After leaving this luxurious manor, Fang Lang separated from Mr. Radia Redondo because he had made an appointment to have lunch with Rear Admiral Frederick Crook, Chief of Staff of the Naval General Staff.
Fang Lang didn't know any good restaurants in Rio, but the last time he and General Leta ate at Olim Restaurant, it felt pretty good. This time I made an appointment directly here.
As a subordinate, Fang Lang didn't wait long in the restaurant. General Crook quickly arrived at the door of the restaurant under the escort of guards.
"General Crook, it's a great honor to invite you to lunch. We'll invite you inside."
Today's General Crook is wearing civilian clothes, and the gold-rimmed glasses on his eyes are still the same ones Fang Lang saw last time. It may be because of the casual clothes. Fang Lang feels that today's General Crook looks much more casual.
There was an unlit cigar in his mouth, as if he was chewing it. This was in great contrast with his gentler appearance, which made Fang Lang feel a little dazed for a moment.
However, Fang Lang always remembered that Colonel Parisi told him that General Crook was a man who paid great attention to military appearance and discipline.
So even though Fang Lang was wearing casual clothes at this time, he still stood very straight and tidied himself up very neatly.
This obviously made General Crook very satisfied. He smiled and patted Fang Lang on the shoulder and said:
"Okay, no need to be so formal. We are in a private setting now. Everyone should wear casual clothes. Don't let others know your identity at a glance."
Seeing General Crook's appearance, Fang Lang didn't dare to really relax completely. Although Fang Lang didn't like this state, his superiors liked it, so he could only hold on to it.
After all, he and General Crook were actually not familiar with each other, and this was only the second time they met.
After listening to General Moraes' words yesterday, Fang Lang thought that since he came to Rio, he would also like to communicate with his superiors, so he invited General Crook to dinner.
Unexpectedly, the other party agreed without hesitation, which was beyond Fang Lang's expectation.
Since the leader accepted your banquet, it means that the relationship between the two is likely to be closer, and Fang Lang is of course very happy.
Soon the two of them came to sit in the box, while the guards were eating in the hall outside the box.
Before Fang Lang could ask for a topic, General Crook had already taken the initiative and said:
"This time your family's investment in the automobile industry system has been very popular! I heard a lot of people discussing it yesterday!"
Hearing General Crook take the initiative to mention the automobile industry, Fang Lang thought to himself, it's not the general who wants to get involved!
However, this is normal. No one grew up drinking dew. It is a good thing to have demand.
"Oh! Is there anyone in the general's family who also participates in the stock? Please tell me who it is, and I will arrange shares for him immediately."
General Crook was stunned when he heard Fang Lang's words. Is it so blatant?
Did I ask for a bribe?
Afraid of misunderstanding, Fang Lang shook his head and said:
"Fang, you misunderstood. My family has always made a living by driving shrimp boats, but we don't have the strength to participate in such an industry on shore.
So, I heard the news at yesterday's dinner and asked you about it. "
General Crook's words reminded Fang Lang of a very interesting thing, a shrimp boat fishing for lobsters.
Brazil almost had a war with France over lobster fishing. Although there was no fight in the end, this incident directly contributed to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Sea.
The story begins in 1961, when a group of French fishermen came to the waters of northeastern Brazil to catch lobsters, which made the Brazilian fishermen very unhappy.
Seeing the lobsters being caught one by one by the French, the Brazilian fishermen quickly reported the matter to the authorities. When the leaders of the Brazilian Navy heard this, they thought, "Is this okay?"
Two warships were immediately sent over to warn these French fishermen. This time the French quit. Why do you think Brazil has warships but France doesn’t?
So, in February 1962. France sends destroyer Tartu to Pakistan
Along the west and northeast coast, the French destroyer was discovered and tracked by the Brazilian air force as soon as it entered the disputed waters 100 nautical miles away.
After receiving the intelligence, the Brazilian Navy immediately dispatched the Minas Gerais aircraft carrier, a light cruiser, a destroyer squadron, a submarine and a patrol boat to the waters where the French warship was located.
The two navies stared at each other for several hours. Finally, the French destroyer gave up and turned around and left the disputed waters.
In order to save face, France sent a task force to Brazil at the end of February, including an aircraft carrier, an anti-aircraft cruiser, two destroyers, five frigates and a supply ship.
Faced with the tense situation, the Brazilian military launched further operations, and several squadrons equipped with B17 bombers were urgently dispatched to the Recife Airport in northeastern Brazil on standby.
Brazil's navy has also carried out large-scale exercises near the northeastern coast for several days in a row, and even Brazil's army has been urgently mobilized to the border of French Guiana to stand by.
They were prepared to march directly into French Guia once the fighting started. Fortunately, the two countries calmed down later and did not really get into trouble. They just moved the lawsuit to the International Court of Justice.
The final result is that Brazil expanded its exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles, while France's 26 fishing vessels can continue to fish in the original area for five years.
