newbobooks Chapter 83 Truth always exists only within the range of cannon fire.
Chapter 83 Truth always exists only within the range of cannon fire.
three days later.
Five o'clock in the morning.
The sky was just beginning to lighten, and a thin layer of morning mist still shrouded the surface of the East China Sea.
Wusongkou Fortress Complex.
Yang Yanzhao stood on the fire control tower of Fortress No. 1, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a Zeiss sextant in his hand, squinting as he looked toward the East China Sea.
The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, whistled across his cheeks.
His adjutant stood behind him, holding a steaming cup of tea.
"Commander, have some hot water to warm yourself up. This godforsaken place is freezing this early in the morning."
Yang Yanzhao did not accept the teacup.
His gaze was fixed on the four faintly visible gray plumes of smoke on the horizon.
The column of smoke appeared and disappeared in the morning mist, like four gray poisonous thorns stuck in the sky.
The distance between each column of smoke is very uniform.
That was a unique form of smoke pattern observed during fleet navigation.
"Here it comes." Yang Yanzhao's voice was so deep it seemed to come from underground.
He put down his binoculars, his face ashen.
The adjutant stepped forward, raised his binoculars, and looked inside. His pupils suddenly contracted.
"Commander, this size... is it a cruiser squadron?"
"Yes." Yang Yanzhao's lips twitched. "The urgent telegram from the intelligence department last night was correct. The main force of the Japanese Third Fleet has been deployed."
He turned and strode toward the command post deep within the fortress.
"Notify all artillery positions. Level 1 combat readiness."
His voice echoed through the reinforced concrete corridor.
"All artillery units, move to your designated positions. Load and prepare to fire."
……
On the surface of the East China Sea.
The morning mist is dissipating.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, scattering across the gray-blue sea, creating a shimmering effect.
But no one was in the mood to appreciate this beautiful scenery at the moment.
The flagship of the Third Fleet of Japan, the light cruiser "Tama", is cutting through the waves at a speed of twelve knots.
The bow of the ship cleaved the sea, stirring up a white spray.
Inside the bridge, Colonel Satoda, the interim commander of the Third Fleet, rested his hands on the chart table, his eyes gloomy as he stared intently at the location of Wusongkou marked on the chart.
His finger drew a line from the sea off Shanghai, pointing directly to the Wusong Fort.
"Chen Zijun..." His voice was low and filled with deep-seated hatred. "You mad Chinese dog."
He had set sail from Sasebo Port three days earlier to take over from his predecessor.
Who was your ex?
He was the former commander of the Third Fleet.
That unlucky guy happened to be on board the Izumo when it was sunk.
Now? Their bones have rotted on the seabed outside Wusongkou.
Thinking of this, Sato's jaw clenched so tightly it made a grinding sound.
"Damn it!" He slammed his fist on the chart table. "You've completely disgraced the Imperial Navy."
He came with a burning desire for revenge.
The Combined Fleet Command gave him two tasks.
First, use force to blockade Shanghai and cut off the supply lines of Chen's army.
Second, they bombarded Shanghai's urban area with large-caliber naval guns, forcing Chen Zijun to surrender.
He has to do both of these things.
And it has to be done beautifully.
"Colonel," a young staff officer approached him from behind and whispered, "we're still thirty-two nautical miles from the mouth of Wusong. Should we slow down and observe?"
"Slow down?" Sato sneered. "Slow down what? Full speed ahead!"
He turned around, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the staff officer.
"Do you know why I dared to come?"
The staff officer shook his head.
Sato pointed to the nautical chart.
"The maximum range of the shore guns at Wusongkou is no more than 20,000 meters. This is a fact known to navies worldwide."
"And the effective range of the 140mm guns of our Japanese Combined Fleet's light cruisers is exactly 25,000 meters."
He narrowed his eyes, a smug smile playing on his lips.
"Based on this alone, I can stand on the safety line and use naval guns to turn Shanghai into a sea of fire."
He paused, then added.
"Besides, that madman surnamed Chen was able to sink the Izumo only because its idiot captain sailed an armored cruiser into the range of their shore guns!"
"I'm not that stupid!"
