World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

"What a colossal ship..." Kato murmured involuntarily. Despite having seen countless intelligence photos, seeing this 45,000-ton steel monster in person was still awe-inspiring.

"Sir! The enemy ships are turning! They're accelerating!"

Through the telescope, the bow of the Fuxing began to veer to starboard, and the black smoke billowing from its funnels suddenly intensified. Its wake traced a distinct white arc on the sea surface.

"Trying to run?" Kato sneered. "Not so easy. Entire fleet, 15 degrees to starboard, seize the bow of the T! Increase speed to 28 knots!"

The orders were relayed via flag signals and radio. The four Kongo-class battleships simultaneously turned, like four sharks spotting their prey, and began to form an encirclement on the sea.

What Kato didn't know was that at the same time he saw the Fuxing, his four warships were already clearly marked on the Fuxing's radar screen.

The bridge of the Fuxing high-speed train.

"The enemy fleet is turning and attempting to outflank our ship on its starboard side!" Radar officer Zhang Hao's voice came through the loudspeaker. "Distance 17,500 meters, speed... 28 knots, and still accelerating!"

Lin Haisheng stood before the nautical chart table, his eyes chillingly calm. His fingers moved rapidly across the chart, calculating the differences in speed, angle, and distance between the two sides.

"Captain, they're trying to seize the T-series aircraft carriers," First Officer Chen Qiming said nervously. "If they succeed, all four ships can concentrate their broadside firepower on us..."

"I know." Lin Haisheng interrupted him, then looked up at Gunner Wang Zhenguo. "Gunner Wang, what's the main gun loading status?"

"All loaded! Armor-piercing shells for turrets one and two, high-explosive shells for turret three!"

"Very good." Lin Haisheng straightened up. "Attention all crew: full starboard, increase speed to 30 knots. Maintain the current course for three minutes, then turn left fifteen degrees. We need to make them think we're running away, but actually..."

He pointed heavily on the nautical chart: "We need to get around to their flank and rear."

"Go around to the flank or rear?" Chen Qiming was stunned. "Wouldn't that take us even further away from Bismarck's formation?"

"Distance isn't the problem," Lin Haisheng said. "The problem is, if the four Kongo-class destroyers line up in a single column to pursue us, they can only use their forward main guns. If we try to confront them head-on, we'll face a salvo from all thirty-two 356mm guns. But if we outflank them and force them to disperse their fire..."

He paused, his eyes sharp as knives: "Then, each time we'll face a maximum of sixteen cannons. And from a relatively long distance."

A few seconds of silence fell over the bridge. Everyone understood the captain's intention—this wasn't an escape, but a strategic retreat, a search for the only possible glimmer of hope in a situation of absolute disadvantage.

"Engine room! Maximum combat speed!" Lin Haisheng shouted into the megaphone.

"Understood! Pressurize all boilers, target—32 knots!" Chief Engineer Liu Mingde's voice was filled with a desperate drive.

The four steam turbines of the Fuxing hummed deeply, and the ship began to shake violently. The black smoke billowing from the funnels turned into thick plumes of smoke, leaving a long contrail on the sea. The speedometer needle climbed rapidly: 25 knots, 28 knots, 30 knots…

Deep inside the ship, in a narrow compartment near the waterline, Old Zhou, the head cook, was tightly clutching a sack full of potatoes.

"Damn it... driving this fast, are they trying to fly?" the fifty-something veteran cursed, but his hands remained as steady as a rock, protecting the potatoes that were to be used for stew that night.

He was the oldest sailor on the ship. He had seen the ironclad warships of the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese Naniwa. Later, he fled to Southeast Asia and then came to Dubai with Chen Feng. When the Fuxing was launched, he was one of the first veterans to board the ship.

"Squad Leader Zhou, are you alright?" A young cook, pale-faced, crawled over.

"It's nothing." Old Zhou spat. "Kid, let me tell you, I've seen this kind of thing many times. Back when I was sailing in the South China Sea, I encountered storms much bigger than this..."

Before he could finish speaking, the ship suddenly tilted violently. Everyone was thrown to one side, and pots and pans clattered and rattled.

"Hard to starboard! Full speed!" came the captain's terrifyingly calm voice over the loudspeaker.

Old Zhou clutched the sack tightly, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes. He knew the battle had begun.

At 6:14, on the bridge of the Kongo-class destroyer.

"The enemy ships are traveling at over 30 knots! They're fleeing at full speed!" The observer's voice was filled with disbelief.

Kato frowned. Intelligence indicated that the Fuxing's maximum speed was 32 knots, but that was a theoretical value. In actual combat, maintaining 30 knots was already the limit. But now, that giant ship was clearly speeding across the sea at a rate exceeding 31 knots.

"Trying to shake us off with speed?" Kato sneered. "Not so easy. Order Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima to flank us from the left. Kongo and I will pursue from the right. We'll be like a net, catching them in!"

"Sir," Kuroshima hesitated, "wouldn't it be... dangerous to disperse our forces?"

"No," Kato said confidently. "Even the Fuxing can only have eight main guns. They can only aim at one target at a time. We, on the other hand, can maintain the firepower of at least two ships from any direction. Pass down the order: once they enter firing range, open fire immediately!"

"yes!"

The order was given. The Combined Fleet's formation began to change. The Hiei and Haruna turned to port, attempting to outflank the Fusei from the left; the Kirishima followed the Kongo, relentlessly pursuing from the right.

The four warships spread out in a huge fan shape on the sea, and the Fuxing was at the apex of this fan, speeding toward the opening of the fan.

Kato, binoculars raised, stared intently at the increasingly clear target. Distance: 16,000 meters. It had entered the theoretical firing range of the Kongo-class 356mm main gun.

"Main guns ready!" he ordered in a deep voice.

The two twin-mounted turrets of the Kongo began to slowly rotate, raising the massive gun barrels to the predetermined angle. Inside the turrets, the loaders pushed the 635-kilogram armor-piercing shells into the breech, followed by the propellant charges. The breechblock closed, and the circuit was activated.

"Target: enemy ship's superstructure! Test fire from turret number one!"

"boom--!!!"

The forward main gun of the Kongo spewed out blazing flames and thick smoke, and two armor-piercing shells roared out at a speed of 780 meters per second, drawing two visible arcs in the air.

Thirteen seconds later, the shell landed about 200 meters to the port side of the Fuxing, sending up two water columns more than 30 meters high.

"Near miss! Adjust parameters, all main guns—fire salvo!"

This time, all four main guns roared simultaneously. Four shells scattered in the air, forming a deadly barrage that enveloped the Fuxing bullet train.

The bridge of the Fuxing high-speed train.

"Enemy ships open fire!" the observer shouted, his voice almost cracking.

Lin Haisheng didn't even look at the water jets. His eyes were fixed on the radar screen, watching the two points of light flanking him from the left.

"Fifteen degrees to port, distance 15,500! It's Hiei and Haruna!" the radar officer reported.

"Perfect timing." A cold smile crept across Lin Haisheng's lips. "Hard starboard! Heading 120! Main guns aimed at the port target—the Hiei! All guns fired!"