"Now, first of all, we must reconnoiter the situation in Hainan! Tsukahara, the aviation is under your command, and I will leave this task to you," Yamamoto Fifty-six looked at Tsukahara two-four-three and said.

"Hay!" Tsukahara replied respectfully.

Because of Koizumi's strong recommendation, Yamamoto had high hopes for Tsukahara. Once upon a time, Tsukahara was a tragic figure. As a naval aviation expert, he led his troops stationed in Hankou to command the naval air force to bomb Chongqing, when he was attacked by the "Soviet Air Force Aiding China", and as a result, one of his arms was blown off. With a broken arm, it was decided that he was no longer suitable for naval operations, and for a time, Tsukahara retired to the second line and became the commander of the base's aviation unit. Later, by the time the Japanese Navy lost the Pacific War and Tsukahara had to re-command the Navy's front-line air force with a disability, Japan had lost the strength to compete with the United States.

Koizumi was well aware of this history, and he was a big believer in the view that if it had been Tsukahara, who was proficient in aviation warfare, and not Nagumo Tadaichi, who had commanded the mobile forces at sea, then the Battle of Midway would have been a different outcome. So, when considering the commander of the aviation forces fighting in Hainan, he recommended to Yamamoto Tsukahara, who was still in China.

The Cadet Army's northward legion made a surprise attack on Anqing and destroyed all the Japanese fighters in Anqing, which directly led to the commander of the 2nd Army, Nishio Shouzo, who presided over the Battle of Wuhan, having no fighters available. Nishio Shouzo had no choice but to ask for support from the Naval Headquarters in China, and then Tsukahara 243, who was stationed in Shanghai, was sent over.

Just received an order from the Admiralty, Tsukahara was still a little apprehensive, and he didn't know what Yamamoto's idea was. When he arrived in Nagasaki, he was courteous to Yamamoto, met Koizumi, a behind-the-scenes military advisor, and listened to his lofty remarks on the air force.

On the deck of the Kaga, as the commander waved down the flags one after another, two of the latest Type 99 fighters took off in turn, and the next moment, they turned into two black dots and disappeared into the sky.

The Type 99 fighter is a new type of fighter specially developed by Japan to deal with the "white-sided dolphin," but just like the Type 99 tank equipped by the army, although this one-sided pursuit of a certain capability of the new fighter is very similar in appearance to the "white-sided dolphin," its combat capability is incomparable at all. Koizumi personally tested this type of fighter and after reading a large amount of intelligence materials about the "white-sided dolphin," he immediately suggested to Yamamoto that the production of this fighter be stopped. And under his auspices, a fighter aircraft designated as the "Zero" began to be put into production, and the Navy alone ordered 500 of them at one time. Of course, this "Zero Type" is different from the "Zero Type" currently developed by the Japanese Army, except for the slight similarity in appearance, in other aspects, especially in size, this "Zero Type" is huge and much more advanced.

"It's good to be able to take the student army by surprise, but I hope to attract Ouyang Yun's great attention - Hainan is not Fujian, and our navy is not the army, if Ouyang Yun dares to fight the imperial navy again, he will get a lesson that will never be forgotten for a lifetime," Koizumi said confidently.

Yamamoto was always a little unconfident in his heart. Compared with the last time, because the aircraft carriers Longxiang and Chongying are both light and medium-sized, the number of fighters carried by the combined fleet this time is nearly a quarter less. Hainan is not very far from Guangzhou, and the last time, the student army was able to seize the opportunity to take off fighter planes from Guangzhou to carry out a surprise attack, and this time, it is difficult to guarantee that this kind of thing will not happen again. He responded to Koizumi's words and said, "I also believe that this battle can be won, but according to what I know about Ouyang Yun, this battle will not be too easy. The bomb load of one "Flying Fortress" is almost ten tons, and the anti-aircraft firepower of the fleet is somewhat insufficient. ”

Koizumi has studied the battle "Let's Sink", and he believes that the biggest reason why the Combined Fleet suffered heavy losses was that there were not enough escort fighters left. Although the "White-sided Dolphin" and "Flying Fortress" are advanced, the number of equipment they are not too large due to the economic ability of the warlords of the Scholar Army. The anti-aircraft weapons on nearly 200 warships, plus the number of fighters in about two groups, can completely intercept the fleet of cadet troops within a safe range. He smiled and said to Yamamoto: "Your Excellency, please rest assured, how many fighters can the Cadet Army have?" Two hundred or three hundred? How many can fly from Guangzhou? How many advanced fighters such as 'Baitian Dolphin' and 'Flying Fortress' can they equip? Even if 300 is good, do you think that 300 fighters alone will be able to break through our air defense front? I don't think. Your Excellency, to be honest, what I am thinking about now is the naval battle between the United States and Japan that is destined to occur in the future. The United States is the greatest enemy of the empire. ”

When Tsukahara No. 243 first met Koizumi, he didn't understand why this young man could get Yamamoto's favor, and after coming into contact with him for a period of time, he was affected by some of the other party's advanced combat concepts, especially after Chiro Michi was appreciated by Yamamoto because of Koizumi's strong recommendation of himself, his attitude took a 180-degree turn, and now he seems to have become Koizumi's "guardian". He continued: "Your Excellency, I agree with Koizumi-kun's opinion. In the first battle of Hainan, we really have nothing to worry about. ”

The current Yamamoto regards Koizumi as his right-hand man, and Tsukahara, as a veteran figure in the field of naval aviation, also has considerable weight in his words. Seeing that both of them said this, Yamamoto said that he should completely put his mind at ease, but he didn't know what Lu Dao was for, and he curled up with a trace of uneasiness in his heart, and refused to leave for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Yamamoto thought, puzzled.

In Hainan, in the observation room of the Wuzhishan Radar Station, the station manager Fang Xueliang and the attendant Chen Ermao stared at the upper right corner of the screen and remained motionless. A few minutes later, he said to Chen Ermao: "It can be confirmed, it's a fighter!" You continue to monitor, and I'll call the military seat. ”

When he received a call from Fang Xueliang, who was transferred from the switchboard of the military department, the single male was in Wanning. When he learned that the Wuzhishan radar station had detected the whereabouts of the fighters, he immediately realized that it was a reconnaissance plane sent by the Japanese army. After hanging up the phone, he said to Chief of Staff Huang Ye: "It's confirmed, the target of the little devil is us, and now we are waiting for the report from the Dahuajiao radar station." ”

Huang Ye said: "It's good to still have radar, and the enemy is expected to come first." If the Japanese want to sneak up on us, hehe, this time they will look good. ”

There are three radar stations on Hainan Island, of which the Wuzhishan radar station is dedicated to monitoring air targets, while the Dahuajiao radar station and the Datang radar station are responsible for monitoring sea targets. The Wuzhishan radar station has a relatively large radar power and a monitoring distance of about 350 kilometers, while the two radar stations of Dahuajiao and Datang are equipped with a relatively small radar power with a maximum monitoring distance of 200 to 250 kilometers.

Koizumi, as a latecomer, thought that everything was under control, but he forgot the most crucial point - the Cadet Army was able to seize the fighter plane and launch a surprise attack to give the Combined Fleet a severe blow, not by luck, but by radar monitoring. And if there is also a radar in Hainan, then before the war starts, the cadet army has actually grasped the opportunity.

The first opportunity, for the warring parties, is undoubtedly a crucial factor in determining the direction of victory or defeat. This is actually the reason why Yamamoto always felt wrong, but because he didn't know that the Lu Dao Academy Army had this kind of equipment similar to clairvoyance, he just felt that it was wrong.