144: Destroy the enemy in the raging sea, and sink the Yuan warships.

Chapter 7: Annihilating the Enemy in the Raging Sea, Yuan Ships Sunk in the Sand

While the proclamation of global deterrence still echoed over the Central Plains, the fury within the Dadu Imperial Palace had already burned through the glazed tiles of the halls.

Kublai Khan smashed the jade cup in his hand, veins bulging on his bronze-colored face, his body beneath the dragon robe trembling with rage. In his mind, the remnants of the Southern Song Dynasty were nothing more than stray dogs that had escaped the net at Yamen. To think they dared to issue a proclamation from across the sea to threaten the Emperor of the Great Yuan, and even demanded he submit and treat the Southerners well—this was an ultimate insult to the Golden Family. In the court, Mongol princes and generals clamored for war, declaring they would flatten the desert islands of the South Sea and bring that overstepping little emperor to Dadu for punishment. No one took the so-called "Iron Divine Soldiers" seriously, dismissing them as the illusions of sorcerers or rumors from the coast.

“A mere remnant of the Song on a desolate island dares to command the Great Yuan!” Kublai Khan slammed the table and rose, his voice shaking the great hall. “Pass down my decree: mobilize all naval forces from the three provinces of Jiangzhe, Fujian, and Guangdong. Assemble a thousand sea vessels and dispatch thirty thousand troops to trample the rebellious islands of the South Sea. Leave no chicken or dog alive!”

The military orders from the Yuan Court center were rushed to the southeast coast. Dilapidated ports barely gathered enough seaworthy warships, and civilian boats were forcibly seized while fishermen were pressed into service as sailors. In just ten days, they patched together a massive navy claiming to be ten thousand strong, with nine hundred and twenty-seven actual vessels. Thirty-two thousand soldiers of Mongol and Han ethnicities, carrying catapults, fire arrows, and oil jars, were led by the Mongol general Mongol General. They charged south along the coastline toward Fuxing Island, their banners blotting out the sea and their masts like a forest, a fierce flame intending to crush the entire South Sea.

Global satellites and long-range radar captured the trajectory of this massive fleet immediately. The red alert early warning system sounded instantly. On the holographic screen of the Fuxing Island Intercontinental Command Center, dense clusters of red light points advanced from north to south like a plague of locusts, filling the northern shipping lanes.

Lin Zhou remained seated in his metal command chair, his expression calm and undisturbed. He had long expected that Kublai Khan, arrogant throughout his life, would never easily submit. Deterrence was always the final line; since the opponent chose to meet with weapons, he would respond with a steel torrent. He would only annihilate the Yuan Army and not disturb civilians, never bringing the flames of war into the heart of the Central Plains.

Outside the barrier, Lu Xiufu hurried over, clutching a secret report of the Yuan Army's mobilization sent by coastal refugees at the risk of their lives. Filled with grief and anger yet with eyes full of sincerity, he bowed and requested: “Your Majesty, the Yuan Court has broken faith and sent troops to invade. I am willing to lead my subordinates to board the ships and assist in the battle. Even if I am ground to dust, I will ensure Your Majesty's safety!”

The soldiers behind him all had eyes nearly bursting with rage, their veins bulging on the hands gripping their sword hilts. The blood-deep grudge of Yamen, the fury of their compatriots being oppressed, and the bone-deep hatred for the Yuan Army all surged within them. They were flesh and blood, full of anger and hate, yet they still awaited the Emperor's decree. Loyalty was etched into their very marrow; not a single person moved without authorization.

Lin Zhou looked up, his tone indifferent yet brook no argument: “There is no need for you to take risks. This battle will still be handled entirely by the red alert fleet. I have said that we will not disturb the people of the Central Plains, so we shall only annihilate the enemy on the high seas. If the Yuan Army dares to step foot into the South Sea blockade line, sink them all. Not a single ship or soldier shall return home.”

