xymnovel Chapter 124 The Final "Eastern Tour": Offshore Oil Platforms
Chapter 124 The Final "Eastern Tour": Offshore Oil Platforms
The waves of the East China Sea still pound against the shore as they did a thousand years ago, but the smell of the sea breeze has changed.
It was no longer just a simple salty and fishy smell, but rather a faint aroma of sulfur and tar—a unique scent of industrial civilization, a "modern fragrance" that captivated the Qin Empire.
As the naval marshal of the Great Qin Empire, Wang Ben was standing on the command tower of the battleship "Invincible Qin".
Although he was seventy years old, he still stood ramrod straight. In his hand, he no longer held the bronze sword that had struck fear into the hearts of the six kingdoms, but instead held a chrome-plated pair of binoculars.
"Marshal, the boiler pressure is normal, the speed is 18 knots, and we are expected to arrive at the 'Donghai No. 1' oil and gas field in half an hour."
The adjutant's voice came through the brass megaphone. Wang Ben frowned, instinctively reaching for the sails, but only saw a massive steel chimney billowing white smoke.
"Eighteen sections..." Wang Ben muttered to himself, a bitter smile appearing on his lips. "This iron lump runs faster than the best warships back in the day when it had a tailwind. And... it doesn't need to wait for the wind."
The "Invincible" beneath my feet is a newly launched all-steel steam flagship from the Daqin Shipyard. It has not a single inch of wood; its entire body is made of cold, riveted steel plates. Its power core consists of four triple-expansion steam engines, improved from the blueprints left behind by Little G, capable of unleashing an astonishing 20,000 horsepower.
Wang Ben still remembers the horrified looks in the eyes of those veteran sailors during the first trial voyage—how could iron float on water? This doesn't conform to the rules of our ancestors!
But when this steel behemoth easily rammed and shattered the three-story Mengchong warship used for testing, and sailed against the wind, leaving all the sailboats far behind, Wang Ben knew that the era of wood and sails was completely over.
"Look! What's that!"
The sound of the lookout interrupted Wang Ben's thoughts.
At the horizon, a "steel forest" appeared.
That's neither an island nor a mirage.
That is the masterpiece that Daqin Energy Group is proud of – the East China Sea offshore drilling platform group.
Dozens of steel towers stand tall on the turbulent sea, like a group of giants rising from the deep ocean. Huge drills spin day and night, greedily sucking up the black blood that has slumbered on the seabed for millions of years. The burning exhaust forms an inextinguishable flame at the top of the towers, strikingly bright and magnificent against the blue sky and sea.
Between these platforms, countless oil tankers flying the black dragon flag shuttle back and forth. Some head towards the refineries in Xianyang, some towards the industrial areas of Japan, and some even cross oceans to the Persian Gulf—where a larger oil field has just been discovered.
This is a flowing black blood vessel, just as Ying Zheng said, it is the lifeblood of the Qin Dynasty.
On the helipad of the main platform of the "Donghai No. 1" (where a small airship was parked at the time), Liu Bang, president of Daqin Energy Group, was nervously... peeling an orange.
Liu Bang is now a very important figure. His titles would fill three folded pages on his business card: Chairman of Daqin Energy Group, President of the Royal Logistics Chamber of Commerce, Lifetime Honorary Advisor of Daqin Catering Chain, Largest Shareholder of the Western Regions Development Bank…
He was wearing a well-tailored black suit (which Hu Hai reconstructed based on Xiao G's picture), but he still habitually didn't wear a shirt underneath, instead wearing a silk undergarment with the collar slightly open, exuding an incorrigible "Peixian elegance".
"You all better be alert!" Liu Bang yelled at the executives behind him while peeling an orange. "When His Majesty comes up, anyone who dares to mention the words 'oil spill' will be thrown into the cracking furnace and turned into asphalt!"
"Chairman," a technical director wearing thick-rimmed glasses asked cautiously, "what if His Majesty asks about last month's financial statements...?"
"Reports? What reports?" Liu Bang stuffed a segment of orange into his mouth and mumbled, "Just say we're incurring 'strategic losses'! To provide cheap energy for the people of Qin, we're losing so much we're practically broke! Understand? Be miserable! Be righteous and awe-inspiring!"
Just then, the steam whistle sounded.
The massive hull of the "Invincible Qin" slowly approached the deep-water berth of the platform. Steel cables were deployed, and a pier was erected.
Liu Bang immediately threw away the orange peel, straightened his tie, and instantly put on his signature smile, which was both flattering and sincere.
"Welcome, His Majesty the Retired Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Liu Bang's shout was louder than a steam whistle.
Ying Zheng stepped down from the pier. He wore a dark gray woolen overcoat, a wide-brimmed hat, and carried a walking stick. Although he was now the retired emperor, his imposing aura made even the sea breeze seem to stand still for a moment.
