At 0:51, the officer command team with German Admiral Von Ingnor as the highest rank left the "Frederick the Great" and took the V-25 to the temporary flagship "King". During this relatively short ferry, Xia Shu was extremely vigilantly paying attention to the movements in the southern seas, worried that Jelico's main fleet would suddenly appear. In addition to the "Frederick the Great" who withdrew from the battle line, the remaining 13 German dreadnoughts still maintained a single column formation, and the radio equipment of the V-25 could also operate normally, but this was the most inconvenient moment for the German fleet to command. There were still 13 dreadnoughts, of which 8 were the British fleets that were super dreadnoughts, and they still had the ability to turn the tables.

The situation that Xia Shu was most worried about did not become a reality after all. Ten minutes later, the fleet commander flag and the Admiral flag rose on the latest battleship in the German Navy. Although the "King" did not have various special command and communication facilities like "Frederick the Great", it was a new battleship that was built after the Caesar-class was launched. Except for the main and secondary gun models that have not changed, from basic steel, power facilities to optics, electrical equipment, all have been upgraded and improved, and the hardware and software conditions have been optimized. Moreover, the German Navy's ship design team explored and accumulated a lot of experience during the construction and service of the Nassau-class and Helgolan-class, which made the King-class battleship the most perfect dreadnought ever in the history of the German Navy.

After boarding the King, the first thing Natsuki did was not to be familiar with the officers' team of officers who had received the warship, but to ask about all the messages the warship received in the past ten minutes. Captain Brigadier General Paul Bainke looked at Ingnoll with a somewhat depressed expression and reported to the Fleet Chief of Staff: "I received a telegram from two torpedo boats. By interrogating the British crews rescued by us, I learned that the two British main battleships that were sinking were the "Benban" and the "Orion". It is reported that this formation had left Jelico's main fleet more than an hour ago, and the whereabouts of that fleet are unknown."

After saying that, Brigadier General Bainke suggested to Ingnoll: "Does we send telegrams to each ship to inform them that our flagship has been temporarily changed from the "Frederick the Great" to the "King"?"

Ingnoll looked at Xia Shu, and Xia Shu replied without hesitation: "No need for the time being."

Brigadier General Bainke looked at the two commanders with different expressions in surprise, and then got a general understanding of this subtle situation. He did not ask any more, but stood aside and waited for the choice of the actual controller of the fleet.

Xia Shu said slowly: "According to Scher's report, Jeliko's main fleet has long been rid of our 2nd Battleship Detachment northward at full speed. If the course has not changed, they should be right in front of us and may emerge from the rain at any time."

Hearing this, Brigadier General Bainke and the officers around him turned their heads and looked ahead of the bow. There was nothing in the dark night. With the current visible distance, even if a whole British fleet was moving forward kilometers away, it would be difficult for them to observe even if they turned on all searchlights.

"But if I were Jelico..." Xia Shu changed his tone and thought from the perspective of others: "I will not fight hard with the opponents who are equal to each other when I lose the battle patrol formation and several battleships, but I will not retreat in shame, but use the cover of the environment to patiently find opportunities to win with one blow!"

Brigadier General Bainke asked with the flow: "So when is the best chance for the enemy in your judgment?"

Xia Shu's handsome eyebrows frowned slightly: "Maybe...it's just now."

"When the officers change to flagships?"

"No, it was when we were still on the Frederick the Great." Natsuki replied, "The damage of the battle made it a flagship that could not perform its flagship function properly."

Brigadier General Bainke thought for a while, realizing that the Fleet Chief of Staff was right, so he nodded and said, "It seems that our enemy has indeed missed the best opportunity."

Ingnoll, who had been silent since leaving the Frederick the Great, suddenly spoke: "That may not be."

Including Xia Shu, everyone's eyes were instantly focused on the authentic fleet commander.

"I wonder if you have heard a saying that people often relax their vigilance when they are very close to victory." Ingnoll glanced at everyone, his eyes stayed on Xia Shu's face for a moment, and then turned to the deep and dull sea.

"Will they keep following us until we return to Helgolan Bay?" a major staff officer speculated in surprise.

Captain Gold smiled contemptuously: "That would be simple. We just need to pass through the minefield and we can easily kill the British main fleet."

Before the official war between Britain and Germany began, the German navy had already begun to deploy mines in accordance with the offshore defense plan. The Gulf of Helgolan and the important nearby waterways had formed minefields, and safe routes were only controlled by a few senior officers of the high seas fleet. These safe routes can be determined by fixed buoys. Even on nights without natural light, German ships can enter and exit them. However, if the waves are very bad, there is a high possibility of accidents due to range measurement errors or broken anchor mine chains.

