Chapter 264 Dangerous Quarter

The helmsman of the destroyer No. 153 drove out his strength and tried his best to sway the rudder, making No. 153 start to move rapidly like a turn on the left. The heartstrings of the officers and soldiers on the ship tensed up again. The Zhenguo soldiers on the deck could see the waves stirring up by torpedoes not far away on the sea surface, staring at the sea surface, even though there was still a distance between them and the god of death.

With a "swoosh", the torpedo passed by two meters away from the right side of the destroyer No. 153. The helmsman's superb driving skills saved everyone's lives. This situation had happened twice, and everyone was deeply relieved at this time.

"Swoosh swosh swosh swosh" Four torpedo launchers on the side of No. 153, falling into the sea, splashing beautiful waves, and began to fly towards a Japanese ship.

"Boom" A Japanese ship rushing towards him at high speed eight or nine kilometers away made a huge roar. The huge explosion almost overturned the ship, but then it gradually stabilized, but it could not continue sailing and was already severely damaged. A large hole with a diameter of three meters was left on the left side of the ship, and water had begun to enter.

"Oh..." The officers and soldiers on No. 153 heard another cheer. This was the third ship they hit.

It takes several minutes to load the torpedo. During this process, it only takes a long time to rely on naval guns to resist, and the number of ships in the joint fleet is gradually decreasing.

A round of redness on the horizon has long been revealed, reflecting on the sweaty faces of the soldiers on the sea, forming a heroic and poignant picture.

The gunners were still screaming heart-wrenchingly, and the rumbling sound of cannons was still endless. The battle situation had reached its most critical moment. Whoever could survive to the end would win.

"Yaksi" Shigetaro Yoshimatsu, who looked like a madman, ordered the fleet to rush forward at a high speed. He had long since planned to return to Japan alive. He knew that even if the remaining warships could sink the aircraft carrier of the Zhenguo Army, they would probably not have any left in the end. The fate of the joint fleet being wiped out is unstoppable. It was just that they wanted to make the Zhenguo Army pay a huge price before they died, and they fought for both sides.

Through the cool sea breeze in the morning, Ai Tianming could almost hear Shigetaro Yoshimatsu opposite him screaming almost madly, and his heart became more and more nervous.

At this time, the light was already brighter, and the searchlight that the Japanese ship had just turned on was also turned off. Although the searchlight could shine on the enemy ship's position, it also exposed its position and generally did not turn on it easily. The Japanese ship had low detection methods, so he had no choice but to turn on the searchlight to lock the Zhenguo warships. However, the Zhenguo army relied on radar detection and did not turn on the searchlight at all.

"Boom" Another thunder sounded on the sea not far away. Ai Tianming turned his head and saw a huge explosion on a friendly ship. The raging fire then burned unstoppably. The officers and soldiers on the ship began to run in panic on the deck. Some found fire extinguishers and began to spray desperately at the fire area on the deck, but the effect was very little.

"That's the No. 158 ship. They seem to have lost their combat effectiveness." The first mate shook his head and sighed.

The two of them suddenly became much darker. When they thought that this situation seemed to be not far from them, their mood became heavier.

This was the first surface ship lost by the Zhenguo army. Three of the remaining seven have been shot, but they are still fighting. One torpedo tube was hit and could not continue to fire torpedoes. Many of the Japanese ships rushed forward with injuries. The battle between the two sides was almost like the hand-to-hand combat of the army. They frantically fired guns and fired torpedo attacks at the other side. The strategies and tactics were meaningless.

Although the torpedoes on the Japanese ships were direct flights, they had fired more than twenty torpedoes in a short while. Although most of them were maneuvered by the Zhenguo Army's destroyers, they also injured several destroyers.

"We are getting closer and closer to the Japanese ship, and the torpedoes are almost exhausted. The torpedo hit rate of the Japanese ship at close range will be greatly improved, and our danger will be greater and greater." Ai Tianming looked at the Japanese ship rushing towards him frantically on the sea and said with some concern.

More than half an hour of battle passed, and almost all the torpedoes on the eight destroyers were exhausted. Then they could only use naval guns to bombard them violently, and there were few shells left.

"How many ships are left?" Ai Tianming asked anxiously, Dabing was holding a telescope and looking into the distance through the morning light.

"Several more ships were sunk this time, and there were twelve warships rushing towards us." The first mate also looked gloomy and said in a deep voice. He saw that one of the big guys was still surviving, and the tonnage was about the same as his own destroyer, reaching about 5,000 tons.

"But our shells are almost finished, and we can't hold on for long." The first mate then told something that worried Ai Tianming.

