Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

"eng...eng...eng..."

Around 6 a.m., just as most people were getting up and tidying up their belongings, the base's air raid siren suddenly went off, startling everyone.

what happened?

what happened?

Why is the air raid siren sounding?

I didn't hear about testing air raid sirens today.

While most people were still puzzled, a small number of people reacted and began to mobilize air defense weapons to prepare for an attack.

The radar transmits the data to these defense weapon platforms, and the observers immediately adjust their optical sights toward the positions indicated by the data to begin observation.

A few seconds later, these observers spotted three Y-5 aircraft turning away in the air. What kind of aircraft was this?

Is that an enemy plane?

According to the rules, they immediately began inputting firing data and adjusting the position of the anti-aircraft gun muzzle for aiming. Once the superior gave the order to fire, the gunner would fire immediately.

This adjustment of the cannon muzzle will take 20-25 seconds.

When faced with an air raid siren, people outside should immediately take shelter. However, Nanwei Island had never experienced an air raid before, and occasional training was not enough to prepare people to react immediately to an emergency. Many people instinctively looked up at the sky and searched around to see what was happening.

Soon, someone noticed a small black dot rapidly approaching in the distance. So, what is that?
Could it be one of those legendary aerial bombs?

No way? No way?
They didn't have much time to wonder or hesitate. The 3-kilometer glide didn't take long, and before the base commander could figure out what was happening, 18 aerial bombs had already come crashing down.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”

The 200-kilogram bomb slammed into the ground and buildings and exploded instantly. Small black and red mushroom clouds grew wildly on the Nanwei Island base. The ultra-high pressure from the shock wave destroyed everything around it. People, objects, and buildings were instantly destroyed. Shrapnel from the explosion swept wildly across all objects within a 150-meter radius!
Depending on the purpose, a 155mm artillery shell can have a propellant charge of 6-9 kg, while a 200kg aerial bomb can have a propellant charge of up to 100 kg!

The extended-range bombs of the Fengbiao missile reduced the bombing error to within 150 meters, which was sufficient for a fixed target. The three Y-5 transport aircraft dropped almost all of their bombs within the base area. In just a few seconds, Nanwei Island was bombed with the equivalent of 270 155mm cannons. Those on the surface who had not taken shelter were immediately blown to pieces by the shockwave. A few people were not in the center of the explosion, but they were either ruptured by the shockwave or had holes torn in their bodies by shrapnel and debris. Their lives were entering their final countdown.

Even though the few lucky ones survived, the sound of the explosion caused their eardrums to rupture and they suffered moderate concussions, completely rendering them unable to fight.

This wave of aerial bombing not only severely damaged personnel, but also destroyed vehicles and other equipment on the ground. These vehicles were either blown into pieces, causing further secondary damage, or overturned and scrapped. Only a small number of construction machines on the outskirts of the base were barely preserved. Even the port was hit by two aerial bombs, and three ships under 3 tons that were moored there were sunk on the spot. Even though the small transport boats were not hit by the aerial bombs, the waves they generated still capsized them.

Even the buildings on the ground suffered heavy losses in this bombing raid.

The two barracks were unlucky, each being hit by an aerial bomb. The 200-kilogram bombs fell from a height of over 1000 meters, carrying enormous kinetic energy. They crashed through the top floor slab and fell inside before exploding. The shockwave from the 100-kilogram TNT explosion caused the top floor to collapse directly. The second-to-last floor slabs completely collapsed, leaving only a few precarious load-bearing columns. The third-to-last floor slabs also suffered minor collapses.

As for the people, there were no bodies at all on the top floor, and on the second to last floor, the bodies were scattered here and there or burst open from being hit by concrete. There wasn't a single living person!
Those on the third-to-last floor were either dead or completely incapacitated. Only those on the lowest floor fared slightly better, but they too had almost lost most of their hearing.

After all, the damage to the people on the first floor is not only from the bombs that landed directly overhead, but also from the shockwaves generated by the bombs that landed nearby.

Barracks, command centers, radar antennas and communication antennas mounted on the roofs of buildings, airport control towers and hangars, civilian warehouses and seawater collection equipment, etc., were all damaged to varying degrees.

