October 22, 1897, Qingdao Naval Submarine Base.

No flowers, no applause, no gongs, drums, and firecrackers. Only hundreds of officers and men in military uniforms lined up neatly, and under the cold wind, the navy flag hunted and churned, marking a footnote for them.

Yang Hao and Yang Haiwei were the leaders, Li Jingfang, Shi Jianfei and other military dignitaries gathered, and Xu Jianyin, Jiao Hai and other military experts all arrived, all for one thing - to witness the first launch of the first submarine of the Chinese Navy.

The 76.6-meter-long black-painted submarine exposes its narrow and slender back and bridge on the water, and no one knows that it is an old thing that is already 40 years old. There were no mighty naval guns on her deck, and she looked like a half-dead black fish, gently undulating with the gentle waves.

However, all the more than 50 officers and men in front of the formation puffed up their chests proudly, as if they were leaning against an indestructible mountain and an impassable Great Wall for the enemy. And they, with long tassels in their hands, are arrogant, and a surging aura is surging all around, like warriors who are about to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy.

At the front of the queue, Captain Cai Tinggan's expression was calm, his eyes were indifferent, and his not tall body seemed to be stuck into the ground like a tree stump, and he couldn't see the slightest nervousness and excitement.

Yang Hao came to them, Yan Sù's gaze slowly swept over the young faces, and said in a deep voice: "I don't need to talk about the significance of this sea trial. I have only one request, to complete it smoothly and ensure safety. ”

Cai Tinggan replied shortly and forcefully: "Yes, I promise to complete the task and never disappoint the commander-in-chief's entrustment!" ”

Yang Hao nodded. Take a step back and give way to Daddy.

Yang Haiwei stepped forward. Slapped Cai Tinggan's shoulder hard. Said solemnly: "Originally, I should have personally led the team this time, but since you have already made a decision, I respect the choice of the Dà family." Although there will be no threat from enemies along the way, it must not be taken lightly! ”

Cai Tinggan saluted: "Please rest assured, sir, where the duty lies, we will not dare to slack off a little!" ”

Yang Haiwei snorted, and he didn't make too many generous statements.

Turning around, he said to Jiao Hai, who couldn't wait: "One of the operations in the sea trial." Be cautious. Although we have tried many times, after all, it is not in real combat. So, be careful and don't be impatient. ”

Jiao Hai replied quite confidently: "You don't have to worry, the weapons on it are all assembled by our own hands, and we know their temperament best, and we will never make trouble halfway." ”

Yang Haiwei didn't say anything, waved his hand, Cai Tinggan turned around and stood upright, facing all the members. shouted: "All of them, board!" ”

57 full-fledged crew members, including him. and an accompanying armament technical team, and boarded the submarine codenamed "X401" in an orderly manner.

Seeing that the last of them did not enter it, Yang Hao and the others turned around and left. They didn't leave directly, but they first had to go to the command center of the submarine base to observe the entire sailing process in the next period of time.

Because it was the first bomb-carrying voyage, there were a series of subjects such as simulating enemy attacks along the way, which was a new experience for both a group of freshmen and commanders. Therefore, the whole process was not radio-shielded, and the submarine's communication antenna was used to relay the information to a destroyer following Guò to report the situation inside in real time.

Yang Hao felt a pity, if there were a few communication satellites, maybe it could be made into a live broadcast, which would be reassuring.

Probably seeing his thoughts, Yang Haiwei said lightly: "You don't need to think about it so much, I personally trained and assessed all the crew members, and their skills and skills are trustworthy." You also have to trust the quality of their work, and those torpedoes are designed to be safe enough that nothing will go wrong. ”

Yang Hao said: "Those are okay, the only thing I'm worried about is the integrity of foreign devil arms dealers." With such a large submarine, it is difficult to say that there are any hidden dangers in it that have not been told to us. It's another monohull old boat, I'm really afraid that something will go wrong when I dive. ”

Arms dealers are unreliable, which is a necessary common sense in this industry. Whoever wants to fully believe in this kind of person will definitely be quickly killed. In this article, Yang Hao has always remained calm and objective.

