Chapter 1034: Fraudulent Submarine Steel Data

The room is indeed not big, it is just a standard hotel room, with a desk and a few chairs. Being able to enter here and sit and drink a cup of tea is not something ordinary people can do.

Hope sat on a chair, holding the tea cup. He blew a few puffs and then put it down. His mood was obviously not about drinking tea.

“When will Mr. Qin come over?”

"We don't know about this, but since Mr. Qin said he wanted to see you, he will definitely come, but he is not sure about the specific time." The girl who stayed in the office said calmly: "Of course, if anything happens, you You can also tell me and I will convey it to you."

Her skin color is very dark, which is a healthy color after being exposed to the sun. There is a sweet smile on her face, just like the sunshine. Yes, this girl is the former Nanhai Sunflower, Xu Zhengyang’s wife, who is almost After working for the first time, she finally accepted this new position and stayed in the capital to facilitate the education of her future children. At the same time, Qin Tao also returned to the capital frequently, which meant that she and Xu Zhengyang would see each other often.

 At this moment, a voice came from outside.

"Mr. Hopper is here? I'm very sorry that I've been busy and kept you waiting for a long time."

 Busy with work? Huo Bo looked at Qin Tao dressed in sportswear. He was clearly coming back from exercising!

 For formal occasions, you should wear suits and ties. This is a sign of respect for the guests. But now, Hobo is not angry. He knows that he has to be patient and cannot mess up this matter.

"Mr. Qin, I'm very happy to meet you." Hobo said, "I know your time is valuable, so I'll get straight to the point... Is it convenient to talk here?"

"Of course, our entire room has been soundproofed. As long as the door is closed, you can't hear anything outside." Qin Tao said, sat down, took the tea handed by the girl, and said while blowing: "You Tell me, why do you come to me?"

"As for the colonel, I heard that the colonel purchased fifteen destroyers and two aircraft carriers from the Mingzhou Group, which are still 100,000 tons. This kind of sales from your side will seriously undermine regional peace. We..." He almost I was about to say my protest again as usual, but when I realized the words were inappropriate, I quickly stopped them.

"What about you? Protest to us? Mr. Hopper, I hope you know that we have the right to export warships to any sovereign country. This is our freedom. You have no right to interfere. It is useless to just protest. If it’s something that happened, then we’d better not talk about it, it’s just a waste of each other’s time, and I’m very busy.”

"No, it's not a protest." Hobo said: "Mr. Qin, that colonel is not your good friend. He even used to make a fuss about your key issues. He is a capricious person who can change his mind at any time. There is no benefit in being friends with such a person, he may betray you at any time."

“Betray us?” Qin Tao was very curious.

"Yes, after ordering warships from you, he sent people to the United States and claimed that these warships were to maintain regional peace. He had no intention of going against the United States. Even if he has aircraft carriers in the future, he can still fight with us. They held joint military exercises and even allowed us to board their warships."

Qin Tao continued to drink tea, half-believing these words.

 What are you going to do? A person with a normal brain circuit would not be able to do such a thing, but the colonel is a psychopath, so he can still do such a thing.

 The reason.

First of all, he wanted to appease the Americans. After all, after the collapse of the Red Empire, for a period of time, the colonel decided to take the Western path and build good relations with the West, especially with the United States. With so many weapons ordered this time, the Americans would definitely want to I objected, so I simply ran over and explained that we only bought weapons to maintain peace and had no intention of going against you!

On the other hand, it is showing off, just like a child who has a new toy and goes to show off to his peers. A colonel goes to the Americans to show off. Look, we also have the same type of weapons. You have one hundred thousand tons. We also have aircraft carriers!

Of course, it is also possible that the colonel did not send anyone there at all, and that the Americans did this just to create a wedge.

"I know that there are many misunderstandings between us. Your Aegis warships are indeed advanced in performance. Therefore, these advanced warships should not fall into the hands of unreliable people. Once the colonel gets the warship, we can step on it. We will You can master the technology of these warships. Is this disadvantageous to you?"

"Mr. Hopper, why do I feel like you work for us? These words are all helping us." Qin Tao said.

 This guy is an American. From the standpoint of the United States, wouldn't it be better to master the secrets of Eastern warships?

"No, I'm not helping you, I'm helping ourselves. I hope you know that there is no benefit in selling the warship to the colonel. On the contrary, your secrets will be leaked, so I hope you can give up this contract and It can prevent the region from losing control.”

“It seems that I have to thank you for reminding me that our technology was almost leaked?”

"No need to thank you, as long as you can see the crisis and give up this dangerous exit."

"Forget it, since we are exporting, we are not afraid of leaking the secret." Qin Tao said: "Do you have anything else to say?"

Qin Tao had finished a cup of tea, put down the cup, and was about to stand up and leave.

The Americans are too naive and actually proposed this plan. The big business wants to show the warships to the Americans. In order to avoid leaking secrets, Mingzhou Group should not sell warships!

