On the morning of July 6, Xiang Xiaoqiang was in a good mood. The last obstacle between him and Zhu Yourong was instantly eliminated. However, when he glanced at the calendar and saw the big Arabic numeral "6", what did he think?
I feel uncomfortable.
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked out the window and murmured to himself:
"Tomorrow is 'Seven? Seven'. I wonder if something will happen?"
Rationally, he knows that this time and space is completely different from the standard time and space. In this time and space, Japan may not be stuck on July 7th to attack. - Take a step back and think about whether Japan will attack China.
Definitely. Although when you argue with other people, you always feel that you are right. But when no one is arguing with you, calm down and think about it - don't others have some sense? Is it true that Japan is now
Are the preparations for war really not aimed at the Soviet Union?
"well!"
He sighed, shook his head, sat down again, held his forehead, and thought about what to do. In short, he became very depressed again. If Japan attacks tomorrow, then the current preventive measures are far from enough. But if he takes some "
"Dergent measures", such as fabricating intelligence, putting the entire Ming army on alert, etc. The possibility of Japan attacking tomorrow is very small.
Xiang Xiaoqiang thought about it and asked Xiuxiu to help him contact Chief Xiong of the General Staff of the PLA Navy and have dinner together at noon. He himself was not sure. Xiang Xiaoqiang's own point of view was that Japan would most likely attack the Ming Dynasty, but it was not necessarily the case.
It's going to be on July 7th.
Xiuxiu used to do it immediately after receiving the order. But today she hesitated and said:
"Sir...there is something I don't know whether I should say or not..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"Why are you doing this vulgar thing? Just say whatever you want."
Xiuxiu looked at him and said:
"Sir... now that your relationship with His Majesty has just become public, it is the most sensitive time... At this time, you should try to keep a low profile. Well, I think... you are frequently interacting with senior navy officials at this time.
Very bad.”
"What?" Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a smile, "It seems that just when I was about to marry the queen, I was busy grabbing the army and grabbing power?"
Xiuxiu nodded.
He nodded to Xiaoqiang and sighed:
"This is exactly where I hesitate!"
He leaned on the backrest, held his chin and hesitated for a while, then finally gritted his teeth and decided:
"No matter what, it doesn't matter what others think! Help me contact you."
Xiuxiu had no choice but to agree and turn around to do it.
…
As expected by Xiang Xiaoqiang, Xiong Dingming was very generous with face - or should be said now, Xiong Dingming cherished the face given to him by Xiang Xiaoqiang. He turned down other appointments at noon and came to have dinner with Xiang Xiaoqiang.
The two of them were in a low-key private room in the hotel, eating simple but exquisite meals and talking about the defense against Japan in the past few days.
From what Xiang Xiaoqiang heard, there was basically nothing new. It was just that the Japanese fleet was training day and night. Fleets from various military ports were transferred to the Seto Inland Sea for training in turns. Various ships were shuttled back and forth in the Tsushima Strait, and they continued to increase their troops... Just
These things.
"By the way," Xiong Dingming said, "I just received news this morning that Sasebo Naval Port sent a battleship, two heavy cruisers and several destroyers to participate in the training."
Xiang Xiaoqiang asked:
"Where is this intelligence? We, the People's Guard, have not received the information."
Xiong Dingming said:
"Information from the Jinyiwei. They have a spy in Sasebo. That person is in the military port and is the chef of the officers' mess. He can see the number of warships in the port every day."
Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded:
"Well, it's better than us. Our latest spies are only from the Sasebo shipyard, which is far away from the military port. We can only rely on inquiries. Which ship is being sent this time?"
"Fuso."
"Fuso?" Xiang Xiaoqiang frowned and asked curiously, "That's not right. Didn't Fuso just come back from training last week? Why did it go out again in such a short time?"
Xiong Dingming smiled and said:
"Maybe they have stepped up their training intensity."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said suspiciously:
"Where are they going to train this time? Or the Seto Inland Sea?"
"Probably so."
"Should?" Xiang Xiaoqiang felt something was wrong and asked, "What... Mr. Xiong, don't think I'm too talkative... I just want to ask, when did you find out that the Fuso was not in port?"
Xiong Dingming looked at him, as if he thought he was a little nervous. However, Xiong Dingming still smiled and said:
"Information said that he was missing yesterday morning. He should have left the port the night before yesterday."
