Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 281 After the Naval Battle
On February 4th, the entire national machinery was mobilized across five southeastern provinces, with warships rushing towards the area where the incident occurred, and a comprehensive dragnet was being cast.

The Eastern Shu fleet has already crossed the line with the modern Han. Three fleets departed from Weihaiwei, Sandu'ao, and Keelung, blocking the Eastern Shu fleet, while airships were launched in large numbers, circling the sea.

At this time, the original negotiation treaty with Eastern Shu in the imperial court also began to be revised.

In the Han Chinese populace, various factions have always been "domineering" and unwilling to negotiate with Eastern Shu, while the closer to the center of the imperial court, the more "benevolent" factions there are.

In 21st-century terms, the "benevolent way" is what we call "doves"; the current Han court is "dove" because it is not yet able to completely destroy Eastern Shu, and the current Han still has to deal with Eastern Shu in the southeast. If Eastern Shu could be destroyed in one fell swoop, the "doves" would soon show their claws.

For the highest levels of the Han government, "conquering Shu" is a long-term national policy. However, the plans at the highest level are not made public.

Throughout history, when the Han Dynasty was powerful, its foreign policy followed only one principle: to plan for the benefit of future generations!

Any external force that has historically offended us is inevitably a problem that strategists throughout history need to address from a "century-long perspective." One hundred years, two hundred years, three hundred years! No matter how long it is, it doesn't matter. The Bohai Kingdom in the east and the Xiongnu in the north are already historical terms. Eastern Shu will, in the future, become history like the Tasmanian tiger of the Dianlu region.

Over the past few decades, pacifism has developed among the people of Eastern Sichuan. Some Sichuanese have lamented, "The world is one family. How wonderful it would be if there were no hatred between the people of Sichuan and the Han people!"

However, this was met with disdain by the modern Han government. Because, over the past few centuries, the Eastern Shu had done things that made the modern Han government feel that "they can't sleep at night until the enemy is dead."

"A bed can accommodate a cat, but not a venomous snake!"

Even now, with Dongshu on the verge of death, it still wants to bite with its venomous fangs. It is such a venomous snake. Moreover, it thinks that its venomous fangs are like a kitten's claws. It does not take the "grudge" caused by its behavior seriously. After making strange moves time and time again, it hopes to "smash the dumplings".

Unless it's a forgetful country or a forgetful person, once you see a venomous snake, you have to seize the opportunity to kill it completely before you can feel at ease.

…folk…

Although news was censored, in the teahouses and taverns of Southeast China, news of the naval battle became a popular topic of conversation!

Regardless of the era, the topic of conversation among men is always war.

Man 1: "I heard that the Shu fleet has reached the East China Sea!"

Man 2: "Really? How do you know?"

Man 1: "Would I lie to you? I heard it from someone who works at sea." (He puts his finger to his lips, as if whispering, but his voice doesn't decrease much.) The day before yesterday morning, we fought at sea for five hours when the Shu-class battleships suddenly appeared west of Ryukyu. Our light patrol ships were directly attacked.

Amidst the astonishment of the crowd, their doubts about the news were subsequently raised.

Then Man 1: The damaged ship is currently docked at the shipyard in Hangzhou.

At this moment, the third man interrupted, "Stop praising others! Our fleet did have a damaged frigate that returned to port, but the fleet used hyena tactics to delay it. Our main fleet has already formed an encirclement at sea. Just now, we sank three of the Shu army's large ships."

Upon seeing this gentleman, the group of men confirmed that he had connections in the navy and immediately urged him, "Oh my, Master Sun has arrived! Please sit down, please have a seat. And please tell us, what's going on?"

…100,000 heavenly soldiers capture the sea monster…

Twenty hours later, the Eastern Shu fleet was intercepted by the rapid formation launched from Weihaiwei. Due to the disruption of the attack plan by "miscellaneous troops" such as Xuan Chong, the Eastern Shu fleet was forced to split into several groups.

The massive steel formation, its wakes no longer regular, resembled nematodes struggling haphazardly on the sea surface.

From God's perspective, the Eastern Shu battle fleet did not need to separate a battle formation to deal with miscellaneous ships such as modern Han frigates and light cruisers that it encountered along the way.

However, the Shu army was on a long-distance raid, deep into enemy territory, just like a petty thief picking a lock in the middle of the night, who would react to the sound of a dog barking.

Furthermore, in recent years, the Eastern Shu's naval development has become unbalanced in the arms race, focusing on capital ships while neglecting auxiliary fleets. They have attempted to gain tactical advantage through the superiority of a single fleet.

