Chapter 671 Saudi Statehood (3)

The warm and humid Indian Ocean breeze blew across Bingwen's face, but he couldn't afford the thrill of crossing the sea at the moment.

Looking to the left through the porthole, the aircraft carriers Beihai and Balkhash, which are fully loaded with 27,200 tons, are like two giant beasts running side by side, splitting the waves and challenging the waves. Farther to the left, the light cruiser Huanghe and two Tumenjiang-class light cruisers are side-by-side. The heavy cruiser Taiwan Island has raised its flagship flag, and behind it are the sister ship Hainan Island heavy cruiser and the Qinghai Lake comprehensive supply ship, which has just been delivered at the beginning of the year, and this world's largest comprehensive supply ship with a full load of 23,300 tons is another breakthrough in the domestic shipbuilding industry.

This is all the power in his hands, the 21 task force.

2 represents that the parent fleet of the task force is the Second Fleet (Nanyang Fleet), and 1 represents that this is the first sub-fleet of the Second Fleet, and the task force not only represents the performance of special tasks, but also indicates that there are many different ships in this fleet. 20 nautical miles ahead of the fleet, there is also an oil convoy consisting of three 50,000-ton oil tankers and one Paulding-class old destroyer, escorting oil tankers is another basic task of the navy.

The officers and men on the bridge were talking and laughing, and for them this was just a deep-sea ocean-going navigation training. Only Bingwen and a handful of captains knew that Task Force 21 had a special mission. It was when the state of Saudi Arabia was in crisis and completely out of control, it launched an attack on the British fleet operating in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, and then attacked and harassed the Gulf of Aden in the Red Sea to limit the British Navy's projection power!

This was a crazy plan, once the attack was launched, it would mean a full-scale war between China and Britain, and it also meant that China was very likely to challenge the white world alone, so Yang Qiu deliberately let him personally command, and demanded that the fleet should not approach the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea until the signal was given. From the point of view of strength, the task force only has 2 heavy cruisers and 2 aircraft carriers to withstand a battle, so before departure, the General Staff requested the transfer of 2 battleships to strengthen, but in the end it was rejected. In addition to the provocative intention of dispatching battleships, he is the only one who knows that the 21 st Task Force is the first fleet in the world to conduct systematic aircraft carrier operations and exercises, and even precedes the US Navy, which took the same exercise last year to verify the role of aircraft carriers.

The two aircraft carriers have a total of 164 aircraft, 64 single-seat fighters, and 100 two-seat torpedo bombers, which are enough to complete a wave of super offensive with torpedoes and bombs. Although the navyman had always dreamed of having the opportunity to challenge the strongest opponent in the world, this time he did not want to draw his sword for the first time, because the motherland was not ready. "Scout telegram." A voice interrupted Bingwen's thoughts. Colonel Yang Quanteng, the navigator of the Taiwan Island, handed over the telegram: "70 nautical miles to the left is Malé, and there is one British cruiser in the harbor. ”

Yang Kunteng has a prominent family, and his grandfather is Yang Yonglin, a Beiyang pipe belt known as the Nelson of the East in the United Kingdom. He himself was admitted to the Nanyang Naval School to study navigation and gunnery, and in 22 years he went to the German Naval School to study for four years. After returning to China, he worked hard and rose from the first mate of the destroyer to the chief of the cruiser, and was one of the young officers listed in the key assessment by the Second Fleet.

The task force entered radio silence after passing through the Sunda Strait in the name of exercise, which also meant that the entire fleet could only receive messages but could not send messages, so Bingwen changed the traditional light cruiser reconnaissance method, using two-seat torpedo bombers with radios for reconnaissance, and for the first time using aircraft fuel tanks to increase endurance. But there are also risks in doing so, because you can't turn on the radio navigation, so the detection range must be precisely controlled, and it is easy to get lost if you fly too far.

"70 nautical miles to the left, heading 210." Bingwen quickly drew the direction of Malé with a compass and a ruler, and in the quick and accurate drawing technique, the young rear admiral who had participated in the Battle of Jutland had matured. After the painting was finished, he looked at the HNA clock again and ordered: "The tanker will break away and go to Najd on its own." The Nenjiang was ordered to go to Malto add water under the pretext of the rupture of the freshwater tank. ”

As one of the few officers who knew about the plan, Yang Quantum wondered about the order. It stands to reason that Task Force 21 is a secret weapon and should be hidden, so why was it actively exposed under the noses of Britain and the United States? Seeing that he was standing on the side in confusion and not leaving, Bingwen smiled and said: "You don't know that Britain is in the Indian Ocean?" Passing through the Sunda Strait is tantamount to telling people where we are, and now Najd should be on fire, and hiding will only make the British misunderstand that we are going to sneak attack. ”

"I see. You mean to deliberately expose the Nenjiang in the name of adding water, and then induce the British cruiser to go south with us, so that the British will think that we are only carrying out training. Yang Kunteng's eyes lit up.

