"Report, the Expeditionary Fleet has divided its troops."

"Oh! Switch the radar display to the large display immediately."

As he said that, Shang Jinfeng came to the large display area of ​​the command room in a few steps, staring at the radar display that had just switched to the central large display screen. It can be clearly seen that the Expeditionary Fleet is divided into three parts, one of which is moving forward away from the main body of the Expeditionary Fleet, and the other part is separating from the other side of the main body of the Expeditionary Fleet.

Shang Jinfeng sank for a while before saying, "Send the image taken by the drone to the display."

I saw that on another secondary display screen, the drone aerial shot appeared. It was basically the same as the radar display, but it was a real scene. Of course, each ship was displayed very small on the screen, and only the outline could be roughly visible.

Shang Jinfeng said again: "Enlarge the picture and see what warships these ships are..."

What he was referring to was the warship that was moving forward away from the main body of the expeditionary warship. Although it had not completely left at this time, there were about 10 warships leading the leader who had clearly separated from the main body of the expeditionary warship. After the picture was enlarged, it can be clearly seen that these warships were all battleships, and the flying flags on the mast showed that they were all British warships.

Shang Jinfeng nodded and said, "What type of warships are these?"

Dataman Zhou Jiang said: "The first three ships are the fear class, and the rear five ships are the majestic class."

It turned out that while monitoring the expeditionary warships, the People's Army had already matched the main warships of the expeditionary warships, and the battleships, armored cruisers and some protective cruisers of Britain and France were identified and stored relevant data. Therefore, when you see that warship, you can quickly find the model.

At this time, the fleet commander Han Chao said: "Is this the vanguard fleet sent by the Expeditionary Fleet? It is entirely possible to send a vanguard fleet of more than 20 warships at the scale of the Expeditionary Fleet."

Shang Jinfeng said: "This is possible, but we need to look at it again and enlarge the fleet separated on the other side."

After the fleet separated on the other side was enlarged, everyone also saw clearly that they were all transport ships. Han Chao said again: "It seems that this is to separate the auxiliary ships from the combat ships, which is like a preparation for war."

Shang Jinfeng nodded and said, "After the expeditionary fleet is completely separated, determine the navigation direction of each fleet."

About 30 minutes later, the Expeditionary Fleet was completely divided into three, of which the fleet composed of auxiliary ships sailed in Kaohsiung Port, Taiwan. Although the other two fleets were one in front and one behind, the navigation direction was the same, both sailing towards the People's Army Fleet. Therefore, at this time, the purpose of the Expeditionary Fleet was very clear, that is, let the auxiliary ships berthed in Kaohsiung Port, so that the combat warships could go into battle lightly and devote all their efforts to the war. The goal of the combat was of course the People's Army Fleet. Dividing the fleet into two front and back is also a prudent move. First, it is to test the strength of the People's Army Fleet first; second, it is to prevent other changes in the People's Army Fleet.

After confirming that the Expeditionary Fleet finally chose war, the people's navy also breathed a sigh of relief, because the People's Army Fleet entered the Taiwan Strait the afternoon of the previous day, and had waited for a day and two nights, and also monitored the Expeditionary Fleet for a day and two nights. In fact, they were also a little anxious at this time. I don't know if the Expeditionary Fleet would go to the Taiwan Strait and fight with itself. Although the People's Army also had a plan that the Expeditionary Fleet would not go to the Taiwan Strait, in this way, although it could still win in the end, the goal of annihilation of the Expeditionary Fleet could not be achieved.

Shang Jinfeng said: "Report to the Military Commission immediately. The Expeditionary Fleet is heading towards the Taiwan Strait and is expected to meet in 2 hours." Although the fleet is waiting for a hurry, the people in the rear are not as anxious as the soldiers on the front line. Therefore, whenever there is a new situation, they must be reported to the rear as soon as possible, so that the people in the rear can understand the situation on the front line at all.

Han Chao ordered that the enemy fleet had been fishing, and it was expected to take the battle in 2 hours. He also ordered that the Southern fleet be notified to prepare for attack, but not to act rashly.

At this time, Chief of Staff Zhang Weining said: "Commander, if the Southern Fleet is allowed to attack at this time, it can intercept the auxiliary fleet of the Expeditionary Fleet and easily eliminate them. This is a great opportunity, because the Expeditionary Fleet's army must be in it."

Han Chao couldn't help but feel moved when he heard this. This was indeed a good opportunity. Although the auxiliary ship fleet had no combat power, it was a guarantee of combat effectiveness of combat warships. Moreover, there was also the army of the Expeditionary Force. If these auxiliary ships and the army of the Expeditionary Force were really wiped out in one fell swoop, even if the expeditionary force was still there, the role would be slowed down. After all, no matter how strong the warship was, it would not be able to drive on land to fight.

