At 20:00 on December 24, Hawaiian time, 400 nautical miles north of Oahu, 32 warships of the First Air Fleet of the East Asian Coalition were splitting through the dark sea at night and speeding towards the beautiful harbor named after pearls.

On the bridge of the commander's ship of the fleet's flagship "Dapeng", in the face of the deep and boundless darkness, Vice Admiral Liang Shuming, the commander of the fleet, held his arms and did not move, and suddenly ordered the staff officers beside him in a voice like metal friction: "Use signal lights to order all battle teams, our fleet has entered the patrol circle of enemy cruisers, and the whole fleet will implement absolute light control from 21:00, and all ships must strengthen their night watch to avoid collisions." ”

"Yes!" The staff officer took the record and took the order.

As the most critical part of the entire Hawaiian strategy, the mobile force, as a confidential "surprise soldier", must not make a mistake, and Liang Shuming, who shoulders heavy responsibilities, cannot be cautious.

Liang Shuming is forty-eight years old this year, not tall, thin, and a little delicate. At the age of 18, he joined the former Shimizu Division, and served on the "Chaoyong" (first generation) and "Dingyuan" successively, and was repeatedly promoted for his outstanding performance, and at the age of 24 he was able to escort the newly established Dalian Military Academy of the Naval University.

Twenty years ago, as one of the 68 first graduates, he won the sword given by the Guangxu Emperor with the first place in the navigation department, and then was assigned to the "Longwei" (second generation) and participated in the Battle of Dadonggou, which annihilated the main force of the Japanese Navy.

After the First Sino-Japanese War, perhaps as fate would have it, Liang Shuming formed an inseparable bond with naval aviation - first he was ordered to learn to fly, and then served as a squad leader and squadron leader of the seaplane unit, and after the completion of the Flying Eagle, the first seaplane carrier of the empire, he was appointed as the captain of the ship. In the most splendid naval battle of the South China Sea in the Asian-Russian War, Liang Shuming commanded the first aviation team composed of the "Flying Eagle" and the "Sky Eagle" to accompany the main force in the battle.

After the Aussio-Russian War, Liang Shuming returned to Haida for retraining, during which he put forward a new theory of naval aviation warfare, which was supported by successive high-level figures such as the Minister of National Defense and the Chief of the General Staff.

Liang Shuming is convinced that aircraft carriers and their carrier-based aircraft will surely become the hegemon that dominates the oceans in the future.

It's just that due to the limitations of the industrial level, it is still early for the naval aviation unit at this time to completely replace the giant ship artillery - Liang Shuming still has a clear understanding of this.

During the secret exercises in Vladivostok and Kagoshima, the "Thunder Eagle" carrier-based attack planes used special 450-mm shallow-water torpedoes to attack targets at close range, and achieved excellent results, but compared with the 500-mm and 550-mm heavy torpedoes commonly deployed on first-line submarines and surface warships, the 450-mm aviation torpedoes, which weigh only 450 kg, are indeed somewhat weaker, and it may be difficult to deal with the latest enemy warships. In addition, the "Thunder Eagle" attack aircraft has a low speed and is difficult to maneuver after being equipped with torpedoes, and it can easily become a target for machine guns or even rifles when attacking at ultra-low altitudes, and the results are also not ideal when attacking enemy ships moving at high speed.

The engine industry can't keep up, although no matter how you look at it, it has been ahead of other countries for several years, but it can only reluctantly equip the "Thunder Eagle" with the HK-10 220 horsepower engine of Beiyang Heavy Industry, and the more powerful engine is not nothing, but the volume and weight are too large, and it can only be installed on a land-based bomber that does not need to consider the conditions on the ship.

In view of this, we can only pin the hope of the aviation attack force to exert its might on a surprise attack that will catch the opponent off guard, so if the whereabouts of the fleet are discovered and the surprise attack turns into a strong attack, the combat effectiveness of the air attack force will be greatly reduced - a reduction of three percent? Fifty percent? No, it is possible that not even a single enemy ship will be sunk by then, but will suffer huge losses!

The concealment of the action is the guarantee of victory!

It's just that everything that needs to be done has been done, and now, I can only pray for God's blessing.

Liang Shuming took off his military hat, held it in his hand and stroked it carefully, trying to calm his mind.

This night is destined to be long and unbearable.

In the spacious hangar below the deck of the "Dapeng", hundreds of maintenance crews and pilots are still nervously preparing for tomorrow's battle.

"Check it out, keep your eyes open, and touch it inch by inch with your fingers! Our pilots must not be allowed to take to the skies in the plane in question! ”

At the other end of the hangar, the chief of the maintenance of the 504 Ship Battle Squadron was holding a loudspeaker to cheer up the maintenance personnel, this is the third inspection today, but none of the maintenance personnel complained that they were tired.

"Steady...... Steady...... Aiming at ...... Distance one thousand, nine hundred, eight hundred,...... Five hundred! Put! Pull it up! Well done! ”

On the hangar side, the pilots of the 116th Ship Attack Squadron are carrying out the most advanced training with the goal of drawing a large cardboard with a projection map of the side of the enemy ship: several maintenance personnel carry the cardboard vertically and approach at a constant speed from the front of the plane, so that the shadow of the ship will become larger and larger, and when the specified distance is reached, the pilot presses the torpedo launch button to simulate the completion of a series of actions such as throwing mines, pulling up, regrouping, and returning to sea -- this is also the most effective training method when it is impossible to conduct a live flight exercise.

"This is 'Delaware' class! This, 'New York' class! 'Nevada' class! That's right...... It's your turn......"

On the other side, several pairs of pilots are testing each other on cards with the silhouette of an enemy ship, in order to exercise their identification skills, so that they can select targets during the war and confirm the results after the battle.

Qi Bing, a female ensign with a ponytail dangling at the back of her head, is particularly interested in this game, and whenever she guesses it, she always claps her hands excitedly, and her face is covered with a pair of beautiful dimples, as if for her, war is an interesting game.

"Oops, I guessed it again, it's your turn......"

Companions have long been accustomed to this girl who always brings joy, and no one does not want to face life and death happily, and if you can't avoid war, just face it like a game - young people always find a way to comfort themselves.

"Morale is high."

Behind a row of glass windows above the hangar, Major General Bi Lingbo, commander of the First Combat Team, witnessed the lively scene below and praised it sincerely.

"It's good to be young, you can not think so much, you can face life and death so happily ......"

Colonel Cai Yong, the captain of the 1st Wing on the side, also sighed with a teacup.

Bi Lingbo nodded slightly: "Young people, fearless young people, after this battle, they will become steel and war gods, I look forward to it." ”

"Yes, to be steel, to be the pillars of the empire, not to be sacrificed needlessly. Even if you die, you have to die worthwhile, and that's exactly what it's the responsibility of our commanders. Tomorrow, I'll see them go from hairy boys to real warriors! ”

Cai Yong's eyes were like torches, as if he was already on the battlefield at this time, spreading his strong wings and flying towards the forest of masts and the undulating ships of the mountains!

PS：

Historical trivia –

The British Sopwith-Cuckoo carrier-based attack aircraft, commissioned in 1918, produced 120 aircraft, with Sunbeam-Arab-piston (200 hp), a maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h), a range of 400 miles (640 km), and a 450-kilogram 18-inch (457 mm) aviation torpedo.