Restarting life in Siheyuan

In the temporary naval base, Zhu Xuefeng was looking at the map of the Strait, comparing the symbols of the two sides' strength. His heart was heavy. Things in the world are unpredictable. The tense situation in the Strait did not drag on for a few more months as Zhu Xuefeng had imagined, but took a sharp turn for the worse. The crisis was imminent.

"Commander, the enemy has broken through the buffer zone again. This time, more of them have penetrated. We believe that this friction is inevitable."

Li Xiaojun reported in a deep voice that he had been in the navy on and off for more than a year, and he was now the de facto commander of the navy.

"Yes, I know. It seems that they want to confront us head-on this time. They are sure to defeat us."

In the past year, the other side has frequently broken through the buffer zone and has been extremely arrogant. This time, they have penetrated nearly 30 nautical miles. It is not just a few ships as before, but a huge fleet. This is no longer a provocation, but a silent declaration of war.

"Commander, let's fight!" Li Xiaojun volunteered to fight. The enemy's 30-kilometer breakthrough once again seriously threatened the trade route leading to the Hong Kong River. If they were allowed to continue to advance, the waterway would be blocked again. If they continued to advance deeper, the support line to Golden Island would also be lost, which was unacceptable.

Looking at the eager eyes, Zhu Xuefeng was silent for a while. He had a headache because he didn't express his opinion immediately. Things escalated too early. His preparations were not yet complete. Alas, now is really not the right time. The trump card that he had placed great hopes on was now ready, but it had not been completed and equipped to the fleet. It would be too disadvantageous to fight now. The navy now had less than 5,000 people at most, and they were all seeds. He would feel bad if he sacrificed one.

But the enemy was coming with great force, and had basically gathered all the main warships that could be mobilized in Coconut City, with a total size of more than 50 ships, including not only giant cruisers and large destroyers, but also numerous medium-sized frigates, missile ships, submarines, etc. It was a huge fleet assembled with the last main fleet as the main body, and its scale was even larger, far beyond the ability of the autonomous region's current ships to contend with.

"We must fight." Facing everyone's request for battle, Zhu Xuefeng took his eyes off the sea chart for a while and spoke slowly.

"But they want us to fight them head-on. They want to cripple our navy in one fell swoop and completely avoid future troubles."

Everyone present nodded. The navy is a money-burning military branch. Although the officers don't know how the autonomous region has put together this fleet, they also know that the expenditure is definitely not small.

"The enemy is strong and we are weak. If we fight head-on, we will suffer too many casualties and will be at a disadvantage. If things go wrong, our entire army will be wiped out. This is not advisable. Now everyone should form groups of three and discuss in groups. Come up with a solution."

Zhu Xuefeng could not accept a head-on confrontation without a trump card. He originally planned to use the trump card to make special shells. A single salvo of naval guns would be enough to paralyze the opponent. The only thing left would be to beat the enemy when they were down and take advantage of the situation.

Unfortunately, the conditions are not ripe now, so we can only use the backup plan. However, the backup plan will inevitably lead to a confrontation between the two fleets. The conventional artillery bombardment of the two fleets will become a head-on collision. Even if the autonomous region's fleet is equipped with a large number of rockets, its own casualties will definitely not be small.

Song Yan nodded. Indeed, during the period of waiting for the killer to arrive, the fleet must have suffered heavy casualties, which was extremely disadvantageous to the newly developed navy of the autonomous region.

Seeing this, the officers present could only suppress their strong desire for war and began a tense discussion.

Zhu Xuefeng looked out the window, analyzing the current situation carefully. Coconut City's proactive attack showed that they were already quite clear about the details of the autonomous region's fleet and had enough confidence to deal with it. They were well prepared. Unlike the previous two times when they were deceived, this time the opponent was clearly determined to defeat them head-on. It was a pity that the Bald Eagle changed its mind secretly.

The enemy is very likely to dispatch its air force. After all, this sea area is too close to the enemy. From this point of view, we are at a natural disadvantage in terms of geographical location, and our fighter planes cannot provide effective support.

The location of the sea area has exceeded the effective combat radius of the J-680, which is only kilometers. It is destined to be unable to return after carrying out the strike mission.

Five days later, after an encounter at sea, several simple negotiations over the radio waves between the two sides failed, and as expected, the battle was about to break out.

