The Pacific Ocean here is indeed worthy of its name, the wife is peaceful, the wind is calm, like a pond, not the kind of rough and treacherous place.

But this is only an illusion, and only seafarers who have experienced the stormy seas of the Pacific Ocean understand that the so-called "mid-ocean" is just a psychological comfort for ancient sailors to pray for the safety of navigation. The treacherous storms and the dangers of navigation are no worse than the Atlantic Ocean, and Cape Horn, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean, is known as the "grave of the crew." "Sailing from there has always been a daunting prospect for seafarers, and even in the modern age of steam-ironclad ironclads, Cape Horn is a dangerous place for ships to sail.

Walking from Cape Horn is not only a dangerous voyage. Moreover, the distance is far away, and it is very economically uneconomical, which is why when the Suez Canal was completed, someone immediately started the idea of the Panama Canal.

The British and French companies were the first to notice the value of the Panama Canal, but it was the Americans who finally got the contract for the construction of the canal, which was not only a contest of financial resources, but also the result of a series of international political struggles.

After years of hard work, the Panama Canal was actually completed at the beginning of the state's last year. And the trial voyage was completed, but the canal was not immediately opened, until the Sino-Japanese war broke out, the Panama Canal was finally officially opened to navigation, and it was through this canal. The two Chinese raiders were able to avoid the Cape Horn route and sail from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean as quickly as possible.

The US government has already made its position clear with practical actions, in this local war in the Far East. The U.S. government is completely on China's side. In order to give the green light for the two Chinese raiding ships to pass through the Panama Canal, the US government even brought forward the opening date of the canal, and in order to ensure safety, the US government even sent two battleships to see off the two Chinese raiding ships

Even an idiot can understand the position of the US government, which is why the Japanese government lodged an informal diplomatic protest with the US government after learning that two Chinese attack ships had passed through the Panama Canal, but the US government used the pretext of "the commercial practices of the Panama Canal Company". Kicked the ball back with ease.

No matter how annoyed the Japanese government may be, the fact cannot be changed, and somewhere in the Pacific Ocean right now, two large Chinese raid ships are heading for the West. This is a huge threat to Japan's coastal security, and as long as the two attack ships are still hovering in the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese government will not be able to sleep and eat.

These two large Chinese attack ships are the "Green Forest". and "Red Eyebrows", they are sister ships of the same type, built by American shipyards, with a standard displacement of 15,000 tons, and the main armament is six four-millimeter naval guns, which are installed in three twin turrets, one in front and two in the back, which can fire at the side of the hull at the same time, and the firepower is not not powerful, although compared to most warlords of this era, the armor and firepower are still slightly insufficient, but considering that their main task is not to conduct a decisive battle with the enemy's main fleet. Then, a proper reduction in firepower and armor can improve the voyage and increase the range, which can ensure that they can complete the ocean-going attack mission well.

In order to ensure the voyage and range, the "Green Forest" class raid ships not only use flying shear ships, but also use heavy oil and coal mixed boilers for their power systems. Half of these boilers are fueled by heavy oil. This not only increases the range, but also facilitates the replenishment at sea, if needed, "Green Forest." Raiders can lead a supply fleet for long-range, long-term ocean-going operations.

In fact, to the "green forest." The range of the attacker is not enough to complete the voyage across the Pacific Ocean, taking into account the fuel required for combat. Therefore. On the way home, the necessary replenishment at sea must be carried out, and the six large supply ships that carried out this supply task were ordered to set sail for Hawaii long before the Sino-Japanese war, and when the news of the war came, these six supply ships immediately left Hawaii and waited for the "Green Forest" and "Red Eyebrow" in the vast Pacific Ocean.

Now, "Green Ladder, No. & Red Eyebrows." has successfully rendezvoused with this supply fleet, and. A replenishment at sea began.

Standing in the "Green Forest." on the bridge. Lu Ping held up the binoculars and looked to the ship that was working for the "green forest." Overlook of a supply ship providing heavy fuel oil replenishment. The two ships were so close that he could even see the slightly nervous face of the other captain, indeed, for the supply ship, "Green Forest." The hull of the ship is indeed too large. One mistake can smash that supply ship to pieces. After resting the telescope on the command platform and admonishing the first mate, Lu Ping left the bridge and hurried down the gangway to the foredeck to watch the sailors busy.

The sun baked the deck, scorching the teak wood that lay on the deck, and the turrets with exposed steel were even more so hot that people dared not approach them, but the sailors still did their job in the scorching sun.

This is the life of the Navy, and this is the life of Rupin.

Lu Ping walked to the side of the ship and looked to the starboard side, where was the "Red Eyebrow" assault ship, and "Green Wood." is also replenishing heavy oil and fresh water. The two ships maintained a low course of five knots, less than half a nautical mile apart, and it was particularly abrupt in this vast sea.

Yes, the strength of this fleet is a little thin. However, considering the current size of the surface fleet of the Chinese Navy, the "Green Forest" and the "Red Eyebrow".

The Chuan Jing is a behemoth, and it is inferior to the Japanese Yuli warships, and in terms of tactical tasks, as long as they swing well, these two warships can put tremendous pressure on the Japanese Navy.

