Jizaburo Ozawa led the main fleet back to Singapore. In addition to the lack of provisions, the most serious problem was that the two light aircraft carriers he led lost more than 30 fighters in less than a month of fighting, and their combat effectiveness seriously declined. At least fifteen of them were shot down over the port of Tang, and Ozawa Jizaburo once again deepened his understanding of the Naval Resistance Army.

In the past period, Zheng Xuechang led the battleship Atlantic to operate in southern Ceylon. June is the rainy season in Ceylon, and the Bay of Bengal is also rainy. Originally, this kind of weather was more suitable for the Atlantic battleship to sneak attack Ozawa's fleet. However, Zheng Xuechang is more depressed that the Arabian Sea is rainy and sunny. The sea area where Ozawa's fleet wandered was at the southern tip of mainland India, between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, and the weather was unpredictable, and Zheng Xuechang never found an opportunity.

Zheng Xuechang, who does not have an aircraft carrier, needs at least three consecutive days of heavy rain and windy weather to complete a sneak attack.

Ozawa Jizaburo's fleet began to evacuate Ceylon in the early morning of the 25th, and for a week, the weather did not give face, and Zheng Xuechang had no choice but to wander in the Indian Ocean and could not get close to Ceylon.

It was not until the 26th that Zheng Xuechang finally confirmed that Ozawa's main fleet had withdrawn from Ceylon. Jizaburo Ozawa left only two destroyers and a few submarines in the waters of Ceylon, not careless, nor self-proclaimed invincible. Although in the past nearly a month, Jizaburo Ozawa has been almost invincible. As a veteran admiral, Ozawa Jizaburo would never think that the British Navy was afraid of him, nor would he think that the warships of the Naval Resistance Army would not dare to trouble him.

Ozawa was called "Oniwa" by his subordinates because of the facial nerve injuries caused by an accident on the ship, which left him with little expression. Fifty-six-year-old Jizaburo Ozawa has a lot of battlefield experience and, like his facial expression, is calm inside. He was different from many generals of the Japanese army. He was not only an expert in mine warfare, but also a master of aviation warfare. Within the Japanese Navy, both Jizaburo Ozawa and Tabun Yamaguchi were regarded as first-class experts in aviation warfare.

Originally, Lieutenant General Jizaburo Ozawa (who was promoted in June and had just become a lieutenant general. It was intended to take all the warships, but Vice Admiral Takuma Nishimura on the Army side strongly objected. Therefore, Jizaburo Ozawa was in a position to cope, leaving two poor destroyers in Ceylon. Before leaving, Jizaburo Ozawa told his subordinates that they --- be able to fight and preserve their strength.

Daring to leave two destroyers alone around Ceylon, Jizaburo Ozawa is definitely not a brainless performance.

Both destroyers were Yangyan-class destroyers of the Japanese army, with a full load displacement of 2,500 tons and a power of up to 52,000 horsepower. The maximum speed can reach thirty-five knots. The main guns are: three 50x caliber three-year double-mounted 127mm guns.

This is where Jizaburo Ozawa's confidence lies. Although this destroyer is not the most advanced destroyer in the Japanese Navy, it is also a very good destroyer, and it can be regarded as the elite combat power of destroyers. In addition to its strong firepower, the most important thing is its high speed. And its super endurance - 6,000 nautical miles, is another survival guarantee that can be relied on.

Take the Tengu-class destroyers of the Maritime Resistance Army, for example. THE MAXIMUM SPEED IS THIRTY-ONE KNOTS, AND THE MAIN GUN IS ONLY A QUADRUPLE 127MM GUN. The power is only 13,600 horsepower. The only thing that can be compared to the Japanese Yangyan-class destroyers is the endurance. Because it is powered by two German 6,800 horsepower diesel engines, the fuel consumption is less, so the cruising range can reach 6,000 nautical miles.

But in terms of combat effectiveness, it should be said that it is far inferior. First of all, the number of main guns is not as good as that of the Japanese army, and secondly, the most critical speed of the destroyer is not the opponent of the Japanese Yangyan-class destroyers. If it were one-on-one, the Tengu-class destroyers of the Naval Resistance Force would only be able to take a beating.

As for the survivability of the higher ranks. Ability to resist sinking. The Japanese Yangyan-class destroyers were even more than a few notches higher. The Maritime Resistance Force has its own shape, and the Tengu-class destroyers that have no reality cannot catch up with the design level of the Japanese destroyers.

To put it simply, the most fundamental reason why Jizaburo Ozawa left these two destroyers is. He thinks his destroyer can do it, and if he can't hit it, he will run. In addition, the two captains are both prime-aged officers who have been in the army for more than 20 years, not only have rich experience, but also have extremely energy, and they can be regarded as Ozawa's favorite generals.

