Seven Seas Beacon Fire

"You want to give them hope?"

“Yes.” Zhu Miaoyun nodded slowly. “We don’t need to answer them directly. We have a long-wave radio station on our ship. Let me sing a song.”

Zhu Miaoyun's request seemed absurd at first glance, with no logical connection between the topics mentioned earlier and the singing later. However, Li Che immediately understood what Zhu Miaoyun meant, and he couldn't help but think of a very interesting anime he had watched in another world, "Macross".

Aside from the love triangle, what leaves the deepest impression on people about this film is probably the concert held on the battlefield. This seems absurd, but in fact, throughout human history, music has indeed given people extra courage and faith more than once.

Li Che wasn't sure if the fishing boat opposite had a radio, or if so, whether its radio equipment could receive voice messages. However, he believed that when the fishing boat returned to port, they would definitely learn from other places about the song that had been playing in the Strait of Malacca that day.

"My country and I are inseparable."

Wherever I go, a hymn flows.

I sing to every mountain, I sing to every river.

Curling smoke from cooking fires, a small village, and a track on the road.

My dearest motherland, I will always be close to your heart.

You speak to me with the pulse of your mother…

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The gunboat "Black Swan" was an ordinary 600-ton small gunboat belonging to the Lower Malacca Fleet of the Old Port Governor's House of the Victorian Empire. It was one of those small boats that were not subject to the total tonnage and number restrictions under naval treaties.

With a top speed of only 20 knots and a firepower of just one four-inch gun and three three-inch guns, this gunboat looked almost like a civilian vessel with a few cannons mounted on it. Its three-story superstructure made it look like an ancient Eastern multi-story ship, appearing somewhat top-heavy. However, this also provided relatively good living conditions for the officers and soldiers on board, facilitating relatively long-term patrols at sea.

With the firepower and armor of the Black Swan gunboat, it could only have one fate against either of the two cruisers of the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy present at the moment: the entire ship would be reduced to parts by the cannons, and probably none of the officers and soldiers on board would survive.

However, the officers and soldiers on the Black Swan showed no signs of tension. In fact, this small gunboat of only 600 tons dared to directly confront two cruisers of the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy that were coming head-on.

The reason was simple: the courage of the Royal Victorian naval officers and men aboard the HMS Black Swan stemmed entirely from the St. George's flag they flew.

This confidence stemmed from the lingering power of the Royal Victorian Navy over the past century. In fact, if we had lived a decade or two earlier, let alone gunboats patrolling the straits facing cruisers from other countries, even a fishing boat flying the Victorian Empire flag would have dared to intercept warships from other nations on the high seas.

"What's going on?" The captain of the gunboat Black Swan listened to the music coming from the radio with some confusion. "Are those Easterners going to hold a singing contest at sea?"

"I don't know, sir."

The communications soldier had already started squinting and swaying his head to the music. Although he didn't understand the Eastern language, it was common knowledge that music transcends borders, and the most beautiful lyrics are often the ones you can't understand. Some lyrics, if you actually understood what they meant, you might not be able to listen to them at all.

"Sir, there are two record companies in the East recently. The quality of their records released in the past few years is quite high, and the quality of their compositions is far superior to the records released by the domestic record companies now."

One of the crew members, who was clearly knowledgeable about pop music, said, "And I'm pretty sure it's not a recording, because the background music is a bit quiet. It's probably someone singing live on that cruise ship."

"You mean that cruise ship has a band on board?"

"It's obvious you've never even sat in third class on a cruise ship. These cruise ships not only have bands, but the quality of the bands that can board these ships is often far superior to the bands in your town."

"Yes, my neighbor's daughter back home loves music. She and a few other girls from the political community were planning to form a band. The girls performed together on the street and even said they would be in a band for life. But when one of them got the chance to be a violinist on a cruise ship, she immediately quit the band. It's like if you had the chance to serve on a battleship, you certainly wouldn't stay on this crappy ship of ours."

"Battleships, my foot! I'd take even a cruiser!"

Soon, cheerful laughter spread across the gunboat. For the officers and soldiers of the Victorian Navy who could not understand the Chinese lyrics, they certainly could not comprehend the meaning or even the beliefs that the song was trying to convey.

