bullyxtreme Chapter 131: The First Fleet of the Restoration Army Navy Appears and Blocks the Zhili Strait
Chapter 131: The First Fleet of the Restoration Army Navy Appears and Blocks the Zhili Strait
The Tianjin port was particularly busy at night, with merchant ships from the United States, John, and Hans countries that had been requisitioned anchored in the port.
A large number of Fuso soldiers lined up to board the ship carrying weapons.
Soon, thousands of Fuso soldiers, including their weapons and equipment, were crammed into a 10,000-ton ocean-going freighter.
"Woooooooo..."
After the whistle sounded, under the gunpoint of the Fuso army, the crew on the freighter drove the freighter directly out of the port and headed towards the Korean Peninsula hundreds of miles away.
The place they evacuated was Ryugyong City in the northern part of the peninsula, which is also a transportation hub in the north and an important city in the north.
Not only are the Fuso Army's heavy troops stationed here, but it is also the distribution center for their weapons, equipment and combat supplies.
After the 3rd, 11th and 12th Divisions evacuate here, they will be directly deployed to the Yizhou front.
This is also the front line of the confrontation between the Fuso Army and the 18th Mountain Infantry Division of the Fuxing Army.
It will soon be taken over by the 100th and 102nd Infantry Divisions.
As the first cargo ship to set sail, the Wanhai cargo ship headed directly towards the port of Ryugyong City at the fastest speed.
As an ordinary 12-ton steam ship, it still burns coal, so its speed is not very fast, and it can only reach a maximum speed of knots.
Its maximum speed is 14 knots, which is considered relatively fast among steam ships.
Generally speaking, 10 or 11 knots is the speed limit for steam merchant ships.
Take the famous Liberty Ship from the World War II period in the original time and space as an example.
Its propulsion system was a coal-powered three-engine steam engine with a power of only 2500 horsepower.
Therefore, its maximum speed is only 11.5 knots.
Although it runs slowly, it is true that it can be pretended.
This 10,000-ton steam ship is just an ordinary ocean-going cargo ship similar to a liberty ship.
"These damn yellow dwarfs will definitely be punished by God."
"Having them on board my boat makes me feel like my boat is dirty."
Captain Stephen Hughes never stopped cursing these Japanese people along the way.
Fortunately, the Fuso soldiers guarding the cab did not understand English.
Otherwise, there is no guarantee that this hot-tempered captain will be shot.
After sailing on the sea for about 13 hours, they saw islands and reefs shrouded in the morning mist in the distance.
These islands and reefs form an island group in this sea area.
"We've reached the Zhili Strait!"
Zhili Bay belongs to the inland sea of the ancient country, and Zhili seafood refers to this island and reef.
With the islands and reefs as the boundary, the outer sea is the vast ocean and the inner sea is the Zhili Bay.
After leaving the Zhili Strait, they need to change course and sail north. After about 200 nautical miles, they will reach Ryugyong City.
However, for a cargo ship with a speed of only 12 knots, this 200-nautical-mile journey will take nearly 17 hours.
As the Wan Hai cargo ship moved forward, the mist covering the sea surface became thicker and thicker, and their vision was even compressed to within 30 meters.
"We'll be able to break out of this fog in half an hour."
For the experienced Captain Hughes, he estimated a rough time.
Then he started cursing the Fuso people again.
"This group of yellow-skinned dwarfs..."
More than twenty minutes later, a general-level officer appeared at the door of the cab.
This person is Lieutenant General Yuichi Fukuda, commander of the 3rd Division and one of the young and strong representatives of the Fukuda family, a major Fuso family.
After seeing the person coming, Captain Hughes immediately shut up.
Although he had a bad temper, he was very happy when he saw that the person who came was not an ordinary person.
Captain Hughes is also a typical representative of white people.
Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is ingrained in their nature.
Lieutenant General Yuichi Fukuda came out for a walk because the cabin was too stuffy and the voyage was too boring.
When he arrived at the cab, he became very interested and immediately walked in and stood next to Captain Hughes.
"How long will it take until this annoying sea fog disappears?"
Lieutenant General Fukuda Yuichi asked Captain Hughes in very standard John Noble English.
As a direct descendant of the Fukuda family, he began to receive aristocratic education in John Country since he became an adult, and also studied at the most famous Royal Academy of Defense Studies in John Country for several years.
So he was able to speak fluent aristocratic accent.
After hearing Fukuda Yuichi's question, Captain Hughes' hands trembled.
I kept thanking myself in my heart that I didn't continue to curse.
Otherwise, you might be thrown into the sea to feed the sharks.
"It will probably take a few minutes."
Just as Captain Hughes predicted, in less than three minutes they broke out of the fog and the view ahead suddenly became clear.
The suddenly clear vision also allowed them to see clearly what was ahead.
The more than ten warships that came into their sight made them look stunned and shocked.
On the sea about ten kilometers away from them, a fleet was arranged in a long snake formation, stretching across this calm sea.
This fleet is none other than the First Fleet of the Restoration Army Navy.
It consisted of two Deutschland-class pocket battleships, one Baltimore-class heavy cruiser, two Cleveland-class light cruisers, and six Gearing-class destroyers.
