Munitions Empire

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Watching the Great Tang Group ships that had already crossed the battle line prepare to leave without looking back, a man from Shen Hai's face darkened. He had played his biggest card, but the opponent had easily shattered it.

He truly hadn't expected that the secret weapon of Shen Hai Navy, the new model ships purchased from Shireck, could be so easily defeated, falling to the enemy in a single round.

"Ram them! Ram them for me! Sink it!" Snatching the navy captain's collar on his own warship, the man from Shen Hai roared.

Pointing at the enemy warships breaking through the encirclement, he had lost all reason, deciding to use the most primitive method for an unprecedented redemption.

It couldn't be helped, if the Shen Hai Navy fleet were to be destroyed, he, the man from Shen Hai, would definitely be the greatest sinner! He must achieve some sort of victory—that was all he could think about at the moment.

In fact, the Ming Wheel Ships weren't fitted with rams, and Shen Hai Navy's warships simply didn't have the capability to ram into enemy vessels.

Thus, upon hearing the order, the navy captain's face went pale, and he tried to explain anxiously, "We, we can't even catch up to the enemy ships…"

In reality, he didn't even have the courage to approach. Because he had witnessed with his own eyes, just moments ago, that massive enemy warship with a multitude of cannons along its side, opening fire as it passed by a Ming Wheel Ship.

As the ships brushed past each other, the Ming Wheel Ship was struck by at least five cannons, its entire flank shattered, with the sounds of detonating explosives never ceasing.

What was worse, soon after the Ming Wheel Ship began to capsize, and within minutes, only its hull was left visible on the sea's surface.

It was easy for anyone who wasn't a fool to see that the enemy fleet completely dominated in firepower, defense, and speed. By now, Shen Hai had already lost this naval battle.

"Chase them! Chase them down!" the man from Shen Hai bellowed desperately, knowing that if he didn't pursue them now, by the time the enemy truly crossed the battle line, he would be finished!

The transport ships rushing towards Dongwan Port behind him were all wooden sailing vessels with virtually no combat power—if caught by the enemy fleet at sea, they were basically sitting ducks.

By losing Dongwan Port, forsaking the landing troops, and letting the fleet be annihilated… his time as the naval commander was nearly over.

So, he became frenzied, continuously shouting at the Great Tang Group's navy fleet not far away: "Charge! Charge at them! Just keep fighting, even if we all go down! It doesn't matter!"

"Sir, please, calm down! Calm down!" His adjutant tried to console him incessantly, hoping that he would regain his composure.

"This, this may still be an opportunity for us! Yes, yes! It just might be an opportunity!" said the adjutant, now grasping at straws and having exchanged several glances with the navy captain nearby, he blurted out with sheer audacity.

Upon hearing the shout, the man from Shen Hai did indeed calm down somewhat, no longer appearing like the madman he had been moments before.

He turned to his adjutant and asked, "What do you mean?"

"This, the thing is…" the adjutant didn't want to die here, so he hurriedly started concocting excuses to persuade the man from Shen Hai to retreat: "We can abandon the damaged warships and let the sail fleet cover our rear while the rest of us retreat at full speed…"

The more he spoke, the more convinced he became of his own reasoning. So much so that his tone grew smoother as he continued: "You see, on the vast sea, where will they find us? Once we lose sight of them, we can escape!"

At present, at least seven or eight Ming Wheel Ships remained on the battlefield, bought and paid for with real silver—if they could be brought back, they definitely should be.

Pointing to the other side, the adjutant continued with what he thought was a feasible plan: "Whether those bastards from the army live or die, what's that got to do with us in the navy, right? What do you say... I'm sorry?"

"Hm?" The man from Shen Hai perked up at the idea—right, what did the army's loss have to do with the navy?

Perhaps, if he went back and spoke with the high-ranking officers of the navy, they might be amused by the army's misfortune and grant him forgiveness. It wasn't impossible.

And regarding the navy—if he managed to return with half of the remaining Ming Wheel Ships after losing dozens of sailing warships, that would already be an accomplishment, right?

Many could testify on his behalf that his defeat wasn't due to poor command but rather the overwhelming strength of his adversaries.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

With this thought, he turned to look at the allied sailing fleet in the distance, where the man from Shen Hai saw a road to salvation.

It wasn't an exaggeration to think he might truly escape disaster: The enemy was busy chasing the landing fleet, and if he fled without looking back, there was certainly a chance!

"Order... the left-wing sailing warships to attack the enemy! Right-wing sailing warships to break south from the battlefield! After disengagement, return to base independently…" After weighing his options, he decided to leave the left-wing sailing warships to fend at the rear.

"Order, all Ming Wheel Ships with intact power systems, to sail north after the enemy crosses the battle line! Regroup in the northern waters…" To consider the rear-guard's morale, he avoided using the word 'retreat' and instead chose the term 'regroup' to obscure his intent.

Yet everyone around him could tell, at this moment, the man from Shen Hai was essentially prepared to flee.

