Liao Hanxiang mobilized a total of 38 submarines to deploy to the northeast and southeast of Kauai, including 20 submarines deployed in the northeast, each of which was responsible for patrolling an oval area 30 nautical miles long and 15 nautical miles wide. These submarines are hidden under the surface of the sea during the day, cruising at a speed of four knots or less, and at night, usually in the second half of the night, they come to the surface of the sea, or go to the depth of the inflatable pipe to replenish the batteries on the submarine and replace the air in the boat. Each captain received an extremely clear order that after discovering the large American fleet, the first task was not to launch torpedoes and sink one or two battleships, but to immediately send out the information and inform the submarine command in the rear.

Wen Jiaqian, who was transferred back from the Mediterranean theater only three months ago, is one of 20 captains patrolling northeast Kauai Island. He took the initiative to apply for transfer back to the Pacific theater, although in an encounter west of Crete, Wen Jiaqian attacked an Italian battleship fleet and sent a battleship to the bottom of the sea, but compared to the fourth brother Wen Haomao in the Pacific Ocean to sink the US fleet aircraft carrier, this result is nothing at all. Moreover, now that the Persian Imperial Navy has strengthened its investment in the Mediterranean theater, sending the fleets originally deployed in the Red Sea and the Persian Sea, there is not much to do with the Imperial Navy there. It can be said that Wen Jiaqian is very smart, if he does not take the initiative to apply for the transfer to the Pacific Theater, then he will be assigned to the South Atlantic Theater, and there is almost no chance that he will be able to take out capital ships such as aircraft carriers, so it is the best choice to transfer back to the Pacific Theater.

To Wen Jiaqian's chagrin, after the two-month vacation, the first task he was assigned was not to ambush outside Pearl Harbor, but to carry out a guard mission in the waters northeast of Kauai. For all submarine captains, this is the most boring, the hardest, and the least chance task. In the past. Normally, submarines returning from patrolling to break diplomatic relations or some new captains carry out vigilance tasks, but Wen Jiaqian received a new order on his way to the sea area where diplomatic relations were broken, and he was forced to adjust his course and change his combat mission.

Wen Jiaqian was not the only one who was annoyed, but the more than 50 officers and men on the submarine were very "in an "atmosphere." The Project 319 submarine is the latest type of submarine, and the average service life of its officers and men is more than two and a half years, which is the longest among the hundreds of submarines in the Imperial Navy. It is also one of the best submarine forces. Since Wen Jiaqian assumed command of this submarine unit, only five officers and men have retired due to injury and illness, 21 have been promoted for meritorious service, and the others have been retained. In the previous battle, Wen Jiaqian and the others had killed more than 50 merchant ships and eight warships, which can be regarded as the best result. What makes all the officers and soldiers puzzled is that it is simply overkill to let such an elite unit carry out the vigilance mission!

Complaining is complaining, and orders must still be carried out. The Project 319 submarine arrived at the patrol area on the morning of 30 April. Then it lurked. Over the next few days. The officers and men on the submarine had only four things to do, one was to take turns on duty, and the other was to play poker. The third is to sleep, the fourth is to eat, drink and sprinkle, anyway, there is nothing important to do. Wen Jiaqian also took turns on duty with the chief engineer, the second officer, the gun chief and others, and the time passed day by day in boredom.

On the evening of 10 May, Wen Jiaqian advanced the time for the submarine to float by an hour. During these few days of "boring" patrols, the only thing that could make them "excited" was the humming sound of US anti-submarine patrol planes flying over the sea above their heads. As an excellent submarine captain, Wen Jiaqian knew very well that he had to avoid regular activities. In this way, we can avoid the search for anti-submarine patrol planes and anti-submarine ships of the US military as much as possible. Therefore, the time of the 319 submarine is different every night, and it is generally staggered by half an hour or an hour. In addition, the submarine surfaced only once every three days, allowing the officers and men to go to the deck to change their breath. Fortunately, the climatic conditions in this season are relatively strong, and the wind and waves on the sea are not large, otherwise staying in the submarine for a long time would be a living sin. On the 10th, it was time for the submarine to surface. The officers and men had already made preparations, and several sailors with high spirits had prepared fishing rods to add food for the evening supper.

