novelAbuy Chapter 57 Your Majesty, He's Playing You for a Moment!
Chapter 57 Your Majesty, He's Playing You for a Moment!
At 3 PM, 16 degrees North latitude and 68 degrees East longitude
On the bridge of the "Restoration" ship, Li Te was receiving an encrypted telegram. The telegram was from Dubai and was sent personally by Chen Feng.
"I am very pleased to have read your report yesterday. The demonstration has been sufficient; you can now apply appropriate pressure. I have received intelligence that the London cabinet is embroiled in heated infighting, and the pro-war faction is weakening. You may choose an opportune moment to conduct a 'demonstration of the extreme' to force them to completely abandon the idea of using force. But remember, do not initiate hostilities and avoid causing casualties. You must determine the appropriate level of pressure. — Chen"
Li Te put down the telegram and pondered the meaning of "extreme display".
"Lin Hai".
"exist!"
"What's the current speed?"
"18 knots, one and a half nautical miles from the British fleet."
"Accelerate to 28 knots and maintain for ten minutes. Then, make an abrupt stop and turn to simulate torpedo evasion. Finally, circle their fleet at 30 knots with a radius of... one kilometer."
Lin Hai's eyes widened: "One thousand meters? That's too close! And a sudden stop and turn would cause a lot of damage to the engine..."
"Execute orders." Li Te's voice left no room for argument. "We need to show them what this ship is capable of. We also need to make those gentlemen in London understand that if war breaks out, they won't even be able to touch us."
"yes!"
The order was swiftly relayed. In the engine room, the watchman pushed the control lever all the way down. The fuel injection from the oil-fired boilers increased instantly, and the steam pressure rose sharply. The four steam turbines emitted a deep roar, and the tachometer needle swung wildly to the right.
The "Guangfu" ship shuddered slightly, and then, as if pushed hard from behind by a giant, began to accelerate wildly.
Bridge of the "Intrepid"
"They're accelerating!" the lookout's voice was filled with terror. "Speed...25 knots! 27 knots! Good heavens, they're accelerating!"
Abbasnot rushed to the observation window. He saw the stern of the giant gray ship ahead suddenly widen and rise, like a wall of water slicing through the sea. The distance between the two ships rapidly increased, from one and a half nautical miles to two nautical miles, to three nautical miles, to four nautical miles…
In less than five minutes, the "Kuangfu" became a tiny dot on the horizon.
"Full speed! Full speed ahead!" Abbasnot roared.
"Sir, the engine can't hold..."
"I said full speed!"
The "Intrepid" billowed even thicker black smoke from its smokestack, struggling to climb to 22 knots before stalling. Meanwhile, the "Revival" was almost out of sight.
The bridge was deathly silent. Everyone knew that if this had happened in actual combat, the enemy would have easily escaped their firing range and could freely choose the angle and timing of their attack.
But ten minutes later, the lookout shouted again, "They're back! They're back! From...from port!"
Abbasnot turned his head and saw the gray behemoth catching up from its port side and rear at an incredible speed. Its wake was almost straight, without any of the slight serpentine curves common to warships at full speed—indicating that its rudder efficiency and stability were abnormally good.
What's even more frightening is that when it got close to a nautical mile, it suddenly made a move.
Emergency stop and turn.
The massive ship suddenly swayed sideways on the sea surface, its bow turning sharply to starboard, drawing an arc less than 800 meters in diameter across the water. This maneuver sent a chill down the spines of all the British naval officers—a warship of such tonnage with such a small turning radius meant it was virtually impossible to be hit by a torpedo.
After completing the turn, the "Kuangfu" did not slow down, but instead continued to accelerate to 30 knots and began circling the British fleet.
Yes, spinning around.
Centered on the British fleet, with a radius of 1,000 kilometers and a speed of 30 knots, it circled them like a stunt performer.
"Intrepid" starboard deck
Tom Harris and several gun crew members were allowed to go up on deck for some fresh air and happened to witness this scene.
They watched the giant gray ship glide past their starboard side at 30 knots, so close that they could see the weld lines on the hull, the tiny observation windows on the turrets, and even the face of the officer on the bridge who was looking at them through binoculars.
Then it turned and swept past the stern, the waves it created causing the "Intrepid" to sway slightly.
Next is the port side.
Finally, we returned to the front.
The entire circling process took less than eight minutes. A speed of thirty knots, a radius of one kilometer, and a perfect circular track.
"This is impossible..." Harris murmured, "This violates the laws of physics..."
“It’s not against the rules,” said Gunner Jack Robinson beside him, his voice dry. “It’s just that we can’t. Our ships are too heavy, our rudder is too ineffective, and our turning radius is at least three times theirs. If this were in actual combat…”
He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood.
In actual combat, the enemy could easily maneuver around to your side, which is your blind spot. Then, the 380mm gun would tear through your armor, shot after shot, from a distance from which you would be unable to retaliate.
"Back to the turret." Robinson turned around. "There's nothing to see here. We've already lost, lost before they even fired the first shot."
The sailors silently returned to their cabins. No one objected, because everyone saw the insurmountable gap.
After completing its circling maneuver, HMS Reconstruction returned to the front of the British fleet, its speed reduced to 20 knots.
In the bridge, Li Te looked at the data recorded in the navigator's log and nodded in satisfaction.
"Extreme maneuvering test completed. Turning radius 880 meters, 20 meters smaller than design value. Engine status?"
Lin Hai checked the instruments: "Everything is normal. The temperatures of all four steam turbines are within the safe range. Fuel consumption... is 5 percent higher than expected, but still within acceptable limits."
"Very good." Li Te put down the journal. "Now, let's give the British one last performance."
He then connected the ship's broadcast system:
"Attention all gunners, we are about to conduct a full main gun salvo simulation. Note that this is a simulation; no live ammunition will be loaded. Each turret will operate according to the actual combat procedure, from loading to aiming to firing, go through the entire process. I want to see a salvo every two minutes."
The order was relayed to the four turrets.
Inside Turret B
Upon hearing the order, Chen Amin immediately stood in front of the hoist. Zhou Tiezhu patted him on the shoulder: "Don't be nervous, just like during training."
"yes!"
The indicator light illuminated. Amin cranked the handle, and the hoist began to operate. The simulated shell (a solid steel counterweight) was lifted from the lower ammunition magazine and smoothly slid into the loading slot. The push rod activated, propelling the "shell" into the gun barrel.
The whole process took only twenty-five seconds.
"Loading complete!" Amin reported.
"Close the lock!" Zhou Tiezhu ordered.
The breechblock closed with a crisp metallic clang.
"Aim!"
The turret began to rotate, and the gun barrel adjusted its angle based on data transmitted from the fire control room. The electric drive system emitted a slight hum, smooth and precise.
"Ready!"