World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

"Four Bismarck-class battleships and two Hood-class battlecruisers. One of the Hood-class is the Fuxing, and the other, the Guangfu, should be in Dubai now. Intelligence indicates that all four Bismarck-class battleships are in the Persian Gulf."

"So even if they wanted to set a trap, they could only mobilize one Kōfu," Kato analyzed. "One Kōfu, plus the Fuxing, that's two battlecruisers. We, on the other hand, have four Kongō-class battlecruisers. Two against four, that's still our advantage."

"But what if all four Bismarck-class destroyers come?" Shimada pressed. "Although intelligence indicates they're in the Persian Gulf, warships are mobile. What if the Lanfang people secretly moved the Bismarck-class destroyers to the South China Sea..."

This time, Kato did not immediately refute. He walked back to the nautical chart, carefully examining the route and the vast sea surrounding it.

"The four Bismarck-class ships, with a total displacement of over 160,000 tons, are the core force of the Lanfang Navy," he said slowly. "If they really deploy all of them, then we will not be facing an ambush, but a decisive naval battle that will determine the fate of both countries."

"Then we..."

"Then we must fight even more." Kato's voice suddenly became firm. "Because if four Bismarck-class ships really come, it means that Lanfang has staked everything on them. If we can defeat them at sea, Lanfang will completely lose its naval power, and the entire country will fall into our hands like a ripe fruit."

He looked at Shimada, his eyes gleaming with an almost fanatical light: "Shimada-kun, do you understand? This is not a crisis, it's an opportunity. It's a chance given to the Empire by heaven to solve all its problems in one fell swoop. So, regardless of whether there are ambushes behind the Fuxing train, regardless of whether the Lanfang people have set traps, we must attack, we must fight, we must win."

Shimada looked at his superior and suddenly felt a chill. It wasn't the calmness he displayed when analyzing tactics in the operations room, but a gambler's madness—the madness of betting everything on a single hand of cards.

But he said nothing, only stood at attention and saluted: "Yes, sir. I understand."

Dubai time, 2 PM.

Chen Feng stood in the underground command center of the Navy Headquarters, facing the huge electronic nautical chart. Now it had many more markings—not just the red dot representing the Fuxing and the four blue dots representing the Bismarck formation, but also more than a dozen green dots scattered around the Japanese archipelago.

"Deployment status of the submarine force." Zhou Tieshan stood to the side, holding a report in his hand. "As per your orders, we have transferred twelve U-IX type submarines from the Borneo submarine base, divided into four squadrons of three submarines each. They are all in position now."

Chen Feng carefully examined the locations of the green dots: the waters off Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo, and Maizuru. The access routes to and from these four major Japanese naval ports were under close surveillance.

"Depth of infiltration?" he asked.

"150 meters, during the day; at night, we surface to periscope depth to recharge and ventilate," Zhou Tieshan replied. "All submarines carry enough oxygen to sustain underwater navigation for 72 hours, and their battery range can reach 80 nautical miles at a speed of four knots."

"Weaponry?"

"Each submarine is equipped with six 533mm torpedo tubes, four forward and two aft, carrying a total of twenty torpedoes. They are all the latest 'Jiaolong-3' type thermal torpedoes, with a speed of 45 knots, a range of 8,000 meters, and a warhead containing 300 kilograms of TNT."

Chen Feng nodded, his gaze never leaving the nautical chart: "What are the orders?"

"The order has been issued: remain concealed and continue to monitor the movements of the Japanese naval base. If the main force of the Combined Fleet leaves port, report immediately. If..." Zhou Tieshan paused, "if a naval battle breaks out and Japanese warships are damaged and return to port, after confirming that they have lost most of their combat capability, we can seize the opportunity to finish them off."

The word "finishing blow" was spoken very softly, but it could be heard clearly in the quiet command center.

Li Te stood on the other side, his brow furrowed: "President, isn't this deployment... too risky? Submarines operating outside Japanese ports, if discovered, would be a serious diplomatic incident. Moreover, if we defeat the Combined Fleet in the East China Sea, these submarines might become unusable."

"It would be best if we didn't need them," Chen Feng replied calmly. "But we must consider the worst-case scenario—what if the naval battle doesn't achieve the desired effect, what if the Japanese warships are damaged but don't sink, and manage to escape back to their home ports? In that case, these submarines will be our last resort."

He walked to the control panel and pulled up detailed nautical charts of the four Japanese naval ports.

"Look, Yokosuka only has two main shipping lanes, deep enough for submarines to lurk. Kure and Sasebo are similar. As long as these vital passages are secured, no ship entering or leaving the port can escape the submarines' notice." Chen Feng pointed to several key locations. "Moreover, submarine torpedoes, at close range, can be more lethal to damaged warships than the main guns of battleships."

Li Te was silent for a moment, then had to admit that the deployment was tactically sound. But he still worried: "What if the submarine is detected by anti-submarine vessels during the attack…?"

"That means the Japanese navy still has the capacity to organize anti-submarine warfare, and that our naval battle has not achieved a decisive victory." Chen Feng turned around and looked at Li Te and Zhou Tieshan. "At that point, we will need to reassess the entire strategy."

The command center fell silent. Only the hum of the machines and the faint blinking of dots on the electronic charts could be heard.

"Commander-in-Chief," Zhou Tieshan broke the silence, "we have new intelligence from Tokyo. Kato Tomosaburo convened a war council in Yokosuka this morning, and the main battleships of the Combined Fleet have begun final preparations for departure. According to inside sources, they plan to set sail early tomorrow morning."

"scale?"

"At least four Kongo-class destroyers, plus a considerable number of cruisers and destroyers. The total force... exceeds our expectations."

Chen Feng narrowed his eyes: "Four Kongo-class destroyers against one Fuxing-class destroyer. They really think highly of us."

"So your judgment was correct." Li Te's voice was a little hoarse. "The Japanese did indeed intend to kill."

"Then let them come." Chen Feng walked back to the nautical chart, looking at the red dot representing the Fuxing. "Tell Lin Hai that the latest intelligence indicates Japan may deploy four capital ships. Tell him to prepare for the worst."

"Four..." Li Te gasped. "No matter how powerful the Fuxing is, it can't possibly handle four Kongo-class destroyers simultaneously. Shouldn't we have the Bismarck formation move in ahead of time?"

"No," Chen Feng shook his head. "Not now. If the Bismarck formation is exposed too early, the Japanese might cancel the operation. We need to get them hooked, to make them feel that the Fuxing is truly alone on board."