"Passing by, that's what the Japanese said anyway, and now I can only believe them." Horst. Captain Yang pressed the zipper of his flying suit, and a ground crew helped him put on his umbrella bag.

"I'm not kidding, what if [Shotsben] fighter planes attack us." Sergeant Drumman expertly unloaded the PK pistol, closed the safety, and stuffed it into the armpit holster of the flight suit.

"[Little Japan], Sergeant, it should be [Little Japan], pay attention to my mouth." Captain Yang speaks fluent Zhili official dialect.

"Forget it, Captain, I tried, but I can't get it back, and I don't know where I learned this accent." Second Lieutenant Dirkson put on his flying helmet and fastened his chin strap.

"Listen, our mission is to monitor, and there is only one fifty-kilogram bomb in the magazine." Dirkson helps Drumman check the buckle of the wing.

"All the systems have been checked, and the fuel tank is full." An Air Sergeant handed over a clipboard with a stack of forms on it.

"Where's the fuel tank in the cabin?" Dexter flipped through the service sheet.

"It's all filled, Mr. Captain." The sergeant reported.

"Thank you." Dexter signed his name on the signature box and handed the clipboard back to the sergeant.

The Air Force captain began to circle the plane for a final pre-flight check.

"Please help me get it, Captain." Drumman handed a thermos to Horst. Poplar.

"What's inside?" Yang uncorked the bottle and sniffed it.

"It's chilled lemonade with some mint, it's very refreshing." Drumman climbed the ramp at the bottom of the cabin.

"Hand me the bottle, Captain." The Air Sergeant held out his hand to Yang.

"What an interesting taste, Sergeant." Yang smiled and handed the aluminum water bottle to the sergeant.

"Very refreshing, trust me." To prove that he was telling the truth, the sergeant nodded his head vigorously.

"Twelve BF109 fighters were dispatched from the Dalat base, eight D.520, .406 were dispatched from the Saigon base, and two German JU88 bombers were taken off from the Cam Ranh base." A French Air Force major held his head high and shouted to the French and Indian governors. Admiral Degu reports.

"Thanks, Major Bouvier, you can get out." Jean Degu stood at the map table with his hands behind his back, staring at the huge map of South Asia on the table.

"It's all calculated, and I can feel that it's a bad trick." Let. Degu turned his head to look at Eugene who was standing at one end of the map table. Feng. Colonel Davidson.

"We can't come up with evidence to refute them, but the Japanese have indeed calculated that they have always had a very close connection with Siam." Colonel Davidson said, holding his arms.

"Hasn't Berlin replied yet?"

"You've seen the note that Marshal Brumberg wrote to you."

"I see, thank you, Colonel Davidson." Let. Degu bowed slightly at Davidson.

"Then I take my leave, Your Excellency. Hi! Reinhart! Davidson slammed the heel of his boot and raised his right arm diagonally in salute to the Governor.

"A telegram from Your Excellency the Governor, sir." The communications non-commissioned officer took off his headset and handed the deciphered message to the captain on duty.

"Immediately send it to the bridge and hand it over to His Excellency the Commander." The captain read the message, folded it, and handed it to the herald who was standing by in the room.

"Yes, Mr. Captain." The herald saluted and ran towards the hatch with his legs spread.

"45,000 kilometers has already entered the theoretical range."

"The Mistral reports the discovery of six Japanese Hatsuharu?-class destroyers in the northwest direction."

"The destroyer fleet has changed formation."

"Let's. Morality. The Viena sent a signal that the fault had been eliminated and requested the next command. ”

At this time, there was a noise of reports on the bridge of the Dunkirk navigation ship, and all kinds of new information were constantly gathered here.

"A telegram from the Doge's Palace, Commander." The herald rushed into the bridge panting, ran to the commander's side and stood in salute.

"Thank God." Rear Admiral Corinny took the telegram with a happy face, but when he read it, the fleet commander frowned.

"Pestering the Japanese? What does that mean exactly? Colonel Armand took the telegram from the commander's hand, and the contents of it were confusing to the conceited and intelligent man.