Bingwen didn't say right or wrong, and continued: "The flag informs all ships that the Yellow River protection and supply ship is sailing at a constant speed of 16 knots to the southwest, and according to the scheduled plan, the reconnaissance opportunity will send a telegram to contact and converge in 5 days. The rest of the ships maintained their course, and when the British cruisers came after them, they forbade any communication, and released smoke to get rid of it at 2 o'clock the day after tomorrow. ”

"Yes."

After he left, Bingwen Cai looked at the navigation clock again and was secretly worried. How's going on Najd's side? If it is really stiff, how large will you encounter a fleet? There is also Japan, the news of the departure of Task Force 21 will definitely not be hidden from them, and at this time there are only 2 Beijing-class battleships, 6 heavy cruisers and 8 light cruisers in the country. The two Anhai-class ships of the First Fleet have been downgraded to offshore defense ships, and the two ships of the Second Fleet are being refitted, and it will not be delivered until at least August, and the first ship of the Sichuan-class aircraft carrier will be delivered a little sooner, and it will be in early July, which is a big gap! What if someone sneaks up on you?

When the 21st task force was heading for the deep sea of the southern Indian Ocean, the "Arab China Petroleum Agreement" signed at the Saudi state-building ceremony shook London and Europe like a bomb. No one expected that Yang Qiu would spend so much money, let alone that Ibn Saud would get rid of British control and give up most of the country to China for management. There are no reasons and excuses, just look at the importance of the Suez Canal and the Okhotsk Strait, and it is enough to go to war.

The atmosphere in Whitehall was tense, and the officers seemed to return to the anxiety of the night before the German High Seas Fleet burst out of Scapa Bay. Thinking that Germany spent 20 years to build a super fleet comparable to Britain, and now Yang Qiu is also taking such a road, although it is only 10 years, although the national strength and manufacturing industry are far from Germany back then, but he used all kinds of crises and methods to stand on the shoulders of European and American giants, and build a navy that cannot be underestimated.

While Lord Alexander and his officers were scrutinizing the strength of the Chinese navy, Rear Admiral Ben Sinclair stepped on the oak floor and walked into the conference room. Everyone frowned secretly when they saw him, because this handsome guy with blonde hair was the most mysterious figure in all of Britain, and his Mi6 was hailed as "England's eyes open in the dark".

But this time the "eyes" made a big mistake, and even Prime Minister MacDonald was very dissatisfied, and as soon as he entered the house, he asked: "What's going on?" When did the House of Saud come together with China? Can you tell us what happened to Yang Qiu's visit to the United States? What secret deal did Hoover have with him? We need an explanation, and the people of the British Empire need an explanation! If the Mi6 can't keep England safe, then I'd suggest that Major Vernon Kyle accept it. ”

The name Vernon Kyle is no less mysterious in the UK, he is the head of the MI5 and has been firmly in the grip of the MI5 from 1909 to the present day. Although the MI5 and MI6 are the UK's best intelligence agencies, few outsiders know that they have their own backers. The Mi5 has been in the hands of the Army since its inception, and the Navy is a big backer of the Mi6. So when the Prime Minister proposed to involve the Mi5 in British overseas and colonial intelligence, one can imagine how wonderful the faces of Alexander and other admirals were.

Major General Sinclair is also full of bitterness, after the European war, countries began to reduce spending, and the intelligence services are also short of money and personnel, how to maintain a huge intelligence network without money. You must know that now compared to the peak of the European war, the intelligence network has shrunk more than ten times! But how can these words be said to the Prime Minister? Faced with a series of questions from the Prime Minister, Major General Sinclair had to take out the documents that had just been prepared: "Mr. Prime Minister, this is the clues we have in our preliminary hands, and they are all here." ”

I have to say that MI6 is still very powerful, and in just a few days, Yang Qiu has sorted out everything from his visit to Najd to the recent establishment of Saudi Arabia. Joining forces with the Jewish group led by the Rothschild family to short the United States, after making a large profit, he bought treasury bonds knowing that he could not bring them out, and then visited Najd to take advantage of the Saudi family's eagerness to establish a state, reached a secret agreement to provide loans to it, and finally persuaded Hoover to agree to open the exchange of national bonds, and use the money to buy American goods while helping the United States recover its economy while controlling the Saudi government.

