A three-seater biplane painted with the blue, red and gold concentric circles of the Imperial Chinese Navy under its wings cruised alone over the dark blue sea east of Ceylon......

Lieutenant Huo Xiaoyi had been carrying his crew -- one navigator and one radioman -- on a two-hour cruise in the hot and humid clouds of the Indian Ocean.

The first wave of reconnaissance groups released by the mobile units that day was composed of 12 "Dongfengjia" reconnaissance planes carried by aircraft carriers and four "Seagull" water reconnaissance planes carried by cruisers, and the reconnaissance sector was within a range of 240 degrees due west as the axis, and each plane was responsible for patrolling 15 of the sectors, of which the patrol radius of the "Dongfengjia" was 200 nautical miles, and the patrol radius of the "Seagull" was 150 nautical miles. ^^Starting^^

Two and a half hours after the first wave takes off, the second wave reconnaissance group, composed of the same force, will carry out patrols along the track of the first wave, forming a tight two-way search to ensure that the enemy is detected in time.

Huo Xiaoyi's crew from the 302nd Naval Reconnaissance Squadron of the "Yunpeng" took off at 9 o'clock local time as the 11th task force of the second wave of reconnaissance groups, and patrolled west-southwest to reconnoiter here.

"At eleven o'clock, the first turning point arrived."

The navigator, who was holding a horse watch in the back seat and staring at the airspeed disc and nautical charts to calculate the range, suddenly reminded Huo Xiaoyi through the wired electricity in the plane. ****

Huo Xiaoyi glanced at the mission map. Raise your hand and hold the throat microphone close to your mouth: "Roger." Turn left, azimuth confirmation, 255, 250, 245......"

The "Dongfeng Jia" slowly turned 90 degrees, pointed south-southeast with its nose pointing south-southeast, and flew smoothly towards the second turning point on the mission map.

Successfully completed the critical turn, Huo Xiaoyi stabilized the plane. As he looked down from the open cockpit through his goggles, the wings covered with steel wires and aluminum pillars severely obstructed his vision, and he shook his head and called to Corporal Li Guoming, the radioman and machine gunner in the back seat.

"Little plum, where's the fish?"

"It hasn't surfaced yet. \\\\\\”

"Keep an eye on it."

"Keeping an eye on it...... Wait, at three o'clock, there seems to be a track! ”

"Roger, let's go over and have a look."

Huo Xiaoyi smacked his lips excitedly. With a kick, the plane slid down diagonally to the right side of the road, west-southwest.

Through the faint clouds, the scene in front of him made Huo Xiaoyi gasp: the endless light blue sea. The eyes are full of bright white tracks that are pulling in the same direction, and the dense gray-white hull of different shapes is almost spread from one end of the sea antenna to the other!

"Little Lizi, send a telegram quickly!" Huo Xiaoyi couldn't wait to order. ^^Starting^^

"Now? The number and type of ships have not yet been confirmed......"

"I'll confirm with Xiao Yue, you send a short message first: If you find the enemy's main force, just send it like this, quickly!"

Before the words fell, the exclamation of the navigator Xiao Yue sounded in the earphones: "Enemy plane!" Above two o'clock! ”

Huo Xiaoyi looked up, and sure enough. Three swift figures were copying the path of their own plane, and they were attacking with great vigour.

"Little Lizi, don't care about anything, do as I say, hurry up!"

On the bridge of the commander of the aircraft carrier "Yunpeng", Bi Lingbo took the telegram handed by Jiang Ye and looked at it only once—only at a glance, and there were only five scribbled small characters: "The enemy's main force has been discovered." =STARTER=

"Look at the call sign. It was from the 2nd wave No. 11. According to the estimation of the time of departure, the position of the telegram should have been ......"

Jiang Ye approached the chart. A cross was drawn with a pencil on the putative position.

"Colombo is 115 degrees, 200 nautical miles, about 170 nautical miles from where we are."

Bi Lingbo crossed his waist, stared at the chart and frowned, "If you are in this position, the course should turn to the north—what news is there from the Dapeng over there?" ”

"Not yet. \\\\\\”

"Chief Liang should have seen this too, you go to the telecommunications room to guard and wait for the detailed report later."

Jiang Ye nodded, and was about to turn around and leave, when suddenly his eyes narrowed, and he mentioned that his feet in mid-air were taken back in a daze.

