"Long live! We sank a Blake class!"
"Captain, we have won!"
On the bridge of the armored cruiser Cao Guogong, which was scarred and beaten into a "strong ship", the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty navy who had put on life jackets cheered.
Lei Teng also had a look of relief on his face, looking at the Waterloo with its butt raised and head down heading into the Indian Ocean, he smiled and said: "Okay! Now we can abandon the ship successfully!"
It means abandoning the ship in victory, not abandoning the ship in failure. This is important! If the ship fails to be abandoned, then according to certain unwritten conventions, the captain who is defeated and loses the battleship will be sunk together with the battleship. The water in the Indian Ocean is so cold that Lei Teng is not willing to drown in it. So he must abandon ship in victory!
When he heard the shrill abandon ship alarm, Lu Benwei was holding a faucet to cool down a turret that was about to be engulfed in fire. The Ming Dynasty's Guogong class was still a product of the transition period from wooden-hulled ships to iron-clad ships. There was a lot of wood on the ship, and it was easy to be ignited by cannonballs filled with picric acid. That is to say, the damage control personnel of the Ming Navy are relatively capable, so that the Cao Guogong has been struggling until now.
But after all, the Cao Guogong is being beaten by two Blake-class ships that are much more powerful than it. It is impossible, let alone necessary, to carry it all the time. Isn't it just a 3,000-ton old-fashioned cruiser? If it’s gone, it can be remade! But if all the crew members on the ship were to die, the pressure on the Admiralty would be great.
Lu Benwei, who heard the warning of abandoning the ship, did not immediately go to find a lifeboat or simply jump into the sea. Instead, he continued to use the faucet to add water to the turret. This is stipulated in the naval combat regulations. When abandoning the ship, the damage control personnel and the captain must persist until at last. Because only if the damage control continues to persist under the leadership of the captain, the damaged ship will not sink immediately.
The abandonment operation of the Cao Guogong was carried out very quickly. This is also one of the training projects of the Ming Navy! The ship cannot be abandoned, the radio station must be destroyed, the code book must be destroyed or taken away, the documents in the bridge must be destroyed, and those that can be taken away must be taken away. After abandoning the ship, if you can summon your own ship, you have to fire a few torpedoes to sink the ship, so as not to be dragged back by the enemy to repair and use it again.
After a while, Lu Benwei saw their captain Lei Teng and several officers coming out of the bridge wearing life jackets. Lei Teng also recognized Lu Benwei and greeted loudly: "Xiao Luzi, stop watering, we don't want this boat anymore!"
"Boss Lei, I'm coming." Lu Benwei quickly threw away the faucet, dragged on his fireproof clothes, gloves, and goggles, then grabbed a lifebuoy and rushed to Lei Teng's side. Then a group of people went to jump into the sea together.
Lu Benwei joined the navy at the age of 17 and is 25 years old this year. He is already "old" among the soldiers. However, Lei Teng, who was 40 years old, still regarded him as a young man. When Lu Benwei first joined the Nanyang Fleet as a soldier, he was under Lei Teng, who was then a major. Now we go to the battlefield together and abandon the ship and fall into the water together, which can be regarded as sharing the same adversity.
Captain Jervis on the Blake also knew that the Cao Guogong had abandoned the ship, but he did not make things difficult for the Ming Navy officers and soldiers who "jumped into the sea" - "Jumping into the sea without killing" is a tacit understanding among navies around the world. Who can Can you guarantee that you will never jump into the sea? Today you are the one who kills people, tomorrow someone will kill you!
Moreover, Jervis didn't have time to deal with the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers who jumped into the sea from the Cao Guogong, because up to this point in this battle, he still hasn't done enough! He lost Waterloo and sunk a Duchy. It seems to be one to one, but what kind of ship is the Waterloo? What kind of ship is the Guogong class?
I've lost money on this business!
Therefore, he must sink one or two more Guogong-class ships. At this time, there are two Guogong-class ships billowing smoke on the sea. He must sink them to get back to his original position, and even faster!
Because the Ming Dynasty's large fleet must be on its way. Once they arrive, the two Blake-class ships can only "retreat victoriously"!
