Chapter 499: Lanfang Sold Us Defective Goods

Sir Gray cleared his throat lightly, breaking the stalemate: "Colonel Gudenu's report is here." He pulled several pages from his briefcase, "According to the Queen Ship's observations, the battle occurred in stormy weather with extremely poor visibility. Hood, while turning to try to seize the inner circle, was penetrated by a Shell through relatively weak deck armor, detonating the secondary magazine and then affecting the main magazine…."

"Weak?" Jiqina interrupted, "The Hood's armor was designed by Lanfang! When we received it in Dubai, Chen Feng personally guaranteed it was 'world‑class protection'!"

"But the original design intent was different." Beierfu finally found a point of explanation, "The Hood class is a battlecruiser; its Concept is high speed and firepower, used to hunt enemy cruisers and protect sea lanes. Its armor can withstand cruiser‑class guns, but against the Bismarck Class's 380‑mm Main Gun…"

"So we should use a warship whose 'original design intent' is different to intercept Deguo's newest dreadnought?" Jiqina's voice rose, "Who made the decision? The Navy Department? Or the Operations Command?"

The temperature in the study dropped suddenly.

Askeis slowly lifted his head: "It was I who approved the operation plan, Lord Jiqina. According to the Navy Department's assessment, two Hood‑class ships against two Bismarck‑class ships have a tactical advantage. We judged that Deguo would not fight a decisive battle in such terrible weather; it was merely a deterrent patrol."

"Judgment error." Jiqina said coldly.

"Yes." Askeis admitted calmly, "Judgment error. But now is not the time to assign blame, gentlemen. Now is the time to decide what to do next."

He stood up and walked to the European theater map on the wall. His finger traced from Scapa Bay to the North Sea, finally stopping at the pencil‑marked spot—the coordinates of Hood's sinking.

"How long can the news remain censored?" Askeis asked.

Beierfu gave a wry smile: "At most twenty‑four hours. Deguo's radio stations may already be broadcasting victory news. Our newspaper follows wartime censorship, but sailors' families will soon receive casualty notices, and rumors will spread faster than telegrams."

"How will the public react?" Sir Gray said anxiously, "The Hood was previously opened for tours; many people have been aboard that ship. It is… the Empire's symbol."

"The symbol has sunk," Jiqina's words were as sharp as a knife, "Now we must face reality: the Royal Navy, in a main‑fleet engagement, was sunk by a Deguo warship in a five‑round simultaneous salvo. This reality will crush domestic morale, embolden Deguo, and cause our allies to doubt our strength."

Askeis turned: "So we need a narrative, gentlemen. One for the public, one for our allies, and more importantly—a narrative for ourselves."

A distant rumble of thunder came from outside the study. The rain fell harder.

Two hours later, the same group moved to the underground conference room of the Navy Department building on White Hall Street. More participants joined: First Sea Minister John Jellicoe, Naval Intelligence Director Rear Admiral Huo Er, Naval Shipbuilding Director Sir Tannisn‑Deenkaut, and several core cabinet members.

On the long table in the conference room lay a North Sea chart, and the Hood's sinking location was marked with a conspicuous red‑ink circle.

"…So according to the Queen Ship's observation report, the battle unfolded roughly as follows." Colonel Gudenu's report had been fully transmitted by telegram and was now being recapped by a naval staff officer.

The officer who recapped closed the folder and stepped aside. The conference room was deathly silent.

"Five‑round simultaneous salvo." Admiral Jellicoe finally spoke; the hero of the Japan‑Germany‑Netherlands naval battle now looked ten years older, "In that Japan‑Germany‑Netherlands engagement, we lost three battleships, but that was the result of hours of fighting and cumulative multiple hits. Five rounds… it was more like a duel than a naval battle."

"More like an execution," Jiqina whispered.

"General," Sir Tannisn‑Deenkaut—the white‑haired shipbuilding expert adjusted his glasses, "I would like to confirm a detail. The report says the killing blow penetrated 'relatively weak deck armor.' Compared to what is this 'weakness'?"

Beierfu looked at Intelligence Director Huo Er. Rear Admiral Huo Er cleared his throat: "According to the initial design data supplied by Lanfang, the Hood class's horizontal armor thickness ranges from 76 to 102 mm, and the Armour Belt is 305 mm. The Bismarck class's 380‑mm Shell can, at a Distance of ten thousand meters, penetrate roughly 200 mm of horizontal armor."

"So theoretically it shouldn't be penetrated?" someone asked.

"Theoretically." Huo Er chose his words cautiously, "But in combat there are many variables: Shell impact angle, armor quality, and… design trade‑offs. The Hood class, in pursuit of speed, has a hull length of 262 m, meaning the armor must cover a larger area, and some non‑critical sections may be thinned."

"In other words," Jiqina's voice was as cold as ice, "the product Lanfang sold us is defective?"

A stir broke out in the conference room.

"Lord, this accusation is serious," Beierfu said immediately, "The Hood class's performance in the East Sea battle was evident; it withstood a siege by four Diamond‑class battlecruisers and managed to withdraw unscathed—"

"That was in the Pacific! Facing the Sakura Nation's 356‑mm guns!" Jiqina hammered the table with a fist, the pencil on the chart jumping, "And yesterday in the North Sea, it faced Deguo's 380‑mm guns purchased from Lanfang and upgraded! Same seller, giving the enemy a better weapon, giving us a sub‑par one! This is not a defect, it's treason!"

"We need evidence, Lord Jiqina." Foreign Minister Sir Gray tried to ease the tension, "Lanfang is a neutral country; they have the right to sell weapons to both belligerents. As for performance differences, Deguo may have paid a higher price for custom modifications—"

"Or Lanfang has been scheming from the start!" Jiqina ignored him, "Think about it: they sell main‑line ships to both Deguo and Yingguo, yet Deguo's Bismarck class was delivered noticeably faster with newer designs. Why? Because they need to keep both sides' strength balanced, so the war can continue! That way they can keep selling arms, keep doing their war business!"

The viewpoint exploded in the conference room like a bomb.

Young naval staff whispered to each other, while senior officers wore grave expressions. Askeis noticed that even the usually composed Jellicoe had his brows tightly knit.

"I agree with some of Lord Jiqina's points," said Finance Minister McKenna, "Economically, Lanfang indeed profited enormously from this war. But we cannot conclude, based solely on speculation, that they deliberately sold sub‑standard goods. We need a technical assessment, a comparison of the actual performance data of Hood and Bismarck."

"Those data are at the bottom of the sea!" Jiqina roared, "Hood lies at a depth of three‑thousand‑five‑hundred meters; we can't even salvage the wreck. As for Bismarck's data, will Deguo give them to us? Will Lanfang tell the truth?"