"Alright, Liu Ji." Ying Zheng waved his hand. "The Constitution has been in place for so long, why are you still talking about living ten thousand years? If you really want me to live for ten thousand years, that's cursing me to become an old monster."
Liu Bang chuckled and casually leaned closer, supporting Ying Zheng's arm like an old servant: "In this old minister's heart, Your Majesty is forever! Come, come, Your Majesty, watch your step, this iron plate is slippery, it's all oil."
Ying Zheng walked on the deck of the drilling platform.
The steel plate beneath his feet trembled slightly, a pulse emanating from deep underground. The air was thick with the pungent smell of oil, which might be irritating to ordinary people, but to Ying Zheng, it smelled even better than the ambergris in the Epang Palace.
"Is this oil?" Ying Zheng pointed to a transparent observation tube not far away, through which black liquid was gushing.
"Your Majesty," Liu Bang immediately chimed in, "this is the 'lifeblood of industry'! This is money... no, this is the power of the Qin Dynasty! One pipe can power a tractor to plow ten acres of land, and can keep a kerosene lamp burning for a month!"
Ying Zheng stopped and stared silently at the black liquid.
Sixty years ago, he still remembered that the Qin chariots were pulled by horses, and horses needed to eat grass, which depended on the weather. At that time, the Qin Dynasty was powerful but fragile; a drought could paralyze its cavalry.
Now, this black blood gushes forth from the earth, day and night, regardless of the sky. It transforms into gasoline, diesel, fertilizer, and plastic.
"Liu Ji," Ying Zheng suddenly sighed, "what do you think will happen once this stuff is all used up?"
Liu Bang paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "Your Majesty, rest assured! I've memorized the 'Guide to Geological Exploration' left by the Grand Tutor G. There's oil under the sea in the East China Sea, and even more under the Persian Gulf! I've heard there's also oil under the ice sheets in the far north! Even if we run out of oil on Earth, isn't Prince Hu Hai clamoring to go to the moon? Maybe the moon is full of oil!"
Ying Zheng laughed: "You old fool, you're still so good at fooling people. If there were oil on the moon, Chang'e would have opened a gas station long ago."
Zhang Ergou is an ordinary driller on the platform. He's so nervous today he's almost wet himself, because the "emperor" is coming to inspect his post—the central control room.
"When the Emperor Emeritus arrives, just keep an eye on the pressure gauge, don't speak, don't tremble, understand?" The foreman reminded him for the hundredth time.
The door opened.
Ying Zheng walked in, followed by the legendary richest man Liu Bang and the god of war Wang Ben.
"This is the control room?" Ying Zheng asked with great interest, looking at the wall full of instrument panels and flashing indicator lights.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Liu Bang explained, "This is the 'brain' of the entire platform. We've adopted the latest hydraulic transmission control system; with just a gentle push of this lever, we can control the drill bit thousands of meters deep."
Ying Zheng walked to the control panel and saw Zhang Ergou, who was as stiff as a stone.
"Young man," Ying Zheng asked gently, "what is that thing you're wearing on your head?"
Zhang Ergou was startled and stammered, "Your Majesty...this is a safety helmet. The foreman said that screws are prone to falling out here, and although we'd have to pay compensation if someone hits our head, we only have one head..."
The executives around him turned green with anger.
Ying Zheng laughed heartily: "Well said! There's only one head! Bring me one too."
"Your Majesty!" Liu Bang exclaimed anxiously, "This is against etiquette..."
"What etiquette?" Ying Zheng glared at him. "On a construction site, safety is the highest form of etiquette. Do you want me to get hit by a screw and see what happens?"
Thus, the most classic photograph was left in the history of the Qin Empire:
The majestic retired Emperor Ying Zheng, wearing a woolen overcoat and a bright yellow plastic safety helmet, stood in front of the oil-stained workbench, listening to a driller with a face covered in coal soot explain how to read the pressure gauge.
This photo was later printed on the cover of the employee handbook of Daqin Energy Group, with the title: "Safety in Production Starts with the Emperor".
After the inspection, lunch was held at the open-air restaurant on the platform.
Just as Meng Tian had said before, Liu Bang really did set up a "seafood stall".
There were no golden goblets or jade platters, only large stainless steel trays piled high with freshly caught oysters, lobsters, and ribbonfish. Next to them sat a large pot, simmering with steam.
Ying Zheng took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, sat on a plastic stool, and unceremoniously picked up a garlic oyster.
"Hmm, it tastes good," Ying Zheng praised. "It's even better than what the imperial chefs in the palace make. Who cooked this garlic?"
