Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Li Che hadn't expected that his casual request would seem to have put all the accompanying personnel in a difficult position.

"What?" Li Che asked curiously, "Did this commander heroically sacrifice himself in battle?"

"No, no, no, that's not true." Long Keduo shook his head repeatedly: "That guy is fine now. He's just a lucky guy who likes to do crooked things."

Unorthodox methods? Li Che's curiosity was piqued: "Could you tell me more about this person?"

After exchanging glances, the naval officers accompanying the tour spoke up first, a rather tall and thin officer: "Of course, Your Highness, where would you like to begin?"

“From the moment we learned his name,” Li Che said. “In fact, none of you have mentioned his name yet. Is there some taboo surrounding him that you can’t talk about?”

“No, Your Highness.” A tall, thin officer stepped forward. “The one who commanded these cannons to repel the Federation warships was my junior, Xu Yueming. As for why no one mentioned his name earlier… the main reason is that this guy has a rather undisciplined personality, both in military school and now in the army. Moreover, his abilities are actually quite limited. In school, he was consistently ranked at the bottom of his class, his grades hovering on the edge of expulsion.”

Li Che frowned: "So you mean this Xu Yueming had very poor grades in the past?"

"Yes, apart from this time when he commanded the artillery to repel the Federation, his service record in the military after graduation is very unremarkable. The last time he repelled the Federation's artillery fleet, it was probably just because he was lucky."

Looking at these outdated Krupp cannons, Li Che pondered for a moment before asking a question: "How far away was the Federation warship he hit from here?"

This question silenced the accompanying officers once again. This time, Commander Long took the initiative to answer: "According to the records at the time, it should be 15 kilometers."

“If I remember correctly…” Li Che recalled some information from the same period in another world in his mind: “This should be the world’s longest-range coastal artillery hit record, and it was achieved with a batch of old Krupp guns that had only undergone simple modifications and had their elevation angle increased. You simply attribute this to… his good luck?”

Chapter Fifty: The Emergence of Naval Aviation

When Li Che arrived at the highest point of the entire fort, he saw an artillery observation post that was being rebuilt after being completely destroyed by enemy naval artillery. Vladivostok was no longer a key point of the empire's coastal defense. After all, before Yingzhou's defection, this place was hardly threatened by the enemy. Therefore, not only were more than half of the coastal defense guns old-fashioned large-caliber cannons from the 9th century, but artillery observation posts like this, built directly on the highest point without any concealment, had long been abandoned in the modern coastal defense system.

After all, fortified bunkers that used the large and medium caliber artillery commonly used by enemy forces in the 19th century as a reference point for threat are powerless against the large caliber naval guns of the modern era. This destroyed artillery observation post is the best example of this.

Only a few officers, including Commander Long, and naval infantrymen accompanied Li Che to the high point. The path to the top was too narrow and there wasn't enough room for many people to stand on it.

“I had heard before that the Federation Navy was of low quality and that the gunners on the warships were poor marksmen.” Li Che looked at the artillery observation post destroyed by the artillery fire and said with a sigh, “Well, the Federation Navy was quite accurate.”

Judging from the impact points of the shells from the high ground and the state of the destruction of the artillery observation post, it can be determined that the Federal Navy, at least when firing at this fixed target from a distance, did not conduct much correction before covering the artillery observation post, and then destroyed the artillery observation post by continuously increasing the amount of shells fired.

Then he turned to Long Keduo, who had come up with him: "It seems that the artillery observation post was destroyed by the Federation with artillery at the beginning, but they still managed to achieve the longest-range hit record for coastal artillery since the start of the war. It seems that they were just lucky, right?"

Long Keduo and the others could obviously hear the sarcasm in Li Che's tone, but at this moment, none of them could bring themselves to say that it was due to good luck.

The artillery observation post here was equipped with a 5-meter rangefinder, which had just been replaced at the beginning of the war. However, after the observation post was destroyed, the only usable rangefinders were the 1.2-meter rangefinders from the two other backup observation points, located on the reverse slope behind it.

