The three were taken directly to the large cruiser "Li Jing". This is the new flagship of Task Force 5, the official model of which is a large air defense cruiser. The ship's full load displacement reached 17,500 tons, and the position of the fleet headquarters was reserved at the time of design, so the command conditions improved a lot. Of course, the easiest way to identify a flagship is to look directly at the number of antennas on the mast.

Originally, when the "Li Jing" was designed, it was designed according to the standards of a heavy cruiser. After the effectiveness of the "Songjiang Armament" treaty, the naval warships of the great powers were no longer limited by the treaty, and during the treaty period, the technological development of various countries had made the performance of the old combat ships and the "treaty" warships unable to meet the needs of the new war. Thus, two years before the treaty entered into force, several major naval powers began the development of new warships. The position of heavy cruisers in the navy is irreplaceable by other warships, so the development of heavy cruisers has become a key point and focus.

What the empire came up with was the "Li Jing"-class heavy cruisers. In order to be able to deal with similar warships of other powers, at the time of design, the "Li Jing" was prepared to install a 300 mm caliber main gun, and the requirements for armored defense on the battleship were formulated in full accordance with the standards of battlecruisers. At that time, the Imperial Navy happened to develop a high-power power system, so when the battleship was designed, it was directly set at a displacement of about 15,000 tons, which was nearly sixty percent heavier than the previous heavy cruisers. However, just when the "Li Jing" began to relocate, the Fifth Fleet proved the main direction of future naval warfare, and at that time the Imperial Navy was extremely short of warships with air defense as its main task.

The design of the "Li Jing" changed at this time. Its 300-mm gun was eliminated and replaced with a much less powerful 240-mm gun, and dozens of more anti-aircraft guns were installed. In addition, the armor of some non-important parts of the battleship was also removed. As a result, its standard displacement was reduced to 14000 tons. While the power of the main guns of the "Li Jing" was greatly reduced, its anti-aircraft firepower surpassed almost any warship of the Imperial Navy. Perhaps, the "Li Jing", which has been converted into an air defense warship, cannot do the same large (heavy) cruisers of other powers, but in terms of air defense operations, the "Li Jing" is definitely the best in the world.

Of course, the Fifth Fleet is the most in need of specialized air defense warships, so the "Li Jing" was accepted by the Fifth Fleet after completing its perching and installation, and after completing two months of sea trials, the "Li Jing" officially became the flagship of the Fifth (Special Task Force) Fleet, the seat ship of General Liao Hanxiang.

When boarding the "Li Jing", Tan Renhao keenly noticed that there was a grid-mounted antenna at the top of the rear mast of the battleship. He was a little strange at first, but soon understood what it was.

General Liao Hanxiang's command cabin was spacious enough to accommodate a few people chatting inside. And when they arrived, Liao Hanxiang was shaving in front of the mirror.

"Sit down, you're welcome, it's not as loose as it is on the shore!" Liao Hanxiang smiled and asked Ji Xiaobin to beckon the three of them to sit down. Half a year ago, the headquarters building of the Fifth Fleet was officially completed, and the construction of the base was also completed by more than half, so the Fifth Fleet left the base of the port command and moved into a new home, and General Liao Hanxiang also had a new office.

Ji Xiaobin went to make tea for the three of them, and then found a small stool and made it next to the single bed that was one meter and two meters wide.

"Major, and two captains, this is your new epaulettes." Liao Hanxiang took out three new sets of epaulettes from the drawer, "If it were in normal times, I would hold an award ceremony for you, but the situation is special now, so please forgive me." As for Major Tan Renhao's new military uniform, I'm afraid we can only wait for us to prepare it for you next time we return to Hong Kong, no comment, right? ”

Tan Renhao laughed. "Thank you, General, of course no comment."

Liao Hanxiang smiled and patted Tan Renhao's shoulder, and then pinned the two sets of epaulettes to Hao Dongjue and Chang Jianxin's shoulders respectively. "I've seen all of your grades, they are all excellent, and those teachers at the aviation school won't say that I recommend officers to study indiscriminately. Okay, you all know the changes in the fleet, right? ”

Tan Renhao nodded. "The Colonel has already shown us on the road, it has changed a lot, and we are almost no longer familiar with the Fifth Fleet."

"It's a good thing, but it's also a nuisance." General Liao Hanxiang took out a cigarette, he was the only person on the battleship who could smoke in the cramped cabin. "In the past six months, we have replaced more than half of the warships and recruited 30 percent of the new officers and men. In addition, the refit of the three aircraft carriers has only just ended, and the officers and men need to be trained. However, the little devils won't let us finish training in peace, so we're going to leave tonight. ”

"Commander, will there be a fight this time?" Hao Dongjue asked this question again.

"Well, it's hard to say, but it's very likely." Liao Hanxiang hesitated slightly, and then said, "The imperial foreign minister has gone to Seoul and is in contact with Japan and North Korea. Therefore, we must enter a state of combat readiness and patrol as soon as possible, and if there is a real fight, then we will not be able to suffer, don't you say? ”

Everyone laughed, if there was a real fight, the empire would definitely not suffer, and it would beat Japan to death.

The fleet left the port of Naha at around eight o'clock in the evening of the same day, and then entered the waters of the East China Sea through the Kerama waterway. According to the deployment of the Naval Staff, the Fifth Fleet (as it will be called in the future unless otherwise necessary) will be on standby in the waters northeastern of the East China Sea, and to prevent the Japanese Southwest Fleet from entering the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, threatening the industrial areas of the eastern coast of the empire. At the same time, it is also a threat to the Japanese mainland. As long as the Fifth Fleet is within 500 kilometers of Kyushu Island, it can pose a huge threat to the industrial area and ports centered on Nagasaki on the Japanese island of Kyushu.

Almost at the same time, the First Fleet of the Imperial Navy left the port of Dagu. This is the greatest threat to Japan. Since the Battle of Hachisho Island, the Japanese Navy has always regarded the Imperial First Fleet as the greatest threat, and its focus on developing the native fleet is to take the Imperial First Fleet as an imaginary enemy. As the Tang Imperial Navy also entered a state of combat readiness, the situation in the entire Eastern world became tense, and perhaps no one would doubt whether the war would start this time.

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