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The Fourth Chinese Empire Piaotian Literature www.piaotia.com Chapter 352 The Disappeared Japanese Fleet

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    On February 28, the Japanese fleet passed through the Strait of Malacca and arrived in Singapore.  Here, the Japanese fleet will undergo a two-day brief rest and replenishment, which will also be their last replenishment.  Moreover, according to Togo Heihachiro's plan, they will abandon the slow supply ships and increase the fleet's top speed to 15 knots.  Therefore, they must replenish sufficient supplies in Singapore.  For battleships or armored cruisers, it is no problem to sail directly back to Japan after resupplying in Singapore.  However, the same cannot be said for destroyers.  The destroyer ordered by Japan has a range of only two thousand nautical miles and needs to be resupplied midway.  Going north from Singapore has always been within China's sphere of influence, and the Japanese fleet has no place to supply supplies.  As a last resort, the Japanese fleet piled coal wherever the destroyer could put things down, effectively allowing the destroyer to carry half of the extra coal.  At the same time, several supply ships have been dispatched from their homeland and will rush to the predetermined sea area.  Once you get rid of the pursuit of the Chinese navy, you can resupply.

    After discovering that the Japanese fleet arrived in Singapore, the Chinese mainland fleet also set off.  They will wait for the Japanese fleet to appear in the northern area of ??the South China Sea.  However, more and more Chinese navy cruisers or destroyers appear in the waters off Singapore, which makes the Japanese fleet very worried.  Whether it is Togo Heihachiro or Samejima Kanuki, they all know that once they are caught by the Chinese mainland fleet, they will only die.

    At the same time, Japan¡¯s two domestic ¡®Fuji-class¡¯ battleships also set off from Yokosuka Naval Base with five cruisers and eight destroyers.  Originally, the home port of the Japanese Combined Fleet was the Sasebo Naval Base in the southern part of Kyushu Island. However, after the Osumi Islands and other islands were ceded to China, it was no longer safe, so the home port of the Japanese fleet had to be evacuated to the north.  safe place.  However, as soon as the Japanese fleet left the port, the Chinese Navy had already received the news.  The squadron led by Lieutenant General Li Haitao, Chief of Staff of the Home Fleet, immediately set off from Naha Port in Ryukyu, preparing to track or intercept this Japanese fleet.

    "Your Excellency, Commander, what do the British say?" Samejima member asked anxiously.  Togo Heihachiro went to visit Lieutenant General Philemantle, commander of the newly formed British Far East Fleet. He hoped to invite the British Far East Fleet to visit Japan to cover the safe return of the Japanese fleet to the country.  In this case, if Japan and the British join forces, they will have ten battleships. No matter how arrogant the Chinese navy is, they may have to think carefully about it.  However, Togo Heihachiro was obviously disappointed this time.

    "The British rejected our request. They have obviously guessed our intentions. These British want us to fight the Chinese people, so they will not provide us with protection at all!" Togo Heihachiro said secretly.

    "Then what should we do?" Samejima member asked.

    "Your Excellency Yamamoto has approved my plan, so let's execute it according to the plan! The fleet will set off tomorrow night. I hope I can escape the surveillance of the Chinese during the night!" Togo Heihachiro said.

    "Yes, Commander!" Samejima Member replied.  Now, we can only treat the dead horse as a living horse doctor.  It's best if you can escape. If you can't escape, you'll have to fight to the death.  This may be the fate of their Japanese navy!

    On the evening of March 1, the Japanese fleet had already completed its supplies, and all the Japanese naval soldiers who had disembarked to rest had returned to the warships.  However, it was already 12 o'clock in the evening, but these Japanese soldiers did not rest. Instead, the warship lit a fire, and thick smoke came out of the chimney.

    "Get ready to go! The supply ship will stay, and the fleet will leave at a speed of 15 knots and go straight to the Sulu Sea!" Togo Heihachiro ordered.

    The Japanese fleet¡¯s four battleships, six armored cruisers and fifteen destroyers, under the guidance of the guidance ship, set out from the Singapore Military Port, passed through the Singapore Strait, and entered the South China Sea.  At this moment, there are no Chinese navy warships outside Singapore.  After all, this is the territory of the British and an international waterway. Chinese warships cannot stay for a long time.  It's just that every period of time, warships will pass by here to monitor the Japanese fleet in the military port.  The Japanese fleet chose the interval to set off from Singapore and begin their escape.  As for whether he can escape, no one knows.

    The Japanese fleet was very lucky. They did not encounter any Chinese naval warships until they entered the South China Sea.  After daybreak, they had reached the upper reaches of the South China Sea, two hundred kilometers away from Singapore.

    At 6 a.m. on March 2, a Chinese Navy's "Tianshui-class" cruiser passed outside the Singapore Military Port.??Monitor the Japanese fleet in the harbor.  However, when they passed the Singapore Military Port, they found that it was empty except for the warships of the British Far East Fleet. All the more than 20 warships of the Japanese fleet had disappeared.