But for the fishermen on the "Spring Breeze" fishing boat, the oldest captain on the boat was already in tears when the melody of this song started playing.

They hadn't heard this song before, but that didn't stop them from understanding its meaning almost instantly.

Or perhaps these people are hoping for an answer and are listening to the song with that feeling. They might feel the same way even if it were a similar song.

At that moment, everyone in the entire Old Port area radiating outwards from the Blue Space ship, who could receive radio broadcasts, heard this song, which was brand new for this era and for this world.

The secondary school students in the Chinese school were excitedly copying down the lyrics as they listened to the song. The music teacher and the street performers in the teahouse closed their eyes to listen to and memorize the melody. The Blue Space ship passed through the Strait of Malacca in just one night, but when the Blue Space fleet left the Strait of Malacca and went deep into the Indian Ocean the next day, the song gradually began to be sung in all the Chinese residential areas around Old Port.

The spark of hope was thus sown, and people raised their hands high to receive this tiny flame.

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

P.S.: I saw something rather funny today, which might just be a coincidence.

As we all know, people like to compare lighthouses to the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty lasted for 276 years.

Meanwhile, in the United States, it's already year 248. If we compare the timelines of both sides, the Battle of Sarhu, which determined the fate of the US...

2027?

Chapter 376 Be prepared to sell weapons to the enemy (1)

"Upon arriving at the site of the Battle of the Andaman Sea, closing my eyes, I can almost imagine myself in the midst of that battle..."

After Zhu Miaoyun's singing voice dispelled some of his previous gloomy mood, Li Che had basically adjusted his mindset when the fleet arrived in the southern Andaman Sea. Looking at the Indian Ocean, which he was visiting for the first time, and recalling the memorable naval battle that had taken place in another world, Li Che regretted that the fleet that had destroyed the country was not present in the Andaman Sea now.

"The Andaman Sea naval battle?" Chen Houfu, who was following behind Li Che, was not sure if he had misheard. As a naval officer who had previously served in the submarine force, his hearing was particularly sharp. Although the Crown Prince's voice was not loud, he heard it very clearly.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince mention the naval battle that had taken place here, Chen Houfu was impressed that the Crown Prince was indeed always concerned about every detail of the navy. On the other hand, he was also a little puzzled as to why the Crown Prince would use Western terms to refer to the naval battle.

Just as many battles in history have completely different names for the two sides involved, the Battle of Skadrak is the name used by the Royal Victorian Navy. Of course, some people call it the Battle of Jutland because the location of this naval battle is not far from the Jutland Peninsula, while the Leitanian Empire calls this naval battle the Battle of the North Sea.

Sometimes, these different names can even be used to catch hidden spies and enemy agents (for example, those who casually mention the Battle of Xuzhou and Bengbu).

The Battle of the Andaman Sea was the name used by the Royal Victorian Navy. In the Ming Dynasty, this naval battle was known as the Battle of the Burma Sea. In the midst of the magnificent world war that had already been experienced, this naval battle was far less memorable to most people than the Battle of Skadrak, the Battle of the Sulu Sea, the Battle of the Java Sea, and the Battle of the Bashi Channel.

However, this naval battle was an unforgettable pain for the Royal Navy of the Ming Dynasty at that time and the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty now. The armored cruiser squadron of the Royal Navy of the Ming Dynasty in the Burma Sea encountered the fast fleet of the Royal Navy of Victoria here. Before they could even send a telegram and change their flagship, they were severely damaged and were completely wiped out within half an hour.

The unsent warning telegram directly led to the Ming Dynasty's Royal Navy's dramatic shift from a resounding victory in the Battle of Sulu to a devastating defeat in the Battle of Java in a short period.

It can be said that the turning point from prosperity to decline of the Ming Dynasty's Royal Navy in the past world wars, and the reason why the Ming Dynasty almost completely lost its tributary system in the war, were all due to this seemingly insignificant and not particularly large-scale naval battle (which many countries would consider a bit like Versailles).

"Your Highness, shall we throw a wreath here?" Chen Houfu asked at the opportune moment. Li Che then realized that his slip of the tongue had led the people around him to misunderstand. It seemed that spending every day with Zhu Miaoyun over the past few years had indeed greatly reduced his vigilance in this regard.

"you're right."

