Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 279 Fearless First Battle
In the Dongzhu area, inside the mountain, Shu soldiers were sweating profusely as they worked; groups of hidden artillery positions were bombarding a Han army unit.

The war truly began only after the Han Chinese army advanced into the interior of the island of Guinea.

Inside the tunnel covered with camouflage netting, Qin Shen used a periscope to observe the Han troops who had temporarily retreated after being shelled. He then had a telegraph machine nearby send a message ordering the frontline troops to immediately retreat their artillery positions back into the tunnel.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Han army's airships began to counterattack; bombs with wooden plank gliders flew onto the position, and the explosives of these incendiary bombs contained rubber particles, causing a cloud of black smoke to rise from the position.

Qin Shen issued orders one by one, first instructing the bunker to prepare; because the modern Han infantry regiment would then begin its attack under the cover of aerial bombardment.

Half an hour later, bullets began spraying from the bunker halfway up the mountain, and the Han landing force suffered another heavy blow.

Although they repelled the attacks of the modern Han landing forces several times, the Shu army was very panicked; because the modern Han was now comprehensively ahead in terms of technology. In this operation, the modern Han troops had submachine gun assault teams and automatic recoil rapid-fire cannons.

Qin Shen knew that since ten years ago, the "future" was on the other side of the present Han Dynasty.

(Ten years ago, when this generation of Lin Zhu appeared, Lin Zhu's superpower system was called "Seeing the Future".)
This type of superpower has been awakened within the Eastern Shu camp over the past three hundred years.

…science and technology…

For the past three hundred years, thanks to successive technological advancements, Eastern Shu has barely managed to maintain a balance of power with the modern Han Dynasty on the equatorial islands.

For nearly a century, Eastern Shu has used its booming textile, chemical, and dyeing industries to try to win over and control the economy of the Thousand Islands, but each time it has been overtaken and surpassed by the modern Han.

As long as Eastern Shu reveals a new technology, the Han Dynasty will inevitably catch up within five to twenty years.

For example, fifty years ago, after mastering the "coal smelting" technology in metal smelting, the Eastern Shu region cast high-quality steel cannons, replacing bronze cannons; in that era of sailing warships, they used technologies such as wire winding and self-tightening in cannon processing to create long-barreled steel cannons, gaining an advantage in the accuracy of naval artillery.

However, after the new weapons of Eastern Shu were put into actual combat and sank only five warships of the present Han dynasty, their technology was stolen by the maritime merchants of the present Han dynasty and then presented to the imperial court.

The Han Chinese spent ten years finding low-sulfur coal in Jiaozhi and high-grade iron ore in Lushan, and also cast cannons of the same quality, thus completely overtaking the Han.

Finally, in the last thirty years, the military innovations of Eastern Shu have been completely erased.

With its all-steel battleships, airships, and many other weapons and equipment, the Han Dynasty now holds an advantage due to its technological reserves; while the Eastern Shu, which saw the future earlier, is limited by its own industrial scale and cannot replicate them.

Fifty years ago, when the last "visionary" of the Eastern Shu was still in the land of Danlu, the Eastern Shu had tried innovative equipment such as liquid-fueled rockets and large aluminum alloy skin fighter jets, but due to insufficient inherent conditions, they could not be equipped.

The liquid-fueled rocket project suffered from substandard fuel loading equipment, resulting in three out of eight tests at the Dongshu test site. The liquid fuel storage tank leaked multiple times, causing serious fires, raising serious concerns about its reliability.

As for large aluminum alloy fighter jets, they were still shot down prematurely during the exercise due to their greater electromagnetic exposure.

What particularly alarmed Eastern Shu was that the superpower of "seeing the future," which originally belonged to their side, was "extinct" in this generation and then—fallen to the current Han.

As a member of the royal family of Eastern Shu, Qin Shen's first reaction upon learning the truth was that it was absolutely impossible! After confirming it, he felt bewildered.

