The speed of the Gangut had been reduced to 5 knots, and the old captain ordered it to be maintained, and then went to the deck to meet the Guards soldiers. Zakhwagki hesitated, put the pistol in his pocket and followed.

"General! Chikalkin, the second lieutenant of the 3rd Hussar Regiment of the Royal Guards, was ordered to lead his troops to report! The officers of the Guards spoke with such a haughty expression that made every sailor present feel unpleasant.

"Second Lieutenant, on behalf of all the officers and men of the ship, I welcome you! Please go to the cabin and rest! The old captain replied tepidly, but the guy didn't buy his account.

"We have been ordered to assist you in repairing the warship, please take us to the place where the breakdown occurred!"

"That's good!" The old captain still replied humbly, but in his heart he despised this self-righteous fellow, how could this guy who was usually arrogant and domineering on horses know whether the ship's machinery was good or bad. The old captain has already made up his mind to toss these guys.

"Sergeant, take this honorable ensign to the boiler room and ask them to help us fix those two broken boilers!" The old captain winked at Zakhwaki as he spoke, and Zakhwauki led them to the bottom in understanding.

"Sergeant, half of your platoon stays on deck, half goes to the command room! No one is allowed to tamper without my orders! When the hussar lieutenant had given his order, he followed with a platoon of soldiers.

Three nautical miles southeast of the Gangut, the German submarine U-051 was slowly advancing on the sea, and the captain of the boat, Captain Wolf, and his sailors stood on the deck silently watching the two Russian warships, one large and one small. The October night breeze in the Baltic Sea was chilling, and the German sailors whispered as they moved their muscles:

"Oh God! The Russians still have such a huge number of warships, and there are 4 of them! ”

"It must be a battleship, a battleship that looks new! Did the British secretly provide it to them? ”

"No way, the British themselves can't be protected!"

"I mean, before the British Navy was badly damaged by us, maybe one day in August, they snuck out of the UK right under our noses?"

"Then the British are too confident in their own strength! However, these battleships will definitely cause trouble for our fleet, and the one in front of us is larger than our battleship "Essen", and the firepower on it must not be weak! ”

"That's it, we should take advantage of this opportunity to kill it!"

Listening to the sailors' talk, Captain Wolf's brow furrowed tightly. U-051's mission was only to monitor the movements of the Russian fleet, but judging by the course of the Russians, it was clear that the fleet was heading towards Helsinki, and the battleship seemed to be out of order, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Everyone, get into battle and get ready to fight!" Wolf finally made up his mind that, despite the revolution in Russia, it was still at war with Germany.

"Send a telegram to the flagship, we are ready to attack the two Russian battleships that are pulling behind!"

Soon, the submarine U-051 was heading at full speed towards the Gangut and Nantara, its pitch-black hull looking terrifying in the night.

After receiving the report of the U-051 submarine, the interim commander of the German Baltic Fleet, Rear Admiral Yanich, stared at the nautical chart for a while, and then ordered four armored battleships, including the flagship "Essen", as well as two cruisers, nine destroyers, two seaplane carriers, and four submarines to move at full speed in the direction of Helsinki, and the other two submarines to support the U-051.

Below the deck of the Gangut, Zakhwagi was leading the group of officers and men of the Guards who did not know the height of the sky to turn left and right in the labyrinthine cabin, through the roaring engine room, and circle several times around the small black coal tanks and choking flues, before leading them to the boiler room. There, more than half of the 25 Yarrow boilers had been shut down, and the sailors in the boiler room stopped what they were doing and looked at the group.

"Second Lieutenant, there are more than a dozen boilers here that are not functioning properly, so please help us take a look!" Zakhwagki glanced at the Guards lieutenant, who was wiping the sweat from his face with a handkerchief.

"Uh...... You guys should fix it first, and we'll guide you on the side! The second lieutenant's face did not look good, and the soldiers behind him looked back and forth at the sailors around him, as if trying to see something in them.

Zakhwagi walked up to a stout sailor and muttered a few words, and the strong man laughed twice, "Guys, it's time to start!" Don't worry, if you have any questions, just ask the commanders of the Guards, they are here to help us repair these boilers! ”

The sailors were giggling and fiddling around the boiler, and the second lieutenant of the Guards could only stand aside.