Because of the war caused by this lobster, it finally led to the United Nations Convention on the Sea and the concept of the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
When I heard that General Crook's family actually made a living by fishing for shrimps, I couldn't help but start to murmur in my heart, wouldn't it be because of you that the Brazilian Navy would be so reckless as to go to war with France?
Personalized, I like it. The key is to once again prove that the French are really cowards.
"Hey! General Crook, I didn't expect that your family also makes a living from fishing, so we have more opportunities to cooperate.
Didn’t Colonel Parisi, the former naval commander of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, retire from the army?
Mr. Parisi and I jointly opened a fishing company. Now the company has more than 40 fishing boats, and they are all the latest trawlers.
How about the three of us cooperate and become bigger and stronger? "
Originally, Fang Lang came to see General Crook today without any clear purpose. He just wanted to build a relationship with each other, but he didn't expect that there would be an opportunity for cooperation!
So how can you let this go? After becoming a business partner with General Crook, wouldn't it be easier to talk about a lot of things?
General Crook obviously didn't expect that this guy Fang Lang would be so powerful, so he just hit the snake and the stick.
This pressing posture is a bit breathtaking!
He coughed twice quickly and changed the subject:
"Cough, cough. Fang, I don't care about the family business. It's useless for you to tell me.
I'm going out to eat with you today! Mainly at the dinner yesterday, General Moraes said to me, is there any way you can convince the US Navy to sell us aircraft carriers? Are you sure? "
Haha, it doesn’t matter if you don’t care about the family business! This is better. It seems that Colonel Parisi should visit General Crook's family.
I don’t believe that I can’t win over your family. As long as we have a business partnership with the General’s family, wouldn’t the rest of the matter be simple?
As for the aircraft carrier!
"Your Excellency, General, if we want the United States to agree to sell aircraft carriers to us, we may need to spend some money to convince the U.S. Congress. This may not be successful right away.
But I heard today that isn’t there someone in our Navy Department who can get an aircraft carrier from the UK? Maybe this will cost us less? "
These words were somewhat unpleasant to General Crook's ears.
He also knew that Fang Lang had obviously received the news that someone was seeking the position of aircraft carrier captain, which was a bit of an understatement.
In fact, in General Crook's mind, Fang Lang is still very capable and has actual combat experience. His combat effectiveness has been verified in world wars. His biggest weakness is that he is too young.
Is it appropriate to put a powerful naval force in his hands?
Orlando is exactly the opposite of Fang Lang. He is of the right age and has sufficient qualifications. He has been serving as a battleship captain in the Brazilian Navy. The only thing he lacks is that he has no actual combat experience.
It cannot be said that there is no actual combat experience at all. After all, escort is also an actual combat mission! Unfortunately, he has no experience in killing enemies and his combat effectiveness has not been verified.
This left General Crook undecided on whom to support. Since one of them had taken the initiative to bring the topic to this topic in the past few days, he didn't like to hide it, so he simply let this guy talk about it.
"You guys don't have to beat around the bush to test me. Someone has indeed proposed to seek an aircraft carrier from the UK and wants to serve as the aircraft carrier commander.
how? Are you dissatisfied? "
Hearing General Crook's straightforward words, which were obviously a bit stimulating, Fang Lang smiled and understood that General Crook had at least chosen his side.
At this time, he took his time and calmly asked the waiter to order, then handed the menu in his hand to General Crook and said:
"Come, General, let's order food first and chat while we eat."
This immediately disrupted General Crook's rhythm, causing the expression on General Crook's face to change again and again.
Then he laughed, looking at Fang Lang with admiration in his eyes.
A good boy, neither humble nor arrogant, he is well-versed in what he says and does. He is a powerful person.
Don't take it to heart, just order the food with peace of mind.
After both of them finished ordering, Fang Lang took a sip of red wine and said calmly:
"Your Excellency, General, my First Fleet can be regarded as a task force. It has a navy, a marines, and now there are reconnaissance aircraft assigned to cruisers. If you add aircraft carriers, it will be considered a real air force.
Do you think this can be accomplished by a battleship captain with only naval service experience?
Not to mention anything else, during the Pacific Naval War, I deeply realized how desperate the navy was when facing an enemy with air superiority.
For this reason, I desperately learned aviation tactics from the Americans, how to fly airplanes, how to maintain airplanes, airplane tactics, and airplane dispatching.
I can say now that there is no one in the whole of Brazil who is more qualified than me to command this task force.
I was born in the Army, so I knew Army tactics, and even my Marine Corps training syllabus was written by me.
In the navy, I am the only naval commander in the entire Brazilian Navy with a record of actual combat sinkings.
Air Force I have just said that I understand the tactics and command of the Air Force.
I don't believe that my competitors have the same strength as me. "
Sometimes, if you don't fight for some things, it means giving up. Fang Lang is not a person who doesn't fight. He is confident that he is better than Orlando, and there is no reason for him to let the other party steal the tower.
