A gloomy cloud hung over Hamburg, Germany, and the docks were filled with hundreds of workers, all silently watching a behemoth not far from the harbor, the battlecruiser Mackensen!

With a displacement of more than 30,000 tons, this huge warship surpassed most battleships, and this warship also had a proud speed of 28 knots, which was far ahead of the warships of this era, and in 1917 this giant ship was officially launched at the Blomforth shipyard.

At that time, all the workers who participated in the construction cheered enthusiastically, as if they were watching the birth of their own child, and they were full of pride. But for these people, it's just a little joke before a tragedy.

Soon the Germans were defeated, the huge High Seas Fleet became a prisoner of the British, and then sank itself in Scarpa Bay, and the Mackensen, which had never finished outfitting, was fortunately retained, but with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was disarmed, the navy disappeared, and the warship was also facing the fate of being dismantled.

There are three more warships of the same class, and the dismantling work has been carried out one after another, and all the German workers are full of tears, and they want to use the hands that have built the warships to dismantle these warships, as if forcing a mother to strangle her newborn child, this pain is indescribable.

At this time, a sudden turn of events occurred, the Chinese decided to buy the Mackensen and transport it back to China for dismantling, the price given was 2.2 million US dollars, two percent higher than the domestic demolition, and the British also acquiesced to this cooperation, and the government of the Weimar Republic urgently needed to import a large amount of grain from China, so it would not object, and the business was a hit.

Today is the day when the Chinese take the Mackensen, and four tugboats pull the Mackensen and slowly leave the port of Hamburg. The huge warship gradually sailed towards the North Sea, and at this moment, the German workers on the shore burst into tears, they did not know what fate would be, waiting for this warship, they only felt as if they were digging out their hearts and lungs.

Among these German workers was a young German officer, who was also looking at the back of the Mackensen in the distance. A contemptuous smile appeared on his face: "The ghost believes that the Chinese will tear down such a powerful warship and turn it into scrap metal, and the British are simply stupid." They will definitely pay the price of blood for this! ”

The young man was none other than Randall, who had led a group of German officers on a secret trip to China, to which he had returned just a month earlier. The trip was for Randall. It's really too rich, first of all, the industrial level of Fengjun is high-definition. Finalized the cooperation between the two parties.

They have also received a state-of-the-art set of military concepts from China. What fascinated the Germans the most was the use of tanks, concentrated armor liliang, which, in cooperation with the air force, carried out rapid charges, capable of producing unparalleled and powerful assault capabilities.

In the past war, although there was also the use of tanks. However, due to its poor performance and the fact that the tank was only used as a support weapon for the infantry, it did not play its due value.

However, in the contest between China and Russia in the Far East, the Feng army concentrated on the use of armored liliang. The Germans were amazed, and they vaguely felt that they had grasped the key to victory in the future war.

Although China's industrial level is still relatively backward, Chinese is using its own ingenuity to quickly catch up with the trend of shijie, but there are many people on shijie, who have not yet noticed this trend and continue to dream.

With Randall's understanding of the Chinese, he never believed that the Mackensen would become a pile of scrap iron, and the Chinese would definitely let this warship be reborn and become a powerful maritime weapon, and then the British would probably not be able to raise their toes, and a strong China would make this empire where the sun never sets taste bitterness.

China has begun to explore the road to the ocean, just like Germany at the beginning, Randall's heart is also burning with a fire, the Germans will not be willing to fail, they will sprint towards the ocean.

At a speed of five knots, the Mackensen left Germany and slowly crossed the English Channel, all the way south. Along the way, they encountered many merchant ships and warships, and these people all pointed at the big ship, and even couldn't help but exclaim.

What a huge battleship, what a mighty castle on the sea, it is simply a miracle in the history of industry, the only problem is the lack of all the main guns, but this is enough to make people sigh from the bottom of their hearts.

Chen Jiliang, who was in charge of escorting the ship, didn't care what others thought of it, nor did he care about the main guns, and he also understood some domestic ideas, this huge warship would be converted into China's first large aircraft carrier, becoming the core and main force of the future navy. Chen Jiliang's only concern is how to transport this warship back to China, he must ensure the absolute safety of the warship, this giant ship carrying hundreds of millions of Chinese people, the dream of the ocean, absolutely must not make any mistakes.

Slowly but surely, the Mackensen sailed southward, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, entering the Indian Ocean, and then passing through the Strait of Malacca and into the South China Sea.