Zakhwagki said a few words to the other two sailors, and then quietly left the boiler room.

About 500 meters to the right rear of the Gangut, the destroyer Nantara was heading at the same slow speed, and the lookouts above couldn't help but yawn as they looked at the dark and calm sea.

Not far from the right front of the "Nantara", most of the hull of the U-051 was hidden in the sea, and only the conning tower on the upper part of the submarine was left on the sea, and the black vulture crusade flag fluttered silently in the sea breeze.

"Torpedo No. 1 ready, torpedo No. 2 ready, determine the boat!"

Wolf stood on the conning tower, and the weak hull of the "Nantara" appeared in the scope, and a single torpedo was enough to send it into the sky.

"The ship has been confirmed! Nearest ship! The distance is 710 yards and the launch angle is 80 degrees! The weapons commander quickly reported the launch data, and the sailors in the torpedo compartment quickly adjusted the torpedo to the firing state.

"Torpedo No. 1, launch! Torpedo No. 2, fired! ”

With two muffled snorts, the two torpedoes quietly burrowed into the sea, and even the launchers could not see the water marks they dragged out in the night, and the entire submarine was listening intently.

On the battleship "Gangut", the old captain was standing on the bridge and talking quietly to Zakhwagee, when suddenly two explosions almost made their hearts pop out. On the sea behind them, the destroyer "Nantara" instantly transformed into a large brilliant flame, reflecting a large area of the sea.

Zakhwagki's mouth opened wide and closed for a few moments, and the hull of the poor destroyer scattered like exploding salutes on the surrounding sea. When the sailors heard the explosion, they all ran to the starboard side of the battleship, and their feelings were different, but they all agreed that there would be no survivors on that ship, and rescue was no longer necessary.

"What's going on?" It was several minutes before the second lieutenant of the Guards escaped from the labyrinthine cabin, by which time the "fireworks show" had long since ended, and only some burning debris remained on the surface of the sea.

"Mines, or submarines for the Germans!" The old captain replied angrily and helplessly, "Ensign, which situation do you prefer?" ”

"I ...... I hope? The ensign stared blankly at the old captain's wrinkled face, obviously not wanting either of the two.

"Yes, could it be that the destroyer exploded on its own?"

This sentence provoked the surrounding naval officers and soldiers to scoff at the second lieutenant of the Guards.

"That'...... So what do we do? The second lieutenant looked overwhelmed, and his previous arrogant attitude was gone.

"Because we are on the same route as the other warships in the fleet, it is extremely unlikely that the 'Nantara' will hit a mine! , that is, most likely, a German submarine, it may be not far from us, it may be there, or there! There," said the old captain to the second lieutenant of the Guards in an extremely eerie tone, his hand pointing to the sea in the distance.

The second lieutenant looked in horror in the direction of the old captain's finger, and under the light of the fire after the detonation of the "Nantara", the looming waves looked more like something hidden.

"Ah...... General, what are we going to do? ”

"We must get out of here as soon as possible, or in a few minutes the German submarine will be reloaded with torpedoes and we will end up with the same destroyer! Second Lieutenant, it's up to you to fix the boiler! Now that the lives of all of us are in your hands, please try to fix those boilers as quickly as possible! The old captain stared straight into the second lieutenant's eyes, but there was a clear fear in those eyes.

"I ...... I won't fix it, neither will my people, we'll just come up ......"

"What? How dare you lie to an admiral of the Imperial Navy! Now, then, lieutenant, get me out into the cabin with your men, and don't get in our way here! Otherwise, none of you will want to return to shore alive! The old captain roared suddenly, and the ensign and his men were all stunned.

"Yes, yes!" The second lieutenant hurriedly ordered his men to gather on the deck, and trotted all the way there.

The old captain nodded at Zakhwagee, and he silently counted it in his heart, a lot!

Zakhwagi called in some sailors and put the guards officers and men under house arrest.

"Captain, you really have a set!" Zakhwagki couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the Guards walking pathetically to the cabin led by the sailors, but he noticed that the old captain was still indifferent.

