120: Chapter 120 You're using this to test the general!

Don't get lost while following the story; bookmark and read "Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor, Three Hundred Years in Tax Arrears" anytime.

The car stopped by the pier, and Admiral Jensen saw the repaired uss traxton and USNS Supply through the window.

The hulls that had been dented from the collision, the torn decks, and the deformed radar pedestals were all fully repaired. The hulls had been repainted with a matte Navy Gray, leaving no trace of the collision.

"Superficial appearance." Admiral Jensen sneered, not believing for a second that this Chinese-owned shipyard could repair two main destroyers in fifty days. He led the expert group toward the ships.

"Check everything inside and out! Don't miss a single detail!"

The expert group immediately went into action, carrying non-destructive testing equipment and pressure testers. They inspected everything from hull welding and deck structures to cabin pipelines and radar pedestals, point by point.

Admiral Jensen followed behind with his hands behind his back, arms crossed, waiting to find a flaw so he could arrest the fraudulent Chinese owner on the spot.

But half an hour passed, and the engineers responsible for the testing came over one by one, their expressions becoming increasingly strange as they reported one after another:

"General, the non-destructive testing of the hull welding passed. The weld strength far exceeds the requirements of the US Army military standards."

"General, the cabin pipeline layout passed. There were no leaks during the 1.5x pressure test."

"General, the radar pedestal reinforcement passed. The impact deformation is completely in line with military standards."

"General, the repairs to the hull structure below the waterline are complete, and the fatigue strength meets the standards."

As one passing result after another was reported, Admiral Jensen's face grew darker and darker.

Refusing to believe it, he pushed aside the engineer in front of him, grabbed the testing device, and personally crawled into the cabin below the waterline.

The flashlight beam swept over the repaired structural supports of the hull. He dug his fingers hard into the weld joints; they were tight and seamless, without a hint of looseness.

He had spent his whole life in the Navy and had overseen the construction of three arleigh burke-class destroyers at Newport News Shipbuilding. He knew ship structures like the back of his hand. Even if he tried to find a needle in a haystack, he couldn't find a single flaw.

"It's a fake! They must have only done surface-level work!" Admiral Jensen emerged from the cabin, veins bulging on his forehead. His stubborn streak was fully engaged as he roared at the pier dispatcher, "Start the main engines! Low-speed idle trial run! I want to see if it can even move!"

The tugboats at the pier immediately moved into position to secure the hull.

The LM2500 gas turbine of the uss traxton slowly started up, the engine emitting a steady, heavy roar. The RPM, oil pressure, and temperature parameters on the dashboard fluctuated steadily, completely meeting military requirements—it even ran smoother than before the collision.

The pier fell into a dead silence.

Admiral Jensen stood on the deck, listening to the steady engine sound. His chest felt tight with a sense of frustration, like having great strength but nowhere to apply it.

He had brought an expert group and a military police squad, arriving with great fanfare, prepared to catch a typical case of fraud to make an example for Congress.

The result was that after checking inside and out, they couldn't find a single problem.

In fifty days, they had truly repaired two arleigh burke-class destroyers that were nearly scrapped to a state as good as new—even better than their original factory condition.

Just then, his gaze swept over the construction workers moving back and forth on the pier; almost all of them were Chinese faces.

"What nationality are these workers?" Admiral Jensen's voice instantly turned cold.

The adjutant hurried down to inquire and returned a few minutes later to report: "Reporting to the General, they are all Chinese welders and technicians."

A surge of indescribable resentment and anger instantly rushed to Admiral Jensen's head.

He remembered the rise of the Japanese shipbuilding industry years ago, which had snatched away half of America's civilian shipping market.

He remembered the South Korean shipyards catching up, gradually eating away at the global shipbuilding market.

Now, Chinese people had actually built a world-class shipyard on American soil and repaired the primary destroyers of the American Navy.

Jensen could not accept that the global-dominating American Navy had to rely on Chinese people to fix its main warships when they broke?

Are they even worthy?!

Jensen stared at those yellow-skinned faces on the pier. His chest felt stifled, but he couldn't say a word.

When Admiral Jensen turned his head, his gaze was cold enough to kill. He ordered his adjutant: "Notify the tugboats to tow both ships back to Pearl Harbor for a comprehensive inspection!"

"I don't believe that not a single problem can be found! Once any quality issue is discovered, immediately initiate legal proceedings. Send the head of this shipyard and those two CIA wastes to military court!"

When these words were spoken, Cole and Miller, standing in the corner, felt like dying.

They only wanted to make some extra money on the side; how did they end up sending themselves to military court?

They knew in their hearts that if the ships were really towed back for a careful inspection, let alone claiming credit, once the fact that they had outsourced the ship repairs was exposed, they would definitely rot in prison.

The two looked at each other and hurried forward. Just as they were about to speak to smooth things over, the shipyard's chief engineer, Girard, walked over quickly.

"General!" Girard stepped forward and solemnly gave a standard Navy salute, his voice full of excitement.

"I am Girard. When you were overseeing the construction of the USS Gerald R. Ford, I was the chief engineer of the hull structure group. I dealt with you for three years at Newport News Shipbuilding!"

Admiral Jensen was stunned for a moment. He stared at the man's graying hair for two seconds and instantly remembered this old acquaintance: "Girard? Why are you here?"

Speaking of this, Girard's face was full of emotion: "I was laid off a few years ago, went bankrupt quickly, and then ended up on the streets, almost dying there."

"Not long ago, the owner here found me and asked me to come work here."

"The core technology, construction blueprints, and acceptance standards of the shipyard are all overseen by us old fellas. We are all white engineers who came out of Newport News back then."

Admiral Jensen's expression softened slightly.