For example, this submarine, in order to make Yang Hao look like it was worth the lot of money, the arms dealer specially asked people to renovate all the equipment and wiring valves in the bar before delivery. When Yang Hao went up to inspect the goods in person, he saw a good guy who was clean and refreshing without problems. In a series of actions such as sea trials, diving, and floating, I didn't find much problem.

But that doesn't mean it's fine.

The quality of the things made in China in the 70s is credible, but the accuracy is really not so reassuring. When exporting to foreign countries, it is necessary to have the support of a whole team of technical consultants. In addition to a complete set of drawings and manuals, he only has sporadically collected some summaries of the experience of the former Soviet Union and other countries.

These things converge into a training plan, which is repeated in the submarine school of the second plane, with improvised narrow steel models, until everyone is proficient, but they are only barely on the road.

After all, submarines are different from surface ships, once they dive into the deep sea, they are completely dark in front of them, and they can only navigate by collecting hydrographic data and electronic equipment. Whether you can make calm decisions under such heavy pressure, and whether all members can cooperate smoothly, need to be repeatedly verified.

According to the original idea, the first and even the first submarine were to be double-hulled. In these years, there is no external threat, the speed is slow, the dive is not deep enough, and the noise is relatively loud, that is not a problem, anyway, the foreign devils are completely unfamiliar with it. The only thing to pay attention to is safety.

China is too short of naval talent, and every time it is pulled out, it has to be used as a treasure. Especially Cai Tinggan, who was born in the United States, is smart and wise, and he is in the prime of life, and he can play the most important role. It is a pity that they were first forcibly interrupted by the short-sighted Manchu Qing Dynasty, and after they returned, most of them were left idle, and they were not assigned to positions that could give full play to their skills, and a lot of life was wasted.

Now Yang Hao has finally set things right. Let them give full play to their ingenuity and get on the right path.

But in terms of operating submarines. Yang Hao was not at ease.

The former Soviet R-class/domestically produced 033-class submarines themselves have a lot of design flaws. In some respects, it was not necessarily much better than the XXI type, which was designed by Germany in the latter part of World War II. The speed is slow, the noise is high, and the underwater speed of the two-shaft propulsion is low, and many of the handles ridiculed by foreign armies actually come from this type. At present, almost all of them have been retired because they can't keep up with the requirements of the war, but they have still become a killer weapon in the hands of other small countries - such as the theme country under the command of a certain sun.

The internal working environment of the Type 033 submarine is so bad that ordinary people simply can't stand it. Normally, the temperature is thirty or forty degrees, and the cabin galley can reach up to 55 degrees, and most of the space is so cramped that people can't breathe. If you have claustrophobia. I guess I won't be able to stay in it for even a minute.

The whole person was stuffed into a coffin, and his movements had to be cautious, keeping the balance of the submarine at all times, and the air was filled with all kinds of mixed smells of wetness....... Even if it had been cleaned and changed when it was delivered, Yang Hao felt uncomfortable when he went up.

He could not imagine how those officers and men, who had been on a mission for dozens of days, patiently persevered.

Yang Haiwei is professional after all, and gently patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't think so much, you have to believe in the quality of my country's military products." Also believe in the plain zhì of the crew I trained. ”

Yang Hao didn't say more, and now the submarine has set off. How to face the danger and difficulties depends on the fifty or sixty brave warriors above. He can't use the strength on his side.

The command center kept in touch with the submarine by radio at any time, and reports came one by one, so that Yang Hao and others could clearly know their operation status.

The destroyer "Dengzhou," which was following the submarine, kept using a telescope to observe the submarine's navigation posture exposed on the bridge, and reported the results from time to time.

