Before the Mercury Memorial vs. Ascade showdown, let's turn back a moment a few hours before Odessa Constantine had the last moment of his life.

In the early hours of the morning, because of Valentin's interference, he was originally going to board the Ascade to do the most difficult preparations and liaison work, but he was inexplicably shot. Although this shot only hit his biceps muscle, and not even the bullet remained in his body, there is no doubt that this is not a good sign.

The events that followed proved this point, and Konstantin, who had fled to the Ascade in a hurry, was faced with a difficult choice - either to start the incident immediately or to be captured.

As the most powerful cruiser of the "uprising" ships, according to the plan previously formulated, the Ascade will be responsible for supporting the land forces with artillery fire.

Specifically, to cover their comrades in Odessa to take the batteries that controlled the harbor. As long as these batteries are captured, the matter will be more than half successful, otherwise, the rebel ships, including the Askod, will have to escape from Odessa in disarray, if they do not want to be sunk.

However, because the operation was leaked in advance, a group of pro-Red Army ships, including the Prut River, had already taken active action, and a short artillery battle disrupted all of Konstantin's plans.

Having carried out the operation in advance, they had to fight alone when the ground forces were not ready. That is, the Prut River they are too old and are not an opponent of the Ascade at all, otherwise. The outcome of the Ascade is hard to say.

It took almost an hour. The Ascade took care of the trouble-stirring Prut River. At this time, the fleet committee did not say that it was ready, but at least it was prepared. Although they still don't know whether the Ascade has defected or the Prut River, they have ordered martial law throughout the city.

This was a heavy blow to Konstantin's next plan, which was originally planned to launch a surprise attack and catch the fleet committee by surprise, but now it is good. The raid turned into a storm. However, at that time, he was still cautiously optimistic, the other ships in the harbor could no longer threaten the Ascade, and the harbor battery did not dare to fire casually for the time being because it did not know whether it was the enemy or the enemy. With the firepower of the Ascade, combined with his internal response in the city, plus Skoropatsky's 10,000-strong army, he should be able to take the harbor battery!

At that time, Constantine, who was a little stupid and naïve, left the Askid under the flicker of the beard, ready to go ashore and personally direct the combat operation. But when he landed on land, he didn't know what he was doing. What awaits him ahead will be a big pit!

What Skoropatsky's army of 10,000 is pure nothing, and this hetman sent a representative. With less than a hundred people came to support them in the capture of Odessa. As for the inner response and ambush soldiers in the city, there are no more than 1,000 people in the full battle. And because of the early exposure of the operation, these more than 1,000 people have not yet converged, and now they are divided in different places in the city of Odessa, and they cannot form a joint force at all.

It wasn't that that hurt Konstantin the most, but that the despicable bearded man left the harbor at high speed with the destroyers Lieutenant Shestakov and Lieutenant Commander Sarkin not long after he left the ship, leaving only the old gunboat Salkir and the minesweeper Dmitry Groy to support him in capturing the coastal batteries.

"I'll fuck your uncle!"

This was Konstantin's first reaction after receiving the news at that time, these two old ships would be beaten into a sieve by the coastal batteries in minutes, and it was tantamount to a fool's dream to rely on their support to take the batteries!

Anyway, Konstantin immediately understood that he had been tricked and ruthlessly abandoned. If you want to say that this guy is not stupid, seeing that things are not good, the first thing that comes to mind is not to die for the country, but to anoint the soles of his feet. It is impossible to escape from land, and now the streets are full of photos of him who are wanted, and if you want to escape through the city of Odessa, it is simply a dead end, and the only way to survive is to leave by boat!

At that time, Konstantin was still a little grateful to the hateful bearded man, at least this guy didn't take all the ships, and left him three melons and two dates. Immediately, Konstantin ordered the troops in the city to fight to the death to seize the great Odessa, firing the first shot against the tyranny of the Bolsheviks. On the other hand, the light car Jane, with a few escorts, fled in a hurry to the gunboat Salkir.

I have to say that the ability of these white army dead friends to immortalize the poor road was really taught by a master, and the bearded man pitted Konstantin, and this goods were sold to his teammates on the shore. In times of crisis, they never thought of going to the trouble together, and this was the biggest difference between the White Army and the Red Army. This group of former aristocratic and old officers, all of whom have their own ghosts, only want to take advantage of the chaos and only serve their personal interests. How could such a team succeed?

The gunboat of the Salkir slowly sailed out of the harbor, this turtle-like speed is an important reason why the Ascade abandoned it, it was too slow, it couldn't keep up with the formation at all, and staying in the formation was also a hind role, this kind of chicken ribs should be left to Konstantin to enjoy!

The actions of the Sarkir immediately attracted the attention of the coastal batteries, they had planned to intercept the Ascade, but unfortunately the cargo was running too fast, and now you lame turtle want to do it again? It's too underestimating our artillery brothers!

