Knock knock knock......

There was a sudden knock on the door of the officer's lounge of the heavy cruiser Haitian, and then there was a soft creak, and the door was opened.

In the officer's lounge, Chang Ruiqing and Lu Yixuan were playing Go, and the chessboard was staggered in black and white, and it was the endgame.

It was Zhao Xiang'er who suddenly broke in. These days, Sun Yuexun is still waiting in Berlin to give birth, and the errand of Chang Ruiqing's private secretary has let the two sisters of the Zhao family take care of it, that is, some work of sending and receiving letters and translating telegrams, although the two of them are not as professional as Sun Yuexun, but they can also deal with it, and it doesn't matter if the translation is slower. Anyway, it's not a big deal, now that the "Four-Power Mutual Defense Treaty" has been signed, and the first phase of the general mobilization in the country has been completed. With more than one million strong troops in the town, and foreign powers such as France, Germany, and Italy to help, and the Japanese government has repeatedly expressed its willingness to be friendly to the Chinese side, Chang Ruiqing really has no worries about domestic affairs at all.

The two of them looked up together, and saw Zhao Xiang'er standing there with a flushed face, holding a copy of the telegram in her hand, pointing at the two of them, still gasping for air.

Chang Ruiqing and Lu Yixuan glanced at each other, both slightly surprised. Chang Ruiqing immediately asked, "Xiang'er, what's wrong?" Could it be that the USSR declared war on us? ”

Zhao Xiang'er shook her head vigorously, and shouted to Chang Ruiqing with a nervous expression: "Sir! Something big is wrong, the USSR and Japan are colluding to murder you! ”

Chang Ruiqing still looked like Mount Tai had collapsed and his face remained unchanged, and he smiled lightly: "What are they going to do this time?" Are you going to send a beautiful assassin to kill me? ”

Zhao Xiang'er glared at him angrily. He stomped his feet and said in a deep voice: "The Military Intelligence Bureau is calling." This morning there was a riot in a barracks near Chita, the capital of the Soviet Far Eastern Republic, led by Zhang Guotao and Tang Jiu......"

"Tang Jiu? What's going on? Chang Ruiqing hadn't spoken yet, but Lu Yixuan opened his mouth first, and he threw away the chess pieces in his hand. Didn't you say you couldn't get in touch? Who ordered the riots? Play the piano around! ”

Chang Ruiqing shook his head and asked Zhao Xiang'er: "Xiang'er, does the riot have anything to do with murdering me?" ”

Zhao Xiang'er nodded and said, "The news that the Japanese and the Soviet Union conspired to kill you is that Tang Jiu used the radio of the 15th Division of the Soviet Red Army to report to Nanjing after the riot...... Tang Jiu reported that the Japanese crown prince Hirohito secretly mobilized a warship to the South China Sea to rob and kill us without telling their government! ”

With a bang, Chang Ruiqing had already jumped up. Brought the chessboard down, and the black and white chess pieces were scattered all over the ground: "Isn't this the South China Sea?" Does Chen Shaokuan know? Hurry up and sue him, let the warship turn around and go to Singapore......"

After saying this, Chang Ruiqing didn't wait for Zhao Xiang'er's answer, he ran to the telephone in the officer's room, picked up the headset and hung up the phone to Chen Shaokuan on the bridge. Well, it's hard to tell if it's true or not. But when it comes to your own life, it's always better to be cautious!

"Chen Houfu? I'm Chang Ruiqing, and I ordered the Haitian to turn immediately and sail at full speed to Singapore! Execute it now! ”

Chen Shaokuan took the phone from the communications officer, and heard such a headless order! But listening to the voice is definitely Chairman Chang, and today is not April Fool's Day...... No matter how ridiculous an order is, it is an order. It always has to be done. So he did not hesitate to give the order to the first mate.

"Change course, target Singapore, speed 31 knots!"

"What? Going to Singapore? The first mate was stunned and did not immediately convert Chen Shaokuan's order into a rudder order and a command. The navy of the Republic of China was inherited from the British navy, and the regulations of commanding in battle were also copied from the British. As the captain of the ship, Chen Shaokuan will not personally steer or pull the bell, nor will he give orders to the helmsman and the bellkeeper. Rather, it is necessary to convey orders through the guò first mate.

