Dreaming back to 1949, the great powers were there to deceive us

After an unknown amount of time, Carter woke up in a gust of cold wind. The temperature of 20 degrees at night was already chilly.

After Carter regained consciousness, he suddenly remembered something, was shocked, and hurriedly looked for Lao Hu.

Even though he once hinted that banks would withdraw loans and the air force would intercept, in fact, those were all false. TA company is not a lamb to be slaughtered, and Hu Zhenhua is not an easy person to deal with. This guy has interests involved with many Western financial groups, and it is not easy to touch him.

As soon as Carter stood up, he found Hu Zhenhua standing motionless in front of the map, while Qi Shuhuan had disappeared.

Carter followed Lao Hu's gaze and found that he was looking at a barren land: Antarctica.

Carter took two steps forward, stood side by side with Lao Hu, and asked curiously,

"Where's Director Qi?"

Hu Zhenhua remained motionless and said calmly,

"We should go see Jimla! He's searching for the truth to save the country and the people!"

Carter and Lao Hu have been together for a long time and have learned a lot of Internet vocabulary. He joked,

"Don't waste these four words 'saving the country and the people'!"

Carter pointed to the South Pole and continued to ask,

"Is there anything special about this place?"

Hu Zhenhua was about to speak when he suddenly had an idea and said something nonsense.

"The United States has conquered the oceans and the skies, but not Antarctica! We must seize Antarctica before anyone discovers its value!"

“What is the value of Antarctica?”

"It is one of the Earth's magnetic poles and its value is inestimable!"

When talking about Antarctica, Hu Zhenhua's first impression is krill.

Antarctic krill, known as the granary of the sea, has extremely large reserves. In 2021, the biomass of Antarctic krill in the entire Antarctic region was conservatively estimated to be 6.5-10 billion tons.

Such a large number of krill is due to two characteristics: first, they are fertile and second, they are easy to feed.

Krill spawning season is from January to March each year. Females lay up to 1 eggs at a time, either on the bottom of the continental shelf or in the upper layers of the deep ocean. The fertilized eggs hatch as they sink, completing their incubation period in 3-6000 days. The larvae then migrate to the surface, developing through several larval stages before reaching maturity in about two years.

The main food of Antarctic krill is phytoplankton, especially diatoms. They also catch and eat small zooplankton such as copepods and amphipods.

However, Antarctic krill also have their fragile side. They are sensitive to water temperature and are suitable for living in seawater at 0.64-1.32°C. Water temperatures above 1.8°C will pose a fatal threat to them.

Therefore, Antarctic krill mainly live in the waters near the Antarctic ice sheet.

Carter thought about it for a long time, but he still couldn't find any value in Antarctica. That damn place was covered with ice and snow. Food and daily necessities all depended on external supplies. The cost of stationing troops there was terrifyingly high.

Hu Zhenhua pinched his chin and began to plan the krill fishing in his mind.

Polar bears were the first to commercially fish for Antarctic krill. In 1972, they surveyed the distribution and size of krill populations and began small-scale commercial fishing. By 1977, their catch had reached 10.5 tons. In 1982, polar bears' catch reached 49.17 tons, while the global krill catch that year was only 52.8 tons.

Countries saw the huge benefits and rushed to join.

Hu Zhenhua clearly wanted to catch krill, but he said something else.

"To conquer Antarctica, we must first solve the supply problem. My plan is to get food from the sea. There are countless fish, turtles, shrimps, and crabs in Antarctica. We just need to organize a group of fishing boats and the problem will be solved immediately. As for the vitamin problem, sending a ship every year will be enough!"

Carter is not so optimistic. Food is only one aspect. Accommodation, fuel, medical care, and the mental health of personnel must all be addressed.

If you let a person live in the snow and ice for several months, he will definitely go crazy!

Hu Zhenhua not only wants to catch krill, but also fish and whales!

In the short term, ordinary people cannot solve the problem of protein sources and can only look to the ocean!

As for whether there would be overfishing, it was not within Hu Zhenhua's consideration at all. Everyone is fishing, so why am I the one being added to the list?

Hu Zhenhua also has another purpose, which is to compete with Japan for resources!

After World War II, Japan was facing extreme food shortages. After becoming Japan's "emperor," US General MacArthur encouraged Japanese fishermen to use modern equipment to hunt whales to address famine. Since Japanese elementary school students' school lunches lacked protein, MacArthur converted several retired US destroyers into whaling vessels, using the whale meat they caught to supplement the children's meals. This alleviated Japan's food crisis to some extent, but it also severely damaged the whale population.

Why can the invaders’ children eat protein while our children can only drink porridge!

Grab! We must get the whale back!

Follow other people's paths and leave others with nowhere to go!

Carter thought about it for a long time, but still felt that Lao Hu's method was unreliable, and said,

"Antarctica may be valuable, but we should first send a scientific expedition to find out the situation!"

Hu Zhenhua nodded slightly. This was exactly his purpose. As early as the 18th century, people had conducted scientific expeditions in Antarctica. Over the past 200 years, many countries have organized scientific expedition teams.

If we want to get the information in their hands, the Americans must come forward to coordinate!

"Carter, I'm planning to buy a few ships and modify them into comprehensive vessels for fishing, processing, and storage, in preparation for exploring Antarctica! How about you recommend a few retired large warships?"

"no problem!"

……