Episode 61 Sunk!

Just when the Zhengde detachment visually detected the target 15,000 meters ahead, the sonar of the peripheral destroyers in front of it made it clear that the radio communications officer of the flagship Zhengde turned the tuning knob and cut into the Soviet maritime band. After searching for a moment, I heard a call in Russian clearly. The Russian translation was immediately translated into Chinese.

"The red star calls to the earth, and the red star calls to the earth...... I encountered an unknown battleship and asked to return...... My location is latitude 37.95 north and longitude 131.55 east...... I encountered an unknown battleship and asked to return...... My location is 37.95 north latitude and 131.55 east longitude......"

The interpreter translated calmly, but the original voice on the radio could be heard by anyone, and his voice was full of panic. The other side probably also knew that the Ming army had a fleet of battleships entering the Sea of Japan, and once it encountered, it would either be sunk or captured. So even if he saves his life, his family in China doesn't know what will happen. Even if he is released and returned to China, even if he is not imprisoned in a concentration camp, his future for the rest of his life is over.

The Soviet cargo ship on the opposite side was constantly crying out in terror, begging to turn course and avoid the battleship. And there has been no answer. His voice grew more and more frightened. But even so, as you can see from the telescope, the Soviet cargo ship on the opposite side still did not dare to change course without authorization, but only slowed down and headed in the direction of the Ming fleet.

The distance is getting closer. Because they were moving in opposite directions, and the Ming fleet increased its speed, the distance between the two sides was sharply reduced. In the blink of an eye, it is less than 8,000 meters. By this time, the observation telescope could clearly distinguish the type and size of the other party's ship.

It was a freighter of about 10,000 tons, moving slowly at a speed of 5 knots. The front of the front building is painted with a red star emblem, and a flag flutters on the mast, also red.

That's right, this is a Soviet cargo ship. Exactly what the detachment was aiming for.

……

The commander of the Ming fleet gave an order to the accompanying heavy cruiser "Li Guang" and ordered it to approach the Soviet cargo ship and complete the forced stop and boarding of the ship.

Then, the whole fleet slowed down, and the Li Guang accelerated forward, sailed out of the fleet, and approached the Soviet freighter. At the same time, Li Guang ordered the Soviet cargo ship with a signal light:

"We are the navy of the Ming Empire, and now according to the powers granted by the Eleventh Convention of The Hague, we now want to capture your ship. Command your boat to stop immediately...... Repeat: We are the navy of the Ming Empire, and now under the powers conferred by the Eleventh Convention of The Hague, we are now going to capture your ship. Order your boat to stop immediately......"

But the Soviet cargo ship still did not stop, did not answer, and just moved on, as if it had not heard. Presumably, the captain and the cadres of the ship's branch were engaged in a fierce ideological struggle.

Li Guang and the Soviet cargo ship were already only a few hundred meters away, and the Soviet cargo ship still had no intention of slowing down at all.

On the undulating waves, the two boats passed by, and two traces of white foam met.

Li Guanghao turned around with a full rudder on the left, and shouted directly on the sea surface in Russian with a loudspeaker:

"We are the navy of the Ming Empire, and now according to the powers granted by the Eleventh Convention of The Hague, we now want to capture your ship. Order your boat to stop immediately......"

At this time, the white wave behind the stern of the Soviet cargo ship gradually became longer, and it could be seen that it was accelerating. At this time, Li Guang also completed the turn, and the Soviet cargo ship was heading, keeping a distance of about 600 meters from the right rear.

……

The flagship Zhengde slowly raised the barrel of the secondary gun, and with a loud "boom", the fire and smoke flashed, and a blinding white light exploded dozens of meters above the Soviet cargo ship.

It was a flare.

The Zhengde commanded with a signal light:

"We are the Ming Empire Navy, and now we want to capture your ship and order your ship to stop, you now have three minutes...... Just now it was a warning shot, and in three minutes we will shoot live ammunition...... Repeat: you now have three minutes, and in three minutes we will shoot live ammunition ......"

