Chapter 40: The Sunk Yamato

"Commander, here is the improvement and expansion plan for Dawan Port and the shipyard."

Upon returning to the shipyard, Tang Wen saw the design drawings submitted by Tang Yi.

This primarily concerns future improvements to the shipyard and port, divided into three main parts:

Since the port borders a hill, the first task is to construct new barbed wire fences at vulnerable points around the port, prohibiting entry from all directions except the designated road entrances and exits;

The second involves the berths: building massive steel canopies over each berth, sufficient to fully shield battleships, requiring little time and minimal silver coins, as the shipyard itself can manufacture these oversized steel canopies;

The third is a long-term project: Tang Wen purchased all land between Dawan and the shipyard, and, anticipating future expansion, first erected perimeter walls to demarcate the area;

Simultaneously, he specifically selected a relatively flat area far from the hills, planning to construct a 1000-meter runway for aircraft from the aircraft carrier.

Since it would only serve propeller-driven aircraft, this runway's standards barely exceed those of a village road.

The aircraft carrier is too large and inconvenient to use, but aircraft—especially the grandfathers of WWII-era planes—are far easier to operate.

We can just claim to be aviation enthusiasts; the authorities won't interfere too much.

This plan required neither excessive silver nor money, and Tang Wen readily approved it.

Especially the third point—he deliberately raised its priority, because having aircraft was truly cool.

Even if the carrier couldn't sail out, its B-25 and SBD bombers had ranges exceeding 2000 kilometers, and the F4F fighters had a 1200-kilometer range, sufficient to cover most of the sea area.

In the future, when going out to fish and spotting sharks, he could simply call for air support, then a squadron of SBD-5s would drop a barrage of bombs, and he could just wait to collect the fish.

Of course, if necessary, we could also... assist in recovering steel.

With abundant iron resources and silver coins, the shipyard could immediately build larger, more fully equipped salvage vessels.

According to Tang Yi's summary, the best locations for salvaging wrecks were the waters around Baodao and Lu Song.

During World War II, the Combined Fleet and Allied fleets engaged in countless battles in these areas, resulting in numerous naval engagements.

This included the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history, which occurred in the central waters of Lu Song.

In this battle, both sides deployed over two million tons of ships, involving approximately 35 aircraft carriers, 21 battleships, 170 destroyers, and nearly 20,000 military aircraft.

During the battle, nearly ten major carriers and battleships sank, while destroyers, escort carriers, and supply ships numbered in the countless.

Too many naval battles occurred in the western Pacific, and records were exceptionally complete, making them far easier to locate than small-scale coastal skirmishes.

Just Tang Yi's estimated total tonnage of the most easily salvageable warships exceeded 500,000 tons.

But the sinking locations of these warships were either in international waters or near other nations' territorial seas—going to salvage them required proper preparation.

If someone harasses us next time, we can simply dispatch an air squadron to drive them off—both stylish and swift.

Tang Yi marked several distant, high-tonnage wrecks on the sea chart hanging in the office; most of the pushpins clustered near Lu Song and the Palau Islands.

But one pushpin was stuck in the central part of the East Sea, rightward, not far from Yakushima below Kagoshima Island, roughly 200 kilometers away on the map.

Departing from outside Dawan Village, we'd have to cross the strait, a distance exceeding 2000 kilometers.

Noticing Tang Wen's gaze, Tang Yi explained:

"This warship is the easiest to locate—many wartime histories record it, including the exact time and precise location of its sinking: southwest of Kyushu, northwest of Tokunoshima, longitude 128°04′E, latitude 30°43′N."

"If we salvage it, it would indeed be meaningful."

Tang Wen, intrigued, asked:

"Which ship is this? Is it famous?"

"The flagship of the Combined Fleet—the largest battleship ever built in human history, the Yamato, with a standard displacement of 69,400 tons, capable of providing us with 70,000 tons of steel."

"Whoa—"

Tang Wen certainly knew the famed Yamato—it was the Tier-10 battleship in the R-tech tree of the game, the absolute monarch in terms of tonnage and firepower armor.

But most importantly, 70,000 tons of steel—absolutely worth the risk.

"The Yamato was assigned to the Second Fleet, commanded by Admiral Ito Seiichi, and engaged the Allied Task Force 58, ultimately sunk by carrier-launched torpedoes.

As the largest and strongest battleship in human history, the entire battle was meticulously documented with text and photographs—we can locate it with ease.

The Yamato's sinking site is only a thousand nautical miles from us; a single voyage there takes just over two days, and we can recover the steel within a week."

As Tang Yi spoke, he drew a route on the map:

"If we're salvaging the Yamato, we'll need at least a 500-ton vessel... I suggest using the Kishinami."

"Still using the Kishinami?"

Tang Wen felt a bit embarrassed—his original plan had been to build the Kishinami first, complete the system task, then strip its armaments and convert it into a fishing vessel for Fudong Fisheries—a win-win.

But if we delay it a bit longer, and send the Kishinami to salvage the Yamato first...

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad?

It wouldn't delay much, wouldn't affect the delivery—just say it's for testing.

This isn't just win-win—it's triple win!

Use someone else's money to complete the task—win once; build the ship and earn 300% pure profit—win again; finally recover tens of thousands of tons of steel—win once more. It's like Qin Shi Huang touching an electric fence—winning big.

Tang Wen couldn't help applauding—this was the ultimate utilization of resources!

"Fine, we'll salvage the Yamato. As soon as the Kishinami is built, we'll go."

Tang Yi: "This is just a suggestion, and that location is too far from the mainland, with higher risk.

Actually, the Kishinami is a bit slow, only 19 knots; a speed above 30 knots would be safer. If possible, I suggest salvaging near Quanzhou first..."

"70,000 tons of steel."

"..."

"Alright, I'll make detailed plans."

The reason of 70,000 tons was compelling—Tang Yi couldn't help being tempted.

But as he turned to leave, he suddenly remembered something and added:

"We need more data. Please approve a special budget—I must go to Echeng to purchase more books."

August 5th, Monday.

Guo Panpan sat behind the counter, talking on the phone with her best friend.

Her best friend had also been admitted to Shuangyashan University and had recently visited Yangcheng to see the school she would soon attend, sharing her experiences on the phone.

When she heard her best friend had bought the latest album and portable cassette player in Yangcheng, Guo Panpan's eyes lit up, and she excitedly shrieked into the phone.

Just as she was deep in conversation, a thick, rough voice interrupted her:

"Miss, I'd like to make a phone call."