191: Chapter 101 The Indestructible Cockroach

The autumn of 1907 arrived, and the first cold snap in Jinling City came unexpectedly. The north wind, carrying moisture from the sea, blew in, stripping the paulownia trees bare overnight. The naked branches stretched out and intertwined under the gray sky, like countless broken fingers. A thin layer of mist condensed on the surface of the Qinhuai River. The pleasure boats rolled up their bamboo curtains, and the boatwomen, wrapped in indigo-colored padded jackets, huddled at the bow. Even the sound of the oars was duller than usual. The copper bells at the corners of the eaves rang all night in the wind, clanging like some tireless warning, forcing the cold air inch by inch into the cracks of the bricks.

The underfloor heating in the Imperial Study had not been lit, and a layer of fine water droplets condensed on the window paper. Li Ling sat behind the large rosewood desk, with an urgent secret telegram from the intelligence department spread out before him. The paper of the telegram still carried the residual warmth of the telegraph machine, its corners sealed tightly with wax. On it, three horizontal bars were marked in red ink—the highest level of warning that the system called "Endangering the Foundation of the State." The three red bars were particularly glaring on the paper, like a kind of tourniquet, forcibly constricting his originally steady breathing rhythm.

He stared at those lines for a long time. So long that the sky outside turned from gray-white to leaden gray, so long that the hot tea brought by Empress Su Wanqing had gone completely cold beside him, a thin film of oil forming on the surface of the tea, reflecting his tightly furrowed brows. Every word in the telegram was like a small hammer, striking the most vigilant part of his heart one by one: "With the full support of Meijian Country, Japan is rebuilding its navy at an unprecedented speed. Eight capital Warship Zhuifengs are docked in Sasebo Port, including two new 'Tsukuba-class' battlecruisers that have entered the final fitting-out stage, with a displacement of about 18,000 tons, six 305mm main guns, a designed speed of 27 knots, and a range of 8,000 nautical miles. The design of this class of Warship Zhuifeng is aimed directly at oceanic commerce raiding, and its operational radius is enough to cover all maritime transport lines of Tang Country to the South Seas and the Americas. It is clear that they have learned the lesson of being blockaded and beaten at their own doorstep twice before. According to undercover personnel, Britain and France, in the name of 'Military Advisory Groups' and 'Technical Cooperation,' have dispatched a total of 217 active and retired naval officers to Japan, at least 12 of whom have actual combat experience fighting against Tang Country during the United Fleet era. The list is attached."

The attachment to the secret telegram was a five-page list, with each line containing a name, a rank, and a resume. Li Ling turned to the last page, his eyes stopping on several names—the end of those people's resumes were marked with a line of small text: "Formerly served as a staff officer/squadron commander in the United Fleet in 1904, familiar with the tactical characteristics of the Tang Country fleet." He put the list down, his fingers pressing on the paper, feeling the slightly rough texture of the paper, as if touching the threats hidden behind those names.

"The indestructible cockroach," he said in a low voice, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, the curve carrying a trace of cold sarcasm. "Their navy was wiped out twice by Me, their Army was annihilated in the Northeast, and their homeland was blockaded by My fleet for three months, yet they still haven't learned their lesson. At a wave from Meijian Country, they wagged their tails and went over again—this time, they even brought two more accomplices. The British and their faces; they talk about 'concern' while handing over knives, acting even more proactively than the people of Meijian Country."