"This old minister cooked it himself!" Liu Bang said proudly, holding a strainer. "Your Majesty, you don't know, there's a trick to cooking garlic. You have to use a blend of oils, half lard and half rapeseed oil, and add some oyster sauce to enhance the flavor."
As Liu Bang spoke, he casually picked up an orange from the table, peeled it skillfully, carefully removed the white pith one by one, and then respectfully handed it to Ying Zheng.
This scene made Wang Ben's eyes twitch.
Who would have thought that this super tycoon, who controls the global energy lifeline and can cause the Roman stock market to collapse with a stomp of his foot, would still act like the petty hoodlum who used to freeload in Pei County in front of Qin Shi Huang?
Ying Zheng took the orange, ate a segment, and suddenly asked, "Liu Ji, I heard that you set oil prices quite high over the Persian Gulf?"
Liu Bang's hand trembled slightly, and he chuckled dryly, "Your Majesty, that's called... market regulation. Those sheikhs in the Persian Gulf used to be so poor they only had sand left. Now that I've helped them extract the oil, charging a small technical service fee isn't unreasonable, is it?"
"Technical service fee?" Ying Zheng looked at him with a half-smile. "I heard that you had them exchange land for shares, ports for equipment, and in the end, they had to pay you 80% of the profit for every barrel of oil they extracted?"
Liu Bang wiped his sweat: "Your Majesty, this is called a 'win-win' situation. This old minister wins twice, and they win enough to eat and wear. Isn't that good?"
Ying Zheng shook his head and put the remaining oranges back on the table.
"Liu Ji, making money is fine, but don't be too unscrupulous. Qin is now a beacon of the world; you need to be more discreet. If you push people too far, they might stop buying your equipment and switch to burning coal. Who will you sell your oil to then?"
"Your Majesty's reprimand is well-deserved!" Liu Bang nodded repeatedly. "This old minister will go back and lower the price! Lower it by one percentage point... oh no, two percentage points!"
"Also," Ying Zheng pointed to the busy workers in the distance, "I just saw that the workers' dormitories are still too crowded. You, this big capitalist, shouldn't just be thinking about making money for yourself. Install air conditioning for them, and raise the food standards again."
"Install! Install them right away!" Liu Bang patted his chest. "This old minister will have ten thousand air conditioners shipped from Xianyang tomorrow! I guarantee the workers will be so cold they'll be wearing cotton-padded coats!"
Late at night.
The torch on the platform still burned brightly, illuminating half of the night sky.
Ying Zheng stood alone on the edge of the platform, holding onto the railing, listening to the sound of the waves.
Liu Bang walked over unnoticed, carrying two bottles of chilled beer (specially supplied by Daqin Brewery).
"Your Majesty, would you like a sip?"
Ying Zheng took the beer, took a sip, and the cool liquid flowed down his throat, dispelling the humid heat of the sea breeze.
"Liu Ji".
"exist."
"Tell me, can my Great Qin Dynasty, like this torch, never be extinguished?"
Liu Bang remained silent for a moment, his usual playful demeanor vanishing. He looked at the flame and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, the fire will eventually go out. But the oil in this well, the mines underground, the wind from the sea—as long as we, the people of Qin, remember how to use our brains and our hands, this light will never be extinguished."
He pointed to the ground: "In the past, we relied on the heavens for our livelihood. If the heavens were unhappy, we would starve to death. Now, we have unearthed the energy that the sun hides underground. As long as this drill keeps turning, the power of the Great Qin will never stop."
Ying Zheng nodded.
He remembered what Little G had said before he left: "Energy is the cornerstone of civilization."
Sixty years ago, in his quest for immortality, he sent Xu Fu to sea to find the elixir of life.
Sixty years later, he stood atop this steel behemoth, watching black gold gush forth. He had not found the elixir of immortality, but he had found the blood that would grant the empire eternal life.
"Liu Ji".
"Why."
"Let's donate another 10% of the shares in 'Daqin Energy Group' to the national treasury."
"Ah?!" Liu Bang nearly dropped the beer bottle into the sea, his face contorted in pain. "Your Majesty, you're not just cutting leeks, you're uprooting them!"
"Enough with the nonsense." Ying Zheng laughed. "I'm doing this for your own good. Too much money is a curse. Leave more for the country so that if a spendthrift son comes along, Qin can last a few more years."
Liu Bang, with a bitter face, finally sighed, "Fine, fine, I'll listen to you. After all, you're His Majesty. Sigh, all that peeling of the orange was for nothing."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Ying Zheng's laughter echoed in the sea breeze, accompanied by the ceaseless roar of the drilling platform, reaching the distant shore.
In the distance, the "Invincible Qin" ship sounded its horn, as if paying tribute to the old man who created all of this.
The sun is rising over the sea.
But for the Qin Dynasty, the sun never set.