"Deputy...Deputy Minister of the Department of Transportation?"
Zhuang Rui was dumbfounded when he heard this. Although he could feel that these people were leaders, Zhuang Rui was not impressed by the performance of Lao Yu at the beginning. However, he did not expect that Ouyang Lei's introduction was actually a deputy
Ministerial cadres.
You must know that although there are many departments in the country, the Ministry of Communications is definitely the department with real power. If the deputy minister of the Ministry of Communications is placed at a local level, it is likely that a high-ranking official from one party will be appointed as a senior official.
However, Zhuang Rui is a little confused. Although Ouyang Lei has a high rank in the military, a lieutenant general is one level higher than a deputy minister of a national department, and the two sides are not in the same system. This is not necessary for a minister.
Are you so complimentary to Ouyang Lei?
"Hello, Minister Yu..."
After being stunned, Zhuang Rui quickly reached out his hand. In terms of age and rank, the other person was several blocks above him, so of course he had to be polite.
Although Zhuang Rui despises the other party in his heart, he has been in the society for several years, but he will not show it on the surface. These days, one look can often offend people, especially these old officials.
, what I am best at is observing words and expressions.
"You are Xiaozhuang, right? I didn't expect you to be so young and the president of the European Union. You are really a scumbag..."
When shaking hands with Zhuang Rui, Vice Minister Yu only extended one hand, but the smile on his face was very refreshing. When talking to Zhuang Rui, he did not forget to praise Ouyang Lei.
"Xiaozhuang, you helped us a lot some time ago and rectified the name of our country's deep-sea salvage industry. On behalf of the Ministry of Transportation, I would like to express my gratitude to you!"
Although Vice Minister Yu's words were somewhat official, but given his status, he was able to say these words to Zhuang Rui, and it was definitely for the sake of Ouyang Lei...or the Euro family.
Vice Minister Yu's respect for Ouyang Lei is naturally inseparable from Mr. Yuquanshan and the current core member of the Standing Committee, but that is not entirely the case.
Anyone can see that with Ouyang Lei's age, it is a certainty that he will join the Standing Committee of the Military Commission in the future. Even becoming the first vice chairman of the Military Commission is not impossible. If that happens, Ouyang Lei can be called a
National leader.
It is precisely because of this that Vice Minister Yu has kept his posture so low. This is also a normal behavior in front of the representatives of the Ouyang family who have been so powerful in both military and political administrations.
"Don't take it seriously, this is what I should do..."
Zhuang Rui didn't know why, but he uttered a very clichéd sentence, which made him feel awkward after saying it.
"Well, young people are neither arrogant nor impetuous. No wonder they have achieved such great achievements. By the way, the Song Dynasty shipwreck you salvaged last time is also an inspiration for some aspects of deep-sea salvage in our country. You can apply for some related expenses.
It will be reimbursed..."
Vice Minister Yu was a naked show of goodwill to Zhuang Rui. Any words of enlightenment were all nonsense. The main reason was that Zhuang Rui agreed to add the name of the Ministry of Communications to the salvage party.
"Minister Yu, I accept it with kindness, but the fee will be forgotten..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head and declined Vice Minister Yu's kindness. He knew that even if the Ministry of Transportation reimbursed him some expenses, it would only be one million yuan at most, which was a drop in the bucket compared to his own investment.
Moreover, Zhuang Rui knew that government departments were extremely slow in doing things. Even with the supervision of leaders, there was no telling when the money would be available from the finance department. He was not short of the money and did not want to cause such trouble.
"Huh? Xiaozhuang's style is still high..."
Vice Minister Yu was stunned by what Zhuang Rui said. He originally wanted to use this as an excuse to go on to the next thing, but he didn't expect that Zhuang Rui didn't want the money at all, which made Vice Minister Yu speechless.
"Brother Lei, why are you calling me here? Just tell me..."
Zhuang Rui is feeling a little impatient now. Can't we get straight to the point when doing things in this officialdom? We have to be confused and confused before we get to the topic. If we don't do this, we won't be able to show our leadership level?
"Minister Yu, it's better for you to say it. Although the military will also participate this time, it will mainly be led by your Ministry of Transportation..."
Ouyang Lei shook his head and did not answer Zhuang Rui's words. If he said such a thing, it would not be consistent with his identity. If Zhuang Rui was not involved in this matter, Ouyang Lei would not come forward at all.
"Ahem, Xiaozhuang, it's like this..."
Vice Minister Yu's face turned a little red, and he coughed and continued: "As you know, Xiaozhuang, countless merchant ships have sunk at sea over the past thousands of years. Recently, the Ministry of Transportation intends to clean up the waters related to Fujian. I would like to ask you.
s help……"
What Vice Minister Yu said was half true and half false. Zhuang Rui salvaged a sunken ship from the Song Dynasty this time. Although it was signed with the name of the Ministry of Transportation, anyone with a discerning eye knows that it was imposed by the Ministry of Transportation and the salvage had nothing to do with them.
