Compared to Jing Mingqiu's permanent continental landmasses connected to the seabed, the construction speed of American-style floating islands, which only built structures above the sea surface, was much faster.
In just a few days, the large-scale floating island clusters built by America had almost completely surrounded the three landmasses recently filled by China.
Seeing that they were about to be encircled and fall into a dilemma of being caught between domestic and foreign pressures, many Chinese people became anxious. The Chinese high-level officials immediately convened an internal meeting to discuss how to respond to America's land reclamation plan.
Someone proposed, "Boss, we absolutely cannot let this continue. We must increase our investment and compete with America for control of the sea!"
But someone immediately retorted, "Easier said than done. If we expand rashly, we won't have enough personnel and resources. If the construction fails, or if it's snatched away after completion, it will be even more troublesome."
"But we can't just let America expand so unscrupulously. Because the twelve nautical miles around islands are considered territorial waters, one-tenth of the entire Pacific Ocean has now completely fallen into American hands."
After discussing for a long time, everyone couldn't come up with a suitable solution. Just as everyone was in despair, Jing Mingqiu arrived late. Seeing the solemn atmosphere, he raised an eyebrow.
"What's going on? Why do you all look so grim?"
The official responsible for China's maritime security found Jing Mingqiu and complained, "Professor Jing, you're finally here. America is too shameless. They are relying on the support of maritime conventions for territorial sovereignty and are now building floating islands frantically, encroaching on the Pacific."
"Our three newly built large islands are now completely surrounded by America's floating island groups. If we delay any longer, the entire Pacific will fall into American hands!"
"Oh, so that's what you're talking about. Don't worry," Jing Mingqiu said nonchalantly. "If they want to take it, let them take it. I never intended to fight for territory on Earth with other countries from the beginning."
Hearing Jing Mingqiu say this, the official was stunned, "If not on Earth, are you planning to grab territory on Mars?"
"That's right," Jing Mingqiu raised his eyebrows and turned to look at China's supreme leader.
"Boss, didn't you ask me why I arranged a full hundred acres of land for each volunteer participating in the land reclamation plan, instead of recruiting more people for this project?"
"Now the time is ripe, and everyone is here, so I'll explain it to you all properly."
"Firstly, Earth is already operating beyond its limits. This over-capacity isn't about environmental pollution or resource scarcity, but rather that the energy we consume daily far exceeds the energy Earth receives from the sun."
"Since humanity's large-scale use of oil and the advent of the industrial era, the total energy on Earth has officially entered a countdown. And with technological advancements and population growth, this countdown is accelerating."
This was the first time everyone had heard this statement. They were stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and realized that reality was indeed as Jing Mingqiu described.
Regarding the nature of oil, there isn't a definitive conclusion yet. Some say it's the remains of ancient plants and animals, while others believe oil has existed on Earth from the beginning.
But regardless of which theory is correct, oil is a non-renewable resource that will eventually be depleted.
Although theoretically, nuclear energy could replace oil functions at that time, any type of nuclear fuel, no matter how abundant, is ultimately non-renewable and will be used up.
Jing Mingqiu glanced around and saw the expressions on everyone's faces. Knowing they understood his point, he didn't waste more words and continued.
"Everyone, the most precious thing in this world is not money, nor antiques, calligraphy and paintings, gold, silver, or jewels. The most important thing is people. I can provide technology that allows humanity to travel freely in space and colonize other planets."
"But if we lack enough manpower and have to rely on people from other countries, or let artificial intelligence control spacecraft to occupy those planets, what's the difference between our actions and painstakingly paving the way for others?"
"A hundred acres might sound large, but compared to the vast, boundless universe, a hundred acres is truly too little. To say nothing else, even if each person on Mars gets a thousand acres, and all fourteen billion people in the country were sent there, we still couldn't occupy even a tenth of it."
Finally, Jing Mingqiu earnestly advised.
"Everyone, civilization requires scale. Only with a sufficient population can enough geniuses emerge, enough data be generated, and increasingly specialized fields be maintained."
After expending so much effort and decades of hard work, China had finally sent a few carefully trained astronauts into space. They hadn't even personally set foot on the Moon, the closest celestial body to China, to leave a footprint.
Suddenly, Jing Mingqiu declared that humanity was going to colonize Mars on a large scale. The news was so shocking that everyone was stunned for a long time before recovering.
The official responsible for managing the national treasury and resource allocation said with a bitter expression, "Professor Jing, I believe you truly possess the technology to allow human migration to Mars. However, China has undertaken too many major projects recently."
"Our domestic reserves are severely lacking, especially mineral resources. Even the land reclamation plan is barely operational, let alone large-scale Mars colonization."
"Lack of minerals, that's easy to solve. If China lacks them, other countries don't," Jing Mingqiu's lips curved slightly. "We can just buy them from other countries."
Hearing Jing Mingqiu say this, the official's bitter expression deepened, "Professor Jing, buying can solve some problems, but what if they refuse to sell, or demand exorbitant prices?"
"That's even easier to handle," Jing Mingqiu said without looking up. "Just offer a high price they can't refuse. For example, we can sell controlled nuclear fusion technology to other countries..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was forcefully interrupted, "Professor Jing, this is absolutely not allowed! Controlled nuclear fusion technology is core technology and must not be leaked!"
Jing Mingqiu remained unfazed, "It's just an early-stage, low-level utilization of molecular fusion, not really core technology. In essence, it's at the same level as a steam engine burning in a boiler, with very low efficiency. It will be phased out sooner or later."
"But currently, this technology is our country's top-tier nuclear energy production technology..."
An old academician tried to refute. Jing Mingqiu, too lazy to argue, flipped his wrist, took out a USB drive, and threw it over. "This is the second-generation controlled nuclear fusion manufacturing plan for powering spacecraft engines."
"Both in terms of energy output efficiency and raw material utilization, it's more than ten times that of existing controlled nuclear fusion devices."
The old academician fumbled to catch the USB drive, carefully inserted it into the computer, and looking at the intricate data, his eyes became increasingly fervent, "Professor Jing, ten times isn't a lot. Is there any more advanced technology?"
Jing Mingqiu had anticipated this outcome. He shrugged, "I do have more advanced technology. However, with China's current technological level, even if I produced it, you wouldn't understand it. It's best not to aim too high."
"That's true," the old academician finally came to his senses. "I was too greedy. One must walk step by step and eat bite by bite. If the foundation is unstable, no matter how high it's built, it will fall with a gust of wind."
After successfully persuading the old academician, Jing Mingqiu turned to the supreme leader, "Boss, what do you think about this matter?"