Wen Jiaqian did not neglect all the preparatory work, and before the submarine surfaced, he asked the chief engineer and the second officer to inspect the submarine's mechanical equipment and communication equipment. If it encounters US anti-submarine planes and anti-submarine ships at night, then the submarine will have to dive urgently, and if it is "lucky" and collides with the main fleet of the US military, it will have to send a telegram during the emergency dive. Whether or not a submarine can avoid an antisubmarine strike depends on whether it can dive into the sea in the shortest possible time.

"Colonel, it's all checked, the engine is working fine, there's still a third of the power, and we need about four hours to recharge the battery." As he spoke, the chief engineer wiped off the oil stains on his hands, and then took the cigarette handed by Wen Jiaqian, he did not rush to light it, smoking is strictly prohibited inside the submarine, and only the captain has the privilege. "The few small problems found by the group have been solved, and the impact is not very big, and we will do repairs after returning to the base."

"Very good, wait a minute, you can go up first!" Wen Jiaqian patted the most important partner on the shoulder. If you go up first, you can get some fresh air first, which is a priority on a submarine.

The chief engineer smiled and nodded, he had worked with Wen Jiaqian for two years, and had three opportunities to be promoted to captain, but he gave up, and the reason why he decided to give up was that Wen Jiaqian was one of the best submarine captains in the Imperial Navy, and following him would not only get more credit, but also be safer. "Colonel, the communications equipment is ready." The second officer ran over, "Maybe we'll get new news, I heard that the Marines are about to take the airfield, and if we're lucky today, we'll be able to use the radio." ”

"I hope never to use the radio!" Wen Jiaqian smiled bitterly, "Okay, let's go up to the periscope depth first, let me see the situation above!" ”

The chief engineer immediately took his place and gave the order. "The first ten, the last five, keep the speed, don't go up too fast!"

"Colonel, depth 15. It's time to raise the periscope! ”

Wen Jiaqian glanced at the second officer, grabbed the grip of the periscope, he hesitated slightly, and then pushed the periscope up hard, with the help of the hydraulic assistance mechanism, the periscope quickly rose, and after the sound of "card", Wen Jiaqian put his eyes on the rubber cover on the periscope eyepiece. Then it revolved around the periscope.

The sea is very dark, although the clouds are not very thick, but it blocks most of the moonlight and starlight, only the distant stars can be seen, this is a relatively ideal floating weather, at least the enemy's anti-submarine patrol planes and anti-submarine patrol ships on the lookout can also be difficult to quickly spot the submarine on the sea. Wen Jiaqian thought so in his heart, and at the same time slowly circled around the central axis of the periscope, and found nothing special. He decided to observe one more round, according to the combat manual, before the submarine surfaced. It is necessary to check whether there is any danger on the sea. Instead, you should look at it at least twice, or even three times, to make sure nothing is missing.

A flash of light caught Wen Jiaqian's attention. If you're not careful, you'll think it's a twinkling star. Wen Jiaqian stopped, and at the same time marked the direction of the periscope.

"Make a note of this location!"

When the second officer noted down the direction, Wen Jiaqian adjusted the magnification of the periscope, this time, he no longer thought it was a twinkling starlight, it was obviously a faint flash of light emitted by the navigation on the ship, the distance was very far, probably ten nautical miles away, and the speed of the ship should not be very fast. Therefore, the noise generated is not very loud, otherwise the listener would have heard it. Thinking of this, Wen Jiaqian was shocked, most of the people who sailed slowly at night were anti-submarine ships, and only anti-submarine ships needed to be quiet!

"Dive down to 80 meters." Wen Jiaqian took back the periscope, "We have guests, we can't float up now, we'll talk about it later." ”

"Anti-submarine destroyers?" The chief engineer gave him an inquiring look.

"Maybe, maybe not. It's too far away to see clearly. Wen Jiaqian glanced at the listener, then quickly walked over to the chart table and marked the location of the ship on the chart. To the northeast, about 10 nautical miles away from us, the speed will not exceed 16 knots, but it is impossible to tell whether it is a battleship or a destroyer in front of the fleet, it can only be seen whether our ears are sensitive enough. ”

"Then let's get in, maybe it's a fleet!" The second mate immediately gave his opinion.

