A large number of sonar targets discovered by the Rainbow Fish submarine were none other than the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet. The Linglong reconnaissance plane of the two oceanic fleets and the Xiaolulong flank-rotor reconnaissance plane that took off from Nanchang both sent back confirmed telegrams.

Zhang Zheng held that the operational objective of the combined fleet was the Yanhuang convoy transporting ships, cutting off the transportation and replenishment lines of the Northern Group Army in the waters of Shanghai and Zhoushan. Once the Royal Navy approached, the Combined Fleet could retreat to the mouth of the Huangpu River and rely on Chongming Island and Wusongkou Fortress for a decisive battle.

"But...... This is not scientific! Commander Yu Rongfeng of the Pacific Fleet frowned, and his fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest of the sofa. Commander, our fleet is now located 420 nautical miles from Shanghai, and the Combined Fleet has just sailed out of the Korean Strait, which is about the same distance from Shanghai as ours. With the speed of the two fleets, we will arrive at Wusongkou almost at the same time, and with the range of carrier-based aircraft, we can launch an attack before the combined fleet enters Wusongkou. ”

"That's right, you can think that Yamamoto, as a naval tactician, can't think of it! So what exactly is the real intention of the Combined Fleet? Zhang Zheng's habitual action when thinking is to clench his fists together and make a gurgling sound from his knuckles.

"Sneak attack!" Mao Shiying, the commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet, who had been sitting next to him and was spitting clouds and mist, suddenly opened his mouth and said two words, almost dropping his Tianhong golden silk nanmu pipe to the ground.

"Sneak attack?" Zhang Zheng and Yu Rongfeng are both confused!

"Think about the Battle of the Yellow Sea." Mao Quartz, who almost lost his beloved, carefully held the red pipe steady, and walked to the chart, "In the first year of the First Wu Dynasty, when the Beiyang Naval Division transported troops to Dadonggou and returned to Daludao, it was an ambush by the little devils, and the battle started before the formation was completed!" Sneak attack, so that the point of three rotten means, is the combined fleet...... It should be said that it is the nature and tradition of all Japanese people. So I think the combined fleet will still use the method of sneak attack. ”

"What Lao Mao said makes sense, but how did they sneak attack us? Their sailing routes are completely under the supervision of our reconnaissance planes and submarines, so what are you talking about sneak attacks? Commander Yu also thought of the naval battle more than 40 years ago, and in the minds of the navy people, it is impossible to forget the naval battle that determined the rise and fall of the country's fortunes.

As Mao Quartz's finger pointed to the position of Dadonggou on the chart, the "rattle" sound in Zhang Zheng's hand also stopped, and his eyes stared at the top of the chart motionless.

"I see!" The Commander of the Navy slammed his fist on the table, clanging the iron conference table on the ship. "Hide from the sky and cross the sea, secretly cross Chen Cang? Yamamoto is so calculating! ”

"What?" The two fleet commanders opened their mouths wide, how could they feel that they couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the boss!

"Lao Mao, Lao Yu, look." Zhang Zheng stood up and walked to the chart, "The current location of the Combined Fleet is in the area of the Five Islands. According to the reconnaissance of our aircraft, their course was Shanghai. Is it possible, Yamamoto Fifty-six played a trick to hide the world, that is, to split the combined fleet in two, and some of the ships continue to sail to Shanghai, diverting our attention, while the main force of the fleet will hide here. The naval commander's finger was pointed at the Jeju Strait, which was below North Korea.

"Weihai? Sneak attack on the Northern Fleet! The two fleet commanders looked at each other and said the same answer.

Zhang Zheng nodded solemnly, "Very likely!" Lao Yu contacted Commander Longzhou, strengthened vigilance, and increased the reconnaissance range to the Korean front. ”

"What about us?"

"Leave the battlefleet to continue to assist the Yangzhou army to land on Miyako Island, and the rest of the battleships will go north with all their might, since Yamamoto doesn't like the East China Sea, then we will go to the Yellow Sea to play with them!" With a clatter, Zhang Zheng pinched the bone joint of his right index finger hard.

The Goto Islands, an archipelago off the west coast of Kyushu, Japan, are distributed in the north-south direction of Fukue, Kuga, Naru, Wakamatsu and Nakami, which are rich in high-quality stone and thriving tourism.

During the Ming Dynasty, there was a Jiangsu-Zhejiang king who occupied the five islands and proclaimed himself the "King of Hui" (called the "King of the Five Peaks Boat" in the Japanese classics). Although he established himself as the king, Wang Zhi once wrote to the Ming Dynasty government and was willing to accept the court's recruitment. The conditions were only to open the sea ban and allow foreign trade, and he himself only asked to be a petty official in charge of trade. However, the Zhu Ming court believed that the sea ban was a matter of principle and could not be changed. Zhao'an couldn't do anything, and Wang Zhi had no choice but to be desperate for armed smuggling, robbery and plunder, and officially became a pirate. A few years later, Wang Zhi was tricked back to Hangzhou and beheaded for public display. After that, the Eight Banners entered the customs, and the principle of sea prohibition was inherited by the Manchu court, until the foreigners knocked on the door of the country with warships and cannons, and forced trade.

If you don't understand it after discussing it yourself, the foreigners can understand it with muskets and cannons, which is the most common principle of the Manchu Qing government in modern times.

In the West, when pirates discovered the New World, they could be knighted, Australia, Canada, ...... Which colony wasn't the most discovered by pirates? Perhaps this is the reason why the South China Sea, China's actual inland sea, is so controversial today.

But the past is the past, whether it is success or failure. Just as Vice Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet, who stood on the deck of the Mutsu in the waters of Goto to commemorate the First Sino-Japanese Battle in the Yellow Sea, the great achievements of Heihachiro Togo, Yuhiro Ito, and other predecessors are still vividly visible. But the result was that they won, the Qing Dynasty, Russia, and the prosperity of Japan in the decades that followed.

And what about today? Will today's Combined Fleet be able to turn the tide and create another miracle?

"Report to the commander, the convoy from Nagasaki has arrived in the designated sea area." Dressed in a crisp white navy uniform, Endo Kiyi stood upright.

Yamamoto slowly turned around, "Endo-kun, please!" ”

"Hello! Please rest assured, commander, that I will definitely lead the detachment fleet to complete the mission, and wish the main force of our fleet a successful surprise attack. ”

……

With the cruiser Kagu as the flagship, twelve destroyers, and a camouflaged transport flotilla from Nagasaki formed the 9th Combined Fleet Detachment, which would continue to sail to Shanghai to "complete" the task of cutting off the reinforcement line of the Han Army's Northern Army, or rather, to convince the Han reconnaissance planes and submarines that they were going to "accomplish" the mission.

The main force of the combined fleet, four large aircraft carriers, the Kaga, Akagi, Shozuru, and Zuihe, two light aircraft carriers Yongyang and Shoho, and a number of seaplane carriers, were escorted by a number of Nagato-class, Ise-class, and Fuso-class battleships, and changed course to the Jeju Strait.