CHAPTER 1422: ANCHORAGE IN THE MORNING OF 1339

The military ships were neatly docked at Dragon Harbor, looking absolutely majestic. Here, the remnants of the Laines Empire fleet included two heavily damaged battleships, seven cruisers, twelve destroyers, over 190 various types of transport ships, and more than 100 requisitioned civilian vessels.

These ships were spoils of the Tang Country Navy, all having surrendered, and are now stationed at the ports of the Great Tang Empire, the very ports they had once desired to attack and seize.

Blomayer, the Supreme Commander of the Laines Empire Navy, ultimately proved to be more dignified than the Emperor he served. He went down with the Laines Aircraft Carrier, without witnessing the white flags waving over his navy.

All the warships were relatively new, built in recent years. They were once the pride of the Laines Empire Navy, each imbued with the empire’s painstaking effort.

To build this massive navy, the Laines Empire nearly drained its treasury. They exhausted their steel production capacity to the point of even slowing down national development.

In this era of warship technological advancement, each warship was equipped with some new naval equipment, embodying the era’s progress and development.

For example, some newly built destroyers in the Laines Empire Navy were equipped with radars imported from the Great Tang Empire, and some even had imported original air-conditioning systems.

To meet the needs of long-range combat, destroyers evolved from the previous displacements of over 1,000 tons and 1,500 tons to over 3,000 tons, even approaching 4,000 tons.

To tackle these giants, cruisers were also forced to be built larger, with more artillery, aiming to eliminate enemy destroyers during naval engagements.

But without missile-armed guards, these warships remained vulnerable, incapable of resisting aircraft attacks, so in the end, could only hoist the white flag peacefully, being escorted here, awaiting their fate.

Each warship retained only a few dozen Laines Empire sailors, whose task was to stay on board and honestly maintain the warships, ensuring they wouldn’t become derelict due to lack of upkeep while anchored.

Tang Mo had heard of Operation Rainbow; he wouldn’t repeat the British Navy’s mistakes, he wouldn’t allow these enemy warships a chance to scuttle at his doorstep.

Although the enemy’s life or death was of no concern to him, letting these scraps of metal self-destruct in his hands would still be a negligible loss to the prestige of the Great Tang Empire.

It’s akin to a supreme martial artist, after defeating an opponent, preparing to kill them, but the opponent spits bloody phlegm onto the master’s pants... Although it doesn’t change the outcome, it disgusts the supreme martial artist.

Due to the overwhelming scale of the fleet assembled by the Laines Empire Navy this time, ultimately, hundreds of ships managed to escape.

And most of those that escaped were escort destroyers. Among these destroyers, those previously sold to the Laines Empire by Tang Country were in the majority.

These destroyers, relying on their high speed and their advantageous positions, swiftly disengaged from the battlefield, abandoning the ships they were escorting, and fled back to Laines.

Meanwhile, the main fleet at the front was attacked by the Tang Army and ultimately became captives of the Tang Country Navy. Now, they are gathered at the anchorage and form a unique spectacle.

The ammunition depots of all warships have been locked, all weapons confiscated; these vessels now possess no combat capability.

On deck, Laines sailors washing up watched in amazement as tankers moved back and forth along the lanes, astonished at the bustling activity of Dragon Island. The port here was ten times larger than they had imagined! The number of ships was also ten times more than they had imagined!

Every day, innumerable cargo and oil tankers travelled to and fro, with equipment produced here being shipped to the Great Tang Empire mainland and from there distributed all over the world.

Not only does this place produce precision machinery, but it also hosts a variety of research labs, with a third of the Great Tang Empire’s essence concentrated here, resembling a colossal treasury.

However, this treasury belongs solely to the Great Tang Empire, and no one can take it away! As long as one looks at that tremendously powerful aircraft carrier nearby, along with the missile destroyers docked around, it should be clear that not everyone is qualified to covet everything here.

Leaving Dragon Harbor, sailors from the Great Tang Empire curiously eyed the warships flying white flags. In their minds, many years ago, the Great Tang Empire Navy had already stopped producing such outdated warships.

They curiously observed the large size of these warships, with their decks crowded with various calibers of main guns, as if they were looking at a pile of antiques.

It’s truly undeniable; they were people from Dragon Harbor, who had personally witnessed the construction of missile destroyers and aircraft carriers. Asking them to comment on artillery warships was really asking a bit too much.

In their view, the giant artillery warships built by other nations’ navies were simply symbols of the outdated romanticism of war.

"Hey! Look! Isn’t that a battleship? Isn’t our Dongwan-class... already retired?" The Dragon Harbor sailors chatted casually, pointing at the dozen sailors washing up on the opposite deck.

"I’ve heard so; the gun barrels on those things were just too expensive." Another sailor nodded, revealing their insider knowledge that soon, the two Dongwan-class battleships used as guardians—in other words, the Bismarck-class battleships of the Great Tang Empire Navy—were about to retire.

These two battleships continuously supported operations during the naval battles for the landing in Mirage Country, exhausting nearly all of their stockpiled gun barrels, so they had no choice but to retire in tears.

After all, the Great Tang Empire Navy had stopped manufacturing 380mm main gun barrels long ago; they were simply too expensive, and the Great Tang Empire Navy no longer needed such weapons to ensure penetration of enemy warship armor.

As a result, the two "accomplished" battleships found themselves in an awkward position. They faced the dilemma of having no usable guns. Ultimately, the two battleships, each displacing over 40,000 tons fully loaded, had no choice but to retire and be dismantled in tears.

The Dongwan-class battleships, like the Jade City-class battleships, became history in the Tang Navy.

"Hello! Welcome to Dragon Harbor!" When the oil tanker neared the anchorage, sailors from Dragon Harbor waved to the Laines sailors, calling out loudly.

The opposite side seemed to hear their calls, raising their heads and waving in return... as if they truly were there as guests.

Little did they know, most of the Laines sailors had already been living in the POW camp on Dragon Island for several days.