The sun never sets in America

Chapter 388 Cable and Naval Battle

If the weather this morning is God losing his temper, then now it is a little girlfriend who has been coaxed, showing herself, the best "sunshine".

On the beach, small groups of people were playing beach football, a very popular sport in Cuba. When the football was bouncing on their heads and finally kicked into the goal, those people did not know that the real danger had arrived.

“Dad, look, it’s such a big boat!!”

On the beach, a little girl in a swimsuit pointed at the warships looming on the sea with a smile, and kept giggling.

Dad looked up and saw something was wrong with the warship hiding in the clouds. Because he had served in the navy, at this point, there should be no warships returning.

But before he could react, he heard a "boom" and a loud noise on the island. Finally, a lot of gravel rolled down, almost hitting the father and daughter.

Before he could react from the panic, he heard another "bang", and the antique fort he had visited was blown up.

At this time, he was completely awake. The loud shouts of the people around him and the crying daughter kept reminding him, "The devil is coming!!"

When the huge figure of the First Emperor was inserted into the west coast of Havana, the Caribbean fleet, which was still playing on the east coast, was rushing to the west coast at the fastest speed in their lives.

The essence of war is to gain an "advantage" faster than the enemy.

On the streets, robbers who are on the run and those who fish in troubled waters together form a true "picture of human nature."

At last year's British Inquiry Conference, Kidd, who was in charge of intelligence, once said: "Information is the most important wealth of this era. Whoever controls the information controls the world!!"

"Crash!!"

"Fake, fire, fire quickly!!"

It is also for this reason that in addition to the obvious telegraph lines in Britain, a large number of secret telegraph lines are still built in some unknown corners of the sea. These telegraph lines are usually useless or even completely useless.

In the industrial age, with the emergence of the electromagnetic concept, telegraph machines, or cables, became the best method of communication.

But a cruiser is a cruiser, no matter how fast it is, it will never be a match for a battleship in a real line battle.

Donald, the governor of Havana, was like a cat whose tail was stepped on, constantly shouting for so-called "reinforcements."

At six o'clock in the evening on December 31st, the last day of the 22nd year of Longwu, on the relatively calm waters off Cuba, a naval battle that would determine the direction of the future war was erupting in a very dramatic manner.

The Fokker is a 3,000-ton cruiser, considered the most cutting-edge cruiser in the U.S. Navy.

If the cannonball just now was a provocation, then the Zhou Youwang hitting the sea on the opposite side again and causing waves was a naked humiliation.

The war finally started, although it was triggered by the continuous provocations of the mixed fleet, but what was the point? ?
The essence of war is actually that the strong bullies the weak, and the weak fights against the strong, repeating itself over and over again, endlessly.

In the industrial era, in addition to the production capacity of industrial products, there is another huge factor.

It seems to be comparable to the second batch of Zhou-class battleships in terms of firepower.

Commander Nan of the Caribbean Fleet looked at the huge waves rising around him and his wet military uniform. His expression was not very good, and he seemed to be talking more swear words than he had said in a year.

In fact, in British strategy, cutting off the Atlantic telegraph line, and even the Mediterranean telegraph line, has always been the first choice.

If the waves were just an appetizer, then a cruiser firing at them would be naked provocation and contempt.

"Boom boom boom!!!"

But in wartime, after the integration of British telegraph ships, it became a real "military weapon."

Information is like a ship carrying supplies in the sea. It not only contains supplies, but also hope! !
.............................................

Gan Changsheng stood in the captain's cabin, looking through the glass at the cables that had been blown to pieces. He had no expression and his eyes were unmoved, as if he had done a normal "little thing."

In the United States, there are also telegrams cutting off Han's access to overseas countries.

After just one round of shelling, the Fokker began to retreat. In the end, it was Apollo's third ship Zeus that came up.

(Similar to a transit base, turning ships into mobile base stations)
The Han State's mixed fleet was also the first to deal with cables, which is the first hand card in the current game of great powers.

But if you observe carefully, you will know that the Zhou Youwang is superior in terms of speed and ease of bombardment.

"Turn left twenty-five degrees..."

That is information, and information is precious in any era.

When the cables were forcibly lifted from the seabed and finally turned into smoke and dust under the fire of close-in defense artillery, the mixed fleet as the instigator even proudly threw the cable residues to the sea and directed them towards those on the shore. Cowards, show off their "masterpiece".

In the era of radio, things like the one that destroyed cables may not have happened yet, but in this era where cables are still relied on to transmit messages in both directions, the importance of cables is self-evident.

In Havana, with the arrival of the Han people, the entire city fell into chaos.

When there was a sound of communication on the warship Zhou Youwang, the rotating turret on the bridge was aiming its huge 305mm muzzle at the American ship Fokker opposite in a mechanically sounding way. Number.

