Chapter 2459: Proving One's Own Correctness

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, your seventh-generation ship hasn’t been dismantled.” Gan Ning said with a smile, “Alright, enjoy your time in jail. Every meal is one less meal!”

Hearing this, Lul Xun and Lul Ji were both startled, and Lul Jun was also quite frightened. He didn’t mind dying, but if the seventh-generation ship wasn’t completed, that would truly be despair from the heart.

“Huh?” Seeing the three of them stunned, Gan Ning dragged out his words, glancing at the three, “You guys couldn’t possibly believe that, could you? How could that possibly be true? I’m just here to lighten the mood!”

“Bang!” Lul Jun threw a punch directly, hitting Gan Ning in the stomach, making a dull thud. Gan Ning just laughed, with Lul Jun’s little arms and legs, it was nothing but a drizzle.

“Does your hand hurt?” Gan Ning asked, grinning, looking at Lul Jun.

“Gan Xingba, just wait, once I get out, I’ll sell the seventh-generation ship to someone else.” Lul Jun said angrily, rubbing his hand on his clothes, unable to believe that someone without even Qi Refining to Gang would dare to confront Inner Qi Manifestation head-on.

“Ha, did you not know I even had my name painted on the dragon bone of the seventh-generation ship?” Gan Xingba sneered while picking his ear.

“Just you wait!” Lul Jun felt a rush of blood, nearly spitting it in Gan Ning’s face.

“Alright, enough of that, let’s talk business.” Seeing Lul Jun’s face flushed with anger, Gan Ning chuckled and then suddenly became serious, his demeanor shifting from comedic to solemn, gaining an air of authority.

“Um, maybe we should leave first.” Lul Xun suggested, seeing that Gan Ning was about to discuss important matters with his father, and prepared to put down the food box and leave with his uncle.

“Boyan and Gong Ji, you both stay too. You should hear this as well. If I’m taken down, the Lul family relies on you two.” Lul Jun suddenly said, prompting Lul Xun and Lul Ji to place the food box aside and stand by to listen.

In fact, the reason Lul Jun dared to pursue his dreams is largely because his children have grown, and the family has new pillars, no longer solely reliant on him to bear the burden. The Lul family can survive even without his father Lul Kang or himself. Lul Xun has already become a leader among his generation.

Spiritual Talent, it’s almost a hallmark of a sage, and Lul Xun has awakened his own Spiritual Talent. Just with that, Lul Jun knows his son has surpassed him, no longer needing his wings for shelter, allowing him to chase his dreams.

“Ha, don’t worry, things aren’t that bad. Although it’s quite dire, how should I put it? Compared to the current issue with the seventh-generation ship’s financial scam, we mainly need Jir Cai to prove his own worth.” Gan Ning said, seeing Lul Jun act like he was giving last words, waving his hand.

“Worth?” Lul Jun frowned at these words, then seemed to understand something.

“Yes, worth. Honestly, scamming isn’t a big deal anymore. Saying over ten billion is a bit much…” Gan Ning’s face twitched a couple of times, then he couldn’t continue, so he took a deep breath and said, “Alright, I can’t keep this up!”

“But we’ve already scammed the money, so what? Can we regurgitate what we’ve eaten?” Gan Ning, with the demeanor of a mountain bandit leader, waved his large hand and asked.

Lul Jun nodded, “I’ve used the funds to mortgage papers at the Lub Central Steel Plant to produce steel. Besides, these are all legal transactions. I have papers, it’s not fraud!”

“Whether you have papers or not isn’t important. What’s important is whether the value you display is enough to justify it.” Gan Ning snorted twice, showing disdain for the so-called papers.

Who needs papers for dirty dealings? And for scams, who forced you to invest? Confiscate and nationalize the shipyard; if it was a technical mortgage, then each investor gets a set of seventh-generation ship technology; I refuse to believe you can build one!

By the way, since the True Seventh-Generation Ship is a state secret, this technology is for private use only, not to be shared externally. Dare to share, and we’ll take action, sign this confidentiality agreement, and the true seventh-generation ship technology is yours as pledged.

This is legitimate business. As for the Lul Family Shipyard issue, it’s bankrupt and insolvent, sold to the state for ten million coins, now called the Donglai Shipyard. What, you want money? None. I’ll give you technology, under the conditions above!