With a wealth of talented individuals emerging in the Han Dynasty, and with its advantageous coastal industrial layout and firm control over the large market for industrial goods on the world's islands, the inherent advantages of the Han Dynasty have led to the gradual decline of the "forgotten land of the world" in Eastern Shu.

In the past, Eastern Shu was able to take the initiative by taking advantage of the "future" and was still able to barely support itself;
However, the ability to "see the future" had been passed down systematically in Eastern Shu for the past three hundred years, but now it has been transferred to the present Han dynasty. This has completely extinguished the last bit of ambition from the central group of Eastern Shu.

It is because the current Han dynasty refused to accept the submission of Eastern Shu that the conflict has continued to this day.

Qin Shen looked at the Han troops being driven back by the flames ahead of the tunnel. He felt no joy of victory, because the Han would likely suffer many more defeats; while every victory for Eastern Shu came at a heavy cost.

…sneak attack…

February 2nd, the day the dragon raises its head. While the Han army's battle was "unstoppable," a relaxed atmosphere permeated the interior of the Xuan 4th Fleet, which was positioned at the rear.

Well, at least in the report, the Han dynasty has recovered half of Eastern Shu, and there is no sign of defeat. Xuan Chong did not continue to pursue the matter further.

To conquer Eastern Shu, one must have unwavering resolve; defeatist strategists are unacceptable.

The predicament of Eastern Shu was similar to that of Xuan Chong's era, where the Southern Song Dynasty faced a unified North. Whether the Southern Song could survive depended entirely on the will of the North.

At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the country was unwilling to pay tribute to the Yuan Dynasty, believing that it could survive on its own. However, under the persuasion of Han officials in the north who argued that "the whole country belongs to the legitimate dynasty, and we already control seven or eight tenths of it, so why abandon the legitimate dynasty?" Kublai Khan initiated the historical process of "unity after a long period of division" on this land.

The people of Eastern Shu were far more erratic than those of the Southern Song Dynasty. In the early days of the Han Dynasty, three hundred years ago, when the Han army was conquering Annam, the people of Eastern Shu provided Annam with firearms and cannons and instigated the rebellion in Jiaozhi.

Two hundred years ago, the Eastern Shu intervened in the chaos in the Eastern Sea, investing its forces and even kidnapping scholars from the Han Dynasty.

It can be said that some people in Eastern Shu understood their strategic predicament when the Han Dynasty was established; their actions over the past few hundred years have been a gamble to try and cause the Han Dynasty to collapse.

However, this repeated mischief and self-righteousness led the Han people, who were originally uninterested in the Southeast, to regard it as a venomous snake beside their bed.

The genuine "friendliness" that modern Han Chinese people feel towards Eastern Shu is no less than that of "Xiao Rizi" in Xuan Chong's timeline.

The latest broadcast filled the entire fleet with enthusiasm, and everyone was in high spirits at sea, talking about the rewards for finishing the mission.

After the great victory in this war, the primary credit naturally went to the front-line troops, but those who patrolled the rear also deserved credit; upon returning, they received four times the allowance, as well as the credit for their mission experience.

For the young officers in the fleet, such as Xuan Chong, being assigned to patrol work in this safe rear area during the war to destroy Shu was a gilded journey arranged by their superiors to gain experience and seniority.

Xuan Chong had already overheard on the public channel that the captains next door were discussing the selection of a new courtesan after returning to port.

Of course, Xuan Chong felt his colleagues were being too lax; aboard the Bird's Eye Mantis Shrimp, Xuan Chong still insisted that his fleet follow normal duty procedures. No one was allowed to be absent from their post.

Xuan Chong: There are only two states for adults: one is being completely serious and responsible, and the other is being completely relaxed.

When working, one should be thoroughly serious and eliminate all risks; once you relax your guard, there will be a second step. I am also an ordinary person, and if I don't stick to this line, there will be no room for complacency.

