Chapter 1754

When Ye Chen first mentioned the idea of the Wanlong Palace's transformation, Wan Pojun was in favor of it with both hands deep in his heart.

However, the only thing he was worried about in his heart was the profitability after the transformation.

He doesn't ask for money now, but the Wanlong Palace still has tens of thousands of soldiers to support. The expenses of this group of people are huge. If the transformed Wanlong Palace cannot reach the break-even point, it will be difficult for him to give an account to the soldiers of the Wanlong Palace.

However, after listening to the future described by Ye Chen, he immediately had confidence in his heart.

So, he asked Ye Chen, "Mr. Ye, do you have any understanding of the salary situation of these two international security services later? I want to calculate the income fluctuation of the Wanlong Palace in the future."

Ye Chen said, "I don't know the specifics, I will consult now."

As he spoke, he immediately took out his mobile phone and called He Zhiqiu first.

He Zhiqiu originally had a deep understanding of international shipping, and now she has begun to manage Yisu Shipping, and she knows the details of the shipping market like the back of her hand.

The call was connected, and He Zhiqiu asked with excitement, "Mr. Ye, have you returned to Jin Ling?"

"Back." Ye Chen asked her, "Zhiqiu, I called to consult you, do you know the international security salary in the shipping market now?"

He Zhiqiu explained, "If it is in the Gulf of Aden, generally a merchant ship needs to be equipped with three to five international security personnel. The security company's helicopter will send international security personnel directly to the ship when the merchant ship is about to enter the Gulf of Aden, and wait for the merchant ship to pass through the Gulf of Aden safely and smoothly before leaving the ship by helicopter. The whole process takes only a few days, and the fee is generally around 200,000 US dollars."

"200,000 US dollars?" Ye Chen said in surprise, "Is it that high?"

He Zhiqiu said, "Mr. Ye, this is already the quotation from the beginning of the year. The current international security price is higher than before. The same service is about 300,000 US dollars..."

"The reason for such a large increase is mainly because the freight price of the international shipping market has been soaring from last year to now, and the price has repeatedly hit records."

"A standard container departing from our southeast coastal ports in China to the Port of Los Angeles in the United States has soared from more than 1,000 US dollars in the past to nearly 20,000 US dollars."

"A large cargo ship with a capacity of more than 10,000 standard containers has a freight of 100 to 200 million US dollars for a full-load transport. Those with a capacity of more than 20,000 containers can earn back the cost of the ship in one trip. Shipowners have long been crazy about earning money, so they are also willing to spend hundreds of thousands of US dollars to ensure safety."

Ye Chen asked again, "Is pirate activity frequent in the Gulf of Aden now?"

"Frequent." He Zhiqiu explained, "Pirates there have never stopped. The more popular the shipping market is, the more active they are. They hijack a merchant ship and will detain the ship and people to demand ransom from the shipowner. Generally, it starts at at least several million US dollars, and sometimes it can reach tens of millions of US dollars. Shipowners dare not not pay, and it is very time-consuming to go back and forth. The money wasted on one trip may be tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of US dollars in freight income. So now shipowners attach great importance to international security, and almost all large merchant ships will spend this money."

As she spoke, He Zhiqiu added, "By the way, after the Su family shipping group merged, we have already started to send ships normally. Our own ships will also purchase international security services."

Ye Chen heard this and asked, "Do you know about the current international security companies? Where are their bases generally located?"

He Zhiqiu said, "At present, there are at least 300 international security companies in the global shipping market. Of course, the demand for armed escort in the Gulf of Aden is the highest, so everyone has set up coastal bases along the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Some even buy an old ship for transformation, transforming it into a sea base that can take off and land helicopters. Now most of the market is in the hands of the British, followed by the Americans, and relatively few in Asia. And in terms of price, the price of Western escort companies is higher than that of Eastern escort companies, and their market acceptance is also higher."

"I understand." Ye Chen nodded and said, "Zhiqiu, send me the information of all our ships at this stage."

At this time, Ye Chen had already made up his mind to let the Wanlong Palace strongly cut into the armed escort market. Since the British can take away more than half of the share, the Chinese can naturally do it too.

Since he made up his mind to do it, he must grasp both land and sea. On the one hand, he must let Wan Pojun find a way to establish bases along the coast of Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and other countries. On the other hand, he must also prepare for sea bases. So he intends to give all the ship information of Yisu Shipping to Wan Pojun and let him choose the most suitable one for transformation.

After hanging up the phone, Ye Chen fed back the situation he got from He Zhiqiu to Wan Pojun.

After listening, Wan Pojun immediately said, "Mr. Ye, we can almost get started with this business immediately. Our soldiers, whether it is training level, combat strength, or weapons and equipment, are much stronger than those ordinary international security. Dealing with this kind of work can be said to be easy, and we have relatively good channel relations in the Middle East. It should be no problem to establish one or two forward bases with a scale of hundreds of people along the coast of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman."

Ye Chen nodded, "That couldn't be better. You start preparing these forward bases immediately. I will provide you with a cargo ship as a mobile base at sea. In this way, it can be officially started very soon! By then, start with Yisu Shipping's merchant ships first!"

After a pause, Ye Chen added, "As for the work of providing armed security in high-risk overseas areas, it should be simpler than armed escort. As long as you find an employer, you can send a certain number of soldiers over according to the employer's needs. I believe in the combat effectiveness of your Wanlong Palace. It is definitely no problem in those Third World countries, and there is no need for extra training. So you divide the soldiers who are ready to transform to do this field in advance, and send people over as soon as you receive the project."

Wan Pojun said excitedly, "Mr. Ye, rest assured, your subordinate will start arranging immediately and can solve all preparations within two weeks!"

"Good!" Ye Chen said with satisfaction, "As for the more than 10,000 prisoners you have in Syria, I will find a way to mediate and let them release people. In addition, I also plan to help you seek to build a 10,000-person rear base in Syria."

Upon hearing this, Wan Pojun was even more excited. Even his voice was trembling, and he asked incredulously, "Mr. Ye... can you really let them release the prisoners, and can you let them allow us to build a rear base?"

Ye Chen nodded and said earnestly, "You need a place, they need protection and help. This kind of thing is nothing more than each side getting what they need. As long as the conditions can be negotiated, nothing is impossible."