So it wasn't all relying on the Chinese; the backbone was still these Anglo-Saxon white engineers.

That's more like it.

Just then, Cole and Miller moved inconspicuously to stand on either side of Jensen.

Cole lowered his voice, a smile plastered on his face: "General, please calm down. We know you're worried about quality issues, but you know Chief Engineer Girard. Can you still not trust his skills?"

Miller immediately followed up, adding: "General, as long as you sign off on the final acceptance, the shipyard is willing to provide 100 million USD as a special public relations fund for you to promote the revival of American domestic manufacturing. It will be transferred directly to a foundation account you designate."

"In the future, we also want to include DYB Shipyard in the Navy's designated repair and procurement list. We hope for your support."

"The long-term shares from this will only be more than this time."

Admiral Jensen's breathing hitched perceptibly.

100 million USD. Even for a Navy Admiral, this was a massive sum of money sufficient to change the rest of his life.

He was already 60 years old this year, with less than a year until retirement. The Navy's pension looked decent, but it couldn't possibly support his post-retirement manor, yacht, and family expenses.

But with this money, it would be different. It was enough for him to live the rest of his life without worry, and even leave a generous family trust for his descendants.

Not to mention the long-term ship repair orders afterward; the steady stream of profit would be endless.

He first knitted his brows, putting on an expression of deep loathing, and spoke with righteous indignation: "You are corrupting an American soldier! This behavior is shameful!"

Cole and Miller looked at each other, their smiles becoming more stable. Since he didn't refuse directly, the matter was settled.

Immediately after, Jensen's tone shifted, though he still maintained his military posture: "But I am a soldier of the American Navy; I only look at results, not the process!"

"As long as the ship's indicators meet the standards and it can re-enter the fleet to form combat capability, then it is qualified."

Cole and Miller both smiled; they knew this matter was a success.

Admiral Jensen cleared his throat, the anger on his face gradually receding, and his tone softened, though he still kept up his military air:

"DYB Shipyard is an enterprise registered on American soil, a red-blooded American company."

"In this cooperation, I see an opportunity to make American manufacturing great again."

Jensen had already come up with a perfect set of rhetoric.

So what if the workers were Chinese?

The company was in America, the core technology was controlled by white engineers, and the money ultimately ended up in American pockets. Wasn't this a kind of victory?

God bless America!

Cole and Miller instantly breathed a sigh of relief, their faces covered in smiles: "General, rest assured. We will handle all subsequent matters perfectly; there won't be any mishaps!"

Admiral Jensen straightened his uniform. Just as he was about to turn around and announce the acceptance had passed, his personal adjutant's encrypted satellite phone rang.

The adjutant answered the phone. After listening to just two sentences, the color drained from his face. He rushed to Admiral Jensen's side and leaned into his ear, speaking with uncontrollable panic:

"General! Urgent maritime news from the Western Pacific! A ten-thousand-ton container ship from Japan's Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha instantly snapped in two and sank on the spot in Sea State 8 conditions in the Western Pacific. The Maritime Bureau has launched a full investigation!"

Admiral Jensen frowned, pushed the adjutant away, and growled: "A civilian freighter sank; what does that have to do with my Navy?! Can't you see I'm handling acceptance work?!"

"General! The steel used for that ship was HY-180 special marine steel produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries! It's from the same batch and model of steel used in all our active arleigh burke-class destroyers and Ticonderoga-class cruisers!"

"What did you say?!" The smugness on Admiral Jensen's face instantly froze.

The adjutant braced himself and continued:

"The Maritime Bureau's preliminary judgment is low-temperature brittle fracture of the steel! The key is that this steel is theoretically supposed to withstand Sea State 12 storms, yet it snapped in two in Sea State 8. It completely fails to meet the specified performance parameters!"

Jensen instantly realized the severity of the problem.

Dozens of main warships in the Pacific Fleet all used this model of Mitsubishi steel!

If a civilian ten-thousand-ton freighter could snap in two in Sea State 8, what about his warships?

If they were hit by a single shell during wartime, would they snap in two immediately?!

"Go back! Go back immediately!" Admiral Jensen suddenly roared. He no longer had the heart to care about ship repair acceptance, comprehensive dismantling inspections, or the 100 million USD PR fee.

"Notify the base to initiate an emergency steel quality screening for the entire fleet! All warships using the same model of Mitsubishi steel are to immediately suspend sea deployments! Move!"

He pushed aside the people around him and headed straight for the helipad.

The expert group and military police behind him looked at each other in bewilderment. After a two-second daze, they hurriedly grabbed their equipment and followed.

The pier, which had been tense just a moment ago, was suddenly deserted.

Cole and Miller stood there, looking at each other in total confusion.

One second they were talking fine, and the next, the General ran off like his pants were on fire?

...

In the top-floor office of the shipyard, Fu Haoran watched the silhouette of the Black Hawk helicopter flying away in a panic and took a sip of his tea.

Jarvis's electronic voice sounded: "Sir, synchronously pushing the latest maritime news: a ten-thousand-ton Japanese container ship snapped and sank in the Western Pacific. The steel involved is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries DH36 marine steel, the same model as the steel used in the US Navy's active destroyers."

Fu Haoran raised an eyebrow: "Hmm? Mitsubishi's steel is sold so expensively; they couldn't possibly be faking it, right?"

Fu Haoran put down his teacup, stretched, and looked indifferent: "Whatever. It's going to rain, and the mother is going to remarry; someone is about to have very bad luck, but it has nothing to do with us."

"I just care about fixing the ships and getting the money."

Now, the only ones with long faces were the company's accounting team.

In order to balance the books and make the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue compliant, they were almost pulling their hair out.

But thinking about those high bonuses, so what if they lost a few hairs? Is hair more valuable than gold?