The sun shines on the sparkling sea, but it is overshadowed by the impending war. Zhu Xuefeng stands on the flagship of the autonomous region's fleet, the "Zhenhai", the largest destroyer in the autonomous region, with a displacement of 6,500 tons. Although it is not as large as the enemy's cruiser, it is safer than a helicopter carrier. With everyone's unanimous insistence, this ship was designated as the flagship for this battle.

"Report to the commander, the Coconut City Navy Fleet is 35 nautical miles away from us, traveling at a speed of 20 knots, and is expected to enter the engagement range in seventeen minutes." The signalman's voice suddenly rang out in the command room, breaking the originally solemn silence.

Zhu Xuefeng nodded slightly, turned to face the officers in the command room, and said with a serious and firm expression: "All ships should be prepared for battle, follow the predetermined combat plan, maintain the formation, and do not panic. You must stay at your post."

"Yes, Commander!" the officers answered in unison, with determination in their voices.

"Deputy Commander Li, you will be in command this time!"

"Yes!" Li Xiaojun took over the command silently. Zhu Xuefeng waved his hand again. The officers stood at attention and saluted. Then they rushed to their respective posts to convey the combat orders.

In the command room, Zhu Xuefeng, with his tall stature and sharp eyes, was gazing through the porthole at the distant sea level, which was the direction in which the main fleet of the Coconut City Navy was moving.

"Husband, the enemy is coming." Qiu Hong behind him whispered a reminder.

"Well, you're just in time." Zhu Xuefeng nodded.

On the sea in the distance, in an area that cannot be seen by the naked eye, a dense network of ship shadows, like a group of steel behemoths with bared fangs and claws, are approaching them menacingly.

At this moment, the twelve armed helicopters on the deck of this iron-clad pseudo-helicopter carrier have completed their final inspection. The pilots are sitting in the cockpit, looking nervous but full of fighting spirit. They hold the joystick tightly, their heartbeats gradually speeding up with the upcoming battle.

The pilots of the two helicopters looked at each other and said, "Brother, today is a life-and-death battle, are you afraid?" The other one grinned and said, "Afraid? What's there to be afraid of? Didn't you hear what the commander said? Only soldiers who are not afraid of death are qualified to walk out of the battlefield alive. Haha, that hits the nail on the head. These damn bastards can finally vent their anger again."

The muzzles of the two 5,000-ton destroyers slowly rose, pointing in the direction of the enemy's attack. The gun barrels flashed a cold metallic luster under the sunlight, as if telling of the brutal battle that was about to unfold.

Several frigates were scattered around the destroyer, and six Type 62 100-ton gunboats were scattered in the gaps between the fleets like agile hounds. Although they were small in tonnage, they played a role that could not be underestimated in this complex naval battlefield due to their flexibility. The two submarines, the "Wolf Fang" and the "Seal", had already quietly dived underwater, like ghost killers hiding in the dark, waiting for the perfect opportunity to give the enemy a fatal blow.

Zhu Xuefeng once again cast his eyes towards the enemy ships in the distance, silently calculating the gap in strength between the two sides. Putting aside the various supply ships, the fifty large and medium-sized ships of the Coconut City Navy have a significant advantage in number and firepower. Their warships are equipped with advanced naval gun systems and missile launchers. This will undoubtedly be an extremely difficult and tragic battle.

However, there was no sign of retreat in Zhu Xuefeng's eyes. The officers were right. We tried our best to avoid sacrifices, but an army needed to grow. It was impossible to forge an iron army without going through the baptism of blood and fire.

As the Coconut City Navy fleet gradually approached, the tense atmosphere was like an invisible net that enveloped the entire sea area. Zhu Xuefeng's eyes were stern. He saw a few miles ahead of several destroyers of the enemy fleet, and suddenly white water splashed. That was a dangerous signal of torpedo launch. The enemy actually lurked a submarine squadron, which had remained silent and concealed the sonar search. Unfortunately, they were too timid and lost their temper from a long distance, and took action first.

"Attention, the enemy is launching torpedoes!" Li Xiaojun shouted loudly into the intercom. His voice echoed in the command room like the sound of a huge bell, making everyone's hearts tighten.

In an instant, several torpedoes flew through the sea at high speed like arrows from a bow. Wherever the torpedoes passed, the sea was stirred violently, and eye-catching white trails appeared, like the sickle wielded by the god of death, approaching the autonomous region fleet.

The autonomous region has even brought out all its assets this time. The fleet has 21 ships of all sizes. At this distance of torpedoes, the front few ships in the fleet might be able to evade them by maneuvering, but the ships at the back can't see the torpedoes. After the front few ships evaded, they have no chance at all. Li Xiaojun was sweating on his forehead. After all, he was not a professional naval commander and was caught off guard.