Therefore, Jizaburo Ozawa is confident.

But Ozawa didn't know that in fact, he had lost at least twice in these days. Zheng Xuechang's battleship Atlantic had twelve water reconnaissance aircraft, three of which were more importantly equipped with British sea search radars. The reconnaissance-focused Naval Resistance Army spotted the Ozawa fleet at least twice. If the Naval Resistance Army had an aircraft carrier in hand, Ozawa would probably be crying by now.

The main force of Ozawa's fleet had just retreated, and Zheng Xuechang finally caught the real fighter. On the 26th, the sea of Ceylon saw a rare sunny day.

In the evening, two Japanese destroyers fell into the line of sight of the reconnaissance planes of the Maritime Resistance Army. However, it was too late, and it was already too dark for the water reconnaissance plane to take off again.

At this time, Zheng Xuechang's fleet was located 250 kilometers south of Ceylon, while the Japanese destroyers were located about 70 kilometers south of Ceylon.

Jizaburo Ozawa left behind two destroyers, naturally not without any tasks, and his main task was still to prevent the British army from retreating from Colombo by sea, and by the way, to support the Japanese army attacking Colombo with naval guns.

The two destroyers had been roaming the sea area for several days, blocking the Colombo evacuation route.

In the case that Ceylon is no longer free of British fighters, it should be said that the two destroyers of the devils are still quite safe. Here, the Gulf of Mannar, formed by the gap between the island of Ceylon and the Indian mainland, is a trumpet-shaped bay narrow in the north and wide in the south, which has been completely opened up in this dimension, and to the west, the Indian continent no longer extends, but the vast Arabian Sea.

Once something happens, the best option is, of course, to head south, into the vast Indian Ocean. Even if the south were to be intercepted, the two destroyers could flee westward into the Arabian Sea. Of course, there is a sub-optimal option, which is to go north, through the Pauk Strait, a strait formed by mainland India and northern Ceylon.

To put it simply, although this place is not extensive, it is not a place of death.

Early in the morning of the 27th. The waters of Ceylon are once again cloudy and misty. The so-called rainy mist here in Ceylon is completely different from the spring Jiangnan in China. The light rain here is very special, the rain is not dense, but the raindrops are quite heavy.

In the sea area where the Japanese destroyers were loitering, a destroyer quietly appeared. This is a French-made Clark-class torpedo boat captured by the Naval Resistance Force in Madagascar. Displacement of three thousand tons. There were only three 127mm single-mount guns and two triple-mounted torpedo launchers.

Originally, France planned to use it as a destroyer, but later found that it was too unqualified to be used as a destroyer, so it was converted into a torpedo boat. So this fully functional and weak combat effectiveness of the second mixed battleship appeared.

However, even the second-class warship is not much different from the Tengu-class destroyers of the Maritime Resistance Army. There is at least one indicator, much better than the Tengu-class destroyers - speed. This destroyer can reach a speed of thirty-three knots, while the Tengu-class and pickup-class of the Maritime Resistance Force only have a speed of thirty-one knots. This destroyer is known as the Baxia 11 in the Naval Resistance Army.

Baxia 11 appeared here precisely because its speed was the only high-speed destroyer in Zheng Xuechang's fleet.

The captain of the ship, Major Yuan Chaozu, is now 40 years old. He had a different experience from many naval officers in the Naval Resistance Army. There is a very special place, that is, Major Yuan Chaozu studied naval military affairs in Japan. You must know that the Japanese Navy has never recruited foreign students, except for student exchanges with other countries.

The ancestors of the Yuan Dynasty were originally from Shandong, and they went to the east with their ancestors and fathers. The war was still raging, and the whole family died in the Russo-Japanese War. Some died of horse bandits, some died of famine. Yuan Chaozu was adopted by the owner of a small Japanese grocery store. Become the son of the Sasaki family. Old Sasaki had no children. Therefore, Yuan Chaozu had a Japanese name called Sasaki Taro.

Yuan Chaozu worked hard, and his adoptive father Sasaki supported him, so Yuan Chaozu was able to be admitted to the Japanese Junior Naval School (not a naval academy, which trains officers. ）。 Later, I married a Japanese woman as my wife.

The 918 Incident made Yuan Chaozu twenty-nine years old. Personally. He is grateful to the old Sasaki, who has passed away. But he did not forget that his surname was Yuan, nor did he forget that he was a Chinese. Therefore, he found an excuse to flee to China with his wife and children, and joined the command of Chairman Chiang.

To say that there are countless Chinese military students who have studied in Japan, studying in Japan is not a big problem. Chairman Chiang attended a military academy in Japan, majoring in army artillery.