The only structures that remained relatively intact were the coastal artillery platforms and anti-aircraft machine gun platforms. In contrast, the underground ammunition depots, power generation equipment, and air-raid shelters were all well-preserved, and those who rushed into the underground facilities immediately after hearing the air raid siren were not harmed.

Seven or eight minutes after the explosion, the soldiers in the air defense platform, after calming down and confirming that the bomber had left, immediately issued a notification. Only then did those who had been hiding in the air-raid shelters cautiously emerge, their faces pale as they looked at the devastated camp. With each breath, they could smell the gunpowder and blood in the air.

The person in charge stared around with bloodshot eyes, realizing it was all over.
Completely!
Unlike the safe land, in these high-risk military bases, the higher the rank, the lower the living quarters; those in charge usually live in basements...

Safety!

Otherwise, if the soldiers are unharmed after a bombing raid but the commander is ridiculed, what's the point of fighting? They might as well just surrender.

However, the situation isn't much better now; the soldiers have suffered heavy losses, but fortunately, the commander is still alive and they can still surrender...

What a fart!
The protective umbrella isn't a state power, so why should they accept surrender so they can identify the murderers in an international court?
There is only one outcome in a battle between the two sides: a fight to the death!

The disheveled adjutant glanced at his terrified superior. Damn it, he couldn't count on these nepotistic cronies when it mattered most.

Although Annam has been unified for less than ten years, corruption has spread at an alarming rate among the middle and high-ranking officials in both the military and government; almost all of them are corrupt.

Family nepotism has begun to spread among the upper classes: the Nguyen Tan family, the Du Ba family, the Vo Van family, the Tran Tuan family, the Le Duan family…

However, this was taken for granted by the upper echelons of Nan'an. They worked hard and fought desperately to achieve their personal ambitions, hoping that their descendants could have a better life.
Let this generation fight all the battles and endure all the hardships, so that future generations can live the happiest lives.

If you sit in a high position and don't pass on the power to your descendants, are you going to give it to someone else?
What kind of saintly destiny is this!
Not to mention themselves, even for an ordinary person, this is not a problem at all.

Of course, they are not ordinary people, so no one cares about the reason why they can sit in this position.

For the younger generation, it feels just as natural. Their elders fought their way through war, and what's wrong with them enjoying the land their fathers built?
Therefore, it is entirely understandable that Annan's actions in recent years have become increasingly abstract, increasingly simplistic, and increasingly human-like.

The adjutant cursed inwardly: How can we govern Annam well with these scoundrels!
"Pass on my orders: immediately move all soldiers who are still mobile to their combat positions, bring out all tanks and armored vehicles, and have all non-combat personnel immediately rescue the wounded and send them to underground bunkers. Prepare all coastal defense artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns. If any suspicious targets are spotted, fire immediately without asking for permission. Immediately contact headquarters to report that we are under air attack and request air support. The enemy is likely to launch a landing operation, and we need marine support!"

"Is the radar still usable? Run it at maximum power and closely monitor the surrounding airspace."

"Immediately go to the dock to check on the fleet's situation. Have the escort fleet start operating on both sides and open fire on any enemy ships or aircraft encountered!"

To ensure the safety of Nanwei Island, one Petya-class destroyer and two Tarantula-class destroyers have been patrolling the vicinity. The Petya-class destroyer escaped the attack because it could not dock directly at the pier due to its large displacement, but the two Tarantula-class destroyers fared much worse. One of them had its upper deck destroyed in the recent air raid, losing most of its upper deck and completely losing its combat capability. The radar facilities on the other ship's superstructure were also damaged by the shock wave and shrapnel, resulting in significant damage to many functions.

The entire island of Nanwei was in chaos. Fortunately, this was the second major attack, and they had learned from the previous experience...

Actually, we didn't have much experience. Not many people survived the last attack; most of the wounded didn't make it back...

So, things were still chaotic, even more chaotic than the first time. After all, everyone had heard about the horrific scene of the last attack, the terror of being between life and death, who wouldn't be afraid!