At the critical moment, Zhu Xuefeng had already closed his eyes and secretly issued an order: "Big Gray, Little Gray, lead the team to attack!"

A group of dolphins appeared behind the flagship and moved forward rapidly. The struggling dolphins soon reached a speed of about 70 km/h, which was much faster than the attacking torpedoes. Many naval soldiers witnessed this strange scene.

Their bodies were strong and flexible, their skin gleaming silver-grey in the seawater. They quickly swam in the direction of the incoming torpedoes, and they received instructions from their masters to change the course of the torpedoes.

Big Gray was the fastest and was the first to approach the torpedo closest to the front. It seized the opportunity and slammed its head into the torpedo from the side. With its powerful force, it continued to push the torpedo to change its course. The torpedo was knocked off its original track. Big Gray did not stop until the torpedo was continuously pushed and kept changing its course, and finally turned its head completely, then it locked onto another torpedo.

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Explosions were heard from time to time in the distance on both sides of the fleet. This was because Xiao Hui and other dolphins had deflected the torpedoes and hit the distant islands and reefs. The huge impact force created a huge wave.

In the command room opposite, the commander was staring at the radar signal in a daze, his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white. Five loud bangs and a torpedo returning quickly meant that the first wave of six torpedo attacks had all failed.

"Damn, how could this happen?"

"General, the enemy's anti-submarine helicopter is moving!"

The adjutant's report made the general sweat on his forehead. This damn small fleet actually had advanced anti-submarine helicopters. As the most powerful naval fleet in Southeast Asia, he did not have one. This was a shame. It was this helicopter that shamelessly destroyed one of his submarines last time.

"Let the submarine dive quickly, hide, and look for combat opportunities independently!"

"Attention all ships, prepare for the first rocket salvo!"

Seeing that the enemy was within the range of rockets, Li Xiaojun issued an order. The effective range of the enemy's naval guns was far lower than that of rockets, with the longest range being only six nautical miles, which was very suitable for the autonomous region to fly a kite.

The first batch of 500 rockets took off into the air and headed straight for the enemy fleet more than ten nautical miles away. Although the error on the sea surface would exceed one kilometer and it was impossible to hit accurately, the large-area coverage was still effective against densely packed fleets.

Sure enough, the commander on the opposite side was stunned. Although he knew that there were a large number of rockets on the Hummingbird of the Autonomous Region, he had never experienced it personally. Moreover, what was the concept of such dense rockets? They were even denser than naval guns. After a rocket baptism, the fleet inevitably suffered damage to several ships. Looking at the raging fire on the ships in the distance, the general was roaring.

He couldn't understand this equivalent. Even the Bald Eagle's aircraft carrier formation would not be able to face it.

"Calling the air base, I need support!"

At this distance, his powerful fleet can only passively take the beating, which is something he cannot accept. The other side can actually fire so many rockets at the same time, and who knows how many there are. Intelligence suggests that the other side only fired dozens of rockets at one time last time. It is unbelievable that such a powerful and strange rocket can be so overwhelming.

"Divide the fleet into two and encircle them. Don't let them escape!"

The general gave the order fiercely. It is conceivable that facing the powerful air attack from his side, the enemy could only flee in all directions, and he had to surround and annihilate them to vent his hatred.

"Ask the missile ship if it can lock onto the enemy flagship. If it does, sink it!"

The enemy has far fewer ships than ours. As long as we destroy their flagship, the opponent will be in disarray without unified command and will be at our mercy. The general seemed to see victory and his mouth curled up.

Although the autonomous region somehow avoided the torpedo attack, the battle had clearly just begun. Seeing that the torpedo attack was ineffective, the Coconut City Navy launched a large-scale mobile encirclement without hesitation. After several kite tactics, the effect was worse and worse, and Li Xiaojun frowned.

"Report, enemy aircraft have been detected on radar. The enemy is expected to arrive at the battlefield in fifteen minutes."

Li Xiaojun glanced at the leader. The most severe moment had arrived. If they used the kite tactic again at this time, they would only become living targets of the enemy's air force. In order to avoid this situation, they could only engage in close combat and entangle the enemy, making it impossible for the enemy's air force to attack. However, the gap in the number of enemy and our warships was huge. This kind of close combat would definitely result in heavy casualties. If a melee was not formed, they would only become living targets of the enemy's fighter planes.

"Report! The enemy launched two missiles!" (End of this chapter)