Chapter 1403: Submarine in the Kara Sea
Xiao Peng was soaking in the hot water pool with a wine glass next to him. He was drinking gin while taking a bath.
Gin can be called the 'national drink' of the Netherlands. It was born in the Netherlands, grew up in the UK, and is now the world's largest category of spirits.
Although both are called gin, there are still differences between Dutch gin and British gin. British gin is made by crushing corn, barley malt and other grains, heating, fermenting and distilling them twice; while Dutch gin is also called juniper gin. Instead of corn, they use barley malt and rye as the main raw materials, and use juniper berries for flavoring. After repeated distillation three times, the original wine is obtained, and then spices are added for distillation for the fourth time and then diluted before bottling.
British gin is generally used as the base liquor for cocktails, while Dutch gin is only suitable for pure drinking. Using it as a base liquor will destroy the aroma.
Although both are gin, drinking British gin is looked down upon in the Netherlands.
"Brother Chen, want a drink?" Xiao Peng said, "This is new wine, chilled. Two glasses will be fine!"
Gin is divided into 'new wine', 'aged wine' and 'old wine', but this distinction has nothing to do with the year but with the alcohol content. Gin is bottled by diluting the original wine. If the original wine is less than 15%, it is 'new wine'; if the original wine is more than 15% and less than 40%, it is 'old wine'; and if it is more than 40%, it is 'old wine'.
Chen Zetao jumped into the pool without hesitation, using the water to cover his body and said to Xiao Peng, "Hurry up and give me two cups! I need to drink two cups to numb myself! Mixed bathing in the Netherlands is a bit hurtful to men's pride!"
Xiao Peng was stunned, then burst into laughter: "You still care about these things at such an old age! I'm not afraid, so why should you be afraid? This is the difference between races, there's no comparison."
Chen Zetao murmured, "If I had known earlier, I would have shaved it."
After hearing this, Xiao Peng laughed even more happily and poured Chen Zetao a glass of wine.
Chen Zetao finally calmed down after drinking three glasses of wine in a row. He said, "Brother Xiao, can we have a good chat now?"
Xiao Peng nodded: "Of course."
Chen Zetao asked, "Now can you tell me why you sent the 'Calypso' back to China?"
Xiao Peng said, "Brother Chen, I think I'll go crazy if I continue like this. Haven't you noticed that even Kasin and Bruch are keeping their distance from me now?"
Chen Zetao was stunned: "What on earth happened?"
"There are no secrets on my ship!" Xiao Peng said, "I could have tolerated the drugs being stolen by my own people this time, but everyone knew about my discovery before I even got back to the Netherlands! Who can I trust now? I'm really going crazy at this rate! I didn't really care about any leaks before, after all, it would just mean a few more customers. But now someone's trying to kill me, how can I not care? The Russians have been messing with that ship for so long, I'm not sure if it's the ship or the people! So I might as well send them all back. I can get some peace and quiet for a while."
Chen Zetao suddenly asked, "Does the sudden military exercise in Russia have anything to do with you?"
Xiao Peng did not deny: "It is indeed related!"
Chen Zetao lowered his voice and asked, "What's going on?"
Xiao Peng also lowered his voice and replied, "I found a submarine in the Kara Sea. It's an American 'Ohio-class'."
"What?" Chen Zetao was shocked.
Xiao Peng said, "Keep your voice down."
Chen Zetao asked hurriedly: "What's going on?"
Xiao Peng said, "I was originally searching for shipwrecks in the southern Barents Sea, right? Then I went directly to the Arctic, but on the way there, I discovered a submarine on the seabed. It was an American 'Ohio-class' submarine."
Chen Zetao's eyes widened. "What are the Ohio-class ships doing there? Are they planning to take out the Russian Northern Fleet in one go, or just bomb Moscow?"
America's Ohio-class submarines are undoubtedly among the most powerful strategic strike submarines in the world, earning the resounding nickname "nation-annihilating nuclear submarines." They can be equipped with up to 24 Trident II submarine-launched intercontinental missiles (ICBMs) with a range of up to 11,000 kilometers! Each missile can carry eight independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), meaning a single Ohio-class submarine can theoretically carry up to 192 warheads! Truly a "nation-annihilating nuclear submarine"!
Because of their strategic importance, the Ohio-class submarines' movements are highly secretive, and they rarely make port calls. The occasional appearance is usually a modified Ohio-class submarine, such as the one that visited Korea in 2012, which carried 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles instead of nuclear missiles.
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "I don't know either. Besides, I don't know if it's the Ohio-class or the Henry-Jackson-class."
In reality, both the Ohio-class and the Henry-Jackson-class are descended from the original Ohio-class submarines. Due to ageing conditions, four of the eighteen Ohio-class submarines have been modified to become cruise missile submarines carrying conventionally guided missiles. To distinguish them, the four modified Ohio-class submarines remain the Ohio-class, while the unmodified, nuclear-armed ones are the Henry-Jackson-class. However, whether the Henry-Jackson-class is armed with nuclear missiles or the conventionally armed Ohio-class, if they lurk in the Kara Sea, they could strike Murmansk at close range and Moscow at long range! This truly intimidating effect on Russia is truly significant!
More importantly, the submarine was in the Kara Sea! That's Russian territorial waters. What were they trying to do by having an American "submarine destroyer" stay in Russia's home?
Chen Zetao asked, "Where did you find it?"
"In the eastern part of Novaya Zemlya!" Xiao Peng said.
Chen Zetao's eyes widened: "Aren't we at the doorstep of a Russian family?"
Xiao Peng nodded. "What's even more terrifying is that the Kara Sea isn't very deep, with an average depth of only a little over a hundred meters. The fact that the Ohio-class ship was able to enter it only proves that they know the seabed topography there all too well."
Submarines aren't invisible when they dive to the bottom of the ocean: at depths of 30 meters, they can be observed directly by aircraft and satellites. However, if they get too close to the ocean floor, collisions are very likely to occur. If you're not very familiar with the seabed, getting close enough is simply impossible.
This location is really too dangerous, so it is not surprising that Russia suddenly had such a big reaction.
Chen Zetao said, "American warships are constantly conducting so-called 'freedom of navigation' in the South China Sea. They're actually exploring the local seabed topography. We have to be on guard against this happening. Now that you've lost your offshore engineering vessels, what are you going to do in the future?"
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