Chapter Seventy-One: Interception

  "I'm afraid I must ask you to understand, sir. You see, my prices are clearly marked and I've always been a man of fairness and integrity in business. If I were to lower the price for you, what would happen when other customers ask for a discount as well? The price I'm offering the Swedish Navy for an Eagle-class destroyer with torpedoes is 150,000 pounds, and it's the same price I'd offer the Ottoman Navy. Just because we're friends doesn't mean I don't have friendships with the Swedish royal family or the Ottoman emperor - in fact, I'm even considered a noble in the Ottoman Empire. So, this isn't just about money."

  "But we can change our way, why don't you rent it?" said Yang Feng.

  "Rent?" Li Hongzhang was momentarily at a loss.

  "Yes, my warship ownership belongs to Yang's Shipyard, and I rented it from the shipyard as the Taiwan General Soldier. If you are willing, you can also rent it in the same way. The crew on the ship belongs to the US Umbrella Corporation, which includes defense consulting services. You can also hire from Umbrella, not only sailors but also land soldiers. My men in Taiwan all belong to this company, and our business is legally allowed, of course, this is just a normal commercial behavior." Yang Feng said.

  The following statement is an explanation from the US Ambassador to Japan to the Japanese government: The actions of Blackwater do not represent the stance of the US government in this war, and similarly the US government has no right to stop a legitimate company's legitimate business activities.

  The Americans wouldn't bother Mr. Yang for such a small matter, compared to him, the Japanese are nothing. Now the Rockefellers and other big shots are trying to win over Yang Feng by emptying their hearts, wanting him to open up his petroleum cracking technology and gasoline additive technology to them. At this time, if Yang Feng wanted the US Pacific Fleet to attack Japan for him, it's possible that even the US Congress would consider it.

  Of course, hiring ground combat personnel is not something Li Ergouzi has considered yet, but renting two destroyers and hiring sailors to go with them is a must. Neither of them likes to drag things out, so Yang Feng took the lead in drafting two contracts on behalf of Yangshi Shipyard and Ambrera Company, which were nothing more than commissions and combat responsibilities, including compensation for losses.

  As for the two destroyers, they were naturally the Viper and Specter built by Armstrong Shipyard. They had come along this time, and when it was time to leave, they simply stayed behind. In fact, their performance wasn't inferior to those of Yang's shipyard; Yang just thought they weren't pretty enough.

  Signing such a contract was no psychological burden for Li Ergouzi, who had been infatuated with foreign things all his life. He already had foreign employees under him, and now it was just a matter of switching from individual employment to batch employment. After solving this problem, the two men chatted happily and even went out together to visit the Parrot Shell outside. In order to deepen the impression on the Beiyang Navy, Yang Feng specially arranged an exercise, with two destroyers responsible for attacking, and the Beiyang Navy sent its two fastest warships, namely Zhiyuan and Jingyuan, to attack at sea with unarmed training torpedoes.

  In a one-on-one situation, both ships were hit. Based on the speed, distance, number of guns and the hit rate in the previous sea battle, it can be calculated that under such circumstances, the two destroyers would not even suffer any damage before rushing into the attack range. Only when the two cruisers attacked a destroyer at the same time could they cause damage to it, but neither could stop it from launching torpedoes nor was it enough to sink it. This result shocked everyone's jaw-dropping, considering that due to the gun firing speed issue, the firepower projection of these two warships is stronger than that of Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, and their speed is also faster, so if they were replaced by Dingyuan, the result would definitely be even worse.

  "How can this thing be prevented?" Ding Ruchang said with a stunned expression.

  "There's no way to defend, so the options are: one, run faster; two, increase firepower; three, consider anti-torpedo design when building, but that doesn't make much sense either. In reality, the key is still speed and firepower - as long as you can outrun torpedoes or sink the enemy with shells before they reach firing range."

  No matter how good the anti-torpedo design is, it doesn't make much sense. One torpedo can't destroy it, but two can. In fact, according to current warship designs, even the Dingyuan-class wouldn't be able to withstand a single torpedo. Don't think that underwater explosions are the same as surface ones - water pressure amplifies the explosion's effect. Not only can it destroy the hull, but also attack the keel. You should know what damage to the keel means for a ship." Yang Feng said with some satisfaction.

  "It's even faster than a fish leaping out of water! How is that possible?" Liu Buxian said in disbelief.

  Yang Feng smiled and snapped his fingers at his captain.

  The Parrot's Beak, carrying them to observe the battle, immediately began to accelerate. The deck, including Li Hongzhang, was blown away by a piece of official hat. These guys were scared and rushed into the cabin. Just after entering, they saw that the Viper had suddenly launched a torpedo at the Parrot's Beak from afar. However, what made their eyes almost pop out was that although the trail left by the training torpedo was getting longer and longer, the distance between the two sides was also getting longer and longer.

