Episode 70 Countdown to July 6

On the morning of July 6, Xiang Xiaoqiang was in a good mood, but when he glanced at the calendar and saw the big Arabic numeral "6", he felt uncomfortable.

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked out the window and muttered to himself:

"Tomorrow is 'Seven? Seven' up. I wonder if something will happen? ”

Intellectually, he knew that this plane was completely different from that standard plane. On this plane, Japan may not be stuck in the attack on July 7th. INTERVIEWER Taking a step back, it's not certain whether Japan will attack China or not. Although when I argue with others, I always feel that I am right. But when there is no one in front of you to fight with you, calm down and think about it - don't others have a little reason? Is it true that Japan is preparing for war now, and it is not aimed at the Soviet Union?

"Alas!"

He sighed, shook his head, and sat down again, holding his forehead, thinking about what to do. In short, the mood became very depressed again. If Japan attacks tomorrow, then the precautions taken now are far from sufficient. However, if he takes some "resolute measures" today, such as fabricating information and putting the whole Ming army on alert, the possibility of a Japanese attack tomorrow is very small.

Xiang Xiaoqiang thought about it, but asked Xiuxiu to help him contact the Chief of Staff of the General Staff of the General Staff Xiong and have dinner together at noon. He himself is not sure, Xiang Xiaoqiang's own opinion is that Japan will most likely attack the Ming Dynasty, but it does not necessarily have to be on July 7.

Xiuxiu used to do it immediately after receiving orders. But today she hesitated, but still said:

"Your Excellency...... There is a saying that I don't know whether to say or not......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"Why are you so vulgar. Say whatever you want. ”

Xiuxiu looked at him for a moment and said:

"Your Excellency...... Now that your relationship with Your Majesty has just become public, it is the most sensitive time...... At this time, you should try to keep a low profile. Well, I think...... At this time, you have a lot of dealings with the top brass of the Navy, and you have a very bad feeling with people. ”

"How?" Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled, "It seems that I just wanted to marry the empress, and I was busy grabbing the army and power?" ”

Xiuxiu nodded.

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded and sighed:

"That's where I hesitate!"

He leaned back in the backrest, pinched his chin and hesitated for a while, and finally gritted his teeth, but still decided:

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter what others think! Help me get in touch. ”

Xiuxiu had to agree and turned around to do it.

……

Sure enough, as Xiang Xiaoqiang expected, Xiong Dingming was very face-saving-or it should be said that Xiong Dingming cherished Xiang Xiaoqiang for giving him face, and at noon he turned off other agreements and came to have dinner with Xiang Xiaoqiang.

In a low-key private room in the hotel, the two ate a simple but exquisite meal and talked about the defense of Japan in the past few days.

To Xiang Xiaoqiang's ears, there is basically nothing new, it is nothing more than that the Japanese fleet is training day and night, taking turns to transfer the fleets of various military ports to the Seto Inland Sea for training, and all kinds of ships are shuttling back and forth in the Tsushima Strait, and they are still increasing their troops...... That's all there is to it.

"By the way," Xiong Dingming said, "I just received news in the morning that Sasebo Military Port has sent a battleship, two heavy cruisers, and several destroyers to participate in the training. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang asked:

"Where is this intelligence? We, the People's Guard, did not receive a message. ”

Xiong Dingming said:

"Jinyiwei's intelligence. They had a spy in Sasebo, and that man was inside the military port, and he was the cook of the officers' canteen. Every day he could see the number of warships in the harbor. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded:

"Well, better than us. Our nearest spy is only from the Sasebo shipyard, and it's still far from the military port, so we can only rely on inquiries. Which one was sent this time? ”

"Fuso."

"Fuso?" Xiang Xiaoqiang frowned and said strangely, "No, didn't the Fusang just come back from training last week?" Why did you go out again in such a short time? ”

Xiong Dingming smiled:

"Maybe they're stepping up their training."

Xiang Xiaoqianghu doubted:

"Where are they going to train this time? Or the Seto Inland Sea? ”

"I guess so."