As for using a 1.2-meter rangefinder to provide range for artillery to hit a target at a distance of 17,000 meters... we are all professional naval officers, and no one can make such a judgment against their conscience.

Judging from the expression on Commander Long's face, he was clearly unaware of the situation at the fort, or rather, he was only now realizing that the situation here was beyond his imagination.

While it's true that even third-rate coastal defense guns can be enough to make first-rate warships suffer in any era, the success of old-fashioned coastal defense guns often relies on the enemy ships being complacent and careless.

For example, the heavy cruiser Blücher, which, with its inexplicable overconfidence, ventured into the Delebak Strait and was sunk by old Norwegian coastal defense guns and torpedoes; or Conswell, which was terrified and fled after being hit by four 152mm guns from a CPV.

However, in all the aforementioned battles, the enemy warships were no more than 1 yards from the coastline. In fact, even with some improvements and increased elevation, most of these old cannons, limited by the technical level of the cannons themselves, would not be able to engage targets more than 9 yards away.

This group of outdated artillery pieces, with their mediocre technology, managed to achieve multiple hits at a range of 17,000 meters against a well-trained and vigilant Federation naval fleet, successfully forcing the enemy to retreat...

"Could it be that Commander Long, as the highest-ranking officer in charge of the defense of the entire port area in Vladivostok, had not noticed the situation here before?" Li Che asked, pointing to the destroyed artillery observation post.

“The Federation had shelled Vladivostok multiple times before this, and other forts were also damaged. Our main focus was on repairing the more severely damaged forts and dock facilities,” an officer next to Long Keduo explained. “After all, only an artillery observation post was destroyed here.”

“Then you should realize even more that the Federation forces were forced to retreat here at minimal cost.” Li Che’s gaze swept over them: “Instead of simply attributing it to good luck, did Xu Yueming, who was in charge of this section of the fort, not submit a written report to you? Okay, I know, I can tell from your expressions that you didn’t read it, right?”

“These days, we have to deal with the enemy’s frequent shelling, organize the continuous delivery of torpedo boats to the port, and carry out emergency modifications to the destroyers and large torpedo boats in the port as required by the Navy Department… We are indeed overwhelmed with work here.” Long Keduo lowered his head: “These are our responsibilities, and I am willing to bear the consequences.”

“Now is not the time to punish anyone.” Li Che shook his head. “Before I came to Vladivostok, I heard that you were very good at enforcing discipline in the army. Although I admit that discipline is very important in the army, it is clear that an officer who only knows how to enforce discipline is far from enough. Commander Long, I hope you can cooperate with me from now on. If I ask you for people from your subordinates, I hope you can understand that I am only dealing with the matter and not with you.”

Long Keduo's face flushed red and then turned pale. Today, he, a major general, was so upset by Li Che, a colonel, not because of the other party's status, but because the other party was really in the right... He gritted his teeth and said, "I understand. I will call Captain Xu over right away and have him explain how he repelled the Federation people."

“No need.” Li Che pointed to the sky: “I now know how he did all this, and I will meet with him alone.”

Everyone looked up in the direction Li Che was pointing. Before their eyes could find the target, the hum of an internal combustion engine came from the sky. As a twin-engine, biplane seaplane slowly flew by in the distance, Long Keduo belatedly realized: "Your Highness means... he's relying on this broken wooden frame?"

“Yes.” Li Che’s gaze also fell on the distant seaplane that was circling and preparing to land on the sea: “It’s all thanks to this broken wooden frame. It’s the greatest wooden frame of this century.”

-------------------------------------

"Chen Houfu! Report to Office No. 1 at headquarters immediately!"

"Ling Xiao! Put down your work and go to Office No. 1 at headquarters right now!"

"Chen Ce! Like Ling Xiao, you put down your work and go to Office No. 1 at headquarters immediately!"