"Sergeant, although we dealt with these guards, it is highly likely that the destroyer was sunk by a German submarine, in which case the Germans must still be nearby!" The old captain walked quickly to the command room and shouted to the sailors below: "All boilers are on fire, and the engines are started!" ”

After sinking the Russian destroyer, the U-051 did not leave or dive, and the Russians did not discover its exact location at all, as evidenced by the silent cannons on the Russian battleship.

"Full speed ahead! Heading 70 degrees north-west! "Wolf gave the latest order. The submarine quietly drew a faint mark of water on the surface of the sea, and the thin water streaks spread out from the bow to both sides, and disappeared ten meters away. Two minutes later, U-051 was already in a favorable firing position on the right front of the Gangut.

By this time, the Gangut had already begun to accelerate, but under the light of the remnants of the burning material of the Nantara, its huge hull could not escape the eyes of the Germans.

U-051 quickly aimed its tail at the massive Russian battleship.

"Torpedo No. 3 ready!"

"The ship has been confirmed! The only ship! The distance is 840 yards and the launch angle is 75 degrees! ”

Although the distance was farther, the "Gangut" was a huge target, and Captain Wolf did not think much about it, and immediately gave the order to launch.

While the torpedoes were approaching, the Russian sailors on the battleship "Gangut" were unaware.

"Captain, don't we fire flares? If it's really a German submarine, we need to know where it is! Zakhwagi stood beside the old captain, who had become a member of the command room as the temporary commander of the rebel soldiers on board.

"Sergeant, you're still a novice in commanding a battleship! In this case, the light only makes it easier for the enemy to determine our position, and it is difficult for us to see a submarine that is only a few tenths the size of us. What's more, they can dive into the water at any time! The old captain's eyes were fixed on the sea, and the sea in front of him was pitch black, except for the unextinguished incendiary material of the "Nantara" still jumping on the sea not far behind.

"Yes, Captain! It's all up to you! ”

"Watch those Guards soldiers, don't let them come out and make trouble! First mate, right full rudder, we turn to St. Petersburg! As soon as the old captain finished speaking, the battleship shook violently with a loud bang.

"Oops!" The old captain wasn't sure if it was a mine or a torpedo, but his instinct told him it must be a German submarine.

"Quickly inspect the damage to the battleship!" The old captain gave the order calmly, but he still prayed in his heart that the battleship would survive the blow.

"A hole with a diameter of about 2 meters was blown out of the starboard front waterline, and the sailors are actively plugging the leak! This damage doesn't have much of an impact on the main body of the battleship, but our speed may be reduced a bit! "The damage control room quickly sent a report, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"First mate, keep turning! Full speed ahead! ”

The 25,000-ton warship began to turn, and its tall and sharp bow cut a huge hole in the sea, and the sea water surged rapidly, forming small whirlpools on the sea. There was hardly any bump in the huge hull, and the water ripples gradually left the bulwark and scattered into the distance, leaving a wide, deep white water mark behind the battleship.

The Russian sailors on the Gangut could not hear the slight engine sound of the submarine, but the German officers and men on the U-051 could clearly hear the Russian warship moving away from them.

"Hell!" Wolf scolded indignantly, "It doesn't look like anything is going on at all!" The submarine turned and headed 30 degrees north-west! ”

A few minutes later, the voice of the Russian battleship sounded a little farther away, and to make matters worse, it had completely disappeared into darkness.

"It'...... Is it going around in circles? Captain Wolf was a little surprised, "Anyway, it's going to Helsinki!" ”

U-051 simply could not catch up with the "Gangut" at full speed from behind, so Wolf decided to wait for it on the route to Helsinki.

Unfortunately for Wolff, the Gangut was not going to go to Helsinki in the first place.

Unfortunately for the old captain, more and more sea water poured in through the breach, and the battleship even tilted to the right by 5 degrees, so he had to order the water to be filled to maintain the balance of the battleship, but the speed of the battleship also dropped to a pitiful 12 knots after a few hours, and the "Gangut" moved slowly on the surface of the sea like a huge snail.