"Should?" Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that something was wrong and asked, "What's that...... Lord Xiong, don't think I'm too talkative...... I'll just ask, when did you find out that the Fuso was not in the port? ”

Xiong Dingming looked at him, as if he felt that he was a little nervous. However, Xiong Dingming still smiled:

"The intelligence said that he was found out yesterday morning and was gone. It must have left the port the night before. ”

"The night before yesterday, ......" Xiang Xiaoqiang muttered, "Then according to the voyage, I should have passed through the Kanmon Strait yesterday and entered the Seto Inland Sea." Lord Xiong, has your navy received any information from Shimonoseki Port? Shimonoseki Port is on the Kanmen Strait, and if the fleet passes through the Kanmen Strait, the spies there should send back information. -- We have spies in the People's Guard at Shimonoseki Port, but I have not received any news. According to the time calculation, the time of passing through the strait is either morning or noon, and in broad daylight, there is another battleship, two cruisers, plus a group of destroyers, such a large fleet, it will not be invisible. ”

Xiong Dingming was also a little nervous. But he didn't show it, he still smiled and said:

"This ...... How many spies do you have in Shimonoseki Port? ”

"One."

Xiong Dingming relaxed a little and said with a smile:

"Hehe, there are a lot of possibilities. Even a spy can't keep an eye on the strait 24 hours a day. He also needs to eat, sleep, and have his own work and his own things to do. Maybe he was eating when the fleet passed, or he went to Shimonoseki City to run errands, or he was sick and went to see a doctor, or his superiors sent him some work and walked away...... It's all possible. Hehe, you don't have to be nervous, Lord Xiang, after going back to eat, I'll go back and ask if our information has come. ”

When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard him say this, he also felt that there was some truth, and he was a little more relaxed, nodded and said:

"Not bad...... I'll ask again when I get back. There is also the East Factory, which should also be communicated in time. At this time, it is important to exchange information. ”

"Hehe, that's right," Xiong Dingming smiled again, "Thinking about it the other way, if this fleet really came to attack Daming, then first, the strength is inevitably thin, and second, Sasebo is only 400 nautical miles away from our Zhoushan base, and it should have arrived the night before yesterday." It's all right now, which means that this fleet is not coming at us. ”

When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard him say this, he was worried again:

"I'm worried that their target won't be the Zhoushan Islands. The Zhoushan Islands are difficult to fight, and the security is very tight. If the target of their attack was the Lushun Dongjiang fleet, then it should still be on the way. And our alert in the north is relatively weak. ”

Xiong Dingming smiled:

"Don't worry about it. The attack on Arthur would bypass the Korean Peninsula and penetrate deep into the Yellow Sea, which was an expedition and could easily be cut off by our East China Sea Fleet. The Japanese did not have the strength of a few battleships, and would never have taken this risk. At present, if this force is to attack the East China Sea Fleet, I will still believe it. Although the East China Sea Fleet is our main force, after all, the distance is very close, it goes straight to and fro, and the sea area is wide, so it is easy for a large Japanese fleet to respond to it. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded, and smiled hesitantly:

"That's the best...... The matter of the sea, Lord Xiong is an expert, so I can't do it, hehe......"

……

After lunch, Xiang Xiaoqiang politely "mentioned the face", and Xiong Dingming also promised to continue to send additional patrol ships and planes in the direction of Japan, and the two sides went back.

As soon as Xiang Xiaoqiang entered the office and sat down, Hu Jiong came in:

"My lord, the general counselor Xiong called, and now he is on the first line."

Xiang Xiaoqiang felt an ominous premonition in his heart. He nodded and picked up the number one telephone.

"Lord Bear? I'm standing up. ”

Xiong Dingming's voice in the earpiece seemed to be a little hesitant and couldn't make up his mind. He said hesitantly:

"Report to your lordship, the Zhengde that they have spotted a Japanese reconnaissance plane near the sea off Vladivostok."

Well, the Japanese reconnaissance plane, it's normal.

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded:

"Oh."

Xiong Dingming said with some hesitation:

"It's a seaplane."

Xiang Xiaoqiang still didn't understand, and nodded:

"Well, seaplanes...... So how? ”

Xiong Dingming hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said:

"That's a carrier-based water plane...... Short-range, that is...... ...... equipped on a battleship or cruiser "

Xiang Xiaoqiang's brain "buzzed" big.

"Lord Bear," he also lowered his voice, nervously, "what do you mean...... Is there a Japanese capital ship in the Sea of Japan? ”

Xiong Dingming whispered:

"Not bad."

"What do you mean......" Xiang Xiaoqiang's voice trembled a little, "Fusang...... And those two heavy cruisers, which are now in the vicinity of the Zhengde detachment? ”

Xiong Dingming's voice also became dry:

"That's how I analyzed it."

Xiang Xiaoqiang stared at the big "6" on the calendar, and the cold sweat on his back came out.