The location of the East China government's evacuation fleet was transmitted by British reconnaissance ships via radio to the British Far East Fleet Base in Singapore every 2 hours.

After receiving the news, Lieutenant General Irving, the commander of the Far East Fleet, was also very happy. He thought that he had completely controlled the whereabouts of the evacuated fleet, and was confused that all his plans had actually been discovered by the People's Army. So Lieutenant General Irving immediately ordered the fleet to set off, sail out of the base, gather in the waters of the Natuna Islands, and prepared to intercept the evacuated fleet.

The British Far East Navy fleet now includes:

Battleships: 6 Old Man Star Battleships, Old Man Star, Titan, Ocean, Glory, Revenge, England; and 2 Centurion-class second-class battleships, Centurion and Baler;

Cruiser detachment; Edgar class protective cruisers, Edgar, Royal Arthur, Grafton; Monmouth class armored cruisers, Monmouth, and Bedford; however, although the Monmouth class was defined as armored cruisers by the British Navy, it can only be regarded as a reinforced protective cruiser, that is, a protective cruiser with added waterlines and armor, which is similar to the Qingzhou-class protective cruiser of the East China government. However, according to the definition of the British Navy, as long as the waterlines and armor is an armored cruiser.

The First Destroyer Detachment, Swordfish, Spitfire, Rocket, Shark

The Second Destroyer Detachment, Sparrow Hawk, Trench Shark, Seal, Wolf

There are also 5 reconnaissance notice ships, totaling 26 warships, and the flagship is the Old Man Star.

The British Far East Fleet left the base at 10 noon and arrived at the waters between Natuna and Subi Island at 6 a.m. the next day, and in the southeast of Subi Island, the Sirasan Strait, which the evacuation fleet must pass, is also the battlefield where Irving is scheduled to ambush the evacuation fleet.

According to the report of the reconnaissance ship, the evacuation fleet was located in the waters of Siwu Port in the western part of Poyizhou, about 200 kilometers away from the Serrasan Strait. At the current speed of the evacuation fleet, it takes about 8-10 hours to reach the Serrasan Strait. Therefore, the British Far East Fleet still has sufficient rest time, so Irving ordered the soldiers and crew on duty last night to rest, and change shifts until 12 noon, and at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, all the crew gathered to prepare for battle.

Although there was nothing wrong during this period, Irving was not idle. Instead, he sat in front of his desk. There was a chart on the desk. Irving held a magnifying glass, scale and pencil to keep graphic on the chart. At this time, the reporting time of the reconnaissance ship increased to once every hour. After each notification, Irving would mark the new location of the evacuation fleet on the map.

For the Far East Fleet, the ideal way to fight is to use the complex terrain of these seas to launch an attack from the flanks of the evacuation fleet and catch the evacuation fleet off guard. However, such an attack tactic is difficult to achieve in naval battles, but even in frontal battles, Irving believes that he has at least 70% of his chance of winning.

As time passed by minute by minute, the reconnaissance ships continued to transmit the evacuation fleet to the Far East Fleet. By 12 noon, the evacuation fleet arrived in the waters of Kuching, about 120 kilometers away from the Serrasan Strait.

Owen nodded, and now he was about 3-4 hours before he arrived. At this time, the adjutant came to inform him that it was time for lunch. So Owen left his office and came to the restaurant.

The British Navy has a long tradition. The captain has its own special restaurant and can have a band that specializes in playing music for him during meals. The Old Man's Star is the flagship of the Far East Fleet, so the fleet commander and the captain share a restaurant. When Irving arrived at the restaurant, Major General Snow Hamilton, the captain of the Old Man's Star, had already sat at the dining table.

Today's lunch was very rich, including bread, chicken, steak, grilled fish, vegetables, green beans, etc., and a bottle of red wine. First, the fleet had just left the port and was very rich in supplies. Second, this was likely to be the last official meal before the war. According to the rules, the officers and soldiers should have a good meal.

Irving sat down opposite Hamilton, and the adjutant poured red wine for the two. Hamilton said: "Commander, when will the People's Army fleet arrive?"

Owen took a sip of red wine and said, "It's expected to be around 4 o'clock."

Hamilton said while cutting the grilled fish, "Is it so late? Then there is only 2-3 hours left for the battle."

Owen nodded and said, "Yes, do you think we may defeat the People's Army fleet within 2-3 hours?" As he said, Owen forked a steak with a fork and delivered it to his mouth, and said, "The steak today is fried well, and the heat is just right."

Hamilton swallowed the fish and scooped himself a spoonful of green beans, saying, "I think it is still possible to defeat the People's Army fleet, but it may be difficult to cause major losses to them within 2-3 hours. At least they can drag the war until dark and then rely on the cover of night to retreat from the battlefield."