Wen Jiaqian looked at the chief engineer and the chief gunner, both of them nodded, there would be no discovery at all at a distance of ten nautical miles, although it was dangerous to get close, but this risk was worth taking.

"Get the torpedo ready, steer to 75 degrees, maintain a speed of 4 knots, we have to use batteries sparingly!"

As the minutes passed, when the noise of the propeller stirring the sea water came, the officers and men in the interior of the submarine became nervous. Wen Jiaqian looked at the listener from time to time, and the listener pressed the earphones on his ears with both hands, listening carefully to the sound overhead. Wen Jiaqian himself could roughly judge that what passed on the sea near the submarine was not a ship, nor an ordinary fleet, but a fleet, a huge fleet.

It was quiet in the submarine, frighteningly quiet. All the officers and men held their breath, not even daring to come out of the atmosphere, for fear of alarming the battleship overhead. Wen Jiaqian kept his composure, and he only used his eyes to look around. This can be regarded as an encouragement to the officers and men, and in this special situation, the captain's calm performance is the confidence of all.

"It's almost over." The second mate was the first to break the silence.

Wen Jiaqian continued to listen for a while, then nodded. "It's definitely a fleet, ready to float."

"Colonel, are we going to ambush the enemy?" The gunners immediately asked.

"No, just go up and have a look." Wen Jiaqian looked at the listener, "How is the situation, have you judged the nature and size of the enemy fleet?" ”

"It must be a fleet, the scale is huge, there are dozens of main warships with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons, and there must be aircraft carriers or battleships."

"Very well, then we'll wait another half hour, and when they're far away, we'll float up and have a look." Wen Jiaqian nodded at the second officer, and without waiting for his instructions, the second officer knew that it was time to prepare the radio station.

The noise was rapidly decaying, and fifteen minutes later, Wen Jiaqian was in a state of combat and officers and men were allowed to move freely, but care had to be taken to avoid making noise. Wen Jiaqian had not forgotten what their most important task was, and he did not want to risk the lives of dozens of his subordinates. Ambushing a large fleet sailing in anti-submarine formation was the most unwise option, unless his position was extremely good, but Wen Jiaqian did not get such an opportunity. Thinking that dozens of capital warships would pass over his head, and he didn't seize the slightest opportunity, Wen Jiaqian was also a little annoyed.

"Colonel, it's been half an hour."

Wen Jiaqian reacted, he nodded to the second officer, and then looked at the listener.

"It's quiet, the enemy fleet is already far away, there should be no destroyer activity nearby."

"Very good, ascend to periscope depth, snorkel with radio ready." Wen Jiaqian walked to the periscope, "Cancel the floating plan today and use the snorkel to charge the battery." Chief Engineer, be prepared for an emergency dive, maybe the American destroyer has turned off its engines and is waiting for us on it. ”

The chief engineer nodded, this is very unlikely, but it is by no means impossible. While in the Mediterranean, they were once almost spotted by an Italian destroyer parked nearby, and if they hadn't made a quick dive, they would have stayed at the bottom of the Mediterranean.

The seawater in the two ballast tanks at the bow and tail of the submarine was slowly blown out by the high-pressure air, and the submarine began to slowly rise. When reaching a depth of 15 meters above the surface of the sea, the submarine stopped. After determining the depth of the submarine and questioning the listener with his eyes again, Wen Jiaqian pushed up the periscope. This time, the periscope turned five times before Wen Jiaqian stopped.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "There is nothing on the surface of the sea, ready to rise to the depth of the snorkel, second mate, ready to send a telegram." ”

The second mate immediately ran into the communications center, and the telegram was sent by a special person, who only had to be responsible for drafting the message.

As the snorkel stretched out of the sea, the turbid air inside the submarine was pumped out, a fresh sea breeze blew in, Wen Jiaqian lit a cigarette, and it was another dangerous night, but he knew that the telegram carried by the radio waves would definitely play a very important role, even a decisive role.