69novels Chapter 229 The British's Pragmatism
Chapter 229 The British's Pragmatism
Fuzhou, Chen Jiajun's temporary coastal defense command post.
The sound of the pen cap being snapped shut hadn't faded yet.
The radio in the room had already started playing.
L.
Like a small hammer, it's designed to strike people's temples.
Shen Li placed the three urgent reports on the corner of the table.
"Young Marshal, the verification of the three red line conditions is complete."
"First, the Chun Chao crossed the warning line of the merchant shipping channel outside Xiamen."
"Secondly, the bow gun muzzle swept past the direction of the Helena, which was recorded by the Zhen Dong, the Helena, and the coastal defense observation station."
"Third, the Japanese advance ship ignored two explicit warnings and continued its dangerous maneuvers."
After he finished speaking, his fingertip hovered over the second plaintext warning copy.
The paper bears Chen Zijun's signature.
The ink was still wet as Chen Zijun looked at the nautical chart. The red flag was affixed to the black line, the blue flag remained stationary, and the British-flagged cargo ship on the black line was slowly moving towards the outside of the safe shipping lane.
Chen Zijun said, "Level 1 countermeasures."
Shen Li looked up.
"Is the shore artillery about to miss a shot?"
"right."
Chen Zijun said calmly, "Shoot at the sea surface in front of its bow, making sure the landing point is far away from the merchant ship."
"Tell the gun emplacement, today is not a contest of who can shout the loudest."
"Today's competition is about who has the highest accuracy and the greatest precision; whoever does it will have the strictest rules."
"The original wars were fought with blood and gore, with machine guns and cannons."
"The war we're fighting now is about propaganda and about upholding rules. It's about ensuring that in the future, when we speak or even fight, we can speak with conviction and let the whole world know our righteousness!"
Hans stood to the side, his brow furrowing.
He understood.
Near miss is not a sign of leniency.
It's for the whole world to see.
Chen's army wasn't firing indiscriminately; they were driving dangerous warships out of the merchant shipping lanes.
Shen Li immediately wrote it down.
"Xiamen Coastal Defense Station No. 1, Level 1 Countermeasures."
"Target: Sea surface ahead of the bow of the Harusho."
"Purpose: To bring dangerous vehicles to a stop."
"At the same time, copies were sent in plain text to the Helena, Xiamen Customs, British and American consulates, and the Shanghai Wangping Street newspaper office."
Chen Zijun nodded.
"Add one more sentence."
"Chen Jiajun's coastal defense forces will not attack neutral merchant ships."
"Only counter armed vessels that cross the line."
Shen Li paused for a moment.
"Is this meant for foreigners?"
Chen Zijun smiled.
"For foreigners, and for the Japanese."
Trying to stage an accident and then turn the tables on the dashcam? Chen Zijun thought to himself, "It's a good thing we don't have body cameras now, otherwise I could give them a 306-degree live stream. It's a bit outdated to use telegrams! I miss the days when we could watch live streams all the time!"
Shen Li understood, and he also understood the sharp edge hidden in the young marshal's words.
Xiamen Coastal Defense Station No. 1
The gun emplacements were glistening with moisture after the rain.
The two 150mm coastal defense heavy guns were covered with old canvas, and wooden planks were placed next to the gun mounts.
The newly recruited Fujian artillerymen's palms were sweaty.
They weren't just veteran artillerymen from Wusongkou who had seen and practiced with cannons; more importantly, they had actually fired cannons in real combat situations and even sunk warships.
They were just some coastal defense guns, second-rate troops in the army, and this was the first time they had actually pointed their guns at Japanese warships.
The artillery commander's surname was Luo, and he was an old soldier transferred from Wusongkou.
He kicked the young loader in the shin.
"What are you shaking for?"
The young soldier swallowed hard.
"Squad leader, those are Japanese warships, and there are British merchant ships nearby. What if..."
Commander Luo had a cold face.
"What if what? There are no 'what ifs'! This is supposed to be a warship? I've fought much bigger ones. Don't call this a warship. It's shameful!"
"On the gun sight, it's just a smoking coordinate. You treat it like a target; you've shot targets before, right?"
