RPAGF Chapter 872 The present and the future, it's really hard to choose...
Chapter 872 The present and the future, it's really hard to choose...
In fact, Zhao Gang had sensed something was wrong long before Ma Xiaolong shouted.
He noticed that the submarine had no markings whatsoever.
Although it is the team’s rule to be in a “naked boat” state, temporary, detachable identification markers are usually hung during sea trials or training, but this boat had none at all.
With suspicions in his mind, he took out his binoculars and noticed the strange clothing of the person opposite him before Xiaohu and the others did.
In the 1960s, our submariners' standard uniform consisted of dark blue coarse cloth work clothes with white cotton insignia sewn onto the lapels. The caps had flat-topped cloth brims, specially narrowed to fit the cramped space of the submarine. (As an aside, our current logistical units also wear similar uniforms. While others wear blue work clothes in combat, they wear military uniforms in the camp, the lowest grade of which is one bar and one star.)
The person in the binoculars was wearing a light brown leather work cap with a steeply curved brim and a metal anchor-shaped badge sewn on the side. The collar of his khaki uniform was turned up, revealing a navy blue lining underneath.
Instead of the buckle design unique to Chinese military uniforms, there is a distinct waist-cinching knot at the cuffs.
"Old Zhou! In the 'Foreign Military Equipment Identification Manual' that was issued last week, isn't this the one they mentioned...? The new set that the little booklet came up with?"
Deputy Captain Zhou Jianjun immediately came over, took the binoculars, and examined it carefully for a few seconds. His expression turned serious: "It's so similar! It's too similar! The cap badge, the waist knot... everything matches! Damn, this is the first time I've seen a live one! Our intelligence department has really got some skills this time!"
"Fuck him!"
The mix of old and new grudges inexplicably excited Zhao Gang.
However, when his excited gaze swept over the deck of his own ship, number 418, his heart sank to the bottom.
As an old training boat, No. 418 was never equipped with combat torpedoes from the beginning. Its only symbolic armament was the ancestral 21-K 45mm deck gun at the bow.
Just now, during the accidental collision with the "Yuejin" ship, the gun barrel was pulled at a more than ten-degree angle by the broken steel cable, and the breechblock was jammed. At this moment, it was like a stray dog with its spine broken, completely unusable.
He subconsciously touched the Type 54 pistol at his waist. It was good for close combat, but against this hundreds-of-tons steel behemoth underwater, it wouldn't even be enough to tickle it.
"Old Zhao! We don't have any tough equipment!" Deputy Captain Zhou Jianjun also noticed the predicament.
"Have!"
Eh?
Zhou Jianjun was stunned for a moment, watching Zhao Gang stroke the casing of the command tower.
Coming to his senses, he immediately shook his head: "No, I don't agree!"
Zhao Gang pushed aside the deputy captain, turned around and shouted to the communications soldier still clinging to the command tower ladder: "Two vehicles, advance three! Maximum speed! Target..."
"No! This order cannot be given!"
Before Zhao Gang could finish speaking, Zhou Jianjun suddenly rushed up and grabbed his arm with such force that he almost crushed his bones: "Old Zhao! Are you crazy?! Think of another way! Quickly send a message using the backup radio! Can't we coordinate a pincer attack when the escort ship arrives?"
"Wait?" Zhao Gang abruptly shook off his hand, his eyes blazing with fury. "The escort ship has arrived, and this bastard has already dived hundreds of meters deep to the seabed and slipped away to his mother's house! He won't get a damn thing then! You coward!"
"Am I a coward?" Zhou Jianjun's eyes also reddened. He pointed towards the cabin and roared, "Look at the brothers in the boat! Most of them are new recruits who have only been training for three months! Some haven't even gotten used to the periscope, and some were seasick on their first voyage!"
But! They are the seeds of the submarine force! They are the future! You can't gamble with their lives!
It's a tough choice indeed; one is the future, the other is the present...
This decision is too heavy a burden.
