afterglow

Chapter 337 Scapa Rainbow; Everything is ready!
In ancient times, people got married under orders, ransacked homes under orders, and handled cases under orders. Now, something new has happened in the Ming Dynasty - taking vacations under orders.

The power of the Ming Emperor was not small, and such "little things" were insignificant. The gold-tongued emperor could just say whatever he said.

After a long flight with ups and downs, Zhou Changfeng, Xia Xiaoshi and Lin Xi arrived in Sanya Prefecture and checked into the largest hotel in the area - Wanli Changsha.

Wanli Changsha is also one of the many islands in the South China Sea. The name of this big hotel is quite grand.

This has been an excellent natural harbor since ancient times. It has deep water and calm seas, and is surrounded by mountains. There are nearby mountains such as Hutou Ridge, Qiongnan Ridge, Chiling, etc. as supporting points to help guard this naval base.

The Second Battle Fleet of the Ming Navy's Nanyang Fleet is stationed here, along with two light cruiser fleets and three destroyer fleets.The homeport of most of the submarines belonging to the Nanyang Fleet is here, with a total of six submarine fleets.

Compared with its military use, the tourism potential here has not yet been developed on a large scale as in later generations. The main reason is that long-distance travel is still very luxurious for ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty.

However, many businessmen are also keenly aware of the extraordinary potential of this place - the Wanli Changsha Hotel was built with investment from multiple companies.

Compared with the humid and cold Jiangnan, the daytime temperature in Sanya Prefecture in January can reach [-] degrees, which is very warm.

The wind carrying the salty smell of the sea blows by, making people feel like a spring breeze.

"It's so comfortable. It's really warm and pleasant at the southern end of Guochao. The span between the north and the south is so different. Those places in Lingbei should be freezing with three feet of ice and heavy snowfall."

Xia Xiaoshi, who was full of joy, was sitting on a bench. She was wearing pink and indigo clothes, similar to the style of a skirt.

In front of her were the golden sandy beach and the blue-green sea. White swells washed up on the beach, making a "swishing" sound.

Next to him, Zhou Changfeng was lying comfortably on a straw mat with his hands behind his head.

"Yes, last month on Bitter Leaf Island, the harbor was frozen, and there were still a lot of ice floes." As he spoke, he stretched and sighed: "It's been a long, long time since I felt this comfortable. I’ve been so busy these past two years!”

"That's so absolute, Zhou Kexing, you said before that you were very comfortable in prison."

"..." Zhou Changfeng, who couldn't laugh or cry, sat up and reached out to pinch her waist with feigned anger, "Okay, okay, the wife I married home makes fun of me every day, right?"

The two played around for a while, and suddenly realized that Lin Xi was not far behind them.

Ahem, the young girl saw the couple flirting, it was embarrassing.

In fact, Lin Xi didn't want to come to the beach with him. She had been dealing with the sea a lot since she was a child.

When heading to the sea, collect crabs, sea anemones, octopus, shells, etc. that fall on the beach at low tide.

When participating in non-commissioned officer training, they are often taken to the beach for training, which is hard and tiring.

Although it's not a past that she can't bear to look back on, she really has no interest in the beach or the sea.

"Sir, you will have to count the sand every day from now on, alas -" Xia Xiaoshi sighed softly, somewhat sadly.

It was actually Zhou Changfeng who said this first. He joked that after the war broke out, he would spend most of his time doing two things - either looking at the sea or counting the sand.

This is actually a disguised form of comfort for her - fierce battles are not the norm. In war, dull waiting and preparation are the daily routine.

"I know that if I complain any more, I will appear selfish and ignorant, but..."

"Okay, okay, I know what you are going to say." Zhou Changfeng turned his head and looked into the distance, "This is a total war. The fewer people who stay out of it, the stronger our country will be. The destiny of the country is actually related to everyone. It has something to do with it.”

"..." Xia Xiaoshi lowered her head slightly and remained silent.

"If you want to be more open, I will write to you. Then, every time I go to a new place, I will send you a bottle of local sand."

The two hugged each other deeply and separated after a long time. Then they leaned side by side on the bench and began to talk and laugh about the gender and name of their future child.

The warm sunshine spreads down, the sky is clear, and the sea and sky are aligned.

At the southern tip of this large island in the southern border of the empire, the days of peace and tranquility are coming to an end.

Unlike the two of them, in the naval base ten kilometers away in a straight line, everyone from the porters to the stewards, from ordinary sailors to the fleet chief officer, was very busy.

"One for one, the Germans suffered a big loss."

"Who says otherwise? In fact, they should have retreated from the beginning. This was really a bit rash."

