196: Chapter 106 A Pyrrhic Victory

December 14, 1907. The East Sea. Dawn.

Greyish-white mist, like a layer of translucent cotton, flowed slowly along the surface of the sea, filtering the rising morning sun into a blur of orange. The swells were not large, but a persistent low-frequency surging rolled in the depths, like the heartbeat of the ocean, or the muffled sound of some giant beast yet to awaken turning over on the seabed. The twelve capital ships of the Tang Country First Fleet were returning northwest at an economical speed of sixteen knots. The hulls bore the marks of last night's medium-scale naval battle—several white scratches from shrapnel, scorched black marks on the edges of the funnels, and a breach on the port side of a Cruiser still emitting faint blue smoke.

Lin Yongsheng stood on the bridge of the "dragon might," fine droplets of water condensing on the edges of his epaulets. He held a cup of cold tea in his hand, his gaze fixed on the electronic chart on the chart table, which was marked with real-time enemy intelligence. Although last night's battle had sunk four enemy Cruisers, the Tang Army had paid the price of two Cruisers severely damaged and one Destroyer sunk. The casualty count of over three hundred officers and men kept the old general's brow furrowed.

"General, the Radar has detected new targets!" The Radar Operator's voice abruptly shattered the silence of the bridge, carrying an uncontrollable urgency. "Southeast direction, distance approximately eighty nautical miles, multiple large echoes, approaching us at high speed! At least twenty vessels, in tight formation, including at least four Battleship-class targets! They are cutting into our return route at a speed of over eighteen knots!"

Lin Yongsheng's pupils contracted sharply. He walked quickly to the Radar screen, watching the rapidly moving light spots, his fingers slowly tightening on the edge of the console. Judging from the echo characteristics and formation, this was definitely not the reconnaissance fleet that had been crippled last night—this was a complete, organized, and powerful fleet; it was the true main force of the Allied forces. They had been waiting for the Tang Country fleet to show signs of fatigue.

"They have come to 'see us off'." Lin Yongsheng's voice was as cold as iron, yet carried a calmness unique to the battlefield. "Pass the order: the entire fleet is to accelerate to twenty knots, turn fifteen degrees to the left, and seize a favorable position. Cancel radio silence, and report the enemy situation to the Jinling headquarters immediately. All ships are to load armor-piercing shells into their main guns, preheat the torpedo tubes, and all combat personnel are to take their battle stations."

After the order was issued, a flurry of hurried footsteps and the sound of metal colliding rang out on the bridge of the "dragon might." Signalmen used lights to transmit instructions to the other ships, sailors rushed to their respective battle stations, the clanging of breechblocks locking shut echoed one after another, and ammunition hoists emitted a low rumble, transporting hundreds of kilograms of armor-piercing shells from the magazines into the turrets. Within just a few minutes, the entire fleet shifted from a return state to a combat state, like a giant beast slowly opening its eyes, every muscle in its body tensed to the limit.

Eighty minutes later, the two fleets met in international waters about one hundred and twenty nautical miles from the Tang Country territorial sea line.

The Allied main fleet was far larger than Lin Yongsheng had anticipated. Leading were four massive Battleships, two of which were clearly the Meijian Country's newly commissioned "Connecticut-class," with a displacement of about sixteen thousand tons, main armament of four 305mm guns, and hull silhouettes that were square and sturdy, like fortresses moving on the sea, the barrels of each main gun gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the morning light. Behind them were six Armored Cruisers and eight Protected Cruisers, and on the outer perimeter were over a dozen Destroyers and Torpedo boats, like a pack of hounds surrounding four giant beasts, forming layered circular defenses.

And in the center of this massive fleet, an even larger warship was sailing quietly. Its hull was a full twenty meters longer than the "Connecticut-class," and it had four main turrets, each equipped with twin 305mm guns—that was eight main guns, with firepower equivalent to the Tang Country's active-duty Dreadnoughts, but its armor was clearly thicker, and the black smoke rising from its funnels was thicker and denser. On the mast of that warship hung a flag Lin Yongsheng had never seen before—a blue background with gold trim, with an eagle spreading its wings in the center, clutching a broken spear and a sword in its claws.

"That is..." Lin Yongsheng's brow furrowed tightly. "A new type of Battleship from the Meijian Country? Even larger than the 'Connecticut-class'?"

