Ouyang Longxing and Gao Jin went on a blind date, and Luo Yue did not participate in the marriage, because he had already left for Borneo. And just when the two were preparing to hold their wedding, the visiting fleet of East China's ** to Japan also set off from Qingdao and sailed to Japan. This is also the second time that China has sent a fleet to Japan since 1886, when the Beiyang Navy Division visited Japan.

The distance from the route from Jiandao to Nagasaki is about 1,000 kilometers, and the four warships in East China are all high-speed warships, and the maximum speed of the formation can reach more than 22 knots per hour, of course, it is not a time of war, so the fleet is traveling at an economic speed of 15-16 knots, and it only takes about 45 hours to reach Nagasaki, less than two days, so the fleet departed from Qingdao at 12 noon, and at about 7 o'clock in the morning of the third day, the fleet arrived at Japan's territorial waters and informed Japan of the position of the fleet by radio.

And at about 8:30, Japan sent the Chitose protective cruiser to meet the fleet of the East China ** Fleet. And the East China ** fleet played a welcome banner.

The Chitose protective cruiser is an improved version of the meritorious warship Yoshino of the Sino-Japanese War, there are 2 ships of the same class, and the other is the Kasaki, both warships have participated in the Battle of Tsushima, but relying on their high speed, they escaped from the battlefield, and now they are the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet, second only to the battleships Kashima and Katori who have just entered the ranks twice and the armored cruisers Hyuga and Iwate who also escaped from the battlefield of the Battle of Tsushima, so sending this warship to meet the fleet of East China ** can be regarded as showing the importance of the Japanese side.

The two sides exchanged flags and exchanged radio exchanges, and the Chitose sailed into Nagasaki Bay and lowered its speed to 12 knots. At the same time, the Chitose also sent a liaison group to the fleet of the East China **, which was responsible for direct communication between the Japanese side and the East China ** fleet. This is also a common practice in fleet visits, so Xia Ruichen did not refuse.

About half an hour later, the Japanese liaison team boarded the flagship Jinan, and Xia Ruichen, together with deputy commanders Lei Meng and Yang Lixin, met them in the conference room of the Jinan.

The liaison team consisted of four people, led by a captain officer, an interpreter, and two non-commissioned officers, all dressed in white military uniforms, and the captain officer was not very old, about 25 years old, quite thin, and should be more than 1.7 meters tall, which is already considered tall in Japan.

After meeting, the captain officer first saluted the three of them and said, "Down there is the Combined Fleet War Room, Captain Staff Officer Takano Fifty-six, please give me a lot of advice." This time, I will serve as the liaison officer of the Chinese fleet, and I will do my best to meet your needs if there are any requests from your fleet during your visit to Japan. ”

Xia Ruichen was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously said, "What's your name." ”

The captain's officer was obviously a little surprised, but he replied, "It's called Takano Fifty-Six." ”

The three of them exchanged glances with each other, obviously thinking of going together, because the name of the three of them was the same as another person in the old plane, Yamamoto Fifty-six. It is very common for Japanese people to have numbers in their names, but they usually have words like "Lang" and "Soldier" after the numbers, and it is not often that pure numbers are used as personal names, and the numbers in the two names are exactly the same, so the three of them have such associations.

In fact, the speculation of the three people did not, Takano Fifty-six is Yamamoto Fifty-six, his real surname is Takano, born in 1884 in Nagaoka City, northwest of Niigata Prefecture, Japan, ranked seventh in the family, because his father Takano Sadayoshi was fifty-six years old at the time of birth, so he was named Fifty-six, and because his mother's maiden family had no heirs, he inherited his mother's surname in 1913 and changed his name to Yamamoto Fifty-six. Although Xia Ruichen and others are no strangers to Yamamoto Fifty-six, their understanding of Yamamoto Fifty-six's deeds is mainly concentrated in the World War II period, and at most they know that Yamamoto Fifty-six is a skilled gambler, but they don't know the history of his name.

In 1901, at the age of 17, he was admitted to the 32nd class of the Etajima Naval Academy with a second place score, and graduated in 1904 with a seventh place as a second lieutenant on the armored cruiser Hinata, and participated in the later Far Eastern War, in the Battle of Tsushima, he was seriously wounded, and his left index and middle finger were blown off, leaving him with a lifelong disability. However, luckily escaped the battlefield with the Hyuga and survived.

After the end of the war, the Japanese Navy was rebuilt, and most of the middle and lower-level officers with rich combat experience died in the Tsushima battlefield, so although Takano Isoroku was young, he was born in the navy and had excellent grades in school; second, he had actual combat experience, so he became a young officer trained by the Japanese Navy, so he was promoted two levels in less than three years, and now he is a captain, five years faster than in the old time and space, and serves as an operational staff officer in the operations room of the United Fleet. Moreover, after this visit, he will enter the Japanese Naval University for further study, and basically book a position in the future top of the Japanese Navy.