Bernard was unaware of the man from Shen Hai's plans to turtle up—he was still intent on preventing any enemy ship from getting close to Dongwan Port.

With six warships at full power, they had broken Shen Hai Navy's formation and turned the seven Ming Wheel Ships they passed into scraps.

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Then, the Great Tang Group's naval warships continued their sprint without looking back—the transport ships carrying the elite troops of the Shen Hai were now within sight!

There was no helping it; these transport ships were all sailing ships, and their speed was indeed nothing to boast about. Despite having set out ahead of the Tang Group fleet, they were still some distance from Dongwan Port.

What Bernard did not expect was that, behind them, abandoning the four damaged Ming Wheel Ships still on fire, not bothering with their own men floundering in the water, the Shen Hai fleet leader took the remaining eight Ming Wheel Ships and fled without looking back.

Also fleeing were the twenty or so sailing ships that had originally flanked from the right, while the fifteen sailing ships on the left flank were still in the process of turning.

The commanders of the sailing ships on the left knew after receiving their orders that they were to cover the rear, but these commanders were not prepared to simply wait for death on the spot.

They took the initiative, planning to rescue the unfortunate sailors who had fallen overboard, then retreat from the battle in a different direction—seeing who would be unlucky enough to get caught by the enemy!

Finally, a sailor on lookout spotted the enemy formation's changes, and it was not until then that Bernard realized that the enemy seemed to have performed a cunning escape trick.

The naval fleet that he might have captured was now escaping in three different directions! If he ordered a turn to pursue at this moment, he would evidently be stretched too thin.

So, grinding his teeth, he continued his charge toward the Shen Hai army's transport ships that were preparing to land, letting go of the enemy warships that had fled in every direction.

Despite some reluctance, his number of warships was indeed too few, and he could only ensure the absolute safety of Dongwan City first.

By the time his warships cut into the midst of the enemy transport fleet and began to attack without restraint, a brutal slaughter unfolded.

With not even a single proper muzzle-loaded cannon on these sailing ships, they had no choice but to hoist the white flag and surrender.

Consequently, an interesting event occurred; in effect, Shen Hai had given Great Tang Group an additional 3,000 prisoners, as well as 3,000 free Shireck-1 type bolt-action rifles and 10 various types of transport sailing ships.

A landing battle that should have been very fierce ended before it began. Afterwards, Bernard, still unsatisfied, pursued them further, sweeping the nearby seas once over, sinking the four damaged Ming Wheel Ships and destroying several Shen Hai warships that hadn't managed to get far.

With this, the Battle of Dongwan Sea came to an end, the Shen Hai Navy suffering a significant defeat and completely losing effective control over Dongwan Island.

In the naval battle, the Shen Hai Navy lost seven Ming Wheel Ships, ten sailing ships, ten transport ships were captured, and more than 4,000 sailors were killed in battle and over 4,000 captured!

Adding the troops annihilated in the Dongwan Island landing battle, in about half a month of continuous fighting, Shen Hai had lost a total of 13 Ming Wheel Ships and 60 sailing ships—essentially a grievous loss.

Prior to this, Shen Hai had purchased a total of 30 wooden and iron-clad Ming Wheel Ships from the Shireck Consortium, essentially losing half of them. Faced with such losses, Shen Hai no longer had the strength to continue disputing over Dongwan Island.

Moreover, they simply did not have the capacity to worry about Dongwan Island any longer, as they soon discovered that the fleets that were supposed to be returning home had seemingly vanished overnight!

As a major maritime trading nation, Shen Hai's dependency on the ocean goes without saying. With the ongoing Battle of Dongwan Island, the upper echelons of Shen Hai finally received a series of unfavorable news.

Now, they knew that many countries had already declared war on them, and on the Endless Sea, a bloody drama hunting Shen Hai trade ships was unfolding.

In such circumstances, making peace and minimizing their own losses became Shen Hai's top priority.

As for Dongwan Island, in the face of national survival, it was a triviality, hardly worth mentioning!

In a muddled state, having fought until now, Shen Hai finally remembered something: they seemed to have not figured out just whom they had offended, nor against what power they were waging war... Even if they had to fight, shouldn't they be clear about who the enemy is?

Or to put it more practically... for peace talks, there needs to be someone to talk peace with, right?

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I heard a satirical poem today that Dragon Spirit found amusing, so I changed a few words to share with everyone:

In the beginning, for aircraft carriers, we pined like dogs; now with ski-jump decks, even those we find flawed. Stay tuned with empire

Electromagnetic catapults enter into service, yet bemoan they're not powered by nuclear reactors.

Once carriers are fitted with nuclear cores, we yearn for fusion to show its force.

If fusion power cannot take flight, the military fans dare not highlight.

Once the flying aircraft carriers show face, mouths open again to demand star-faring warships in their place.

......

At least, back in the day, Dragon Spirit truly yearned for aircraft carriers, like a dog in longing... now, I've become a big hoofed swine, fickle as the morning and evening sun, haha!