Surely no one would actually be willing to sacrifice their life for Annam? No matter how good the rhetoric or propaganda was before, it's all useless. Inflation has increased 200 times in recent years; if they weren't starving, who the hell would willingly join the war effort…

Looking at the chaotic scene, with the person in charge completely bewildered, the adjutant really wanted to die.

Communication between Nanwei Island and Hu Zhiming was indeed not interrupted, but radio is not a telephone after all, and it cannot maintain a good continuous communication. By the time the message was passed through and then delivered level by level to Ruan Wenhai's bedside, it was already fifteen minutes later. In terms of efficiency, this was already extremely high.

It's right by the bedside.

It's only 6 a.m., only cattle and horses get up this early.

Ruan Wenhai was woken up from his bed by the housekeeper. After listening to the report in a daze, he suddenly went black and fell asleep again. When he woke up again, his face was flushed and his breathing was rapid. The people around him were so frightened that they hurriedly shouted to take him to the hospital, fearing that the old man would suddenly have a seizure and that they, his descendants, would not be able to make arrangements yet!
It took Nguyen Van Hai a while to catch his breath. He shouted to quiet his family down and quickly instructed the officer who had come to deliver the message: "Contact the air force immediately, no, I'll call them and tell them to provide support as soon as possible."

The level of importance the other party attaches to a message will be completely different depending on whether you send a message through your subordinates or make a request yourself.

Those in positions of authority only need to touch their upper and lower lips together, but those who actually do the work have to consider many more things.

Those damned guys on Nanwei Island don't even know anything about the attackers. All they know is that three propeller planes dropped a bomb, and that's it.

Does the enemy still have warships?
What warships were there?
What weapons are available?
Are there any other planes?
If we know absolutely nothing about these things, how the air force is supposed to determine the number of aircraft deployed and what weapons they are carrying!

If they were ambushed by enemy aircraft, wouldn't all of their Su-22s be wiped out?
Don't say that the Umbrella Corporation couldn't possibly have advanced fighter jets. We even thought they couldn't possibly have any planes, since China's fighter jets don't have a combat radius that can reach the South China Sea, and China doesn't have an aircraft carrier. So, Nanwei Island didn't make any special preparations against air attacks, but damn it, the air attacks still came!

After a heated debate, the middle management decided on a conservative plan, excluding half of their combat force—three Su-22s in total. One of them was to be used as a reconnaissance aircraft and depart ahead of time, while the other two were equipped with cannons and air-to-air missiles. The purpose of the operation was to prevent Umbrella from launching another air attack.

That's all we can do.

After the military order was given, the aircraft prepared at the air base changed equipment, refueled, and took off, which took 40 minutes.

This reaction speed is already very fast for several Southeast Asian countries, and even on a global scale, it's not slow. It might not be in the top ten, but it's definitely in the top twenty. It's much better than Swiss Air Force not working on Saturdays.

But the protective umbrella won't wait for them.

Now that the three Y-5 transport aircraft had been exposed, they went all out and returned at full speed at high altitude. Meanwhile, the carrier strike group did not wait obediently in place, but used this time to approach Nanwei Island.

Fifteen minutes after the bombing, three Y-5 transport aircraft landed smoothly on the aircraft carrier. A large number of ground crew rushed aboard to inspect, refuel, and reload the bombs simultaneously, completing all the work within seven or eight minutes.

Watching the Y-5 accelerate again and soar into the sky towards Nanwei Island, Wang Yaotang clapped his hands a few times. "Damn it, no wonder modern aircraft carriers represent the strongest combat power. They not only extend the combat radius of aircraft, but also improve combat efficiency. They can concentrate more troops in local areas, and the combat power invested per unit time increases exponentially. How can they not win!"

"If we filled the aircraft carrier with this, a swarm of planes could break through defenses and completely paralyze an entire region in one go." Wang Yaotang was thinking about the Gulf War a little over a year from now.

Of course, he couldn't say it so directly; he could only express his feelings vaguely.

After he finished speaking, he found that no one responded. He turned his head and saw that the middle-aged man's face was flushed, his breathing was rapid, and his whole body was trembling. This state... startled him.