The argument between the two men grew louder and louder. Xiao Wu, the communications soldier hanging on the ladder of the command tower, dutifully relayed every word of the heated conversation between the two captains into the cabin through the megaphone.
(Uh...actually, you don't have to be so obedient in situations like this...)
Sure enough, the quiet cabin instantly erupted into chaos.
"Lieutenant Commander! We're not cowards!"
"Lieutenant Commander! Don't think I haven't grown any navy bones just because I haven't been in the navy for a few days!"
"Lieutenant Commander! I'm too ashamed to go back and offer incense to our ancestors on Liugong Island in Weihaiwei. If I back down today!" A sailor with a Shandong accent pounded his chest, his eyes red-rimmed.
"Captain! Damn it! We can release the bald eagle, we can release the Russians, but only..."
"The notebook is the only exception!"
Another sailor chimed in, gritting his teeth as he wiped his face, it was hard to tell whether he was wiping away sweat or tears.
These young men, whose average age is less than twenty, are like a group of provoked leopard cubs. Although their claws and teeth are not yet sharp, they have already shown their innate wildness.
Some of them still had bruises from training, and some had leftover seasickness pills in their uniform pockets, but at this moment, every young face was burning with a flame of shared hatred for the enemy.
In this cramped steel space, more than forty young hearts beat violently at the same frequency, causing the rusty pipes to resonate.
As Deputy Commander Zhou Jianjun listened to the excited shouts of the young sailors, especially when someone mentioned Liugong Island, his body involuntarily swayed.
That sea area carries too many heavy memories.
"Then... then leave only the necessary operators behind. The rest of you, prepare to leave the boat! Get on the life rafts!" Zhou Jianjun tried his best to save these young lives.
"No way! If we're going to crash, we crash together! None of us in number 418 are cowards!"
"Yes! To live and die together!"
Shouts echoed from every compartment. The young sailors forgot their fear and tension, their eyes filled only with an indomitable spirit. They might not have much combat experience, or even know all the complex piping of a submarine, but at this moment, the fighting spirit in their bones was completely ignited.
Hearing the shouts from inside the cabin, Zhao Gang's eyes instantly reddened. He turned to look at Zhou Jianjun, his voice hoarse: "Did you hear that?! Old Zhou! Listen to this! These are our soldiers! You're still hesitating and worrying about gains and losses, but they have more guts than you! More guts than you and me!"
"Anyway, we don't have many decent submarines right now. By the time they have the opportunity to operate new submarines in the future, they might all have retired!"
"Why not take this opportunity to wreak havoc and let these bastards know we're not to be trifled with!"
Zhou Jianjun trembled at these words, his face turning deathly pale. He didn't immediately refute them, but instead painfully closed his eyes. Every young and passionate shout coming from inside the cabin felt like a heavy drumstick, striking his heart and making his internal organs ache.
“Old Zhao! You say I’m hesitant? You say I’m spineless? Yes! I’m scared! I’m scared to death! But I’m not scared of those damn notebooks! I’m scared of the little assets our submarine force has worked so hard to build up, and I’m scared of the future of these young soldiers in the cabin!”
"How old are they? Some of them haven't even gotten married yet!"
They are seeds! They are seedlings! They are the future backbone of our team!
If I, Zhou Jianjun, were to stand by and watch you gamble all your men on this old, crappy boat, I would be the biggest coward! I would be committing a crime against the future of this team!
"Old Zhou, I understand what you're thinking. But look—"
Zhao Gang pointed at the enemy boat that Wang Xiaohu was "pulling up radishes" and said, "It wants to run away now! Once it runs away and dives into the deep sea, what happened on this seabed today will forever remain a mystery!"
"At that point, they can come and go as they please. What dignity will our maritime borders have left? What the hell is the point of these child soldiers' enthusiasm today?!"
"The future...the future isn't something you can hide out or protect! It's something you fight for today, every single time! It's a power you establish with your bones and your blood!"
If we back down today, even if we save the boat and the people, we'll lose the soul of our team!
That would truly sever the root and cut off the lineage!