“…… The thunder in the bow of the Thunderbolt has been controlled, but in order to prevent the damage from expanding, the maximum speed can only be controlled below 24 knots, and as for the enemy submarine attacking the Thunderbolt, two destroyers have been sent to pursue it. In addition, an anti-submarine patrol plane on duty on the Yunpeng had just sent a report that the fleet had spotted periscope tracks five nautical miles ahead and was guiding two other destroyers to intercept them. ”

After listening to Jiang Ye's report, Bi Lingbo sighed with his back hand: "It seems that this is really not a place to stay for a long time - order, suspend the second attack on the deck operation, take off the second batch of duty guards and patrol teams as soon as possible, and strengthen the air-to-dive jǐng guard." ”

Jiang Ye hesitated for a moment, and said with concern: "This ...... Do you want to ask Commander Liu on the Thunderbolt for instructions first? After all, as the commander of the 2nd Fleet, he was the direct person in charge of this operation. ”

Bi Lingbo twisted his eyebrows and said categorically: "Time waits for no one, and you can't delay the fighter plane - give orders first, and then ask for instructions." ”

"Yes—"

Without waiting for Jiang Ye to turn around, Bi Lingbo gritted his teeth and called him again: "Also, when I ask Commander Liu later, I will add a sentence: This commander believes that the battlefield situation should be reassessed and the battle plan should be revised accordingly." ”

Jiang Ye blinked in surprise: "Commander, this should be said by the staff officers of the 2nd Fleet Command, as the commander of the subordinate battle team, if it is not for the fleet commander to take the initiative to ask for advice, as usual, you should not interfere with the command of the fleet without authorization." ”

Bi Lingbo glared at him with his backhand: "It's all cut first and then played, of course you have to play it clearly, rest assured, I will take all the responsibilities, go." ”

Jiang Ye froze, then raised his hand and saluted with a snap.

"Understood, execute immediately!"

……

In the southern part of the Red Sea, the "Pinghai," the general flagship of the East Asian Combined Fleet and the flagship of the First Fleet, led nine other high-speed battleships of the first rank, escorted by two armored cruisers, 10 light cruisers, and 21 destroyers, were heading toward the Italian Eritrean coast more than 10 kilometers away.

Between the sea and land, hundreds of landing and support ships carrying tens of thousands of marines and nearly 100 armored vehicles are rushing to the beachhead on the western side of the Massawa Strait, intending to capture the largest and most complete port in the southern part of the Red Sea -- Massawa Port and intercept tens of thousands of Italian troops defending Eritrea on the African continent.

On the other side of the coast, the landing craft rushed to the beach one after another, and the sound of artillery on the fleet's side gradually thinned out, and on the bridge of the "Pinghai", Admiral Sa Zhenbing, commander of the East Asian Combined Fleet, who had witnessed all this through the telescope, turned his head and glanced at the telegram that the communications staff officer had just submitted, and casually handed it to the chief of staff next to him, Major Admiral Ye Fei.

"What do you think?"

Ye Fei read it carefully with the telegram in both hands, nodded and said, "In this case, it is better to retreat as soon as possible, after all, the lessons of the two naval battles of Solomon are there." In any case, as long as it is confirmed that there is no enemy large fleet in the northern part of the Red Sea, plus the oil depot at the port of Suez is blown up, the 2nd Fleet will be considered to have completed its mission. ”

Sa Zhenbing sighed lightly with his back hand: "It's hard for Commander Liu and Commander Bi, I'm afraid they are already questioning the necessity of this operation." ”

Ye Fei subconsciously tingxiong, disapprovingly: "Before the main force of the combined fleet moves to the Pacific Ocean, it is necessary to sweep the naval bases of the Entente countries on the entire east coast of Africa to ensure that the Indian Ocean communication lines are not disturbed in the short term, which is the guideline issued by the base camp. ”

"Specifically, the first phase is the previously completed strategic battle between British Aden and French Djibouti; The second phase is the ongoing strategic operations between Italian Eritrea and British Somaliland, as well as the attack on the port of Suez; In the third phase, there will be a strategic operation in Italian Somaliland, as well as raids on the major ports of British East Africa and French Madagascar, which are related to the overall situation and must be resolutely carried out regardless of whether there is any doubt or not. ”