He patted the nautical chart hard.
"Today, I will show the whole world what the strength of a world-class navy truly is!"
"go ahead!"
……
Wusongkou Fortress Complex. Underground Command Post.
This is a secret room hidden deep within a concrete fortress.
The walls were covered with nautical charts, battle plans, and various intelligence summaries.
In the center of the room was a huge sand table, on which the positions of the opposing and friendly forces were marked with different colored chess pieces.
The red pieces represent the coastal defense firing points of Chen Jiajun's army.
The blue pieces represent the positions of the Japanese fleet.
Chen Zijun leaned back in his chair next to the sand table, holding a cup of cold tea in his hand.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the blue chess piece slowly approach on the sand table.
Shen Li stood beside him, clutching the newly translated intelligence in her hand.
"Young Marshal," Shen Li's voice was low. "The Japanese fleet has entered the forty-nautical-mile zone. At their speed, they will reach the 25,000-meter mark in about forty minutes."
"Twenty-five thousand meters?" Chen Zijun put down his teacup, a slight smile playing on his lips. "They think this distance is safe?"
He stood up and walked to the sand table.
His finger gently touched the spot at the mouth of Wusong.
"Shen Li, do you know why I spent 1.2 million pounds last month to buy back the two 381mm Mark I coastal defense guns that the British were originally supposed to use in the Singapore fortress in the Strait of Malacca?"
Shen Li nodded.
"Because this cannon has a range of 31,000 meters."
"Yes." A cold glint flashed in Chen Zijun's eyes. "It's a full four thousand meters further than the safety line they thought it was."
381 mm.
15 inches.
These are the same main guns used on the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships of the British Royal Navy.
Maximum range: 29,000 meters.
However, after system modification, the actual range of the gun mounted on the coastal defense turret is a full 31,000 meters.
A single shell weighs 871 kilograms.
When it flies out of the muzzle, it can tear through the air at an initial velocity of more than 700 meters per second.
"It hit the deck of a light cruiser..." Chen Zijun's voice was nonchalant. "It's no different from a ton of aerial bomb hitting it."
A cold smile curled at the corner of Shen Li's mouth.
"Young Marshal, shall we start the attack now?"
"No." Chen Zijun shook his head, his eyes turning cold. "Let them fire first."
Shen Li was taken aback.
"What the young marshal means is..."
"Yes." Chen Zijun's voice was as cold as ice. "Let the whole world see clearly who fired the first shot."
He turned around and pressed a button on the communication device in the corner.
"Yang Yanzhao".
Yang Yanzhao's voice came through the walkie-talkie, full of energy.
"Here! Young Marshal, please speak!"
"Have the two newly arrived 381mm main guns been properly tested and adjusted?"
"The final round of firing calibration was completed last night!" Yang Yanzhao's voice was filled with excitement. "The dispersion accuracy of the two cannons is controlled within 0.3%! As long as the Young Marshal gives the order, I guarantee those Japanese pirates won't even have time to run!"
A slight smile appeared on Chen Zijun's lips.
"No rush. Let them fire first."
"...Let the enemy fire the first shot?" Yang Yanzhao asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Yes." Chen Zijun's eyes were cold. "The moment they open fire, all the foreigners in the Shanghai concessions, all the reporters in the newspapers, will see who is provoking us. I need a reason. A reason to shut the whole world up."
"And then?" Yang Yanzhao asked.
"And then..." Chen Zijun's voice suddenly turned cold. "We sent them into the sea to feed the fish."
……
Forty minutes later.
East China Sea. 25,000-meter line.
The sun had risen fully, shining on the gray-blue sea, making it shimmer.
The light cruiser "Tama" slowly came to a stop.
The bow of the ship was aimed at the distant coastline, and the muzzle of its guns was pointed towards downtown Shanghai.
Satota stood on the open platform outside the bridge, his military uniform fluttering in the sea breeze.
His gaze swept across the distant coastline.
The gray concrete fortress sat there quietly.
Not moving at all.
He looked like he was dead.
"Hmph." Sato sneered.
"As expected. Their cannons can't reach us."
He turned and walked into the bridge, his eyes sharp.
