Chapter 116: The incident happened suddenly

Captain Liu Xuanjiang said that the night of November 1 was not peaceful. 【】

At the end of October, the "Wanzhou" missile frigate under the command of Captain Liu Xuanjiang arrived in the waters east of Hokkaido, Japan, along with the Y011 prefabricated fleet led by the "Zhendong" mother ship, and carried out a total of five "blockade patrol" missions, intercepting seven ships preparing to go to Japan.

For Liu Xuanjiang and other 12 captains, "blockade patrols" are not a difficult task.

In the sky, six "alert helicopters" carrying the "Zhendong" are carrying out patrol tasks 24 hours a day, and at any time on the sea, six missile frigates are divided into three formations to patrol the routes where merchant ships are concentrated. Relying on the sea search radar on the helicopter and the radar on the missile frigate, it can accurately and timely detect ships within a radius of several hundred kilometers. As long as the missile frigates arrive in time, the merchant ships will "consciously" evade them.

The situation changed in the night of 1.

Liu Xuanjiang led 211 crew members of the mother ship to rest for 12, enjoyed delicious meals, and took hot baths on board the "Wanzhou" at 230, and went to replace the other 6 missile frigates that had been patrolling the sea for 24~ with 5~sister boats such as the "Daxian".

At 22:30, the "Wanzhou" and "Daxian" went to the waters of the Kuril Trench at Tokyo 1 and north latitude.

As in the past, the "Wanzhou" and "Daxian" took turns activating their sea search radars to monitor the surrounding waters, while another missile frigate activated a tactical data link system to obtain surveillance information from the alert helicopters. The main reason is that the mother ship lacks the necessary tools to repair the radar, and the missile frigates that carry out patrol missions in order to prolong the mission time must use radar as little as possible. Because in the last patrol mission, the "Daxian" used radar first, so this time the "Wanzhou" first used radar.

At 23:15, the "Daxian" sent a message that the alert helicopter sent the fleet that was sailing westward.

The 2 missile frigate immediately turned and, following the information of the alert lift, went to intercept.

At 23:20 Jiang received the exact news. There are at least 12 large merchant ships in the fleet heading west!

No need for the captain to worry about. The helicopter has already sent the relevant news to the mother ship and the nearby surface missile frigates, and all the ground missile frigates on the mission are approaching. The missile frigate returned to the mother ship to rest and recuperate in accordance with the combat order. End the rest early. Participation in interception operations.

12 ~ Merchant Marine. Not a small amount!

"Wanzhou" soon increased its speed to 70 knots. Meet the fleet that doesn't know whether to live or die.

23 o'clock. The convoy was spotted by the "Wanzhou" ground search radar.

While Liu Xuanjiang gave the combat order, he asked the communications non-commissioned officer to connect to the satellite communication channel. Send battlefield information to the naval command and general staff thousands of miles away.

Why did he do this, Liu Xuanjiang didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

In his opinion, as soon as the missile frigate arrived, the merchant ship would "consciously" turn around and abandon the operation to Japan. But he never imagined that this time the situation was completely different.

At 1:30 a.m. on the 11th, the "Wanzhou" and "Daxian" were the first to approach the fleet.

In accordance with the operational order issued by the Navy Command, the "Wanzhou" and "Daxian" sent a warning message to the ships heading west through international maritime communication channels and light signals, asking the ships to turn and leave the belligerent sea area designated by the Republic or stop for verification by the Navy of the Republic. After the so-called "salute before the soldiers" warning did not have any effect, Liu Xuanjiang ordered the "Wanzhou" to fire its guns into the air to signal that the missile frigate had the ability to strike fatally. In the past, even the most daring captain would immediately order a turn. What made Liu Xuanjiang a little incredulous was that the cannon warning still had no effect, and the fleet composed of 12~ merchant ships continued to sail westward.

This information was transmitted to the General Staff through a satellite communication system.

Pei Chengyi had long expected that this night would not be peaceful, so he not only stayed in person, but also let all the staff officers who had rested for a few hours in the afternoon stay.

When the "Wanzhou" and "Daxian" issued warning signals, the alert helicopters that arrived first dropped flares over the flotilla and sent back images of the scene.

Without much effort, intelligence analysts sent by the Military Intelligence Bureau determined that the fleet consisted of three VLCCC "supertankers", 5,500 container ships of the Capesize class, 150,000-ton three-loading cargo ships, and one large ro-ro cargo ship capable of carrying Taiwan vehicles.

Is this a fleet that occasionally breaks into the "no-sail zone"?

Although it is not known what cargo these ships carry, Pei Chengyi is almost certain that this fleet is extraordinary.

After issuing another warning to the missile frigate and alert helicopter on the interception mission, Pei Chengyi sent someone to wake Xiang Linghui out of bed.

A few days ago, the "no-sail zone" was entered by some freighters who did not receive the news, but this time it was different.

According to the order sent by the General Staff, the "Wanzhou" commanded by Liu Xuanjiang was at the front of the fleet

The location of the meter again gave a light signal, followed by a warning shot.