  "This one will do." Yang Feng said with a smile at this time.

  He stayed on Liu Gong Island for two days and soon set sail to return to Ryukyu. When he was about to leave, Li Hongzhang proposed to rent another landing ship from him.

  "Sir, what do you want this thing for?" Yang Feng asked in surprise.

  "Yang, the overland transportation to Pyongyang is difficult, and the water in Chinnampo is too shallow for large merchant ships to enter. So I want to use your landing ship to transport goods for them, and then have the Koreans take small boats to transport them to Pyongyang." Li Hongzhang said.

  "In that case, there's no need to rent it. Whenever you need to use it, just send me a telegram in advance and I'll arrange for it to be delivered. After all, from Ryukyu to here, even at a speed of 18 knots, it would only take a day." Yang Feng said, this thing is useful on his six ships, can't rent it to him.

  Li Hongzhang had nothing more to say under these circumstances.

  The Parrot Shell immediately sailed away from Weihaiwei, then turned southward. Without a destroyer escort, the cargo ship ran at nearly 40 knots, flying over the sea like a three-body ship. Just as it had sailed less than 200 kilometers, its captain, British man Lister, came to tell him that there was a fleet in the distance.

  "Fleet?" Yang Feng was taken aback.

  "By their heading they should be coming to intercept us," said List, the former British naval battleship commander who had a keen sense of such things.

  "Ah, it seems the Japanese have found out our whereabouts." Yang Feng couldn't help but say with a smile.

  Liszt also laughed. A fleet of ships with a speed of over 10 knots intercepting the Parrot, which has a speed of 40 knots, is really too ridiculous.

  "Let's play with them!" Yang Feng said, hugging Lin Luoke and standing up.

  It was indeed Hayato Tōgō, a Japanese person. Now, the Japanese can be said to hate Yang Feng deeply, but they don't have the time to bother him. When he attacked Ryukyu, some members of the Japanese cabinet asked the Combined Fleet to attack and eliminate him. However, considering that there are strong enemies present now, it's not suitable to consume precious warships again. So, Itō Hirobumi forbade the Combined Fleet from attacking. Yang Feng's fleet is not weak, and even if they could win a battle against him, the losses of the Combined Fleet would be significant. In that case, there would be no hope for the Beiyang Fleet either. Besides, Ryukyu is not an important place, so it's okay to let him occupy it temporarily. They can defeat the Beiyang Fleet first and then deal with him later.

  But now this guy is sailing alone, and this opportunity must not be missed. To deal with a yacht that only has small-caliber guns, it's not necessary to mobilize the entire fleet, the First Torpedo Flotilla is enough. So Higashi Kōji rushed to the route according to the intelligence sent back by the spy in Weihaiwei and waited for him.

  Through the telescope, watching the three warships of Yoshino, Naniwa and Takachihosan approaching with thick smoke, Yang Feng smiled and pulled Lin Luoke to a position of a twin 37mm cannon. These three warships are too simple for Nautilus.

  In the distance, Hikojirō Hayami was unaware of his impending doom. In fact, he was currently stunned by the speed of the Parrot Shell. Although this ship had been touted in the newspapers as capable of forty-five knots, as a seasoned naval commander, he did not believe such nonsense. His own Kiyoshimo was said to be the fastest cruiser in the world, with a speed of just over twenty knots. The Parrot Shell's speed was twice that, which seemed like an exaggeration, but today he had seen it for himself.

  But it was too late, the Parrot Shell, which was relatively navigating, suddenly turned around and cut towards Kiyoshima's right wing. Tsuboi Kōzō hastily ordered a similar turn to intercept, but due to the large speed difference, it quickly became Kiyoshima's bow facing the port side of the Parrot Shell, with both sides seven kilometers apart. Under Yang Feng's guidance, his fiancée excitedly aimed the twin 37mm cannons at Kiyoshima, which could only barely see its outline, and then suddenly opened fire.

  These cannons, which fired hundreds of rounds per minute, instantly splashed out a stormy rain of shells, making up for the gunner's deficiency. In an instant, Hinoi Kōzō saw a flash of fire on the deck in front of him.

  "What the devil is this cannon?" he thundered in exasperation, for he knew that this was already at the extreme limit of his 120 Armstrong gun's range, and of course it would be a pure waste of ammunition to fire at such a distance.

  Lin Xiao, of course, would not know any of this, and the distance made her completely unaware of the war atmosphere, excitedly firing artillery shells into the distance like a little girl who had just received new toys.

  "Fire, counterattack!" Hanji Zo? didn't have time to care about anything else, bellowing the order to open fire, but just then a string of cannonballs shattered the glass in front of him and crashed into the command room.