At noon in the morning, after the flag was raised by the cruiser Lichun, a signal flag was raised on the signal mast, and the order that people were waiting for nervously was issued -- "Set sail on time!"

Li Di, dressed in a white navy summer suit and wearing a staff ribbon, stood on the bridge of the Lichun and watched the ships of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron. Tons of Type II drench patrol boats began to anchor. The anchor ropes splashed with white water, and the mud on the surface of these arm-thick anchor cables was washed away by the water splash when they passed through the anchor chain holes. The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron then set sail, followed by the 3rd Squadron of Special Boats, the 5th Squadron of Special Boats, the 1st Gunboat Squadron, and the 2nd Gunboat Squadron...... The Ocean Fleet finally set sail to the battlefield where the Senate was about to decide the fortunes of the Senate.

As the fleet sailed out of anchorage, the troops stationed in Hong Kong and those who had left a little later excitedly bid farewell to the First Fleet, and the sailors cheered and waved their hats along the ship's railings. Accompanied by the music of "March of the Warships", the sailors of the First Fleet who stood on the slope also waved goodbye to them; Everyone was beaming. Everyone believes that they are about to enter the battle for a brilliant victory.

No one had the slightest doubt about victory, and the commissioning of the Lichun was a great shock not only to ordinary natives and naturalized people, but also to all naval personnel - the Lichun was the largest ship ever built, with an iron-boned body, huge main guns, chimneys emitting black smoke and white gas, and huge waves splashing during the trial at full speed in the strait, which not only once again showed off the strength of the Senate, but also made them understand that the Senate was capable of repeating their miracles in industry, rather than a few "magic weapons" that could not be replicated This miracle is something that no one can match.

The north shore of the Virgen Bay is still under the rule of the Ming Dynasty and has not been blatantly included in the territory of the Hong Kong Agricultural Reclamation Unit, but the entire bay is already an out-and-out "inner lake for Australians". The Ming army never entered the Virgen Bay, and indigenous fishing boats that wanted to fish in the bay had to apply for a permit at the Hong Kong Commercial Station. and pay a 20% physical catch tax.

Under the constant patrols and "persuasion" of the Hong Kong Detachment of the Coast Guard, the coastal merchant ships and cargo ships heading to Guangzhou and the Pearl River valley no longer enter the Pearl River estuary, but dock in Hong Kong for trade. At the commercial pier near Central, there are masts like a forest. The deserted bay, where there used to be only a handful of fishing boats, has become busy.

Sailing slightly northerly to get around North Point, the Lichun sailed briskly at a sail speed of 6 knots and sailed along the coast, with a view of Battery Hill from the deck. A puff of white smoke rose from the hill's battery, followed by the rumbling of cannons—the salutes fired by the coastal artillerymen.

The auxiliary cannon of the Lichun also returned the salute. The morning clouds gradually dispersed, and the sun shone through the calm blue sea. Gusts of wind swept across the deck of the Lichun, making people feel refreshed.

In order to pass through the Lei Yue Mun waterway, the 27 ships of the First Fleet lined up in a long row, separated by 1,000 meters, like a naval parade. Steam-powered ships sailed on sails, just maintaining the pressure of the boilers.

Soon. More than a dozen fishing cooperatives awaiting the tide appeared on the starboard side, and fishermen waved to them in cheers. On the port side, the rice paddies of the Kowloon Peninsula turn golden – thanks to the Heaven and Earth Society – heralding the arrival of autumn. The number of green leaves along the coast. Against the hazy background of green hills, it is even more striking.

Not far from the shore, a Type 601 paddle steamer tugboat spitted black smoke and dragged a string of barges to the sea. After a while, when the bridge looked out over Cha Guoling, the string of barges was far behind.

Tugboats perform many tasks in Hong Kong, one of which is to tow various supplies purchased from Guangzhou onto barges to Hong Kong. This heavy and slow water train is now a great spectacle at the mouth of the Pearl River.

As the fleet continued to sail, the Coast Guard's small patrol boats, spewing black smoke, suddenly passed by the outside, and they were carrying out patrol and raid duties. Guarantee the absolute hegemony of the Senate at the mouth of the Pearl River.

Li Di looked at all this, and his memories of the old time and space were almost completely incompatible—in the old time and space. He has been to Hong Kong more than once, but the original state of dense high-rise buildings, busy streets and docks in front of him feels very strange to him, and he can't help but reminisce about the past. Suddenly, the signalman interrupted his memories by loudly recalling the password through the microphone.

At this time, all the senior officers of the command of the First Fleet. As well as the captain of the Rikharu and his staff, they were all concentrated on the bridge, because the regulations stipulated that when passing through the narrow waterway, the ship's personnel must be in their respective positions.