Li Che nodded, recalling the Burma Sea Battle that had taken place in the reality of this world. Speaking of which, the performance of the armored cruisers of the Burma Sea Squadron in this battle was truly remarkable. After all, in the Battle of Skardrac, when the Royal Victoria Navy's armored cruisers suddenly encountered the Leitanian Empire's High Seas Fleet's super-dreadnoughts, the Black Prince, as a fairly good last-generation armored cruiser, only lasted 5 minutes from the start of the battle to its sinking.

Unfortunately, during the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongning was completely unprepared for the outcome of the Battle of the Java Sea and concluded that the armored cruisers in the Battle of the Burma Sea had seriously neglected their duties by failing to report military intelligence in a timely manner. As a result, none of the officers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives were recognized as martyrs.

It was after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty that Li Renzhi saw the naval archives that Li Che had organized. After learning about the cause and effect from his son, he submitted a memorial to Li Zongdi. Ultimately, the cabinet passed a resolution to restore and recognize the martyrs status of these officers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives, and at the same time, to issue supplementary martyr pensions to the families of these officers and soldiers that were owed by the previous dynasty.

Although their route was some distance from the battlefield where the battle took place, it is likely that the spirits of those heroes who have become one with the sea will be able to receive their respect.

Soon, a special commemorative ceremony was held simultaneously on the decks of the three ships. Wreaths made by the sailors themselves, along with many handwritten letters, were thrown into the sea. Accompanied by the booming sound of cannons, the warships of the Bharat Navy, which came to greet them, also appeared on the horizon in the distance.

"Are those the best cruisers in the Balat Navy's arsenal?" After Li Che clearly saw the two Balat Navy cruisers that came to greet them through his binoculars, although he was not very familiar with the Balat Navy's other ships besides capital ships in this era, it did not prevent him from deducing from the national character of these R3s that what they were seeing now was likely the two best cruisers in the Balat Navy's arsenal.

Chen Houfu nodded: "Your Highness is absolutely right. The Barat Navy actually only has four decent, relatively modern cruisers in total, and the two we see now are two of them."

The larger one in front is the Indian Navy's current cruiser INS Rajput, one of the first batch of City-class cruisers of the original Royal Victoria Navy. It was also one of the first batch of City-class light cruisers transferred to the Bharat Navy after the end of the war but before the signing of the treaty. It is also called the Bristol-class light cruiser. The one that the Bharat Navy received is INS Gloucester.

All of these City-class cruisers were completed in 10. They had a crew of 480, a displacement of 4800 tons, a length of 138 meters, an engine output of 22000 horsepower, and a range of 5070 nautical miles at 16 knots. However, they were ships from more than a decade ago. Their top speed when they were built was 25 knots, and it is unclear what their current top speed is.

武备包括原本是两座6寸炮和10座4寸炮的，不过巴拉特海军在接收之后自己进行了升级，现在应该是8座单管MK 11型152mm/50倍径舰炮，除此之外还有4座单管47mm速射炮和2具457mm鱼雷发射管”

Li Che nodded slightly. In terms of command ability alone, Chen Houfu was not outstanding among the officers of the Zangpu Society; in fact, one could say he was somewhat mediocre as a fleet officer.

However, this person had an excellent service record in the headquarters, and could even be described as a first-class headquarters officer. He was chosen as the accompanying military attaché because he was quite good at information gathering and intelligence processing, and he had a good memory and was willing to put in the effort.

“The most modern cruiser in the Bharat Navy is an old ship from over a decade ago, but it’s considered modern enough compared to other cruisers within the Bharat Navy.” Li Che then turned his gaze to the back of the Rajput, and frowned slightly: “Is that also a cruiser?”

Chen Houfu paused for a moment, then suppressed a laugh and said, "That was originally the HMS Swift, the earliest professional destroyer leader of the Royal Victoria Navy. It had a full-load displacement of 2207 tons, was equipped with Yarrow-type boilers and Parsons-type steam turbines, was propulsed by four shafts, had a main engine output of 30000 horsepower, a maximum speed of 34 knots, and a crew of 138."

Construction began in 06, but it wasn't commissioned until 10. At the time, it was considered a performance monster among destroyers, equipped with 102mm naval guns and 457mm torpedo tubes. Later, during refitting, the guns were upgraded to 152mm, and the torpedo tubes were replaced with 21-inch torpedo tubes. After being transferred to the Bharat Navy, it was reclassified as a cruiser and named HMS Ranville.