Since the torpedo range of Zhenguo Army destroyers can reach 25 kilometers, torpedoes have become the most powerful firepower pursued by the Ningbo destroyer. The design of naval guns has exceeded the old military idea of ​​the countries' large-scale giant ships and cannon battleships during World War I. It adopts a new layout mainly torpedoes, which also caused the defect of insufficient artillery capabilities of the aircraft carrier fleet. At this time, carrier-based aircraft could no longer be used in time, so the protection capabilities of the aircraft carrier fleet have been reduced to the extreme.

"There is already a large minefield for our army. Now that the Japanese can see the location of our warships, they will definitely follow us and avoid the minefield and enter the port. I wonder if the headquarters will sacrifice our destroyers to block the Japanese ships outside the minefield?" Ai Tianming said then.

"Yes, if we enter the minefield, the Japanese ships will definitely follow our channel, and the mines will have no effect on their blockage. But if we don't enter the minefield, they will definitely be chased and sunk one by one, because their gunfire is still very strong and our shells are almost exhausted. What should we do?" The first mate frowned and was at a loss.

Ai Tianming's face became even more gloomy. As a navy general, he felt that in order to save his life, he introduced the Japanese ship into the port area in the minefield, which posed a threat to his important strategic base. He was always feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Tell the communications troopers and advise the headquarters in my name that our destroyers will not return to the port. We will risk our lives to fight the enemy ships to the final death battle. We must not let the enemy ships break through the mine defense zone and enter the port." Ai Tianming lowered his head and thought for a moment, and made a difficult decision.

"This?" The first mate's heart suddenly sank. He knew what this meant.

Now that the ship is in a rapid firepower, its side has exhausted ammunition and food. Doing so is equivalent to committing suicide.

The deputy hesitated for a moment, but when he saw Ai Tianming's brave and fearless face, a fierce and fearless blood suddenly surged into his heart and said firmly.

In the command of the Ministry of National Defense, Li Tiancheng had just received a call, indicating that he would issue an order. After receiving Ai Tianming's suggestion, Sa Zhenbing did not dare to make a decision without authorization, because it was related to the fate of eight naval destroyers, and they were the protective umbrellas of aircraft carriers. Losing eight destroyers was not a trivial matter. It meant that two aircraft carriers could not safely sail in a long queue until new destroyers were built in the future.

Therefore, after Sa Zhenbing and Li Guoqiang discussed, they decided to hand over the decision to the command center and immediately sent a telegram to request Li Tiancheng to give instructions.

After receiving the news, Li Tiancheng fell into deep thought. The choice in front of him was very simple, either to lose eight destroyers and thousands of officers and soldiers on the ship, or to let the Japanese ship chase him into the port to destroy the dock facilities and threaten the safety of the aircraft carrier.

"What do you mean?" Li Tiancheng looked at the other people and asked.

"President, I think it's time for the soldiers to sacrifice for the country. If the destroyer retreats to the port area, then the three channels for our avoidance of mines will be exposed. Japanese ships will inevitably follow them into the port area and approach the shipyard, military port and aircraft carrier. We cannot afford to lose any of them. I think the president should immediately issue an order to prohibit eight destroyers from entering the port, otherwise our shipyard will inevitably be bombarded by Japanese ships and suffered heavy losses." Ma Chaoyun responded.

"I don't agree that there are thousands of our soldiers on those eight destroyers. Their lives and valuable combat experience are also a rare treasure. We would rather lose the facilities of the shipyard than keep them." Yan Lisan immediately expressed his objection.

"This issue is actually difficult to decide, because the losses caused by the Japanese ship approaching the shipyard were unpredictable. But I agree with Li San's point of view, because the lives of the navy soldiers cannot be abandoned at will. As their supreme commander, I can't bear it." Li Tiancheng pondered a little and said in a low voice.

"President" Ma Chaoyun still wanted to speak, but was stopped by Li Tiancheng waved his hand.

"Order the order, let all destroyers withdraw from the battle, return to the port to avoid attacks, and do not disobey orders. Those who violate the orders shall be dealt with by military law." Li Tiancheng decisively issued the order.

A moment later, the first mate on No. 153 received a reply, but his face was a little helpless.

"How is it?" Ai Tianming asked immediately.

"The headquarters said that we should try our best to protect all the officers and soldiers of the eight destroyers, so that we should not do stupid things, keep the green mountains there, and not be afraid of burning fire. Let us immediately enter the port from the three minefield channels and not disobey the orders." The first mate's answer disappointed Ai Tianming slightly.

"The headquarters is giving up the safety of important facilities such as shipyards and protecting our lives, and we...? How can we bear it?" Ai Tianming felt depressed because he wanted to save himself and was about to introduce the Japanese ship into the minefield.

"Order No. 153, withdraw to the minefield quickly." Ai Tianming issued a difficult order, and his idea of ​​fighting to the death with the Japanese ship was temporarily suppressed...
Chapter completed!