Chapter 506 Martial Arts Exercises in the East China Sea, Aiming at the Western Ocean

Half a month later, the East Sea was a vast expanse of mist and waves.

An unprecedented steel fleet, arranged in neat formation, was plowing through the blue waves at an astonishing speed, heading towards the deep sea.

At the core of the fleet were two 7,000-ton Ironclad Warships, the 'Ironclad Warship' and the 'Zhenyuan', their massive hulls like two moving steel fortresses, giving an incomparable sense of oppression.

Surrounding them were four faster 'Zhiyuan'-class armored cruisers and eight 'Jingyuan'-class destroyers.

These smaller warships, like agile hounds, guarded the flanks of the main battleships.

Above the fleet, two 'Huying' reconnaissance planes emitted a huge roar, circling and scouting, taking in the sea area for a hundred miles around.

This was the first large-scale live-fire naval exercise of the Great Han Beiyang Fleet.

On the bridge of the flagship 'ironclad warship', Emperor Liu Sheng sat in command, fully dressed in military uniform.

Crown Prince Liu Ju, Naval Superintendent Sa Zhenbing, and a group of young naval officers stood in attendance on both sides.

Their faces, without exception, wore expressions of mixed excitement and nervousness.

"Your Majesty, the fleet has arrived at the designated exercise area," Captain Deng Lin reported loudly.

He was a man in his early thirties with dark skin and sharp eyes, one of the first officers selected from the old-style navy and sent to the Royal Naval Academy for advanced studies.

"Begin," Emperor Liu Sheng said indifferently.

"Yes, sir!"

Following Deng Lin's order, a sharp battle alarm resounded throughout the fleet.

The sailors who had been active on the deck immediately became like tightly wound parts, rushing to their battle stations.

The heavy sound of watertight doors closing, the mechanical sound of shells being hoisted from the ammunition depot, and the brief, forceful orders of the officers converged into a tense and orderly symphony.

"Target spotted on the starboard side! Distance 10,000 meters! Bearing 0-4-5!" the lookout's voice came from the high mast crow's nest.

The so-called 'target' was a few decommissioned wooden target ships that had been towed to this sea area in advance.

They were anchored on the sea surface, imitating the fleet formation of the enemy.

"10,000 meters..." Sa Zhenbing muttered to himself, feeling a bit unsure.

This distance was far beyond the effective range of those smoothbore cannons of The West.

Could they hit anything firing at this distance?

Emperor Liu Sheng saw his doubts but did not point them out, just watching calmly.

He believed in the artillery he had designed and in these naval elites he had personally cultivated.

"Entire fleet, turn 20 degrees to the right! Seize the T-crossing position!" Deng Lin's order was instantly transmitted to the bridge of every warship via radio.

The massive steel fleet displayed amazing coordination.

All warships turned almost at the same time, their huge hulls carving beautiful white arcs on the sea surface.

Soon, the Beiyang Fleet stood in a perfect 'one' horizontal formation, blocking the 'T' head of the target ship fleet.

This meant that all the broadside firepower of the Beiyang Fleet could attack the enemy ships, while the enemy ships could only retaliate with the cannons on their bows.

This was the ultimate tactic of naval warfare in the age of sail, but now, executed by a steam-powered Ironclad Warship fleet, it appeared even more effortless and full of violent aesthetics.

"Ranging complete! Distance 9,500 meters!"

"Attention all batteries! Unified adjustment! Target, enemy flagship!"

"Fire!"

Following Deng Lin's roar, the four 150mm caliber secondary guns on the starboard side of the 'ironclad warship' let out a deafening roar.

Orange-red flames spewed from the muzzle, the huge recoil causing the entire warship to tremble slightly.

Four shells, with sharp whistling sounds, tore through the sky and flew toward the distant target ships.

On the bridge, everyone raised their binoculars, nervously watching the impact points.

A moment later, four huge water columns erupted around the target ship fleet.

One of them landed in the sea, almost grazing the hull of the flagship.

"Near miss! 100 meters to the right! Adjust sights down by two!" the gunnery officer's calm voice rang out on the bridge.

The hit rate of gunnery in this era was very low, and it required constant trial firing to correct the trajectory.

But to achieve such a close result on the first trial fire already made old navy men like Sa Zhenbing feel incredible.

"Second round of trial firing! Fire!"

Four more loud bangs.

This time, one shell accurately hit the hull of the target flagship!

A huge hole was instantly blown into the wooden hull, wood splinters flying everywhere.

"Hit!" a suppressed cheer erupted in the bridge.

"Well done!" Emperor Liu Sheng nodded approvingly.

He knew this was not luck.

It was the result of precision ranging instruments, excellent artillery performance, and the day-after-day arduous training of the gunners.

"Main guns ready!" excitement flashed in Deng Lin's eyes, "Target, enemy flagship! Two rounds of rapid fire!"

In the middle of the 'ironclad warship' hull, the two huge main gun turrets began to rotate slowly.

The heavy 300mm main guns pointed at the distant target.

"Fire!"

"Boom—!!"

The sound this time was far more terrifying than the previous broadside of secondary guns.

It was as if two claps of thunder had exploded in their ears, and all the glass on the bridge was buzzing.

Crown Prince Liu Ju even felt the deck under his feet sink sharply.

Two armor-piercing shells, each weighing hundreds of kilograms, crossed the nearly 10,000-meter distance in an instant at a speed the naked eye could barely catch.

The next second, the distant target flagship suddenly split in half amidst a huge ball of fire and thick smoke!

The huge main mast, like a giant tree being felled, crashed down.

The entire ship was quickly swallowed by the sea in just over ten seconds.

One shot, one kill!

The entire fleet, after a brief silence, erupted into earth-shattering cheers!

The sailors threw their hats into the air and hugged each other excitedly.

For the first time, they intuitively felt the terrifying power of the weapons in their hands!

Crown Prince Liu Ju opened his mouth wide, staring blankly at the vortex sinking in the distance, unable to speak for a long time.

Was this the 'dimensional strike' that his father had mentioned?

A battleship of the old era, in the face of such an attack, did not even have a chance to fight back.

"Order all ships to fire at will, clear the sea area within one hour," Emperor Liu Sheng gave the final order.

The next hour was a one-sided massacre for those target ships.

The warships of the Beiyang Fleet, as if practicing on a shooting range, calmly carried out various shooting drills.

Long-range shelling, high-speed maneuvering fire, cruiser interweaving and splitting...

When the signal flag for the end of the exercise was raised, there was not a single intact target ship to be seen on the sea.

Only some floating planks and wreckage remained, proving what had happened here.

As the sun set, the golden afterglow sprinkled on the returning steel fleet, cloaking them in a magnificent golden battle armor.

Emperor Liu Sheng stood on the bridge, the sea breeze blowing his cloak, making it snap loudly.

His gaze crossed the fleet in front of him and looked towards the distant West.

He knew that this fleet would be the sharpest sword in his hand.

It would sever the tentacles that The West had extended towards the East and would completely rewrite the rules of the ocean in this world.

"Convey my imperial decree," Emperor Liu Sheng's voice was incredibly clear in the sea breeze, "The Beiyang Fleet will enter Level 1 combat readiness immediately.

The entire fleet will head south, garrison the Zhoushan Islands, and point its sword at The West."

An unprecedented maritime storm was about to break out violently at the intersection of Eastern and Western civilizations.