194: Chapter 104 Enemy Army Approaching

In late November 1907, the monsoon over the Pacific Ocean arrived nearly a week early. Waves surged under the grey-white sky, continuous from bow to stern. Speed was forced down by one and a half knots. The hull tilted and corrected itself in the cross-swell, like some endurance test undergoing repetitive limit training. Albatrosses tucked their wings and glided low against the wave crests. Visibility fluctuated, and the wind whipped the spray into white foam, creating a persistent rustling sound as it hit the deck.

Satellite images were transmitted to the command center at 3:40 AM. The operator stared at the array of slow-moving light spots on the screen for a few seconds, then picked up the phone. His voice was sharper than usual, suppressed by tension: "Report, a large-scale fleet has been detected approaching, bearing south-southeast, distance approximately 600 nautical miles, formation size approximately 30 vessels, advancing northwest at 12 knots. The formation characteristics highly match the United Fleet intervention force predicted by the previous system simulation."

When Li Ling was awakened from a light sleep by the system's alert tone, it was still pitch black outside the window. He put on his coat and walked into the command center, which was already full of duty personnel. No one spoke; everyone's gaze was fixed on the array of light spots slowly moving on the large screen. The screen had already completed preliminary classification labeling—four Dreadnoughts, six large Cruisers, twelve Destroyers, eight supply Warship Zhuifengs, and four fast Destroyers located about 15 nautical miles behind the formation, maintaining a loose standby formation, clearly reserved for a reserve force or flanking maneuver. The entire formation was strictly organized, with the outer anti-Submarine perimeter extended to 30 nautical miles, and a second line of Destroyer interception established in the inner layer. The airspace between the two lines was patrolled alternately by searchlights and night observation posts, with almost no obvious blind spots. The entire formation was like a gear slowly closing, with every tooth precisely meshed together.

Li Ling stood in front of the screen, hands resting on the edge of the console, staring at those light spots for a long time. His gaze moved from the four Dreadnoughts at the core of the formation to the Cruisers on the flanks, then to the Destroyers on the periphery performing snake-like maneuvers, and finally landed on the supply fleet protected by layers. Those supply Warship Zhuifengs were densely wrapped in the deepest part of the formation, with at least four anti-Submarine Warship Zhuifengs patrolling alternately around them. Their speed and course were constantly being fine-tuned, clearly executing a carefully designed defensive protocol.

"The United Fleet commander has been confirmed as Rear Admiral Howard Kelly of the Meijian Country Navy. He participated in the Spanish-American War and has extensive combat experience in the Caribbean. His tactical style is conservative, specializing in wearing down opponents with attrition tactics before exerting force. This formation layout shows that he has learned the lessons of the previous two failed interventions—no longer dispersing his forces, but concentrating all available vessels into a tight formation, using a rigorous warning line to offset the raid advantages of the host's Submarine and Air Force. The supplies carried by the supply fleet are estimated to be sufficient for at least three months based on the scale of the formation, indicating that his strategic goal is not a quick victory, but long-term pressure and blockade. Additionally, the presence of those four fast Destroyers at the rear indicates that he has retained a mobile reserve force that can advance to support, flank, or cover a retreat. This is a fallback move that only an experienced person would leave. According to satellite image analysis, Kelly's flagship is a Meijian Country 'Connecticut-class' Battleship, with a displacement of about 16,000 tons and four 305mm main guns, serving as the most concentrated firepower command hub in the formation. The nearest port facility is about 400 nautical miles away, belonging to a simple supply point with limited capabilities and no capital Warship Zhuifeng repair capability."

Li Ling did not answer immediately. He turned and walked to the window, pushing it open a crack. The cold wind, mixed with fine sea mist, poured in, making the outline of the nautical chart before his eyes clearer. A low whistle came from the distant naval port, as if someone had blown a whistle slowly in the dark. He turned and walked back to the chart table, his gaze falling back on that moving track line, as if measuring some invisible time.

"Three months." He finally spoke, "They want to wear Me out for three months."

