Chapter 616: Era of Change!

Jiang Anguo actually isn't trying to make things difficult for the two of them; their ages are indeed a bit advanced.

Of course, Chen Shaokuan is still in his prime fighting years.

Their thinking is also very open.

However, Chen Shaokuan's naval ideas place too much pressure on the national government; if during the golden decade they forgo the purchase and construction of destroyers.

Using that to purchase more mortars might change many things.

Seeing Jiang Anguo say so, Chen Shaokuan and Sa Zhenbing exchanged glances.

Sa Zhenbing also let his old face show.

Sa Zhenbing slowly nodded and said frankly: "Not to hide from General Jiang, both have aspirations."

"If the general is willing to righteously support and allocate some idle warships, it would save the nation's naval defense from fire and water."

"If Nanko's ships are strained, we also earnestly ask the general to open the ship‑purchase channel; the Chongqing side is willing to do everything possible to raise funds, buy warships, rebuild China's Navy, and guard the ten‑thousand‑li maritime frontier."

Jiang Anguo did not answer immediately, but spoke slowly, his tone calm yet clear: "Old Sa, General Shaokuan, I deeply understand your sincere loyalty, and I comprehend the domestic Navy's decades of blood, tears, and steadfastness."

"Fujian youths have guarded the sea generation after generation, marching forward, never retreating in deadly battles; this great duty to family and country I have always kept in mind and never dared to forget."

Actually, in Southeast Asia, Nanko's counter‑offensive against the Japanese Army has seized increasingly more territory.

As before, when Nanko founded the state, it set its capital at Manggu, which is now Huadu.

Jiang Anguo then realized that a single faction cannot go far, so for a Navy that has only one faction—or rather, all its officers come entirely from Fujian province.

This displeases Jiang Anguo.

More often, power still needs mutual checks and balances.

Even if all the Navy's officers and soldiers are to defend this country's maritime frontier.

Jiang Anguo slightly shifted his tone, explaining the situation clearly: "But now Nanko is based in Nanyang, the surrounding situation has not yet fully settled, the Japanese Army remnants on Java Island are not eliminated, and the seas still have hidden currents stirring."

"All warships have garrison combat duties; none are idle, so at present they cannot directly and gratuitously allocate main warships to support the interior."

"It is not that I am stingy, but Nanyang's maritime frontier is newly established; if forces become vacant, previous achievements may be lost, endangering Nanko's nascent foundation."

Near Singapore now, the nearest are the cruiser Ningyuan and several Coastal‑class destroyers on escort duty.

Of course, the three Whale‑class transport ships docked at the port are also much larger than the previous national government's Navy vessels.

After all, their displacement reaches ten thousand tons, comparable to a cruiser's tonnage.

Sa Zhenbing, hearing this, was not disappointed; he merely nodded slightly and said softly: "I, the old man, understand that founding Nanko was difficult, defending it even more so; the general has his own considerations, which are reasonable."

Jiang Anguo, seeing this, immediately offered a compromise, his tone sincere and earnest: "But I will never stand by while the domestic naval defense remains empty."

"The ship‑purchase channel I can fully open; retired Nanko escort ships, patrol vessels, and anti‑submarine ships can be sold to Chongqing at preferential low prices, far below international market rates, and will include a complete set of onboard weapons, ammunition, and maintenance parts."

"At the same time, Nanko can dispatch Navy instructors to the interior to help train sailors, teaching new naval combat tactics and ship operation and maintenance techniques."

Of course, Jiang Anguo also knows that one should not be too absolute; even a verbal promise is still a promise.

Chen Shaokuan's eyes instantly lit up; he rose excitedly: "General, are you serious? If so, it would be a reconstruction of Huaxia's naval defense!"

Although Chen Shaokuan raised the concept of an Aircraft Carrier, deep down as a traditional Navy commander he still hopes the national government can have giant ships and big guns.

That is, a battleship.

Purchasing a battleship is simple; even Jiang Anguo could gift one to the other side.

But a single battleship alone serves no purpose; it cannot form combat power.

"Naturally, I am serious," Jiang Anguo nodded. "Maritime power knows no north or south; the Chinese maritime frontier should be guarded by the Chinese. Nanko's rise is not to carve out a fiefdom, but to revive Chinese sea power and protect all Huaxia people. Assisting the interior to rebuild its Navy today is also our duty."

Sa Zhenbing looked at the dignified Jiang Anguo before him, his heart a swirl of emotions, a faint light flickering in his murky eyes.

He has spent his life witnessing the Navy's decline and fragmentation, enduring countless humiliating defeats; the sinking of Jiangyin, a ship that never fired a shot, sank his family's assets.

Sa Zhenbing never imagined that one day the Chinese could establish a strong Navy in Nanyang, holding maritime power and protecting the nation.

At eighty‑three, after traveling thousands of miles, he finally sees his wish fulfilled.

He slowly rose, solemnly clasping his hands in salute: "I, the old man, on behalf of the nation's coastal military and civilians, and on behalf of the generations of Navy martyrs, thank General Jiang!"

In that moment, the silence in the reception room spoke louder than any sound.

Jiang Anguo was somewhat moved, yet he must consider this matter from the perspective of both nations, especially since more events will follow.

Warships, being matters of state, should not be rushed.

We can first transfer all Navy personnel who have withdrawn to Chongqing over to Nanko.

These Navy soldiers, now in Chongqing, are idle and may even be incorporated into the army.

Now there is an opportunity for them to join Nanko's Pacific Fleet; they have only this one chance in their lives to experience the allure of giant ships and big guns.

Miss it, and they may never have another chance in this life.

As for the warships later handed to the national government, that remains to be seen; destroyers are possible, cruisers not impossible, but battleships and Aircraft Carriers are clearly out of the question.

It is not that Jiang Anguo is reluctant to part with these warships; the key lies in the subsequent issues, which give Jiang Anguo a headache, unsure how to arrange.

If Chen Shaokuan were to take an Aircraft Carrier northward, what then!

The national government's Navy does not have that many professional Navy soldiers.

As for transport ships, later provide more liberty ships and Victory ships.

Fortunately, within the WarSystem, the transport ships' quality is still decent; they are not the American transport ships rapidly built because of war, which may appear numerous but are of very poor quality.

This is why, after World II, so many American vessels were used as nuclear test subjects.

In fact, even after the war, Japan still had many destroyers, which were divided among Britain, the United States, and Russia.

Of course, the Americans looked down on them, the British could use these warships to maintain their Southeast Asian colonies, and Russia could not find enough people to sail them.

Ten years of army, a hundred years of navy.

This saying is not wrong; the Navy's foundation is indeed very important.

The meeting of two generations of Navy personnel spans the vicissitudes of time, linking the fragmented hundred‑year Chinese sea power.

The veteran Naval Marshal of the old era, clutching a shattered dream, sought help; the helmsman of the new era, with a grand vision, offers vigorous assistance, destined to rewrite modern China's humiliating history of having sea but no defense.