Volume 2: War breaks out Chapter 16: Deduction on the Nautical Chart (Part 2)
Half an hour of waiting felt like half a century.
When the communications officer came running back with the telegram, the four men surrounded him.
"Marshal Sajitin is still in the capital. Prime Minister Xue Xiyue kept him here. Admiral Guo Xianzhong is now in charge of the naval headquarters."
"Then contact General Guo Xianzhong."
Liao Hanxiang glared at the staff officer and said, "Tell the general to give us a reply as soon as possible."
The staff officer hurried off to send the telegram again, feeling that he was innocent.
"Major, I will send your warning to the Navy Command, but you have to be aware of the consequences this will lead to."
Liao Hanxiang's right hand holding the cigarette was shaking slightly.
Tan Renhao just nodded. In his opinion, it was better to be prepared than not. However, he also realized that the Navy Command was unlikely to issue a war alert based on the analysis and judgment made by a major officer like him.
When Liao Hanxiang finished smoking his third cigarette, the staff officer ran back.
"General Guo Xianzhong has called back and asked us to proceed according to the original plan. The Navy Staff will pay attention to our report, but the original order will not change until there are further orders! "
“Damn it!”
Liao Hanxiang smashed the cigarette butt to the ground with force, then stepped on it fiercely. "Find a way to contact Marshal Sagittin and send a telegram directly to the Prime Minister. Make sure Marshal Sagittin receives the telegram."
The staff officer left quickly again, and Liao Hanxiang also left the communications center with the other three and went to his command cabin.
"Old Liao, maybe Marshal Sajitin is discussing this matter with Prime Minister Xue Xiyue. Maybe..."
"Chief of Staff, are you not familiar with the efficiency of cabinet government?"
Liao Hanxiang interrupted Wu Xianyu rudely: "Now, no one believes that Japan's main fleet has left the exercise area, and no one believes that Japan will declare war on the Empire without declaring war. At the same time, no one believes that Japan dares to challenge the Empire's hegemony in the Western Pacific.
Just as Major Tan Renhao said, after more than half a year of turmoil, no one would believe that Japan would declare war on the Empire in the short term.
If war really breaks out, the empire will be like a warrior without armor facing an opponent with a sharp blade. It will have no ability to fight back or even defend itself. "
"But……"
Wu Xianyu gritted his teeth and swallowed the rest of his words.
"So are we still heading south now?"
Ji Xiaobin raised a very practical question.
Liao Hanxiang was a little hesitant now. If he did not continue to move south, he would definitely be reprimanded by the Navy Command. This would be an act of blatant defiance of orders. But if he continued to move south, the Fifth Fleet would most likely be going to die.
"Commander, we can slow down and send out a malfunction signal at the same time."
Tan Renhao had thought of this a long time ago. "Use the excuse that there is a malfunction in the fleet's warships to reduce the sailing speed, and then we will move the route westward and out of the attack range of Japan's shore-based bombers. By then, even if the war does not break out, we will have enough excuses."
Liao Hanxiang nodded. This was the only solution.
When Wu Xianyu saw that Liao Hanxiang agreed, he immediately went out to find an officer from the navigation department to reset the route and speed.
Not long after, Wu Xianyu returned to the command cabin with a telegram in his hand.
He smiled bitterly and handed the telegram to Liao Hanxiang.
After reading the telegram, Liao Hanxiang also smiled bitterly and handed the telegram to Ji Xiaobin.
When Tan Renhao finished reading the telegram, he could only smile bitterly.
Marshal Sajitin was attending a banquet hosted by Prime Minister Xue Xiyue for the special envoy of the Japanese Emperor. The telegram sent by Liao Hanxiang was never handed over to Marshal Sajitin. It was directly confiscated. The commander was also asked not to send any more telegrams on the grounds that diplomatic activities should not be disturbed.
"damn it!"
Liao Hanxiang cursed in a low voice, then walked around the cabin, looking very impatient.
"It seems that Marshal Sagittin will not see our telegram until tomorrow morning."
Wu Xianyu sat down. He was very familiar with those diplomatic banquets, which would not end until midnight.
Ji Xiaobin just shook his head secretly. He felt that since he was a soldier, it was not appropriate for him to comment on the government's work style.
Liao Hanxiang finally stopped in front of Tan Renhao.
"Major, do you think Japan will really launch a surprise attack?"
"If the Japanese Emperor's special envoy hadn't come, I still think the possibility was not very high. However, why did Japan send the Emperor's special envoy here at this time?"
Tan Renhao sneered, "This will only make us think that Japan has no intention of going to war with the Empire and is actively seeking diplomatic means to resolve the conflict with the Kingdom of Korea.
I am sure that Prime Minister Xue Xiyue thought so too, and Marshal Sagittin probably thought so too.
No one believes that Japan will abandon its diplomatic efforts and declare war on the Empire at this time, except us."
"Are you saying that Japan is confusing us and making us let down our guard?"
Ji Xiaobin glanced at Tan Renhao.
"Why didn't General Guo Xianzhong take our telegram seriously? Because he already knew that the Japanese envoy had arrived in the imperial capital. Maybe he was still laughing at us."
Tan Renhao smiled bitterly, "Japan has to do this to confuse us. The Empire thinks that war is least likely to break out when that is when it breaks out."
The room fell silent. It was a simple truth that attacking the enemy when they are unprepared would achieve the best results.
"Lao Liao, what should we do now?"
Wu Xianyu no longer doubted Tan Renhao's analysis.
"The fleet will sail west at full speed immediately. We must get out of the attack range of the Japanese shore-based bombers as soon as possible."
Liao Hanxiang immediately made a decision, "After daybreak, double the number of air defense patrol fighters, and all fighter pilots must be ready to take off at any time. In addition, strengthen anti-submarine defense at night and advance along the anti-submarine route."
This night was not peaceful. The Fifth Fleet was perhaps the only fleet in the Imperial Navy that was on combat readiness.
Twelve destroyers, and all the seaplanes carried by the cruisers, were searching the sea surrounding the fleet.
In the second half of the night, there were three consecutive submarine threat alarms, but they were all lifted in the end. The lookouts on the destroyer were so nervous that they mistook the reefs on the sea and the whales floating on the sea to breathe for enemy submarines.