It turned out to be a destroyer leader that started construction almost 20 years ago. Thinking about the general size of those destroyers back then, Li Che couldn't help but give the Royal Victoria Navy a thumbs up in his mind.

“I suspect that if it weren’t for the fact that capital ships are so precious and too expensive to tamper with, people like you Indians would probably prefer to greet us with capital swords.” Li Che said confidently, “There are very few races in this world that are as pathologically concerned about their face as the Indians.”

"Your Highness seems to know the Balat people very well," Chen Houfu complimented.

"That's right, no one in the world understands Barat better than me."

Chen Houfu: "........."

The structure and system of the Barat Navy's warships are somewhat distorted. Among the four capital ships, there is the "Holy Relic" which seems to be a ship that is difficult to destroy in all aspects, but the other three are normal battleships. If the performance of the other dreadnought purchased from the Victorian Empire is somewhat mediocre, then the two Bavaria-class battleships are still the strongest battleships in the world, even by today's standards, outside of the 12 "super battleships" of the top three powers.

However, compared to its luxurious fleet of battleships, the Bharat Navy was rather meager in terms of cruisers and destroyers.

How to put it? It feels like those guys in War Thunder who bought the second-best open-line vehicle. When you first enter the game, you find that your teammate on the left has a T80UE-1 and your teammate on the right has a clickbait title. But soon after the battle starts, you see these two teammates each pull out the second-best vehicle in their squad.

The former pulled out a T-34/85, while the latter brought out the M18 Hellcat, driven by Hakimi...

That's roughly the feeling.

As the two warships approached each other, Li Che was able to see the officers and soldiers on the Balat naval cruiser through his binoculars. Although he couldn't see the expressions on their faces clearly, he could tell from their body language that the shock brought to them by the Jiangzhou heavy cruiser, even though it was just a cruiser, was probably greater than that brought by a capital ship.

After all, the modern overall style of the Jiangzhou heavy cruiser is more modern than other heavy cruisers that were started at the same time in other countries. Compared with all the capital ships in the world today, it feels like putting the Rafale and the Mirage 2000 together. Anyone with eyes can see that it is half a generation behind.

You won't find a single warship in the entire Bharat Navy that looks this modern!

"I think their eyes are practically glued to the view. I bet even the Indians look at lizards with the same level of fascination."

"lizard?"

“That’s not important.” Li Che waved his hand. “Speaking of which, although the Balat Navy’s cruiser tonnage is not large within the scope of the treaty, they have even fewer cruisers on hand, and not a single heavy cruiser. Have they considered building them themselves or ordering them from abroad?”

"Your Highness, as far as I know, although Bharat has some shipyards left over from the Victorian Empire, apart from the Calcutta Shipyard and the Cochin Shipyard, the other shipyards of the Bharat Navy can only build some civilian ships and small vessels of a rather low standard. Their construction capabilities are probably at the level of the late 1980s."

"It's actually at the level of the late 1980s?" Li Che was genuinely surprised. Although others might think his behavior was sarcastic, Li Che was actually quite astonished by the shipbuilding capabilities of Barat.

Don't underestimate the shipbuilding capabilities of the late 1980s. This means that even aside from the Galdar and Cochin shipyards, the other shipyards in the Bharat Navy could likely have reached the level of the late Qing Dynasty in another world.

That's pretty good!

"What about Calcutta and Kochi?"

"These two ports retain the repair facilities that the Victorian Empire originally prepared for its Indian Ocean fleet. After Bharat gained independence, it took over some facilities from Victoria and built two of Bharat's largest shipyards on the original basis. However, although a lot of equipment was purchased, there was a serious shortage of relevant professional personnel. In the past few years, the Bharat Navy has concentrated almost all of the senior technical personnel from the two shipyards at the Cochin Shipyard to participate in the repair of the battleship 'Agni'."

"Is it the ship that had the serious fire during the last naval review?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Has that boat still not been repaired?"

Faced with Li Che's question, Chen Houfu could only smile and shake his head: "It was almost repaired, but an accident happened when it was launched a while ago. The whole boat capsized during the launching process."

? ? ? ? ?

