World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

Chapter 341 Chen Feng, that cunning fox. He smelled blood.

"Marshal," the adjutant whispered, "the latest telegram from Port William."

Tirpitz looked up: "Read it."

"Admiral Scheer reports: The main fleet has departed as planned, maintaining radio silence. Hipper's fleet is luring the British Beatty fleet toward the ambush point. Contact is expected tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning..." Tirpitz glanced at the clock on the wall, "twelve hours from now."

He stood up and walked to the window. The Berlin night sky was clear, and the stars were visible. What would the weather be like in the North Sea tomorrow? Would the sailors see the same stars?

"Does His Majesty the Emperor know?" he asked.

"The report has been submitted. His Majesty replied: 'We await good news.'"

Looking forward to good news.

Four words, seemingly light, yet carrying the weight of a thousand pounds.

Tirpitz recalled his meeting with the Emperor the previous day. Wilhelm II remained excited and full of anticipation.

"Alfred, once the navy wins, we'll have leverage!" the Emperor said at the time. "We can negotiate with the British to ease the blockade, and even... get them to acknowledge our dominance in Europe!"

Tirpitz did not refute this. He knew the emperor needed such illusions, such hopes.

But he knew that even if the navy won—even if it won spectacularly—it wouldn't change the overall course of the war. Germany had already exhausted its strength fighting on two fronts; victory would only delay defeat.

Unless... unless a miracle occurs.

But Tirpitz didn't believe in miracles. He believed in steel, artillery, training, and tactics.

The German Navy possessed all of these, but the British Navy had even more.

"Marshal," the adjutant hesitated for a moment, "there's one more thing... intelligence from the Far East."

Tirpitz turned around: "Lanfang?"

"Yes. Our intelligence reports indicate that Lanfang has recently been in secret contact with Siam and the Dutch East Indies. It seems to be laying the groundwork for the post-war period."

Tirpitz sneered, "That cunning fox, Chen Feng. He's smelled blood."

He walked back to his desk and sat down: "But we still need Lanfang..."

After his adjutant left, Tirpitz sat alone in his office. The light shone on his white hair, reflecting a silvery sheen.

He's sixty-seven years old. It took him twenty years to build this navy, watching it grow from nothing to something, from small to large. Now, this navy is about to embark on a high-stakes gamble.

All he could do was wait.

Waiting for telegrams, waiting for news, waiting for those warships that may never return.

Dubai, 11 p.m.

Chen Feng stood in the radio monitoring room, wearing headphones, listening intently to something. Besides him, there were three on-duty technicians and a translator in the room. (The editor doesn't know if eavesdropping was possible during World War I, but let's assume it was.)

The headphones played intermittent Morse code sounds, mixed with electrical static. These signals came from the North Sea, from the fleets sailing at sea.

Lanfang's intelligence department established a fairly advanced radio interception and decryption system. Although it could not decrypt all encrypted communications in real time, it could roughly determine the fleet's movements by analyzing signal strength, frequency, and transmission patterns.

"Your Excellency," a technician handed over a sheet of paper, "this is the signal analysis for the past two hours. Radio activity in the central North Sea has increased significantly, with at least twenty different signal sources active."

Chen Feng took the report and quickly skimmed through it. It described signal characteristics, azimuth, estimated distance, etc., using technical jargon…

"The British and German fleets are approaching," he judged, "and may have already entered each other's reconnaissance range."

He walked to the map of Beihai on the wall and marked the latest location estimate with red and blue pencils.

The red British fleet converged towards the center from the northwest and west, while the blue German fleet converged towards the center from the southeast and east. The four fleets, like four arrows, pointed towards the same area in the central North Sea.

That area is currently empty, but it will soon become a battlefield.

"President," Wang Wenwu walked in, holding another telegram, "Minister Liu Qinian's report. The 'Kunpeng' No. 2 aircraft has completed its third long-range test flight, covering a range of 3,200 kilometers and carrying two tons of ordnance. The engine stability is significantly improved compared to the No. 1 aircraft."

Chen Feng nodded: "Tell him that's good. But we need to continue improving. What I need isn't just a plane that can fly, but a plane that can fight."

"Furthermore," Wang Wenwu continued, "there has been progress in our contacts with the Nordic countries. A Swedish shipping company is willing to cooperate with us to establish a trade route that bypasses the British blockade. However, they are demanding a high deposit and will only accept payments in gold."

"Give it to them." Chen Feng said without hesitation. "Tell Li Yongguang to allocate 500,000 marks from the payment made in Germany as a deposit. What we need is not just a passage, but a relationship. In the future, Northern Europe will be an important trading partner."

Wang Wenwu noted it down, then hesitated for a moment: "Commander-in-Chief, I have a question."

"explain."

"The preparations we're making now... are based on the assumption that both Britain and Germany will suffer heavy losses. But what if one of them wins decisively? Wouldn't all our plans be for nothing?"

Chen Feng walked to the window and looked at the night view of Dubai Harbour. The lights of the harbor were reflected on the sea, like a shattered starry sky.

"Minister Wang," he said without turning around, "what do you think is the most important thing in playing chess?"

Wang Wenwu thought for a moment: "Calculation? Strategy? Patience?"

"That's true." Chen Feng turned around. "But the most important thing is to always have a backup plan. When you take a step, you should think about three possible reactions from the other party, and then be prepared to deal with each reaction."

He walked to the map and traced his finger across the North Sea: "There are three possible outcomes in the Anglo-German naval battle. We have corresponding strategies for each one. This isn't gambling; it's calculation."

He paused for a moment: "But to be honest, what I most hope to see is a lose-lose situation. Only in that way can we truly stand up and truly be on equal footing with those old-school powers."

Wang Wenwu fell silent. He understood Chen Feng's thoughts, but sometimes he was still struck by such boldness and composure.

A newly emerging nation is scheming against the two most powerful empires in the world, hoping they will weaken and consume each other.

This requires immense courage and chilling rationality.

"Oh, right," Chen Feng suddenly remembered something, "Did you send the secret telegram to Saionji Kinmochi?"

"It's been issued. The mobilization order for the third batch of dispatched troops has been officially issued. The first batch of 30,000 troops has assembled in Nagasaki and is expected to depart in two weeks."

"Tell them that we're providing even more new equipment this time. In addition to automatic pistols, there are new mortars, new helmets, improved gas masks... and of course, the price is higher."

Wang Wenwu smiled wryly: "Will the Chinese people accept cherry blossoms?"