On the West Bank, like a mixed fleet of bandits entering the city, they are doing one of their favorite things, "dismantling homes," or to be precise, "removing stitches."

Nancy's mouth kept "urging". If at first he wanted to show off the so-called gentleman and the so-called "observation", then now Nancy's mind was full of one idea, to kill this Han fleet.

"Turn left twenty-five degrees!!"

In Florida, not far away, they had lost any news about Cuba. Even at first, they just regarded it as an accidental "failure" and went back to repair it.

As the original battleship, Zeus had 305 guns that far exceeded this level.

However, before this plan could be implemented, it was battered and disgraced by the land war. In the end, considering reciprocal retaliation and the desire for information security, this almost "life-threatening" approach was rejected by Lincoln.

.........

In ancient times, post stations and homing pigeons were the most common and important ways of transmitting information.

"Fake!!"

This is the biggest difference between the second-generation battleships and the first-generation battleships. If the first-generation battleships are still a rush work, then starting from the second generation, starting from the design, the word "calm" is engraved on the Zhou-class battleships. of bone marrow.

From the beginning of its design, the Zhou-class battleship was destined for the decisive battle in the ocean. The reason why it was not stingy in terms of materials and costs was that it used almost the best ship technology of the Han Dynasty at that time.

Even the armor was specially developed by Hantie Company to fit the power system in its body.

In order to achieve the best effect in the war.

On the sea, the Zhou Youwang, which is constantly "squeezing" the living space of the Zeus, is a typical representative.

Boom boom boom! !

When the shells exploded around the Zeus, in a sea area two kilometers away, several battleships were forming a battle line to bombard her.

"Load, reload!!"

"hurry up……"

On the Qin Xiaogong, there were constant "urging" sounds, and one shell after another was sent into the bottom warehouse of the mobile turret.

"Click", when everything was ready, with the sound of "cannon fire", dozens of artillery shells formed a barrage and flew towards the American ship on the opposite side.

A "boom" exploded all around, setting off a stormy sea that made people's legs weak.

As the fourth ship of the Franklin class, the Boston is a typical 10,000-ton ship. This ship is also the deputy flagship of the entire Caribbean fleet, second only to the New York.

On the bridge, the sailors were leisurely carrying out the so-called "water removal", while inside the ship, as the commander, Kanat looked calmly at the still arrogant Han ship opposite. For a long time, he just As a bystander, it was not until the Han ship accelerated that the order to enter was actually given.

As the battleship among the battleships, the Boston is a typical hybrid. The ship's guns are produced in the United States, the power is purchased from the British Royal Navy, the armor technology is jointly developed by the United Kingdom and the United States, and the aiming device is modified with British technology. It can be said that this ship is an American version. "Exported goods".

When the ship "roared", the opposite Han ship was also ready for the final battle.

I saw along the battle line, from high to low, the one at the top was the King Qin Zhaoxiang, and the one in the middle was the First Emperor.

On the First Emperor, telegrams were ringing loudly. From the beginning of the war to the present, although the First Emperor had not had many opportunities to fire, it had undertaken the most important information processing work. It can be said that this ship was not only a battleship, but also an intelligence ship. Boat.

"The US ship is suspected of taking a detour to the left. Can our ship intercept it..."

"My ship was accidentally hit by a bullet just now and is in urgent need of repairs. Can it be repaired for a certain period of time??"

"My ship..."

In the telegraph room, news about the war was everywhere, constantly impacting Gan Changsheng's brain, making him unclear for a moment who was commanding the other ships, him or the captains? ?
This is the terrifying thing about industrial warfare. It no longer relies entirely on the individual command of generals. Instead, all plans are summarized in one place through telegrams. Finally, through integration, they complete a chain that ancient armies could only dream of.

As for the war geniuses in those historical stories, in this era, there will only be fewer and fewer, not more and more. The reason is that the progress of science and technology has greatly reduced the dependence on people to the end.

As for the so-called genius behind, in fact, their essence is based on "information" and the application of new weapons.

The model of war has evolved again and again. Only humans are still dreaming about those jokes of "breaking into the enemy camp single-handedly" and "wiping out 800,000 feather fans and scarves with a snap of the fingers".

.........

Boom boom boom! !

The British and French barely knew what it was like for battleships of tens of thousands of tons to bombard each other, but they had never seen the scene of eight battleships of ten thousand tons facing each other in two fronts.

The 380mm artillery shells were so powerful that just one shot caused an "earthquake" in the sea.

Inside the First Emperor, the sound of the telegraph being struck seemed completely incomparable with the loud noise from the outside world.

But the use of information is more important than ten thousand shells.

When King Qin Zhaoxiang's artillery fire covered a warship on the opposite side, the counterattack of the US ship always gave people a feeling of "out of breath".

"Fake, continue to adjust the muzzle and increase the intensity of the bombardment!!"

On the Boston, Captain Lancaro was like a furious lion, constantly shouting the so-called "counterattack."

