Half an hour of waiting is as long as half a century. When the communications officer came running back with the telegram, all four men surrounded him.

"Marshal Sajiting is still in the capital, it was Prime Minister Xue Xiyue who left him behind, and now the naval headquarters is in charge of Admiral Guo Xianzhong."

"Then contact Admiral Guo Xianzhong." Liao Hanxiang glared at the staff officer, "Let the general be sure to reply to us as soon as possible." ”

The staff officer hurried to trot to telegraph again, and he felt innocent.

"Major, I will send your warning to the naval command, but you have to know what the consequences will be." Liao Hanxiang's right hand holding the cigarette was trembling slightly.

Tan Renhao just nodded, in his opinion, it was better to be prepared than not to be prepared, but he also saw that it was unlikely that the Navy Command would raise the war alarm because of the analysis and judgment made by him, a major officer.

When Liao Hanxiang finished smoking the third cigarette, the staff officer ran back again. "General Guo Xianzhong has called back, let us act according to the original plan, and the Navy Staff will pay attention to our report, but until there is no further order, the original order will not change!"

"Damn it!" Liao Hanxiang smashed the cigarette butt on the ground hard, and then stepped on it hard, "Find a way to contact Marshal Sajiting and send a telegram directly to the Prime Minister, and make sure Marshal Sajiting receives the telegram." ”

The staff officer hurriedly left again, and Liao Hanxiang also left the communication center with the other three and went to his command cabin.

"Old Liao, maybe Marshal Sajiting is discussing this matter with Prime Minister Xue Xiyue, maybe ......"

"Chief of Staff, aren't you familiar with the efficiency of the Cabinet Government?" Liao Hanxiang interrupted Wu Xianyu's words a little rudely, "Now, no one believes that Japan's main fleet has left the exercise area, let alone that Japan will go to war against the empire, and at the same time, no one believes that Japan dares to provoke the empire's hegemony in the western Pacific." As Major Tan Renhao said, after more than half a year of tossing, no one would believe that Japan would declare war on the empire in the short term. If war does break out, the empire will be like an unarmored samurai facing an opponent with a sharp blade, powerless to fight back, not even defense. ”

"But ......" Wu Xianyu gritted his teeth and swallowed back the words behind.

"Shall we continue south now?" Ji Xiaobin raised a very practical question.

Liao Hanxiang hesitated a little now, if he didn't continue to go south, then he would definitely be reprimanded by the naval command, which was a blatant act of disobeying orders, but if he continued to go south, the Fifth Fleet was likely to be sent to death.

"Commander, we can slow down and signal for a malfunction at the same time." Tan Renhao had already thought of this, "On the grounds that the battleships in the fleet are out of order, we will reduce the sailing speed, and then we will move the course westward and leave the strike range of the Japanese shore-based bombers." When the time comes, even if the war does not break out, we will have enough reasons. ”

Liao Hanxiang nodded, this is no way. When Wu Xianyu saw Liao Hanxiang's agreement, he immediately went out to find the officers of the navigation department to reset the route and speed.

It didn't take long for Wu Xianyu to return to the command cabin, still holding a telegram in his hand. He smiled bitterly and handed the telegram to Liao Hanxiang. After Liao Hanxiang read the telegram, he also smiled bitterly, and then handed the telegram to Ji Xiaobin.

When Tan Renhao read the telegram, he only had a wry smile in his heart. Marshal Sajiting was attending a banquet hosted by Prime Minister Xue Xiyue for the special envoy of the Japanese emperor, and the telegram sent by Liao Hanxiang was not handed over to Marshal Sajiting at all, but was directly detained, and Liao Hanxiang was asked not to send any more telegrams on the grounds that he should not disturb diplomatic activities.

“******！” Liao Hanxiang scolded in a low voice, and then walked around the cabin, looking very impatient.

"It seems that Marshal Saditin will not see our telegram until early tomorrow morning." Wu Xianyu sat down, he was very familiar with those diplomatic banquets, and they wouldn't end up until midnight.

Ji Xiaobin just shook his head secretly, he felt that he was a soldier, and it was not good to evaluate the government's style.

Liao Hanxiang finally stopped in front of Tan Renhao. "Major, do you think Japan will really launch a surprise attack?"

"If the Japanese Emperor's envoy doesn't come, I don't think it's very likely, but why did Japan send the Emperor's envoy at this time?" Tan Renhao sneered, "This will only make us feel that Japan has no intention of going to war with the empire, and is actively seeking diplomatic ways to resolve the conflict with the Korean Kingdom." I'm sure Prime Minister Xue Xiyue thinks the same way, and Marshal Sajiting probably thinks the same way. No one would have believed that Japan would abandon its diplomatic efforts at this time and go to war against the Empire, except for us. ”

"You're saying that Japan is confusing us and making us let our guard down?" Ji Xiaobin glanced at Tan Renhao.

"Why didn't Admiral Guo Xianzhong pay attention to our telegrams, because he already knew that the Japanese envoy had arrived in the imperial capital, and maybe he was still laughing at us." Tan Renhao smiled bitterly, "In order for Japan to confuse us, they must do this, and when the empire thinks that war is most unlikely, that is when war breaks out." ”

The room was quiet, this is a very simple truth, the enemy is not prepared, the best effect can be achieved.

"Lao Liao, what should we do now?" Wu Xianyu no longer doubts Tan Renhao's analysis.

"The fleet immediately sails west at full speed, and we must get out of range of Japanese shore-based bombers as soon as possible." Liao Hanxiang immediately made a decision, "After dawn, the number of air defense patrol fighters will be tripled, and all fighter pilots must be ready to take off at any time." In addition, the anti-submarine defense was strengthened at night and advanced according to the anti-submarine route. ”

The night was not peaceful, and the Fifth Fleet was perhaps the only fleet in the Imperial Navy that had reached combat readiness. Twelve destroyers, as well as all the seaplanes carried by the cruisers, searched the sea around the fleet. In the second half of the night, there were three submarine threat warnings in succession, but in the end the alarms were lifted, and the lookout on the destroyer was overly nervous, and took the reef on the sea and the whales floating on the surface of the sea for air as enemy submarines.