The Death Knell

Being struck by a mine and sunk was indeed an embarrassing thing during World War I, because we didn’t know whether the mine was dropped by the enemy or by ourselves.

There was no sonar at that time, and the technology for charting and making mines was relatively backward. Britain and Germany invested 310,000 mines in World War I. Who knows where they were placed.

If the iron cable fixing the mine is broken, the mine will float in the current; if there is a problem with the fuse, it will explode immediately when put into the water. Even before the early days of magnetic mines, even sea turtles could be killed by mines.

There are too many problems.

The defender's port will send minelayers to lay mines in the vast waters outside the port, leaving only one channel exit, which facilitates defense and prevents enemy landing operations. The offensive side uses submarines to mine the port channels to block supply routes or delay enemy actions.

Therefore, it can only be a mystery as to which party sank Bould's ship.

Speaking of World War I, it was better. During World War II, Britain and Germany laid a total of 1.1 million mines. The British record of mines was just one sentence - they were deployed in the English Channel, the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic.

What is the difference between recording such a large scope and not recording it?

In this era, British sailors believed in a very superstitious theory, that is, if the ship is alive and the people are alive, the ship will be dead. If the ship sinks, then as a gentleman, the captain needs to sink with the ship.

The captain of the Titanic was like this, and so were the captains of countless battleships.

After Britain defeated the Spanish Armada, it became the maritime supremacy for hundreds of years. Countries that wanted to develop their navy would go to Britain to learn. Naturally, this trend has gradually affected the world, and sinking with the ship has become a trend in the naval world.

It was not until the U.S. Navy during World War II that this rule was broken.

The American approach is to rebuild the ship after it sinks, as long as the people are fine, and the Army and Air Force will never fight to the death if they can surrender.

Why? Because experienced military talents are more valuable than weapons.

From the United States' participation in World War II in 1941 to Japan's surrender in 1945, the United States launched more than 140 aircraft carriers, manufactured 40 billion rounds of various bullets, 300,000 aircraft, and 200,000 tanks in just four years.

The British army lost 500 tanks in the Battle of El Alamein in 1942, but before the troops could withdraw for repairs, the Americans had 600 brand-new Sherman tanks ready for them.

Of course, there are some problems with the design of the Sherman tank. It is called a 'mobile oven' or a 'lighter' by the soldiers. Its characteristic is that it catches fire when it is hit, and sometimes it catches fire even if it is not hit... But having a tank is better than not having one. All right?

The captains of the U.S. Navy all know that it doesn’t matter if the ship sinks. As long as you return home alive, you will be replaced with a new one. The Mingzhu Arsenal is so willful. This is the victory of production capacity.

Therefore, later on, it was no longer popular in various countries to have the boat and the people there.

But if it is 1925 now, the things in Su Ming's memory have not happened yet.

This period of time is a bit awkward. The First World War is over, but the Second World War has not yet begun. What should Su Ming do? By the way, Captain America is just 5 years old at this time, so you can go find it yourself.

Bould noticed that Su Ming was in a daze and thought he was looking at his prosthetic leg. He generously pulled up his trousers to expose some of the blackened wood to the sun.

"Originally, I planned to sink with the ship, but unfortunately one of my legs was broken in the explosion. The blood loss made me comatose. When I woke up, I had been discharged and was lying in a military sanatorium in Liverpool."

Therefore, he had no way to die gloriously as a navy captain. Even if he committed suicide again, he would only be an ordinary person, and the war had nothing to do with him.

He received his settlement allowance and crossed the ocean to Hawaii. A sailor friend once told him that this was a good place and he planned to spend the rest of his life here.

Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898, and English can also be spoken here. This isolated island in the ocean seems like a paradise, which is perfect for a frustrated old man like him.

Su Ming probably guessed what he was thinking, but as a time traveler and a person from the future, he knew that this fantasyland far away from the world would not last long.

How far is Pearl Harbor from here? 50 nautical miles? 70 nautical miles?

It won't even take that long. Once World War II breaks out, the British Navy will recruit retired petty officers to return to the army. Based on his previous official position as destroyer captain, at least the rank of major, then there will probably be new ships by then.

Being missing a leg does not affect the navy's combat effectiveness. He can even be missing an eye or a hand, and it doesn't matter.

If you replace it with an iron hook and raise a parrot or monkey, your combat effectiveness may increase.

Especially for parrots, they have to be red-haired ones with standard Caribbean accents, which will give them face.

Su Ming smiled and pulled down his trouser legs for him. This British man was just frustrated now. He actually wanted to return to the sea, but his previous attempt to die failed, which was really disorienting.

"By the way, let's not talk about the past. What is the name of this island? It's a little hard to remember in Hawaiian."

"Haha, I couldn't remember it when I first got here. This island is called Kaholaway. It is the eighth largest volcanic island in the Hawaiian Islands."

Bold smiled and wiped his beard. He had a thick straight white beard that seemed to be carefully maintained.

Very good, now Su Ming also knows his exact location.

But Kaholaway, this island is not a future tourist destination, but a place where the United States experimented with bombs after 1950.

Although the experimental atomic bomb was not here, hundreds of thousands of other types of conventional bombs were tested here until President Bush took office in 1995.

Because there is no water source on this large island, it has lost its value.

So to put it this way...

"You are the only people on this island?" Su Ming was a little curious. In Deathstroke's memory, Kaho Island was an empty island. Although historical records did say that someone once lived on it, he didn't expect that he was British.

"Yes, I bought it from your governor for two thousand pounds." Bold smiled and nodded. He liked it here, so he bought it.

Islands without fresh water are not valuable. There are tens of thousands of such islands in the Pacific. Although this island is larger, 2,000 pounds in this era is already considered a huge sum of money.

The pound is a gold-based currency, and it was still strong after World War I. One pound is equivalent to 7.3 grams of gold.

Bould looks about fifty years old now, but he should have been in his thirties or forties when he became the captain. He was too young by any reckoning. This should have something to do with his origin or family, otherwise the pension of a retired officer would definitely not be enough to buy an island.

"What about these people?"

Su Ming pointed to the people resisting things on the pier. Those people had darker skin. He originally thought they were indigenous residents.

Bold nodded: "They are my housekeepers, gardeners and hired workers. They need to buy enough food and water from Honolulu every week, otherwise they will not be able to survive on this island."

I wanted to escape from the world, but I actually brought a housekeeper and a gardener with me.

Really... good at playing.