The submarine was like a big dark gray whale that flexibly submerged into the sea, lurking in the direction of the ship's heading, containing infinite killing opportunities.

The "Peony Flower" cruise ship is an 8,600-ton ocean-going passenger ship manufactured by Songjiang Lixin Shipyard, which has been in operation for 4 years, specializing in the ocean empire through Somalia to Europe, with a rated crew of 1,622 people, including 231 steamship sailors and service personnel.

The trip to Europe was a chartered ship by merchants from Britain and France, sending 1,869 indigenous laborers recruited on the island of Sumatra to France, with the destination being the port of Arteste de Beeque, near Bordeaux in southeastern France.

Here, indigenous laborers undergo a short period of physical recuperation and military training before being sent to the front as reinforcements.

As for whether it was the battlefield of hell on the Somme or the Verdun meat grinder, it is difficult to say.

Due to the outbreak of the war in Europe, Germany's elusive submarines frantically attacked the passenger ships and cargo ships belonging to the Entente countries, and large enterprises such as the Pacific Insurance Company, the Queensland Insurance Company, and the Victoria Marine Insurance Company of the Ocean Empire cancelled the marine insurance of the European routes, and the Asia-Europe passenger routes were greatly affected.

At the same time as the freight is busy, the one-way passenger traffic from the Ocean Empire to Europe is extremely deserted, from a dozen or so cruise ships a month to less than two today, and the number of people is still pitiful.

There is no big reason why anyone would want to travel to Europe in danger of death.

Look the other way around

As soon as they arrived in Europe, both passenger and freighter ships could be filled with a shipload of refugees, including French, Italians, a few wealthy Russians and British, and most of them women and children.

At this stage, the general private shipping companies of the Ocean Empire will basically only transport passengers and goods to the Hampton port on the east coast of North America, and the rest of the voyage will be re-exported by the ships of the Allied countries participating in the war.

The majority of the transit is only to the Yasol Islands, which has led to the re-export trade of the Yasol Islands soaring like a rocket, and the harbor is moored with large and small cargo ships, and the business is booming.

It is only 1,450 kilometers from the Azores to Lisbon in Portugal and 1,720 kilometers to the port of Bordeaux in southwestern France, which can be reached in three days.

The Peony Flower is one of the only two passenger ships left, and now that there are very few indigenous laborers in Sumatra, it may be suspended this time.

The reason why the "Peony Flower" cruise ship dared to venture into the war zone was that on the one hand, the high freight rate, and on the other hand, the "Peony Flower" cruise ship relied on a speed of up to 23 knots per hour, and the submarine could not catch up with such a fast speed.

A few months ago

The import of indigenous labor to Europe was a big business, with not only two dozen ocean-going passenger liners involved, but also a large number of freighters carrying passengers, and the business was booming.

Rough estimates

In just half a year, more than 300,000 Sumatran male indigenous laborers were imported into Europe, which was highly appreciated by the Entente camp and strongly supported Europe's war against aggression.

The "Peony Flower" cruise ship was at full speed, cleaving the waves all the way on the sea and galloping at high speed, unaware that danger was approaching.

Beneath the surface of the sea

The German submarine U-152, maintaining periscope depth, had quickly detoured back to the course of the cruise ship "Peony Flower" and watched the large prey step into the ambush circle.

The air in the submarine was filthy and hot, and many German sailors were still sweating in short-sleeved shirts, but under the command of the captain, they were enthusiastically manipulating the equipment, and no one made a sound.

"Course 12 degrees to the right rudder, advance three, torpedo power check, ready for launch."

"The torpedo tubes are filled with water and connected to high-pressure gas tanks."

"Maintain the current course, move forward two, report on readiness."

"Report sir, the torpedo is well electrified."

"The torpedo tube is well filled."

"It's good to connect the high-pressure gas tank."

"The route is kept."

"Ready to launch."

A succession of combat posts quickly reported that two huge torpedoes had entered the launch tubes and were on standby, and the U-152 submarine bared its fangs and teeth, ready to tear apart the prey that had stepped into the ambush circle.

At this time, the second lieutenant Clermond in the water listening room looked a little abnormal, and the exit reported: "Report to the chief, according to the water listening supervision, it has been determined that the incoming ship belongs to a passenger ship of 8,000 to 10,000 tons, please instruct whether to continue the attack." ”

At this time, advanced sonar equipment had not yet been invented, and the equipment in the listening room was very rudimentary, probably similar in principle to the stethoscope used by doctors, but much larger.

But an experienced officer can determine which type of enemy ship belongs to by means of the disturbance of the propeller and the sound of the ship splitting the sea, and showing a layered picture of the hydroacoustics in his mind.

In order to save fuel, most ocean-going cargo ships use low-speed steam turbines, with large blades and slow rotational speed, and a deep and dull sound, even if a coolie carrying a sack and staggering forward.

Warships do not consider fuel saving, and most of them use high-speed steam turbines, which require small size, high output power, and high speed, just like athletes with strong feet, and every step is strong and powerful.

Ocean liners are based on the between, although they use low-speed steam turbines, but the gearbox increases the gear ratio and increases the speed of the propellers, which are relatively smaller, and the sound is like that of a woman with a fiery footsteps.

The difference between these sounds is clear to the ears of an experienced water hearing officer, and there is absolutely no mistake.