In other words, during major battles, individual ships would exchange damage for battle losses.

However, the tactical shortcomings envisioned by the Shu army could be compensated for by strengthening individual ships, but the strategic advantage would be lost.

In laymen's numerous reports, the main protagonists of naval battles are all giant ships and cannons. But before the naval confrontation, destroyers and frigates spend 90% of the fleet's mission time doing the work.

When the main force of the Eastern Shu saw the lightweight warships, they realized they had been discovered and had to consider which fleet was behind the patrol warships of the Han Dynasty.

This is how the Eastern Shu fleet made its decision. They encountered the Bird-Eye Mantis Shrimp and two escort ships, but they couldn't determine what was behind these individual ships. So they were immediately filled with anxiety and uncertainty.

In hindsight, strategists would always think, "Why didn't we just go all out after launching a surprise attack from thousands of nautical miles away?" But the person in charge of the large fleet is always the naval commander who thinks comprehensively. Having always held a lot of leverage, they dare not act recklessly.

Taking a reckless step doesn't just mean losing hundreds of millions in the stock market; it means directly robbing the country of a bone.

It can be said that the "single-ship advantage" strategy was dominated by the old men of the Eastern Shu Navy. What they came up with was a conventional decisive battle. In the battleship decisive battle envisioned decades ago, the lack of auxiliary fleets was not a big problem.

However, the veteran naval officers did not know that once the new fleet was built, the rising young officers would try to outmaneuver the enemy and launch surprise attacks!
Based on past technological levels, predictions of naval warfare tactics were accurate. However, the old guard didn't anticipate the advent of the electromagnetic stealth era. Naval warfare tactics evolve with the times; the battleship duels they were familiar with decades ago are now obsolete in the face of "black swan" technologies.

The current surprise attack plans in Eastern Shu are all ingenious ideas devised by young staff officers in the rear. However, these young staff officers in Eastern Shu lack naval experience. The surprise attack strategies they propose are often based on the ideal scenario of the capital ships facing each other head-on. They have not witnessed the complex process of reconnaissance, information gathering, and analysis at sea on the eve of battleship gunnery engagement.

In naval battles, with flexible tactics, a lack of auxiliary fleets is fatal. That is, any mishap during a surprise attack will force the commander of the main fleet to deal with miscellaneous tasks as part of the "complex situation."

As for the capital ship commander, he was stubborn and concentrated the main fleet without sending any other fleets to scout! What would happen then? In the Battle of Tsushima and the Battle of Surigao Strait, the losers were blindly charging headlong into the "T" shape.

Before being completely wiped out, the losers would bravely declare, "We will charge forward until we are all destroyed." In the naval battle, after the losers were defeated, the winners would lose several torpedo boats.

In Xuan Chong's previous life, military enthusiasts had a common understanding: aircraft carriers need to be large to carry many carrier-based aircraft; destroyers need to be large to have many bomb craters; nuclear submarines need to be large and not have a "turtleback" (a large, curved shape resembling a turtleback). Indeed, that's what the Soviets thought in their later years, and that's what the US did in its later stages.

However, in actual naval battles, the seemingly insignificant frigates are a crucial element.

The most important factor for a successful frigate design is its cost-effectiveness. When a certain type of frigate is mass-produced, its price per unit tonnage is more cost-effective than that of capital ships; this is what makes it a strategic warship.

Frigates should have all the basic functions and be numerous. Ideally, there should be one or two in each sea area to do miscellaneous tasks whenever needed.

This frees up the main fleet, allowing for more strategic maneuvering.

Han is now financially powerful, with its stock of light cruisers of around 3,000 tons exceeding three digits.

After being discovered by Zhou Xu's fleet, the Eastern Shu fleet was repeatedly probed by light cruisers from various directions. Due to the shadow of being ambushed by the "bird-eyed mantis shrimp" earlier, they had to adjust their formation one after another, thus losing crucial time.

The Weihai Fleet of the Han Dynasty pursued them aggressively.

…The baton is passed on, and the runner leaves the field…

The perspective shifts to the north, where five cruisers from the Eastern Shu were relentlessly pursuing Xuan Chong until sunset.

After nightfall, the entire ship was placed under a blackout. Under the fixed oil lamps in the cabin, Xuan Chong inspected the fleet's situation and, after determining that the fuel could only support the distance traveled at an economical speed, began to replan the sea route to Japan.

Stepping off the ship, Xuan Chong looked at the North Star in the sky and let out a breath.

Xuan Chong: "The day the dragon raises its head is really exciting."