"Whoosh", dense shells quickly shot out from the Boston's muzzle, like a frog's tongue, fast and accurate.

But it is a pity that the Han ship opposite is not a bug, but a real tiger.

"Boom", the two barrages collided, setting off another huge wave. When the sea water dispersed, the sites of both sides were in a bit of a mess, but in general, the US ship was more in a mess.

"Drip drip!!"

On the First Emperor, the sound of the telegram was like a rhythmic drumbeat, accompanied by the gunfire outside without any desire to stop, like a symphony, with lows and highs.

Bass and treble echoed, and the result was the best of stage drama.

Looking at the telegram sent from the Zhaoxiang King in his hand, Gan Changsheng's hand trembled obviously. He understood that this was the best opportunity.

But he didn't dare to agree to the price of this opportunity so easily.

After thinking for a long time, he finally said in a barrage: "Call back and say we wish them well!!"

After finishing speaking, Gan Changsheng seemed to have made a very difficult decision, and he kept gasping for air.

There was also a hint of "regret" and "admiration" in his eyes.

On the King Qin Zhaoxiang not far away, as the captain, Huo Anting softened his expression after receiving the telegram, and finally spoke in a hoarse tone: "Speed ​​up and get close to the enemy New York, we will fight them hard!! "

A strong sentence made the entire Zhaoxiang King seem to be covered with a layer of "glory".

Soon, King Qin Zhaoxiang, with his engine roaring, slowly increased his speed, and finally braved artillery fire and headed towards the Caribbean Fleet flagship New York on the left.

.........

On the New York, Nancy, as the commander, held a telescope and constantly observed the situation on the field. When she saw that the two sides were evenly matched, she breathed a sigh of relief.

But when I saw the Shihuang, which was constantly showing its power, I felt nervous again.

He didn't know when he started, but whenever he saw this battleship, he couldn't help but panic in his heart.

I always feel that this giant ship will become the nemesis of the New York.

But what he didn't notice was that a battleship named King Qin Zhaoxiang was slowly breaking away from the entire fleet and slowly approaching it.

On the sea, there were constant roars and smoke. On another battlefield a few kilometers away, a naval battle was also going on.

It's just that the protagonist has changed from a 10,000-ton battleship to a duel of thousands of tons, up to 8,000-ton sub-battleships.

It's ridiculous to say that when the Zhou-class battleship was first born, the ship was still known as the number one in the world, but now, the ship has fallen out of the top five in the world and can only be ranked sixth.

But as Navy Commander Lu Mushan said:
"The most unbelievable thing in this world is rankings. If you do things according to the so-called rankings, you will definitely lose, because the rankings are for others to see, not for you to use!!"

It is true that there is a big gap in the strength of the Zhou-class battleships compared to the Qin-class battleships that have entered the complete body. Even in terms of artillery and tonnage alone, it is a gap that can never be caught up.

But this only shows the power of the Qin-class battleships, and cannot explain the backwardness of the Zhou-class battleships.

When the Zhou-class battleship was modified, received radio command, and appeared on the battlefield, only its enemies respected it the most, because only after fighting against each other would one know how difficult this ship is.

On the "Poseidon", the sound of gunfire continued, and the smoke almost enveloped the entire superstructure of the warship, so that the commander had to slow down.

As an eight-thousand-ton battleship and the last modified battleship of the Apollo class, the entire Poseidon has better power and a more agile control system than the Zeus.

It can be said that even the New York has a lot of technology borrowed from this final battleship.

There is no doubt that the Poseidon is a tough guy. Its artillery, armor thickness, and power have all reached the pinnacle of this class of battleships. Some of its designs are even slightly ahead of the Zhou class battleships because of its latecomer advantage.

When the Poseidon rolled up the waves and injected power into the Zhou Wenwang opposite, the Wenwang, the lead ship of the Zhou-class battleship opposite, was making a bold attempt.

"Turn right and continue..."

"Boost……"

"Ignore the other side and continue!!"

When the artillery fire came, the Zhou Wenwang was still executing the roundabout attack order just issued by Captain Hao Guangming.

When the roar of the engine was accompanied by a sound and roaring gunfire from the opposite side, other warships on the sea were also doing the same action.

A few minutes later, in the surprised expression of the US Navy, a total of ten warships, like conjoined twins, circled back to their side and rear in the same way and angle. Before they could react, intensive artillery fire came. Just hit their weak spots, as well as those shooting blind spots that were previously unreachable.

What just happened is simply a "dream" for these American navies.

If a ship is like this, forget it, you can still say that they are well-trained and a good navy.

But when ten warships cut to the side at the same angle and at about the same time, they were left "panicked".

Even the most stupid person knows that either the training of the Han army is better than theirs, or there is a huge technological generation gap between the two sides.

This gap is most likely "information".

(End of this chapter)