Sa Zhenbing commanded the destroyers not only to escort the destroyers, but also to verify the anti-submarine operations of surface ships. In the next 100 years or so, the most confrontational forces on the sea will be the battle of wits and courage between submarines and anti-submarine equipment.

At present, Western countries only have a vague understanding of submarines, and there is no conventional weapon worthy of attention. But there is no doubt that in the event that they find it impossible to defeat the Chinese Navy with surface ships, they will inevitably seek other measures. The guy flying in the sky is still far from appearing and putting into actual combat, and the submarine, which has already achieved practical results, will inevitably be quickly deployed into the active service of the navy.

In the last decade of the late 19th century, the world's great powers were already engaged in submarine research. The French, in particular, are the fastest in this regard. Their "Gustav? The submarine "Kid" is even in service for four years and will sink the British battleship "Macenta" with a torpedo next year, setting off a worldwide construction frenzy!

It is impossible to determine when the submarines of the great powers will suddenly appear in China's coastal waters, and neither Yang Hao nor Yang Haiwei dares to take it lightly. The reason why they came up to build frigates and destroyers for the purpose of escorting anti-submarine ships, and even kept anti-submarine equipment on all cruisers, was to always guard against capsizing in the gutter.

Today, with an epoch-making submarine in hand, they can't wait to devote themselves to a comprehensive anti-submarine combat exercise, so that all ships can learn and master relevant knowledge as much as possible, and turn the training content into common sense.

X401 drove out of the bay and into the rough East China Sea, Cai Tinggan put away the binoculars from the bridge and shouted below: "One minute countdown, prepare to dive to the periscope depth." Then he went down to the cabin and took over the command.

This time, they traveled, and there were no other ships to help clear the way.

In the past, a lot of preparations had to be made in advance for many trial trainings, and the main purpose was to keep it secret. Even if there are no ships of the great powers north of the Yangtze River, they still maintain absolute vigilance and must not allow the slightest bit of information to leak from the submarines. On the civilian ships that go south and north, no one knows how many foreigners' eyes are still lurking, and those who can sell a qiē festival for money are available at any time, and they have to be guarded against.

Today, however, they are an exception, and they must rely on their own abilities to train in a real combat posture, treating themselves as if they had entered a war zone and treating any suspicious target on the sea as an enemy.

In the cramped compartment of an old submarine, the rumbling roar of diesel engines has been refracted countless times and turned into a dull humming sound that constantly torments people's hearing. However, Cai Tinggan, who has been eating and living in it for several months, has long been accustomed to it. Like the entire crew, I don't care. He leaned on the bulkhead and calmly gave instructions. Bring the bow of the submarine into the water at 15 degrees. In just a few tens of seconds, the entire bridge was completely submerged. Subsequently, even the track caused by the antenna cutting through the water disappeared.

The periscope rises, and the distant scene shakes and comes into view after being magnified and stretched. Behind the side, the slender figure of the "Dengzhou" looms.

A grim smile appeared on the corner of Cai Tinggan's mouth, this time I will treat you as an imaginary enemy!

In terms of periscope depth, with the advantage of speed, the X401 easily avoided many civilian ships one after another. Gradually entering the deep water area of the East China Sea 100 kilometers away, he suddenly put away the periscope and dived rapidly to 100 meters!

The sonar crew of the "Dengzhou" and the lookout on the mainmast immediately issued a warning: "The target suddenly disappeared!" ”

Sa Zhenbing didn't react at first, this is not the content of the drill in the plan book at all! What the hell are the kids on the submarine doing?

He immediately consulted the command center, and the answer he received was: "X401 is normal." You can continue with the job. ”

"Didn't go wrong? Is that deliberate? ”

Sa Zhenbing quickly thought of Cai Tinggan's unconvinced appearance.

There are still various factions in the Chinese navy. After the original Fujian and Cantonese systems were broken up, and the Lu and Zhejiang systems were mixed with sand, the original characteristics of huddles and closures have been diluted a lot, and with the mandatory implementation of standard Mandarin, they originally relied on English and dialects to distinguish each other, and it came to an end.

