Chapter 330 Who is the taken advantage of (first update, please subscribe)
Next, they did not continue to talk about the issue in Java. It seemed that both parties had reached an agreement-when necessary, Nanyang will stand stand up to maintain regional stability.
In fact, the law of the jungle is the basic rule of this world.
This is especially true in this era. When the strong men of the past are declining, anyone will pounce on them and take a bite.
For Nanyang, who lacks strength, all he needs is... just hug his thighs tightly.
Although there were snowflakes outside the window, it was still warm in the Oval Office, the chairs were very comfortable, and they were drinking whiskey and chatting like all old friends reunited after a long separation.
"Now, this war is finally over."
Leaning on the large sofa, Truman said,
"To win this war, we produced too many supplies. With the end of the war, millions of trucks and tanks from Europe to Asia and the mainland have become scrap metal. A large number of ships are waiting to be dismantled at the port. According to preliminary statistics, we need to dispose of more than 30 billion US dollars in materials. We will set up a special agency to dispose of these assets. I think you must be interested in those materials. "
When Truman said the word "interest", he waved his hands to emphasize his tone.
"There is still a lot of discussion on how to dispose of these assets."
Truman continued,
"But what is certain is that if the government comes to purchase it, not only will the price be very It’s cheap, and the United States will also provide corresponding loans, and the interest rates are also very favorable. If you need it, you can set up an organization to take charge of this matter.”
Here comes the fat!
The fat of the post-war surplus supplies has finally arrived. This is one of the purposes of Li Yi'an coming to the United States. One bite of this fat can save people decades of struggle!
"Well, I have several companies in New York that can handle this business."
After thinking about it, Li Yian said.
"If possible, I hope to buy a batch of cargo ships now. Well, 100 ships!"
Now Nanyang is in urgent need of a large number of ships. Not only does it need to speed up the transportation of immigrants, but also in Japan There are still millions of tons of equipment that need to be transported back to the country, and all of this requires ships!
Li Yian's answer made Truman smile.
"Really? Li, you know, you are giving me political achievements. If we reach an agreement today, tomorrow, all newspapers in the United States will praise me as a qualified salesman. God bless, if I had If he were so successful, he might have been a businessman instead of a politician. "
Truman told the truth. He turned to politics because of his failure in business.
"In that case, the world will lose a great politician."
This sentence is both a compliment and a heartfelt statement, whether it is from the fire attack symbolized by burning Tokyo. , or use water mines to block Japan's "Operation Hunger", or finally use atomic bombs against Japan against all odds. He is worthy of this word.
Without him... I have killed enough little devils.
"There has never been a great statesman."
Truman said, leaning his head back against the back of the sofa.
"Each of us is just doing what we should do in our own position. I believe you can also realize now that as president we must fulfill our responsibilities."
"Indeed."
Li Yian nodded.
"So, the responsibility is here, put the responsibility here, stop here, Harry, I have been trying to do this."
Hearing Li Yi'an's words, Truman laughed, and then they continued After chatting, they continued chatting until it got dark, and then the meeting was ended at the urging of the assistant. In fact, it was just transferred to another occasion-the White House banquet.
I have to say that in order to welcome Li Yian's arrival, Truman put a lot of thought into it. From the individual meeting in the office to the banquet at the White House, the specifications were definitely far superior to Li Yian's treatment in London. In London, he only had a brief meeting with British Prime Minister Allied.
Now as a guest of the White House, he is actually sending a signal to the outside world - Truman attaches great importance to Li Yian's visit, and at the banquet, Truman also announced good news, that is, Li Yian expressed his willingness to buy There were less than 1 million tons of idle merchant ships. For a moment, the banquet hall was filled with surprise.
Just as Truman said, the next day many newspapers, including the "Washington Post" and "The New York Times", described Truman as "the most successful salesman". As for Li Yi'an, To describe it, it's a bit...unsatisfactory.
"This rich man who deceived Hedy Lamarr to go to Asia may have bought a country, but he is definitely not a successful businessman!"
In the hotel, with a smile on his face, Li Yian read the newspaper article with interest.
"...Although those "Freedom Ships" brought freedom to Europe, they were simple cargo ships built for war. The average construction period was less than 50 days, and the fastest ones even only took a few days. It is an emergency product, which is different from the ships slowly built during peacetime. Its life expectancy is only five years. It’s only been 20 years. After the war, a large number of such merchant ships were idle in the port. It’s not without reason... But the generous King promised to purchase 1 million tons of Liberty Ships. It must be said that he is a generous and kind man. The king..."
