Just before 1 PM, Bai Zhizhan issued the order to retreat.
However, it was not a direct withdrawal but a phased, step-by-step retreat.
First, two destroyers were to cover the heavily damaged "Imperial Capital" as it retreated, taking along the wounded from other warships, especially the injured pilots.
During this period, the "Peijing" was responsible for retrieving the Shen Pu Plane Group and, in the intervals of recovering ship-borne aircraft, launch a batch of fighters to strengthen the air defense network, replacing those that had exhausted their fuel and ammunition in the noon air defense battle to maintain the integrity of the fleet's air defense.
Afterward, reconnaissance aircraft must be dispatched to fly east.
Two long-range cruisers were also to retrieve the seaplanes launched in the early morning, refueling them and ensuring they were fit to fly, to head to the east, specifically the area where Zhu Huasheng's Plane Group had attacked the Newland special mixed fleet.
