Hearing the Commander's words, Lilith could not help sighing. "I begin to understand why some call you a profiteering merchant. Not to have set up as a man of business is a true waste of your gift."
Then Lilith set to analyzing Zhao Chen's proposal in earnest. "Your proposal is workable; and since our Owl Dragon Galactic Interstellar Group has only just been founded, to put forward such a system amounts to offering those noble powers of the three great empires a pledge of allegiance. They will naturally be most willing to spend money and buy peace, and among them there will assuredly be some of large appetite who will contrive every means to open cooperation with us. Upon the funding side there should be no very great trouble."
Upon the strength of the Owl Dragon Group's industrial power, it was a money tree past all doubt; it was only a question of time.
"What I mind is the building time." Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes and named the thing that worried him. "By the preliminary data I had before: were the T4 Gemini-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship to undertake the building works for the T5 Galaxy-class Large Interstellar Industrial Base, it would want 2,000 work-months of a single T4 Gemini."
Lilith nodded. "It is so; the question of time is no small one. At present our Owl Dragon Group holds 130 T4 Gemini-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships, and the number of T3 Furnace-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships has reached 5,000."
"So many?" Zhao Chen was astonished.
If he remembered rightly, last year's original plan.
Was only to bring the T4 Gemini holding to 100, and the holding of T3 Furnace-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships to 5,000.
"That is because our engineering works were completed rather fast last year; through a train of proper arrangements we saved a great deal of time. And as for the T4 Gemini and the T3 Furnace, naturally, where time was ample, the more that could be produced the more we produced. At the same time the Northern Goose Group's T2 Iron Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships have reached 100,000; and once the T3 Furnace permissions were opened, President Li Wei produced that class of interstellar industrial ship with all his strength, and to this moment the number has passed 2,000! And it is climbing still at an astonishing rate."
Hearing what Lilith said.
Above all that the Northern Goose Group should hold 2,000 T3 Furnace-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships — this Zhao Chen had never for a moment imagined.
"So many? How did Li Wei bring that about?" Zhao Chen was astonished.
"By my understanding, once President Li Wei obtained the production permissions for the T3 Furnace, he postponed outright every production plan of the Northern Goose Group's that was not very important, and produced T3 Furnace-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships with all his strength," Lilith answered.
"Postponed delivery? And that crew agreed to it? Can it be that Li Wei used our Owl Dragon name to overawe them?" Zhao Chen asked.
Lilith said, "Our Owl Dragon name is one factor in it; but more of it was President Li Wei's own skill in negotiation. He did not compel those projects into postponement; he got in contact with every buyer and let them choose for themselves — and in the end every buyer postponed willingly, some of them even willing to postpone by years."
"Willing postponement?" Zhao Chen was blank a moment.
"President Li Wei set out several terms, the core meaning of which was that every postponed order and project would be discounted entire — and the longer the postponement, the greater the discount."
Hearing Lilith's explanation, Zhao Chen saw it all at once.
So it was all for the sake of profit.
And though a discount had been given, Zhao Chen had no great objection.
Because he knew very well how terrible the margin of profit was upon the sale price of his own Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships.
Never mind 20 percent off or 10 percent off.
Even discounted to the bone, there was room to profit.
"But to return to the point: by the result of my earlier deliberation with Chief Engineer Nana and Chief Engineer Spider Queen Iris. Of all the building processes for the T5 Galaxy-class Large Interstellar Industrial Base, whatever can be dispersed is to be dispersed; certain things of very low technical requirement can be handed straight to the T3 Furnace-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships. The important core districts fall to the T4 Gemini-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships. And at the same time, as need requires, we may draw some interstellar industrial ships from the Northern Goose Group's side to help — even T2 Iron Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships. We have made a tally: even with the whole of our strength thrown into this project, at the least five months of works are wanted still. And within those five months our relevant interstellar warship output will fall by 90 percent," Lilith said.
"That will not do! Five months is too long." Zhao Chen shook his head outright.
He opened a star chart, and this star chart was of that demon lane.
"Our time is not much, and this is a very great problem. Upon this point I have spoken with Charlotte, and had her project when the Demon Race will launch their next round of attack. By Charlotte's analysis: first, the Demon Race's next attack will assuredly be most wary, and they will never again be so careless as this time and let us fight so fine an ambush. Most likely they will send an interstellar scout-ship fleet at intervals of a set distance, and bring the main fleet on step by step. Second, the number of Demon Race fleets attacking us in the next wave will assuredly be very great — at the least about three times this time's! And the greater the fleet's scale, the longer the preparation for the expedition and the sailing will take besides. So by the projection, the time before the next wave of Demon Race fleets comes is about 100 days from now!"
Zhao Chen looked gravely at Lilith. "So the time for our building of this T5 Galaxy-class Large Interstellar Industrial Base must not exceed three months."
At hearing the limit Commander Zhao Chen set.
Lilith showed no look of difficulty, nor of astonishment.
"Then there are only two means. Either we give up the building plan for this T5 Galaxy-class Large Interstellar Industrial Base and make ready for war with all our strength. Or we move industrial strength beyond our own Owl Dragon Group — the industrial systems within the three great empires, for instance — and have them contract-build a portion of the mechanical modules and components for us. But it cannot be ruled out that there is a risk of technical materials leaking. And this time it is not the T4 technology of before, but T5 technology. Even should they learn the smallest fraction of it, it might well bring some field of their technology to a swift advance," Lilith said, naming the two means.
As for the power of decision, that was left to Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen gazed at the quiet sea, and was silent a while.
Put off building the T5 Galaxy-class Large Interstellar Industrial Base?
No!
That will assuredly not do.
A step behind is every step behind.
In future what he might have to face was the invasion of the whole Demon Race; he must lose no time in grasping a stronger military power.
And to obtain a stronger military power, the T5 Galaxy-class Large Interstellar Industrial Base could not be wanting.
As for the risk in the latter plan.
Zhao Chen watched the float bobbing, and said gravely, "Lilith, find a means to get in contact with the family powers of the three great empires upon the starship manufacturing side."
In this moment, Zhao Chen had made his choice.