The military transport plane flying from Ceylon to Qinzhou had to make a connecting flight in Kunming, where the skies over Thailand were not yet very safe. In Vilmoc? After Admiral Yankel commanded the Axis fleet to force a breakthrough into the South China Sea, it became very difficult to supply the Japanese troops in the South China Sea, and although the Axis Expeditionary Force had not yet launched a full-scale counteroffensive, it was clear that the number of Japanese fighters in the area had become significantly smaller.

Rear Admiral Sa Shijun, who had been wounded in the leg, recuperated in Ceylon for about a month before he began to return home.

It was now September 1941, and after nearly four years of absence, he had finally stood on the soil of his homeland again. When he went abroad, the country was still in a bleak and bloody storm, the Japanese offensive was fierce, and cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, and Wuhu fell one after another. However, now that the Wehrmacht has begun to launch an all-out counterattack, recovering Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Hefei, Wuhu, and other important cities one after another, the invading Japanese army in the Yangtze River valley can only retreat to the triangle from Nanjing to Shanghai and Hangzhou for passive defense, and has lost its offensive capability.

In the north, the Wehrmacht had regained Mongolia and the Far East east east of Lake Baikal to Chita, and cut off the Siberian railway transport line of Soviet Russia. In the summer offensive, the Wehrmacht drove the Japanese back to the area east of the Great Khing'an Mountains, and in the Rehe battlefield, the Wehrmacht regained the two important cities of Chifeng and Linxi, and advanced the front to the Horqin grassland, preparing for a full-scale counteroffensive in the northeast.

The domestic newspapers and magazines he read on the plane exuded confidence in victory, as opposed to the situation in the early days of the war of resistance. The tide of the war had been reversed, and the Axis fleets began to launch counterattacks on the Philippine front, preparing to bypass Malaya and attack the enemy's relatively weak rear.

Sa Shijun had a lot of thoughts about what he would encounter when he reported to the headquarters of the Navy's First Fleet. The loss of a rich capital ship of the Navy in his hands was indeed a command error, and Sa Shijun had already attached a review of his own to the report to the Admiralty. But if you dispose of yourself, the Admiralty has not followed.

His only fear is that he will be transferred to the shore in the future, idle, and then not given any chance to command warships to wash away the "stain" of his military career.

The port of Qinzhou has changed a lot, and it seems that it has suddenly become a large seaport city, after not seeing it for several years.

The headquarters building of the Navy's Second Fleet, located at the foot of Huweiling Mountain, is white. It sits between the Navy Shipyard and the Fleet Base, sparkling in the sun. The office building was built after Mr. Sa left China, and he followed Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Xing, who had gone to meet him at the airport, through the five-story office building to a three-story building to the east of the headquarters building.

Admiral Chen Shiying, commander of the Second Fleet, has the office of this building, and in the hall behind the entrance, two young officers on duty are registering the people who have come in and out.

"General, please show your ID?" The major officer on duty looked young, but Sa Shijun had never seen it. It seems that the Second Fleet of the Navy has changed a lot in the course of four years.

"Documents? What documents? Sa Shijun said.

"This is General Sa Shijun, he has just returned to China, and his pass and military ID are in Commander Chen's office, and he has not had time to issue them to General Sa yet." Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Xing explained for him.

"Ah, General Sa, I've heard of your deeds!" The major suddenly became enthusiastic. "You may be seated first." He let Sa Shijun to the sofa in the hall first, and then pressed the intercom button. Reported to the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet on the second floor.

The commander of the fleet did not make him wait long and soon received him.

Admiral Chen Shiying was sitting behind a large desk by the window and was signing the paper, "Yi Zhong, you're back!" Please wait a while. Admiral Chen greeted him and motioned for him to sit down on the sofa in his office first, and then continued to bury his head in signing the paper. The adjutant of the fleet commander poured him a cup of black tea. Then he retreated again. The admiral was dressed in a light blue shirt, and there was no expression on his thin face.

"Okay," Admiral Chen inserted the pen into the holster, then put the signed document aside and stood up. The eyes glared at him, "What happened at sea after we left?" ”

"We met the enemy's submarine and were hit by two more torpedoes." Sa Shijun shook his head helplessly, his own points in the Sumatra naval battle were indeed very remarkable, and he repeated the situation in detail at that time, "I ask for punishment from the Admiralty, but don't transfer me off the sea, even if I am the captain of a destroyer." He concluded.

"That's not it, the loss of personnel on the 'Guangxi' is very small, but the tiger stripe medal that was originally scheduled to be awarded to you has been cancelled." Chen Shiying said, "What happened to the Japanese submarine? ”

"It should have been sunk, but the sea was very deep, and the destroyer had found oil stains coming up from the sea, but they couldn't be sure. The oil could also have come from the 'Guangxi'. "The maximum depth of the Japanese submarine is only 75 meters, and our sonar should be able to capture its position."

"Well, it's revenge, the Japanese torpedo performance is really good." "However, we did make a lot of mistakes in the Sumatra campaign. ”

"Yes, sir!" "If I could be careful, the Guangxi would be fine." ”

"Okay, I don't need to talk about that again." Admiral Chen said, "The Austro-Hungarian Emperor famously said: warships are built to be sunk, to sink the enemy or to be sunk by the enemy, and if we build ships faster than the enemy can sink them, then we will win the victory of the sea occupation." ”

"Yes, I already understood this when I was in Europe, and the main factor that determines victory or defeat at sea is the slipway." Sa Shijun said, "Modern warfare is about industrial capacity. ”

"This is indeed the case, and our operational doctrine should be revised accordingly." Chen Shiying continued, "There are no new warships for you for the time being, what are your plans?" ”

"I want to go to the submarine force and go on a few trips with them so that I don't make the same mistakes as this one." Sa Shijun said.

"Hmm...... Well, recently there were exactly two new submarines in service, and I will arrange them for you. Admiral Chen said, "The domestic industry is developing rapidly, the Navy's Qinzhou Shipyard is building two 'Romanian' class aircraft carriers, and in addition, the two aircraft carriers built by the Italians for us are also about to be delivered, where do you choose to go?" ”

"I want to go to Italy to pick up the ship, sir!" Sa Shijun said he was excited by the news that the two aircraft carriers built by Italian shipyards for China were almost outfitting and would soon be ready for service.

"Haha, I thought you'd pick the two big ones." Admiral Chen said with a smile. (To be continued......)