    The captain did not dare to neglect and immediately sent the information to Admiral Deng Shichang, commander of the local fleet on the battleship "Zhonghua".

    "What? Escaped by the Japanese fleet? Order the warships in the South China Sea to search immediately! Even if you dig three feet into the ground, you must find the Japanese fleet!" Deng Shichang ordered angrily.  No one knows better than him that China has placed its hope of victory on this battle. Intercepting the Japanese fleet returning home is China's first battle against the Pacific Alliance. This battle must be won.  It would not be good if the Japanese fleet were allowed to escape.

    For a time, the warships deployed in the South China Sea immediately took action, frantically searching for traces of the Japanese fleet.  When this news was reported, it immediately attracted the attention of the Navy Department.  After Wang Yuze found out, he ordered the Military Intelligence Bureau to provide full support.  Many merchant ships in the Nanyang region, and even agents from the Military Intelligence Bureau, carried wireless telegraph machines and rented fishing boats and entered the sea to look for traces of the Japanese fleet.  Everyone knows that this battle is crucial, and the Japanese must be found.

    ¡°Turn southeast and enter the Java Sea!¡± At 8 a.m. on March 2, Togo Heihachiro issued the order to turn the fleet.

    "Why? Commander, aren't you planning to enter the Sulu Sea through the Lembukam Strait?" Major General Samejima asked in confusion.

    "The South China Sea is the territory of the Chinese people. There are many Chinese warships and even merchant ships here. We cannot guarantee that we will not be discovered. By now, the Chinese people should have known that we have left Singapore, and they must be looking for us all over the world.  .If we continue to take the South China Sea, we are very likely to be discovered. We go south to the Java Sea, the Makassar Strait enters the Celebes Sea, and then crosses the Sarangani Strait and enters the Pacific Ocean. No man would have thought that we would take this route.  By the time they are still looking for our traces in the South China Sea, we may have entered the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is so big, it will not be easy for the Chinese to intercept us!" Togo Heihachiro laughed.

    "Commander, what about our supplies?" Major General Samejima asked.  In this case, there will undoubtedly be some detours, which will make the Japanese fleet insufficiently supplied.

    "Let the supply ship go south as soon as possible! As long as we enter the Pacific Ocean, we can escape the pursuit of the Chinese!" Togo Heihachiro said.

    "Yes, your commander's plan is really good! I believe those stupid Chinese people would never have imagined that we would take this path!" Major General Samejima Kanki flattered Togo Heihachiro very much.

    The Japanese fleet immediately turned south and entered the Java Sea.  This was also the good luck of the Japanese fleet. An hour later, a Chinese Navy destroyer passed their original route.  If they don't turn around, they may be discovered by the Chinese navy.

    One day later, the Japanese fleet entered the Java Sea.  In order to prevent their whereabouts from being exposed, the ships encountered along the way, whether merchant ships or fishing boats, were sunk by the Japanese fleet. This allowed the Japanese fleet to pass through the Java Sea without being discovered by the Chinese navy.  .

    In the blink of an eye, two days passed, and the Japanese fleet seemed to have disappeared into the sea, without any news. This made the entire Chinese navy very impatient.  In order to find traces of the Japanese fleet, Deng Shichang has dispatched more than ten warships.  However, the scope of their search is mostly in the South China Sea.  Even though the South China Sea is very vast, under such an intensive search, the Japanese fleet definitely has no place to hide.

    "Zhang Aiqing, is there any news about the Japanese fleet?" On the evening of March 4, Wang Yuze summoned Navy Minister Zhang Cheng at the palace.  Now, comprehensive preparations for war have begun, and the army has begun to rush to the front line.  It can be said that the whole country is waiting for the Navy to fire the first shot.  But now, the Japanese fleet has actually escaped, which seems to have made China, who had gathered all its strength, punch the cotton.

    "Your Majesty, we have sent a large number of warships to search for them. As long as the Japanese fleet has not returned home, they will definitely not be able to escape!" Zhang Cheng replied, he was also very anxious.  It was planned well, but something like this happened at the end of the day.

    "Where is the Japanese home fleet? Where are they?" Wang Yuze asked.  Now that Japan's home fleet has left port, it will definitely join up with Japan's returning fleet.  If you really can't find Japan's returning fleet, maybe you can get some news by keeping an eye on Japan's home fleet.

    "Your Majesty, the Japanese home fleet is heading south, but their speed is very slow, and they are still hanging around Hachijo Island!" Zhang Cheng replied.

      PS: The fourth update is here!  Three updates tomorrow, no updates in the early morning!  A total of 109 chapters have been updated this month. I hope everyone will continue to support Xiaoyu next month!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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