The easiest way to sink these two injured Guogongs as soon as possible is of course to get closer and hit them!
Thinking of this, Jervis raised his hand and pointed at one of the Dukes, and said loudly: "That's the next target. Rush up at full speed, close to within 5,000 yards, and then slow down!"
"5,000 yards?" The Blake's first mate was startled. "This is too close. Our two Blakes may be damaged."
"It doesn't matter," Jervis said, "The Blake-class is not that easy to sink. At most it will suffer some damage. We have a well-equipped shipyard in Mumbai and can repair it quickly! Therefore, our target is those two ships The already wounded Duke-class will approach them, sink them, or at least severely damage them, and then make a successful retreat before the enemy's large fleet arrives!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Sir, the Huai'an Marquis reported that the Indian fleet has been discovered, with at least 8 battleships and 2 armored cruisers, including 2 improved Sovereign-class ships!"
On the Tang Wang, the flagship of the Ming Dynasty's Persian Gulf Fleet, fleet chief staff officer Guo Xiaobao took a telegram and walked quickly to Zhuge Weidao, who was holding a telescope and looking at several black smoke columns rising straight into the sky in front of him.
It turns out that he has led the main force of his own fleet to the vicinity of the sea area where the battle is taking place. Unfortunately, the main force of the Indian fleet has almost arrived! Moreover, two British airships that looked very annoying and could not be hit reached the top of the large ship led by Zhuge Weidao. Now one of them has flown away, probably to report the news, but the other one is still hovering in the sky.
In other words, people have already seen clearly that Zhuge is the Taoist's trump card.
Zhuge Weidao had no airships to use, so he had to send out several "Marquis-class" cruisers to search for the enemy, and they really discovered the British fleet!
However, it was a bit beyond Zhuge Weidao's expectations. Two unyielding lines appeared in the British formation!
"Sir, I'm afraid those two Sovereigns will be difficult to deal with. They have six twin turrets. The caliber of the main gun should be 9.2 inches. Although it is not large, a gun of this size must be relatively stable for a 15,000-ton ship. And. The Sovereign Class is extremely strong. If it has 12 9.2-inch cannons, it might be difficult to deal with it. If the two Hero Classes don't leave, we can actually fight. Now."
It is indeed a problem now!
Although Zhuge Weidao's main fleet also had 8 battleships, these 8 battleships only had a total of 32 240 mm cannons. And there are 24 9.2-inch cannons in the two monarchy reforms! If you add the firepower of the other 6 battleships and the two Blake classes, it seems to be a huge advantage!
"Now they don't know that our two heroes have left." Zhuge Weidao thought for a while and then said, "Let's go and join Chief of Staff Chen's detachment first, and then go north together to force the main force of the British Fleet. See if you can force them back? At the same time, power up the two heroes and let them come back quickly."
"Let them come back?" Guo Xiaobao was stunned, "What's the explanation to Nicholas I? We have changed the order for two hero-class ships to artillery and ammunition. Do the remaining two ships also need to be replaced with artillery and ammunition? ?Is he willing?"
Zhuge Weidao smiled: "He is now attacking Adrianople. Prussia and Austria behind him are trying to make a move, and the Greeks and Bulgarians have begun to retreat. Why does he need battleships at this time? The key now is that someone can come to help. He has a hand. And our entry into the Persian Gulf is the greatest help to him. Therefore, the battleship's replacement of shells and cannons must be easy to discuss."
"Sir!"
At this time, the communications officer on the Tang Wang suddenly shouted to Zhuge Weidao: "Chief of Staff Chen sent a telegram that two British Blake-class ships were injured and retreated!"
"Oh," Zhuge Weidao nodded, "Our loss?"
The communications officer said: "The Liang Guo Gong and Wei Guo Gong were severely damaged. I'm afraid it will be difficult to repair them. In addition, the Cao Guo Gong has been abandoned before, so we have lost."
"Are there any damage to other ships?" Zhuge Weidao asked again.
"No."
Zhuge Weidao laughed: "Okay! Then we win. Send a message to Chief of Staff Chen and ask him to deal with the severely damaged Duke Liang and Duke Wei, and then lead the remaining five Dukes to join me. .”
(End of chapter)
