The so-called Qingdao Fleet of the Japanese army was actually a number of warships with poor performance that were left over by the Japanese army, and even a considerable part of these warships were warships that were sunk by the Kuomintang Navy in the Battle of Jiangyin and ran aground, and then were salvaged and repaired by the Japanese army before being put into service...... These sunken and stranded warships would be lost directly if they were the U.S. military, but Japan is a country with extremely scarce resources, so scarce to the point that they have to save the steel used by the army to make tanks to build warships, so they will not give up easily if they can still use them. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Ironically, among these warships there is also a veritable "Pinghai...... The "Pinghai" of the national army was sunk in Jiangyin, and then it was picked up by the Japanese army and renamed the "Five Hundred Islands".

Although its appearance is very different from when it was in the hands of the national army...... As mentioned before, the "Pinghai" was not in the hands of the Nationalist Army for naval warfare, but for as many artillery pieces as possible and even reconnaissance planes to shock warlords in various places, so the Japanese army made some appropriate modifications after scooping it up, and dismantled the guns and platforms that were not useful.

But even so, some veteran pilots recognized it in the air.

"Master!" Zhang Junhua reported to Zhang Chi: "Our fighters flew over the Japanese fleet......

"When you get there, it's going to blow up, what are you doing in a daze?" Zhang Chi scolded angrily.

"But ......," Zhang Junhua replied, "it's the 'Pinghai'......"

"What 'Pinghai'......" Zhang Chi didn't react at first, but soon understood what Zhang Junhua meant, this was encountering his own warship.

But the war did not allow for a moment's hesitation, and the next second he ordered: "Bomb!" ”

"Yes!" Zhang Junhua answered and gave an order to the pilot.

As a result, the bombers swooped down in droves towards the dilapidated Japanese warships, and soon the submarine forces joined the battle group, and soon the Japanese "Tsingtao" fleet was wiped off the map by the Chinese fleet.

It's funny to think about it, the Japanese destroyed the entire navy of the Kuomintang with just a few warships, but now, these Japanese warships are so vulnerable to the expeditionary fleet.

Then Zhang Chi accepted it when he saw it, and disappeared from the sight of the Japanese army as soon as he turned around.

As usual, the news of the fall of the Tsingtao fleet was reported to Hideki Tojo by the Japanese Admiral Kiyoshi Hasegawa in another "victorious" way.

Hideki Tojo couldn't help but be surprised when he heard the news, because it meant that there would be no more fleets to defend the Chinese coastline.

But Sanada Suiichiro didn't take it very seriously......

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister!" Sanada Suiichiro said: "With our aircraft carriers basically no fighters available, it is almost impossible to keep the transportation lines in the open ocean zone, and it will inevitably happen!" ”

Hideki Tojo couldn't help but nodded, he also knew that what Sanada Suiichiro said was right, in the absence of an air force, warships would undoubtedly be the target of the enemy, not to mention those warships with backward performance left in China.

"But......" Hideki Tojo said anxiously, "this is our important sea passage with Manchukuo, and this passage has been cut off, and Japan's resources will soon be in trouble!" ”

As we all know, Japan itself is an extremely resource-poor country, and a considerable part of its local industry, including the military industry, is used to plunder China...... After conquering large swathes of China, they forced a large number of Chinese to open mines with bayonets and rifles, and then transported these minerals directly or smelted in the northeast before being transported to Japan.

This is one of the reasons why the Japanese built a well-developed railway in Northeast China...... At this time, there were only more than 20,000 kilometers of railways in China, and most of the more than 20,000 kilometers of railways were built by the Japanese in the northeast and coastal areas with bayonets and rifles, except for more than 1,000 kilometers in the northwest and southwest.

And all of this is about to be lost.

"There are other ways to maintain contact with Manchuria!" Sanada pointed to the map and said, "Here...... Korean Strait! As long as we deploy fighter planes on both sides of the Korean Strait, plus there is Tsushima Island in the middle, we can use land-based aviation to contain the Korean Strait and guarantee our transportation! ”

A frowning Tojo Hideki sighed, he knew that this was not a good idea, because it would mean transporting minerals from Manchuria through the whole of Korea, the terrain in the north of Korea is complicated, the winter temperature is extremely low, and there are not even railways and roads suitable for transportation.

But now, it seems that this is the only way.

At this time, Sato Kenji hurriedly ran in, and before anyone could reach the voice, the voice came in first: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, I heard that the Qingdao fleet has been completely wiped out?"

Hideki Tojo nodded heavily and replied, "Yes! ”

"Sato-kun!" Looking at Sato Xian's appearance, Sanada Suiichiro sarcastically said: "It's just the loss of a few old ships, so there's no need to be in such a hurry!" ”

"It's not a matter of a few old ships!" Kenri Sato said to Hideki Tojo, "Your Excellency Prime Minister...... The destruction of the East China Sea Fleet has opened the gateway to the coastline of Manchuria, and in addition to the fact that our troops are attacking southward on all fronts, the defense of Manchukuo is very dangerous! ”

"What does Sato-kun mean ......" Hideki Tojo asked in shock, "Will the enemy attack Manchuria?" ”

"Sato-kun, think too much!" Sanada Suiichiro smiled: "The enemy is attacking Manchuria? It's not a few small islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the main force of the American ghost animals is in the Philippines, where do they still have the strength to attack Manchuria? ”

"Have you forgotten the Chinese troops on Iwo Jima?" Ken Sato asked rhetorically.

"Chinese army?!" Suiichiro Sanada laughed: "How many troops can they have?" ”

"Don't underestimate the Chinese army!" Hideki Tojo said: "Their combat effectiveness is not comparable to that of the troops located in China!" ”

"It's not that I underestimate the Chinese army!" Suiichiro Sanada explained: "The combat effectiveness of the Chinese troops in the Pacific theater is indeed admirable, but they are only 40,000 or 50,000 people. Other Chinese troops...... It has just been transferred from China, and its combat effectiveness is not strong, and there are only 100,000 people! How could such a force attack the state of Manchuria?! Sato-kun was scared of the Chinese army! ”

Hideki Tojo couldn't help but nod when he heard this, which was indeed a bit unbelievable...... Although Manchuria is empty, it has 300,000 troops in Manchuria alone, and the troops on the front line can be brought back for reinforcements at any time, as well as troops in the Korean direction.

Therefore, if the Chinese army really dares to attack, it will only not want to live.

(To be continued.) )