"Forward main gun!"
"Hey!" the gunner shouted back.
"Target, towards downtown Shanghai. Deterrent firing, three rounds!"
"learn!"
The gunner adjusted the muzzle angle and took a deep breath.
Then, he pressed the launch button.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three deafening explosions erupted from the foredeck of the "Tama".
The two 140mm naval guns fired simultaneously, spewing out three orange-red fireballs from their muzzles, accompanied by billowing smoke.
Three high-explosive shells, trailing sharp whistles, pierced the air and flew toward the distant coastline.
Satota stood on the bridge and watched as the three shells flew into the distance.
A smug smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"You hit it."
He thought to himself.
Although he didn't know if the three shells would hit the target, it didn't matter.
The important thing is that he fired the cannon.
Importantly, he declared to the world that the Imperial Japanese Navy was capable of bombarding Shanghai.
"Record it," he shouted. "Send a telegram to the Combined Fleet Headquarters. At the same time, send a coded telegram to the consulates of various countries in Shanghai."
The staff officer took notes rapidly.
"The Third Fleet has conducted punitive artillery fire on the illegal military facilities of the Chinese rebel Chen Zijun. The rebels are warned to immediately disarm and establish Shanghai as a permanent neutral demilitarized zone. Otherwise, the Imperial Navy will expand its strike range and completely blockade the East China Sea!"
He paused, then added.
"Furthermore, publish today's news in the domestic newspapers. Let the people of Tokyo know that our Third Fleet is expanding the Empire's territory!"
The bridge was filled with a smug atmosphere.
The staff officers and officers were whispering among themselves, their faces beaming with excitement.
In their view, the war was already half won.
They even began to fantasize about their triumphant return.
however.
At the very same second that the plaintext telegram was sent.
The Wusongkou Fortress Complex. Inside the underground command post.
Chen Zijun stood up.
His eyes were fixed on the clock on the wall.
The second hand precisely moves past each mark.
When he counted to the thirty-fourth second, a cold smile appeared on his lips.
"You hit him?"
Shen Li nodded. "Three 140mm high-explosive shells landed on the outer mudflats. There was no damage to personnel or property. They just startled a few farmers working in the fields."
"it is good."
Chen Zijun picked up the walkie-talkie.
"Yang Yanzhao".
"Present!" Yang Yanzhao's excited voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Young Marshal! The Japanese have opened fire! I've been waiting for this moment for so long! Give the order now!"
Chen Zijun's voice was as cold as a knife.
"381 main gun. Two cross-fire shots. Hit his flagship 100 meters away."
"Roger that!" Yang Yanzhao's voice trembled. "I'll make them understand why the flowers are so red!"
Chen Zijun added another sentence.
"Then correct the trajectory. If they dare to return fire, or dare to continue advancing..."
His voice suddenly turned cold.
"Load high-explosive shells. I'm going to turn those four tin cans into scrap metal on the seabed."
"clear!"
……
Wusongkou Fortress Complex. Battery No. 1.
Yang Yanzhao stood outside the turret, holding a walkie-talkie, his eyes fixed on the distant sea.
Four gray plumes of smoke were clearly visible.
That was the "Tama" and its escort ships.
He took a deep breath and turned to look at the massive concrete gun emplacement behind him.
Inside the gun mount, two 381mm twin-mounted main guns are ready to fire.
The cannon barrel gleamed coldly in the sunlight, its dark muzzle pointing eastward.
Like two lurking giant pythons.
Ready to unleash deadly flames at any time.
"Attention all!"
Yang Yanzhao's voice boomed across the channel.
"Battleground One, Battleground Two! Target: Japanese flagship! Bearing 327! Distance 24,800 meters!"
"Load armor-piercing rounds!"
The loader's voice came from inside the turret.
"Armor-piercing rounds loaded!"
Yang Yanzhao raised his binoculars and confirmed the target's location one last time.
The outline of the "Tama" gradually magnifies in the lens.
He saw faint figures moving on the bridge.
I saw the gun barrels moving on the deck.
I saw the smug expressions on the faces of the Japanese soldiers.
"Turret Number One, requesting firing!"