The road was calm and there were no problems, but Chen Jiliang knew that the real test was coming, and the most difficult part of the entire route back to China finally came, and he was not in a hurry to go north to the northeast, but to Hong Kong to rest.

After more than two months of sailing, all the ships needed to adjust, and so did the crew, who needed to regain their strength and energy, and while the crew was relaxing in the ballroom bar, Chen Jiliang secretly went to a hotel, which was headed by agents of the Fengtian Military Intelligence Bureau. In fact, from the day the Mackensen left Hamburg, the intelligence officers of the Feng army were secretly watching.

In order to ensure the smooth return of this huge ship, Mukden has also made great efforts to make a detailed assessment of all potential risks, and there must be corresponding plans for possible troubles.

This intelligence officer smiled and said to Chen Jiliang: "Captain Chen, introduce yourself, in Xia Ge Yuexuan, the head of the Hong Kong station of the Military Intelligence Bureau, here I have another good news and a bad news, which one do you want to hear?" ”

Chen Jiliang glared at him: "When is it, there is still idle time to tease the boring child, if you have anything to say, hurry up!" ”

Ge Yuexuan smiled dryly: "Captain Chen, isn't this to make you relax, we already have the intelligence, the Japanese have decided to do it, they want to kill the Mackensen, even if this is an unfinished warship, even if there is no artillery, the Japanese are not willing to let this warship fall into our hands." ”

Chen Jiliang heard the news, very calm, he along the way, has repeatedly speculated many times, can prevent the Mackensen to return to China, only Britain and Japan, from all aspects, the Japanese have the greatest chance to do it, Chen Jiliang smiled: "As expected, the determination of the island countries to maintain maritime hegemony is so firm, there is nothing strange, what I want to know most is that there is no way to deal with it, will it just watch?" ”

Ge Yuexuan said with a smile: "Of course, there are ways to deal with it, in fact, two submarines have already reached the Taiwan Strait, which is the strongest endurance submarine in the Feng army, and they will provide protection underwater." In addition, we have arranged for some aircraft in Guangzhou to provide air cover to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Taiwan Strait. However, the next part of the route, from the East China Sea to the Yellow Sea, was under the supervision of the Japanese, and if their combined fleet was determined to deal with the Mackensen, it would be very troublesome. ”

Chen Jiliang frowned, gritted his teeth, and said firmly: "No matter what, you have to break through, I believe that the Mackensen will be able to return to China smoothly, no matter how much it costs!" ”

"Captain Chen, it's great to have this confidence, after you leave Hong Kong, there will be some friends on board the Mackensen, and they will play a very important role when necessary."

After a short meeting, Chen Jiliang had another worry about the future, and they deliberately rested slowly for more than 20 days before setting off again, tugboat pulling the giant ship, sailing on the rippling sea, and soon they entered the waters of the Taiwan Strait.

Not long after driving, they saw two plumes of smoke, which were rapidly approaching this side, and the two sides were getting closer and closer, and it was the Japanese warship, a destroyer, and a patrol ship, and they were also horrified when they saw the huge body of the Mackenson.

I didn't expect the Chinese to get such a huge thing back, but when they found out that the Mackensen had no main guns and no power, they became extremely arrogant, and followed the warship deadly, like a ghost, and did not want to leave at all.

Moreover, the Japanese sailors on the deck, constantly taunting, insulting, and putting on an arrogant posture, after these crew members of the Feng army saw it, they were all extremely angry, and their eyes could spew fire.

Chen Jiliang said calmly: "Don't think about it, just treat them as if they don't exist, everything is as usual, drive north, and they continue to go north." The Japanese warships kept in sight, and they were clearly grouped up, and each group of two followed the Mackensen. Although Chen Jiliang is calm on the surface, he is constantly beating the drum in his heart, and the Japanese are watching 24 hours a day, and they may take action when, and they don't know if they can successfully pass this hurdle.

It was after this trembling that they crossed the East China Sea and entered the Yellow River, and when they reached the Yellow Sea, there were noticeably more and more Japanese surveillance vessels, and there were also cruisers and other warships.

Not only did they follow behind the Mackenson, but they also ran to the front of the warship from time to time to provoke, and even the Japanese Navy even hoisted a flag to conduct a shooting exercise.

In the face of the various actions of the Japanese, Chen Jiliang seemed indifferent and was still sailing silently, but just when they were still more than a hundred nautical miles away from Weihaiwei, several huge black plumes of smoke suddenly appeared in the distance.

What should come will come eventually! (To be continued......)