121: Chapter 31 Intervention by the Allied Forces

The wind on the sea carried a salty, fishy smell as it blew through the window. The curtains of the Jiangning Prefecture command center were lifted and dropped repeatedly, like a restless hand flipping something.

Li Ling sat on his grand chair, an intelligence report spread out before him, which he had been reading for nearly half an hour. The paper was densely packed with writing: Japan had six Battleships, eight Cruisers, and twelve Destroyers; Meijian Country had four Cruisers and six Destroyers; the British had two Battleships and four Cruisers; the French had three Cruisers and a number of auxiliary vessels. The total exceeded fifty ships.

"System," he rubbed his temples, "are these people sick? I just finished fighting the United Fleet not long ago, and they've gathered another bunch to come after me. Is Japan an unkillable cockroach?"

The voice in his mind was languid: "Host, you crippled their navy last time, so naturally, they want revenge. Besides, Meijian Country and the British are pushing hard from behind, so Japan can't back down even if they wanted to."

"I know," Li Ling sighed, "I just feel… tired."

"Host, you weren't like this before. In the past, whenever you heard there was a battle to be fought, your eyes would light up."

"That was the past," Li Ling leaned back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling, "Before, I was a lone wolf; if I died, I died. Now it's different. I have a wife, children, and brothers. It pains me to lose even one."

"Host, that is growth."

"Growth my foot." Li Ling sat up straight, "Stop feeding me chicken soup. Help me calculate: if we fight this battle head-on, what's the win rate?"

"Host, please wait… Simulation complete. In a head-on decisive battle, the win rate is approximately fifty-five percent. However, if you adopt a preemptive strike tactic and take out their vanguard fleet first, the win rate can be increased to over seventy percent."

Li Ling's eyes lit up: "A preemptive strike? You mean attack before they assemble?"

"Correct. The coalition forces are set to complete their assembly in the waters about two hundred nautical miles east of the Zhoushan Islands. According to satellite imagery, Japan's vanguard fleet has arrived in that area ahead of schedule and is waiting for the other countries' vessels to rendezvous. If you can wipe out this vanguard fleet before they unite, the coalition's strength will be weakened by more than one-third."

Li Ling stood up and walked to the sea chart on the wall, his gaze falling on the blue area east of the Zhoushan Islands.

"How many ships does the Japan vanguard fleet have?"

"Four Cruisers, six Destroyers. They are all old, second-hand goods with weak combat capability."

"Even if they are weak, that's ten ships," Li Ling calculated, "I'll send out six Dreadnoughts and two Pre-dreadnoughts; we'll crush them in terms of force."

"Then let's fight," the System said, "Hit and run, don't get bogged down in the fight."

"Hit and run?" Li Ling laughed, "Your tactics are even more devious than mine."

"I learned it from you."

"..."

Li Ling shook his head, stopping the banter with the System. He turned and walked out of the study, saying to the adjutant at the door: "Pass the order: all commanders are to report to the command center for a meeting. If they aren't here in half an hour, they will be punished according to military law."

"Yes!"

Half an hour later, the command center was full of people.

Smoke swirled, and the commanders sat around a long table, all with grave expressions. They had all heard the news of the coalition forces' arrival and knew this battle was no small matter.

Li Ling stood before the sea chart and got straight to the point: "Everyone, the coalition is here. More than fifty vessels, eight Battleships—more than the last United Fleet. But I don't intend to wait for them to come to us. I have decided: we will strike first!"

The commanders looked at each other; some showed excitement, while others looked worried.

"Sir, wouldn't striking first be too risky?" Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan asked, "Our number of ships is already small. If we strike first and end up in an ambush..."

"Ambush?" Li Ling laughed, "Do they have Radar? Do they have satellites? They don't even know where we are; what are they going to use to ambush us?"

He turned and walked to the sea chart, drawing a circle at a spot in the East China Sea with a red pen.

"According to intelligence, the coalition will complete their assembly in the waters about two hundred nautical miles east of the Zhoushan Islands. We will strike before they finish assembling and take out Japan's vanguard fleet—four Cruisers and six Destroyers. If we take these out, the coalition will lose a third of its strength."

"And then?" Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan asked.

"Then… we retreat," Li Ling said, "Hit and run, let them chase us. If they chase, we run. If they don't chase, we come back and hit them again. I want to wear them out at sea. Once they are exhausted, we'll swallow them in one bite."

There was a moment of silence in the meeting room, followed by an outburst of laughter.

"Sir, your strategy is too devious!"

"This is called tactics," Li Ling said smugly, "Alright, get the units ready. We depart tomorrow at dawn. Hit them and retreat; no getting bogged down."

"Yes!"

After the meeting, Li Ling did not leave immediately. He stood before the sea chart, looking at the dense markings, and remained silent for a long time.

