Chapter 180: The Fate with the Steadfast (Additional Update 3)

Sounds of panic rang out on the Bunker Hill. The damage control crew staggered in the impact, still trying to hold up the fire hose and rush to the rear. Even though it was far away from the anti-aircraft missiles, if the eight Harpoon missiles exploded, their warship would most likely sink.

Damn old man, how can he be so cruel, and hit each other whenever he disagrees? They are just going around in a circle.

Lao Maozi has always been very tough when it comes to protecting his country's sovereignty. Not to mention warships, but also civilian ships. We have shot down passenger planes, so why should we not dare?

Amid the thick smoke, a cylinder flew into the sky, pulling out a column of smoke in the sky. The three crew members on the Ka-29 helicopter could see it clearly.

“The Americans’ weapons are not very reliable, and they were fired on impact.” The weapons operator muttered.

At this time, Nikolai had opened the door to the front cockpit and looked forward through the glass. He shouted with some concern: "Steadfast, report your situation!"

"Our bow was damaged, as if someone had flattened the nose, but we knocked a big hole in their tail, and water was entering there." Volkov shouted excitedly.

At this time, the two sides had separated, and the Steadfast had also left the smoke-filled area. Its bow was deflated, and it really looked like a flattened nose. But, they didn't care, it was the other side that was miserable.

After Volkov finished his answer, he continued to shout: "Attention, all ships, full right rudder, we will teach the Yankees a lesson they will never forget!"

 Volkov shows no mercy. Rather, he was addicted.

 “That’s right, avenge our frigate Oblivion!”

In fact, the Forgotten was not a big deal. After the collision, it patted its **** and left. The problem is that the Forget is just a frigate, and its displacement is too small, so it did not exert its power when it hit. Their current modern-class ship is different. Now, they are going to sink the Yankee warship and let the other party know the consequences of provoking them.

At this moment, the order from the base came over the radio.

“Attention, Stalwart, pay attention, Moscow has issued the highest instructions, exercise restraint, exercise restraint!”

 What, exercise restraint?

Volkov looked frustrated. He had already aimed again. The second impact would definitely sink the opponent, but now, he was about to stop.

**** it!

At this time, Volkov was full of resentment. Those guys in Moscow were too stupid to just try to please the West.

However, these words only appeared in his mind for a moment, and he quickly gave up the idea.

“Nicholas, do we want to go up there?” Qin Tao said to Nikolai.

Originally, I only planned to go up to the sky and circle around. Who would have thought that I could catch such a wonderful scene? The speed of the Bunker Hill, which was hit by the butt, dropped significantly. It is estimated that the power system has also been damaged, and it is struggling hard. Although the ship's bow was collapsed, the Steadfast still maintained a high posture, like a big rooster that had won a fight, and returned in triumph.

Nicholas nodded: "Go up, I want to express my condolences to the brave crew."

"By the way, I would like to ask someone to carry all the wine I brought to the dock. It is a small token of my gratitude to express my condolences to these brave warriors."

This was the second time Qin Tao and Zhao Ling boarded the Steadfast. Zhao Ling was very excited. When the Ka-29 landed steadily on the helicopter deck, she took a deep breath, calmed her mood, and then walked off. .

Nicholas was already standing on the deck, looking at Volkov and others in front of him, and patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction: "Volkov, well done, you have brought glory to our Pacific Fleet!"

“It’s a pity that Moscow issued an order asking us to restrain ourselves, otherwise we can sink the warship.”

Nikolai shook his head: "No, we have already hit the Americans hard. If it crashes, it may cause a lot of problems. Although we are soldiers and do not need to consider politics, we still have to give the big shots in Moscow Stay out of trouble."

Volkov nodded. He knew what Nicholas meant by that, but he still felt aggrieved.

 When Qin Tao and Zhao Ling came down, Volkov felt curious again.

“They are all my friends. They went on the ship to visit together, and then went back with the warship.” Nicholas said.

Although Qin Tao and Zhao Ling have visited it before, when they last visited, the warship was moored and the captain and others were not there.

