The fleet turns, and it will take some time to regroup.

This is something that cannot be helped, when the aircraft carrier releases and recovers the carrier-based aircraft, other warships need to maintain a distance of at least five kilometers from the aircraft carrier to avoid interference. There will also be one destroyer in front and one in the rear of the aircraft carrier to rescue the overboard pilot.

In the meantime, the telecommunications officer delivered the telegram he had just received.

It was still from the command of the Navy, it is not a new message, it is related to that order. A submarine operating northeast of Nacho Harbor spotted the Sagai Navy's transport fleet, a total of eight transports, and an artillery support fleet including four heavy cruisers.

The telegram also contained the exact time and exact location of the convoy discovered by the submarine.

At 4:25 p.m., it was 15 degrees north-east of the harbor, about 350 kilometers away.

That's too far, isn't it?

After marking this coordinate on the map, Bai Zhizhan frowned.

When the Sajiyi troop convoy arrived at that port, not only did the distance exceed the judgment before the White Stop-War, but the position was also obviously easterly, which was tantamount to a detour.

Could it be that last night, it was speculated that the Third Air Task Force had returned to Asahimi, and Takano ordered the transport fleet to evade to the east?

However, the Third Air Task Force was on Ashishima last night, and it was impossible for it to appear near the port of Naqiu.

It was evident that the convoy was not heading for the harbor, and that the sea area was also off course to the Watchman Strait.

Is there a mistake in the intelligence of the submarine?

There is indeed such a possibility, but there is no way to be sure, after all, the naval command is not fully sure and will not send a telegram.

If the submarine discovery is correct, the convoy will not be able to reach Naqiu Harbor until early tomorrow morning at the earliest.

This is precisely the key reason why the Navy Command sent a telegram order to stop fighting and lead the Third Air Task Force to intercept the troop convoy.

"What do you think?"

When Li Yunxiang went to call Zhou Yongtao, Bai Zhizhan went to make a cup of coffee.

Although the attack has been cancelled, with the current situation, I am afraid that it will be necessary to sail at high speed all night, and it may not be possible to sleep soundly by then.

"It is clear that the troop transport fleet did not go to the Watchman Strait as originally planned. From where it is, it must have turned in the early hours of this morning and slowed down. "Zhou Yongtao is not polite, after all, Li Yunxiang called him here to let him make a high statement." This actually confirmed the previous speculation, and after encountering the cruiser detachment led by the guards, Takano took the opportunity to send a telegram to the other warbands. ”

"Let the convoy go to that port?" Li Mingbo asked.

"That's not for sure."

Li Mingbo frowned, obviously not understanding what Zhou Yongtao meant.

"What's left of that port, what's worth sending troops to occupy, or is it going to use the only ground forces you have at this critical moment?"

Hearing Zhou Yongtao say this, Li Mingbo understood.

For decades before the last war, the port had been one of the most important and largest naval bases in the Guia of the Liang Xia Empire. Although it is not the home port of the Imperial Navy's home fleet, it has always played the role of home port in many cases.

Among other things, the Empire's expansion in the Guia and Southwest Guia was almost always based on the port of Naqiu.

For a long time, explorers, colonists, scholars, and exiles had to come here to catch ships to the Guia and Southwest Guia Seas. A few months or years later, whether you are fully loaded, devastated or bankrupt, you will have to return here to catch the ferry back to the empire. In those days, the port was the eastern gate of the empire.

Unfortunately, this is all history.

In the last war, the Imperial Navy burned the port to the ground before retreating, and since then has sent warships to attack frequently. By the end of the war, the port had been completely paralyzed. After the war, the North and South Sadou Islands became a demilitarized zone, and the port was completely abandoned.

The current port is actually a fishing port, and it is not wrong to say that it is a safe haven.

Although the harbor was large enough to accommodate hundreds of warships, it lacked infrastructure such as deep-water docks, oil depots, and ammunition depots to support the fleet. In order to make Naqiu Port a military port, it will take a lot of effort to build the infrastructure alone.

What's the point of capturing that port?

It was precisely because of this that the Narrow Navy did not look at the ball port, but stared at the Watchman Strait.

It's just that, for the Imperial Navy, for the Home Fleet, that's not the case.

After losing the port of Naqiu and the Sadou Islands in the north and south, the Imperial Navy retreated to the Qianyu Islands to the west of the Xuhai Sea, using the port of Matsuda as a base, which was equivalent to losing the last line of defense outside the mainland. As a result, for more than two decades, the Imperial Navy was able to implement a defensive strategy only in the direction of the Asahi Sea.

In order to avoid being overwhelmed, the Imperial Navy put the main force in the relatively large depth of the Yanhai.

As a result, when confronting the Narrow Navy, the Imperial Navy, which had an absolute advantage in strength, was passive everywhere.

It can be endured in peacetime, and when war breaks out, the open east gate will be the death hole of the Imperial Navy!

In Zhu Shijian's words: If the North and South Sadou Islands cannot be recaptured and controlled after the start of the war, the warships of the Imperial Navy will be sunk in the Watcher Strait.

In order to avoid defeat, it is necessary not only to recapture the islands in the north and south of Sadou, but also to control and rebuild the port.

In fact, Naqiu Harbor has historically been a naval fortress in the North and South Sadou Islands, and it has great strategic value for the Imperial Navy.

"Getting to the point." Bai Zhizhan reminded Zhou Yongtao.

"My personal judgment is that Takano is not sure of victory, so he plans to decide whether or not to let the convoy go to the Watcher Strait after a decisive battle with the home fleet. As for the port side, there is nothing to worry about. To put it bluntly, if you don't block the Watcher Strait, you won't be able to capture the port. Now send troops to occupy it, and wait for the defeat of the permanent fleet, and finally have to disarm and surrender. ”

"Can you rule it out completely?" Li Yunxiang asked.

"Zhou Yongtao is right, but he can't make a judgment on this." Bai Zhizhan said at this time: "On the other side of the Watcher Strait, we can only be in a hurry, at least at night. I mean, sail northwest between the Channel and the port of Naqiu. ”

As he spoke, Bai Zhizhan also pointed at the chart.

Seeing the place where Bai Zhizhan pointed his finger, Li Yunxiang immediately frowned, Li Mingbo's eyes widened, and both of them were obviously frightened.

"It's too risky." Zhou Yongtao is the same. "After the two main forces are defeated, the remnants of the warships will surely quickly withdraw to the Guia Ocean and return to the mainland. If we go here, we will be in front of these routs, and we will definitely be impacted, and we ......"

"Even if you can't beat it, you can run it."

"What if it's a heavy cruiser that rushes over, and the captain loses an eye?"

Hearing Li Mingbo say this, Bai Zhizhan rubbed his forehead.

That's a real problem.

If it is a battleship, there is no need to worry, the "Imperial Capital" class can get rid of it by speed. But when it comes to heavy cruisers, it's different.

The key is that the speed of the heavy cruisers of the narrow navy is above the "imperial capital" class.

What should I do now? d