"General, according to satellite reconnaissance data, that should be the 'South Carolina-class' Battleship that the Meijian Country is secretly building." A young intelligence officer walked over quickly, holding an emergency report just received from an encrypted channel, the edges of the paper still warm from the transceiver. "System analysis shows that this class of Battleship has a standard displacement of about eighteen thousand tons, a full load of twenty thousand five hundred tons, and is equipped with eight 305mm main guns in a twin-gun layout, with two turrets each at the bow and stern. The main armor belt is up to 280mm thick at its thickest point, and it is a 'response-type' capital ship specially designed by the Meijian Country to counter the naval expansion of the German Empire and the Tang Country. Designed speed is twenty knots, with a cruising range of six thousand nautical miles. Theoretically, its firepower is on the same level as the Tang Country's first batch of Dreadnoughts, but its armor and speed are slightly lacking. Signal characteristics indicate this should be the second ship, the 'uss michigan,' which secretly entered service three months ago and arrived here via South America; even our intelligence system did not discover its existence in advance."

Lin Yongsheng took a deep breath, the sea breeze filling his lungs with a cold scent of metal and gunpowder. The enemy had not only come, but had brought a brand-new capital ship. This meant the Allied forces' assessment of this decisive battle far exceeded expectations—they had bet their true trump card.

"All ships, listen up." Lin Yongsheng's voice spread through the fleet via radio, every word carrying a metallic hardness. "Our mission is not to annihilate them, but to hold them back and buy time for the main fleet to arrive. The First Division is responsible for containing the enemy's main Battleships, the Second Division will attack the enemy Cruiser formation from the flank. The Torpedo boat division is to be ready to attack at any time, targeting the enemy flagship. Remember, our goal is delay, not a decisive battle. Break their momentum, then retreat. For every ten minutes we hold them, the main fleet gets ten more minutes to reach the battlefield."

Lin Yongsheng's plan was clear-headed. His fleet had just experienced a night battle, ammunition and fuel were depleted, and the physical strength of the officers and men was far from recovered. The Allied fleet in front of them had the advantage in both quantity and quality; fighting head-on would only lead to greater losses.

But the Allied fleet did not intend to give him a chance to retreat calmly.

When the Tang Country fleet began to adjust its formation, the Allied commander had already issued the order for an all-out attack. The four Battleships accelerated simultaneously, pressing toward the front of the Tang Country fleet at a high speed of over twenty knots. Their bows split the swells, huge waves churning on both sides of the hulls, and the main turrets turned slowly, the gun barrels gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the morning light. Six Armored Cruisers flanked from both sides, attempting to cut off the Tang Country fleet's retreat.

"Fire!" Lin Yongsheng issued the order the moment the enemy fleet entered effective range.

The 305mm main guns of the six Dreadnoughts roared in unison, the shells tearing through the greyish-white sky, dragging short, orange-red tails of flame as they smashed toward the enemy fleet. In the first salvo, two shells hit the hull of the 'uss michigan.' The shells penetrated the 280mm armor belt and exploded inside the hull, pillars of fire and thick smoke erupting from the breach, and that expanding black smoke column could be seen even from several nautical miles away.

But the 'uss michigan' did not sink. Its damage control personnel reacted extremely quickly, and the damage control teams brought the flooding and fire under control within just a few minutes. Its main turrets turned again after the shock, beginning a precise and fierce counterattack. 305mm shells exploded on the sea surface around the "dragon might," and the cold seawater poured onto the bridge like a rainstorm, soaking Lin Yongsheng's military uniform.

In the second salvo, shells from the four Allied Battleships landed around the Tang Country fleet simultaneously. One 305mm shell hit the forward deck of the "dragon leap," penetrating the thin horizontal armor before detonating the secondary ammunition magazine. The violent explosion blew off a large chunk of the Dreadnought's bow, flames and thick smoke erupting from the breach, and the sailors on the deck were knocked to the ground by the shockwave, some thrown directly into the cold seawater by the blast.

The "dragon leap" lost one-third of its firepower, and the hull began to tilt to the left. But its engine room was still running, its main guns were still firing, and its sailors were still holding their battle stations. A gunner with a broken left arm pushed a shell into the breech with one hand, his face covered in blood and sweat, but there was not a trace of retreat in his eyes. Another damage control team member moved several still-hot metal pipes with his bare hands, using his body to block the breach where water was gushing in, until his colleagues from the welding team arrived.

"Damage control, plug the leaks! Main guns, continue firing!" Lin Yongsheng's voice echoed on the bridge, carrying a near-cold composure. His fingers gripped the railing tightly, his knuckles turning white, but he did not step back an inch.

The battle entered a white-hot stage over the next forty minutes. The two fleets engaged in a fierce artillery duel at a distance of over ten nautical miles, shells whistling and crossing in the air, explosions ringing out one after another, and fire and thick smoke shrouded the entire sea area. Although the Tang Country's Dreadnoughts had a slight advantage in firepower—each possessing ten main guns, two more than the Allied Battleships—the Allied advantage in numbers was gradually becoming apparent. Those Armored Cruisers and Destroyers launched torpedo attacks continuously from the flanks, forcing the Tang Country fleet to turn frequently to evade, disrupting the rhythm of the artillery fire.

