Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

On the afternoon of April 4th, Seto Inland Sea.

The sky at this moment was so blue that the white silhouettes of several seabirds could be clearly seen.

As if tired of the long flight, a seabird broke away from the large group of companions and used a chrysanthemum emblem as a temporary resting place.

At its feet is a battleship 224.9 meters long and 34.59 meters wide. This steel giant is silently sneaking through the waves at a speed of twenty knots.

The seawater kept lapping at the hull, creating layers of waves, but this did not cause any hindrance to the Nagato battleship.

The camera zoomed in, and the cabin was not peaceful. There were noisy sounds from every corner.

You may not believe it, but the busiest department on the ship is not the power compartment, nor the arsenal or damage control team responsible for the entire ship's ammunition management, but the most inconspicuous kitchen.

"Move quickly! There are still lunches for a thousand people to make!"

"Before the war breaks out, we must prepare today's share! We must not let the warriors fight hungry!"

Under the command of the head chef, nearly a hundred cooks worked vigorously, striving to get the improvised lunches out of the oven in the shortest possible time.

Unlike the miserable Army Red Deer, the current food of Benzi Navy is absolutely luxurious, even compared with the Royal Navy at the same time.

The ordinary cooks are responsible for the food of the trainee sailors.

The exclusive kitchen for officers is run by elite cooks.

The top leaders and captains of various departments can even ask chefs from some top restaurants to serve on the ship. We go to such great lengths just to enjoy customized Western food with different tastes from different countries.

If this kind of extravagant and wasteful behavior is known to the Army Red Deers, a civil war will definitely break out.

When the Japs at various posts began to enjoy their lunch, Shiro Takasu, wearing a navy blue fleet commander's uniform, came to the armored command tower with arrogance.

"Yano-kun, ask the communications team to immediately send signals to the five battleships in the inner air defense circle. Especially the Fuso, the distance between it and the flagship is too close. Just keep it at about two kilometers."

"The outermost destroyers can further expand the warning circle, as long as the distance does not exceed four kilometers. Their main task now is to detect the enemy's situation, and they do not need to act as mobile mine protection belts for the time being."

"By the way, what's going on at the dock? Has Rear Admiral Takayanagi responded to your letter? Judging from the current speed of the fleet, how long will it take for us to rendezvous?"

As soon as these words came out, the three communication detachments on the Nagato battleship immediately took action.

Due to the need to maintain radio silence, they could only use semaphore and signal lights to convey the orders of their fleet commander to the surface ships around the flagship.

After a while, the five Iron Kings led by the Mutsu battleship quickly adjusted their positions and tightly surrounded the Nagato battleship in the middle of the fleet.

This situation made Takasu Shiro smile confidently. In his opinion, he was about to lead the main force of the First Fleet out of the danger zone, and there might be a chance to reach a higher level after the war.

"well!"

"energetic!"

"As long as we can maintain our current formation, even if we collide head-on with Ugly Kingdom's 17th Task Force, I will still have the confidence to fight with it!"

Unlike other people in the armored command tower, the captain of the battleship Nagato, the lost hero, looked solemn at this time, looking out of place in the optimistic atmosphere.

As for the reason why the colonel is worried?
Without him, it was just because the current fleet was too slow, which gave the old devil an ominous premonition.

Logically speaking, when the large fleet is in a relatively familiar sea area and has the need to move quickly, it should choose a single longitudinal formation to maximize the maneuverability of each ship.

This formation, to put it bluntly, is a long snake formation.

It can be said to be the most popular skill of every senior general in this navy. It focuses on passing quickly and taking action if you don't accept it.

However, considering that enemy bombers could fall from the sky at any time, Takasu Shiro finally chose the circular formation, which had been practiced less often and was not particularly skilled.

There was no way, who put him under great pressure and worried that the fleet would be severely damaged.

To put it simply, this formation uses auxiliary ships to surround the main ship and uses a layer-by-layer method to maximize crossfire in the short- and medium-range air defense range.

When a battle occurs, no matter which direction or angle the enemy attacks from, they will have to face the coordinated operations of multiple ships.

Any torpedoes, submarines, or fleets that want to damage the flagship must step on the wreckage of the surrounding frigates. In the lingo of a certain Baimaozi magic game, this is called group air defense.

