novelAbuy Chapter 70 It turns out that wasn't an excuse. It was a preview.
Chapter 70 It turns out that wasn't an excuse. It was a preview.
"Uncle Afu, two meat buns, please."
A young man's voice pulled him back to reality. Chen Jinfu looked up and saw A-Qiang, a dockworker in his early twenties, all muscle.
"Ah Qiang, so early today?" Chen Jinfu quickly wrapped the buns in oil paper and handed them over.
"I can't sleep." A-Qiang took the steamed bun, took a big bite, and mumbled, "Uncle A-Fu, have you heard about that? The big ship at sea..."
"I've heard about it," Chen Jinfu said in a low voice, "but I don't know if it's true or not."
"It must be true." Ah-Qiang leaned closer. "My cousin works at the telegraph company. He said all the Dutch people in the company were called back last night and they haven't left work yet. Something serious must have happened."
Just then, the sound of a ship's horn came from afar.
It wasn't the low, mournful wail of a merchant ship, but a deeper, more powerful roar, like the bellow of some giant beast. The sound came from the sea, and the air vibrated as if it were several kilometers away.
Everyone on the dock stopped what they were doing.
Chen Jinfu raised his head and looked at the sea. At first, he only saw a deep blue expanse. Then, at the horizon where the sea met the sky, a gray dot appeared.
Dots quickly became lines, and lines became outlines.
"My God..." Ah Qiang dropped the steamed bun in his hand to the ground.
That was a ship.
But it wasn't an ordinary ship. It was enormous, beyond anyone's comprehension. Chen Jinfu had worked in Batavia for thirty years, seeing British battleships, German cruisers, and French armored ships. But none of them possessed this size, this...imposing presence.
The hull was a cold gray, with lines so smooth they looked as if they had been carved by a knife. There were three tall funnels and four huge turrets, each with two intimidatingly thick cannons protruding from it. The waves it cleaved through at the bow were five or six meters high, and a long white contrail trailed behind it.
The most eye-catching thing is the flag on the mainmast.
Yellow background, blue dragon, encircling the gear.
It rustled in the morning sunlight.
The dock gradually quieted down. Chinese, Indonesians, Dutch—everyone watched the giant ship slowly approaching. Some raised binoculars, while others simply climbed onto the cargo piles.
Chen Jinfu felt his throat go dry. He rubbed his eyes and looked at it again.
That flag is real.
"Lanfang..." he murmured, his voice so soft that only he could hear it.
Then, he saw something even more astonishing.
The giant ship began to turn about ten kilometers from the port. Instead of entering the harbor, it sailed parallel to the coastline, its broadsides aligned with the port. During this process, the four main gun turrets began to slowly rotate.
Eight thick cannon barrels, like steel fingers, were raised one after another.
They were pointing towards the Waiting-for-Husband Cliff on the west side of the port.
"What are they going to do?" Ah-Qiang's voice trembled.
Chen Jinfu didn't answer. He just watched, watching the gun barrels adjust their angles, watching the cold light reflected from the observation windows on the turrets.
Suddenly, he remembered the news he had heard that morning: artillery calibration exercise.
It turns out that wasn't an excuse.
That was a preview.
"Eight kilometers from Wangfu Cliff. Wind direction: southeast, wind speed: level 3, wave height: 0.5 meters."
In the fire control room, Zhao Tieshan's voice came clearly to the bridge through the megaphone. Li Te stood in front of the observation window, holding binoculars, but this time he didn't look outside; instead, he stared at the clock on the wall.
7:55.
"Target parameters input complete," Zhao Tieshan continued to report. "Main gun loaded with high-explosive shells, fuse set with a delay of 0.5 seconds. Turret servo system normal, fire control computer operating normally."
"Received," Li Te replied, then turned to the communications station, "Wang Xiaohua."
"exist!"
"Was the final announcement issued?"
"It's been sent! It was sent at 7:45, and the content is the same. The port authority hasn't replied, but all the ships in the port have indeed stopped, and several that were heading out have turned back."
"Okay." Li Te nodded, then connected to the ship's intercom, "Attention all crew, this is Captain Li Te."
His voice traveled through the pipes to every corner of the ship.
"The time is now 7:56. In four minutes, we will conduct a main gun calibration exercise. This is not training, this is not a performance. This is to tell everyone—the Lanfang Navy has arrived."
He paused, letting the words settle:
"I know that many of you still have family and friends in Southeast Asia, still under the rule of the Dutch, British, and French. I know you miss home and want to go back and see your families."
"Today's cannon shot is the first step towards returning home. We want to use the sound of the cannon to tell everyone: Chinese people are no longer sheep that can be bullied at will. We have ships, cannons, and backbone."
"So, take your positions. I want to see the most precise shooting and the most professional operation. Let the Dutch see what a modern navy is. Let the world see what the power of the Chinese is."
"complete."
The broadcast ended. The bridge was so quiet that only the ticking of the instruments and the hissing of the steam pipes could be heard.
Lin Hai walked to Li Te's side and whispered, "Captain, everything is ready. But... do we really have to fight? Once we open fire, there will be no turning back."
Li Te glanced at him: "Old Lin, do you think we can turn back?"
"I mean, the political consequences..."
"Politics?" Li Te interrupted him, pointing out the window. "See that mountain over there? It's called Wangfu Cliff (Waiting-for-Husband Cliff). It's said that over a hundred years ago, a Chinese wife waited there every day for her husband who went out to sea. After waiting for three years, she finally jumped off the cliff. Why? Because her husband was captured by the Dutch and forced into hard labor, where he died in a tin mine."
He turned around and looked at Lin Hai:
"How many stories like this are there in Southeast Asia? A hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand? Today the Dutch dare to shoot and kill forty-seven people, tomorrow they will dare to kill four hundred and seventy. If we don't fire this shot today, then we are no different from the husband a hundred years ago who watched his wife jump off a cliff but was powerless to stop her."
Lin Hai fell silent.
The clock struck 7:59.
Li Te walked back to his command post and put on his headset: "All turrets, final confirmation."
The headset transmitted responses from four turrets:
"Turret A is ready!"
"Turret B is ready!"
"Turret C is ready!"
"Turret D is ready!"
"Fire control room?"
"Fire control room ready!" came Zhao Tieshan's voice. "Target locked, data calculated. Ready to fire at any time."
Li Te looked at the clock.
The second hand ticked away, one mark at a time. 7:59:50...55...58...
Everyone on the bridge unconsciously held their breath.
Li Te placed his hand on the control panel, his fingers lightly resting above the red launch button.
He closed his eyes, the numbers from the telegram flashing through his mind: forty-seven, nine, three, six...
Then he opened his eyes and pressed the button.
"Fire."