Li Yian gently put down the newspaper in his hand, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“There is so much written in this newspaper, but in my opinion, what is written on it is just three words – ‘taken advantage of’.”
There was a hint of teasing in his tone.
"What do you think?" "This..."
Faced with the inquiry, Li Guoren didn't know what to do.
People say you are being taken advantage of, and you still ask me for my opinion. You are a king, a president, and a billionaire!
What am I?
Is your subordinate!
Can I answer this kind of question?
Say you are taken advantage of... I am so stupid!
"This, this...this newspaper seems to say..."
Looking at Li Guoren's stammering look, Li Yian smiled.
"There is some truth to it. During the war, the speed of manufacturing would inevitably affect the quality, and in order to reduce costs, the steel plates used were very thin. Because of this, these free wheels now...well , almost all of them are idle in the port, and few shipping companies are interested in it. "
The president's words made Li Guoren feel helpless, you know.
Isn’t it all written in the newspaper?
Why are you idle? Because businessmen are not stupid!
What is a free wheel?
Is that a boat?
Those are consumables!
From the initial design, there were not only no requirements for the service life, but also the Liberty Ship was regarded as a one-time use consumable. It was believed that as long as a Liberty Ship could complete a voyage across the Atlantic, it would not be used by Germany. If the submarine is sunk and a cargo full of goods is sent to England, the mission will be completed.
Who wants such a simple "emergency overcoming difficulty" type ship!
"No shipping company is interested in it now, but it doesn't mean there won't be in the future."
Li Yian's expression was full of pride as he lit a cigar. What is foresight? This is foresight.
"Actually, what they don't know is that although the steel plate of the "Freewheel" is relatively thin, this kind of ship is still very strong. It can even be said that it is so strong that it is beyond our imagination, let alone five Even if it is used for forty years, there will be no problem."
"How is this possible?"
Li Guoren picked up the newspaper and said.
"The newspaper makes it very clear that the freewheel has a simple structure and costs only US$1.8 million, which is a quarter of that of a freighter of the same tonnage built using traditional techniques, so its service life is worrying."
This is the message. Bad!
No one in this era could have imagined that the free wheel, known as the "one-time use ten-thousand-ton wheel", would be of such good quality and be so durable.
This is not an exaggeration. In another world, China purchased a batch of free-type freighters from abroad at the end of the 1950s for the transportation of coal. Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, in order to develop the ocean shipping industry, eight Liberty ships were purchased in the name of "scrap steel ships" and continued to contribute to the construction of New China. It was not until the early 1980s that they were gradually decommissioned and scrapped. In total, these originally The Freewheel, which was designed to have a life of five years, has been in service for almost forty years. .
But now... no one believes it. Not to mention that no one believes it now, in the 1950s, those shipowners felt that the "Liberty Ships" had exceeded their lifespan and were dangerous to use anymore and had to be eliminated. However, they never imagined that they had sailed safely on the sea for another twenty years. Year.
"Maybe it's impossible. You'll know after you buy it and use it."
Putting the cigar on the ashtray, Li Yian said.
“Right now, what we need is ships, we need ships to transport the machinery and equipment dismantled from Japan, we need ships to transport people from Tangshan, and the Liberty Ship... is the only spot we can buy at the moment. As long as there is If we own a ship, we can hire sailors in Germany, Italy, or even Japan to transport immigrants and machinery and equipment. In terms of cost, as long as we keep the price of buying a ship low, we can make a few trips back and forth and we will almost get our money back. "
With a smile on his face, Li Yian stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the crowded street. Now he is very grateful to those media.
If they hadn't been so "outspoken", it would have cost at least twice as much to buy these boats. Now... it would be easier to deal with.
"Lower prices? Sir..."
Li Guoren suddenly realized.
"Newspapers, these news in newspapers are our bargaining chip to lower prices!"
"What do you think?"
Go back to the table and pick up the cigarette ashes Cigars in the vat, Li Yian said.
"They all think that I am the "big wronged person", but they don't know that the more they report this, the harder it will be to sell those Liberty Wheels. In order to make me, the "big wronged person", happily pay for it, they will even give us A very low offer.”
How low is it?
Li Yi'an didn't know it, but after the war, thousands of idle Liberty ships really caused a headache for the US government. Although shipping from various countries in the war suffered huge losses during the war, they were only willing to rent Liberty ships. After all, no one wants to throw away "something with a five-year lifespan" in their hands.
"So, next, just negotiate with the United States. They will definitely be willing to bleed. As for who is the big culprit..."
Li Yian smiled.
"Time will tell everything."
At that time, the whole world will know who is the real "taken advantage of"!
(End of this chapter)