Xuan Chong reported the information as usual, then walked out of the command cabin to the mast, but just as he stepped out, he suddenly heard a "rustling" sound.

This was the sound of the magnetic storm equipment. Xuan Chong had turned on the electromagnetic equipment earlier to prevent seagulls from defecating on the deck, and he had heard similar noises when the fleet was leaving port. Xuan Chong asked an old sailor and learned that it was caused by the magnetic field of his ship and other fleets interacting.

Now, I am fifty nautical miles ahead of the fleet and traveling in the same direction as the entire fleet. There should be no magnetic field collision. So why am I hearing a rustling sound?

Xuan Chong suddenly became alert and returned to the command center.

When Xuan Chong returned to his post, the other crew members, who had been preparing to relax in their seats, sat up straight once again.

Xuan Chong looked at the crew members who were clearly unaware of what was going on: "All ships on alert. Launch unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. Boil the ship's boilers at full speed."

A gasoline-powered drone, carrying an electromagnetic signal spark receiver, was launched into the wind from its launch pad on the ship's hull. The gasoline engine hummed as it soared into the distant blue sky.

This drone is a one-time use drone in wartime; its internal mechanism is controlled by a clockwork-like spring, allowing it to explore back and forth in a zigzag pattern in front of the fleet, much like a windshield wiper, swaying left and right within a 50-kilometer radius in front of the fleet.

If nothing is found, everything is normal. After the drone crashes into the sea, it will deploy its airbags and float on the sea. Then, a ship will sail over, launch a small boat, and retrieve the drone.

This is similar to the naval research vessel of Xuanchong's previous life launching a submersible and then recovering it.

In the world of Xuanchong, radar uses high-power antennas to scan back and forth remotely, flashing the targets within the area on the radar interface; this world takes a different technological route, which is to let mechanical "electrically sensitive devices" swing back and forth in the sky, and after contacting the magnetic field of the enemy fleet, generate electrical signals that are received by the ship itself.

This method of judging the number, type, and scale of a fleet by listening to the frequency and intensity of electrical sparks is quite unintuitive compared to the previous life, much like a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner taking a pulse.

However, in fact, the "pulse diagnosis" in present-day Hanzhong is part of the "physical study" among the four aspects of the imperial examination.

Xuan Chong repeatedly checked, and the drone flew left and right across the sea, while the signal from the spark engine was very weak; in the ship's control room, "No abnormalities!" "Everything is normal!" seemed to be telling Xuan Chong that he was making a fuss over nothing.

However, Xuan Chong heard a very faint "clicking" frequency. After determining the direction by zigzagging back and forth for the third time, Xuan Chong released a torque, manipulating the drone. The drone was twisted by Xuan Chong's external force and began to probe further in a certain direction. Suddenly, in the captain's cabin, the "clicking" sound became increasingly clear in the radio listening equipment.

Ten breaths later, a series of electrical sparks erupted. The monitoring personnel initially appeared indifferent, but then broke out in a cold sweat. Meanwhile, Xuan Chong, who wasn't wearing headphones, also detected the electrical signal. He immediately rang the alarm in the captain's cabin, plunging the entire ship into combat readiness.

…A reward period for novice anglers. …

Directly ahead of the Eastern Shu raiding fleet, the Eastern Shu airships have spotted the planes making a "rat-a-tat" sound in the sky.

This drone travels in a zigzag pattern; each time it makes a round trip, its electric spark detection equipment will generate an electric spark response with the warship carrying the "magnetic storm equipment".

All those in the Han army who were literate had some knowledge of pulse diagnosis.

This kind of eavesdropping, which seems very troublesome to foreigners, is like how foreigners find chopsticks troublesome and prefer using knives and forks; for modern Han soldiers who can all take a pulse, it is a technology that is exclusively adapted to them.

Shipboard operators don't find "listening to" electrical sparks troublesome.