After Li Che's visit to Vladivostok, that very evening, messengers dispatched from headquarters scurried throughout the city, calling out names one by one from the list, and instructing those whose names were called to immediately report to Office No. 1 at headquarters.

No one told those whose names were called what they were supposed to do at headquarters. No tasks were assigned, and no explanation was given. All they were told to do was put down all their work and immediately assemble in Office 1.

"Xu Yueming! Hey? Has anyone seen Xu Yueming? Where did that kid run off to?"

However, when the messenger arrived at the Kun-class coastal artillery position to look for Xu Yueming, he found that the captain in charge of this coastal artillery position was nowhere to be found. In the artillery bunker of the artillery position, only the cat he usually fed was curled up and fast asleep.

Where did this person go?

The messenger searched the position twice, but not only did he not find the guy, even the gunners of the coastal defense guns did not know where their commander had gone. Although it was not during the time when he was supposed to be on duty, the messenger thought that he had probably gone somewhere to drink and get drunk.

Perhaps because the officers in the north had more contact with the Russians, they had picked up some of their bad habits. There were quite a few officers in the army who liked to drink. Therefore, the messenger thought that Captain Xu was just like those officers with such bad habits before, and was probably drunk at this moment.

Just as the messengers were about to return to report, they encountered Xu Yueming, who had just returned to the artillery position from elsewhere. However, the guy's military appearance and posture were really too sloppy.

As an officer, he not only casually draped his military uniform over his shoulders, wearing only a white shirt, but also his trousers, shirt, and even the outer garment draped over his shoulders were all stained with stubborn black oil stains.

Although the temperature in Vladivostok has warmed up considerably at this time, with daytime highs reaching above 10°C, the current temperature is still only a few degrees. However, Xu Yueming, who was only wearing a single layer of clothing on his upper body, was still sweating profusely, clearly having just engaged in strenuous activity.

"Xu Yueming! You... what happened to your clothes? Change into clean clothes without any oil stains right now and go to Office No. 1 at headquarters!"

Xu Yueming nodded casually, then asked, "Is there a formal combat mission to be issued?"

"No."

"Is there an urgent operational meeting to be held?"

"No, we don't know the specifics either. Just go."

Xu Yueming nodded, then put on the coat that was originally draped over his shoulders, and said, "Then let's just go like this."

The messenger looked at him with some surprise, opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately didn't. After all, they were all adults, and the messenger felt there was no need to persuade the guy who had made him search for him several times.

Xu Yueming quickly rode a bicycle to the headquarters. When he arrived outside Office No. 1, he found that many colleagues had already arrived in the corridor outside the office. The common feature of these colleagues was that they were generally not very old, with the oldest being only in their 30s. In other words, those who were called here today were basically young officers in the army.

Although Xu Yueming was an absolute marginal figure in the navy, his introverted personality and poor social skills, coupled with his less-than-stellar grades at military academy, meant he wasn't very popular among the officers.

However, the colleagues Xu Yueming saw here today were mostly commoner officers, none of them were naval nobles. Although he wasn't particularly close to these commoner officers, they wouldn't pretend not to see him like the noble officers would.

Moreover, among these civilian officers, there were indeed a few who were relatively close to him, and two of them immediately came forward to greet him.

"Brother Xu, what happened to you? What's that on your clothes... machine oil?" Chen Ce stepped forward and saluted, then looked at the stains on Xu Yueming's uniform with some confusion: "Weren't your cannons just serviced? How come they're in this state today? The young master in the house specifically asked to see us. Do you think we could find someone to change our clothes?"

"You're all here, who's going to change my clothes?" Xu Yueming chuckled. The implication of his words was clear to everyone present: most of these mid-level officers from commoner backgrounds had been summoned here. Why would they ask the other aristocratic officers at headquarters to change their clothes? They wouldn't even bother with him.

"Even if you're just maintaining a cannon, you don't need to make it look like this, do you? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were a factory worker." Ling Xiao patted his shoulder: "What exactly happened?"