The German Navy Chief of Staff Hutzendorff proposed to carry out unrestricted submarine warfare against Britain, which was unanimously approved by Military Minister Ludendorff and Foreign Minister Zimmermann, but Kaiser Wilhelm II was still hesitant and did not formally approve it.

According to the current German naval combat doctrine, the strike range was personally determined by Kaiser Wilhelm II;

For example, if an enemy passenger ship encounters an enemy passenger ship in a combat area near the North Sea, it should first ascertain its nationality and whether it is transporting combat personnel and military supplies, and then attack after confirming that it is correct.

The reason for this regulation is that submarines simply cannot guarantee the safety of the personnel of the sunken passenger ship, and there are too many people to save them, and it is easy to cause a humanitarian disaster.

And such provisions

This created an insurmountable difficulty for the German submarine commanders, and with the current technical means, it was difficult to detect whether the passenger ship was carrying military personnel or military supplies, which would definitely need to be boarded and arrested.

The cruise ship is very fast, like a nimble swimming fish, once it finds the submarine surfacing the sea, it will immediately flee, and it will not be able to catch it at all.

Submarines

After the report of the second lieutenant Clermond in the listening room, the eyes of the German officers and soldiers involuntarily converged on the captain of the boat, Captain Hans, who at this time involuntarily twitched his face, and then his eyes became firm, and he replied in a deep voice; "Ask the listening room to determine if the enemy ship is fully loaded?"

It's a little difficult, but it's not inadjugable.

Because the unladen ship travels on the sea surface with a shallow draft, the ship rises and falls in the waves, and is repeatedly slapped by the waves, which will make a clear cavity roar.

The more cargo it is loaded, the quieter this sound will be, and a fully loaded ship will be like a big stone egg, and there will be no such cavity sound.

It is more difficult to judge passenger ships, and it is often necessary to judge from the draft and the hydroacoustic characteristics emitted by the propellers.

When fully loaded, the propeller pushes backwards and the water is straight backwards, which is determined by the original ship design, only in this way can the propeller power be maximized, showing a continuous and powerful hydroacoustic characteristic.

When unloaded, the propeller is small and half-exposed on the sea, the bow is high, the stern is low, and the water that pushes back is in the direction of the sea surface side down, and the underwater acoustic characteristics are completely different.

Cruise ships are not only carrying people, but also cargo, in order to achieve maximum utilization efficiency and economic benefits.

Second Lieutenant Clermond was a strict Germanic man, and after careful listening, he reported in an affirmative tone; "Report sir, the ship is fully loaded."

"Yes, no passenger ship is fully loaded to a French port, so it can be judged that this is a fully loaded troop carrier, and everyone is ready to fight."

"Listen to me; Release of torpedo tube torpedo No. 1. Release of torpedo tube torpedo No. 2. ”

The German U-152 submarine shook violently, and then again, two huge torpedoes with a strong impetus from high-pressure air were launched, and swooped down on the target.

"Retrieving the periscope."

"No. 3 and No. 4 water tanks are filled with water, No. 1 and No. 2 water tanks are filled with water, and the right rudder dives 30 degrees, anti-collision preparation, and avoids explosion."

Two torpedoes were fired, and Hans let go of the periscope grip in his hand, closed it with both hands up, and gave the order to dive.

The U-152 submarine quickly dived from periscope depth, sank into the rough North Sea, and disappeared.

About three minutes later

There was an earth-shattering explosion on the sea, and a huge orange-red fire mass wrapped the bow of the entire "Peony Flower" cruise ship, and the tumbling water mass in the sea water was like a mushroom cloud, which lifted the entire cruise ship up and fell down heavily, tearing it in half.

Then another violent explosion easily tore apart the thin shell of the cruise ship, and in just a few minutes, the cruise ship with a displacement of 8,600 tons disappeared from the sea.

Two days later

August 28th

A news that shocked the world reached the mainland of Australia, a cruise ship belonging to the Ocean Empire, the "Peony Flower", which belonged to the Ocean Empire, was sunk by a German submarine near the North Sea, 376 kilometers off the coast of France.

The ship was full of 2,100 passengers and sailors, all of whom were killed, and not a single survivor. Among them, 1972 were citizens of the Ocean Empire, 64 were British, 27 were French, 14 were Fuso, 11 were Dutch, 6 were Spanish, 4 were from the People's States, 1 was from the Yue Kingdom, and 1 was from the United States.

As soon as the news appeared in the newspapers and periodicals, it immediately caused the entire public opinion to boil, and many citizens of the Ocean Empire only realized at this time that the war was close by.

The "Peony Flower Incident" was like a resounding slap in the face, waking up the proud citizens of the Empire, and after a brief moment of surprise, incomprehension, and bewilderment, their anger erupted like a landslide.

Those who offend the empire will be punished even if they are thousands of miles away.

Today, the resounding oath made by the Holy Lord during the "Wool War" still echoes in his ears, and the great power ambitions accumulated by the victories of expansion and victory cannot be tarnished, and the emotions of ordinary citizens are instantly detonated.

The next day

The metropolis of the Red River Valley, Beilun, Songjiang, Qingdao, Melbourne, Tianshu, Sanmarinda and other cities invariably erupted in a mass march of 10,000 citizens, and emotional people took to the streets with large slogans demanding an uncompromising and tough response from the Empire.

Mainstream newspapers such as "World Journal" and "Melbourne Chronicle" wrote in bold and oversized font on the front page;

War, war, the Reich needed to give the Germans a war in return.

Hundreds of millions of people, war is coming.

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