"This is just the first battle. Britain and France have already established a firm foothold in several port cities in western Norway. The Germans' plan for a surprise attack has been ruined. The war in Northern Europe may be delayed."

"It's okay, I wish they would drag it down."

Berlin was very candid and conveyed first-hand information to the Ming court immediately.

The British Royal Navy has a total of 15 battleships. Not counting the Z fleet that is about to arrive in Singapore and the sunk HMS Repulse, there are still 9 battleships.

Compared with the Royal Navy of the Empire on which the sun never sets, the Workers' Navy is much inferior.

Although there were no restrictions from Versailles, the resources that the German Society devoted to the navy were not sufficient. They had clear goals for the development direction of the navy-basically an ocean-going breakup fleet.

When they learned that the fleet's battleships would be divided up by the victorious countries, the German sailors carried out Operation Rainbow - taking advantage of the British's relaxation, they all opened the sea valves and scuttled themselves.

总共有10艘战列舰、5艘战列巡洋舰以及一些驱逐舰成功自沉，只有1艘战列舰、3艘巡洋舰、18艘驱逐舰失败。

The Bavarian-class battleship Baden was a little slower, but the British took back control and drove it to the coast. It eventually sank on the shoal and was quickly salvaged.

In history, the battleship Baden was idle like this, and was eventually sunk as a target ship, ending her short life hastily.

However, what is completely different is that the German Society exchanged high-level prisoners-more than ten people, including a general, for the Baden.

The British, who were very disgusted and bored, did something - they injected high-concentration sulfide liquid into the boiler, and then pumped it out and drained it after a period of time. On the surface, there seemed to be no difference, but the boiler was greatly embrittled and its service life was greatly reduced. .

Therefore, just two months after the Germans got the Baden, they found that her boiler was almost useless.

Considering that the oil-coal mixed-fired boilers were already backward, the Germans modernized her and replaced her with nine new heavy oil boilers and three steam turbines. The total power reached 9 horsepower, and the maximum speed was increased. to verse 3.

The Baden was first renamed the "Red Kiel" and later the "Scapa Rainbow" - which can be said to attract hatred.

Her mission is to stay in the naval base as part of the existing fleet, forcing the Royal Navy to treat it with caution.

In addition, in the mid-20s, the German Society rebuilt the battlecruisers Mackensen and Graf Spee, which had been lying on the slipway and in a state of semi-abandonment.The standard displacement of the completed Mackensen-class battlecruiser is 32 tons. In terms of power system, the original 12 old-fashioned boilers were abandoned and replaced with 4 heavy oil boilers, driving 30 steam turbines with a normal output of 31 horsepower. Horsepower, maximum speed is [-] knots, and can reach [-] knots when overloaded.

Now, Deshe has two cutting-edge high-speed battleships under construction, with a standard displacement of more than 406 tons. They are planned to be equipped with twin 30mm naval guns and have a speed of more than [-] knots. They plan to name them after Ma and En.

The Workers' Navy now also has one Bavaria-class battleship, two Mackensen battlecruisers, and one Franz-class battlecruiser. The latter three are all high-speed capital ships that can pose a fatal threat to the Atlantic transportation line.

Therefore, the Royal Navy does not dare to slack off at all now - if these battle cruisers break through the North Sea blockade and rush into the Atlantic Ocean, something big will happen.

The Reputation has now gone to the Far East, and the only high-speed capital ship of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet is the Hood, which still needs repairs.

Fortunately, the French Navy can still help - although the Richelieu class has not yet been commissioned, there are still two Dunkirk-class battlecruisers among the battleships.

If not, Admiral Charles would probably suggest that the Reputation be quickly transferred back from the Far East.

At present, Ming Dynasty is intensively preparing for the large-scale operation that is about to be launched. Because it has been planned for a long time, one month is generally enough.

The operation number is "A word/[-]/No. [-]/Change [-]", and the code name is "簰[zhù]Xia".

The ground combat units consist of the 20st and 30nd Marine Corps Brigades, the Army's No. 30 Second Infantry Division, No. [-] Third Infantry Division, No. [-] Eighth Infantry Division, the Second Motorized Infantry Brigade, the First Tank Brigade, and the Army's No. [-] Eighth Infantry Division. It is composed of an independent assault tank battalion, the [-]th Engineering Brigade, the [-]th Engineering Brigade, and the [-]th Air Service Team.

They were organized into the Third Army, with a total strength of about 8, and more than [-] light, medium, and heavy tanks. The participating units were all standing troops, and their training level was the best among the Ming army.

The air force combat unit consists of the [-]th Destroyer Detachment, [-]nd Light Bombing Detachment, [-]st Dive Bombing Detachment, and [-]rd Transport Detachment.