One of the Deutschland-class pocket battleships was launched from the shipyard and put into service just four days ago.
The naval officers and soldiers only had a few days of training before they went out to sea with the fleet.
Anyway, their mission this time is to blockade the Zhili Strait, not a naval battle, so they can take this opportunity to get used to each other.
Five 10,000-ton warships plus six destroyers of more than 3,000 tons constitute a relatively large fleet in the entire Dongzhou.
In the entire East Continent, only the Fuso Navy was able to deploy such a large fleet before.
So Captain Hughes looked at Vice Admiral Fukuda Yuichi with a puzzled and shocked look, as if asking, "Is this your ship?"
Lieutenant General Fukuda Yuichi also had a look of confusion on his face.
How come the navy ships are here?
Because this place is too close to Qidong Province, right under our noses, it is a restricted area that the Fuso Navy cannot enter.
And he hadn't heard that the navy would come to escort them.
After thinking for a moment, he picked up the telescope on his chest and started looking.
Three huge gun muzzles first came into view.
It is the No. 280 main gun position at the bow of the Deutschland-class battleship, with three mm main guns.
When Lieutenant General Fukuda Yuichi saw the three huge cannon muzzles pointing at them, his heart skipped a beat.
This doesn't seem like they're here to escort them.
Aren’t these ships navy ships?
Then he used the telescope to look towards the middle mast.
When he saw the flag clearly, his pupils shrank.
"The Restoration Army.....is the flag of the Restoration Army!"
At this moment, Lieutenant General Fukuda Yuichi's voice began to tremble.
Although the flag flying on the warship is somewhat different from the flag of the Restoration Army seen before, it can be seen at a glance that the two flags have some similarities.
Plus the muzzles of the guns pointed at them.
It is not difficult to judge that this is not their navy, but the navy of the Restoration Army.
As soon as Fukuda Yuichi said this, Captain Hughes and his group were shocked.
They have heard of the Fuxing Army. It can be said that there are very few people in the world engaged in shipping who have not heard of it.
After all, the feat of sinking several battleships of the Fuso Navy and destroying an entire fleet in the Battle of Canghai has long been spread throughout the world.
But they had never heard that the Restoration Army had a naval fleet.
At this moment, a bad feeling arose in everyone's hearts.
"Turn around, turn around now! Go back to Tianjin!"
At this time, Lieutenant General Fukuda Yuichi could no longer remain calm, and shouted anxiously at Captain Hughes.
But can they escape?
The answer is obvious!
The Deutschland-class pocket battleship with the hull number X-301, or it would be more accurate to call it the Deutschland-class heavy cruiser.
Because in the sequence of the Restoration Army, the Deutschland-class pocket battleship is positioned as a 10,000-ton heavy cruiser.
The captain looked coldly at the Wan Hai freighter that broke out of the fog and asked the deputy captain beside him, "Are you sure this freighter is full of Fuso troops?"
"Sure, we've already had reconnaissance planes confirm this, but this cargo ship is from John Country..."
The captain waved his hand, stopping the deputy captain from continuing.
"We only need to know that it is full of Fuso troops. As for which country the merchant ship belongs to, that is not within our consideration.
You have to understand that we are soldiers, not diplomats. This is their concern. What I need to consider is how to thoroughly implement the commander's orders, understand?"
"Yes, I understand!"
"Very good, then let's make it our first target.
Pass on my order, concentrate fire and sink it!"
"Yes!"
As the order was given, all the marines on the Deutschland-class heavy cruiser began to operate efficiently.
The director calculated the shooting parameters at the fastest speed.
With a slight turn of the muzzle, it immediately locked onto the Wanhai cargo ship that was turning around on the sea.
“Boom…Boom…Boom…”
There was a flash of fire from the muzzle and a deafening roar.
Six 6mm caliber shells drew an arc in the air and whizzed towards the Wanhai cargo ship more than ten kilometers away.
Shells fell one after another, exploding into towering columns of water on the sea surface.
The closest one was only 30 meters away from them.
The explosion caused waves that shook the entire Wan Hai freighter violently.
These explosions made everyone on the cargo ship feel like they were falling into an ice cellar.
The breath of death hung over everyone's head.
Because as these shells fell, their lives were entering a countdown.
Even though Fukuda Yuichi was present, Captain Hughes cursed without hesitation.
The firing of the X-201 ship was also a signal for the entire fleet to open fire.
The Baltimore-class heavy cruiser also aimed its nine 203mm main guns at the Wan Hai.
The Cleveland-class light cruisers and Gearing-class destroyers were not to be outdone, firing 152mm and 127mm caliber shells at the Wan Hai merchant ship.
Eleven warships concentrated their fire on the Wan Hai, leaving it with no chance of escape.
As shells fell one after another, the Wan Hai cargo ship was no longer lucky, and several shells hit it immediately.
The shells tore through the cargo ship's thin armor and exploded in the cabin.
The Fuso soldiers crowded in the cabin were immediately affected, and the entire cabin was littered with corpses, like a hell of blood and flesh.
The Wan Hai cargo ship was engulfed in flames, with black smoke rising into the sky.