The situation still did not change, and the 12 ~ merchant ships "did not look back" to the west!

When Xiang Linghui came to the tactical command center, the atmosphere was already very tense. In accordance with the combat order, after two rounds of warnings to no avail, the missile frigate could at any time sink a ship that had entered the "no-sail zone". If Pei Chengyi hadn't given an order in advance, asking the ships and planes on the interception mission not to open fire for the time being, I'm afraid the battle would have begun.

"It's a tricky situation."

Xiang Linghui nodded, indicating that he understood what Pei Chengyi meant.

12~ The merchant ships are all flagged American, and there are 3 fully loaded VLCCs among them. Tankers are not freighters, and while all tankers built in the 211th century have a more secure double-hull, the tanker's double-hull is designed to prevent the leakage of fuel in the event of an accident, not to deal with the missiles and artillery on the ship. If we really want to start fighting, sinking three VLCCs will cause nearly one million tons of oil spills and cause devastating environmental pollution in hundreds of thousands of square kilometers or even millions of square kilometers of nearby sea areas. There were at least more than 300 crew members on 12 ships, and if the missile frigates opened fire, even if they actively salvaged the people who had fallen into the water after the battle, there was no guarantee that there would be no casualties.

To fight, or not to fight?

Xiang Linghui let out a long breath and looked at Pei Cheng.

"Wait a little longer, inform the Führer."

"Call the head of state and send the message via video call." Xiang Linghui sighed and said, "Is it a blessing or a curse, it is a disaster that cannot be avoided, let the missile frigate issue a warning again, and if the American ships continue to insist on going their own way, they will issue an order for combat readiness." ”

Pei Chengyi nodded and didn't say anything more.

When he received the news from the General Staff, Wang Yuan had not rested and was discussing with Gu Weimin, Zong Yingren, and Ye Zhisheng the possible impact of the breakdown of the armistice negotiations.

After arranging the > frequency meeting, Wang Yuanqing asked Jiao Shan to notify Li Cunxun by phone.

The question was put to the Führer.

To fight, or not to fight?

"How long will it take for the fleet to reach Japan?"

"Eighteen hours at the earliest."

Wang Yuanqing nodded slightly and said, "Order the missile frigates and helicopters to closely monitor the whereabouts of the fleet, make an interception plan, and I will issue instructions as soon as possible." ”

Pei Chengyi seemed to have guessed the Führer's decision, and immediately nodded in agreement.

After the video conference, Ye Zhisheng immediately said: "No question, this is the United States testing our attitude." ”

Wang Yuanqing smiled, pressed his hand, stopped Ye Zhisheng's words, and said to Jiao Lushan next to him: "Send someone to the Military Intelligence Bureau as soon as possible, and let Li Cunxun come over immediately to report the situation." ”

Jiao Lushan nodded, got up and left the study.

"Lao Wang, what are you going to do?" After returning to the decision-making circle, Gu Weimin's attitude towards Wang Yuanqing has changed a lot.

"Xiao Ye is right, this is the United States testing us." Wang Yuanqing picked up the cigarette case and scattered one for everyone before lighting it for himself. "At the beginning, we talked about the breakdown of the negotiations, and the United States and Europe were the most disappointed. We have given the EU enough face, the EU will not make reckless moves, only the United States, which has been sidelined, is dissatisfied and will take the opportunity to cause trouble. You also saw that there were twelve merchant ships, and there were three oil tankers.

According to the embargo list we have published, crude oil and various refined oil products are embargoed materials. If I'm not mistaken, several other freighters are also carrying embargoed supplies. Of course, there will be no similar information on the US departure list, but it will be marked as humanitarian aid. If we sink these ships, we will inevitably be blamed by the United States, and it may even give the United States a reason to enter the war. ”

"At this point, there is no reason for the United States to enter the war."

"If you don't go to war, you will also create problems for us in the armistice negotiations." Wang Yuanqing looked at Ye Zhisheng, who was excited, and said, "The purpose of the United States is to preserve Japan, at least to enable Japan to maintain its status as a regional power, so as to use Japan to contain us after the war and achieve the goal of balancing us." To do this, the United States must create favorable conditions for Japan during the negotiations and put us in a disadvantageous position. ”

"Yuan is right, it happened suddenly, and we must deal with it carefully." Zong Yingren did not publish any useful indirect.

"The key issue is that we can't let it go, otherwise the strategic blockade will exist in name only."

"Clearance is a secondary issue, the key is how to avoid an escalation. Now the whole world is looking forward to an armistice negotiation to stop the war, and if we take the wrong step, it is very likely that the situation will be reversed. "Gu Weimin is still cautious and not very optimistic.

Hearing Gu Weimin's words, Wang Yuanqing nodded and said, "That's true, we must take action." What to do, I think it is better to listen to the opinion of the Military Intelligence Agency and find out the situation. Anyway, the fleet still has more than ten hours to reach Japan, and it is also in a hurry. ”

The head of the state said so, and Gu Weimin, Zong Yingren and Ye Zhisheng didn't have much to say.