"It's the chairman's instructions, copy it." Chen Shaokuan explained. At this moment, the communications officer's shout suddenly rang out.

"Sir, an unidentified warship has been spotted about 28,000 meters northeast, and the other party is rapidly approaching me!"

"Do you know what class of warship it is?"

"I don't know the specifics, but it can be determined that it is a capital ship, and the mast of the other side is British."

"Capital ship? English mast ......" Chen Shaokuan asked with a frown. "Is there any news of the British capital ship coming to the South Seas recently?"

"I haven't heard of it, maybe it's some secret mission, right?" The first mate paused, and then said, "It could also be a Japanese Kongo-class battlecruiser!" ”

……

"Dasa, the heavy cruiser in China seems to be turning course."

"Oh, it looks like they've spotted us, and they're so wary! And what about the French cruise line? Did they steer? ”

"Not yet."

The sudden turn of the heavy cruiser Haitian naturally did not escape the sharp eyes of the lookouts on the Kongo-class battlecruisers 28,000 meters away. In fact, the King Kong had already discovered the Haitian and the French cruise ship. Today's visibility was good, and a strong southerly wind was blowing on the sea, which blew the smoke from the heavy oil boiler of the King Kong relatively dispersed, so the lookout post on the Haitian did not spot the King Kong in time. And the carrier-based aircraft on board the King Kong spotted the opponent early.

Now hearing the news that the Haitian turned around and escaped, Guan Gancheng was a little disappointed, but at the same time he was relieved. The Haitian ran first, indicating that Chang Ruiqing was on this heavy cruiser! If it were the other way around, the Haitian would never dare to leave their master and flee for their lives first. It was determined that Chang Ruiqing was not on the French cruise ship, which avoided unnecessary trouble.

"Report distance." Guan Gancheng asked loudly.

"27,000 meters!"

Due to the U-turn, the distance between Haitian and King Kong has been shortened a little closer!

"Order the Island Wind to pursue the Haitian at full speed, be sure to entangle it!" Guan Gancheng said loudly: "Now start the shelling, King Kong, open the cannon!" Target, the heavy cruiser Haitian! ”

Knowing that the speed of the King Kong was not dominant, Guan Gancheng decided to try his luck by firing at a distance of 27,000 meters...... Maybe Amaterasu blessed him, and the first round of shelling killed Chang Ruiqing!

Thundered......

A loud roar followed. Four 356mm guns from the two turrets directly in front of the bridge opened fire abruptly, and four huge fire clusters reflected the entire bow. Four 680-kilogram armor-piercing shells tore through the air and flew towards the Chinese heavy cruiser 27,000 meters away! Just a dozen seconds later, four super-large water injections rose into the air about 300 meters behind the heavy cruiser Haitian!

It's a pity! Guan Gancheng gritted his teeth and ordered loudly: "Keep shelling!" Be sure to sink Marshal China's ship! ”

And this time. On the bridge of the Haitian, everyone was dumbfounded! The warship is being shelled, still in peacetime, and the Chinese leader is on board now.

"Full speed ahead to Singapore!" Chen Shaokuan shouted.

"Sir, Singapore is a British dependency. Britain and Japan are allies! I don't know who reminded me out loud.

"Britain?" Chen Shaokuan's head buzzed, and it was a bit of a crash. Wouldn't the British Empire also be involved in such a dishonorable event?

"Don't go to Singapore, go around the Straits of Malacca to Siam." Chang Ruiqing had already appeared on the bridge of the Haitian at this time. Now he really can't go to Singapore, although Britain will certainly not follow Japan to declare war on China, but it is not ruled out that they will seize the heavy cruiser Haitian, and now China and Japan are already at war! The value of this heavy cruiser is very great, and it is active in the Indian Ocean. Japanese merchant ships want to go to Europe! As for supplies, Italy's East African colonies and France's Madagascar could provide logistical support for the Haitian – a small favor they would be willing to help with now that the Four-Power Mutual Defense Treaty was still dry.

