Chapter 24: First Encounter with Anshan

Commander Qin Ge, please have some tea.

While Qin Ge was waiting, Taiyuan came over with three cups of tea and stood beside the three of them, nodding politely at each person.

"Thank you," Qin Ge, Nengdai, and Banrenma said to Taiyuan.

"No need to thank me," Taiyuan said, holding the tray and smiling slightly.

"How come you sisters live here? Although I don't know what the drills are like, they must be noisy—how do you rest well here?" Qin Ge wondered.

"Anshan elder sister likes it, because we've always been on standby duty, but we've never experienced actual combat, so Anshan elder sister decided to live here to let us be closer to real gunfire and also make it easier to guard the academy," Taiyuan said with a smile.

Upon hearing these words, Qin Ge instantly felt solemn respect. The Four Great Vajras were the Republic's four destroyers at its founding; thanks to their efforts and those of naval predecessors, they guarded the republic's territorial waters, serving as loyal sentinels. The Anshan destroyer, moreover, is the destroyer that has sailed the farthest in the world. The hardship and perseverance behind this, the bravery and loyalty, are the Republic Navy's greatest legacy.

"Then, during this break, you can also rest properly," Qin Ge said with a smile.

"Yes, it's precisely because of this break that Anshan elder sister went to see the hawthorn during the day. Otherwise, during the May-June hawthorn blooming season, she could only go at night, and sometimes, because of night drills, she hasn't had a chance to go for a long stretch." Taiyuan said to Qin Ge.

As the two were speaking, the sound of a door opening came from the side room; Taiyuan looked over happily and said, "That door opening must be Anshan elder sister."

Qin Ge, Nengdai, and Banrenma looked toward the door and saw a naval uniformed ship girl with blue-green hair walk in; the most striking feature was the small dragon horns on her head.

"Huh, Taiyuan and... are you Commander Qin Ge? And your ship girls Nengdai and Banrenma? I am the lead ship of the Anshan-class destroyer, Anshan; pleased to meet you." Anshan walked over to Qin Ge and company, speaking politely.

Qin Ge stood up, smiled at Anshan, and said, "Hello." His ship girls Nengdai and Banrenma then each greeted Anshan.

Next, Qin Ge took out the certificate given to him by the Prince of Wales and handed it to Anshan, saying, "Anshan, this is the certificate issued by the dean, allowing me to temporarily borrow two fighter aircraft and one anti-aircraft gun ship equipment from you; please review."

Who would have thought that after Anshan smiled and took Qin Ge's certificate, she didn't even look at it before slipping it straight into her pocket.

"What is this?" Qin Ge asked, puzzled by Anshan's action.

Anshan laughed, "Commander Qin Ge's purpose, the dean actually called me to inform me, so I hurried back from the hawthorn grove."

"Ah, I'm really sorry for disturbing your leisure," Qin Ge said apologetically.

"It's nothing, the hawthorn grove is right there; I can go anytime. On the other hand, Commander Qin Ge, as the academy's assistant teacher, urgently needs ship equipment to put his tactical understanding into practice—that's the crucial matter." As Anshan said this, she became solemn.

"You flatter me," Qin Ge said, a bit embarrassed.

Who would have thought that Anshan shook her head and said, "We ship girls, though we are weapons and have some tactical understanding, are far inferior to humans when it comes to devising tactics—except for a few clever, almost demonic ship girls. Therefore, in our usual battles, we rely on our past experience and instincts ingrained in our bones."

Although such experience works better than some tactics when facing a few enemies, when truly facing a large Siren fleet, the commander's orders are the necessary condition that determines the battle's outcome. Sometimes a correct order can defeat enemies several times our fleet's size, but sometimes an erroneous order can doom the entire fleet.

Therefore, it's not only we ship girls who decide humanity's fate and future, but also the commanders. The more professional they are, the greater our chance of victory; Commander Qin Ge is precisely the one who, as an assistant teacher, will teach them this knowledge, which is why the dean values you so highly.

"Then are instructors who can teach tactical command really that scarce?" Qin Ge wondered, since the Azure Academy hasn't been established overnight, so there shouldn't be such a shortage of strategic and tactical theory talent, right?

"You should know that decades ago, the first batch of commanders were actually the remaining personnel from the original navy. The vessels they used then were completely different from ours, and not nearly as well-equipped; indeed, they didn't even have aircraft carriers back then. Consequently, at first, the casualty rates of commanders and ship girls were both high, especially in large-scale naval battles."

Later, someone finally began to emphasize the tactics and strategy of large-unit and small-fleet operations, but most commanders died on the battlefield, leaving only a small remnant. Since the appropriate strategy and tactic for different situations are endlessly variable, many commanders wrote books based on their experiences, which were preserved, but not systematically.

Moreover, as these commanders rose in rank, their daily duties became very busy; I'm sure Commander Qin Ge has heard the saying "greater ability, greater responsibility." Thus they remain stationed at key points year-round to prevent large-scale Siren invasions, leaving little time to teach tactics and strategy to juniors." Anshan said.

With Anshan's detailed explanation, Qin Ge finally understood the grave situation and realized why the Prince of Wales could waive three million Donghuang coins for him—it was to keep him on as an assistant teacher.

"I see, the dean wants me to be an assistant teacher precisely to enlighten them on strategy and tactics, so they will value them more and survive in future battles," Qin Ge said, nodding.

"Mm, as long as you grasp the dean's painstaking intentions, that's good." Anshan smiled and said, "Please sit here and rest for now; I'll go get the ship equipment for you."

Qin Ge chuckled, "When I came over just now, it was Fushun who received me, and she has already gone to fetch the ship equipment core; she might be out any moment."

"Oh, I didn't expect the usually mischievous Fushun to be helpful this time as well." Anshan smiled.

At that moment, a figure descended the nearby stairs, saying, "Anshan elder sister, I heard that, you know."

Anshan and Qin Ge looked toward the source of the sound and saw Fushun coming down the stairs with a box, gazing at them.

"Hehe, have you gotten the ship equipment ready?" Anshan asked Fushun with a smile.

"Already got it." Fushun shook the box in her hand and said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Banrenma and Nengdai beside them looked at the box in Fushun's hand, their eyes blazing with fervor…