Bi Lingbo only looked at the chart and didn't look at him: "Why don't you go yet?" ”

Jiang Ye gritted his teeth and mustered up the courage to speak: "Sir, do you really think that Chief Liang will rashly launch an attack on the enemy's main force despite Commander Sa's instructions?" ”

"That's not what you're supposed to ask." Bi Lingbo pressed the chart with both hands and replied indifferently.

"If this happens, I think the chief should do something......

Bi Lingbo sighed lightly, raised his eyes to meet him, and ordered in a tone that could not be disobeyed: "Do what you have to do." =START="

"Yes!"

Seeing Jiang Ye turn around and open the door, go out, close the door, the sound of the collision of the steel hatch seemed to be still echoing, Bi Lingbo put his hands behind his back, approached the porthole, looked at the shadow of the "Dapeng" ship a thousand yards away in front of him, and whispered to himself: "Even if you want to attack in advance, the first object to solve should be ......"

On the bridge of the battleship "George V", Admiral Jericho, who was sitting in a narrow high chair, had just received a report of the discovery of an enemy reconnaissance plane, and he only said "I know what to do," and after a long time, he turned to his adjutant, Captain Anson. ^^Starting^^

"Do you know the way? I knew it was a well-laid trap, but I had to step on it. ”

Anson smiled and replied, "But we will win, and Britain will continue to rule the seas." ”

Jericho pondered for a long time before he muttered, "This is what young people should think...... That's good. ”

The rear hatch was suddenly pushed open, and a young staff officer approached Jericho and reported: "Our reconnaissance plane reported that at 11:15 a.m., at 105,300 nautical miles in Colombo, it encountered an enemy reconnaissance plane. ”

Another older staff officer immediately marked the location on the chart with a pencil and commented: "Obviously, the enemy's aircraft carrier is 100 nautical miles east of us—it is too early to appear." ****”

Jericho glanced at the charts and pressed his hands on the mahogany armrests on the side of the chair: "No, it's not too early, it's just the right time." ”

"It seems that the enemy wants to weaken us with an aviation attack before the main forces engage?"

Captain Anson spoke with some trepidation.

Jericho raised his hand and tapped the armrest, "Go on." ”

"First submarines, then airplanes, and then a surprise attack with surface lightning strike troops on the eve of the decisive battle, reducing the strength of our army little by little, and depriving our army of numerical superiority, the last to put the main force into a decisive battle - this may be the plan of the other side. =START="Anson is still not sure of his answer.

Jellico raised his chin at the older staff officer, motioning for him to comment.

"Makes sense, but it doesn't work with reality."

Anson wilted all of a sudden, but the old staff officer continued his explanation without hesitation: "For what? Because it is not our side that is hungry for a decisive battle, but the enemy, our aim is to thwart the enemy's landing and buy time for the defense of India and the restoration of the strength of the US Navy. Whenever possible, we should try to avoid a decisive battle between the main forces of both sides, and if we have already suffered heavy losses enough to put our troops at a disadvantage before approaching the landing site, then the best option is to suspend the battle and return as soon as possible. ”

"Doesn't the enemy want us to stop fighting?" Anson blinked in confusion.

"No, young man, the enemy wants to bring us down, not just break a few of our skins, they may have the means to take India quickly, but their limited shipbuilding capabilities dictate that they cannot confront our powerful combined fleet for a long time, the United States, pay attention to the United States that I just mentioned, sooner or later, the Americans will return to the Pacific Ocean and poke their ass."

"So, they'll do everything they can to lure us into their predetermined battlefield, repeating their combined air, sea and submarine operations, as they did in Lingayen Bay - unlike that time, this time, they're likely to devote most of their available forces and are confident that they can defeat us in a main showdown."

"From the other side's standpoint, if our army loses its numerical superiority by means of a weakened battle order a few days before the decisive battle of the main force, then it is very likely that our army will choose to retreat to preserve the main force of the fleet, and in this way, the plan for the decisive battle will be bankrupt, and the sad future of being under strong pressure in both directions at the same time will not be changed."

When Anson heard this, he couldn't help but speed up the frequency of his blinking: "Just like the commander just said, knowing that it is a trap, we also want to step on it?" ”

"It is precisely because there are traps in Zhilu Dao that we have arranged all kinds of precautionary measures in advance - Captain, you must know that our commander never fights uncertain battles."

Jericho smiled sideways, "Willy, don't you think that Mr. Sa is the same?" ”

The old staff officer named Willie stood tall and said, "They are our students after all. ”

"Looks like you're a good student in school - Zhilu Dao? Bad students always take pride in beating up their teachers. ”

……