What he wanted was not slaughter, but to completely cripple the Yuan Court's maritime power so they would no longer have the confidence to send southern expeditions. At the same time, he firmly held the bottom line of not harming the han chinese people of the Central Plains and not landing on the mainland to cause bloodshed. All the fighting would be kept entirely on the vast ocean.

【Ding—Yuan Army punitive fleet invasion detected. Initiating South Sea Defense Combat Instruction.】

【Participating Units: 3 Heavy Destroyers, 6 Light Frigates, 16 High-speed Patrol Boats, 4 Carrier-based Stealth Attack Aircraft, 24 Unmanned Torpedo Boats.】

【Rules of Engagement: Annihilate the enemy only within high seas areas. Missiles and artillery fire are prohibited from affecting coastal lands. Completely wipe out Yuan Army combat units. Release forcibly seized civilian boats and fishermen, granting them safe passage.】

【Resource Preparation: Full ammunition load, power supply at maximum capacity. Post-battle automatic salvage of wreckage for resource conversion.】

The moment the order was issued, the engines of the red alert fleet moored at the Fuxing Island port roared in unison. The unmanned steel fleet exited the port in sequence, forming a defensive formation in the high seas at 22 degrees North latitude. Destroyers held the center, frigates lined the flanks, patrol boats formed a hunting circle, and unmanned torpedo boats lurked underwater. Four stealth attack aircraft soared out of the clouds, hovering above the battlefield. The entire combat system stood ready, waiting for the Yuan Army to walk into the trap.

An hour later, the massive Yuan Army navy sailed into the high seas of the engagement zone. Mongol General stood at the bow of his tower ship, looking at the scattered small silver-grey vessels in the distance, and laughed wildly: “The rumored divine weapons are nothing more than this! All forces attack! Fire arrows and catapults together, crush these strange ships!”

A thousand Yuan Army warships swarmed forward. Catapults hurled stone projectiles, archers shot flaming arrows, and fire oil jars were thrown fiercely. Thick smoke and flames instantly covered the sea surface. The naval offensive of the cold weapon era had been pushed to its absolute limit.

But all the attacks that fell upon the alloy armor of the red alert fleet simply bounced off, were extinguished, or fell away. They could not even damage the paint on the hulls.

In the next second, the red alert fleet's counterattack began the prelude to this one-sided crushing.

The rapid-fire autocannons of the patrol boats roared first, the 'rat-tat-tat' of metal tearing through the waves. Bullets formed a crossfire net, sweeping toward the front row of Yuan Army ships. Wooden planks shattered like paper, rigging snapped, and soldiers fell in swathes. The Yuan Army's charge instantly fell into chaos. Simultaneously, the underwater unmanned torpedo boats struck. Light torpedoes precisely hit the bottoms of the Yuan ships. Explosions rang out one after another as the seawater surged, and Yuan ships snapped in half, slowly sinking to the seabed.

Mongol General was turned pale with fright. Before he could order a retreat, medium-range anti-ship missiles from two destroyers had already launched, trailing white exhaust as they slammed precisely into his flagship tower ship. In a thunderous roar, the command ship of the Yuan Army navy was blown to pieces. Mongol General, along with his armor, fell into the sea and was instantly swallowed by a whirlpool.

Losing their command, the Yuan Army navy completely collapsed. Soldiers jumped into the sea to escape, and warships scrambled to turn back and flee. However, the speed of the red alert fleet far exceeded that of wooden sailing ships; like tigers among sheep, they hunted and harvested all the way.

Only the civilian boats and fishermen forcibly seized by the Yuan Army were identified by the shipboard AI as neutral targets. Safe lanes were opened, allowing these fishermen to sail away from the battlefield without a single bullet or torpedo affecting them.

On the sea, flames reached the sky, and the wreckage of Yuan Army ships floated densely. The army of thirty thousand was nearly lost, and over nine hundred warships were almost entirely wiped out. The seawater was dyed dark red with blood, while only those civilian boats sailed away safely, heading back toward the coast.