Americans should support exports. They are eager to know the secrets of Eastern warships!

"Mr. Qin, if you can terminate the cooperation with the colonel, we are willing to provide some compensation packages." Hobo said quickly. He knew that if Qin Tao walked away, it would not be easy for him to meet again in the future.

"Compensation plan?" Qin Tao became curious, when did Americans become so kind? Aren't they always pointing fingers and criticizing others? When was it their turn to be so kind?

　　When things go against the norm, there must be a monster!

Of course Qin Tao won't believe the other party's rhetoric, but he still has to listen to what the other party's compensation plan is.

“What compensation plan? We are talking about a big deal worth tens of billions!”

Should the Americans just print tens of billions for themselves? It's impossible even if you think about it. If you really give it, you will definitely have to buy it in the international market.

"I heard that Mingzhou Iron and Steel Works, a subsidiary of Mingzhou Group, is very famous. It has advanced steel smelting technology, especially special alloy steel with high yield." Hopper said: "We want to import a batch, no matter how high it is. As long as you give us the sample first and let us test it, we will purchase it in large quantities, and the total price may be as high as tens of billions of dollars."

 Want to import advanced steel products?

Qin Tao immediately understood that this guy wanted to fish, and he even fished directly on his own head!

Talking about importing steel is pure nonsense. If we provide the most advanced steel, they will know the actual level of Dongfang's steel smelting, how deep Dongfang's submarines can dive, and even test the ingredients. Then they will Make your own copy!

“The steel produced by our steel plant is not enough for our own use. We have to purchase it in large quantities from Huating Steel Plant. There is no excess production capacity for you.” Qin Tao refused immediately.

 That's the fact. They did purchase large quantities of steel from Huating Iron and Steel Plant.

“If you want it, go to Huating Steel Plant to purchase it.”

 Qin Tao directly pushed them outward.

 “Is there anything else?”

Hope was a little anxious: "Mr. Qin, as long as you are willing to export, the price can be any high."

Looking at the other party's appearance, Qin Tao suddenly thought of something: "You found out that your submarine steel data was falsified?" Hobo's body shook violently, and he almost asked, how did you know? Fortunately, he was smart enough and didn't say it immediately, but the look on his face showed everything: Qin Tao was right!

Qin Tao was also amused for a while, OK, what's going on with you, do you know now?

  In the past, 30 Heavy Industry's data falsification caused great shock around the world. Now, if the U.S. submarine steel data falsification is exposed, what will happen?

Hmm, let’s go find Zhang Zhong later!

"Of course it's impossible. Our submarines have the best steel in the world! We are not compared with titanium alloys. Compared with other steel submarines, our submarines have the largest diving depth! Our Seawolf class uses It is made of advanced HY-100 steel and can dive to 600 meters, twice as much as other submarines!"

As if he was being told something that was on his mind, Hopper spoke very quickly and in a very anxious tone.

A few years ago, when the U.S. Navy was tracking on the ocean, it discovered an unusual scene: the depth of the submarine they monitored continued to increase, and they were shocked when they finally discovered that the target was sailing at a depth of 600 meters.

 They need better steel for submarines! The East has surpassed them in this regard!

They have worked **** research at home, and the supporting steel plants and countless metallurgical experts have tried their best, but the results are very regrettable.

“Okay, okay, your steel is the best, and our Mingzhou Group doesn’t need to sell you steel.” Qin Tao stood up.

“I heard that you have steel with a yield strength of 2200 MPa. Can we purchase a batch?” Seeing Qin Tao about to leave, Huo Bo finally revealed his purpose. They hope to get this advanced steel!

  2200 MPa steel! How did the other party know? Someone leaked the secret again? Is it someone from the Mingzhou Group, someone from the Navy, or someone from the laboratory? It seems that this matter needs to be investigated!

"Yes, we did create this kind of steel in the laboratory, but unfortunately, this kind of steel is very magnetic and difficult to weld, so it is not suitable for nuclear submarines. You have your own HY-100, and it is said that you have also made it HY-130 steel, so you don’t need to purchase our steel.”

After Qin Tao finished speaking, he glanced at Hopper again: "Mr. Hopper, the order we gave the colonel to produce warships will not be built until five years later. No one can stop this project unless..."

Hope's heart beat violently: "Unless what?"

“Unless something unexpected happens to Party A and it cannot perform the contract. What is the use of coming to us? You might as well do other serious things.”

Huo Bo thought carefully about what Qin Tao said, and suddenly thought of something, and his heart beat even harder. Yes, there is indeed another way!

After Qin Tao finished speaking, he said goodbye to Huo Bo and continued running. When he ran back to the courtyard, he called Xu Zhengyang and went out to find Zhang Zhong.

 That evening, Zhang Zhong talked about the program.

"Dear viewers in front of the TV, we have been reporting on the war in the oil region recently. In this issue, we decided to change it. It is called Zhang Zhong talks about nuclear submarines. Let's start with the US nuclear submarine Seawolf class. rise."

