"Che Zhen, how much military funding has the army accumulated now?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Reporting, after deducting the bonuses issued, the total is over 1.77 billion yuan," Che Zhen replied immediately.
Half of the income from the military factory, gold mine, and jumping worm farm went to the army. With three cash cows simultaneously dispensing funds, the accumulated military expenditure was quite substantial after so many days.
"Transfer it all to me. Prepare to form the navy," Jiang Ye said, delighted.
Che Zhen immediately took out his phone and operated it, clearing the army's account balance and transferring it to Jiang Ye.
"Everyone, please wait a moment," Jiang Ye said.
He took out his phone and clicked on [Build Factory] then [Military Factory].
After the previous pterosaur factory was completed, a new military factory option appeared. This new option was particularly timely, with a total of two new choices:
[Factory Type: Frigate Factory]
[Factory Description: Occupies an area of 150,000 square meters, includes an automatic frigate production line, requires 120 workers. Operation is simple, and workers can be on the job after basic training. It can produce one standard frigate per week. The entire ship cannot be sold, but parts can be sold, yielding a profit of 4 million yuan per day.]
[Weaponry Parameters: 4000-ton standard frigate, equipped with two electromagnetic cannons, two torpedo launchers, a set of vertical missile launch systems, as well as automatic navigation and radar equipment. Ammunition capacity: 700 shells, 200 conventional explosive torpedoes, 300 micro-missiles. It can transport five hundred soldiers and a thousand tons of cargo at once. It is a traditional small warship with powerful firepower and is cost-effective.]
[Construction Cost: 4 billion yuan]
[Factory Type: Destroyer Factory]
[Factory Description: Occupies an area of 190,000 square meters, includes an automatic destroyer production line, requires 420 workers. Operation is simple, and workers can be on the job after basic training. It can produce one standard destroyer every two weeks. The entire ship cannot be sold, but parts can be sold, yielding a profit of 6 million yuan per day.]
[Weaponry Parameters: 9000-ton standard destroyer, equipped with two electromagnetic cannons, two torpedo launchers, a set of vertical missile launch systems, a set of low-power laser cannons, as well as automatic navigation and radar equipment. Ammunition capacity: 1000 shells, 300 conventional explosive torpedoes, 600 micro-missiles, 300 battery packs. It can transport fifteen hundred soldiers and three thousand tons of cargo at once. It is a traditional medium-sized warship with powerful firepower and is cost-effective.]
The destroyer factory was definitely unaffordable. With a cost of ten billion yuan, Jiang Ye would rather build a star station if he had that much money.
However, for the frigate factory, Jiang Ye's money was just enough!
He decisively placed the order and sent a map photo directly to Xu Yan. On a desolate area along the coast, Jiang Ye had previously marked a red circle, which was the location he had chosen for the frigate factory.
Xu Yan: "Whoa, you're getting richer lately, building a naval factory now? I'll bring a team to build it as soon as possible. Construction will be slower in the snow, it will take at least four or five days to complete."
Jiang Ye: "Thank you for your hard work, President Xu."
Looking up, the officers were all sitting upright. Jiang Ye continued the meeting.
"I have already ordered the frigate factory. In about ten days, the first frigate will be launched."
"These ships are very old. In this era, they would certainly be quite outdated. Under the firepower of other planets, they would be no different from wooden tubs floating on the sea. However, on our planet, they are still at the level of 'strong ships and sharp cannons,' and more than enough to crush other settlements."
"Therefore, once the frigates are launched, sea control will be ours, and we can unscrupulously land on other continents."
"All units should advance to the coast in the next few days to familiarize themselves with the marine environment. As soon as the frigates are launched, we will immediately advance into the neighboring continents."
"I can tell you clearly that on the continent to the west, there are two settlements with populations of over four hundred people each. There is a high probability of conflict."
"All units, please take this seriously. Everyone should write their last will and testament in advance and store it in the archives, one paper copy and one electronic copy. The content of the last will is simple: I am so-and-so, and when you see this letter, I have gloriously passed away. My assets go to so-and-so, and my last wish is such-and-such, in a similar format."
"Does anyone else have any questions?" Jiang Ye scanned the officers.
"Reporting, Commander, we... do not have personnel who can pilot warships," one captain raised his hand.
"Don't worry about that. I inquired in advance. These frigates don't require many people to operate. They navigate automatically and avoid obstacles. The captain can simply tap on the screen in the captain's cabin. It's a foolproof operation; you can grab any passerby and put them in the captain's cabin, and it will be fine," Jiang Ye said with confidence. "They can even be controlled remotely. I can change the warship's course while sitting in my office. Even if you throw a monkey into the captain's cabin, the ship won't capsize."
The officers chuckled. No one asked any further questions.
"Alright, meeting adjourned!" Jiang Ye stood up.
The officers filed out. Jiang Ye stood up and slowly returned to his office.
After a few minutes of tidying up the clutter in his office, Jiang Ye went downstairs to go home.
Just as he exited the building, he saw a group of soldiers gathered in the empty space in the center of the base, all looking panicked.
The captains who had just finished their grueling week stood at the front, their expressions serious.
Jiang Ye stopped and watched from a distance with interest.
The soldiers finished assembling and stood neatly on the white open ground, dressed in blue and white snow camouflage.
"Devil Week has begun!" the captains shouted. "All hands, one hundred push-ups to warm up!"
The soldiers all dropped down and began doing push-ups, one after another. The troops trained regularly, and everyone had good physical fitness. One hundred push-ups were a piece of cake, and they finished in no time.
"Switch to left-arm single-arm, another hundred!" the captains roared.
A moment later, the captains shouted again, "Your left arms must be tired. Switch to your right arm for another hundred!"
One after another, soldiers began to collapse from exhaustion, falling to the ground. The soldiers' expressions were quite pained.
Jiang Ye was amused. This was the tradition being passed down!
He didn't watch any longer. He walked towards his red cavalry motorcycle, opened the door, and got in, setting the destination to "Home."
As the vehicle flew out of the military base, he heard the captains' shouts from behind:
"You saw the commander leave and didn't salute? All of you run five laps to remember it!"
Jiang Ye sat in the warm car, glanced back, showed no expression, and then looked down at his phone.
In the "Star Network" group, many messages had just popped up.
Ice Green Planet Leader: "@Jiang Ye Star General, I've surpassed you!"
Ice Green Planet Leader: "I told you I wouldn't be last! Are you convinced! Just ask if you're convinced!"
There were seven or eight more taunting messages. Jiang Ye could almost imagine the smug face of the person typing on the other side. After being suppressed for so long, this guy was finally able to hold his head high, happier than during the New Year.
Amidst various taunting messages, the Ice Green Planet Leader also sent a screenshot, which was the ranking interface. Ice Green Planet and Jiang Ye's colony were adjacent, and the ranking had indeed changed:
[Ice Green Planet / Development Index 5231 / Rank 8569]
[Jiang Ye's Autonomous Region / Development Index 5200 / Rank 8570]
The development index difference was 31 points, and he had been surpassed by one rank.
Jiang Ye typed:
"Not convinced. I will defeat you within ten days. I'm putting it out there!"
After sending the message, Jiang Ye closed his phone.
He knew that the Ice Green Planet Leader would likely mock him for a while longer, but there was no need to argue with him. Once the frigates were launched and territory expanded to the neighboring continent, the development index would skyrocket in minutes.