Two days later, the Birdseye Mantis Shrimp sailed north, arriving at the southern side of the Tsushima Strait in Japan. It bypassed the bustling Nagasaki and headed directly into Saga. According to the map, this was a port with a deep indentation in the coastline, with only a small opening on the south side. Nagasaki was outside the opening to welcome passing travelers, while Saga was in the deep harbor.

While textbooks from the Xuanchong era always mention that Lüda and Weihaiwei were key points of contention among the great powers, in reality, Saga's terrain was more advantageous, and in this timeline, the present-day Han maintained an important military base there.

Of course, in Nagasaki, my light cruiser is a big shot and the sailors can do whatever they want; but in Saga, the ranks are all higher and higher, and I will be harassed when I write a report upon entering the port!

Ultimately, Xuan Chong decided to "write a self-criticism." After all, it was wartime, and everything was for the sake of stability. If the enemy became aggressive and followed him to Nagasaki, they could shell the free port in retaliation. In the end, the higher-ups divided the blame. His original achievement of discovering the enemy at sea would be "refuted" by the officials in Nagasaki and thus "remained unpublished."

But if we go to Saga, let alone whether the other side dares to retaliate, even if they do retaliate, this naval port can't protect us, so we can't blame ourselves.

After the ships entered the safe zone waters smoothly, local merchant ships along the way gave way.

Xuan Chong watched these exceptionally friendly locals waving goodwill flags from several hundred meters away, put on a polite smile, and hummed "Little Baga" to himself.

…After entering the northern port, they began to deal with the inspection…

As Xuan Chong had expected, the warship, which belonged to the Xuan Fourth Fleet, was "settled" after entering the port; it kept asking questions and seemed to want to investigate thoroughly.

They also collected statements from sailors, attempting to find evidence that the patrol ship 023 had deserted due to fear of battle, and then exposed it.

This is because the ship belongs to the Southeast Navy system, while this northern naval port is under the jurisdiction of the north.

Seeing the solemn expressions of his colleagues in the harbor, Xuan Chong guessed that Yandu wanted to get involved.

This great war against Eastern Shu, though nominally a national policy, was ultimately dominated by the Jianye faction. For Yandu, a pretext was needed. The suspected naval retreat of the Sparrow-Eyed Mantis Shrimp was a perfect target.

At that time, the situation at sea was still unclear, so the port officials were acting on orders from above. However, a few days later, those who had been conducting a rigorous investigation changed their tune and became more amiable.

…unemployed…

While at the officers' sanatorium, Xuan Chong also saw the report of the "Battle of Liuhai" in the newspaper. The Eastern Shu, which had come from afar, lost eight battleships when faced with the well-rested and prepared East China Sea Fleet of the present Han Dynasty.

"Just how many Dongshu ships sank?" Xuan Chong didn't believe the newspapers anymore. But glancing at the series of ship numbers listed in the newspaper reports praising his own ships, he understood that his contribution was significant. (Small contributions wouldn't be enough for his colleagues to share.)
For Jianye, allowing the enemy to infiltrate so closely without their knowledge was a sign of intelligence negligence. At this point, there was no time to reflect on the shortcomings; the priority was to treat it as a cause for celebration and to vigorously commend those who had contributed.

In particular, a warship of 3,000 tons dared to fire on an enemy battleship; the captain must be commended.

Xuan Chong had already seen the ship's name, "Xun 023," in the newspaper and knew that this was a signal from the southern leadership. It meant, "Little Chong, we all came from the same gun battles."

Next, Xuan Chong will still be investigated, and the entire fleet will conduct separate interrogations.

Clearly, some of the bigwigs in the north did not believe the naval battle accounts from Jianye. However, the southern fleet was too monolithic, and Yandu could not make decisions, so the Japanese obtained the "Cruiser 023" warship and tried to find a breakthrough.

Meanwhile, the southern part of Jianye was not in a hurry to contact them, because Xuan Chong replied, "My results are genuine."

In mid-February, the investigation team was replaced with a new group of adults. Xuan Chong was summoned to the courtyard.

A round-faced, beardless man with a amiable demeanor stepped forward, immediately praising himself and his troops for their performance in the skirmish on behalf of Yandu. Xuan Chong responded flawlessly, secretly on guard.

However, the bearded man quickly changed the subject: "General (Xuan Chong was a fourth-rank Wuwei General), were you somewhat surprised by this naval encounter?"

Xuan Chong immediately became alert and denied that the encounter was an "accident." — To admit that the naval battle was an "accident" was to admit that there were loopholes in his superiors' naval defenses.