In an instant, the overwhelming rain of bullets fell around the Salkyl, and various water columns of different thicknesses really washed the Salkyl, including Konstantin on the bridge, one by one.

"Your Excellency, the artillery fire is too fierce, we can't move on!"

The Captain of the Sarkir meant something very clear, what he wanted to say was not to stop advancing, but to choose to surrender. Under this level of artillery fire, if the white flag is not hoisted and surrendered quickly, the coastal batteries will tear them to shreds.

"Keep going!"

Konstantin refused to surrender, and these captains and sailors surrendered, at most they went to labor camps and did hard labor. And he is different, he is a key wanted criminal in the Cheka, and if he is arrested, I am afraid there is only one way to die!

Between adventurous and tied, Konstantin would certainly choose the former. But the captain of the Salkir was not willing to take any chances. He grabbed the microphone. Ready to give the order to stop the ship and surrender. At this moment, Konstantin quickly pulled out his pistol and shot him in the brain!

Boom!

A large cloud of red and white sprayed onto the windows of the bridge, and a pungent smell filled the small bridge, and Konstantin was heard brandishing a pistol and shouting almost hysterically: "Forward!" Burn the wind! ”

In the small bridge, all the watchmen were stunned by Konstantin's madness, and no one wanted to have their heads bloom, they swallowed and foamed at the mouth and reluctantly began to carry out Konstantin's orders.

In the next few minutes, there was a rather thrilling scene in the port of Odessa. A clumsy gunboat, like a stupid goose, scurrying left and right between barrages, staggering and stubbornly limping in the direction of the open sea, quite respectable in spirit, but the behavior is really not worth learning.

Because all its efforts were in vain, even if it managed to dodge the rain of bullets again and again, everyone knows that it is only a matter of time before it is destroyed.

The destruction of the Salkir was sooner and more sudden than others had imagined, one moment it was rejoicing in the thrilling passing of the shells, and the next moment. There was a violent explosion in its hull. A 203-mm grenade weighing more than a hundred kilograms pierced near the chimney and exploded brilliantly between its boiler compartment and coal bunkers.

Scattered shrapnel and blast waves of explosions. It pierced through the interior compartment of the Salkir as easily as a piece of paper, and the severed limbs and various pieces of minced meat were burned to smoke, and the flames and hot water vapor filled the inside of the cabin, and it was not long before the gunboat was consumed.

And to the people on the coast, the Salkir, which had been staggering and limping, seemed to have been stumbled with a stick or tripped over a horse rope. The hull of the ship shook, and then castration was completely lost, and it made a 180-degree bend on the surface of the sea, and then slowly stopped, and could only follow the waves.

The Salkir broke down, but his disaster was not over, the coastal battery did not care whether it was badly damaged or not, and the Maozi artillerymen, who were very excited, seemed to have found the goal of venting the depression of 1917, and frantically stuffed the barrel with shells, armor-piercing shells and grenades of various calibers as if they didn't want money, and smashed them towards the Salkyl.

In less than three minutes, the Salkir was in tatters, the chimney and mainmast had long since fallen, and the rudder had been broken. The middle of the hull was hit like honeycomb coal by small and medium-caliber rapid-fire guns, and as the sea water slowly poured in, the old gunboat also sank into the hull little by little.

In the desolate bridge, behind shards of glass and twisted planks, a bloodied Konstantin struggled to get up. One of his legs had been severed by shrapnel, and only half of Bai Sensen's broken bones remained in his right hand with the gun, and half of his hair had been scorched from the original golden butter and meticulous arrangement.

I have to admire this cargo, since he is injured like this, since he is not dead, it seems that his plan is to prepare to struggle to escape from the bridge, and prepare to abandon the ship and flee for his life like those sailors on the deck. The bridge that had once been tall had now been twisted, and the violent explosion had completely twisted the small steel box, which was blown by the wind with a harsh creaking sound.

Probably God didn't want to see this cargo alive, and the extreme twisting made the hatch completely stuck, even if Konstantin tried to open the door. As the blood drained, he inevitably began to feel dizzy, and before he fell unconscious, he struggled to escape through a window full of glass shards.

Unfortunately, he had no strength left, and when his left hand climbed up the window wall, it was dark in front of him, and he fell...... The sea slowly poured into the bridge, and the icy sea water somewhat restored Konstantin to his senses, and in the last days of his life, he did not repent or repent, but cursed with all his strength those who "framed" him - the bearded, Nikolai, Skoropatsky......

Perhaps in Konstantin's opinion, he was tricked by the above three people, and there was never a 10,000-strong response force, and these people just wanted to kill him. It should be said that this perception is not entirely correct, the above three goods really wanted to kill him, but the strategy force still existed, but not in response to his uprising in Odessa, but in response to Nikolai's seizure of Sevastopol's battery.

The narrow stretch of Sevastopol was a literal fortress, and the city was firmly controlled by the batteries on the coastal heights, and any attempt to break through the blockade of the batteries and rush into or flee the city would be punished with the most severe sanctions. Late at night on April 29, 1918. The Black Sea Fleet has tasted sanctions.