It's a pity that the ideal is very full, but the reality is very skinny.

Although the ring array indeed strengthened the overall anti-aircraft firepower, due to the unfamiliar cooperation between the various capital ships, the already slow fleet became even slower.

Judging from the current situation, both the time to rendezvous with the battleship Yamato and the arrival at the connection point agreed with HNA have to be postponed. ······
In the next five minutes, orders were issued in an orderly manner from the armored command tower.

Looking at the samurai warriors running around on the deck, and looking at the chart in front of him, the captain of the Nagato, Hero Yano, finally couldn't help but said:

"Commander Takasu, there is no point in hiding the route. The top priority now is to rendezvous with the port and sail to a safer area as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Takasu Shiro nodded.

In the old Japanese's inherent understanding, the ring formation composed of many battleships, cruisers, destroyers and seaplane carriers must be monolithic. Even if enemy planes attack, he is confident that he will fight to the death with the opponent.

It's just a villain in the sky, nothing to worry about.

"Okay! Then move forward at full speed and strive to rendezvous with the pride of our younger brother's navy as soon as possible!"

After receiving the approval of the captain and fleet commander, the navigator breathed a sigh of relief silently, and then ordered with great enthusiasm:
"Full left rudder! Head to the open sea! Full speed ahead!"

At the same time, Hero Yano turned on the ship-wide broadcast and conducted the final mobilization of sailors at various positions.

"Before the attack, there is no need to talk nonsense. I hope all combatants will carry forward the fearless bushido spirit and let us, the strongest fleet in the country, serve the expectations of the people!"

That's right, it's offense.

Although the first fleet left Hashishima to avoid the attack of unknown enemies, what Takasu Shiro and Yano Hideo told the middle and low-level officers was to support the rear area under attack.

There is no way, if I tell the truth, it will affect morale too much.

Facts have proved that the old devil's trick is really useful.

When his voice spread through the public address system to every corner, all the Japs on the ship immediately went into a state of frenzy. Some junior officers waved or even started to wave the samurai swords in their hands, looking up to the sky with scarlet eyes and roaring angrily.

For the sailors of the First Fleet, they are very eager for a crushing victory.

In the current Honko Navy, many senior generals, including Yamamoto Nanashihachi, support the so-called 70% theory.

From the current military point of view, this kind of decision of not using the main force is indeed outrageous. It is outrageous.

But the devils just believed it.

Even if their own mobile fleet has gained a large enough advantage in local battlefields, they still want to hide the first fleet in Zhudao.

This resulted in that when Nagumo Chuichi's mobile fleet, with the four high-speed battleships Hiei, Kirishima, Haruna and Kongo, was killing everyone, the six iron tombs of the first fleet could only wait on Hashishima Island in the traditional sense. Showdown at sea.

The occasional shooting training in the Seto Inland Sea is basically their entire daily routine.

The above-mentioned encounters made the Japs in the First Fleet extremely eager for a battle, which was also the reason why they were extremely fanatical after being mobilized.

Just after Hero Yano finished his mobilization, a report from the air defense control tower suddenly sounded on the radio.

"Enemy planes were found twenty degrees to the left, no fewer than eighty!"

As soon as these words came out, the Japanese officers in the armored headquarters raised their telescopes and began to observe the sudden group of enemy aircraft.

"Anti-air combat!"

"Three-type burning shotgun! Start shooting!"

After receiving the order, the Nagato battleship's No. 1 main gun began to rotate the turret at full speed. At the same time, the two gun barrels were simultaneously pointed at the fleet of aircraft in the sky.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Showa air defense, twelve shots in the air.

The first round of attacks by the six battleships looked like big blooming flowers in the sky, without harming the menacing fleet at all.

No way, the so-called three-type incendiary shotgun shells are actually special anti-aircraft weapons containing thousands of incendiary submunitions.

To put it bluntly, this thing is a large-scale sprayer that mainly relies on shotgun shells to shoot down or disperse the fleet. The actual battle results completely depend on luck.

Seeing that the first round of counterattacks had no effect, Hero Yano strode up to the commander of his own fleet. He saluted with a serious face and said:
"I'll go to the battle bridge and be responsible for commanding the entire ship's air defense system!"

Hearing this, Takasu Shiro immediately responded: "I'll leave the Nagato to you!" (End of Chapter)