Chapter 27 Taobao Plan

  After the audacious raid off Valletta harbour, U-21 did not continue to prowl around Malta but instead retreated under Hessen's command to the Ionian Sea in southern Italy. This was Italian Navy territory, but their merchant ships were usually unescorted by warships and there were few armed merchantmen, yet this rich hunting ground was out of reach for those Austro-Hungarian U-boats with too short a range.

  Here, Heson once again lets Zhang Hainuo see what it means to be "crazy" with reason through his actions.

  "Raise the periscope! Submarine surfacing, maintaining full speed ahead. After surfacing, gun crew to start deck guns and machine guns at maximum speed! Same old drill, first shot warning, if they try to escape or resist, give them a good pounding!"

  Hersen gave orders to the sailors on one side, and put on his black oilskin coat on the other, then took a cylindrical iron megaphone from Otis's hand.

  "Hainuo, can you speak Italian?" Hesen asked Zhang Hainuo, who was putting on his raincoat beside him.

  "I won't speak and I don't understand!" Zhang Hainuo replied truthfully to him.

  "Unfortunately..." Hessen muttered, "I can only speak a little! But that doesn't matter, cannons and torpedoes are universal all over the world!"

  Zhang Hainuo had to admit that his words were barbaric, but they made sense. Next, the two stood one in front of the other at the entrance of the passageway leading to the command tower, waiting for the submarine to surface.

  "5 meters... 3 meters... 1 meter... okay, you can go up now!"

  First Mate Wolf yelled from over by the console.

  "Action!"

  As soon as He Xin finished speaking, he had already climbed up the hatch ladder with a splash and rushed to the watertight cabin cover. Zhang Hainuo also climbed up along the vertical hatch ladder, and when he was halfway up, the icy sea water poured down from above, but he didn't have time to wipe off the water on his face before following He Xin out of the watertight cabin door.

  The air on the sea surface was still exceptionally fresh, and under the sunlight, a cargo ship flying the Italian national flag was sailing on the sea surface about 500 yards to the left of the submarine. Even without using binoculars, Zhang Hainuo could see the Italian sailors on that ship in an uproar.

  The sailors who were in charge of the deck gun had just climbed up to the deck when Hessen took his simple megaphone and shouted at the steamer. He spoke in Italian, and Zhang could not understand a single sentence, but he could guess the general meaning, which was to ask the other side to surrender, stop the ship and leave immediately by lifeboat - for the sailors on the steamer, this was a peaceful solution that did not require bloodshed when they could not escape the submarine's attack; for the military personnel on the submarine, they could sink the opponent with the deck gun without wasting torpedoes, and even "plunder" before sinking the ship. So, this was a method that both sides usually accepted willingly.

  The Italians quickly raised the white flag, the sailors began to lower the lifeboats and then rowed away from the freighter in small boats, everything was as if they had been rehearsed beforehand. After those few small boats left the freighter about fifty or sixty meters, Hessen gave the order to open fire.

  The UBIII-type submarine was equipped with a 100mm deck gun, which was a giant among the guns of submarines of the same period in various countries. However, if someone thought that this gun could be used to confront enemy torpedo boats or even destroyers, they would be greatly mistaken! First, it had only 35 calibers, belonging to a short-barreled cannon, with very limited range and accuracy; secondly, its shells were mainly ordinary high-explosive shells, and even if armor-piercing shells were equipped, the insufficient initial velocity of the shells also limited their armor-piercing capability.

  Although this deck gun is not suitable for confronting enemy warships, it is more than enough to deal with the unarmed cargo ship in front of us. The gunners on the deck are enthusiastically loading shells, firing, and reloading. At such a close distance, they don't need to aim much, and each shell can blast a hole in the hull near the waterline, which seems even simpler than regular target practice!

  Through the binoculars, Zhang Hainuo saw that the Italians on the lifeboats were looking at their own ship being hit by shells with complex expressions, helplessness, sadness, anger or numbness. Before abandoning the ship, these Italian sailors usually sent out distress signals using the radio transmitter on the ship, but how long it would take for rescue ships to arrive depended on their luck, maybe one or two hours, maybe one or two days, or even longer.

