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Text Chapter 897 Cairo (3)

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    When Tsukahara bombed the Seychelles and the Royal Navy's Indian fleet on 243, Zhu Binhou and his officers lined up at the dock in Chittagong Port, Saudi Arabia.  On the battleship Anhai behind them, the sailors put on white uniforms and circled the ship waiting for the president to board the ship.

    After blocking Inoue Narumi, he led his fleet to join the 13th batch of fleets heading to the Persian Gulf and rushed towards the Sunda Strait.  Although the Japanese Navy wanted to intercept it, Yamamoto Isoroku's main force was not there, and the Tokyo base camp did not want a full-scale war, so it could only watch the 22nd Fleet enter the Indian Ocean.  Returning to the Indian Ocean this time, Fleet 22 has been greatly strengthened.  The entire fleet includes two Sichuan-class aircraft carriers, one Liaoning-class aircraft carrier, the Anhai and Zhenhai battleships, two Wuhan-class heavy cruisers, four light cruisers and ten destroyers.  Including the squadrons that have been in the Persian Gulf and Addu Atoll, there are as many as forty-seven ships of various types, which is already the leading combat force in the Indian Ocean in terms of scale.

    Together with the leased French port of Djibouti, the Chagos Islands, Addu Atoll and the Persian Gulf base that are being transferred, it can be said that it has the ability to operate in the Indian Ocean for a long time.  As long as the engineering ships and two large floating docks sent from China arrive at the Chagos Islands, and the railway transportation from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf is opened, the day when the 22 Fleet will be renamed the Indian Ocean Fleet may not be far away.  Thinking about the dilapidated Navy of the Late Qing Dynasty more than thirty years ago, and then looking at the Navy of the Republic of China, which now has nearly three fleets, it seems like a dream.

    "Stand at attention! Play music!"

    The majestic naval song was heard from the pier, and while the military band was playing, Yang Qiu, the first lady, and Saudi King Ibn Saud walked side by side into the military port.  In addition to escorting the president and his wife to Cairo today, a warship delivery ceremony will also be held.

    After reviewing the naval officers on both sides, Ibn Saud walked towards the two light cruisers in front of the Anhai with flashing eyes.  These two 4,500-ton Riyadh-class light cruisers were ordered by the Saudi government from Jiangnan Shipyard in early 1937. They were modeled after the domestic Xin'anjiang-class mine-laying cruiser and installed with four twin 120mm/L56 semi-automatic high-level dual-purpose naval guns.  Four twin 40mm anti-aircraft guns, one quadruple 550mm torpedo launcher, and can carry 100 mines or depth bombs, with a maximum speed of 37 knots.  The telephones throughout the ship, centralized fire control, primary sonar, air defense command, etc. are all very advanced.  It can be said that except for a few subsystems such as radar and sonar, they are basically in line with the current world level, and of course the cost is also at the world level.

    Ibn Saud was very happy and kept thanking Yang Qiu while listening to the officer¡¯s introduction.  Since forming an alliance with China, he and Saudi Arabia have become giants in the Middle East.  Its status is not even much worse than that of Egypt, the traditional leader.  In order to thank China for its support, as well as for his naval dream and his endless oil wealth, he ordered four Riyadh-class light cruisers and four destroyers in one go.  If it weren't for the world war and the unwritten agreements between the major powers, he even proposed the idea of ??buying Anhai and Zhenhai.

    Fortunately, this old guy didn't succeed.  Otherwise, Fleet 22 would lose two Anhai today.  Although the two Anhais of the First Fleet can no longer be considered battleships, their 305mm naval guns and speeds of up to 33 knots are still very reliable against heavy cruisers.  After the officers murmured for a while, the delivery ceremony of the two ships finally ended.  After seeing off Ibn Saud, Yang Qiu and his wife boarded the battleship Anhai that had been prepared.  Although it was not far from here to Cairo, Yang Qiu still chose the battleship.  Not because of safety, but because battleships are a symbol of national power in this era.  If it weren't for the fact that the four Beijing-class ships had to be stationed in the Yellow Sea and the Shandong-class would be delivered by the end of the year at the earliest, he wouldn't mind taking the world's largest tonnage battleship to the Mediterranean to show off.

    With a loud whistle, the Anhai and the escorting heavy cruiser Wuhan took the lead in leaving the dock. A moment later, the two Riyadh-class light cruisers of the Saudi Navy also threw off their cables.  According to the alliance agreement between the two countries.  During the war, the Saudi Navy will automatically join Fleet 22 until the end of the war.  However, they will not enter Egypt. They will start training when they are escorted to the entrance of the canal, and then assigned tasks by the 22nd Fleet and the theater command as appropriate.