Owen said: "Oh, you have a high opinion of the combat effectiveness of the People's Army Navy."

Hamilton said: "Three years ago, I saw the battle between the People's Army Navy and the Dutch Navy. Although the Dutch Navy was not strong in combat, there were 7 warships. At that time, the People's Army Navy had only two warships. Their warships performed very well and the crew's training level was also very high. As a result, these two warships defeated the Dutch Navy."

Owen nodded, put down his wine glass, and said, "It is indeed not easy to defeat two warships against seven warships. Moreover, the People's Army's navy also won the Battle of Typhoon, so it must have considerable combat effectiveness. It is indeed difficult to hit them severely in 2-3 hours unless we can find an attack on the People's Army's navy."

Hamilton said: "This kind of opportunity is probably not easy."

Owen said: "Yes, then we don't wait here, but take the initiative to meet us. This will give you an extra 1-2 hours. Do you think it's enough?"

Hamilton drank the wine in his glass and placed the glass on the table, saying, "That should be almost the same, but in this way, he would have to fight head-on with the People's Army Navy. Even if we can severely damage the People's Army's fleet, we may suffer considerable losses."

Owen waved his hand and said, "We can afford this loss, and the people at No. 10 Downing Street need a major victory now so that they can explain it to the country. It was decided that at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, all the crew of all the warships gathered and set off at 1:30 to face the People's Army's fleet. Be prepared."

Hamilton said: "Yes."

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, all crew members of all the Far East Fleet warships gathered in place, and the warships began to re-arrange. However, what surprised Owen was that the reconnaissance ship news that should have been sent at 1 o'clock was almost half past 1, but it had not been received yet. Owen ordered the communications personnel to send a power to inquire, but the reconnaissance ship responsible for the node replied that they had lost contact with the reconnaissance ship tracking the Far East Fleet.

Irving suddenly felt a little ominous in his heart, but after hesitating for more than a minute, Irving still ordered the fleet to set off and head north to face the People's Army's fleet. Because at this time, the fleet had re-arranged its formation and was ready to face the People's Navy. If the orders were changed at this time, it would be a big blow to the morale of the entire army.

About 30 minutes later, the Far East Fleet sailed out of the Serrasan Strait and advanced north along the west coast of Poyizhou. Here, they encountered a reconnaissance ship responsible for the delivery node. There was also a reconnaissance ship responsible for the delivery node 25-30 kilometers ahead of the reconnaissance ship, but the warship also lost contact.

Irving felt even more unpleasant. In fact, losing news from the reconnaissance ship is a common thing in naval battles, because once the enemy fleet discovers the reconnaissance ship, it will inevitably pursue and kill. However, radio equipment is installed on the reconnaissance ships. Even if they are hit by the enemy fleet, they can always send out the signal first and will never disappear silently. Therefore, Irving even had an idea in his mind, ordering the fleet to turn around immediately and return to the base.

But soon Irving denied this idea himself, because if Irving really made such a decision, he would probably be not far from being removed from office. So Irving took a deep breath and ordered the fleet to continue sailing.

The fleet sailed for about half an hour, and the Marine on the left wing sent a signal and found the warship. So Irving immediately ordered the reconnaissance ship to go and inspect. After 30 minutes, he received a telegram from the reconnaissance ship, confirming that it was the People's Army's fleet. This was also the last time the Far East Fleet used radio communication, because afterwards, the radio communication equipment on the warship could not work, and only the "Ziz" current noise could be heard in the headphones.

In fact, the evacuation fleet had long discovered the Far East Fleet. When it passed through the Kuching waters and was about 120 kilometers away from the Serrasan Strait, the Yueyang ship released a drone and discovered the Far East Fleet in the southwest waters of Subi Island. So Wang Hailong ordered to first catch the radio of the British reconnaissance ship, then send warships to rush there, and finally sink a reconnaissance ship and expel two.

Originally, Wang Hailong planned not to go to the Sierrasan Strait, but passed between Natuna and Subi Island and attacked the Far East Fleet from behind. Nazhi, the Far East Fleet actually advanced northward and drove over to the evacuation fleet. The attack was no longer possible. Of course, the evacuation fleet could use distance from the Far East Fleet, interspersed with each other, and then turned around and chased from the Far East Fleet to launch an attack, which was a big detour tactic.

But this took too long, and Irving hoped to spend more time to severely damage the evacuated ship; Wang Hailong also had the same idea. The Yueyang ship has all-weather combat capabilities, but other warships of the People's Army do not have it. Therefore, once it enters the night battle, it will be also unfavorable to the People's Army, and the variables are too great. Wang Hailong does not want to fight such a battle that mainly depends on luck.
Chapter completed!