"System," he murmured in his heart.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I can win this battle?"

"Yes," the System's voice was calm and firm, "As long as you follow the plan, you will definitely win. But you cannot let your guard down. Although the coalition will be weakened after losing their vanguard fleet, their main force remains powerful. Moreover, the commanders sent by Meijian Country and the British this time are no ordinary characters."

"I know," Li Ling nodded, "Togo Heihachiro is an old rival, and I experienced Dewey's capabilities in the last naval battle. As for that nephew of Fisher… he's rumored to be a tough character too."

"So, you must be even more careful."

"Don't worry," Li Ling laughed, "I may not be good at much, but I'm good at staying alive."

He turned and walked out of the command center. In the night, the sea breeze came rushing in, carrying damp mist.

At four in the morning, the sea was as dark as ink.

Li Ling stood on the bridge of the flagship "dragon soar". The sea breeze blew against his face, carrying a salty, fishy taste. Behind him, six Dreadnoughts and two Pre-dreadnoughts formed two columns, cleaving through the waves as they sailed southeast.

This was his third time embarking on an expedition in the dead of night. He had won the previous two times. But this time, he didn't have absolute certainty of victory.

"Radar report: target fleet detected one hundred twenty nautical miles ahead. Approximately ten ships, heading northwest, speed twelve knots," the Radar operator's voice rang out over the communicator.

"Ten ships," Li Ling curled his lip, "Four Cruisers, six Destroyers. That's right, it's them."

He lowered his binoculars: "Pass the order: all ships accelerate to eighteen knots, prepare for battle."

"Yes!"

The boilers of the six Dreadnoughts fired at full capacity, thick black smoke pouring from the funnels as their speed increased from twelve to eighteen knots. The massive hulls sailed at high speed across the sea, kicking up higher waves. The ships trembled slightly, emitting a low roar.

Half an hour later, the Radar showed the distance between the two sides had closed to fifty nautical miles.

"Sir, the enemy fleet seems to have discovered us and is turning!" the Radar operator reported.

"Turning?" Li Ling sneered, "Too late. Pass the order: Dreadnought main guns ready, target the enemy Cruisers, free fire!"

"Yes!"

The 305mm main guns of the six Dreadnoughts slowly turned, their muzzles pointing at the blurry silhouettes of ships on the distant sea. The gunners nervously adjusted the firing data, sweat dripping onto the deck.

"Fire!"

Amidst the deafening roar, eighteen shells tore through the dawn, trailing orange-red flames as they smashed into the enemy fleet.

In the first volley, three shells hit the same Japan Cruiser. The shells pierced the thin armor and exploded inside the hull. Violent flames shot into the sky, and the entire Cruiser was blown in two, sinking rapidly. On the sea, wreckage and oil slicks spread quickly. A few Japan sailors who had fallen into the water struggled and cried for help in the icy sea, but they were soon swallowed by the waves.

"Hit!" the gunners cheered.

"Continue!" Li Ling remained expressionless.

In the second volley, another Cruiser was hit. A shell struck the ammunition depot, triggering a chain explosion. The hull was blown to pieces, with debris flying hundreds of meters away, causing dense splashes upon hitting the sea. A few seconds later, only floating wreckage and burning oil films remained on the sea.

The Japan fleet was in complete disarray. The remaining two Cruisers and six Destroyers tried to turn and run, but their speed was only twelve knots, nowhere near fast enough to outrun Li Ling's Dreadnoughts.

"Pursue!" Li Ling ordered, "Sink as many as you can!"

The six Dreadnoughts launched a pursuit, their main guns roaring continuously. One Destroyer was hit in the engine room and lost power, drifting on the sea as thick smoke poured from its broken funnel. Another Destroyer was hit in the bridge, its command system paralyzed, and it spun around on the sea like a headless fly, blindly firing back, but the shells all fell into empty water.

The battle lasted less than an hour.

Of the ten ships in the Japan vanguard fleet, six were sunk, three were heavily damaged, and only one Destroyer managed to escape. That Destroyer had its stern grazed by a shell from the "dragon soar" while fleeing, tearing a long gash in its port side. Seawater rushed in frantically, but it stumbled and disappeared into the sea mist.

Li Ling's fleet suffered no losses.

"Sir, a complete victory!" the adjutant reported excitedly.

Li Ling nodded, but there was no smile on his face: "Pass the order: the fleet is to turn northwest and retreat at full speed."

"Retreat?" the adjutant was stunned, "Sir, why aren't we pursuing our advantage?"

"Because we didn't come to fight a decisive battle," Li Ling turned and walked back to the bridge, "We came to beat the grass and startle the snake. Now that the snake is startled, it's time to retreat. Let the coalition know we aren't to be trifled with, but keep them guessing about our true strength."