"It's literal, Armand, I understand Jean. General Degu, his orders have always been concise and clear. Corinni stood up from the command seat and took the telescope from the staff officer.

"The firing command post reported that the Japanese fleet began to turn." A fleet staff officer reported aloud with a telephone receiver in his hand.

"Really?" Corinni stopped and picked up the telescope in his hand.

"I think I understand a little bit of what His Excellency the Governor meant." Colonel Armand walked up to Corinny and said, "They are actually worried about a conflict with us, the cunning Japanese. ”

"Yes, Falman, seeing through this, then even the most powerful fleet is a thing to scare people. The order to turn the fleet, we pasted it. ”

"It's a shame to be seen through by the French at once." Receiving the news that the French had adjusted their course at the same time and accelerated towards their own team, Takasu Shiro shook his head with a wry smile.

"Your Excellency, the Japanese Navy cannot bow to any challenge." Navy Lieutenant Nao Tasaka, a staff officer of the military command department accompanying the ship, said loudly.

"You know the orders of the Military Command Department, you should know what the purpose of our operation is. A lieutenant, a qualified Navy soldier also needs to have a big-picture perspective when he has courage. I have long proposed to the above not to play this kind of side-by-side trick, since we want to use soldiers, then we must be upright, just like these Chinese people now. Takasu Shiro walked over to the chart table.

"Keeping the original route? Excellency. A staff officer stepped forward and asked.

"Well, since I've been seen through, there's no way, I won't admit defeat obediently, I believe none of you will agree. Don't miss such a great opportunity. The 2nd and 20th Destroyers were ordered to conduct simulated lightning strike training with the main fleet of the country as the target. The 6th Sentai followed the team, formed a No. 1 artillery strike formation, and conducted a shooting and aiming exercise with the French warship as the target. Takagi straightened his back and ordered.

"Hah! Your Excellency, Commander! ”

"Understood! Your Excellency, Commander! The staff officers immediately shouted back excitedly and saluted the commander.

"In particular, it should be noted that this is an exercise and it is not allowed to load live ammunition." Takasu admonished solemnly.

"Hah! It is not allowed to load live ammunition, Your Excellency Commander. The staff officers bowed respectfully in agreement.

The Japanese envoy gave Jean at that time. Degu explained that part of the Combined Fleet was going to pass through the coast of French Indochina to the port of Bangkok in Siam, and in order to avoid a misunderstanding between the two sides, he had come to inform the French of this.

Everyone can see that this is just a pretext, and the Japanese sent a fleet at such a time, apparently preparing to intervene in the Franco-Siamese War.

The Japanese were psychologically ambivalent, wanting to flex their muscles to the French, but also fearing that they would provoke the Western powers by being self-defeating. Although Japan has a strong military in Southeast Asia, neither the military top nor the domestic society is ready to make a complete break with the West.

But Japan could not sit idly by and watch Siam be defeated by France, which occupied a very important strategic position in the plans of the Japanese military department. The Japanese army and navy had a rare cooperation, and they were involved in almost all the behind-the-scenes planning of the Franco-Siamese War, whether it was the bombing of the air force group or the dispatch of the combined fleet, everything had long been written on the timetable in Tokyo.

The Japanese Navy expected that after the outbreak of war, France would inevitably launch an attack on the Siamese Navy, and in the face of the powerful Far East Navy, the Siamese Navy had no power to fight back, and the task of the Takasu Fleet was to contain the French colonial fleet, create the necessary conditions for Japan's intervention in the war and mediation, and at the same time give the Siamese side some respite.

But Tokyo was also worried that this apparent bias would anger the Governor of French Indochina, and even the Apostle of God sitting in Berlin, which Tokyo did not want to see in any case. So choosing a commander who knew how to take care of the balance became the primary issue in this plan, and Vice Admiral Takasu Shiro became the best person to accomplish the task in the eyes of the Navy's top brass because of his performance outside Haiphong Port.

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