Chapter 241: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 241 Yangtze River Blockade

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

"Personnel at damaged gun positions, evacuate to the safe zone immediately! Remaining gun positions, continue firing! Prioritize striking enemy warships still capable of action!" Lv Muzhi's voice remained steady, without the slightest panic.

"After sinking all enemy warships, dispatch the naval fleet and torpedo boat flotilla to wipe out the Japanese sailors and Xian Bing in the water!"

Battle losses were within Lv Muzhi's expectations, but the battle results exceeded them.

The loss of old guns was a planned cost; these old guns had originally been purchased at great expense by the Predecessor, and it was impossible to retire them without firing a single shot. While strengthening maintenance of the heavy guns within Jiangyin Fortress, Lv Muzhi purchased American 460mm shore defense cannons to increase firepower.

Battle losses at each battery were also reasonable; Japanese naval guns were generally over 100mm, and after suffering multiple close-range direct hits, the batteries sustained significant damage.

But this time, by placing the Sui River Fleet close to strike, they achieved the battle result of completely annihilating eighteen warships of various types of the Sui River Fleet.

The Japanese navy suffered such a major setback at Jiangyin that their offensive on the water surface would be greatly restrained.

At the same time, from the direction of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River came the familiar roar of engines.

More than ten S-type torpedo boats, like sharks smelling the scent of blood, swarmed out from hidden tributary ports, rushing straight at the chaotic river surface battlefield!

Their targets were not the large and medium warships still burning and struggling, but the dense Japanese soldiers in the water, dinghies, and a few small vessels still attempting to resist with machine guns.

Relying on high speed and agility, the torpedo boats weaved through floating wreckage and struggling crowds.

The M2 Heavy Machine Guns and mounted 20mm cannons at the bow spat tongues of fire, mercilessly strafing any moving target on the river surface.

"Ah!"

"Don't shoot! We surrender!"

"Save me... gurgle..."

Pleas for mercy, screams, and the sounds of people falling into the water never ceased, but the officers and men of the torpedo boats had stern faces, without a shred of pity, determined to beat the dogs in the water.

The cruelty of war was fully displayed at this moment.

When Chen Shaokuan, Minister of the Navy, aboard the Ninghai Cruiser, accompanied by several old destroyers, cautiously approached the downstream section of the Yangtze River near Jiangyin Fortress, he saw such a hellish scene.

Chen Shaokuan exclaimed in surprise: "The Japanese Sui River Fleet... defeated?!"

On the wide river surface, warship wreckage, broken masts, capsized small boats, still-burning oil slicks, and dense Japanese corpses and struggling survivors drifted everywhere.

The air was filled with thick gunpowder smoke, the smell of burning, and the stench of blood.

"Chen Commander, we cannot continue forward; the Japanese small devils' sunken ships have blocked the waterway!"

Chen Shaokuan was startled in his heart, then delighted: "Good thing, good thing!"

The Japanese Sui River Fleet, once swaggering and mighty, with over twenty large and small vessels, was almost totally annihilated.

The once invincible Tianlong Light Cruiser now lay like a dead fish, half its body submerged, the hull severely listing, the superstructure completely blackened, still emitting wisps of blue smoke.

Chen Shaokuan stood on the bridge of the Ninghai Cruiser, the hand holding the binoculars trembling slightly: "How wonderful it would be if I were the one fighting this battle; if so, this life would be worth it!"

Chen Shaokuan put down the binoculars, his gaze falling on Jiangyin Fortress, billowing with smoke and dust but still standing majestically, his eyes filled with complex and indescribable expressions.

Lv Muzhi... this young man had actually created such a near-miraculous battle result right here!

This battle not only dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese navy but also temporarily interrupted their plan to advance west along the Yangtze River!

"Chen Commander, Commander Lv has boarded the ship in a small boat!" a Messenger stepped forward to report.

The small boat approached the Ninghai Cruiser, and Lv Muzhi stepped up the gangway onto the deck.

On the deck, Navy Minister Chen Shaokuan and Commander Chen Jiliang of the First Fleet were already waiting there.

"Wei Yue! Good! Well fought!" Chen Shaokuan stepped forward first, gripping Lv Muzhi's hand tightly, his face showing unrestrained excitement and shock.

Commander Chen Jiliang also said solemnly: "Commander Lv, the battle of Jiangyin shook heaven and earth and made ghosts and gods weep! Our naval comrades, upon hearing the news, were all invigorated!"

Lv Muzhi stood at attention and returned the salute, showing no pride on his face, because he still had to consider the feelings of the naval side: "Minister Chen, Commander Chen, you flatter me."

"This victory also owes much to the strong support of the naval side in the early stage; whether it was fortress construction, gun allocation, or the laying of river defense mines, all were crucial. Wei Yue dare not take sole credit."

Chen Shaokuan nodded, pointing at the tragic yet magnificent river scene before them: "Wei Yue, look, that Japanese fleet has completely fallen here. That... Tianlong! It's their flagship!"

"I originally wanted to have a good contest with my Pinghai against it, what a pity..."

Lv Muzhi followed his finger and saw that the once majestic Tianlong Light Cruiser now had half its body submerged in the water, with only twisted masts and a blackened bridge visible above the water surface.

Lv Muzhi said upon hearing this: "Minister Chen, let Pinghai fire two shots too, as a salute for this great victory at Jiangyin, and it will make the battle report easier to write..."

"I think even if the Xicheng Line is breached, we in Jinling may still need to rely on your naval gunfire support for land operations?"

Chen Shaokuan clapped his hands and laughed: "Reasonable! Chen Jiliang, let's fire two shots for fun too! Pinghai, aim at that Tianlong wreckage, treat it as a drill, and show off our guns!"

Although the Ninghai Cruiser was not new, its main gun caliber was 140mm.

It was equipped with three twin 140mm guns totaling six barrels, six 76mm high-angle guns, ten machine cannons; four 535mm torpedo launch tubes, and could carry two seaplane reconnaissance aircraft.

If used in the future to support land operations, it would have some deterrent power.

The Ninghai Cruiser's hull shook slightly, the main gun spat out flames, and the shells whistled across the gradually calming river surface, precisely striking the part of the Tianlong wreckage near the waterline.

"Boom!" The firelight of the explosion burst from the Tianlong Cruiser again; the already fragile structure collapsed further, and its sinking speed clearly accelerated.

"Hit! Good effect!"

"All guns, three rounds rapid fire! Fire!"

Boom boom boom!

The Ninghai Cruiser's main guns roared in succession, shell after shell smashing into the Tianlong wreckage, more like a ritual, a merciless final judgment on the invaders.

From Chen Shaokuan, Lv Muzhi learned that the Yangtze River channel had been blocked by the Japanese fleet itself, and even the 2,000-ton Pinghai could not pass.

If the Japanese small devils' navy wanted to come in, they could only send destroyers in.

Lv Muzhi let out a long breath, as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest.

Truly, unintentional planting of willows led to shade; the Japanese small devils' fleet now had a stumbling block, blocked from their attack route by their own navy's corpses and sunken ships.

"Wei Yue, after this battle, do you think the Japanese Army will stop?" Chen Shaokuan turned his head and asked.