The Han army was able to determine the specific conditions of the ships within the fleet during the intercourse between drones flying ahead and warships with intense electromagnetic interference.

Sure enough, on the Mantis Shrimp with Bird's Eye, as the "sizzling" sound rang out one after another, the monitoring members took notes with pencils.

They could determine the fleet's position by the flashes of sparks; they could roughly sketch the overall formation by observing the intervals between each spark signal in a single burst. Furthermore, they could determine the fleet's speed by observing the increase in the intensity of the spark signals between bursts. (The faster the fleet moved, the more significantly the increase in the intensity of the second burst of sparks would be, similar to the Doppler effect, where the difference in the sound of a train whistle increases with speed.)
Xuan Chong's body-fixation technique requires keen hearing, and he studied this aspect for about three months before entering this field; however, he still felt that the "pulse-taking masters" of the modern Han Dynasty were simply superhuman. But it must be said that Xuan Chong has entered the field.

…a kitten bumps into a big rat…

In the Eastern Shu fleet, the fleet commander received intelligence from the airship, and at the same time, the electric spark drones they released also received the collision flash of the magnetic storm equipment of the Xuanchong destroyer.

The entire fleet was in a state of tense activity. Those on the listening platform leaned forward, while the other officers rose from their desks and rushed out to supervise their respective groups.

The commander of the Eastern Shu fleet on this voyage sipped his strong tea and looked at the nautical chart. The entire ship had taken advantage of the typhoon and maintained radio silence, sailing along an arc for thousands of kilometers, already close to the first island chain. Everything was going smoothly, but here they encountered a patrol fleet from the modern Han dynasty.

The fleet commander clutched his jade pendant, hoping the destroyer was merely passing by. At that moment, a female officer approached the captain.

Captain: "He Xin, what's wrong?"

The female official named Qin Hexin said, "I seem to sense a disturbance from the 'Dragon Force'."

…The Han Navy began mobilization…

However, Xuan Chong had already sent a message to his own fleet: "An unknown large fleet is approaching!"

On the main warship, there were more than twenty buckets of fish on the deck. Zhou Xu, who was holding a fishing competition, took the military intelligence from his adjutant and put down his fishing rod.

His interest shattered, he returned to the bridge and looked at Xuan Chongfa's report. He asked, "Were we patrolling that area the day before yesterday?"

One recruit said, "We've already patrolled the area, and there haven't been any problems."

Zhou Xu paced back and forth: "Send a telegram to the patrol ship 023 to verify the information."

During the discussion, the staff officer said, "The guy on patrol 023 is a young tiger, eager to make a name for himself, so he's making a fuss over nothing. I think he might have mistaken a large passing merchant convoy for a fleet."

The entire fleet was at the rear, and no one believed it was an enemy fleet; moreover, listening to a hothead and taking an unknown piece of intelligence seriously would be somewhat embarrassing.

The Xuan 4th Squadron is a second-line navy, and its officers are all seasoned veterans who have been sidelined. After failing to achieve any merit for a long time, they have developed a bad habit of slacking off.

Zhou Xu also leaned towards this view, but just to be on the safe side, he ordered two escort ships to go and scout the area.
…radio waves back and forth…

Xuan Chong learned that headquarters would provide support, and then pretended not to know that he had encountered the enemy; then he activated the magnetic layer concealment, turned naturally, and circled around, trying to brush past the enemy's large fleet and quietly follow it.

The Eastern Shu forces breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering that the destroyer had left; however, four hours later, they spotted two modern Han-style frigates speeding towards them.

The Shu general's expression changed, and he sounded the battle alarm, immediately heading at full speed towards the two escort ships.

Almost five kilometers away, the two old frigates were still sending "all is well" messages when they were suddenly subjected to intense shelling. The highest level "enemy attack" warning was issued over the radio.

