A large motorboat lowered from the "Jiangzhou" approached the side of the "Azalea", and more than a dozen heavily armed marines quickly boarded the deck of the steamer. A lieutenant officer in a steel helmet, carrying a stockless submachine gun in his hand, said in West Franconian to Greer, who was standing on deck: "Where's your captain?" ”

"In the bridge." Greer pointed up with his hand.

"You take me up." The officer waved the muzzle of his gun.

"All right, sir." Greer said helplessly, and he could only honestly lead the officer and the other sailor down the narrow gangway to the bridge. At the same time, the Marines who had boarded the ship had begun to work in pairs and split up to take control of important positions on the ship.

Another officer was giving orders to the sailors on deck: each man went to the cabin to retrieve his luggage and personal belongings, put them in the ship's lifeboat, and was ready to abandon ship immediately.

Captain Bain, the first mate and a few others stood in the bridge and saw Greer leading a Tang officer up from the gangway, "Which one is the captain?" The officer asked, as soon as he entered the bridge.

"I protest, sir!" Bane took a step forward.

"The protest is invalid, you should go and say this to your government, it was they who first declared war on the German Holy Tang Empire, and you must know this very well. Very well, sir, I think you should know the rules, we need to get the logbook and the cargo list. The officer said.

"All right, sir, please come with me, they are in my cabin."

"Well, before that order your crew to leave the ship first, I'm sorry, sir, we have to blow it up!"

"I protest!"

"It's useless, sir, as you should be well aware that our two nations are now at war, and that is the old rule that your predecessors laid down hundreds of years ago to capture and destroy merchant ships legally." The officer ignored Bane's angry emotions at all, "Please give the order now!" ”

……

From the binoculars, Ling Wencha saw that the marines had boarded the cargo ship without any problems. In less than fifteen minutes, the Marines who boarded the ship sent a signal through the flag: the two cargo ships were loaded with rubber, cocoa and other supplies destined for Europe, and their official registration documents and captains would be sent with the motorboats immediately!

Under their gaze, some of the Marines escorted several crew members to the steamboat first, while the remaining crew members were busy lowering the lifeboats from the side of the cargo ship under the orders of two gun-wielding Marines. The rest of the crew continued to take stock of the ship, taking everything of value that could be carried.

Ten minutes later, when documents proving the identity of the freighter were delivered to the bridge, Colonel Zeng Chusheng happily wrote down in his logbook the first gain of their fleet since it set sail: August 2, Republic 307, about 330 nautical miles west of the Azores, coordinates ′56 N. Capture of the West Francian bulk carrier "Black Tulip", with a registered tonnage of 7,046 tons, and capture of the West Francian bulk carrier "Azalea", with a registered tonnage of 7,046 tons, processing result: sunk.

At this time, the motorboats laid down on the warship were busy between the cargo ships, bringing back their trophies to the warships: food, canned food, cigarettes, bottled wine, various daily necessities, radio equipment removed from the ships, etc., which did look like a group of unscrupulous pirates in uniform.

……

It didn't take long for the sunset to completely disappear below sea level, and the light on the surface of the sea was gradually dimming.

The transport motorboats carried with the ship went back and forth several times, and finally the goods and crew that were "captured" from the cargo ship were brought back to the battleship, and the last of the personnel had opened the sea valve at the bottom of the ship before leaving.

Captain Bane had to hold out until the end, and after making sure that all his crew were gone, he left the freighter, which had sunk slightly, with the last of the evacuated Tang Marines, and headed towards the battleship at high speed. Standing on the motorboat, he looked back with some reluctance at the steamer he had been on for three years, and the freighter floated motionless on the surface of the sea, like a huge black shadow, slowly sinking unconsciously, and perhaps in another three hours, it would disappear into the world completely.

Thinking of this, his heart twitched violently.

The steamboat leaned against the port ramp on the side of the warship, and the battleship and cruiser, unlike ordinary steamships, had a special boarding ramp on the side of the ship, and rose diagonally along its massive steel hull to an opening above the deck, which was more than ten meters high.

"Sir, climb up on your own, the captain is still waiting for you up there." The young officer told him that they were not on the battleship, and that they were about to return to the cruiser that had first pursued them.

Bane had to climb up the narrow gangway himself, and he saw a number of young faces poking their heads out of the deck to look down, with a hint of curiosity and excitement on their faces.

Alas, these are still some children, how can they know the cruelty of war, Bane, who served as a sailor in the last war, couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"Accelerate to 15 knots and head northeast!"

With the new order of the captain Zeng Chusheng, the huge body of the battleship of the Tang Empire vibrated slightly, slowly accelerated on the dull sea in the evening, and headed towards the Azores. On the other side, the "Jiangzhou" has just lifted the last transport boat out of the sea, and it will take a while to start.

Now the two West Francian freighters were still floating quietly on the water, slowly sinking, but the West Francian navy, which was supposed to protect them, knew nothing about the situation.

On the bridge of the "Xing'anling", Zeng Chusheng lit a cigar, and then said to Ling Wencha: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, is our approach very risky? ”

Ling Wencha also took a deep breath of smoke, and then looked at the dark sea at night: "Of course, I heard them say that some merchant ships have been warned and gathered in the Azores, waiting for the arrival of their escort warships, can you be willing to give up such a large pile of fat meat?" ”

"Reluctantly." Zeng Chusheng also smiled.

"Let me tell you, Chu Sheng, when I served in the submarine force, every time I set sail, I was so scared to death that I was afraid that I would never come back after I went out this time. I've heard a lot of about the disappearance of submarines, all of whom are comrades-in-arms who live with you every day, only to disappear into this world without a sound and never be heard from again. In fact, as long as I enter the sea, my mood will be much calmer, because life and death can only be decided by God. So our goal is very clear, which is to destroy the enemy, to destroy the enemy as much as possible, and there is nothing to hesitate about. ”

"This is called putting life and death out of the way, and it is true bravery." Zeng Chusheng said.

"Don't praise me, Chu Sheng, I'm really afraid of death. But what can be done, it is our duty to make our enemies more fearful than we are. ”

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