"The night before yesterday..." Xiang Xiaoqiang mused, "Based on the voyage, yesterday we should have passed through the Kanmon Strait and entered the Seto Inland Sea. Mr. Xiong, has your navy received any information about Shimonoseki Port? Shimonoseki Port is closing.
On the strait, if the fleet passes through the Kanmon Strait, the spy should be sent back
Intelligence. - Our People's Guard has spies in Shimonoseki Port, but I haven't received any news. According to the time, the time to pass through the strait is either morning or noon. In broad daylight, another battleship, two cruisers, plus a group of
Destroyers, such a large fleet, cannot be missed."
Xiong Dingming was also a little nervous. But he didn't show it, he still smiled and said:
"Um...how many spies do you have in Xiaguan Port?"
"one."
Xiong Dingming felt a little more relaxed and said with a smile:
"Haha, there are many possibilities. Just a spy can't keep an eye on the strait 24/7. He also needs to eat, sleep, and has his own work and things to do. Maybe when the fleet passes by
, he is eating, also
Maybe he went to work in Shimonoseki City, or he got sick and went to see a doctor, or his superior assigned him some work and walked away... It's all possible. Haha, sir, don't be nervous. After dinner, I
Go back and ask if our information has arrived."
When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard what he said, he felt that it made sense. He felt a little more relaxed, nodded and said:
"That's right...I will ask again after I go back. We also need to communicate with Dongchang in time. At this time, information exchange is very important."
"Haha, that's right," Xiong Dingming smiled again, "Think about it, if this fleet really came to attack the Ming Dynasty, first, the force would be too weak, and second, Sasebo is only 400 nautical miles away from our Zhoushan base. The day before yesterday
If we set off at night, we should have arrived a long time ago. Everything is fine now, which means this fleet is not coming for us."
When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard what he said, he became worried again:
"I'm worried that their target will not be the Zhoushan Islands. The Zhoushan Islands are difficult to attack and the security is very tight. If their attack target is the Lushun Dongjiang Fleet, it should still be on the way. And our security in the north is relatively tight.
weak."
Xiong Dingming smiled:
"Master Xiang, there is no need to worry too much. The attack on Port Arthur requires bypassing the Korean Peninsula and going deep into the Yellow Sea. It is an expedition, and it can easily be cut off by our East China Sea Fleet. The Japanese army does not have a few battleships, so it will never take this risk.
It’s dangerous. Now if we want to attack the East China Sea Fleet with this force, I still believe it. Although the East China Sea Fleet is our main force, after all, the distance is very close, it’s straight forward, and the sea area is wide, so it’s easy for the Japanese fleet to respond later.”
He nodded to Xiaoqiang and smiled hesitantly:
"That's the best... Mr. Xiong is an expert on sea matters, but I can't, haha..."
…
After lunch, Xiang Xiaoqiang politely "told him something", and Xiong Dingming also agreed to continue sending more patrol ships and aircraft to Japan, and then both parties went back.
As soon as Xiang Xiaoqiang entered the office and sat down, Hu Jiong came in:
"Sir, Mr. Sea Ginseng Bear called, now on line 1."
Xiang Xiaoqiang felt an ominous premonition in his heart. He nodded and picked up the phone number 1.
"Master Xiong? I support him."
Xiong Dingming's voice in the receiver seemed hesitant and undecided. He said hesitantly:
"Sir, please report to the Zhengde that they have discovered a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft near the sea off Vladivostok."
Well, Japanese reconnaissance planes are quite normal.
Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded:
"oh."
Xiong Dingming said hesitantly:
"It's a seaplane."
Xiang Xiaoqiang still didn't understand and nodded:
"Well, seaplane...how about that?"
Xiong Dingming hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said:
"That's a carrier-based seaplane...a short-range one...equipped on a battleship or cruiser..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang's mind was buzzing.
"Master Xiong," he also lowered his voice and said nervously, "You mean...that there are Japanese main ships in the Sea of Japan?"
Xiong Dingming whispered:
"good."
"You mean..." Xiang Xiaoqiang's voice was trembling, "Fuso... and the two heavy cruisers are now near the Zhengde squadron?"
Xiong Dingming's voice also became dry:
"This is my analysis."
Xiang Xiaoqiang stared at the big "6" on the calendar, and cold sweat broke out on his back.