Just then, the telephone operator, covering his earpiece, shouted loudly, "Order from Fuzhou!"
"Level One Countermeasure! The Chun Chao ship has lost fire on the sea surface directly ahead of its bow! Avoid friendly fire on merchant ships!"
Commander Luo raised his hand.
"Distance measurement!"
"position!"
"Load the explosives!"
The gun emplacements sprang into action immediately, the young artilleryman's hands still trembling. But procedure held him back, orders were obeyed, and the muscle memory ingrained from training prevailed!
As with the usual training, the shell was pushed up and the breech was closed.
Click.
Luo, the artillery captain, bent down and glanced at the cannon ruler.
"Don't embarrass the young marshal."
"put!"
boom!
The coastal defense guns spewed out a cloud of white smoke.
The sound of cannon fire echoed along the coastline off Xiamen.
On the sea, the bridge of the Chun Chao ship.
Major Nojima just saw the Helena turn right.
His face looked terrible.
"British ships actually listen to the Chinese?"
The staff officer whispered, "Captain, there are flashes of light from the shore guns!"
Major Nojima hadn't even had a chance to curse.
Boom!
About 200 meters ahead of the bow of the Chun Chao ship, the sea suddenly exploded.
The water jets shot up, looking like a white wall.
The bridge glass trembled violently.
The sailors turned pale instantly.
"Near miss!"
"Chinese coastal artillery has opened fire!"
Major Nojima grabbed the handrail.
He was initially surprised.
Then a smile suddenly appeared on his lips.
"good!"
"They opened fire!"
The staff officer, however, did not laugh.
He held the newly deciphered plaintext telegram, his voice strained.
"Captain, the Chinese telegram has been sent."
"They say my ship crossed the line, locked onto a merchant ship, and ignored two warnings."
"This shelling was a level one countermeasure, with the impact points avoiding the merchant ship, and the purpose was to force the dangerous maneuver to a stop."
Major Nojima's smile froze.
"To whom should we copy?"
The staff officer's throat moved.
"Helena, Xiamen Customs, British and American consulates, Shanghai press office."
There was a moment of silence on the bridge.
This is troublesome.
The Chinese opened fire.
It's not about firing indiscriminately.
They wrote down the reasons for firing, the number of warnings, the landing points of the shells, and the recipients of the copies in the telegram.
It's like someone slapping someone while simultaneously having the clerk record the size of the handprint in the case file.
Major Nojima gritted his teeth.
"Left-hand drive, third wheel."
The staff officer asked urgently, "Captain?"
"Left-hand drive, third position!"
Major Nojima's eyes were sinister.
"Aren't the Chinese trying to prove they won't attack merchant ships?"
"Then let the cannon barrels push over again."
"If they don't fight, we'll continue our investigation."
"If they attack, let the British see cannonballs flying from the Chinese shore!"
The staff officer's face turned ashen.
But the order had already been given.
The bow of the Chun Chao cut another white wave.
The front turret rotates with the heading.
The muzzle of the gun grazed the stern of the Helena once again.
Inside the bridge of the Helena.
Captain Wilson nearly dropped his telescope.
"Damn it!"
"They're coming again!"
The first mate's face was covered in sweat.
"Captain, the Chinese shells are landing in front of the Japanese ship, but they are not coming any closer to us."
Wilson cursed.
"I saw it!"
He grabbed the telegram handed to him by the radio operator.
Chen Jiajun's safe flight route is clearly written.
After turning right, maintain course and get out of the dangerous angle within six minutes.
The Japanese telegram still contained the same phrase: escort inspection.
Wilson's lips twitched.
"convoy?"
"They're using my ship as a front!"
He yelled at the radio operator, "Call back!"
The radio operator was taken aback.
"to whom?"
"For the Chinese!"
Wilson loosened his collar.
"Just say that the Helena received a warning and is taking a safe route to avoid it."
He paused, then managed to utter a broken sentence in Chinese.
"Thanks!"
The first mate was taken aback.
Wilson glared at him.
"What are you looking at?"
"It's not shameful to say thank you when you're in a life-saving situation!"