The problem is that MI6 believes that Yang Qiu's every step has materially hurt the British Empire, and that China is likely to use the oil trade to develop into the Persian Gulf. This inference is well-founded, as can be seen from the recent sudden appearance of a wide variety of Chinese weapons and equipment in Persia! To make matters worse, the problems that have sparked this chain of problems have originated in Afghanistan in the first place. In order to divert the attention of China and the Soviet Union, Britain had to use Afghanistan as a bargaining chip to confront the two countries. As a result, China and the Soviet Union did fight very hard in Afghanistan, although there were few reports, both sides invested a lot of strength, and the Soviet Union directly stationed troops. But it was precisely because of China's involvement in Afghanistan that the curtain was lifted on the Andijan-Persian passage and China was able to march into the Persian Gulf.

In addition, there is also an inexplicable relationship between China and the Muslim League, which has grown rapidly in the past two years and has a lot to do with the Afghan guerrillas, and behind the guerrillas are Yang Qiu and the Chinese government. The only thing that makes everyone a little fortunate is that I don't know if it's because of the scruples of the British government or if I really don't want to interfere in India, at least for now, Yang Qiu's attitude towards the Indian National Congress Party is lukewarm, and even harbors some kind of hostility.

As long as the Congress Party is controlled, the pearl of India will not fly away, this is the consensus of the British Empire.

And what surprised Prime Minister MacDonald the most was that Yang Qiu had been secretly operating the manganese mine on Groot Island in Australia with Hoover, and the two of them could make millions of dollars every year. The presidents of China and the United States turned out to be business partners! MacDonald's back ran a chill. Judging from the process, Yang Qiu has carried out a series of brilliant strategic operations, but is there still a cat in it, and is China and the United States really joining forces to suppress Britain and old Europe?

"One more thing." Rear Admiral Sinclair, in the spirit of not letting go of the mistake, told the news of the discovery of the Chinese Navy cruiser in Male: "They did not turn, but continued to sail south. This shows that either it's real training, or it's just a trick! ”

MacDonald knew about the 21st task force entering the Indian Ocean for training, and the Admiralty had been informed by the Chinese side as early as a month ago, but no one expected that it would encounter such a sensitive period, could it be a precursor to an attack on the Persian Gulf and India?

"Gentlemen! It's a simple business contract literally, but I think you all should know what it affects. Prime Minister MacDonald said in a deep tone: "This is the most serious challenge facing the British Empire in 10 years, and I have to warn you that we need to be prepared for a war." ”

"Then let's act and teach the Chinese a lesson!" I propose to immediately draw troops from the Iraqi garrison into Riyadh to intercept Chinese ships entering and leaving the Okhotsk Strait! Stop letting them cross the Suez Canal! Stop letting them cross the Strait of Malacca! The Prestige and Counterattack set off to find that damn fleet! The power report told Roger that the Royal Oak, Tiger and Queen were already on their way. Old Lord Alexander's series of "suggestions" made the smell of gunpowder suddenly strong. Even Henderson, who had not spoken all this time, was secretly frightened when he heard it, remembering his previous promise to Yang Qiu to ensure the safety of China's oil and waterway transportation, and hurriedly looked at MacDonald: "Mr. Prime Minister, you promised him when you signed the naval treaty!" Don't you remember? ”

MacDonald's body shook, remembering the scene when he forced Yang Qiu to sign the naval treaty that day, remembering the serious face with a blue color, and the sonorous and powerful words came to his ears again.

"This is the last time I made a major concession on national security. I don't want conflict, let alone any maritime control with you, but Britain must guarantee the safety of our sea lanes and oil transport lines! If there is a blockade of shipping lanes and disruption of oil shipments, then I would automatically consider it a declaration of war against my country! MacDonald wanted to speak and stopped, only to find that Yang Qiu had actually set himself up early!

Is it to lose control of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? Watching the Arab forces fall into the arms of China and the United States? Watching China enter the Persian Gulf region?! MacDonald looked at Henderson and then at the admirals waiting next to him, and stood up: "I'm going to meet the councillors, and before I do that, I need to give them some warning!" ”

"But the Prime Minister."

'Henderson, it's not about promises, it's for England.'