Wei Jinzhong, who was standing next to him, was in a slightly better condition, but he was also panting heavily.

"Holy crap, what's wrong with you? Calm down!" Wang Yaotang exclaimed.

"No, nothing." The middle-aged man took deep breaths to calm himself down. "I was just, I was just too excited. Comrade Yaotang, you don't know how angry we soldiers were when we saw the Annamese occupy our islands and reefs. These disgusting bastards, these beasts, it was our biggest dereliction of duty, an indelible stain on our resumes. We all wished we could immediately fight them and grind them to dust, even if it meant dying on the battlefield, we didn't want to watch these clowns shouting all day long."

"But there's nothing we can do. Our warships have an operational radius of only 800 kilometers. Even with Yongxing Island as a transit base, we can't reach that far. We don't have supply ships. We can manage to resupply once or twice with cargo ships, but we simply can't sustain long-term operations. We can only watch helplessly."

"We, we..." the middle-aged man said, his eyes reddening.

“I understand, I understand.” Wang Yaotang patted him on the shoulder.

The court and private individuals have different considerations.

The reason why we can fight a protracted war at sea with supplies from cargo ships is because we have plenty of money and can do whatever we want. We can spend a year's worth of expenses in just over two months to conquer the South China Sea. But the imperial court can't do that; there are too many things to consider.

The middle-aged man tilted his head back, blinked hard to stop the tears from falling, took a couple of deep breaths, and then his face was full of a genuine, radiant smile. "This aircraft carrier is wonderful! It's really wonderful!"

"From now on, if anyone says this aircraft carrier isn't advanced enough, I'll break their legs. What's the point of being advanced? Having one is what matters most. With an aircraft carrier, the cost of operations will drop significantly. Not to mention the distant future, at least within our territorial waters, we'll never have to worry about insufficient operational radius again!"

Wang Yaotang smiled and nodded, then lightly stomped his foot. "Aircraft carrier, mine!"

Forty minutes after the last bombing, just as the Su-22s took off from Hu Zhiming Air Base, three Y-5 transport aircraft once again made an ultra-low-altitude incursion to within 10 kilometers of Nanwei Island. This time, it was a legitimate bombing mission, requiring them to break through radar blockades and avoid being hit by anti-aircraft weapons. The level of danger was incomparable to the last operation.

At the squad leader's command, the three planes suddenly raised their noses and soared into the sky. The bombing altitude had to be above 1000 meters, otherwise they would easily be shot down by anti-aircraft guns.

After completing the climb, it sped towards Nanwei Island. To the pilots' surprise, the anti-aircraft guns on the island did not fire until they had finished bombing it.

Upon hearing the sound of the airplane propellers, the Annamese on the island immediately swarmed towards the entrance of the underground air-raid shelter like a swarm of rats exploding.

The radar antenna was damaged in the last bombing, and its sensitivity dropped significantly. The radar only detected the aircraft after the bombing began. By the time the data was transmitted to the air defense platform, the three Y-5 transport aircraft had already turned around and fled.

The machine gun's tracer rounds left a trail of fire in the air, but they were still quite a distance from the Y-5's rear. The radar sensitivity dropped, and the data was even worse than when the gunner aimed through the optical sight.

The tone suggested it was anti-aircraft fire, but it would be more accurate to describe it as farewell fireworks.

The anti-aircraft guns had just fired a round, and 18 aerial bombs landed on the base. The mushroom cloud from the explosions once again enveloped the entire base. Many of the buildings that had been damaged in the previous bombing could no longer hold on and collapsed. The entire camp was more severely damaged than when it was attacked last time.

Four Type 59 tanks rumbled and turned to run towards the underground warehouse. Whether by coincidence or divine intervention, they ran right into an aerial bomb falling from the sky. With a series of loud explosions, the turrets of two tanks were blown off and rendered unusable!

A 200-kilogram aerial bomb, if it hits, will not be able to withstand the damage to tanks, bastions, or coastal defense guns; the only outcome will be destruction.

At the same time, the carrier strike group was rapidly approaching Nanwei Island, and the final scene of this South China Sea dispute was about to unfold. (End of Chapter)