Munitions Empire

Finding a warship speeding across the vast ocean was not an easy task, especially when that warship possessed a high cruising speed.

The engine technology of the Great Tang Group had always been the best in the world, a fact that even Shireck did not question.

In the two previous car racing competitions hosted by the Great Tang Group, their team had deservedly won first place.

This also indirectly reflected the robust technological reserves of the Great Tang Group in the power system sector, coupled with their astonishing sense of innovation.

Weigang-class cruisers, formerly known as the Wolf-class cruisers, had sharp bows that sliced through the waves like arrows, racing across the vast sea.

This warship had been ordered to set sail from Linshui Port, embarking alone on a mission to harass the maritime transport lines of the Shenguo to the north. However, it was pretty challenging to locate Shenguo's transport ships on the boundless sea.

Although they roughly knew the Shenguo peoples' shipping routes, there were also a large number of Shenguo warships patrolling nearby, so the Tang warship had to be very careful to avoid startling the enemy.

You see, the warships in service with the various countries' navies were all equipped with wireless telegraph machines; their communication capabilities were far better than those of the infantry.

Once these sentries were alerted, the enemy's navy would quickly arrive, overwhelming and sinking the outnumbered intruders with their superior numbers.

If the main fleet had not already advanced northward, being quite close to the combat zone, the Navy of the Tang Country would not have been so eager to send out a warship to make its presence felt.

Now, with Bernard's fleet beginning its northward pushed, everyone felt more confident, and the calls for action got louder, leading to this operation codenamed "Knocking on the Door."

This operation involved dispatching a cruiser, using its speed to cut off the transport line between Shenguo and Beiyuan City.

The captain of the Tang Army stood on the bridge, peering through binoculars at the distant sea, not wanting to miss a target nor to stumble into a trap.

"Are we in the right position?" the captain asked, the third time since entering this shipping route.

The navigator, busy charting their course on the navigation table, once again confirmed their trajectory and nodded in response, "Yes, sir! I think we're on their route now."

"Maintain course!" the captain ordered, then walked over to the navigator and spoke, "Let's hope you're right, we really haven't encountered any enemies here."

"I hope I'm not wrong either." The navigator smiled awkwardly, and the truth was that no one could guarantee with absolute certainty that they were error-free.

It was entirely possible that they were not even on the enemy's route at all, that they could be hundreds of kilometers away from it; such was the wildly inaccurate state of navigation technology of the era.

So, until the enemy was truly discovered, everyone on the bridge felt restless, uneasy, and somewhat neurotic.

Sea battles without radar or reconnaissance planes were just like this, dull and awkward: sometimes days or even weeks could pass without seeing a sign of the enemy.

"Should we adjust our course?" the executive officer asked uncertainly, voicing his opinion.

The captain shook his head and explained helplessly, "The more we maneuver, the harder calibration becomes. Any more messing around, and we'll have to return to base."

"Moreover, we can't really prove that we're not on their route," he said, lifting the binoculars to his eyes again and aiming at the distant sea.

Finally, after more than two hours, a black plume started to emerge on the horizon line before them.

The lookout in the crow's nest rubbed his tired eyes, then took a careful look through the binoculars, and immediately began shouting loudly from his post, "Target sighted!"

"Target sighted!" The soldiers waiting below echoed the shout, and the captain instantly became excited, swiftly raising his binoculars and looking in the direction his men were pointing.

Indeed, he saw some black smoke gradually spreading across the horizon line – clearly, it was an enemy ship!

"Sound the battle alert! Load the ammo! Close in! Close in! Prepare for battle!" the captain issued a series of excited orders.

After giving his commands, he turned to the navigator with a smile and said, "Well done, young man!"

"It's my duty," the navigator replied, standing to attention and saluting, while also breathing a sigh of relief. He too had been nervous, not knowing if he had indeed led them off course.

Suddenly, the shrill sound of the battle alarm blared throughout the warship. Red lights started to blink, and here and there, personnel ran to their battle stations.

Everyone was wearing life jackets and steel helmets, the gun positions were fully manned, and the hands of the loaders were already on the reserve ammunition.

"Enemy ship at 12 o'clock! Heading due west, distance 35 kilometers!" the officer in charge of the rangefinder reported loudly after raising his head from the device.

"Calculate the enemy's speed! Notify the port gun positions; we will make the first turn, port side to the enemy!" the captain ordered, looking towards his executive officer.

"The enemy ship is turning!" The lookout quickly relayed the news, obviously, the enemy ship had also spotted the Cruiser of the Great Tang Kingdom blocking its route.