His voice was steady and powerful.
Chen Zijun's voice came through the walkie-talkie.
Two words.
"Fire."
Yang Yanzhao pressed the launch button forcefully.
Boom!!!
Two earth-shattering explosions erupted almost simultaneously from the Wusongkou coastline.
The shockwave from the cannon overturned everything within a 50-meter radius that wasn't anchored.
Dust filled the sky, obscuring the sun.
The enormous recoil caused the entire gun mount to vibrate violently.
The concrete ground of the entire Wusong Port defense position was trembling.
The shockwave shattered all the windows in the fishing villages within a three-kilometer radius.
Despite wearing thick earmuffs, the artillerymen's eardrums were still throbbing from the loud bang.
But no one covered their ears.
They all craned their necks, staring intently at the direction the shells had flown.
Two armor-piercing shells, each weighing 871 kilograms, tore through the air at an initial velocity of over 700 meters per second, leaving long trails of flame as they hurtled toward the Japanese fleet 25,000 kilometers away.
The trajectory of the ballistic missile from the cannon muzzle to the sea surface drew two visible white trails in the morning sunlight.
Like two fingers extended by the Grim Reaper.
It refers to those reckless invaders.
Ballistic flight time: 34 seconds.
……
East China Sea. On the bridge of the "Tama".
Sato Tadashi stood in front of the chart table, watching with smug satisfaction as the staff officer sorted out copies of the plaintext telegrams.
"Well done!" He patted the staff officer on the shoulder. "Once this telegram is sent, the whole world will know the might of our Third Fleet!"
Just as the staff officer was about to answer, the ship suddenly rocked violently.
Sato stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
He steadied himself abruptly, his expression changing drastically.
"What's going on?!"
Before he could finish speaking, a scream came from the lookout post.
"Bang! One hundred meters ahead on the port side! Two water jets! Forty meters high!"
Sato's pupils suddenly contracted.
He rushed to the outside of the bridge like a madman, staring intently at the sea ahead on the port side.
Boom!
Two white water columns, each forty meters high, shot into the sky.
Seawater poured onto the deck like a waterfall, and the entire warship shook violently in the shockwave.
Sato gripped the railing tightly, his face turning deathly pale instantly.
His eyes were fixed on the two columns of water.
The height of that water column...
The diameter of that water column...
That's not the kind of effect that ordinary artillery shells can produce!
"Impossible..." His voice trembled. "Impossible..."
He turned abruptly and roared at the staff officer.
"Calculate! Calculate quickly! What caliber artillery are they using!"
The staff officer frantically flipped through the nautical charts, his face growing paler and paler.
"Colonel...based on the diameter of the shell craters, the enemy's artillery caliber is at least 380 mm..."
His voice was trembling.
"This...this is a battleship-class main gun!"
Sato's mind went blank.
Battleship main guns?
380 mm or more?
He rushed into the radar room and snatched the communication equipment.
"Observer report! How far is the impact point from our ship?!"
The trembling voice of the lookout came through the walkie-talkie.
"Colonel! The impact point is only 100 meters from the port side of our ship! If it were another 50 meters off, it would have hit us directly!"
Sato's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down.
One hundred meters.
It's only 100 meters.
In other words... the other side wasn't targeting their fleet at all.
The other party was warning him.
Tell him: What you consider a safe distance isn't far enough. I can hit you anytime.
This kind of contempt.
It's even more suffocating than being sunk outright.
Sato's jaw clenched so tightly it made a grinding sound, and his knuckles turned white from gripping the metal so tightly.
"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!"
He slammed his fist on the railing.
"Those incompetent people in the Joint Fleet's intelligence department! What happened to the promised maximum range of 20,000 meters? What happened to the promise of only 280mm coastal guns?!"
Little did he know that those 280mm coastal artillery pieces were deployed by Chen Zijun four months earlier.
The new 380mm gun only arrived last month.
Sato's information sources were still stuck three months ago.
This intelligence gap is the price he has to pay today.
"Colonel! Kuma is calling!" The communications officer's voice was choked with sobs. "Their bridge has been battered by waves, and the foredeck is severely flooded! Requesting immediate evacuation!"