But another faction hill has risen again. First of all, Yang Haiwei personally trained the first batch of young officers of the lineage. A subtle contrast with the old Beiyang officers. These talents, who have been trained by the modern naval education system from the very beginning, do not look down on the older generation of overseas commanders in their bones. Nominally, they all served as junior officers on the various ships. In his bones, he wants to seize power in a few years and replace them completely.

No way, the two sides are a generation apart. Sa Zhenbing, the youngest student in the navy, is 36 years old, and the generation gap is inevitable.

However, the old backbones led by Liu Buyun and Deng Shichang refused to give way lightly. In the past few years, they have studied hard, and each of them has a ready-made command of a warship, and with more than ten years of experience to make up for the lack of knowledge, they are doing much better than young people.

If it is simply a healthy competition between these two sides, then the sudden rise of the young children in the United States has inserted a bar between the two to create a third mountain.

This group is younger than the first batch of naval students, has an overseas education background than the local Mawei Ship Master's Department, has more experience and qualifications than the Young Youth Department, and has formed a broad network of people all over the shipyard and navy, the new government's Westernization faction, etc. Although they do not occupy the main positions for the time being, the potential is even greater than that of naval students!

Under the rule of the Great Qing Dynasty, it is still far from the future of these people. However, when Yang Hao's revolutionary army came to power and took power, they immediately freed them from their messy work, and after all of them returned to the furnace for training, they were pushed to the vanguard of the thriving revolutionary tide!

Thirty or forty years old, in the prime of life, intelligent and wise, and top academic. After returning to China for ten years, this group of people is mature, professional, and easy to accept the ideas of the new government, and immediately became the most effective cadres under Yang Hao!

Someone like Zhan Tianyou, who advocates the power of railway construction, is just one of the representatives. All of them who are still alive have taken on the role of the chief officers of one side, and together with the elite of young scholars in their twenties and thirties, they have supported many key posts in the revolutionary military government.

Those who are in the navy are also able to get ahead.

In the original Beiyang Naval Division, the young children in the United States could only be middle-level officers and had no power. After the establishment of the new navy, a large number of ships were quickly launched to provide them with the opportunity to show their skills, so a large number of captains in their thirties quickly emerged and formed their own groups.

This time, when the submarine was put into use, Cai Tinggan took the initiative to ask for help, and won the first place, which won a lot of glory for the Department of Studying in the United States. So naturally, this has also become a competition arena between multiple factions.

As the future hope of the old Beiyang family, Sa Zhenbing was well aware of the various undercurrents inside, and he almost subconsciously judged Cai Tinggan's intentions, and made the initial decision immediately: "Order the whole ship to enter anti-submarine operations immediately!" Target X401 boat, find him out as much as I can! ”

A short siren sounded, and the "Dengzhou" quickly entered combat state. All kinds of anti-submarine sonars have been turned on, and the sea scanning radar is also at full power. On the deck, the five 533mm torpedo tubes in the back were immediately loaded with training shells, and the depth charges and hedgehog guns in the bow and stern were all activated, ready to strike at any time. Of course, all of these weapons have been replaced with drill shells, and they can't be used by real people.

The respective movements of the two ships were transmitted back to the command center, and Yang Haiwei smiled faintly: "There is a good show to watch." ”

Yang Hao shook his head helplessly, all the worries he started were in vain! These Navy guys are really capricious.

But after thinking about it, he also thought about it, and the navy, which only followed the rules, definitely did not meet his requirements. In the future, they will all be overseas operations, and the situation is changing rapidly, how can they listen to the arrangements of the head all the time just for safety?

Then wait and see. How boring it is for a submarine to sneak out and release torpedoes, but it is still the navies competing with each other so as not to waste precious fuel. Just don't put your life in danger and let them play a trick. (To be continued......) R1292