They are organized into the First Air Force and contain a total of more than 600 aircraft of various types.

The naval combat unit is the largest, mainly composed of the Nanyang Fleet, but there are also battle fleets that come to the aid of the Eastern Fleet, collectively known as the A-[-] Special Agent Fleet.

In order to eliminate the thorn in the side of Fleet Z, the Ming Navy spent all their efforts——

Deploy the two Zhenguan-class ships of the First Battle Fleet of the Nanyang Fleet, Zhenguan and Yonghui; the two Kenmu-class ships of the First Battle Fleet of the Eastern Fleet, Yongping and Showa; and the two-class two ships of the Second Battle Fleet of the Eastern Fleet. A unique high-speed battleship, Kaihuang and Longshuo.

The six battleships were divided into two groups because of their different speeds.

A-4 artillery fleet: 4 low-speed battleships, 12 light cruisers, [-] destroyers, and the aircraft carrier Tianshi Zuoguan as auxiliary. (attack)

Type A 2 artillery fleet: 2 high-speed battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 6 light cruisers, [-] destroyers, and the Amaichi Ugaki aircraft carrier as an auxiliary. (attack)

C-2 air raid fleet: 2 battlecruisers, 6 light cruisers, 2 destroyers, and [-] core aircraft carriers - Taiwei Zuoyuan and Taiwei Right. (attack)

C-4 Lightning Strike Fleet: 12 light cruisers and [-] destroyers. (support)

A-7 submarine warfare fleet: 6 submarines and [-] ocean-going submarines. (attack)

E-22 submarine fleet: 11 submarines and 2 ocean-going submarines. (break a relationship)

Then there was a detachment to escort the landing force, consisting of a dozen destroyers and several light cruisers.

It can be said that the Ming Navy moved out all its most elite forces, and the remaining fleet was mainly to defend against the Americans.

Although Ming's actions have been noticed by the British, as of now, the Americans seem to have no intention of getting involved.

The federal government may be interested in participating, but domestic public opinion is still uncertain, so the Americans responded simply by ordering the Pacific Fleet to conduct an exercise.

Out of basic alertness, the three oldest Yuanshui-class battleships of the Ming Dynasty and some auxiliary ships formed a mobile garrison fleet to deal with accidents that may occur at any time.

Some ocean-going submarines have also been ordered to perform patrol missions on several major routes in the Pacific to monitor the whereabouts of the US fleet.

Starting from the 22nd, military trains loaded with soldiers, weapons, ammunition, food, and spare parts began to drive to Leizhou Peninsula from all over the country, day and night.

Groups of aircraft from various air force bases also roared past, transferring to Nanning, Qiongshan, and Guangzhou.

Near the hotel where Zhou Changfeng and Xia Xiaoshi were staying, warships were slowly moored into the port area one after another from time to time.

In such an atmosphere, they spent the most relaxing eighteen days.

"...Take care of yourself, take a good rest at home, and don't run around outside."

"Ah."

In the airport terminal, the large electric fan on the ceiling was whirring. Zhou Changfeng sent Xia Xiaoshi and Lin Xi here, surrounded by a few passengers waiting for the flight.

With a look of reluctance, Xia Xiaoshi whispered, "I feel like you've gained some weight these days."

"Really?" Zhou Changfeng stared at her, stretched out his hand to pinch her cheek, and said with a smile, "It's okay, I will lose weight."

A quarter of an hour later, the DC-3 passenger plane took off leisurely and flew towards the north.

After watching the passenger plane disappear into the blue sky and white clouds, Zhou Changfeng took a deep breath, raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then left the airport and went straight to the naval base.

The Yulin Naval Base of the Ming Dynasty is now full of stars...

No, the generals on the Ming army's rank card do not have stars, but purple frames. It should say "Purple frame gathering".

More than a dozen generals from the land, sea and air force gathered together, all tall, short, fat, thin, elegant and tough.

"...Basically in place, there is still a shortage of 1000 boxes of cooling oil and 40 boxes of snake venom antidote pills; in terms of ammunition, 20 bases of machine guns, 20 bases of infantry accompanying artillery, and 40 bases of suppressive artillery are all in place."

After listening to the report, he looked at the elegant and kind-hearted commander-in-chief Qiu Peisheng, tapping the huge map, staring sharply at the generals present, and said solemnly:

"This battle is the first battle of the war. We want stability rather than speed. Anyone who underestimates the enemy's advance and causes damage will be counted and will not be spared!"

"Obey!" The crowd responded in unison.

This was the first large-scale joint operation of land, sea and air forces carried out by China in history, and the opponent was the British Empire in the aftermath of the empire.

This battle is destined to go down in history.

(End of this chapter)