"Captain! The destroyer squadron is also requesting a retreat!"
Satota stood motionless on the bridge.
The sea breeze brushed against his face, carrying a salty taste.
But he couldn't feel anything anymore.
His face was ashen, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
On the deck below the bridge, sailors were frantically gathering up debris washed ashore by the waves.
Some people were cursing under their breath, while others were helping each other up.
An atmosphere of despair permeated the entire warship.
He knew he had lost.
They lost completely.
He knew that if those two shells had not been fired across the sea but instead hit directly, the Tama would already be lying on the seabed off the coast of Wusongkou, just like the Izumo.
The other party was warning him.
Tell him that your safe distance is not enough.
Tell him, I can hit you anytime.
Tell him you should get out.
"Colonel..." the staff officer asked cautiously. "What...what do we do?"
Sato remained silent for a long time.
Then, his voice became hoarse, as if it were being squeezed out from deep in his throat.
"...Hard to starboard."
Every word he spoke seemed to come from the utmost effort.
"The entire fleet... retreat. Retreat to a point 40 nautical miles away."
The staff officer opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing.
He simply wrote a line in his logbook.
"At 9:17 a.m., the Third Fleet was forced to retreat to the 40-nautical-mile mark in international waters."
The bow of the "Tama" slowly turned.
The three cruisers and destroyers, in a disgraceful turn, headed towards the high seas.
The thick smoke from the stern left a long gray trail before quickly dissipating into the sea and sky.
……
Wusongkou Fortress. Fire control command tower.
Yang Yanzhao put down the binoculars and let out a long breath.
"They escaped." His voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "The Japanese pirates escaped!"
He turned to look at the walkie-talkie.
"Young Marshal! The entire Japanese fleet has retreated to beyond the 40-nautical-mile mark! Should we pursue them?!"
Chen Zijun's voice came through the walkie-talkie, very calm.
"Don't chase."
Yang Yanzhao was taken aback.
"Why?" he asked, somewhat unwilling. "We can take this opportunity to annihilate the Third Fleet!"
On the other end of the walkie-talkie, Chen Zijun remained silent for a few seconds.
Then his voice came through, tinged with amusement.
"Uncle Yang, I'll tell you a secret."
Yang Yanzhao subconsciously straightened his back.
"Please give your instructions, young marshal!"
"I have already built a secret shipyard in Mawei, Fujian."
Yang Yanzhao's eyes lit up.
"shipyard?"
"Yes." Chen Zijun's voice was casual. "What's being built there isn't a warship."
Yang Yanzhao was stunned.
"What the young marshal means is..."
"Submarine," Chen Zijun uttered those two words. "Underwater wolf pack."
Yang Yanzhao's breathing stopped abruptly.
submarine?
Underwater wolf pack?
Immediately, images of German U-boats roaming freely in the North Atlantic during World War I flashed into his mind.
Those ghostly steel behemoths submerged underwater, silently hunting down the Allied transport fleets.
It struck fear into the hearts of the British.
It made the whole world tremble.
Now, is the young marshal going to rebuild such a ghost fleet in the hands of the Chinese?
Chen Zijun's voice continued to come through.
"It doesn't matter if the warships on the surface can't defeat them. They can't even see what's underwater."
"Once the first batch of German submarine instructors arrives in Fuzhou, our underwater wolf packs can begin training. At that time, the Japanese fleet will be our best training ground."
There was a hint of coldness in his voice.
"How can I train my sea wolves without this whetstone?"
Yang Yanzhao's hand holding the binoculars trembled slightly.
It's not fear.
It's excitement.
It is expectation.
He looked up towards the East China Sea.
The smoke from the warships that had slunk away hadn't completely dissipated.
In Yang Yanzhao's eyes, those warships were no longer enemies.
Those are the prey.
It's a target.
It is the graduation exam question for future submarine trainees.
They thought they were only temporarily retreating.
They naively believed they were safe on the high seas.
They didn't know that the real hunters are never on the water.
The deep-sea ghost has already begun to lie dormant in the icy waters.
Their doomsday has only just begun its irreversible countdown.