At half past four o'clock in the afternoon of January 3o, there was still an hour before the reply time requested by Daming.

The Strait of Malacca, with a total length of about 1ooo kilometers, is in a northwest-southeast trend. The northwestern end, which is about 600 kilometers long, has a relatively open sea, and the narrowest part is 12o kilometers. However, the southeast section, which is about 400 kilometers long, suddenly "closes" and becomes very narrow, and the widest part is less than 6o kilometers. And this section is now full of destroyers and patrol boats of the Ming army.

Originally, the Ming Navy had four major fleets (East China Sea Fleet, Dongjiang Fleet, South China Sea Fleet, and Yangtze River Fleet), and since it got Sumatra in South Seas, it prepared to build the South Ocean Fleet, which was stationed in Palembang on Sumatra Island and Semarang on Java Island. The strategic tasks were to protect the Ming Dynasty's territory and rights in the South Seas, to maintain the security of the waters of Malacca, to protect the security of the Chinese in the South Seas, and most importantly, to take control of the Strait of Malacca by force if necessary.

Given the nature of these tasks, the Nanyang Fleet did not emphasize the ability to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese fleet with battleships as the main force of the East China Sea Fleet. Instead, it takes cruisers as the main force, supplemented by destroyers, torpedo boats and other small ships, and is equipped with a large number of naval 6 squadrons and troop carriers, mainly emphasizing the ability of rapid delivery, force bomb pressure, and escort.

This is also the first time that the Ming Army's Nanyang Fleet has been put into large-scale missions since its establishment. Although this mission is not a battle, it is of great significance, if not less than a battle. The Nanyang Fleet deployed nine destroyers, 18 patrol boats, and three maritime reconnaissance planes, and set up three blockade lines. At present, in the narrow eastern section of the strait of Malacca, ships from all over the world passing by can already smell a little nervousness.

From time to time, seaplanes flew over the heads of cargo ships and oil tankers, and they were pressed very low, probably to identify the national flag and ship number. As soon as it was a Japanese ship, the reconnaissance plane would prolong its circle, and after a while, a speedboat would rush over and follow behind slowly.

Since the blockade line was set up at 3:30 o'clock, until now, four Japanese cargo ships and one Japanese oil tanker have been targeted within an hour. It's not yet the final hour, so they're still allowed to pass, just follow. An hour later, as soon as the order to "start the blockade" was issued, the Japanese ships that were targeted should be intercepted immediately, and they would be given two choices: either turn around and go back, or arrest the ships and take them to Palembang.

……

At this moment, the Prime Minister's residence in Tokyo is also noisy. Hirota Hiroki, 6 Phases Terauchi Shouichi, and Umi Eichi Nagano cultivated themselves, until this last moment, opinions were still not unified. Moreover, everyone is constantly looking at the wall clock on the wall, anxious.

Although it was winter, the fireplace in the room was burning strongly, and coupled with impatience, the three important ministers were already sweating. Terauchi Shouichi and Nagano Shusei are both soldiers, and although they sweat a lot, they still maintain a strict military style, with their uniforms buttoned to the top one, and they sit upright with their hands on their knees. But Hirota Hiroki is a civil official, and he doesn't care about this, he has already taken off his suit, unbuttoned the top two shirt buttons, and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

"Both," Hirota picked up the handkerchief, wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, and looked at the clock on the wall, "Please note, there are still forty minutes left." It would take us at least 20 minutes to send a telegram and the Manchurian dispatch army to receive and translate the telegram. Two, we can't afford to drag on like this. We have to come up with our opinion in twenty minutes. ”

Shouichi Terauchi said coldly:

"Opinions, that's been there for a long time. I still say the same thing, this incident was deliberately planned by the Ming Kingdom from the beginning, with the intention of creating friction, provoking incidents, and preparing an excuse for tearing up the secret Sun-Ming Agreement. This note, which is said to be a protest, is actually an ultimatum! Japan has not been threatened with an ultimatum since the Russo-Japanese War! If we give in this time under the ultimatum of the Ming Kingdom, it will deal a heavy blow to the morale of all the 6 naval officers and men of the Japanese Empire, and even 100 million people! Japan's 'high national defense system,' which has been painstakingly established since the Meiji era, will also collapse spiritually! Once Japan succumbs to the Ming Kingdom this time, there will be many more such things in the future! ”

Nagano Xiushen also said coldly:

"Let's not talk about the far, let's talk about the present! Ming Guo controls the Strait of Malacca, although it is not explicitly stated this time, but if we do not give it a satisfactory answer, it will definitely make a fuss about the Malacca waterway! We are now at war and need a lot of supplies every day, oil, coal, steel, food...... All of this has to pass through the Strait of Malacca, and the Malacca waterway is our vein! Once the blood vessels are cut off, let's not talk about a war with the Ming Kingdom, even the current war in Manchuria will not be able to continue! According to the existing oil in Japan, the war will last for a maximum of two months! ”

Shouichi Terauchi smiled slightly and said:

"His Excellency the Lord of the Admiralty seems to have made a glaring mistake. That is the route from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean, and there is not only one Strait of Malacca! The Strait of Malacca is blocked, so let's go through another shipping lane! ”

Nagano said with a smile:

"Oh? Is it? Yes, of course there is more than one route. As long as you are willing to detour, you will always find another route. It's the same as the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal! The Suez Canal is blocked, and you can still go around the Cape of Good Hope! The Panama Canal is blocked, and you can still go around the Strait of Magellan! It's nothing more than a little more winding! Hehe, that's a great idea! ”

Hirota Hongyi saw Nagano cultivating himself and mocking Shouichi Terauchi, worried that the two of them would pinch each other leisurely, so he hurriedly played a round and said:

"Well, this ...... The Minister of the 6th Army is certainly reasonable, but the Minister of the Navy's concerns cannot but be taken into account...... Admiral, in your opinion, if we really can't take the Strait of Malacca, then which is the nearest shipping lane? How many kilometers are we going to go around? ”

Nagano stood up, walked quickly to the map on the wall, and pointed to the point:

"Look, the Strait of Malacca is here, and if our ship goes through the Strait of Malacca, then as long as it comes out of here, it can go directly north, through the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and then it will be able to reach Japan. In this way, it takes about 65oo kilometers to sail from the Indian Ocean to Tokyo Bay. However, if you don't go through the Strait of Malacca, you have to detour from the south. Although there are several straits east of Sumatra, each of them has narrow waterways, dangerous shoals and coral reefs, which are very dangerous, and these small straits are not regarded as shipping lanes in the world.

"Our ship, then, must go all the way to the east. It was not until it went around the north of Australia, passed through the Timor Sea between Australia's Big 6 and the island of Timor, entered the Arafura Sea, and from there went north, entered the Banda Sea, crossed between Sulawesi and the island of New Guinea, and sailed northwest to reach the southern tip of the Philippines. Passing between Mindanao and Kalimantan is considered to be entering the South China Sea. From there, we were able to sail straight north to Japan. From the Indian Ocean to Tokyo Bay, it is estimated that the total voyage will reach 15ooo kilometers.

"See? In order not to go through the Strait of Malacca, we have to sail an extra 85oo km. These more than 8,000 kilometers are equivalent to sailing one more Indian Ocean and one Red Sea. The Strait of Malacca is called the second most important shipping route in the world, and for good reason. It makes sense that Singapore, at the southern tip of the Strait, is one of the 'four major fortresses in the world'. Your Excellency the Minister of the 6th Army, the history of human warfare in June has been for millions of years, and the history of war at sea is only three or four thousand years. The real Age of Discovery is only 500 years. Why? Quite simply, things at sea cannot be done with courage alone, but also with strict hard conditions, coupled with a rational and realistic mind, and when necessary, we must learn to compromise. ”

Terauchi Shou's face turned red, staring at the long route drawn by Nagano Xiu on the map, wanting to refute but unable to speak. What can he say? Do you want to say, "It's okay, let's go around"?

The bell on the wall rang. All three pairs of eyes looked at the bell and listened to it ring five times.

It was five o'clock in the afternoon. There is still half an hour left before the deadline demanded by Ming Guo.

Hirota Hongyi grabbed the handkerchief, wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead vigorously, and took a deep breath.

He glanced at the two of them quickly, and then at Shouichi Terauchi. Although Shouichi Terauchi was flushed, he didn't say anything after all.

"Okay, then it's decided......" Hirota Hiroki picked up the phone receiver and said, "Pick up the telecommunications class for me." ”

Then, he turned his head to look at the two of them, sighed and said:

"We're still ...... Let's accept Mingguo's request for the time being. ”

Shouichi Terauchi's flushed face slowly calmed down. He stared at the map on the wall and said coldly:

"Well, it's just the first time...... In the future, when the Ming Kingdom tastes the sweetness, everything will be used in the Strait of Malacca...... The Ming Dynasty has the Strait of Malacca in its hands, and we will obey the Ming Kingdom in everything in the future. That's not the way to go. ”

Nagano Shushen also stared at the map, and said gloomily:

"Of course it's not the way to go."

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