As soon as the signal chief's signal sounded, four signal flags were raised on the small signal mast behind the bridge command post. The first signal flag is a command to change formation. Since they had now passed through the narrowest part of the waterway, it was not necessary to look at the other three signal flags to conclude that the order was given to the ships to form themselves in normal sailing formation.

At the top of the signal mast, the flag of the Rear Admiral of the Chief Adviser of the First Fleet and the flag of Commodore Li Di were fluttering -- Li Di's military rank was only lieutenant colonel, but he was the chief of staff of the First Fleet, and the nominal commander of the fleet could fly the commodore flag.

Suddenly, the ship's megaphone announced: "The passage of the Liyumun waterway is complete!" Put away the tools! Back to normal deployment! ”

In order to enjoy the coast that is gradually moving away, people in white military casual clothes and blue overalls begin to flock to the front and rear decks. About a dozen boiler soldiers, who had just been handed over, came to the bow deck, took off their shirts, went shirtless with the sound of the corporal's whistle, and began to do gymnastics.

Li Di also left the bridge and came to the "balcony deck" behind the bridge, which was a place for officers to rest on the deck, with wrought-iron handrails, teak decks, and cast-iron fixed tables and chairs. The tonnage of the Lichun was not enough to install a captain's balcony at the stern, so such an area was set up behind the bridge.

He sat down in his chair and looked out over the sea—a rare place where the wind and the sun were so beautiful and the weather was pleasant.

Li Ziping, the captain of the Lichun, walked down from the bridge and also came to the deck. He sat down in a chair beside him, lit a cigarette casually, and said:

"Still used to it?"

Li Di was notoriously seasick - despite his insistence on becoming a navy, he continued to be seasick. When I went out to sea with 154, I vomited painfully. Later, during the trial voyage after the completion of the Fubo, he was once again carried off the ship. Therefore, in the end, he could only settle in the position of chief of staff of the Navy and director of the harbor, and he did not need to sail to the sea, either in his own or part-time position. But senior naval officers who cannot sail to the ocean know that they are a "disgrace to the navy" without being told by others.

For this reason, Li Di spent a lot of time doing adaptive training, using equipment to exercise his sense of balance, and often striving for the opportunity to go to sea, and he exercised for more than a year and was much stronger than before.

"It feels good right now. I think it's going to be okay this time. ”

"The wave height is less than 1.2 meters, which is typically calm. When I enter the ocean, I am afraid it will not be so calm. Li Ziping said, "And if you want to sail on a continuous axis, I don't know if you can withstand it when the time comes?" ”

"No problem." Li Di said stupidly, "There may be a little seasickness, but it's not in the way." He changed the subject, "You are very busy with the joint training of the whole ship." ”

"Enough! It has only been more than two months since Lichun handed over the ship to the sea, and it is simply impossible to form combat effectiveness. We had to train while sailing -- anyway, we had strong firepower and speed, and as long as we didn't let the enemy fight in close proximity, we wouldn't suffer a loss. ”

"Speaking of which, the quality of your sailors and department chiefs is probably not as strong as that of the spy boats -- there are quite a few old fur seals, at least they are first-class good at navigating ships."

Li Di's zuihou sentence touches on an unpleasant issue. In order to ensure the "absolute safety" of the Lichun, all the "unreliable" naturalized civilian sailors were eliminated in the formation of sailors and department chiefs, many of whom were junior officers and sergeants who were pirates, and were rejected because of the short naturalization period and low political rating.

Li Ziping said: "I am very much opposed to this kind of practice of first looking at political reliability -- a certain degree of vigilance should be gained, but unlimited quantitative management is too much......

Li Di agreed, but he declined to comment. Quantitative management is what Mr. Wen "talks about every day, always talks", and he wants to implement the I system to all aspects. Political scoring and reliability rating are all systems created under the banner of quantitative management, and it is unwise to openly oppose them.

"It's a matter of the system," he replied after thinking for a moment before applying a cliché of essential oils, "we still think about how to do things well under the system." ”

"I don't know if this operation will be able to ...... smoothly," Li Ziping said. Suddenly, the microphone rang: "Report to the captain, the speed of water ingress in the bilge is speeding up......"

"Got it, I'll go." Li Ziping said and picked up the table hat, "This boat!" I knew it wasn't so peaceful! ”

Lichun is a newly launched ship - as a newly built wooden-hulled ship, it is normal for it to enter the water. The wooden hull will automatically close after a period of sailing. As long as the water inflow can be controlled by the pumping machine, and the water intake is below the alert level, it will not affect the course and operation. Almost every European sailboat is equipped with a manpower pump, and in some cases, a vessel in very poor condition even has to pump the entire 24-hour shift to keep it afloat.

The Lichun has a steam auxiliary engine, so it does not require manpower to pump water, but the speed of water inflow is still closely monitored. Li Ziping was very worried about the quality of the ship, for fear that any quality problems would not be discovered in time -- that he was responsible for the shipwreck. To be continued......