Xuan Chong, looking at the palace man who clearly spoke with a Tianjin accent (like a comedian), immediately declared righteously, "My fleet patrols the East China Sea according to established procedures, defending the nation's borders. We are always ready when we set sail! During this battle, although I was afraid, I felt His Majesty's earnest guidance in my ear. The day before the battle, I heard His Majesty say, 'Young man, be careful, don't embarrass yourself!'"

The eunuch quickly affirmed, then changed the subject: "Yes, General, you are mighty. Your ship is suddenly facing such a fleet at sea. Isn't that a bit too risky, hehe?"

Xuan Chong: "Your Excellency is mistaken. My ship is a second-line fleet and cannot keep up with the tactics of the main warships. To be able to encounter the enemy and engage in combat during defensive operations is, yes, yes, (Xuan Chong thought for a long time and finally managed to say), this life has been worthwhile."

The palace maid from the north awkwardly ended the topic, failing to extract any information from the young Liu Haoxing regarding the "oversights in the arrangement of the southeastern navy."

Although the inspectors heard complaints from other sailors in the 032 fleet that "while our ship was on strict watch, other ships were merely mooring slowly," as long as Captain Liu Haoxing didn't budge, this wouldn't be accepted.

However, Xuan Chong was quite well-mannered and insisted that the entire fleet was under the leadership of the Hangqian Naval Office and was loyal to its duties.

The emperor of Yandu had no reason to want to put pressure on the southern faction.

The eunuch looked at Xuan Chong, who gave a polite smile. The old palace man sighed: This eighteen-year-old captain should have been a playboy, but who would have thought he would keep such a tight mouth and not be able to open it.

…He mistakenly entered the Heavenly Palace and advised me to put down the sand in my hand…

The following day, in the palace, the emperor (Liu Lu) received the full contents of the report. Looking at the Eastern Island in the north on the map of the Nine Provinces, he nodded and said, "Good, good."

He then said to the palace servants, "Don't make things difficult for that child. If he goes too far, the adults behind him won't be able to stand it."

The emperor then said to the ministers who had come with him, "Let the Sima handle it himself, but the rewards and punishments must be fair."

As early as 150 years ago, the emperor had already delegated almost all government affairs to the three highest officials in the court. Therefore, the instruction just given was, "I'm not involved in this matter anymore. If you want to find fault with the south, find another way."

After the foreign officials left, Emperor Liu Lu summoned the inner court officials and reprimanded them, saying, "You bully the weak and fear the strong. I sent you to find fault in the south, but I sent you to deal with matters in the east."

The emperor pointed to the report in the internal affairs investigation that "the expenditure on medical supplies for the wounded and sick in the south has increased significantly," and said to the officials: "Why not investigate such an obvious problem, but instead focus on that little kid from the Dongtu family!"

Liu Lu was furious. He knew very well that the reason for this situation was that the southeast was an impenetrable wall; his subordinates, to avoid trouble, chose "people who were jumping around in the east" to try to pressure him and get the job done.

Although Dongtu's previous erratic behavior displeased Liu Lu, now that the Dongtu children are "flawless" in naval battles, these fools insist on using his name to find fault! This is tantamount to not doing what he himself requested and damaging his own reputation.

…A single song can sway the tower…

The official residence of the capital government is even more magnificent than the royal palace, but not a single office dares to exceed the palace's specifications.

The eight cabinet ministers were exchanging ideas when Lin Sima asked the eunuch, "Did His Majesty really say that? Did he not give any instructions to Dongtu?"

The eunuch said, "His Majesty said that important military and state affairs require public discussion, and even the imperial family should avoid suspicion."

The otherwise grand meeting room fell silent. Since everyone was on the table, the important figures, though harboring their own private thoughts, dared not express their opinions, lest the censors seize upon this and accuse them of "the treacherous minister has revealed himself."

After the eunuch left, another cabinet minister asked, "Are we left with no other option but to find another way?"

Minister of War: "What other way is there? We were hoping to pry open a crack from this young brat. Now we've wasted so much time with no results, and we want to turn around and investigate those people in the south? They've already made up for all the oversights."

Note: The officials and scholars of Yandu were also shrewd. They knew that to investigate the bureaucratic interest groups in the south, simply prying open the cabinet documents was not enough; they would have to ask the emperor's prestige to make inroads. However, the emperor's prestige could not be used arbitrarily. They could only listen to inquiries and occasionally send palace servants to grasp the key points. They could not send people everywhere, otherwise it would appear that they were specializing in collecting dirt.

Lin Sima held the list of "meritorious service" sent by the Governor-General of the Hangzhou Navy: "Then let's decide on the rewards and punishments on this list tonight."

(End of this chapter)