So Han Chao immediately made an advance on the map to measure the route time of the Southern Fleet and use the route time of the Expeditionary Fleet. However, after repeated calculations by Han Chao, he determined that before the Expeditionary Fleet enters the Taiwan Strait, the auxiliary ship fleet will arrive in Kaohsiung first, which means that the Southern Fleet will launch an attack before the Northern Fleet. However, the East China government's goal in this battle is to wipe out or severely damage the Expeditionary Fleet. Then the auxiliary ship fleet that attacks the Expeditionary Fleet is obviously putting the cart before the cart. And once the Expeditionary Fleet finds out, it is very likely that it will change its plan and give up the decisive battle with the People's Army fleet.

Han Chao finally shook his head and said, "Forget it, the Expeditionary Fleet is about to enter the Taiwan Strait. At this time, we should not make any more troubles. The auxiliary ship fleet will let them go." After a pause, Han Chao said, "But we can't wait for the Expeditionary Fleet to come here. This is too passive. We should take the initiative to welcome it."

After hearing this, Zhang Weining nodded and said, "That's right, we should indeed send a fleet to lead an expeditionary fleet, but even the vanguard fleet of the expeditionary fleet is not weak. 8 battleships and 4 armored cruisers, if there is no bonus from modern warships, our fleet will not have much chance of winning against them, so it is not easy to send a fleet to lead them, not to send a head."

Han Chao also nodded and said, "Yes, let the armored cruiser squadron attack, but the expeditionary fleet came over."

Zhang Weining said: "This is the best choice. Although armored cruisers are not as good as battleships, they are faster and more flexible. They are indeed more useful than battleships to attract enemies."

So Han Chao immediately ordered the armored cruiser squadron to go forward and go to the expeditionary fleet. At the same time, he also reminded them not to be careless and pay attention to protecting their own safety. After all, this time it was just luring the enemy, not really fighting.

The commander of the armored cruiser squadron is Lu Kai, who turned out to be the captain of the Changbai Mountain ship. Because the Changbai Mountain ship was dismantled at the beginning of the East China government, Lu Kai was also one of the earliest crossing soldiers to command warships in this era. He participated in the Yellow Sea interception war, the Tsuma Sea Battle and other battles, and also accumulated a lot of practical experience. Before the Tsuma Sea Battle, he was appointed as the commander of the Armored Cruiser Squadron.

After receiving Han Chao's order, Lu Kai immediately ordered the armored cruiser squadron to attack and head towards the expeditionary fleet.

The Armored Cruiser Detachment of the People's Army Navy was immediately discovered by the British destroyer, which had been circling 15-20 kilometers away from the People's Army Fleet. This warship was the first British reconnaissance ship to discover the People's Army Fleet. Phillips ordered it to keep a close eye on the People's Army Fleet and therefore it had been cruising nearby for more than three hours.

In fact, the People's Army Navy had discovered this destroyer, but it had never taken action against the Vent River, nor had it been expelled. The purpose was to let the Vent River pass the news of the discovery of the People's Army fleet back so as to attract the Expeditionary Fleet. Moreover, since the Sanya ship tracked the British fleet for several days and collected a large number of radio signals from the British fleet. In addition, the People's Army evacuated fleet also collected a large number of radio signals during the Natuna Islands naval battle, the People's Army Navy inputted these radio signals into the computer of the Kunming ship. After calculation, the British fleet's wireless password had been cracked at this time. Therefore, it can be said that the Expeditionary Fleet is basically completely transparent to the People's Army Navy, without any secrets.

However, the Vent River naturally knew nothing about this. Seeing that the People's Navy's armored cruiser team was dispatched, they immediately sent the news back. After receiving the news, Major General Martinez, the commander of the temporary formation, was also worried and happy. What was worried was that the People's Army fleet had discovered its own fleet. The People's Army fleet, which had been happy, did not retreat, but sent an armored cruiser fleet to greet them.

Of course, Martinez was not surprised that the People's Army Fleet found its fleet. If Bijing's reconnaissance ship could detect the other side, then it would not be surprising that his fleet was discovered by the other side. After all, after learning about the naval battle of the Natuna Islands, Martinez had no contempt for the People's Army Navy and regarded it as a strong enemy. If at this time, the other side could not discover his fleet, then what kind of enemy would it be?

It was even possible that the other party might have even discovered the Vent River, but they were too lazy to expel it, because the other party did not retreat, but instead sent a formation of armored cruisers to come up, which was very obvious. This was Yien who wanted to fight a war with him.

But Martinez believes that this also shows that the People's Army fleet only discovered its own fleet, but did not find the main team of the Expeditionary Fleet. Otherwise, the People's Army fleet would have turned around and retreated long ago, not to mention sending a fleet to meet it. This is not because Martinez is arrogant, but because the strength gap between the two sides is indeed too large. If he is the commander of the People's Army fleet, he will also retreat decisively after discovering the main team of the Expeditionary Fleet. This has nothing to do with courage or fighting spirit, but is a tactical choice.

According to Martinez's judgment, of course, it is beneficial to the Expeditionary Fleet, but the time for his fleet to meet with the People's Army fleet will be greatly shortened, and it is estimated that it will not exceed 2 hours. Should his fleet react? Martinez thought about it and decided to send a fleet to meet him.
Chapter completed!