With his understanding of Ingnoll, it is not difficult for Natsuki to find the answer according to his ideas. If it is normal, he must give Ingnoll enough face, but this decisive naval battle cannot tolerate the commander's indecisive and hesitant personality. So Natsuki said to Captain Gold in a lesson tone: "No, the sir means that when we feel that the enemy will not attack, for example... we just met with the Scher fleet and the support team. It looks like the lineup is complete and the alert is comprehensive. In fact, the queue is slow and the enemy only needs to send out elites to pounce on it, which can put us into chaos, and in exchange for the greatest victory with the smallest loss."

Captain Gold cooperated very well and suddenly realized.

Xia Shu then turned toward Ingnoll: "Sir, are you saying I'm right?"

When Natsuki made the interpretation just now, a hint of surprise flashed in Ingnoll's eyes. He hesitated for a moment, neither denying nor affirming, but said vaguely: "Time will bring us the answer."

The change of flagships is not required to be reported to the entire fleet without radio. It is to prevent the eavesdropping of the British fleet. In order to facilitate command and dispatch, the "King" issued a light signal to the dreadnoughts and escort ships in the main formation, notifying each ship to comply with the order of this ship immediately, and soon issued a new fleet command: the escort ships responsible for the alert and reconnaissance will continue to defend each battle position. The 1st battleship detachment slowed down to 12 knots, and the 3rd battleship detachment maintains its original speed and adjusts its position to the left. This means that the German main fleet will change from a single column to a double column. According to the Navy's Operation Manual, it will take at least 20 minutes to adjust the array of such a scale, depending on the speed of each ship.

Less than a quarter of an hour, the large torpedo boat V-47, which was performing alerts in the waters on the right side of the German fleet, issued a battle alarm. Except for the "Fredericks" who was staggering away from the queue, the remaining five battleships of the 1st Battleship Detachment were all accelerated to 16 knots. The 8 old-fashioned dreadnoughts belonging to the 3rd Battleship Detachment, which was sailing to the right side of the 1st Battleship Detachment, also turned their guns and prepared to join the war at any time. Under the nervous gaze of tens of thousands of German naval officers and soldiers, four

The black ship shadows lined up in a row and rushed out of the rain curtain. With the order of the "King", many German warships turned on the searchlights together. Although the direct light was difficult to open their eyes, these British warships seemed to have expected that their light bodies sometimes disappeared in the valley of the waves and sometimes jumped up on the top of the waves. When the German ships opened fire, they quickly turned right in an orderly manner, leaving only a full arc on the sea surface, and soon disappeared into the depths of the vast rain curtain.

In front of the German main battleship formation, the voluntary retreat of the four British destroyers seemed natural, but their appearance immediately aroused the vigilance of the Germans. Both officers and sailors regarded it as a signal that the British main fleet was about to appear, and the atmosphere of the war prompted them to quickly get up. In order to enhance the periphery of the right side of the fleet, Colonel Hofelt suggested that several escort ships be drawn from the left and rear of the fleet. This time, Xia Shu decisively adopted it.

His proposal: As the fleet array changed from a single column to a double column, the length of the battle line was almost reduced by half, and the warning area of ​​the escort ships was also reduced by a lot, so four escort ships could be successfully drawn and concentrated into one area. However, Xia Shu did not think that the four British destroyers just now were just making outposts. They were very likely to be misleading the German fleet's warning direction, so he also sent a reminder to the ships at the back of the fleet: Pay attention to your starboard sea surface!

At 1:17, the pilot ship "Hergolan" of the 3rd Battleship Detachment of the German Navy arrived at a flush with the "Caesar". At this point, the array adjustment of the German main fleet had been in place. The King immediately issued an order: each main ship maintains a uniform speed of 16 knots, and each escort light ship maintains a battle position at a suitable speed.

Four minutes later, the Catherine, at the end of the German 1st Battleship Detachment, found a suspicious ship shadow on the starboard sea. At almost the same time, the G39, which was alerting in the area, also issued an alarm. After the enemy ships got closer, they decisively turned on the searchlight. Two British destroyers sailing in conjunction appeared in sight. They realized that it was only a large German torpedo boat that blocked the line in front of them, so they drove them out with fierce artillery fire. However, the roar of the Catherine immediately suppressed their arrogance. The two British destroyers turned around and retreated, while turning on the searchlight to shine on the Catherine and its surrounding waters.

Since these two ignorant British destroyers took the initiative to turn on the searchlights, the German gunners on the "Catherine" unceremoniously covered the fire with fierce artillery fire, and in a blink of an eye, one of them could catch fire. The situation of this battle was simply a realistic interpretation of "the mantis stalked the cicada and the oriole behind". The artillery fire of the "Catherine" quickly attracted heavy enemy shells. G39, who was in the center of the battlefield, turned the searchlight in the direction of the artillery fire, and the hazy outline of an Iron Duke-class battleship appeared.
Chapter completed!