Just over fifty kilometers from the home port of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet, the waves were surging, and a black cigar-shaped submarine floated from the sea. This is an ocean-going submarine equipped by the Imperial Navy, the type 'Squid' II class. The Squid II.-class submarines, with a displacement of more than 700 tons, were truly mass-built ocean-going submarines of the Imperial Navy. This type of submarine has a large tonnage, has a long endurance, and is capable of performing ocean-going combat missions. Of course, the deployment of such ocean-going submarines in this small pond in the North Sea is somewhat too wasteful.

The Crimson II class submarine has a cruising range of up to three thousand nautical miles. That's enough to include most of the Atlantic in its combat radius. It's just that because the situation is too tense now, all the warships and merchant ships of the Holy Alliance have cowered in the military port. As a result, the Squid II-class submarine had no target to hunt. Therefore, the 5th Fleet put all its submarines on the alert of the German Navy's high seas fleet. The number of submarines deployed by the Imperial Navy in the North Sea has already reached fifty.

The hatch of the submarine opened, and several submarine sailors stepped onto the deck to breathe fresh air. In the cramped compartment of the submarine, it was indeed as if he was suffering. In addition, due to technical reasons, the current submarine simply cannot stay underwater for a long time. After diving for a while, you have to surface for ventilation and at the same time use a diesel engine to charge the submarine's battery.

Suddenly, on the east side of the submarine, a line of lights appeared. This frightened the submarine sailors, who were resting on the deck.

"Quick, discover the German Navy. Emergency dive. Within a minute, the sailors on deck were back inside the submarine and closed the hatch. And then. Start an emergency dive. A large number of bubbles appeared, and seawater poured into the submarine. And the submarine, like a whale, burrowed into the sea.

"Boom!" In less than half a moment, the sound of dense propellers appeared above the submarine.

"With so many warships, it must be the main force of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet. Captain, shall we have a vote? If four heavy torpedoes are fired at the same time, it will be possible to kill a big guy! The co-captain said with a smile.

"It's looking for death. We will certainly be able to inflict heavy damage or even sink one of the capital ships of the Germans, but we will also be sunk under siege by German destroyers. Now the most important thing was to find a way to report the dispatch of the German Navy's high seas fleet to the command. The captain immediately rejected the suicidal act. After all. When destroying the enemy, it is best to be able to protect yourself.

It was only an hour later that the sound of the propellers above the submarine died down. The submarine began to slowly surface. The periscope first protruded from the water, and after discovering that there was no sign of the German Navy around. That's when it all came to the surface. The signal corps immediately sent a telegram to the fleet command. Report that they discovered that the main forces of the German Navy's high seas fleet had left the military port.

Late at night on August 23, Sparka Bay, the anchorage of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy. The terrible sirens sounded over Sparka Bay, and the officers and men of the navy, who had already fallen asleep, rushed to their posts as soon as possible. Under the guidance of the guide ship, one after another the battleship left the military port and sailed into the vast ocean. After receiving an urgent telegram from the submarine, Admiral Lu Haipeng, commander of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy, immediately gave the order for the fleet to leave the port. At the time when the German Navy's high seas fleet was already out of port. If the 5th Fleet had remained in the military port, it would have lost its first move.

The first to leave the military port were destroyers and light cruisers. They will be on alert and anti-submarine duty. After the safety outside the port is determined, the capital ship will leave the port. By the early hours of the morning, hundreds of warships of the 5th Fleet, large and small, had all left Sparka Bay. The normally crowded harbor is now deserted.

In an apartment not far from the military port, a young white man was sending a telegram. He was an agent of German intelligence hiding in Scapa Bay. Of course, he's now Scotsman, running a restaurant in a small town not far from the military port of Sparka Bay.

Just as the German intelligence officer sent the telegram, the door to the apartment was savagely slammed open. Heavily armed gendarmerie units appeared in the room.

"What do you want to do?" The white man yelled loudly.

However, the gendarmes would not reason with him. The butt of a rifle struck him in the head, knocking him unconscious. The gendarmes then dragged him away like a dead dog. What awaits him will be torture by the gendarmerie units. Of course, his final fate is most likely to be thrown into the sea to feed the fish. This was generally an effective method of execution by the Imperial Navy after discovering a German spy.