"To be precise, it is at least ninety days. Based on their current speed, they will enter the outer warning line of the Tang Country territorial waters in about five days. If they choose to disperse into several detachments for multi-point probing at that time, the host's coastal defense system will face a complex situation of responding to attacks from multiple directions simultaneously. Although the Warship Zhuifeng and the zhuilang can carry out mobile harassment, facing a tight formation of over thirty vessels, the success rate of breaking through will be compressed to less than 30%—even if some damage can be caused, there is a lack of sufficient sustained strike capability to change the overall battlefield situation. The supply reserves of the supply fleet mean that if the host cannot cause sufficient damage to them within a month, they will be able to establish a sustained threat presence in the coastal waters. In addition, the system notes that although the main gun caliber of their Dreadnoughts is smaller than the Longjiang-class, their destructive power against permanent fortifications remains not to be underestimated when firing within the range of coastal defense batteries. The design standards of those concrete fortifications are difficult to withstand days of continuous 305mm artillery bombardment."

Li Ling's finger stopped somewhere on the chart. It was a subtle gap in the southern wing of the United Fleet—the distance between two Cruisers was nearly two nautical miles larger than the distance between other similar vessels in the formation, and it was right in the shift change gap of the outer patrol Warship Zhuifengs. Judging from the rhythm of the formation's turn, this gap would last for about twenty minutes. He stared at the gap for a few seconds, as if confirming it wasn't an illusion, before straightening up.

"Within five days, let Me break their telescopes first." He picked up the communicator, "Notify the Air Force to advance to the airfield, reconnaissance planes to take off every four hours, and keep at least one plane tracking continuously on the periphery of the United Fleet. Do not approach within the range of anti-aircraft guns, maintain altitude, and record formation changes. In addition, order the coastal defense batteries to double the ammunition base for all fixed gun positions, and the ammunition reserve should reach the standard of three days of continuous shooting. I want them to feel like they have already been exposed before they get close."

That afternoon, the "Albatross" reconnaissance plane that took off from the forward airfield outside Jinling completed its first contact on the periphery of the United Fleet. It swept over the formation at an altitude of 4,000 meters under the cover of clouds, took dozens of high-definition photos, and then broke away at full speed without encountering any anti-aircraft fire—because the maximum firing altitude of those gun positions was only 2,000 meters, which could not reach its flight altitude at all. When the lookouts of the United Fleet saw the silver-grey aircraft appear and disappear from the horizon, Rear Admiral Kelly was standing on the bridge of the flagship, his right hand gripping the barrel of his binoculars, his knuckles slightly white from excessive force. When he put down the binoculars, his lips pressed into a thin line, as if suppressing something from being said.

He turned and walked back to the chart table, was silent for a while, then picked up a pen and circled a few places on the coast of the Tang Country. The positions of those circles were exactly the beach areas where satellite reconnaissance showed the weakest defenses. When he put down the pen, a small dent was poked into the edge of the chart by the tip of the pen.

When night fell, the lights in the Jinling command center were still on. Li Ling finished reading the stack of photos brought back by the reconnaissance plane, arranged them in order of formation position, and spread them on the table like a puzzle being unfolded. His gaze stopped on one of the photos—it was the silhouette of Kelly's flagship bridge, and a standing figure could be vaguely seen behind the glass window, looking down at something. "System," he said, his voice not high, as if talking to himself, "What do you guess Kelly is thinking now?"

"Judging from the magnitude and speed of the formation adjustment, he should be doing two things now: First, re-evaluating the host's maritime reconnaissance capability—he has realized that he cannot approach the Tang Country territorial waters without the host knowing. Second, adjusting the original approach route, possibly changing course or dispersing some vessels in the final leg of the voyage to test the deployment of the host's coastal defense batteries. In addition, judging from the change in his flagship's position in the formation in the photos, he is moving the command position to the rear, which is a typical signal of preparing to start a war of attrition—indicating that he no longer expects a quick victory and has begun to prepare for a long-term confrontation."

Li Ling put the photos away, folded them into a stack again, and pressed the corners with a paperweight. He walked to the window, looking at the darkening sky outside. On the distant sea, the last glimmer of twilight was sinking into the horizon, like a slowly closing gap. He had already seen the mark left by Kelly when he drew the circles earlier; although it was small, it was enough to explain some things. "Then let him push slowly. His supply line is being cut off one by one, and the Cruisers he sent out have also started to lose contact one after another. When he has been drifting at sea for the second month, let's see if he can still maintain this posture."

Outside the window, night had completely fallen. The lights of Jinling City lit up one by one behind him, like a giant eye slowly opening. And in the further Pacific Ocean, the lights of the United Fleet were forming a dense array of light spots on the sea, like a moving city, approaching the coastline inch by inch.

Those light spots were still approaching. And Li Ling's gaze never left the chart, his fingers slowly rubbing the edge of the chart, as if feeling some faint vibration coming through the paper.