The annual Imperial Navy event, the Spring Military Exercise, has begun. This year's scheduled exercise area is east of the Langgangshan Islands, and the warships of the five major fleets of the empire and the four local fleets are all gathered in the port of Zhoushan. As in previous years, the Spring Exercise was presided over by the Imperial Navy's Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Satieting, and several cabinet ministers led by Imperial Prime Minister Xue Xiyue, as well as King Ninghai, who was appointed by the Emperor, attended the opening ceremony of the exercise.

The Imperial Navy's spring military exercises have a history of more than 300 years, and except for the interruptions during large-scale wars, military exercises start on time every year after the Spring Festival. The Navy's Spring Exercise and the Army's Autumn Exercise were two of the Empire's largest military parades and displays. The purpose of the exercise was twofold, one was to review the combat effectiveness of the army, and the other was to show other countries the power of the empire's armed forces, and to discourage those who had bad intentions.

The spring exercise has actually grown into a worldwide naval extravaganza. Since the end of the last war, the Imperial Navy has opened some of its military exercises to the world's media, and has assigned special personnel to deal with journalists. In addition, each year, the Imperial Navy invited admirals from other countries (mainly friendly allies) to observe the exercise, and other invited powers also sent ships to participate in the exercise. Some countries with good relations with the empire, such as the Persian Empire, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Southern Chinese Republic, and many other countries, will send warships to participate in the exercises.

This year was no exception, the Persian emperor sent the crown prince to lead a delegation of more than 50 people to Zhoushan three days in advance, and the king of the Kingdom of Thailand also sent a delegation to Zhoushan. In addition, more than a dozen countries have sent ships to the site. Among them, Prince Eugen, the younger brother of the German Emperor Wilhelm III and commander of the German Imperial Navy, led a huge fleet consisting of more than a dozen battleships, including the battleship "Bismarck" and the "Deutschland" pocket battleship, to Zhoushan Port. The German Empire was the country with which the Tang Empire had the best relations in Europe, and it was also the only ally of the Tang Empire on the European continent. In addition to strengthening military ties with the Tang Empire, I am afraid that the visit of Prince Eugen with the fleet has a major relationship with the current tense international situation.

Tan Renhao and the others arrived at Zhoushan Port on the cruiser "Yancheng," the flagship of the Fifth Fleet, with General Liao Hanxiang the day before the exercise. In the huge harbor, at least more than two hundred warships were moored. Among them were at least thirty or more capital battleships. The three wharves on the east side of the port are reserved for the three aircraft carriers of the Fifth Fleet, and the "Yancheng" can only temporarily dock at the edge of the wharf, and after letting General Liao Hanxiang and others go ashore, they can only anchor in the port area.

"It's a 10,000-thousand-plus warship exhibition!" Chang Jianxin felt very excited, he was the first time to participate in the spring military exercise, and in the past few years, he stayed behind and did not have the opportunity to follow the ships of the First Fleet to the south.

"Yes, this is the Imperial Navy!" Hao Dongjue was also very excited. In the port, more than eighty percent of the warships were from the Imperial Navy, and those thirty or so capital warships were enough to make all the enemies feel fearful.

"Ren Hao, look over there!" Chang Jianxin quickly pointed to the west of the port, where the foreign warships were moored, "Why are Japanese ships here this year?" ”

Tan Renhao frowned slightly, and sure enough, among the more than twenty warships flying the flags of other countries, five of the battleships were flying plaster flags.

"****, did you invite Japan to participate this year?" Hao Dongjue gritted his teeth, "Aren't they afraid that any sailor can't figure it out and go to blow up those Japanese warships?" ”

Tan Renhao laughed, I'm afraid the most impulsive is Hao Dongjue. In the last war, more than forty percent of the officers and men lost by the Imperial Navy were killed in battle with the Japanese Navy. The children of these officers and men are now adults, and more than half have joined the Navy. Obviously, the two extreme feelings of national hatred and family hatred are concentrated on these young naval officers and men, and it is strange that they do not cause some trouble for the Japanese.

The flagship of the Japanese "visit" fleet was the battleship "Nagato", which had just completed refit. It was a battleship that began construction at the end of the last World War and served as the flagship of the Japanese Continental Fleet when it was commissioned, after the war was over. Last year, the second large-scale refit began, mainly to enhance the anti-aircraft firepower of the battleship, replace some old boilers, and rearrange the headquarters for the battleship. They were accompanied by two heavy cruisers, two destroyers. Although the size of the formation is not very large, this is the first time that a Japanese Navy ship has participated in the spring military exercises of the Imperial Navy since the end of the last war.

Early the next morning, more than 200 warships successively passed through the waterway between Ezozaki Island and Taohua Island and sailed to the sea area to the east for the scheduled military exercise. This waterway was named after the First Fleet's victory in the Battle of Bazheng Island in the last major war, when it returned to Zhoushan Port to recuperate, and then set off from this waterway to face the Western Combined Fleet. At that time, Marshal Saditin was still the chief of staff of the Imperial Navy, and he saw off the Imperial Navy officers and men on the northern beach, wishing them a great victory, hence the name of the waterway.

Before the start of the exercise, the commander of the Imperial Navy, Marshal Satieting, accompanied Prime Minister Xue Xiyue and King Ning Hai to review the fleet. They were aboard the 300-year-old sail battleship "Emperor," and the ships participating in the exercise passed by the most glorious battleship on the Imperial Navy's roster of warships and were reviewed. Subsequently, the exercise in which the warships participating in the exercise were divided into more than 10 items according to the fleet.

First up were the twelve main warships of the First Fleet. The twelve battleships lined up with the battlecruisers and entered the predetermined channel according to the standard artillery battle line, and then the hundreds of main guns on the twelve battleships were all pointed at the small island and reef in the easternmost part of the Langgangshan Islands. A red flag was planted on the reef, and that was the target of the twelve warships.

Tan Renhao and the others stood outside the bridge of the flagship commander of the Fifth Fleet, only four kilometers away from the First Fleet. The sight of twelve battleships firing at the same time was spectacular. It took more than ten seconds for the explosion to come, like a muffled thunder in the distance. By the time the smoke cleared, the outcrops of the reef had disappeared.

The officers and men who watched the shelling performance on the "Yancheng" all felt the powerful destructive force, and if they had not seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed in the powerful destructive force.