The position of the East China Government's evacuation fleet was radioed by British reconnaissance ships to the British Far East Fleet base in Singapore every two hours.

Vice Admiral Owen, commander of the Far East Fleet, was also very happy after receiving the news, believing that he had complete control over the whereabouts of the evacuation fleet, but he did not know that in fact, all his plans had actually been discovered by the KPA. So Vice Admiral Owen immediately ordered the fleet to depart, sail out of the base, and assemble in the waters of the Natuna Islands, ready to intercept the evacuation fleet.

Now the Far Eastern naval fleet of Great Britain includes:

Battleship detachment: 6 old man star battleships Old Star, Giant, Ocean, Glory, Revenge, and England, and 2 centurion-class second-class battleships Centurion and Baller;

Cruiser detachments, Edgar-class protective cruisers, Edgar, Royal Arthur, Grafton, Monmouth-class armored cruisers, Monmouth, Bedford, but although the Monmouth class was classified as an armored cruiser by the British Navy, it can actually only be regarded as a strengthened protective cruiser, that is, a protective cruiser with increased waterline armor, which is similar to the situation of the Qingzhou-class protective cruiser of the East China government, but according to the definition of the British Navy, as long as it is equipped with waterline armor, it is an armored cruiser.

1st Destroyer Detachment, USS Swordfish, USS Spitfire, USS Rocket, USS Shark

Second Destroyer Detachment, USS Sparrowhawk, USS Thresher Shark, USS Seal, USS Wolf

In addition, there are 5 reconnaissance and notification ships, a total of 26 warships, and the flagship is the old man's asterisk.

The British Far East Fleet left the base at 10 o'clock in the afternoon, and at 6 o'clock in the morning of the next day, it reached the sea area between Natuna Island and Subi Island, and in the southeast of Subi Island, it was the Sierra Strait through which the evacuation fleet must pass, and it was also the battlefield where Owen planned to ambush the evacuation fleet.

According to the report of the reconnaissance ship, the position of the evacuation fleet at this time was in the sea area of Siwu Port in the west of Poyi Island, about 200 kilometers away from the Sierra Strait, and at the current speed of the evacuation fleet, it would take about 8-10 hours to reach the Sierra Strait, so the British Far East Fleet still had plenty of time to rest, so Owen ordered the soldiers and ships on duty last night to rest, and then change shifts at 12 o'clock at noon, and by 1 o'clock in the afternoon, all the troops would assemble and prepare for battle.

Although there was nothing to do during this time, Owen was not idle, but sat at his desk, on which was laid a nautical chart, and Owen held a magnifying glass, a scale, and a pencil to constantly compare on the chart, and at this time, the reconnaissance ship's briefing time was increased to once an hour, and after each briefing, Owen would mark the new location of the evacuation fleet on the map.

For the Far Eastern Fleet, the most ideal way to fight is to take advantage of the complex terrain of these sea areas to launch an attack from the flank and rear of the evacuated overseas fleet, and take the evacuated fleet by surprise, but such an attack tactic is difficult to achieve in a naval battle, but even if it is a head-on battle, Owen also believes that he has at least about a seventy percent chance of winning.

As the minutes passed, the reconnaissance ships continued to transmit the movements of the evacuation fleet to the Far East Fleet, and by 12 noon, the evacuation fleet was in the waters of Kuching, about 120 kilometers from the Serasan Strait.

Owen nodded, it was still about 3-4 hours before he arrived, when the adjutant came to inform him that it was time for lunch. Owen left his office and went to the dining room.

The British Navy has a long tradition that the captain has his own special dining room, and there can be a band playing music for himself during the meal, and the old man is the flagship of the Far East Fleet, so the fleet commander and the captain share a dining room. By the time Owen arrived at the dining room, Rear Admiral Snow Hamilton, the captain of the Old Man Superstar, was already seated at the table.

Today's lunch was very rich, bread, chicken, steak, grilled fish, vegetables, green beans, etc., and a bottle of red wine.

Owen and Hamilton sat down across from each other, the adjutant poured red wine for the two, and Hamilton said, "Your Excellency, when will the KPA fleet arrive?" ”

Owen took a sip of red wine and said, "It's expected to be around 4 o'clock." ”

Hamilton sliced the grilled fish and said, "Is it so late? Then there's only two or three hours left for the battle." ”

Owen nodded and said, "Yes, do you think it is possible for us to defeat the KPA fleet in 2-3 hours?" As he spoke, Owen forked a piece of steak with a fork and put it in his mouth, and said, "Today's steak is fried well, and the heat is just right." ”

Hamilton swallowed the fish, scooped himself another spoonful of green beans, and said: "I think it is still possible to defeat the fleet of the People's Army, but in 2-3 hours, I am afraid it will be difficult to inflict heavy losses on them, they can at least drag out the war until dark, and then rely on the cover of night to retreat from the battlefield." ”

Owen said: "Oh, you have a high opinion of the combat effectiveness of the People's Army Navy. ”