A Tang Country Pre-dreadnought was hit by a torpedo from an Allied Torpedo boat, a huge hole torn in the middle of its hull, seawater rushing in like a waterfall, and the hull tilted more than thirty degrees in just ten minutes. The captain gave the order to abandon ship, and the sailors jumped into the cold seawater, struggling in the swells. That old ship, which had participated in five naval battles, slowly sank to the bottom of the sea in its final battle. Before its mast was completely submerged, it stubbornly tilted in the sea breeze for a moment, like a figure saying goodbye.

"General, our ammunition consumption has already exceeded sixty percent!" the Chief of Staff reported, his voice becoming sharp due to tension. "The hull damage to the 'dragon leap' is expanding, and a second breach has appeared below the waterline on its port side; if we continue to fight, it might not make it back!"

Lin Yongsheng lifted his gaze from the chart table, sweeping over the positions of the burning "dragon leap" and the sunken Pre-dreadnought. His lips were pressed tightly together, like a piece of steel under extreme pressure. Then he made a decision: "Pass the order: the entire fleet is to turn northwest and retreat at maximum speed! Torpedo boats and Destroyers are to lay smoke screens for cover, and the capital ships are to provide alternating cover for the retreat!"

After the order was issued, the Tang Country fleet began to turn. Destroyers and Torpedo boats rushed to the rear of the formation, releasing a large greyish-white smoke screen, obscuring the Allied fleet's line of sight. The Dreadnoughts retreated using alternating cover—first one warship retreated at full speed, while another maintained fire suppression; once the former reached a safe distance, it was the next ship's turn to retreat. This tactic required extremely high coordination and discipline, and the Tang Country Navy far exceeded the Allied forces in this regard.

The Allied fleet attempted to pursue, but after they rushed through the smoke screen, they found that the Tang Country fleet had already put enough distance between them. The Allied Battleships' speed was not as good as the Tang Country's Dreadnoughts, and while the Cruisers were fast, they could not fight the powerful firepower of the Dreadnoughts alone. After pursuing for a few nautical miles, the Allied commander ordered the pursuit to stop.

"Let them go." On the bridge of the Allied flagship, the commander looked at the Tang Country fleet's silhouette gradually disappearing in the distance and said in a deep voice, "We have achieved our goal. Their fleet will need at least three months to recover its combat effectiveness, and that is enough. Next, it will be the turn of their coastal defenses."

When the Tang Country fleet finally broke contact completely, nearly three hours had passed since the battle began. The smoke of war on the sea surface had dissipated a little, but on the sea area plowed by artillery fire, wreckage, oil stains, and sporadic lifeboats were floating. Two Tang Country warships remained there forever—one Pre-dreadnought and one Destroyer. All four Dreadnoughts were damaged, with the "dragon leap" suffering the heaviest damage; its hull was severely flooded, and although the fire on the deck had been extinguished, the hull structure had already shown visible deformation.

Lin Yongsheng stood on the bridge of the "dragon might," watching those damaged warships sailing slowly in the twilight. The sea breeze poured in from the portholes, carrying the smell of mixed smoke and blood, as well as the faint white mist steamed up by seawater poured onto the red-hot steel plates. He looked down at the preliminary loss statistics report in his hand and remained silent for a long time.

"General, a telegram from Jinling headquarters." The communications officer's voice rang out on the bridge. "His Majesty has received the battle report; he says the main force of the First Fleet is assembling and can depart to support at any time. He also asks... can the 'dragon leap' still hold on until it returns to port?"

Lin Yongsheng raised his head and looked toward the grey horizon in the northwest. His gaze lingered on the empty sea for a long time, the sea breeze blowing his greying hair into a mess. Then he said: "Reply to headquarters: The First Fleet encountered the Allied main fleet in the East Sea and engaged in a fierce battle. Our losses: one Pre-dreadnought sunk, one Destroyer sunk, four Dreadnoughts damaged to varying degrees, four hundred and twenty officers and men killed or wounded. Enemy losses: one Battleship severely damaged, two Cruisers sunk, three Cruisers severely damaged, and some losses of Destroyers and Torpedo boats. Our fleet is returning and is expected to arrive at Jiangning Port in two days. Please ask His Majesty... to prepare for battle. This time, the enemy is serious."

He put down the communicator, his fingertips lingering on the cold metal surface for a moment. Outside the bridge, the last glimmer of twilight was sinking below the horizon, the fire on the sea was gradually extinguishing, and only a few pieces of wreckage were still burning slightly in the darkness, as if keeping vigil for those lost lives. In the distant sea breeze, the whistling sound of shells tearing through the air and those answers that would never ring out again seemed to still faintly echo.