Qinzhou Bay is now the lifeblood of the Fifth Division of the Japanese Army, and once something happens, the entire division may be finished here, so the Japanese army and navy have stationed heavy troops in the place, and the defense is like an iron wall, at least the Japanese themselves see it this way.

The Fifth Division is now in an embarrassing situation, unable to advance or retreat, and can only stubbornly defend a large area of barren mountains and mountains, as well as Nanning City, which is gradually lacking in supplies.

By this time, the Imperial Japanese Army had already dismissed the idea of annexing northern French Indochina under the pretense of Dao Fa, and the tricks played by the young men in the General Staff Headquarters had been completely bankrupt after the arrival of the French fleet. French Indochina could no longer be a rear base and an important springboard for the southward expansion plan, but on the contrary, it gradually became a serious obstacle to the Japanese army's advance into Southeast Asia.

At present, the number of French troops stationed in the colonies has exceeded the entire strength of the previous Japanese southern detachment, and if they want to carve a breakthrough from here, it is now impossible whether it is the timing or its own strength.

The Army General Staff Headquarters could only revise its strategy, so the existence of the Fifth Division in Nanning became a chicken rib, and it was a pity to abandon it, but it was tasteless to eat.

The location and environment of the 5th Division were very harsh, but it was currently the largest city in the area controlled by the Japanese closest to French Indochina, and it was necessary for the Japanese army to hold this important point and turn it into an important base for blockading the connection between French Indochina and the southwest of the national capital.

The problem is that the Japanese military has finally realized that this strategically purposeful task cannot be accomplished by a single division alone. However, due to the poor road system in Guangxi, the existing transportation capacity was barely enough to maintain the basic supply of one division.

The Fifth Division needs to increase its strength to complete its mission, but with the increase in troops, it will no longer be able to maintain basic supplies, and at that time, let alone fighting, survival will become a problem, and with the current capabilities of the Japanese army, it will be an unsolvable dilemma in a short period of time.

In order to reverse this embarrassing situation, the Japanese were forced to start building roads in the mountains of Guangxi, and they transferred a large number of strong men and laborers from the Chinese occupation areas and the areas controlled by the puppet government to this land full of grassy jungles in Guangxi, where these people would build a high-grade military highway from Qinzhou Port to Nanning for the Japanese army, and the Japanese army also planned to build a large transportation network with Nanning as the center and radiating the entire surrounding area on the basis of this main line.

Along with the road, a variety of large and small defensive posts were built along the road, including large masonry watchtowers and rest stations for sailors. The Japanese army lacked modern construction equipment and construction machinery, and the workers could only rely on primitive pickaxes, shovels, hammers, chisels, and manpower to carry out the work.

Because of the treacherous construction environment and the lack of food and medical care, the Japanese army itself was almost unable to eat, how could it be possible to spend precious food to feed these Chinese laborers, whom they regarded as "humanoid livestock and inferior animals"; it is said that less than half a month after the start of construction, the number of casualties among the Chinese laborers in front of them has already exceeded 2,000.

The port of Qinzhou now has to take on the task of not only providing logistics for the Japanese army and navy garrisons, but also assuming the responsibility of replenishing materials to support the entire road network project. Every day, several transport ships sail from all over the coast of China and even from the Japanese mainland, unloading thousands of tons of various materials on the wharf, and after sorting the storage records, they are finally dispersed and transported to various demand units by transport vehicles dispatched from China.

At present, the infrastructure of the port is overloaded every day, and order in the port area and the entire city is rapidly collapsing, and several accidents occur almost every hour, killing not only Chinese civilians, but also many Japanese soldiers, but in order to complete the predetermined plan, the military top brass insists on turning a blind eye to everything that happens here.

"Clear the deck, clear the bridge!" Captain Paul gave the dive order.

The sailors had already fastened the muzzle plugs to the deck guns, locking the steering mechanisms at the same time. They climbed the towering conning tower with the pedals on the enclosure, and then one followed one after the other, sliding swiftly down the vertical escalator into the submarine's cabin.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry all back to your respective places! Where are you going, boy? Go to the bow cabin, it's that direction! Hurry up, all run, good, good, you're all good! The first mate stood in the cabin and shouted loudly.

"The deck is cleaned!" The second-class watchman on the control tower reported to Paul, and then slid down the escalator.