【Ding—Yuan Army punitive fleet completely annihilated. 32,000 Yuan Army combat units eliminated, 921 warships sunk. Zero civilian casualties, zero land impact.】

【Ding—Gained massive resources: Steel × 22,000, Ore × 16,000, Fuel × 9,800, Tech Points × 680.】

【Ding—South Sea deterrence value maximized. Unlocked full construction rights for Heavy Aircraft Carriers and mass production rights for Amphibious Landing Ships.】

On the battlefield, the smoke gradually cleared. Unmanned transport ships immediately entered the area to salvage the wreckage of the Yuan Army ships and usable materials, sending them into the Resource Converter to be transformed into capital for expanding the base. The red alert fleet finished clearing the area and automatically returned for resupply, ending the battle cleanly with zero casualties and zero losses.

On the shore of Fuxing Island, Lu Xiufu and the other officials looked at the smoke on the distant sea and the civilian boats returning safely. Their grief and anger were entirely transformed into respect and submission toward their Emperor. They still felt moved by the tragedy of war, relieved for the safety of their fellow fishermen, and satisfied by the crushing defeat of the Yuan Army. Their emotions were intense, yet their loyalty to Lin Zhou became even more steadfast. They knelt together on the beach, shouting "Long Live the Emperor," their voices shaking the sea and sky.

“Your Majesty is divinely martial! You do not harm the common people yet annihilate the Hu Barbarians. This is heavenly might!”

“With Your Majesty here, Huaxia has hope, and the Central Plains can be recovered!”

Lin Zhou walked out of the command center and stood on a high coastal slope. He looked at the returning steel fleet and then toward the north, toward the Central Plains, his gaze cold. Kublai Khan's furious counterattack had been completely crushed. The Yuan Court's maritime power was now effectively zero, leaving them with no ability to invade the South Sea again.

He did not order a pursuit to land on the Central Plains, still adhering to the bottom line of ceasing hostilities to nurture strength. He simply activated the global broadcast once more to issue a final declaration to the Yuan Court and the Central Plains, his voice majestic and carrying an unquestionable killing intent.

“Kublai Khan, I have already given you a chance. Today's battle is my punishment for you. If you dare to send troops again, or dare to slaughter the han chinese people again, my fleet will strike directly at Dadu and turn the Yuan Court center into dust.”

“I have said my piece. Those who comply shall have peace; those who resist shall perish.”

The broadcast spread throughout the Central Plains. In Dadu, Kublai Khan heard that his navy had been completely wiped out and spat blood in rage, collapsing onto his dragon throne. The Mongol princes were as quiet as cicadas in winter; no one dared to speak of a southern expedition again. The Yuan Army officials in local prefectures and counties completely restrained their atrocities, not daring to mistreat the han chinese people in the slightest. The people of the Central Plains spread the news, feeling deeply grateful to the young Emperor of the South Sea.

The colonization projects in the South Seas did not stop due to the war. The sub-bases in Luzon and Borneo completed their upgrades, and deep-sea mining and food production doubled again. The keel of a heavy aircraft carrier was quietly laid at the offshore shipbuilding base. After this great victory, the foundation of the red alert power became increasingly stable.

Lin Zhou raised his hand, signaling his subordinates to rise. His gaze swept across the vast South Sea, his tone firm.

“The Yuan Court's sea arm has been severed; they are no longer a threat. Continue colonizing the South Seas and accumulating strength.”

“Once the aircraft carrier is complete and sea power is solely in our hands, I will retake the Central Plains and return to Huaxia a complete and perfect prosperous age, free from the disasters of war.”

The sea breeze carried the scent of victory, brushing past the steel base of Fuxing Island, the thousands of islands in the South Seas, and the vast rivers and mountains of the northern Central Plains. A crushing naval battle had established absolute hegemony in the South Sea and determined the direction of the world's landscape. The era belonging to Lin Zhou could no longer be stopped by anyone.