“There’s nothing wrong with being a worker. I just went to the dock to help out.” Xu Yueming said, “We’ve been given a deadline to get all the fast-firing cannons that have been brought in onto the warships in the naval port. We don’t have enough workers right now. Our sailors are working alongside the workers. I just went to lend a hand when I had nothing else to do.”

"This is truly a case of the sun rising in the west! Aren't you usually the type to avoid doing anything if you can avoid it? With your personality of preferring to lie down rather than sit, you actually went to lend a hand?" Chen Ce chuckled and nudged Xu Yueming with his hand: "Could it be that you're planning to make a good impression on the grandson of the Prince of Jin?"

Hearing this, Xu Yueming smiled and said, "What do I have to show for myself? You think I was unwilling to do things before? I was just unwilling to do stupid things. Doing stupid things is a waste of effort and ultimately serves no purpose."

"Is it really useful to work alongside those dockworkers and sailors to load cannons onto ships?"

Xu Yueming nodded: "That's right, this is the most useful thing right now."

A small weekend update challenge

The book currently has 603 monthly tickets. Let's start counting from 600 tickets. I'll add one extra chapter for every 30 monthly tickets. You guys try to see if you can make me update five chapters a day on top of the regular weekend updates.

The opportunity has been presented to you all, and I, Xi, am now going to see what you're capable of.

The deadline is 12 noon tomorrow. I'm going to take a nap this afternoon and see how much I can post when I wake up.

I wipe, I wipe

When I woke up, how much had you done for me?

or2

It's already at 874! My goodness, should we stop here? I'm chickening out. I thought with only 3000+ favorites, there wouldn't be that many monthly votes...

I'm about to update.

You filled it way too full! It'll spoil like this!

The little devil was actually myself.

Chapter 51 Equivalent Exchange

The door to Office 1 opened again, and the officer who had gone in earlier came out with a slightly strange expression. His colleagues immediately rushed over, and several impatient ones couldn't help but ask him what he had said inside.

However, the officer simply smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "You'll all find out once you go inside. There's no point in saying it now."

So his colleagues offered their "warm blessings," much like when they denounced the peddlers of certain fictional novels, with friendly greetings ringing out one after another.

"Silence! What's all that noise about outside?! Next! Ling Xiao!"

The guards at the door came out and reprimanded the shouting officers. Then, they called out the next person's name in order from the list. When his name was called, Ling Xiao straightened his uniform top button and went inside.

Upon entering the room, Ling Xiao saw the staff officer who was engrossed in organizing documents against the walls on both sides of the office, and Li Che sitting behind the desk in Office No. 1.

He stood at attention and bowed to Li Che at the table. Li Che casually returned the bow and waved for him to sit down. He picked up a document and flipped through it, saying, "Don't be so formal. Although this is a screening process, just treat it as a casual chat."

"Screening?" Ling Xiao sat down with some suspicion. He had experienced screening in the Navy before. The screenings in the past were basically divided into two types: some screenings were for promotion quotas, and some screenings were for hard jobs. But no matter which type it was, the decision-making power was in the hands of the big shots at the top.

For ordinary, low-ranking officers like them, who have no connections and only a silhouette, the promotion channels in the military have always been quite congested. They are the typical type who are unlikely to be considered for good things, but are always assigned the dirty and hard work.

However, there was no "interview" session where you were called over to sit in front of someone else, which made Ling Xiao feel a bit novel. Moreover, judging from the colleagues who were called over, it was clear that all the people who were called over were basically those who had been initially selected by His Highness the Crown Prince.

He just didn't know what criteria His Highness the Crown Prince used to select personnel. If it was based on background and only commoner officers were chosen, then there were several noble families among the selected personnel. If it was based on their grades at military academy and their daily performance ratings in the army, then Xu Yueming, who usually slacked off, was also on the list.