This one really worked. About a minute later, the white waves behind the stern of the Soviet cargo ship faded. At the same time, the signal lights on the building of the Soviet cargo ship also flashed, conveying a message saying:

"Don't open fire, my ship will stop immediately."

Sure enough, the giant ship glided on the surface of the sea with water marks, slower and slower. You can see that it has stopped.

The eight warships of the Ming fleet also stopped and floated nearby, and their respective gun barrels were also aimed at Soviet cargo ships. The cruiser Li Guang dropped four kayaks and rowed over the Soviet cargo ship with dozens of heavily armed sailors.

Two big Russian men appeared on the side of the Soviet cargo ship and honestly lowered the gangway. The raft leaned up, and the sailors of the Ming army boarded the other deck.

"Smack!!

With a crisp gunshot, a bullet entered the wooden deck at the feet of a Ming sailor, and sawdust flew everywhere. More than a dozen Ming soldiers lay on the spot, all holding submachine guns in their hands, searching for the source of the bullets in all directions. The two Russian crew members were also stunned and stood there, at a loss.

"Smack!!

Another gunshot rang out, but this time it hit a boom on the deck, and the steel sparks flew everywhere, and the bullet bounced off and flew into the sea. At the same time, large swaths of glass fell from above and shattered on the deck.

"There it is!"

A Ming sailor pointed upward, a round porthole in the wheelhouse of the ship building above shattered, and a figure wearing a white large-brimmed hat flashed. That's the captain.

Almost simultaneously, more than a dozen submachine guns on the deck opened fire at the same time, deafeningly. Several portholes in the cockpit above shattered at the same time, and the shipbuilding was riddled with bullet holes.

"Ceasefire!"

One of the lieutenants ordered:

"You stay, control the deck, you ten come with me!"

He rushed into the shipbuilding with ten sailors, armed with submachine guns and cats. At the same time, several rubber boats below also approached one after another, and more sailors poured onto the cargo ship, occupying the entire deck, and escorting the Soviet crew to search the lower deck.

The lieutenant rushed to the cockpit with ten sailors, only to see a middle-aged man with the appearance of a captain lying in the center of the cockpit, with three bullet holes in his chest, still bleeding. The man is dead.

This must be the captain's last resort. He knew that as the captain of the ship, if he surrendered like this, his family in the country would be finished. Only by making senseless resistance, allowing oneself to "sacrifice heroically" and becoming a martyr, can we keep our families safe at home.

The captain died, and the other crew members and party and government cadres of the cargo ship also accepted their fate. Most of the crew members were escorted into small boats by the Ming army, boarded the Ming warships, and held as prisoners.

The remaining senior crew members, such as the first and second officers, remained on board to assist the Ming army in searching the ship.

The sailors who went down to the cargo hold to inspect found that the whole ship was full of potatoes. A lot of documents, manifests, customs bills, and so on were found in the officer's cabin, which also showed that this shipload of potatoes was going to be shipped to Japan.

The sailors on the cargo ship reported the results of the search to the flagship with a signal light.

The commander of the fleet made a decision: since the ship was not a high-value cargo, there was no need to capture it and return home, so it was sunk on the spot.

……

The sailors escorted the remaining officers and crew, as well as the captured documents and radio stations, and returned to the ship in a dinghy.

The fleet commander ordered all ships to line up in a horizontal line and keep a distance of 800 meters from Soviet cargo ships.

Then, with his telescope, he took one last look at the Soviet cargo ship floating stationary in the distance, and ordered:

"Attention all units...... Targets, cargo ships ahead, artillery - free fire. ”

The herald took the microphone and shouted:

"Attention all units! Target, cargo ship ahead! Artillery – Free Fire!! ”

A few seconds later, the muffled sound of friendly ships' guns was heard on the left and right sides. Soon, a dense fireball burst out on the Soviet cargo ship, like a boiling pot.

Suddenly, the Zhengde trembled, and the loud sound was deafening. Its battleship giant main guns opened fire.

Two seconds later, the Soviet cargo ship exploded earth-shatteringly. In the flash of volcanic eruptions and thick smoke, the 10,000-ton freighter split in half, its bow and stern raised high, and slowly sank into the sea.