Lu Ping turned his head and looked in the direction of the ship, over there, a crane was preparing to lift a seaplane from the apron to the sea, a sea flight drill will soon be carried out, as long as the sea supply is completed, the two seaplanes fixed on the ship's apron can take off, providing long-range early warning for the warship, in this era of navigation, the means are not very advanced, this kind of long-range flight on the water is undoubtedly very risky, the pilot needs to have enough courage and good technology.

"Zhonggu, I'm back!"

Lu Ping went west, his heart was fluctuating, he now just wanted to rush back to his home as soon as possible and participate in that great war, but as a naval officer. He also knows it. Every one of his actions had to meet the requirements of the Admiralty.

The radio station communication distance is limited, and it is impossible for the Admiralty to directly take a wireless telegram to the "Green Forest", and it must be transmitted through a cable telegraph, and this relay station is at the Honolulu telegraph station in the Hawaiian Islands, and when the Admiralty's coded telegram is photographed there, the local consulate will quickly relay the contents of the telegram through the radio station. It was further transferred by an ocean-going freighter that undertook the task of transiting and communication to ensure that the "Green Forest" received the signal.

It is precisely for this reason that the "Green Forest" and the "Red Eyebrow" are now sailing in the waters not far from Hawaii, and when they rendezvous with the supply fleet in the predetermined sea area, the two attack ships circled the sea to wait for a telegram from the Admiralty.

Lu Ping had waited a few. He had just informed the telegraph relay station of the arrival of the fleet in the predetermined sea area, and all that remained was to wait for the order of the Admiralty to see which plan to carry out.

Before Lu Ping led the officers and men of the fleet to board the ship bound for the United States, the Admiralty had already drawn up the corresponding battle plan and informed Lu Ping. According to these combat plans drawn up by the Admiralty, once the "Green Forest" and "Red Eyebrow" arrive in the predetermined sea area, they can carry out the task of attacking Japan at sea. And this task is divided into "Plan 1" and "Plan 2"

The "No. 1 option" was to attack the Japanese merchant fleet in the direction of the South Seas, and the advantage of this plan was the proximity to the Mariana Islands, which were German colonies, according to the current Sino-German relations. The Chinese Navy's ocean-going assault fleet could have been secretly anchored and replenished in the German colonies, and Germany was different from the United States in this respect. The United States feared direct involvement in the Sino-Japanese war. On the issue of the supply of Chinese ships, they did not dare to take blatant cooperative actions, but Germany was different, and Germany was eager to involve China in the German war against Britain, therefore. Germany did not mind that the Chinese naval fleet would anchor and replenish the German colonies, and it would not mind converting German ** ships into medium ** ships. Cooperate with China's ocean-going assault fleet.

The advantage of this plan is that it can mobilize the Japanese Combined Fleet to the northern coastal areas of the Japanese archipelago to the maximum extent, and once the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet is far away from the Yellow Sea, then. The Chinese Navy's inshore fleet could have taken some bold action to counter the army's actions, but the shortcomings of this plan are also obvious. That is, there is a lack of supply depots, and the attacking fleet must carry supply ships forward, and supply ships are far less navigable than warships, which will drag down the entire fleet. This option is much more risky than the "No. 1 plan".

After all, it is the first time that the Chinese Navy has such a large warship, and the Admiralty regards it as a naval treasure from top to bottom, for fear that there will be a mistake, and if the "No. 2 Plan" is implemented, it will be too risky, and the Admiralty is not very willing. Lu Ping was also a little resistant, he would rather go to the port of Germany than sail to Hokkaido with these slow supply ships.

In addition to seeking stability, there is another important reason why Lu Ping chose the Nanyang direction as the focus of the attack, that is, economic reasons, since the deterioration of relations between China and Japan, it has been difficult for Japanese factories to obtain raw materials from China, and they can no longer dump goods into the Chinese market, so that the Nanyang market is very important to Japan, in order to win over Japan as an ally, the British government also acquiesced to Japanese factories to occupy a quota in the Nanyang market, And iron ore from Australia and India is also the life of Japanese steel companies now, and if you win, you will live, and if you lose, you will die. This is the weakness of Japan's domestic economy, and Lu Ping's intention is very clear, that is, to stab this weakness of the Japanese economy and cut off the supply of raw materials from Nanyang to Japanese factories. and an export channel for Japanese goods.

This is not only a sea robbery, but also a struggle for sea supremacy, and if the Japanese government wants to defend the South Sea route, it must transfer the main force of the Japanese navy to the south. In this way, the strategic goal of cooperating with the army's operations can also be achieved.

Just as Lupin was pondering the fleet's attack strategy, an adjutant walked up behind him.

"Commander, the Admiralty telegram that the net has just received. The Admiralty ordered our fleet to immediately begin the execution of the "Operation No. 1,!" ”

Lu Ping glanced at the transcript of the telegram that the adjutant was holding in his hand, and his expression was very calm.

"Notice" Red Eyebrows, No., once the supply is completed. Immediately turn to the Saipan route, the raiding ship throws off the supply fleet and sails all! ”

After the adjutant left, Lu Ping looked to the southeast.

"Nanyang, I'm here!"