that this mission was very difficult and dangerous. If he didn't want to go, he could put it forward and let others take Feng Ping's place.
This proposal was rejected by Feng Ping on the spot.
Are you kidding me? Do you seem to be someone who is afraid of death and danger?
Since he is the captain of Heavy Duty No. 1, he has to shoulder heavy responsibilities.
Not only him, but also his own son cannot hide back.
Therefore, no matter how his wife persuaded him, Feng Ping still brought his son Feng Ru with him, hoping to take this opportunity to let him exercise well and truly take over his responsibilities in the future.
Feng Ru's performance also made him quite satisfied. Not only did he not escape, but after receiving the mission, he immediately led all the sailors on the ship to inspect and repair the ship, just to make the ship in the best condition. Meet the challenges of the next full 18 months.
At this time, he had completed all the inspections, and there was only one last night left before the official departure.
Thinking of this, Feng Ping turned around, patted Feng Ru on the shoulder and said:
"Good boy, you have worked hard these past ten days - but you are also a bit like a captain."
"How's it going? Is everything going well?"
Feng Ru nodded and replied:
"It went well. All the equipment has been put on the ship. Several hidden dangers I told you before have been eliminated. I have also prepared additional maintenance materials. I will unload them when I get there. In case of ship damage, they can be repaired directly on site. good."
"Yes, very thoughtful."
Feng Ping smiled happily, and then asked again:
"How are you? Are you afraid?"
"Afraid?"
Feng Ru repeated doubtfully.
"Why should we be afraid? We are going to build islands, not to fight."
Feng Ping rolled his eyes and said in a slightly resentful tone:
"Do you think that building an island is not a war? Do you think that when we built it in the past, they really let you build it under your nose?"
"What we are going to this time is Treasure Island!"
"To put it mildly, that's their territory. Their warships are patrolling everywhere. There might be fights every day!"
"A fight is not a war."
Feng Ru muttered, but after seeing his father's dissatisfied eyes, he quickly said:
"I know, I know, I will pay attention to safety. But it's you, if you can't do it, just don't go? It's still too late to regret it now."
"If I don't go, can I rest assured just letting you go? At least I still have some experience. You idiot, what can you do if you go?"
Feng Ping hit Feng Ru hard on the head and said in a stern tone.
"I can do anything you can do!"
Feng Ru became tough at this time. In fact, he was not bragging.
Technically speaking, he is indeed fully qualified for the job of captain. The only thing he lacks is experience.
However, this is also what Feng Ping is most worried about.
He frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then said:
"Our mission this time is different from the work we usually do in front of our own homes."
"This time, it's the same as when we were on Yongxia Island."
"In the final analysis, the work itself is not difficult, the difficult thing is how to do it."
Hearing this, Feng Ru became interested instantly.
He turned to Feng Ping and asked:
"So what exactly did you do there back then? I've never heard of you talking about it. Why don't you tell me this time?"
Looking at his son's expectant eyes, Feng Ping hesitated for a moment and finally spoke.
"Actually, there's nothing that can't be said about that matter. The reason why I haven't mentioned it to you before is because I thought it wasn't time for you to worry about it yet."
"However, now that we have reached this point, there is no harm in talking about it."
Feng Ping's eyes gradually became a little blurry, as if he was recalling the thrilling six months more than ten years ago.
After a full two minutes, he continued:
"At that time, the island was not called Yongxia Island, but Yongxia Reef."
"In May 1987, I received the task of building an island there, but it was not until January 1988 that our ship officially left the port."
"On the first day we arrived there, the monkey's boat chased us."
"I remember that that day, two armed ships, carrying construction materials and their sailors, rammed straight into our fleet."
"I had just arrived at that time, and I was still a fool just like you are now."
"Have I never seen anything like this before? I was immediately frightened. Seeing those monkeys raising their guns, I thought there was going to be a war. I even thought about my last words."
"But fortunately, our escort formation was also there, and within half an hour, we forced them back."
"I breathed a sigh of relief and thought that was the end of it."
"But I didn't expect that in the first two months we were there, things like this happened almost every day."
"Monkeys don't care if you are a soldier. For them, if they can kill you and stop your project, it is already a big profit."
"So, we were always on tenterhooks and couldn't sleep well, for fear that they would bomb us that night."
"What's even worse is that we were very unlucky during those two months. The weather was very bad, the wind and waves were strong, and the work was delayed in starting."
“We even thought at the time that this project was going to be ruined.”
"It wasn't until the end of February that the superiors finally made a decision. We couldn't wait, and we had to work hard even if we had to fight hard."
"We use explosives to blast rocks that cannot be dug by reef dredgers; we use small boats to transport the rocks that cannot be penetrated by barges."
"Even in some shallow water areas, people have to carry the building materials up on their shoulders."
"The Vietnamese are dumbfounded. They never imagined that we could continue to do this despite being harassed like this."
"So, they are also crazy. As our progress speeds up, they have more and more warships."
"The situation is critical and no joke."
Speaking of this, Feng Ping paused, and Feng Ru's expression became heavy.
From his father's words, he could completely tell how difficult and dangerous the environment was at that time.
It's really hard for them to build that island in such an environment.