By order of Lenin. The Black Sea Fleet attempted to escape from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk. But under the premise that the northern highland batteries were controlled by the Germans, the forced departure from the port was nothing short of a big gamble. A large number of ships were destroyed in this operation, such as the aforementioned destroyer Fury, and only a few escaped from Sevastopol in disarray.

And now, in order to prevent the counter-revolutionaries from plotting against the Black Sea Fleet, the Fleet Committee has firmly controlled all the batteries in the city, and any ships that do not obey the order will be directly destroyed. If the threat of the port batteries could not be lifted, even the most hardcore counter-revolutionaries of the Black Sea Fleet would not dare to make a mistake.

Nikolai also knew the importance of the capture of the fort. From the very beginning, he devised a meticulous plan to neutralize the threat of the fort. Of course, the first choice to neutralize the threat of the fort was not to use force, and at all times, Nikolai believed that brute force should not be used when it was possible to solve the problem with wisdom.

"Listen, when we go in, we must be careful not to cause too much confusion, and don't give them time to consult their superiors, my request is to be quick and decisive. Just like surgery, solve the problem delicately! ”

Nikolai glanced in the direction of the Sevastopol telegraph and telephone office. The last one warned his subordinates: "Obey my commands, and do not act recklessly!" ”

After explaining all this, he took a deep breath, tidied up his appearance, and saw that there were no flaws, until he couldn't find any fault with everything, and then he took the lead in entering the telegraph and telephone bureau.

"I'm sorry, comrade. This is a military forbidden place, please leave ......"

Niko stretched his hand and took out his document and handed it over, "I am a special commissioner of the NKVD, and I came on business by order of Ivanov, the head of the fleet committee and the local Cheka. Please take me to your leader! ”

The receptionist took Nikolai's papers with some confusion, the shield and the sword were indeed the NKVD's, and there was no mistake in the signature and stamp on them. But the receptionist still looked at it carefully, carefully examined the documents, and compared them with the face in front of him little by little.

For a while, the atmosphere was a little solemn, and the guards brought by Nikolai involuntarily began to get nervous, and some people even had the idea of pulling out their guns. Fortunately, the receptionist quickly returned the documents to Nikolai and said with a smile: "It turned out to be a comrade of the NKVD, please come with me!" ”

These words immediately relieved everyone, including Nikolai, to tell the truth, this document was remade, and the original one, which had been done in Petrograd, was scrapped because of the Svoboda relationship. He had to take down his original photo, and after asking Leerwin to help him change his appearance, he made a new photo and pasted it. To tell the truth, it's not perfect, and it's hard to say whether you can get through the tricks.

Led by the receptionist, Nikolai ascended to the third floor and met the director, "Comrade Director," Nikolai said in a similar manner, "according to the orders of the fleet committee and the Cheka, my men and I will take over the work of the telephone bureau, please cooperate!" ”

As he spoke, Nikolai handed over another fake document, and of course, before that, he had not forgotten to give his people a look, signaling them to force their actions as soon as the director did not obey.

The director took the document, carefully read it three times from beginning to end, and then raised his head and said, "Wasn't the previous order like this?" Isn't it ......"

Before he could finish speaking, one of Nikolai's guards decisively drew his gun and opened fire, and with a gunshot, the director fell head-on, blood and brains spraying all over the wall.

"Idiot, who told you to shoot!" Nikolai turned around and gave the man a mouthful.

"But he ......"

"I will convince him," said Nikolai angrily, "I told you long ago that you are not allowed to do it without my orders!" Damn it! Act now, seal off this building, and don't let anyone leave! ”

Fortunately, Nikolai's luck was good, although the loud gunfire caused the staff of the telephone office to be vigilant, but his men still easily controlled this key node.

"Don't make this mistake again next time," Nikolai said in a rejoicing but still angry way, "Next time, I will shoot you directly!" Now, immediately send a telegram to Skoropatsky and tell him to hurry up and move closer to Sevastopol! ”

As he spoke, he walked out quickly, but after just taking two steps, he turned his head and said, "Take care of the people here, don't make any more trouble for me!" ”

One hundred and thirty kilometers east of Sevastopol, off the coast, a small formation has been anchored in this sea for some time. On the largest ship, the captain in the fezer hat had begun to walk impatiently back and forth, and every once in a while he would ask the telegraph operator, and if he didn't get the news he wanted, he would lash out.

"Captain, Skoropatsky is calling, GGG!"

These three letters immediately brought the captain to his senses, and according to his agreement with Skoropatsky, these three letters represented GOGOGO, which meant that he could start the action.

He snatched the telegram, swept it quickly, and then crumpled it into a ball and threw it so hard that his hysterical roar could be heard throughout the bridge: "Anchor, full speed, sail to Sevastopol!" (To be continued......)

PS: Bow again and thank you for the second kill Comrade Potato!