The system's voice came to his mind, less lazy than usual and more solemn with scrutiny: [Host, the system reminds you that this situation is fundamentally different from the previous two. This time, Meijian Country is not just providing money, but a complete set of industrial systems and standardized schemes for shipbuilding processes. According to satellite image comparison, the shipyards in Sasebo and Yokosuka have expanded three large dry docks in the past ten months, installed six 60-meter gantry cranes, and the area of the newly built steel plate processing workshops has expanded by 3.5 times compared to last year. They already possess the hardware conditions to mass-produce Dreadnoughts. Although their technical level is about one generation behind the Longjiang-class, they are approaching in quantity at a rate of one Warship Zhuifeng per month. In addition, the arrival of the British and French "Advisory Groups" means that Japan is rebuilding a complete modern naval command and training system. The combat experience of those officers is enough to raise the training level of Japan's new recruits to a combat-capable level within two years. System simulation shows that if there is no intervention, in 36 months, the Japan Navy will recover to over 60% of the combat capability it had before the destruction of the United Fleet, which is enough to pose a systemic threat to the host's merchant fleet in the Pacific Ocean direction.]

Li Ling's fingers tapped gently on the edge of the list, the rhythm slow and regular, as if following a metronome that only he could hear. "System, the specific parameters and construction progress of those two Tsukuba-class Warship Zhuifengs, I want the most accurate data."

[Comparison report extracted and generated. Tsukuba-class battlecruiser: standard displacement 18,000 tons, full load 20,500 tons. Main guns are six 45-caliber 305mm guns, dual-mount layout, one forward, one aft, and one amidships. The thickest part of the armor belt is 200mm, and the main horizontal armor is 75mm. Designed speed is 27 knots, range 8,000 nautical miles / 14 knots. The design concept of this Warship Zhuifeng clearly references the British "Invincible" class, but with smaller tonnage, slightly lower speed, and shorter range, it belongs to the shrunken version of a high-speed commerce raider. Construction progress: The first Warship Zhuifeng "Tsukuba" has a fitting-out completion rate of about 70%, and the second Warship Zhuifeng "Ikoma" is about 55%. System assessment: If the current progress is maintained, the first Warship Zhuifeng can be completed and reach combat capability within six months, and the second Warship Zhuifeng in about nine months. In addition, their fire control systems are second-hand equipment purchased directly from Meijian Country, the models are outdated, and the effective range at night and in bad sea conditions will be compressed to within 10 kilometers—this will be a significant shortcoming that the host can exploit.]

"Six months." Li Ling repeated the two words, his fingers pausing on the desk for a moment. "That is to say, if I don't act now, within six months, a new type of battlecruiser capable of hitting My transport lines will appear in the Pacific Ocean. After nine months, the second one will also be completed. By then, when the two Warship Zhuifengs act in coordination, My merchant fleet will have to go from escorting to hiding. How is the progress of those newly launched Longjiang-class II?"

[The Warship Zhuifeng and the zhuilang have entered the final fitting-out stage, the main guns have been installed, and the power system cold test is qualified. The shipborne fire control Radar has completed the first full system joint debugging, and the continuous tracking error for targets 50 nautical miles away under simulated level 5 sea conditions is less than 0.3 degrees. The dispersion density of the main guns at a distance of 12 kilometers is 6% better than the design standard. The measured maximum output power of the power system reached 250,000 shaft horsepower, the design speed is 35 knots, and the actual test run reached a peak speed of 35.7 knots, exceeding the design value by 0.7 knots. The range can reach 18,000 nautical miles at an economic speed of 14 knots, enough to support long-distance independent cruising from Jinling through the Strait of Malacca to the Cape of Good Hope. However, both Warship Zhuifengs have not yet completed all sea trial subjects, and the crew still needs the last batch of actual combat drills to reach full combat status.]

Li Ling stood up and walked to the huge map of East Asia on the wall. The edges of the map were already frayed, densely marked with shipping routes, ports, and troop deployments. The traces of red and blue pens were layered on top of each other, and some places were even drawn repeatedly, wearing the paper thin. His fingers traced along the coast of Tang Country all the way south, crossing the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait, finally stopping at the location of Sasebo Port. He pressed his fingertip heavily on that port, as if to carve that location into his bones.

"Five days." He turned around, his gaze falling on the sea trial report projected by the system onto his retina. "Let them set sail in five days and head south directly to execute the combat deployment. Sea trials and shakedowns will be completed during the voyage; fighting is the best training. Who is the captain of the Warship Zhuifeng?"