"Siam and Japanese

The relationship ......," Chen Shaokuan reminded with a frown. Chang Ruiqing waved his hand and sneered: "Rama VI doesn't have the guts, we are now allies with France!" ”

Thundered! The second round of shelling of the King Kong was fired, but it was still missing the crosshairs. The shell fell on the right front about 350 meters from the Haitian.

"Captain, should we fight back?" The first mate of the Haitian found that his captain had not yet given the order to open fire.

"No, it's too far away for us to hit." Chen Shaokuan said. "And these 203 shells are still useful, there are quite a few Japanese freighters in the Indian Ocean!"

"Captain." The communications officer's report rang out again. "The lookout post reports. There is a Japanese destroyer rushing towards us at full speed! ”

"What's the distance? What is the speed? ”

"24,000 meters! The speed is almost 37 knots! ”

"What a madman!" Chen Shaokuan muttered, and then ordered loudly: "Let the No. 3 and No. 4 turrets kill this destroyer!" ”

"Bench. Telegram from the Saint-Malo, they asked us what to do? As soon as Chen Shaokuan's words fell, the communications officer's report rang out.

"Let them go to Bangkok first." Chang Ruiqing said. There were hundreds of French and German officers on this ship, as well as some Italian technicians, the largest of whom was Maxim, who had served as the chief of the French General Staff. Wei Gang, if these people go to Bangkok, that Rama VI's calves must be trembling, and he will definitely not dare to use any crooked brains.

……

"Eight squares! Why didn't you hit again! They are all stupid, and they should all be seppuku! ”

Inside the King Kong, Kenji Dohihara, the head of the Japanese spies, was also watching the battle with a telescope, and while watching, he jumped his feet and scolded the Navy, or scolded the Navy in front of a large number of naval elites! And the naval officers, including Guan Gancheng, did not quarrel with him, and they all stared at the warship that was fleeing at a speed of nearly 30,000 meters in front of them. That is the heavy cruiser Haitian carrying Chang Ruiqing, chairman of the Central Affairs Committee, as long as it is sunk, the Japanese Empire will be the hegemon of the East Asian continent again! But at a distance of 30,000 meters, even a fixed target that does not move is not so easy to hit, let alone a heavy cruiser that is speeding at a speed of 31 knots, that is, almost 58 kilometers per hour? And the King Kong, which opened fire, is also speeding at a speed of nearly 27 knots. At this distance, it is Amaterasu blessed to hit, and it is completely normal to miss!

"The Shimakaze reports that the enemy ship's firepower is too fierce...... "The communications officer of the Kongo received a telegram from the Shimakaze.

"Chase! Full speed pursuit! Guan Gancheng Dazuo roared. Of course, he knew what the consequences would be if the Shimakaze was hit by the stern cannon of the Haitian? The Shimakaze is one of the Peak-class destroyers, with a standard displacement of only 1,215 tons. The main guns of the armament were 120mm caliber, which could not hit the armor of the heavy cruiser at all. The only thing that could threaten the Haitian was three twin 533mm torpedo tubes. However, the torpedo range of this era was limited, and the distance between the two sides had to be shortened to less than 10 kilometers, or even 5 to 6 kilometers, before it was possible to severely damage the Haitian with torpedoes. However, the four 203mm guns in the stern of the Haitian are not vegetarians, and a destroyer like Daofeng has to take a break after a single shot, so it is difficult for all the 148 officers and men of the ship to become gods. So according to normal command, it is absolutely impossible for a destroyer to chase after the heavy cruiser behind the butt and be shelled. But things have come to this point, and Guan Gancheng can't care about it so much. Now that China and Japan have torn their faces, if Chang Ruiqing is not beaten to death, and the more than one million army troops of the other people will rush in, it will be very bad for the Far Eastern State!

"Why haven't you hit yet!" On the other end, Chang Ruiqing was also holding a telescope and staring at the Japanese destroyer Shimakaze. Although he studied the army, he also knew how unreliable it was to use four moving cannons to hit a target moving at a speed of nearly 60 kilometers per hour at a distance of nearly 30 kilometers. So now it's not the King Kong that is really in trouble. It was the small Japanese destroyer that was rapidly approaching, and if the torpedo fired at it hit the Haitian, then he would have to give an account here......