At this time, Qin Tao smiled and stretched out his hand: "I saw your brave actions in the sky. I admire you very much. I have asked people to move all the wine I brought to the dock. When I get down, Everyone can have a drink!"

 If you want to make friends with Lao Maozi, just invite them to drink. Along the way with Nicholas, Qin Tao also brought a large amount of Erguotou. Now that he is going back soon, he will just give it to these people to drink.

Sure enough, Volkov immediately became excited when he heard Qin Tao talk about drinking.

Everyone became excited, thinking that they would be able to drink wine when they returned. Volkov immediately ordered: "Return at full speed!"

 Full speed!

The four KVG-3 boilers of the Steadfast began to burn fiercely, thick black smoke came out of the chimney, and the warship began to accelerate rapidly.

Generally speaking, warships that burn boilers accelerate very slowly, but the Type 956 destroyer is an exception. It uses a steam turbine driven by a 100,000-horsepower high-pressure boiler. It only takes two minutes for the entire warship to go from standstill to full speed. (Some data.) Unless there is cold water in the boiler, otherwise, it is not much inferior to a gas turbine.

In this era, when warships from all countries are pursuing gas turbines, Lao Maozi is still burning boilers on the Type 956 destroyer, which seems to be reversing history. However, Lao Maozi's boiler factory must survive and cannot stop operations, and burning boilers is also difficult. It saves money, so I make do with it.

Black smoke drifted into the sky, which was very spectacular. Soon, the Steadfast reached 32 knots and returned quickly.

“Nicholas, my friend, I want to walk around on the warship. Just let Zaitsev accompany me.” Qin Tao said.

Nicholas nodded: "Okay, in half an hour we will be at the port."

"good."

 Qin Tao led Zhao Ling and followed Zaitsev, and began to walk around the Steadfast. Last time, he just looked outside. This time, he could finally enter the interior of the warship.

Occasionally, he met Lao Maozi's sailor. Without waiting for Zaitsev's introduction, Qin Tao greeted him: "Hey, friend, I'll treat you to a drink when you get to the port!"

So, the sailor Lao Maozi immediately agreed and even served as a free tour guide for Qin Tao.

Zhao Ling was even more impressed. In Lao Maozi, if you want to socialize, you must know how to drink!

Qin Tao first strolled in front of the warship, looked at the lower structure of the huge 130-meter naval gun, and sighed with emotion. Then he strolled around the middle. By the time he came to the hatch of the boiler room at the rear, the warship had already begun to dock. .

 No matter what kind of ship it is, being an engineer is the most difficult. The conditions here are the harshest, with high temperature, noise, and vibrations, which challenge the nerves of the engineer all the time. Without strong perseverance, it is impossible to persevere.

It can also be seen from the clothing. While the sailors at other posts have neat military appearance, the sailors here are very casual. Most of them are not wearing shirts. Some are wearing blue and white striped vests, and some are even He went shirtless, revealing the thick white hair on his chest.

"Hey, my friends, we're at the port. I'll treat you to a drink. I've prepared a batch at the dock!" Qin Tao continued to shout.

As soon as he finished speaking, the engineer crew cheered and ran out.

 Drink, drink!

Although Lao Maozi is not short of military expenses and the treatment of soldiers is still good, they are seriously short of daily necessities in the country. It is not so easy to drink alcohol, especially after returning from overseas. If a group of people go to a bar, the people in front may be able to buy alcohol. , the people behind you won’t be able to buy it.

So, a large group of people jumped out like this.

“Ivan, shut down all the boilers.” The chief engineer shouted and ran out.

The sailor named Ivan hurriedly pulled several handles, and the last handle was not even pulled in place before he ran out impatiently.

Looking at these people leaving, Qin Tao spread his hands helplessly: "I originally wanted to visit, but now they have all come out, let's forget it and let's go up together."

 Zaitsev nodded: "Okay."

Qin Tao glanced inside, looking at the handle that was not pulled in place, and his heart was filled with anticipation.