  The gunners were happily "torturing" the helpless freighter, and Hessen was not idle either. He pulled out a notebook and pen from his pocket, first writing down a set of numbers indicating longitude and latitude, then roughly sketching the outline of the freighter and its ship number, and finally adding some notes on the side. Zhang Hainuo thought he probably liked to record every battle result in this way, so he didn't pay much attention. Seeing the gunners' excited faces, he felt a bit itchy himself. Although the Sedritz had one or two rounds of live-fire training every week, they hadn't done any actual combat drills by the time he left. The deck guns here may not be as powerful as those on the big warships, but they were more fun than regular firearms, and you didn't have to worry about being counterattacked.

  However, Zhang Haino still took his responsibility as the second deputy captain in the command tower seriously - assisting observation. If a wisp of smoke appeared on the surface, it could mean that one or more Italian warships were heading this way. In that case, U21 would have to dive quickly and leave the area. With the current number of torpedoes on board, engaging in a sea ambush was difficult, especially during broad daylight.

  About 20 minutes later, the freighter finally couldn't withstand the tilt to one side, and a large amount of seawater could be seen pouring in from the broken hole at the waterline position. Hessen immediately ordered the submarine to turn around and drive to a distance of two or three thousand meters from the Italian freighter. Zhang Hai saw that the ship had turned over with its bottom up. The gunners fired several more shots at the bottom of the ship, and soon the freighter with a displacement of about 1,500 to 2,000 tons sank completely into the water, leaving only a small amount of wooden debris on the surface.

  "It's a pity that this place is too close to the Italian coast, otherwise we could have gone up to find some fresh vegetables and canned goods. If we're lucky, we might even get our hands on liquor and valuable items. According to naval regulations, half of the valuable items seized from enemy ships are handed over, while the other half is distributed among crew members according to rank! Hayno, if you become a captain in the future, you can let your crew go up to try their luck, but be sure to pay attention to the surroundings and never sacrifice the precious lives of your subordinates for something trivial!"

  Hesen said to Zhang Hainuo in a tone of an elder teaching a younger one.

  "I'll remember this!"

  "Have you ever thought about what you'll do after the war is over? Will you continue to serve in the Navy or return to your estate in Oshersleben and live a quiet life?" Hessen pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to Zhang Hainuo, and lit one for himself. From their previous casual conversation, he had already learned about some of Zhang's "family" situation, and only then did he discover that the two families had many similarities in their circumstances.

  "Is the war over?"

  Zhang Hainuo shook his head. Since his plan was vetoed by the high-level officials, he realized that the tragic history after the end of World War I would be repeated, and what could a small person like him do? What could he change?

  For these issues, Zhang Hainuo himself has not fully figured it out yet, but at least one thing is certain - he does not have Hitler's oratory skills and inciting abilities. Although to some extent this can be relied on through daily practice, personal talent is still very important. At the same time, he also lacks any political experience or techniques in this regard.

  In this case, Zhang Hainuo felt that it was unwise for him to hastily enter the chaotic political arena of post-war Germany, but he didn't know where else to go or what to do.

  Follow the "leader" to mix? Moreover, without mentioning how he gained Hitler's trust, Zhang Haino didn't even dare to confirm whether he would become a sacrifice like R?hm. The struggle for power is terrible, to survive, you must be more cunning and vicious than your opponent, but these two points Zhang Haino seems to lack.

  On the issue of "Führer", Zhang Hainuo has also thought many times, Hitler was able to let Germany rise again in the shortest time, that is an undisputed fact, but he also pushed Germany back into the depths of war, and due to his series of wrong commands led to the final collapse of the Third Reich.

  As for whether to support or oppose such a controversial figure, Zhang Hainuo felt that it was not possible to simply dismiss him, but nor could he be allowed to destroy the country. In Zhang Hainuo's mind, these things were still like a tangled ball of yarn, and wanting to untangle them was no easy task!

  "I have a plan, if you're interested, you can join in too!" Hesen looked at Zhang Hainuo with great sincerity.

  "After the war, it's inevitable that the military will be downsized and we may still be able to stay on, but for Proel, Otis and other crew members, it's hard to say. Many of them rely on their sailor's allowance to support their families, so I was thinking of starting a shipwreck salvage company after the war, buying a submarine and diving equipment, and having all U21 crew members participate. Whoever wants to invest can invest, whoever wants to go out to sea with me can go out to sea, and together we'll search for sunken ships and salvage valuable things!"

  "Hmm, that's indeed a great idea!" Zhang Haino nodded, as an experienced submarine commander, Hersen did have a big advantage in this regard.