"Commission, it will hit." Chen Shaokuan and Chang Ruiqing stood side by side, and from their expressions, they had completely recovered from the shock just now. He explained: "This Japanese destroyer is looking for death!" It is about 6 knots faster than us, and it can be close to 6 nautical miles in an hour. That is, almost 11,000 meters, and the distance between the two sides will be about 10,000 meters, and I will shoot the warship horizontally, bombard it with all the main guns and the secondary guns on one side at the same time, and definitely sink it in one fell swoop! ”

"What will be the distance between us and the King Kong by then?" Chang Ruiqing asked again.

"About 340,000 meters. They can't beat us. Chen Shaokuan said. And by then, we have almost entered the Strait of Malacca, and it is time for the King Kong to return home. ”

Listen to Chen Shaokuan say this. Chang Ruiqing exhaled heavily. "It's really hanging this time, if we don't get the news in time and get closer, I'm afraid we've already fed the fish at the bottom of the sea, right?" He gritted his teeth as he spoke. "These damn Japs...... It seems that it is not possible to give them a little bit of power! ”

Chen Shaokuan frowned, and said in a low voice: "The meaning of the commission is to prepare for war with Japan?" ”

Chang Ruiqing snorted coldly and threw the telescope to Pan Wenzhao behind him. "The war has begun!" He said to Chen Shaokuan: "Houfu, it's up to you this time, I'll go to the officer's office for a meeting now, and I'll wait for your good news by the way." ”

……

"Commission, now you should give the Navy an order immediately, let them attack immediately!" The one who spoke was Feng Yundong, the captain of the Navy's submarine brigade who followed Chang Ruiqing to Europe to visit WÈN. When Chang Ruiqing returned to the officer's office from the bridge of the Haitian, Lu Yixuan had already summoned the middle and senior officers in Chang Ruiqing's attaché to urgently discuss countermeasures around the map. Seeing Chang Ruiqing walk in, when everyone was busy with the military salute, this Guangxi naval lieutenant colonel was the first to give his opinion.

Chang Ruiqing was stunned for a moment, looked at Feng Yundong and said, "What can those ships of the Navy do?" Isn't a sortie sent to death? This point of view seems to be the unanimous opinion of the Chinese side at the moment, including almost all naval officers. It is true that the current Chinese Navy does not have any warships available, and the only thing that can be used is this heavy cruiser Haitian, as well as two submarines and two destroyers, all of which were imported from Britain. In addition, some of the old cruisers imported in the last years of the Qing Dynasty are just a few ships. As for the small gunboats, they are really embarrassed to show their hands.

"If you don't attack now, you won't have a chance to attack again!" Feng Yundong shouted. "Although the strength of the navy is not good, it is not without a combat capability! The key is what tactics to take. If we were to fight a decisive battle with the main Japanese fleet, it would naturally be impossible to compete for sea supremacy, but it would be more than enough to go to sea to attack Japan's sea transportation lines. After all, Japan is an island country, most of its resources rely on imports, and once China and Japan declare war, the freighters of the Western powers will not be used by Japan, so that Japan's imports and exports can only rely on its own freighters, if we can sink a large number of Japanese merchant ships, we can hit Japan's war potential to the greatest extent! This is the best tactic that the Navy should adopt at the moment! ”

Chang Ruiqing nodded, Feng Yundong's words were not wrong. The Chinese Navy can't fight a decisive battle with the fleet, but if you want to go out and be a pirate, it's enough for little Japan to drink a pot! Well, this Feng Yundong is a naval talent, at least better than the honest boys of the Guangdong Navy and the Fujian Navy!

"That's all!" Chang Ruiqing ordered loudly: "Give an order to Nanjing, and let the Admiralty immediately send all the ships to sea to carry out the task of breaking diplomatic relations." I saw the Japanese-flagged merchant ships and fishing boats sinking me! Be quick, and be sure to get out before Japan blocks our ports! He paused, and then said, "And let our merchant ships hide well, don't let the Japanese sink it." Japanese nationals on Chinese soil should also be detained immediately! All Japanese assets are frozen! By the way, let the Army's Tiger Head Fortress immediately open artillery bombardment of the Far Eastern railway line! ”