He paused, looking at the rising sun on the distant horizon: "The battles ahead are still long."

The fleet turned northwest and retreated at full speed, quickly disappearing into the sea mist. Behind them, only burning wreckage and floating oil slicks remained on the sea, looking particularly glaring in the morning light.

Three days later, on the coalition flagship "Mikasa".

Togo Heihachiro sat in the main seat with a livid face, an after-action report spread out before him. Of the ten ships in the vanguard fleet, only one returned. All four Cruisers had sunk, and only one of the six Destroyers had escaped.

"Baka!" he slammed his fist on the table, "Li Ling! It's Li Ling again!"

Sitting next to him, Meijian Country Navy Rear Admiral Dewey looked grim: "General Togo, did the vanguard fleet send a distress signal when they were attacked?"

"They did," Togo Heihachiro gritted his teeth, "But by the time our main force arrived, Li Ling's fleet was already gone. They hit and ran; they didn't give us any time to react."

"This means Li Ling possesses some kind of long-range reconnaissance capability," British Navy Commodore Fisher pushed up his glasses, "He can detect our movements in advance, while we know nothing about him. This information asymmetry is very disadvantageous to our operations."

"So what do we do?" French Navy Captain Pétain asked.

"There is only one way," Fisher stood up and walked to the sea chart, "Abandon the plan of splitting forces to assemble. Concentrate all ships together and act as one unit. No matter how powerful Li Ling's fleet is, he won't dare to face our entire main force head-on."

Togo Heihachiro pondered for a moment and nodded: "The Commodore is right. Pass the order: all fleets cancel the plan to operate separately and move toward the main force. In three days, we will complete our assembly in the designated waters."

"Yes!"

After the order was issued, the various coalition fleets began to move toward the main force.

But what they didn't know was that, five hundred kilometers above their heads in space, a reconnaissance satellite was coldly watching their every move. And hundreds of nautical miles away, Li Ling was standing on the bridge of the "dragon soar", watching the real-time images sent back by the satellite, a curl at the corner of his mouth.

"Want to assemble?" he laughed, "Then let you assemble. Once you're all assembled, I'll give you another surprise."

He turned around and said to the adjutant: "Pass the order: all Submarine units are to deploy. Target—the coalition's supply lines. I want them to run out of food before the fighting even starts."

"Yes!"

On the third day after the Submarine units departed, the coalition command received bad news.

Three supply ships were sunk by Submarines while in transit; the ammunition, fuel, and food on board all sank to the bottom of the sea. Broken wooden planks, sacks of grain, and oil slicks floated on the sea. A few sailors' corpses bobbed in the waves, soon to be dragged into deep water by sharks.

Following that was the second piece of bad news—two more supply ships were sunk.

Then the third, the fourth...

Within just one week, the coalition's supply lines were cut, and more than ten supply ships were lost. Reserves of ammunition and fuel dropped sharply, and rations for officers and soldiers began to be limited. The soldiers went from three meals a day to two; meat became increasingly scarce, and finally, even the rice porridge became thin.

"Li Ling!" Togo Heihachiro was trembling with rage, "Does he only know how to use these despicable tactics?"

"General, our supplies can't last much longer," the adjutant said cautiously, "If this continues, before we can even find Li Ling's main force, we will collapse ourselves. The morale of the soldiers has hit rock bottom, and some are even whispering about deserting in private."

Togo Heihachiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought of the glory during the First Sino-Japanese War, and the once-invincible United Fleet. But now, they were being played in the palm of a young man in his twenties.

"Pass the order: the entire fleet is to accelerate. Within three days, we must find Li Ling's main force and force him into a decisive battle."

"But General, we haven't finished assembling yet..."

"No more waiting!" Togo Heihachiro opened his eyes, full of murderous intent, "If we wait any longer, we'll be exhausted to death by Li Ling. Instead of sitting and waiting for death, we might as well strike first!"

After the order was issued, the coalition main force began to accelerate, closing in on the coast of the Qingxia Kingdom.

Hundreds of nautical miles away, Li Ling was standing on the bridge of the "dragon soar", watching the dense light spots on the Radar screen, a curl at the corner of his mouth.

"They're here," he said softly, "Finally here."

He turned and looked at the commanders behind him: "Pass the order: the entire fleet is to enter combat status. Prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

On the sea, it was calm. But everyone knew that a storm was coming.

Li Ling walked back to his cabin and wrote a few words on a piece of white paper: "The final battle; success or failure, everything rests on this." Then, he folded the paper and put it into his pocket.

Outside the window, the sun was setting, and the horizon where the sea met the sky was blood-red.

* * [Chapter 31 End] * *