Meng Hao remained expressionless.
His words were neither humble nor arrogant.
But, he was quite shaken internally.
Aside from Elder Ouyang, the highest-ranking general he had cooperated with was Gudiyev of the Bear Country.
Furthermore, Gudiyev was only a Major General when they first met.
Later, thanks to the mechs produced by Meng Hao's Huarong Technology, he was commended and promoted to Lieutenant General.
Even so.
This Lieutenant General was a civilian officer focused on procurement.
And Songzan's father was actually a full Admiral in the Three-Indian country.
As a country with a population not inferior to Great Xia.
A full Admiral held considerable weight.
It was no wonder then that the company Songzan belonged to could directly obtain decommissioned nuclear submarines from the Three-Indian country.
However.
As a talent in technology.
Meng Hao did not know much about nuclear submarines but had heard of them.
Most nuclear submarines had a service life of over twenty years.
Yet, the Annihilator I-type nuclear submarine of the Three-Indian country was decommissioned after only four or five years of service?
This was highly problematic.
Before Meng Hao could ask,
Songzan, seemingly unafraid of airing his country's dirty laundry, explained to Meng Hao.
"Our country's military industrial system is not well-integrated."
"Some simple vehicles and light weapons can be domestically produced."
"But for heavy military equipment like tanks and armored vehicles, many components are sourced from abroad."
"And for high-end fighter jets, nuclear submarines, and even aircraft carriers, many are supplied by the Western Alliance and the Bear Country."
This, in itself, was not exactly a scandal.
The fact that the Three-Indian country's high-end technological equipment was a hodgepodge of various nations was hardly a secret in the world.
The crucial point was.
The Three-Indian country also possessed this inexplicable sense of pride.
According to normal logic.
If you were to adopt Western technology and weaponry, you would either import it wholesale or have the Western countries assist in its research and development.
If you adopted technology from the Bear Country, you would import it wholesale or have the Bear Country assist in its research and development.
As a result.
The Three-Indian country did not.
They insisted on showing off their capabilities.
They wanted to blend the technologies of the Western Alliance and the Bear Country into a single entity, forming their own system.
And then, tragedy struck.
What the hell was the difference between using Western guns to load Bear Country ammunition?
It often resulted in barrel bursts due to incompatible calibers.
For light weapons, a barrel burst might be understandable.
At most, it would cost a few thousand yuan.
But, if the same approach was taken for high-end military equipment like aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, and fighter jets.
It would often lead to equipment failures due to incompatible technologies and non-interchangeable parts.
Either vast sums of money would be spent on post-maintenance and repairs.
Or, as in the case of the Annihilator I-type nuclear submarine, it would be directly decommissioned.
"So, what is your core point?"
Meng Hao saw Songzan mumbling for a long time without getting to the main issue and urged him to speak.
Songzan hesitantly revealed his core concern.
"The Annihilator I-type was prematurely decommissioned due to substandard technology."
"And the latest developed Annihilator II-type is encountering similar problems."
"However, whether it's the Bear Country or the Western Alliance nations, if they are to assist in tackling the issues, the price will be at least 3 billion US dollars."
"And this is just the initial quote... future follow-up services could push the total expenditure for this nuclear submarine to well over ten billion US dollars!"
Meng Hao was amused to the point of laughter.
Such bizarre events.
Could only happen in the Three-Indian country.
The price of mainstream nuclear submarines worldwide was roughly between 0.5 to 2 billion US dollars.
Taking an average of 1 billion US dollars.
Even if the Three-Indian country were to import and purchase Western or Bear Country nuclear submarines wholesale, 10 billion could buy ten vessels, more than enough for the country's coastal defense.
However.
For the sake of so-called face and inexplicable pride, this country insisted on not doing so.
This was truly.
A textbook example of a sucker paying money to suffer!
"So, are you telling me all this because there's something you need my help with?"
Meng Hao assumed Songzan had heard about his good relationship with the high-level military officials of Great Xia, and wanted him to act as a matchmaker, seeking help from Great Xia's military research personnel.
Just as Meng Hao was lifting a cup of water to take a sip.
Songzan's words.
Startled him so much that he spat out the scalding hot water.
"My father has been extremely busy dealing with this matter."
"As a full Admiral, if he fails to get two consecutive nuclear submarines working, he could be targeted by his political rivals."
"Therefore, I hope you can help resolve the technical challenges for the Annihilator II-type!"
Damn it!
What the hell!
This is outrageous!!!
Are you kidding me?
You want Meng Hao to help an entire country, a major power at that, with nuclear submarine development...
Meng Hao wasn't sure whether to praise Songzan for thinking too highly of him, or to consider him desperate and throwing logic to the wind.
To be precise.
This was a case of a high-ranking official's son seeking help from the CEO of a private technology manufacturing company of another country to resolve a technical issue, in order to help his Admiral father avoid being targeted by political rivals.
Meng Hao coughed repeatedly, choked by the scalding water.
It took him a good tens of seconds before he managed to calm down.
"Mr. Songzan, I first want to express my utmost gratitude and humility for your misplaced confidence in me."
"However, in all fairness, is it appropriate for me, the CEO of a private company in another country, to be involved in nuclear submarine technical development?"
"Furthermore, Huarong Technology is merely a private company and absolutely cannot be involved in military work!"
What Meng Hao said was very clever!
He first left a sliver of room, not directly denying his ability to conduct nuclear submarine research and development.
However, he emphatically stated.
Huarong Company was a private enterprise and could not be involved in military operations.
Songzan.
As the son of a full Admiral.
Was obviously someone who had learned a lot through observation and was quite sharp.
He understood the true meaning of Meng Hao's words... and felt a surge of excitement.
"Meaning, you have a way to tackle the nuclear submarine issues, right?"
"The only problem is that you cannot be involved in military operations."
"I have long heard that you frequently emphasize Huarong Technology's lack of affiliation with the military... While I find this somewhat difficult to understand, I respect your personal stance... Therefore, if you are interested in participating in this nuclear submarine development work, we can hire you personally, as one of the key personnel for this project."
"Of course, out of consideration for national pride, the initiating entity of the project will be the Three-Indian Navy, the lead person will be myself, and the overall commander will be my father!"
Songzan paused.
"Naturally, we can meet your funding needs as compensation for your efforts... and my father and I will always remember this favor."
Good heavens.
In plain terms.
They wanted to spend money to hire an outsider, but insisted on taking all the credit themselves.
Meng Hao could understand Songzan's approach quite well.
One had to remember.
Back then, the Three-Indian country was extorted by the Bear Country for hundreds of billions of US dollars to develop its so-called indigenous aircraft carrier.
Now, taking a similar action was quite understandable.