"The Seawolf class was born at the height of the Cold War. At that time, the U.S. Navy was looking forward to having advanced nuclear submarines to replace the Los Angeles class and continue to maintain its underwater advantage. The Seawolf class is well-deserved. Its displacement has been enlarged to 9,000 tons, and it has more space and a tail The six-piece tail rudder is unique, and it is the first submarine in the U.S. Navy that uses CAD tools to pre-design, build ship segment modules and then assemble them at the same time, but an accident happened."

Since it is talking about American submarines, of course it must be discredited. No, this is the fact.

"Originally, the construction of the first Sea Wolf started in 1989. However, due to the first use of segmented construction, there was an unexpected situation where the size error of different cabins was too large and they could not be docked. In the end, the entire cabin was scrapped. , re-welding caused a significant delay in the construction period, so the first ship was not launched until 1995, and it was completed in 1997."

"However, we will not really believe such rumors. We found some other information, which stated that this submarine will be built with the most advanced HY-130 steel, but later The construction was completed, but the previous HY-100 steel was used. So, did the Americans suddenly discover a problem with the HY-130 steel during the construction process, so they had to scrap the already built cabin? Now, we have invited Professor Wang, a well-known domestic metallurgical expert, to tell us about advanced steel."

"Hello everyone, I am Professor Wang." Professor Wang's figure appeared on the TV: "We know that advanced warships are inseparable from advanced steel, such as the deck steel of aircraft carriers and the steel of submarines. There needs to be a high enough yield. For a long time, we were lagging behind in this regard.”

"Some people also say that we already have advanced electroslag remelted steel. Can we use this steel to make submarines and aircraft carrier decks? The answer is no, because this kind of steel is too expensive to be used to make artillery. Yes, after all, the demand is not large. If it is used to build aircraft carriers and submarines, and the demand is often hundreds of tons or even thousands of tons, it would be too extravagant."

"The steel used for warships requires high yield, resistance to seawater immersion, low magnetism, and easy welding. In addition to these, it also requires a suitable price and not too expensive. Therefore, this requires advanced steel smelting technology, which is very important in many aspects. For a long time, the United States has been far ahead in related steel products."

"For example, the yield strength of HY-80 steel is 550 MPa, and the submarine can dive to a depth of 400 meters. The HY-100 steel has a yield strength of 690 MPa, and the submarine can dive to a depth of 600 meters. As for the more advanced The yield strength of HY-130 steel has reached 890 MPa, while for a long time, our warship steel has hovered in the range of two to three hundred MPa."

“In other words, our steel used to be backward.” Zhang Zhong said.

“Yes, it was indeed backward in the past. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, our steelmakers worked hard and developed a lot of advanced steel products. Now, these steel products are no longer on the streets here.”

 “The streets are in bad shape?”

"Yes, we have produced 921 steel in China with a yield strength of 590 MPa, and 980 steel with a yield strength of 785 MPa. The performance of these steels has surpassed the HY-80 and HY-100 steels in the United States. Moreover, you can get as many as you want. . Not only used to build warships, it is said that our domestic car companies are also purchasing these steel materials and using them in the stress-bearing parts of the car to increase the car's protective power."

“So, what about the steel that is the benchmark for HY-130?”

“This level of steel is too advanced and not suitable for display, and we don’t know about it, but there are rumors that our domestic Mingzhou Group Steel Plant has produced 2,200 MPa steel, and we remain skeptical about this.”

"why?"

“The strength of steel can be increased, but it is not easy to increase it to this yield strength while also meeting other properties.”

“That’s it.” Zhang Zhong said: “It seems that this kind of steel may be available, but it is just not suitable for being placed on a submarine.”

“If a steel material is to be used on submarines, it requires a long time of testing. At the same time, due to production batch problems, not every batch of steel can achieve this performance.”

 Steel is smelted in one furnace. Due to various factors, the quality of each furnace may vary. Some are high, some are low. Some can meet the needs, and some are not enough.

“Really? What about the steel that does not meet the relevant requirements? What will happen? Will it be downgraded?”

“Of course it is possible to downgrade the steel for use, but there are also steelmaking companies whose technology is not up to standard and the steel they have finally smelted does not have enough data, so they can only modify the data in an attempt to get by.”

"What you said reminds me of a certain steelmaking company in the island country. They are indeed like this. They often falsify data for decades. They tell so many lies that they believe it themselves." Zhang Zhong When I said this, I suddenly thought of something: "I just talked about the problem of the Seawolf class. Did the Americans also discover that the steel data of the Seawolf class was falsified, so they abandoned the built segments?"

"It is indeed possible." Professor Wang nodded: "All the steel for the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarines is provided by the Tacoma Foundry. Without competition, there will be some surprises, especially if the director of the metallurgical department is in that position. There is no guarantee that there will be no malfeasance in the next few decades.”

 (End of this chapter)