According to the regulations of the submarine forces of the German Navy, if the captain is on the control tower, then he must be the last person to enter the cabin, if the captain is not there, then the other responsible officers are given. After making a final inspection and making sure there were no personnel left outside, Captain Paul climbed down the escalator to confirm that the water ballast hatch cover at the top of the conning tower was fastened and locked.

"Start diving!" Paul stood firm on the deck of the command cabin and immediately gave the order to dive to the officers and men in the cabin.

"Yes, sir! Dive, dive, dive! The co-captain and the navigator echoed in a loud voice.

With the captain's order, the power compartment turned off the roaring diesel engine, and at the same time started the electric motor, and finally the air intake of the diesel engine was closed, at which point the submarine was truly completely cut off from the outside world.

"Two cars at two-thirds full speed!" The captain gave the order, and the hands on the clock of the conning tower immediately responded.

At this time, all the relevant crew began to get busy, the ballast tanks began to be filled with water, followed by the negative buoyancy tank, and the submarine gradually increased its diving speed. The submersible rudder at the bow of the boat is slowly deployed to the sides by the hydraulic pump, and the helmsman begins to adjust the submarine's depression angle according to the instructions of the navigator, and the submarine begins to press down the bow and dive below the surface of the sea, driven by two high-power electric motors.

The "five-meter-seven-meter" deputy captain reported the readings on the depth gauge.

"Negative buoyancy cabin blows off." The navigator ordered.

"The negative buoyancy chamber has been blown out." The boatswain reported.

"Thirteen and seven meters, sir." The co-captain turned his head to look at the captain.

"Close the inlet valve!" Paul ordered.

"The hull was flattened, and it was two-thirds of the way to medium speed. Mr. Hansen, raise the periscope. Captain Paul took off his white cap and buckled it back on his head.

The periscope slowly rises along the vertical shaft, and Paul steps forward to grab the handlebar, his eyes on the eyepiece.

"The sea is calm." Paul circled the shaft with his periscope, and the weather was clear today, and his vision was good, and he didn't notice anything unusual for the time being.

"Come and see, high." Paul turned his head to Gao Rufeng, who was standing in the corner.

"Yes, sir." Gao Rufeng hurriedly stepped forward, excitedly holding the periscope and began to observe the sea surface.

"It took us three minutes to dive this time, which is a bit less than I expected, but I have to admit that you guys are doing very well, and now everyone is in the fight." Paul flipped the button for the cabin announcement, and took the microphone to inform the crew.

"Lower the periscope, High Lieutenant, Hansen, come here." Paul turned off the switch on the intercom and said to Gao Rufeng and the deputy captain.

"We can get close to this line at the moment, about 10 nautical miles from the inner harbor, and if we get any closer, we will enter shallow water. The terrain of the seabed is so complex that even the French have not been able to understand it all, and they have only carved out a safe navigation area, with an average depth of 18 meters, but within two nautical miles of the coast, there are many reefs and trenches. The co-captain used a red crayon to draw a circle on the map's waterproof membrane.

"We won't enter the inner harbor, it's not necessary, the Japanese ships can't get in, there are too many shoals in it, the average water depth in this area is only five meters, and the large Japanese transport ships can only dock at the piers in the outer harbor, and only small ships can enter the inner harbor and park." Paul explained.

"Captain, what is the purpose of this operation, sorry, I don't quite understand." Gao Rufeng looked at the chart and frowned.

"We need to test the Japanese Navy's anti-submarine defense capabilities and get first-hand information on their port anti-submarine deployment and common tactics." Paul replied with a smile.

"You mean, to facilitate future raids on Japanese ports?" Gao Rufeng had a surprised expression on his face.

"Look at his face, I know what he's thinking." Paul turned his face and smiled at the co-captain.

"It's just a reconnaissance exercise, and it's normal for any country to do some intelligence gathering against various imaginary or potential enemies." Deputy Captain Hansen said to Gao Rufeng with a straight face.

"If we are unfortunate enough to be discovered by the Japanese, I will go straight up and reveal my identity." Paul took the compass and began to measure the route on the map.

"If they want to come on board and inspect it, my men and I will be exposed." Gao Rufeng began to worry.

"It's just an assumption, first they must be able to spot us, and secondly they have the guts to challenge the dignity of the Greater German Reich again." The co-captain replied solemnly.

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Thank you. (To be continued.) )