Hamilton said: "Three years ago, I saw the battle between the KPA Navy and the Dutch Navy, although the Dutch Navy was not very strong in combat, but Bi Jing had 7 warships, while the KPA Navy only had two warships at that time, their warships were very good, and the training level of the crew was also very high, and the result was that these two warships defeated the Dutch Navy. ”

Owen nodded, put down his glass, and said: "2 warships against 7 warships, and being able to defeat, this is indeed not an easy thing, and the KPA's navy also won the Battle of Tsushima, so it must have considerable combat effectiveness." It's really hard to hit them hard in 2-3 hours. Unless we can find the attack on the KPA Navy. ”

Hamilton said: "I'm afraid this kind of opportunity is not easy. ”

Owen said: "Yes, then we don't wait here, but take the initiative to meet it, so that we can have an extra 1-2 hours, do you think it is enough?"

Hamilton drank all the wine from the glass, put the wine glass on the table, and said, "That should be about the same, but in this way, we will have to fight head-on with the KPA Navy, and even if we can severely damage the KPA fleet, I am afraid that we will have considerable losses." ”

Owen waved his hand and said, "We can afford this loss, and what those people at 10 Downing Street need now is a major victory so that they can account for it at home." So it was decided, at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, all the warships assembled, and at half past 1 o'clock, set off to meet the fleet of the People's Army. Be prepared. ”

Hamilton said, "Yes." ”

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, all the crews of all the warships of the Far East Fleet were assembled in place, and the warships began to re-line, but to Owen's surprise, the news of the reconnaissance ship that was supposed to come at 1 o'clock was almost half past one, but it had not yet been received, Owen ordered the communication personnel to send a telegram to inquire, but the reconnaissance ship in charge of the node replied that they had lost contact with the reconnaissance ship of the Far East Fleet.

Owen also suddenly had a sense of foreboding in his heart, but after hesitating for more than 1 minute, Owen still ordered the fleet to set off and go north to meet the fleet of the People's Army. Because at this time, the fleet has been rearranged and is ready to meet the people's navy, and if the order is changed at this time, it will be a big blow to the morale of the whole army.

After about 30 minutes, the Far Eastern Fleet sailed out of the Sierra Strait and headed north along the west coast of Po Yi Chau, where it encountered a reconnaissance ship responsible for the relay node, and 25-30 kilometers in front of this reconnaissance ship, there was also a reconnaissance ship responsible for the relay node, but this warship also lost contact.

Owen's bad feeling in his heart is also stronger, in fact, the loss of news of the reconnaissance ship is a common thing in naval battles, because once the enemy fleet discovers the reconnaissance ship, it will inevitably pursue and kill it, but now the reconnaissance ship is equipped with radio equipment, even if it is attacked by the enemy fleet, it can always send the signal first, and it will never disappear silently. Therefore, Owen even had an idea in his heart, and ordered the fleet to turn around immediately and return to the base.

However, Owen soon denied this idea himself, because Owen really wanted to make such a decision, and it was estimated that he would not be far from being removed. So Owen took a deep breath and ordered the fleet to continue sailing.

The fleet traveled for about half an hour, and the Ocean on the left flank sent a signal to spot the warship. Owen immediately ordered the reconnaissance ship to rush to inspect it, and 30 minutes later, he received a telegram from the reconnaissance ship, confirming that it was the fleet of the People's Army. This was also the last time that the Far Eastern Fleet used radio communication, because the radio communication equipment on the warship did not work, and only the current murmur of "zez" could be heard in the headphones.

In fact, the evacuation fleet had already discovered the Far East Fleet, and when it sailed through the waters of Kuching, about 120 kilometers away from the Sierra Strait, the Yueyang ship released a drone and discovered the Far East Fleet in the waters southwest of Subi Island. So Wang Hailong ordered to first take the radio of the British reconnaissance ship, and then send warships to rush, and finally sank one reconnaissance ship and expelled two.

Originally, Wang Hailong planned not to go through the Strait of Serasan, but to pass between Natuna Island and Subi Island and attack the Far East Fleet from behind. The Far East Fleet actually took the initiative to move north, and drove towards the evacuation fleet, and the attack was no longer possible. Of course, the evacuation fleet can adopt a big roundabout tactic by distancing itself from the Far East Fleet, interspersing with each other, and then turning around and catching up from behind the Far East Fleet to attack.

However, this will take too long, and Owen hopes to allow a little more time to severely damage the evacuated overseas Chinese ships; Wang Hailong also has the same idea, the Yueyang ship has all-weather combat capability, but other warships of the People's Army do not, so once it enters the night battle, it will also be unfavorable to the People's Army, and the variables are too great, Wang Hailong does not want to fight such a battle that mainly depends on luck.

In addition, there were 16 transport ships in the evacuation fleet, and these ships were slow and poorly maneuverable, and could not keep up with the fleet's great roundabouts, and if they were anchored in other positions, they would have to set aside some warships to protect them, which also weakened the fleet's combat effectiveness.