But Yuan Chaozu's situation is a bit special. It is a bit "unclear in history", so it has not been reused, and he once served as an instructor in the electric thunder military academy opened by Chairman Chiang, and also pushed mines on the Yangtze River to blow up Japanese warships. Later, Li Guang and Chairman Jiang made an arms exchange deal for talents, and this kind of figure with an unclear history was sold to the Naval Resistance Army without hesitation.

For this kind of personnel whose history is not clear, Li Guang actually has a cautious eye. However, Yuan Chaozu did not hesitate at all, and brought all his wife and children to Tanggang.

Li Guang is very kind and thinks that being a spy and taking his wife and children is unlikely from the perspective of human nature. Yuan Chaozu's historical issues are not something he can control, and a child who is on the verge of starving to death seems to be beyond reproach for recognizing the Japanese as his father. As a result, Yuan Chaozu was able to assume the position of captain of the destroyer of the Baxia 11.

In the early morning rain, Yuan Chaozu was quite anxious in his heart, and he was eager to make meritorious service and prove himself. However, when the Baxia 11 reached the ocean west of Colombo, it could not find the Japanese destroyers.

Without radar, in the rain and fog, it was too difficult to find two Japanese destroyers just by relying on observers.

Looking at the watch on his wrist, it was already 6:50 in the morning.

Yuan Chaozu's task, to put it simply, is a decoy. Yuan Chaozu was silent at all, nor did he deliberately hide his traces, but the fish never appeared.

Yuan Chaozu made up his mind and took Baxia 11 straight to the coastline near Colombo. There, the Japanese Army was attacking Colombo, and the sound of artillery and gunfire continued throughout the night.

At half past seven, Baxia No. 11 began shelling Japanese positions on the shore at close range. Yuan Chaozu was afraid that the devil would not be able to find it, so he boldly fired at a distance of less than two kilometers from the coast, what he wanted was to be discovered by the devil.

At 7:45, the Japanese land-based artillery began to return fire. Baxia 11 only began to evacuate into the distance.

At 8:30, the fish took the bait. Two Yangyan-class destroyers appeared in the south of Baxia 11.

Seven or eight kilometers apart, the two sides spotted their opponents almost simultaneously.

The difference is that the Japanese Yangyan-class destroyer only has a speed of about 25 knots at this time, while the bait hovering over the ocean, the Baxia 11, has been maintaining a speed of more than 30 knots.

Yuan Chaozu took the lead in firing the cannon. At the same time, the No. 11 destroyer was overpowered, and it was rushing north with full horsepower.

For many years in the Japanese Navy, Yuan Chaozu has a very good grasp of the psychology of little devils. There's no need to make too many moves to provoke your opponents. As long as the little devil sees the target, he will definitely chase after him like a dog.

Sure enough, the two Japanese destroyers did not hesitate to start the pursuit.

If Yuan Chaozu could see it, he would find it. The commander of the Japanese destroyer Qinshio, who pursued first, was an acquaintance. The captain of the destroyer Qinshio, Nishimura Sanryu Shaozuo, and Yuan Chaozu are classmates and alumni of the Japanese Junior Naval School. Yuan Chaozu was a big man from Shandong, tall and strong, while Sanglong in the West Village was thin and withered. In school, Nishimura Sanglong is a younger brother of Yuan Chaozu, who has sharp fists and feet.

The destroyer Qinchao is fast enough, and the Baxia 11 is not slow. After two hours of pursuit, Nishimura Sanglong's level performance was no worse than Yuan Chaozu's. On such a rainy day, it is not easy to not chase and lose the target.

If you look at it from a slightly higher level, Nishimura Sanglong has already crossed the ninth parallel at this time.

What is this concept? On the west side of Mannar Bay, Cape Comorin, at the southern tip of the Indian mainland, is about this dimension. And on the east side is the west coast of Ceylon.

In other words, Nishimura Sanglong had really entered the waters of Manar Bay at this time. began to enter Zheng Xuechang's carefully planned pocket.

However, Nishimura Sanglong didn't have this consciousness at all at this time. Fighting when the enemy is met is the creed of the British Royal Navy, and it is also deeply rooted in the hearts of the Japanese Navy. But at the level of Nishimura Sanglong, his understanding is not deep enough, he only knows that there is meat in front of him, so he has to chase it. If Nishimura Sanguryu knew that the destroyer fleeing in front of him was his boss, he wouldn't know what to think.

If Nishimura Sanglong knew this, I am afraid that he would not be fooled. He had the impression that Yuan Chaozu was a "warrior" who dared to fight and fight, and it was definitely abnormal to flee like this. (To be continued......)