    After settling down his wife, Yang Qiu, Gu Weijun and others boarded the navigation bridge together.  It is different from Japan¡¯s weird ¡°demon-suppressing tower¡± style.  The naval style of the Republic of China was more similar to that of Europe. The four Anhai-class American-style ship islands were improved and replaced with ship islands similar to the Richelieu-class and Veneto-class ships.  "President. Good news! Good news!" As soon as he entered the island, Deng Haoqian rushed in excitedly. Unable to suppress his excitement, he reported: "Isoroku Yamamoto took action! Two hours ago, Japan attacked the Seychelles.  ! The British Navy's HMS Arenas aircraft carrier was sunk, the Avenger capsized when it ran aground in Armiles, west of the Seychelles, and the Ramillies hid in the Seychelles harbor after being hit and caught fire! There were also two heavy ships.  The patrol and four destroyers were sunk"

    The news brought by Deng Haoqian instantly ignited the entire fleet. On the afternoon of June 24, Tsukahara 243 led the four aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu to venture deep into the search for Somerville's Indian fleet.  With only one day of fuel left, we finally caught him in the Seychelles.?The fleet was prepared to continue wandering to the coast of East Africa and sink seven warships in one fell swoop, including the aircraft carrier Arena of Valor and two heavy cruisers.  Although the battleship Avenger and Ramillies fought hard, they were not spared. The former capsized and was completely scrapped due to serious flooding when it ran aground. The Ramillies was also seriously damaged. Even if it was towed back to the UK, it would take at least a year.  Unable to fight.  At the same time, Tsukahara 243 also launched three waves of air raids on the Seychelles, destroying British and French naval facilities and a large number of fighter planes here, and the entire Seychelles was reduced to ashes.

    "Great! We are the only ones left in the Indian Ocean!" Marquis Zhu Bin and the officers celebrated.  Somerville lost an aircraft carrier and two battleships, declaring that Britain would not have the power to enter the Indian Ocean before it resolved Italy and France!  Although Yamamoto Isoroku won the bet, he still lacked the ability to deploy in the Indian Ocean for a long time, so he could only continue to rely on Linga anchorage.  This means that there are only 22 fleets left in the Indian Ocean now!

    "It would be a pity, if" Gu Weijun smacked his lips, looking like he was still unfinished.  Yang Qiu understood what he was thinking. If Somerville was not distracted from dealing with the French navy, perhaps the entire Indian fleet would be handed over here.  So he laughed when he saw this: "Shaochuan has also become greedy. If Somerville is here, I'm afraid Yamamoto Isoroku may not be able to gain anything."

    Zhu Binhou interjected: "The president is right. Somerville had been cruising near Madagascar before leaving. If Whitehall hadn't asked him to send half of the fleet to the Mediterranean, he might not have gone to the Seychelles. If that were the case, no matter how powerful Yamamoto Isoroku was  I can only look at the ocean and sigh."

    "If we turn back now, we can definitely eliminate Yamamoto Isoroku's main force!" Pan Duheng next to him had a fierce look in his eyes, and seemed to want to immediately assemble the fleet to pursue Yamamoto.  Yang Qiu was also very interested in this proposal. Yamamoto Isoroku must not have much oil, so after bombing the Seychelles, he had to flee overnight. Even if the 22nd Fleet sacrificed half of it to eat it, it was still worth it.  However, I gave up this idea after thinking about it for a while. China and Britain have not yet formed an alliance, and Roosevelt has not taken any action. There is no need to give this big gift to others.

    Yang Qiu walked slowly towards the platform outside the bridge, half-squinting his eyes, suddenly wanting to see Churchill.  "What's his expression now? Jin Bihui's French dinner should be ready. As long as Darlan is not stupid, the two fleets will definitely have a big battle! If a few more ships are lostwhat confidence does the British Empire have left?  ? East of Suez, only Chen Shaokuan and Yamamoto Isoroku are left! The Royal Navy is in a hurry, will Roosevelt withdraw some ships from the Pacific to the Atlantic? If the British Navy suffers heavy losses, Mustache will not give up this opportunity, right?  It's a pity that his navyoh, how wonderful it would be otherwise. A fight between Britain and France, a deadly feud! Command of the Southwest Pacific, actual sea power in the Indian OceanRoosevelt would not be willing to hand over the navy  Give instructions to that big mouth Chen Shaokuan?! Let him continue to hesitate. He only needs to stand up to mediate between Britain and France, Richelieu, Dunkirk, haha. Darlan should make the right choice. Then take the arms ordered by the French government  Leave it to de Gaulle to strengthen relations between Poland and France the future should be pretty much there.

    You should really buy Yamamoto a drink.  Cairo is such a wonderful stage!  "

    Gu Weijun looked at Yang Qiu who walked out of the cabin, holding the railing with both hands and thinking secretly.  He turned around and said with a smile: "Commander Zhu, send a message to the shore and ask them to prepare a plane. I will bring you some warships back in a few days."

    "Warship?"

    "Yes, warship! Haha" Gu Weijun laughed loudly¡ª¡ª

    In the Portsmouth naval port, Churchill, who was about to board a ship to go to Cairo, had his steps trembling, and his big hands were holding on to the railing a little sluggishly.  After a long time, he looked at Cunningham, who had brought the news about Seychelles, and his tone suddenly became very soft: "What a bad news."

    Seeing the faltering Churchill, Cunningham couldn't bear it, but he still told another news: "The Mediterranean Fleet reported that Darlan's fleet has been mobilized, and the Richelieu has set off for Oran Bay, as well as some cruisers.  Leave Marseille."

    Before he could wake up from the attack in the Seychelles, Churchill was stunned again: "Has he found out?"

    "I don't know, it seems to be a normal transfer. Because we found a supply ship and a large amount of maintenance equipment leaving Marseille."

    "Let's go! No matter what happens, either accept it peacefully, or destroy him!" Churchill stomped his cane vigorously, and in an instant he returned to his usual toughness.

    Four hours after the attack on the Seychelles, four battleships including the Hood and the George V and an aircraft carrier quietly left Portsmouth and disappeared into the night in the name of escorting Churchill.  At the same time, Somerville's aircraft carrier Intrepid and two Avengers -class battleships also arrived from Alexandria.  (To be continued)

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