No wonder his mother didn't want him to go this time. It seemed like this was indeed a fatal job.
"So what happened next? Why was it built again?"
Feng Ru asked.
"Later, we fought with them at Chigua Reef."
"I remember March 14, 1988 very clearly."
"They sank at least three ships, and one person on our side was slightly injured."
"Since then, they have been honest. Until June, when we completed the project, they never came again."
"Isn't this right!"
After hearing this, Feng Ru's confidence increased greatly.
"We just have to teach them a lesson! Since they love to cause trouble so much, just beat them and it's over. Once they're beaten, why won't everything go smoothly?!"
Feng Ping rolled his eyes at him and said:
"Do you think it's still that time?"
Feng Ru scratched his head and asked uncertainly:
"Huh? What's wrong? Is there a difference?"
Feng Ping sighed and his tone became lower.
"Now, if there is a fight, what we are going to fight is not Vietnamese monkeys, but American eagles."
Feng Ru was stunned for a moment, and then he fell silent.
yes.
In this year, our opponent is no longer Vietnam.
Watching with eager eyes is another more powerful opponent.
If you are not careful, the final result may be irreversible.
But won’t we go?
He looked at Feng Ping, stared for a moment, and suddenly laughed again.
In his father's eyes, he had already found the answer.
The other side of the sea.
On the deck of the aircraft carrier, Carl Thomas was sitting in the bridge control room, holding the order document he had just received tightly in his hand, with a serious look on his face.
Standing next to him was Michael Gilday, the commander of the aircraft carrier's aircraft formation. He held the same document in his hands, but his expression was much more relaxed than Thomas's.
"So, this mission has basically been determined. We will go to the ship port and resupply there?"
Gilday asked.
Thomas nodded solemnly and replied:
"That's right. For this navigation route, we need to go around the Philippines, pass through Bandar Seri Bega Bay to the west, and then go north along the coastline to reach the ship port."
"Our goal is to curb island-building operations but avoid direct conflict with them as much as possible."
"In other words, the main thing is still done by Annan."
"But if a conflict breaks out, then we can step in and start playing our part."
Hearing Thomas' words, Gildy nodded slightly.
There was a look of emotion on his face, and then he said:
"Unexpectedly, we and Annan were enemies a few decades ago, but now we have become their friends."
"This should be the first time we have had military exchanges of this magnitude with them, right? We haven't even been to Japan and South Korea."
Thomas frowned, thought for a moment and replied:
"In my impression, it should be."
"It's no big deal, though."
"There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in the world, only eternal interests."
"We also had a honeymoon period with them."
"It's just that their development has gradually exceeded our expectations and squeezed out our interests, forcing us to change our attitude towards them."
"As for the so-called ideological conflict, we all know in our hearts that it is just an excuse."
"Indeed it is."
Gildi laughed, then changed the subject and asked:
"However, can our action really have a deterrent effect on them? Will they really give up their island-building plan just because we are here?"
"Judging from intelligence information, this time they are very determined and prepared in all aspects."
"If it's just 'deterrence', I'm afraid it won't achieve our goal, right?"
"have no idea."
Thomas answered bluntly.
"In fact, no one among us knows the consequences of this strategy - including, of course, the so-called experts at the Corner Tower and the May Meeting."
"The reason why we dare to take such a risk is based on one thing: no matter which direction the situation develops, we will not suffer any loss."
"So, they're willing to take a gamble."
"Anyway, it's someone else who puts the chips on the table, so what does it have to do with us?"
Hearing Thomas' words, Gildy couldn't help but be a little confused.
He asked:
"But, you just said that if there is a conflict between them, we will intervene."
"You mean, this kind of intervention does not include military intervention?"
"That depends on the specific development of the situation."
Thomas leaned back on the command chair, his hands hanging casually on his sides, swaying leisurely as he continued:
"We certainly don't want military intervention because it will bring uncontrollable consequences."
"But at the same time, we must convey our determination to intervene militarily."
"This is a very simple truth. If your neighbor doesn't believe you will shoot, then what is the meaning of your so-called threat?"
"So, not only do we have to hold the gun up, we have to load it, put the safety on, and point the gun at them."
"Only in this case will our threats be convincing."
"As for whether to shoot in the end, it depends on whether the benefits we can obtain exceed the value of the bullet."
"Judging from the current situation, our bullets are still very expensive."
After hearing this, Gilday fully understood the meaning of Thomas, the Corner Tower, the May Meeting, and even the Congress.
Obviously, the action of raising the gun is not just for this side to see.
More importantly, it was for Annan to see.
Only when they believe from the bottom of their hearts that there is someone standing behind them will they provoke and collide unscrupulously.
In this way, our strategy can be considered to be implemented.
Thinking of this, Gildy sighed deeply.
"I never imagined that our relationship with them would reach this point so quickly."
"Even three years ago, when I first boarded the Reagan, there was no way I could have predicted that one day I would be on a mission like this."
"At that time, I probably felt that there was no difference between them and Vietnam, right?"
Thomas smiled, shook his head, and replied:
"It's not just you, I actually think the same way."
"It's just that their development has indeed far exceeded our expectations."
"But that's okay too."
"We have the most powerful force in the world. Let alone confront us, even if they look at us, their legs will become weak with fear."