[System-materialized personnel, Chen Haisheng, 34 years old, possesses experience in seven simulated naval battles, rated "Excellent" in comprehensive command ability in the system evaluation, skilled in high-speed maneuvering tactics and night warfare. This officer has a steady and calm personality, is skilled in finding breakthroughs in complex situations, and has repeatedly achieved tactical goals with inferior forces in previous rounds of confrontation simulations. The system judges that he is suitable for executing this type of high-risk offensive mission.]

Li Ling nodded. He knew that although the system usually bickered with him, it was never careless in key positions. He had seen the name Chen Haisheng in several training reports before, and the data was indeed impressive. "Tell him, after leaving port, do not take the regular shipping lanes. Sail south along the open sea, using bad weather as cover to approach the Japan transport lines. What I want is not to annihilate the enemy entirely, but to let them know—My sword is always hanging over their necks and can fall at any time."

The sky outside the window had completely darkened. In the distant military port, the beams of several searchlights were slowly sweeping over the sea, like a huge and vigilant eye, patrolling back and forth in the darkness. At Pier 3 deep in the harbor, two huge gray Warship Zhuifeng shadows were slowly casting off in the twilight, their paint jobs being the latest low-visibility camouflage developed by the Production Base, almost blending into the water surface in the twilight light. The bow of the Warship Zhuifeng cut through the calm water of the harbor basin, stirring up a line of fine white foam, its wake dragging a long silver line at the stern, which was soon swallowed by the increasingly thick night. On the deck, the sailors were making final departure checks, their footsteps hurried and restrained. No one spoke, only the slight sound of metal clashing flashed and disappeared briefly in the wind.

Chen Haisheng stood on the bridge, holding a cup of tea that had already gone cold. He looked at the darkness ahead that was swallowing everything, a barely visible curve at the corner of his mouth, as if confirming an answer he had been waiting for for a long time. Behind him, the low roar of the boilers beginning to pressurize came from the engine room, the sound passing through the gaps in the steel deck and pipes, like a sleeping behemoth slowly opening its eyes. He gently put down the teacup and picked up the communicator: "Attention all hands, cast off, depart port at low speed."

In Sasebo Port, thousands of miles away, the commander of the Japan Navy United Fleet, Yamamoto Masao, had just finished a day of work and was taking off his military jacket. Outside the window, the lights were sparse, and only a few duty lights were still on in the port, outlining the silhouettes of the hulls under construction on the water into a blurry shadow. He picked up a cup of warm sake, stood by the window looking at the port, and vaguely felt that something was approaching, but he couldn't say what it was, just like suddenly feeling a sense of inexplicable chill when walking on a night road, but unable to find the source. He attributed it to nervous tension after days of fatigue and decided to rest early tonight—tomorrow there was a batch of new torpedoes transferred from Yokosuka that needed to be checked into the warehouse, and he needed to stay clear-headed. He blew out the desk lamp and left that inexplicable alertness behind him.

What he didn't know was that at the moment he put down his teacup, two huge Warship Zhuifengs loaded with artillery and determination had already sailed out from the shelter of the port breakwater and were accelerating south under the cover of night. The sea breeze scattered the spray kicked up by the bow of the Warship Zhuifeng into fine mist, which fell on the deck and condensed into a thin layer of dew, reflecting the dark red navigation light at the top of the mast. Under the sea surface, more undercurrents were surging silently, and the Submarine formation was deploying in deeper channels, like prayer beads pulled by the same string. The distant horizon was still a thick ink color, with nothing there. But everyone knew that in that ink color, a pair of eyes was slowly opening. The gaze passed through the sea breeze, the surging waves, and the layered night, falling on those still-sleeping shipyards in Sasebo Port, like a sword that had not yet been unsheathed, quietly hanging over the back of the prey's neck.