"Maintain our speed!" the captain ordered, binoculars in hand, observing the enemy ship while continuing to issue orders.

"Maintain speed!" the officer responsible for the vessel's velocity bellowed, and the tension already permeating the bridge intensified.

"Left rudder 15 degrees!" the captain quickly issued another steering command in an attempt to secure the advantageous position.

The helmsman turned the wheel before him, and, after completing the operation, repeated, "Left rudder 15 degrees!"

"The enemy ship is turning! They are steering to the left!" a lookout soldier continued to observe the enemy movements, loudly reporting what he'd just witnessed.

"They're really running fast! Return the rudder, right rudder 5 degrees!" the captain, eyeing the plume of black smoke rising from the distant enemy vessel, readjusted his orders.

The adversary intended to use the same maneuver to widen the gap, yet it was clear that the Tang Country warships held a distinct advantage in speed.

The Sheng Country transportation ships could only manage speeds of less than 10 knots, far slower compared to the Weigang-class cruisers. Since both parties were advancing towards each other, the gap closed dramatically.

"Distance 15 kilometers!" an officer next to the rangefinder called out in a loud voice, reporting the distance between the two sides.

"No sighting of enemy cannons; it must be a transport ship!" came an even more exhilarating message from the lookout post.

"Continue observing. Can you match it with the ship type in the intelligence reports?" the captain then turned to his other side, eyes on a subordinate rifling through the manual of enemy ship silhouettes.

That person lifted his head and, shaking it, said, "No distinct features seen; unable to confirm the type yet."

"Distance 10 kilometers!" Without any adjustments to the rudder, the cruiser's sharp bow had by then realigned with the distant target.

"Fire a shot to scare them, maybe they will surrender," the captain decisively commanded the artillerymen standing by at the ready.

"Boom!" A few seconds later, a cannonball raced toward the target. However, due to the distance, where the projectile splashed down was quite far from the enemy vessel's position.

"The enemy has completed their turn!" the lookout shouted loudly.

"Return rudder! Bow towards the enemy! Continue the chase!" the captain, with an excited expression on his face, fixed his gaze on the enemy transport ship growing larger in sight.

A target like this that would not fight back was exceptionally easy to strike; attacking such a vessel was quite satisfying indeed.

"Enemy ship distance 8 kilometers!" As time inexorably passed, the rangefinder officer once again updated the actual distance between the two.

"Keep firing! All the bow's cannons, fire whenever you have a clear shot! No hesitation! No need to wait for further orders," the captain said.

"Boom! Boom boom!" The three cannons at the bow roared to life, one shell after another soaring toward the distant target.

"Missed!" the spotter near enough chuckled in frustration—six shots fired, and not a single near miss, let alone news of any straddling the target.

The captain, peering through his binoculars, consoled with, "Don't rush! Take your time! They can't escape!"

Before his words had completely faded, another shell flew out of the bow turret. This time it did not disappoint, as it landed accurately on the stern of the enemy ship, still desperately trying to escape.

"Boom!" A loud explosion followed, and flames burst from the rear of the enemy ship, which was quickly engulfed in black smoke.

"Beautiful!" Even the captain himself excitedly cheered, reflecting the amount of luck involved in the shot. Honestly, had they fired three more broadsides and hit, it wouldn't have surprised anyone present.

This time they had struck gold with just seven shots, hitting the enemy vessel at about 6 kilometers away, enlivening the atmosphere aboard the entire warship instantly.

"Enemy ship slowing down!" came good news from the observation post.

"Enemy ship distance 5 kilometers!" the rangefinder officer reported again, lifting his head.

"It seems like the enemy ship is hoisting a white flag!" the first mate, holding a telescope and looking through the dissipating smoke, spotted a large white flag.

"Hm?" The captain paused for a moment, then began to scrutinize carefully.

Indeed, the enemy had raised a white flag.

"Cease fire! Close in! Let's see what's going on!" the captain frowned, unsure of what trick the enemy ship was trying to play.

The distance between the two ships continued to decrease rapidly, and soon the Tang Army cruiser was alongside the Sheng Country transport ship, which had reduced its speed.

Only then did the Tang Army captain realize that this was, in fact, a Sheng Country troop transport. To increase efficiency, the ship, initially only able to transport one battalion, had squeezed in two battalions, over a thousand people.

The reason they surrendered was because they knew they couldn't escape. If the artillery fire continued, those thousand-plus infantrymen would have to sink with the ship and feed the fish at the bottom of the sea.