And for some reason, he always felt that the Crown Prince sitting in front of him looked at him with a somewhat...complex gaze? It was as if he were scrutinizing an old acquaintance he hadn't seen for many years?

I've never met His Highness the Crown Prince before.

Li Che was indeed experiencing some complex emotions. The profile of Ling Xiao reminded him of another disgraceful figure, but Ling Xiao's academic performance at military academy was indeed outstanding, and his technical skills were exceptional and solid. This made Li Che hesitate.

It's like facing that classic question—if you traveled back in time to become the emperor of the Song Dynasty before the Jingkang Incident, how would you face Qin Hui before he committed those acts?

"Your Highness? Do you have any questions for me?"

Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, Ling Xiao, who was sitting opposite him, couldn't help but ask. Li Che took a deep look at the guy in front of him and told himself that he should judge by his actions, not his intentions. What he needed to do now was simply to examine them from the perspective of their individual abilities.

So he put down the personal data in his hand: "We've gathered so many torpedo boats in Vladivostok, can you guess our purpose?"

"It seems that a large-scale attack will be launched using torpedo boats. Is Your Highness selecting the squadron commanders to lead these torpedo boats in combat?"

Li Che nodded: "You guessed right."

Ling Xiao: "All the officers in Vladivostok can roughly guess this, and what they discuss in private is mainly which target the attack is."

Li Che: "I don't need to elaborate on the dangers of using torpedo boats for attacks. Are you willing to take on such a dangerous position? In the worst-case scenario, you might even have a more than 50% chance of ending up buried in the Martyrs' Shrine."

Ling Xiao scratched his head and smiled somewhat easily: "Your Highness, you're not feeling guilty about making us risk our lives to die, are you? I'm not afraid of death, what I'm afraid of is that my life won't fetch a good price."

"It seems you have a lot of opinions about the military officers in the navy?" Li Che asked.

"I wouldn't say I have any major complaints. Our navy has a very good reputation, and not many of the sons of noble families are cowards. In the military, as long as you're not a coward, everything will be fine," Ling Xiao said frankly.

"However, those of us without connections are often either assigned to coastal defense forces, or to auxiliary ship forces, torpedo boat forces, and submarine forces. Only the most outstanding ones have the opportunity to join the front-line fleet."

But for those of us who didn't have the chance to join the front-line fleet... although everyone has sacrificed, those in the front-line fleet have a much better chance of promotion. Besides, since the outbreak of the war, not a single large-scale naval operation has revolved around us peripheral personnel.

Li Che understood Ling Xiao's meaning. In summary, these civilian officers had long been marginalized. These civilian officers were not afraid of sacrifice, and their dissatisfaction mainly stemmed from the different values ​​they received after their sacrifice.

A capital ship exploded and a submarine was sunk, with most of the officers and men of both perishing. However, the former would certainly receive better honors and compensation.

He pushed another document on the table over: "Take a look at this first. This operation is absolutely centered around you scraps."

Ling Xiao took the document, glanced at it, and stared in shock. She looked at Li Che with disbelief, while the grandson simply nodded calmly at her.

What shocked him so much was that he held in his hand the complete operational plan that the Navy would formulate next, which included multiple aspects such as campaign planning, reconnaissance, communication, and execution. Although this operational plan was a relatively simplified version, it covered a very comprehensive range and its content could definitely be described as highly classified.

Although the officers who accompanied the torpedo boats to Vladivostok could guess that the navy was about to make a big move, Ling Xiao was still extremely shocked when the complete battle plan was presented to him. Shouldn't such a battle plan be revealed to officers of their rank in the final stages before the war begins?

He never expected that the grandson would actually let him review the entire battle plan, and it seemed that everyone who came in had seen it.

"Don't worry too much. Since we've shown you this, we've definitely taken everything into consideration. See those Imperial Guards sitting over there? After you've seen this, you'll be under their close surveillance until the plan is officially implemented. This is a necessary step in the process. Do you understand?"