Xuan Chong, who was secretly following the Eastern Shu fleet, heard an urgent report of "three long and two short" in the telegram.

This is equivalent to a military version of "SOS".

In response, on the ship, Xuan Chong had already sent eight torque lines using a ruler; each torque line track had a torque network attached to it, allowing for detection similar to a phased array.

After these networks made contact with the Eastern Shu fleet on the sea surface, mechanical information began to be fed back.

Xuan Chong thus discovered, through a process of "diagnosing the problem by thread," that this unidentified large fleet had launched an attack on his two escort ships.

Furthermore, it was observed that five large, stealthy airships existed above this enemy fleet, and that new airships were being added.

In the Eastern Shu fleet, the three core aviation cruisers were conducting aviation operations. The elevator platform rose from the side to lift the airship hull.

Then, the steel frame on the side of the cruiser, rotating like a crane, moved the 30-meter-long airship hull horizontally to the outer edge of the side. The airship's "base cabin," which was not yet inflated, moved along the steel frame track of the crane arm to a position 15 meters from the side of the ship; the airship's top gasbag slowly inflated, and below it was the turbulent sea.

This steel frame looks just like something out of a movie depicting the Age of Sails; a plank would extend from the side of the pirate ship. The pirate captain would force disobedient crew members to walk onto this plank and jump into the sea.

The landing gear is now placed on the side of the ship because the airship requires a huge amount of space to inflate its airbags during takeoff. Placing it directly on the side of the deck, outside the ship's hull, doesn't take up any spare space on the deck. Therefore, the airbag inflation operation is carried out on the side of the ship.

Xuan Chong saw that these aviation cruisers had begun launching airships, and the enemy ships were determined to annihilate any warships that discovered them and to block the news.

Once all their airships have taken off, Dong Shu will be released from hiding and will gain an advantage in aerial observation. At that time, the "Bird-Eyed Mantis Shrimp" hiding behind them will be discovered.

…We must strike first…

In the captain's cabin, Xuan Chong capped his drawing pen, put it in his breast pocket, and decisively gave orders to the crew waiting to decide what to do: "It's too late. Raise the battle flag and send the 'horn' signal at sea."

Military orders are absolute. Although most of the crew on this warship were just going through the motions, and although the inexperienced commander Xuan Chong was very young; although most of them didn't want to fight before Xuan Chong gave the order, because they had already completed their reconnaissance mission and would be fine going back; and the real fleet battle should be fought between large warships.

But when Xuan Chong was in the captain's cabin, his unquestionable voice resonated throughout the various groups, and everyone executed the orders as if they had been struck by magic.

The situation in the navy is somewhat different from that in the army; the authority of a naval captain is greater than that of an army captain of the same rank.

Because on a warship, there is no such thing as retreat. When the army is defeated, the commander may try to survive and rebuild. In naval warfare, if a ship sinks, the officers often go down with it.

Xuan Chong issued the battle order, and the crew of this now-outdated warship, who had been waiting in vain for more than a decade, were now activated as if turned on, immediately taking their positions to fight.

150mm shells began entering the breech. Second mate: "Main gun loading complete."

Xuan Chong: "Stay hidden, get close at full speed. We don't need to hold back, let's aim for a first-shot victory."

"We need not hesitate to sacrifice ourselves" was a flag signal used by the commander of the Han Navy seventy years ago when he led his gunboats in a head-on attack during a major naval battle; it represented the fighting spirit of fighting to the death at sea.

The first mate paused for a moment, then relayed the order—in his eyes, Xuan Chong's first discovery of the enemy was already a major achievement, and he had a bright future ahead of him; now he was issuing this order! It was somewhat unexpected.

The first mate thought to himself, "This imperial descendant who was parachuted in is truly worthy of being called a member of the imperial family."

As the order was given, everyone on board the Bird's Eye Mantis Shrimp worked together in perfect harmony, like a lullaby being sung in everyone's ears.

(End of this chapter)