After the outbreak of war between the Chinese Empire and the German Empire, the intelligence agents operating in each other's countries were undoubtedly the most dangerous. If they are discovered, they often lose their lives. In particular, there is a huge gap between Chinese and Westerners in appearance. So it was very difficult for Chinese intelligence officers to survive in Germany. In order to obtain information about the Germans, the Chinese* Military Intelligence Agency had to cooperate with its allies. This also makes the Empire's * Military Intelligence Bureau not very smooth in terms of intelligence gathering. Thus leading to some mistakes. Of course, this does not affect the big picture for the time being.

On the battleship 'Ming Xuanzong', the flagship of the Fifth Fleet of the Imperial Navy, Admiral Lu Haipeng, commander of the Fifth Fleet of the Imperial Navy, and Admiral Ye Feng, chief of staff, were analyzing the battle situation. After receiving the news that the main forces of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet had left port, the 5th Fleet could be described as a departing sortie. They all knew that this would be a decisive battle for the 5th Fleet, and they had to put all their strength into it. Otherwise, the slightest carelessness is very likely to lead to a fiasco.

"The Germans have finally come out, and it seems that they can't sit still. However, it would be nice for us to have a decent showdown with them. Admiral Lu Haipeng's face was full of eagerness. When the Imperial Navy defeated the British Navy, it was the main force of the 5th Fleet. This time, if the 5th Fleet is equally capable of defeating the German Navy, then they will once again win a high honor.

"Yes! The Germans had no other choice. Their attacks on the land battlefield were thwarted, which made their plans to sweep across Western Europe fail before reinforcements from the Empire arrived. In order to buy time for their land, the German Navy's High Seas Fleet had to be dispatched. If they can defeat us and gain sea supremacy in the North Sea and even the eastern North Atlantic, they may have a chance to turn the tables around. However, we don't seem to be soft persimmons, do we? Admiral Ye Feng said with a smile.

"Humph! If the Germans dare to hit us with an idea, it is simply looking for death. I want to see what is so powerful about the high seas fleet that the Germans have built up over so many years. If the German High Seas Fleet were to be wiped out by us, would the Germans surrender immediately? Admiral Lu Haipeng said disdainfully. The Germans ambitiously developed their navy in order to challenge the Empire's maritime supremacy. As senior admirals of the Imperial Navy, their duty, of course, is to solve the German Navy, directly break the backbone of the Germans, and make them no longer dare to challenge the hegemony of the Reich.

"Haha, if we really get rid of the Germans' high seas fleet, then it should be impossible for them to win the war. However, the Germans should not have surrendered immediately. Once surrendered, there would be no future for the German Empire. So, they should keep fighting. But even this could not change the outcome of the war. In the end, Germany will still be defeated by us. Admiral Ye Feng said with a smile. Judging from the current shape, the Germans are completely hitting the stone with an egg! I really don't understand, where does the confidence of the Germans come from? Is it because there are a few allies? Although these allies are all good, there is undoubtedly a big gap compared to the Empire.

"At our current speed, we expect to meet tomorrow at noon. The 1st Heavy Cruiser Detachment and the 3rd Destroyer Detachment were ordered to go forward to a hundred kilometers in front of the main forces of the Reich to serve as a guard. Admiral Lu Haipeng ordered. The heavy cruiser, although its firepower was average, was extremely fast. The Imperial Navy's 'Daduhe-class' heavy cruisers in service have reached a maximum speed of 30 knots. Such a speed was much faster even compared to the previous light cruisers. It is several knots faster than the speed of the capital ship. It is undoubtedly the most suitable to serve as a detective guard.

Admiral Ye Feng nodded.

"In addition, order our submarines and destroyers in the North Sea to increase the alert and not let the Germans slip away. Seaplanes took off after dawn to search for the Germans. Admiral Lu Haipeng then ordered.

"Yes, Commander, I'll arrange it at once." Admiral Ye Feng replied.

The four 'Daduhe-class' heavy cruisers and four 'Haihe-class' heavy cruisers of the 1st Heavy Cruiser Detachment, with eight destroyers, accelerated beyond the main force of the fleet.

After dawn, more than a dozen seaplanes also took off and began to search around the fleet, looking for traces of the German Navy.

After all, the North Sea is a small pond though. However, the area is not small. Although the German Navy's High Seas Fleet had hundreds of capital ships, it was still difficult to find each other if they wanted to hide.

However, the Fifth Fleet of the Imperial Navy had built a net of seaplanes, surface warships, and submarines, and it was impossible for the German Navy to continue to hide. (To be continued......)

PS: The second update arrives, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets! Thank you for the reward from the Eagle of the People's Liberation Army! Thank you for the monthly pass of the book friend Stone KK and Fat Lao!