Chapter 8 Going South by Driving the Chariot North

Several minutes later, after making several phone calls, Gui Boyong finally got a clear picture.

The "Ji River" and "Gui River" had turned around from their southern maneuver, approaching the Enemy Fleet from behind and to the side, then opening fire respectively on the fifth and sixth enemy ships.

Since they were not met with any retaliation, and the distance was close enough, the gunfire from the two Battleships was extremely precise.

To enhance the striking effect, even the 100-mm secondary guns were put into use.

Two enemy ships, the "Lion" and the "Princess," were not so lucky.

In the few minutes that Gui Boyong was inquiring about the situation, both enemy ships were hit repeatedly; from a distance, they looked as though they were swallowed by the artillery fire.

Although most of the damage was done by secondary guns, being enveloped by concentrated fire must have been tragic.

At 10:31, seven minutes after the "Queen Mary" exploded and sank, the "Lion" suffered a violent explosion. About three minutes later, the ship raised a white signal flag, only to experience another violent explosion soon after, sinking five minutes later.

At 10:37, the "Princess" capsized amidst the gunfire.

Two minutes before that, at 10:35, the "Tiger" released smoke again to execute a tactical turn. Then around 10:40, it released more smoke, using it as cover to accelerate its withdrawal, extending the distance to over 20 kilometers within ten minutes.

He Yongxing did not order a pursuit.

At 10:40, the same time that the "Tiger" made its turn and began to accelerate, He Yongxing ordered the "Lu River" to speed up and catch up with the flagship.

Although the "North River" was not at risk of sinking, after the telecommunication center was crippled, it had essentially lost the ability to act as the flagship. Before the "North River" was commissioned, the flagship of the 21st Sub-fleet was the "Lu River," and all the necessary facilities for a flagship were retained. As for the "Nanjiang," in order to save on construction costs, it did not have a Command Tower and was not suitable to serve as the Fleet flagship.

At 10:55, all officers and crew from He Yongxing's headquarters boarded a motorboat sent by "Lu River," and ten minutes later, boarded the "Lu River" which had caught up. Immediately after, the "Lu River" raised the Commander's flag, symbolizing its status.

The Fleet didn't stop; after completing the turn, it continued to head south.

When passing near the area where the three enemy ships sank, there were suggestions to rescue the officers and men in the water.

He Yongxing did not agree, simply ordering the ships to leave behind excess life-saving equipment.

It wasn't that He Yongxing didn't want to save people, but he couldn't delay the precious time because the Fast Battle Squad, commanded by Betty, could arrive at any moment.

Besides, the six Battleships of the 21st Sub-fleet also sustained varying degrees of damage; they hardly had time for self-rescue.

Upon arriving on the "Lu River," Bai Zhizhan didn't immediately go to the Command Bridge, but first went to the officer's bathroom to take a bath and change into clean clothes.

When he arrived at the Command Bridge, Gui Boyong and several other main staff officers were briefing He Yongxing.

The battle results were not much to talk about; the primary focus was on the damage assessment.

The "North River" had suffered the most severe damage. Not only was the Navigation Bridge destroyed, but the main Rangefinder was also wrecked, and even the number two turret was affected, its rear-mounted aiming scope broken, resulting in the two forward Main Gun turrets having to rely on parameters provided by the secondary bridge for blind firing.

That same blow had also caused casualties to more than thirty officers and men.

Thankfully, Captain Zhang Guozhu, Colonel, was temporarily out of life-threatening danger.

The "Nanjiang" couldn't escape unscathed either, having been hit by at least one 13.5-inch shell. Luckily, that Armor-piercing bullet didn't explode.

The four Battleships that directly engaged the first Battle Patrol Squad all took a number of hits from smaller caliber guns and sustained losses, but nothing too serious.

The greatest problem was the "North River."

The main rangefinder was destroyed, and the foremost aiming scope installed on the second turret was damaged, which was enough to reduce the ship's hit rate to an intolerable level.

If there were another battle, then this problem would be serious.

The key was that, among the six battlecruisers, only two "North River" class possessed 400mm naval guns, while the other four were equipped with 350mm naval guns.

Against the first Battle Patrol Squad's battlecruisers, both calibers of naval guns were sharp enough.

However, when facing the Fast Battle Squad's five "Queen Yisha" class battleships, the 350mm armor-piercing bullet was clearly lacking.

Especially the two "Ji River" class, because they were fitted with the 70-year-type naval guns with a 40-caliber barrel length, which had a hard time against the Super Dreadnoughts. The "Lu River" class was equipped with 73-year-type naval guns with a 45-caliber barrel length, which could still compete against less protected battleships.

If the "North River" couldn't perform normally, it would be equivalent to wasting half of the main firepower.

Several senior staff members argued back and forth, not about how to fight, but how to evade, that is, how to avoid the Fast Battle Squad.

Some proposed to head full speed south, striving to reach Nanzhu Sea before the Joint Fleet adjusted their deployment, then head west, travel through Two-car Strait into the Flame Sea, and go to the southern Military Port of the Empire. If needed, they could also enter Xu Sea via Zu Island Strait in the future, returning to the home port of the Domestic Fleet.

Others thought that heading north was most suitable because the enemy could surely guess that the 21st Sub-fleet would choose to go south, thus massing troops in the south, waiting for the 21st Sub-fleet to deliver themselves to their doom. Heading north could also provide the opportunity to expand the victories, as the second Battle Patrol Squad was loitering near Nagiu Port to the north.

There were still others who suggested simply to stay put and wait for nightfall, that is, the high tide at night, to take advantage of the rising water level and slip back through the North Channel.

While a group of senior staff offered their counsel and strategies, He Yongxing remained silent, his expression extremely grim.

Without a doubt, including Gui Boyong, these senior staff members did not understand that retreat and avoidance were not within the range of available choices.

Retreat was simply for the preservation of the Fleet.

Having fought to this point, even if the Fleet were preserved, what use would it be?

More than two years ago, after suffering a crushing defeat, the Tiaoman Empire's Public Sea Fleet had since withdrawn and not ventured out, and Tiaoman Empire's situation had not improved in the slightest. Perhaps before long, once Tiaoman Empire capitulated and surrendered, the Public Sea Fleet would be taken as spoils of war to the Bulan Kingdom's Navy base.

The Imperial Navy could absolutely not tolerate such monumental humiliation.

At dawn, from the moment the Red Blood Battle Flag was raised, there was no turning back!

Fortunately, Gui Boyong was not blind enough to ignore the Commander's sullen face completely.

"It's getting late, the officers and men will change shifts in a while, let's go have lunch first. Commander He, what would you like to eat? I'll arrange it right now."

"You all go ahead, I'll come over later."

Gui Boyong did not dawdle, and the other senior staff members, having understood, followed Gui Boyong and took their leave from He Yongxing.

After being blown by the sea breeze for several hours on the lookout tower, nearly falling off and breaking into pieces, Bai Zhizhan became even more aware of his limitations.

The desire to perform was not a problem, showing off in front of others, acting aggressively, that was the problem.

Unfortunately, even if Bai Zhizhan didn't want to stick his neck out, he couldn't avoid it now.

Upon seeing He Yongxing's beckoning, Bai Zhizhan suddenly felt overwhelmed, thinking his timing couldn't have been worse; if he had known, he would have gone directly to the cafeteria to eat.