"Give me the microphone, and I'll broadcast to the whole ship now." Looking at the new salvo without making any substantial progress, Richie was silent for a moment before speaking to Adjutant Allen on the side.

"Also, you immediately send a telegram to the Commander of the Fleet, John. Admiral Tovey, there's something wrong with the intelligence! We encountered not only German surface ships, but also U-boats of varying numbers! ”

"U-boat?" Alan was stunned, if the U-boat and the surface ship acted together, then ......

At this moment, Britain relied on sea transportation to transport almost all its grain, minerals and other resources from various colonies and other regions, leaving wheat from Canada, rubber from Brazil, oil from the Caribbean, and machinery and weapons from the United States, and the British Empire would no longer be able to continue.

At the most critical moment, the tonnage of ships sunk by the Germans in a single month was already greater than the tonnage of British ships launched in the same period, in other words, if it continued, British ships would be in a state of net loss, and if the merchant fleet was gone, Britain would be starving and the economy would collapse.

And the submarine warfare of Germany practically almost cut off the sea lifeline of the British!

So much so that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that we call German submarines U-boats, and submarines are used to refer to the underwater combat ships of the Allied powers. Because U-boats are those despicable demons who sink our ships, and submarines are noble and brave warships that sink those ships of enemy countries!

German submarines are almost synonymous with terror, not because of how powerful German submarines were, but because U-boats are like a sharp sword in the throat of the British Empire!

Safari the oceans and snorkel among the waves. Relieve the cold arrow in the shadows, and cloth fear in the abyss. U-boats, like assassins, lurked in the shadows and dealt a fatal blow to the British merchant ships.

And the appearance of the U-boat marked that this operation of the German fleet was not as simple as the British Navy had guessed, and that it was a premeditated large-scale operation!

Allen, who didn't have time to think about it, was immediately shocked by Richie's next order, "Allen, except for the St. George flag, lower the military flag at the stern of the ship, destroy all the logbooks, and definitely not leave a piece of paper for the Germans!" ”

Alan was stunned for a moment, then nodded, and without glancing at Richie, who was leaning on the edge of the bridge, ran towards the position of the telegraph room, he was going to inform the other officers on the battleship of the news immediately, and the time left for the Prince of Wales was running out......

Looking at the departing Allen, Richie took a deep breath and broadcast to the whole ship with the microphone, "I am Captain Captain Richie, as a member of the Royal Navy of the British Empire, you have lived up to your heavy responsibilities and fought with the German fleet until the last moment...... Your bravery and fearlessness have once again illustrated what the fearless Nelson spirit is, and now I give the last captain's order, in order to preserve the vital force of the Royal Navy, I order you to ...... Abandon the ship! ”

According to the data observed by Colonel Prien, the Prince of Wales at this time had begun to tilt sharply due to a large amount of water and successive explosions, and the fire that ignited on the entire hull was filled with smoke throughout the battleship under the influx of seawater.

"It seems that the Prince of Wales won't last long......" Cheng Hao, who put down the binoculars, sighed, just like the Hood, which had disappeared without a trace on the sea, the fate of the Prince of Wales was just to sleep in the cold ocean with her.

This is war...... Either you die, or I die, although I understand this truth, but Cheng Hao, who has just crossed into this world for less than a few days, is still difficult to accept, this law of the jungle, why do humans have to hurt each other......

Lu Teyansi on the side glanced at Cheng Hao, as if he guessed Cheng Hao's inner activities at this time, and said to Cheng Hao, "Captain Cheng Hao, you have to understand, because we stand on different positions, for the interests of the country, for survival, for development, one group of people must kill another group of people, plunder all kinds of resources that can be plundered, this war, once it starts, unless one of them completely falls, the war will never stop, Germany will either die in iron and blood, or be reborn in iron and fire!" ”

Andreas, who saw that the atmosphere had suddenly become heavy, stepped forward in embarrassment, saluted the two of them, and then asked, "Your Excellency, commander, then, is it still ...... Conduct shelling? ”

Seeing the military flag on the Prince of Wales slowly falling, Lütjans waved his hand and said, "No need, depending on the situation, the other party has already given the order to abandon the ship, it is not about mercy, but my conscience tells me that in the face of a group of unarmed soldiers, I, Lütjans, will not give such an order." ”

After listening to Lu Teyansi's words, Cheng Hao breathed a sigh of relief, on the battlefield, no matter how fierce the struggle between the two warring parties is, they will basically acquiesce to some rules, do not kill medical soldiers, do not shoot at parachuting soldiers, and once the enemy abandons the ship in a naval battle, do not attack, and if necessary, carry out humanitarian assistance......

Throughout World War II, these rules were largely strictly adhered to by various countries.

You know, at the end of the Dunkirk retreat, two British sanitary ships encountered German submarines on the way back, and the German submarines, after seeing the British sanitary ships raise the red cross flag, decisively gave up the order to attack them, and finally, the personnel on both ships paid tribute to each other.

Even in the war-torn battlefields of Europe, the brilliance of humanity never stops flickering!

As the crane slowly lowered the last batch of officer lifeboats full of officers to the water, Allen, who had been watching Richie, nodded to him when he saw Richie who still insisted on staying on the battleship, and suddenly wanted to say something......

He understands that there are always people who are responsible for the failure of the mission, not because of the threat from their superiors, but because they are ashamed of their families, of the Empire, and even more of them by the Royal Navy's trust in them!

As the supreme commander of the British forces present, Colonel Ritchie, the captain of the Prince of Wales, his last choice was to die on the ship!

With just a nod, as if using all his strength, Richie slowly leaned against the slightly cold walls of the bridge of the Prince of Wales and sat down.

"I'm sorry, Prince of Wales...... This is your first expedition, and I promised you that I would bring you back, but unfortunately I didn't do it......"

Gently touching the cold walls of the ship's hull, perhaps the heartache of the battleship that had just been commissioned and sunk, or the guilt of the Prince of Wales, for some reason, it was clear that the Prince of Wales had not had time to obtain its soul, and it had already avoided the fate of sinking, but Richie still felt as if he could hear the mourning of the battleship.

Rich, who was stroking the hull of the ship over and over again, said to the Prince of Wales in a hoarse voice, "But don't worry...... You are not alone in the depths of the icy waters, for I am always there, whether it is the abyss of heaven or hell ahead......"

At this moment, Richie, who was staring into the distance, seemed to see a dazzling pillar of light, soaring into the sky.

"God, are you here to pick me up......"

In a trance, Richie seemed to feel a girl holding his hand tightly, and muttered in his ear, "You must be very surprised that you and I should meet in such a situation." But things are always so incredible and unpredictable......"

"Prince of Wales......"