After all, the Japanese Navy regards the East China Fleet as a lifelong enemy, and in fact, the whole of Japan now generally believes that the victory in the Far East War belongs to Japan and is East China Stole Japan's victory, the navy was naturally deeply affected, because it was a middle- and lower-level officer, and was even more convinced of this consensus, the Battle of Tsushima was indeed the first defeat between Japan and Russia, when Japan's victory was in sight, the fleet of East China ** suddenly entered the war, and as a result, it annihilated the Japanese and Russian navies in one fell swoop, and obtained sea supremacy, thus laying the foundation for victory in the Far East War. Therefore, the middle- and lower-ranking officers of the Japanese Navy gritted their teeth and hated East China when they mentioned it, and they were full of complaints about Japan's implementation of the policy of détente with East China and even friendship with East China, and naturally they were unwilling to serve as liaison officers of the East China Fleet.

However, Takano Fifty-six's view is different from most people, he believes that although in the Battle of Tsushima, the fleet of East China ** is indeed a surprise attack, but this does not mean that the battle of East China ** is not the Japanese combined fleet, because in the later battle of the Taiwan Strait, the fleet of East China ** is in a head-on battle, and it is undisputed that almost all of the expeditionary fleet that is much stronger than the combined fleet is annihilated, which also proves that East China ** The strength of the fleet is actually far superior to that of the combined fleet, and even if the two sides fight on a level playing field, the outcome is unlikely to change. As for the sneak attack tactics adopted by the fleet of the East China ** without declaring war, Takano Fifty-six also thinks that there is nothing wrong with it, because the soldiers, the tricks, as long as it is for the final victory, can be unscrupulous, not to mention that Japan has not done anything less in this kind of thing.

After all, after the Far East War, Japan's vitality was greatly damaged and it needed a temporarily stable external environment to recover, and it was naturally unwise to continue to confront East China at this time. However, Takano Fifty-six also knows that the détente between Japan and East China is only temporary, and sooner or later there will inevitably be a war, because one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, and there can only be one country that can rise in the Far East, either China or Japan, and it is impossible to coexist, so if Japan wants to become a world power, it must defeat China after being unwilling to be a man.

This time, Takano 56 took the initiative to ask to serve as the liaison officer of the East China ** fleet, hoping to get in close contact with the naval officers and warships of the East China **, understand the situation, and collect information, because when the time comes for the decisive battle between Japan and East China** again, Takano 56 should have become the backbone of the Japanese Navy, so it is necessary to start preparations now.

Although he had some doubts in his heart, he still had to make a show on the surface, and Xia Ruichen also returned the salute and said, "Captain Gao Ye, then during this time, I will trouble you." ”

Gao Ye Fifty-six said: "There, there, these are all responsibilities that should be fulfilled under the Order, and it is also an honor to be the liaison officer of your fleet." During the visit of your fleet to Japan, General Zai accompanied your fleet throughout the whole process, and I hope that the visit of your fleet to Japan will be a complete success. ”

Yang Lixin smiled and said, "Thank you for your good words, but has the American fleet arrived?" ”

Takano Fifty-six said: "I arrived three days ago, but one of the detachments visited Tokyo first, and only arrived in Nagasaki yesterday to join the Grand Fleet. Upon hearing the news of your fleet's arrival in Nagasaki today, we have prepared a welcome dinner to welcome your fleet. ”

Xia Ruichen said: "Then Captain Gao Ye, during this time, do you plan to live on our warship or on the shore?"

Takano Fifty-six said: "If it is possible, I hope to live on a warship, so that it will be more convenient for your fleet to communicate with our country." ”

Xia Ruichen said: "Yes, but the conditions on the warship are very poor, and you can only arrange a four-person room, Captain Gao Ye, please bear with me." ”

Seeing that Xia Ruichen agreed in one bite, Gao Ye Fifty-six couldn't help but be overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "It's okay, I'm also a member of the navy, and I've long been used to life on a warship." ”

Xia Ruichen nodded and said, "Okay, then I will arrange a room for you immediately, and you can be on the warship tonight." Then he asked for them to be taken to their rooms to rest.

After Takano Fifty-Six and the others left, Lei Meng immediately said, "Do you think this kid is the Yamamoto Fifty-Six?"

Yang Lixin said: "I think the eight achievements are that he is now in his 20s, and by the time of World War II, he was in his 50s, which is the right age." However, this matter has to be confirmed again, and I will send a telegram back later, so that the family can check the details of Yamamoto Fifty-six. ”

Lei Meng said again: "Lao Xia, why did you leave this kid on the warship, aren't you afraid that he will collect intelligence?"

Xia Ruichen said: "What are you afraid of, there are no unsightly secrets on our warship, what he wants to see, just let him see it." ”