The Steadfast has come to a complete stop, and countless sailors ran out with a huff. They had already seen a hill piled up next to the pier, and they could recognize the shape of those boxes at a glance.

Nicholas stood on a high step: "Sailors of the Steadfast, you did a good job. You bravely taught the Americans a lesson and let them know that this sea area belongs to us. Especially, you also stopped the Americans." The attempt to set foot on our Southern Chiba Islands! Now, in order to recognize your contribution, a celebration is held here, and the wine at the scene is all yours!"

 “Hurrah, hurrah!” Everyone cheered and rushed towards the box. Their big furry hands tore open the outer cover of the box, and you could see the glass bottles inside.

 The aroma of wine overflows.

“Nicholas, my friend, wouldn’t it be inappropriate to drink directly here?” Qin Tao said to Nikolai.

Nicholas shook his head: "What's wrong? This is the tradition of our navy!"

"Should we go to the empty warehouse over there? To avoid being seen." Qin Tao pointed to the warehouse over there.

 Nicola nodded: “Okay.”

 Drinking is indeed a naval tradition, not just for Lao Maozi, but also for other countries.

After all, in the Age of Discovery, fresh water storage technology and conditions were very poor. The water packed in barrels would breed bacteria and deteriorate after being stored for a period of time. Sailors would suffer from vomiting and diarrhea after drinking it. Soon, sailors discovered that these alcoholic drinks, including whiskey and rum, tended to be stored longer. Therefore, wine became a supplement to drinking water and has been with sailors for a long time.

Since the alcohol contained in wine has the effects of sterilization and nerve numbing, it can also be used as an emergency disinfectant and anesthetic when needed.

Similar to submariners, they will bring a lot of alcohol every time they go out to perform a mission. They are the ones who are allowed to drink during the mission, while other warships, although they cannot drink on board, have already disembarked. After getting off the boat and reaching the shore, it was another victory. It was normal for Lao Maozi to celebrate.

However, thinking about the intimidating orders from Moscow and the attitude of the Moscow bosses, Nicholas felt that Qin Tao's proposal was still necessary.

“Everyone, go celebrate in the warehouse over there, so that no one will come and **** our wine!” Nicholas gave the order, and everyone rushed to the warehouse with wine in their arms.

  Time passes little by little.

The 956 destroyer has a full complement of 296 people. Every time it goes to sea, it is not full, but there are still more than 250 people. At this time, these people have a bottle of wine in their left hand and a bottle of wine in their right hand. They drink very happily. By the time two After drinking Ping Er Guotou, I was already drunk.

The sky outside has turned dark, and Nicholas looked at Qin Tao with somewhat blurred eyes: "Where is Zhao?"

"I asked her to go back to the guest house. A group of drunk men were afraid of something going wrong." Qin Tao said: "Nicholas, let's go find a place to have another drink? Tomorrow, I should probably go back."

Nicholas nodded and was about to leave. Suddenly, there was a vibration on the ground, which made Nicholas sway and almost fall to the ground.

　　Boom!

 The sound of explosion followed.

Zaitsev’s hand supported Nikolai, and then looked in the direction of the explosion. Then his expression changed drastically: “No, the Steadfast exploded!”

After finishing speaking, he looked back and shouted loudly: "Quick, all crew members of the Steadfast, go put out the fire immediately!"

Billowing black smoke has come out of the tail of the Steadfast, covering everything, making it impossible to see the specific situation. If the ammunition of the 130mm naval gun at the tail is detonated, then the entire warship may not be saved!

If a warship is lost on the battlefield, forget it. The Red Empire can afford it. For example, if the warship sank during the daytime, the sailors on the warship would also be heroes. But it is different now. Now on the dock, It suddenly exploded. Someone must be responsible for this accident, and someone must even eat peanuts!

At this time, the old men who were already drunk were half awake after discovering that their warship exploded. They rushed to their warship and the fire trucks on the dock also roared over. It was extremely chaotic. .

The sailors bravely pounced on the burning Steadfast. An hour later, the fire was extinguished, and another hour later, the cause of the fire was discovered.

 (End of this chapter)