World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

In the first exchange, both sides were hit by two missiles.

In the second round, the Fuxing bullet train was hit by three missiles, and the Kongo bullet train was hit by one missile.

The third round...

"The bridge has been hit!" A desperate cry came from the Kongo.

A 381mm high-explosive shell struck the upper part of the Kongo's bridge. Although it did not penetrate the armored command tower, the shockwave and shrapnel from the explosion swept across the open command platform.

Kato Yusaburo was thrown to the ground by the blast wave, his forehead hitting the railing and bleeding profusely. But he immediately got up, wiping the blood from his face: "Keep firing! Don't stop!"

The situation is even worse for the Fuxing bullet train.

Three consecutive 356mm armor-piercing shells struck the midsection of the ship. Although the main armor belt withstood the impact, the superstructure was riddled with holes. The No. 2 turret was hit directly, and the gun barrel was twisted into a pretzel. The foremast collapsed and crashed onto the foredeck.

Most fatally, a shell pierced the armor near the waterline on the starboard side, tearing a three-meter-wide gash. Seawater rushed in.

"Massive flooding in compartment B-3 on the starboard side! We can't stop it!" Damage control team leader Sun Dayong's voice came through the intercom, filled with despair.

"Close the watertight door! Abandon B-3!" Lin Haisheng ordered through gritted teeth.

"But there's still something inside..."

"I said, close the watertight door!" Lin Hai's voice was hoarse. "That's an order!"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the intercom, then Sun Dayong's deep voice came through: "...Yes."

In compartment B-3, five young damage control team members were using their bodies to plug a leaking crack. They were stunned when they heard the hydraulic sound of a watertight door closing overhead.

"Captain! The door is closed!" a team member shouted in terror.

Sun Dayong looked at them; the youngest of them was only seventeen. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but no sound came out.

The seawater had reached my chest. The lights flickered a few times and then went out. In the darkness, only the roar of the sea and the faint sound of cannons in the distance could be heard.

"Brothers," Sun Dayong said finally, "we... will still be Lanfang's navy in our next life."

The seawater submerged their heads.

At 6:35 a.m., seven minutes before Bismarck's formation arrived.

The Fuxing bullet train was listing severely to starboard, and its speed had dropped to 22 knots. Of its eight main guns, only four were still operational, and the superstructure was almost entirely destroyed. The death toll exceeded three hundred.

The Kongo wasn't in much better shape. Its bridge was severely damaged, both main gun turrets were malfunctioning, and its speed had dropped to 25 knots. But two other intact Kongo-class ships—the Hiei and Haruna—were approaching from both sides.

Lin Haisheng stood on the sloping bridge, holding onto the railing for balance. His left arm was cut by shrapnel, and blood soaked through his uniform, but he seemed oblivious to the pain.

"Captain, Hiei is within firing range!" Wang Zhenguo's voice came through; he was still at his post in the fire control room.

"Then let's fire," Lin Hai said. "Fire until the last shell."

The remaining four main guns of the Fuxing fired again. But this time, all the shells landed in front of the Hiei—the guns' elevation and depression mechanisms were damaged, making accurate aiming impossible.

However, the salvo from Hiei and Haruna accurately covered Fuxing.

Four consecutive shots hit.

A fire broke out in the bow, the engine room flooded, and the last working boiler went out. The Fuxing's speed dropped to 10 knots and continued to decline.

"It's over." Aboard the Kongo, Kato Yusaburo looked at the burning behemoth and let out a long sigh of relief. "Order all ships to close in and deliver the final blow. Send them on with torpedoes..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Suddenly, a terrified scream came from the watchtower:

"Southeast! Detected...detected four giant warships! Distance...distance indeterminate! They're enormous! Larger than the Fuxing!"

Kato suddenly grabbed the binoculars and aimed them at the southeast direction.

On the horizon, four enormous, dark gray shadows were cleaving through the waves at an astonishing speed. Their hulls were longer and wider than those of the Kongo-class ships, their main gun turrets were arranged in an unprecedented manner, and their gun barrels were terrifyingly large.

On the masts of those warships, the yellow and blue Lanfang naval ensigns fluttered in the morning breeze.

"What is that..." Kato's voice trembled. "What on earth is that..."

His question was soon answered.

Thirty kilometers away on the sea, on the bridge of the Yangtze River, Major General Zhang Zhen lowered his binoculars.

"Target confirmed, four Kongo-class destroyers." His voice was as calm as a routine training exercise. "Main guns loading armor-piercing rounds, fire control radar locked on the flagship. Distance... 28,000 yards."

He paused, glanced at the clock: 6:38.

"Fire all ships at once," he said. "Send them to meet Amaterasu."

The 32 380mm main guns of the four Bismarck-class battleships simultaneously raised their muzzles.

At 6:38 a.m., at 125 degrees 05 minutes east longitude and 28 degrees 51 minutes north latitude.

On the bridge of the battleship Yangtze, Rear Admiral Zhang Zhen lowered his binoculars and nodded to his chief of staff beside him. His expression was as calm as if he were inspecting a routine training exercise, but the sharp glint in his eyes betrayed the difference in this moment.

"Has the target data been confirmed?" Zhang Zhen's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear on the quiet bridge.

The operations staff immediately replied, "Confirmed, sir. Radar has locked onto four large surface targets, identification complete—Kongo, Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima. Distance 28,000 yards, heading 310, speed ranging from 18 to 25 knots."

"What about the Fuxing bullet train?"

"Fuxing... radar signal is very weak, the ship is listing severely to starboard, and the speed is estimated to be no more than 10 knots. It is currently between Kongo and Hiei, about 10,000 yards away."

Zhang Zhen was silent for a few seconds. His fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the control panel, making a rhythmic "tap, tap" sound. Everyone on the bridge held their breath, waiting for orders.

"Too close," Zhang Zhen finally spoke. "The Fuxing is too close to the enemy ship. If we open fire now, there's a risk of friendly fire."

"But sir, the Fuxing can't hold out much longer!" the chief of staff said urgently. "Radar shows their superstructure signal is rapidly weakening; they may already be..."

"I know," Zhang Zhen interrupted him, walking to the radar screen. On the screen, the dot representing the Fuxing bullet train flickered faintly, almost swallowed by four brighter dots around it. "So we need precision strikes. Fire control officer!"

"Here!" The fire control officer stood at attention.

"What is the hit rate of your radar against a target the size of the Kongo at a range of 28,000 yards?"

The fire control officer hesitated for a moment: "Theoretical values... eight to twelve percent, sir. But this is the first real-world test, and the target is moving..."

"That's enough." Zhang Zhen raised his hand. "Eight percent. With all thirty-two cannons firing in a salvo, at least two or three shots will hit. Two or three 380mm armor-piercing shells are enough to render any Kongo-class ship combat ineffective."