Sa Zhenbing said noncommittally, raised the telescope in front of him, and after a while he slowly spoke: "It is to be resolutely implemented, but it must be implemented flexibly, Bi Lingbo's head is still bright, and Liu Guanxiong does not know how to pretend to understand, before the end of the year, the main force of the United Fleet will return to the Pacific Ocean, and for a period of time, the two aircraft carriers of the 2nd Fleet will have to be relied on as the core of the mobile force, but there can be no mistakes here." ”

Ye Fei nodded again and again: "Understood, then I'll send a telegram to Liu Guanxiong?" ”

"Hair, but there is no need to teach him how to do it, since I let him be fully responsible for the operation over there, he has to make his own decisions, the fighter plane is fleeting, how can he have the time to ask for instructions."

After Sa Zhenbing finished speaking, he put down the binoculars, sat down on the mahogany chair behind him, and began to close his eyes and recuperate.

……

After drifting with Bo for an unknown amount of time, Sun Longxiang, who was scorched by the August scorching sun in the Red Sea, finally waited for a destroyer to come to the rescue.

Memories flashed like a slideshow:

His "Seaquake Electric Armor" plane was knocked off its propeller in the air battle, lost power and began to glide, and a S.E.5a fighter nicknamed "Big Five-Step Snake" sprang out from behind and above, and was about to shoot and sweep shè with a dive.

In the flash of lightning, the enemy plane that bit itself dragged the black smoke tumbling and falling, and then flashed the shadow of another "Earthquake Electric Armor", carefully identifying the marks on the wings, and the person who came was none other than his squadron leader, Captain Dongfang Ming, the first-class air combat ace of the Imperial Naval Aviation.

Dongfang Ming, who saved Sun Longxiang's life, did not stop by his side for a moment, but quickly turned the nose of the plane and rushed straight towards a group of British bombers who had lost the protection of fighters.

Having no time to feel Ji Dongfang Ming's life-saving grace, Sun Longxiang soon discovered that in order to avoid the air attack of enemy aircraft, the ship formation on the sea surface turned frequently, and his fighter plane could not accurately glide to the vicinity of the fleet.

Seeing that the sea was getting closer and closer, Sun Longxiang had to make a forced landing away from the fleet, fortunately, the wind and waves that day were not big, and the steel skeleton of the "sea earthquake electric armor" was strong enough, the plane stopped blowing the sea, and the sea water immediately poured in from the bullet holes in the fuselage, and Sun Longxiang, who was wearing a life jacket, hurriedly unbuckled his seat belt and jumped into the sea before the plane sank.

The next thing Sun Longxiang could do was wait, waiting for a plane or warship to find out, and since the watch stopped turning when it entered the water, he couldn't calculate the time he was waiting. 、

During the long waiting period, Sun Longxiang witnessed the attack of the second enemy plane, and the crooked black ribbon was once again intertwined in the sky, and the fighter plane dragging black smoke fell around him near or far, and then, on the distant sea antenna, I don't know which warship was hit, and suddenly rose up a thick black column of smoke, which made his heart heavy for a while.

"The Kunpeng is fine...... No, it's not important, the important thing is that I have to survive, I still want to see Sister Cai Guolan, I still have a lot to say to her......"

"And Sister Qi Bing...... And the big brother Zheng who chopped sugar cane......"

"And ......"

I don't know how long I was talking to myself, the sea water on my hair had already been dried, the salt stains stuck to my scalp, and it was prickly and itchy, but Sun Longxiang didn't want to scratch it, he felt very tired, the ups and downs of the waves in front of him were getting slower and slower, and some scenes that should not appear here flashed frequently and vividly, and even the mast of the destroyer that suddenly appeared in the field of vision was regarded as an illusion by him at first.

It wasn't until he saw clearly the nameplate on the side of the bridge that Sun Longxiang confirmed that it was the "Mianyang" among the fourteen Yangzi destroyers under the 2nd Fleet, which was genuine and by no means a phantom.

The "Mianyang" turned off its engine, and slowly approached the direction where Sun Longxiang was located, and there were already more than a dozen crew members standing behind the broadside guardrail, two of whom were holding lifebuoys with ropes in their hands, and threw them when they were close enough.

Sun Longxiang waved at the destroyer movingly, today's experience made him understand one thing - he didn't want to die yet, but this is not what he wants to express now.

A torpedo with an air trail had just passed under his feet and was crashing head-on into the underwater hull of the "Mianyang......

…… RS！。