, As a result, the pressure on the leaders of the Ministry of Transportation will be greater.
So after a meeting and negotiation, the ministry decided to salvage a very influential historical shipwreck, but the technology was not very sure, so they approached Zhuang Rui.
"Deputy Minister Yu, if you have anything to say, please say it directly. Anyone who can help will be obliged to do so..."
Zhuang Rui curled his lips inexplicably, saying nice words, but he was very disapproving in his heart. What if my brother is a three-year-old child? Is it necessary to involve the military and archaeological departments in cleaning up the Fujian sea area?
"Well, that's right, Xiaozhuang, have you heard of the name Awa Maru?"
Vice Minister Yu was a little embarrassed by what Zhuang Rui said. He didn't talk in circles and directly stated the main purpose of his visit.
"Awa Maru? Minister Yu, are you talking about the Japanese ocean-going tanker that sank in the China Sea in 1945?"
But before Zhuang Rui could answer, Professor Meng who was sitting next to him suddenly stood up and asked Vice Minister Yu.
Vice Minister Yu nodded and said: "Yes, that's the sunken ship. We want to salvage it this time. This sunken ship has great historical significance, so we want to invite Xiaozhuang..."
"Wait a minute, Minister Yu, as far as I know, this sunken ship has been salvaged, why do we need to salvage it again?"
Professor Meng interrupted Vice Minister Yu's words a little rudely, and then said: "Almost thirty years ago, I personally participated in the salvage of the Awa Maru. I still remember it fresh..."
"Ahem, Professor Meng, since you participated in that salvage, you should know that due to technical and weather reasons, only part of the hull was salvaged, and many controversial items were not salvaged from the seabed..."
Vice Minister Yu's words were a bit vague, and he did not specify what specific items had not been salvaged, but Zhuang Rui understood it clearly.
Although Zhuang Rui's archeology does not focus on modern archeology, anyone with a little knowledge of history has heard of Japan's Awa Maru, and Zhuang Rui also knows a lot about it.
The Awa Maru is a Japanese ocean-going tanker built in the 1940s. The ship was launched on March 5, 1943. It is nominally a merchant ship, but it is built according to military performance and requirements. Regardless of its size,
, in terms of nature and performance, they are all military ships in the true sense.
At that time, four merchant ships of the same type as the Awa Maru were all converted into light aircraft carriers. However, it was affiliated to Nippon Yusen Line and made six round-trips on the Japan-Singapore route to transport supplies for the army.
During this period, the Awa Maru was bombed and attacked by U.S. torpedoes, but it still completed its mission. Therefore, it was hailed as an "unsinkable ship" by the Japanese military.
During this period, in order to improve the situation of prisoners of war, the United States and Japan reached an agreement in 1944 to provide humanitarian assistance to personnel in Japanese-occupied areas.
Japan and the United States converted the Awa Maru into a transport ship for delivering relief supplies. To be sure, the two sides agreed that the Awa Maru would dismantle the anti-aircraft guns and bow guns on the bow, remove the soldiers, and draw a green cross on the hull for easy identification.
By the 1945s, for Japan, which had exhausted its sea power, the "Awa Maru" was their ace transport ship. The Japanese government was not willing to just use it to transport relief supplies, which laid the foundation for the future "Awa Maru" disaster.
It was the source of disaster.
In February 1945, the Awa Maru set sail from Moji Port, Japan, to Singapore and other Japanese-controlled areas, on a death journey.
At this time, Japan's maritime fleet had almost completely lost its combat effectiveness. The "Awa Maru" became the only Japanese giant ship that could travel safely in the Pacific Ocean, and it was also Japan's only hope for transporting materials and personnel in the Pacific Ocean.
At this time, Singapore, Jakarta and other Japanese-controlled areas were besieged from all sides. Therefore, senior Japanese officials and generals in Southeast Asia, wealthy businessmen and their families were vying to board the ship. In the end, the cargo ship originally designed to carry 236 passengers actually packed 2,009 people on board.
!
As soon as the "Awa Maru" arrived in Southeast Asia, it entered a state of strict secrecy. Only when night fell, under the supervision of the Japanese military police, was the mysterious cargo transported to the cabin. On March 28, the "Awa Maru" left Singapore and embarked on the journey back home.
voyage.
However, late at night on April 1, when the Awa Maru passed through the waters of Fujian, China, it was torpedoed by the USS Queenfish submarine. The Awa Maru sank three minutes later.
Except for one survivor, 2,008 people have since sunk into the deep sea. There are war criminals with numerous crimes, senior professional and technical personnel, as well as the elderly, women and babies. The largest shipwreck in history has occurred in the Pacific Ocean!
More than half a century has passed, and the survivors at that time have also passed away. There are many doubts about the Awa Maru. Of course, the most eye-catching thing is the huge wealth widely circulated on the ship.