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PS: I received the KV220 I was offered for 60 coins today. After adding it to the queue, I had a blast playing two rounds. First of all, the environment for this tank is not as good as before. It's too easy to get a full tank in version 6.0. However, even after getting a full tank, I still had a very comfortable time playing.

This vehicle is truly powerful. I'm already prepared to use the KV-220 to thoroughly punish the American/British WWII Funan troops when they come online!

Chapter 377 Be prepared to sell weapons to the enemy (2)

I thought the Land of Light was already quite brave to launch and capsize a 5000-ton destroyer by side-sliding, but I didn't expect someone to be even braver. Is this Bharat's subordinate?

Li Che was truly shocked by the actions of the Bharat Navy. With his intelligence, he couldn't fathom how they could capsize a battleship weighing 20,000 to 30,000 tons during its launch.

Shouldn't a large warship of this size be launched in a stable and methodical way? Whether it slides down the slipway or floods the dock directly, Li Che simply couldn't imagine how the ship could be capsized.

This isn't an accident. It's almost like a striker facing an open goal and missing the shot from a meter away is harder than scoring. A large warship can capsize when launched. Even if someone wanted to capsize this ship on purpose, they would have to hold a special meeting to discuss how to do it.

"How did they do that?" Li Che asked in utter shock. "How come I've never heard of this before?"

"The Navy has previously reported on some aspects of the Bharat Navy. Your Highness, you must have seen the news a while ago about the toilet exploding while a Bharat Navy warship was undergoing repairs in port, right?"

"So... the toilet explosion was real?" Li Che was somewhat speechless. The main reason was that this news was too similar to an accident involving his third brother in another world. Li Che had initially thought it was a prank by Zhu Miaoyun. After all, while a toilet explosion wouldn't be unusual for his third brother, it was still quite rare.

"Of course it's true. The warship that had the toilet explosion was the battleship Agni."

"Don't tell me this boat capsized because the latrine exploded..."

"The situation is rather complicated, but according to what we have learned, when the septic tank of the battleship Agni exploded with methane, the explosion also affected the high-pressure gas cylinders used for construction inside the ship at the time. As a result, a chain of explosions occurred inside the ship. The Bharat Navy initially suppressed the news and ordered the shipyard to repair it as soon as possible."

We are not clear about the specific extent of the damage to the battleship Agni or how the Bharat Navy subsequently carried out repairs. However, we are certain that while the Agni was being flooded in dry dock for its launch, it quickly reported leaks in the hull…

"And then they couldn't save him?" Li Che now felt completely unable to understand the logic behind this: "How could he not be saved in the shipyard's dry dock? Even if he really couldn't be saved, the dry dock could have drained the water."

"Well, based on the information we received, it seems that the person in charge of the Cochin Shipyard wanted to cover it up at the time. So, initially, they only organized the shipyard workers to try to control the water ingress. Logically speaking, even shipyard workers who haven't received rigorous damage control training should be able to control the water ingress by closing the watertight doors."

However, it is unclear whether the shipyard in Bharat removed some watertight doors during construction for convenience or whether the watertightness of the battleship's internal structure was compromised during construction... In any case, by the time the shipyard realized the situation could no longer be concealed, the entire ship had already listed at more than 30 degrees.

It was only at this point that the shipyard notified the navy, but the damage control team aboard the battleship Agni refused to board and conduct damage control, deeming the ship's condition too dangerous. This resulted in the current state of affairs; the ship is still apparently lying precariously in the Cochin Shipyard's dry dock.

Chen Houfu's tone was filled with admiration for the Bharat Navy. It was genuine admiration, the kind of awe one feels when you learn that your brother can deal with lizards.

The country is doomed...

At this moment, on the cruiser INS Rajput, the Bharat Navy sent a light signal, stating that the port of Cochin was temporarily closed for some reason, and therefore the fleet to which Li Che and his men were located should follow them to the port of Calcutta for resupply. They also indicated that the Bharat Navy had prepared a welcoming ceremony for them in the port of Calcutta.

"Look, the Baratians are very concerned about their image. They probably don't intend to let us see how they managed to capsize a battleship after launching it." Li Che shrugged, then casually asked Chen Houfu, "Houfu, what do you think the captains of these two Baratian naval cruisers are thinking?"