Sign if you want; if not, move on. Compensation? What a joke, not charging you for idiocy is generous!

Therefore, for Lul Jun, as long as he proves the technology of the seventh-generation ship is real, using it for a mortgage isn’t fraud. Those thinking they could benefit only paid a tax on stupidity with their earlier contributions.

Given Gan Ning’s relationship with Chen Xi, the resolution for this is already known. The shipyard transitions from semi-official to official, assets converted and sold cheaply to officials, from major shareholder to executive.

This approach, albeit rogue-like, directly denies bankruptcy, leaving the investors with an empty shell.

However, Chen Xi is not so lacking in principles; therefore, he needs to verify the seventh-generation ship’s technology. If it truly is battleship-grade, they’ll turn a blind eye despite the fraud, proceeding with it given its potential impact.

Even Chen Xi knows the appearance of a battleship at this time symbolizes much. Although naval battle tactics and strategy are crucial, with technological innovation, strategic and tactical significance is vastly diminished during its surge.

Thus, after confirming the seventh-generation ship issue, Chen Xi pondered a lot. As for Lul Jun’s resolution, it’s of secondary importance.

After all, if the seventh-generation ship can truly achieve what Lul Jun claims, then deceiving for even as much as ten billion, Chen Xi may simply resuscitate the aristocrats buried by such schemes, without actually punishing Lul Jun.

This is an artifact that truly changes the course of history. As long as one is sensible, its significance for the country means solvable financial problems aren’t problems at all.

Yet, the significant issue is Chen Xi cannot determine whether Lul Jun’s seventh-generation ship reaches that level.

If it does, then Lul Jun, even if charged with fraud and a Lul scheme, will be exonerated.

If it doesn’t, Lul Jun should remain in prison, a benefit for everyone and a form of protection for him.

The big issue is Lul Jun cannot prove the invincibility of the seventh-generation ship.

No matter how robust the models, nor how fearful the design data might be, a single phrase: the gap between theoretical data and actual results can be despairingly vast.

Even after the emergence of this incident, Chen Xi urgently invited a group of mechanical Grand Craftsmen, even reaching out to Cao Cao to bring Ma Jun, a mechanical master.

Nonetheless, despite all mechanical Grand Craftsmen thoroughly studying the design blueprints stored in two warehouses, although they haven’t completed their research yet, some successes have emerged; these results, however, are too distant from what Chen Xi seeks.

Even Ma Jun, almost at the pinnacle of mechanical research of this era, after Chen Xi negotiated part benefits with the Zhang Clan of Nanyang for safety of results and allowed Ma Jun to refer to Zhang Heng’s manuscripts, Ma Jun can only assure no theoretical issues with the battleship design.

Moreover, Ma Jun adjusted minor discrepancies to perfect the design, and due to its genius, strongly requested to join as a designer and manufacturer.

But there’s no real use; even Ma Jun can’t ensure what the true seventh-generation ship would turn out to be, only deeming it a highly valuable research direction.

Isn’t this just empty talk? Chen Xi also sees it as a valuable strategic weapon, but who will explain to me how to obtain 30,000 tons of special steel?

Forget about technology; let’s just talk materials. Even if Chen Xi personally intervened to juggle things, compressing costs, once you decide to create this, the materials can’t be compromised, nor can regular ironware production be neglected, causing him a headache.

Mere manufacturing of these special steels would take two to three years, and the cost, even without accounting for labor, would exceed ten billion.

Of course, this aspect isn’t a problem now. Previously, Gan Ning had boasted about securing a vast amount of iron ore and where he got them from.

Based on this, Chen Xi mostly knows, reducing many steps by directly throwing them into furnaces, solving quite a few troubles.

However, the current issue is whether to proceed with construction. Since it’s a battleship-grade endeavor, Chen Xi knows its difficulty, and its significance.

Chen Xi’s concern is if it turns out to be a gigantic toy, wasting hundreds of billions and vast amounts of special steel without achieving desired outcomes might, later, make the Han Dynasty overly conservative in research.

Even though the technology tree isn’t high yet, Chen Xi knows its significance. If such an investment leads to conservatism in scientific research, history will judge harshly.

Having contemplated deeply, Chen Xi decided on construction. Costs are already high, impacting more people than estimated, creating a halfway hiatus and justification issues.